Joy Packer (1905–1977)
Auteur de The Moon By Night
A propos de l'auteur
Œuvres de Joy Packer
Vindalen 1 exemplaire
Mannen i gränden 1 exemplaire
KESÄ HILJAISELLA KADULLA 1 exemplaire
Il frutto dell'amore 1 exemplaire
Een Fatale Vrouw 1 exemplaire
The man out there, 1 exemplaire
THE MOON BY NIGHT BY JOY PACKER~1957 1 exemplaire
Oeuvres associées
Best-in-Books: Valley of the Vines / Guestward Ho! / The Seven File / Christmas for Tad: A Story of Mary and Abraham… (1956) — Contributeur — 1 exemplaire
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Date de naissance
- 1905-02-11
- Date de décès
- 1977-09-06
- Sexe
- female
- Nationalité
- South Africa
- Lieux de résidence
- Cape Town, South Africa
London, England, UK
Hong Kong - Études
- University of Cape Town
- Professions
- journalist
- Courte biographie
- Lady Joy Petersen Packer (her husband, the British admiral Herbert Packer, was knighted in 1950) travelled around the world and wrote her memoirs. She also worked as a journalist and wrote romantic novels.
Membres
Critiques
Listes
Prix et récompenses
Vous aimerez peut-être aussi
Auteurs associés
Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 24
- Aussi par
- 1
- Membres
- 321
- Popularité
- #73,715
- Évaluation
- 2.9
- Critiques
- 5
- ISBN
- 66
- Langues
- 4
Laugh with Joy as she observes those adorable blacks attempt to run a parliament - but don't worry, all the important things are still in white hands! Frown with Joy as she condemns the new breed of English settlers who allow their black servants to eat at their table like equals. Nod along as she alternately likens the blacks to monkeys and to children. Even rhino spotting provides an opportunity to examine racial affairs - because rhinos come in both white and black, and guess which kind is objectively better?
Okay, so I guess I should explain why I gave this book 4 stars.
I learned a lot reading this book. Joy visits many African colonies, and for each one, she describes the current colonial policy and her thoughts on it (needs more apartheid! Native self-government is absurd!). I am embarrassingly ignorant about African history, but constantly found myself asking "And how'd that go for them?" And then I turned to Wikipedia to find out. Joy mentioned Ruth Khama, a white woman who had married an African chief, and how the colonial authorities were wringing their hands to figure out "how to deal with it" (Spoiler: they dealt with it poorly). I'd never heard anything about this before, and I'd like to find out more!
It also gave me a bit of an insight into racism itself - I always wonder how two groups of people can live in close contact and not eventually figure out they're each just different kinds of people, with equal emotional and intellectual capabilities. I now see that wilful ignorance must play a part, exemplified when Joy mentions that the blacks in a particular South African city rioted for "no apparent reason". Really, Joy? You're a trained journalist, but your curiosity suddenly dries up when it comes to this? You can't think of one single possible reason that might have happened? God forbid you ask anyone?
I also learned about the existence of ethnopsychology, a field which is unsurprisingly no longer popular.
Lastly, Joy is actually quite a talented writer - she has a knack for eliciting emotion with poetic descriptions of the scenes she encounters between bouts of racism.
So, I actually enjoyed this book, despite the content. I have a better understanding of African history, and of the roots of current events in Africa. I have some interesting "leads" I'd like to pursue with regard to further reading. Your experience may vary, but I found it worthwhile.… (plus d'informations)