kiramke's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful examination of the roles of individuality and community within a culture. As striking as Kundera the first time I read him.
octavia_cade's review
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I don't think I've read anything from Wendt before, shame on me, but this was really enjoyable. An elderly leader in a Samoan community wakes up one day, totally sick of everyone's shit, and starts feigning madness so as to get his own back and right some of the wrongs about him. This strategy, somewhat reminiscent of King Lear, starts out well but then begins to go badly wrong in much the same way. Faleasa finds out the hard way that, bereft of his standing as leader, his wants and needs don't garner much respect within the family, who are largely a pack of ingrates. There's a very sardonic sense of humour that runs through the beginning of this book, but it slowly turns to a sort of doomed tragedy - again, very like Lear - that destroys most of everything Faleasa was trying to achieve.
The whole thing is just cuttingly observed, and very entertaining. I'm going to have to read more of Wendt's work in the future, because this was excellent!
The whole thing is just cuttingly observed, and very entertaining. I'm going to have to read more of Wendt's work in the future, because this was excellent!
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