The Shadow of the Sun:My African Life by Ryszard Kapuscinski

About the Author: Ryszard Kapuscinski was born in 1932 in a multinational market town in Pinsk, near the eastern borderlands which is now Belarus. He grew up witnessing the horrors of war and of displacement. He kept the same child's eye for injustice when he became a correspondent in Africa for the Polish Press Agency (PAP). There was scarcely a revolution that he did not witness in the 1960's and 70's as he reported on the decolonisation of the Africa. He lived through dozens of coups. To each he brought the eye of a commoner; he carried his own water flagons and waited for hours at overcrowded bus stations. In part, his point of view was forced him by the economic stringencies of his new agency.

About the Book; He himself writes; 'I lived in Africa for several years. I first went there in 1957. Then, over the next forty years, I returned whenever the opportunity arose. I traveled extensively , avoiding official routes, palaces, important personages, and high level politics. Instead, i opted to hitch rides onpassing trucks, wander with nomads through the desert, be the guest of peasants of the tropical savannah. Their life is endless toil, a tormenet they endure with astonishing patience and good humor(sic).

This is therefore not a book about Africa, but rather about some people from there - about encounters with them, and time spent together. The continent is too large to describe. It is a veritable ocean, a separate planet, a varied, immensely, rich cosmos. Only with the greatest of simplification, for the sake of convenience, can we say "Africa". In reality, except as a geographical appellation, Africa does not exist.'


The Review; Generally this book was very well received. It had many of us searching the internet for historical evidence and supplementary reading. Kapuscinski's writing shows a deep affection and respect for a continent that has such deep seated and complicated traditional values that it continues to destroy any apparent progress in peace or economic development. Indeed he goes on to say that there is no such continent as Africa, due to the complex constituents of its parts. Through his determination and the purposeful resurrection of old contacts he was one of the very few journalists to enter Zanzibar during the revolution. After a perilous flight he was then taken hostage and only narrowly managed to escape by boat. He talks about Rwanda and gives a very insightful and detailed description into the tribalism that led to the horrific civil war. He describes the end of European colonialism and you can see an almost identical repeat of corruption as each country develops independently. He explains the rise of Amin and generally paints a pretty grim picture of the way in which the politics of these countries was manipulated by the old colonial powers trying to maintain some control You can see why he is often described as a war journalist as he gives amazingly lurid accounts in his despatches from the civil war zones in particular Liberia.

As a result of living with the people he describes the customs and religion with wonderful feeling and vivid description, the reader is transported to heat, the smells and the danger of some of the circumstances in which he finds himself.

Some of the stories of cobra's under the bed, the never to be repaired hole in the road, the Arab salt traders, the witchcraft, the values and the subsequent behaviours that were observed were often chellenging for some members to comprehend - but also came as a welcome light relief from the more typical topics of Trbalisms, Genocide, Drought, Starvation, War Lords and Child Soldiers.


The book wasn't without it's critics, one of the group dismissed it out of hand as 'a pure work of fiction'. Others felt that there was very little if any redemptive spirit in the book and there was no sense that anything was likely to improve. You could say that as a journalist he can and should only tell us what he sees.

The next book: Sarah's Key : Tatiana de Rosthnay

Thanks to Mary for hosting this meeting.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

About the Author : There was no information about the author on the cover of the book and the assumption was made that this might be Tatiana Roy’s first novel. However a Google search established that Tatiana de Rosnay was born on September 28th 1961 in the suburbs of Paris. She is of English French and Russian decent. Her father is French scientist Joel de Rosnay, her grandfather was painter Gaetan de Rosnay. Tatiana's paternal great grandmother was Russian actress Natalia Racheweskia, director of the Leningrad Pushkin Theatre from 1925 to 1949. Tatiana's Mother, Stella Jebb, daughter of Lord Gladwyn, is I.K. Brunel's great-great-granddaughter. Tatiana is also the niece of historian Hugh Thomas. Tatiana was raised in Paris and then in Boston, when her father taught at MIT. She moved to England in the early 80's and obtained a Bachelor's degree in English literature at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich. Returning to Paris in 1984. Tatiana became press attache for Chrissie's and then Editor for Vanity Fair magazine till 1993.

Since 1992, Tatiana published 8 novels in French (publised at Fayard and Pion) . Tatiana also works as a journalist for French ELLE and is literacy critic for Psychologists Magazine.

Tatiana de Rosnay is married and has two teenagers, Louis and Charlotte. She lives in Paris.

About the Book; Though a work of fiction, it is fact-based, recounting though a work of fiction, it is fact-based, recounting the horrific events that occurred in occupied France in the summer of 1942, and in particular the Valedrome d’Hiver round up of Jews which took place on 16th July 1942, in the heart of Paris. As the author herself said – “This is not a historical work and has no intention of being one. It is my tribute to the children of the Vel’ d’Hiv’. The childen who never came back. And the ones who survived to tell.”
The narrative is based on a dark period in the history of France and one seldom mentioned, when thousands of Jewish families were forcibly kept in the Velodrome d’Hiver before being separated from their children and being sent in to transit camps such as Drancy prior to being despatched to the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. The chilling fact being that this was perpetrated by the French Authorities. The author alternated between the events of 1942 and the present day. The past centring round a 10 year old Jewish girl Sarah Strazynski to go to the Vel’ d’Hiver with her mother and father having left behind her 4 year old brother locked in a secret cupboard with the promise she would return to him soon. The present revolves round an American writer, Julia Jarmond, married to a Frenchman whose family was connected to the deportation of Jews, and her subsequent involvement to the exclusion of all else.

The Review; The group’s discussion opened with agreement that the book was fascinating in illuminating an event that was unknown to all. General comments were, intriguing, a good read, thought –provoking and depressing. Most agreed that the attention was held and one was totally absorbed in the first half of the book, but that when Sarah was out of the picture it lost its impact. The ensuing narrative of unfolding events was considered to be laboured and trite, but necessary to cover the question of guilt caused by suppression of secrets and subsequent start of the healing process.
The discussion widened to cover the parallels of collaborators in Holland and Italy, the reluctance of most Jewish people to discuss events, anti-Semitism in general and posing the question – what if it had happened here? Would it have been any different? One member had a personal contribution to make regarding family history and another had moving account of a visit to Auschwitz. So we are left to ponder how easily unchallenged, passive indifference and intolerance, when fired, escalate to active persecution and brutality. Why do we never learn from the past?

In summing up the book was poignant and gripping and its value for stimulating through across a wide spectrum involving many moral questions relevant today overrides any shortcomings in the story line itself.

The three books out forward by the host were:

Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale
Engleby by Sebastian Faulks

Thanks to Mike and Lorraine for hosting the meeting

The Screwtape Letters - CS Lewis

About the Author - Famous for his seven Chronicles of Narnia the most well known 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe' CS Lewis was born Clive Staples Lewis (nicknamed Jack) in 1898 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. At the age of 10, he was sent to school in England following the death of his mother and later studied at Cherbourg School, Malvern. From here he won a scholarship to University College Oxford in 1916. A few months later he enlisted in the British Army and and was billeted at Keeble College Oxford for officer training. He was sent to the frontline in the Somme Valley, France on his 19th birthday. He was injured and recuperated back to duty, however his roomate 'Paddy' Moore was killed in battle and was buried just south of Peronne in France. 'Jack' was discharged in Decemmber 1918. His first publication 'Death in Battle' appeared in the February edition Reveille. He then resumed his studies at University College Oxfordwhere he received a First in Honour Moderations, (Greek and Latin Literature) and a First in Greats (Philosphy and Ancient History) and a First in English. Lewis became atheist in in 1929 and gace in the same yeara dmitting God was God. In 1931 he became a Christian and J R R Tolkien a Roman Catholic were amongst the firends who had been a significant influence during this time. He wrote prolifically on a Christian theme and in 1941 from May 2 until November 28 The Guardian published 31 'Screwtape Letters'

The Review

The Screwtape Letters comprise thirty-one letters written by Screwtape a senior demon to Wormwood his nephew who as a junior demon has been given the task of turning the ‘patient’ - the ‘patient’ is an ordinary man in war-time England - away from God ‘The Enemy’ and towards the Devil the ‘Father Below’.

Screwtape’s letters constantly encourage Wormwood to undermine the Patient’s faith as well as to tempt him into committing sins which will ultimately result in his damnation.

In what was quite a lively discussion the following key points came out: -

The book was probably more disliked than liked. Not everyone found it easy to complete the book and a few didn’t.

Some felt that the satirical style was too cynical and that generally it had preaching overtones which were not for them. Others enjoyed the humour and wit although most of us felt that the writing and language was dated. Maybe we didn’t understand the meaning of the words sufficiently as one of the group put it ‘It’s clever but I feel as though I have been to a banquet and have had endless food put in front of me most of which has gone to waste. It’s an uncomfortable feeling’.

A couple of members of the group picked up on the fact that the letters were written as a weekly instalment and were never really intended to be read continuously the way we read them. In fact a couple of the group without realising this dipped in and out of the book and read individual letters not necessarily in any order.

It did have some supporters. There was some good humour a couple of nice quotes were ‘Do not attempt to use (real) science as a defence against Christianity’. And ‘Jargon, not argument, is the best ally (in debate)’.

Those that finished the book were impressed with the toast. This was written in 1959 and is not a letter but rather an after dinner speech given by Screwtape at the Tempter’s Training College for young demons and neatly summarise the message contained in the letters.

The books tabled were:

Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones

The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski

After some deliberation and a vote under the new democratic process the next book is; -



The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski



Thanks to Steve and Deborah for hosting this meeting.

Christmas Do!

On 13th December the PCRG had our Christmas get together. It was a fresh crisp evening and many members walked to our chosen selected hostelry situated up a desceptively steep hill a short distance from Poet's Corner.

We arrived at our reserved table where some members were already engaged in the evenings activity of supping wine and interesting conversation. All members (even our 'virtual member' )were present and our table soon filled the room with intelligent conversation, argument and laughter (some louder than others) which was only briefly interrupted when ordering or eating.

Cathrine one of our Founder members had the brilliant idea of providing 'gifts' of books where she had trawled the charity shops for some good titles at no more than one pound. With help, wrapped the 'gifts' for a lucky dip. Each member selected their book and after unwrapping a fruitful exchange of comments on the titles and even the books themselves followed. A brilliant idea and wonderful surprise!

We talked, debated but most importantly laughed throughout the evening and into the next day and were true to form, last to leave the venue! We are all looking forward to the next year's meetings and Christmas DO!.

Blog postscript: I expect you are wondering why there has been such a big gap in these posts and it is now nearing the end of February and we are still writing about December. We have had a bit of a hiccup in our communication strategy which has now been rectified so these posts will fall back into 'sync' for next meeting.

Bad Thoughts:Jamie Whyte

About the Author
Jamie Whyte originates from New Zealand and studied an M.Phil at Darwin College in 1986-1987; he is a former lecturer on Philosophy at Cambridge University. He is married with one daughter and lives in North London. He now writes regular articles for The Times and for numerous journals. He sees this book as a personal ‘confession’.

Jamie Whyte describes himself as "Outraged of Highbury" – someone who endlessly sends furious letters to newspapers complaining about errors in reasoning, sloppy thinking, logical errors, fallacies and muddles. He apparently does the same at parties – and even on trains.

A Google search of the Author revealed numerous articles written by him. This book was given a rave review by the South West London Humanist Group, which also listed Richard Dawkins as a favourite writer. Jamie Whyte also has a fan club following amongst the ‘New Age spiritual communities. His strong anti-Christian [against the God of Jesus that is] stance is too obvious in Bad Thoughts and apparently in many other of his writings.

The Review
The Author claims to be seriously bothered by errors of reasoning and logical error prevalent in the public and private domain of society. He is particularly concerned how these flaws in thinking and reasoning are used to gain political support, money, power and influence from an unsuspecting public. It is asserted that most people do not notice this problem of defective thinking in their own daily lives and in the various media they are exposed to. It is suggested we don’t recognise the problem because most of us are not taught how reasoning can go wrong; schools and universities apparently do little to address this serious issue.

The book is offered as a form of troubleshooting guide to logic and reasoning. It is aimed at everyday users/consumers of reasoning, and covers such errors as are most commonly encountered. Each of the twelve chapters is devoted to one such flaw. The Author claims to use real examples drawn from politics, business, theology, and public/private debate to explain and highlight such fallacies. The twelve fallacies covered are headed as:
Authority; Prejudice in Fancy Dress; Shutup!; Empty Words; Motives; The Right to your Opinion; Inconsistency; Equivocation; Begging the Question; Coincidence; Shocking Statistics; Morality Fever.

The book, provoked a spirited response from the Group, with a range of views from members. The disjointed and apparent lack of any clear theme of logic in the presentation was, ironically, commented on! Some found it heavy going although this was not due to its depth of arguments. It was described by one member as 'curiously uninspired' and its arguments became predictable as all topics were dealt with in the same way some, due to this, did not manage to finish it; others were somewhat angered by his superficial cynicism and ‘straw man’ arguments against the value and importance of belief and faith in the human psyche. It was commonly felt that it did not deliver what it had promised. However, his witty and engaging writing style was appealing, and many points made were appreciated, such as the section on jargon where common sense is often disguised as technical competence and the dishonest way some, especially poiticians carry on their arguments. If you don't mind putting up with Whyte's personal religious opinions being presented as gospel (pun intended), this book is a good starting point, for those who may want to progress to something a bit more substantial.

The goup then went on to consider the next read, CJ Sansom; Dr Fire, a follow on from a previous read , J.A. Thomson; Caught in the Rib potentially a follow on from 'Bad Thoughts' cutting across conventionalism, wisdom to take to the right decisions, taking time out. Although these two books were suggested for the groups interest these were not tabled as the next read.

Tabled were;

C S Lewis, Screwtape Letters

Alfred Lansing, The Endurance (Shackleton's voyage)

Andrew Simms, Tescopoly

Carol Drinkwater, The Olive Route (solo adventure)

Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Described as a benign autocratic decision, the group 'selected' CS Lewis, Screwtape Letters.

Many thanks to Mike for hosting this meeting.

In the meantime we will be having our Christmas do!

Holes:Louis Sachar

About the Author:

Louis Sachar was born in East Meadow, New York on 20th March 1954. When he was nine years old he moved to California where he completed his schooling. He went to Antioch College in Ohio, he left after the first semester following the death of this father and returned to California to be near his mother. He worked as a salesman before returning to university and went to University of California at Berkeley and majored in Economics. To earn university credits he assisted in Hillside Elementary School as a teachers aide. His first novels were based on his experiences there. Sideways Stories From Wayside School was published whilst he was studying law at Hastings College. He is married with a daughter and enjoys playing Bridge.

The Review: Stanley is just an ordinary boy until he is found guilty of a crime he does not commit. The story tells of a family curse that has 'blighted' Stanley's family for several generations. This bad luck lands Stanley in a very odd correctional institute in the Texas desert. The warden a frightening character, has all the inmates digging holes in a dry lake bed. The story weaves interesting tall tales linking local folk lore and Stanley's family. The relationships among the juveniles in the camp are interesting to follow. Stanley finds a good friend, treasure and learns to like himself.

The book received some mixed views from the members. The group appeared to be split quite clearly down the centre. It was a novel that receieved no mediocre reviews, it was either loved or detested. One person particularly found it undemanding and boring having read the book in a very short space of time and stated strongly that they did not enjoy it, he could not remember reading a book in less time!. It is of course a novel for teenagers which was apparent at the time of choosing. One member actually decribed it as horrid and 'evil for no reason'. They described it as having a hopelessness about it, digging holes and survival in a bleak environment. There was a sense of desperation in a boot camp where in reality some children actually died.

However the contrasting view was that it was about survival. Suchar described how Stanley adapted his behaviour so that he would indeed survive. There were touching moments between the boys and examples of good depths of character with heartwarming and strong relationships between them and some wonderfully humourous moments. Suchar described team work with examples of leadership amongst the boys. The story develops the relationship between Zero and Stanley, becoming good friends and relying on each other.

A couple of members felt the book had a message to deliver about taking responsibility for yourselves. Where as Stanley and his family had blamed the family 'curse' for the family's misfortune, he began to realise that you are responsible for your own fortune. A stronger bond was forged between Zero and Stanley following their subsequent absconding. The story of the folk lore and their past is slowly revealed. Their paths unbeknownst to either of them had crossed in their previous lives and this resulted in Stanley being at boot camp. The friendship outweighed any feelings of blame or retribution that may have otherwise been apparent and their survival since running away depended on them working together and relying on one another. A bit of Disney ending though - hence the film!

Most members said that they would not have chosen it to read ordinarily but were glad that they had read it.

This book was generally felt a bit low level for the reading group, the host felt a need to counter that and offered some quite challenging titles for the next read.

The books offered were:

The Music of Primes:why an unsolved problem in mathematics matters: Marcus du Sautoy

Hypatia of Alexandria: Maria Dzielska

The Cult of Amateur:how today's internet is killing our culture and assaulting our economy: Andrew Keen

Bad Thoughts: a guide to clear thinking: Jamie Whyte

Tom and Cathrine both liked the look of Hypatia (clearly a 5th century feminist) and it was held to be admirably brief; it was agreed that the Cult of the Amateur looks like an important book. Most were put off by the sneaky appearance of an equation in the book on prime numbers (although it was agreed that Charles would probably enjoy the book). However, the ladies liked the appearance of Jamie Whyte (and his book looks interesting, informative and even useful) so Bad Thoughts was finally selected as the next book for the group to read.

Many thanks to Rolf for hosting this meeting.

Dissolution - C J Sansom

About the Author

CJ Sansom was educated at Birmingham University, where he tool a BA then a PhD in History. After working in a variety of jobs , he retrained as a solicitor and practised in Sussex until becoming a full time writer. Dissoloution is the first novel in the Shardlake series and his standa-alone thriller Winter in MAdrid was a top five Best Seller. He lives in Sussex.

The Story

Set in 1537 at the time of the dissolution of the manasteries, when Henry VIII proclaimed himself as Supreme Head of the Church, under orders form Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners were tasked in overseeing the de-commissioning of the monastries. One such monastery at Scarnsea, events had spiralled out fo control with the previous commissioners, Robin Singleton was found dead. From this the story wound its way through the historic references linked to Anne Boyleyn, the reader was taken through a journey of suspicion and intrigue as Shardlake uncovered the truth about the death of Robin Singleton.

The Review


The revieweres consdiderd thebook to be an easy and interesting read - a good holiday book. It was a teasing detective novel told in the context of strong resonnance of real events in history. The detailed description were vivid and evocative - almost smelling the putrid air in some scenes, the habits of the time were portrayed in great detail and placing the reader in a voyeurisrtic reltionship to the main characters as they tackeled every day living and routines.

Reading the book gave us a better understanding of the history of the time, you got a real sense of what it must have been like to live through this period of history, the lack of sanitation, travelling on horseback and boat both of which would have been quite dangerous. One member commented on the time everything took, for example to travel from Sussex to London took two days involving boats and horses. Now with our reliance on instant communication it is difficult to imagine having to wait two days for a messenger to arrive. It came as no surprise that Sansom is a historian he gives a very detailed account of the times.

A clear theme through the book was the corruption of the times, the greed and constant striving for power. The real winners of the time were the new class of gentry who, either bought the land from the King at bargain basement prices or were given the land free as a reward for nefarious deeds. One member identified a reference to Thomas Cromwell's own activites in Peter Ackroyds - London a Biography, where he extended his poperty and commandeered some neighbours land for an extended garden to his house.


The principal character Shardlake is portrayed as a humanist with strong reformist beliefs that are constantly challenged by the evidence including the blatant admission from Lord Cromwell that certain confessions have been falsely obtained. As an interesting aside Shardlake is presented as a hunchback and his imperfection is seen in direct conflict with the monasteries religious belief of spiritual perfection.

The book was well balanced and even contained some humour when the head of the victim was felt rolling around in the coffin during the burial.

Overall the group felt that it engaged everyone as a good read, it was felt that there was historical accuracy. No-one fell for the market ploy of introducing a whole chapter of the next book and for some it was off putting.

The books that were offered for the next read were:

After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell

The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

Holes by Louis Sachar


The one with the most votes is Holes by Louis Sachar.