Francine Rivers - A Voice in the Wind

The multitude of gods in the 500 pages of the book held my interest:- Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Asclepius, Athena, Attis, Bachus, Ceres, Cupid, Cybelle, Diana, Dionysus,  Eros, Hera, Hades, Hermes, Hestia, Juno, Jupiter, Liber, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Poseidon, Tiwaz and a myriad of other deities for each and every activity under heaven. No wonder it was always so difficult for the Ephesians and Romans to be sure that all gods had been included and hence to also refer to the "Unknown God" just in case inadvertently one might annoy a God - minor or otherwise - by excluding them. I presuppose the people of that day and age were good at hedging their bets.   It reminds me of a recent discussion with AM where she said that people had to be careful of the names they give their children - naming one's child Diana might be construed to be homage to the goddess of childbirth and forest.  So I shall not mention "Tuesday" without thinking of Tiwaz, Drink a packet of Ceres Juice or eat cereals without recalling the god of agriculture, Walk into a Doctor's office and not be amazed by the rod of Aesculapius, (a snake-entwined staff), which remains a symbol of medicine today.  We cannot completely run away from the the remains of that old time religion...It may be gone but it is here with us.

 

'A Voice in the Wind' follows the the shenanigans of the aristocratic Valerian family as this book is indeed set around their ups and downs. The patriarch Decimus, matriarch Phoebe and children Marcus & Julia. It is indeed the challenge of parenthood and seeking to mould our children around what we deem best. Interestingly though Decimus muses that "It is impossible for men to avoid fate, even when they see it before hand". There is always some power beyond us that fights against what we deem best for ourselves and our loved ones. Decimus worked the best he could for his children rising from nothing so that they could have everything but he often wondered why they did not exercise restraint upon their appetites. He concluded - like the writer of Ecclesiastes - that life is but vanity of vanities - a chasing after the wind.  Right in the middle of this struggle, is the life of Haddassah - a christian Jewess who is a slave captured from the razing of Judea.

 

I enjoyed the politics of the day. The Roman Empire never ceases to amaze me. However what was true then is still today and Marcus would like to avoid politics as much as possible because it is a 'dirty' game. Many of his friends were ordered to commit suicide when the Emperor suspected them of treason based on no evidence other than the word of a jealous senator. Oh! Why must people be submit to the god of jealousy - pthonous - and seek to pull others down. This is so true even today in all places where people seek power and influence even in the work place.

 

The title of this book derives from the story of the prophet Isaiah (1st Kings 19) where running from Jezebel, Yahweh spoke to a frightened Isaiah in the wilderness - not through the wind, earthquake nor through the fire - but in a whisper - a small voice in the wind. A Voice in the Wind is intriguing as it seeks to lead the reader through the travails of one of the followers of the way in the early first century.  The book is very well written, interesting, humorous and with lots of historical lessons.  This is my second reading of the book and I could read it again and never tire of it.

 

Grace Ogot - The Promised Land

The novella is about a couple who emigrated to Tanganyika - being uprooted from their people - in search of a better life. It echoes, in many ways, the same complexities of emigration that people experience today.   In the 1930's - the promised land -  for the tribal people of Seme - was perhaps Kisumu or Tanganyika where families sometimes emigrated in search of the promised land - never to return to the land of their ancestors. With globalisation, it is now Mombasa, Europe, the Americas or even far away Russia. Immigration is a topical issue in Europe and USA where laws are enacted to stem the flow of unwanted immigrants. That said, immigration is not a novel issue given that since eons past, people have laid their stake to a place and been wary of 'foreigners'. They have dealt with newcomers in the way they deemed fit - from hostility, witchcraft, wars and laws. When all is said and done, it is survival for the fittest and the side that manages to subdue and conquer become the new owners on the look out for those who might wish to unlodge them from their 'rightful' place.  But human beings are resilient and do not 'learn',  for - then as now - people will continue to emigrate in hordes in search of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Some will succeed and others will fail and return.

 

I enjoyed reading Grace Ogot's Promised Land, not so much for the story - which was enjoyable - but more to confirm the fact that indeed before everything there was indeed a history of a people. Whether we like it or not - before the white man ventured into Africa - there was a life. Although the story is set in the 1930's the actors make reference to their ancestors, cultures and times past through a traditional folklore that has been passed down mostly orally and therefor gets lost. When my son and daughter wanted to study A level History, I was distressed that none of the modules were centered on African History.  I took to buying books that had been promulgated through the "African Writers Series" but to my chagrin my children found it difficult to relate to them.

 

I couldn't help but relate this story to that of Sisyphus. Just when it seemed that Ochola and Nyalpol had settled and prospered in the promised land, disaster struck and they were back to square zero for unexplainable reasons. They had to flee and return to the lands of their people poorer than when they first set set out

 

Although not from Nyanza, I was drawn  to the culture and names of the Luo peoples of Nyanza. The people of Seme, Gem, Awasi, Nyahera.   Interestingly the story was not juxtaposed with other people of present day Kenya but more the cross border peoples of Musoma. My best character was Nyalpol - the new bride who reminded me of W's wife wondering whether they looked the same.

 

Whilst reading this novella, I pondered Nicholas Sarkozy's infamous 2007 rant that the "The African Man Has Never Fully Entered History". I can only offer a rebuttal in the comfort of my rant by disagreeing for indeed there is a rich history of the African peoples.  The main weakness is to always make conclusions about the african people through a foreign prism and pass a judgement that does not always reflect the truth. God Forbid that those who come behind us forget that before Stacy & Stephanie there was Nyalpol & Abonyo and that before French & English there was Luo & Zulu. Last but not least, before Lake Victoria & Victoria Falls there was Nam Lolwe & Mosi 'o Tunya - The smoke that thunders. As I read the novellla, I continue to be convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that the African people had their own cultures, religions, medicines, names, values, languages,  institutions and histories. That these are being forgotten does not indicate the lack of their existence but more the way of the world...that in order to survive one must adapt.