Bookends

Ant, by Charlotte Sleigh

I've been a fan of Reaktion's Animal series for a while, although some volumes are better than others. Ant is definitely one of the good ones! Charlotte Sleigh visits science, history, myth, art ancient and modern, film, politics, fiction, and memoir as she journeys through the story of humankind's relationship to these prolific and fascinating creatures. Her ability to pull such enormous amounts of information together in an entertaining but scholarly way is delightful: a small, carefully burnished embodiment of the liberal arts ideal.

TIGER link: QL568.F7 S584 2003

Prospector link to most other volumes in Reaktion's Animal series (some of which we also own at Tutt)

Find it in a library near you with Open WorldCat

 

Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi

Nawal El Saadawi wrote this in 1979. Set in Egypt in the 1960s-70s; it is a account of Firdaus, a prisoner awaiting her death sentence. She tells her life story to a psychiatrist detailing the events that  led up to her murdering her former pimp.  It is a powerful account dealing themes of the nature of power (personal and gender-based), serveillance as it pertains to ownership, and gaining and having respect. In the story Firdaus struggles with sexuality, choice, and her ongoing, life-long captivity starting much prior to her arrest.

"Her voice continued to echo in my ears, vibrating in my head, in the cell, in the prison, in the streets, in the whole world, shaking everything, spreading fear wherever it went, the fear of the truth which kills, the power of truth, as savage, and as simple, and as awesome as death, yet as simple and as gentle as a child that has not yet learnt to lie."

It is a very human, compelling powerful story very powerfully written.  Saadawi has written many books about women in Islam.  This one with it's searing indictment of society's brutal treatment of women continues to resonate today. Thirty years lated and she is included in Twelve best books by African women : critical readings edited by Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi and Tuzyline Jita Allan fom 2009 (TIGER link: PN849.A35 T64 2009).

Years after completing this book, she was imprisoned herself in 1981. "Danger has been a part of my life ever since I picked up a pen and wrote. Nothing is more perilous than truth in a world that lies." In 1988, when her life was threatened she was forced to flee Egypt.

TIGER link: PJ7862.A3 I413 2007 

Dancing in the glory of monsters : the collapse of the Congo and the great war of Africa

More than 5 million people have died in the Congo in the past two decades, and yet U.S. media coverage of the Congo is sparse. If you're interested in the underpinnings of the chaos in the Congo, or the reasons and consequences for the Rwandan genocide (the two are entangled), this is a fascinating book. Fascinating, sobering and depressing. Author Jason Stearns interviewed many different people, from higher level actors to the "common man", who participated in, abetted, suffered or witnessed devastating conflicts.  Their different perspectives help shine light on the cruelty and complexity of the situation.

Particularly interesting and harrowing was the story of a child soldier: the awful training he survived and the field conditions he endured. Some of the reasons for enlisting children into the military are explored. Children are more malleable,  and more willing to run straight into enemy bullets.

The ravages of colonialism, ethnic rivalries, strong-men rulers, outside interests, and the presence of rich natural resources have all contributed to a failed state. Congolese elites can sell off resources, pull in outside influence, or foment ethnic hatred to maintain power. Thus there is no reason to build a strong, functioning government.  The Congo is likely to remain a failed state for the forseeable future.

Dancing in the glory of monsters: the collapse of the Congo and the great war of Africa / Jason K. Stearns. Tutt Library Stacks: DT 658.26.S74 2011

Bedford Square by Anne Perry

SUMMER READING TIME!

That said, yes I know this is number 19 in the series.  And while I prefer the earlier ones, at Tutt Library we have only have 4 from this series. Conduct a subject Search on: Pitt, Charlotte (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.  The library does have other of her books including some of the Monk series.

Anyway,  it's a fun and interesting series set in Victorian England. Charlotte is member of society.  She is also a lady who married beneath her when she wed Thomas Pitt who is a detective on London's police force. (They meet in the first book of the series, The Cater Street Hangman).  Meanwhile, Charlotte's sister has married a lord, viscount (ranks above a baron and below an earl or count - so not too shabby). Charlotte manages to live between these two worlds allowing the reader to glimpse London life in the late 1800s.  Balancing her society connections with her wifely  duties, Charlotte assists her husband in his investigations.

The mysteries are good, they do get more and more political as Pitt climbs the career ladder.  I really like the historical accuracy of the time. So if you like mystery in a historical setting, check these out.

TIGER link: PR6066.E693 B43 1999 

The Sun ; The idea ; &, Story without words : three graphic novels by Frans Masereel

While Masereel may have created these back in the 1919 and 1920s, they remain timeless. Without words to date these expressionistic woodcuts, they are also international.  Briefly put, The Sun is a struggle with destiny; The Idea depicts the triumph of an artistic concept over suppression; and Story Without Words is a tragic romance. They are also much more detailed and interesting than such short descriptions do justice to.  

Masereel, one of the greatest woodcut artists of the 20th century, lived from 1889 until 1972 creating over 20 wordless novels.

Thomas Mann, who he drew illustrations for, put it much better when he commented they are "So compelling, so deeply felt, so rich in ideas, that one never tires of looking at them."  I heartily agree and think you will too. So how about taking a break from reading words by reading pictures instead?