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