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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 15, 2015
Definitely changed my outlook on life!
October 30, 2015
I really enjoyed this book but I also hated it, it made me change the way that I look at things.
May 8, 2022
Loved
January 16, 2018
If only more modern authors could write like Hood. Maybe some would not dare.
This satire from 45 years ago describes the sad fate of Leofrica, a fictional newly declared republic on the West African coast — a place of good intentions, a marginal colonial economy, and virtually none of the physical, social or intellectual infrastructure needed to support itself. Leofrica also attracts the coldly calculating attentions of the world's powers.
Would a parody of Third World self-determination, written by a professor of English literature in Montreal, fall afoul of the cultural appropriation police before even being published today? (Not to mention attract eyebrow-raised comment about the nature of the two principal female characters?) That would be a sad fate because the setting, while appropriate for a pseudo-spy thriller that makes up some of the book's character, is really a metaphor for many places. And the book remains remarkably relevant in 2017 in ways that Hood might not have imagined.
Small countries shredded by the machinations of larger ones have been a continuing story for centuries and still are. Backwater places dependent on single commodities have been, as well, and still are. So are unthinking geographic and ethnic rivalries that occasionally explode into instinctive violence.
On the surface, we are dealing here with a neo-Joseph Conrad tale of colonial times.
Yet some observations anticipate the early 21st century, many of the roots of which were starting to grow about the time of the book's publication in 1972. A local corporate chieftain says: "It's theoretically — more than theoretically, it's practically possible — right now, this instant, to conduct marketing operations all over the world with the same efficiency, the same standardized packaging and production equipment as in, say, New Jersey. … National barriers are obsolete." This character is later described: "He was one of new kind of man who can envisage real social institutions deriving from American models, extended on a global scale. He was among the first true world-citizens, without affection for any particular place or set of local customs. He thought mostly about technical matters, usually related to communications, in a new kind of language as close to pictures as possible." And prescient attention is paid to the possibility of Chinese machinations in Africa.
Hood manages to tell the story in many keys: gentle wit that turns increasingly bitter, hope, despairing pity, playful and deadly accurate parodies of academic and political speaking styles, imitations of suspense/spy novels. He even had some fun by occasionally lifting characters' names from the world of hockey. It's a broad-ranging performance and one that spans historical eras.
Hood's somewhat pessimistic appeals to universal humanity — his characters include people of bravery and integrity as well as misguided, shallow and treacherous ones — make the story apply to the world at large rather than to an emerging colonial backwater in the mid-20th century time of national liberations.
Some of the particulars are even reminiscent of Alberta. Hood's Leofrica is a place largely dependent on the export of a type of oil (in this case cooking oil squeezed out of a legume), hopeful of large amounts of foreign investment, led by a small cadre of educated professionals, always forced to balance political demands based on rival geographic regions with quite different social foundations.
All in all, this blessedly short novel is an astonishingly rich performance. And another example of why it's surprising that Hood, while not up in, say, Alice Munro territory, has not remained better known and more widely celebrated.
This satire from 45 years ago describes the sad fate of Leofrica, a fictional newly declared republic on the West African coast — a place of good intentions, a marginal colonial economy, and virtually none of the physical, social or intellectual infrastructure needed to support itself. Leofrica also attracts the coldly calculating attentions of the world's powers.
Would a parody of Third World self-determination, written by a professor of English literature in Montreal, fall afoul of the cultural appropriation police before even being published today? (Not to mention attract eyebrow-raised comment about the nature of the two principal female characters?) That would be a sad fate because the setting, while appropriate for a pseudo-spy thriller that makes up some of the book's character, is really a metaphor for many places. And the book remains remarkably relevant in 2017 in ways that Hood might not have imagined.
Small countries shredded by the machinations of larger ones have been a continuing story for centuries and still are. Backwater places dependent on single commodities have been, as well, and still are. So are unthinking geographic and ethnic rivalries that occasionally explode into instinctive violence.
On the surface, we are dealing here with a neo-Joseph Conrad tale of colonial times.
Yet some observations anticipate the early 21st century, many of the roots of which were starting to grow about the time of the book's publication in 1972. A local corporate chieftain says: "It's theoretically — more than theoretically, it's practically possible — right now, this instant, to conduct marketing operations all over the world with the same efficiency, the same standardized packaging and production equipment as in, say, New Jersey. … National barriers are obsolete." This character is later described: "He was one of new kind of man who can envisage real social institutions deriving from American models, extended on a global scale. He was among the first true world-citizens, without affection for any particular place or set of local customs. He thought mostly about technical matters, usually related to communications, in a new kind of language as close to pictures as possible." And prescient attention is paid to the possibility of Chinese machinations in Africa.
Hood manages to tell the story in many keys: gentle wit that turns increasingly bitter, hope, despairing pity, playful and deadly accurate parodies of academic and political speaking styles, imitations of suspense/spy novels. He even had some fun by occasionally lifting characters' names from the world of hockey. It's a broad-ranging performance and one that spans historical eras.
Hood's somewhat pessimistic appeals to universal humanity — his characters include people of bravery and integrity as well as misguided, shallow and treacherous ones — make the story apply to the world at large rather than to an emerging colonial backwater in the mid-20th century time of national liberations.
Some of the particulars are even reminiscent of Alberta. Hood's Leofrica is a place largely dependent on the export of a type of oil (in this case cooking oil squeezed out of a legume), hopeful of large amounts of foreign investment, led by a small cadre of educated professionals, always forced to balance political demands based on rival geographic regions with quite different social foundations.
All in all, this blessedly short novel is an astonishingly rich performance. And another example of why it's surprising that Hood, while not up in, say, Alice Munro territory, has not remained better known and more widely celebrated.
September 19, 2016
Very good book. Heart warming.
November 6, 2014
Don’t judge a book by its cover. The interesting cover art, titled "Ghost" by Carol Gibson, has nothing to do with the story. The story itself is boring. Originally written in the early 1970s, the story is heavily politically-themed. The plot is difficult to follow with too many diversions and too many characters with unpronounceable names. Slow and wordy with heavy emphasis on politics and geography. Admire the cover but don’t bother with the book.
December 10, 2012
not my topic.this book was about kids on the street and it was boring i would definetly not recommend this book
June 10, 2013
This book put me in many positions, afraid yet hopeful... I liked it, don't know if I could read it again though.
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January 22, 2019Personal Response- I personally think that this book was not the best book for me. The book took a while to get into and get interesting. It mostly was not the genre/type of book I like to read or find interesting to read.
Summary- This book is about a girl name who Maybe who lived with a tribe of homeless teens. With the cold weather of January, a new girl shows up to the group her name being Tears. She is twelve and she was also abused like Maybe. The group of kids has no place to go other than the cold streets of the city, and no family except for each other. Some if not all have been abused, abandoned, and forgotten. And with this, they struggle against the cold, hunger, and constant danger of being killed of starving to death. Maybe tries to help Tears get off the streets...if it's not already too late.
Characterization- Maybe, is a strong, determined, and rebellious teenage girl, but she has one more struggle most teenage girls don't have to face; she's homeless. Throughout this book, she was forced to appreciate what she had. Throughout the book though she grew stronger and braver.
Recommendation- I recommend this book to anyone who may be able to relate to abuse or even not having much money due to it maybe being relatable. This book is not the most appropriate for anyone under middle school grades. After all, this book is sort of violent in some parts and some kids may consider it graphic. No one who is sensitive to abuse and violence should read this book
Summary- This book is about a girl name who Maybe who lived with a tribe of homeless teens. With the cold weather of January, a new girl shows up to the group her name being Tears. She is twelve and she was also abused like Maybe. The group of kids has no place to go other than the cold streets of the city, and no family except for each other. Some if not all have been abused, abandoned, and forgotten. And with this, they struggle against the cold, hunger, and constant danger of being killed of starving to death. Maybe tries to help Tears get off the streets...if it's not already too late.
Characterization- Maybe, is a strong, determined, and rebellious teenage girl, but she has one more struggle most teenage girls don't have to face; she's homeless. Throughout this book, she was forced to appreciate what she had. Throughout the book though she grew stronger and braver.
Recommendation- I recommend this book to anyone who may be able to relate to abuse or even not having much money due to it maybe being relatable. This book is not the most appropriate for anyone under middle school grades. After all, this book is sort of violent in some parts and some kids may consider it graphic. No one who is sensitive to abuse and violence should read this book
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews