by Amitav Ghosh
This book is the first of a trilogy. In the story several individuals, living in India, find themselves on a ship, the Ibis. The opium trade in India and China is an integral part of the story. There is a large cast of characters:
Deeti and Kalua -- Deeti's husband dies and she realizes their poppy farm is deeply indebted and she will not be able to support her daughter, she is afraid of her brother-in-law who will inherit the farm (and her?). She decides to die with her husband on the funeral pyre but she is rescued by Kalua, a local man who drives a delivery cart to make a living. Deeti knows she has embarrassed her family and they decide to try to make a start in a new place.
Zachary - started on the ship as a lowly worker in Baltimore but by the time the ship arrives in India he is in a senior position on the ship. He is part black but doesn't look it so he is assumed to be white and given deference because of this. He is reluctant to assume authority but is encouraged to do so by the people below him.
Paulette and Jodu - Paulette's father was a botanist, when her father dies she is graciously "adopted" by the family of the owner of the Ibis. She is not happy there and decides to run away when they plan to marry her to a much older man. She and Jodu grew up together, Paulette was delivered by Jodu's mother. They are close friends. Jodu has been taken on as a lowly worker on the ship. Paulette dresses in a Sari and sneaks on board the ship.
Neel is a Raj, of a formerly wealthy family. His father was highly respected but after the father dies Neel discovers the family fortune has evaporated. He is struggling to keep his estate but the ship owner accuses him of forgery and Neel ends up sentenced to 7 years service on the island where the Ibis is destined. He befriends a fellow convict, a chinese opium addict.
People who have sold themselves to go to work on plantations complete the passengers on the ship.
The senior crew are very cruel to the crew and passengers. There is a major incident and the book ends with a few of the men (Kahlua, Deeti's rescuer and 2nd husband, the two convicts, Jodu and other) escaping in one of the small boats from the ship.
You are left to wonder if the men will survive, what will happen to those still on the ship.
This was a very interesting book with great historical details.
Monday, 21 August 2017
Sunday, 23 July 2017
Judas
by Amos Oz
This book is also written by an Israeli. This author was recommended to me by Eli, the Israeli we met in Monterrosso. I am not sure what to make of the book.
The story is about a young Israeli student who has a breakdown because: his parents can no longer afford to fund his education, his girlfriend dumps him to marry a former boyfriend his socialist network has collapsed in disarray and his studies into Jewish attitudes to Jesus seem to stalled. He quits school against his profs advice and much to the dismay of his family.
He sees a notice on a bulletin board looking for someone to be a companion to a senior, invalid for a few hours each evening in exhange for room and board and a small salary. He goes to the house and is offered the job on condition that he will not disclose anything about the house and its inhabitants to anyone.
The house is inhabited by a young woman (owner of the house) and her father-in-law. The young man's job is to sit with the old man in the evening and listen to him talk, or talk to othes on the phone, reheat is supper and make him tea. The young man learns that the old man's son was a brilliant mathematician with a great future who got carried away with the war fever in Israel and ended up getting tortured and killed. The woman's father was a government official who resigned/was rejected from the cabinet of Ben Gurion because he believed in the one state solution, not two state.
The book spends a lot of time discussing the role of Judas as a traitor, was he a a traitor ot the Jews? As one character comments, if there had been no Judas there would be no Christianity. The young man continues to read scholars and their opinions about Judas. He also researches the newspaper archives for information about the woman's father. He learns that many people feel her father was a traitor because he associated with Arabs in his attet
The young man finds the woman fascinating and despite the warnings of the old man not to, he falls in love with her. She disregards him at times and toys with him at others. He learns that the woman seems to hate all men because of what men did to her husband. The old man does not agree entirely with the ideas of the woman's father but he is angry that men fight and that his son died as a result.
The young man falls in the house, banging his head and breaking his ankle. The woman nurses him back to health but then tells him it is time to leave, he cannot hide there forever, he must find a girl, get a life. He doesn't want to do this but does leave. Rather than going home he boards a bus and heads to one of the new settlements thinking he may get a job as a security guard or something else.
The book ends with him standing in a village near the settlement "And he stood there, wondering".
I am not sure what to make of it, there was lots to think about in terms of what did Judas really do and expect, what was his responsibility for what happened to Jesus and the consequences for the Jews. There is the parallel between Judas being considered a traitor (and all Jews being hated by Christians as a result) and the woman's father also being considered a traitor for not pushing for Israeli rights and control. The young man has tried to hide from the world, has seen the pain and disfunction which the war has caused the woman and the old man. Is it possible he will learn from them and try to change? affect change? I would hope so but he didn't seem to demonstrate any effort to want to change.
This book is also written by an Israeli. This author was recommended to me by Eli, the Israeli we met in Monterrosso. I am not sure what to make of the book.
The story is about a young Israeli student who has a breakdown because: his parents can no longer afford to fund his education, his girlfriend dumps him to marry a former boyfriend his socialist network has collapsed in disarray and his studies into Jewish attitudes to Jesus seem to stalled. He quits school against his profs advice and much to the dismay of his family.
He sees a notice on a bulletin board looking for someone to be a companion to a senior, invalid for a few hours each evening in exhange for room and board and a small salary. He goes to the house and is offered the job on condition that he will not disclose anything about the house and its inhabitants to anyone.
The house is inhabited by a young woman (owner of the house) and her father-in-law. The young man's job is to sit with the old man in the evening and listen to him talk, or talk to othes on the phone, reheat is supper and make him tea. The young man learns that the old man's son was a brilliant mathematician with a great future who got carried away with the war fever in Israel and ended up getting tortured and killed. The woman's father was a government official who resigned/was rejected from the cabinet of Ben Gurion because he believed in the one state solution, not two state.
The book spends a lot of time discussing the role of Judas as a traitor, was he a a traitor ot the Jews? As one character comments, if there had been no Judas there would be no Christianity. The young man continues to read scholars and their opinions about Judas. He also researches the newspaper archives for information about the woman's father. He learns that many people feel her father was a traitor because he associated with Arabs in his attet
The young man finds the woman fascinating and despite the warnings of the old man not to, he falls in love with her. She disregards him at times and toys with him at others. He learns that the woman seems to hate all men because of what men did to her husband. The old man does not agree entirely with the ideas of the woman's father but he is angry that men fight and that his son died as a result.
The young man falls in the house, banging his head and breaking his ankle. The woman nurses him back to health but then tells him it is time to leave, he cannot hide there forever, he must find a girl, get a life. He doesn't want to do this but does leave. Rather than going home he boards a bus and heads to one of the new settlements thinking he may get a job as a security guard or something else.
The book ends with him standing in a village near the settlement "And he stood there, wondering".
I am not sure what to make of it, there was lots to think about in terms of what did Judas really do and expect, what was his responsibility for what happened to Jesus and the consequences for the Jews. There is the parallel between Judas being considered a traitor (and all Jews being hated by Christians as a result) and the woman's father also being considered a traitor for not pushing for Israeli rights and control. The young man has tried to hide from the world, has seen the pain and disfunction which the war has caused the woman and the old man. Is it possible he will learn from them and try to change? affect change? I would hope so but he didn't seem to demonstrate any effort to want to change.
Falling Out of Time
By David Grossman
The author is an Israeli who just won the Man Booker Internationa Prize for his latest book. This is a very interesting book. It is written part in poem and partly in prose. The narrator is a local official who has been tasked with documenting the activities in the village.
The book starts with an elderly man who has lost a son several years before in a street battle. Suddenly one day he decides to leave his wife and start walking around the village looking for his son. He starts to circle the town. His action also seem to inspire some changes in the behaviour of other citizens, a Cyclops who is attached to his desk, who has lost his child, a woman who is a netminder who has lost he daughter, a school teacher who also lost a chld and the village official who also lost his daughter and the Duke, the boss of the official. With the exception fo the cyclops the people start circling the city in larger circles until they encounter a wall. They hesitate at first and then start to dig in the soil until they have dug graves for themselves. They climb into these graves. But in a while they climb out. It seems that they have accepted the deaths of their loved ones.
A sad story but with beautiful language.
The author is an Israeli who just won the Man Booker Internationa Prize for his latest book. This is a very interesting book. It is written part in poem and partly in prose. The narrator is a local official who has been tasked with documenting the activities in the village.
The book starts with an elderly man who has lost a son several years before in a street battle. Suddenly one day he decides to leave his wife and start walking around the village looking for his son. He starts to circle the town. His action also seem to inspire some changes in the behaviour of other citizens, a Cyclops who is attached to his desk, who has lost his child, a woman who is a netminder who has lost he daughter, a school teacher who also lost a chld and the village official who also lost his daughter and the Duke, the boss of the official. With the exception fo the cyclops the people start circling the city in larger circles until they encounter a wall. They hesitate at first and then start to dig in the soil until they have dug graves for themselves. They climb into these graves. But in a while they climb out. It seems that they have accepted the deaths of their loved ones.
A sad story but with beautiful language.
Tuesday, 2 May 2017
I Found You
by Lisa Jewell
This story has three apparently separate stories.
1) A man is found sitting on a beach in England and he has no idea who he is. He is taken in by a local woman who is struggling raising three children but who has a kind heart and the tendency to rescue strays.
2) A family in the 1990's that is vacationing in the same town. There is a mother, father, brother and sister. A local, apparently wealthyboy, takes an interest in the girl but her brother is suspicious of him and protective of him. The girl is not to sure how she feels about him.
3) A young Ukrainian woman who has only been married for a few weeks is upset when her husband does not return home from work one day.
We are told about a news story about two people drowning and the father of one of the victim's having a heart attack and dying while trying to rescue them.
As the story progresses we find out the local boy had attacked the girl and her brother after the girl seemed to reject him. We think the man with amnesia might be him.
The newlywed goes to police who tell her that her husband's passport is a fake. She doesn't know what to do. As she searches through her husbands possession's she finds a set of wedding rings nicer that the ones he gave her. She also finds some keys and the name of a town. The same town that the drowning, the family and the amnesiac are in.
We then learn that the amnesiac is actually the girl`s brother. The shock of seeing her attacker alive after 20+ years has brought back amnesia. It was assumed that the boyfriend and the girl had drowned. We learn that he is the newlywed's husband. He is eventually located and charged with several sexual assault charges and murder of the girl.
It was an interesting story. The characters were engaging and the plot twist was interesting.
This story has three apparently separate stories.
1) A man is found sitting on a beach in England and he has no idea who he is. He is taken in by a local woman who is struggling raising three children but who has a kind heart and the tendency to rescue strays.
2) A family in the 1990's that is vacationing in the same town. There is a mother, father, brother and sister. A local, apparently wealthyboy, takes an interest in the girl but her brother is suspicious of him and protective of him. The girl is not to sure how she feels about him.
3) A young Ukrainian woman who has only been married for a few weeks is upset when her husband does not return home from work one day.
We are told about a news story about two people drowning and the father of one of the victim's having a heart attack and dying while trying to rescue them.
As the story progresses we find out the local boy had attacked the girl and her brother after the girl seemed to reject him. We think the man with amnesia might be him.
The newlywed goes to police who tell her that her husband's passport is a fake. She doesn't know what to do. As she searches through her husbands possession's she finds a set of wedding rings nicer that the ones he gave her. She also finds some keys and the name of a town. The same town that the drowning, the family and the amnesiac are in.
We then learn that the amnesiac is actually the girl`s brother. The shock of seeing her attacker alive after 20+ years has brought back amnesia. It was assumed that the boyfriend and the girl had drowned. We learn that he is the newlywed's husband. He is eventually located and charged with several sexual assault charges and murder of the girl.
It was an interesting story. The characters were engaging and the plot twist was interesting.
Tuesday, 17 January 2017
Swing Time
by Zadie Smith
I hated this book!!! It isn't very often that I have such a negative reaction to a book. I didn't enjoy it while reading it but forced myself to finish it as I hoped there would be some redeeming aspect to it. But there wasn't. Some of the review of the book are very positive but I couldn't stand it.
The book is about two girls of mixed race marriages growing up in London. One of the girls Tracey has a "bad girl" lack of respect for authority. She befriends the main character and they stay best friends for years, subject to Tracey's moods. Both girls take dancing lessons. It turns out that Tracey is a real star dancer, the main character, while she loves dance and loves to watch old movies and study all the dance moves, has flat feet and therefore cannot do ballet.
Tracey is a dreamer/liar. She claims her father is a dancer with Michael Jackson. In reality he is a criminal frequently in jail.
The main character has a mother who ignores/resents her family as she studies to better herself. Her husband is a postal worker. Eventually the family disintegrates.
At one point in time the two girls are asked to help at a dance recital. The money from the tickets goes missing and everyone blames Tracey.
Over tiime the girl occasionally runs into Tracey who despite her talent doesn't seem to be succeeding. She is on drugs, has several children and only ever makes it into the chorus.
The main character goes off to study media studies at a school outside London. She comes back to live with her father for a time until she manages to get a job with the new entity YTV. It is an exciting life with little work and lots of perks. She then gets selected to be the personal assistant for a perfomer Aimee. Her life becomes totally consumed by looking after Aimee, 24/7 and no holidays. She is an assistant and a confidante.
Aimee decides that she wants to build a girl's school in Africa so the main character makes several trips to Africa where she comes to realize that the best intentions of foreigners may not entirely work out. She meets two African men, one who professes his love for her (she rejects him) and a man Aimee wants (she starts having an affair with him). The main character doesn't react to any of the ridiculous things Aimee does until she adopts an African baby. The parents surrender her to Aimee for money. This really shocks and upsets the girll.
In the meantime her monther has gotten her PhD and become an MP. The mother and daughter don't have much contact. The girl is shocked to learn from her mothers former lover that she is dying of cancer.
When Aimee finds out that the main character is having an affair with her desired lover she fires her. In retaliation the girl posts details about the baby adoption. This of course infuriates Aimee.
When the girl returns to London she pays money for the "Lover" to come to England. His visa had been arranged by Aimee. She knows she doesn't love him . He has the good sense to leave and go out on his own to get an education.
The girl was told by her mother that Tracey has been harassing her to do something for her and her children, sending increasingly agressive emails. When she returns to England Tracey posts juvenile, provocative videos of the two of them dancing as children. This gets lot of press.
Just before she dies the girls mother suggests that she, the daughter, should do something for Tracey, i.e. take cae of her children and as the book ends she is going to see Tracey.
I couldn't relate to any of the characters, the main character was totally clueless, going along with whatever happened throughout her life. She really didn't care about anyone. Aimee was totally self centered. Tracey was self-centered and self-destructive. The girl's mother was a horrible neglectful mother. While her desire to improve herself was understandable she had no commitment to her family. She seemed more interested in helping strangers that caring for her own family. I don't buy her suggestion at the end of the book. It was totally unrealistic. Why should the girl do this? After the way Tracey treated her and her mother why would she want to? How would she support herself and the children?
While I think the author raised some important issues, lower class people surviving in England, the desire to better yourself, misguided celebrities and their charitable causes, I did not care about the characters or the story.
I hated this book!!! It isn't very often that I have such a negative reaction to a book. I didn't enjoy it while reading it but forced myself to finish it as I hoped there would be some redeeming aspect to it. But there wasn't. Some of the review of the book are very positive but I couldn't stand it.
The book is about two girls of mixed race marriages growing up in London. One of the girls Tracey has a "bad girl" lack of respect for authority. She befriends the main character and they stay best friends for years, subject to Tracey's moods. Both girls take dancing lessons. It turns out that Tracey is a real star dancer, the main character, while she loves dance and loves to watch old movies and study all the dance moves, has flat feet and therefore cannot do ballet.
Tracey is a dreamer/liar. She claims her father is a dancer with Michael Jackson. In reality he is a criminal frequently in jail.
The main character has a mother who ignores/resents her family as she studies to better herself. Her husband is a postal worker. Eventually the family disintegrates.
At one point in time the two girls are asked to help at a dance recital. The money from the tickets goes missing and everyone blames Tracey.
Over tiime the girl occasionally runs into Tracey who despite her talent doesn't seem to be succeeding. She is on drugs, has several children and only ever makes it into the chorus.
The main character goes off to study media studies at a school outside London. She comes back to live with her father for a time until she manages to get a job with the new entity YTV. It is an exciting life with little work and lots of perks. She then gets selected to be the personal assistant for a perfomer Aimee. Her life becomes totally consumed by looking after Aimee, 24/7 and no holidays. She is an assistant and a confidante.
Aimee decides that she wants to build a girl's school in Africa so the main character makes several trips to Africa where she comes to realize that the best intentions of foreigners may not entirely work out. She meets two African men, one who professes his love for her (she rejects him) and a man Aimee wants (she starts having an affair with him). The main character doesn't react to any of the ridiculous things Aimee does until she adopts an African baby. The parents surrender her to Aimee for money. This really shocks and upsets the girll.
In the meantime her monther has gotten her PhD and become an MP. The mother and daughter don't have much contact. The girl is shocked to learn from her mothers former lover that she is dying of cancer.
When Aimee finds out that the main character is having an affair with her desired lover she fires her. In retaliation the girl posts details about the baby adoption. This of course infuriates Aimee.
When the girl returns to London she pays money for the "Lover" to come to England. His visa had been arranged by Aimee. She knows she doesn't love him . He has the good sense to leave and go out on his own to get an education.
The girl was told by her mother that Tracey has been harassing her to do something for her and her children, sending increasingly agressive emails. When she returns to England Tracey posts juvenile, provocative videos of the two of them dancing as children. This gets lot of press.
Just before she dies the girls mother suggests that she, the daughter, should do something for Tracey, i.e. take cae of her children and as the book ends she is going to see Tracey.
I couldn't relate to any of the characters, the main character was totally clueless, going along with whatever happened throughout her life. She really didn't care about anyone. Aimee was totally self centered. Tracey was self-centered and self-destructive. The girl's mother was a horrible neglectful mother. While her desire to improve herself was understandable she had no commitment to her family. She seemed more interested in helping strangers that caring for her own family. I don't buy her suggestion at the end of the book. It was totally unrealistic. Why should the girl do this? After the way Tracey treated her and her mother why would she want to? How would she support herself and the children?
While I think the author raised some important issues, lower class people surviving in England, the desire to better yourself, misguided celebrities and their charitable causes, I did not care about the characters or the story.
Sunday, 16 October 2016
The Wonder
Emma Donoghue
This book is by the author of the popular book "The Room".
It is the story of a British nurse who is sent to Ireland to watch a girl who has stopped eating. A local committee want to verify that she is truly not eating.
The girl is the daughter of a poor Irish farming community. She meets the local priest, Doctor, the girl's parents and a nun who is to watch the girl in alternating shifts along with her.
We find out that the Irish are very strong Catholics, somewhat superstitious too (fairies). The girl and her parents are very religious. The nurse, a trainee of Florence Nightengale, first searches the girls room for hidden food, she then starts to document the girls vital signs. She finds no evidence of any food being left or given to the girl but she is suspicious that the nun, might be working with the family to create a believe in miraculous behaviour.
The nurse and nun have been hired to watch the girl for two weeks. At first the girl's health seems to be okay and stable but after a week the nurse notices a definite deterioration in her condition, she becomes weak, her breathing and heart rate are affected. The nurse learns that the girl stopped eating shortly after her first communion (confirmation). She thinks it might be a hysterical reaction to this sacrement. The girl is praying all the time and cherishing her pictures of saints and other items.
However, she finds out later that the mother had been coming to the daughter's room and giving her food from her mouth. Now that the observers are there she has not been able to do this.
The girl's condition is deteriorating rapidly and the nurse notifies the doctor, the priest and eventually the committee. They all seem prepared to have the girl die. The nurse shouldn't do it but she confides her concern for the girl to a newspaper reporter who has come to do a story about the girl. He urges her to act on her concern.
The nurse eventually discovers that the girl's brother, who died previously had been having sexual relations with her. When the girl heard that this was a sin she fears her brother is in purgatory or hell for his behaviour and that this is why she is doing this extreme action... to save her brother. The nurse convinces her that she can die and become a new person, Nan. She convinces the girl that eating will kill her and give birth to this new girl Nan. The girl agrees to do this. While the family is out to a mass in honour of the girl the nurse sets fire to the girl's room and she carries the girl to the waiting reporter who takes the girl away.
It is assumed that the girl died in the fire. In reality the nurse, reporter and girl have fled Ireland and will start life as a new family.
This book really examined the role of faith, faith taken to the extreme, the pain of denial. The mother was told about what the Brother did but she admired him so much she told the girl to never speak of it again so the little girl was bearing this burden. It was an interesting story.
This book is by the author of the popular book "The Room".
It is the story of a British nurse who is sent to Ireland to watch a girl who has stopped eating. A local committee want to verify that she is truly not eating.
The girl is the daughter of a poor Irish farming community. She meets the local priest, Doctor, the girl's parents and a nun who is to watch the girl in alternating shifts along with her.
We find out that the Irish are very strong Catholics, somewhat superstitious too (fairies). The girl and her parents are very religious. The nurse, a trainee of Florence Nightengale, first searches the girls room for hidden food, she then starts to document the girls vital signs. She finds no evidence of any food being left or given to the girl but she is suspicious that the nun, might be working with the family to create a believe in miraculous behaviour.
The nurse and nun have been hired to watch the girl for two weeks. At first the girl's health seems to be okay and stable but after a week the nurse notices a definite deterioration in her condition, she becomes weak, her breathing and heart rate are affected. The nurse learns that the girl stopped eating shortly after her first communion (confirmation). She thinks it might be a hysterical reaction to this sacrement. The girl is praying all the time and cherishing her pictures of saints and other items.
However, she finds out later that the mother had been coming to the daughter's room and giving her food from her mouth. Now that the observers are there she has not been able to do this.
The girl's condition is deteriorating rapidly and the nurse notifies the doctor, the priest and eventually the committee. They all seem prepared to have the girl die. The nurse shouldn't do it but she confides her concern for the girl to a newspaper reporter who has come to do a story about the girl. He urges her to act on her concern.
The nurse eventually discovers that the girl's brother, who died previously had been having sexual relations with her. When the girl heard that this was a sin she fears her brother is in purgatory or hell for his behaviour and that this is why she is doing this extreme action... to save her brother. The nurse convinces her that she can die and become a new person, Nan. She convinces the girl that eating will kill her and give birth to this new girl Nan. The girl agrees to do this. While the family is out to a mass in honour of the girl the nurse sets fire to the girl's room and she carries the girl to the waiting reporter who takes the girl away.
It is assumed that the girl died in the fire. In reality the nurse, reporter and girl have fled Ireland and will start life as a new family.
This book really examined the role of faith, faith taken to the extreme, the pain of denial. The mother was told about what the Brother did but she admired him so much she told the girl to never speak of it again so the little girl was bearing this burden. It was an interesting story.
The Party Wall
by Catherine Leroux
This is a Quebecoise author, the book is translated into English. I think it is a finalist for the Man Booker or the Governmor General's awards this year.
It is a series of short stories, involving pairs of individuals. There are several stories for each of the pairs and at the end of the book several of the characters, from the different stories, get connected.
I don't usually like short stories but I have to say she is amazing at how she portrays powerful stories/situations in a very few pages. The stories are a bit quirky. One is about a woman whose son is a drifter. He comes home because he is ill and when she gets tested as an organ donor for him she is told she is not related to him genetically. She later learns that she is a Chimera, two distinct DNA in her body because of an undeveloped twin within her. Another story is about two sisters who wander around their town and one of them loses her legs on train tracks. A third pair is about a man who succeeds in becoming Prime Minister but whose success is destroyed when his wife discovers that they are actually brother and sister. They were given away for adoption when they were born. They still love each other and head out to the prairies to start a new life under assumed names.
It was a fascinating read, very sad at times, but an exceptional book.
This is a Quebecoise author, the book is translated into English. I think it is a finalist for the Man Booker or the Governmor General's awards this year.
It is a series of short stories, involving pairs of individuals. There are several stories for each of the pairs and at the end of the book several of the characters, from the different stories, get connected.
I don't usually like short stories but I have to say she is amazing at how she portrays powerful stories/situations in a very few pages. The stories are a bit quirky. One is about a woman whose son is a drifter. He comes home because he is ill and when she gets tested as an organ donor for him she is told she is not related to him genetically. She later learns that she is a Chimera, two distinct DNA in her body because of an undeveloped twin within her. Another story is about two sisters who wander around their town and one of them loses her legs on train tracks. A third pair is about a man who succeeds in becoming Prime Minister but whose success is destroyed when his wife discovers that they are actually brother and sister. They were given away for adoption when they were born. They still love each other and head out to the prairies to start a new life under assumed names.
It was a fascinating read, very sad at times, but an exceptional book.
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