Chinaman (by Shehan Karunatilaka) - a review

Title: Chinaman

Author: Shehan Karunatilaka
Country: Sri Lanka
Publisher/Year:
Genre: Literary fiction

Been a hectic month. Read a lot of books, but my new job hasn't given me time to review any. Still, here's a small start on that immense backlog.

In this part of the world (South Asia), there has always been one sport that has ruled the hearts and minds of the masses - cricket. For those of you who know nothing about, I won't try to explain it to you. It's too complex to easily convey, and this post is meant to be about a book.

While Chinaman is rooted in cricket lore, real and fictional, it is in effect the tale of one man's search for truth, answers and ultimately meaning. Where the protagonist sets out to find out more about his nation's greatest cricketer, he ends up uncovering dark secrets, the delight of small things, and himself.

The book is charming and well written. It's easy to find yourself wrapped up in the tale, even if you don't understand cricket. The setting is captured delightfully as the protagonist traverses Sri Lanka in a quest to find answers and his idol. It's a great book, and one I recommend for a relaxed read.

The Forgotten Garden (by Kate Morton) - A review

The Forgotten Garden

Location: Australia

Author: Kate Morton

Publisher/Year: Allen & Unwin/2008

Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery

This month's Book of the Month, The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, is an interesting tribute to Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden while serving as an intriguing mystery and personal history on its own.

The plot, as given by Wikipedia:

At Nell's joyous 21st birthday party her world falls apart when her father tells her she was adopted as a 4-year-old in 1913, seemingly abandoned on an Australian wharf and unable to remember her name. The knowledge shatters her self-image and changes the course of her life.

In 1975, the only surviving clues to Nell's past are given to her after her father's death; the memories they trigger lead her to travel to England to unravel the puzzle, part of which is connected to the author of a rare fairytale book in her possession. She discovers her true identity despite having been thought dead for more than 60 years, and finds her way to Tregenna, and Blackhurst Manor, on the coast of Cornwall.

However, her plans to complete the quest are interrupted when her granddaughter Cassandra comes to stay "temporarily," a stay that becomes permanent. In the end it is Cassandra, haunted by her own griefs, who in 2005 follows in Nell's footsteps to finish the journey of discovery and fit together all the missing pieces.

It's a remarkable tale, with Nell and Cassandra's stories and personalities coming through wonderfully. The novel is skilfully written and quite engaging. It's very easy to get sucked into the story, though there are phases when it feels a bit like a chore. Get through those, though, and it's easy to keep going. I loved The Secret Garden  as a kid, and the homage to that was something I enjoyed about this book. The locales in Australia and England are well detailed, though I'd love something I could immerse myself in a bit more.

This book has been well appreciated by critics and readers alike, and it's not hard to see why. Not perfect, but it's quite engaging and something I'd suggest reading.

The Mountain Wreath (by Petar II Petrović-Njegoš) - A review

The Mountain Wreath

Location: Montenegro
Author: Petar II Petrović-Njegoš
Year: 1847
Genre: Drama in verse

For the second instalment of my Banned Books Week reading list, I am reviewing The Mountain Wreath by Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (henceforth referred to as Petar because I don't want to keep copy-pasting that family name forever). This is a fairly intense oeuvre, writing an epic in verse in the form of a play, combining three major literary modes. Old Petar did not half-arse anything, clearly.

Petar, as you might have made out from the name, was royalty. Prince-Bishop of Montenegro, in fact. And this particular epic focuses on the attempts of his ancestor Metropolitan Danilo I Petrović-Njegoš (oh, for crying out loud!) to bring peace to the region's warring tribes, written in the form of fictitious episodes that provided a picture of the wider setting in addition to relating their own smaller tales. As you can imagine, this came with some bias and fairly strong political views embedded in the tale, with various historians and politicians looking to appropriate aspects of the epic for their own purposes. With more than a bit of Islamophobia and scope for other contentious views, some have even linked this work to ethnic cleansing and tyrannicide. Needless to say, this is a controversial work, but not one without great literary merit. There is no shying away from either aspect, really.

It's hard to summarise the actual work, so I'll rely on a small extract from Wikipedia's bare minimum description of the theme:

Starting as a poetic vision it develops into a political-historical drama that expands into a wreath of epic depictions of Montenegrin life, including feasts, gatherings, customs, beliefs, and the struggle to survive the Ottoman oppression. With a strong philosophical basis in its 2819 verses The Mountain Wreath depicts three distinct, opposing civilizations: the heroic-patriarchal classic Montenegro, the oriental-Islamic Ottoman Empire and the west-European Venetian civilization.
The poem is constructed around a single, allegedly historical event, that took place on a particular Christmas Day in the early 1700s, during Metropolitan Danilo's rule: the mass execution of Montenegrins who had converted to Islam, known as "The Inquisition of the Turkicized" (Истрага Потурица or Istraga Poturica).

It is a massive work, and a lot to get through. The detail and skill with which the epic was written paint a vivid picture of life in that time and place, and it seems likely that the setting reflected Petar's time as much as it did Danilo's. It is a magnificent work, and on literary merit alone it is truly one of the great epics. However, there is much that is problematic with the politics of the piece. In truth, it is written with the perspective of that period, and one has to admit that Petar brought more balance to the manner in which it was portrayed than most of that time would have accepted personally (including Petar, to be honest). This is possibly why people of various political ideologies have attempted to utilise this work in their own campaigns, but at the end of the day there is much in here that should not influence modern thought in a world we'd all like to believe has progressed since 1847. Alas, this is not the case, and the hateful ones are more than okay with continuing to take the wrong lessons from such works.

Overall, I'd say this is worth a read. It is problematic in its ideological basis, but it is a grand work and deserves to be read for literary merit alone. Beyond that, it's also worth reading to get a better understanding of the beliefs, and to have a healthy debate about what's involved.

One Day of Life (by Manlio Argueta) - A review (Banned Books Week)

One Day of Life

Location: El Salvador
Author: Manlio Argueta
Publisher/Year: Vintage Books/1983 (original in Spanish in 1980)
Genre: Drama

In USA, the week of 21st to 27th September, 2014, was 'celebrated' as Banned Books Week 2014. Of course, the list of books there is essentially limited to books currently banned within that country. Somewhat restrictive for a global reading challenge such as this one. So as part of this challenge I decided to read some banned books from around the world in September, irrespective of where or when they were banned. Most of these are still off limits in certain countries, and with these posts I join the multitude protesting against such censorship.

For the first of my banned books reading list, I picked up Manlio Argueta's One Day of Life, a book banned in El Salvador immediately after its release in 1980 as it described various human rights violations by the country's paramilitary intelligence organisation. The book itself has raised much praise over the years, but remains in the bad books (no pun intended) of pro-government entities in El Salvador.

The plot, as given by Wikipedia:

Guadalupe "Lupe" Guardado is a middle-aged Salvadoran woman who lives near Chalatenango, El Salvador. During the day she is required to do what she can to support her family, while her husband works for a wealthy landowner. Her husband José has become involved in rebellion against the economic conditions and became a leader in the Christian farmers organization. Fearing persecution for his opposition, José regularly stays "in the hills" after work and sees his family little. The Guardado's son Justino was killed by the "authorities" prior to the events in the novel, and their son-in-law Helio has "disappeared." Guadalupe's granddaughter Adolfina relays the protest at a cathedral, as well as a massacre of students on a bus. At the end of the novel, the authorities bring a beaten man to Guadalupe and Adolfina who had said the name "Adolfina" after being severely beaten. Adolfina does not recognize the man, but Guadalupe recognizes her husband José. On his previous advice, she denies knowing him, and he is taken away.

It is a powerful novel, capturing both the everyday aspects of family life and the wider context of political turmoil and persecution with a rare combination of simplicity and intricate detail. It lacks some of the flair of various other Latin American novels, but what it lacks in style it certainly makes up for in substance. This is a troubling tale, and one that should grip the reader with a harrowing tale of a family's troubles.

The political and historical settings of this novel are essential, and Argueta does a tremendous job of bringing these to life. Everything in the novel feels very genuine, mostly because the geographical and political settings were utterly real, and the reader does get transported into this other realm to some extent. Again, this is not the most skilled novel around, but it is effective. It does what it sets out to do, and tells a harrowing tale while setting up the environment perfectly.

It is a shame that a book like this was banned, and I hope that others among you read it if you can get your hands on a copy. 

Cronopios & Famas (by Julio Cortazar) - A review

Cronopios & Famas

Country: Argentina
Author: Julio Cortazar
Publisher/Year: New Directions/1999 (Original in 1962)
Genre: Literary fiction

This is a rather strange collection of stories and seemingly meaningless pieces, but in many ways this one work is characteristic of Julio Cortazar's body of work. Divided into four 'chapters,' Cortazar explores a whole world through his unique brand of magical realism.

The first section of the book, titled 'Instruction Manual,' offers bizarre and and often unlikely instructions on a wide range of topics. The second chapter, 'Unusual Occupations,' uses numerous characters of seeming unoriginality and ends up using them in remarkable ways. The third, 'Unstable Stuff,' features more vignettes of events and people, building a vivid picture of everyday life. The final chapter has the same name as the book itself, dealing with Cortazar's own creations, cronopios (naive, idealistic, disorganised, sensitive beings), famas (literally, 'fames') and esperanzas ('hopes').

I'm not diving into the content of the book itself, since the defining quality of the book is Cortazar's storytelling. His style is fluid and beautiful, and draws the readers in wonderfully. Not the most substantial tales, perhaps, but for those who love stylish and poetic prose with a combination of surrealism and magical realism, this is definitely worth a read. The setting is technically Argentina, but in reality these tales could take place anywhere and everywhere. Indeed, were it not known that the book is Argentine, there's little to give any firm idea of a setting for the book!

Night Train to Lisbon (by Pascal Mercier) - A review

Night Train to Lisbon

Country: Portugal (sort of)

Author: Pascal Mercier

Publisher/Year: Grove Press/2007 (First published 2004)

Genre: Literary fiction

It seems the actual theme for the month of August never went up, so I'm hastily putting together reviews for various books I did read over the course of the month, starting with Night Train to Lisbon.

The synopsis, as given by Goodreads, is as follows:

Raimund Gregorius is a Latin teacher at a Swiss college who one day—after a chance encounter with a mysterious Portuguese woman—abandons his old life to start a new one. He takes the night train to Lisbon and carries with him a book by Amadeu de Prado, a (fictional) Portuguese doctor and essayist whose writings explore the ideas of loneliness, mortality, death, friendship, love, and loyalty. Gregorius becomes obsessed by what he reads and restlessly struggles to comprehend the life of the author. His investigations lead him all over the city of Lisbon, as he speaks to those who were entangled in Prado’s life. Gradually, the picture of an extraordinary man emerges—a doctor and poet who rebelled against Salazar’s dictatorship.

While this is not an uninteresting plot, the strength of the book lies in the writing. At the end of the day the book essentially serves as the reflections of one man, and this makes his internal narrative crucial. Mercier delivers on this front with a beautifully written, introspective look at what truly matters. The philosophical tone is crucial to what makes this book work, really.

It's not the most eventful book, and apart from the protagonist nobody else really gets fleshed out. So I have seen as many negative reviews online as I have seen positive ones, this being a book that could potentially bore people. On the location front, it should be noted that this book does not start out in Lisbon, and a good chunk of it takes place on a train, but every now and then (and more so towards the end) the historical setting of Portugal in that era shines through.

If you're okay with reading this for the lovely writing style and introspective nature, I recommend going for it. It's not quite Calvino, but I can occasionally see enough Calvino in the writing to keep my biased self going all the way through.

[Sorry, all my reviews for the August books will be like this.]

Strays of Rio (by Edith Parzefall) - A review

Strays of Rio

Author: Edith Parzefall
Country: Brazil
Published: 2012
Genre: Thriller

Damn, it's been a busy, busy month! Completely forgot about this until today. As such, I hope you'll forgive my reliance on shortcuts and a teeny tiny review.

It's one of those times where I must cheat a bit and copy the plot from Goodreads:

Lisa Kerry witnesses a private death squad attack street kids close to her bookstore. When the police take no action, she vows to purge Rio of the ruthless killers. To keep him out of the line of fire, she must quell her affection for the one man cut out to exorcise the demons of her past. Drawing strength and rage from the abuse she suffered as a young girl in a juvenile detention center, Lisa closes in on her marks.
Unable to get to the rich and powerful leader of the recreational killers, she enlists the older brother of one of her street urchin friends—a drug lord. Lisa's pursuit of justice spirals into a violent struggle to survive, for herself, her young charges, and the man she loves.

Based on the plot, to be honest, I was not so impressed. These kinds of tales are a dime a dozen nowadays, and an ebook that is largely self-published does not inspire confidence. But the book manages to surprise. The writing style is a bit rough around the edges at times, but on the whole the book does a good job of building a solid narrative. The protagonist is clearly defined as a character, and the supporting cast also gets chances to shine.

Where the book really shines through is in its ability to capture the nature of a crime novel in Rio. I'm a bit of a Brasilophile myself, so I can say with some certainty that it is very hard to get the feel of what Brazil truly is, the light and the dark and everything in between. But Parzefall gets this right better than I would have expected, in no small part due to the fact that she has apparently spent a not insignificant amount of time in the country. And this is where the book starts to differentiate itself from the run of the mill airport thriller.

Is the book a must read? Honestly, probably not. It shows potential but also falls short at times. But it's certainly an engaging and interesting read, and worth checking out.

Sorry for the ridiculously short review. Like I said, busy time. 3 months ago I was at 27 books/reviews for the challenge, right on track for my target. With a book a month since I am now at 30 with 5 months to go. That means 10 a month for the rest of the year. I can still do it if I have more months like February and April, but it will be tricky. Well, here's to the next 50 books!

[Note: This is my second Brazil book, making it the first country that got repeated thanks to the Book of the Month stuff. Still, I made it this far without a country repeat, so I'm glad!]

Palace Walk (by Naguib Mahfouz) - A review

Palace Walk

Location: Egypt
Author: Naguib Mahfouz
Publisher/Year: Anchor Press (English Translation)/1956 (1990 in English)
Genre: Literary fiction
Theme: The tale of a family led by a tyrannical patriarch, set during a tumultuous period in Egyptian history

Hey. Sorry about this, but it looks like this will be another one of those 'one lazy review' months, thanks to way too much work and also having been ill for most of the month. Still, here's a quick review of a renowned classic that I had never really read before. Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz's Palace Walk is the first part of his 'Cairo Trilogy,' a look at the life of a Cairene family set in the period after the First World War. The series itself is considered one of the defining works of 20th century Arab literature, making it a long overdue read for me.

This first book introduces us to the family at the heart of the series, led by tyrannical patriarch al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who demands complete obedience from his wife Amina, his sons, Yasin, Fahmy and Kamal, and his daughters Khadija and Aisha. Despite his focus on certain traditional values and devotion from his family, al-Sayyid Ahmad himself flouts many of the rules he would insist on from others, engaging in various forbidden pleasures (including affairs with other women). Over the course of the book, the family is affected by a number of incidents, chief among them Yasin's marriage to a woman who subsequently cheats on him, Yasin's own secret adoption of his father's less 'proper' habits, and Amina's injury during an accident and her husband's subsequent decision to banish her for having gone out in his absence. The central event, in a way, is Aisha's wedding, where various plot points converge and several revelations are made.

The book is set in 1919, the year the First World War came to an end, and as such the Armistice plays a key role. Post-war tensions lead to political unrest and the rise of a nationalist movement, which Fahmy gets drawn into in opposition to the British occupation, while the rest of the family lives mostly in fear. The placement of a British camp right outside the family's residence complicates issues as well, the juxtaposition of conflicting tensions playing out in an interesting manner.

Not sure exactly what to say about this book. It is terribly interesting as a look at this family, this set of contrasting old and modern cultures and belief sets. The characters are well defined and engaging, with the hypocritical patriarch in particular being shown in his various shades. The writing style is engaging, and 'personal.'

The setting is brought out in a glorious manner, both for Cairo and the time period. Mahfouz masterfully captures a city caught between old and new, East and West, war and peace... If this novel has any failings, it is certainly not in its ability to describe the setting.

I'm not sure why it took me so long to read this book, but boy, am I glad I did! I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy, and definitely feel this book is worth a read.

[Sorry again about the lazy review. Next month won't be much better, but August should be a bit of a bumper crop to compensate!]

The Hypnotist (by Lars Kepler) - A review

The Hypnotist

Location: Sweden
Author: Lars Kepler
Publisher/Year: Sarah Crichton Books/2011 (in Swedish in 2009)
Genre: Crime
Synopsis: When a key witness to a brutal crime finds himself unable to remember the details of the incident, a detective partners with a hypnotist to break through and find the perpetrator

With the worldwide success of Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, much interest has been raised in the domain of Scandinavian crime literature. One supposed must read in this category is The Hypnotist, the first of the Joona Linna series from Lars Kepler (in actuality the couple Alexander and Alexandra Ahndoril). Despite my interest in this domain, I have consistently missed out on this series. Nevertheless, better late than never, so I gave it a go in my otherwise busy month of May!

Given my lack of time for this review and overall, I'll fall back on one of my old lazy tricks and give you the Goodreads synopsis:

In the frigid clime of Tumba, Sweden, a gruesome triple homicide attracts the interest of Detective Inspector Joona Linna, who demands to investigate the murders. The killer is still at large, and there’s only one surviving witness—the boy whose family was killed before his eyes. Whoever committed the crimes wanted this boy to die: he’s suffered more than one hundred knife wounds and lapsed into a state of shock. Desperate for information, Linna sees only one option: hypnotism. He enlists Dr. Erik Maria Bark to mesmerize the boy, hoping to discover the killer through his eyes.

It’s the sort of work that Bark has sworn he would never do again—ethically dubious and psychically scarring. When he breaks his promise and hypnotizes the victim, a long and terrifying chain of events begins to unfurl.

While this story maintains the realistic setting and fast pace of many of the better known Scandinavian crime thrillers, it is immediately apparent this is not quite as 'gritty' and 'real' as, say, a book from Stieg Larsson or Gunnar Staalesen. There is an unusual element coming into play throughout, whether it be the involvement of the hypnotist or the characters themselves. Detective Inspector Joona Linna is not your typical quiet genius detective as seen in such tale, but a protagonist happy to point out his brilliance. Bark, on the other hand, is clearly a bit unnerved by some aspects of the situation and how they pertain to his life, but maintains a steady, determine approach. The interaction between characters is interesting, and helps make the tale work.

It is a good work, perhaps less gripping than I anticipated but clearly still a winner. I wish I were in a position to tell you more, but for now all I can say is that it definitely seems worth a shot for those into the genre.

Memories of My Melancholy Whores (by Gabriel Garcia Marquez) - A review

Memories of My Melancholy Whores

Location: Bolivia

Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Publisher/Year: Alfred A. Knopf/2005 (In Spanish, Editorial Norma/2004)

Genre: Realistic fiction

Theme: An old journalist, who has just celebrated his 90th birthday, seeks sex with a young prostitute, who is selling her virginity to help her family. Instead of sex, he discovers love for the first time in his life. [Source: Wikipedia]

There isn't really much to say about this novella. Given how short it is, anything beyond the theme outlined above seems like it might reveal too much. Why did I choose it, then? Well, this is also in part a tribute to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, one of the greatest writers of all time, who passed away less than a fortnight ago. Alas, his most famous works I have already read, and wanted to read something I had skipped over a while back. This book fit the bill.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a legend in the world of literature. In many ways, he elevated Latin American literature and the art of 'magical realism' to entirely different levels, and brought them to the outside world. A Nobel Prize winner in 1982, he is largely remembered for his seminal works, notably One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera, but has a far greater body of work beyond these epics. He was a keen student of writing/literature in addition to being one of its finest exponents, and experimented with various styles. I mentioned in a previous post how Juan Rulfo's Pedro Paramo served as a major influence on Marquez and others, and Marquez built on the solid foundation laid by Rulfo and others to craft a style that will endure and inspire many for years. In addition, he also produced different types of works, novellas to go with his mammoth novels. The one profiled here is the last of his novellas.

In many ways, this is not classic Marquez. Granted, there is an immediate impact from the beginning, with understated elegance that does not take away from the power. That is very much Marquez. But where some of his other works build up, this launches directly into the thick of it (understandable, for a novella). Where his prose often tends to be elaborate and artistic, this time there's an all too real bluntness to it that serves its more contemporary and real setting well. And in a rare move, this novella relies on a first person narrative from a protagonist who is not particularly likeable (though he does find a cause and a way to become a better person eventually). It is hardly the finest work from Gabriel Garcia Marquez's immense bibliography, but it is certainly a good one nonetheless. It's a tale that perfectly captures the essence of a lecherous old protagonist and the circumstances that shape his changes. The simplicity of the storytelling belies an intrinsic complexity of the sort that comes with real life, and this does well to deal with that. The setting, admittedly, is not captured much. Indeed, there were times when I was unsure whether this was La Paz, Bolivia or the smaller town of La Paz in the author's native Colombia. In the end I let Google suggest it to be Bolivia rather than re-read the book. But there is still a personal touch in terms of what matters to the protagonist.

It's a good book, for sure. Read it, whether or not you are well-versed with Marquez's work. But the focus of this post is not the book itself, as much as the man who wrote it.

RIP Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1927-2014)

Rubicon (by Mark Long, Christopher McQuarrie, Dan Capel, Rebecca Taylor, Mario Stilla) - A review

Rubicon

Location: Afghanistan
Creators: Mark Long, Christopher, McQuarrie, Dan Capel, Rebecca Taylor, Mario Stilla
Publisher/Year: Archaia/2013
Genre: Adventure (War)
Theme: A retelling of Seven Samurai in the form of a tale about a Navy SEAL team defending an Afghan village from Taliban insurgents

Seven Samurai, Akira Kurosawa's classic film about a ragtag group of warriors who come together to defend a village from a group of bandits, has been adapted in numerous countries and in many forms, most notably in the form of western The Magnificent Seven. This graphic novel attempts to take the tried and tested story and adapt it to the tale of a Navy SEAL team in Afghanistan, defending a small village from Taliban insurgents attempting to take the village's opium produce.

The story itself is pretty standard, and chances are you've all watched one version of it or another at some point. What matters is how well it's adapted. The parallels are pretty obvious, making it a fairly smooth adaptation for the Afghan setting with straight swaps. The Navy SEALs largely embody the Samurai character archetypes seen in the original, while remaining fairly accurate about how SEAL teams accurate (or so I assume, given that one of the people involved, Dan Capel, was a SEAL Team Six founder). The villagers remain similar, worried about the threat facing them while also apprehensive about the danger these new 'defenders' would attract. The bandits are replaced by the Taliban (who for some reason seem to be cosplaying as Mongols).

It's an effective swap that works well, but therein lies the main problem with this book - it tries too much to adapt the storyline to a new setting without truly giving it any originality. Even subplots that don't add anything to this particular story get adapted, leading to a general sense that it's point for point substitution without any true substance. This is a downright shame, as the elements are clearly there. It's just that they have not extended the bare minimum in an original direction to make the most of the tale. The characterisation is decent, but it never strives to go beyond bare archetypes common in such stories, where most such adaptations use minor modifications to add some specific depth.

The setting is well captured in Mario Stilla's art, as are the local people (with the aforementioned exception of the oddly dressed Taliban fighters). The writing features inputs from enough people with military experience that this comes through in a realistic manner, while McQuarrie's screenwriting experience (he won an Oscar for The Usual Suspects) helps plot the tale in a manner that suggests it would work well on the screen (indeed, a TV prequel was commissioned).

On the whole, it's a solid piece of work that is well put together and is a natural adaptation. My main complaint is that it comes off slightly bland and unoriginal, which is a bit disappointing considering it has all the elements to be a good tale and a strong team working on it.

The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years (by Chingiz Aitmatov) - A review

The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years

Location: Kazakhstan
Author: Chingiz Aitmatov
Publisher/Year: Indiana University Press/1983 (Novy Mir/1980 in Russian)
Genre: Sci-fi
Theme: The story of a man burying a dear friend, juxtaposed with a tale of cosmonauts/astronauts experiencing first contact with extraterrestrials

Not very well known outside the former Soviet Union, this novel by Kyrgyz author Chingiz Aitmatov is a fascinating (if occasionally bizarre) work. Calling it 'science fiction' alone does not do it justice, as that relates solely to a barely linked subplot, while the primary narrative is a retelling of the protagonist's life and the events and people surrounding him.

The primary plot revolves around railman Burranyi Yedigei as he goes to bury his late friend, Kazangap, in a particular cemetery. As he treks in that direction, he recounts his life growing up in the Sary-Ozek steppes and tales from Kazakh folklore, his brief time as a soldier in World War II and the subsequent phase in which he was working at a railway station with Kazangap and other key characters.

The subplot is launched (literally and figuratively) from a site near the railway station, with a rocket taking off for a joint USA-USSR space station with two cosmonauts/astronauts not long before Yedigei gets the news of Kazangap's death. The two cosmonauts arrive at the space station to replace their predecessors and also to investigate their sudden disappearance, only to find a message from them explaining that they had been contacted by an advanced extraterrestrial civilisation, on a world with no war, no differences, and complete unity under one world government. On relaying this message of a utopian planet making contact with Earth (rather, that one space station), the USA and USSR governments temporarily toss their differences aside... to destroy the satellite and cosmonauts and any chance of letting the world know that it's possible to have a peaceful planet without artificial conflict.

It's an intriguing work, in effect two utterly different tales splitting out from one specific location. The Yedigei plot is a very real look at life in those parts over a long period of time. The characters are interesting and well-defined, with emotions and experiences coming through clearly. The Kazakh setting also plays an important part, coming into its own through Yedigei's trek and his tales of life in the steppes. The space subplot, on the other hand, occasionally wanders into surreal and bizarre territory, but also manages to be a satirical look at how we on Earth operate in terms of how the saga ends. It does not seem to add to the primary narrative in any way, but works as a completely different tale. The writing style, while having the same basis, conveys the two different stories with different undertones, which is certainly quite fascinating.

On the whole, an interesting but occasionally bizarre read, and worth a go if one wants to look at lesser known Soviet literature that has been appreciated.

The Lover (by Marguerite Duras) - A review

The Lover (L'Amant)

Location: Vietnam (Indochina)
Author: Marguerite Duras
Year: 1984
Genre: Romance
Theme: Set in Vietnam under French rule, the tale of a clandestine romance between a teenage girl from a poor French family and an older, wealthy Chinese man.

A brief and powerful semi-autobiographical work, this romance novel set in Saigon centres on a passionate affair between a young French girl from an impoverished and troubled background and an older Chinese man of far greater means. There is not much to be said about the plot itself beyond that, with this book serving as an intriguing look at both the romance and a complex family situation, with the protagonist feeling intense love, hate and pity for her harsh, widowed mother and an elder brother who inspires fear on many occasions, as well as great love for her younger brother.

This novella is fairly simple in its premise, but the incredibly personal approach (Duras herself experienced a similar childhood in Saigon) and powerful, intense style make for a strong tale. The characters are intriguing and well-defined, and the events feel natural. The setting is both important and not essential, as this is a tale that could happen anywhere but is still strongly shaped by the environment it is placed in. Duras' style is fairly stark, not altogether common in French literature, but is still an engaging read.

I will admit this book did not interest me as much as some others, but it is objectively an incredibly powerful work, one that is a must read for those looking at the nouveau roman, the modern French novel. It's a novella, yes, but it's packed full of strong characterisation and events that make for an engaging read.

Death and the Penguin (by Andrey Kurkov) - A review

Death and the Penguin

Location: Ukraine

Author: Andrey Kurkov

Publisher/Year: Vintage/2003 (Originally published in 1996)

Genre: Humour; Crime

Theme: A dark and humorous tale of a post-Soviet writer and his pet penguin as they get drawn into an increasingly dangerous world of crime

By and large, literature in the former Soviet states has struggled since the fall of the USSR, largely disappearing into a realm of relative obscurity. There have been some notable exceptions, though, and Kurkov's absurdist and dark satirical tales are in the forefront of contemporary of post-Soviet novels leading the charge. For some reason, I had often considering getting this Ukrainian novel but never actually got around to it until now. Ah, well, better late than never!

The tale is centred on Viktor, an aspiring writer, and his pet penguin Misha. While dreaming of greater success as a writer in his own right, Viktor pays the bills with a job as an obituary writer for a Kiev newspaper, unaware that it's actually a front for an underworld organisation and his obituaries serve as a hit list of enemies. While this is going on, Viktor also ends up having to take care of Sonya, daughter of his late friend Misha (dubbed Misha-non-penguin), and a nanny by the name of Nina (with whom Viktor shares a physical relationship) also gets integrated into the 'family.' All seems to be proceeding in a 'normal' manner, but without any semblance of life, until everything changes all at once. Misha ends up needing a heart transplant, following which Viktor decides Misha needs to return to Antarctica for a decent life. Meanwhile, Viktor also finds himself on the very hit list he had previously written obituaries for, and has to figure a way out. How the adventure unfolds in a series of strange incidents makes for an intriguing tale, one I leave to you without further spoilers.

This is a delightfully amusing read, a satirical and absurdist look at post-Soviet Ukraine and the very real struggles faced by many people. One suspects Kurkov would be dismayed by how reality continued to get darker and weirder (in a bad way) until it lined up with his own ideas, but there is little doubt that the basis was already in place. The settings and characters capture life in post-Soviet Ukraine, albeit extended ad absurdum, and provide a good idea of what it was like for the characters. The characters themselves, particularly Viktor and Misha, are engaging and interesting. And yes, the penguin is key and a well-defined character in his own right, not just a prop for a cutesy approach. The humorous style makes for an enjoyable read without taking away from the darkness at the heart of the tale, something Kurkov does brilliantly.

Overall, this is a thoroughly enjoyable book, and a definite must read for those looking to get into more contemporary literature coming out of the former Soviet Union.

From the Mouth of the Whale (by Sjón) - A review

From the Mouth of the Whale

Location: Iceland (mostly)

Author: Sjón

Publisher/Year: Telegram/2011 (first published in 2008)

Genre: Historical fiction

Theme: A novel about the wonders and cruelties of a changing world, as experienced by an exilee living alone on an island.

A modern classic, Sjón's work is reminiscent of great works from centuries gone by, a complex narrative set in an Iceland (and partly in Denmark) in the midst of great change. An engrossing tale, it is carried along by beautiful (if at times over-elaborate) language and a central character himself pushed along through intense upheaval in society.

The plot, as summarised at Goodreads: 

The year is 1635. Iceland is a world darkened by superstition, poverty, and cruelty.
Men of science marvel over a unicorn's horn, poor folk worship the Virgin in secret, and both books and men are burnt.
Jonas Palmason, a poet and self-taught healer, has been condemned to exile for heretical conduct, having fallen foul of the local magistrate. Banished to a barren island, Jonas recalls his gift for curing "female maladies," his exorcism of a walking corpse on the remote Snjafjoll coast, the frenzied massacre of innocent Basque whalers at the hands of local villagers, and the deaths of three of his children.

The characterisation of Jonas comes through quite strongly. A complex character, one feels his own conflicts in terms of how he should react to the changing world he lives in, as well as the harsh treatment meted out to him by his own peers and the tragedies that he had to endure. A great deal of this comes from the intense and detailed writing style, which captures every bit of emotion and every stray thought in Jonas' head, and which makes for an immersive and wonderful read.

The setting is depicted wonderfully, in ways crafting an island home for Jonas in a Robinson Crusoe-esque style (but arguably with more depth at times). There's a simultaneous feeling that this could be any place yet that it is also a very specific place, something that appeals to me on a very personal level (my favourite novel, Invisible Cities, uses this characteristic very effectively). This is decidedly an Icelandic novel, and it's easy to see why Sjón is a legend in his own land.

Overall, this book is a definite recommendation, though I do add the caveat that the intense and elaborate writing style may not be for everyone. The author is also a poet, and the inherent poetry in his prose stylings makes for a great deal of beauty but also much complexity.

Metropole (by Ferenc Karinthy) - A review

Metropole

Location: Hungary (sort of)
Author: Ferenc Karinthy
Publisher/Year: Telegram Books/2008 (Original in Hungarian in 1970)
Genre: Science Fiction (Dystopia)
Theme: One day, all of a sudden, a man finds himself unable to understand a word of what people are saying around him. In a society on the cusp of upheaval, he struggles with day to day existence in a strange city without any semblance of comprehension

I love dystopian futures. Okay, I mean that I love stories about dystopian futures. This is a book that has been compared to 1984 and The Trial, and in ways combines aspects of that, with a sense of mystery confusion not unlike that faced by the protagonist in The Trial and the strange, alien, dystopian world of 1984. Basically, I really like it. It may not be as good as those works, but in many ways comes close and it's a shame that this book has largely remained unknown because it was written during a time when Hungary was under the cosh of the Soviet Union and took nearly 40 years to get an English translation.

The tale revolves around Budai, a Hungarian linguist due to attend a conference, who ends up in a strange and unknown city where none of the many, MANY languages he knows seems to be of any use. Whether this is because he's truly in a place with a different language or he experiences a Kafkaesque situation with his world suddenly being altered, one could argue that's open to interpretation. He somehow gets himself to a hotel, but struggles to cope with daily tasks, with only the hotel's lift/elevator operator (whose name he can't be sure about, but whom he mostly calls 'Epepe' or something similar) willing to help him as he sets about trying to make sense of the language and his new world. As his much vaunted knowledge proves to be useless, Budai finds himself relegated to blue collar jobs and becomes part of a proletariat at odds with the government. The revolution comes, the revolution gets crushed easily, but Budai manages to escape, and himself with a possible option that may lead to escape and a chance to return 'home,' wherever that may be.

In all honesty, there is nothing to tell where this is set, but based on my reading it seemed more like a problem with Budai's world changing, so I'm willing to stick with the starting country as the base. And the book and protagonist are Hungarian, anyway! The book itself was written in a Hungary still very much dominated by the Soviet influence, and the tale with its political implications is meant to reflect the Hungarian setting of Karinthy's time. The characters of Budai and Epepe are strongly written, which is made all the more impressive given that the PoV character of Budai is the only one whose language the reader can understand. There is a sensation coming through that language and communication go beyond mere words, as do the all too real settings of the world around oneself.

It's a strong story, one that explores the roots of language, of love beyond language, of class struggles. It's strangely haunting, and the language (while translated in my case) conveys this strongly. I wish I could read it in the original, because I suspect some added starkness would contribute to the haunting, dystopian feel even more.

For those of you who are into dystopian stories, this is a must read, more so given the Soviet-dominated setting it was written in that contributed to a very personal feel to the book.

Arrugas/Wrinkles (by Paco Roca) - A review

Arrugas (Wrinkles)

Location: Spain
Creator: Paco Roca
Format: Graphic Novel
Publisher/Year: Delcourt (French); Astiberri (Spanish)/2007
Genre: Realistic fiction
Theme: A look at the lives of patients with Alzheimer's in an old age home, both current as well as the lives built on their memories of yesteryear

This book is a charming look at the lives of Alzheimer's patients, centred on a venerable old protagonist sent to an old age home for patients by his son, no longer able to bear the strain of dealing with a father whose mental faculties are no longer serving him as well as they should after the onset of Alzheimer's. The emphasis here is on 'charming,' as this could so easily have been a dark and wistful examination of the suffering of Alzheimer's patients. Instead, Paco Roca, in part inspired by a friend's ailing father, chose to look at the lives of a group of patients at the home who compensate for their condition by living life with an almost childlike zest.

The plot is not much more than the theme I outlined, with the protagonist and his new friends at the home making it through day to day life while facing challenges, and occasionally embarking on an adventure of sorts, be it in the real world or in the memories and imagination in their heads. The setting of this story is not truly Spain, to be honest, but in two 'places.' One, the all too real old age home. The other, inside the minds of these patients, who have little left in their heads but old memories. As they live the final years of their lives, real and imaginary, to the fullest, there is a quaint sense of adventure for the readers that does not really take away from a look at the problems faced by the protagonists.

This is a book that would make many of us sad, but in many ways is a celebration of the lives of our parents and grandparents (and elders in general), some of whom do face problems thanks to Alzheimer's. Roca skillfully weaves a narrative and style where the reader engages with characters and feels their joys (as well as their sorrows), and on the whole the work is delightful.

There is not much I can truly say about this book, as it is something worth feeling rather than describing. Read it if you can (it's available in Spanish, and in French as Rides), but if not there's also an animated movie based on it. I haven't watched it, but it seems to be quite faithful to the book based on what little I have seen.

On a different note, this is my 20th book review for this challenge, which puts me at a quarter of the final target. Thanks to my rather hectic January and March I am running a couple of weeks behind, but I am catching up quickly! I'm fairly pleased to note that I have managed 20 books in 20 different countries without any repeats, but I'm fairly certain it's just going to get harder to maintain that level of variety as I go along. Still, fingers crossed for the rest of the challenge!

Cuore (by Edmondo de Amicis) - A Review

Cuore (Heart)

Location: Italy
Author: Edmondo de Amicis
Publisher/Year: Henry Holt and Company/1886 (original in Italian in 1886)
Genre: Children's literature/Politics (?)
Theme: A look at different morals in the form of stories about various children, as read by a nine year old from an upper class background

This is a fairly controversial and historic book, ostensibly a children's book aimed at teaching morals but in effect turning into a reflection of the writer's own political leanings and further down the line got co-opted by the Fascist regime as a means of propaganda about how an ideal citizen should behave. I almost didn't pick this book, but I eventually decided that it's still a fascinating look at Italy during the post-unification years, and perhaps even more so in terms of how it came to be used by the Fascists.

The concept itself is fairly basic, as captured by Wikipedia:

The novel is written in a diary form as told by Enrico Bottini, a 9-year old primary school student in Turin with an upper class background who is surrounded by classmates of working class origin. The entire chronological setting corresponds to the third-grade season. 

Enrico's parents and older sibling interact with him as written in his diary. As well as his teacher who assigns him with homework that deals with several different stories of children throughout the Italian states who should be seen as role models – these stories are then given in the book as Enrico comes upon reading them. Every story revolves around a different moral value, the most prominent of which are helping those in need, having great love and respect for family and friends, and patriotism.

 It's fairly straightforward as a premise on its own. The writing, from what I can make out across the English and Italian versions (my Italian is slightly rusty, alas), is not exactly minimalist in style, but is aimed quite clearly at children, written in the style of many parables. That said, unlike your average moralistic parable, there is clear political subtext at play, with an underlying theme that a good citizen is an unflinching patriot, one who will do anything for their nation without question. This possibly had its roots in de Amicis' leftist views, and was of particular significance after Garibaldi and Vittorio Emanuele II unified the country, with de Amicis of a strong opinion that the unified country needed absolute loyalty to progress. I'm not sure how pleased he would have been to learn that his work would be adopted by Fascists many years later and made mandatory in schools as a way to reinforce the idea that everything must be done in service of the nation (and by 'nation,' I mean Mussolini's Fascist regime).

In its own way, the book paints a picture of Italy as it was right after unification, and the sentiment of many at the time who supported the new nation. It is, however, a distinctly biased book in many ways, and many have since attempted to reinterpret the characters in the book. Each character is distinctly defined to represent a particular moral lesson, and while this obviously makes them fairly simplistic and one-dimensional it also makes them fairly clear to understand. The themes covered in the book, while controversial, may well resonate with many readers, and remain relevant in many ways.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this as a book for the sake of reading as an adult. But it's a good work to read to understand the sentiment of the times, and for an understanding of its place in Italy's history, both in literature and in politics.

Three Sisters (by Bi Feiyu) - A Review

Three Sisters

Location: China

Author: Bi Feiyu

Publisher/Year: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/2010 (in Chinese, 2003)

Genre: Historical fiction

Theme: An exploration of the lives of three sisters and the manner in which they attempt and learn to take control of their lives at the tumultuous time of the Cultural Revolution.

The winner of the 2010 Man Asian Literary Prize, Three Sisters is an intriguing and engaging look at the lives of three sisters (among seven) at a time when China was going through considerable change. It's a good look at a part of China and Chinese history that many think they know but where the actual picture has largely remained unknown, and a well crafted work (judging by some non-critic reviews it's very much a case of 'Your Mileage May Vary,' but I'll get to that later).

The blurb on the book conveys the essential structure of the book quite well:

In a small village in China, the Wang family has produced seven sisters in its quest to have a boy; three of the sisters emerge as the lead characters in this remarkable novel. From the small-town treachery of the village to the slogans of the Cultural Revolution to the harried pace of city life, Bi Feiyu follows the women as they strive to change the course of their destinies and battle against an “infinite ocean of people” in a China that does not truly belong to them. Yumi will use her dignity, Yuxiu her powers of seduction, and Yuyang her ambition—all in an effort to take control of their world, their bodies, and their lives.

The three part structure makes for a good look at the changing face of the China of that time through different perspetives, and provides an interesting setting. The three protagonists (and to some extent other characters) are well defined and come through quite strongly, with the author having developed a reputation for writing the 'female psyche' particularly well. Each character is strong in her own way, but their markedly different approaches take them down different paths. While reading this one starts to engage with the characters, and look at the world through their eyes, effectively developing a strong picture of the country in that particular period.

It is effectively the strong characterisation and setting that carry this novel along, with the writing style being somewhat more polarising. It is a fairly direct style without much flair. One could argue that this enhances a narrative that effectively aims to capture everyday life, but I've also seen plenty who said this made the book unreadable at some stage. Admittedly, I also have no idea if anything was lost in translation. At the end of the day, though, this is a compelling work that deserves the plaudits it has gained, and is a great look at China as it was (and in many parts continues to be).

The Prophet Murders (by Mehmet Murat Somer)

The Prophet Murders

Location: Turkey
Author: Mehmet Murat Somer
Publisher/Year: Serpent's Tail/2008 (In Turkish: İletişim Yayınları/2003)
Genre: Crime; LGBT
Theme: As transvestites around Istanbul continue to fall in a series of bizarre murders, a trans detective/nightclub owner sets out to get to the root of the problem

The first (well, first translated to English) of Mehmet Murat Somer's popular Hop-Çiki-Yaya mystery series, The Prophet Murders is a delightful and engaging read, mixing good crime writing with a whole lot of fun. Hop-Çiki-Yaya, Wikipedia informs me, was a cheerleading chant in Turkey in the 1960s and 1970s that came to be used for gay folks. In writing a series with prominent trans characters and in a way that was more favourable to trans folks than a lot of other works, Somer decided to bring the term back as part of a celebration of LGBT culture and characters.

The plot essentially revolves around an unnamed transvestite nightclub owner and amateur sleuth, who sets out to investigate the murders of two employees and finds herself getting sucked into a larger plot involving transvestite murders fitting themes related to various prophets. It's a race against time as she sets out to get to the root of the murders and prevent more death, while dealing with issues faced by many transvestites.

The concept of the book is fairly simple, but the fun lies in the execution and the characters. Somer imbues the story with a great deal of humour, lightening the mood in just the right way without ever taking away from the tragedies and prejudices faced by characters. The protagonist is well developed, Somer's answer to less than flattering depictions of transvestites in popular culture in the form of a smart, capable amateur detective who is unapologetically herself while also being all too aware of the potential ridiculousness of some aspects of the LGBT community she immerses herself in. She is an amazing character to read, and her development through this book in terms of identity, abilities and relationships with other characters is remarkable. Other characters don't get as much development, but this is understandable in a crime series revolving around a solitary sleuth, and the interactions with various characters remain interesting and delighful.

This is hardly the greatest murder mystery. But it is a fun read all the way through, and touches upon important issues faced by LGBT persons in the background without trivialising them. I for one look forward to reading other books in the series, and I'd strongly recommend this, at the very least for a fun read with an amazing trans detective protagonist (not something one gets to say very often!).