Broken Glass in Around the World

Dec 12, 2016 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: location-africa, translated, hoopla, africa2016, ebooks, read2016, location-congo

This was a difficult book to read! It is bit stream-of-consciousness from a man who is supposed to be recording about his life in a journal but is busier drinking. It was originally on my Africa 2016 reading list because otherwise, the only book I've read set in the Congo is the typical Heart of Darkness. This book is the opposite of a colonial novel. The technology, the society, the politics, are all post-colonial, 21st century Africa, and for that reason I was glad to dip into it, even if I wa ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Jul 22, 2020 Ann Helen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: the-republic-of-the-congo, africa

"in Africa, when an old person dies, a library burns"

Ever heard that old cliché? Me neither, but I like it. It's everything we should try to avoid. So much knowledge is lost because of poor or no record keeping. Not just the important stuff - with legal or economic consequences - but also the fun moments that only live on in someone's memory, the heartaches or the victories that no one shares and that dies with you. Of course, we can't document our entire lives, that might at some point start to "in Africa, when an old person dies, a library burns"

Ever heard that old cliché? Me neither, but I like it. It's everything we should try to avoid. So much knowledge is lost because of poor or no record keeping. Not just the important stuff - with legal or economic consequences - but also the fun moments that only live on in someone's memory, the heartaches or the victories that no one shares and that dies with you. Of course, we can't document our entire lives, that might at some point start to become pretty creepy. But Broken Glass tries to record the stories people wish to tell, and the stories he has to tell himself.

And the stories are equally tragic and hilarious. Credit Gone West, a bar in the Congo, has quite the clientele. First time I've ever read about an actual pissing contest, which by the way ended, surprisingly, with a sweet moment. There's the guy that did Paris, the guy that wears Pampers and has a torn up asshole, and the guy who wants to know where the ducks in cold countries goes in winter. There are his own experiences with an old prostitute. Broken Glass doesn't mind being graphic or direct. He doesn't gloss over anything. But in writing these people's stories he does interpret them. As the reader does with every novel. The story means something different to everyone, and the author's intentions can be utterly irrelevant. Some of the storytellers aren't pleased with that, though. They want their version of their story in the records, with a clear intent and no room for differing interpretations. Good luck with that, it's an impossible task for any author. And not one worth gunning for.

Since this is a book of stories and storytelling, it's not surprising that it is littered with references to works of literature. 170 references, to be precise. I'm guessing I've missed more than half, at least. The duck guy calls himself Holden and is referencing The Catcher in the Rye, there are numerous titles inserted in the stories, amongst others many from Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mario Vargas Llosa. He refers to the guy that was in exile in Guernsey, which is Victor Hugo. Anyone could make a sport - or at least a drinking game - out of reading this book.

I read this for The Reading Rush and have now completed one badge. Yay me! This was a fun one to start with. ...more

Like · see review