I've been doing Throwback Thursdays for a while but I noticed that I wrote a lot of reviews in a short time when I first started. One of my blogger friends always posts the reviews of one month but that would be too much. So, these are my reviews from the second part of December 2011.
Bacon, Charlotte "Lost Geography" - 2000
This is a story about migration, a Canadian-Scottish family with their daughters, one of whom lives in France with her Turkish-English husband. The book teaches us that what keeps us alive isn't so much our ability to understand the details of our past as having the luck and courage to survive the assaults of both the present and history.
This is what the story is all about, how do people with a different background relate to each other, what are the consequences of migration, inter-racial marriages.
Dinesen, Isak/Blixen, Karen "Out of Africa" - 1937
Isak Dinesen, aka Karen Blixen, moves to Africa where she marries a good friend and wants to start a dairy farm with him. Nothing happens as planned but we get to know a smart and wonderful woman with a big heart.
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von "Iphigenia in Tauris" (German: Iphigenie auf Tauris) - 1787
Iphigenia is the daughter of Agamemnon who offers her to the goddess Artemis. Even though the goddess rescues Iphigenia and takes her to the island of Tauris, a lot of things happen as a consequence.
I am not a big fan of reading plays but this is a very interesting story that teaches a lot about Greek mythology.
Shalev, Meir "Four Meals" (Hebrew: כימים אחדים aka "As a Few Days" or "The Loves of Judith") - 1994
Three men love Judith, two farmers and a cattle dealer. Even though they all want to marry her, she doesn't marry anyone but has a son instead.
When Judith dies, all three men want to be the father of the boy and invite him to a meal to get to know him better.
Tellkamp, Uwe "The Tower" (German: Der Turm. Geschichte aus einem versunkenen Land) - 2008
Uwe Tellkamp describes life in East Germany in the 1980s. The length of the book enabled the author to go into so many details of so many different characters.
Read my original reviews, for the links click on the titles.
Wow...it's been forever since I've read Out of Africa! I went through a real Africa phase for awhile, reading Dinesen and Huxley and several other books set during that colonial period in Africa.
ReplyDeleteSame here, Lark, I reviewed them all when I started blogging but I read a lot of them many years before.
DeleteI have only read Brave New World by Huxley, which of his others would you recommend re. Africa?
Oh, I should have said Elspeth Huxley, not Aldous. Sorry! I really liked her memoir The Flame Trees of Thika.
DeleteMy misunderstanding. I have never heard of Elspeth, so thought about Aldous. Will have to explore.
DeleteI remember really liking the movie of 'Out of Africa'. I have the book too, which I tried *ages* ago but DNF'd (I was *very* young). I'll try it again. I understand that the Robert Redford character either has written a book or there's a book about him. I'd like to read that too!
ReplyDeleteAh, that is one of the books where I liked the film just as much as the book, Kitten. You will always have Meryl Streep's voice in your ear, though, I am sure of that.
DeleteI have just tried to find the name of that book about/by Denys Finch Hatton but the only thing I found was a mini-series called "Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun.". If you know more, please, let me know
When I first tried the novel, I did indeed have Meryl Streep's voice in my head [grin]
DeleteThe book I was thinking of is: 'Too Close To The Sun: The Life and Times of Denys Finch Hatton' by Sara Wheeler.
Interesting, thanks, Kitten. I tried to find the title but there was nothing. I will see that I get that.
DeleteAnd, of course, there is nothing wrong with Meryl Streep, she is one of my favourite actresses.
I have started The Tower, but it is really huuuuuuuge. I think it will take some time to read it. It has got splendid reviews and I am sure it is interesting, as you say.
ReplyDeleteIt is huge, Lisbeth, I think more than 1,000 pages? But it is so interesting to hear about life in the now Eastern part of our country that once was a totally different one. This is the best of them.
DeleteI enjoy the way you do the Throwback meme. I wouldn't have the patience, that's why I just choose to highlight a couple of books per month
ReplyDeleteThanks, Emma. I started this because I realized it would take ages until I will get through the throwbacks I'd like, so I just had to do it this way.
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