The Wild Geese

Not a book at the top of any list, except mine.

Now the movie, adapted from the original novel, was great; action, blood, guts, everything a guy wants in a movie. The book is okay in a literary sense, but I love it for a pair of reasons.

The story is interesting and it gives great insight to what was going on in Africa during the period of nationalization and the booting of the colonial powers. As America still reflects what took place in the 1960's, Africa is still feeling the effects of this period in history.

Over the years I've met missionaries who were in the field during this time that supported the background of Daniel Carney's novel. As with the other books I've posted on this blog, "The Wild Geese" gives a perspective to the complexity of the South African apartheid system.

Apartheid was awful, terrible, no argument there, but what is neglected---as we label all white South Africans as racists---is that these people saw what was happening in the Congo, Mozambique, Uganda, Angola, and Rhodesia.

I have memories of Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith being vilified in the press, in public opinion, by the U.S., and by the United Nations for fighting the call to surrender power...The whites were the minority, colonial period was ending, it was time for the majority to come to power. Everyone agreed, everyone rah rah'd...But South Africa saw what happened in all of these countries so they clung to apartheid, determined not to let it happen to them...

The South Africans knew, so did the missionaries...that while the colonial system was far from acceptable...they knew those taking majority rule were at best Marxists and at worst dictators...Carney's story again highlights (my word of the month)the complexity of it all and the unbelievable tragedy that is Africa.

On the other hand I really liked this book because Carney shows himself, I think, to be a blue collar, lunch pale, writer with no concern about being considered an artist...I love to write sports but I know exactly what I am and I am no artist...Fitzgerald, Faulkner,Steinbeck, heck even Stephen King, have an artistic style that is awesome to read. They are the thoroughbreds...I'm more along the lines of a hack, the literary version of a mutt.

I say that in the positive...Writing doesn't always have to be artsy...it could be as honorable as hanging drywall or framing a house..."The Wild Geese" is a book that tells me I'm okay if I'm not as talented as Harper Lee...I don't have to be...Writing my column every week, tapping out my football stories...I'm the lunch pale guy...and that's okay...and that should eliminate the fear of those who have always wanted to try but were too afraid to start.