Carol Lee – A child called Freedom

Carol Lee – A child called Freedom (07-068)

Not often does one encounter the main character of a book. It happened to us last summer (my story) during our holiday in South Africa. Obviously, as an avid reader, back home, I searched the web and found the book. A few clicks later it was on its way to the Netherlands.

I had to read the book about Freedom, the boy I saw only a few weeks earlier. Instead I found myself reading about a trip the author made to South Africa for a school reunion. Soon I felt cheated. Obviously this is not the mistake of the author, it was my perception. The title and cover seemed a nice marketing ploy, but I continued anyway.

Soon did I discover that the author merely told the story of her journey, hence the circumstances in which she met the little boy that lent his name to the book title. If I’m completely honest, I guess that it is the same with my travel stories, with the only difference that mine have never been published, apart from on my blogs and her stories appear in bestselling books (though I have to admit as well that I had never heard of her before Isaac showed us this book).

The book went fast, my interest, but also the writing style made for a quick route through the story. The story actually is somewhat similar to my own. By chance one encounters someone (read: Freedom) and before you know you find yourself thinking about the whole situation and what one could do. The story of Freedom, Andile and Isaac is very gripping. Being able to place most of it, seeing their faces and their houses in front of me, certainly helped.

But also the background, the Soweto student uprising of 1976, the politics, the whole situation in South Africa, every piece of information drags me into the book. So, even though I wasn’t too keen on reading about the school reunion she attended (I guess I was afraid for another Danielle Steel experience), Mrs. Lee did manage to write a nice story about a family that is touching, informative, yet an easy read. My compliments.

Number: 07-068
Title: A child called Freedom
Author: Carol Lee
Language: English (UK)
Year: 2006
# Pages: 308 (12137)
Category: non-fiction
ISBN: 978-0-099-48438-7


Freedom, Andile and Isaac