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cathiedalziel's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. True story of Jim Gash, a lawyer/teacher who works for Pepperdine University, who ends up in Uganda working to help free imprisoned youth. In particular, this is Jim's story meeting and befriending Henry, a 17 year old Ugandan male who has been wrongly imprisoned on a double murder charge.
This is also the story of how Jim and his other colleagues helped to reform Uganda's penal system, bringing in plea bargaining aspects to lighten the heavy burden of an overwhelmed judicial system that many times would simply house people waiting for trial for years.
One of the most profound pieces of this book came near the end when Jim was describing Henry's first trip to a shopping mall. Imagine being 19 years old and never before seeing a box of cereal, a frozen package of ground beef, or an elevator, escalator. It was at this point, when Henry was tasting his first piece of pizza in a food court mall, that I realized just how lucky and blessed I have been to been born in a country and time where all of these things are everyday in my life and often I do not even think twice about the ability to access them or use and enjoy many other comforts.
Throughout the book I also was very aware that there are everyday aspects of life that Henry knows that I will never encounter, which foreign to me, but natural to him and his family, seemed hard and incomprehensible to my brain when I compared his life to my middle class upbringing and over consumerism lifestyle.
This is a story of true change that can happen when countries come together to learn and grow.
I would have given this book 5 stars for Henry's and Jim's story of friendship, support, hope and radical change. For anyone not familiar with Pepperdine University, it is Christian based and does amazing advocacy work. The 1.5 stars missing is due to the constant dialogue in Jim's mind of trusting and not trusting God to perform the outcomes that Jim wants. Perhaps that is the mindset of missionaries; the ongoing debate of is it my will or God's Will and please let God's Will be the same as what I know needs to happen thinking. I found this aspect of the book to be distracting from the powerful story of Henry and a country who was in the middle of radical judicial reform.
Jim's community of friends, students, past teachers, family, all need to be given highlight, as they supplied money, emails, hope to help Henry and his family replenish everything that was lost to them when Henry, his brother and his father were arrested. With no way to support herself, Henry's mother, a devout believer in the power and good of God herself, had to sell all the family's cows and chickens in order to survive and keep the house so that there would be a home to return to. Jim, with the financial donations of his community, secured enough money to help the family restart and not by giving a hand out but by truly giving a hand up. (I don't want to say more because it will spoil part of the story for those who choose to read this, but I was uplifted to say the least when I realized that the aid to rebuild what was lost not only did that but also contributed to a solid foundation of Henry's family and community for future years.)
If a book with a lot of Christian foundation and beliefs takes away from your happiness, then this story may not be a happy read for you.
The work done by Pepperdine University to be globally responsible to others needs to be given special acknowledgement. Thank God there are people and institutions that see past their own borders and are willing to share their resources and time that give worldwide opportunities for those wanting to move ahead and try change.
I also give extremely high kudos to the Ugandan judiciary system that was willing to see that how they were responding to their prisoners was not working and for being able to make changes and adapt them as their own that has led to those with past criminal records (wrongfully and rightfully)
to be able to move out of incarceration and back into the community and rebuild their lives.
This is a happy story about how working together we can do so much more that what viewing our worlds with only our own eyes can see. We all need happy stories.
This is also the story of how Jim and his other colleagues helped to reform Uganda's penal system, bringing in plea bargaining aspects to lighten the heavy burden of an overwhelmed judicial system that many times would simply house people waiting for trial for years.
One of the most profound pieces of this book came near the end when Jim was describing Henry's first trip to a shopping mall. Imagine being 19 years old and never before seeing a box of cereal, a frozen package of ground beef, or an elevator, escalator. It was at this point, when Henry was tasting his first piece of pizza in a food court mall, that I realized just how lucky and blessed I have been to been born in a country and time where all of these things are everyday in my life and often I do not even think twice about the ability to access them or use and enjoy many other comforts.
Throughout the book I also was very aware that there are everyday aspects of life that Henry knows that I will never encounter, which foreign to me, but natural to him and his family, seemed hard and incomprehensible to my brain when I compared his life to my middle class upbringing and over consumerism lifestyle.
This is a story of true change that can happen when countries come together to learn and grow.
I would have given this book 5 stars for Henry's and Jim's story of friendship, support, hope and radical change. For anyone not familiar with Pepperdine University, it is Christian based and does amazing advocacy work. The 1.5 stars missing is due to the constant dialogue in Jim's mind of trusting and not trusting God to perform the outcomes that Jim wants. Perhaps that is the mindset of missionaries; the ongoing debate of is it my will or God's Will and please let God's Will be the same as what I know needs to happen thinking. I found this aspect of the book to be distracting from the powerful story of Henry and a country who was in the middle of radical judicial reform.
Jim's community of friends, students, past teachers, family, all need to be given highlight, as they supplied money, emails, hope to help Henry and his family replenish everything that was lost to them when Henry, his brother and his father were arrested. With no way to support herself, Henry's mother, a devout believer in the power and good of God herself, had to sell all the family's cows and chickens in order to survive and keep the house so that there would be a home to return to. Jim, with the financial donations of his community, secured enough money to help the family restart and not by giving a hand out but by truly giving a hand up. (I don't want to say more because it will spoil part of the story for those who choose to read this, but I was uplifted to say the least when I realized that the aid to rebuild what was lost not only did that but also contributed to a solid foundation of Henry's family and community for future years.)
If a book with a lot of Christian foundation and beliefs takes away from your happiness, then this story may not be a happy read for you.
The work done by Pepperdine University to be globally responsible to others needs to be given special acknowledgement. Thank God there are people and institutions that see past their own borders and are willing to share their resources and time that give worldwide opportunities for those wanting to move ahead and try change.
I also give extremely high kudos to the Ugandan judiciary system that was willing to see that how they were responding to their prisoners was not working and for being able to make changes and adapt them as their own that has led to those with past criminal records (wrongfully and rightfully)
to be able to move out of incarceration and back into the community and rebuild their lives.
This is a happy story about how working together we can do so much more that what viewing our worlds with only our own eyes can see. We all need happy stories.
luanndie's review against another edition
3.0
"But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”
The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”
Mi problema con este libro es que, normalmente, yo estoy más interesada en las historias de la estrella de mar que en la del niño que las lanza. En este caso y aunque Jim acabe diciendo lo contrario, él es el niño. Para mí lo más interesante con diferencia es Henry, su historia, su país, su trayectoria y su paso por esa cárcel autorregulada y sin seguridad que todavía me tiene perpleja.
La primera parte del libro, más centrada en Henry es la que más disfruté. Al principio los saltos temporales me parecieron un poco confusos pero en cuanto conoces un poco la historia es muy fácil seguirle el ritmo. También me gustó que intercalaran trozos con la visión de Henry. Son muy pequeños y no puede exactamente considerarse como que cuenta la historia desde su punto de vista (son más bien extractos que dan variedad), pero están tan bien hilados con la narrativa principal que me encantaron.
En esta primera parte es cuando conocemos porque Henry está en la cárcel y las características especiales de esa cárcel. Me quedé con las ganas de saber si la cárcel de Henry era una excepción o es la forma habitual de gestionar el encarcelamiento de menores. Mi sorpresa no tiene tanto que ver con el maltrato que reciben del único miembro a cargo del establecimiento, sino la falta de papeleo, de organización, la confianza en el buen hacer de los supuestos criminales que son los que en realidad dirigen el cotarro y la ausencia total de vallas, seguridad o control. Me hubiera encantado conocer más a fondo esa cárcel y entender qué clase de razonamiento tienen los presos allí que no deciden escaparse a pesar de lo fácil que sería. Como veis la cárcel me dejó intrigada.
La parte del proceso judicial en sí también me resultó apasionante porque ver la desidia, la confianza en la suerte y el buen hacer, al mismo tiempo que la ausencia total de recursos y organización es tan distinto a cualquier otra cosa que yo haya podido conocer que ha sido toda una revelación. De nuevo, yo hubiera leído encantada más información sobre este sistema judicial que parece que se mantiene en pie por pura suerte y la fuerza de voluntad de ciertos jueces y abogados. Como es de esperar, el proceso para liberar a Henry será largo y tortuoso pero precisamente por eso es inspirador e interesante de leer.
La última parte, más centrada en Jim y su trabajo en Uganda me interesó menos. En primer lugar porque tiene muchas más referencias a Dios. Yo no soy una persona especialmente religiosa y el principio de este libro aunque tiene sus referencias, porque los protagonistas son creyentes practicantes, es bastante llevadero. Sin embargo a medida que avanzamos, y especialmente en la parte final, la presencia de la religión se hizo un poco pesada para mí. En segundo lugar, la labor de Jim en Uganda tampoco está especialmente bien explicada y aunque no dudo que tiene mucho valor, carece de la fuerza emocional y de atracción de la historia de Henry. Y por último, como el caso de Henry se extiende hasta la extenuación, pero después de su liberación, apenas hay eventos remarcables, la historia es mucho más lenta.
En general, Divine Collision fue un libro totalmente fuera de mi zona de confort que disfruté pero obviamente no está dirigido a mí. Ha sido una lectura interesante, inspiradora y que me hace querer saber más sobre Uganda y su increíble sistema judicial.
The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”
Mi problema con este libro es que, normalmente, yo estoy más interesada en las historias de la estrella de mar que en la del niño que las lanza. En este caso y aunque Jim acabe diciendo lo contrario, él es el niño. Para mí lo más interesante con diferencia es Henry, su historia, su país, su trayectoria y su paso por esa cárcel autorregulada y sin seguridad que todavía me tiene perpleja.
La primera parte del libro, más centrada en Henry es la que más disfruté. Al principio los saltos temporales me parecieron un poco confusos pero en cuanto conoces un poco la historia es muy fácil seguirle el ritmo. También me gustó que intercalaran trozos con la visión de Henry. Son muy pequeños y no puede exactamente considerarse como que cuenta la historia desde su punto de vista (son más bien extractos que dan variedad), pero están tan bien hilados con la narrativa principal que me encantaron.
En esta primera parte es cuando conocemos porque Henry está en la cárcel y las características especiales de esa cárcel. Me quedé con las ganas de saber si la cárcel de Henry era una excepción o es la forma habitual de gestionar el encarcelamiento de menores. Mi sorpresa no tiene tanto que ver con el maltrato que reciben del único miembro a cargo del establecimiento, sino la falta de papeleo, de organización, la confianza en el buen hacer de los supuestos criminales que son los que en realidad dirigen el cotarro y la ausencia total de vallas, seguridad o control. Me hubiera encantado conocer más a fondo esa cárcel y entender qué clase de razonamiento tienen los presos allí que no deciden escaparse a pesar de lo fácil que sería. Como veis la cárcel me dejó intrigada.
La parte del proceso judicial en sí también me resultó apasionante porque ver la desidia, la confianza en la suerte y el buen hacer, al mismo tiempo que la ausencia total de recursos y organización es tan distinto a cualquier otra cosa que yo haya podido conocer que ha sido toda una revelación. De nuevo, yo hubiera leído encantada más información sobre este sistema judicial que parece que se mantiene en pie por pura suerte y la fuerza de voluntad de ciertos jueces y abogados. Como es de esperar, el proceso para liberar a Henry será largo y tortuoso pero precisamente por eso es inspirador e interesante de leer.
La última parte, más centrada en Jim y su trabajo en Uganda me interesó menos. En primer lugar porque tiene muchas más referencias a Dios. Yo no soy una persona especialmente religiosa y el principio de este libro aunque tiene sus referencias, porque los protagonistas son creyentes practicantes, es bastante llevadero. Sin embargo a medida que avanzamos, y especialmente en la parte final, la presencia de la religión se hizo un poco pesada para mí. En segundo lugar, la labor de Jim en Uganda tampoco está especialmente bien explicada y aunque no dudo que tiene mucho valor, carece de la fuerza emocional y de atracción de la historia de Henry. Y por último, como el caso de Henry se extiende hasta la extenuación, pero después de su liberación, apenas hay eventos remarcables, la historia es mucho más lenta.
En general, Divine Collision fue un libro totalmente fuera de mi zona de confort que disfruté pero obviamente no está dirigido a mí. Ha sido una lectura interesante, inspiradora y que me hace querer saber más sobre Uganda y su increíble sistema judicial.
elisehedlund's review against another edition
5.0
A heartwarming story filled with twists and turns, I absolutely loved this book all the way through.
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