List Books In Favor Of Far Afield
| Original Title: | Far Afield |
| ISBN: | 0679753761 (ISBN13: 9780679753766) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Susanna Kaysen
Paperback | Pages: 352 pages Rating: 3.82 | 369 Users | 54 Reviews
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| Title | : | Far Afield |
| Author | : | Susanna Kaysen |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 352 pages |
| Published | : | April 19th 1994 by Vintage (first published 1990) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Contemporary. Anthropology |
Ilustration As Books Far Afield
Jonathan Brand, a graduate student in anthropology, has decided to do his fieldwork in the remote Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic. But, despite his Harvard training, he can barely understand, let alone "study," the culture he encounters. From his struggles with the local cuisine to his affair with the Danish woman the locals want him to marry, Jonathan is both repelled by and drawn into the Faroese way of life. Wry and insightful, Far Afield reveals reveals Susanna Kaysen's gifts of imagination, satire, and compassion.Rating Appertaining To Books Far Afield
Ratings: 3.82 From 369 Users | 54 ReviewsEvaluation Appertaining To Books Far Afield
It is quite interesting to read a book about your own country. Jonathan is an American anthropologist and is going to spend a year in the Faroe Islands. The story takes place in one of the smaller islands in the 80s. It was a really weird experience to read about my home country in English and in a way of foreignness. I was about to give the book four stars, but I decided on three stars because it is all very extreme in a way. There are many important features in this book - sheep hunting, whaleIt's been a long time since I cried at the end of a book. As a modern person, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to live in a place vastly different and more rural than my own surroundings. This book offers a glimpse of what a year in the Faroe Islands would be like. The difficulty of adjusting, the difficulty making friends, the abrupt change in diet, customs and culture. And at the end, real affection for the people this students got to know.
An engaging book about the nature of civilization, and about being an "outsider" living abroad. Very readable. Surprisingly, I was able to better understand the ritual whale kill that takes place in the Faroe Islands after reading this book. (Still horrific, but the tradition is more complex than I would have imagined before reading this book.)
Very different story. Interesting story of a young man who travels to the Faroe Islands and spends a year studying the culture on one of the smallest island. Finds the life at first primitive and then oddly soothing in its simplicity . The terrible weather, limited diet and odd customs make him seem to yearn to be a part of the odd group of people that take him in. He is lulled into a sense of peace that makes him want to stay but in the end, when his year is up he returns home to Boston .
What an unusual and beautiful read. Jonathan, a grad student whose area is anthropology sort of by the elimination process rather than passionate choice, bucks his advisors and decides to study the culture of the Faroe Islands. He is ill-prepared in all ways. Ultimately, it is hard to tell who is studying whom--the Faroe folk or American Jonathan. This is a novel of warmth and friendliness, but with gritty facts and hard lessons. Reading this book was an intellectual and emotional journey, and
Maybe four stars because Jonathan is so insufferable. It's ok, I don't need to love my characters but some of the navel gazing passages drag on.But five stars because of all the other characters and beautiful descriptions.
A sort of graduate-student Bildungsroman, this novel centers on the protagonist's year in the Faroe Islands working on his dissertation.I was pretty excited when I got this book as a gift from my friend Pat, whose college friend at Cornell provided the model for Kaysen's main character, Jonathan Brand. After all, I love all things Northern Atlantic (read: Iceland) and the Faroes are just smaller, more exotic Icelands, right? Well, not quite.Since I have never been to the Faroes, I took it on
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