tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post1717414992813481029..comments2023-08-10T04:03:44.387-04:00Comments on This Book and I Could Be Friends: "the true universal connection between things, events, persons, places, time"Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-28865542437322780212010-07-27T20:13:03.163-04:002010-07-27T20:13:03.163-04:00Whamwham is right. I didn't really know anythi...Whamwham is right. I didn't really know anything about Thiong'o before but that's not what I was expecting at all. Like Emily, I'm somewhat interested, but realistically never feel like reading this type of thing.nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17532641082944082516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-41187918216185631272010-07-26T10:29:03.776-04:002010-07-26T10:29:03.776-04:00I heard Weep Not, Child and A Grain of Wheat are h...I heard <i>Weep Not, Child</i> and <i>A Grain of Wheat</i> are his two really acclaimed novels. One of those will be my next Thiong'o selection.<br /><br />For another great African book, I recommend Tayeb Salih's <i><a href="http://tselfoninternets.blogspot.com/2010/01/heart-of-darkness.html" rel="nofollow">Season of Migration to the North</a></i>. It's basically a reverse <i>Heart of Darkness</i>.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-22942557167097613322010-07-25T21:04:33.955-04:002010-07-25T21:04:33.955-04:00This book sounds great, though too bad the last qu...This book sounds great, though too bad the last quarter gets a bit preachy. I'm really glad to see you included information on Thiong'o, great addition to the post. I read and reviewed Weep Not, Child earlier this year - I really loved it and didn't find it was too preachy so it might have just been this one book, or a few of his books. We'll just have to read more and see I guess!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-20977036939035630342010-07-25T18:27:12.349-04:002010-07-25T18:27:12.349-04:00Richard: Canadian hair metal??? Does such a thing ...Richard: Canadian hair metal??? Does such a thing really exist? I hope not.<br /><br />The first I ever heard of the Mau Maus was actually in a '60s-era book by one Louis Cotlow called <i>In Search of the Primitive</i>. Cotlow, since the '30s or '40s, had been traveling the world and documenting the cultures of isolated tribes in Africa, South America, New Guinea, and Antarctica. He described the Mau Maus as incredibly violent and guilty of many atrocities. And while I'm not denying that they might have done some questionable things, it looks like it was the Brits who were the real thugs. I don't know what happened to that book. It would've been great to have for this post.<br /><br /><i>Deleted a spam comment.</i><br /><br />VR: Thiong'o HATES <i>Out of Africa</i>. He called it one of the "most dangerous" books written about Africa because of how it totally whitewashed (no pun intended) European colonialism. Not saying no one should read it but I think we need to keep that in mind. <br /><br />Emily: It's a surprisingly fast read for such a dense book. But because there is so much going on I would recommend saving it for when you feel like doing a lengthy blog post! I almost didn't know where to begin.<br /><br />Oh dear, are there other books guilty of the big Wrap-Up Screed as well? We should make that an article on TV Tropes if there isn't one already.<br /><br />Jill: Eye Scream? What the heck is <i>that</i>? *heads to TV Tropes*Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-32781799878537019792010-07-25T15:42:24.359-04:002010-07-25T15:42:24.359-04:00Oh, reading about Nightmare Fuel led me to squick ...Oh, reading about Nightmare Fuel led me to squick - I love that one too! And eye scream - how true! Ack! Must pull myself away from trope site and go back to reading actual books!!!rhapsodyinbookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07041412748239010264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-84525857925210284402010-07-25T13:02:23.540-04:002010-07-25T13:02:23.540-04:00Ah, the wrap-up screed, time-tested tradition of t...Ah, the wrap-up screed, time-tested tradition of the political/religious/philosophical novel. <br /><br />I haven't decided whether I want to read this or not - basically the immediacy Richard mentions & the fact that the politics in question seem actually interesting to me, vies with this lazy part of me that doesn't ever feel like picking up such a book <em>right now</em>. But, we shall see. Very well reviewed!Emilyhttp://www.eveningallafternoon.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-13452762527597054122010-07-25T12:22:58.340-04:002010-07-25T12:22:58.340-04:00I'd like to read more African fiction. Petals...I'd like to read more African fiction. Petals of Blood sounds fascinating. I'm also thinking of reading Things Fall Apart and re-reading Out of Africa (not fiction I know). Excellent review.Vintage Readinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05971819409379613967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-62074051999615036052010-07-25T07:53:48.333-04:002010-07-25T07:53:48.333-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Joshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17552336045145565976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-85369383967654251512010-07-24T22:33:53.222-04:002010-07-24T22:33:53.222-04:00E.L. Fay, glad you liked this and anvilicious was ...E.L. Fay, glad you liked this and <em>anvilicious</em> was a nice new word for me as a bonus to an already enjoyable post (glad it has nothing to do with burnout Canadian hair metal bands)! While I agree that Thing'o can be overbearing at times, the immediacy of his political message (as you point out) and the force with which he delivered it made it all a net gain for me. Btw, I saw a different highly-praised history of the Mau Maus at my local bookstore...but I can't remember the name of it offhand. Ack!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-88153908993737057592010-07-24T16:48:13.421-04:002010-07-24T16:48:13.421-04:00I LOVE TV Tropes. My favorite article is the "...I LOVE TV Tropes. My favorite article is the "<a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UncannyValley" rel="nofollow">Uncanny Valley</a>." So creepy! The examples in "<a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HighOctaneNightmareFuel" rel="nofollow">High Octane Nightmare Fuel</a>" are a lot of fun too.<br /><br />I think it's in either the "Author Tract" or the "Anvilicious" articles, but they do talk about how your agreement with the author's message usually determines if a particular work falls into those categories or not. I like to think I'm pretty fair, though. Thiong'o really does go overboard.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-24638360158334184342010-07-24T15:39:51.049-04:002010-07-24T15:39:51.049-04:00I love the tropes site! And anvilicious is the be...I love the tropes site! And anvilicious is the best! It will come in very handy for me, I'm sure!<br /><br />I see what you mean about the socialist screed, but a sense of injustice does make one passionate. I'd be inclined to give him a pass on that one. (What this really tells you is that I am prone to socialist screeds myself so of course I'd be sympathetic to it!)<br /><br />Nicely reviewed!rhapsodyinbookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07041412748239010264noreply@blogger.com