Black Lion: Alive in the Wilderness

 Black Lion: Alive in the Wilderness by Sicelo Mbatha with Bridget Pitt 280 pages 

I was attracted to this book because I recently finished Chris Bohjalian’s new novel, “The Heiress. That one take place in Africa’s Serengeti, and I thought that this one could increase my knowledge of a land I know that I will never see first-hand.

The author is a Zulu and lives in South Africa. It’s a world of difference between the Serengeti and the Imfolozi Nature Reserve, where Sicelo volunteered. I’m not sure exactly where this took, other than South Africa.  

I did not get much out of this book. It lacks tension. I was not moved when Sicelo’s cousin was dragged away and eaten by a crocodile. And that disturbed me. The event was told from so far away, that this reader did not feel anything other than a small sadness and a shiver of “Dang! That had to hurt!” 

Another problem that I encountered was the names of animals, trees, flowers, etc. that I had no idea I was and could not figure it out in the context of the narrative. I had no visuals that helped bring the items into focus. 

I was impressed with one fact though. Getting to school was not easy. Sicelo and the other school children had to walk a “daily journey of fourteen kilometres there and fourteen kilometres” home. That’ s roughly 8.69 miles each way and no matter the weather, I can't imagine an American child doing that! 

After a while, I felt like I was just reading words and falling asleep faster than I do when reading a book with which I could connect. I kept hoping for engagement, but it never came. Therefore, “Black Lion: Alive in the Wilderness” receives 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

Life and Times of Michael K

The Life and Times of Michael K by John Coetzee, 184 pages

Michael is a gardener.  To sow seed and care for growing things is what he knows, and what he wants.  Unfortunately, meek Michael is constantly in danger of being trampled into the dust.  Born with a harelip which caused him to be rejected by his mother - at least, until age and poverty made her dependent on him - and raised in an orphanage, what Michael wants most of all is to be left to fend for himself, free from those who would help him as well as those who would exploit him.  The State is, needless to say, his unnatural enemy, preoccupied as it is with official papers, civil wars, and labor camps.  Yet he does not reject all human society, to the contrary, he longs to live with others who are willing to receive what is offered them rather than forcing the world to give them what they want.

Much of The Life and Times of Michael K makes for dreary reading, immersed as it is in Michael's own perspective, knowing little of the ways of the world and yet understanding enough for tragedy.  In the end, this makes the book, and its protagonist, that much harder to ignore or forget.

Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years

Dare Not Linger:  The Presidential Years by Nelson Mandela and Mandla Langa                   Audio Book: 13 hours, 21 minutes       Hardback Book:  384 pages            

What a ride South Africa has been through over the centuries.    And what a life Nelson Mandela lived and served his country.    I learned a lot about the great negotiator that Nelson Mandela was.    The wise man who saw what was and brought it to what is.  With the wisdom of King Solomon Nelson Madela studied the political position his country was in,  he didn’t hate his oppressors for imprisoning him, he studied them and learned why they were doing what they were doing to his countrymen and how they came to be that way.    He spent his years as a political prisoner studying history, studying politics both African, Afrikan and world  leaders and the histories of other countries and what led to their battles and changes.    He studied the law, local, national and international.    He did not hate he gained understanding.    He did not give in to his oppressors but worked toward mutual understanding so that these leaders so far away from the everyday life of black South Africans suffering under Apartheid segregation, discrimination and brutality could see how their regimes of terror toward  the majority of the people of South Africa was not something that could be sustained.   The people were revolting against the archaic regime.   The uprisings were escalating to killings and would only get worse without both sides coming together to air their grievances and work toward a better South Africa in which democracy was favored over the fascist system in place for far too long.   People must come together and understand one another finding common ground in which they could speak openly with or without anger but without fear of retribution.      Mandela brought the voice of reason to the mix and in his open-hearted way he spoke to all sides, all leaders of all countries and was as comfortable conversing with Muammar Gaddafi as he was the President of the United States.    Nelson Mandela spoke eloquently and simply to the heart.   He told all sides that no one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his religion but that people must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate they can be taught to love for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.   What a wonderful view – it is the heart of all – why is it so hard for some to see?    Nelson Mandela had a hard time even after released from prison and elected to office.   This book goes behind the headlines and behind the bits and pieces you hear on CNN or read.    This book is in Nelson’s own words and his wisdom and perseverance is so profound I am glad to have been able to experience it through his writings.   In his words, “ I have discovered the secret that after climbing  a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.    I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come.   But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.”   May his legacy live on.