Critique – Part II: Books that Critique

Men Crossing the Sahara Wearing Indigo Taglemusts (Turbans)

Indigo, was not written as a critique, and yet in some ways, it is just that. The author, Catherine McKinley’s motivation to write the book is born out of a passion for the story of indigo. The story line follows the histories, cultures and processes associated with indigo.

Underneath the storyline is a spine holding the story’s structure in place, a spine, which in part highlights the contrast between American culture and the cultures she finds as she travels doing research through various African nations in her quest, and as she describes it, her "obsession" to find authentic indigo.

The contrasting of cultures becomes especially apparent at the close of the book. She walks us through what she experiences during the death and funeral of her grandmother after she returns to America. The reader cannot help but lay the images she brings to that narrative, which seem sparse and thin, over against the rich images she has experienced in Ghana during the death, burial and mourning of Mr. Ghilchreist, the husband of her dear friend, Eurama.

She devotes an entire chapter, nearly thirty pages to the details of this cultural phenomenon, soaked in poetry, mythology, metaphor and tradition. No effort or expense is spared over the few weeks following Ghilchriest’s death, as family support pours in from near by villages and even from abroad. Shops are closed, stories recited and elaborate preparations are in full swing as Mr. Ghilchreist lay in the mortuary.

Six weeks later, on the day of wake-keeping, Eurama’s hair is covered in henna and she wraps herself in cloth, named “Death Spoils a House.” There is a procession covering all of the significant places in Mr. Ghilchreist’s life.

Ten days after the burial, when Ghilchreist’s soul has broken free from his body, the family disperses and the year-long work of mourning begins for Eurama.

This is a deep dive into the culture of that area of the world. It highlighted for me the way passion to find a missing piece in our own culture or our own story can drive story telling. And in a way that’s what a critique is, telling the other side of the story, exposing the missing parts, bringing another voice.

We can look at other more obvious examples of books as critique, Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, was written after Kant was awoken “from his dogmatic slumbers” by David Hume’s skepticism. He spent twelve years thinking about this and then wrote the book, this according to a Wikipedia article about Kant. Interesting that one of the most famous books ever written on philosophy comes down to us as a critique of someone else’s work.

Maybe in some cases that’s what writing comes down to, setting the record straight.

At any rate, for writers who struggle with motivation or keeping the impetus going, maybe identifying the table pounder is good. What value is missing, what voice is missing, what wrong needs to be made right? Those kinds of questions might be able to carry a project all the way through to finish.

What’s nagging at you that you want to set right?

Writing Prompt for the Week: Cultural Norms