From: silkroadinaa@hotmail.com
Subject: 2 Book Reviews
Date: August 23, 2004 8:47:43 PM GMT+04:00
Salaams! Haven't got that much read on this short summer STAS. Here are the 2 latest:
Caravans, by James Michener
I read this book many, many moons ago, but felt it needed a re-read after GregP mentioned how insightful it was on the real Afghan character (and how many people didn't like the characterization at all--i.e. they like a more cleaned up "noble savage" presentation). As one of the main Afghan characters (US educated) says about his people in general: "Never forget that marvelous peroration: 'the charm is not of long duration, and he finds that the Afghan is as cruel and crafty as he is independent."
Thoroughly enjoyed the re-read and did find it very insightful (despite some of the ridiculous things that only a western writer would include in such a setting!).
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
In this romantic adventure of wild Afghanistan, master storyteller James Michener mixes the allure of the past with the dangers of today. After an impetuous American girl, Ellen Jasper, marries a young Afghan engineer, her parents hear no word from her. Although she wants freedom to do as she wishes, not even she is sure what that means. In the meantime, she is as good as lost in that wild land, perhaps forever....
"An extraordinary novel....Brilliant."
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Spotlight Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Early Michener, evolving style of history and romance, March 18, 2003
Reviewer:Denis Benchimol Minev (Manaus, Brazil) - See all my reviews
This is one of Michener's early books, when his style was still evolving. In it, we follow the sotry of an American woman who is lost in Afghanistan and the diplomat that seeks to find her.
I picked this book up after the US war on Afghanistan in order to try to better understand the history of the place without the more recent complications. It was a very good intorduction to the country and its people; we see the deep clash better the Kabul population, which is more "civilized" according to Western standards than the countryside, where the mullahs dominate. These happen to be the same mullahs that we get to see on CNN.
The story itself is told from the perspective of a westerner, so the striking nature of the local culture is highlighted. The mystical nature of caravans and local customs is dissected, which I found very interesting. Also there were many references to the country's history, enough to wet the appetite about reading further on Afghanistan, but not enough to make one knowledgeable about it.
Overall, it is clear this is an early Michener, and the author is evolving into the national novel model he adopts later on.
______________
I read this book many, many moons ago, but felt it needed a re-read after GregP mentioned how insightful it was on the real Afghan character (and how many people didn't like the characterization at all--i.e. they like a more cleaned up "noble savage" presentation). As one of the main Afghan characters (US educated) says about his people in general: "Never forget that marvelous peroration: 'the charm is not of long duration, and he finds that the Afghan is as cruel and crafty as he is independent."
Thoroughly enjoyed the re-read and did find it very insightful (despite some of the ridiculous things that only a western writer would include in such a setting!).
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
In this romantic adventure of wild Afghanistan, master storyteller James Michener mixes the allure of the past with the dangers of today. After an impetuous American girl, Ellen Jasper, marries a young Afghan engineer, her parents hear no word from her. Although she wants freedom to do as she wishes, not even she is sure what that means. In the meantime, she is as good as lost in that wild land, perhaps forever....
"An extraordinary novel....Brilliant."
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Spotlight Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Early Michener, evolving style of history and romance, March 18, 2003
Reviewer:Denis Benchimol Minev (Manaus, Brazil) - See all my reviews
This is one of Michener's early books, when his style was still evolving. In it, we follow the sotry of an American woman who is lost in Afghanistan and the diplomat that seeks to find her.
I picked this book up after the US war on Afghanistan in order to try to better understand the history of the place without the more recent complications. It was a very good intorduction to the country and its people; we see the deep clash better the Kabul population, which is more "civilized" according to Western standards than the countryside, where the mullahs dominate. These happen to be the same mullahs that we get to see on CNN.
The story itself is told from the perspective of a westerner, so the striking nature of the local culture is highlighted. The mystical nature of caravans and local customs is dissected, which I found very interesting. Also there were many references to the country's history, enough to wet the appetite about reading further on Afghanistan, but not enough to make one knowledgeable about it.
Overall, it is clear this is an early Michener, and the author is evolving into the national novel model he adopts later on.
______________
I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away, by Bill Bryson
I chose this book to help mitigate the reverse culture shock I was bound to experience coming back to the US after 2-1/2 yrs. It hit the spot and often had me absolutely in tears and rolling on the floor. Bryson is a colorful and incredibly funny writer, with a dry wit that is very deep and insightful at the same time.
Talk about the release of those pleasant and healthy endorphines! It was well worth the read and probably added several years onto my life, as laughter is some of the best life-lengthening medicine available.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In the world of contemporary travel writing, Bill Bryson, the bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods, often emerges as a major contender for King of Crankiness. Granted, he complains well and humorously, but between every line of his travel books you can almost hear the tinny echo: "I wanna go home, I miss my wife."
Happily, I'm a Stranger Here Myself unleashes a new Bryson, more contemplative and less likely to toss daggers. After two decades in England, he's relocated to Hanover, New Hampshire. In this collection (drawn from dispatches for London's Night & Day magazine), he's writing from home, in close proximity to wife and family. We find a happy marriage between humor and reflection as he assesses life both in New England and in the contemporary United States. With the telescopic perspective of one who's stepped out of the American mainstream and come back after 20 years, Bryson aptly holds the mirror up to U.S. culture, capturing its absurdities--such as hotlines for dental floss, the cult of the lawsuit, and strange American injuries such as those sustained from pillows and beds. "In the time it takes you to read this," he writes, "four of my fellow citizens will somehow manage to be wounded by their bedding."
The book also reflects the sweet side of small-town USA, with columns about post-office parties, dining at diners, and Thanksgiving--when the only goal is to "get your stomach into the approximate shape of a beach ball" and be grateful. And grateful we are that the previously peripatetic Bryson has returned to the U.S., turning his eye to this land--while living at home and near his wife. Under her benevolent influence, he entertains through thoughtful insights, not sarcastic stabs. --Melissa Rossi
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I chose this book to help mitigate the reverse culture shock I was bound to experience coming back to the US after 2-1/2 yrs. It hit the spot and often had me absolutely in tears and rolling on the floor. Bryson is a colorful and incredibly funny writer, with a dry wit that is very deep and insightful at the same time.
Talk about the release of those pleasant and healthy endorphines! It was well worth the read and probably added several years onto my life, as laughter is some of the best life-lengthening medicine available.
-------------------
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In the world of contemporary travel writing, Bill Bryson, the bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods, often emerges as a major contender for King of Crankiness. Granted, he complains well and humorously, but between every line of his travel books you can almost hear the tinny echo: "I wanna go home, I miss my wife."
Happily, I'm a Stranger Here Myself unleashes a new Bryson, more contemplative and less likely to toss daggers. After two decades in England, he's relocated to Hanover, New Hampshire. In this collection (drawn from dispatches for London's Night & Day magazine), he's writing from home, in close proximity to wife and family. We find a happy marriage between humor and reflection as he assesses life both in New England and in the contemporary United States. With the telescopic perspective of one who's stepped out of the American mainstream and come back after 20 years, Bryson aptly holds the mirror up to U.S. culture, capturing its absurdities--such as hotlines for dental floss, the cult of the lawsuit, and strange American injuries such as those sustained from pillows and beds. "In the time it takes you to read this," he writes, "four of my fellow citizens will somehow manage to be wounded by their bedding."
The book also reflects the sweet side of small-town USA, with columns about post-office parties, dining at diners, and Thanksgiving--when the only goal is to "get your stomach into the approximate shape of a beach ball" and be grateful. And grateful we are that the previously peripatetic Bryson has returned to the U.S., turning his eye to this land--while living at home and near his wife. Under her benevolent influence, he entertains through thoughtful insights, not sarcastic stabs. --Melissa Rossi
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