BECKETT, Denis - Redeeming Features - (1st Edition New Looking Paperback)

Book in very good condition. - actually looks brand new and unread to me - 221 pages.  >>>   "...many South Africans forget that we have much to celebrate. We have not acquired Utopia, but we have acquired a solid foundation. A lot of building lies ahead. We could do well, as we build, to revel a little in what has already been done."   -   As always, the author wanders the highways and byways and what he discovers are things that distress and elate his particular psyche.   -   He makes the reader think, question, agree or disagree while looking at different aspects of the country - always in his amusing and embracing style (one can hear him speak when you read the book).   -   He argues that sometimes transformation works when you're replacing "encrusted incumbents with active incumbents, feeble loyalties with fierce loyalties, condescension with involvement".   -   But it is doomed to fail, he argues, if you start looking for colour and not the right person. Beckett knows he is putting his foot into it by taking this stance so publicly, but he also believes that in a few years' time, we will look back and see the wisdom of his words.   -   He argues strongly that this is what a democracy is about.   -Everyone should be speaking his mind without being denigrated when the argument is not politically correct.   -   No one can doubt that Beckett is proudly South African. That is why it is so intriguing when he starts talking about leaving. But of course we know that this is simply a mental exercise and no more. However, the arguments are still provocative.   -   Redeeming Features is just what the title infers and the cover so brilliantly illustrates. We all know that this is a country with many, sometimes obscured, gems. We need someone like Beckett to remind us - warts and all.    * Africana *