Review of Black Hill Speaks

[Maduabuchi Okwiya N Eze]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Black Hill Speaks" by Evie Salmon-Williams.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Human beings have come far in conquering and exploring Earth and its resources, and the processes adopted in doing so have left visible, sometimes irreversible, impacts on both human and natural states. We often look back in nostalgia, reminiscing over the beauty of unviolated natural resources, simple human lifestyles, strict adherence to core positive societal values, and the like. In Black Hill Speaks, Evie Salmon-Williams offers readers the opportunity to experience raw, virgin life and living in the rural land of Black Hill just before it was completely immersed in the invasions brought about by independence, civilization, and socio-political evolutions.

I had a great time reading this book. I could relate to the accounts of life and living in the land of Black Hill, and I was amazed at how certain practices cut across different regions and races. For example, as a little Igbo boy from eastern Nigeria, I engaged in the practice of roasting cashews. Reading about it in this book filled me with delight and nostalgia. I can recollect the enthusiasm that goes into it as we hunted for a zinc panel, perforated it, gathered dried grass for cooking it, and crushed the roasted nut. I admired the author's excellent word choices, which created a vivid memory of those good old days.

The book also covered the various ways of surviving certain harsh realities in post-independence life and living in the land of Black Hill, and this left me in awe of the ingenuity of the people. Readers will be amazed at how women tracked time to get ready for work. It was great to read about the beautiful order of things in the family. Every family member is an active participant, and each carries out their role dutifully. This again reminded me of those days when I was assigned the duty of feeding our goats and washing plates.

I admired the author's perfect description of the soothing melodies of birds along those dusty, winding rural paths. The societal values captured in this book are helpful. I especially appreciated the resilience of mothers in making sure the children's basic needs were met. Younger readers will marvel at the sports engaged in by children in past generations. Life was so simple, fun, and communal then. It's unfortunate to see how civilization has made our society so complex and individualized.

There is nothing to dislike in this book. It was professionally edited. I found just a few grammatical errors in it. I rate this book five out of five stars because of the aforementioned positive points. I don't have any serious reason to remove any stars from the rating. This book will appeal to anyone interested in reading about how life and living were before the complexities brought about by civilization and socio-political evolutions. It is also a great choice for children and youth, especially those who missed the events narrated in this book. This book may also help us figure out and solve some of the contemporary problems we are having today, especially those originating from socio-political complexities and individualized dispositions.

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Black Hill Speaks
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[Stephanie Cameron]

This is a beautifully written review. It's very informative and cohesive. I want to go and read about Black Hill now. It is always interesting to learn the history behind our current civilization and society.

[Nicholas Bush]

I love your review for this book and seemust admit that I love the cover page too. Would be nice to read this book someday if given the opportunity to to so. Nice review.

[Hazel Mae Bagarinao]

It's nice to look back to the old days where no technology yet, all purely natural and simple life. Civilization brought us complexities, silently some inventions ruin us. I am curious about what some teachings imply in this book. Wonderful review!