Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Fifteen-year-old Alex doesn't just like ultra-violence – he also enjoys rape, drugs and Beethoven's Ninth. He and his gang rampage through a dystopian future, hunting for terrible thrills. But when Alex finds himself at the mercy of the state and subject to the ministrations of Dr. Brodsky, the government psychologist, he discovers that fun is no longer the order of the day ...

The basis for one of the most notorious films ever made, A Clockwork Orange is both a virtuoso performance from an electrifying prose stylist and a serious exploration of the morality of free will.’

Clockwork Orange is a novel written by Anthony Burgess, made significantly famous by Stanley Kubrick’s film that came out in 1971. The novel takes place in a dystopian future, where teenagers are running amok and that there is no law and order. We have our main character who is a fifteen-year-old and has his friends with whom he does on a rampage, when it comes to killing people or raping women. One of the pivotal points is when Alex rapes and murders a woman, which eventually leads to his arrest.

It was a difficult book to read, I do not have a problem with novels that portray a negative character as the lead, but there is often some kind of a reason or cause, there is a complexity behind that character. Alex had none of it, he was violent for the sake of being violent. Did this dystopian future enable him to be that way? At least to me, the world created by the author does not explain this violent behaviour of Alex.

There is an element of science fiction later in the novel where Alex goes through a ‘treatment’ (I would not describe what it was to avoid spoilers) but again, despite this, he never expressed any kind of repentance for what he did.

I have not seen the film but judging by what I read in this book, I have no intention of being traumatised again by such violent images. Reading it once was sufficient.

The prose was difficult, not because the language was complex but because the author invented a language. It is a mix of cockney and for whatever reason, a lot of Russian words. Some of it was ingenious, I must admit, such as ‘horror show’, which is a corruption of the Russian word хорошо (kharasho). However, I usually do not like use of constructed language unless it is relevant to the plot and in this case, I found no relevance to the plot. Moreover, what was bizarre was that it was not that the language had evolved to this, it was only Alex and his friends who were using it and other characters seamlessly understood this language.

To conclude, it was  a story without a plot. In some stories like this, I find the idea of the plot to be interesting but poorly executed but here I did not find the idea to begin with. I award the novel a rating of three on ten.

Rating – 3/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

How to Stop Fascism by Paul Mason – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘From Putin’s war on Ukraine to Trump’s assault on American democracy, we’ve seen the ideas of fascism proliferate. But why? Where did it begin? What do its new adherents believe? And how do we stop them? Fascism, Paul Mason shows, is ‘the fear of freedom’, and only a new democratic coalition can defeat it.’

How to Stop Fascism is a book from the journalist Paul Mason, mainly analysing the return of fascism in the world, with several authoritarian leaders around the world taking power in the last decade, such as Donald Trump in the US, Narendra Modi in India, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Giorgia Meloni in Italy, etc. who rose to power largely by exploiting the insecurities of the majority from a ‘perceived external threat’ of the country. There are three parts to the book, with the author first introducing fascism and its ideology, then moving on to its history and finally on how we can resist it today.

To cite from the book, here is one example of the type of rhetoric employed by the above stated leaders:

‘The ideas of the these self-styled ‘philosophers’ of the far right are not simply grotesque, they would not last five minutes if subjected to the rigours of logic and analysis in an actual philosophy department. That’s why they communicate in obscure, long-winded and often unintelligible prose. However, they are persuasive.’

This is a very important topic given with rise of new technology, political ideologies that were earlier in the fringes have found effective means to reach the mainstream. Taking France for instance where I am from, the party which was earlier considered a pariah, the Rassemblement National led by Marine Le Pen, is today seen as a normal ‘opposition party’ often platformed in the mainstream media. Similar trends could be observed in other countries. The author takes the example of the 2020 Delhi riots in India (my country of origin), where there was open violence initiated against Muslims of the city following provocative speeches by the leaders of the Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The author then talks about the history, how there were similar complacencies about people writing obituaries of Mussolini’s political career in the 20s, or for that matter after Hitler’s failed Beer Hall Putsch, there was more infighting among the German left – where the Communist Party (KPD) considered the Socialist Party (SPD) as the bigger threat an ignored Hitler. The author sends us a pertinent warning that we are ignoring the present day fascists and neo nazis at our own peril. The author talked about the mobilisation of these groups, often picking up culture wars, be it on transgender rights or gay rights, as their main rallying points to enthuse their base (as is often seen in Trump rallies).

There were parts where I felt the book was a tad alarmist, where reading it, one could be convinced that fascists are just one election away from taking power from everywhere, but that said, that is also the point of the author’s book, wherein, we should avoid the complacency that good sense will prevail. The author also breaks the myth that people drawn to fascism are often those who are left behind my the establishment / are in a precarious position, rather, in case of both Mussolini and Hitler, barring their base, they had widespread support from the mainstream middle class, which is what made them efficient when they were in power.

The book largely focus on the West, occasionally touching upon India and Brazil, but I felt East Asia was largely ignored, given it has had similar tendencies in the past decade, especially the rule of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines. Similarly, though the People’s Republic of China is not a democracy, Xi Jinping has become the ‘strongest’ Chinese head of state since Mao Zedong, often stoking up militarist and etho-nationalist sentiment to legitimise his hold on the establishment.

To summarise and conclude, I would say that this book addresses a very important topic, given 2024 has major elections, which effectively have democracy on the ballot – be it in US or India, or for that matter the rise of vote share of authoritarian parties across several member states in EU (such as Vox in Spain). It is also very important for us to keep in mind the history that was involved, which brought fascists to power, so that we can be wary of the same history repeating itself and act accordingly. While the focus was highly on Western Europe and US, it could have concentrated on certain other regions as well. On that note, I would award the book a rating of eight on ten.

Rating – 8/10

Have a nice day
Andy

Trust by Hernan Diaz – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Trust is a sweeping puzzle of a novel about power, greed, love and a search for the truth that begins in 1920s New York.

Can one person change the course of history?

A Wall Street tycoon takes a young woman as his wife. Together, they rise to the top in an age of excess and speculation. Now a novelist is threatening to reveal the secrets behind their marriage. Who will have the final word in their story of greed, love and betrayal?

Composed of four competing versions of this deliciously deceptive tale, Trust by Hernan Diaz brings us on a quest for truth while confronting the lies that often live buried in the human heart.’

Trust is a four part novel historical novel from the writer Hernan Diaz. Most of the story happens during the Great Depression of the 1920s and 30s. The first part of the novel, titled ‘Bonds’, features the investor Benjamin Rask, who had immensely profited from the Great Depression. It also talked about his socialite wife Helen, where the marriage was not one of love but simply out of mutual respect, Benjamin for her intellect and Helen for the success of Rask in Wall Street.

However, the second part of the story talks about Andrew Bevel, a Wall Street investor again, but this time we understand that he is the real life version of ‘Benjamin Rask’ from the novel within the novel – Bonds. He is disappointed about the portrayal of his wife (Mildred being the real life version) in the novel and how she ended up in a mental health facility in Switzerland and to him this was an unfair portrayal. Bevel was at the same time, more concerned about his reputation and portrayal he did not like how his success was attributed to his wife.

To correct this, he hires an Italian-American writer Ida Partenza, who had to anglicise are last name as ‘Prentice’ at a time when discrimination against people of Italian origin in the US was still very high. Much as she initially took up this job for the pay offered by Bevel, she tries to uncover more and discover who Mildred really was. In the fourth and final part, we get the story from Mildred’s own perspective.

I liked the idea of an experimental novel in the backdrop of a financial crisis – first featuring a novel about a Wall Street investor who had made money out of the financial crisis and then going on to present an alternative perspective. Moreover, this was also highly relatable to many of the present-day readers given how billionaires across the world increased their wealth manifold during the Covid-19 crisis when the rest of the working population suffered.

It is also often seen how many living persons are not happy with the fictionalised versions of their own story and it was good to see the reactions of Andrew Bevel. Through his reactions, we also understood his personality, who was the typical 1920s misogynist in Wall Street, who was prepared to increase his wealth at any cost but at the same time, has a wife only for his social image but does not want any credit attributed to her.

The mystery that was kept around Mildred Bevel, till the very end was interesting too, after which, and in the end, we are left to wonder whose perspective was closer to the truth – the fictionalised account Bonds, Bevel’s perspective or that of Mildred.

The weakest point of this novel I felt was the sub-plot involving Ida’s personal life, be it with her egoist boyfriend or her anarchist father. It is true that women struggled to make a mark back then and she had her own challenges, but given how deep we got into the plot involving Andrew Bevel, this felt like an unnecessary digression even though individually this could have been a great story to tell.

As an economist and professional accountant myself, I would have liked the author to have gone more in detail about what was it that Andrew Bevel did that led to his success in the markets, but we just had passing mention that he was successful but I did not have any insights into why and how.

On the whole, I would say that this was an interesting novel to read and I would award it a solid seven on ten.

Rating – 7/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

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