Reading the 20th Century discussion
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Group Reads -> June 2021 -> Nomination thread (Post-Colonialism won by The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen)
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Mod
Let's not agonise over a definition. So far as I can make out it deals with the legacy and consequences of colonialism.
Remember there's more to imperialism and colonialism than the British empire and/or Africa.
For example, the Roman empire, the Belgian empire, French colonialism, the Soviet Union, the Ottoman Empire, Dutch and especially Spanish colonialism have all left global legacies not just across the vast and mixed continents of Africa and Asia but in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America.
Looking forward to discovering what we can come up with.
Mod
The Housing Lark (1965)
and
The Lonely Londoners (1956)
Both were very good and either would provoke an interesting discussion.
Rather than nominate a book I have already read I have decided to nominate a different book by Sam Selvon, and one that I have yet to read.
I nominate...
Moses Ascending (1975)
The book is readily available - and affordable editions abound in both physical and digital formats.
Sam Selvon's Moses Ascending depicts West Indian Immigration in England. Moses, a Trinidadian who has been in England for some years now represents immigrants who come from all corners of the world to seek a better life. Like many immigrants he is hard-working. After years of living in a dingy basement he saves up enough money to buy a house. Moses calls this his dream house in the beginning of the book but later on has a different perspective.
I have a book I’d like to nominate - just want to check if it fits for this themeIt is In the Castle of My Skin by George Lamming. Set in 1930s/40s Barbados, it deals with uprisings against colonialism and the collapse of colonial rule, but of course the time setting predates actual independence. Nevertheless, this is often quoted as an example of early post colonial literature (written in 1953)
Moderators - would this qualify? It sounds really good anyway :)
Mod
So, unless you say otherwise, we'll assume that's your nomination.
Thanks - it does indeed sound really good
Mod
These aren't nominations yet but just to whet our appetites here are some possible suggestions:
The Radetzky March
The Empire Trilogy: The Siege of Krishnapur, Troubles, and The Singapore Grip - any one of these would be great and my understanding is that they don't need to be read in order as they're linked thematically rather than via characters.
Probably too long for a group read but They Were Divided is the first part of the Transylvania Trilogy.
I'm wondering about The Sympathizer which starts in 1975 Vietnam.
There's some great Caribbean Lit around at the moment: The Mermaid of Black Conch is set in the 1970s and recently won the Costa Award amongst other prizes. Roffey's earlier The White Woman on the Green Bicycle looks good too.
Perhaps more on empire than postcolonial: The Bridge over the Drina.
And a classic which I haven't read yet is Midnight's Children.
There's also Latin America, Africa, Asia, Australia, China/Japan... looking forward to some interesting nominations!
Great, that’s my nomination then. Thanks Nigeyb.
Mod
Mod
160 pages, has been nominated for or won lots of prizes.
A couple of other books that come to mind are The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh (which I haven’t read) and The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (which I have read and loved - but I think that may be 21st century).
Mod
Another possible nomination is A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam - I inadvertently read the third part of the trilogy not realising that it was part of a series and loved it: this is the first part.
Roman Clodia wrote: "I wondered about Ghosh's Sea of Poppies but the reviews seems uneven.” I loved it and gave it 5*. It’s another great suggestion.
“Another possible nomination is A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam..."
And another...added to my tbr, I love this theme!
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Edward Said experienced both British and American imperialism as the old Arab order crumbled in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This account of his early life reveals how it influenced his books Orientalism and Culture and Imperialism. Edward Said was born in Jerusalem and brought up in Cairo, spending every summer in the Lebanese mountain village of Dhour el Shweir, until he was 'banished' to America in 1951. This work is a mixture of emotional archaeology and memory, exploring an essentially irrecoverable past. As ill health sets him thinking about endings, Edward Said returns to his beginnings in this personal memoir of his ferociously demanding 'Victorian' father and his adored, inspiring, yet ambivalent mother.
Mod
Roman Clodia wrote: "These aren't nominations yet but just to whet our appetites here are some possible suggestions: ..."Good choices, I would be interested in reading a Farrell or The Sympathizer. I've read many of the others and especially enjoyed The Transylvanian Trilogy, though my pedantic self has to clarify that the order is
1. They Were Counted
2. They Were Found Wanting
3. They Were Divided
Mod
Good choices, I would be interested in reading a Farrell or The Sympathize..."
That's the order that Amazon has them down as, Brian. I have They Were Counted on my kindle (currently only £1.99) and my TBR list.
Likewise the Farrell trilogy.
RC - The only additional link between the Farrells is that the central character in TROUBLESby j g farrell reappears as a minor character in The Singapore Grip
The Farrell trilogy is arguably an unfinished quartet, and the doctor in The Siege of Krishnapur appears in The Hill Station. They are all self-contained enough to be discussed individually.
Mod
Thanks for confirming about the Farrells too Alwynne and Hugh - I'm still pondering what I want to nominate.
Mod
Opening in Calcutta in the 1960s, Amitav Ghosh's radiant second novel follows two families—one English, one Bengali—as their lives intertwine in tragic and comic ways. The narrator, Indian born and English educated, traces events back and forth in time, from the outbreak of World War II to the late twentieth century, through years of Bengali partition and violence, observing the ways in which political events invade private lives.
Mod
"It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be given passage aboard the last flights out of the country. The general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, unaware that one among their number, the captain, is secretly observing and reporting on the group to a higher-up in the Viet Cong.
The Sympathizer is the story of this captain: a man brought up by an absent French father and a poor Vietnamese mother, a man who went to university in America, but returned to Vietnam to fight for the Communist cause. A gripping spy novel, an astute exploration of extreme politics, and a moving love story, The Sympathizer explores a life between two worlds and examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today."
It has an impressive list of prizes to its name: Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2016), California Book Award for First Fiction (Gold) (2015), PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize Nominee for Shortlist (2016), Edgar Award for Best First Novel (2016), Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction (2016)
Deutscher Krimi Preis for 2. Platz International (2018), The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize (2015), Andrew Carnegie Medal for Fiction (2016), Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Adult Fiction (2015), International Dublin Literary Award Nominee for Shortlist (2017).
Sounds fascinating as it looks at one of the less explored sites of post colonial identity (Vietnam) and I'm intrigued that it apparently has a section set during the filming of Apocalypse Now.
Mod
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Nominations:
NIGEYB: Moses Ascending by Sam Selvon
PAMELA: In the Castle of My Skin by George Lamming
SUSAN: Out of Place by Edward W. Said
ROMAN CLODIA: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Mod
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My sense is that we have all our nominations now so this is a final call for nominations. I'll get the poll up in around 24 hours.
Mod
I wasn't sure if this qualified - Setting the Desert on Fire: T.E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916 - 1918 by James Barr. One of the review said it provided a general history of the Arab Revolt. Also thought about The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire: Churchill, Roosevelt, and the Birth of the Pax Americana by P.F. Clarke. I have this one on my kindle so I'm not sure how long it is.
Let me know if either of these fit the category. I wasn't quite sure when post-colonialism in China starts, but thought about Emily Hahn's China to Me: A Partial Autobiography or The Soong Sisters.
Mod
Let's go with Setting the Desert on Fire: T.E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916 - 1918. It is a recent purchase for me. It was even still on the staircase. From the front cover flap: It shines a new light on the crucial period 1916-1918, meticulously detailing the political tensions and military strategy that underpinned Western efforts to manipulate tribes and exploit religious schisms in pursuit of power and the control of increasingly essential resources.
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Vote here:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...
Nominations:
NIGEYB: Moses Ascending by Sam Selvon
PAMELA: In the Castle of My Skin by George Lamming
SUSAN: Out of Place by Edward W. Said
ROMAN CLODIA: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
JAN: Setting the Desert on Fire: T.E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916 - 1918 by James Barr
Mod
Pollwatch....
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen - 12 votes, 33.3%
Out of Place by Edward W. Said - 9 votes, 25.0%
In the Castle of My Skin by George Lamming - 6 votes, 16.7%
Moses Ascending by Sam Selvon - 5 votes, 13.9%
Setting the Desert on Fire: T.E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916 - 1918 by James Barr - 4 votes, 11.1%
Vote here:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...
Nominations:
NIGEYB: Moses Ascending by Sam Selvon
PAMELA: In the Castle of My Skin by George Lamming
SUSAN: Out of Place by Edward W. Said
ROMAN CLODIA: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
JAN: Setting the Desert on Fire: T.E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916 - 1918 by James Barr
Mod
Mod
Here's the final results....
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen - 12 votes, 30.8%
Out of Place by Edward W. Said - 10 votes, 25.6%
In the Castle of My Skin by George Lamming - 6 votes, 15.4%
Moses Ascending by Sam Selvon - 6 votes, 15.4%
Setting the Desert on Fire: T.E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916 - 1918 by James Barr - 5 votes, 12.8%
Thanks to everyone who nominated, discussed and voted
Here's to another wonderful RTTC discussion in June 2021
Nominations:
NIGEYB: Moses Ascending by Sam Selvon
PAMELA: In the Castle of My Skin by George Lamming
SUSAN: Out of Place by Edward W. Said
ROMAN CLODIA: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
JAN: Setting the Desert on Fire: T.E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916 - 1918 by James Barr
Reading the 20th Century
Books mentioned in this topic
Out of Place (other topics)Moses Ascending (other topics)
In the Castle of My Skin (other topics)
The Sympathizer (other topics)
Setting the Desert on Fire: T.E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916-1918 (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
George Lamming (other topics)Viet Thanh Nguyen (other topics)
Edward W. Said (other topics)
James Barr (other topics)
Sam Selvon (other topics)
More...
Please choose a work of fiction or non fiction that deals with Post-Colonialism written or set in the twentieth century that you would like to read and discuss.
Please supply the title, author, a brief synopsis, and anything else you'd like to mention about the book, and why you think it might make a good book to discuss.
If your nomination wins then please be willing to fully participate in the subsequent discussion
Happy nominating