Customer Reviews

The Second People

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Have you ever wondered about things like love between a man and a woman, a father's love for a child, or modern positions for making love? In the book "The Second Peoples: The Beginning," those questions and more are answered. The two main characters are Umfazi and Anbessa. Anbessa's name is Amharic and means lion, and Umfazi's name is Zulu word for woman. It should be noted that the names used in this book are real names or are derived from real names. Umfazi, a very young woman is about to give birth to her first child. She is alone and afraid, she has just lost her entire family and tribe in a horrible fire. As the book opens she is hanging in s tree and is experiencing some very painful contractions. Anbessa, a young man who has witnessed fire and smoke coming from a mountain has ventured away from the safety and security of his tribe to find out where the fire is coming from. During Anbessa's travels he hears moans coming from the direction of a tree and at first he thinks it might be an animal, but upon further inspection he sees Umfazi. She is obviously about to give birth. At first Anbessa just watches Umfazi but she is in so much pain that he decides to help her.

This is a highly unusual action for a male to take, a man witnessing the birth of a child let alone assisting in that birth because it is considered offensive to the spirits. Men were never around women during birth or when they had their monthly cycle. The birth of Caraga, Umfazi's daughter, is the first of many different or unnatural circumstances that happened in this book.

Anbessa and Umfazi are two people alone in the wilderness, with a newborn baby, battling the elements and wild animals. They often are forced to move from place to place in seach of shelter, safety, food, and clean drinking water.

During their travels they do some things that are definetly considered different. One of those things is that they fall in love. This is highly unusual since women were basically used for mating (sex) and for men's personal pleasure; there was to be no pleasure for the woman. Anbessa and Umfazi develop feelings and make love to feel closer to one another.

Another thing that the couple did differently was the way they made love. The traditional way was for a woman to get down on her hands and knees and the man would could from behind and do his business. One night as they were mating Umfazi decides that she wants to look at Anbessa while they mate, thus the beginning of a new sexual position. Caraga was the apple of Anbessa's eye which in modern times would not be unusual but at the time when the story takes place men did not associate with children. Yet, Anbessa played with Caraga and loved her like she was his own child, even though she was not.

The Second People: The Beginning, was a very different type of book for me. It interwove love and anthropology, two things that I did not think could be linked together. This was a beautiful story and on the RAW scale it is a 4.

Simone A. Hawks

A blend of fiction and non-fiction that make the reading very believable. It show the trials and tribulations that this little band of people face on a daily basis just to survive and find the courage to keep on going.

A must for all age groups.

Once started I could not put it down. The relatiionship of the man & woman slowly evolve and grow beautifully.

I related to the feelings of the man (Anbessa) and the little girl (Caraga) and the troubles they faced as she grew and matured.

Can not wait to see if there will be another one.

It reminded me a lot of Jean Auel and her book"Clan of The Cave Bear"

WONDERFUL STORY...WORTH BUYING AND READING....I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN...WELL WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED...VERY FACTUAL AND BELIEVEABLE FICTION...HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY AN AVID READER....