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Landscapes of Silence
A dazzling tapesty of personal memory and distant landscapes from the renowned anthropologist and film-maker, Hugh Brody.
This is a book about silences. And land.
It is about a childhood in England in the shadow of the Second World War, the Derbyshire hills, a kibbutz in Israel and the deep Canadian Arctic.
Growing up on the outskirts of Sheffield, Hugh Brody ate roast beef and Yorkshire pudding but was always given to understand that the real, the perfect food came from his mother’s home, Vienna. He attended Hebrew classes three times each week but was sent off to a Church of England boarding school. Conflicted and bewildered, he sought places to which he could escape – but everywhere he discovered deep and troubling silences.
He takes us on his first journeys to the Arctic, a world so far removed from anything he had known as to be a chance to learn, all over again, what it can mean to be alive. As he reveals, the realities of the far north were a joy, but even there he found abuses of the people and the land – and voices that were deeply silenced by the forces of colonialism.
In these landscapes, human well-being appears to be both possible and impossible. Yet in memory, in the land, in the defiance of silence, Hugh Brody sees a profound humanity – as well as hope.
This is a book about silences. And land.
It is about a childhood in England in the shadow of the Second World War, the Derbyshire hills, a kibbutz in Israel and the deep Canadian Arctic.
Growing up on the outskirts of Sheffield, Hugh Brody ate roast beef and Yorkshire pudding but was always given to understand that the real, the perfect food came from his mother’s home, Vienna. He attended Hebrew classes three times each week but was sent off to a Church of England boarding school. Conflicted and bewildered, he sought places to which he could escape – but everywhere he discovered deep and troubling silences.
He takes us on his first journeys to the Arctic, a world so far removed from anything he had known as to be a chance to learn, all over again, what it can mean to be alive. As he reveals, the realities of the far north were a joy, but even there he found abuses of the people and the land – and voices that were deeply silenced by the forces of colonialism.
In these landscapes, human well-being appears to be both possible and impossible. Yet in memory, in the land, in the defiance of silence, Hugh Brody sees a profound humanity – as well as hope.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published September 13, 2022
10 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 13, 2025
Hmm, this started off well and I was enjoying Hugh's recounting of his childhood and upbringing, then his relationship with his mother and how her death affected him.
The chapters of the book dealing with him living in the Canadian Arctic are interesting and informative, if not a little repetitive at times.
The falling down point for me was his discussion of Israel. Brody spends time on a kibbutz as a younger man, getting to know "Socialist Zionist" members who are mainly pacifists. He visits far removed family members in different parts of Israel and pretty much insults them by his indifference towards their horrific past and journeys to safety. He questions whether war criminal Adolf Eichmann deserves the death penalty! He discusses Palestine as "Occupied" and then looks at the two wars fought by Israel against neighboring Arab states through a biased lens. Brody is an apologist. Despite all the horror and suffering his family and other Jews have been through, he is a critic of the existence of Israel. This doesn't sit well with me. He presents a one sided view of the Israeli state as aggressive and authoritarian, but fails to give credence to the constant threat faced by them on all sides and also seems to forget that Jews have lived in "Palestine" since biblical times.
The bias shown by Brody is disappointing, and it dampened my enjoyment of the book. When someone pretty much negates the experience of their own persecuted people, something is amiss.
2 stars, disappointing.
The chapters of the book dealing with him living in the Canadian Arctic are interesting and informative, if not a little repetitive at times.
The falling down point for me was his discussion of Israel. Brody spends time on a kibbutz as a younger man, getting to know "Socialist Zionist" members who are mainly pacifists. He visits far removed family members in different parts of Israel and pretty much insults them by his indifference towards their horrific past and journeys to safety. He questions whether war criminal Adolf Eichmann deserves the death penalty! He discusses Palestine as "Occupied" and then looks at the two wars fought by Israel against neighboring Arab states through a biased lens. Brody is an apologist. Despite all the horror and suffering his family and other Jews have been through, he is a critic of the existence of Israel. This doesn't sit well with me. He presents a one sided view of the Israeli state as aggressive and authoritarian, but fails to give credence to the constant threat faced by them on all sides and also seems to forget that Jews have lived in "Palestine" since biblical times.
The bias shown by Brody is disappointing, and it dampened my enjoyment of the book. When someone pretty much negates the experience of their own persecuted people, something is amiss.
2 stars, disappointing.
November 9, 2022
Such courageous writing. Each and every one of us contains a landscape of silence. Investigating and sharing these gives us the ability to look each other in the eyes and to be truly human. This is the path to empathy, to peace (which must accompany justice). In a time of global polarization, this is more important than ever.
November 23, 2022
This is the most beautiful, engaging, immersive book I've read in a long time. I borrowed a copy from the library, but will be buying the book to have on hand. Anthropologist Hugh Brody really takes the challenge to live an examined life, which takes him to Ireland, Israel and Africa and the Canadian Arctic. Brody really explores in depth what it means to be part of these tight-knight, isolated communities and how past traumas weaves through life's pathways. His expansive thinking, authentic reflections and moving calls to action were an inspiration for me to look deeper into what it means to care about social justice.
March 12, 2023
This is a compelling, beautifully written book. It makes connections between apparently quite different places and experiences. It is a sad, melancholic book but it does have a positive message, albeit a difficult one - that if we could abandon capitalism and colonialism, and if we could learn from oppressed and abused peoples, we might just be able to save ourselves.
April 16, 2023
I didn't really know what to expect except that I wanted to a read a little bit about Hugh Brody's time in the Artic. This book turned out to be exceptional: personal, insightful and it carries a profound message that is universal to the human condition.
I look forward to going back and reading (and watching) Brody's other works.
I look forward to going back and reading (and watching) Brody's other works.
February 4, 2023
His chapter title, What Have We Done?" says it all.
April 1, 2023
Exquisite
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews