A Fork in the Road

A Book (or Two) A Week - The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time

2013-06-14T12:12:00.000+01:00

The curious incident of the dog in the night-time - Mark Haddon

I suspect that there are two ways to review this book. The first is to launch into a detailed description of the authenticity of the portrayal of a fifteen year old boy with Asperger Syndrome. Is it realistic? Does it accurately describe the symptoms? Is it a fair representation of what it's like to live with someone with Asperger's? Personally, I have no idea. The reviews on Amazon seem to be divided. Some rave, some dismiss. I will leave it to those who have experience, to have an opinion.

I'm left then with my experience of reading a novel about something which I know nothing about. In that context I can say I really enjoyed the novel. It's incredibly readable and well structured. I like the way it jumps between a straight narrative and commentary on random facts. I found the narrator an engaging and really likeable character. His unswerving honesty makes for a really interesting assessment of his family and those around him. Even if his point of view is not a perfect rendering of an autistic experience, it is a unique and refreshing take on the world.

I enjoyed too the way in which the narrator, Christopher, describes and illuminates the people in his life. His teacher Siobhan, whom we never meet, but know a lot about, is a lovely character - oh that all students had a Siobhan in their lives.

The novel is written for a YA crowd but it's a worthwhile read for all ages.

My only other comment is that there's a part of me that almost hopes this book isn't seized upon as a great coming-of-age-english-text-that-all-students-read-so-they-can-be-more-empathetic-about-kids-with-autism. I would love to see this book read widely not so we can understand an 'other', but rather from the standpoint that literature should give voice to all members of society. Students should read books told from multi-racial standpoints, about all religions, abilities and experiences. This book should be read to remind that people with autism are the same not different.

A Book A Week - The Oracle Glass

2013-06-07T09:00:00.000+01:00

The Oracle Glass - Judith Merkle Riley

The Oracle Glass and I got off to a bad start. The book opens with five pages (ok maybe three) of characters and for me, that is never a good thing. The sad fact is that I just do not have the patience to hold the names of fifty different characters in my head, especially when those names change during the course of the novel, and when those fifty different names are also French. Keeping track of those names on a kindle is also problematic. With a physical book it would be easy to go back and forwards between the list of characters but in an e-book it's a more convoluted process.

By the time I had ~~half-heartedly skimmed~~ diligently read through the list I was already feeling tired and I confess that I approached chapter one with a sense of foreboding. This may have contributed to my first impression of the dialogue being stilted and over written. Having just reread it, I'm not entirely sure why I felt that way, but whatever it was, I moved into chapter two with reluctance. Fortunately, from there things picked up and while sometimes I lost track of the characters, this tale of seventeenth century France proved to be an enjoyable one.

The story is told from the perspective of Genevieve Pasquiers, a young woman who escapes a desperate home life and is swept into a fantastic world of witches and fortune tellers. Her ability to accurately see the future in her oracle glass, and some excellent marketing, soon make her the darling of Paris' scheming and power hungry aristocracy. It is a world where fortunes are rapidly made and lost, patronage conferred and withdrawn and love is given and taken for all the wrong reasons. The story is rendered all the more interesting by the fact that it is largely based on historical figures. Their lives and (mis)deeds were documented during a series of high profile witch trials.

Genevieve, and her alter ego, the Marquise de Morville, are incredibly well drawn. She is consistent and well developed over the course of the story. She is believable and feels authentic. The world of her powerful patron, La Voisin is also well drawn. The novel provides a fascinating insight into a secret society of women who serviced the aristocracy whilst at the same time helping their own. These were women who had powers that they both exploited and satirised. In doing so they both acknowledged society's doubts about the services that they provided and shielded themselves from prosecution.

The one element that sits awkwardly are the interspersed chapters from the perspective of La Reynie and Desgrez of the Paris police. While their attempts to bring down the society of witches provides necessary tension, stylistically the chapters sit oddly in the book and jar the reader from the natural flow of the story.

The ending is also extremely unsatisfying. Whilst you clearly understand all that has unfolded and how things are going to turn out it feels like the story stops mid sentence: just an extra page or two would have made all the difference.

On the whole it's a good read - that is if you like 17th century historical novels about witches, populated by a cast of thousands...

A Book A Week - Beautiful Creatures

2013-05-31T09:00:00.000+01:00

Beautiful Creatures: The Planning Session

We should write a book.
Yeah, that would be fantastic.
What should we write about?
People love vampires and witches at the moment.
True. But we don't want to to be more of the same. It would have to be different somehow.
Well, naturally it will be different. It's not like we're trying to recreate Twilight or Vampire Diaries.
Like if we told it from a teenage boy's perspective?
Yeah, but we don't necessarily want it to be an authentic male voice because we want girls to buy the book.
Well how about we just have a boy who says the sort of things teenage girls hope teenage boys think?
Awesome, that sounds great. Where should we set it?
What about the "Deep South"? That's about as close to gothic as we can get.
Isn't Vampire Diaries filmed in Georgia?
Yeah, but they don't say it's Georgia.
Don't they go to New Orleans a lot?
Ok, well it's not in New Orleans it's in the deep south like...South Carolina.
Nice. Wait while I make a list of southern stereotypes - swamps...confederacy...voodoo...southern belles...Gone With the Wind...
Great, we'll include all of those. And don't forget the sympathetic African American housekeeper.
Of course. And we should mention southern hospitality a lot. It'll be set in a small town, right?
Definitely. Very small. No one ever leaves. Ever. No one goes to college.
Good idea.
So no one ever leaves the town?
No, we should make sure people get that part. We'll mention it a lot.
No one ever leaves the town.
Yeah, like that.
Ok, so no one ever leaves the town, until the love interest shows up. And she's magical and he's ordinary.
I'm liking this! Because she's an outsider in a town where no one ever leaves. Like in Twilight?
No, it's different from Twilight. She's the magic one.
OK. But the boy wants to leave?
Of course. He's got big dreams. He reads and listens to sappy music and is good at basketball but in touch with his emotions.
So a jock and sensitive?
Perfect.
Shame he never leaves town though.
Oh, and his mum is dead.
That's good, because that's different from Twilight, because her mum is still alive. Although in Vampire Diaries the Mum is dead...
It's a stereotype, it's got nothing to do with Vampire Diaries. You've gotta conform to that stereotype. Because no sensible mother would let this sort of crap go on.
Right.
So, the mother is dead, but he needs his mother's blessing, because he has to be in touch with his sensitive side.
Ok, well, let's make his mother a ghostish sort of character who meddles in things.
Do we need to understand her motivation, clear cause of death, relationship to weird stuff going on?
Nahhh, let's just hint at all of that stuff and gloss over it. It'll be fine.
So, plot?
Here's what I'm thinking. We really want this to be made into a movie. So why don't we write it as a movie treatment from the outset?
But movies cover a lot less ground than books. Won't that mean the plot is really thin in places?
Yeah, but we'll just gloss over that with counting down the days til the bad stuff happens.
And talking about the small town that no one ever leaves.
And they can break up a couple of times and then get back together.
And his father can walk around and be disappointing a lot.
Why is that?
What?
That the father figures are a bit pathetic?
I think it's to do with having a lack of strong role models so the hero/ine is forced to struggle to define their own identity through facing adversity.
I thought it was so that teenagers could identify, because all parents suck.
No, Joesph Campbell said...no, really, it doesn't matter...the father is weak, let's not get bogged down in meaning.
We'll need flashbacks.
Why?
So that we can do simple back story and also dress up people in period costume in the movie.
Like in Vampire Diaries?
No, not like in Vampire Diaries, because this is set in South Carolina and told from a male perspective.
Of course.
Do you know how to write flashbacks?
Don't you just slap in a narrative in italics saying what happened?
Well, wouldn't that be odd? Because if you're telling it from someone's point of view, then wouldn't it need to be from their perspective? Otherwise it would be just really weird head hopping and external perspective?
Ummmm, aren't we just writing a film script?
Oh, true. I'm sure it's fine then.
One thing though, we shouldn't have any sex and they shouldn't spend too much time together.
Hmmm, but won't that make it hard to move the plot along?
I know, why don't we make them able to mind read?
Don't you think that might be a bit one-sided?
True. What about if they can talk to each other telepathically?
Wait, let me just check something - the girl is going to be the magic one right?
Yeah.
And the boy's just normal. So how are they both going to be able to talk telepathically? Is he magic too?
No, he's a Mortal. (We should put all the labels in capitals by the way).
But he's got all these cool abilities?
Yeah. Because otherwise teenage boys will think he's sappy and won't want to see the movies because people don't like movies with strong female leads. I know, he could be super good at basketball, and have magical dreams, and other stuff.
Are we going to explain why he can do that?
If we have time. Or maybe we'll just hint at it.
Like the unexplained stuff with the mother?
Just like that. Honestly, I don't think it matters. There'll be lots of special effects and magic stuff in the movie so people won't really notice the lack of complex plot.
But mightn't they expect more in the book?
No, we'll put an awesome cover on the front and it'll be fine.
What about secondary characters?
Trusty sidekick?
Check.
Vacuous teenagers?
Check. Especially girls. Oh and make them cheerleaders.
Lots of testosterone fueled boys?
Check. Definitely basketballers.
Possible vampire?
Yeah, but not a real vampire. We just want to allude to the vampirish tendencies, so people who like vampire books will come along, but then we'll put in a twist so it doesn't look like we're trying to just appeal to people who like vampire books.
Oooooh, what sort of twist?
I don't know, nothing very significant. Maybe he feeds on dreams instead of blood.
Hmmm, that sounds like a spoiler.
No, not really, it's not going to be very significant in the book, although it probably could be if we went to the trouble of explaining it, but we'll just throw it in at a rather odd random time to cover our bases and then move on quickly.
Right. But there will be a proper vampire?
Yeah but he'll just be a cameo.
Ooohhhh! Ian Somerhalder?
No.
Sighhhhhhhh....Oh well....
Moving on.
Other secondary characters?
People with weird eyes.
Like in The Host?
No, different from The Host. They'll be like cat's eyes. Trust me, it'll be different.
Cool! What else?
Annoying teachers, helpful aunts, creepy weird family types that cover the full spectrum of mystical characters whose titles all begin with capital letters.
Check. That's a lot of people in a town where no one ever leaves.
Oh, and there should be a prom. Everyone likes a prom.
But it'll go wrong won't it? Like in Vamp...
Yes, yes, now we just need an ending.
No we don't.
What? Of course we need an ending. Every book and movie needs an ending.
Nope, we need a beginning.
I don't understand.
Sequel.
Ahhhh, of course.
We should write a sequel.
We should.
What would it be about?
Well maybe it could be something shocking.
Like say if someone left the small town?
The one that no one leaves?
Exactly.

Reflections: Saying Goodbye

2013-05-29T12:51:00.000+01:00

It's goodbye season here in Ghana. Graduating students are leaving for college, others are moving abroad to finish high school and postings are winding up. It's a time of incredible beginnings and the inevitability of leaving people behind. At each gathering you can hear the departure speeches - I'm leaving in a couple weeks, yes I'm looking forward to it, no I'm sure we'll see each other before I go... Words roll off tongues with the familiarity that comes from uttering the same phrase a hundred times over. I hear them speak and I see myself saying the same thing in a different country, in a different setting, in a different time: I'm going, I'm excited, I'm sad, I'll never see you again.

I have said goodbyes enough for several lifetimes. I went to five different schools (three cities) and two universities. I've left behind twenty different houses, in eleven different cities, in six different countries on three different continents, not to mention all the places I visited during our year in America. I've said goodbye in fine fashion and I've done it badly. Friends, lovers, family, you name it, I've farewelled them - at parties, airports, on street corners, on the phone, by mail. There are those I sought out and those I avoided: goodbyes that needed to be said, and those I couldn't face.

What's hardest is the knowledge that I love leaving, or at least, I love arriving somewhere new. If I stay anywhere too long I start to get itchy feet and the wanderlust kicks in. It's not just a want that can be satisfied during an annual vacation, I need to explore, to expand and grow. I need to travel.

And so I understand the look on the faces of those departing as they listen to one more person tell them they don't want them to go. It's the pull of where you are going against where you have been. It's the excitement of what is to become, of who you will become, weighed down by who you will leave behind.

It's wanting to go, but not wanting to say goodbye.

photo credit: artur84/freedigitalphotos.net

Would you have the courage to ask?

2013-05-27T11:10:00.001+01:00

On the 22nd of May, an act of violence was countered with an act of courage. In response to seeing a young soldier brutally attacked by a man wielding a knife and a gun on a London street, a woman decided to act. She didn't throw him to the ground, she walked up to him speaking calmly and asked "What do you want?"

In an interview she stated simply:

"I asked him if he did it and he said, 'Yes,' and I said, 'Why?' And he said because he has killed Muslim people in Muslim countries, he said he was a British soldier and I said, 'Really?' and he said, 'I killed him because he killed Muslims and I am fed up with people killing Muslims in Afghanistan, they have nothing to do there.'

How many people would be prepared to do what she did? No, not confront a knife wielding assailant in the street, but rather, stop and ask why he is doing what he is doing? To question is to risk challenging your own views on the world. To question is to risk understanding how you may be connected to the action. To question is to place yourself in a position where you are no longer removed from the act, but rather where you know enough to make decisions in the future that may produce a different outcome. To question is to risk feeling the need to ask more questions.

Why are there British soldiers in Afghanistan? What are they doing there? Should they still be there? Do I agree with what they're doing? Do I really understand what they're doing? Are they fighting on a battlefield? Or are they fighting in people's homes? What would that be like? How would I feel if there were people from another country fighting in the street outside my home? What would I think if they had been there for over ten years? How would that effect the way I looked at my own government? Are they fighting or are they just peacekeepers? What do peacekeepers actually do on a day-to-day basis? Who are Muslims? Do I really understand what they believe? Are there different sorts of Muslims? Where do Muslims live? Why is a Nigerian concerned with what is going on in Afghanistan?

There is an assumption that if you ask someone their motives you are validating their actions. But asking questions doesn't mean you have to agree with the answer, or even empathise. It simply means that you need to appreciate that there is an answer. And that that answer may be different from your own, and perhaps more importantly, different from the next person you ask.

Since the Woolwich attack there has been a dramatic increase in the number of attacks and abuse directed against Muslims living in London. Were any of those attacked actually involved in the Woolwich incident? Did they agree with the assailant? How do they feel about what happened? Did anyone stop to ask?

Asking questions can be uncomfortable. Sometimes you get answers you don't like. Sometimes those answers force you to change the way you see the world. Sometimes those answers change the way you behave.

It takes courage to ask questions. But if one woman has the courage to walk up to a man armed with a knife and a gun who has just brutally murdered a man in the street and ask "What do you want?" what excuse do we have for our silence?

photo credit: vlado/freedigitalphotos.net

A Book A Week - The Host

2013-05-24T09:00:00.000+01:00

The Host - Stephenie Meyer

I've been avoiding this book. It's not that I didn't want to read it, it's just that it's, well, big.

One of the nice things about reading books on a Kindle is that it's hard to get a sense of how big the book is. Sometimes that's annoying, but when you're confronted with a book that is 618 pages long, it's almost better not to know. I shouldn't have worried. I finished the book in three days after being sucked into some long, late night reading binges, early morning reading binges and even a read-by-the-light-of-my-mobile-phone during a twelve hour power outage.

The premise of the book is really interesting - aliens have invaded earth. OK, that's not very interesting, let me rephrase. Worm-like aliens have taken over the earth by implanting their tiny bodies in the skulls of host bodies. Once implanted, the alien then takes over the brain functions of its host and lives out its long happy life. This all goes well for the alien except when the original host isn't keen on giving up their body/brain in a hurry. The novel is told from the perspective of one such conflict when veteran planet jumping alien - Wanderer - is implanted in Melanie - a feisty being who is not too keen on giving over her body. What's more, Melanie is hell bent on being reunited with her brother, Jamie and her lover, Jared. This makes for some unusual conflicts of interest, a meet-up with a gang of misfit rebels and a rather unique love triangle er, quadrangle.

On the downside, reading this book is a bit like visiting an aunt who is a lot of fun, but who has terrible taste in furniture. While the alien/host dynamic is really good and the personal dynamics are entertaining, I think Stephenie Meyer should try to keep away from science fiction as much as possible. The descriptions of the other planets that Wanderer has visited are bordering on puerile. The names of the planets are terrible as are the names of the other aliens. I found whenever the other planets were mentioned I started skimming ahead - Planet of the Flowers la la la la la oh look we're back in the caves THANK GOD.

And while we're on the subject of names, Ms Meyer, I was prepared to let Renesmee slip by - it was silly, but in the context, passable. But can I just say that Wanda is NOT a good name for a heroine on anyone's planet. (Of course, no offense intended to whichever family member you named her after.)

This is not a book that warrants great philosophical analyses. It moves at a good pace and the characters and their relationships are well drawn. The ending is mostly predictable, but well managed. On the whole it's a very satisfying read. Great for a long rainy weekend - or any other occasion when you don't feel the need to talk to the family for a couple of days.

A Book A Week - Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

2013-05-17T09:00:00.000+01:00

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jamie Ford

I've been waiting a long time to read this book. Well, not this book exactly, but rather a well plotted, well written, keeps-you-hooked sort of book; one that never disappoints and remains consistent throughout. After reading many ok-but-a-tad-uninspiring books, this was a real treat.

Shifting between the 1940s and 1986, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet tells of a friendship between a Chinese boy and a Japanese girl as they navigate first love, family pressures and a nation at war. It's a story of prejudice and tradition, jazz and internment. And it's very well crafted.

Narrated by Henry - as a thirteen year old reluctant school boy and as a fifty-seven year old widower - this is a poignant and beautifully told story. The voice of Henry at both ages is consistent and authentic. The transition between time periods is very smooth and you can hear the remnants of the child in the man.

The supporting characters in the book are also beautifully drawn - Sheldon the jazz musician is the sort of friend every displaced teenager should have, and Mrs Beatty, the hardened canteen lady, is also well told. I particularly liked the unfolding of Ethel, Henry's recently deceased wife. For most of the book we know only of her death, but when she does appear as a young girl, it is in a very satisfying way. She fits seamlessly into the story and despite everything, you want to love her as much as Henry does. The only voices that I found slightly unconvincing were Keiko's parents, but Keiko herself is lovely, and the V-day crowd scene is heartbreaking.

This is a book I would love to see made as a movie. There are so many moments that you can visualise in your head - especially all the parts that I did/will cry through! It's a story I would love to see on the big screen and also a story that should be told.

Reflections: Seeing the things you no longer notice

2013-05-15T17:11:00.000+01:00

We had dinner last week with a friend who had recently arrived in Ghana. It was a chance to show her a small corner of town, but also the opportunity to see Accra through fresh eyes.

It is so hard to remember those days when everything was new, those first impressions; the images that caught your eye, making you turn your head for one more look. Did I really see that? Or the smells that are strange and not always appetising, Or worse, the ones that smell amazing, that call to your empty stomach from across a busy road, but then you see the rusting burner, and the dogs circling beneath and you hesitate because of all those warnings... All the weddings and gatherings that were a rush of colour and noise and new friends.The shouts of greeting and perhaps insult that you heard, or thought you did.

Since then I've been trying to watch, to look more closely. And stopping to look makes you realise what you take for granted, like the Bedouin man standing outside the supermarket - his head wrapped in a turban, his long shirt and pants hanging in soft folds. As the fighting continues in Mali, more and more northerners are finding there way into Ghana; their muted colours in stark contrast to the bold local textiles.

Or the random things that find their way onto people's heads to be carried for sale, or convenience: loads of washing basins or bras, all the makings of a sandwich or a suit. Or those who cater for all needs, like the man with two armloads of pirate dvds and a dvd player on his head.

And there are the men with guns; semi-automatic weapons slung casually over a shoulder so that you nearly collide in the supermarket. Or the guns laid out on the lap of a motorbike passenger, bouncing into the air at every speed bump. Or the men in traffic, and on street corners and in gardens, and tiny convenience stores who move their machetes out of the way to allow you to pass. They move freely and unselfconsciously as if there are no corners of the world where a machete is anything other than a tool of the trade.

And of course there are the goats. It's easy to become blase about goats, but then you realise that there are many countries were you don't see goats on poles, tossed into the back of an SUV, or standing on a street corner, on a leash waiting for the traffic lights to change.

And you smile and remember what it's like to see again.

photocredit: tungphoto/freedigitalphotos.net

A Book A Week - Tell the Wolves I'm Home

2013-05-10T09:00:00.000+01:00

Tell the Wolves I'm Home - Carol Rifka Brunt

We've come a long way since the 1980s, when television screens, in Australia at least, were filled with images of the Grim Reaper and his AIDs infected bowling ball. It was a graphic campaign. As men, women and children fell, the voice over threatened that more Australians could die from AIDs than during World War II. Prevention was the only cure and fear the primary tactic.

It is this sentiment that underpins Tell The Wolves I'm Home; the story of June, a young girl coming to terms with the death of a beloved uncle from AIDs. Set during the 1980s it tackles issues of homophobia and the uncertainty that surrounded infection and transmission. If this book achieves nothing else, it is to show how far we've come.

On many levels this is a powerful novel. Told from a teenager's perspective we are given the chance to explore motivations and behaviour without the overlay of adult prejudices and fears. The characters are well developed and given very raw emotions that convey the complexities of the issues. I found the book incredibly readable and finished it in a couple of days.

My one big concern with the novel is in the way the narrator and her sister are presented. There is something about the two girls' voices and perhaps even motivations that I didn't find entirely convincing. Maybe it's been too long since I was 14/16 but there was something about the two of them that isn't authentic. The older sister, Greta, in particular, is an odd character. I kept waiting for the big secret to be revealed, that would explain her behaviour, but the explanation is ultimately disappointing. As for June and Toby? I wanted to appreciate the relationship, but the way it's written, it just comes across as weird.

I enjoyed this book when I was reading it, but the further I step back from it, the less convinced I am.

Reflections: Kantamanto fire reveals cracks beneath the surface

2013-05-08T18:02:00.000+01:00

In the early hours of Sunday morning, a fire broke out in Kantamanto, Accra's extensive secondhand clothing market. With fire fighters struggling to fight a blaze that tore through the ramshackle and tightly packed structures, the market was destroyed in a matter of hours. The fire was a disaster not only for the thousands of traders whose livelihood was destroyed, but also for those who relied on the markets as a cheap source of clothing and household goods.

Conspiracy theories abound on the cause of the fire. In the very first reports, there was speculation that the fire had been deliberately lit in order to drive the traders off valuable inner city real estate. Coming in the wake of fires in Makola market and in Old Fadama, there are claims that this is yet one more attempt to free up land. Across the city, residential and commercial property is at a premium and existing infrastructure is struggling to keep up: houses in high density suburbs designed for one family may sleep seventy, slums built to accommodate 40,000 now house over twice that number. The suggestion, therefore that an unexplained fire was motivated by a desire for land, quickly gained traction.

While much finger pointing has been in the direction of city officials, it seems that the fear of external influences are also rife. Returning from a visit from South Africa, President Mahama was forced to reassure angry market representatives that the market had not been burned because the Government had sold the site to Chinese investors. It says something about the average Ghanaian's perception of construction and development that when bulldozers were brought in to clear the site, it was immediately assumed that they were there on behalf of Chinese property developers.

It was also interesting to see the level of hostility and suspicion that erupted between traders and government officials, with market stall holders burning tyres to prevent police and officials from cordoning off the market. In response the police allegedly fired bullets and tear gas, including apparently in an attempt to prevent mass looting.

Whilst much is made of Accra's ascension to middle class status, and the rapid development and urbanisation of the city, events like this serve to highlight the cracks that lie just beneath the surface.

Photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net/phanlop88

Dear Life: In support of Brave women

2013-05-06T12:52:00.000+01:00

Dear Life

Standing in a queue in a department store, my then three year old asked "Why don't we like Barbie?" Around us conversations dried up and shoppers and checkout attendants alike turned to look at me. For her, and their benefit, I explained my concerns about Barbie dolls - their insanely/inhumanely/genetically impossible figures and the impact of sex role stereotyping on children. Sure Barbie got to be President and an astronaut and all those other diverse careers, but why did she have to do them in six inch heels and a body shape that would have been crippling in a human?

Two years later my daughter was in a children's hospital for surgery on her foot. She'd been admitted in mid-November and then again the week before Christmas. The difference between the two visits was striking. The first time we had seen predominantly children recovering from accidents or those with illnesses like cancer. In the pre-Christmas period, the corridors were peppered with anorexic girls and boys. One of the nurses confirmed that they saw an annual spike in admissions for anorexia as soon as the school year ended.

It would be over simplifying a complex condition to draw a straight line between Barbie and anorexia, but there is no doubting the fact that images like this contribute to the distorted way that women of all ages view their bodies.

So why then raise this issue in a post usually reserved for pointing out the good in the world? Because I have such great respect for the people who work to highlight and transform those images.

Over the weekend, a wonderful website - A Mighty Girl - launched a campaign petitioning Disney to reconsider the way they have made-over Merida from Brave - before her 'coronation' as an official Disney princess. For some reason, Disney has felt the need to take a feisty young (self rescuing) girl and turn her into a sparkly, sexualised woman. I love the work A Mighty Girl does and I am proud to support their petition, follow them on Facebook and share the information and ideas that they promote. We are lucky to have organisations like this in the world. They highlight not only things like the Disney rebranding of Merida, but also the incredible women both past and present who should be household names for our children.

We're not big fans of Barbie, but we do like Merida, and Pippy Longstocking, and Hermione Grainger and Anna Beth Chase and Nellie Bly and Wangaari Mathai and Rosa Parkes and Georgia O'Keefe and.....

A Book A Week - The Man Who Died Laughing

2013-05-03T08:00:00.000+01:00

The Man Who Died Laughing - David Handler

Yeah, I know, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. But I do and I did.

This book came up in a suggested list when I was borrowing another book from the library. It caught my eye and when I went to the page I discovered he'd written a whole series - all with similar covers. The blurb sounded interesting enough and I figured that if he'd written a whole series then they must be ok.

My impressions were pretty spot on. It's an interesting cover and the book is ok, and that's about it.

Struggling author with an inability to recreate the brilliance of first novel is invited to ghost write the autobiography of a fading comic. Comic is ultimately murdered, author must discover who did it.

On the whole the book ticks over pretty well, right up until we discover the murderer and motive. I can't quite put my finger on what was wrong with the revelation - but it all seems out of character and stylistically just not quite right. The tone of the revelation also doesn't really fit the rest of the book - it'seems like a more sordid scenario than this otherwise light weight novel sets up.

An easy read and easily forgettable.

Reflections: Writers block

2013-05-01T21:27:00.001+01:00

Fear is a funny thing. Being scared of spiders, snakes or armed bandits is one thing, but a book? Turns out the object of our fear comes in many different shapes and forms.

I finished the first draft of my second novel a long time ago. I'm not sure how long ago, but a while. Given that the comments I got back from my test readers are dated around January, I could generously say that I finished it about six months ago, but I suspect in all honesty it was closer to a year. Since then I've done a bit of proofing. I've made lots of notes, cleaned up typos, but I have been reluctant, alright, afraid to sit down and do the rewriting required. I've been dismissing it as procrastination, but it's more than that.

When I start on a new work there's always that ridiculous fear that I'll never be able to write another book, that there aren't enough words left inside me. To me that seems understandable. The prospect of finding a [coherent] 100,000 words is challenging. But to be afraid of edits always seems odd. How hard can it be to tweak and rework what's already there?

Over the last couple of weeks I've finally forced myself to return to the novel. Each day I've been making a conscious effort to tackle the sections that I know need work. Not surprisingly it hasn't been a traumatic experience and has gradually got better, to the point where this afternoon all I wanted to do was to sit and write. And it seems that in the course of those edits, my novel has grown by about twenty pages.

I read a quote today that said you should write with your heart and edit with your head. Perhaps this is where the problem lies. When you edit you are forced to confront what has come pouring out of your heart. Some of that is powerful, some of it is painful and raw and some of it just needs to be cut out and thrown away. But all of it, no matter what costume you dress it up in, is you. And sitting down and looking at the contents of your heart (and imagining what other people will think of it) is not always a pleasant experience.

But it is a necessary process. There are characters that need to relax their grip, anger that needs purpose and love that needs to be grounded. In a few lines a character can change and grow and evolve - angst transformed into something more. And then there are the shadows that need to be filled; spaces around the edges of the action, where explanation and understanding lie. It's a place I've tended to avoid in my hurry to get everything down, but now I'm discovering a whole other world to be explored.

And like any irrational fear there comes that point where you stop and think, you know, this might actually be fun.

Photo credit: imagerymajestic/freedigitalphotos.net

When Life gives you oranges...

2013-04-29T15:26:00.000+01:00

Dear Life

So it's been a swings and roundabouts kind of day. The power is out (ahem, Mr President, when you said no more day time load shedding, did you really mean it???) but the generator is working and hasn't caught fire yet. The kid is running a temperature, but is in reasonably good humour and eating well. The oven is not working, but the internet is (after a week long sabbatical) and once again I have stumbled upon a great raw food snack recipe.

So now after a quick run to the supermarket I have a plate of lemon slice and a box of wild orange chocolate balls chilling in the freezer. The latter is a new find and required a bit of adaptation (I am not even going to begin to contemplate where I might find orange essential oil in Accra - a slosh of orange juice should achieve a similar effect if you don't know any better!) but so far so good. And yes, they're sugar free, gluten free and egg free.

I also almost pulled off a homeschool forensics cross-over as well as I managed to take the top off a knuckle whilst "zesting" a lemon (I'm sorry, but that's a really pretentious word and implies far more Nigella than was going on in my kitchen today.). My pleas to aforementioned kid for a bandaid were met with a microscope slide and a polite request for a blood sample. Unfortunately, however, the wound was not deep enough to be of any use. Maybe next time.

All in all, a good day.

A Book A Week - The Racketeer

2013-04-26T09:52:00.000+01:00

The Racketeer - John Grisham

By around 40% of the way through this novel I was totally hooked, and thoroughly confused. I'd read nearly half the book, and I still didn't know much more of the plot than had been revealed in the blurb.

Malcolm Bannister is a former attorney who has been sentenced to ten years in prison for money laundering - by all accounts he is innocent of his crime. Meanwhile on the outside, a federal court judge has been murdered. Bannister knows who did it and why, but revealing that information comes at a price.

In the first half of the novel we learn about Bannister, we learn about the federal court judge and we learn who Bannister has revealed as the killer.

And then we wait...because surely there has to be a twist. But there will be no rushing it. This is a plot held firmly in the hands of a masterful storyteller.

This is a very satisfying novel. It is well written, pulls you along and the twist, when it comes, is extremely well executed. Having read this book over a couple of days at the beach, I can confidently say that it is a perfect summer novel.

Reflections: The Boston Marathon Bombing - A good news story

2013-04-24T13:22:00.000+01:00

I have a real problem with the reporting of the Boston marathon bombings. Rather than the daily barrage of emotion and drama, I strongly believe that it should have been reported as a good news story.

How could it possibly be a good news story? Let's first agree that what happened to the victims of the bombing is awful. There's no refuting that. But from that point on, it was all pretty impressive. By all accounts the medical teams on the ground did an amazing job providing immediate relief. The injured were dispatched quickly and efficiently to the right hospitals. There was no overloading of any one hospital. The hospitals in turn coped exceptionally well. And at the site of the bombing, regular people stepped up and did incredible things, helping strangers, helping the injured.

Law enforcement agencies in turn worked quickly and effectively. They identified and apprehended the suspects within a matter of days. Again, ordinary people stepped in to assist, and Bostonians as a whole came together to support each other through the experience. All in all, the city responded efficiently and cohesively to the event, impact and aftermath.

So why should it be reported as a good news story? Because a terrorist's most effective weapon is not a bomb but the media.

At the simplest level terrorism sets out to achieve two things - 1) to shine the spotlight on a particular issue or cause and, 2) to use fear to pressure people to act in support of that issue. At its most effective, terrorism is about creating fear long after the attack is over. It aims to put the issue in the front of people's minds by making them worry about whether they are safe going about their day-to-day lives.

The reality, however, is that the average US citizen is more likely to die of Parkinson's disease or a heart attack, or cancer, or suicide, or kidney failure or a car accident than from a terrorist attack, But the media, needs victims, it needs fear and it needs panic. Fear and panic sells newspapers, as any terrorist worth their salt knows. And by feeding these, the media gives terrorists a rationale for proceeding. Take away the hysteria and you take away some of the value of a terrorist act. Highlight the effectiveness of the consequences and reaction to a terrorist act and you minimise its appeal.

Telling a good news story is also an opportunity to give back to the people. Through the simple act of being proud of the law enforcement and medical personnel who performed well, you reassure the average person that they will be well served in a crisis. And it puts the potential threat in context, allowing people to return to their daily lives without the shadow of impending doom looming over them.

Boston is to be commended for its response. That should be the story.

photo credit: bplanet/freedigitalphotos.net

A Book A Week: Living Dead in Dallas

2013-04-19T09:00:00.000+01:00

Living Dead in Dallas - Charlaine Harris

Waitress.

Vampire.

Louisiana.

Dead people (newly dead and long term dead).

Vampire sex.

Telepathy.

Werewolves.

More vampire sex.

Maenads.

Coffins.

Texas.

Vampire hotels.

People who don't like vampires.

More dead people.

Vampire suicide.

Humans behaving badly.

Vampire reconciliation.

Mindless.

Escapism.

Reflections - How to find books in Accra

2013-04-17T09:00:00.000+01:00

At a writing workshop recently, I was talking to a group of students about finding good books. For those used to finding a Barnes and Noble on every corner, tracking down books in Accra seems like a Herculean task. However, with a bit of patience, (and traffic tolerance), there are a number of good bookstores around. Following is my list of places to find books - listed in random order. If you have any other suggestions, please leave a comment!

1. New books

EPP – opposite Trade Fair
EPP – opposite Legon University (Above A&C)

As is often the case in Ghana, you need to go to different stores for different things. In my opinion, EPP is the place to go if you are looking for African themed children's books - including Kathy Knowles' wonderful series. They also have a good range of text books, cookbooks and novels. I have not had the chance to visit the Legon store, but I'm told it's excellent.

For novels the following three would be my main choices. All three have a good range of international novels, children's books and non-fiction. Silverbird used to be the mainstay, but since moving upstairs next to the cinema, its stock and turnover has been dramatically reduced. Sytris has an excellent range across fiction and non-fiction. Likewise, Vidya has a smaller but still good collection of books.

Sytris – Mark Cofie House (opp Smoothies), Osu and a second store on Spintex Rd.

Vidya Bookstore – 18th Lane, off Oxford Street, opposite Ivory Coast Embassy, Osu.

Silverbird Bookstore - Accra Mall

There's also a bookstore in Dzworwulu next to the Chocopain Restaurant. I have no idea what it's called, but I've had some great finds in the Scholastic range. Also in the "small and I don't know what it's called" category, there's a bookstore just opened in the entrance to Melcom on Spintex Road. It's a tiny store but has a really interesting and more eclectic range.

If you're looking for educational books try Mayan Books – No.4 Bamako Rd, East Legon - behind the Mensvic Hotel. Mayan is a stockist for Oxford University Press. The bookstore at Legon University is also apparently good.

There are also books available in the back of the Kingdom Books and Stationery Store on the Labadi Beach road. While I wouldn't make this a first stop for books, occasionally you happen upon some great finds - like cheap Tin Tin books!

2. Secondhand books

The best option for secondhand books is the Ghana Book Trust at IPS Junction, Legon. GBT receives container loads of secondhand books on a regular basis and sells them for Ghc2 each. The novels are current and in excellent condition. There's also an extremely large children/YA section. As with any secondhand store it's hit and miss as to what you find, but we rarely come out without an armload. But maybe that's just us... Ok, sometimes it's a box...

3. Places to find book reviews

Seeing as I'm sharing book finding info, I thought I'd pass on the following. One of the questions I get from students is how you go about finding books you might want to read. The following lists are a good starting point for trawling around for reading options.

Goodreads
Amazon (look out for “customers who bought this books also bought”)
Eddie's Sofa YA book reviews
Young Adults Book Central

Websites that suggest books you might like based on other books you like:

Website with free books you can download - especially good for classics.

Project Gutenberg

Any other suggestions gratefully received!

Photo credit: adamr/freedigitalphotos.net

Dear Life - Even the camels are smiling

2013-04-15T15:02:00.003+01:00

Dear Life

There's something I've wanted for a long time, somewhere I've longed to go.

It's always been there - a pull for no discernible reason, I've just known that one day my path would take me. A place where there are things that need to be found, and learned and discovered.

And yet despite the pull it's never happened. I've talked and dreamed but never acted: until now.

Now I'm going.

As all the best things are, it was incredibly simple. In a newsletter I've been subscribing to for years I discovered an application for a writers residency. I spent possibly an hour, maybe less on the application process. In fact the most time consuming part of all was trying to arrange to send a $20 processing fee. But even then my wonderful friends came forward with offers of help - more offers than I needed (but the love and kindness is always welcome!).

They reviewed my application (it took a week).

And today we spoke (for an hour).

And in January I will travel.

For eight weeks I will live in Tetouan in Morocco, participating in a residency with Green Olive Arts.

To use their term, I will be a 'global creative'. Or perhaps I am already.

I don't know about any other labels, but 'very, very excited' fits comfortably.

Photo credit: dino de luca/freedigitalphotos.net

A Book A Week - A Million Little Pieces

2013-04-12T09:00:00.000+01:00

A Million Little Pieces - James Frey

About a third of the way through this book I started to have a sense that I'd read about it somewhere. The plot wasn't familiar, so it wasn't a review, but I knew there was something. A quick search revealed that whilst I'd heard little of the detail of this tale of drug addiction and rehabilitation, I knew of the controversy.

In 2005, this story of one man's recovery from a life of addiction and crime made it onto Oprah Winfrey's desk. She was captivated by the story and invited author, James Frey onto her show. A few tears and revelations later, the book was on the top of the New York Times best seller list, where it stayed for another fifteen weeks.

Not long after, quite innocently, a website called The Smoking Gun, decided to see if they could find one of Frey's mugshots - he details many arrests in his book - to add to their list of celebrity pictures. It turned out those shots weren't easy to find and with curiousity piqued, The Smoking Gun went deeper. The upshot of their investigations was that despite being labelled a memoir, much of Frey's story was fabricated or embellished. Winfrey, not surprisingly was furious and recalled Frey to her show, (some have claimed ambushed would be a more accurate term) and she proceeded to itemise the discrepanices and pushed him to confess.

A part of me wishes I had made it through to the end of the book before learning of Frey's deceit. If it was an authentic memoir this would be an incredible read. The style is unique, the voice engaging, and the trials and tribulations are harrowing. But knowing sullies the story. You can't help feeling manipulated and any sense of compassion goes out the window.

But perhaps what struck me most about returning to the text after reading of the controversy is the one glaring fact that makes it apparent that it is a fabrication. Ironically, it's Frey's proclaimed honesty. He is honest about his addiction, about his guilt and the impact his actions have had on those around him. He's been to hell and back and (because he obviously lived to tell the tale) there's a gleaming redemption on the horizon. From the moment he walks into the hospital he makes no attempt to shy away from his culpability and that I just don't buy. Like so many addicts, he has told his audience exactly what they wanted to hear, and they bought every word.

Reflections: Marketing Colonialism At The Accra Mall

2013-04-10T19:01:00.001+01:00

If someone had come up to me a week ago and proposed using colonialism as a marketing tool for a clothing store in Accra, I probably would have laughed.

If I'd detected a hint of seriousness I may have laughed some more, and then perhaps pointed out the fact that Ghana was the first African country to throw off its colonial shackles. If pushed, I may even have mentioned the whole business with slavery which, let's face it, didn't really endear anyone to the colonial model.

But what do I know?

Clearly not very much if the people at T.M.Lewin are to be believed. Fresh from a recent refurbishment, T.M.Lewin - an exclusive shirt and suit retailer at the Accra Mall - has unveiled their new window displays. In what can only be described as "an homage to the heady days of Colonialism" (or "extremely bad taste" whichever you prefer), the display features steamer trunks and binoculars, leather wing-backed chairs replete with Union Jack cushions, and, just in case you're missing the point, antique globes, turned to Africa.

It's a style I could totally understand if the store was located in a snooty part of London. But here? In Africa?

I was tempted to just keep walking, but then curiosity got the better of me and I went inside and asked one of the sales staff whether it wasn't a tad odd to be promoting colonialism in their store window. He said he didn't think it was at all odd. T.M.Lewin is a UK brand and that is a "part of British heritage". He also said that their store was merely a franchise and they had to simply do what they were told.

So, just to be clear, colonialism is something to aspire to, and beside, what you think of it is irrelevant, because you have to do what the UK parent company says.

Am I the only one who sees the irony in this situation?

photo credit: ponsulak/freedigitalphotos.net

Dear Life - Someone to bury the bodies with

2013-04-08T10:08:00.001+01:00

Dear Life

There's a quote that does the rounds on social media every so often - a friend helps you move, a real friend helps you move the body. Whilst I certainly don't advocate a life of crime, or implicating your friends in your nefarious deeds, it's an interesting litmus test. What's funny though is not the fact that you can actually think of people who would be there for you with a roll of carpet and rubber gloves if you called (I came up with five) but how often you hesitate before calling - especially when it's something simple.

I ran into an impasse last week. I was trying to apply for a residency position. I'd completed the online application, I'd submitted all the necessary documentation and there was just one thing outstanding - $20. An awesome opportunity hinged on $20. I had the money but it had to be delivered via paypal and paypal I don't have. (Trying to paypal from Ghana gets tricky...)

Naturally I started with lots of complicated solutions, before finally it was suggested that I simply ask for help. It was a logical solution, but my first reaction was to hesitate, and keep looking for alternatives. Finally I put a call out on Facebook and within a couple of hours I had a list of friends, on three different continents, offering to help.

The person processing the application remarked on the lengths that I'd gone to, to secure the payment. I replied simply "I have awesome friends."

For all my incredible friends I am so grateful.

And I promise I'll never need to ask you to help move a body...

photo credit: michelle meiklejohn/freedigitalphotos.net

A Book A Week - Drive

2013-04-05T10:34:00.000+01:00

Drive - Daniel Pink

As a homeschooling, self employed person, this book didn't come as a huge surprise, but it is one that I really enjoyed. I suspect that's because this is a book that sets down on paper what your gut has been telling you for years.

Drawing on decades of research and numerous commercial case studies, Daniel Pink unpacks and refutes the notion that the carrot and stick approach is an optimal approach to management. Pink asserts that while financial incentives may provide an initial motivational spike, to achieve long term results you need to look to less tangible incentives like autonomy, mastery and purpose. He looks in particular at the business models that have emerged over the last decade that are throwing standard approaches out the window. While he asserts that people have baseline financial needs, business models like open source software or Wikipedia provide a window to a world where people are driven by a whole new set of motivators.

As someone who reads a lot about education models and approaches, much of what Pink has to say rang true. But what I found really interesting was the range of 'standard practises' that he, scientists and companies are now beginning to question because not only do they fail to motivate staff, but are being shown to increase attrition rates, and lower corporate performance - things like billable hours for lawyers and commission payments for sales teams.

What's inspiring about the case studies is seeing the evolution of ideas like working from home. Pink provides some fascinating research on the rise of 'homeshoring' by companies looking at alternatives to relocating their call centres offshore. Rather than looking solely at tapping into cheap labour, homeshoring looks to access a workforce that is effectively off the business grid - people like mothers, retirees, or those with disabilities who require a greater flexibility in their working environment. If you've ever been one of those off the grid types, you won't be surprised to hear that this new workforce is better educated - around 70-80% of homeshored customer service agents are college educated - and is consistently delivering a higher quality service than the conventional approach, whilst still being cost effective.

My only criticism of the book is that it is confined to conventional workplaces. There's considerable scope to take the ideas and research outlined here and explore them in the context of the current generation of entrepreneurs and self employed. The world of homeschooling also provides a whole other case study for a study of motivation. (It doesn't take a homeschooling parent long to realise that the threat of suspending a student from school carries little weight!)

This book is really worth a read, but if you would prefer a quick snapshot of the basic principles, check out Pink's Ted Talk on the subject.

Reflections: What's it like in Ghana?

2013-04-04T01:31:00.000+01:00

People say:

What's it's like in Ghana?

And I pause and wonder how to answer.

They say:

I hear the country is booming. It's a beacon of democracy.

That makes me laugh. People don't realise it but there's an irony in the choice of words: beacon, shining light...if only.

I shouldn't laugh. Tonight I am lucky. For the first time in days my world is peaceful because the generator has finally been turned off. Fifty hours of non-stop "light off". We have a generator, many don't.

Those who read the business pages remark:

I hear the country is awash with foreign investment.

Again I stumble over their words. Water hasn't flowed to the house in years. We are lucky that we can afford to pay the trucks to bring water to our home to fill the tanks: many can't.

They begin again:

Compared to its neighbours, Ghana...

I am reminded of a story I heard the other day about a business deciding how to respond to the news that one its workers was discovered on the premises raping a child. There was debate over the best course of action. Perhaps we don't need to involve the police, some people said, after all, it is not uncommon here.

So how do I answer?

There is no one answer, because there are many Ghanas.

In my Ghana there is light and water and internet. I eat well and as I want. I have the most wonderful friends; creative people, inspiring people, talented and imaginative and resourceful people who change the world around them each and every day. I connect with artists and educators and entrepreneurs and in them I see hope and opportunity. I buy books and see movies. I exercise and create and connect.

Wherever possible I avoid policeman and government departments and peak hour and long road trips and open drains. I let my face go blank when conversation turns to bribes.

There are so many Ghanas and I live in only one.

photocredit: domdeen/freedigitalphotos.net

Dear Life - Blessed are the rains

2013-04-02T13:29:00.001+01:00

Dear Life

Of course I am grateful for the rain in the early hours of this morning. With no electricity, hence no fans, and air as thick as soup who wouldn't welcome the respite of a dawn thunderstorm? But I want to give a special thanks for those few precious moments before the clouds open, for that second when you catch the first hint of the rain to come, when the breeze lifts ever so slightly, carrying ahead of the storm the smell of damp earth. And in that moment you forget the sweat that molds the pillow to your face, the mosquito that catches its wings in the hair behind your ear, or the sheet that wraps around your ankles as you twist and turn.

Now there is only the sweet promise of relief

Photo credit: happykanppy/freedigitalphotos.net