#Non-fiction White Too Long
- Author: Robert P. Jones
- Title: White Too Long
- Published: 2020 July 7 chapters, 320 pages
- List of Challenges 2020
- Monthly reading plan
- My list of books about black lives
- Score: 5 ++++++
- #20BooksOfSummer20
Introduction:
- Drawing on history, public opinion surveys, and personal experience,
- Robert P. Jones delivers an examination of the
- relationship between American Christianity and white supremacy.
What is white supremacy?
It is not hooded men running around burning crosses.
It is a set of practices informed by the belief that
white people are valued more than others.
White Too Long is about R. Jones’s journey of gradual personal awakenings
to these realities.
What is on the line in the election 2020…in simple terms?
People are worried(white Christianity) about
— the changing face of America
— longing for a time when white Protestantism was the undisputed cultural power.
What is the current situation 2020 in a nutshell?
There are “…ripples signaling a deeper current.”
….racism, Anti-semitism, Islamophobia and tribalism politics.
Like water rushing through a failing dam…this energy represents
the cumulative claims for justice that have been held back
by the sheer dominance of white Christian America.
What is the core message?
This book…
— ILLUSTRATES how the white christian beliefs and practices
are dependent on the UNACKNOWLEDGED African American presence.
— DOCUMENTS the centuries-long commitment to white supremacy within White Christianity
— CALLS FOR an honest reckoning with this complicated-painful-shameful past.
Moment of humor….had to laugh!
Page 101
“…Jesus had to be white.
No proper white christian would let a brown man into their hearts
….or submit themselves to be a disciple of a swarthy Semite.”
GOOD INSIGHT: last paragraph at the end of chapter 3
see page 105!! (..read the book!)
Chapter 4: I learned about
— the pseudo-historical negationist ideology “Lost Cause” (course in basic white supremacy 101)
— UDC (United Daughters of the Confederacy)
— they placed 780 Confederate statues/plaques/Tiffany stained glass windows in churches in local communities (….100 removed in 2015 after massacre in Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church and many more removed after George Floyd’s murder on 25 May 2020)
— history, design and deeper symbolism of the Confederate flag
— support for slavery, white supremacy and new meanings for its use today (21st century)
— I was clueless about this powerful symbol!
Strong point: up-to-date (…including G. Floyd’s murder, Trump’s assimilation with a white supremacy base)
Strong point: golden opportunity for the reader to confront a violent and unflattering past in US history
Weak point…IMO: discussion about the historical role prominent white Christians (Rev. Basil Manly Sr. chapter 3), churches and seminaries had in creating and sustaining white supremacy. It was a part of the book that did not interest me. Advice? …skim through these pages but don’t give up on the book. It gets better!
Strong point: Chapter 5
R. Jones dares to approach some very delicate questions!!
How prevalent are racist and white supremacist attitudes among white Christians today? Interesting and complex statistics are explained at a level that every reader can grasp. You’ll be surprised by the results!
Strong point: Chapter 6
Robert Jones takes the reader on a visit to inspiring new museums and memorials.
If I lived closer to Mississippi and Alabama I would love to visit
The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Macon Mississippi
The National Memorial for Peace And Justice, and
The Legacy Museum both in Montgomery Alabama (see Google for more info)
Strong point: Chapter 7
The author ends the book with a very good analysis about responsibility, repair.
He uses the Bible reference of the curse of Cain to indicate
who really bears the responsibility for reckoning the past.
Page 231: ‘good quote’
“The challenge for white Americans today
…especially white Christians is whether
and how we are going to answer the questions:
“Where is your brother?”
“What have you done?”
Trivia: title “White Too Long”
This is a reference to James Baldwin’s New York Times Op-Ed
The Price May Be Too High February 2, 1969
Baldwin says:
“ …this country’s white population impressed me….
they have been white, if I may put it so, too long;
they have been marked to white supremacy too long….”
Conclusion:
This book is absolutely stunning
…in its honesty, analysis and writing skills of Robert Jones
I happened to watch CNN interview with Christine Amanpour and Mr. Jones.
I was swept away by the author’s blunt assessment of white supremacy
which is based on his stellar theological credentials:
PhD in Religion from Emory College
MDiv from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
I’ve read several “tell-all” books this year about Trump and his Administration.
But this book towers above them all….
White Too Long speaks to the problems
we are facing now with all this racial injustice in our headlines these days!
Forget Trump…he supports white supremacy, you and I both know that.
Educate yourselves….as to what we all can do to cure this cancer eating away
…at our Society.
#Summer Lockdown…August?
August 01
No walk this morning….it was raining at 05:00 hr so that was an easy decision. Temp 21 C and it so humid! I had to turn on airco in bedroom just to flip mattress and put on clean sheets….without succumbing to the oppressive air. Not used to these Florida weather conditions! So busy day….clean house etc and of course Saturday begins with #NeedCoffee + croissant! …oh, here is #Caturday painting by New England artist Serena Stevens.
August 02
5.6 km – done (05:23-07:05)…walked slowly…and had many foto opportunities!
Enjoying my coffee on this wonderful Sunday morning…thought we’d have a cloudburst just now…but as Leonard Cohen said: “There’s a crack in everything…that’s how the light gets in!” Sunrise is officially at 05:55 and I just missed it, but nevertheless I still think this snapshot is beautiful. Foto: 06:06 hr
Cat:
Look who sat just waiting for me on a fence. I haven’t see him before! So quiet, so serene….I’ll call him Frits! Foto: 06:35 hr.
I moved closer….but he just sat there enjoying his foto shoot. Foto: 06:37 hr. #NeedCoffee…. een tweede bakje! (second cup)
PS Love the green backround and the calico colors in his fur.
August 03
5,6 km – done (05:23-06:53)
No clouds, no rain so time sto slap on my walking shoes. Temp was nice 13 C…but there is a heat wave coming this week.
I was a little late for sunrise at my usual stop, so here is the first light at the duck pond. It looks like a sunset instead of sunrise! Foto: 05:49 hr.
Well, if this cat face dosen’t scare the bejesus out of you…I don’t know what will! Bruno says: “ I iz in da’ house.” Foto: 06:35 hr. Time to head back home….#NeedCoffee
Books: REVIEW
August 04
5,6 km – done (05:13-06:45)
It was dark this morning…sun is an rising at 06:05 and huge storm clouds are still hanging in the sky. One lonely car parked in Elfstedenhal car park….always makes me nervous to see something out of the ordinary….but bravely walk past it. Full moon….foto 05:45 hr
I look over my shoulder to see the sun breaking through cloud cover. Foto: 05:59 hr. Everything starts with a sunrise but it Is what we do before it sets that matters.
Heat wave is coming…so this will probably be the last majestic cloud photo for a few days. Love the heat…but boring skies….with few photographic oportunities! Foto: 06:18 hr. I have a cat breathing down my neck on the back of my chair….he want’s his breakfast! #NeedCoffee
August 05: READING…
No walk today…weather is perfect but my grocery delivery time has been changed to 07:00 am. Wah? Time to catch upon my reading…a great Canadian writer Emily St.John Mendel “Station Eleven”. Get the e-book or the paperback…you will be astounded how talented she is.
Written in 2014…..how did she know about a virus then? Spooky!
One snowy night in Toronto famous actor Arthur Leander dies on stage whilst performing the role of a lifetime (King Lear). That same evening a deadly virus touches down in North America. The world will never be the same again.
Written in 2014…..how did she know about a virus then? Spooky!
August 06
5,6 km – done (05:15-06:53)
Unbelievably warm this morning (05:30 hr)…and it is only going to get hotter….our first real heat wave of the summer.
I could hear construction behind WTC building at 05:30 …probably they are all on “tropical heat wave” working schedule. No cats or dog walkers today…sort of a ho…hum morning walk. Here is sunrise at the duck pond. Foto: 05:48 hr.
You have to look closely in the sky but there is a “geese flying team“ practicing ‘touch-and-go’ (take off and landing). I could not take a better photo because they sneaked up on me and I still had my sunglasses on. So, this is a ‘hit-and-miss’ attempt at photography.
But further in the field…. I saw the group commander (Harry the heron)….literally keeping a close eye on the new flying recruits(geese)! #NeedCoffee …and must turn on the air conditioner. Keep cool, Netherlands!
August 07
5,6 km – done (05:23-06:39)
Walks during a heat wave are just 1 hr 15 min long. No clouds, animals are staying in their shelters to keep cool….not many photo opportunities. The duck pond is the place to be for subtle pre-dawn colors. Sunrise is officially at 06:10…this foto is 05:39 hr
Sunrise in a heat wave….not beautiful…just a foreshadowing of the day to come! Foto: 06:06
August 08
5,6 km – done (06:25-07:40)
Late start after a terrible warm night….sleep at 10 PM…awake 01-02 AM…sleep…awake 03 AM…sleep etc. I was glad to get out of bed and take a walk! Temp was 22 F (71 F) at 0630 and 24 C…now. Emergency water giving to all plants and pray they survive this week! With a blistering sun hanging in the sky….it has an antiseptic sting. Nothing is moving on land…only on water. Foto today is of my faithful swans. They manage to stay refreshingly cool . I will miss them in the winter. Foto: 06:45 hr
#Caturday
Mork!
Mork insists on sleeping in his cramped carrier in 30+ C heat!!
Formula 1 ….qualification in UK Silverstone. #Heineken and snack!
August 09
5,6 km – done (05:23-07:20)…walked slowly and took many photos. Temp: 20 C….very humid but around 0700 a breeze began to blow. I was never so happy to see some cloud cover to temper this heat!
Sometimes there is nothing to see, but this morning cats, joggers, dogs and cootlings were everywhere! Sunrise was almost a duplicate of the one on 02 August (see foto). I expect a change in the sky Wednesday…..thunder showers always follow a heat wave. Foto: 06:08
As I continued my walk…the cloud cover became thicker….this reflection was stunning but unfortunately the backround is less attractive…solar panels Foto: 06:40
I’ve been walking almost daily since April….and have cultivated some friendships along the way. Remember Kevin and his mother Coot sitting on the nest? Just look at him now…swimming. At times I am speechless to see such love in the eye of a mother Coot…her boy is still having a bad hair day….but he is the most beautiful cootling to her! Foto: 07:01 hr
A day without cats? Well….unthinkable! I found this one on the end of my street…with some definite cat-titude. I call her Beyoncé. Foto: 07:17 hr
What a diva….she’s bored already! Foto: 07:17hr
Beyoncé…She can shade you with her eyes! She’s trying to get me in a position of weakness…. by not buying into this tired trap of a ‘cute cat photo shoot’!
Beyoncé: ” …we’re done here…and mic drop!”
Foto: 07:18 hr. #NeedCoffee
Just because I love photography…I want to share this amazing shot of #MaxVerstappen. WOW!
August 10
5,6 km – done (06:40-08:15)
Late start…muggy night and sporadic spurts of sleep made me turn off my alarm clock around 03:00 hr. I’ll walk when I wake up. Streets and bike paths are bustling with “woon- en werkverkeer” (commuters). During this heat wave I’m not getting up at dawn for sunrises..it is just not interesting to see the sun pop up and blind me in the eye! So today…some snapshots of the landscape. Foto: 07:35 hr
Mother nature knows how to protect her creatures….this hare blended into the backround I hardly noticed him! Look at that muscular body, rugged fur….a real #ToughGuy in the meadows! Foto: 07:35 hr
August 10
Reading…French Les années by A. Ernaux
#20booksofsummer20 Reading French with best friend in the middle of a heat wave #canicule 32 C…airco full blast. “Les années” by Annie Ernaux
#Summer Lockdown….second wave?
July 18
5,6 km – done (04:33 – 06:33 hr)
Walk slowly, wait 10 minutes for the sun to rise….and it was worth the it! I wonder how many people saw this utterly magnificent sunrise! I was speechess. The sun was veiled with a sheer cloud and resembled a sunset….the colors were so warm. Official sunrise: 05:33 Foto: 05:47 hr. The sunrise in these beautiful colors lasted just 5 minutes…but I have captured it for eternity! “Sauve quelque chose du temps, où on ne sera plus jamais” ( Annie Ernaux, book Les années, 2008)
Geese:
I took this photo at the last minute…love geese and it looked like the sunlight was just perfect. But I did not think it would turn out this well! I have to choose a good back round to give the photo composition a polished and peaceful look. Those irritating solar panels just above the reeds (NL: de rietkraag)…seem to ruin many shots. The reeds, the rippling water and the way the geese swim in perfect rows of 3 (…expect the one straggler)…was just a gift to this amateur photographer! Foto: 06:15 hr
July 19
5,6 km – done
I really wanted to stay in bed this morning but I knew I would be ridden with guilt the entire day. Very quiet Sunday morning (…no noisy trucks rushing veggies to the grocery stores). Temp 18 C (64 F) at 05:00! Some days the sun wants to stay in bed as well… Foto: 05:28 hr
July 20
European Coot
We have 3 types of friends in life: friends for a reason, friends for a season and friends for a lifetime. Carla is a friend for life! There are other coots hiding in the reeds but when I whistle…Carla swims to greet me! Foto: 06:13 hr
Summer in The Netherlands
Now if I had a boat this would be the perfect place to moor parallel alongside the quay or bank. This place is on the outskirts of town…walking paths/bike paths close by and in a 10 minute walk you are in town for a shopping day or coffee. Imagine waking up ….hearing the birds…and perhaps seeing me meandering by! Foto: 06:22 hr. #LoveTheReflection….in the mirror-like water.
Best Friend
Coffee and croissant with a friend….best way to start the week!
July 21
5,6 km – done
Good news – walks start later and I feel I’m experiencing a normal sleep cycle. Last month I felt like a dairy farmer who has to get up so early to milk the cows….Exhausting after a few days.
Bad news: more traffic, bikers and the rabbits have gone down their rabbit holes.
Sunrise (05:37 hr…you have 16 hours of sunlight to enjoy!) was hidden by some passing clouds…so I keep walking and hope to catch the light later. Foto: 05:54 hr
Heading South soon…?
One on the most haunting sounds of nature is hearing the low ‘honk’ of geese flying. It is always a sign that summer is here…but winter is coming. These geese were out for a practice formation flight before making their long trek south in a few months. As you can see they need to log in some flight hours to pull the team together in the familiar V-formation. #NeverGiveUp Foto: 05:52 hr
July 22
5,6 km – done (04:50-06:40 hr)
Struggled to get out of bed….but once I’m outside and sniff the morning air I’m glad I decided to put on my walking shoes. For the first time a car stopped to speak to me! It was a van for a security firm (beveiliging). He said I see you every day…and I said “I see you too….and it gives me a ‘safe/secure feeling’. Response by the gentleman: “That’s my job!’ Sunrise Foto: 05:35 hr
Who are you?
Not much happening in the fields and duck ponds this morning. A few bikers on the path but that’s it. My best fotos today were taken just out side my front door! This ‘rode rakker’ (Dutch for red cat) was doing his morning round….checking out the street life. Foto: 06:38 hr
Books:
Finished: 22.07.2020
Genre: non-fiction
Rating: D
#20BooksOfsummer20
Conclusion:
Bad news: parts 1-3
The low score is because of the false advertisement surrounding this book.
About 60% of this book is about her father Freddy Jr., it is a sad, irrelevant story.
Good news: part 4….powerful analysis of D.J. Trump that I very much enjoyed.
Buy the book?….wait and borrow it from the library
Books:
Classic… I never thought I would read….b/c I dislike V.S. Naipaul as a person after reading a revealing article about his dysfunctional marriage. Nobel Prize in Literature 2001 for “Bend In The River”. Short review: https://nancyelin.wordpress.com/…/classic-bend-in-the-river/
July 23
Swans:
After a late night “at the Irish theatre” ( watched streaming performance ‘The Weir’ on You Tube)
good news:…I was able to recharge my sleep batteries
bad news: I have a very upset cat who is not liking his ‘eating schedule’ being descimated. My response? “ Tell it to the Marines!” (Tell it to the Marines” is an English-language idiom, originally with reference to Britain’s Royal Marines, connoting that the person addressed is not to be believed). Still I wanted to share with you my 30 seconds of calm…swans. #NeedCoffee
July 24
Heron:
I have waited months to capture a blue heron, and today is my lucky day! Here is Harry…just chillin by the Elefstedenhal skating rink pond! 70% of herons in The Netherlands breed in our province (Friesland, see Google) known for its canals, lakes and wetlands. These birds do not head south in the winter…b/c our winters feel like a very cold Spring…so no need to fly to Benidorm, Spain! Foto: 07:40 hr
July 25
Every cloud has a silver lining and this was a beautiful sky…crisp, clear with volatile clouds in the distance. I was able to protect my camera from the downpour...but must invest in a waterproof carrier bag very soon! Foto: 07:21 hr
July 26
Art: …good read in The New Yorker
Hopper depicts solitude….not loneliness.
By being separate, we belong together
Art: Van Gogh
Location of Van Gogh’s last painting “Boomwortels” (tree roots) painted (…sadly unfinished) hours before he committed suicide in 1890, is discovered by Dutch art expert. Place: Auvers-sur-Oise
July 27
5,6 km – done (05:23-06:43 hr)
Very slow ‘photo’ morning….I was out walking early. The duck pond gives you and idea what is to come…rain, again. Foto: 05:39 hr
Not even Bruno was interested in me!
July 28
You always hear…“scattered showers expected”...and it seems they all fall on my head. Second drenching this week…and beware those little pixels on the rain radar….’buienradar’…are very big and wet! Foto: 06:24 hr
Soup:
EXCELLENT home made tomato soup
…from scratch! Dinner in 30 minutes!
Makes 3-4 servings (…depending on size of soup bowl)
Sauté in 2 TB butter…in soup pan
1 onion chopped
handful chopped celery( leaves)
2 garlic (crushed)
Sprinkle 1,5 TB flour…..mix
add 2 c. water + 1 tablet bouillon
add 14 oz can tomato chopped
salt
pepper
a…couple squeezes of tomato pasta from tube (test for taste)
add at the end….1 TB fresh pesto (optional)
add couple squirts Balsamico vinegar
add small squeeze honey!
VOILÀ
July 29
Garden:
Your 30 seconds of calm.….my garden.
July 30
5,6 km – done (05:15-07:15 hr)
High pressure means clears skies and capturing a sunrise is a challenge. It creeps up on you…but the days are 1 hr 15 min shorter than on 21 June! Foto: 06:08 hr (official sunrise 05:51 hr)
The March Hare:
This was just a rabbit on the run. I’m surprised I even got a decent foto of my furry friend. Foto: 06:10 hr
This reminded me to the March Hare…who appears to be late for his job with the Duchess (Alice in Wonderland)
July 31
Cat:
5,6 km – done (05:27-06:45)
So quiet this morning…many people are on vacation and Friday is often a day people are off from the workweek. The sun was creeping over the treetops around 06:00 hr. Only one friend was prowling the grassy path…I call her Stella. Foto: 05:37 hr #NeedCoffee
Now for something completely different…
Well, just when I thought no more photos….I run up against a car with eyelashes! Really, not painted on the hood…real curls…I touched them to make sure! It seems it is a car from a dog walker…lots of hairs and dog blanket in the back seat! #NeedCoffee and a good book. Foto: 06:59 hr
Classics Club Spin #24
I can’t look…..what is the number for #24 CC spin?
My list:
- Les années – Annie Ernaux – READ
- Rien où poser sa tête – Francoise Frenkel
- Je suis le carnet de Dora Maar – Brigitte Benkemoun
- La petit fille sur la banquiese – Adelaide Bon
- Et tu n’es pas revenu – Marceline Loridan-Ivens (Prix Lectrice Elle 2016)
- L’étrange défaite – Marc Bloch (French historian, resistance, written 1940…published 1946)
- I Wonder as I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey – Langston Hughes
- The Tradition – Jericho Brown (poetry)
- Nganajungu Yagu – C.P Green (Victorian Premier’s Prize Poetry 2020) (ALS Gold Medal 2020
- A Fool’s Errand: Creating the Nat Museum African American History and Culture – L. Bunch
- Tell Me Why: The Story of My Life and My Music – Archie Roach
- The Yield: A Novel – Tara June Winch
- Say Nothing: A True Story Of Murder and Memory In Northern Ireland – P. Keefe
- Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For – Susan Rice
- The Sixth Man: A Memoir – C. Wallace
- The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to Border Wall in the Mind of America – G. Grandin
- Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel
- Deacon King Kong – James McBride – SPIN!!
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK‘A hilarious, pitch-perfect comedy set in the Brooklyn projects of the late 1960s. This alone may qualify it as one of the year’s best novels.’ The Washington Post
- North River – Pete Hamill (1935-2020)
- Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaisto (Booker Prize 2019)
What is the spin?
- Compile list of 20 books by Sunday 9th August.
- Try to challenge yourself.
- Deadline: 30 September ….finish book and review it
- Hashtag: #ccspin
#Summer lockdown….not over yet
July 11
But before I end my morning walk….discovered the ‘new place to be’ duck pond by the Elfstedenhal (ice skating rink). Social distancing? I don’t think ducks need to bother about that. #LoveTheReflection
Politics
Wake up to this news: Trump announces a presidential pardon for his ol’ partner in crime Roger Stone convicted of 7 felony crimes. Cronyism at its best! Trump is absolutely drunk on power.
Roger Stone looks like the best dressed man at the Nuremberg Trials!
Ups and Downs
The day started healthy, 2 hour walk, fresh fruit with breakfast….then it all went south! Decided I deserved my toast, jam and butter with my coffee after 3 weeks of diet…then splurged on a dish of pasta with cherry tomatoes and ricotta cheese, cocktail hour: Heineken + cashews while watching Formule 1 and to top it all off…that last dish of coconut rum cream pudding (home-made) isn’t going to eat itself! So I was completely going wild and enjoyed myself. I looked for a cartoon…and this one made me laugh, I hope you like it!
Politics:
You tell ‘em, Claire! Former senator Claire McCaskill is on fire!
She is telling Senator Lindsey Graham…..he is a POS! (…piece of s**t!) WOW! ….have a look!
#YouGoGirl
July 12
Well, I found another way to reach my destination…sunrise at 05:25. On June 20th sunrise was at 05:09…so as the weeks pass I can sleep more in the morning! High pressure moving in so it was a blast of light (…difficult to photograph subtly) so here is the pre-show…morning mist. Foto: 05:25 CET
Cats
Bruno is back…but very wary of me! Foto: 05:56 hr. CET
Swans
This has to be the best foto of the morning….it oozes peace, calm and elegance. Just look at the contrasts: water is like a mirror, reflection and sunlight on the first swan…shimmering water, shade around the second swan. Just breathtakingly beautiful…. #NeedCoffee and hot shower!
Sports
Am I the only one who watches and loves Formule 1?
July 13
Every morning I ask myself will there be anything to photograph today? I’ve covered just about everything in the past 3 months! But…yes, there is always something new! #JoysOfRisingEarly. Here is a regular friend…..the Dutch start off early to work in the morning mist! Foto: 05:12 hr CET
The minutes before sunrise are the most beautiful. It is a matter of timing my walk and listening to the weather report. You can guess what is coming tomorrow….rain! Foto: 05:16 hr CET (official sunrise was 05:26 and around 05:36 hr I can see the sun above the trees.
Swans
What would the world be without the grace and elegance of swans?…I’m so lucky to have these two (…still thinking of names for them) in the ponds during my walks. I was a bit early so they were still in dreamland… Foto: 05:58 hr
I’ve never been so close to a swan in my life!
Riddle: What is in the water and never gets wet?
Answer: reflection
Foto: 05:59 hr CET
Ducks
Nearing the end of my walk I find these two beauties…50 shades of brown! Usually ducks are quick to fly away when I approach but these two were just #Chillin…a state of prolonged satisfactory boredom. Foto: 06:28 hr #NeedCoffee #NeedHotShower ….then I have to get this house presentable….#NeedToCleanTheFloors
Politics
Gov Cuomo is on fire….during his press conferences 1 in 5 Americans turn to Gov Cuomo for truthful information about COVID-19. He is the adult in the room these days.…!! Poster #NewYorkTough
Art ….my favorite Bansky…created art during lockdown in his home!
Yoga
It took me 3 months to get this flexible….even with my new hip! (October 2019 operation). Must always look on the positive side of a lockdown!
#Classic Bend in the River
Author: V.S. Naipaul
Title: A Bend in the River
Published: 1979
Contents: 278 pages
Trivia: Naipaul was awarded the Nobel Prize 2001.
#Classic… I never thought I would read….b/c I dislike V.S. Naipaul as a person after reading a revealing article about his dysfunctional marriage.
- List of Challenges 2019
- Monthly reading plan
- #20BooksOfSummer20
Analysis:
1. Explain the title. In what way is it suitable to the story?
A Bend in the River is a metaphor for the vanishing Arab power in Africa. “…at the bend in the river there had grown up a European and not an Arab town.” (pg 23)
2. Who is the single main character about?
A Bend in the River takes place in an unnamed country, but it can safely be identified as Democratic Republic of Congo. Salim is a young man who starts a business in a town on ‘a bend in the river’.
3. What sort of conflict confronts the leading character or characters?
a. External – escape the stifling of home vs trying to go back home, the other place (pg 285)
b. Internal – Salim is constantly ‘sniffing out the falseness in others’ (pg 182)
4. Who tells the story? First person narrator (Salim)
5. Where does the primary action take place?
Naipaul does not name the river in this novel, nor the town, country or its president.The town is at the end of the navigable river, just below the cataracts. Naipaul’s description has been interpreted to point to the town of Kisangani on the Congo river. What is the timeline? I estimate between 1970 – 1977.
6. What is the structure of the story? The books is in four parts:
The Second Rebellion (Salim’s back round)
The New Domain (economic prosperity through corrupt sources)
The Big Man (Salim’s relationships and the rise of power of the President)
The Battle (seizing foreign-held businesses)
7. How does the story get started?
Salim is driving in his Peugeot from the east African coast towards interior Congo. Nazruddin, a man from his village, had sold Salim his shop cheap. He was going to “be the master of his fate only if I stood alone.” (pg 22)
8. Briefly describe the rising action of the story.
Salim works hard to find the “short-cut to power and money” (pg 105.) Unfortunately ‘the Big Man’s ( Mobutu) “Zairianization” seizes foreign-held businesses and transfers their ownership to Zairians. This is what happened to Salim (ch 16-17)
9. What is the high point, or climax, of the story?
Salim is put in preventive detention before the President visits the town. Salim cannot bribe the police, he has no money. Yet it seems Salim does have an unexpected friend in the government.
10. Discuss the falling action or close of the story.
Salim makes a frenzied dash to buy a ticket and escape ‘a bend in the river’ on the last steamer leaving.
11. What is the general theme of the story?
Africans struggle to prosper after the liberation from European colonization.
12. Did you identify with any of the characters?
a. Hunter: Ferdinand: He was frightening.This is how he will look when he sees the victim’s blood.
b. Hunted: Salim: You don’t feel malice towards your prey. You set a trap for him. (pg 63)
13. Does this story contain any of the following elements?
a. Allusion: the Latin phrase that was engraved on a monument outside the dock gates: “Miscerique probat poulos et foedera jungi” The gods would approve a mingling of peoples and making treaties in Africa. The monument was no sooner erected…than it was torn down. Not many africans in the town agreed with this truth.
b. Foreshadowing: Ferdinand is a young boy who Salim shelters in his home and guides his education. Yet this character with his lies and exaggerations makes Salim feel as if “a web was being spun around me. I had become prey.” (pg 62)
c. Deus ex machina: unexpected intervention to rescue Salim and resolve the story’s conflict.
d. Epithet: short nickname Big Man – Naipaul never mentions the name of the the President…but it is must be Mobutu. Naipaul does mention the African leader’s walking stick and leopard-skin cap.
14. How does author use symbols to propel the plot…deeper levels of meaning about the themes?
a. Masks – Salim compares the face of Ferdinand to…certain kinds of African masks in which features are simplified and strengthened. (pg 42). It was the effect of his face on Salim ..I saw then and later as one of great power. Africans don’t show what they are feeling…but when there’s danger “His face had been like a mask at the beginning. Now he was showing his frenzy.”
b. Water Hyacinths – The symbol of water hyacinths is mentioned in many chapters: lilac-colored flowers on rubbery green vines that floated on and on, night and day. On page 183 Naipaul gives us his explanation – hyacinths, floating on during the days of rebellion they had spoken of blood, […] white in the moonlight, they had matched the mood of the particular evening. Now lilac on bright green…they spoke of other people moving on.
15. What did I NOT like?
Raymond and Yvette: reading these sections….I almost fell asleep. Raymond was the right hand man to the president and Yvette’s husband. He writes history books and speeches for the ‘Big Man’. When he realizes that none of his work is meeting the president’s standards they both just disappear!
16. What is the writing style? I read the book while listening to the audio version. I recognized a ‘rhythm’ in Naipaul’s sentences. Then I started to underline certain words and discovered that Naipaul ‘repeats’ words and phrases to make his writing flow. On page 87 beginning with the paragraph [The President… ending with …captured by the rebels], if you look at these three paragraphs in chapter 5 you will see what I mean!
Style: Naipaul tells us what he is doing on page 158: I find the most difficult thing in prose narrative is linking one thing with another. The link might just be a sentence, or even a word. It sums up what has gone before and prepares one for what is to come.
17. Does the story contain a single effect or impression for me?
The book expresses Salim’s feeling of being an outsider. He feels isolated in his little part of the world. The quote that impressed me was on page 124:
“I’d been homesick for months. But home was hardly a place I could return to. Home was something in my head. It was something I had lost.”
18. Does the story have a thematic message?
Bitter resentment among the African people towards the former European colonizers.
Conclusion:
This is a good book…but not great.
I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something missing….
The title drops you into an empty river town and lets you just … wander around.
You stumble on the right spots.
You uncover bits of a story.
There is no hook and no characters to relate to.
A Bend in the River is based on V. S. Naipaul’s observations during a 1975 visit to Zaire.
This also reminded me of the book CONGO by D. van Reybrouck, a Belgian journalist.
Both authors give vivid insights into the country of changing names:
Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire
…now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Last Thought:
- Personally I preferred Congo by Van Reybrouck which is available in English.
Score: 3
#Summer Lockdown…life goes on and on
July 8 2020
- I pass this European Coot mother on her nest every day….she’s like a Spinx, never flinching…but today she revealed her secret! Foto: 05:51 hr.
- Have you ever been this close to a Coot?
I can see mother’s watchful eye….and the cootling having one of his first ‘bad hair’ days! - Compare the cootling’s head with its mother’s head! His beak and head feathers are ……so different! As he grows he will have a nice chic black buzz haircut and prominent white beak. #MotherNature
I think this is the foto of the day…family coot taking the young whippersnapper out for a morning swim. Just look at the reflection in the water….#PerfectSymmetry #NeedCoffee
July 8 2020
- Chocolate Vanilla – Coconut Rum Cream parfait (..puddng home-made)
- ….do you believe it….today NOT ON A DIET !
Feels strange…not doing my daily walk but sometimes you have to give yourself a day off! Cooking….that is what I did and this one is a ‘keeper’ : Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes pancetta, garlic, ricotta cheese and fresh mint. I made half the recipe and the rest goes in the freezer. I had to restrain myself NOT to have a second helping instead I had a nice glass of wine…my first in 3 months!
What’s on your menu tonight? Get creative…get into the kitchen!
July 9 2020
2,5 km – done
Took the short route today….too wet and windy.
Well, it’s beautiful weather if you are a coot. I met this lady….and she was not complaining! #NeedCoffee and a good book to read in the my green chair.
Book: The Room Where It Happened
Finished: 09.07.2020 “The Room Where It Happened”
Genre: non-fiction
Rating: F
Author: John Bolton
Conclusion: short review…
I have read John Bolton’s book The Room Where It Happened.
It is like pulling teeth…difficult, tiresome and tedious.
The book was too ‘detailed’ for the average reader:
dates, time of day, and number of minutes for every meeting,
every conversation, page after page.
Is this the book Trump wanted to stop selling?
If you have kept up on the news….
Bolton revealed nothing ‘earth shattering’
….that hasn’t been leaked per-publication.
Trump should worry about his niece’s book
Too Much and Never Enough by Mary Trump.
The New York Times said,
“…the memoir was ‘bloated’ with self-importance,
even though what it mostly recounts is Bolton
not being able to accomplish very much”.
I rest my case.
#WasteOfReadingTime
July 10 2020
Busy planning my 2020 Fall Pandemic TV line-up on Netflix!
Where a mask to make sure you’ll be alive on Nov 3rd #COVID19
July 11 2020
5,6 km – done
After a few days of rain and sleeping in …it was a shock to wake up at 04:15 hr this morning. Surprised to see many cars and even 2 people on bikes roaming around at 04:30 hr (start walk).
Here is the sunrise I have been waiting days to see. If I look at that burst of light….I expect to hear the voice of God! #BiblicalScene Foto 05:39 hr
First rule when photographing the sunrise…look behind you! Blue creek with some ‘cauliflower’ clouds. Foto: 06:05 hr
In a matter of seconds….I looked up and lo’ and behold….my first rainbow during morning walks! Foto: 06:15 hr
This is a Bean goose with bright orange beak standing on one leg. Why do birds stand on one leg?
Hint: Same reason you put your hands in your pockets when it’s cold! Because the veins also cool the arteries, the bird’s feet are closer to environmental temperature and thus don’t lose as much heat as they would if they were at body temperature. And by standing on one leg, a bird reduces by half the amount of heat lost through un-feathered limbs. Foto: 06:33 hr #NeedCoffee…..time to walk back home!
#Non-fiction The Room Where It Happened
Finished: 09.07.2020 “The Room Where It Happened”
Genre: non-fiction
Rating: F
Author: John Bolton
Conclusion:
- I have read John Bolton’s book The Room Where It Happened.
- Weak point: It is like pulling teeth…difficult, tiresome and tedious.
- Weak point: The book was too ‘detailed’ for the average reader:
- dates, time of day, and number of minutes for every meeting,
- every conversation, page after page.
- Strong point? …none
- Is this the book Trump wanted to stop selling?
- If you have kept up on the news….
- Bolton revealed nothing ‘earth shattering’
- ….that hasn’t been leaked pre-publication.
- Trump should worry about his niece’s book
- Too Much and Never Enough by Mary Trump.
- The New York Times said,
- “…the memoir was ‘bloated’ with self-importance,
- even though what it mostly recounts is Bolton
- not being able to accomplish very much”.
- I rest my case.
- #WasteOfReadingTime
#Summer Lockdown…life goes on
July 3 2020 misty morning walk….
July 4 2020 – First real rainy day that kept me from my dawn walk.
Time to eat: Omelette, mushrooms, bell pepper avocado and smoked salmon….do you believe it? I’m on a diet!
- I find a great variety of recipes to make during the lockdown on NYT Cooking.
- I made Mayo-Marinated Chicken with Tikka Marsala Paste ( instead of ….chimichurri)
- It was delicious!
- I ordered the chimichurri spice….so I’ll try that next time.
July 05 2020
#Caturday just go to the kitchen for a Heineken…to celebrate Max Verstappen Dutch Formule 1 driver starting qualification run in Austria….and there in no more room to sit down in front of TV.
July 06 2020
5,6 km – done (walk 04:25 – 05:55 hr)
This was an exciting morning! Moonlight flooded the bedroom 03:00 hr and I saw a Buck Moon in clear skies! (see Google). If that wasn’t enough…suddenly I saw a moving star…it was the Inter Space Station (ISS) making a sweep orbit around the earth and above my house (1 orbit takes 90 min and crew see 16 sunrises and sunsets per day)! Wild and windy this morning with ominous clouds…should I stay home? Of course not…because I would miss this! Foto: 04:52 hr. This shot lasted 30 seconds ….then the clouds covered the moon. Again, I was in the right place at the right time! Song: “Blue moon…you saw me standing alone there, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own.”
Well, my ol’ friend was out prowling this morning. He found something in the grasses…and luckily did not notice me! I took 10 fotos just to get this one. With a zoom lens…the image is shaky when hand-held. So with some luck I got this snap!
I call him Bruno….so brazen and bold when he looks at me!
This in an example of f/2,8 aperture….de focus is on Bruno/flowers and the path behind him is blurry…less depth of field! Foto: 05:45 #NeedCoffee
- I’ve reduced the shortist to 2 women
- I think would be an excellent VP choice for 2020 election:
- Susan Rice could be Biden’s pick as VP choice.
- Mother, wife, scholar, diplomat, and fierce champion of American interests and values,
- Rice connects the personal and professional…..we wait and see.
Tammy Duckworth:
- US senator, Iraq War Veteran, Blackhawk helicopter pilot,
- Purple Heart recipient (dubble amputee, leg) flew Blackhawk heli in Iraq
- Retired with rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2014.
- She is fluent in Thai and Indonesian and has a PhD in political science.
- She is married and is the mother of 2 young girls.
- Could this woman be VP….or even President USA, you better believe it!
- If Biden choses Duckworth it would be a surprise upset!
- ….we wait and see.
I have been trying to read John Bolton’s book The Room Where It Happened….only on chapter 4. It is like pulling teeth…difficult, tiresome and tedious. Is this the book Trump wanted to stop selling? Trump should worry about his niece’s book Too Much and Never Enough by Mary Trump coming out on 14th of July.
Artist of the future Nigerian-American Toyin Ojih Odutola. This is the portrait of the writer Zadie Smith for the National Portrait Gallery London….#Beautiful…unique style!
Summer walk in lockdown July 2020
YESTERDAY….I’m speechless! This brilliant pre-sunrise lasted only 4 minutes….
5,6 km – done
Today….drab gray clouds and drops of rain….I thought I’ll never find anything to photograph this morning….but look what I found!
Start walk 04:31 hr with temp 15 C (59 F) and no wind. The sunrise, well, it was nothing really special. After yesterday’s amazing show of colors this morning paled by comparison. Foto: 05:08 hr
TODAY…what a difference in just 24 hours!
I used to jog 5,6 km 5 years ago (…before my hip started to hurt)…and I saw nothing. I felt everything, burning lungs, sweat dripping down my forehead and body temp rising. I never saw anything. Now…I walk and see EVERYTHING! This little guy was giving me the ‘over the shoulder look’ and listening with his long ears to hear predators…or photographers (me)!
This is a hare…b/c rabbits have short ears….I did not know that! Foto: 05:20 hr
Just look at the intense concentration. This cat stalks the pray …slowly approaches. I was able to catch the ‘pre-pounce’ posiiton! Look at droplets of morning dew… that little white ring on his tail…he wears a collar (has an owner) so this must be the ‘morning mouse run’ pre- ‘koffietijd…and then a snooze @home!
I too stalk…him but he is a experienced hunter.
His clothing (fur) blends into the background…camouflaged.
The points of his ears….semi-shadowed eyes…just waiting in the wet grass…. for me to pass by. This is the best photo of the morning….just beautiful even though you don’t see much! Foto: 05:45 hr
This ‘gangsta’ stopped and said: “We have to talk.” He is not used to somebody moving in on his territory. He looks like he has plenty of ‘street cred’…and we agree that I will just leave quietly. Foto: 05:50 hr
Well, a day cannot go by without stopping by my duck pond. Lighting was strange…but I call it ‘artistic’. Foto: 06:10 hr
Time to head home…#NeedCoffee
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