Place of Reeds - Couverture souple

Davies, Caitlin

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0743268539 ISBN 13 : 9780743268530

Editeur : Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2005

Synopsis

Is Caitlin Davies story of her extraordinary twelve years in Botswana, during which she learned to endure the privations of of poverty, the rigidity of the matriarchal family structure, the joy of the birth of her daughter, and her ostracization by the people she had grown to love.

A propos du livre

Revue de presse

'Her moving story encompasses the spectrum of human emotion, and is hilarious and poignant in equal measure' WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY
'Devastating' EVENING STANDARD 01/06
'Davies's prose is elegant and spare, her descriptions of the landscape are evocative - you can feel the bite of dust in the back of your throat, the glare of the sun' SUNDAY TIMES
'Her book is candid and unsentimental: her writing is well paced and she has a particular gift for catching an individual's physical presence . . . the reader admires a brave woman' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
'Often funny and insightful and the prose crisp and evocative' FT magazine 23/7
'The biggest turning point in her life came when a man broke into her home and raped her. At this point the gap between our own responses and those around her became a chasm, nowhere more painfully apparent than when her adopted daughter complained that the 12-year sentence given to her rapist was too harsh . . . Davies certainly suffered for her African years and eloquently describes that suffering' SPECTATOR 13/8
'Davies fell in love with Ron and a graduate student, and later moved to his homeland of Botswana. She embraces his family, but struggles to understand their traditions and accept their hierarchies. As editor of the local newspaper, her investigations of exploited Kalahari bushmen, political corruption and poorly handled rape cases make her a target for legal persecution. A violent attack in front of her baby and the brutal response of Ron's family leave the author wrestling with her new African identity . . . The romantic titles belies an unflinching account of how cultural and personal bonds are established, and far more painfully ruptured' Sunday Times 10/9

Quatrième de couverture

Caitlin Davies was in her twenties and studying in America when she met and fell in love with the enigmatic Ron. When Ron returned to his home in Botswana, Caitlin joined him in Maun, the 'Place of Reeds', and the two began their lives together.
Eager to absorb all that Setswana culture had to offer, the headstrong Londoner found herself becoming part of Ron's large extended family, falling in love with both the country and its people. Eventually, with the birth of their daughter Ruby, Caitlin's happiness seemed complete.
But the Botswana of the 1990s was changing. AIDS and urbanization had taken their toll, violence was on the increase. When, with her child in her arms, Caitlin was brutally attacked, Ron's family closed ranks and Caitin found herself ostracised by the very people she had grown to love.
Passionate, hilarious, dramatic and heartbreaking in turn, Place of Reeds is Caitlin Davies' moving account of her twelve eventful years in Botswana. It's a story about the clash of cultures, about the inflexibility of belief and tradition. A story about women - about Caitlin and her daughter, about Eliah and Madintwa - Ron's formidable mother and grandmother. And, most of all, it's a story about one woman's courage, resilience - and, ultimately, survival.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Date d'édition: 2005
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0743268539
• ISBN 13: 9780743268530
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 448
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible