Annette's Thoughts - (Now that she's finally home)

Hello ladies...sorry to have been slow on commenting and completely lapsing on providing any questions...as I would expect you've stepped up to the plate with a very interesting set of comments. Here are mine,

I was fascinated with this book and Helene's story and that of her country. I found myself surprised more than a few times. I liked Helene...she wasn't a perfect person but she had the ability to rise to the occasion, learn, and had a good sense of humor in spite of situations.

Although I knew that Liberia had been "founded" by slaves and that it is now a cesspool of corruption and poor living conditions, I had no idea how quickly the fortunes of the country changed and how affluent some segments of the country had been in the not too recent past. And things like there not being electricity in the capital for something like 10 years! How can that be??? I didn't know about the flight of virtually all the educated and well off blacks to foreign countries. And speaking of educated and wealthy blacks....I just never knew that the upper class of Liberia were black and that they were so wealthy. And that they were wealthy in a very "western" way....with their fascination with modern architecture and of things from the US...Nancy Drew, movies, music, dress, and cars....adn Europe. What a loss to this country to lose all that education and experience with their flight out of Liberia.

I agree with jennie that I was fascinated with the fact that some people have remained loyal to Liberia and keep going back. And that some people never left even when they had the choice to leave. It is a testimony to the pull of national roots and sense of community. It seems insane and remarkably admirable at the same time.

Several "cultural" things fascinated me about Helene's upbringing in Liberia. First, I was struck by the fact she didn't view herself as "second class" to any other group or race of people. In not growing up somewhere like the US where blacks are often (and at one time were always) treated as second class citizens with sub par capabilities, she grew up thinking of herself as capable and...well...superior. Her shock of how blacks were viewed and treated in the US when she first moved here was sad testimony to race relations in the US at the time.

I know that the language thing was confusing for some of you...I was captivated by it. I've always had an avid interest in language, dialects, the use of language in culture, how culture shapes language and vice versa, and how language is used to define social groups and classes. The use of multiple accents and dialects to maneuver in different social situations is foreign to many of us in the western US where we always say "we have no accent" ...but it isn't that distant. I have several Boston friends who's accents lighten up when they aren't with their Boston friends. And the desire to speak "proper" (for instance a cockney learning to speak with a Queen's English accent AKA My Fair Lady) is pretty common. And we associate the "good old boy red neck accent" with...well...undereducated red necks!

Although it made a tougher read, I don't think she could have told her story without using the language and dialects to show who she was or who she was trying to be at any given moment.

But beyond the heaviness of the politics and chaos of what happened to her family and her country, there was also a delightful story of a little girl growing up amongst close friends and family. I loved things like the fact that the girls ended up pulling the mattresses all into one room and sleeping their together the entire time they lived there even though there was 4 times the room. I loved the glimpses into her teen years, being boy crazy, fighting the bullies, just "normal" stuff. I thought she described well the heartache and confusion over the divorce.

I wondered too along with Jennie as to why it took Helene so long to contact her sister back in Liberia. I wonder if there was something going on akin to "survivor's guilt"...she was lucky enough to get out and maybe she felt guilty or ashamed? hmmm...I don't know. It may have also just been a certain level of immature self-centeredness going on that she finally grew out of.I agree with Rebecca that when they reunite and Eunice shows no bitterness and instead is mature and greeets Helene with an open heart, I was really impressed by how amazing she was to have survived without bitterness and was able to carve out a life for herself in that chaotic morass of a country.

All in all...the book was a great journey. Now onto Outliers!