Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Fascinating, but hard to read. I had to re-read a good number of pages just to clarify and follow along. Normally I would put a book like this down, but the topic was so unique - voodoo priests poisoning and judging Haitians into seeming death, their burial by their family, then their re-birth as zombi slaves to pay their debts. A true story people! I learned so much about Haiti and it's people.
As an ethnobotonast (I think) he investigates voodoo on the island of Haiti and tries to discover if there really is such a thing as zombies. I found it very interesting and was disappointed to learn that he sold the story of his journey to make a horror flick.
ze strony na stronę coraz bardziej nie mogłam się od niej oderwać. stawała się tylko ciekawsza! czytajcie!!!
I saw this as we were preparing to go to New Orleans, and it seemed apropos. After being in New Orleans and learning that many San Domingue refugees came to settle in the city after the revolution, I wondered how evolved voodoo was when the transplants settled, and how much evolved in Louisiana. Hearing about the secret societies of San Domingue and learning about the societies that brought about the jazz funerals also reminded me of the complex ways we humans turn to one another to solve social problems (lack of insurance, lack of medical care, mourning for family members when we have moved away from family, a place to hang, etc.), regardless of how disenfranchised we may seem.
Do not confuse this book with the fictional story depicted in The Serpent and the Rainbow film directed by Wes Craven. If you go in expecting a read that closely resembles that movie, you will be disappointed. This is the true story that the film was loosely based on and is not a movie novelization or movie tie-in book.
I personally enjoyed this nonfiction story much more than I thought I would. It is elegantly written; Wade Davis has a very poetic style, which helps when describing the dense and complicated topics that are covered in this book. This could have easily turned out to be a dry and boring read. However, I found it extremely fascinating as well as eye-opening.
Davis probably could have been a bit more concise at times, and I feel like the story ends a little abruptly, but, overall, this is an awesome read. I am glad to have learned much more about a culture I previously knew very little about!
I personally enjoyed this nonfiction story much more than I thought I would. It is elegantly written; Wade Davis has a very poetic style, which helps when describing the dense and complicated topics that are covered in this book. This could have easily turned out to be a dry and boring read. However, I found it extremely fascinating as well as eye-opening.
Davis probably could have been a bit more concise at times, and I feel like the story ends a little abruptly, but, overall, this is an awesome read. I am glad to have learned much more about a culture I previously knew very little about!
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Wade Davis's The Serpent and the Rainbow is, of course, nothing like the movie. Thank god. Davis, an ethnobotanist, travels to Haiti to learn the medical truths about zombification and becomes enamored of voodoo society and its practitioners. No one attacks him, no one kills his pals, and he isn't, as far as we know, in a sexual relationship with the young Rachel, his young Haitian escort. I'm not a biologist, so I won't critique Davis's explanation of the chemicals that make up the zombie powders. I would, however, love to know how accurate his descriptions of the pharmacology of zombification are. I particularly appreciated his exploration of Haitian history, one of the most complex and fascinating stories of the Americas. Moreover, his refusal to demonize Duvalier and the Ton Ton Macoute is refreshing. We all know Duvalier was a baddie, and I think it's important to explore how he came to power through embracing voodoo and its symbols.
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
informative
mysterious
slow-paced