Barbara Gonzalez, Grade 11
UWCEA (Moshi)
"Green City in the Sun" brings the beauty of the East African landscape and the culture I've got to know and love, stunningly alive. This book that has haunted me long after I finished reading it almost a year ago was written by the internationally bestselling author - Barbara Wood.
Barbara Wood was born in Warrington, England, and together with her parents and older brother, she immigrated to Southern California in the United States, where she grew up. Her first novel, "Hounds and Jackals," was published in 1978, and to date, she has written 30 books translated into over 30 languages. In 2002, she received the Corine Literature Prize.
The author's research for her books extends far and wide. She has visited every country she has written about and, in fact, does not feel comfortable writing about a country that she has not walked on. Sometimes it is the visit itself that inspires the book (as was the case in Green City in the Sun). Barbara immerses herself completely into the subject at hand. This includes extensive reading of books, newspapers, and magazines, as well as first-hand interviews and contacting experts in the various subjects relevant to her projects.
Due to this meticulous research, while reading one of her books, the reader is transported to exotic countries with a true sense of the culture and history relevant to each story. Countries that Barbara has visited and deepened herself because of her investigations - such as "Green City in the Sun."
The magnificent novel "Green City in the Sun," written in 1988 based upon Kenya, tells the story of two proud and powerful families-one British, one African, and their battle over Kenya's destiny in the twentieth century.
In 1917, Dr. Grace Treverton arrived in Kenya, determined to bring modern medicine to the African natives. Her brother, Sir Valentine Treverton, has his own dream for the British protectorate: to establish an agricultural empire to rival any in England. The aspirations of the wealthy Trevertons collide with those of the Mathenge tribe, an African family that has lived on the land for years. Grace soon finds a deadly rival in Mama Wachera, an African medicine woman who fights to maintain native traditions against the encroaching whites. After Wachera curses the Trevertons, a series of tragedies threaten to destroy what the once-great family fought to create. But the fates of future generations of these two remarkable families are inextricably bound.
Wood nicely recreates time and place, interweaving the main events in Kenya's history with domestic details and social nuances to enrich a sometimes melodramatic tale of pride, passion, and revenge. The customs and taboos of the Kikuyu are appropriately integrated into the narrative, as is the inevitable conflict of cultures, sweeping to a turmoil of violence during the Mau Mau uprising of the 1950s.
That is - in my opinion, one of the most remarkable aspects of the book as it describes a great variety of topics since the main characters' arrival in Kenya. From connections to World War II, the colonizers' abuse against the Native tribes, and the Mau Mau Rebellion to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and the fight for Kenya's independence.
Barbara Wood is one of my favorite authors because she's able to bring the countries she writes about, alive. Through this book, for the first time, I could have a broader vision of East Africa, imagine its landscapes, and the tribes' traditions and its transformations. I remember myself getting to know that I would come to study in Tanzania and decided to start reading this book without knowing the real significance and impact it would have on me.
I remember myself during my last day in Chile when I finished this book - which I felt was more than just a coincidence. A book that so movingly and vividly somewhat evoked the places and culture which I was about to immerse myself in and explore in UWC East Africa.
I highly recommend everyone to read this book if you feel like having a very first insight into East African culture and its history. This book opened myself to new perspectives and to a culture that was almost unknown to me. I can guarantee that "Green City in the Sun" will astonish you till the very end and will make you realize that every single page was worth it.
Barbara Wood was born in Warrington, England, and together with her parents and older brother, she immigrated to Southern California in the United States, where she grew up. Her first novel, "Hounds and Jackals," was published in 1978, and to date, she has written 30 books translated into over 30 languages. In 2002, she received the Corine Literature Prize.
The author's research for her books extends far and wide. She has visited every country she has written about and, in fact, does not feel comfortable writing about a country that she has not walked on. Sometimes it is the visit itself that inspires the book (as was the case in Green City in the Sun). Barbara immerses herself completely into the subject at hand. This includes extensive reading of books, newspapers, and magazines, as well as first-hand interviews and contacting experts in the various subjects relevant to her projects.
Due to this meticulous research, while reading one of her books, the reader is transported to exotic countries with a true sense of the culture and history relevant to each story. Countries that Barbara has visited and deepened herself because of her investigations - such as "Green City in the Sun."
The magnificent novel "Green City in the Sun," written in 1988 based upon Kenya, tells the story of two proud and powerful families-one British, one African, and their battle over Kenya's destiny in the twentieth century.
In 1917, Dr. Grace Treverton arrived in Kenya, determined to bring modern medicine to the African natives. Her brother, Sir Valentine Treverton, has his own dream for the British protectorate: to establish an agricultural empire to rival any in England. The aspirations of the wealthy Trevertons collide with those of the Mathenge tribe, an African family that has lived on the land for years. Grace soon finds a deadly rival in Mama Wachera, an African medicine woman who fights to maintain native traditions against the encroaching whites. After Wachera curses the Trevertons, a series of tragedies threaten to destroy what the once-great family fought to create. But the fates of future generations of these two remarkable families are inextricably bound.
Wood nicely recreates time and place, interweaving the main events in Kenya's history with domestic details and social nuances to enrich a sometimes melodramatic tale of pride, passion, and revenge. The customs and taboos of the Kikuyu are appropriately integrated into the narrative, as is the inevitable conflict of cultures, sweeping to a turmoil of violence during the Mau Mau uprising of the 1950s.
That is - in my opinion, one of the most remarkable aspects of the book as it describes a great variety of topics since the main characters' arrival in Kenya. From connections to World War II, the colonizers' abuse against the Native tribes, and the Mau Mau Rebellion to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and the fight for Kenya's independence.
Barbara Wood is one of my favorite authors because she's able to bring the countries she writes about, alive. Through this book, for the first time, I could have a broader vision of East Africa, imagine its landscapes, and the tribes' traditions and its transformations. I remember myself getting to know that I would come to study in Tanzania and decided to start reading this book without knowing the real significance and impact it would have on me.
I remember myself during my last day in Chile when I finished this book - which I felt was more than just a coincidence. A book that so movingly and vividly somewhat evoked the places and culture which I was about to immerse myself in and explore in UWC East Africa.
I highly recommend everyone to read this book if you feel like having a very first insight into East African culture and its history. This book opened myself to new perspectives and to a culture that was almost unknown to me. I can guarantee that "Green City in the Sun" will astonish you till the very end and will make you realize that every single page was worth it.
Bibliography:
http://barbarawood.com/
http://barbarawood.com/
www.unitedworldwide.co