books
Vision of the Vanquished, or The Broken Spears by Miguel Leon-Portilla
RevSocialist اش... — Fri, 08/13/2010 - 13:26
This book (222pg) edited by the well known Indigenous Scholar Miguel Leon-Portillo is one of the rare books to tell the story of the rape and genocide of mexico from, not only the perspective of the victims, but actually in their words. The book contains several extracts from rare Aztec testimonies of the genocide of mexico, with short introductions by Leon-Portillo to explain the background and peculiarities of the given text.
A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
RevSocialist اش... — Wed, 08/11/2010 - 17:09
This book (277pg) by Kenyan marxist Ngugi wa Thiong'o takes place after the end of the Mau Mau struggle. The book follows certain people and shows how they were affected by the "state of emergency" that the british colonialists declared during the Mau Mau struggle.
The Forest by William J Pomeroy
RevSocialist اش... — Wed, 08/11/2010 - 14:49
This book (220pg) by amerikan communist William Pomeroy is about the post-WWII armed struggle of the Filipino resistance group Hukbalahap (aka Huk) against the puppet Filipino governments that were simply the local running dogs of amerikkkan imperialism, and many of who were actually colonial officials during the period of amerikkkan colonial occupation and also during the fascist japanese occupation.
Xala by Ousmane Sembene
RevSocialist اش... — Sat, 07/24/2010 - 15:03
This short novel (104pg) by Sengalese communist writer Ousmane Sembene, is really more of a satire and parable then a normal novel, and if you don't look at it as a satire and parable (i.e. as it was intended to be perceived), then it really won't make much sense.
I Malavoglia, or The House by the Medlar Tree by Giovanni Verga
RevSocialist اش... — Thu, 06/10/2010 - 17:00
This novel (255pg) by Giovanni Verga proves once again how radical and progressive an author this great Sicilian was. There are so many things to point out, but I will start first with the structure of this novel: you will notice that the first two pages of this novel contain a "cast of characters" much like that of a play.
The Three by Maxim Gorky
RevSocialist اش... — Sat, 04/24/2010 - 21:11
This beautiful novel (466 [small] pg) by Gorky is his novel of the urban poor, and the conditions and frustrations which they live through, and the capitalist illusions they may hold on to as dreams to sustain themselves.
A Ride on the Whirlwind by Sipho Sepamla
RevSocialist اش... — Sat, 04/24/2010 - 13:59
This novel (241pg) by Black South African writer Sipho Sepamla, was written about the 1977 Soweto Uprising (they normally call them "riots" because the participants weren't white). It discusses both the students' movement which led the uprising, as well as the armed resistance groups which operated in South Africa during the period of white-rule (and now, thanks to the heroic sellout of Mandela, there is Black rule over economic apartheid, with the white torturers and murderers still free, and white ownership of an vastly unproportionate amount of land still continuing).
Clandestine in Chile by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
RevSocialist اش... — Tue, 02/16/2010 - 13:35
This relatively short (120pg) book by Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez is about Pinochet's amerikkkan installed and supported murderous regime. Clandestine in Chile is one of Marquez's non-fictional works, in this case written by Marquez after many hours of interviews with Chilean director Miguel Littín. The book describes Littin's clandestine journey back to Chile under a false identity (he was banned by Pinochet from entering his own country) to film a movie about Pinochet's bloody dictatorship and the resistance that was fighting it.
The Mother by Maxim Gorky
RevSocialist اش... — Fri, 01/08/2010 - 08:52
This is probably the most widely read piece that i have posted on this site, and it is also the most explicitly socialist. The author, Maksim Gorky, was a bolshevik activist and writer in czarist russia and this novel is written specifically about the socialist movement in czarist russia, but it explores what produces socialists, ie the socio-economic and political oppression and injustice inherent in any capitalist society. It is also encouraging to see how people stuggled and fought for socialism back then as we are now and I must say, this is a very encouraging and inspiring book.
Negroes with Guns by Robert Williams
RevSocialist اش... — Fri, 01/08/2010 - 08:46
This book, Negroes with Guns, documents how the black community in Monroe, North Carolina, under the leadership of Robert Williams, decided to take up the policy of violent self-defense. His account of the success of this policy goes to show you how wrong the "so-called negro leaders" (Malcolm X's phrase) were.
