Around the World discussion

Chrissie wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "I would like to recommend To the End of the Land to everyone. It is the best book of fiction I have read this year. Why? Because it is so close to real life, that's w..."

There has been a lot more actual brain research about it in the last ten years than there ever was before, and I have to admit to not being up on the science. A lot of composers who have it associate keys or timbres with colors, well no, it isn't just associating like "that sounds green!" but physically SEEING color. It is an interesting concept, one I was intrigued with as an undergrad and wrote a one paper about Scriabin and Messiaen on that topic.

The Hidden Sense: Synesthesia In Art And Science and Wednesday Is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia are two books I have found, but do you know of any more, Jenny? Nabokov soon left the topic. I sure hope more is explained about synesthesia in Speak, Memory.

Chrissie wrote: "The Hidden Sense: Synesthesia In Art And Science and Wednesday Is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia are two books I have found, but do you know of any more, Jenny? Nabokov soon left..."

Most of the medica literature is published in journals. You can see abstracts and view quite a few articles for free in PubMed. The entire first page of results is all from 2013.

Thank you, Jenny. I will go now and read your Pub Med link.

ETA: Oh my, those articles are not so easy to understand!

Nabokov's description was quite clear. He said to his mom when he was playing with blocks that had letters painted on to them that the colors were all wrong, for example the block with the letter "A" was painted in the wrong color. It didn't match the color "A" had for him. His mother was also a synesthete!

Oh my, that's a flashback. I haven't seen or spent anytime on PubMed for a good few years. I'm not opening the link as I will spend too long on there. So many times I got distracted on there while I was trying to write Psych essays ("ooo! *That* looks interesting!!').

My daughter has synesthesia. She sees colours in music, not in words and letters, so it does not take the same form as Nabokov's. It took her several years to realise that most people only heard music.

When I was taking piano lessons, my instructor had me learn a whole study by a composer. Each song was a colour. I can't remember the name of the composer but the music was quite avant-garde and I could almost hear the colours, some songs more than others. But then, that was the whole purpose of the exercise.

Janice wrote: "When I was taking piano lessons, my instructor had me learn a whole study by a composer. Each song was a colour. I can't remember the name of the composer but the music was quite avant-garde and ..."
Oh I love that! Do you remember which composer/works?

Val wrote: "My daughter has synesthesia. She sees colours in music, not in words and letters, so it does not take the same form as Nabokov's. It took her several years to realise that most people only heard mu..."

What exactly do you mean? When she hears music does she see colors with her eyes closed? Or is it that when she has her eyes open everything is tinged with that color? Or is it that a blue jacket turns to like purple and a yellow hat to orange because the music felt like red? Or are there splashes of different colors. I wish someone would make a movie to look at so I could see it. Val, has your daughter always had this ability?

Janice wrote: "When I was taking piano lessons, my instructor had me learn a whole study by a composer. Each song was a colour. I can't remember the name of the composer but the music was quite avant-garde and ..."

That is fantastic! I do not have synesthesia, but when others see certain colors I see different ones. Once I took an eye test and I was asked where the blue was, and I told her there was no blue...... but I do see blue of course, but not on that test. Weird.

Chrissie wrote: "Val wrote: "My daughter has synesthesia. She sees colours in music, not in words and letters, so it does not take the same form as Nabokov's. It took her several years to realise that most people o..."

She sees colours swirling out of the instruments being played or out of the speakers for recorded or amplified music. The colours mix to form a shifting pattern.
I think she has always had it. I only realised she did and she only realised I didn't, when we heard some rather discordant music and she said, 'Those colours don't go together'.

Val wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Val wrote: "My daughter has synesthesia. She sees colours in music, not in words and letters, so it does not take the same form as Nabokov's. It took her several years to realise t..."

That is so amazing! Thank you for explaining. There are many different kinds of synesthesia!

I was just about to suggest PubMed Jenny. Synesthesia is a supplementary concept and is connected to Perception Disorders subject heading. A tip: to get focussed hits, type in the basic search box: synesthesia[tiab] This looks for the word in the title and abstract. PubMed indexes clinical literature. Why yes, I am a medical librarian. How did you guess?

Hi-5 librarians!

Jenny wrote: "Oh I love that! Do you remember which composer/works?"

I was searching online for it and found Robert Starer's Sketches in Color. I thought the composer was a woman, but that sounded familiar so I looked on You Tube. I recognized the music.

Pink
Shades of Blue
Bright Orange
Crimson
Purple
Grey
Crimson
Black and White

My favorite was Pink & Shades of Blue. I hope my ex hasn't thrown out my sheet music because after listening to the You Tube clips, I want to get reacquainted with these songs.

Chrissie wrote: "That is fantastic! I do not have synesthesia, but when others see certain colors I see different ones..."

It sounds like what we call colour blind. My father and grandson are both colour blind. My dad doesn't see a difference between green and red. He has to go by the position of the lights when he's driving.

Janice wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "That is fantastic! I do not have synesthesia, but when others see certain colors I see different ones..."

It sounds like what we call colour blind. My father and grandson are bot..."

Oh, that's good your grandfather figured out another way with the street lights! One tends to usually come up with other solutions without even analyzing it.

I have finished The Surrendered, set in Korea. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Also finished Speak, Memory, but not read for the challenge.
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
This was fantastic!

I was in the Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya by way of David Eggers What Is the What. I actually didn't like this much at first, it took a while for me to be drawn in but by the end this was a book I definitely was glad I read. Fuller review linked below:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Many are talking about Snow Hunters. Yup, I liked it! Primarily set in Brazil, a bit in Korea.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

On to Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. I have to check out this author and I prefer novels over poetry. This is part of a series but each are stand-alones.

I just left England and France with a light summer read in The Lavender Garden. The title, I think was to grab certain readers, but really has very little to do with the book. My review is here: http://coldread.wordpress.com/2013/08...

The People in Between: A Cyprus Odyssey is informative historical fiction about what has been happening in Cyprus since the 50s. Yeah, I liked it. It gave me in a simple fashion the history I was looking for, but the writing is unexceptional and the fictional tale was too sweet and oh so predictable. I did complement with more info at Wiki!
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I am so proud of myself. I am reaching the end of all the paper books I have purchased but have not yet read. I bought Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette because I loved the author's Ahab's Wife, or The Star-Gazer..... which my dear mother lost! Grrr. Maybe I loved that b/c I think Nantucket is one of the best places in the whole world. Will "Abundance" be as good?

I just left a very bustling, competitive China with Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw. My review is here, but I thought the crafting of this novel was perfect.

I have Five Star Billionaire on order from the library. It is probably the most interesting book on the Booker long list this year.

I both loved and hated Jayber Crow.
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Now I will listen to Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival, because it is exciting. Or so I have been told. Set in Peru.

Just went to Turkey again with The Yogurt Man Cometh, about an American who spent a year teaching English in Ankara (without bothering to learn any Turkish first!) You can read what I thought about it in my review. While the author is American, the entire book is set in Turkey, and it was published in Istanbul. :) I have at least four more books from Turkey to read this year!

I was in Cambodia with Ung's First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers. It's one of those memoirs that read like a novel--which I think is actually something that distanced it from me. But certainly paints a vivid picture of that place and time. Full review linked below:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Completed Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Started Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West

Chrissie wrote: "Completed Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Started Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of th..."

I've read Bury My Heart at least twice many years ago. I remember how much it moved me. I look forward to reading your comments on it!

Suzanne wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Completed Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Started Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Ind..."

It is so acclaimed, so I assume I will like it. Good to know you did too.

Left Britain and Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill. His earlier years haven't been covered much so this is an interesting glimpse into Churchill's life before the age of 40. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Phew, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West was not easy, due to its difficult subject matter. Excellently written. Excellent narration, just difficult to stomach. You think you know what has been done to Native Americans. I thought I knew, but this book really clarifies. Very glad I read this. Everybody thinks it is obligatory to know of the horrors of the Holocaust. Well this is obligatory reading too. My very short review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I have moved on to a survival story, which in comparison offers pure relief: We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance. The setting is northern Norway.

Well, once I started listening to We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance, I could do nothing but listen. Do you need to be cheered up? You must read it......immediately.
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

So now I am on a binge of epic survival stories. How will Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster compare? Could it possible be as good as that I just finished?

Chrissie wrote: "Well, once I started listening to We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance, I could do nothing but listen. Do you need to be cheered up? You must read it......immediately.
My review: http..."

Chrissie - now with a comment like this and a review like that, how could I not put the book on my To Read list???

I was in World War II Philippines with Holthe's When the Elephants Dance. I really loved the picture Holthe painted of the country. Yes, it does deal with wartime atrocities, but there was also much in the book that was warming, not just wrenching. Fuller review linked below:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Lilisa wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Well, once I started listening to We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance, I could do nothing but listen. Do you need to be cheered up? You must read it......immediately...."

It cheered me up and kept me glued, but maybe you will react differently!

Judy wrote: "Lisa, that was a book that I thought was better than its overall GR rating. Certainly very educational with its culture and folklore.
"

I really enjoyed it--more than I thought I would. I loved the folklore.

Chrissie wrote: "Well, once I started listening to We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance, I could do nothing but listen. Do you need to be cheered up? You must read it......immediately.
My review: http..."

After reading your review I purchased it at once. I'm sure you'll like the book about the Everest disaster.

I finished Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster.
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I know I ought to now read The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest but I don't want to. Setting the Nepal side of the mountain.

Have started the beginning of A Century of Wisdom: Lessons from the Life of Alice Herz-Sommer, the World's Oldest Living Holocaust Survivor and am enjoying it so far. I like what I am learning about Kafka, a friend of the Sommer family. Probably I will have to pick up a biography on him after this! Already I am looking at his books with different eyes! Setting, the Czech-Republic.

I recently finished And the Mountains Echoed which was based in Afghanistan with side trips to Greece, France and the US.

The writing seemed a bit disjointed to me, but the characters and their individual stories were vividly described.

I am new to this group and just jumping in. It is likely that others have also read this book. I think you can access my review by clicking on my name.

I was on a ship sailing the mediterranean with Macedonia Passage: Dangerous Cargo which was very disappointing. Then I went to Vietnam with The Lotus Eaters which I found equally disappointing.
From there I went to Siberia, the region of Magadan where Kolyma Tales gives you the feeling of entering the gulag. Highly recommended.


Then I read Devil's Peak, Thirteen Hours, 7 Days and Blood Safari which are crime/ thrillers located in South Africa.

I really enjoyed Americanah which is located in the US and Nigeria. Seen through Nigerian eyes.

Then I was off to France and Senegal with Three Strong Women which won the Prix Goncourt. I liked this book but it's not for everyone.
The aftermath of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia as in The Disappeared didn't appeal to me at all.

Finally to Malaysia with The Garden of Evening Mists which I thought was better than The Gift of Rain. I love his style but the plot is - to me - not very convincing. All my family was in POW camps during WW2 (Indonesia, Burma and Nagasaki) and I find it impossible to believe that the protagonist has such an intense relationship with a Japanese. Not after what she went through in the camp.

Vizara wrote: "but the plot is - to me - not very convincing.I find it impossible to believe that the protagonist has such an intense relationship with a Japanese. Not after what she went through in the camp. "


Re: The Garden of Evening Mists

I couldn't agree with you more.

Brief trip to Ireland to read The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan, another book from the Booker longlist. I was impressed by the capture of characters, and there is a little quote in my review.

Having read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West I decided to read The Native Americans: An Illustrated History. I want to know more about Native American culture, art and history.....before it was destroyed. Both North and South American tribes are covered and it goes back 20.000 years. Published in 1993. Very comprehensive and great art work.

I finished Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette, which I really enjoyed. This is how I like historical fiction to be written. I like to get into the heads of historical people and see how they saw the world and events that happened around them. I like how this author writes - intelligently, beautifully and with empathy for the characters.

I was in Mozambique, reading the fascinating The Tuner of Silences by Mia Couto.

my review is http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...

The Tuner of Silences

I just visited Ethiopia in the sure hands of a surgeon, Abraham Verghese in Cutting for Stone--very, very much worth the read. Full review linked below:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I was in South Africa--Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country--which is a beloved classic--but alas not by me....

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Lisa, I rally liked both "Cutting for Stone" and "Cry, the Beloved Country"!

Finished A Century of Wisdom: Lessons from the Life of Alice Herz-Sommer, the World's Oldest Living Holocaust Survivor. (Setting predominantly Czech-Republic, but parts in Israel and Britain too)

(My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...)

I will soon start Goodbye Sarajevo: A True Story of Courage, Love and Survival. Atka Reid & Hana Schofield. (Setting Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina)

For my paper book I am reading The Old Capital, but I am not terribly thrilled with J. Martin Holman's translation, and it is his second of the same book! (Setting Japan)

Chrissie wrote: "Lisa, I rally liked both "Cutting for Stone" and "Cry, the Beloved Country"!."

Oh, I know--I've seen lots of 5 star reviews for both. Oh well, the disagreements are what makes GR an interesting place...