The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘In her latest novel, Elif Shafak spins an epic tale spanning nearly a century in the life of the Ottoman Empire. In 1540, twelve-year-old Jahan arrives in Istanbul. As an animal tamer in the sultan’s menagerie, he looks after the exceptionally smart elephant Chota and befriends (and falls for) the sultan’s beautiful daughter, Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to Mimar Sinan, the empire’s chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct (with Chota’s help) some of the most magnificent buildings in history. Yet even as they build Sinan’s triumphant masterpieces—the incredible Suleymaniye and Selimiye mosques—dangerous undercurrents begin to emerge, with jealousy erupting among Sinan’s four apprentices.’

Note: I read the French translation of the novel

This is a historical novel written by the Turkish writer Elif Shafak, and the story takes place in 16^th century Istanbul. The plot is centred around the character of Jahan, a 12-year-old boy who has come to Istanbul from afar with an elephant named ‘Chota’ to present to the Sultan. The other main characters of the book are real historical figures fictionalised by the author, such as Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, his daughter Mihrimah, and the royal architect - Mimar Sinan.

The story takes us through the era of three different sultans, starting from Suleiman till the reign of his grandson Murad III. The author also touches upon the then Turkish society and the multicultural nature of it, where Istanbul was a melting pot comprising several ethnicities such as the Turks, Armenians, Serbians, Bosnians, Iranians, etc. Even the best friends of Jahan, in the novel, are of different ethnicities.

The plot followed the development of Jahan’s character well, who was at first a mahout and was well recognised by the Sultan for the performance of his elephant during the Balkan conquest of the Ottoman Empire. There was also a romantic sub-plot between the sultan’s daughter Mihrimah and Janhan, a forbidden love considering the different social classes that the two are from. Then, he becomes the apprentice of the royal architect Sinan, and the story then follows till Jahan’s old age.

I liked how she had used the different aspects of the historic Ottoman society. Those who are interested by historical fiction and the middle ages, would enjoy these descriptions. I also could visualize Istanbul of the 16^th century very well based on her description. The relation between Sinan and Jahan, and equally the secrets they had about their lives which was kept from us till the very end, was done well.

While I liked the historical aspect, and even learnt a lot on the Ottoman Empire, I also found that plot is perhaps not the author’s strong point. It is a very long novel without much of a movement even though there were three sultans. The love between Mihrimah and Jahan started well but it was evident to any reader since the beginning that this would not go very far.

To conclude, I would say that the novel was a tad too long but it was still interesting to read a story taking place in the 16^th century Ottoman empire. On that note, I award the book a rating of six on ten.

Rating – 6/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Glyph by Percival Everett – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Baby Ralph has ways to pass the time in his crib―but they don't include staring at a mobile. Aided by his mother, he reads voraciously: "All of Swift, all of Sterne, Invisible Man, Baldwin, Joyce, Balzac, Auden, Roethke," along with a generous helping of philosophy, semiotics, and trashy thrillers. He's also fond of writing poems and stories (in crayon). But Ralph has limits. He's mute by choice and can't drive, so in his own estimation he's not a genius. Unfortunately for him, everyone else disagrees. His psychiatrist kidnaps him for testing, and once his brilliance is quantified (IQ: 475), a Pentagon officer also abducts him. Diabolically funny and lacerating in its critique of poststructuralism, Glyph has the feverish plot of a thriller and the philosophical depth of a text by Roland Barthes. If anyone can map the wilds of literary theory, it's Ralph, one of Percival Everett's most enduring creations.’

Glyph is a novel written during the late 90s by the English professor, Percival Everett. The story features a baby named Ralph as the main character, who is a genius and reads books and writes poetry while on the crib. However, he does not utter a word and expresses himself only by writing. His mother is worried about him and takes him to a psychiatrist but when everyone starts taking note of Ralph’s abilities, which leads to his kidnapping.

For novels like this, the start has to be convincing, considering it is an absurd premise and the author had it written very well to draw the reader into this world of his. There were lots of humorous elements throughout the novel, starting from his antipathy towards his father, owing to his father’s own insecurities as a struggling writer, that he finds it difficult to accept that his baby is smarter than him. There were also several references, where Ralph discusses well known literature, from Balzac to Baldwin, and also various philosophers such as Nietzsche and Plato. I was not able to relate to all of the literary references but here was a case of the writer playing to his strength, of being an English professor.

While I enjoyed the premise and the humorous elements along the way, I felt the novel was a tad too long. One instance of kidnapping was fine, but a second kidnapping dragged the story too long. While I can buy into the world where there is an infant who is a prodigy, him being able to drive is testing the reader to the limits and that is where I felt the humour was getting lost.

Humour is not usually a genre that I read and those that I have, I did not particularly enjoy. However, this book proved to be an exception and I found it thoroughly amusing. Even though it was not the easiest of reads, and could be appreciated better if we could understand all the literary and philosophical references, I would still say that this book would satisfy the average audience and on that note, I award the book a rating of six on ten.

Rating – 6/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Monsters: A fan’s dilemma by Claire Dederer – Book Review

 Publisher’s write-up: 

‘What do we do with the art of monstrous men? Can we love the work of Roman Polanski and Michael Jackson, Hemingway and Picasso? Should we love it? Does genius deserve special dispensation? Is history an excuse? What makes women artists monstrous? And what should we do with beauty, and with our unruly feelings about it?

Claire Dederer explores these questions and our relationships with the artists whose behaviour disrupts our ability to apprehend the work on its own terms. She interrogates her own responses and her own behaviour, and she pushes the fan, and the reader, to do the same. Morally wise, deeply considered and sharply written, Monsters gets to the heart of one of our most pressing conversations.’

We have ongoing conversation about whether artists could be separated from their works and if not, should we feel guilty of enjoying artistic excellence from ‘Monsters’? This includes topics like whether we could enjoy the works of Polanski – who has fled the criminal justice system in the US for raping a minor; or could still take pleasure from reading the books of JK Rowling, who uses her large platform to spread vitriol against the transgender people, one of the most vulnerable groups throughout history. These are some of the questions that the writer Claire Dederer tries to answer in this book.

She takes up the case of several well-known personalities such as Woody Allen, Pablo Picasso, JK Rowling, Doris Lessing, Roman Polanski, etc. and discusses her own dilemma around enjoying some of their works. An idea she discussed was interesting, describing this as conflicting biographies, where in the internet age, we know the biographies of all the famous personalities whom we follow but at the same time, if this conflicts with our own biographies (the ethics and values that we hold), then we start to question ourselves.

This would fall under the category of a book that I wanted to like, considering this is an interesting and contemporary topic, given the nonsensical culture wars initiated by the right-wing ecosystem lately. However, this book lacked structure and often missed the point. She starts talking about Rowling and then digresses immediately somewhere else without having relevance to what was being discussed earlier.

I would raise something I felt personally here, she was saying how to classify a famous woman as a ‘monster’ had much lower standards, which usually involved abandoning their children for the sake of their career and she cited the example of Doris Lessing. I understand that this is a topic close to her, but personally I do not see Doris Lessing discussed as much as she claimed and indeed, a separation where she willingly left the children in the custody of her partner, there is nothing morally wrong in her actions.

I understand that she was giving her opinions – as is the purpose of this book but that is when I stopped understanding whether she was inviting a discussion into the subject or writing a diary on how she felt about these people during the various phases of her life. Considering this was like reading a diary, I hoped that she would eventually reveal how she personally chose to deal with the subject (while you or I may have our own views and approach) but she leaves that open ended as well.

On that note, I would conclude saying that this was a disappointing book given the high level of expectations that I had. I rate the book a three on ten.

Rating – 3/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Secession and State Creation by James Ker-Lindsay and Mikulas Fabry

 

Publisher’s write-up:

Cliquez ici afin de lire en français

‘What makes a state? This question has attracted more and more attention in recent years with Catalan’s illegal vote for independence from Spain and Palestine’s ongoing search for international recognition. And while Scotland chose to remain with the United Kingdom, discussion of independence have only continued as the ramifications of the Brexit vote begin to set in. Kosovo, South Sudan, and the situation in Ukraine – each in its way reveals the perils of creating a nation separate from neighbours who have dominated it.

As James Ker-Lindsay and Mikulas Fabry show in this new addition to the What Everyone Needs to Know series, the road to statehood never did run smooth. Declaring independence is only the first step; gaining both local and global acceptance is necessary before a state can become truly independent, The prospect of losing territory is usually not welcomed by the parent state, and any such threat to an existing culture and its economy is often met with resistance – armed or otherwise. Beyond this immediate conflict, the international community often refuses to accept new states without proof of defined territory, a settled population, and effective government, which frequently translates to a democratic one with demonstrated respect for human rights. Covering the legal, political, and practical issues of secession and state creation, Ker-Lindsay and Fabry provide a sure-footed guide to a complex topic.’

What makes a state? This question is even more pertinent today considering we are facing the most tumultuous geopolitical situation in decades, with Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, civil war in Sudan, regime change in Afghanistan, Myanmar, etc. As the author addressed early on in the book, some newly formed states like South Sudan have gained international recognition without much hassle whereas others such as Kosovo, notwithstanding their ability to operate as an independent state, including achieving recognition from major global powers, still is not recognised by over half the world and is not a UN member. These are the questions that this book answers, as to what creates a state and what are the valid causes for secession.

To start with, this book takes an academic perspective on the issue and is not a philosophical book on nationhood or sense of belonging. It addresses the widely recognised international conventions and also the UN charter and the various resolutions when it comes to statehood and ideas such as self-determination. Even the definitions of what constituted a state start from the late 18^th century (around the time of independence of the US) and does not explain how states were recognised in different regions in the past (for example, in Europe, the church for large parts of the Middle Ages).

It is presented in an easy-to-read manner – split into chapters and in a question-and-answer format. The book was published in 2023 and thus,  it is updated up until the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine. For the uninitiated and at the same time interested in geopolitics and the various concepts of state recognition– this book provides an overview, explaining what constitutes a state, what have been the accepted methods used in resolving conflicts in the past, and also failed efforts and frozen conflicts. There were several interesting facts that were presented, especially the norms that we follow in the international community – which I have never thought of it that way, that the countries have agreed that one sovereign state would have one vote in the UNGA regardless of their size and population.

A disappointment that people could have is from incorrect expectations as I already stated, as the book is academic and often uses terms which are not in common parlance. However, to those who are even partially interested in the topic, might be familiar with a third of the book, and thus, could proceed with those sections fast (an example could be a detailed explanation of the Montevideo Convention on the criteria for recognising a state).

On the whole, I would say that the book was an excellent read, and is strongly recommended for those who are interested in geopolitics and how the international system operates. On that note, I award the book a rating of eight on ten.

Rating – 8/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up :

‘At first The Emigrants appears simply to document the lives of four Jewish émigrés in the twentieth century. But gradually, as Sebald's precise, almost dreamlike prose begins to draw their stories, the four narrations merge into one overwhelming evocation of exile and loss.’

The Emigrants is a collection of four short stories written by the writer and academic W.G. Sebald, who wrote the book originally in German. As the title suggests, this narrates the story of four emigrants, all of whom are jews who fled Germany to avoid prosecution and living in their adopted countries.

The first story is about a doctor living in the English country side, Dr. Henry Selwyn, the second is that of a teacher, Paul Bereyter who now lives in Switzerland, the third is Amboros, who lives in the United States with his rich relatives – with whom he travels to expensive places around the world, and the last character is Max Ferber, who is a young painter in Manchester, whom the author meets.

The story dealt with different aspects of life, particularly that of emigrants, where there is always a yearning to belong to your new place, along with the nostalgia for the place that you had left but you have your reasons why it is implausible to move back to the previous place. This was best shown in the story of Paul, who struggled to belong in his new place even though he was well respected and always had a longing for the mountains in Bavaria.

The author had the setting described well in each of the stories, be it the countryside in the story of Dr. Selwyn or the various towns of Switzerland. The best use of a city was the description of Manchester in the story of Max, where I felt the author had used the city well. The author also has a unique style of adding pictures without any caption and this allowed me to visualize a lot of these scenes described to me by the author.

The story I had liked the least was the one of Amboros, where there were too many characters for one to get lost in the sea of information and they keep travelling around the world, going from place to place. It felt more like reading a travelogue than a novel. Unless these characters were completely based on real people, I felt the stories were unnecessarily sad, even stories that I felt which did not need such levels of sadness for it to move the reader (such as the story of Paul), and after a point, it becomes predictable, I had the shock while reading the story of Dr. Selwyn, but eventually, I started expecting such events.

On the whole, I would say that it was a good read, not the easiest of reads, but still has got some interesting stories. I award the book a rating of six on ten, and I am certainly interested in trying the other works of the writer.

Rating – 6/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

I’ll be strong for you by Nasim Marashi – book review

 

Afin de lire mon avis en français, cliquez ici

Note: I read the French translation of this book, so I would be using the names of the characters as it was written in French

Publisher’s write-up (from goodreads):

‘Three recent college graduates in Tehran struggle to find their footing in this award\-winning debut by Iranian journalist Nasim Marashi. Roja, the most daring of the three, works in an architecture firm and is determined to leave Tehran for graduate school in Toulouse. Shabaneh, who is devoted to her disabled brother and works with Roja, is uncertain about marrying a colleague as it would mean leaving her family behind. Leyla, who was unable to follow her husband abroad because of her commitment to her career as a journalist, is wracked with regret. Over the course of two seasons, summer and fall, in bustling streets and cramped family apartments, the three women weather setbacks and compromises, finding hope in the most unlikely places. Even as their ambitions cause them to question the very fabric of their personalities and threaten to tear their friendship apart, time and again Roja, Shabaneh and Leyla return to the comfort of their longtime affection, deep knowledge and unquestioning support of each other. Vividly capturing three very distinct voices, Marashi\x27s deeply wrought narrative lovingly brings these young women and their friendship to life in all their complexity.’

I’ll be strong for you is the first novel of the writer Nasim Marashi, written in Persian and published in 2014, which was highly successful in Iran. It is a story of three young women who met at the university in Tehran during their studies. The three have different family backgrounds, with Leya having a privileged background, Shabaneh who is from a small town and lived through her town being bombarded during the war (which war, is not mentioned) and does not want to leave her brother with special needs alone with her mother, the latter who does not have a particular liking towards him, and Rodja, who has big dreams and wants to leave the country. The narration is done in the first person though the narrator is different in each chapter (Leyla, Shabaneh and Rodja respectively).

 I liked the fact that the novel was universal and addressed experiences faced by most people living an urban life anywhere in the world. At times, I was interested in even going for a coffee with Leyla, just to hear her out, with all the difficulties she is facing with her mental health. I also appreciated the narration and the writing style as well, and even though the narrator changed every chapter, the chronology was maintained and the first person narrator of the previous chapter is a character in the third person in the present chapter.

Each of the character had to address a difficult situation, faced my most people, that is, ‘whether to stay or leave’, be it the country, job or a relationship and each of them had to measure the pros and cons of whatever decision they were to take.

However, universal nature of the novel was also its weakness, as regardless of whether this novel had taken place in Tehran or New York or Paris or Tokyo or Johannesburg would have caused little difference. I had a lot of expectations considering the novel was translated to French in the year 2023, with the context of the protests against the regime triggered by the murder of the young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini by the state in 2022. However, the author never touched upon sensitive topics, neither religion nor politics. The former I understand as based on several articles I have read, Iran is quite a secular society where religion is less important than its other neighbours in the Middle East, despite their government. However, with politics, she had an opportunity, as Iran is a multicultural country despite popular perception (with Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Arabs, etc.) and I never saw any of these cultural aspects come out. And given that these women either wanted to leave the country (like Rodja) or create a positive impact (like Leyla), it was very much possible to explore the political angle.

To conclude, I enjoyed the book, and though it did not meet my expectations, if you enjoy reading about universal emotions such as love, friendship and dilemma, it is still a good novel to read. Considering that, I would award the novel a rating of six on ten.

Rating – 6/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

The Shallows by Nicholas Carr – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Boldly reactionary... What looks like feast, Carr argues, may be closer to famine' Sunday Times'Chilling' The Economist. In this ground-breaking and compelling book, Nicholas Carr argues that not since Gutenberg invented printing has humanity been exposed to such a mind-altering technology. The Shallows draws on the latest research to show that the Net is literally re-wiring our brains inducing only superficial understanding. As a consequence there are profound changes in the way we live and communicate, remember and socialise - even in our very conception of ourselves. By moving from the depths of thought to the shallows of distraction, the web, it seems, is actually fostering ignorance. The Shallows is not a manifesto for luddites, nor does it seek to turn back the clock. Rather it is a revelatory reminder of how far the Internet has become enmeshed in our daily existence and is affecting the way we think. This landmark book compels us all to look anew at our dependence on this all-pervasive technology.’

The Shallows is a ten chapter book written by the tech writer Nicholas Carr. This book in particular, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. It needs to be kept in mind that the first edition was published in 2010, when iPhone was ‘new’ and social media did not have the level of impact it does today. However, in the foreword of my 10^th anniversary edition, the author claimed he stands vindicated considering what we have made of the internet. The title of the book states that the author tries to establish how the internet changes the way we think, read and remember, and I would evaluate whether the author has built the case for that.

The author starts by telling us how the concept of knowledge changed over time, where memory was important till the time writing and archiving were invented, it was associated less with knowledge from thereon. He also explains in detail the revolution brought by Gutenberg with the invention of printing press changed the way we processed information. I also liked how he compared Google to that of a church, wherein, the company despite its shortcomings are convinced of their vision statement where they are ‘making knowledge free’. The arguments about how our brains were impacted, sounded technical but was interesting when it came to making his case.

Having said that, I still found the book a tad outdated, wherein, many studies conducted on hyperlinks and its effect were from 90s, while I understand that many of it might still be relevant today, it is far easier to refer hyperlinks and get to the original text now that in was 30 years ago. It still raised a valid point, considering how it is easy to get distracted by hyperlinks. There are also other points where the author spoke of how we have not reduced television consumption but significantly increased the time we spend on the internet, and thus are left with less time. However, these days it is hard to distinguish between television and the internet as compared to 2010 (is Netflix television or internet? Is streaming on YouTube using your television be considered by the author as television or internet?)

While the author spoke of digressions, I felt for most of the book, the writer himself was digressing, with most of the book speaking very little about the internet and rather, the evolution of how we processed information over the centuries.

Many points raised by the author are interesting, such as the ineffectiveness of multi-tasking, which is all the more relevant in today’s work environment with real time conversation capabilities, we are often tasked with many different things to do at once. It also talks about how hyperlinks, rather than giving more information, provides less information to the reader. Ironically though, his own books cited a lot of sources, which, is required in a non-fiction work.

To conclude, I would say the book raised a lot of interesting points that ought to be discussed, such as how internet keeps us distracted. Many points got touched on the surface but none of it went deep enough to have an impact. On that note, I would award the book a rating of four on ten.

Rating – 4/10

Have a nice day,
Andy