I have finished reading Travels in Accra by Paulo Coelho. This is a very special book. The only work I have ever read which is comparable on any level is The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran. Both books are deceptively short, but deep and rich in meaning and relevance.
The primary background scenario involves the imminent siege of Accra [Acre] by the Western European/ Latin speaking Europeans by Crusade. The inhabitants of Accra included Orthodox [Greek] Christians, Jews, Muslims, Copts, and several other diverse groups of people.
In this fictional setting, representatives of each of these groups approach a wise Coptic elder and ask for advice and comfort to deal with their various fears and anxieties of the day--knowing what is about to happen to them. The Coptic elder dispenses poetic wisdom and solace in much the way the Prophet does in the comparison work. Coelho is pithy, poetic and wise--giving each person the attention and response that is needed to help him or her cope with the terrible doom waiting outside the city gates. I have a hunch this is going to be a classic, which will be read by many people, in many languages, long after its initial year of publication. Highly Recommended.
Travels in Siberia is lengthy enough to cover the topic of one of the largest land masses on the planet. Ian Frazier manages to keep the readers/listeners' attention with fascinating geographical, historical and social details--mixed with wonderful stories and anecdotes related from his several journeys across that forbidding landscape. This book is never boring or tedious. There were chapters where tears of laughter and sorrow could be shed in equal copious amounts due to the eccentricities of the Siberian and Russian peoples, the bureaucrats, the thousands sent to the Gulags over hundreds of years, the wealth of natural resources in the region, the misguided social and economic planning by multiple leaders, the misguided attempts to traverse the country...
[remarking about the attempts of one British crew of explorers who tried to cross Siberia, Frazier remarked that he discovered that "Monty Python is a documentary, not a comedy."] The book is as rich as the landmass, always yielding surprises and very digestible by being delivered in modest humorous bites of prose. This is Siberia with fascinating human faces peering out behind the vast forest of Taiga. This book is also highly recommended to anyone who enjoys adventurous and unusual armchair travel.
-Monty Phair
If you enjoyed Coelho's "Manuscript found in Accra," which I'm now going to read courtesy of your review of it, you should check out other works by Coelho (unless you've already read them), such as The Alchemist and The Pilgrimage. Also, classics like Hesse's Siddhartha and Narcissus and Goldmund.
ReplyDeleteHey Monty,
ReplyDeleteI'd like to recommend 2 books to you. First, a customer recommended the new biography of Calvin Coolidge, called, simply, COOLIDGE, by Amity Shlaes. I would not have imagined a biography of Calvin Coolidge to be so moving. Shlaes does a great job of making you feel like you actually KNOW Coolidge. And she paints a special picture of his greatness. She begins by pointing out that most presidents are only remembered for winning the big wars. But she purports that Coolidge is equally great, if not more so, with the influence and impact he had on his time and the time after him.
I also would like recommend WHO I AM by Pete Townsend. As with any good biography of an old rocker, the history and the setting convey what was going on during those times. An effective biographer will tell you as much about the time period as the subject. And Pete is a keen self observer. Humble in many ways, too, and takes responsibility for so many thing in his life that he ruined or failed at, etc. It was extra special to hear Pete himself narrate it on CD.