The story of the two sisters, Marlowe and Harper, charms and strikes a chord in reader’s heart. Strengthening the importance of sisters’ love, attachmThe story of the two sisters, Marlowe and Harper, charms and strikes a chord in reader’s heart. Strengthening the importance of sisters’ love, attachment, and engagement, the novel illustrates the hardship of grief. When I first reached out for this book I was aiming to find a birthday present for my sister however ended up being completely delighted by its formula. I was enchanted by the sensible openheartedness the author was describing the nature of life. Hannah Bent was growing up with her three years older sister with a down syndrome who would always astonish everyone with her joy for life (Bent, 2021). The novel spoke to me on so many levels giving me a huge appreciation for my family, and wonders I attempt to admire every day in a new thankful way. Watching our close relatives die is a heartbreaking process turning into long years of mourning. Marlowe and Harper’s sweet sacrificial love reminds us that people dear to us never really pass away as they live and hum in our souls. Briefly, I could not agree more with the Trent Dalton’s comment on a novel: “What a gift.”
One of the comments made by the reviewer of George Lamming’s work, V. S. Pritchett was: “We are in the heart of a coloured or half-coloured community,One of the comments made by the reviewer of George Lamming’s work, V. S. Pritchett was: “We are in the heart of a coloured or half-coloured community, sharing its sudden, unreasonable passions… its naïve illusions about the world outside” (qtd. in Brown 681). I believe that as many ambitious novels, In The Castle of My Skin is challenging to read and touches compound structures of meanings to decode. Coming of age novels often present sentiments common for all adults as they refer to certain nostalgy. In George Lamming’s case it is not that simple to interpret the novel especially if one comes from Commonwealth culture. Firstly, as the author analyses in The Pleasures of Exile (229), living in a colonial reality means to be detached from his own origin culture by imperialism. Caribbean people are mostly descendants of captive Africans and to many of them that continent is very close to their heart. In common speech, exile does indeed mean a physical absence being banned or unable to return to one’s land. David W. Hart defines this interior exile which might constitute "either an intellectual turn away from home or an emotional turn inward to the self" (qtd. in Wheat 5). G. is on a mental exile from his sense of belonging. As he grows older he detaches himself from his village and leaves to Trinidad. Meanwhile Trumper returns from the United States for a visit. Young men discuss the difference in reality and perspective of seeing oneself: There ain’t no “man” an’ there ain’t no “people.” Just nigger an’ Negro. An’ little as that seem ‘tis a tremendous difference. It make a tremendous difference not to the whites but the blacks. ‘Tis the blacks who get affected by leavin’ out that word “man” or “people.” That’s how we learn the race. ‘Tis what a word can do. Now there ain’t a black man in all America who won’t get up and an’ say I’m a Negro an’ I’m proud of it. We all are proud of it.” (289) It appears that the reality narrows down to the point of how an individual thinks about oneself. The feeling of inferiority might dictate one’s possibilities by limiting personal ambitions as well as potential. I perceive In The Castle of My Skin as a very intellectually stimulating and I believe that V. S. Pritchett’s impression lacks certain ability of co-feeling. The consciousness of all the unknown ahead existing might be at times paralysing as it requires to leave one’s known behind. This is the reason why the cultivation of one’s value and origin is essential for self-growth and being honest with oneself in accordance to one’s believes. In a larger spectrum it refers to the rebirth of the nation after colonialism. Calypso Rose, Trinidad musician when singing her beautiful song Calypso Blues reminds Caribbean women of their beauty and authenticity encouraging them not to be afraid of identifying with their culture not following foreign trends: Dese yankee girl give me big scare, Is black de root, is blonde de hair. Her eyelash false, her face is paint, And pads are where de girl she ain't She jitterbug when she should waltz, I even think her name is false. But calypso girl is good a lot, Is what you see, is what she got. (2:15)
Brown, Dillon J. “Exile and Cunning: The Tactical Difficulties of George Lamming.” Contemporary Literature, vol. 47, no. 4, 2006, pp. 669-694. Calypso Rose. Calypso Blues. YouTube, uploaded by Calypso Rose, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPQ0P... Lamming, George. In The Castle of My Skin. Longman, 1987. Lamming, George. The Pleasures of Exile. University of Michigan Press, 1992. Wheat, Celeste A . “Examining Colonialism and Exile in George Lamming's In the Castle of My Skin (1953), The Emigrants (1954), and The Pleasures of Exile (1960) Journal of Colonialism & Colonial History”. Baltimore, vol. 10, no. 3, 2009....more
Tipani comprises the selected poems of Ian George, Christine Hatcher, Harry Ivaiti, Jon Jonassen, Kauraka Kauraka, Florence Syme, Makiuti Tongia, and Tipani comprises the selected poems of Ian George, Christine Hatcher, Harry Ivaiti, Jon Jonassen, Kauraka Kauraka, Florence Syme, Makiuti Tongia, and Manu Tutapu. The volume tackles complex problematics of racism “Racial Discrimination”, sense of belonging “Coral Beach”and “Home”, morality “My Dad”, nostalgy “Shell” and “When I Leave”, love ”Mother”, self-disclosure “I Walk”. The compositions such as “Ngapoko Bertram” convey the strong connection to origin and ancestry which form inseparable component of identity. The authors do not restrain from raising difficult matters of the pressure in between Global North and South “Forgotten Shelves” and tackle the issues caused by both Internal “Drunen Moods” and external factors “Service on Mangaia”, “Kia Orana”. The collection of poems encourage to observe and confront, react and response. Tipani could be briefly described by Jim W. Corder’s words, who said “[r]hetoric is love, and it must speak a commodious language, creating a world full of space and time that will hold our diversities” (1985, 31). “Harmony not prejudice”, by Christine Hatcher, is one of the volume’s poems which might be quoted to represent its overall character and aim to navigate through inequalities and calling for change:
Stop! blaming the colour God happened to find on his palette the morning of your birth. Imagine the monotony were we all the same
Look! beyond mere pigment to what people really are instead of condemning with prejudice and ignorance making fear you master.
Find! the antidote to this poison which kills compassion separates humans, cultures nurturing only sad losses denying the richness of knowledge.
Free! your mind from debilitating pollution. Yes! We are all different, unique- but let’s select only the best as gifts for our children (7)
Corder, J. W. (1985). Argument as Emergence, Rhetoric as Love. Rhetoric Review, 4(1), 16-32. Tongia, M., & Kauraka, K. (1991). Tipani: Poems of The Cook Islands. Tauranga Vananga. ...more
A Bird in The House is a collection of stories particularly relevant to study from the perspective of recent events in Canada due to the discovery of A Bird in The House is a collection of stories particularly relevant to study from the perspective of recent events in Canada due to the discovery of the 215 children mass grave. The post colonial reality is observed and narrated from the perspective of a young girl Vanessa. She comments on the events from her childish point of view however relates to them after all as an adult women reflexively coming back to the childhood of her memories. One of the concepts highlighted in the stories is undoubtedly family values such as ”the McLeods do not tell lies” (48) which appear regularly and form a strong relationship between its members. The distinction between people to upright and downright is based on the belief that happiness comes from hard work. There is no doubt that the whole family is closely bonded and love each other dearly. Narrator, however, through child’s voice, sarcastically comments on clan’s mottos when Vanessa notices their pathos: “it did not seem to me that any of us were going to lead very interesting lives” (50). Vanessa describes her family with affection yet she remains objective and draws her own conclusions based on what she sees. Each of the stories conveys a meaningful message in relation to family, friendship, war, and love simultaneously touching very difficult subjects such as racism and indifference. The white protagonists in the story would compare themselves to indigenous people with no understanding of genocide’s trauma. As they come from wealthy families, they most usually have a privileged position in comparison to less fortunate people. It seems that the only person who could try to put himself in Piquette’s position is Ewin. When Vanessa says: “Piquette might have been the only one, after all, who had heard the crying of the loons” (120), she realises the social inequalities which pushed a divorced and helpless Métis mother of two into addiction and poverty what results in tragic death. In this context, Margaret Laurence presents prejudice in forms of racism and how the settler’s mindset and ideology blurs the image of actual situation. Through the pompous slogans and dogmas, the community prevents themselves from feeling excessive emotions in their families but as well as avoids reflexions about people out of their circles.
Laurence, M. (1993). A Bird in The House. The University of Chicago Press....more
The horrific Duvalier regime lasting from 1957-1986 had as its aim to break women’s spirit, deprive them from their ability to vote and basic human riThe horrific Duvalier regime lasting from 1957-1986 had as its aim to break women’s spirit, deprive them from their ability to vote and basic human rights changing females to “enemies of the state” (Francis 78). This dark period degrading women as people allowed criminals and other assaulters to hurt innocent people. Edwidge Danticat’s novel analyses many aspects and forms of gendered violence on various platforms. The physical forms of violating woman’s body in the novel constitute rape and “testing” which has a lifelong consequences on ability to trust, love. Edwidge Danticat illustrates the tragedy of individual story in order to metaphorize the suffering of millions of women who during Duvalier’s regime were humiliated, raped or murdered. In Breath, Eyes, Memory, Sophie’s mother is most probably raped by one of the Tonton Macoutes. The traumatic experience forces her to leave her newborn child and move to New York. Her nightmares and anxiety keep her in constant pain and fear what finally leads to her mental instability. Furthermore, the narrative intensively yet beautifully elaborates on the complexities of mother daughter relationships. The short story which belongs to one of the Sophie’s memory treasures is the one when her mother, while “testing”, tells her about two inseparable lovers Marassas, who would constantly admire and keep each other company. Martine says that their bound was so strong because they were so much alike and so much is the connection between a mother and daughter: “The love between a mother and daughter is deeper than the sea” (85). The lack of affection and demonstrations of unconditional love from her depressed mother makes Sophie at times aloof and lonely in society. She feels abnormal and abandoned, deprived of love and attention as she feels that she is “not allotted the same rights that are seemingly inherent to everyone else” (Hunt 129). Breath, Eyes, Memory is the novel which honours all mothers and sometimes difficult choices they had to make. The story accentuates the importance of empathy, memory, and love as stronger than violence, loneliness, and death. Edwidge Danticat, in her interview from 1994 for NJN Public Television says: Part of it is my story but the greater part of it is the story of a lot of women who are in my family, women that I know from other places. I draw from a lot of different stories so it’s not; in some ways it is my story but… it is a greater story than my own. (2:39) By quoting painful and dramatic stories in her novels, she represents oppressed women who everyday make attempts to live normal life and accept their past. I find Edwidge Danticat’s novel as one of the most uncompromising and honest narrations which are touching in an intense and emotionally challenging way.
Danticat, Edwidge. Amber Edwards’s interview with Edwidge Danticat for State of The Arts. YouTube, uploaded by NJN Public Television, 30 Jan. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeBgh... Danticat, Edwidge. Breath, Eyes, Memory. Abacus, 2009. Francis, Donette A. “Silences Too Horrific to Disturb: Writing Sexual Histories in Edwidge Danticat's Breath, Eyes, Memory." Research in African Literatures, vol. 35, no. 2, 2004, pp. 75-90. Hunt, Michelle. “Women as Commodities in Danticat's Breath, Eyes, Memory and Morrison's The Bluest Eye.” Pennsylvania Literary Journal, vol. 8, no. 2, 2016, pp. 120-149....more
Sia Figiel’s stories place women in a first place as the ones experiencing injustice and finding their ways to cope with pain and isolation individualSia Figiel’s stories place women in a first place as the ones experiencing injustice and finding their ways to cope with pain and isolation individually. She illustrates the hardship of belonging, trauma, physical and emotional violation, and gender inequalities. The strength of the protagonists underlines the necessity of speaking out the truths and sharing stories from one’s own perspective listening to one’s own heart, feelings, and body. In her novels and collections of poems, through eyes of children and teenagers, this Samoan author elaborates on the “strict social taboos around the expression of female sexuality” (Ramsay 4), severe consequences of disobedience, constant perils of sexual harassment and physical threats, the necessity of vigilance, and resilience. Where We Once Belonged, awarded with Commonwealth’s Writer Prize, constantly raises much debate among Samoan society by touching multiple important subjects such as violence and rape. The perspective of Alofa, which means “love”, at times relates to the glamourised concept of eroticised love common in western imaginary of South Pacific, in order to subsequently illustrate how uncompromisingly different is the actual reality (Benson & Conolly). The composition of Sia Figiel’s novels attempts to unveil the feelings and emotional insight into prepubescent and teenage girls confronting sexual abuse in their environment and aloofness in adults’ world. Violence against children and women is a prevalent problem in Samoa where authors are on spotlight as they elevate their concern regarding subjects deemed by the society as private (Figiel qtd. in Cowling 34). Additionally, there is a popular belief that violence is acceptable to certain extent if does not bring any serious complications (Boodoosingh et al 39). Where We Once Belongs illustrates how aggression and double standards for women are the part of community’s everyday life. On the first pages of the book we learn that children are often the persons of interest for local predators: “Boys paid her money just to smell her panties, grown men paid her money, too, just to smell her panties and bra” (12). Christian values and purity are always one first place as children are expected to be humble, quiet, and obedient. Any attempt to break the rules of moral purity are severely punished with physical brutality in order to protect the family’s honour and reputation. Girls are in constant fear of not only sexual assault itself but as well of the stigma and punishment that might come after. In a strongly structured and patriarchal community they stand a small chance of having the opportunity to tell their story and have the right to defend it. Furthermore, Sia Figiel’s compositions accentuate the role of storytelling when dealing with post trauma. Sharing one’s story might bring a relief however sometimes her protagonists are not able to find out if speaking out the truths would release them from pain.
Boodoosingh, Ramona, et al. “Research Briefing: Violence against Women in Samoa.” Women’s Studies Journal, vol. 32, no. 1-2, 2018, pp. 33-56. Cowling, Wendy E. “Island Lives: The Writing of Sia Figiel (Samoa) and Celestine Hitiura Vaite (Tahiti).” Junctures: The Journal for Thematic Dialogue, vol. 6, no. 12, 2009, pp. 29-41. Figiel, Sia. Where We Once Belonged. Kaya Press, 1999. Ramsay, Raylene. “Indigenous Women Writers in The Pacific: Déwé Gorodé, Sia Figiel, Patricia Grace: Writing Violence as Counter Violence and The Role of Local Context.” Postcolonial Text, vol. 7, no. 1, 2012, pp. 2-18. Teaiwa, Teresia K. "Figiel, Sia (1967-).” Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English, edited by Eugene Benson, and L. W. Conolly, Routledge, 2nd edition, 2005. ...more
Ogarnęła mnie ogromna nostalgia, ponieważ część z tych osobistych wspomnień przywiodło mi na myśl moich drogich dziadków, za którymi tęsknię każdego dOgarnęła mnie ogromna nostalgia, ponieważ część z tych osobistych wspomnień przywiodło mi na myśl moich drogich dziadków, za którymi tęsknię każdego dnia. Relacje z bliskimi są czasami trudne, wymagające ale zawsze angażujące, pełne uczuć i oczekiwań. Kiedy umierają świat wali nam się pod stopami a żałoba to najtrudniejszy okres do przejścia. Szczególnie jeżeli chodzi właśnie o te "rzeczy", części nie można zatrzymać, o części przedmiotów które zostały pozostawione nie możemy sami decydować, po prawdzie nawet straciły swoją wartość bo nie ma już przy nich osób z nimi związanych. Dawne miejsca, obrazy, rzeczy codzienne i tak zwyczajne już nigdy nie wrócą i nigdy chociażbyśmy za to wszystko oddali nie możemy przeżyć ich po raz ponowny, jak tylko w swoich myślach i wspomnieniach a i one również zacierają się z czasem. Książka M. Wichy została właśnie jedną z moich ulubionych, bardzo prawdziwa i szczera, może przez to właśnie, że czuć te niedopowiedzenia i jak dużo przemilcza świadomie, taka góra lodowa....more
Bardzo poważna książka, która skłoniła mnie do wielu refleksji. Przede wszystkim może być istotna dla tych, którzy stracili ważną ukochaną osobę. MyślBardzo poważna książka, która skłoniła mnie do wielu refleksji. Przede wszystkim może być istotna dla tych, którzy stracili ważną ukochaną osobę. Myślę, że będę do niej wracać po latach nawet jeżeli jej lektura jest wyczerpująca....more
Przezabawna książka, niesamowite poczucie humoru, satyra tak niebanalna, urzeka poziomem absurdalności. Rzadko bywa bym tak zaśmiewała się w trakcie lPrzezabawna książka, niesamowite poczucie humoru, satyra tak niebanalna, urzeka poziomem absurdalności. Rzadko bywa bym tak zaśmiewała się w trakcie lektury, szczególnie czytając tak genialne komentarze i cały ten przekomiczny świat Dickens!...more
Książka wpadła mi szczęśliwym trafem w momencie, w którym bardzo jej potrzebowałam! Oczywiście cieszyłabym się jeszcze bardziej, gdyby wpadła mi w rękKsiążka wpadła mi szczęśliwym trafem w momencie, w którym bardzo jej potrzebowałam! Oczywiście cieszyłabym się jeszcze bardziej, gdyby wpadła mi w rękę przed paroma laty ale skaczę z radości, że miałam okazję do niej dotrzeć w ogóle! Cała książka tak naprawdę opisuje wnioski, przemyślenia i zbiór doświadczeń identyczny z tymi, które wyrabiamy sobie całe życie, niestety ciężko jest je wszystkie zebrać w spójną całość, lub czasem lekko przytłoczeni życiowymi decyzjami, zapominamy, że te najprostsze i najszczersze intencje dają najlepsze i prawdziwe rezultaty. Niesamowita pozycja dla każdego, kto musi przypomnieć sobie parę bezsprzecznych prawd. Do tej książki zajrzę na pewno jeszcze nie jeden raz!...more
Na początku książki wydaje nam się, że główny bohater, dziecko bogatych rodziców, zblazowane, znudzone elitarnymi szkołami, grą wybitnych aktorów orazNa początku książki wydaje nam się, że główny bohater, dziecko bogatych rodziców, zblazowane, znudzone elitarnymi szkołami, grą wybitnych aktorów oraz nocnymi klubami tuła się z kąta w kąt snując irracjonalne marzenia i plany. Stopniowo odsłania się nam obraz młodego człowieka w depresji, który oscyluje pomiędzy błazenadą, napadami głupawek a głębokim znużeniem życiem, melancholią. Kiedy lituje sie nad ubogim kolegą, czy naiwną koleżanką tak naprawdę żal mu jest samego siebie. Kiedy siostrzyczka Phoebe prosi by powiedział co lubi, w głowie pojawiają mu się tylko niewyraźne obrazy oraz skojarzenia, w tym tragiczna śmierć jednego z kolegów, z którym nawet blisko się nie przyjaźnił co ujawnia jego fascynację śmiercią. W Nowym Jorku, w ciemnym pokoju o nocnej porze wynurza sie tragiczny obraz przygnębionego i zagubionego chłopca, który broni swoich przyjaciół oraz pomaga wszystkim, którzy są w potrzebie, współczuje innym, ponieważ sam współczuje sobie. Wydaje się, że w jego najbliższym otoczeniu cała rodzina pogrążona jest w nigdy niekończącej się żałobie a i nawet znajomym rodziny nie może zaufać i poczuć się bezpiecznie pod ich dachem. W pewnym momencie mówi “Lubię, kiedy się ludzie czymś szczerze przejmują. To jest sympatyczne.” Doskonale go rozumiem. Opowieść o Holdenie to opowieść o beznadziei, uzależnieniu od niepewności i strachu, o ucieczce przed samouświadomieniem i odpowiedzialnością za swoje jestestwo czyli historia stara jak świat ale w jaki piękny sposób opowiedziana....more
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