Word: brotherism
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...MUST BE hard to follow in the footsteps of a famous and brilliant older brother. Unfortunately, Shiva Naipaul cannot compete with his brother's polish or his sensitivity. Both are missing from North of South. The book is a montage of conversations held or overheard by the author during a six-month visit to Kenya, Zambia and Tanzania. For Shiva Africa is a land of hypocrisy, deceit and irony. Some of his examples are apt: an African student loves books but hates to read; young boys selling peanuts are condemned as capitalists in Tanzania; religious Hindus devour beef sandwiches...
...theoretical point that "the African soul is a blank slate in which anything can be written" is offensive. For Shiva, Pan-Africanism, Tanzania's self-reliance and the rebirth of Swahili mean nothing. He sees only Kenyans worshipping the West's wealth and culture. And Shiva, like his brother, does not give enough credit to the governments and people of these nations who are struggling with the racial and class problems of a colonial past...
Shiva Naipaul is most weak where his brother is strongest--the ability to empathize with all the people he writes about. He does not try to understand why a nouveau riche black Kenyan has two freezers (which she never uses), whisky at every meal, gold-painted nails, and an expropriated mansion too large for her needs. He simply finds her ludicrous and tasteless...
...rapid change and denied the outlet of free political expression, Syria's youth has displayed a renewed interest in traditional religion; the new mood has served to strengthen the Sunni community. It has also drawn increased attention to corruption among Alawite military leaders, most notably Assad's brother Rifaat, whose responsibilities include Damascus' security forces...
...imbecile child." Said the Pittorinos' lawyer, Margaret Mahoney: "We're all Catholics in this thing. We told her, 'You can't have a child, you can't abort. You have to get counseling.' " But Victoria insisted she had a right to marry her brother...