Afrikan People and European Holidays: A Mental Genocide, Book Two by Ishakamusa Barashango

How did you come across the book?

Well, I was down south for the holidays. I was in Virginia. I left North Carolina on… my sister lives in North Carolina… I left there Christmas Day to go to Virginia. I left Virginia Thursday and I’ve been in New York since. So, my brother had it in his house, and I noticed it and I was like, “hmm, that’s kind of interesting!”

So far, what perspective have you gained from this book?

Well, uh… it just gives an introduction of, hmm… historical facts from another person’s point of view, which is not really the view of the textbooks that we receive in schools and stuff like that. It’s just another peoples’ perspective who claim that the descendants of Neanderthals, Europeans, have inflicted a lot of strife upon the world, especially when they received that very power that they held from the original people, which is Afrikans. So, that’s the kind of point of view that I’ve gathered so far. Yeah… I’m not done with it yet.

Would you recommend it, and if so, to who and why?

Hmm… I would recommend it to all peoples’. All peoples’. You know, because its not only people of color who are miseducated in America. It’s all peoples. So, I would definitely recommend it to… anyone who is interested in history or just doesn’t like the way the world is run right now. People who are interested in those things should definitely check out this book.

The Tin Drum by Günter Grass

How did you comes across the book?

Oh! I go off into Strand, and I simply like to read… I just… I guess lately I like to read European authors… and he’s German; I’ve never heard of him actually, and realized that he actually received a Nobel Prize for literature. This was his first book… written 50 years ago. Yeah, he was born in the 20s, in Germany, so, even though it’s a translation, it’s absolutely interesting to read. But, yeah… well, I’m on page 13… interesting enough!

So far, what perspective have you gained from the book?

Actually… with this book, its difficult to say… considering that I’m only on page 13, but… I mean, I think that he writes in a very poetic way. However, it is from the perspective of someone who is in a mental health institution, so… it’s not as focused as you would expect. Yeah, I think that it is very interesting! I read reviews of the book, and they said it was quite revolutionary at the time, right, when it was published. Sorry, I can’t tell you more about the perspective!

Would you recommend it, and if so, to who and why?

Again… very hard to say… very hard to say at this point. I mean, I was born in Romania, right, so I feel very close, like geographically to the area… so I think of everyone who is coming from there, trying to understand that period, would probably gain from reading it. So, I would definitely recommend it to my daughters, because I think that the style is very different to what you read these days… not that it’s better, but it’s quite different; like the sentences are a lot longer, and the paragraphs have a lot more ideas… that sometimes makes it hard to follow actually! But, a lot of thought… you sometimes have to read paragraphs again, in order to really get it!