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G's Reviews > King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
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3.5 stars.
Had very mixed feelings on this one, which were ameliorated somewhat by the author's note (in which Hochschild identified the same primary issue with the text that I struggled with on my read), and by the realization that this was originally released in 1998. I wish I could go back in time and remember what I knew about the Congo / the Belgian terrorizing of same then. Post Ph.D., a lot of the information here felt like old hat (though again, I get the idea that almost 20 years ago, it was revelatory), and not that vivid or well-realized in its style. Leopold in particular didn't come to life for me, and when I compare this to something like "Lost City of Z," and Grann's evocation of Percy Fawcett, or "Dead Wake," and Eric Lawson's amazing resurrection of Capt. Turner, I feel really disappointed.
Moreover, I agree with Hochschild's own assessment that the Congo/the Congolese end up feeling incidental to the story. I never got the sense of immersion in the Congo itself as a distinct place (again, unlike Grann's version of the Amazon in "Lost City"), less the Stanley/exploration passages that opened the book. While the biased and much-destroyed historical record is obviously an immense problem here, Hochschild's statement that this part of the story is perhaps better explored in fiction anticipated my own review. And I like the shift nonfiction has made, to be less of a straight history (as here), and more of a narrative immersion.
That said, this was incredibly important to read, and I liked the clear joy Hochschild felt at unearthing interesting characters from the historical record. The duo behind the C.R.A. - Morel and Casement - comprised the most interesting part of the story for me; they were better protagonists than Leopold was an antagonist, and Casement's doomed martyrdom is incredibly powerful. I guess in the end I just wanted more Congo. I may seek out books about Lumumba. Reading about what the Belgians and the CIA did to him made me sick to my stomach.
Had very mixed feelings on this one, which were ameliorated somewhat by the author's note (in which Hochschild identified the same primary issue with the text that I struggled with on my read), and by the realization that this was originally released in 1998. I wish I could go back in time and remember what I knew about the Congo / the Belgian terrorizing of same then. Post Ph.D., a lot of the information here felt like old hat (though again, I get the idea that almost 20 years ago, it was revelatory), and not that vivid or well-realized in its style. Leopold in particular didn't come to life for me, and when I compare this to something like "Lost City of Z," and Grann's evocation of Percy Fawcett, or "Dead Wake," and Eric Lawson's amazing resurrection of Capt. Turner, I feel really disappointed.
Moreover, I agree with Hochschild's own assessment that the Congo/the Congolese end up feeling incidental to the story. I never got the sense of immersion in the Congo itself as a distinct place (again, unlike Grann's version of the Amazon in "Lost City"), less the Stanley/exploration passages that opened the book. While the biased and much-destroyed historical record is obviously an immense problem here, Hochschild's statement that this part of the story is perhaps better explored in fiction anticipated my own review. And I like the shift nonfiction has made, to be less of a straight history (as here), and more of a narrative immersion.
That said, this was incredibly important to read, and I liked the clear joy Hochschild felt at unearthing interesting characters from the historical record. The duo behind the C.R.A. - Morel and Casement - comprised the most interesting part of the story for me; they were better protagonists than Leopold was an antagonist, and Casement's doomed martyrdom is incredibly powerful. I guess in the end I just wanted more Congo. I may seek out books about Lumumba. Reading about what the Belgians and the CIA did to him made me sick to my stomach.
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Reading Progress
December 23, 2015
– Shelved
December 23, 2015
– Shelved as:
to-read
December 31, 2016
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Started Reading
February 15, 2017
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Dana
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rated it 5 stars
Feb 17, 2017 08:29AM
Ditto, I loved the focus that Hochshild gave to Casement, and not just his involvement in the Congo, but also his personal life. And I'm glad he gave a background on Henry Morton Stanley, I didn't know anything about him.
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Dana wrote: "Ditto, I loved the focus that Hochshild gave to Casement, and not just his involvement in the Congo, but also his personal life. And I'm glad he gave a background on Henry Morton Stanley, I didn't ..."Totally agree! Stanley was an amazing figure - the dudes who became the most pivotal and/or famous early explorers are a book all on their own. That Stanley was basically a scam artist who just happened to be good at surviving in the jungle was NOT what I had thought from reading the Livingston story in other venues. His media manipulation was fascinating to read about.
And Casement was probably my favorite part of the book. What a sad, doomed guy. His snarky journals from the time he spent serving in Brazil made me laugh, and his bromance with Morel was so beautiful. It killed me that they didn't get to say goodbye when Casement was in prison.
