[.ca] Hottentot Venus: A Novel (ISBN 1400032083)

stranger than fiction:
To be absolutely honest I have not read this particular book about Sarah Baartman but I know the story.About 6 years ago on Africa Liberation Day (25 May)I heard a BBC item about it and was so haunted I was compelled to write to London about it,to get it off my chest or in a manner or speaking, to exorcise the ghost. The sad thing however is that "scientific racism" still exists and with the current trends in the globalisation process ,the identity of humanity itself is stake.For starters,African women have been confined to the status of "permanent potential" as our male chauvinst states tinker around with livelihoods and psyches.As in Sara's day, the judeo-christian ideology still underpins postcolonial identity.The crusade advanced by the entertainement industry,through the commodification of women by the corporate/patriarchal alliance of Western companies peddling products banned in their contries of origin and miseducated African males,pours scorn on natural African skin hues, facial features, body shape and hair type.Women are walking all over Africa with orange peel skin,hair on the chin and bald heads under wigs not to speak of kidney and other complications as husbands or prospective partners insist on certain looks thus inflicting chemical, hormonal and biological warfare,a fate not far different from the humiliation visited on Sara.The patriachal and racist attitudes of centuries past are still with us. Sara's body was returned to South Africa in 2002.The dignity of the African woman is still elusive and so:A luta continua!

an amazing book:
..this book should be on the reading list in every high school,how else are we to change the cruelty and racism that is inflicted and promoted by governments down thru history,the story of sexism is most painful as you become aware that society today is still staring at its "venus" in the form of many young and spititual girls and women today,in all countries of the world...the authors style is brave as she takes us from murder to our lonely Sarah shopping for beloved gloves and thru a death journey that is poetic in its justice.......please read this and urge others to

Some incorrect data in publisher's weekly:
I am writing this to make some corrections to both information presented in Hottentot Venus, as well as, publisher's weekly review presented on Sarah Baartman. The first being her name, which was not Sarah, but in Saaratji Baatman. Secondly, her genitalia were not mutilated or elongated by tribal ritual, along with her more than rotund posterior. These attributes are quite common of Sanid peoples (indeginous peoples of southern africans, hottentots (deragatory term), bushmen), or more specifically of Khoisan peoples of which the "hottentots" are a part. These attributes are what led to the fascination by europeaners because they were natural among these peoples, not tribal ritual, not mutilations, simple genitics. In fact, there exists a medical term for the more pronounced posteriors ,steatopygia, found in these people. Furthermore, the elongated genitalia was simply the elongation of the labia minora, such that they extend beyond the length of labia majoria, however, among the Khoisans it was very pronounced such that the length could be several inches beyond the majora. The truth is that all women of all ethnicities from Europeaner's to African's to ... to varying degrees can be genetically disposed to such attributes such as steatopygia to elongated minora, it was just far more common among the Khoisan. But, I just wanted to point out this wasn't due to mutilation or tribal ritual. Also, whether Baartman left of her own accord or not, is open to debate, I doubt to many people would willingly enslave themselves and certainly not to the extent that Saaratji endured, this was after all still the years of atlantic slave trade. Irony is that although women have been victimized and sexually exploited especially black women, and in fact, and always portrayed as inferior, saraatji's attributes were most desirable to men. From the full lips to the more than ample curves. In fact, dresses of her day with their extended posteriors were directly correlated with the enhancing of those sexual attributes, curves, as possessed by Saaratji to make females more attractives in the eyes of males. An odd nuisance which is most baffling, claimed inferiority, yet exactly what was artificially created and desired? It's sad. In short, Hottento Venus, portrays to an extent the Story of Saaratji with a few fallacies, however, what should be gathered from this novel, a greater sense of saaratji's victimization and exploitation, is well conveyed.

One of the greatest stories ever told:
Hottenton Venus was quite superb! What a depressing part of history to know that this South African woman Sarah Baartman was victimized emotionally, physically and fiancially, by the hands of those "Eurpoeans" that were to uplift her.The author does a wonderful job in writing and speaking in many of her character voices, giving the reader an in-depth chance to know and analyze the characters. I felt an emotional attachment to Alice, she was a true person and very good to Sarah. The only slight problem in the book was some of the vocabulary used especially in reference to the Khoeke tribe. A tribe that today is lesser known.Some readers depending on their origin, or not, may feel very uncomfortable with Cuvier's studies in Anthropology and Evolution. No matter how depressing the subject matter, this a fascinating part of history that we should all know.

Do not miss reading this finest-kind novel:
I stayed up late last night finishing a truly tremendously fine book: Hottentot Venus by Barbara Chase-Riboud. It's definitely in the do-not-miss category and is very close to being best book of the year (so far). Sometimes a novel can be too heavily loaded with detail but, in this one, the superb writing and language balance perfectly the detail. The book evokes its time (1789-1820 or so) richly and satisfyingly with a story that is more than a match for the times and the writing. To my eye, there's only one misstep and, likely, others wouldn't find it so.