Claude Gueux by Victor Hugo – Book Review

 

Note: I read this novella in French

Cliquez ici afin de lire mon avis en français

Claude Gueux is a novella by Victor Hugo, a story that brings to light the cruelty in France in the 19^th century, and also the absurdity of the death penalty. These are debates that are relevant even today, even though most of Europe has eliminated the death penalty from their statute, a majority of the global population still lives under systems that continue to apply this barbaric practice (like US, China, India, Japan, Indonesia, etc.)

The story starts with the arrest of a poor worker, Claude Gueux, accused of stealing groceries as he was unable to feed his family anymore. However, the rations given to him in the prison was not sufficient for him and he found an inmate named Albin who was willing to share his bread with Claude. A friendship developed between them over time, which did not please the director of the prison. As a result, the director transfers Albin to another prison which impacted Claude a lot, and despite multiple demands from him to the director bring Albin back to his cell, it was rejected by the director, which provoked Claude to do crimes far more serious in nature for which he was eventually sentenced to death.

The bias and the cruelty of the system was shown well by the author, where the system forces people under precarious circumstances to commit small crimes and then, the environment in the prison is so grave that it provokes far more violent crimes. Even the judges were not willing to listen to the words of Claude and how he was provoked whereas the statements of the prosecutor and the police were taken verbatim without much of cross-examination from the judges.

The problem I had with this book was the notes that were provided by the publisher of my pocket edition (Emmanuel Buron). I understand that this is a novel that takes place in the 19^th century and a present day reader needs a bit of context for which the notes could be important. However, on most occasions it was more like a dictionary giving definitions of words which we commonly use in France even today, such as ‘sinistre’ in which case I was not sure if the target audience were Francophones or students of the French language. The important footnotes were sunk in between so many of these definitions that it became difficult for me to focus.

To conclude, I enjoyed this short read, and is a novella that is pertinent even today, given the reforms we need in criminal justice. I award the book a rating of eight on ten.

Rating – 8/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Segu by Maryse Condé – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘The year is 1797, and the kingdom of Segu is flourishing, fed by the wealth of its noblemen and the power of its warriors. The people of Segu, the Bambara, are guided by their griots and priests; their lives are ruled by the elements. But even their soothsayers can only hint at the changes to come, for the battle of the soul of Africa has begun. From the east comes a new religion, Islam, and from the West, the slave trade. Segu follows the life of Dousika Traore, the king’s most trusted advisor, and his four sons, whose fates embody the forces tearing at the fabric of the nation. There is Tiekoro, who renounces his people’s religion and embraces Islam; Siga, who defends tradition, but becomes a merchant; Naba, who is kidnapped by slave traders; and Malobali, who becomes a mercenary and halfhearted Christian.

Based on actual events, Segu transports the reader to a fascinating time in history, capturing the earthy spirituality, religious fervor, and violent nature of a people and a growing nation trying to cope with jihads, national rivalries, racism, amid the vagaries of commerce.’

Note: I read the novel in French

Segu is the first novel of the historical fiction series written by the French writer Maryse Condé. The plot takes place in West Africa (roughly around present day Mali) during the 18^th century, before the arrival of organised religions, that is, Islam and Christianity. The main characters are from the family of a Bambara nobleman close to the king of Segu named Dousika Traoré. The story captures the changes in West Africa during this time, with the arrival or religions, Europeans and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The story starts by introducing Dousika Traoré and his family. His son Tiékoro has adopted Islam and Malobali was lost to slavery and sent across the Atlantic. The story follows several generations of this family and the impact the slave trade has had on them, how they end up getting split across the world and how the adoption of Islam and Christianity has impacted the family, as well. The story features European families (with slaves), the courts of the kings in Africa at that time, and also shows certain social problems like the interethnic tensions between the Fulani and the Bambara. There was also the problem that the society was largely illiterate and the only way to learn to read was to embrace these ‘foreign’ religions.

I have never read a historical novel that takes place in the Sahel region, and in that sense, I learnt a lot of things, including the fact that the arrival of organised religions to this region is fairly recent. The author had also done a good job in showing the complicity of some of the African rulers, who profited from the Transatlantic slave trade with the Europeans, where not even the nobles were spared (if they were, that does not justify the practice either, but in most social injustices, those that are privileged are spared the worst of it).

It is not a novel that is very easy to start given there are several characters, and I often had to look at the family tree given by the author to understand the familial connections – similar to what I had to do for an equally difficult read; One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. It is not an easy book to read either given that there are a lot of violent depictions – including rape, exploitation of slaves and unjust executions.

I found that the character of Tiékoro was most interesting, but again, was difficult to fully concentrate on him as well given how many different characters that were there. However, I understand that given this is the first instalment and you need to set up this base to bring the full story into the picture in the next book.

To conclude, this novel has provided a good start to the series and I wish to read the next one. I award this book a rating of seven on ten.

Rating – 7/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘The United States is the richest country on earth, yet has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. One in seven Americans live below the poverty line, a line which hasn't shifted over the last fifty years, despite the efforts of successive governments. Why is there so much scarcity in this land of dollars?

In Poverty, by America, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond examines American poverty today and the stories we tell ourselves about it. Spanning social isolation, mass incarceration, the housing crisis, domestic violence, crack and opioid epidemics, welfare cuts and more, Desmond argues that poverty does not result from a lack of resources or good policy ideas. We already know how to eliminate it. The hard part is getting more of us to care.

To do so, we need a new story. As things stand, liberals explain poverty through insurmountable structural issues, whereas conservatives highlight personal failings and poor life choices. Both abdicate responsibility, and ignore the reality that the advantages of the rich only come at the expense of the poor. It is time better-paid citizens put themselves back in the narrative, recognizing that the depth and expanse of poverty in any nation reflects our failure to look out for one another. Poverty must ultimately be met by community: all this suffering and want is our doing, and we can undo it.’

Poverty, by America is a book written by the US-based sociology professor Matthew Desmond, explaining the causes and effects of poverty in the US. This book starts by explaining the sheer numbers of poverty, considering US is a country with considerable population and the number of poor in the US is more than the whole populations of certain countries like Australia. The author then explains structural issues, and how certain solutions proposed by the ‘pro-establishment’ - such as a stable marriage, are the kinds that support those who are already in a stable situation.

It is split into nine short chapters and talks about how many people find it difficult to imagine or understand the choices of someone who is poor, even among those who is sympathetic towards the poor and often make callous conclusions as to how they must be poor at ‘budgeting’.

I am not from the US, and even though I have got members of family (immediate and extended) living in the US, I have not been there. However, US has overwhelming influence on the world economy and it is true that the systems that US creates has cascading effects in the rest of the world. However, it must be noted that this book is very US-centric and and the examples that the author cites needs to be extrapolated to your own jurisdiction as circumstances might be very similar.

I am going to digress and refer another book I have read and reviewed in this blog – Poor Economics by Nobel laureates Abhijit V Banerjee and Esther Duflo (click here to read the review of this book) – who explain ‘poverty trap’ and reading this book in conjunction with those concepts did help me to apply to where I live (European Union in general, France in particular).

I would say that this book would be very interesting to Americans, but when he goes into specific policy details of various administrations in the past and how it affected a particular county in a particular state – that is too much detail for an outsider.

Maybe my expectation for the book was a tad misplaced – I expected it to be how the US system (the ultra-capitalist) system creates a lot of poor who cannot escape the poverty trap and are at the same time, this ‘poverty’ created by America is exported to the rest of the world (such as the sweatshops that exist in South and East Asia primarily meant to serve American industrial interests). The talk of rest of the world was very minimal barring how certain systems were better managed in France or the Netherlands.

On the whole, I found it a rather easy read, given I have read a lot on the subject, and I would say it could be a helpful read for most Americans, given how there are a lot of misconceptions around the poor, who live from paycheque to paycheque. I gained some insights on reading this book but given I am a major in economics myself, none of the contents that I read were particular moments of epiphany. Let me know in the comments if you had such moments (assuming you are not someone with a background in economics).

I award the book a rating of six on ten.

Rating – 6/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

So long a letter by Mariama Bâ – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Ramatoulaye Fall, a recently widowed Senegalese teacher, writes a letter to a lifelong friend recounting her struggle for survival after her husband took a second wife.’

Note: The novel is in French, and I read the original in French. Cliquez ici afin de lire mon avis en français

So Long a Letter is a classic from Senegalese literature, written by Mariama Bâ. It is also classified under feminist literature – originating from Africa. The main character is Ramatoulaye, who is in her mourning period after the death of her husband, with whom she had not been living for a long time. She expresses the struggles of her life to her best friend, Aissatou in this ‘long letter’.

Ramatoulaye chose to separate from her husband after he married for a second time, and she rejected polygamy. However, she is in a very conservative Senegalese society, who do not understand why would anyone be angry at their husband for this. Even Aissatou, a divorcée for the same reason, is an outlier in the same society during that era.

Our main character had to go through several difficulties emanating from her separation, having to raise all her 12 children alone. Each of them had different needs and were at different stages of their lives, some very young children and some of them being adults. She expresses all these difficulties and also the changes in Senegalese society through her letter, that she has observed, such as her daughters being increasingly westernised.

There was also a lot of pressure on Ramatoulaye to remarry after the death of her husband, which she had refused. It needs to be taken into account that this novel was written in 1979, and considering their era, both Aissatou and Ramatoulaye took revolutionary steps – thus being considered a feminist novel in Senegal.

As I am not that well versed with Senegalese culture, I felt that there were way too many important characters in such a short novel. It took me some time to get used to the setting – and for example, two important characters, Ramatoulaye’s deceased husband ‘Madou’ and Aissatou’s ex-husband ‘Modow’ have very similar sounding names. While the lack of familiarity with the names is a problem with me, the reader, I do not think it would have been any different even if these names were familiar.

To conclude, I had an occasion to discover a new country through my reading and was also happy to notice that there were such movements started by people like Mariama Bâ, to challenge the ‘traditions’ of her society. I award the novel a rating of seven on ten.

Rating – 7/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Beasts of Burden by Sunaura Taylor – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘How much of what we understand of ourselves as “human” depends on our physical and mental abilities—how we move (or cannot move) in and interact with the world? And how much of our definition of “human” depends on its difference from “animal”?

Drawing on her own experiences as a disabled person, a disability activist, and an animal advocate, author Sunaura Taylor persuades us to think deeply, and sometimes uncomfortably, about what divides the human from the animal, the disabled from the nondisabled—and what it might mean to break down those divisions, to claim the animal and the vulnerable in ourselves, in a process she calls “cripping animal ethics.”

Beasts of Burden suggests that issues of disability and animal justice—which have heretofore primarily been presented in opposition—are in fact deeply entangled. Fusing philosophy, memoir, science, and the radical truths these disciplines can bring—whether about factory farming, disability oppression, or our assumptions of human superiority over animals—Taylor draws attention to new worlds of experience and empathy that can open up important avenues of solidarity across species and ability. Beasts of Burden is a wonderfully engaging and elegantly written work, both philosophical and personal, by a brilliant new voice.’

Note: I read the French translation of the book. Cliquez ici afin de lire en français

Beast of Burden is a book written by the American writer and activist Sunaura Taylor, on the subject of ableism, where our society privileges the ones who are ‘able’ and there is the inherent feeling that those who are differently abled have less to add to the society. The author herself, suffers from a specific degenerative disease and is disabled.

In this battle for the rights for the handicapped, she finds the intersectionality with animal rights. She explains how the fight for the two are the same, as how animals too, are viewed by the society as ‘less intelligent’ than the able humans, and thus, have no guilt over mistreating or exploiting them.

It is a well-researched book, with several citations to justify all the arguments that she makes. Given that she is a vegan and also has a disability, there is a personal connection that she has with the subject that she has taken up, which I could feel in her writing. I also found the idea of the two issues being intersectional to be interesting, something that I had never thought of.

Considering that I am a vegan myself, like the author, I have wondered about some of the questions myself, about the conditions of employees in an abattoir – often from some of the most poor and vulnerable conditions in the society. She brings up how there is a vicious cycle, given these abattoirs have several accidents not because of animal behaviour but because of the speed at which the employees have to work, which often does render them handicapped.

Even though this was an interesting premise, and I had not thought about it this way either till I read this book, I am still unsure as to how widely this idea has been thought about and spread across either. This is because I do not see movements either for animal rights or for rights of the disabled seeing this intersectionality on a large scale to this date. Certain parts of the book were difficult to read, given she describes in detail, the suffering that the animals in farms go through and in my opinion, shocking people is not the best method to invoke a change in behaviour. Thus, I am not sure to who the target audience to this book was – I certainly enjoyed it but reaching me is like preaching to the choir.

To conclude, I would say that it was an interesting read, sometimes shocking and I award it a rating of seven on ten.

Rating – 7/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Bonobo Sisterhood by Diane L. Rosenfeld – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Foreword by Ashley Judd “Rosenfeld’s tour-de-force takes the power of female alliances to a higher level, giving us a road map for a new vision of women’s equality through the relationships and bonds we form among one another. The gift of this book is that it gives us hope.”—Valerie Jarrett, New York Times bestselling author of Finding My Voice , and former senior advisor to President Barack Obama The Bonobo Sisterhood is a revolutionary call to action for women and their allies to protect one another from patriarchal violence. Internationally recognized legal expert Diane L. Rosenfeld introduces us to a groundbreaking new model of female solidarity; one that promises to thwart sexual coercion. Urgent, timely, and original, The Bonobo Sisterhood harnesses the power of the #MeToo movement into a road map for sex equality in humans. Our closest evolutionary cousins, the bonobos have a unique social order in which the females protect one another from male aggression. The takeaway? Evolutionarily, bonobos have eliminated sexual coercion and enjoy a more peaceful, cooperative, and playful existence. We have much to learn from them. Rosenfeld explores the implications of the bonobo model for human societies and systems of governance. How did law develop to elude women’s rights so consistently? What difference does it make that we live in a patriarchal democracy? And what do bonobos have to offer as living proof that patriarchy is not inevitable? Most important, how can women break down barriers among themselves to unleash their power as a unified force? Rosenfeld has answers. The Bonobo Sisterhood takes us through real-life stories from the courtroom to the classroom and beyond, charting a new vision of a collective self-defense among women and their allies. It offers an action plan accessible to everyone immediately. This is an open invitation to anyone who wants to challenge the status quo. It starts with the power inherent in each of us knowing that we have selves worth defending, and awakening that power for ourselves and for our sisters. We now have a new model for real change, Rosenfeld reminds us. It’s time to use it. The Bonobo Sisterhood forges a path to create and discover a new meaning of equality, liberty, and justice for all.’

Bonobo Sisterhood is a long essay written by the author Diane Rosenfeld, on building an alliance of women, to protect themselves in the patriarchal set-up that we have today. She takes the example of bonobos, a primate species, very close to human beings found in central African. The author begins with the observation that bonobos are very matriarchal, and are protective of their female species, and often all other female bonobos come in defence of their ‘sister’ if a female bonobo were face an aggression from a male bonobo.

Thus, she makes the argument that the patriarchal setup we have – among humans or chimpanzees that we have is not inevitable among primates and another way is possible. She talks about the need for women to unite and form this ‘bonobo sisterhood’. She talks about real world examples of domestic violence and how these could have been prevented if they had this sisterhood.

This was an easy to read – feel good feminist literature. But to be honest, I felt the book had an interesting premise but is a piece of work with very lazy writing. First, the author assumes that the person the person who is reading the book is a cis-woman. For instance, I am a cis-man, who is sympathetic to the cause, supporting women’s rights and the feminist cause.  

She insists that the movement has to be a ‘woman only movement’. Most social changes – though the movements were led by people who were primarily affected by it – still needs allies from outside the core group, who support the cause because it is the right thing to do. LGBTQ+ rights were not supported just by that community, but even by people from outside, because they felt it was the right thing to do. Same for the ongoing protests for rights of the Palestinians, ethnic minorities in their respective countries, etc.

Moreover, there were aspects that she conveniently ignored several important subjects – such as, what is the position of trans-women in this sisterhood movement of hers? While she certainly spoke against racism, there are still several feminists who are trans-exclusionary (JK Rowling’s name appears very prominently).

And last, humans, though similar, are not bonobos. Even if I assume that the use of bonobos here was a metaphor, I still feel that it would have been far better to have picked up an example of such a society formed by humans, be it by some community in the past, or some community in the present – such as among the peoples who are indigenous to Amazon.

To conclude, I would say that this was an easy read, but again, I do not know whom she was targeting this at exactly, and if it was only to cis-women, in my opinion, that is the wrong approach and that is why, I award this book only a three on ten.

Rating – 3/10

Have a nice day
Andy

The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘He was the brother of “the Arab” killed by the infamous Meursault, the antihero of Camus’s classic novel. Seventy years after that event, Harun, who has lived since childhood in the shadow of his sibling’s memory, refuses to let him remain anonymous: he gives his brother a story and a name—Musa—and describes the events that led to Musa’s casual murder on a dazzlingly sunny beach.

In a bar in Oran, night after night, he ruminates on his solitude, on his broken heart, on his anger with men desperate for a god, and on his disarray when faced with a country that has so disappointed him. A stranger among his own people, he wants to be granted, finally, the right to die.

The Stranger is of course central to Daoud’s story, in which he both endorses and criticizes one of the most famous novels in the world. A worthy complement to its great predecessor, The Meursault Investigation is not only a profound meditation on Arab identity and the disastrous effects of colonialism in Algeria, but also a stunning work of literature in its own right, told in a unique and affecting voice.’

Note: This book is originally written in French and I read the French version. Cliquez ici afin de lire mon avis en français

Albert Camus’ ‘The Stranger’ is a well known novel. The Meursault Investigation is a novel from the Algerian writer and journalist Kamel Daoud, written as a response to Camus’ novel and starts with the phrase ‘Mother is still alive’, the exact opposite of ‘The Stranger’.

Raymond Meursault, the main character of ‘The Stranger’, killed an ‘Arab’ near Algiers, which was a relatively ‘minor detail’ in that novel and this Arab never had a name. Even though Meursault was sentenced to death, it was for a bizarre reason and not for having killed ‘an Arab’. Here, the author has given the dead man a name – Moussa, and his mother is still alive, and the story is narrated by his brother Haroun.

The plot explores the impact this incident has had on the family, especially Haroun where his mother is not ready to accept that her favourite child is dead, and he tries to cope with this trauma by binge drinking in bars around Oran.

I found the idea very interesting. I have often read novels that allude to other famous works but never a case where it is written as a response to an existing novel and give the other side of the story. There is also the fact that in our world where the Western culture is dominant, very often, even the names of the people from other cultures get submerged and I found that it was very powerful from the author to have given the ‘Arab’ a name. Behind every person killed by atrocities of a colonial regime, there was a bereaving family that was profoundly impacted, and the author showed this aspect of the novel very well. I read a bit of the author’s biography and I understand that he wants the stories of Africa and its people to be told by Africans and not by others – which I think is a good initiative.

When I was reading the book, I could find some sympathy for the character of Haroun, where he was desperate for the validation from the society at large or his mother and unfortunately, he had neither. However, the change he adopted in the final third of the novel made me quickly lose that empathy as well. Moreover, I felt the book was dominated by just one person. While I understand that he was the narrator, the conversations between him and his mother could have been more in detail by which I could have understood her as well, better.

To conclude, I enjoyed this read, it was a book in my shelf for a long time and I regret that I did not read it much earlier. I award the book a rating of eight on ten.

Rating – 8/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

The Power of the Powerless by Václav Havel – book review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘The Power of the Powerless (Czech: Moc bezmocných) is an expansive political essay written in October 1978 by the Czech dramatist, political dissident and later politician, Václav Havel. The essay dissects the nature of the communist regime of the time, life within such a regime and how by their very nature such regimes can create dissidents of ordinary citizens. The essay goes on to discuss ideas and possible actions by loose communities of individuals linked by a common cause, such as Charter 77. Officially suppressed, the essay was circulated in samizdat form and translated into multiple languages. It became a manifesto for dissent in Czechoslovakia, Poland and other communist regimes.’

Note: This book is originally written in Czech and I read its French translation. Cliquez ici afin de lire mon avis en français

The Power of the Powerless is an essay written by the former president of the Czech Republic Václav Havel, who was also an activist or civil liberties when Czechoslovakia was under the influence of the Soviet Union.

He starts by describing the present situation in the Eastern bloc, given the essay was written in 1985, before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He starts by explaining how a totalitarian regime operates, and also challenges the common Western perception that these were countries under a classical dictatorship where a person at the top of the system micro manages and takes all the decisions. However, he explains how the system has moved to a ‘post-totalitarian’ regime, where public obedience is automated through the institutions created by the regime. He takes an example that is easy to understand, where his local greengrocer has a signboard that said he supported the regime and shows how deep the tentacles of the system had reached, which forced the greengrocer to explicitly express support to function.

He also spoke of a solution, as to how, little by little, the system could be shaken, for instance, if the greengrocer removes this signs and other people start disobeying some of the automations created by the system – so that they can realise the importance of living with freedom, respect and dignity. He also spoke of the importance of finding a ‘second culture’ for such resistance movements, taking the example of jazz musicians in Poland, who had radical lyrics and had created their own cult of followers, which held create a disobedience movement there. He goes on to say how these small actions of the ‘powerless’ en masse, can bring about tremors in the system.

I felt the author gave a good context before starting the essay, and even though I am no expert of Czech / Slovak politics, I found the book easy to understand. For that, I also have the translator of my edition to thank, who had added notes wherever there were references to Czechoslovak personalities or movements during the 70s and the 80s. Many of the issues he raised are relevant even today, given how populism is making a comeback in Europe and other parts of the world and we need to keep in mind that the freedoms that we have today is not permanent, it would not be long before we fall into another ‘post-totalitarian’ system if we are not careful.

The postface written by Adrian Pabst, a professor of politics in the UK, evoked the same point, even though there were some points of his that I disagreed, wherein he equated the measures taken by various governments to curtail the spread of covid-19 as an example of totalitarian tendencies in present regimes, which is ironically an argument used by actual politicians with totalitarian views such as Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen or Nigel Farage.

I enjoyed my read and I felt his ideas were expressed very well, which does not surprise me given he was a playwright and poet by profession and thus, very good at communication. I also learnt a lot about the political history of the countries I love visiting as a tourist (Czech Republic and Slovakia). The book would be an easy read for anyone who likes following current news related to politics and to conclude, I would say this is a book highly recommended by me. I award the book a rating of eight on ten.

Rating – 8/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Two young people meet at a pub in South East London. Both are Black British, both won scholarships to private schools where they struggled to belong, both are now artists -- he a photographer, she a dancer -- trying to make their mark in a city that by turns celebrates and rejects them. Tentatively, tenderly, they fall in love. But two people who seem destined to be together can still be torn apart by fear and violence.

At once an achingly beautiful love story and a potent insight into race and masculinity, Open Water asks what it means to be a person in a world that sees you only as a Black body, to be vulnerable when you are only respected for strength, to find safety in love, only to lose it. With gorgeous, soulful intensity, Caleb Azumah Nelson has written the most essential British debut of recent years.’

Open Water is the first novel written by Caleb Azumah Nelson, featuring a love story between two young black man and woman in the UK, the former being a photographer and the latter being a dancer. While the man is based in London, the woman is studying in Dublin and only gets to meet the ‘narrator’ occasionally.

The narration is done in an interesting manner – wherein, it is from the second person perspective and every time the narrator (the man) is referred to as ‘you’, it helps the reader to better put oneself in their shoes and imagine their perspectives. While we could read about inherent prejudices against a dark-skinned person in the UK, it was a different experience of oneself being that person, while reading this book.

That said, I also understood that the book is a tad autobiographical, given the author’s own British-Ghanian ancestry, with the narrator being a British man of Ghanian heritage as well. Moreover, the main character lives in Bellingham in South East London, similar to the author himself. Hence, reading the ‘about the author’ before starting the book can be a good idea.

There were also certain themes that were analysed – the intimacy between the two main characters and the doubts they had over the state of their relationship. Also, while there have been several books written about ethnic minorities facing discrimination, here, both the main characters were leading normal lives, while the author touched upon the subtle aspects of struggles of a black person in the UK, including the narrator having a traumatic episode which he does not wish to talk about.

The author adopted a poetic approach and between the two main characters, several of the conversations were interesting. Despite the small size of the novel, I would say this was still a slow read given you had to take your time to absorb all the contents of the book.

That said, this being a novella was an issue as well, given the author superficially touched upon many aspects but could never go deep. We know deeply about ‘you’, the narrator, but again, I would have liked to explore more on what event led to his trauma. The other character who had some level of mention was his partner, but we got to know very little about her as well. Maybe this could have been a longer novel but surely, this was a good start which encourages me to try other works of the author.

On that note, I award the book a rating of seven on ten.

Rating – 7/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Talking to my Daughter by Yanis Varoufakis – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

'Why is there so much inequality?' asked Xenia to her father. Answering her questions in a series of accessible and tender letters, Varoufakis educates her to what economics and capitalism is and why it is so dangerous.

Taking from memories of her childhood and a variety of well-known tales - from Oedipus and Faust to Frankenstein and The Matrix - Varoufakis turns Talking To My Daughter into an enjoyable and engaging read, without ever shying from the harder truths. Greece's former finance minister explains everything you need to know to understand why economics is the most important drama of our times.

In answering his daughter's deceptively simple questions, Varoufakis disentangles our troubling world with remarkable clarity and child-like honesty, as well as inspiring us to make it a better one.’

Talking to my Daughter is a brief history of capitalism written by the former finance minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis. This is presented as him answering question of his teenage daughter currently living in Australia, as to why there is so much inequality in the world, and explains capitalism and economics in a way in which she, and a lot of others without a background in economics could understand.

The author begins this like any other standard economics book talking about how the early societies used barter, and the eventual invention of agriculture which created a need for a medium of exchange and also laws related to land ownership. The author tries to address several problems including social, historical and economic problems, where he starts by answering why the Australian aborigines did not go about colonising Europe. I would not evaluate the anthropological merits of his argument, but he brings it down to the economy, how Europe’s creation of surplus demanded a constant need for more markets and more people to sell. He then goes on to explain several present-day situations – such as debt, and also the question of unemployment.

I must give the disclaimer that how one is going to receive the book is largely going to depend on the political convictions of an individual and I would disclose that Yanis Varoufakis is someone whom I agree with more than I disagree.

To me, I felt the book was structured well, which is something that most could agree on regardless of one’s political alignment – given how it talked about how society was initially structured, some of the most basic problems we face, how the markets are formed, and also other crises like unemployment (and challenging the very idea that some consider this to be a ‘myth’). There were also several very well-known references to Greek mythology and also famous films such as The Matrix. That said, given that this is an English translation, and though the examples would be very evident to a Western audience, I think the translator should have added footnotes to some of the references given works in English are also read even outside the anglosphere.

Moreover, I find personally as an economics graduate and finance professional, that some of what he explains are the same problems that populists fall under – especially his explanation of the central bank – that one tries to oversimplify an actually complex concept (such as monetary easing for instance or banks creating ‘value out of thin air’) and discredit the whole system altogether. One could have a reasonable debate on the validity of such a system or whether it needs a total overhaul as is suggested by the author but oversimplification might not convey the message that is intended.

To conclude, this book is a decent start to those who wish to learn more about the economy and the evolution and criticism of capitalism. However, certain concepts that are complex, need not have been touched upon rather than giving a misleading and oversimplified version. On that note, I award the book a rating of six on ten.

Rating – 6/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

All is Silence by Manuel Rivas – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Fins and Brinco are best friends, and they both adore the wild and beautiful Leda. The three young friends spend their days exploring the dunes and picking through the treasures that the sea washes on to the shores of Galicia. One day, as they are playing in the abandoned school on the edge of the village, they come across treasure of another kind: a huge cache of whisky hidden under a sheet. But before they can exploit their discovery a shot rings out, and a man wearing an impeccable white suit and panama hat enters the room. That day they learn the most important lesson of all, that the mouth is for keeping quiet.’

Note: The book is originally in Galician, I read its French translation. Cliquez ici pour lire mon avis en français

All is Silence is a Galician novel from the Spanish author Manuel Rivas, who is known for promoting works of literature in Galician. In this book, he tells the story of a small village in Galicia called Noitia, which is under the control of the patriarch of the village – Mariscal; who controls the village’s contraband economy.

The story starts by recalling the friendship between three youngsters – Fins, Leda and Brinco and follows their path of growing up. Leda and Brinco follow the patron of the village Mariscal by entering the drug trade whereas Fins becomes a police officer. The story focuses on the change in their life and the change in the village and Galicia at large given the impact of globalisation, including in the drug trade.

The description of the Galician landscape by the author was beautiful, and also thanks to the cover of the French edition that I had (attached in this review), I could visualise the village of Noitia, the city of La Coruña, the mountains and the sea. The author also used several allusions, from Latin, French, Greek and also some Galician folktales adding a poetic aspect to the writing.

Despite the good writing and my journey through Galicia through his words, a novel needs a plot to save itself. It is not often that I read 295 pages and at the end of it, I did not quite understand the story that the author wanted to tell through this book. Manuel Rivas started by describing the village and the three teenagers, introduced several characters immediately without giving me time to absorb or understand any of them. I must say that the write-up by my French publisher was excellent which immediately made me curious to read the book, given it was an interesting premise with three close friends from childhood, choosing a radically different path in a changing world.

We are given to know that Fins is a police officer but throughout the plot, we never saw him carry out any investigation or even ask questions; just took a few photos which had no impact on the plot. I got the impression that Fins, Leda and Brinco were the main characters but the book had the overwhelming presence of Mariscal all over.

In any novel, the author tries to create a world and bring the reader into this world. However, I found that Manuel Rivas kept the door locked and kept the keys to himself that I could never enter this world. I would have liked to extend a benefit of doubt, as to how much was lost in translation, however, it is difficult for me to justify such a benefit of doubt given I can understand losing certain nuances but not the whole plot altogether.

To conclude, it was a cumbersome read, which was still a well written novel, just without any story to tell. I award the book a rating of four on ten.

Rating – 4/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Millennial Vegan by Casey T Taft – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Millennials, people between the ages of 15 and 34, make up nearly half of the current vegan population. Despite being dealt a bad deal by prior generations, this generation is increasingly able to see past all the ways our society indoctrinates us to use nonhuman animals.

Millennial Vegan offers support to this important group by providing tips for advocacy, strategies for communicating with unsupportive peers, advice on issues related to dating, and information on maintaining personal wellbeing. The movement for nonhuman animals depends on the support of millennials, and this guide will help this already aware group maximize their ability to be the best vegan advocates they can be.’

Millennial Vegan is a book on navigating everyday life as a young vegan written by the clinical psychologist Casey T Taft. This book deals with various aspects of life that a young person would go through while being a vegan – be it with parents, at school, facing bullying, or choosing relationships.

This book is split into chapters that are easy to navigate and also deals with some of the most common questions that vegans face – such as ‘how people get their proteins’ (a myth that has been debunked several times), and also the bullying one might face in school as a result of that. He also talks about the anger that one could have, given that being a vegan, one has already seen several atrocities on non-human animals, and also how the system is quite rigged against millennials, when it comes to the cost of living or the price of property.

Despite the book being well presented, I wonder whom the author was targeting and if he was merely preaching to the choir, if this book was meant to be read only by people who are already vegan. Moreover, I felt that the author used millennial interchangeably with ‘teenager’ and I feel the latter and their parents would have been the most appropriate target audience for this book. This is considering how the author did not talk about dynamics at the workplace, social events as to how to politely decline a non-vegan snack offered, or even bullying faced from adults.

As a vegan myself, to me it was an easy read but again, I was uncomfortable with the author’s assumption that the only reason why any person becomes vegan is over compassion for animals – while that is true of many; to me the clinching argument was the environment and for many others, there could be several other reasons – or a combination of many as not all of them are mutually exclusive either.

To conclude, I had an enjoyable, quick read, mostly content that I already agreed with and could relate to many of the situations that the author spoke about, but it could have tried to reach a wider audience. On that note, I award the book a rating of six on ten.

Rating – 6/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

This is Vegan Propaganda by Ed Winters – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Our choices can help alleviate the most pressing issues we face today: the climate crisis, infectious and chronic diseases, human exploitation and, of course, non-human exploitation. Undeniably, these issues can be uncomfortable to learn about but the benefits of doing so cannot be overstated. It is quite literally a matter of life and death.

Through exploring the major ways that our current system of animal farming affects the world around us, as well as the cultural and psychological factors that drive our behaviours, This Is Vegan Propaganda answers the pressing question, is there a better way?

Whether you are a vegan already or curious to learn more, this book will show you the other side of the story that has been hidden for far too long. Based on years of research and conversations with slaughterhouse workers and farmers, to animal rights philosophers, environmentalists and everyday consumers, vegan educator and public speaker Ed Winters will give you the knowledge to understand the true scale and enormity of the issues at stake.’

This is Vegan Propaganda is a book on the propaganda done by meat industry and the dairy industry over the years, and other common arguments against vegan lifestyle, argued and compiled by the vegan activist Ed Winters.

He starts explaining the environment he grew up in and his transition to veganism. He then goes on to talk about the practices of the meat and dairy industry and why for both moral and scientific reasons, one needs to embrace veganism. He goes on to mention more in graphic detail as to what goes on when it comes to treatment of animals, be it in slaughterhouses or dairy farms. There is also a segment of the book, where he debunks the frequent arguments used by the meat industry and the society at large, including the famous question of ‘how do you get your protein?’, and much as he touches upon the arguments in this book, I understand that he has written a whole book titled How to argue with a meat eater.

The book is very well researched and provides ample statistics (properly referenced to back his claims). One might feel that his statistics are highly UK-centric, but that is natural given that the writer is from there. Moreover, the tendency in our globalised world is similar across, barring a few minor gaps. So, this book tries to please various sides, those who are convinced by statistics or those who are convinced by morals. I found some of the information quite interesting, for instance, on the amount of land occupied by farms of soybeans (a common argument against vegans) and it would only increase if we were to all go vegan; even though, as of today, 80% of the soybeans are for consumption by farm animals who are slaughtered later for their meat.

The aspect I was not sure was whom the author was addressing. Given that I am a vegan, I am not shocked by what the author has written nor are my personal choices put on trial over here. But if the intention is to reach beyond the base, I felt the language used by the author was too strong, at times – there are different schools of thought as to whether that is necessary but, in my opinion, making people guilty of their present-day choices is not going to work. It was particularly hard to read the chapters of the book where he described in detail how different animals are tortured by the meat and dairy industry.

However, this book could certainly help those in transition and as I mentioned earlier, that I am vegan, I am also organiser of a vegan group where I am based, and we read this book for a ‘book club event’. One of the participants remarked that they were already a vegetarian but having read this book, decided to turn fully vegan, giving up on dairy and eggs. However, more testimonies, especially from those who are consuming a meat-based diet as of today, could help me judge this aspect better.

To conclude, I found this book informative and as aforementioned, could help those in transition. However, for those who cannot read detailed write-ups on torture of animals in the ‘factory farms’, those sections could be avoided. Considering that, I would award the book a rating of seven on ten.

Rating – 7/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘The more we learn about fungi, the less makes sense without them. They can change our minds, heal our bodies and even help us avoid environmental disaster; they are metabolic masters, earth-makers and key players in most of nature's processes. In Entangled Life, Merlin Sheldrake takes us on a mind-altering journey into their spectacular world, and reveals how these extraordinary organisms transform our understanding of our planet and life itself.’

Fungi are ever present – be it in the mushrooms we eat or the moulds that we find in bread or furniture. However, the argument made by the biologist Merlin Sheldrake in his book Entangled Life as to how fungi make our worlds and could even shape the future.

Fungi are in a unique position between the plant and animal kingdoms, and towards the end of the book, the author even evokes the question as to whether it is reasonable to categorise all fungi under one category, which could be inappropriate (akin to how not all animals in the water are ‘fish’). The author starts with the phenomenon of lichens, the symbiosis between an algae and a fungi and how they have eventually helped in taking organisms from sea to the land. Equally, he also talks about intelligence of certain fungi and the networks that they create, which could be as complex as that of the map of the Tokyo underground metro. He also talks about humans’ relationship with fungi, be it consuming mushrooms, using yeast for fermentation or enjoying truffles. The book

The first four chapters were insightful as well as interesting – I learnt a lot of new things about fungi, given there are several words that I saw in this book that I had never used after middle school biology. The book was also well researched, given how the citations and notes were almost as long as the content in itself.

Having said that, I felt that was also a problem of this book, given how I felt that till the fourth chapter, it targeted at a general audience but after that, the level of technical language in this book was significantly elevated that I was no longer able to connect. I was still able to get a broad idea of what the author was trying to express, but could not go into details. Moreover, given that I presume the author wrote it for a general audience than members of his own community of biologists, I would have preferred some amount of writing on the regular mushrooms that we consume en masse over and above the detailed discussions on several fancy fungi that the author had discussed.

To conclude, I would say that this is a book that could be enjoyed a lot by people who have a background in the subject, to the rest, you can get a broad idea of what the author is talking about, but name-dropping several technical terms without much explanation or citing names of scientists without much explanation on what those scientists had done – was difficult to follow (often redirected to research papers in the notes). I came out knowing more about our world having read this book and that could make a case to say that this book was interesting, but at the same time, owing to the writer’s presentation, it also made it boring and a difficult read. On that note, I would award the book a rating of five on ten.

Rating – 5/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Paris isn’t dead yet by Cole Stangler – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘The Paris of popular imagination is lined with cobblestone streets and stylish cafés, a beacon for fashionistas and well-heeled tourists. But French American journalist Cole Stangler, celebrated for his reporting on Paris and French politics, argues that the beating heart of the City of Light lies elsewhere – in the striving, working-class districts, where residents are now being priced out.

Paris Isn't Dead Yet explores the past, present and future of the city through the lens of class conflict, highlighting the outsized role of immigrants in shaping the city's progressive, cosmopolitan and open-minded character – at a time when politics nationwide can feel like they're shifting in the opposite direction. This is the Paris many tourists too often miss: immigrant-heavy districts such as the 18th arrondissement, where crowded street markets still define everyday life. Stangler brings this view of the city to life, combining gripping, street-level reportage, stories of today's working-class Parisians, recent history and a sweeping analysis of the larger forces shaping the city.’

Paris is often romanticised in the media as this beautiful city, with the picturesque cafés on its streets, the monuments, the museums, ad a city with a rich history of supporting writers and artists from all over the world, be it Picasso or Hemingway. However, the author of this book – Paris isn’t Dead Yet, the journalist Cole Stangler – talks about the rapid gentrification of the city, while there were always elitist arrondissements of Paris like the 16^th, the city is slowly losing its working-class population and is being increasingly dominated by white-collared elites all across.

The author starts with the present day, explaining the most diverse Parisian arrondissement – the 18^th which has Montmartre, atop which you have the iconic Basilica Sacré Coeur, along with some of the cafés most frequented by the tourists; but at the same time, a ten minute walk down the hill to Boulevard Ornano completely changes this picture – taking us towards Goutte d’Or in the 18^th, a neighbourhood predominantly inhabited by working class consisting mostly of immigrants from West African nations in the Sahel. However, the author goes on to describe the changing situation here, wherein, they are being outpriced by the significant increases of rent in Paris, and also other costs, being pushed to suburban towns like Saint-Denis and Aubervilliers. A phrase that is often thrown around casually, is that ‘this neighbourhood is not like in the past, it is good now’, by which, what is often meant is that it has been gentrified – something often said about places like Belleville in Paris.

The author also talks about the history of the city, wherein, it was not uncommon for the rich and the working-class to share the same building, just that the size of their houses would be significantly different within the same building but that is hardly the case anymore. The author also explains how this is making the city lose its essential character of being a melting pot attracting people from all walks of life, and especially how freelance and independent artists can no longer afford the city unlike the era Picasso, James Joyce or Hemingway.

There are also detailed interviews with individuals whom the author has interviewed, people who had been living in a neighbourhood for decades eventually being priced out, and social housing being unavailable: The author also has conducted interviews with politicians within the city administration, and I found his conversations with the city councillor for Communist Party of France (PCF) – Ian Brossat, to be very interesting and insightful, especially on social housing.

That said, I enjoyed the level of detail in this book. But it needs to be highlighted I enjoyed it, and I could relate to it since I have been living in Paris for long enough, and fully understand what he is talking about – including specific street names that he brought up in the 18^th. To be very precise, I myself am one of the people who are causes of this gentrification, given I live in the 18^th arrondissement, the typical ‘white collar elite’ who is outpricing the original residents of the neighbourhood. However, what I am unsure is to what extent would people who are not familiar with the city would relate to it, given many of the places the author talks about are ones that would never be visited by tourists, be it Aubervilliers or Goutte d’Or.

If it is to highlight the situation in Paris and saving it from hypergentrification, I am not sure who the target audience of this book is, given that this is a book in English (I am not sure if a French translation is being planned), and for any work of non-fiction, it is reasonable to ask who is the target audience and I was unclear on that with this book.

On the whole, I had a great reading experience reading this book, sometimes was interesting to see references to cafés I have visited myself being referenced in the book. This was also insightful for me given I am living here and would like to have a say on making sure that the city is still accessible to people from all walks of life. On that note, I award the book a rating of seven on ten.

Rating – 7/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

On Photography by Susan Sontag – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Susan Sontag's groundbreaking critique of photography asks forceful questions about the moral and aesthetic issues surrounding this art form. Photographs are everywhere, and the 'insatiability of the photographing eye' has profoundly altered our relationship with the world. Photographs have the power to shock, idealize or seduce, they create a sense of nostalgia and act as a memorial, and they can be used as evidence against us or to identify us. In these six incisive essays, Sontag examines the ways in which we use these omnipresent images to manufacture a sense of reality and authority in our lives.’

On Photography is a collection of essays by Susan Sontag. Most of these essays were published in the New York Times between 1973 and 1977 – back when photography was still a specialised field and not like in the 21^st century, where everyone virtually has a camera on their smartphone.

The author discussed the evolution of photography over the years in detail, and discussed works of famous photographers such as Brassaï, Diane Arbus, etc. But the issue I felt that was in these essays was the author’s assumption that the reader is fully aware of the works of these photographers, which the average reader is not. I know of these photographers mainly because I live in Paris, and those who have worked on taking photos of Paris, such as Brassaï or Diane Arbus, I could relate to their works and understand what the author was discussing. But others, I was completely in the dark, and the publisher of the book could have added the photos for us to relate to, than letting things to our imagination.

Moreover, the author idealised photography as a unique art form where it is the only form of art where anything done ‘today’ would be considered as ‘art’ in the future but this is not exclusive to photography, but most forms of art – those which were considered ordinary or the norm, becoming antiques and a form of art in the future. In fact, several artists, such as Van Gogh, did not have the recognition when they were alive.

To conclude on these essays, I did not enjoy this, as an average reader, and if I had been an enthusiast on photography, and its history and I knew about the works of all the famous photographers that she talked about, I might have had a different opinion. Add to that, a lot of what she discussed in this book is outdated, given photos could be taken by anyone almost instantly. On that note, I award this book a rating of four on ten.

Rating – 4/10

Have a nice day,
Andy