Skip to main content

Dakota

December 10, 2009
Book of the Day: Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, by Kathleen Norris
Grade: B-
First published: 1993
1-word review: Solitude
8-word review: Desolation brings enlightenment, but only for a few.

The western part of North and South Dakota is, perhaps, the most desolate, unforgiving location in the United States, even more so than Idaho. Populations shrink as farmers and ranchers struggle to make a living with nutrient-poor soil, harsh winds, little rain, and temperatures that range from well below zero to well over 100 degrees over the course of the year. Gossip and back-stabbing reign as residents struggle to find a reason for their hardship.

Still, Kathleen Norris has found peace in this place. She uses a strange mix of realism and idealism to describe her life in Lemmon, an isolated town of less than 2000 people in northwestern South Dakota, right on the border with North Dakota. She left New York City in the early '70's to take over the farm she inherited from her grandmother, and she has lived there, with her husband, ever since. She has evolved into a craver of solitude, even becoming an oblate (a sort-of part-time monk) at a Dakotan Benedictine monastery, despite herself being a Protestant. She comes to see herself as inseparable from place. Place defines her and molds her.

Here's a photo of western South Dakota. Click for a much bigger picture.


Here's an abandoned North Dakota farmhouse, a common sight nowadays, although the grass is usually not so green.


The only thing I didn't like about this book was Norris's too-frequent tendency to quote other writers. This became a distraction. Furthermore, she has too simplistic and rosy a view of other writers and intellectuals with degrees from prominent institutions. I understand her point about locals being resistant to new ideas, but maybe new ideas can sometimes be bad ones, even (frequently especially) if they come from well-educated people.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Disgrace

December 12, 2009 Book of the Day: Disgrace , by J.M. Coetzee Grade: A First published: 1999 1-word review: Brutal 9-word review: South Africa's still struggling in the aftermath of apartheid. A communications professor in Cape Town resigns his job after having a scandalous affair with a student. He visits his daughter on her ranch in the country, where they are viciously attacked and robbed in her home. The rest of the novel, in sparse and nearly perfect prose, deals with the aftermath of this attack, examining white guilt, police incompetence, and intellectual bankruptcy. Coetzee is a white South African who wrote a novel that depicts black on white violent crime in his country. As you may expect, this has generated quite some controversy, despite Coetzee's bona fide anti-apartheid status. Many critics have suggested that Disgrace should be read as an allegorical tale about the inadequacies of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a body set up in South Africa to exam...
3 comments
Read more

Breath, Eyes, Memory

December 3, 2009 Book of the Day: Breath, Eyes, Memory , by Edwidge Danticat Grade: C+ First published: 1994 1-word review: Tested 8-word review: Women can be awfully mean to each other. This book was written by a women named Edwidge. Why aren't more women named Edwidge? Like the main character in this novel, Sophie Caco, Edwidge Danticat was born in Haiti and raised by an aunt and grandmother after her mother emigrated to the United States. Also like Sophie, she herself emigrated to the U.S. when she was twelve years old. Other than these facts, I don't know how much of this novel is autobiographical. Here is a photo of Edwidge. Here is a map of Haiti, a third-world country, sometimes called the "Idaho of the Caribbean." And here's a photo of Reese Witherspoon, who has never lived in Haiti. I won't spoil the story by going into too much detail, but Sophie comes to be damaged by her mother, who was herself damaged by her mother (and a young Haitian man). S...
3 comments
Read more

The Theory of the Leisure Class

December 30, 2009 Book of the Day: The Theory of the Leisure Class , by Thorstein Veblen Grade: A- First published: 1899 1-word review: Conspicuous 7-word review: It's all pecuniary conspicuity, you materialistic bastard. This is an interesting, sometimes funny, frequently profound, take on our consumer culture. There's a certain desire to achieve material success just to show others that we have achieved material success. Furthermore, our motivation comes from seeing the success of others. These factors lead to what Veblen calls "conspicuous consumption." We like other people to notice our stuff. Then there are those who try to try to wow you with their stuff when their stuff isn't all that impressive. Veblen refers to these people as "Boise State fans." Just a little love tap.
3 comments
Read more