But first, a funny meme about books.
Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom. Am I a terrible person if I didn't like this book as much as other people like this book? The poignancy and life lessons learned felt a little forced to me.
The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead. Greg got me this book for Mother's Day because he's an amazing human being. This book was thought-provoking. It re-imagines the Underground Railroad of the antebellum south as an actual underground railroad, with conductors and trains and everything. It blends really, really authentic historical fiction with the fantastical in a way that I don't know if I've seen done before. That allows Whitehead to discuss a variety of social themes touching on the African American experience throughout American history in a way he probably couldn't have done otherwise. You grow to really care about the main character, Cora, but beware: this book is sad, and kind of graphic at times. It will never be one of my favorite books but I'm glad I read it.
Kaffir Boy - Mark Mathabane. I first read Mathabane in high school, and I just always remembered the name. This is a memoir of Mathabane growing up in the ghetto in South Africa during apartheid. Out of all the heinous things in his life, it just BLOWS my mind that apartheid government systematically destroyed black families (among other atrocities). Blacks were sent to live on tribal lands and could only work in cities if they had a permit and a job. No one wanted to live on desert tribal lands because there was no way to support a family, but women weren't allowed to bring families to cities if they didn't have jobs. So what ended up happening is that men lived in the ghetto in government dorm style housing and women stayed on the impoverished tribal land--and never saw their families. If families did live together in the ghetto, they often did so illegally, and their children grew up terrified of police brutality. Reading this heart-breaking memoir just reiterated my belief about how important strong families are for the health of a society. Anyway, great read. I love memoirs.
The Elephant Whisperer - Lawrence Anthony. So this book also took place in South Africa, and it was very informative to read both books together--one written from the perspective of a young black in the ghetto of Johannesburg, and one written by an older white man who was trying to run a game reserve in Zululand. This is also the first audio book I have listened to by myself...usually when I do audiobooks it is so Greg and I can listen to something together. While it was super nice to have something good to listen to while I was doing dishes or driving or whatever, I kind of missed the smell of the paper, turning back a few pages to reread something, seeing the beautiful African names spelled out...I don't know. I'm old-fashioned I guess. Anyway, I now LOVE elephants and this book was beautiful...perhaps even overly sentimental at times. This made me want to read more from Lawrence Anthony. Also I really really need to go on a safari. One day, it'll happen. One day.
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