Tuesday, February 13, 2007

keep on blogging on...


Thanks Dagga and Halli for keeping on posting. The only books I have been reading lately are books with titles like "Spanish Now!", "Marine Life of the Sea of Cortez", and "The New Science of Skin and Scuba Diving". I started reading Pearl S. Buck's autobiography (thanks to Halli for praising her or I never would have noticed it in the giveaway box). It was excellent and she writes about her life in a very unpretentious way but it is something that requires more concentration so I've put it aside until I get home. I don't have as much quiet time here as I do at home. It's worth bringing home with me but I still might leave it behind and just borrow it because I might want to fill my suitcase with seashells instead.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

47


47 is a very good book, it´s part history of slavery in America and part Sci-fi novel.
The main character is a 14 year old slave on a cotton plantation, he does not have a name and is simply called 47 by his owners and the other slaves alike.
First you experience the horror of the main characters life and then you watch as he becomes aware of the consept of freedom through his friendship with an alien entity calling himself Tall John. This story reads almost like a fable in parts, especially the Sci-fi parts, reminding me of "the little prince" the parts describing life on the plantation are firmly grounded and real almost uncomfortably so, slavery is not something you really want to come face to face with and this book makes you take a close look at it.