We are now seven months into 2020. We moved out of full quarantine into a "soft" reopening. Some businesses and shops are open again but with restrictions on distancing and cautions to wear masks. In some places, the numbers infected seem to be going down. In others, they are spiking. Many countries have restricted US citizens from entering. And, some cities have started mandating masks rather than making them "optional."
All things considered, we have decided to continue book club in the Zoom format. Thank you, Lis, for hosting the group on your account.
Last night we missed, Carla A, Pam, Darby and Lou.
We had a good time chatting and catching up. Tammy is back from completing her parents estate sale in Sweetwater but, looks like they are making a move soon back to that area. We've enjoyed having her closer these last few years but, with Zoom, no one is out of our reach now!
Carla G, Arnora, Barb and Lis are continuing to work from home and adjusting to the changes. The Fred Jones Museum of Art is planning to open to the public August 6. However, it's unlikely we'll be doing tours in the fall. We may be doing something along the virtual lines. The future of fall football seems undecided as a number of players are testing positive.
The good news is that though the virus is spreading, as we knew it would. it seems more people are recovering and for many that test positive, they are asymptomatic. There is nothing to do but what we can to err on the side of personal safety as it rides out its cycle. As we know from history, it will end at some point.
That said, we all enjoyed Trevor Noah's "Born a Crime." Trevor was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1984 to a black mother and a white father. At the time, interracial marriages were prohibited by law, making his birth a crime. This book came out in 2016 but it is appropriate that we are reading it now in light of recent events.
In Trevor's memoir he treats the topics of apartheid, racism, poverty, domestic abuse, crime and danger with a wry sense of humor. Some of the events are laugh out loud funny, in retrospect. The opening scene is particularly harrowing as he, his mother and baby brother hurl themselves from a mini bus to escape and run to safety. Trevor was asleep when his other surmised they were in danger from the driver. Trevor didn't understand in the moment, why they were running. Along the way, there are many close calls and Trevor never fits in to whatever community they are living in. South Africa is highly segregated. When they live in the white neighborhood, he is considered the only Black kid. When they live in the Black neighborhood, he is considered white. Even though he is of mixed race, he doesn't fit into the "colored" neighborhood. This is because most of the mixed races are Black and Middle Eastern or Black and Asian, not Black and white.
Throughout the book, it becomes obvious that the hero of the book is not Trevor but, the heroine, his mother, Patricia. Patricia has a strong sense of self. She was determined to have Trevor. She planned the pregnancy and picked the man, though they never married. She was a person who looked for and grabbed what opportunity she could to better herself and her children's lives. And, she always impressed upon Trevor how much he was wanted and loved. With all that said, she still ended up with a man who abused her and even shot her long after they'd been divorced. But, it should be no surprise that she miraculously survived. She was a woman of strong faith and superstition but, she believed in miracles and she got them.
This book made me laugh and cry. I had sketchy knowledge about apartheid. I knew about it generally through the stories of Nelson Mandela. Trevor weaves the story of apartheid and racism through his story as a matter of fact. He is not preachy about it nor, is he reacting out of anger. Trevor, like his mother before him, took opportunity where he could find it. He started out pirating CD's and turned that into a stint as a DJ. This eventually lead him into standup comedy and then as host of his own nightly talk show in America. He took over the Daily Show from John Stewart in 2014. At only 36 years old, he has far exceeded the hopes his other had for him. Or, maybe not. Maybe this is exactly what she had in mind!
The book rated a 4.75.
Our book for August will be The Henna Artist and for September we have chosen The Hamilton Affair.
See you next time. Same Zoom Time - Same Zoom Station!
