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A review by poachedeggs
The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuściński
4.0
This isn't a review so much as it is a reflection on my own struggles with non-fiction.
As an avid reader of fiction, I have always found reading non-fiction a bit of a chore. I say this guiltily as well because I suspect that my faculty for entering another world is at least partially borne of a desire for escapism. Reading non-fiction makes me feel rather inadequate, and I see it more as a mentally salubrious rather than as an enjoyable activity.
Over the past couple of years though, I have read quite a few good non-fiction books that have ended up being both entertaining and enlightening.
The Shadow of the Sun is certainly not 'entertaining'. What it is, is at times poetical, amusing, and more often than not, dark.
Is there hope for an Africa where even animals struggle to survive, where crazed maniacs can seize power at the drop of a hat, where a large hole in the road - which Kapuscinski compares to evil itself - becomes the source of a thriving economy?
The vastness, beauty and steadfastness of the land and its people are stunning, but its very diversity and size assist in the establishment of corrupt structures. Hopefully things are much better now in the 21st century but this book made me realise how ignorant I am of this large continent, and I should really remedy that...
Two minor criticisms: because this book is a series of essays strung together, there are repeated images/ facts across different chapters; also, the translation seems slightly awkward at times.
More serious criticism and a fascinating overview of the writer's life is available at wikpedia.org.
As an avid reader of fiction, I have always found reading non-fiction a bit of a chore. I say this guiltily as well because I suspect that my faculty for entering another world is at least partially borne of a desire for escapism. Reading non-fiction makes me feel rather inadequate, and I see it more as a mentally salubrious rather than as an enjoyable activity.
Over the past couple of years though, I have read quite a few good non-fiction books that have ended up being both entertaining and enlightening.
The Shadow of the Sun is certainly not 'entertaining'. What it is, is at times poetical, amusing, and more often than not, dark.
Is there hope for an Africa where even animals struggle to survive, where crazed maniacs can seize power at the drop of a hat, where a large hole in the road - which Kapuscinski compares to evil itself - becomes the source of a thriving economy?
The vastness, beauty and steadfastness of the land and its people are stunning, but its very diversity and size assist in the establishment of corrupt structures. Hopefully things are much better now in the 21st century but this book made me realise how ignorant I am of this large continent, and I should really remedy that...
Two minor criticisms: because this book is a series of essays strung together, there are repeated images/ facts across different chapters; also, the translation seems slightly awkward at times.
More serious criticism and a fascinating overview of the writer's life is available at wikpedia.org.