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kathiwoe 's review for:
"The Savages" - or a lesson in cliched oldfashioned eurocentrism.
A note in the beginning for anyone wanting to tl,dr my review: Save the money you would have spent on this book and go watch the film 'Weit' instead, for a similar journey and getting your fernweh-fix.
I have found the language in this book to be so highly problematic it has made me squeamish at times. To the incoming 'Stop being a snowflake' comments, I say this: This report reads like it was written by an 1880s anthropologist. I find it mind boggling that this book passed through editors and proofreaders in 2017/18 and still managed to get published.
The author legitimately uses this description for an indigenous people he was lucky enough to meet (I have translated from German):
"After initial shyness, the Warao proved to be cheerful, carefree and hospitable. They were also very athletic despite their small stature and had an amazing sense of balance. Most of them choose their life companions at the age of 13 to 15 and have their first children not long after that. Before a missionary told them about God, the Warao had believed that they had once lived in the clouds."
Say what now? My dude - you are describing humans, so writing about them like they are animals meant to be detailed on an episode of BBC Earth is highly uncool.
The author exhibits racist tendencies in thought (at one point he really uses the word 'savages') and is completely unaware of his own standing in the world. Yes, the dreaded p-word - but even with 50 bucks to your name you will still be a rich European once you choose to come back home. There is inherent privilege there.
Aside from these glaring problems, it is also not a well written book in language and depth. Save yourself the time and trouble and go read (or watch) a better travel memoir - as mentioned above the film 'Weit' is amazing.
A note in the beginning for anyone wanting to tl,dr my review: Save the money you would have spent on this book and go watch the film 'Weit' instead, for a similar journey and getting your fernweh-fix.
I have found the language in this book to be so highly problematic it has made me squeamish at times. To the incoming 'Stop being a snowflake' comments, I say this: This report reads like it was written by an 1880s anthropologist. I find it mind boggling that this book passed through editors and proofreaders in 2017/18 and still managed to get published.
The author legitimately uses this description for an indigenous people he was lucky enough to meet (I have translated from German):
"After initial shyness, the Warao proved to be cheerful, carefree and hospitable. They were also very athletic despite their small stature and had an amazing sense of balance. Most of them choose their life companions at the age of 13 to 15 and have their first children not long after that. Before a missionary told them about God, the Warao had believed that they had once lived in the clouds."
Say what now? My dude - you are describing humans, so writing about them like they are animals meant to be detailed on an episode of BBC Earth is highly uncool.
The author exhibits racist tendencies in thought (at one point he really uses the word 'savages') and is completely unaware of his own standing in the world. Yes, the dreaded p-word - but even with 50 bucks to your name you will still be a rich European once you choose to come back home. There is inherent privilege there.
Aside from these glaring problems, it is also not a well written book in language and depth. Save yourself the time and trouble and go read (or watch) a better travel memoir - as mentioned above the film 'Weit' is amazing.