Song of the South Books

Do not read Dr. Won Tai Sohn's "Kim Il Sung and Korea's Struggle" if you are seeking a sophisticated political analysis of how Kim Il-song and Kim Chong-il have built and run the North Korean state. But do invest in this book if you seek to know the pain and nationalistic hopes characteristic of the Korean people as they struggled under the yoke of Japanese occcupation from 1910 to 1945. And, above all, do pay close attention to Dr. Sohn's description of his childhood exile in Manchuria, for his family sheltered and worked with the young Kim Il-song in organizing the Korean youths in China to keep alive their love of the motherland.

If your primary interest regarding this book is how the Koreans dealt with the Japanese occupation, then "Kim Il Sung and Korea's Struggle" is well-teamed with Richard Kim's "Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood." On the other hand, if your interest lies primarily in Dr. Sohn's first-hand knowledge of Kim Il-song as a youth, then the book is best teamed with Professor Dae Sook Suh's definitive biography of Kim Il-song.

There is really no other place you can get this detailed and authentic information about the music of the Venda people. This book is extremely detailed in an analytical, scientific way, but it is compiled by an expert in the field who actually lived in Vendaland for 22 or so months and documented many of the childrens' songs and ritual music of these people in the sixties. The best part of the book is the musical transcriptions and translations of the songs themselves. Useful for anyone wanting information and notation for authentic South African music.

'Songs of Papa's Island' is a cute freshman outing for Barbara Kerley. In words it does capture the 'sights, sounds, and feelings of a unique and wonderful place,' as its inside cover states, though I can't help but feel that it would have benefited from more articulate illustrations. For their individual merit, Katherine Tilllotson's images and cover are pleasant and incorporate a popular artistic style. (I feel like I've seen them passing souvenir shops, traveling down the southeastern coast - places like South Carolina, Florida and the Keys.) But I'm not sure how much they serve Barbara Kerley's 'songs' and ultimate story. They are far too simple in comparison to the narration. Admittedly designed for a younger audience, 'Where the Wild Things Are' is a masterful example of children's literature in which imagery heightens a story's words and lyricism and creates a vivid world. Twenty years later I can still conjure images of Maurice Sendak's intimidating, yet approachable, wild-eyed monsters.

At the end of the day, Kerley's 'songs' don't resonate with me either and they lack the lyrical quality that the inside cover claims they have. Literarily her concept is clear. Emotively though it just doesn't connect. Songs by nature carry themes and Kerley's theme does not resonate. Her repetition - "Before you were born you lived on an island . . ." - seems dry and pallid. It lacks the kind of vibrancy that comes through good music or poetry. On this note, there is also something strange, or let's say contradictory, about the work. When Kerley set out to write it, my impression is that she aimed to tell a story that nostalgically depicts a tropically idyllic place that teams with natural life. And for the most part, it's fair to say she accomplished this. But, in her stories to her daughter she mentions things like a 'respirator,' 'throwing up,' 'fancy hotels,' and 'tourists'. Things of this nature seem to break with or detract from the intended tone and reality of the piece.

'Songs of Papa's Island' is a cute freshman outing for Barbara Kerley. In words it does capture the 'sights, sounds, and feelings of a unique and wonderful place,' as its inside cover states, though I can't help but feel that it would have benefited from more articulate illustrations. For their
individual merit, Katherine Tilllotson's images and cover are pleasant and incorporate a popular artistic style. (I feel like I've seen them passing souvenir shops, traveling down the southeastern coast - places like South Carolina, Florida and the Keys.) But I'm not sure how much they serve Barbara Kerley's 'songs' and ultimate story. They are far too simple in comparison to the narration. Admittedly designed for a younger audience, 'Where the Wild Things Are' is a masterful example of children's literature in which imagery heightens a story's words and lyricism and creates a vivid world. Twenty years later I can still conjure images of Maurice Sendak's intimidating, yet
approachable, wild-eyed monsters.

At the end of the day, Kerley's 'songs' don't resonate with me either and they lack the lyrical quality that the inside cover claims they have. Literarily her concept is clear. Emotively though it just doesn't connect. Songs by nature carry themes and Kerley's theme does not resonate. Her repetition - "Before you were born you lived on an island . . ." - seems dry and pallid. It lacks the kind of vibrancy that comes through good music or
poetry. On this note, there is also something strange, or let's say contradictory, about the work. When Kerley set out to write it, my impression is that she aimed to tell a story that nostalgically depicts a tropically idyllic place that teams with natural life. And for the most part, it's fair to say she accomplished this. But, in her stories to her daughter she
mentions things like a 'respirator,' 'throwing up,' 'fancy hotels,' and 'tourists'. Things of this nature seem to break with or detract from the intended tone and reality of the piece.

The art is beautiful, but the text was not engaging, either to me or to my grandsons.