Netherland

Updated to add: Finished reading this book when I was away at home last week. Got lots of things to catch up on right now, so I'm going to pass this post off as the review one. Made for an enjoyable read the extremely non-linear and layered narrative.

I'm about half way into Netherland by Joseph O'Neil. So far the book has been about nothing in particular or about a lot of things, whichever way you look at it. The novel follows the life of a Dutch banker Hans van den Broek in a non-linear fashion. Set in around 2008 or later, the novel shifts in and out of Hans's childhood, focuses on his life in the post 9/11 USA and its impact.
The author talks about so many different things, one mainly being about how the protagonist finds solace in cricket. The writing leaves somethings unsaid, it's suggestive, leaving it to each reader to reach the depths he wants to. More on the book when I finish it. Here are some excerpts:

I can say quite ingenuously that I was attempting to counter the great subtractions that had lessened my life and that the prospect of an addendum, even one as slight as a new licence and a new car, seemed important at that time; and no doubt I was drawn to a false syllogism involving the nothingness of my life and the somethingness of doing.

~

The pleasantness of my Holland was related to the slightness of its mysteries. There obtained a national transparency promoted by a citizenry that was to all appearances united in a deep, even pleased, commitment to foreseeable and moderate outcomes in life. Nowadays, I gather from the newspapers, there are problems with and for alien elements, and things are not as they were; but in my day - age qualifies me to use that phrase! - Holland was a providential country. There seemed little point in an individual straining excessively for or against the upshots arranges on his behalf, which had been thoughtfully conceived to benefit him from the day he was born to the day he died and hardly required explanation. There was accordingly not much call for a dreamy junior your truly to ponder connections.

~

But surely everyone can also testify to another, less reckonable kind of homesickness, one having to do with unsettlements that cannot be located in spaces of geography or history;

~

Netherland was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2008. O'Neil's writing reflects familiarity with cultures, it doesn't come out as purely researched but with a grace that only someone who has experienced these different worlds can express. Curiosity sent me along to wikipedia (where else?!) to find out that the author was born in Ireland, grew up in different countries including Mozambique, Turkey, Iran and then in The Netherlands. He studied in London and currently lives in the Chelsea Hotel in New York (where this novel's protagonist also lives immediately following 9/11) with his family. No wonder.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Now I wish I knew enough French to read a novel.

A few days back I read Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth which was written in French, originally published in 1864. Apparently, there are many English translations varying in the narrative and even the character names (in the version I read, published by TOR, pages 258, the nephew's name is Harry)

The adventure is written in a 'hard' science fiction style where the characters are driven by knowledge and knowledge alone, mostly devoid of layman human reactions to discoveries which was a welcome change.

However I found the translation testing my patience many a time especially the parts where Harry introspects, worries about his plight (ever so often). The narration here left much to be desired, was disconnected and dull. Curiosity and a mood to indulge in the author's imagination propelled me through to the end. I did enjoy the voyage to Iceland; learn't of it's capital Reykjavík, of its simple, laid back and educated people, of eiderdown hunters; the giants at the center, the volcano ride..

This would make for an enjoyable read for young adults and the original work in French (or a t least a better translation) would be the one to read in order to appreciate the state of science, discovery and invention in Europe about 150 years ago. Maybe I'll learn to read it one of these days. I'll definitely keep an eye open for a better translation of Verne's other works.

Copperfield

It's been more than a month since the last book, partly due to time spent reading snippets from books that are not novels and mainly due to the the one that took up all space and forced itself with authority the last few weeks.

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (published by TOR, pages 1001)
The best I've ever read. Period.

I'll just leave you with the Author's words, from the preface to the 'Charles Dickens' edition.

I remarked in the original Preface to this Book, that I did not find it easy to get sufficiently far away from it, in the first sensations of having finished it, to refer to it with the composure which this formal heading would seem to require. My interest in it was so recent and strong, and my mind was so divided between pleasure and regret - pleasure in the achievement of a long design, regret in the separation from many companions - that I was in danger of wearying the reader with personal confidences and private emotions.

Besides which, all that I could have said of the Story to any purpose, I had endeavoured to say in it.

It would concern the reader little, perhaps, to know how sorrowfully the pen is laid down at the close of a two-years' imaginative task; or how an Author feels as if he were dismissing some portion of himself into the shadowy world, when a crowd of the creatures of his brain are going from him for ever. Yet, I had nothing else to tell; unless, indeed, I were to confess (which might be of less moment still), that no one can ever believe this Narrative, in the reading, more than I believed it in the writing.

So true are these avowals at the present day, that I can now only take the reader into one confidence more. Of all my books, I like this the best. It will be easily believed that I am a fond parent to every child of my fancy, and that no one can ever love that family as dearly as I love them. But, like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.

To two years

It was a wonderfully fine thing to have that lofty castle to myself, and to feel, when I shut my outer door, like Robinson Crusoe, when he had got into his fortification, and pulled his ladder up after him. It was a wonderfully fine thing to walk about town with the key of my house in my pocket, and to know that I could ask any fellow to come home, and make quite sure of its being inconvenient to nobody, if it were not so to me. It was a wonderfully fine thing to let myself in and out, and to come and go without a word to anyone, and to ring Mrs. Crupp up, gasping, from the depths of the earth, when I wanted her - and when she was disposed to come. All this, I say, was wonderfully fine; but I must say, too, that there were times when it was very dreary.

It was fine in the morning, particularly in the fine mornings. It looked a very fresh, free life, by daylight: still fresher, and more free, by sunlight. But as the day declined, the life seemed to go down too. I don't know how it was; it seldom looked well by candle-light. I wanted somebody to talk to, then. I missed Agnes. I found a tremendous blank, in the place of that smiling repository of my confidence. Mrs. Crupp appeared to be a long way off. I thought about my predecessor, who had died of drink and smoke; and I could have wished he had been so good as to live, and not bother me with his decease.

After two days and nights, I felt as if I had lived there for a year, and yet I was not an hour older, but was quite as much tormented by my own youthfulness as ever.

- From David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Excerpt credit

Of black holes and rust

Last week I read this book that I had borrowed from a friend - George's Secret Key to the Universe by Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy Hawking.
The book is meant for children aged around 9 to 11 and does a good job of presenting science in a very interesting format. Concepts about the solar system are presented in a simple manner complete with pictures and data snippets and fit into a storyline full of adventure that children would absolutely enjoy.

One of the pictures in the book is this image captured by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit of a sunset in mars. The picture does look a whole lot more 'real' stretched across a full glossy page, so much that I must've spent minutes on this one view. Pictures of galaxies, computer generated images of moons, infrared pics of the sun inspire awe. A sunset in another planet made me pause and imagine.

Un Lun Dun

Written and illustrated by China Mieville. Pages : 521

This is a Young Adult fantasty novel set in Un Lun Dun (UnLondon), an alternate world residing alongside London and one among many like Lost Angeles, Paris'nt, No York.

UnLondon is where London's trash and discard find their way into and take up new, transformed lives. There are houses made of MOIL (Mildly Obsolete in London) such as steroes, fridges, table draws, etc. The inhabitants are varied - some very differently dressed humans, some strange creatures that are partly human, living garbage, ghosts, half-ghosts, animals, and so on. Mieville creates a horde of unusual characters that occupy a very imaginative world - one where buses fly, garbage tins are guards, where a bridge is just that - a bridge from somewhere to somewhere.


It's this world that Zaana and Deeba, two young girls find themselves in after following some mysterious signs from their London residence much to their fear. UnLondon however has been hoping and expecting the arrival of the Shwazzy (French word choisir- chosen one) who according to the prophesies will destory the Smog. The enemy that started out as a trickle from London grew to ungainly proportions and now threatened to destory all of UnLondon and London.

From here it's one roller coaster ride with some witty unforgettable characters through bizareness. The plot itself stands out from the usual hero-saves-the-world, I wont reveal more here, like any fantasy it ought to read to really know. I enjoyed this book, a fast-paced and unusual read. One ought to keep in mind that the target audience is mainly children while reading through certain repetitive details, it's sort of Gaiman's Neverwhere for the young lot. The illustrations are neat too, this book would be best appreciated in a graphic novel or an animated series version.

Un Lun Dun!

This read counts towards the Orbis Terrarum Challenge for England.

bookwise

In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner

Picked this up to sail through a tough (reading) patch having only then started The English Patient.

Rose, Maggie and Ella, the three main characters stand out from the ones of this genre that I've read so far. Whether by the plot, the characterization or the writing style - this definitely isn't the route ‘chick-lit’ fare, absolutely loved it for this difference.

Multiple City: Writings on Bangalore edited by Aditi De

This is a collection of articles, stories and pictures/cartoons by different writers put together to give an idea about how Bengalooru came to be.

It is divided into parts demarcating articles on Bangalore's history - how it came to be ruled by Kempe Gowda, the arrival of British Raj and their influence on the ‘tota’ city, those on the different areas -cities- within the city, some dwelling on a select area like Majestic, Basavangudi and finally a set on Bangalore's transition (only in name) to a 24/7 city.

Numerous famous names figure in this collection - R.K.Narayan, Ramachandra Guha, Thomas Friedman, William Dalrymple, C.K Meena, Winston Churchill, Shashi Deshpande, U.R. Ananthamurthy, Claire Arni and more..

I particularly enjoyed R.K.Narayan's article on the 'pets'. Ramachandra Guha's article on the Premier Bookshop stands out too, and being able to recollect his fairly recent article in The Hindu magazine on the closure of the bookshop, this was all the more special.
Just skimmed (skipped rather) through the latter portions on the city today - what could they have to say that I can't see and live through everyday?!

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

Instead of putting off writing reviews completely, thought I'd just add a few words on the books I read the last month.

The English Patient is based in an Italian Villa, set towards the end of the Second World War era. The story shuttles around four main characters -the 'English' Patient, a Canadian army nurse, an Indian sapper and a Canadian thief and gradually reveals their pasts and what led them to the villa.

It's a sensual tale, a very interesting narrative - gripping and dragging in parts. To be read when one isn't stifled by a time constraint. It's one of the books you are bound to remember irrespective of your liking for it. Captivating.

This read counts towards Orbis Terrarum Challenge (for Canada) and for the bonus round (new classics) in the Classics Challenge.

A Suitable Girl to follow

Vikram Seth is all set to write a sequel to 'A Suitable Boy' which was published in 1993. 'A Suitable Boy' will always rank in my top favorites, undoubtedly the best modern classic and the best book by an Indian author that I have read so far. A highly recommended read.

The book is set in a newly independent India, the sequel will mainly be set around 60 years later - in the current times. So, Lata Mehra (for whom a suitable boy was sought after in the first novel) will be 80 years old and is to find a suitable girl for her grandson. I can hardly wait to find out about how absorbing the sequel will turn out to be!!


How did Lata's married life turn out, did she ever regret her decision? And what about Kabir .. How did life treat Malathi.. And what about Seth's portrayal of contemporary India, will 'A Suitable Girl' turn out to be a true classic for the future generations?

Well, I only have to wait for 4 years to find out.

Oh, I could just read the book (of epic proportions at around 1400 pages) all over again! I remember picking it at Blossoms on Church Street and thinking it was worth every penny just for the size! And later after reading it, I returned it at Blossoms as I didn't think it appropriate to lug around the book in my then nomadic existence. But I'll be bringing the book back when I feel I have a cosy home for it.

What is your favorite book by Seth and while at it that by any Indian author?

Cocktails for Three

There is one genre of books that I haven't mentioned here before. The light reads that you use to interface between strings of serious or attention seeking books, the equivalent of watching a gen pastime movie, Chick-Lit.

I discovered Sophie Kinsella (pseudonym of Madeleine Wickham), Mariam Keyes and (as an afterhtought) Susan Lewis sometime last year. At around the same time I read some of the same genre by Indian writers, 'Almost Single' by Advaita Kala, 'The Village Bride of beverly Hills' by Kavita Daswami. I like the ones by Kinsella and the one ('The Other Side of the Story') by Keyes much better than the Indian ones - maybe cos I dont mind western stereotypes. Also read 'The Choice' by Nicholas Sparks sometime back. It cant be classified strictly as Chick-Lit, maybe a separate post would do it justice.



Read 'Cocktails for Three' by Madeleine Wickam a couple of months back. Though Wickham (as Kinsella) is famous for the Shopaholic series, I've read only the ones out of the series (Can you Keep a Secret?, Remember Me?, The Undomestic Goddess) and enjoyed them.

'Cocktails for Three' was my first of the Wickham ones, the ones she wrote much earlier. And the writing showed it. The story is about Maggie, Roxanne and Candice three successful women who meet on the first of every month at a bar to bond over some cocktails. The story covers crucial, testing phases in each of their lives - pregnancy, love, ghosts from the past...Chatty, funny and a nice read but it comes nowhere near the three Kinsellas that I've read.

Well here's to Chick-Lit, may they rarely be read and when read prove to be very comforting!

Collected Stories, Shashi Deshpande

Volume 1 is a collection of 24 short stories that Shashi Deshpande wrote for different magazines at the beginning of her writing career. Simple stories of common people, everyday occurrences that explore relationships, multi-layered emotions all beautifully penned. Deshpande's tales portray all classes in the society, some full of nostalgia, all celebrating the resilience of the girl child. Though written decades back, her stories are very much contemporary.

Franny And Zooey

By J.D. Salinger. Pages : 202

I just finished reading this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was apprehensive about reading a book by Salinger. The only other I've read is 'Catcher In The Rye' and though I had liked it I wasn't looking for a similar read. This book is much better, all the more for the main characters and the all around picture it painted.

Franny and Zooey are the youngest of the seven Glass children all of whom were child geniuses, are well versed in literature, religious texts, philosophy. There are two parts to this book, the first titled Franny is a short read that plays a great role of introducing the character.

The second part Zooey is about what follows the weekend (part one) after Franny has a breakdown of sorts. When Franny gets home completely overwhelmed with ways of the world, disillusioned about her college education, Zooey elder than her by five years talks to her among other things about shooting for some kind of perfection on one's own terms and not anyone else's. He tells her that one has no right to think in the real sense about why others are the way they are - a boyfriend who is 'campusy', professors who have no real enthusiasm for their subjects, audiences that are not appreciative in the right way of her skills and so on. He wakes her out of indulging in spirituality without really understanding it, just as an escape from her duties.

What each reader gets out of this book would be very different, I'd highly recommend giving this book a try.

"Because it's there"

Archer's latest book must have found its way to the best-sellers list in India thanks to the popularity of his earliest works and more so for it's presence in the media. Thanks to numerous articles covering the book launches at Landmark and those stressing the Indian presence in the novel, one couldn't have missed the information that Paths of Glory is inspired by the true story of mountaineer George Mallory.

I found the book a hard read at the start. The pieces of Mallory's childhood, growing up years were badly written. Maybe the intention was to provide a small biography of sorts, but the result was terrible. I had to struggle through the first few chapters, with only the wondering about the prologue to push me on. Proved to be worth the effort though. Not having known about Mallory and how the expeditions went, I enjoyed the latter half of the book. Enjoyed it so much that I finished it in one sitting. I'd like to set aside all evidences gathered since 1924 and think that reality was just as what Archer paints it for us in his book.

I don't have more to say about the book except that I'm glad I read it, I particularly liked the few descriptions of India (very few, so much for the Indian presence!) in the 1920's under British rule, the contrast with those of England at the same time!

I'm still reading about what 'really' might or might not have happened, thoughts about ambition, history, progress running about in my head.

Why read a book, why write about it, why struggle with life's hurdles .. "why bother with climbing mountains"..in the words of Mallory, "because it's there."

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
-Thomas Gray

That all paths lead but to the same end only frees you to make a journey of choice and battle on till you can. And extraordinary people like Mallory remain long after their 'inevitable hour' just for that choice they made.

Gently Falls the Bakula

By Sudha Murthy (pages 169)

Bakula is the name of a flower whose fragrance lingers long after the flower wilts. Friendship between Shrimati and Shrikant grows into love under the Bakula tree. And like the flower, it lingers through the years though Shrikant becomes so involved in his career that he is indifferent to his marriage. Shrimati sacrifices her desire, aim to study further on History when she gets married to Shrikant. She remains stifled all through their life together. The ancestral rivalry between their families, Shrikant’s family’s ill will also takes more than a fair hold on their lives. 

But how long will a lone thrush sing its sweetest song when its mate isn’t about? How long until the withered Bakula falls?  

Written in a very simple style, trademark of Sudha Murthy, this book makes you wonder… whether temporary setbacks can often morph into habits, whether one’s love is the other’s vanity.. 

A tale originally written in Kannada in the 1980s, very much relevant in today’s IT enveloped world.

The Dragonfly Pool

By Eva Ibbotson (Country: Austria)

Published by Macmillan UK, 2009; pages 398

Spent a good part of yesterday in Devon and Bergania, was very disappointed to see it come to an end.

London is bracing itself for the war (WW II), James Hamilton decides to send his daughter to a boarding school in the country so that she’d be safe. Talitha (Tally) Hamilton is a very good natured eleven-year old and isn’t happy about parting from her dad, her two aunts and the familiar neighborhood but she comes to terms with it as she has to.

Delderton and its students turn out to be very different from the posh prep schools that Tally had read about to know what to expect. Students are free to do and learn as they want to. Tally is very empathetic girl, makes friends quickly and very soon to her own surprise starts loving the place. Delderton gets an invite to participate in a folk dance festival in fictitious Bergania. And Tally having only recently seen a travelogue on Bergania and being extremely taken by the country and its king –who refused to let Hitler’s troops to march through his country– convinces the Principal to let them participate. 

Tally and her friends come up with the Flurry Dance which gets them to Bergania, they meet children from different European countries, visit around the city. Tally incidentally meets the crown prince Karil and they become friends by the Dragonfly Pool. However things fall apart, the German children are sent back on orders from Gestapo. Tragedy befalls Bergania when Nazis assassinate their King, and the crown prince disappears. The Deldertonians with help from the other children manage to get Karil outside Bergania. But the adventure has only just started... 

Eva Ibbotson mentions that Delderton Hall is based on a school she was sent to when her family fled to England (from Vienna when Hitler took power). But to me Delderton is as much a fantasy as Hogwarts. It’s a progressive school where children get to be themselves and do as they please; where they learn drama, biology, art, life in radical ways with the countryside providing a perfect setting to their daily adventures. Children see adults for what they are – just older beings with their own weaknesses, talents and not as controlling know-alls.  

The author portrays characters by choosing just the right incidents to put forth. Like, you see how involved Tally’s aunts are with her life – when as a kid they take her to see lambs in the Park just so she’d know how to act like one in Baby Jesus’s manger. And, when they go all about London to trace works that Clemmy, Tally’s art teacher cum Delderton chef had modeled for. Ibbotson’s characters are simply delightful - all the children, the eccentric teachers, Pom Pom the last Outer Mongolian pedestal dog .. even the villains and the cruel Duke leave a mark. 
The Dragonfly Pool was an endearing tale filled with drama and adventure and though it is categorized as Historical Fiction for children (that way, it would be best suited for little girls, Tally would make the perfect role model), it would be a comforting read for all ages. Overall, this was one happy story set in the war time and a very welcome break from the war time tales I’ve read recently.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

By Milan Kundera

Harper Perennial Modern Classics, pages 314.

Country: Czech Republic

'The Unbearable..' doesn’t have a set plot; rather the novel focuses on each character’s perspective and thinking than on a storyline. The author starts by exploring the principle of eternal return - as per which life that does not repeat is like a shadow, it means nothing. If only something is to recur eternally does it gain weight. This leads to the question of lightness versus weight - is it better to stay free, independent, wild in one’s choices or let yourself be burdened by commitments, responsibilities? This is what the author sets to explore through his characters – one who is completely light, another burdened by the weight, one experiencing the best of both and so on. So this book has a lot to do with philosophy.

As for the exact premise of the novel, I’ll just put up the blurb here. (The story is set in Prague in around 1968 at the time of Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia)

A young woman (Tereza) in love with a man (Tomas) torn between his love for her and his incorrigible womanizing one of his mistresses(Sabina) and her humbly faithful lover(Franz)--these are the two couples whose story is told in this masterful novel. In a world in which lives are shaped by irrevocable choices and by fortuitous events, a world in which everything occurs but once, existence seems to lose its substance, its weight. Hence, we feel "the unbearable lightness of being" not only as the consequence of our private actions, but also in the public sphere, and the two inevitably intertwine.

The book is divided into seven parts, each with chapters sometimes as short as half a page - so the ideas though many and varied are presented fairly well. Sometimes a part focuses on Tomas’s perspective and the next part recounts the same events seen by Tereza and so on for the other two main characters.

At the start of the novel, the German saying ‘Einmal ist keinmal’ which means that what happens once might as well not have happened at all (!) is brought up– and though you may not (or because you don’t) agree with this, curiosity takes you forward. The narrating style, interesting tidbits thrown in (I posted this excerpt earlier) makes it easy in the beginning. There is a part titled ‘Words misunderstood’ where the author brings out how we mean different things when we use the same words – this was the best part in the book.

However, towards the second half of the book, ideas are only mentioned in passing and there are many such. I don’t really understand why the author dwells so much on kitsch or rather the way he dwells on it in part six, “A Grand March”. Does he mention anything that adds more value to the actually plot that follows in this part?

There is a jumble of ideas presented. For example, the author talks about selfless love and why it’s possible for us to love animals unconditionally. He then says, ‘happiness is the longing for repetition’ (?!) (like in a dog’s life), whereas human time runs ahead in a straight line and so we are doomed to be unhappy! I wrote this post (and the aforementioned excerpt) when I was a few chapters into the novel – the admiration didn’t last to the end, got diluted in the maze.

While I’m glad I read this (it’s a fresh perspective), having just read 1984 before this, I could’ve timed it differently - given the similarities with the history of Czechoslovakia at the time of the novel (around 1968).

Would I recommend this book? I’m not sure if most people would like it, I’d suggest heading over to the Amazon reviews which will be more helpful. And if you have read this book, I'd love to hear how you liked it!

Strength of etymology

An excerpt from Milan Kundera’s ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’.

The novel is set in Prague in around 1961, weaves history – the Russian invasion in 1968 -- and philosophy into the storyline - which has so far been well interspersed with such insights, thoughts.

All languages that derive from Latin form the word "compassion" by combining the prefix "with" (com-) and the root meaning "suffering" (Late Latin, passio). In other languages - Czech, Polish, German, and Swedish for instance - this word is translated by a noun formed of an equivalent prefix combined with the word that means "feeling" (Czech, sou-cit; Polish współ-czucie; German Mit-gefühl; Swedish med-känsla).

In languages that derive from Latin, "compassion" means: we cannot look on coolly as others suffer; or, we symphathize with those who suffer. Another word with approximately the same meaning, "pity" (French pitié; Italian piéta; etc.), connotes a certain condescension towards the sufferer. "To pity on a woman" means that we are better off than she, that we stoop to her level, lower than ourselves.

That is why the word "compassion" generally inspires suspicion; it designates what is considered inferior, second-rate sentiment that has little to do with love. To love someone out of compassion means not really to love.

In languages that form the word "compassion" not from the root "suffering" but from the root word "feeling," the word is used in approximately the same way, but to contend that it designates a bad or inferior sentiment is difficult.

The secret strength of its etymology floods the word with another light and gives it a broader meaning: to have compassion (co-feeling) means not only to be able to live with the other's misfortune but also to feel with him any emotion - joy, anxiety, happiness, pain. This kind of compassion (in the sense of soucit; współczucie; Mitgefühl; medkänsla) therefore signifies the maximal capacity of affective imagination, the art of emotional telepathy. In the hierarchy of sentiments, then, it is supreme.

1984

Author: George Orwell

Pages: 312

It is 1984 – maybe it is 1984, England is now Airstrip One and the world is divided into three super states - Oceania, Eurasia, Eastasia. London is ruled by the Party, headed by Big Brother. The Party slogan is “War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength” but will have to change once Newspeak (as opposed to Oldspeak or English as we know it) is made the official tongue. Newspeak was created mainly by eliminating words that the Party feels are redundant (bad is now ungood, better is plus good and so on), or words which lead people to think unorthodox thoughts.(why have a word if what it depicts is prohibited or rather what better way to avoid unorthodoxy than by removing the handle to it).

Inhabitants of Oceania are monitored all the time through telescreens (two way televisions), follow a set routine starting with the wake-up call for Exercise every morning. They indulge together in Two Minute Hate everyday to focus all their anger towards Emmanuel Goldstein (who is said to be the Party’s enemy) and his principles. Then there is the Thought Police whose duty is to weed out and ‘vaporize’ anyone entertaining unorthodox thought; they patrol around in helicopters peeking right into apartment windows.

London society is divided into the Inner Party, the Outer Party, the Proletariat. The Inner Party is a minority, form the core leadership, enjoy privileges (such as the power to turn off their telescreen). The Outer Party members follow in the hierarchy and work in one of the four ministries (of Truth, Peace, Love, Plenty). The only class left unaffected by the advent of the Party after the revolution is the Proletariat. The ‘proles’ are treated as animals, believed to be harmless to the party and the nature of things in 1984 because all through history they have been too busy dealing with day to day hurdles to look at the big picture.

The protagonist Martin Smith is an Outer Party member and works in the Ministry of Truth. His work involves rewriting old newspaper articles and documents based on the present, erasing records of those who are unpersons and suchlike. Martin is thirty nine and still has vague memories of his childhood in a whole different world. He still feels, has the ability to think for himself, see through the blatant lies that the Party conjures up. Through the course of the story, he learns (or rather confirms) the truth behind the world in 1984.

While I agree with the social theory presented in the novel, a part of me wants to disbelieve that a sham of this order is ever possible and another part brings forth thoughts of Stalin’s Russia, Hitler’s Germany. (In fact I was reminded of We The Living when I was about a page into this book).

1984 constructs an imaginary negative utopia, is a cautionary tale against totalitarianism. It presents a depressing view of humanity, goes on to show that transformation of societies for the worse needn’t come only through ideologies like communism. Industrialization, the mechanized world as we know it now can very well lead to the same end.

Off you go if you want to know more about this book.

A Christmas Carol

Author: Charles Dickens

Pages: 114

How does one write a review for classics, the old ones especially - and one by Dickens, a tale this simple and familiar at that? Well, here goes -

A Christmas Carol is about how one Christmas Eve miserly Ebenezer Scrooge changes his ways thanks to a visit from the ghost of his late business partner Jacob Marley. Through three Spirits that visit him in a last attempt to help him change for the better, Scrooge peeks into Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet To Be.

First he is taken down the memory lane to see himself as a boy, a young man, an adult and sees how the loss of his values and hope had changed his life forever. He regrets the way he has turned to right from the first visit he pays to his past. And sees how his grumpiness and miserliness affects people around him, all this when he could very well do much to help.

In Christmas Present he sees people all around – his poor clerk Bob Cratchit, his nephew and many others across different strata of the society- creating for selves and loved ones a special day out of nothing materialistic- with just the simplicity of mind and each other’s company. As he treads this path with the second spirit he gets taken to the brink of what life could have been with his childhood love if only he had been different; without dwelling much on this, he vows to change himself.

Before he contemplates further a dark, unspeaking ghost -very different from the earlier two- of the future comes along and takes him through the horror of what future holds.

The tale covers Dickens' favored themes of poverty (Dickens wrote the book in six weeks to pay off a debt!), inequality; to me it is also about having the courage to change -even if it requires you to start out on your beliefs from scratch- however long into the play one might be. Regret over the lost years, possibilities that could’ve arisen from a different self, the parallel universes that might have been real are often the results of introspection when it really should be daring.

We had an extract from this book for one of the middle school non-detailed lessons. The portion covered was from Christmas Present with the Cratchits. Having read the book just now, I still find this part with the Cratchits the most delightful of the story. Of course, Scrooge’s enthusiasm does get to one towards the end when he just can’t stop chuckling!

"Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail."

“It is required of every man ... that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death.”

Lord of the Flies

Author: William Golding

Pages: 230

Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel about a group of schoolboys on an island. The boys aged from six to around twelve are the only survivors of a plane-crash; they eventually group up, elect a Chief, set rules and begin exploring the island. And so starts their new life with the glamour of adventure, freedom from the grownups and from civilization. The boys are hopeful of being rescued and decide to start a fire so that a ship passing by can pick out the smoke.  

However, soon the fragile system that the boys attempted to set in place falls apart. There are instances initially where some of the boys take advantage of being away from the watchful eyes of adults and get into real mischief. This blows up later aided by absolute power in the wrong hands. Fear and ego take over; in the game of survival the boys find themselves against each other.  

The author gives us four main characters – Ralph, Piggy, Jack and Simon. Each different in his way - Jack, ever possessive about his group (the choir) and focused on having fun through hunting. Piggy is the thinker who never manages to convert his thoughts to action, sometimes a grown-up almost when compared with the rest. Ralph treads the middle path in wanting to work hard to a system in place while having fun and he tries to get the rest to do the same – in vain. And Simon who is insightful, an introvert, childlike and who the other boys find ‘batty’.  

The book is extremely descriptive – of the island, the surroundings, etc. the pace is irregular, mostly slow. The story telling, character portrayals, symbolisms take you forward. I can’t say I particularly enjoyed reading this book; it focuses on a disturbing side of human nature - not an incorrect picture, just a disturbing one.  

I’ve wanted to read this book for awhile now mainly due to the innumerable references to it – in other novels (the most recent one being Fraction of the Whole), Iron Maiden’s song, and so I’m glad I finally read it. I liked Golding’s style and will lookout for his other works. 

This is my first (and unplanned) read for the Classics Challenge! Have you read this book, how did you like it?

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

Published by Penguin, U.K

Pages: 711

Country: Australia

This debut book by Steve Toltz (which was short listed for Booker Prize 2008) is about a dysfunctional family, it’s a father-son story set for the most part in Australia.

(This post will reveal nothing much about the plot)

The title is derived from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words – “ 'Tis fine for us to talk: we sit and muse, and are serene, and complete; but the moment we meet with anybody, each becomes a fraction.”

The novel is presented in first person by Jasper Dean (who is now in his early twenties) as he recounts his life journey, reminisces about his father Martin Dean. Martin’s life is in contrast with that of his brother Terry, an infamous criminal who is loved and remembered fondly by the country. Martin on the other hand is a skeptic, a philosopher who eventually ends up being the most hated man in Australia. Jasper’s worst fear is that he’d turn out to be like his father. There is a flashback in the flashback – the part where Jasper learns about his father’s childhood days and his young adult years in Paris. These are put across as narrated by Martin in first person. A portion of the book narrated through the perspective of both the protagonists Jasper and Martin made for an excellent read. (I enjoyed Martin’s narration the best)

This turned out to be one of those books that you enjoy all the while but just cannot pinpoint what exactly was fabulous about it! This maybe because apart from an unpredictable storyline, Toltz presents a lot of ideas through his characters and these points are sure to get you thinking.

This book’s got some unforgettable characters – Anouk, Caroline, Astrid, Eddie and this being a father-son story, it doesn’t dwell much into the character sketch of any one else, but I would’ve loved to read more about the strong female characters.

And now for the brickbats … I’ve got none really. I started out without expecting much, hoping that the level of obscurity that was hinted through the summary would be low. My fear was misplaced; I found the book thoroughly absorbing; the good parts of the book overshadow the so-so ones (which for me were when Martin rants about Death) Oh, just that the book could’ve been brief towards the very end (the parts in Thailand).

The author’s got an amazing sense of humor; the writing style is spontaneous, the everyday-ness of the protagonists’ is well thought out. “A Fraction of the Whole” is touching, witty, irreverent, refreshing ... I give it 5 stars!

You can read an extract at the book’s website.

Quotes

I had only a splinter of awareness back then that no matter what anybody says, choosing between available options is not the same as thinkig for yourself. The only true way of thinking for yourself is to create options of your own options that don’t exist.

Change is when new selves come into the foreground while others recede into forgotten landscapes. Maybe definition of having lived a full life is when every citizen in the hall of selves gets to take you for a spin, the commander the lover the coward the misanthrope the fighter the priest the moral guardian the immoral guardian the lover of life the hater of life the fool the judge the jury the executioner..