<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Bailey has bottled a cultured in this book!
Review: Being a life-long resident of the South Carolina Lowcountry, many of the things Bailey described in her book hit home. A fear of the otherworldly, grave respect for elders and ancestors, and contentment with life in its natural simplicity are telling traits that Bailey has really invested herself in the life she describes. The book shifts in interests as Bailey describes her experiences of reaching maturity in the natural, social, and spiritual senses, but her worldview remains consistent with the old traditions.
For those who are interested in the actual speech patterns of Geechee (or Gullah) people, this is not really the book for you. There are sparse renditions of the Lowcountry/Island way of talking, but one gets the sense that Bailey was a good code-switcher; indeed, any Geechee with solid home-training would try to avoid speaking with one's home accent in public. Nevertheless, the culture that came up with the language is presented panchronologically; the very distant past is treated with the same sense of importance as the events that took place during Bailey's lifetime, and just as much gravity is given to as much as she can foresee of the unknown future.
I really enjoyed this book. It gave me a sense of culture and was an excellent reference concerning the culture of the greater African-American culture overall. It is filled with lively stories, unforgetable anecdotes, thoughtful philosophizing, and hope.
Rating:
Summary: A magical book to read and re-read.
Review: Not only is this the most important book about Geechee culture to date, it is also a stunning literary memoir of refreshing honesty and depth. Cornelia Bailey's God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man is like Forrest Carter's The Education of Little Tree and Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. It is a child's eye portrait of a grown-up world rich in spirit and tradition but poor by the standards of the world. Cornelia Walker Bailey is a national treasure, a remarkable woman, and a storyteller blessed with the gift of second-sight -- Thank God!
Rating:
Summary: A magical book to read and re-read.
Review: Part memoir, part cultural history, part plea on behalf of a fragile culture, God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man is as affecting as the best magic realism. You do not simply read it, you savor it and absorb it into your very soul. In the book, Cornelia Bailey, resident griot of Sapelo Island off the Georgia coast, spins the story of her growing up in that place and in a time when lives were governed equally by religion, magic, and chance. She admits us deep into the culture of her proud people and introduces us to folkways strong enough to have survived the Middle Passage and the centuries since. So it is with infinite sadness we learn that the forces of progress are rendering these same folkways as fragile as a paper-thin fig shell that washes onto the beach. It goes without saying that God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man will appeal to cultural historians, anthropologists, naturalists, and environmentalists. The book's strongest appeal, however, will be to lovers of lyrical prose -- and to anyone who delights in the sheer magic of the way words fall on the ear and follow one another on a page. This is a special book, one that should find a home on every reader's short shelf of well-thumbed volumes that are read and referenced time and again.
Rating: 
Summary: A great recounting of traditions and folklore
Review: The Golden Isles of Georgia are mysterious and fascinating. The Spanish moss, tabby walls, the "shout" of the Sea Island Singers, and cloudy past reach out to visitors today. The author of this book, a salt-water Geechee, grew up on Sapelo. Her story is wonderfully interesting. The beliefs of the slaves' descendants were so little changed for so many years. Traditions born in western Africa are still hanging on to life even today on Sapelo. I hope the government, even in the name of saving the environment, never succeeds in taking the land away from the Geechee families who lived such true lives there. Their life deserves to continue as long as their faith lives.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: The Golden Isles of Georgia are mysterious and fascinating. The Spanish moss, tabby walls, the "shout" of the Sea Island Singers, and cloudy past reach out to visitors today. The author of this book, a salt-water Geechee, grew up on Sapelo. Her story is wonderfully interesting. The beliefs of the slaves' descendants were so little changed for so many years. Traditions born in western Africa are still hanging on to life even today on Sapelo. I hope the government, even in the name of saving the environment, never succeeds in taking the land away from the Geechee families who lived such true lives there. Their life deserves to continue as long as their faith lives.
Rating:
Summary: A great recounting of traditions and folklore
Review: This is a great book to learn about the culture, history and traditions of a Geechee community on Sapelo Island, GA. Compared to other books I have read about this area, Ms. Bailey really focuses on the folklore and superstitions that shaped life on this isolated island during the second half of the 20th century. Although some of these traditions continue, many are fading away as this unique community shrinks in size. Ms. Bailey considers it her duty to be a storyteller, to pass these stories down to whoever will listen, and to keep the traditions alive. Ms. Bailey succeeds by telling her story with a vibrant narrative - a very fast and rewarding read.
<< 1 >>
|
