joaniesaltzman's review against another edition
4.0
For most of this book, I was very intent on giving it three stars, simply because I have no patience for writers who cannot include women as anything more than objects, nagging wives, and prostitutes. Wendt won me over at the last possible moment with his story "Virgin-wise - The Last Confession of Humble Man who is Man got Religion," a brief tale about a man who cannot form meaningful relationships with women because of "Virgin-wise," his own, unhealthy conceptualization of the perfect woman that no real woman can live up to. That is still the only story out of eight that indicates that Wendt himself does not view women as objects and nags, so I won't be rushing out to fill my library with his works. (I mean, I'll probably read more, but I'm not in a hurry.)
Aside from this flaw, however, the stories are good. Wendt's prose is often stunning in its beauty, and each story, although often feeling too short, offers the reader a lot to unpack. "Flying-Fox in a Freedom Tree" is by no surprise the star of the collection, offering the most compelling characters and the most complete plot, but each story is compelling and enjoyable. If you are interested in post-colonial literature, Wendt is a must-read.
I'd offer this book 3.5 stars for its woman-problem and brevity bordering on incompletion, but since goodreads doesn't supply that rating, I'm pushing it up to four because of its significant place in Samoan literature.
Aside from this flaw, however, the stories are good. Wendt's prose is often stunning in its beauty, and each story, although often feeling too short, offers the reader a lot to unpack. "Flying-Fox in a Freedom Tree" is by no surprise the star of the collection, offering the most compelling characters and the most complete plot, but each story is compelling and enjoyable. If you are interested in post-colonial literature, Wendt is a must-read.
I'd offer this book 3.5 stars for its woman-problem and brevity bordering on incompletion, but since goodreads doesn't supply that rating, I'm pushing it up to four because of its significant place in Samoan literature.
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