Finding Beauty in a Broken World
February 14th, 2010 Posted in Life Style
- ISBN13: 9780375725197
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description”Shards of glass can cut and wound or magnify a vision,” Terry Tempest Williams tells us. “Mosaic celebrates brokenness and the beauty of being brought together. ” Ranging from Ravenna, Italy, where she learns the ancient art of mosaic, to the American Southwest, where she observes prairie dogs on the brink of extinction, to a small village in Rwanda where she joins genocide survivors to build a memorial from the rubble of war, Williams searches for meaning and commu. . . More >>
February 14th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Terry Tempest Williams brings you through the making of mosaics in Ravenna, Italy; to the plateaus of Bryce Canyon observing prairie dogs; to a Rwandan village where she helps create a memorial to the genocide. The reader is given fragments to put together like a mosaic. Fragments of poetry, letters, newpaper articles, interviews/dialogs, and little reflective comments. I found myself going into my heart, going to a place of deep appreciation for the natural world, for plants, animals, rocks and human beings as I turned the pages.
She slows down the world with her poetic voice bringing a sharp focus to the essence of being. She provokes thought. She unravels the thread of cruelty to see no right, no wrong. She invites the reader to witness
the complexity of a situation and rise out of it with more compassion, more empathy and more consciousness.
It is a beautiful book that I highly recommend. It is transformative!
Rating: 1 / 5
February 14th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
If I could give this book 0 stars I would. This book was long and depressing. TTW uses a weird, disjointed format that is incredibly jarring and annoying. The last half of the book takes place in Rwanda, where TTW recounts the stories of the survivors of the 1994 genocide. I found this part of the book distressing and repetitive, and I kept waiting for the end where she would sum up and explain what the genocide had to do with prairie dogs (prayer dogs? gag!), only to find it was a lame analogy between racism and specism all along.
I enjoyed Refuge, but this book was horribly disappointing. I want my time and my $30 back.
Rating: 1 / 5
February 14th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Terry Tempest Williams weaves a tale of fragmented beauty in her latest prose poem. Taking the disparate subjects of mosaic-building, the dwindling prairie dog population in Utah, and the aftermath of Rwandan genocide, she reminds us that our broken world can be pieced back together with the force of our moral imagination and the work of our hearts and hands. I found the words of this book floating around in my head throughout the day, and I looked forward to joining Terry each evening to follow her trail towards wholeness. I recommend this book to anyone who searches for meaning in our threatened world.
Rating: 5 / 5
February 14th, 2010 at 10:44 pm
This book is at the highest end of my bookshelf, sharing space with only the greatest. I was immersed from the moment I started reading. I am biased in that I know and deeply love Ravenna. I soon discovered how even, in Terry’s writing style, she used mosaics within her words and fragments which, to me, made it even more powerful. The messages to see, better observe and appreciate the restoration of broken images, no matter how long ago or how recent they had been created and destroyed. To focus that what is broken can always be healed as long as we see what is there, not what we wish but what we learn to see. And as long as we are willing to look at each fragment with care of not only the heart, but mind and prior knowledge, there is hope.
The middle section about the prairy dogs I found interesting for a while (I love those little creatures), then became utterly bored. I saw the picture but was finished. I could not understand the style. I didn’t bother completing it.
Rwanda was an experience that I find doubtful for anyone to forget. Again: detail for feelings, society and societal relationships were awe-inspiring. It’s history brought tears to my eyes many times. The beauty of the mosaic memorial, intertwined with the mosaics of the Rwandan people’s healing lives was also healing to me. Incredible in so many aspects.
Then I realized I had to go back to the little guys out west. It was then that I understood the writing style (somewhat scientific as opposed to narrative). The picture is only too clear, and so fitting in the setting of the book.
Bravo, Terry. I feel privileged to have become part of that world. I am also going to Ravenna to take the class! It will have yet a different meaning!
Rating: 5 / 5
February 15th, 2010 at 12:49 am
It’s so hard to give Ms. Williams anything less than five stars. At her best, she’s a fabulous writer, with a deep moral consciousness. But in this case, her editor should have given her a stern ultimatum: “Terry, I’m sorry, but there are lots of people who do NOT want to read 100 pages of field notes from the two weeks you spent watching prairie dogs, and we are NOT going to publish them. ” The beginning of this book is fantastic. The end? Well, the middle is so painfully slow that I’m not there yet. I’m only halfway through her stint with the prairie dogs, and I put it down for a week until I have the strength to continue.
Rating: 3 / 5