The Names of Things
by Susan Brind Morrow
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 53)
An interesting read that weaves the study of language, egypt and hieroglyphics with personal narrative. I found it to be OK ... for me, the highlight is on pages 5 & 6:
"The flamingo is the hieroglyph for red. All red things: anger, blood, the desert are spelled with the flamingo. The Red Sea Hills are mostly red. The red rock is vibrant in the changing light.
Near here are lavender mountains with cranberry cliffs. Silver and blue and green wadis wind around them. But the tr...more
"The flamingo is the hieroglyph for red. All red things: anger, blood, the desert are spelled with the flamingo. The Red Sea Hills are mostly red. The red rock is vibrant in the changing light.
Near here are lavender mountains with cranberry cliffs. Silver and blue and green wadis wind around them. But the tr...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
lovers of language & travel.
I'm not quite done with this, but I'm going to review it anyway. It's a fascinating book by a writer who really knows words from all sides. Brind Morrow weaves together her memoir, her experiences travelling in Egypt, and etymologies of words in Arabic, ancient Greek, and other Mediterranean/Middle Eastern languages, ancient and modern. The book doesn't quite have enough forward momentum to make you pick it up again once you set it down - at least if you have a busy life like I do - and it re...more
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Read in January, 1997
A small and absorbing meditatively paced memoir of one woman’s travel adventures from New York City to the deserts of Egypt and Sudan in search of “the birth of language”. Living with nomads, navigating the harsh terrain and many obstacles, what emerges, more than travel writing, is the experience of the world through the eyes of a linguist and naturalist. A contemporary mid-eastern Walden. Anyone who loves language will be drawn in by Morrow’s spare poetic style and observations rooted ...more
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This is one of my favorite books. I've often turned to Morrow's rich, lyrical language for solace or inspiration. This book is deeply spiritual, while also grounded fully in the landscapes Morrow loves: the Finger Lakes and Egypt. The book is also about language, and Morrow explores the natural history of words deep in Egypt's deserts. One reviewer criticized the book because, "Her prose is so lyrical that the book is more like reading poetry than anything else." To me, that's a plu...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone with an interest in Egypt, language or travel
This woman, Susan Brind Morrow. Wow, she is amazing. This book is amazing. I don't know who recommended this book, Mary Matto? Ana? It's beautifully written and can reach you on many levels. For me, I am most enjoying reading about this woman's connection to people she meets in Egypt, Sudan through the many many times she has lived there and also through her own healing process. It makes me ache. She's also a super smarty pants. William Safire gave this book a 'an etymological wonderment' which ...more
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This is an unusual read. Morrow is a linguist with an interest in the nature-based origin of ancient Egyptian words and hieroglyphs. She loves Egypt and its people, no matter their poverty and superstition. This narrative mixes her life, family memories, and observations of beauty with her travels and studies. The result is quite interesting. Oddly enough for someone interested in words, I found her sentence construction awkward and often difficult to follow; I guess its the poetry coming o...more
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Read in January, 2004
recommends it for:
Etymologists, humans
Brind Morrow will tell you what a word is worth. She knows, because she's a world-class etymologist and a person deeply enough in love with life to attempt to wrestle it down and stuff it into the pages of a memoir about journalism, relationships, and the natural world of Cairo. The less said about this book, the better, because her language feels older and deeper than the ocean, and as hard to contain.
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I enjoyed this book immensely. A wonderful gift from a friend just before a fmaily trip to Egypt and some journies across the deserts described here.
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Gorgeous memoir about etymology and the desert peoples of Egypt and Sudan. One of my absolute favorite books.
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recommends it for:
Anyone with an interest in language or Egypt.
A stunning, subtle memoir.
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