Boston Walking Tours 2009

Last year I posted a list of walking tours in the Boston area in hopes of encouraging people to get out and explore the history, architecture, culture, topography, and nature of the area.  I’ve updated the list and links for 2009, once again giving primacy of place to the two organizations in which I volunteer to lead tours.

Boston By Foot – Boston’s premier walking tour organization is well worth becoming a member to take advantage of free tours, discounted special tours, and members-only events.  Check out the Boston By Foot Meetup Group as well for unique tour announcements.  I’ve highlighted the tours that I guide in bold below, although many other wonderful guides also lead these tours.

Seven classic tours take you around historic Boston:

• Beacon Hill
• Boston By Little Feet
• Boston Underfoot
• Heart of the Freedom Trail
• Literary Landmarks
• North End
• Victorian Back Bay

Make sure to check out special Boston Harborfest tours offered June 30-July 5:

• The Dark Side of Boston
• Boats Bridges & Locks
• Capt. Kidd’s Treasure Hunt
• Johnny Tremain’s Boston
• Charlestown
• Son of Boston: A Salute to Ben Franklin
• Footloose on the Freedom Trail
• The Greenway and Beyond

And don’t miss the special Tours of the Month offered on the last Sunday of each month at 2 pm:

• June 28: The Flat of Beacon Hill
• July 26: Exploring the Charles River Basin
• August 30: Preserving Boston’s History
• September 27: Ashmont Hill
• October 25: Bay Village

Jamaica Plain Historical Society – 1 hour tours every Saturday morning at 11 am (Jamaica Pond tour is 90 minutes).  Again, the tours in bold will be led by yours truly.

Tour Date	Location		Tour Date	Location
June 20	Woodbourne		August 22	Jamaica Pond
June 27	Jamaica Pond		August 29	Monument Sq
July 11	Monument Sq		Sept 12	Sumner Hill
July 18	Sumner Hill		Sept 19	Stony Brook
July 25	Stony Brook		Sept 26	Hyde Square
August 1	Hyde Square		October 3	Green Street
August 8	Green Street		October 17	Woodbourne
August 15	Woodbourne		October 24	Jamaica Pond

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In alphabetical order below are a number of other walking tours I’ve heard about by word of mouth or web search.  I only have personal experience with a few of these organizations so don’t consider making the list an endorsement. If you know of any good walking tours in Boston not listed below, I’d love to add them to the list, so please post in the comments.

Appalachian Mountain Club – The Boston Chapter has a Local Walks Committee offering hikes to condition oneself for the mountains, nature walks, and social walks.
Arnold Arboretum – Boston’s tree museum offers regular highlight tours and special theme tours. Come back again because the tour changes depending on the season.
Audissey Guides – Download a tour narrated by local personalities for your mp3 player.
Black Heritage Trail – A tour of African-American history in Boston led by National Park Service guides, or you can take a self-guided tour.
Evening Walkers – A Meetup.com group for people who like walking. No narration, just scenery and a chance to meet people.
Friends of the Blue Hills – Group hikes and nature walks in the Blue Hills Reservation.
Brookline Food Tour – The way to Brookline’s heart is through your stomach.
Boston Athenæum – Art and architecture tours of this respected independent library. They also offer tours for members should you be so fortunate.
Boston Harborfest – Walking tours are among the many events of Boston’s Independence Day celebration, including special Boston By Foot offerings.
Boston Harborwalk – A self-guided walk along Boston’s waterfront. Check the calendar for tours and  special events in the spring and summer.
Boston Movie Tours – Tinseltown comes to the Hub in this tour of film locations.
Boston National Historical Park – Tours of the Freedom Trail and Charlestown Navy Yard led by National Park Service Rangers.
Boston Nature Center – Birding tours, nature walks, and hikes in the heart of the city.
Boston Public Library – Regular art and architecture tours of the oldest municipal library in the US.
The Boston Spirits Walking Tour – A spooky walking tour focusing on Boston’s ghost stories.
Boston Town Crier – Freedom Trail tours led by character interpreters of James Otis and Benjamin Franklin.
Boston Women’s Heritage Trail – Nine self-guided walks exploring women’s history in Boston.
Boston Your Way – Hire a private guide for a customizable tour (I wonder if they’re hiring).
Cambridge Historical Society – The CHS events calendar currently includes a garden tour and historic house tours.
Discover Roxbury – Tours and events highlight the diversity of this historic neighborhood.
Fenway Park – Go behind the scenes at the home of the Boston Red Sox, the oldest and smallest ballpark in Major League Baseball.
Forest Hills Cemetery – Boston’s hidden gem is full of history, art, and architecture, all of which is illuminated by a good tour guide (read about a great tour we took in 2007).
Franklin Park Coalition – A self-guided tour, trails, and special events throughout the year in the “gem” of the Emerald Necklace.
Freedom Trail Tours – You can follow the red line on your own or let a costumed guide show you the way with 3 different 90-minute tours provided by the Freedom Trail Foundation.
Gibson House Museum – If you’re admiring the Victorian architecture of Back Bay and want to see a house interior, stop in here for a tour.
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Society – Explore the new public space replacing the elevated Central Artery with special tours supported by Boston By Foot and other special events.
Harvard Campus Tour – Free student-led tours of the Harvard University campus.
Haunted Boston – 90 minute ghost tours of Boston.  Ask for Gretchen.
Historic New England – The HNE calendar offers neighborhood and historic property tours in Boston and throughout New England.
Irish Heritage Trail – A self-guided walk with guided tours in the works.
Learn English in Boston – Art and architecture tours of Boston for ESL students.
Lessons on Liberty – Costumed historical interpreters teach about Revolutionary Boston history along the Freedom Trail
Mass Bay Railroad Enthusiasts – Quarry to wharf tours of the remains of the granite railway in Quincy and Milton (part van, part walking tour).
MIT Campus Tour – Learn about the innovative architecture by world-renown architects that speckle the MIT campus.
Middlesex Fells – Check the calendar for special hikes or join the regular Babes in the Woods walks for parents and children.
Museum of Fine Arts – Regular free guided tours of the galleries (with museum admission) plus art & architecture tours outside of the museum.
The Nichols House Museum – If you’re admiring the Federal architecture of Beacon Hill and want to see a house interior, stop in here for a tour.
North End Secret Tour – Tours of Boston’s oldest neighborhood lead by a local resident.
The Path to Independence – Character interpreters offer a first-person historical perspective of the Freedom Trail.
Phantoms of Olde Cambridge -The ghosties of Harvard Square get their own tour.
Photowalks – Walking tours combined with instruction in photography on four different routes.
Paul Revere’s North End Walking Tour – An experienced guide from the Paul Revere House leads tours of the North End in early July.
South End Historical Society – An Annual House Tour is offered in October.
Unofficial Tours Present Harvard University – Fun tours of America’s first college.

Urban Adventours – Okay not a walking tour, but still cool environmentally-friendly and exciting bicycle tours of Boston.
Victorian Society in America/New England Chapter – Tours and talks of the Victorian heritage in Boston and its suburbs
WalkBoston – Boston’s walking advocacy group offers regular walks around the city.
Walking Tours of Historic Boston – Families and groups can book tours of Boston’s historic center lead by a children’s book author.
Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunts – A unique spin on the walking tour where participants gather together in teams to solve questions and puzzles.

Beer Review: Harpoon Octoberfest

No offense to Sam Adams, but Harpoon is my favorite Boston brewery.  Here’s a German-style Marzen for the Fall.

Beer: Harpoon Octoberfest
Brewer: Harpoon Brewery
Source: Draft
Rating: *** (7.4 of 10)
Comments: This seasonal beer captures the feeling of autumn, crisp with the smell of burning leaves, and beautiful foliage all around.  Indeed, the beer itself is a lovely dark red color with a foamy head, although the head disappears a bit too quickly.  The beer’s aroma is a musty caramel and the taste is initially bitter, but with a spicy aftertaste that tingles the tongue.  Here’s to the season, Prost!

Previously: Harpoon Weizenbock

The Old Ball Game

Looking through my links on my Boston Walking Tours post I came across listings in the Historic New England calendar for vintage baseball. I’ve long wanted to check out the historic reenactment of baseball as it was played in the 19th-century.  Much better than Civil War battles, in my humble opinion.

With a little web searching I learned that there are entire leagues of vintage baseball teams in the Boston area, and the most local team (meaning I could attend games by taking the T) is the Boston Colonials.  The Boston Colonials schedule is online at their blog.  I definitely need to check that out this summer.  I’m only saddened that I missed the game on Boston Common.

Speaking of old time baseball, the 15th Annual Old Time Baseball Game in Cambridge is coming up on August 21st. This is a fun event where two teams of mainly high school players with a few celebrities thrown in play a game under modern rules but with vintage-style uniforms from several Major and Minor league teams of the past century.  It’s something worth putting on your calendar.

It’s good to have options for baseball-viewing since Red Sox tickets are too expensive and too impossible to get.  I didn’t get to Fenway once last season and doubt I will this season.  However, if I do it will probably be for the great Futures at Fenway doubleheader on August 9th.  This event features the Sox triple-A farm team the Pawtucket Red Sox and short season single-a affiliate the Lowell Spinners each playing a game against opponents from their respective leagues.  I went to this a couple of years back and it’s a great family event.  All the charm and history of Fenway with the just plain fun of Minor League baseball.

Of course my real heart’s desire is to sneak up to Lowell to see the Spinners play the baby Mets from Brooklyn on Aug. 6-8 but we’ll have to see about that.

I’m a Twit

So, I finally gave in and registered for Twitter even though I really do not understand the practical purpose of the tool. I mean I understand what it’s for – telling people what you’re up to at every minute of the day – I just don’t know what it does for a shy guy like me and especially what it does professionally. Yet, I read library blog after library blog hailing Twitter as a great social networking tool. So I caved and decided to give it a try. Don’t want to be classified as a troglodyte who’s afraid of change after all.

Long-time readers will recall that I went through the same process with Facebook last year. Even though I found some things that Facebook is good for (Susan compares it to collecting one’s friends like Hummels), and find it fun to play games with my friends, professionally I’ve done zilch. Seemingly the moment I was convinced to sign up with Facebook was when Facebook-backlash began. Now people frustrated with Facebook offer plaudits for Twitter instead. So maybe I can be ahead of the curve, or at least on the curve this time. So far I’ve found that Twitter is a good forum for writing Haiku and publishing Overheard-type comments. If you want to follow me you can find me at http://twitter.com/Othemts.

Here’s a typical article Why Twitter Matters from iLibrarian.

Book Review: A Game of Brawl by Bill Felber

A Game of Brawl (2007) by Bill Felber tells the story of the 1897 National League pennant race between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston franchise unofficially nicknamed the Beaneaters. Felber present this as one of the greatest pennant races of all time and it certainly was a doozy. It also was a culture clash as the Orioles – pennant winners for the previous three years – were known for playing a dirty style of baseball while the Boston squad represented more gentlemanly play and civilized behavior in general.

The two teams had many of the colorful players of the era including future Hall of Famers Jimmy Collins, Hugh Duffy, Billy Hamilton, Kid Nichols, and manager Frank Selee for Boston and John McGraw, Hughie Jennings, Joe Kelley, Wee Willie Keeler, Wilbert Robinson, and manager Ned Hanlon for Baltimore. Felber follows both of the teams throughout the season leading up to the three game series in the last week of the season that decides the pennant (I won’t give away who won). Interestingly, there was a post-season series at that time called the Temple Cup which would match up these two teams again, however it was viewed by fans and players as little more than an exhibition even though the team that lost the pennant won the Cup.

In addition to the pennant race, Felber captures the feel of this era of baseball. First there was spring training which in those days really was needed to get the players back into ship. The teams sailed to a Southern town, practiced calisthenics and running, and then barnstormed back North playing amateur teams who offered no real preparation for the Major League Baseball season. During the season, with six teams on the East Coast and six teams to the West, teams played enormously long homestands and made long road trips to visit the ballparks of all the franchises in that region.

Felber also tells the sad plight of umpires of the era who were abused verbally and physically by players and fans. 1897 was a particular bad year with an enormous turnover of umpires even though most games were worked by a single umpire. On some occasions, players or managers ended up umpiring their own games! The abuses of 1897 led to some reforms for the much-maligned umpires, including ending the practice of single umpire games.

An interlude in the book tells the sad story of Louis Sockalexis, the Penobscot Indian who quickly rose to stardom and plummeted just as fast for the Cleveland franchise. His popularity led to a nickname change for the Cleveland team from the Spiders to the Indians. Sadly Sockalexis’ career and life were not as enduring.

The fans play a big part in the game in 1897, with the relationship between players and fans at the ballpark and around the town much more interactive than today. The excitement of the pennant race meant that thousands of fans in both cities were willing to pay admission to see road games reenacted by marionettes. The year also saw the birth of the vociferous, singing fan club The Royal Rooters who traveled en masse to see their beloved Bostons play in Baltimore. Felber cites this as the first recorded incidence of fans traveling to see their team play on the road.

This is an excellent book overall with a couple of weaknesses. First of all, Felber obviously became familiar with the names and positions of several dozen players on the two teams. For the reader however, his narration can get confusing as it’s hard to keep track of what players play where or for what team. Also he’s not very good at building up the natural drama of the games themselves during the season-ending showdown. With those caveats I recommend this book for baseball fans and historians.

[Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, c2007.]

Lilac Sunday, YEAH!

First, an explanation of the title. Lilac Sunday is an annual event at Arnold Arboretum celebrated this year for the 100th time. 8 years ago Susan and I were walking through Central Square in Cambridge talking about going to Lilac Sunday and maybe sending lilacs to our mothers for Mothers Day. At this point, the man walking in front of us turned around, looked right in my face and said “YEAH!” He then turned around and resumed his stride as if nothing happened. To this day I don’t know if he liked the idea or if lilacs didn’t agree with him. Regardless, neither of us can talk about Lilac Sunday without interjecting a random “YEAH!” here or there.

After 8 years of being typical Somervilleans who avoided long trips across the river, we could not avoid Lilac Sunday since the Arboretum is next door to our current residence. The first thing we noticed about Lilac Sunday is that it attracts a lot of people, especially babies, and dogs. I’ve grown accustomed to the solitude of walking Peter through the Arboretum on weekday mornings so the crowds were a bit overwhelming. Still it was a nice day to inspect the lilacs, sniff their aromas, and relax in the grass.

Peter checks out the lilacs.

Lilacs up close.

Another type of lilac. What do you want, I’m a librarian not a botanist!

This is not a lilac. It’s called Orange Quince, but we did not have runcible spoons.

This also is not a lilac, but it sure is pretty to see blossoms against the blue sky again.

People, people everywhere. And trees, yes there are lots of trees in the Arboretum.

Adam at Universal Hub posts links to other bloggers’ commentary on Lilac Sunday.

Radical Love: the Haley House documentary

Haley House is a great place in Boston where people create community around food. You can call it a soup kitchen, a bakery, and an organic farm, but it’s the people who count. Both poor and privileged come together to share their gifts and learn from one another.

Via Anna at Isak, I’ve learned that a Haley House documentary is in the works. It’s the work of Alexandra Pinschmidt who lives in the Haley House community. The trailer for the film is on YouTube and is quite stirring. Check it out.

I look forward to seeing the entire documentary.

Book Review: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation. Volume I: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation. Volume I: The Pox Party (2006) by M.T. Anderson begins like a science fiction story, reminiscent of The Baroque Cycle. Young Octavian lives with his mother Cassiopeia and a crowd of Natural Philosophers who go by numbers instead of names. Octavian and his mother are royalty, and although they are far from home, they live in luxury with fine foods and clothing, a classical education, and sophisticated society.

HONKING HUGE SPOILERS BEGIN HERE.

In time it is revealed that Octavian and his mother are slaves living in Boston in the 1760’s-70’s and while treated well materially, Octavian is also something of a lab rat, under constant observation by the scientists of the Novanglian College of Lucidity. This goes right down to Octavian having his excrement weighed after every bowel movement to study the efficiency of his digestive system. Over the course of the novel Octavian grows more aware of the uniqueness and injustice of his situation. Octavian’s coming-of-age is coupled with the College falling on hard times and the start of the Revolution. The central paradox of the novel is that the American’s who are fighting for freedom are doings so while defending their right to withhold freedom from others.

The title refers to an event in the central chapters where in Spring of 1775 the College scientists gather a party of 40 people, both blacks and whites, on a remote farm and inoculate them against smallpox. It is literally a party with dancing and entertainment until the guests begin to fall ill from the inoculation. As everything with the College of Lucidity it is also a scientific experiment to compare the effects of the pox on peoples of European and African descent, and becomes the subject of a scholarly paper. Finally, it is also an attempt by the slave masters to keep their servants indisposed and away from the cities as they fear the British will incite the slaves to fight against the colonists.

The majority of the book is written in first person as Octavian’s memoirs mixed with letters, diary entries, and newspaper clippings that offer other character’s perspectives. It’s classified as a Young Adult book, although I think the 18th-century style language would prove challenging for a teenage reader. I know I would have found this book difficult as a teen as I didn’t learn much of the history until I went to college and become acquainted with the language until I worked at Colonial Williamsburg. But perhaps I underestimate today’s young adults who can enjoy reading a gripping story and perhaps reread it later in life for other perspectives.

I enjoyed this book immensely and it is a front runner for my list of favorite books for 2008. I look forward to reading the second volume The Kingdom on the Waves set for release on October 14, 2008.

Favorite Passages

Music hath its land of origin; and yet it is also its own country, its own sovereign power, and all may take refuge there, and all once settled, may claim it as their own, and all may meet there in amity; and these instruments, as surely as instruments of torture, belong to all of us. — p. 156

‘Tis time to shake off the yoke of oppression. ‘Tis not enough for royal tyrants to reduce us to slavery — they raise up our slaves to lord it over us.

We shall break all their backs. We shall show them chaos and rebellion. There shall be retribution. [Clepp Asquith, Esq]. — p. 262

Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2006.

Boston Walking Tours

Spring is sprung, so it is a good time to get out and take a walking tour of Boston where one can learn about history, architecture, art, nature, society, or just get some fresh air. Since I love walking tours, I decided to pull together a list of the various tours available in Boston and neighboring communities. The two organizations listed below have primacy because I am a volunteer guide for them (don’t let that scare you away, the other guides are great). The rest are listed in alphabetical order. While I’m a fan of walking tours, I don’t tend to have the time to take as many as I like so be aware I only have personal experience with a few of these organizations so don’t consider making the list an endorsement. If you know of any good walking tours in Boston not listed below, I’d love to add them to the list, so please post in the comments.

• Boston By Foot – Boston’s premier walking tours with 7 regular tours offered daily, tours of the month, and special holiday tours.
• Jamaica Plain Historical Society -Weekly tours on Saturday mornings of 6 areas in the Eden of America.

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• Appalachian Mountain Club – The Boston Chapter has a Local Walks Committee offering hikes to condition oneself for the mountains, nature walks, and social walks.
• Arnold Arboretum – Boston’s tree museum offers regular highlight tours and special theme tours. Come back again because the tour changes depending on the season.
• Audissey Guides – Download a tour narrated by local personalities for your mp3 player.
• Black Heritage Trail – A tour of African-American history in Boston led by National Park Service guides, or you can take a self-guided tour.
• Evening Walkers – A Meetup.com group for people who like walking. No narration, just scenery and a chance to meet people.
• Friends of the Blue Hills – Group hikes and nature walks in the Blue Hills Reservation.
• Brookline Food Tour – The way to Brookline’s heart is through your stomach.
• Boston Athenæum – Art and architecture tours of this respected independent library. They also offer tours for members should you be so fortunate. [Suggested by Charles Swift in the comments below].
• Boston CityWalks – Four regularly scheduled walks and custom tours of Boston and Cambridge [Suggested by Alan in the comments below]
• Boston Harborfest – Walking tours are among the many events of Boston’s Independence Day celebration, including special Boston By Foot offerings.
• Boston Harborwalk – A self-guided walk along Boston’s waterfront.
• Boston Movie Tours – Tinseltown comes to the Hub in this tour of film locations.
• Boston National Historical Park – Tours of the Freedom Trail and Charlestown Navy Yard led by National Park Service Rangers.
• Boston Nature Center – Birding tours, nature walks, and hikes in the heart of the city.
• Boston Public Library – Regular art and architecture tours of the oldest municipal library in the US.
• The Boston Spirits Walking Tour – A spooky walking tour focusing on Boston’s ghost stories.
• Boston Town Crier – Freedom Trail tours led by character interpreters of James Otis and Benjamin Franklin.
• Boston Women’s Heritage Trail – Nine self-guided walks exploring women’s history in Boston.
• Boston Your Way – Hire a private guide for a customizable tour (I wonder if they’re hiring).
• Cambridge Historical Society – The CHS events calendar currently includes a garden tour and historic house tours.
• Discover Roxbury – Arrange a 90 minute tour for school, family, and adult groups of this historic and diverse neighborhood.
• Fenway Park – Go behind the scenes at the home of the Boston Red Sox, the oldest and smallest ballpark in Major League Baseball.
• Forest Hills Cemetery – Boston’s hidden gem is full of history, art, and architecture, all of which is illuminated by a good tour guide (read about a great tour we took last fall).
• Franklin Park Coalition – A self-guided tour, trails, and special events throughout the year in the “gem” of the Emerald Necklace.
• Freedom Trail Tours – You can follow the red line on your own or let a costumed guide show you the way with 3 different 90-minute tours provided by the Freedom Trail Foundation.
• Gibson House Museum – If you’re admiring the Victorian architecture of Back Bay and want to see a house interior, stop in here for a tour.
• Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Society – Explore the new public space replacing the elevated Central Artery with special tours supported by Boston By Foot.
• Harvard Campus Tour – Free official tours of the Harvard University campus.
• Historic New England – The HNE calendar offers neighborhood and historic property tours in Boston and throughout New England.
• Irish Heritage Trail – A self-guided walk with guided tours in the works.
• Learn English in Boston – Art and architecture tours of Boston for ESL students.
• Mass Bay Railroad Enthusiasts – Quarry to wharf tours of the remains of the granite railway in Quincy and Milton (part van, part walking tour).
• MIT Campus Tour – Learn about the innovative architecture by world-renown architects that speckle the MIT campus.
• Middlesex Fells – Check the calendar for special hikes or join the regular Babes in the Woods walks for parents and children.
• Museum of Fine Arts – Regular free guided tours of the galleries (with museum admission) plus art & architecture tours outside of the museum.
• The Nichols House Museum – If you’re admiring the Federal architecture of Beacon Hill and want to see a house interior, stop in here for a tour.
• North End Secret Tour – Tours of Boston’s oldest neighborhood lead by a local resident.
• The Path to Independence – Character interpreters offer a first-person historical perspective of the Freedom Trail.
• Phantoms of Olde Cambridge -The ghosties of Harvard Square get their own tour.
• Photowalks – Walking tours combined with instruction in photography on four different routes.
• Paul Revere’s North End Walking Tour – An experienced guide from the Paul Revere House leads tours of the North End in early July.
• South End Historical Society – An Annual House Tour is offered in October.
• Unofficial Tours Present Harvard University – Fun tours of America’s first college.
• WalkBoston – Boston’s walking advocacy group offers regular walks around the city.
• Walking Tours of Historic Boston – Families and groups can book tours of Boston’s historic center lead by a children’s book author.
• Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunts – A unique spin on the walking tour where participants gather together in teams to solve questions and puzzles.
• Women Artists in the Back Bay – A self-guided walk created by created in partnership by the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, with the support of the City of Boston, the Boston Women’s Commission, and the MFA Ladies Committee Associates.

Book Review: Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury

Hailed as “the first magnum opus of the Palestinian saga,” Gate of the Sun (2006) by Elias Khoury is my (tardy) Around the World for a Good Book selection for March. This epic novel features the narrator, Dr. Khalil telling stories to the comatose Yunes, a veteran of the conflicts with Israel seen as a hero to his people. I didn’t catch on to this myself, but a review in the New York Times relates the telling of stories to keep someone alive to the classic Arabic tale “A Thousand and One Nights.”

This novel is challenging to read both because of it’s stream-of-consciousness narrative as well as the grim details of its subject matter. Khalil tells stories of his own life, stories about Yunes, stories of their families, and friends and villagers they know. The narrative stretches from the 1940’s to the 1990’s, punctuated by the historic conflicts with Israel. War, death, poverty, oppression, misery, and hopelessness flavor many of the tales. Their village is victim of massacres and their people commit their own atrocities. Not all of the novel is so dismal though, there are humorous stories, tales of love and love lost, and perseverance despite it all.

I have to confess that I know far too little of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and with more knowledge of that history I could appreciate this book better. On the other hand, this very personal tale is a good background for studying the history. Of all the Around the World for a Good Book novels I’ve read thus far, this one may be the closest to speaking for a people at the present time.

Favorite Passages

I won’t describe the darkness to you, because I hate describing things. Ever since I was in school I’ve hated describing things. The teacher would give us an essay to write: Describe a rainy day. And I wouldn’t know how, because I hate comparing things. Things can only be described in their own terms, and when we compare them, we forget them. A girl’s face is like a girl’s face and not like the moon. The whiteness and roundness of everything else are different. When we say that a girl’s face is like the moon, we forget the girl. We make the description so that we can forget, and I don’t like to to forget. Rain is like rain, isn’t that enough? Isn’t it enough that it should rain for us to smell the smell of winter? – p. 68

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Got you! I’ve got you now, and it’s up to me to decipher what you said. Everything needs translating. Everything that’s said is a riddle or a euphemism that needs to be interpreted. Now I must reinterpret you from the beginning. I’ll take apart your disjointed phrases to see what’s inside them and will but you back together to get at your truth.

Can I get at your truth?

What does your truth mean?

I don’t know, but I’ll discover things that had never crossed my mind. – p. 398

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Why are all your stories like that?

How could you stand this life?

These days we cans stand it because of video; Abu Kamal was right — we’ve become a video nation. Umm Hassan brought me a tape of al-Ghabsiyyeh, and some other woman brough a tape of another village — all people do is swap videotapes, and in these images we find the strength to continue. We sit in front of the small screen and see small spots, distorted pictures and close-ups, and from these we invent the country we desire. We invent our life through pictures. – p. 462

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Reviews
Village Voice
Mother Jones