Life death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity. by Katherine Boo.
I found this book to be compelling and a bit disturbing. It’s a tragic study of our modern world. Here is an excerpt:
But the slumdwellers rarely got mad together-not even about the airport authority. Instead, powerless individuals blamed other powerless individuals for what they lacked. Sometimes they tried to destroy one another. Sometimes, like Fatima, they destroyed themselves in the process. When they were fortunate, like Asha, they improved their lots by beg- garing the life chances of other poor people. What was unfolding in Mumbai was unfolding elsewhere, too. In the age of global market capitalism, hopes and grievances were narrowly conceived, which blunted a sense of common predicament. Poor people didn’t unite; they competed ferociously amongst themselves for gains as slender as they were provisional. And this undercity strife created only the faintest ripple in the fabric of the society at large. The gates of the rich. occasionally rattled remained unbreached. The politicians held forth on the middle class. The poor took down one another, and the world’s great, unequal cities soldiered on in relative peace.
“powerless individuals blamed other powerless individuals for what they lacked” – that touched me. So true.
I read this book my dad wrote. I really enjoyed it and was overwhelmed by my Dad’s thoughts. I have not lived the life of engagement that my dad and mom did, and I feel not worthy.
Here is the first paragraph of the introduction, which is worth the read. I wish I could say “So, world, count me in.”
This book is written by my Uncle, John Ruth. It’s a very topical conversation, even going on right now at the UU Church, where we acknowledge , at each service, that we are on land taken from others. Jack Brubaker described it as “Thick with facts,” which was a bit of a euphemism.
The Epilogue was quite interesting, and worth the read to get there.
I didn’t think I would enjoy this book because I assumed Jurek is some sort of self-promoting narcissist. But, instead, he is just an old guy searching for meaning in his life and relationships. The book was very enjoyable. I really like learning about the culture and danger of the AT and the experience of AT through hikers.
This book is about a plane crash in Canada, and how it affected the lives of the survivors. I found it a little hard to follow, at times. I think the author sometimes used the men’s’ last names, and other times their first names.
It was not the page turner I was looking for, but I enjoyed learning about bush flying and rural airlines in the outback of Canada.
Five stars for this little book! The beginning about eels and the author’s childhood was enthralling, followed by a somewhat boring middle, but the the last few chapters veer in to heart-felt spirituality.
It’s translated from Swedish, which gives it a quaint European cadence.
