"To compensate a little for the treachery and weakness of my memory, so extreme that it has happened to me more than once to pick up again, as recent and unknown to me, books which I had read carefully a few years before . . . I have adopted the habit for some time now of adding at the end of each book . . . the time I finished reading it and the judgment I have derived of it as a whole, so that this may represent to me at least the sense and general idea I had conceived of the author in reading it." (Montaigne, Book II, Essay 10 (publ. 1580))

Monday, March 11, 2013

The Catastrophist (Ronan Bennett, 1998)


[Re-read for book club (per CPG) in 2014; below discussion is from original read in 2013.]

Something very different for me:  a modern novel.  Nothing really wrong with this book, though it reinforces my decision to focus on catching up with works that have stood the test of time.

Writer from Northern Ireland (Seamus n/k/a James) is in love with Italian communist (Ines) resident in the Congo at the time of independence from Belgium; he joins her there.  She sort of loves him but ultimately is more interested in causes than anything else - supporting Patrice Lumamba.  There is a CIA-type character working connections - opposed to Lumamba due to his leanings toward Communism.  Also various Belgian folks.

Generated some interesting thoughts about the transition to independence and the dire situation in these countries.  Somewhat useful followup to discussions in book like this about the way King Leopold abused the Congo.
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