Review by afaszewski -- Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King
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afaszewski
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- Latest Review: Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King by David W. Sutherland and Paul McKellips
Review by afaszewski -- Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King
[Following is a volunteer review of "Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King" by David W. Sutherland and Paul McKellips.]
In Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King by Colonel David W. Sutherland, we meet a young man and his family, who are poor shepherds. They are visited by a wise man and his company of soldiers, as well as the wise man’s granddaughter, and receive them hospitably, though this means that the family’s resources are exhausted. Bedu, the young man, is given gold coin to buy new livestock, and this is where his journey begins.
He travels to Hebron to buy sheep and goats from a cousin, but along the way, meets several individuals who teach him valuable lessons and begin to shift the way he thinks, and even how he sees himself. The journey, which had seemed clear when he left, also changes as he goes and he ends up where he did not expect to be, because he has remained honest and open to opportunity.
Sutherland’s writing contrasts the beauty of imagery and poetry with straightforward description of the interactions between characters. There are also certain images and themes that carry on throughout the chapters-- for example, the lines of a poem Badu composed pop up more than once, as does the imagery of the sunset that the book begins with. Themes of compassion, retribution, familial respect, etc., are wrapped up neatly in Bedu’s interactions throughout his life, almost vignette style. I found this to work well.
When I read the novel, I was mostly satisfied, and my only concerns were minor. There were a couple issues that seemed to be with formatting. This could have been due to the PDF download, though-- the messaging at the end of each chapter was cut off, so it was missing a few words. This was a bit jarring to read, of course, because you had to fill in the blanks yourself. My favorite aspect of the book was Bedu’s compassion and seeing how he responded to the different situations he encountered. It was uplifting to see all of the different characters taking care of each other, even when they were strangers.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars; though it was shorter in length, I still found the characters to be developed and the inherent message to be powerful. I also liked the cultural insight and believe that this book would appeal to readers who are interested in historical fiction or personal development, due to the subject matter and themes. While younger audiences could read this, since there is no profanity or mature content, I feel that adult audiences would appreciate the messaging best.
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Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King
View: on Bookshelves
In Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King by Colonel David W. Sutherland, we meet a young man and his family, who are poor shepherds. They are visited by a wise man and his company of soldiers, as well as the wise man’s granddaughter, and receive them hospitably, though this means that the family’s resources are exhausted. Bedu, the young man, is given gold coin to buy new livestock, and this is where his journey begins.
He travels to Hebron to buy sheep and goats from a cousin, but along the way, meets several individuals who teach him valuable lessons and begin to shift the way he thinks, and even how he sees himself. The journey, which had seemed clear when he left, also changes as he goes and he ends up where he did not expect to be, because he has remained honest and open to opportunity.
Sutherland’s writing contrasts the beauty of imagery and poetry with straightforward description of the interactions between characters. There are also certain images and themes that carry on throughout the chapters-- for example, the lines of a poem Badu composed pop up more than once, as does the imagery of the sunset that the book begins with. Themes of compassion, retribution, familial respect, etc., are wrapped up neatly in Bedu’s interactions throughout his life, almost vignette style. I found this to work well.
When I read the novel, I was mostly satisfied, and my only concerns were minor. There were a couple issues that seemed to be with formatting. This could have been due to the PDF download, though-- the messaging at the end of each chapter was cut off, so it was missing a few words. This was a bit jarring to read, of course, because you had to fill in the blanks yourself. My favorite aspect of the book was Bedu’s compassion and seeing how he responded to the different situations he encountered. It was uplifting to see all of the different characters taking care of each other, even when they were strangers.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars; though it was shorter in length, I still found the characters to be developed and the inherent message to be powerful. I also liked the cultural insight and believe that this book would appeal to readers who are interested in historical fiction or personal development, due to the subject matter and themes. While younger audiences could read this, since there is no profanity or mature content, I feel that adult audiences would appreciate the messaging best.
******
Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King
View: on Bookshelves
