If you are an armchair traveler, a lover of history, or enjoy a deep dive into the cultural background of where you hope to go, you'll enjoy Posteguillo's book on Julius Caesar.
Key historical figures shape entire countries, and this book explores why Caesar made a lasting impact on a city, a country, and the Mediterranean region. I enjoyed the creative non-fiction, the descriptions, and the possibilities of what life may have been like around this towering man.
Well-researched and interesting.
Our book group is reading this in March. The cover feels like it might be a girls-only book and my flip-through lands on a lot of long descriptions, which I usually skim through.
But I trust these readers. Starting on International Women's Day, I felt obligated to get through it for our book group meeting. I swiped down to turn on my iPhone reader, changed the setting to 1.5X reading speed ... and
was lost! What a marvelous immersion into culture and time (Ming Dynasty). (Similar to this book about women in Pakistan.) You'll want to read this book for its rich descriptions of the inner life of Chinese families in Chinese history. The isolation of individuals and competition for status between family members in the Confusion and Buddhist culture at that point are heart-breaking.
For me, it was an eye-opening reminder of the privileges women enjoy in the West today due to the influences of Christianity.
As a follower of Jesus, I am grateful that he offered a completely different view of human interaction: "Love each other, and in this way people will know you are my disciples." As God-with us, he invited women into his inner circles, as did the early church. Women supported his itinerary ministry and sat at his feet to learn. They were hosts, teacher, and leaders of the early churches (for example, Lydia the business woman, Priscilla the teacher, and Julia the apostle).
We don't have the names of all the male leaders in the New Testament writings, nor of all the women. Enough women's names are included to know they were highly valued and welcome to contribute - not just from a back courtyard, hidden away from sight or as men's possessions.
Yet by the time of the historical church, male leader often subverted and blocked the inclusion of female leaders. Take for example the medieval scribe who changed f. Junia's name to m. Junias, perhaps due to the "impossibility" in his mind of a female apostle.
That certainly doesn't align with the "everyone come, everyone be empowered by the Spirit, and everyone go and serve" of Acts 2, 1 Corinthians 11, and elsewhere.
Read this amazing novel - and your heart will be moved with the resilience and persistence of women throughout history.
And if you are a Christ-follower, thank God that both men and women are treasured in his sight because we are all created in his image, called to love him, and empowered to love and serve others in our unique ways, in our special callings. #ladytanscircleofwomen
But Pataki brings to life a season and a culture of yesterday in a fascinating and thoughtful way.
Recommended when you have time to ponder life and worldviews and the influence of one person in many circles. Well-written with complicated character development and historical detail.
Well, this one was a surprise. I ended up liking it. However, the culture (black, Southern) is so far from my worldview (immigrant Canadian family) that it took me a while to understand the dynamics.
The Garden family of women is competitive and competent, but they are working at cross-purposes throughout. "I'm right, you're wrong," could have been a subtitle.
I'd love to know what readers in the American South think of it. Fortunately, the ending brings some resolution and satisfaction. Overall, a good story and interesting interactions.
This is a fascinating look at women's place in history. Social scientists and anthropologists interpret the scant evidence of history, since there are no survivors from various cultures. We have DNA samples, leftovers of writing and hospitality, worship, migration patterns, and settlements. A researcher's job is not just to read the evidence but to interpret it. Therefore, depending on the philosophy (and culture and religion) of the researcher, the findings can be diverse and exciting.
This volume interprets history through the lens of feminism and anti-patriarchy. Daeva present a well-documented trail of evidence, previous research, and current speculation. While I disagree with most of the author's conclusions, this book presents a wealth of research in anthropology, humanities, historical religious, and mythology.
Dive in if you dare - and see where she takes you. I'm the mom of three fine grown sons and a wonderful daughter. It's been clear from their first yelp that men and women are created differently and those differences show up from the time of birth. Whether our adult kids would agree with each other and Daeva on the evidence dissected and reworked, is not up for debate. The window you look out of determines your view of the street, no doubt about it.
Want a book with a compelling story that gives insights into culture, American prejudice, and immigrant restrictions? This is it! Highly recommended.
It's a good novel in itself but the story is both heartbreaking and hopeful. You'll want to read it all, including in the messy middle. If you thought your life was complicated and hard, enter the world of Bea and Jack - you'll grieve, laugh, wonder, and most of all consider where your own choices are taking you.
In my parents' generation, you waited - often for years - until you got papers to emigrate and work. Some of your farmily or friends may have been killed while they waited. Many friends never got those papers and stayed behind.
It was not your right to be a citizen; it was considered a great privilege that you worked toward. There was no sense of entitlement. There were no handouts from the government, scholarships, or benefits based on race or language in previous generations. Our parents never taught us not to climb the ladder. The goal was to be good people. If you could, you became part of the new country. Some immigrants were returned to Europe or had to relocate elsewhere, but that was a chance you took.
Fellow immigrants even a few years ahead of you introduced the customs and cultures so you could blend in. You didn't bring your customs with you in a disruptive way. There was no trashing where you lived. No keeping your yard and the street a mess. No playing loud music or disturbing the neighbors.
Our parents had no whisper network to elude the law or run scams. They expected those in similar circumstances to share jobs, benefits, and how to save money honestly. They neither stole from work or shops or thought of dealing drugs at night. If someone broke the law, they were shunned or reported.
If and when you got to your new home, you worked brutal hours and began to save. You did without until you could afford better food or shelter. There were no expensive parties or extravagant events to impress others. (Weddings and funeral were frugal, catered by friends in a yard or at church.) No one went to restaurants. Mothers sewed the family's clothes with cheap cloth. (No one expected or splurged on designer bags or shoes!) The minute they could afford a down payment, immigrants bought or built a house, not always in a great neighborhood. Then everyone in a family put their earnings together, scrimping to pay off the mortgage. They took care of what they had, repairing before replacing. It took decades for some but they valued becoming citizens.
My parents and their friends worked hard to assimilate into the community. They expected to benefit the city they lived in, not just to milk the system. Those with similar roots met at church or lived near each other.
Gutierrez tells a different story - of Mexicans who bring their culture and expectations to the USA without recognizing the values of the country they enter. They want benefits without assimilation, saving, or maintenance. Theirs is a day to day struggle for survival rather than a planned path of wealth or health. It's not popular to say that I did not gain any sympathy for those who game the system, trash their surroundings, and then whine about the consequences. Who'd want such neighbors?
Gutierrez understood even as a child that those kinds of immigrants would not reap the advantages of being in the USA. They were users who became the used. It was a dead end, frightening and never safe or secure.
She chose another path for herself and her brother.
Going against most of your culture is difficult and the challenges are many. Gutierrez writes honestly and sometimes resentfully about the mental and physical strain of creating a new life in a new country. I admire her grit and her resourcefulness. I am glad she came to a country where the government provides a hand up and handouts to those willing to work for them.
Is making a new life competitive? Is it hard? Sometimes almost impossible? YES. But Gutierrez shows that it's not impossible. Just like my parents never expected to be wealthy, build Fortune 500 companies, or compete with the well-off, she is in the builder generation. The benefits will be for her kids and those behind her. That's normal. That's usual. That's neither discrimination nor cruelty.
For Gutierrez to work hard for justice for immigrants, fair pay for fair work (with no theft please!), and to advocate for the poor and oppressed is admirable. 2nd generation immigrants like me can totally cheer her on and hopefully open doors for her and honest immigrants, just as citizens did for our parents. I want her to teach her own children generosity, honesty, helping others, and how to benefit the country they are part of, as my parents did for me.
That said, it's not a right to get into another nation. It's a privilege that will cost you big parts of your history. It will stretch you in the present. And it may earn you and your children a future. You - like Gutierrez - have to decide if it's worth it.
As a descendent of German immigrants over several generations, this is especially interesting. The view of those on the ground makes for good and terrible stories. Hardly anyone went back to Europe if they made it to Canada or the USA or Brazil. But the homeland or Heimat never leaves you, no matter what generation you're in.
This was an interesting look at my past and how history is told and retold by those who experience it. Creative non-fiction, probably.
Would be especially interesting reading for those who went through WWII or are listening to stories from Grandma and Grandpa about those days, whether they were in Germany, the rest of Europe, or in the USA.
Missions is an evolving profession as researchers and practitioners who continue to explore and understand how real change is possible in the name of Christ. Read this volume to see how God is at work and how the helping professions and outside interventions can do more good than harm.
