Cassiopée, blogger and contributor
of the group reading
20 Minutes Books, recommend you The Mississippi in the skin by Eddy L. Harris, published September 2, 2021 by Liana Levi Publishing.
His favorite quote:
“Travel is pain and pleasure, disappointment, learning and loss. It is what we discover, what we leave behind, the people we meet, what we take and what we give, what we think. »
Why this book?
- Because in 2016, thirty years after his first journey, Eddy L. Harris left. With his canoe, he decided to go down the Mississippi, long weeks of navigation and 4,000 kilometers to paddle. Who has changed the most? The river, him or the whole country? Will the encounters be the same? Rich in exchanges, disturbing, pleasant? He knows the risks, the dangers. Does that make him stronger? Not necessarily, his body is thirty years older. So it doesn’t matter, the main thing for him is to take up this challenge that he has set himself, to set out again and succeed.
- Because implicitly, deep reflections regularly return about racism, about people with black skin. On the hope that was placed in Barack Obama, a black president who could do, who was going to do, who was elected twice, etc. and which in the end disappointed him… By going back on the river, he wanted to see if the country had really changed… There are still these two parishes, one white, one black, which have become a single parish. “Not a united church but a church that unites. Is that enough to hope in man?
- Because, whatever the obstacles, the annoyances, disillusionment, Eddy L. Harris loves life, deeply, and he transmits this love in his writing. He lives a special relationship with the Mississippi, each trip being an opportunity to meet, to take stock, to take the time, to feel alive. He says it himself, having arrived is not the end of the journey, it never ends. The writing is magnificent, fluid (thanks to the translator), clairvoyant, humble, calm, full of humanity. This testimony interests and captivates for many reasons.
The essentials in 2 minutes
L’intrigue. Thirty years after his first journey, the author sets off again by canoe on the Mississippi from its source to its mouth: 4,000 km to paddle.
Characters. Eddy, Mississippi, those he meets.
Places. The river and the steps.
The time. 2016.
The author. Eddy L. Harris was born in Indianapolis. Pushed by his father, he studied at a white Catholic college. At the age of 30, he decided to go down the Mississippi by canoe and released his first book. He repeated in 2016. He lives in Pranzac in Charente, near Angoulême.
This book was read with a great pleasure. I listened to his testimony before finding his writing and I felt even more like sharing his journey.
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