White Dog Fell From the Sky by Eleanor Morris

White Dog Fell from the Sky by Eleanor Morse
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this audiobook much more than I did. Brittany Pressley does a great job with the dialects African dialects and their slower speech. But with this current covidD pandemic, I find I do not enjoy books that are heartbreaking and this one is especially gut wrenching ALL THE WAY through and the hopeful ending was TOO TOO SHORT. Eleanor Morse, to me, should have given more time to Isaac's return and his state of mind as time progressed maybe even for the first month. I also found myself frustrated with Alice and her decisions with men---maybe a follow up book with Alice and Isaac getting together (I know she is much older but they were alike in their resolve in so many ways)! I loved the beauty of Africa (Eleanor and Isaac's descriptions) but hated the REALITY of Apartheid Africa, the awful prison, their treatment of prisoners, and how life was so different for black and white. My friends loved this book and told of the redemptive ending but like the book, This Tender Land, the awful treatment of humanity was TOO MUCH and the hopeful ending was too little.

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Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Trevor Noah's life is unbelievable- born to a black mother and white father in apartheid Africa; he was not welcome in any world- white black or mixed and after apartheid things changed but the archaic beliefs of many of the tribes and the government continued. I loved Trevor's narration; his voice was beautiful, believable, laugh out loud funny but also sad, angry, and questioning. His mother was his constant growing up; she made him go to church every Sunday many times for the whole day. She raised him with a tough hand but she did it all in love. For all that went wrong in his life, Trevor remained positive and upbeat. A must read from a young man who lived through hell, eeked out a life, always loved and respected his mother. Highly recommended!

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