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RE: Book Review - 6/30/2010 10:26:37 PM
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Auben
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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Vanity Fair by W.M. Thackeray
A contemporary of Dickens who also released his novels in serial form (as an ongoing story in a magazine). This novel is subtitled 'a novel without a hero' and that's mostly true (although I think a case could be made for Dobbins). The general plot follows 2 couples and their extended friends and relations during the British Regency period around the time of the battle of Waterloo.
You don't care about most of the characters. The nice ones are too weak and the strong ones are too self-involved, but the great fun in the novel is listening to the voice of the narrator. Between the imperfect but satirical narrator and the books sense of irony it flows along fairly well. It is long (think Dickens without the emotional manipulation), and has a few slow spots (long chapters involving Dobbin's doomed but constant romance or joking about the nobility can get old) but I enjoyed it.
Recommended for people who enjoy satire and period pieces.
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 7/3/2010 8:14:12 PM
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Nocturnalux
Posts: 113
Joined: 6/17/2006
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Auben
Vanity Fair by W.M. Thackeray
I have been planning to read this for the longest of times and will eventually get to it. And speaking of mismatched (perhaps) satire:
Wings of the Dove by Henry James
There is no need to state that James is an extraordinary writer with a deep insight into every aspect of the human psyche without of course lacking in social critique. This book has all that, however, as the author admitted in the preface (and I absolutely love how James's prefaces never really reveal anything about the heart of his work) it is not one of his best. As brilliantly dense as always it veers into almost cumbersome prose and often forces a reader to go back a few lines to fully understand what is being said.
Much is hinted at without being actually stated which can be marvellous if you are into delicious subtext (as I am) but annoying if you want to have a clear idea of what is going on. Recommended for everyone who enjoys psychological novels and complicated emotional games.
História do Futuro (dos Profetas à Prospectiva) by Georges Minois [original title: Histoire de l'avenir]
I am a fan of history of the ideas as a movement in historical thinking and without a doubt Minois is one of its greatest authors. This very solid book looks into how societies have tried to see the future in advance and how this led to practical actions in the present. Going from Babylon to our days without missing the dystopics (Orwell, Huxley, Bradbury) Minois is as ever very thorough and his sources are many and well researched. His only flaw is that the chapters dedicated to contemporary times are less detailed than those preceding them but still his is a work to be reckoned with.
I dream of having him sign my copies of his books most of which I already own.
_____________________________
I am an agnostic but I mean no harm.
*Lux et Veritas*
Light, where art thou.
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RE: Book Review - 8/13/2010 12:56:21 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1131
Joined: 4/13/2005
From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
Status: offline
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Forgot to fill in some blanks here:
America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book 8/10--3 ring binder, laminated pages, nicely organized, very basic recipes with beginner recipes marked
World War Z: an Oral History of the Zombie War 7.5/10--If Studs Terkel interviewed the survivors of the zombie apocalypse this would be it. Interesting. Far ranging in terms of culture and politics.
Floating in My Mother's Palm 7.5/10--the poetic sibling of Hegi's Stones from the River. Germany in the aftermath of WWII. More following of interesting town residents.
Where You Once Belonged 8/10--The story of one man who captured the ideal of a small town, and then used what they gave him. Sad, but an interesting look into how we read what we want to into our heroes--despite evidence to the contrary.
Katherine 6.5/10--American teaches English in China and changes the way her students think.
Nectar in a Sieve 6/10--An Indian version of The Good Earth. Peasants struggle to make their way during the urbanization of India.
The Soul of a New Machine 8/10...for those with interest in the world--Non-fiction tale of the building of a microcomputer in the late '70s. Interesting to those involved in the world of technology.
The Sparrow 8.25/10--a Jesuit team leaves for the first known inhabited planet, sure that it is God's plan smoothing the way for them. Beautiful moments and terrible consequences for mistakes. Interesting questions about coincidence, God, doubt, and fate.
< Message edited by Auben -- 8/13/2010 1:03:53 PM >
_____________________________
Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 8/13/2010 12:57:41 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1131
Joined: 4/13/2005
From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
Status: offline
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The Bride Price 7/10--interesting in an anthropological way, about the Ibo people of Nigeria. A girl looses her father, falls in love with the wrong man, and faces the consequences. A bit melodramatic. Would have worked better as the folk tale it was striving to be.
_____________________________
Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Book Review - 9/4/2010 11:40:38 AM
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Nocturnalux
Posts: 113
Joined: 6/17/2006
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Auben
World War Z: an Oral History of the Zombie War 7.5/10--If Studs Terkel interviewed the survivors of the zombie apocalypse this would be it. Interesting. Far ranging in terms of culture and politics.
I am reading this book and loving it. It's surprisingly realistic given the whacky premise.
The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki
trans. Arthur Waley
One of the first works of prose in world literature, The Tale of Genji is a must read for all fans of Medieval literature of the courtly kind. It follows Genji, a son of the emperor who is not in the running for the throne, in his many frustrated love affairs. Genji is something of a casanova with all the hyper sensibility so cherished by Japanese literary canons. Beautiful and intelligent he has a great character flaw in that he is utterly unable of breaking off any liasion. Interestingly enough Genji is very kind and does like the many women with whom he gets involved.
It's interesting to see how much of the love dialogue centres around poem penning and poetry quoting along with references galore. There are moments of downward comedy that lighten up the mood. Often rigged with overreactions the story is engaging in its human element. It is also amazing that it was written by a woman, it adds a very curious element to it.
Silence by Endo Shusako
trans. William Johnston
Reading this was a strange experience. Being a Portuguese person raised in a Catholic environment and with a strong interest in Japanese culture it was rather odd to read a Japanese author on Portuguese missionaries in Japan in the 17th century. It was almost as if I was seeing myself through someone else's eyes. At any rate, the book is every bit as moving and chilling as it is reported to be. Historically sound, too. As usual Endo pulls no punches and describes the cruelty to which Catholics in Japan were submitted to with a clear sobriety that makes it all the more horrible.
Interestingly enough the story is told from a Portuguese priest's point of view and Endo manages this cultural shift with ease. Sad, depressing, with golden moments of faith strewn in, this is a book about doubt and a study on how to endure it. The conclusion shocked quite a lot of people (including the still existing Christian community in Nagasaki) but is very coherent with the idea that the book holds, namely that Japan alters every single external element- Christianity being the case in point- until it becomes something else entirely.
A solemn perspective all around and a cool look on the reasons that lead people to die for what they believe. Strongly recommended.
The Sea and Poison by Endo Shusako
trans. Michael Gallagher
I am on a Endo Shusako roll. This book focus some of the war crimes perpetrated by the Japanese authorities during WWII, namely the vivisections of American prisoners of war. Not directly connected to the horrors of Unit 731 it is based on real events and follows the stories of the people directly involved in the dissecting a living human being. Endo was the first Japanese author to dare approch such a touchy topic and for that he has my admiration. But more than that, this book is a powerful testimony of how people can commit the most horrible of atrocities by thinking themselves into having reasons for doing so. Instead of focusing too much in the murder itself (for it does amount to that) it unravels the backstories of the doctors and nurse that committed the deed in an attempt of understanding why they agreed to it.
The main character is an assistant doctor who is unable to do anything other than watch the operation with growing horror. Others include a nurse with a hatred for Westerners in general and a doctor that lacks a sense of conscience (I kept thinking that this one would be right at home in a Dazai Osamu story). There are several points of view that intersect to bring about a narrative that forces the reader to pause.
Without resorting to cheap morality or easy solutions the book brings home the atrocity of it all by engaging it outside of contrived drama and honestly. Not an easy read and I would not recommend it to anyone going through a rough time but it is a wonderful book that I wish was better known in the West.
_____________________________
I am an agnostic but I mean no harm.
*Lux et Veritas*
Light, where art thou.
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RE: Book Review - 9/7/2010 10:29:48 AM
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Auben
Posts: 1131
Joined: 4/13/2005
From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
Status: offline
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It by Stephen King...one of his better plotted and structured novels. At least the equal of The Stand and in some ways better IMO...however, creeped out by one of the plot devices used in the final 80 pages so not sure if I could recommend this to everyone. 9/10
In the Beginning was the Command Line by Neal Stephenson...interesting essay @ the evolution of the computer and Stephenson's opinion of operating systems. Read with my techie husband. 5/10 dated and opinionated but good metaphors.
Children of God by Maria Doria Russell...continuation of The Sparrow. Interesting and well plotted but not up to par philosophically with its predecessor. 7/10.
The Space Merchants by Fredrik Pohl and CM Cornbluth...groundbreaking '50s scifi which became the first look at the ascendence of marketing and advertising/consumer culture and the need for conservation. Okay. Not obvious. 7/10
_____________________________
Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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