Indian Readers discussion

Beloved Friend: The Story of Tchaikowsky and Nadejda Von Meck by Catherine Drinker Bowen - 5/5

Peter Ilyich Tchaikowsky was a legendary Russian composer living in the 1800s Soviet Russia - Nadejda von Meck, many years his senior and a widow, was immensely rich (one of her estates was 12000 acres in size) and with an exquisite taste in music. Living in the same era as Tolstoy (they were acquainted), he was born in an era where Russian music had no reputation in the world (then confined to Europe for the Russians), and Russian music had no recognition in Russia itself. His mentors, the Rubenstein brothers established formally the Russian school for music, and introduces him to Madame von Meck, who becomes his patron and then his confidante, as they begin to exchange intimate letters, deciding never to meet in real life.

The letters explore the lives of Tchaikowsky, Madame von Meck, the Rubensteins, and other people that significantly affected their lives.

Their lives, as revealed by the letters, were traumatic. Like Dostoevsky's books, truly tragic. If you like Dostoevsky, you will definitely love this book. These letters were willed by von Meck to her favorite grandson Vladimir (Volichka), and his wife Barbara von Meck corresponded with Bower to publish these letters interspersed with biographical information.

And yes, both of them hid one crucial fact from each other, which invariably colored their whole lives and also their interactions with each other. And yet, they were united by bonds of very touching friendship which long ago became such a habit that they couldn't live apart.

Their deaths too were intriguing - von Meck died three months after Tchaikowsky's death. Thus ended one of the strangest intimacies in all history, and its end was as inexplicable as its course. Seven months before his death, deep in depression and darkness, he had written a work now known as 'The Sixth Symphony', and his brother and confidante Modeste Tchaikowsky referred to it as Peter having written his own requiem.

The best book I read since January this year.

Since the basis of their unusual relationship lay on their taste in music and von Meck's great appreciation for him as a composer, there are often technical details about music they share in their letters. Also, since both of them were frequent travelers to Europe, for recreation as well as for the sake of promoting music, the book also throws light on the global trends in music, and much on the nature of Europeans in the 1800s, especially Germany, Italy and France, which had an immense impact on Russian music.

Dostoevsky was fiction - but you cannot escape the tragedy in this case because it was all true.

A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism by Donna J. Haraway - 4/5

A seemingly short (43 pages) but immensely dense tract on the figure of the cyborg in 20th century sci-fi, the work examines from the socialist-feminist point-of-view the ontological and political aspects of the presence of a transgressive creature such as the cyborg. Analysing literary and cinematic works that depict cyborgs, Haraway emphasizes on the nature of a possible critical framework that seeks to harmonize the spectre of horror that haunts the present world. Haunts - because the cyborg is neither human, nor machine, and yet both - it lacks the metanarrative of genesis and family, yet longs for community - it is not only post-gender, but also post-human, threatening the hierarchy of man and machine - and stretching it further, the female cyborg also defying the hierarchy of man and women and male-cyborgs and female-cyborgs.

Very dense and difficult, requiring multiple readings and spanning ontological, capitalistic and patriarchal concerns, it is brilliant nevertheless.

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift - 5/5

A very short political tract by Swift in a lashing, satirical vein, the complete title of this tract is 'A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public'.

Published in 1729, an era when the British and the Irish were sworn enemies and when Ireland was reeling under a severe drought, Swift wrote this as an attempt to criticize heavily the British authorities who did nothing to stave off the plight of the Irish.

The essay exhorts the Irish to give birth to as many kids as possible, feed them properly and then, when they are at their juiciest best, to eat them - since there is no other way to survive the fatal dearth of food. Mistaken by the readers as a genuine suggestion, the tract was heavily criticized. Only later did people see its extreme satire directed at the British, that suggested that very soon, the Irish would have no way but to eat their own children to survive the famine.

A very rare piece of unmitigated, perhaps even venomous criticism, yet hilarious political-satire tract.

'The Modest Proposal' is anything but modest. And here's a few lines from it:

'I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection.

I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasie, or a ragoust.'

River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh - 2/5

Poor linguistic imitation of Rushdie. No magical realism, but tried to explore language the way Rushdie does, injecting colloquialism and slangs wherever possible - the result? Ghosh over-does it. And without the slightest trace of irony, wit or satire that Rushdie's works are so rich in. Not even the multiple layers of history, fact and fiction that Rushdie so splendidly weaves in. Aspires to be Rushdie-like, but fails miserably. The plot falters often, losing interest for the reader. Poor characterization - no complexity of any sort. Poor read.

Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective by Donna J Haraway - 4/5

In this essay, which was originally a commentary on Sandra Harding's The Science Question in Feminism: Industrial Policy in Europe (1986), Haraway sheds light on her vision for a feminist science. Being both a scientist (she holds a Ph.D. in biology) as well as a feminist sci-fi critic, she presents the microscopic errors of the situational positioning of knowledges and charts a way to reconcile the view from the above, as she calls it, and the view from the below, in an attempt to objectively analyze subaltern views.

As she states, the standpoints of the subjugated are not "innocent" positions, but are the preferred ones since they open portals to a POV erstwhile not only invisible, but also deliberately hidden by the POV of the subjugator. And yet, it does not acquit the subaltern of the pitfalls of a particular positioning from which it sees and describes. Such a relativism, Haraway argues, is a mirror twin of its oppositional stance, Totalism - both deny the stakes in location, embodiment and partial perspective. Relativism and Totalization are both "God-tricks" promising vision from everywhere and nowhere equally and fully...

Therefore, Haraway insists on the positioning part of explaining structures, visualizing a reconciliation between the moderate and radical feminists in writing and assuming the male-dominated history of science with the weapon of looking at it in the fashion of methodological history with emphasis on gender and power-relations, rather than focusing on the epistemological considerations that have long divided them into warring camps.

According to Haraway, then, the solution lies not in having a definite body of knowledge and a corresponding history, but an acknowledgement of the perspectives from different positionings that give space to unequal and unresolvable conflicts - a postmodern vision accommodating partial perspectives, all of which are true and yet not quite complete - the art of learning to converse

The only problem I have ever with Haraway is her difficult prose.

Cyborg : From Science Fiction to Social Reality by Jelena Guga - 3/5

A research paper on the concept of the cyborg, with reference to fictional literature and cinema, emphasizing on the nature of the reality of AIs that, far from epitomizing an alien science fiction, are a near, palpable future possibility lurking on our heads. Quoting Baudrillard and a little of Haraway, a basic exploration of the mysterious figure of the cyborg in science-fiction works.

Posthuman visions: Creating the technologized body by Brett Lunceford - 3.5/5

A research paper, and in the writer's own words, explores the nature of the body through the lens of posthumanism, examining ways that individuals attempt to reshape their bodies through cosmetic surgery and other forms of body modification. Specifically, this article examines the practice of hymen restoration, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge’s artistic endeavours in
cosmetic surgery and Stelarc’s cybernetic experimentations. These cases yield three potential visions of the body: the body must be restored; bodies must be unified; and the body must evolve. Such visions have consequences; the ways in which the body is rhetorically constructed influence how people choose to alter their own bodies. By considering the body itself as medium and as an interface with other technologies, we can better theorize what it truly means to be human.

ECCE Cyborg : The Subject of Communication by Hari Kunzru - 4/5

Yet another deconstruction of the cyborg figure, built upon Donna J Haraway and Jacques Derrida in particular.

The Broken Wing and Other Asian Tales, collected by Belinder Dhanoa - 5/5 (Children's stories)

Contains 5 short stories from Asia:
The Broken Wing - a Korean tale
The Angry King - a tale from Philippines
The Widow's Donkeys - a Chinese folktale
The Wooden Elephant - a Sri Lankan folktale
The Vanishing Rice-Straw Coat - a Japanese fairytale

Loved every single story. Especially the first, the third and the last ones.

Broken Wing & Other Asian Tales

A History Of Indian English Literature by M.K. Naik - 3.5/5

A decent, succinct guide to the genesis of Indian English writing - from its beginnings to contemporary forms. Along with a chronology, also explains in brief the political, social and cultural movements that dictated every era and its noteworthy authors. A fine balance between cultural history and chronology.

Good as a preliminary guide for beginners.

A Critical History of English Literature 1
A Critical History of English Literature 2
A Critical History Of English Literature 3
A Critical History Of English Literature 4 by David Daiches

5/5

Four volumes of exhaustive, unnerving critical history of English Literature, right from Old English, through Middle English to Modern English. A purely academic book. Very daunting due to sheer depth of every representative book and author discussed in great detail with excerpts, explanations and critical commentary on linguistic and artistic aspects as well as presenting cultural/political significance of the concerned work/author.

But brilliant for a detailed study encapsulated in a single book (divided into four volumes).

Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot - 3/5

Too complicated - so much that even renowned critics are not sure what Eliot means after all - they are divided over the meaning of these four quartets.

From what I could understand, I loved it. Rest, over my head. Hence the 3 stars.

A Glossary of Literary Terms by M.H. Abrams - 5/5

One of the best books available for a swift but meaningful study of every new term you can find in the academic study of English literature. Brief, to-the-point yet clear and intelligible - it is a rich book for everyone seeking to systematically understand English literature.

LOL, Lit Bug. Got a headache just from reading the titles/ I would like to read about evolution of Indian literature, and Glossary of terms, though

The Indian Literature book is thoroughly boring - would suggest you to find a better book. Glossary is again, very educational, interesting even, but completely academic. Although you'll develop a greater understanding of the various forms of literature and why they developed the way they did, as well as you'll be able to appreciate their merits when you see such works in a particular historical/cultural context - but at the first read, perhaps you'll find it a bit boring. e.g. reading Waiting for Godot without knowing what Existentialism and Theatre of the Absurd are would make you hate the book, but it makes greater sense if you know the context.

okay, suppose its not for me then :D

Yes, it will require a lot of patience. these are academic books - but if you can go through them, you might be able to appreciate many other great works more than you normally would.

If you can consider reading a shorter history, A History Of English Literature by Edward Albert is amazing. You might like that, I suppose.

Cyborgs In Scientific Literature by S.P. Rajguru - 1/5

The shortest and poorest paper on cyborgs in science fiction. Not worth reading.

Enter cyborg: tracing the historiography and ontological turn of feminist technoscience studies by Cecilia Åsberg - 5/5

A very well-written, lucid paper that can serve as an introductory guide to understand how cyborgs came to be associated with feminism - how scientific discourse and biology intersected with social constructions of gender to uncover the affinity between the dilemma over cyborgs and the female sex.

Working from the entrance of cyborgs in popular cinematic forms like 'Terminator' and 'Ghost in the Shell', it intelligibly points out to the already gendered production of the cyborg figure - stereotypes in place over the male cyborgs and female cyborgs.

Next, she traces the history of how cyborgs were manufactured in real-life post WW2, which sparked in literary genres too through the discourse of "power and knowledge/biopolitics" (Foucault)and racism (Frantz Fanon), postcolonialism and humanism/post-humanism.

With this brief, succinct summary, she proceeds to show the historical development of feminist theory on science, technology and science-fiction, altering on different politics like biology, capitalism, gender-construction and neo-colonialism and/or post-colonialism, ultimately culminating on the feminists like Haraway who acknowledged the authenticity of both cultural as well as techno-political influences on gender formation with respect to female cyborgs and women.

Finally, it ends in the spectacular observation that cyborgs are not the posthumanist end of Man, but the ignition of Posthumanities, a statement that deserves great attention and applause.

People intending to read Haraway should first read this - she is the most lucid explanatory guide to Haraway's numbingly difficult prose.

The Vintage Book Of Historical Feminism by Miriam Schneir - 5/5

This anthology provides excerpts from important feminist works along with a brief account of their authors. These historical writings, some of them now brought out of obscurity, span the period from the 18th century to the 20th century – beginning with figures like Abigail Adams (who exhorted her influential husband John Adams to include laws proclaiming freedom and equality for women while he was one among the many legendary figures drafting The Declaration of Independence in 1776) and Mary Wollstonecraft (who penned the important The Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792), proceeding with strong but lone rebel figures in the 18th century such as the controversial trio of Fanny Wright, George Sand and Sarah Grimke amongst others to the 19th century era when slowly American women were becoming more aware of their subjugated status and were beginning to form an affinity amongst themselves under the influence of feminists like Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, also mentioning in brief the results of these movements – the legal fruits that their patience and resistance bore.

Equally important were eminent men in the 19th and 20th century who were strong advocates of freedom and equality for women – John Stuart Mill, Henrik Ibsen, the Marxist Friedrich Engels, August Bebel and Thorstein Veblen who were remarkable supporters and enthusiasts for social reform in favor of women.

20th century themes feature next with excerpts from Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Emily James Putnam, the immensely controversial and significant women – Emma Goldman and Margaret Sanger, followed by Clara Zetkin’s interview with Lenin during the socialist USSR movement, Virginia Woolf’s A Room Of One’s Own and the conclusion of the book with an excerpt from Mary Ritter Beard’s writing.

What is notable about this anthology is that it is simultaneously a historical account and analysis of the women’s movement both from a literary/cultural as well as political point-of-view. Unlike other histories that focus brightly on political movements in the public eye that brought about changes while pushing important speeches/public addresses and literary/written works in the margins, this anthology traces the roots of the feminist movements, both in its written as well as performed forms – in essays, books, speeches as well as the confrontational movements such as militant feminism, which often entailed prison terms for women and forced feeding sanctioned by the state during fasts (civil disobedience covements) in protest and subsequent arrests, as also labor strikes in factories where women participated along with men for their rights.

These works of protestations bring to light not only the deplorable social circumstances that women faced at the times these works were written, but also the narrow legal frameworks to which women were subjected – frameworks that had dire economic and marital consequences for women and which were the same as those in rigidly patriarchal societies that we see in some nations today – and this history is barely a hundred years old, and reformed only through the dedicated efforts of women who cared not what the world thought of them, nor what their families would have to endure in social circles for the blasphemies they would be committing – indeed, these women were brazen in their quest for legal, social, individual and financial freedom – and equality as equal as imparted to the males. But for them, there would have been scarcely any difference between them and patriarchal frameworks in some countries in the present times.

It is not just a book chronicling the triumph of free-spirited women seeking equality with men in historical terms – but a tribute to the undying spirit of women who believe that conformation to the self’s conceptions of respect and freedom, to the conscience’s call for a radical upheaval in one’s own life is greater than the upholding of the social codes of morality and ethics – that personal ethics are a higher calling than social ethics – and that a woman’s duty to please herself are as important, and in fact, more important the her duty of pleasing her family and the society she lives in.

Far from providing a theoretical framework for the field of Women’s Studies, the anthology inspires women to stand up for their own beliefs for their own respect on their own terms in the light of these magnificent women’s struggles who cared neither for reputation nor approval save that which came from their own consciences.

River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life by Richard Dawkins - 5/5

A scientific appeal against the theory of Creationism - very interesting in language as well as scientific approach aimed equally at laypersons in scientific discourse. A brilliant work, a lucid argument in favor of God's nonexistence backed by scientific proof. Worth multiple reads.

Short, sweet and convincing.

Dance Like a Man: A Stage Play in Two Acts by Mahesh Dattani - 3.5/5

A play that revolves around the conflict and bitterness between a dancer-couple, portraying their gradual breakdown as they grow apart following the death of their infant son caused by negligence - holding a silent bitterness against each other, the play explores their life from various perspectives - a career-woman in India, a married, career-woman-cum-mother in India, an ambitious couple, dance as a creative and career choice.

While this play is innovative in terms of content, it is not spectacular. The language fails to convey effectively the trauma of the broken family the way Arthur Miller's or Eugene O'Neill's does. It is not that captivating. Yet, it stands out as a good read on account of its contemporary concerns that define many cosmopolitan/metropolitan lives.

Despite its flaws, it is a good read.

Key Concepts in Feminist Theory and Research by Christina Hughes - 5/5

An amazing academic book exploring in postmodernist terms six crucial concepts that have been the foundation of Feminist theory. Highly recommended to students of Feminism. However, requires the reader to be aware of the history of feminism, post-structuralism, postmodernism, Cultural Studies, (especially Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault and Antonio Gramsci)and Marxist theories (at least Karl Marx and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak).

Has wonderfully elucidated Haraway's 'A Cyborg Manifesto' in one of the chapters.

Aptly titled, this book reviews six key concepts in feminist theory and research from a postmodern/post-structural perspective – the concepts of Equality, Difference, Choice, Care, Time and Experience. Positing multiple truths based on the classic postmodern technique of examining and holding true and valid the multiple positions they come from, along with relevant case studies to back her concepts, Hughes exhorts for the deconstructions of these positionings to critique essentialist traditions of criticism and evolve a more comprehensive methodology to seek how truths are produced from different discourses than insist on a single essentialist view to ‘explain’ and ‘remedy’ one’s field – in this case, feminism.

Rather than privileging fixed notions of what constitutes reality, it encourages opening up of gaps in constructed realities that block perspectives from other positionings. Hughes applies Derridean methods of deconstruction to posit ruptures in feminist theory and universalist/masculine theory to reveal how binaried thinking, from either positioning is highly flawed.

Postmodern feminism is an approach to feminist theory that incorporates postmodern and post-structuralist theory, and thus sees itself as moving beyond the modernist polarities of liberal feminism and radical feminism.

Using Althusserian ideas of interpellation and Gramscian idea of hegemony, Hughes explores the feminist movement and its concepts as they have developed over the years, pointing out flaws imminent in each, positing how a postmodern approach would, though not resolve the issues, but would render a more meaningful analysis of not only what has been already done, but also chart a possible path on which to tread with least injustice to any vantage point.

The chapter dealing with Equality explores the different meanings of equality as produced by the feminist and humanist body of knowledge, exploring the individual right-based arguments put forth by liberalists that have come under critique for normalizing masculinity in their quest for equality between men and women. The distinction between the two feminist approaches – women being “equal but different” from men and women being “equal and different” from men – takes up a substantial part to elucidate the positioning of a postmodern narrative – and these notions of “equality” and “difference” give rise to the second concept dealt in the next chapter – Difference.

The next chapter explores the idea of Difference – three conceptualizations of it are explored – different-but-equal and identity differences, post-structural and postmodern difference, and postcolonial and sexual difference. However, these do not stand in exclusion of each other – they overlap in works of individual theorists, but act as main concepts regularly visited by in discourses of feminism. These concepts prove aptly that while some discourses which assume to “explain” patriarchal positions in society as “universalizing experiences”, they ignore different positionings from which these “experiences” cease to be universal – the discourse of a White, middle-class, American woman would differ significantly from the experiences of a Black, impoverished, American woman, who again cannot speak for a middle-class Korean woman – a heterosexual woman cannot speak for a homosexual or bisexual woman – a native African cannot speak for an immigrant African. And while the discourse of being different from men does posit the risk of being labelled unequal and thus unfit for equal treatment, it is an important weapon to argue for equality on the grounds of difference – rather than equality, the demand for social justice.

The following chapter takes up the concept of Choice – an important word for feminists, and a potential chasm in feminist discourse. Althusser and Gramsci, along with Foucault seem especially relevant here. Contrary to the Rationalist expectations explaining the phenomenon of choosing, Hughes exposes how Choice for men is not the same for women – autonomy, which is the underpinning of most explanations of choice, ceases to be an agent in the case of women, where structuralist factors play an important role in the choices they make – hegemony, in the sense that women are already interpellated to make certain choices in order to be considered rational, normal beings underlines that women are not autonomous beings, less so their choices.

The next concept Care opens up a plethora of issues, including economic ones, and much debated on by Marxist feminists. The dichotomy between men’s cares as economically productive, hence highly valued and crucial, contrasted with women’s care as non-productive, low-value, unimportant work that constitutes women’s “nature”, crippling women from getting out of their responsibility to care is dealt with.

The next chapter on Time challenges, through feminist concerns, the universally accepted concept of Time as linear to understand how the cyclical nature of time reflects more accurately given the present nature of women’s lives. While time exists commonly as chronological for most of us, for women, time moves in a different fashion, thus underlining the essentialist nature of most discourse on Time.

The following chapter deals with the concept of Experience – the word is perhaps the most crucial site of political struggle over meaning, since it involves personal, psychic and emotional investments on the part of the individual. Long divided over the term, theorists have constituted Experience either as an autonomous choice on the part of the individual, or as a social construction to which the individual is always, already interpellated. The assumption of Truth being uncovered through Experience has led to it become a ground for contestations of what consists of experience, and eventually, the truth. Women’s movement, or feminism has been built on the basis of Experience of women as an affiliation, as a community – it is thus difficult to dismantle “women’s experience”, since it draws us into the realm of the conflict between “objectivity” and “subjectivity” in experience. Standpoint theory has attempted to deconstruct reality as constructed by singular experiences and shown how it is both essential and at the same time impossible to determine what consists of experience and therefore, truth.

Thus, through a postmodernist exploration of these important concepts that form the crux of feminist debates, Hughes attempts to understand the feminist perception from vantage points rather than seeking an absolutist, essentialist explanation and solution for the feminine problem.

Hughes' main concern is that conceptual literacy must be introduced to students to familiarize them with the notion that there are no fixed, universal truths through which a world can be 'known'.

1984 by George Orwell - 4/5

An important sci-fi dystopia novel written in the 1940s, it deals with an imagined world called Oceania that rules its subjects through systematic brainwashing and ingenious methods of tracking and punishment. Far ahead of its time, it presents a chilling future that still doesn't seem implausible.

Trapped in a vicious society that watches over its members closely for signs of rebellion, the protagonist meets his fate as we are silently forced to read it.

Orwell, in this novel, has progressed far beyond the much-simplistic Animal Farm though they appeared only within a few years of each other. The chilling logic detailed by Orwell that hold this society together is more than convincing. His invention of the new language, Newspeak is far from ludicrous. It is very well possible given favorable circumstances to build a world like Oceania, and it is what a few countries have already built today. A relentless system that monitors closely an individual's leanings, alters past history, blocks the portals to outside knowledge or anything counter-productive to the state, training children to hand over their parents, brainwashing propaganda, torture for non-compliance - these are already happening in some nations to an appalling degree that we tend to ignore.

The logic on which Orwell builds his seemingly impossible world is actually very close to reality, hence all the more chilling.

The science part of SF is now obsolete - telescreens, hidden microphones are now passe, but given the time-frame when it was published, it can be argued that it is still sci-fi. Now, I read it more as a political/social dystopia than an SF dystopia.

Orwell's language is, thankfully, free of ornamentation that plagued early 20th century prose - his forthright style is well-intended, though it seems to miss the mark. For such a strong plot, the language was a letdown, though not completely. For me, language always has been a weak point in Orwell's works.

Despite that, 1984 is a superb work - timeless, highly original and highly relevant.

it scared me a lot - listening to 1984 audio.

Yes - it is definitely scary - from the second-half, it is much darker and grim. There! wasn't it sci-fi? (Though I agree, it is obsolete science/tech now - hidden mikes and telescreens)

Two poems - Fra Lippo Lippi and Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning - 5/5

Re-read these after 7 years. Now I've grown to appreciate these bulky poems even more.

Written by Browning, almost 400 lines each in length, they are one of Browning's finest dramatic monologues.

According to A Glossary of Literary Terms by M.H. Abrams, a dramatic monologue has three main features - A single person, who is patently not the poet, utters the speech that makes up the whole of the poem, in a specific situation at a critical moment, This person addresses and interacts with one or more other people; but we know of the auditors' presence, and what they say and do, only from clues in the discourse of the single speaker and The main principle controlling the poet's choice and formulation of what the lyric speaker says is to reveal to the reader, in a way that enhances its interest, the speaker's temperament and character.

Fra Lippo Lippi depicts a 15th century real-life painter, Filippo Lippi, who sneaks into the chamber of prostitutes and paints them truthfully, and the monologue serves to satirize the Church that sought to regulate the arts - "paint the soul, not the flesh". A very beautiful, witty and satiric poem, it is nevertheless very touching and thought-provoking. The characters of Fra Lippo Lippi and the policeman who catches and interrogates him are amazingly drawn.

Andrea del Sarto deals with a broken man's monologue to his wife who has betrayed him - filled with emotion and love, it is one of the most moving love poems of all time. I can't help draw parallels with Fitzgerald's novel "Tender is the Night" - the poem is exceptionally tender and sad.

Lit Bug wrote: "For such a strong plot, the language was a letdown, though not completely. For me, language always has been a weak point in Orwell's works.

Despite that, 1984 is a superb work - timeless, highly original and highly relevant...."

I think its almost highly impossible for Orwell to have any artistic writing skills - writers either have extraordinary ideas like Orwell or they can express ordinary ideas in an extraordinary prose. Isn't asking for both from one author, too much?

PS: Those who lack both become readers like me, criticizing them :P

me too :P

me three :P. I agree we're far worse when it comes to writing skills and mindblowing plots that's why we read instead of writing the next classic. But I find China Miéville's style just the right kind when plots like Orwell's are at hand. Can't compare, of course since Orwell was writing in the 40s, Mieville is writing today - but see even Bernard Malamud - after having read him, I just can't get over his style. And he wrote in the same era as Orwell.

Not that Orwell was bad - I wouldn't rate him 4 then - but I really wish he could have written splendidly - for the sake of the wonderful plot and his ingenious logic behind the plot. It was a longing, rather than a criticism. I think Animal Farm too had a wonderful premise - the animal allegory - but marred by simplistic prose - I so much want them to be re-written for the sake of elevating it to an even higher level - collaborating writers?

دیوانِ غالب Deewan-e-Ghalib by Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib - 5/5

One of my favorite poets ever, and a treasured collection since long. Ghalib's sensual poetry made sharper by wit and peppered with sarcasm make it a memorable, cherished read. Devoid of melodrama, he is still capable of making the reader pine - and ah, so flawless his execution, so heart-rending his poetry!

Ghalib's own words sum up better his place in history than any reviewer can ever hope to -

हैं और भी दुनिया में सुख़नवर बोहोत अच्छे
कहते हैं के ग़ालिब का है अंदाज़-ए-बयाँ और

Club reading his poetry with Gulzar's beautiful series on Ghalib's life, Naseeruddin Shah capturing Ghalib amazingly well in the role - and Jagjit Singh's mellifluous voice rendering the heart-rending lines of my favorite Ghalib-ghazal ever - Aah ko chahiye ek umr asar hone tak, kaun jeeta hai teri zulf ke sar hone tak..."

A plus point of this collection is that it has a poem-by-poem glossary of the Farsi words used, now unintelligible to most of us.

This collection is a sheer delight. A must-read for anyone who loves good poetry.

Lit Bug wrote: "Not that Orwell was bad - I wouldn't rate him 4 then - but I really wish he could have written splendidly - for the sake of the wonderful plot and his ingenious logic behind the plot. It was a longing, rather than a criticism. I think Animal Farm too had a wonderful premise - the animal allegory - but marred by simplistic prose - I so much want them to be re-written for the sake of elevating it to an even higher level - collaborating writers?..."

:D You had me at It was a longing, rather than a criticism. I can identify with that kind of longing very much and its born more out of love for the book than dislike.

Exactly :D I'm wondering if it (1984) has been adapted for a movie... Anybody has any idea?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048918/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087803/

One of them was released in 1984 :)

Thanks :) You've seen either of them?

The City and the City by China Miéville - 4.5/5

China Mieville is not Orwellian, as reviewers say – he is the new Orwell – or what Orwell would have been had he been writing today. This urban fantasy novel walks a tight-rope between literature and popular-fiction. A fuzzy place where it belongs to literature, and to popular-fiction too, yet it is a part of both and neither – just like his two cities, or rather, three cities. Beszel, the first city, Ul Qoma, the second city and the fuzzy place in between – Orciny – the third city – the invisible, rather, unseen city that lies in between the city and the city, pervading both, yet part of none. Mieville is an author who works largely in the fantasy genre but whose subject matter is invariably the city: its architecture, archetypes, topology, and sociology.

For once, the hero of the novel isn’t a person. It is the cities themselves – what seems in the beginning a slightly better crime fiction work, by degrees turns to marvelous as the reader realizes that the focus of the plot is not people, but the cities where the plot is set – the strange cities, and no one knows how many of them are there. The city emerges in layers of complexity as the protagonists, while the characters serve only to be the background – as vehicles to move the plot ahead and reveal by degrees the complexities that surround the cities. The cities gain a complicated personality while the characters become walking clichés, caricatures at the best.

No matter, then, where his work exactly stands – it is sufficient that it is awe-inspiring and riveting. A murder mystery on the surface, but further digging reveals a lot more. The thrill of a regular Grisham taken on a whole new level that imparts it the timeless quality bestowed by literature. Not just stories, but lessons and insights into life – our life, no matter where the story is told.

A young girl is found brutally murdered in Beszel – a routine investigation by Inspector Borlu leads to the discovery of strange events – he has to travel to the second city when a video footage shows up that shows a van carrying her dead body being smuggled to Beszel from the second city– Ul Qoma, separated by no physical borders – only psychological borders, effected by the act of unseeing and unsensing. Transgressed, a mysterious force called Breach intervenes physically. And then, there’s a third city – Orciny – rumored to lie somewhere between the city and the city, not invisible, but unseen, hence unknown. Stakes go higher as Borlu, with a fellow officer from Ul Qoman police investigate into what turns out to be a massive crime – the cities become major players then.

The wonderful thing about Mieville is that in creating these new cities set somewhere in Europe, he builds from scratch an entire civilization, a history, with its own legends and peculiar rules, its own languages, customs, its impressive Slavic-Germanic roots – yet it is not complete fantasy – it has bearings on the rest of the real world as we know it. It is impossible, yet not implausible. And towards the end, he ties up all loose ends with astonishing lucidity and logic. No questions linger despite the strangeness of the plot. At the end, everything is as real as it is imaginary.

The descriptions are the most important part of the plot – yet the reader cannot get weary of them – rather than reading about the cities, we feel as if we are walking down its streets, unseeing the other city every time we happen to glance upon it. The repetitions only serve to reinforce the nature of the silent rivalry between the cities.

As a crime novel – it is not astounding, but not mediocre either. But the best I have ever read when taken in its entirety – dark Orwellian themes, crisp narration, an unbelievably novel and convincing plot and valuable insights into ourselves flickering here and there. Yet, it cannot be strictly categorized under literature, primarily because of its choice of protagonists – cities – that cannot speak for humans, though it spoke volumes about them. Strictly speaking, the novel treads an unstable path between what is considered literature and popular-fiction. It has elements of both, and cannot comfortably fit into either. It blurs the clear line between the two.

I can see why this novel bagged an Arthur C. Clarke award.

Lit Bug wrote: "The City and the City by China Miéville - 4.5/5

China Mieville is not Orwellian, as reviewers say – he is the new Orwell – or what Orwell would have been ha..."

Interesting! Added to my future reads.

Lit Bug wrote: "Thanks :) You've seen either of them?"

Nope! :(

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz - 2/5

The back of the cover gave an impressive feel - Odd Thomas, a 20-year old something sweet guy, living in Pico Mundo, a sweet little peaceful town works as an excellent fry-cook and is going steady with his gorgeous, adorable, avid feminist girl Stormy. And this guy is odd - because he can see ghosts, talk with them and see the mysterious bodachs that follow people just before they are destined to die.

A mysterious man with a ravenous appetite appears and bodachs follow him - they haunt his house as well. And Odd begins to realize that the man is Evil - and the day after he has this feeling, he realizes that the man is going to unleash his evil fury on the quaint, happy town in fewer than 24 hours and he has even less time to figure out what or when or where it will happen.

Well, despite the great possibility of turning this into a formidable horror/supernatural novel, Koontz falls much below expectations.

The plot is excruciatingly slow - even at the end of the 15th chapter, we are reminded for the umpteenth time that something bad is about to happen. The leisurely speed takes away any horror, fear or anticipation we are supposed to feel.

The plot is too predictable - we know right away who will die, who will survive. The characters of Odd and Stormy, though pleasant, even lovable, are eventually caricatures - they lack any depth.

The storyline is extremely weak - it is too poor to be stretched into a whole novel-sized affair. A short-story would have been far better.

Overall, it is a highly flawed book - only those who want to read a supernatural book that fails to instill any fear in the reader, that reads like a fairytale written for engaging children without frightening them off should pick this up.

Hurray, at least one strike off from my enormous to-read list

:) It was really awful.

Memoria by Alex Bobl

- 4/5 for the way the suspense is handled, 3.5/5 overall

I received a free e-copy of this work from the author on GR - below is my honest review

A formidable sci-fi thriller, Alex Bobl gets it right. His world is a dystopian future New York, run by the mega-corporation Memoria that helps its citizens erase traumatic memories and thus live happily - what more could one want? But under the carpet, this city is grappling with the consequences of the vicious intersections of power and technology. Memoria is about to start the Vaccination program. But what is its agenda? How will it change the world that already has no memory of its own? Who are involved in this mysterious affairs?

Fast-paced, thrilling and well-written, this novel explores the ramifications of the abuse of technology in powerful hands. Without being sentimental, nostalgic or melodramatic, it probes through the course of events what it means to be human and how memories build up our sense of reality, integrity and ethics – and consequently, how manipulated memories can erase an entire history and construct a new reality for its subjects. A reality where people are controlled through chemically embedded memories that are not their own.

Kathleen Baker is murdered. Frank Shelby is accused of it. And then there are the migrants – a whole sprawling community, a “lower” class of people that provides New York its food, electricity and water supply, thus balancing the power status quo with immensely powerful corporation of Memoria and ensuring its own survival in the deal.

The characters are believable – but it is not a story about its protagonists, but action-packed ruminations about the nature of technology that humans are intelligent enough to invent but not wise enough to handle. It explores the deadly combination of power and technology, where the desire to control supersedes the desire to remain humane.

Thought-provoking, intense and well-crafted, this novel does exactly what is expected of science-fiction – question what it means to be human and explore the ramifications of misuse of science on human lives. It lives up to Isaac Asimov’s observation about the nature of the two – “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”

The only drawbacks - a few loopholes and a rather abrupt, unsatisfactory end - a more polished, drawn out end would have raised the stature of this strong work even higher.

The descriptions are very apt - brevity of dialogues, an evocative, crisp narration and an exceptionally well-maintained suspense are the highlights of this novel. Also the noteworthy absence of romance and sexism usually present in thriller novels - although it is not feminist in any sense, it does not prick a feminist reader's conscience.

Overall, it is a good read - not literary, but thought--provoking, and a treat for readers who like a mix of intellectual stimulation and action bereft of heady romantic vows in the midst of fatal gunfire.

However, it is only for those who love thrillers. For the solely literary-minded, they might complain, and rightly so.

A History of Literary Criticism: From Plato to the Present by M.A.R. Habib - 4/5

A succinct guide to the major critical concepts in literature right from Plato to contemporary times - absolutely wonderful, but needs the reader to be at least somewhat acquainted with the major literary/critical traditions of Western philosophy and literature. Also very useful as a comprehensive account of different threads in a given literary/critical movement, enabling a comparative analysis of the whole movement in a nutshell.

Comprehensive, well-written, concise and heavily condensed - hence a rich, short but extremely dense account - but only for those attempting higher studies - absolutely not for undergrads lacking awareness in the basic concepts of western philosophy and literary/critical traditions.

Chapter 22 - Psychoanalytic Criticism - details the psychoanalytic traditions as laid down by Freud and his successor Lacan, pointing out the differences and similarities between the two, also mentioning current readings of Freud and Lacan.

Chapter 26 - Feminist Criticism - starting with a short account on the differences between French Feminism, American Feminism and British Feminism, continues with relatively short but dense elucidations of the nature of the work and ideologies of important feminist writers - Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir, Elaine Showalter, the Marxist feminist Michèle Barrett, Julia Kristeva and Helen Cixous

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse - 3/5

A reasonably good book following the trials of Siddhartha, a Brahmin's son living the same time as Gautam Buddha - his life as an ascetic Samana, his subsequent acquisition of wealth and a long-time lover, his return to a simple life as a boatsman by a river, his accidental meeting with his former lover and his son and his final renunciation.

While the plot is believable, interesting and promising, the treatment is equally uninteresting and uneven. The narration has no fixed pace - it meanders leisurely in parts, only to rush later on, deluging the reader with a cramming of multiple events in a short span of time. The first few chapters are painfully slow in the depiction of Siddharth's frustrations and spiritual musings. Equally poignant junctures in the plot are dealt roughly, with hurried descriptions that fail to evoke corresponding emotions in the reader.

The only memorable character in the book is that of the boatman who initially ferried Siddharth - it is truly a pleasure to read his part. Rest of the characters seem mere caricatures.

The language is somewhat archaic, unpolished, obsolete - the kind used in earlier translations of Sanskrit classics, which pinches the ear.

It reads like a good novel hurriedly written and published before it could be polished and smoothed out. Plenty of possibilities, but mediocre execution.

The India Rubber Boy: Russian Classical Stories for Children by Izdatel Stvo - 5/5

A wonderful collection of short stories, depicting the classic Russian leanings for tragedy and an unnameable pain. The stories are not to be read to children though - they are too poignant, too tragic and pensive - especially the title story. These are stories featuring children to be read by adults.

Brilliant, and truly a hidden gem in Russian literature. Recommended to anyone who likes classic Russian literature.

dely may like this

Smitha wrote: "dely may like this"

:D

Last week I have seen in the bookshop a collection of Russian fairy tales but it was too expensive for me; I am used to buy only secondhand books or the free downloads for my kindle!

dely wrote: "Smitha wrote: "dely may like this"

:D

Last week I have seen in the bookshop a collection of Russian fairy tales but it was too expensive for me; I am used to buy only secondhand books or the free..."

Looks like it is free here, though am not sure - http://similoos.jimdo.com/2013/05/03/...

Let me know if it is, so I can know for sure :)

Lit Bug wrote: "dely wrote: "Smitha wrote: "dely may like this"

:D

Last week I have seen in the bookshop a collection of Russian fairy tales but it was too expensive for me; I am used to buy only secondhand book..."

Is it a safe site?

don't know :( just came across it.

Well, better not to risk! However thanks ;)