How Long to Read A Faraway, Familiar Place

How Long Does it Take to Read A Faraway, Familiar Place?

It takes the average reader 4 hours and 10 minutes to read A Faraway, Familiar Place by Michael French Smith

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

A Faraway Familiar Place: An Anthropologist Returns to Papua New Guinea is for readers seeking an excursion deep into little-known terrain but allergic to the wide-eyed superficiality of ordinary travel literature. Author Michael French Smith savors the sometimes gritty romance of his travels to an island village far from roads, electricity, telephone service, and the Internet, but puts to rest the cliché of “Stone Age” Papua New Guinea. He also gives the lie to stereotypes of anthropologists as either machete-wielding swashbucklers or detached observers turning real people into abstractions. Smith uses his anthropological expertise subtly, to illuminate Papua New Guinean lives, to nudge readers to look more closely at ideas they take for granted, and to take a wry look at his own experiences as an anthropologist. Although Smith first went to Papua New Guinea in 1973, in 2008 it had been ten years since he had been back to Kragur Village, Kairiru Island, where he was an honorary “citizen.” He went back not only to see people he had known for decades, but also to find out if his desire to return was more than an urge to flee the bureaucracy and recycled indoor air of his job in a large American city. Smith finds in Kragur many things he remembered fondly, including a life immersed in nature and freedom from 9-5 tyranny. And he again encounters the stifling midday heat, the wet tropical sores, and the sometimes excruciating intensity of village social life that he had somehow managed to forget. Through practicing Taoist “not doing” Smith continues to learn about villagers’ difficult transition from an older world based on giving to one in which money rules and the potent mix of devotion and innovation that animates Kragur’s pervasive religious life. Becoming entangled in local political events, he gets a closer look at how ancestral loyalties and fear of sorcery influence hotly disputed contemporary elections. In turn, Kragur people practice their own form of anthropology on Smith, questioning him about American work, family, religion, and politics, including Barack Obama’s campaign for president. They ask for help with their financial problems—accounting lessons and advice on attracting tourists—but, poor as they are, they also offer sympathy for the Americans they hear are beset by economic crisis. By the end of the book Smith returns to Kragur again—in 2011—to complete projects begun in 2008, see Kragur’s chief for the last time (he died later that year), and bring Kragur’s story up to date. A Faraway Familiar Place provides practical wisdom for anyone leaving well-traveled roads for muddy forest tracks and landings on obscure beaches, as well as asking important questions about wealth and poverty, democracy, and being “modern.”

How long is A Faraway, Familiar Place?

A Faraway, Familiar Place by Michael French Smith is 250 pages long, and a total of 62,500 words.

This makes it 84% the length of the average book. It also has 76% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read A Faraway, Familiar Place Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 5 hours and 41 minutes to read A Faraway, Familiar Place aloud.

What Reading Level is A Faraway, Familiar Place?

A Faraway, Familiar Place is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy A Faraway, Familiar Place?

A Faraway, Familiar Place by Michael French Smith is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

To buy A Faraway, Familiar Place by Michael French Smith on Amazon click the button below.