Mention Books During Brazzaville Beach
| Original Title: | Brazzaville Beach |
| ISBN: | 0380780496 (ISBN13: 9780380780495) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Hope Clearwater, Eugene Mallabar, John Clearwater, Usman Shoukry |
| Setting: | Republic of the Congo(Central African Republic) |
| Literary Awards: | James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction (1990) |
William Boyd
ebook | Pages: 320 pages Rating: 3.94 | 4696 Users | 350 Reviews
Explanation In Favor Of Books Brazzaville Beach
In the heart of a civil war-torn African nation, primate researcher Hope Clearwater made a shocking discovery about apes and man . . . Young, alone, and far from her family in Britain, Hope Clearwater contemplates the extraordinary events that left her washed up like driftwood on Brazzaville Beach. It is here, on the distant, lonely outskirts of Africa, where she must come to terms with the perplexing and troubling circumstances of her recent past. For Hope is a survivor of the devastating cruelities of apes and humans alike. And to move forward, she must first grasp some hard and elusive truths: about marriage and madness, about the greed and savagery of charlatan science . . . and about what compels seemingly benign creatures to kill for pleasure alone.
Specify Containing Books Brazzaville Beach
| Title | : | Brazzaville Beach |
| Author | : | William Boyd |
| Book Format | : | ebook |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 320 pages |
| Published | : | August 1st 1995 by Harper Perennial (first published September 2nd 1990) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Cultural. Africa. Contemporary |
Rating Containing Books Brazzaville Beach
Ratings: 3.94 From 4696 Users | 350 ReviewsAssessment Containing Books Brazzaville Beach
I couldn't put this book down. I connected on a weird level, maybe because I myself worked with monkeys in Africa, maybe because I see myself turning into Hope Clearwater in a couple of years, with all her scientific-minded cynicism, even though the writing style wasn't my favourite. I didn't mind the constant flip between first and third person narration. I found the part of the story before she goes to Africa (her husband's madness) incredibly boring, but I loved how the story shows that itWhen the novel opens, Hope Clearwater is living in a house on Brazzaville Beach that she owns as a result of her Egyptian lover's death in the civil war in the Congo. She is reflecting on the complexities of her life over the last two years and recuperating from being taken hostage by the rebels. Hope is trying to figure out all that's happened to her, both in England with her husband and the events that caused her to flee to a new job in Africa, and the challenges she's faced since then. How
Boyd is an inventive story teller, making this a fast and enjoyable read. He neatly threads in ideas that were newly emerging when he wrote it (1990) about chaos theory. Its fascinating and impressive to see how artists incorporate new ideas from math and physics. Those disciplines are so totally committed to remaining indifferent to the greater implications of their discoveries. Artists like Boyd find kernels of truth dropped from the trees are are quick to ingest them! The most dissipative
This is the 2nd book I have read in the past 12 months that use the rebellion and tensions associated with the Republic of the Congo (the other being The Poisonwood Bible) Both are written by Caucasians and both spent part of their childhoods in Africa. I think this is part of the success of both these books for me.Running concurrently is the story of Hope's marriage and her time as a behavioural scientist on chimpaneze. As a result of the 1st person narrative, we don't fully understand, until
Great readBoyd has the ability to tell a story with great sensitivity and intelligence while driving the narrative forward in an exciting way, never patronising his reader. This novel is no exception.
If this book hadn't been recommended by a friend who loved it, I probably wouldn't have read the whole book. I had a difficult time getting into the story, but I stuck with it and was glad I did. The main character of the book is Hope Clearwater, an English woman, who is studying the behavior of chimpanezes in Africa. Her story is told by moving back and forth from past to present, which I thought was very well done by the talented Mr. Boyd. The subject matter of the brutality of the animals was
I suppose that the message of this book is how ironic it is that humans avidly study chimpanzees, presumptiously thinking that they are less intelligent than themselves, only to find, on closer inspection, (see the mad scientists, the ridiculous wars, the wanton cruelty), that humans, while maybe more "intelligent," are by no means "better" creatures.This premise is interesting and could make a good book. But I find this one is lacking in empathy, either for the chimpanzees or for any of the
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