The Unreconciled

Kindle Edition , pages. Published December 31st by Ambassador International first published January 1st To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Unreconciled , please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. The Unreconciled takes place in Charlottesville South Carolina in the year According to the imams the religious leaders there was a great religious war years ago.

But contrary to what the imams say, the deterioration of structures appears to be within the last 50 to years, making what they say doubtful. Espousing a radical Islamic view, the Imams society is a single sanction society this means that no matter what your crime is, the punishment is always the same: Christians are no more.

A plague from Allah wiped out all whites.

Set in the book follows Denisa Graceon an archaeologists searching for Christian relics. While searching in the Appalachian wilderness she stumbles upon a tribe of wild Christians, called the unreconciled. While researching their forbidden faith, Denisa becomes a believer. Learning of the Caliph's plan to annihilate this last remnant of Christians she launches a stunning plan to save them all.

I found this book difficult to read. About halfway through, I nearly gave it up. I struggled a great deal with just how oppressed women were in the story. Having no rights, considered the property of men, daughters being sold to their prospective husbands, having to wear the burka and the hijab at all times, under all circumstances, not being allowed to read and write, and having absolutely no say in their lives.

This truly offended me. But, I persevered, mostly because I found the storyline so compelling, and am glad I did. About halfway through, our heroine, really seems to come into her own. Once we meet the remnant Christ followers, the entire atmosphere of the book changes. The pace picks up and there is a feeling of lightness, like a heavy wet wool blanket has been lifted.

Very much like I felt when I finally accepted Christ into my heart! If you love to be challenged by a story, this is one book I highly recommend. It's definitely not your average post-apocalyptic book. This one will make you uncomfortable and make you think.

I received this book free from the Publisher or Author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Jul 27, Teresa Furman rated it really liked it. Interesting plot dynamics Though the Kindle version is definitely choppy need to think of context in many places - the words were not "translated" into Kindle-ese well , I found this book to be very interesting in plot and scope. I was amused, sometimes to the point of laughing aloud by the names of towns, streets, mountain ranges. This was a phenomenal book. Staging an exhibition focusing on Surinamese and Antillean culture has the potential to promote understanding amongst different groups in Dutch society.

The aim of this exhibition is to establish a link between the Surinamese and Antillean past and present, and the Dutch relation to those pasts and presents. The Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam serves as an example of a museum which adapted — or rather, was changed by authorities and had to change - according to prevalent political, social and moral ideological ideas.

Possibly in an attempt to rewrite or correct history, the current Tropenmuseum was changed from being a colonial museum, after , and has been given a whole new aim. More importantly however, is the ways in which they attempt to establish a link between the past and present actuality. Issues about identity seem to be addressed in the Tropenmuseum, considering its mission statement about the museum as a meeting place for Western and non-Western cultures Netherlands Museum Association The Museum therefore aims to establish greater understanding about other cultures.

Exhibiting older, as well as contemporary cultures, what they always emphasize is presumably the role of the Dutch, their relation to those other — presently, also Dutch - cultures. It is crucial to remember that, to at least as great an extent as in other countries, the Dutch colonial past has followed the Dutch back home.

The present Surinamese and Indonesian citizens of The Netherlands have proved themselves to be more than the images of slavery and torture — they have their own versions of the colonial story which they tell, even if by their mere physical presence, for example, by means of temporary participation in exhibitions.

Dutch stories about the colonial past can therefore never remain the only voices heard — they will be challenged by other discourses on the past. The Tropenmuseum could be said to exploit and explore this tension to political effect. These members of the Dutch public were invited to participate in creating exhibitions, which then should have expressed a range of present-day perspectives on historical issues. It was however, very difficult for a group of them and the museum authorities to come to an agreement on sensitive or controversial topics: The Surinamese and Antillean representatives proposed the exhibition of an slave ship replica in order to make as much as possible known about that repressed history.

The museum authorities, however, thought that this information would have a very bad effect on children - including Surinamese children. The present relations between Dutch, Antillean and Surinamese are summarised, seemingly, by a question mark. One should wonder about the effectiveness with which the Tropenmuseum focuses on its goals. Without demanding that they should play an active role, for example, in reconciling different groups in society, their potential should also not be wasted.

At a certain stage however, the dispelling of these nationalist illusions and various myths was what drew our attention to the Tropenmuseum. The Tropenmuseum seemed to be fighting against views of the Dutch as a people who were progressive, orderly, peace-loving; they had their own bloody history, it seemed to say. At this point we are reminded of what Carol Duncan has written about museums as sites for the construction of obscuring narratives , by way of ritualizing — proposed, and presumably — civilized ideas and truths. The museum easily incites visitor enactment of the rituals.

Initial optimism about the exciting role the Tropenmuseum could have played was crushed. The museum limits its potential. The museum is not very accessible to them. The museum is almost not at all visited by cultural minorities — which also has to do with the entrance fees Poppinga. Even the library or shop cannot be visited without paying the entrance fee. Furthermore it seems that very few of those people know about the existence of the museum, and all its supposedly praise-worthy attempts.

This is also the outspoken opinion of Mr Rudi Spier, influential government representative for ethnic minorities in the Netherlands. Although the museum also prides itself on its outreach to schools, only thirty percent of its visitors are children. Through the exhibition of, for example, the slave ship history, the museum creates the idea of reconciliation — but naturally, it is from a white Dutch perspective.

Therefore — or logically following from this perspective, it would be that - the people to whom this particular museum -narrative or message should then be addressed, would include former Dutch slaves, or rather, the present-day cultural minorities in the Netherlands. Exhibitions like these could be described as nothing less than part of a general national effort to take responsibility for a kind of confession for the unspeakable past horrors of slavery.

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This admission of difficult past relations, with a view on a renewed present, should obviously happen between two parties. Confession of guilt always has to be addressed to the wronged party. In this view, the Tropenmuseum must surely be, or at least to a great extent should be, directing its efforts towards Surinamese and Antillean people. Therefore they completely miss this misplaced gesture of reconciliation, of trying to heal the past that had become the communal Dutch present.

Maybe in the future….

The Unreconciled Ritual: Identity and Politics at the Museum

But it would still be a long time. I think, its also a way of Thinking and a way of…. How you want to spend your money, and it has everything to do with it. The following is her motivation: So if I make good programs for the schools, then I will reach those children too, and the parents, maybe. Poppinga made another comment — which can unfortunately, but sadly and ironically enough be interpreted as having in tolerant connotations and references: If culture is a thing that is mostly consumed by higher educated people…. It seemed to us at one point that the Tropenmuseum for the most part only draws white Dutch - probably liberal — visitors.

This possibility was confirmed by Prof. This supports our other earlier impression that the exhibition on slave history focuses n those white Dutch citizens who participate in this national confession of guilt. The most negative take on the Tropenmuseum finds it to be nothing but show. One can, however, still mention work which the Tropenmuseum should deserve credit for.

The exhibition on Antillean and Surinamese history contains dehumanizing images of slave torture. Also, a few meters of the exhibition which is supposed to resemble a slave ship. It looks like a wooden wall of approximately one meter, containing data on those slaves who were transported and died during the voyage, as well as the prices of slaves.

It also shows some objects used on the ships. There are, however, still problems with this exhibit: This is intensified by omitting negative words to describe the situation, while euphemistically only stating that it was not a happy experience. Strange circumstances accompany this ritualized imaging of the torture of a slave. Of the many other images available on the torture of slaves, none is displayed.

The Community and its Mirror?

What kind of intention would lay behind this? Was it considerate, sensitive, diplomatic, or was it comfortable, safe, and convenient? Giving members of various community groups a say in museums, is a praiseworthy gesture, at least to some degree. The reason for this is that there is however, not much agreement on the actual success of the outcome of such participation.

He believes that the cultural and ethnic minority groups should take initiative themselves, instead of staying dependent on the cultural modes and mercies of the majority. Only then, could they be fully in control of whatever narratives and ways of representation they want to explore - also whatever mode of expression would serve their experience and interpretation of a reconciling and practical multiculturalism in the best way. One of his other arguments against it, is that these individuals and groups would most probably not be sufficiently representative at all of the broad Antillean and Surinamese community.

Both his concerns seem to be extremely valid, in the light of some interpretations of the effectiveness and outcomes of the opportunities given to specific individuals. It results in a product which is supposed to be admired for the intentions behind it. In truth however, it embodies the fine line between having the opportunity to speak out and degrading oneself — especially measured against the standards of those who granted the opportunity.

Giving somebody an opportunity to prove themselves, could thus easily turn out into a ridiculing experience in extreme cases even making fools of those who exposed themselves in a brave way as supposed representatives of their groups. Furthermore, it should be mentioned how significant different aspects of the exhibition contributes to the strangely contradicting impressions that are — ritually - established.

For example, near the image of slavery and a displayed whip can also be found artworks of Gerrit Schouten, made c.

unreconciled

His dioramas are pretty little architectural models of the plantation farms, of which the Dutch were so proud. Given the lack of any other slave images, it gives the impression that this kind of information would be reserved for the select few — whoever that might be, or never be! Are they protecting the broad public, or the public image? Are they sensitive toward the Surinamese and Antillean feelings about this history, or are they more sensitive about the feelings of the Dutch public [white majority]. Do they censor information to protect children, is it an adults-only exhibition?

Furthermore it is exactly the totality and fullness of that statement next to the dioramas that can be used to describe the present-day situation in the Netherlands. This is exactly the convenient and safely abstract viewpoint which is generally taken about humanitarian issues today. Everything is not always what it appears to be, a lot might be wrong or displaced underneath the surface. Now, and to us, everything seems in order and in place in Dutch society, but do we really take the trouble to search for underlying issues?

As if everybody is embracing multiculturalism and accepting diversity.

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Or so it seems…. However much we want to believe in the positive possibilities of museums, too many questions arise. The more than explicit good intentions of the Tropenmuseum seems obvious in an almost life-size image of two standing men at the entrance of the Southeast Asian exhibition in an unantagonistic pose. It shows a black man in official dress standing with a white colonialist, shaking hands. Placing this image here seems like too much of an obvious attempt to show good relations.

The supposed past good relations it portrays is part of a myth. Under contemporary political circumstances, such a gesture could be interpreted as the proposed good relations between different cultural groups in Dutch society. Ironic, however, are the ways in which this obvious, almost forced gesture of reconciliation, is contradicted. He noticed that every culture mounts some symbolic effort to contradict the irreversibility of time and its end result, death.

He argued that themes of rebirth, rejuvenation, and the spiritual recycling or perpetuation of the past deny the fact of death by substituting for it symbolic structures in which past time returns Duncan As ritual sites in which visitors seek to re-live spiritually significant moments of the past, museums make splendid examples of this kind of symbolic strategy Duncan Charlotte Salomon breaks any narrative of identity which the Joods Historisch Museum might construct, resulting in a creative space of identity crisis.