Philida Audiobook

" Amazing book set in S. Africa 1830's from viewpoint of a slave and "baas". "

" Enjoyed this book about a young female slave in S. Africa in the 1830's before liberation. Deals with an area of history that I know little about and is very honest in its depiction of the cruelties the slaves were subjected to. "

" Story of a slave in South Africa in 18th Century. Tough at times but human to the core. Andre Brink is a great story teller and I found this memorable, compelling and totally honest. Read it. "

" "Here come shit." Philida's first words in the novel, and I was in love with her character. I was concerned for a brief chunk in the first section that I was dealing with a novel with no greater message than "Slavery is bad." (Thanks for the news flash.) But Philida's strong voice and character development saved it from that. "

" South African slavery in the Cape Colony long before and a bit after the Emancipation Decree (1800s). This is the story of Philida, and her life and journey as a slave. The dialect might be tricky at first, but settle in with this book. A great story. "

" Philida confused me. I didn't understand how Ouma Nella was the mother of Cornelis but also once a slave. Was she black? If so, that meant Cornelis was part black also, right? I never got the sense he identified in any way as a "coloured" man, but maybe I misinterpreted Ouma Nella's relationship with the family. Brink tended to romanticize the relationship between Philida and Frans in a way that, while interesting to read, was also frustrating for me as a black woman. I certainly believe the relationships between black slave women and white men was a complex one and Brink, to his credit, tried to explore some of that complexity, but it was overshadowed by the romance of it all. I was moved by Philida's quest for shoes and what having shoes meant to her in terms of her freedom. There were just too many instances where this book veered off track and I lost interest. The long religious discussions, the pages of detail about the landscapes and the items auctioned off at the Brink home, and even descriptions of Philida's cat just dragged on and on. "

" A sad tale, but a brilliant portrayal of the spirit of the south African people and the intricacies of their lives and the coplicated interwtwined relationships of land, people, and slavery and ownership. "

" A beautiful and heartbreaking story of one woman's desire to find out what it really means to be truly free. "

" A bit hard to read due to the use of quite a few Afrikaans words (I did a lot of googling), but an interesting story about a time and situation about which I knew nothing going into it. "

" Not as inspiring as 'Praying Mantis' or 'A Dry White Season'. Brink seems to stick to a similar theme throughout many of his works: The battle for emancipation and the struggle of the non-white in the Cape. "

" This story, set in 1830s Africa, is based on experiences of the author's slave ancestors. It was slow to start -- the description of the main character pleading her case before the white magistrate was sluggish -- but after that the story progressed and made more sense. "

" Just couldn't get into this. The violence and treatment of the people was daunting to me. "