Finally finished the write-up on Flight of the Goose for Front Street last night. I have to say I’m grateful to have found the site via BookCrossing and BookRelay because it has introduced me to a number of authors and genres who I might not otherwise have considered. Since starting with FSR last Summer, I’ve reviewed the following:
- Behind the Yellow Filter and its sequel Blind Spot by Stuart Held
- Beyond Peleiu by Peter D. Baird
- The Voice in my Heart by Gilbert Tuhabonye
The last one, which coincidentally was the first title I reviewed for FSR, was by far the most interesting. I can’t put my finger on the concrete reason, but I think it was because I don’t have too much awareness of Africa. I remember learning about the Rwandan genocide while in school but until I read this book I didn’t know anything of what had gone on in Burundi around the same time.
Africa for me is an odd paradox. I had a wonderful time meeting the Tanzanian delegation. Their presentation, together with the information I picked up at the Travel Show, really piqued my interest in the country but I can’t say whether I’d go. I’m interested on a variety of levels: historical because I find the story of the Olduvai Gorge and NgoroNgoro Crater to be crucial to understanding how we as a civilization came about; ecological/physical because I want to know more about Kilimanjaro and I’d love one day to climb it; and of course sheer desire to visit Zanzibar. No good reason, just because I want to.
I’d love to visit Egypt for some of the same historical reasons, Morocco for its culture and South Africa for a variety of reasons, but I don’t know whether I ever will. I remember getting a copy of On Foot Through Africa and thinking how many wonderful things she saw, but also knowing there is no way I could do what she’d done.
I have a read a few other good titles that look place, at least in part, in Africa: Take me With You by Brad Newsham, Swahili for the Broken Hearted by Peter Moore and Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux are a few off the top of my head.
It is funny how reading about a place sparks an interest in learning more. Guess that’s the sign of a well-written book. Getting back to where I started, that was what I loved about Flight of the Goose. It was a vehicle, although fictional, for me to learn more about the Inupiaq culture, which I know very little about.
I just wish I had more time to read!
