Please consider the following questions. Feel free to post your comments here. 1) What is your personal reaction to the negative comments spoken in the presence of the girls on pp. 53-56? 2) There is a lot of mysticism around the image of the fire and what it means to Sofia. How would you approach the situation at the end with the "old woman" sending the fabric and request to Sofia through Fabiao, if you were teaching this novel? 3) How did you react when Sofia stole the sheet to make a dress for Maria. Why was it acceptable? Why wasn't it acceptable? 4)What did the secrets in the fire mean to Sofia?
Henning Mankell
Who is Henning Mankell?
Henning Mankell was born (February 3, 1948) and raised in Sweden. He was raised by his father who was a judge in a small town in Sweden. Mankell’s father encouraged him to read at a very young age. He dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and went to work as a merchant seaman for about two years and then went on as a stage hand. This is when Mankell wrote his first play, The Amusement Park. Mankell’s father passed away shortly before his first book The Stone Blaster was published. Shortly after The Amusement Park was published, Mankell traveled to Africa. This was a country he always was curious about. “ I don't know why but when I got off the plane in Africa, I had a curious feeling of coming home.” Since then (1972) he spends most of his time in Africa (Zambia and Mozambique). This is where Mankell met and learned about Sofia’s remarkable story. “ Sofia is one of my closest and dearest friends. No one has taught me as much as she has about the conditions of being human. Nor has anyone taught me more about poor people's unprecedented power of resistance. Those who are forced to survive at the bottom of society in a world we all share and inhabit; so unjust, brutal and unnecessary.” As a result, Secrets in the Fire was written. Since the 1970’s, Mankell shares his time between writing and working with theatre. He is known for his Swedish Crime/Mystery novels. This summer, Henning Mankell has been awarded the Spanish Arcebispo San Clemente Prize.
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