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The Names Of Things (2012)

by John Colman Wood(Favorite Author)

4.02 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1618220055 (ISBN13: 9781618220059)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Ashland Creek Press

review 1: Life, love, death, & betrayal; they are all in the Names Of Things.The story jumps from a present day journey to memories of an anthropologist. He just lost his wife to disease, and took a trip back to the Dasse clan that he visited years ago. The names of the couple or the disease are never mentioned, which might keep you from connecting with them. But the story itself is interesting and captivating.
review 2: An anthropologist goes on a pilgrimage across northeast Africa after the death of his wife, coming to terms with her loss and wondering whether he really even knew her at all.It's interesting that I can't tell you the anthropologist's name, as I don't believe it is ever mentioned in the book. He is simply referred to as "he" and "him", or by the native ... moreword "ferenji" used for Westerners. Likewise his wife is simply referred to as "she".This story is at once very simple, getting to the heart of the matter, without excessive flourish or glamor, and yet it is complex, winding around on itself. There isn't a great amount of dialogue in the book, as the majority of the story is self-discovery and the discovery of truth. All of his interaction in the story is with the Africans he encounters and stays with during his journey, and they are a simple and quiet people, not given to excessive chatting.There are some interesting transitions between chapters where bits of the Dasse culture are revealed. The author writes of "rituals that surround death and dying", allowing a glimpse into Dasse society, and giving the reader a better understanding of these people that the anthropologist and his wife lived with and studied.After his artist wife dies from an unnamed disease that sounds suspiciously like AIDS, the anthropologist begins to look through her journals and questions arise, causing him to embark on a trek back to the village of his friend Abudo, in hopes of finding answers.My final word: This was an enjoyable read, and went fairly quickly. The author is very adept at bringing you into the story with lovely description that isn't overdone, and a writing style that can flow from verbose to rather clipped, the anthropologist varying from very logical reasoning that examines his own life with scientific precision to reflecting on beautifully sensitive and emotional moments with his wife in their life together. A lovely little story. less

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