I thought the writing in Part 2 was smoother than Part 1 so I think that you may find the book easier to read as you progress, Spinnenmonat. I plan to finish with Part 3 by the end of next weekend.
Last weekend, the Wall Street Journal had an article titled "Retracing Edith Wharton’s Trip to Morocco—For Better or Worse The Gilded-Age novelist, lesser-known as a travel writer, makes for a beguiling, if contentious guide to North Africa." There is a paragraph in the article that says:
Quote:
What she didn’t gush about were the locals. Wharton took a dim view of Jews, Muslims and black Africans—that is, most of 20th-century Morocco, save for French colonialists, whom she categorically revered. The more I read of “In Morocco,” the less I liked her.
“Wharton looked at the world in a very hierarchical manner,” Stacy Holden, associate professor of history at Purdue University, later told me, “In which the West is superior and colonialism is justified.” She was quick to add that these views weren’t at all uncommon among the political and economic elite then.
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Those attitudes are not surprising for that time period. However I thought it was a coincidental article to read at the same time as Greene's book because he does characterize the attitudes of the British in Sierra Leone and the French in French Guinea in his book. One of the things I find interesting is his observations of those countries in contrast to the government officials and people in the independent Liberia.
Here's an article that isn't behind a paywall if you want to know more about her book.
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2018/...rgettable-book
Also I was surprised that Edith Wharton wrote a travel book so it made me wonder what other authors wrote about Africa. Here is a list that I found.
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/b...23667?mode=amp