Samadrita's Reviews > And Then There Were None

I like this book a lot. What I don't like were the original titles of the book, very racist!

I know it pains me to detect the kind of racist overtones in most classic novels and literature. There's also one very racist reference in The Great Gatsby. I mean it shows what kind of a person Fitzgerald was.

I hear you! One of my favourite childhood authors, Enid Blyton, had so many racist depictions of Blacks and Asians in her books. I know they were a product of their time but still :/

In that period perhaps, the view that Asians and Africans are sub-human or inferior to Europeans was taken as the absolute truth. But some authors in particular have been more noticeably acerbic and nasty. Arthur Conan Doyle was another one.
There's a small part in The Great Gatsby where Fitzgerald talks about a group of 'negroes' driving past Nick(or maybe it was Gatsby) as if they had no right to do so. As if giving them any right whatsoever had been a crime in itself.
That attitude in particular ticked me off more than the use of the n-word.

I only learned of the extent of Doyle's racism a few months ago, truly disgusting.
Yes, I remember that part in The Great Gatsby. My bookclub members were all quite disgusted by the racism in it. That's one reason I stayed away from American lit for so long, I found reading the n-word so upsetting. I still do but I enjoy the American writing style :)

Wasn't there a huge row over an American woman posting a Facebook update after Obama's reelection which went like 'Can't believe the nigger was re-elected. I hope he gets assassinated.' That shocked me out of my wits.

Yes! It wasn't just an isolated case, it was a bunch of racists making such comments. The worst was when Obama was giving a talk after those children from Connecticut were shot and killed. People were tweeting "get this monkey off my television, I want to watch football." And the scary thing is these were young people, in their teens or 20s. I always thought us young folk would be more accepting of differences, I guess not. I'm so glad I live in Canada.

Shocking, the amount of venom these people still possess. If I'm to be unbiased, Obama seems like a human unlike the presidents America has had in recent years. Why can't they judge him as a normal person and a leader instead?
So things are better in Canada?

Racists are missing out on life, I really feel sorry for them. I can't imagine carrying around such hate in my heart. With Obama, he's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. I can't believe people have forgotten how awful Bush's term was.

Canada is a lot better, especially in the cities. Vancouver has 51% of its population as visible minorities. I've been racially abused three times which isn't that bad when you think of it.

Oh I'm sorry to hear of it. Never mind the people who think hurling racial abuses is their birthright. They ARE the sub-humans here.
Yes Canada has a large population of Sikh immigrants too. And so far I've not come across any newspaper reports of complaints or harassment from them.

So true, Samadrita:)

Yes, we have a large Sikh population here, 2 of my closest friends are Punjabi actually. Is your name Punjabi or Hindi? Sometimes the same name is used among both groups, right?

Punjabi is more or less hindi with some modifications and what can be called improvisations here and there. And no I'm not Punjabi. I'm a Bengali. I wonder if you've heard of Bengalis? India is a perfect example of a great melting potpourri of so many races, castes, religions and cultures that sometimes it becomes hard for even its own citizens to remember or know about all of them.

Oh yes, I've heard of Bengalis:) I've always been fascinated with India as, like you said, it's truly a melting point. I think one of the books that made me realize how complex Indian society is was Rushdie's Midnight Children. I was actually planning on visiting Delhi in February but unfortunately my plans were cancelled:( One day I will definitely visit.

Oh good to know. I hope you get to visit India one day as you wish to. :) And as for Midnight's Children, I haven't read it yet. But that has been on my to-be-read list for a while.