Braving the Harmattan

I have built a formidable collection of travel books over the years. Many of them still lie on the shelf awaiting their turn. Sometimes, driven by pangs of guilt at having accumulated so many, yet read so few, I take them out, flip through fondly and return to their place. I realize that it is another form of addiction or obsessive compulsion. Step into a book store and all of a sudden I’m seized by this uncontrollable urge to buy, buy and buy! If there is a sale, then I’m on rampage. Off late I have been able to reign in this impulse somewhat. Still my brain cells buzz every time I pass by Landmark, Om Books, Reliance Time Out and Crossword.

To return to where we started, my affinity for travel books began with Bruce Chatwin‘s “In Patagonia”. Once the ball got rolling, I went on to read Paul Theroux followed by Eric Newby, Michael Palin, Tim McIntosh Smith, Colin Thubron, V S Naipaul, Wifred Thesiger, Robert Byron, Peter Mathiessen, Pico Iyer, the list goes on and on. Jeffrey Tayler’s “The Lost Kingdoms of Africa” was the last one I read. I had never heard of the author before. He did not figure in the travel writer’s hall of fame. I had picked the book during a discount sale at Landmark. But, once started, I was hooked. “Lost Kingdoms” is one of the most empathetic travelogues I have ever read. It is shorn of the high brow, sardonic spectator attitude easily discernible in Paul Theroux and V S Naipaul.

The book is a fervent account of Tayler’s journey through Sahel, the Harmattan ravaged shrub land south of Sahara desert. He covers over 2500 miles of utter desolation, travelling through countries (Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal) plagued by drought, abject poverty, disease, various forms of extremism and religious and ethnic wars. The terrain is dangerous and inhospitable, circumstances exiguous. Yet Africans are generous, affectionate and welcoming, willing to share their meager supply of food and shelter with him. Tayler is understanding and non judgmental in his views except when he encounters arcane traditions of slavery and infibulations, and rightly so. His language is evocative, almost poetic when it comes to describing nature.

The book reaffirms our impression of an Africa in dire straits with little hope of improvement in the years ahead. The billions spent in aid are siphoned off by corrupt dictators and their cohorts with little of it reaching the needy. Since most governments are propped up by western aid money rather than tax from the people, they do precious little to improve the lot of the citizens. Tayler places the historical responsibility of Africa’s current predicament squarely on Western colonial interests who carved nations and borders according to own administrative and military convenience without regard to the continent’s complex ethnic, religious and tribal identities. Predominantly Muslim, harbouring a sense of humiliation and nurturing strong anti-western sentiments, Africa, according to Tayler, is poised to erupt in terrorist violence.

Fascinating and poignant, the book is a must read for those who really wish for an honest, forthright and realistic perspective of the Dark Continent.

Back To The Future

For a long long time I hadn’t read any science fiction, although it was one of my favourite genres. Last week, on impulse I took up Alfred Bester‘s The Demolished Man. Once started, I couldn’t put it down and finished the novel in a few hours. Talk about reading at the speed of light!

Futuristic New York sets the stage for this psycho-sci-fi where mind reading capabilities of telepaths called peepers have successfully averted crimes, especially murder, for the past 70 years. Ben Reich, owner of Monarch Enterprises is haunted by nightmarish visions of “The Man With No Face” whom he identifies as his business rival D’Courtney. By enlisting the support of corrupt Esper Augustus Tate, Reich manages to murder his competitor, after his attempts at reconciliation are rejected. During the subsequent murder investigation, ace peeper and sleuth Lincoln Powell discovers that Reich is the murderer and sets about building the case for his “demolition”. His quest for the murder motive, method and opportunity are repeatedly thwarted by Reich. Just when Powell has gathered all evidences for Reich’s conviction an unexpected turn of events renders the case invalid. Powell comes to realize that his adversary is unconscious of the real murder motive and that he could prevent further disaster only at great personal cost.

The central characters of the novel are subtly nuanced – Reich is not the archetypal villain and Powel is not the typical saintly investigator. Both have their flaws and redeeming qualities. The battle of wits between the two men and the surprising celestial twists and turns keep you glued. Bester ensnares your attention and keeps it till the last word. The end is unexpected even though one could make out its vague outlines from the several clues scattered over the pages. Overall, an excellent piece of sci-fi, with a social message which could be realized only in the realm of imagination at the moment. Future beckons…

 Comment: Excellent read if you fancy science fiction

Kafka on the Shore – Sparkling Bullshit or Baffling Erudition?

This novel is kind of weird. It is populated with strange events – fishes and leeches fall from the sky for reasons left unexplained; and stranger characters – a diabolical whiskey mascot, a fast food icon masquerading as a pimp, a crow of a conscience, two frozen in time World War II Japanese soldiers guarding the entrance to a parallel world deep inside a jungle and more. Two concurrent plots converge briefly and part ways, the connection between them vague, tenuous.

The chief protagonist Kafka Tamura is a 15 year old boy with a suffocating emotional baggage, who runs away from home seeking to escape a dark prophesy. Nakata, his counterpart in the parallel narrative is a self confessed retard who talks to cats. Pried loose from his quotidian existence at Nakano ward, Nakata is driven by mysterious fate into a metaphysical journey of revelations, to set the universe back in order. Other characters, most significantly the transsexual library assistant Oshima and bellicose yet conscientious truck driver Hoshino, guides and assists Kafka and Nakata in their respective journeys. The novel is interlaced with several philosophical observations and the author’s opinion on various subjects, especially music.

Quoted below are the ones that I found most mystifying:

 “But people need to cling to something, they have to, you are doing the same, even though you don’t realize. It’s as Goethe said: “everything is a metaphor”.”

 “everything in life is a metaphor. We accept irony through a device called metaphor. And through that we grow and become deeper human beings”

 “But irony deepens a person, helps them to mature. It’s the entrance to salvation on a higher plane, to a plane where you can find a more universal kind of hope”

 “Man doesn’t choose fate. Fate chooses man. That’s the basic world view of Greek drama. And the sense of tragedy – according to Aristotle – comes, ironically enough, not from the protagonist’s weak points but from his good qualities. People are drawn deeper into tragedy not by their defects but by their virtues”

 “A revelation leaps over the borders of the everyday. A life without revelation is no life at all. What you need to do is move from reason that observes to reason that acts…”

 “that a certain type of perfection can only be realized through limitless accumulation of the imperfect”

 “The pure present is an ungraspable advance of the past devouring the future. In truth, all sensation is already memory”

There are many more, some makes sense some don’t. The refrain, “everything is a metaphor” recurs throughout possibly to emphasize the allegorical nature of the novel.

It was difficult for me to identify closely with Kafka. Miss Saeki in her real and spiritual manifestations did not touch a chord. In my opinion, the characters closest to reality in the novel are Hoshino and Nakata (despite his bewildering capabilities). This is not a book easily understandable on the first reading. There are a medley of situations and characters, some apparently superfluous – the prostitute philosopher and the coffee shop owner who postures as a western classical music expert for example. Aside from expounding the author’s  philosophical stand or opinion on music these characters do not appear to have any bearing on the plot. The import of Beethoven’s Archduke’s Trio to the storyline is also completely incomprehensible to me.

A complex fabric of  myth, mystery, magic and realism – not really endearing on the first read, but worth returning to – that is how I would describe the book. On the positive side, the language of the English version is simple and dialogues crisp and flowing, thanks to skillful translation by Peter Gabriel.

Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami

The Snow Leopard – A Zen Meditation

Just finished reading The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen.

In this epic journey Matthiessen accompany biologist George Schaller to Crystal Mountain in the Inner Dolpo region of Nepal to examine the behaviour of Bharal (blue sheep) during oestrus. It is as much a journey through Himalayas as an inner quest, a pilgrimage as well as a scientific expedition. Matthiessen never actually sights a Snow Leopard, but has to content with numerous pug marks. But the experience and the narrative are spellbinding.

I read a large part of the book in fragments while travelling, though the last 100 pages or so I finished in a near single sitting.

The grueling trek across a frozen wasteland, surmounting high passes, braving blizzards and crossing murderous torrents along valleys and summits of the Himalayas; the Sherpa’s and porters, yak herds, Lamas, the monasteries and Gompas, fluttering prayer flags, the reverberations of Om Mani Padme Hum, occasional references toYeti, the stalking of blue sheep, the birds, beasts and men that he meets along the way – all of it makes compelling reading. The ice crested pinnacles and falling snow vividly coloured my imagination as I walked the trail along with the author. The inner peace and the sense of being one with nature and the scheme of things that comes to Matthiessen permeated me too. I regretted his return to civilization at the end of the expedition as much as Matthiessen.

The book is semi-autobiographical with many references to his children and deceased wife. There are several allusions to Buddhism, its history and practice which demands reflective reading. To me the book  is definitely among the ones that have touched an inner chord. I guess I’ll return to it again and again. 

Most recommended.

 

My favourite ebook sites

I do not endorse ebook piracy. But all said and done, there are several sites where you could obtain free ebooks, sometimes even of recent releases. It did not surprise me to find an e-copy of Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” on the net, the day it was published.

Listed below are my favourite ebook sites:

 www.scribd.com
The ultimate free ebook website. All you need is to search for the author/ title and presto… you have it. Well, not  that easily.  But it is definitely a treasure house for ebooks.

www.4shared.com
Similar to scribd. Here is your chance to exercise your search skills. The results could surprise you.

www.truly-free.org
My personal favourite. A literature buff’s closely guarded site. I do not reveal it to many.  Here you would find literary gems that are not available anywhere else on the net. A jewel in the crown.

 The best ebook search engine I have come across: www.justfreebooks.info/

I also search www.esnips.com and www.ebookee.com for ebooks. These offer links to rapidlibrary or megaupload from where you can download the ebooks.

Insatiable bibliomaniacs, please check this link for an excellent listing of 20 best free ebook web sites.

The Double – José Saramago

Just finished reading The Double by José Saramago. It was my introduction to this Nobel Prize winning author.

The story revolves around Tertuliano Maximo Afonso, a reclusive history teacher suddenly confronted by his double. Afonso encounters his duplicate in a video recommended by his colleague. He chases him down despite a sinister foreboding about the consequences. Tragic events unfold, impelled by fate, once they meet.

It is said that every person has a double somewhere in the world. But we rarely ever come face to face with them in real life. In the story, destiny has located Afonso’s doppelgänger in the very same city. Saramago asserts the we can never tolerate the existence of a double once we realize their existence.

The narrative style is smooth although a single line can run into a whole paragraph punctuated by commas. Conversations frequently go back and forth spanning pages, the characters and speech discernible only by the uppercase and context. Occasionally the author appears in the guise of a narrator and inserts curious expositive passages bordering on the frivolous.

Saramago managed to capture my imagination. His facility for storytelling is remarkable. To me the plot is only marginally interesting. The anecdotes, the perspicacious insights, the style of narrative, the subtle humour and the almost poetic usage of words are what really endeared me to José Saramago. I do not have most of his works. I’m itching to lay my hands on “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ” next.

Click here for an interesting review of the book.

Physical Pleasures!!!

Oh, No.. Don’t get me wrong. Recently, I rediscovered the pleasures of physics, or in general, the pleasures of science. During school and college days, I was intimidated by science, probably due to the utterly uninspiring and atrocious way it was taught. That fear persisted even while I pursued my engineering degree. And it was sheer chance which reintroduced me to the world of science.

I was, as usual, leafing through travelogues and novels in the bookshop, when I wandered into the science section and picked up ”The Mind of God” by Paul Davies. I went through the preface and index and flipped at random through a few pages. The book looked interesting and I bought it. Upon reading it, I found that it was written in simple layman’s terms and it had no scary equations to grapple with. It provided perspectives and insights into astronomy I had never imagined. Astronomy had fascinated me during school days. I had spent many nights identifying constellations lying on my back on the terrace looking up a sky map by torchlight. ”Black Holes in Space” by Patrick More I had read during my college days was an excellent introduction to those celestial enigmas like black holes, quasars, pulsars and neutrino stars.

Now that my interest in astronomy was rekindled, I went ahead and gathered similar popular science titles. Although I haven’t read all of them, I’m sure the books I have listed below would provide a good introduction to everyone interested in astronomy, genetics, evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology, philosophy and history, some of the subjects I have found the most enchanting and intriguing. I cannot claim beyond a superficial understanding of these subjects, but the questions that they try to answer and some of the bewildering insights they provide have helped to render me a new perspective and respect for life.

My top choices are:

The Mind of God – Paul Davies
Black Holes in Space – Patrick Moore
A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawkins
Surely, You’re Joking Mr.Feynman – Richard Feynman
Meaning of It All – Richard Feynman
Genome – Matt Ridley
Red Queen – Matt Ridley
Guns, Germs and Steel – Jared Diamond
The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee – Jared Diamond
Collapse – Jared Diamond
The Selfish Gene – Richard Dawkins
The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins
The Blind Watchmaker- Richard Dawkins
The Ancestor’s Tale – Richard Dawkins
Darwin’s Dangerous Idea – Daniel Dennett
How The Mind Works – Stephen Pinker
The Blank Slate – Stephen Pinker
The Naked Ape – Desmond Morris
Chaos – James Gleick
The Fabric of Cosmos – Brian Greene
The Elegant Universe – Brian Greene
E=mc2 – David Bodanis
Electric Universe – David Bodanis
The Secret House – David Bodanis
Quirkology – Richard Wiseman
What is History – E H Carr
The Mating Mind – Geoffrey Miller

Madhavikutty

Recently, on my annual visit to Kerala I chanced upon the poetry collection “Only the Soul Knows How To Sing” by Kamala Das, better known to Keralites as Madhavikutty.

Only The Soul Knows How To Sing

I seldom read poetry, but I had come across some of her poems in an anthology during my college days and had been fascinated by them. The wordplay and rich imagery are captivating, the ideas conveyed, to me, are of loneliness and longing.

I eagerly brought this one and began it right away. Although by nature I am not very reflective, this collection drawn from her vast repertoire evoked a range of emotions from philosophical reflection to sadness, particularly since she passed away this year. Sometimes poetry expresses in a line, a thousand thoughts. The puerile controversies she was often mired in notwithstanding, she stands vindicated in her work. I feel humble.

Bibliophiliac

I’m addicted to books. I buy books, I download e-books, I occasionally borrow books (and return them of course), I have filched one or two from my college library (mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa) which I regret now, but I seldom read them. There are countless books on the shelf that I look on with remorse and fondness. Sometimes, I take an unwholesome pride in showing them off, as if having those titles on my bookshelf is proof of my intellectual superiority. But if anyone asks an opinion on a book all I can ever come up is “Hmm, yes it’s a good book” or “Oh, that’s a lousy one”. Don’t ask me the reasons.

But, all said and done, I would like to read them all some day. Only that, that some day never comes. Of course there are some books which I’m almost afraid to pick to read knowing that the endings are sad; there are many which I’ve begun, lost interest and kept back.

Is there are right way to read? I have a book “How to read a book”. I barely managed to read it and forgot it’s message the instant I returned it to the shelf. Nowadays, I read mostly travel books. Paul Theroux, Colin Thubron, Eric Newby, Michael Palin, Bruce Chatwin and a few others. Bruce Chatwin and Colin Thubron are empathetic, Michael Palin and Eric Newby are endearing, gentle. Paul Theroux’s observations are laced with sardonic malice, I feel sometimes, but his books are fun to read. A sinner is much more interesting than a saint.

The book I’m reading now is Colin Thubron’s “In Siberia”. In it, Siberia  retains its mysteriousness. The brutal history of the land and it’s people is gradually unfolded as he travels across this snowbound domain. One meets vagabonds, a Rasputin lookalike, orthodox Russians, fledgling Buddhists, the ice princess, the horrors of gulag, wanton exploitation of the land, poverty, hopelessness and tragedy. Even though I’m sitting in the quiet comfort of my drawing room, I travel the trains with him, walk lonely streets, pick through the rubble of defunct mines or gaze across the waters of Lake Baikal.

Sometimes I’m accused of reading without reflecting and I know that I’m guilty of that oftentimes. Still, I believe that reading has changed me in many ways for the better. And I thank providence for giving me this gift even though I do not use it well.