Amongst other things during the month of August, including replenishing my supplies, I read the following four books and have just started The Confederacy of Dunces:
Here is my very short and quick review of each: Continue reading
Filed under Literature
On Friday, I took the train up to New York from DC to spend the weekend in Brooklyn with my brother and to also see my grandmother in the Bronx. On the train, I started Netherland by Joseph O’Neill about post 9/11 New York as seen from the viewpoint of a Dutchman who discovers the West Indian and South Asian cricket playing world. I thought the novel would serve as a good backdrop to visiting my brother’s very West Indian Brooklyn neighborhood on the south side of Prospect Park near Flatbush. As a matter of fact, it was — most of which though I finished on the train ride back to DC.
On Saturday, my bro and and I took the Q train to Coney Island to check out where both my grandmother and father had enjoyed spending summer days when they were children. I suppose I don’t have to mention that Coney Island is not what it used to be. Nevertheless, it (as well as the ride there) is definitely fascinating with its mix of cultures that outside of New York would never logically inhabit the same space. And that is pretty much what Netherland is about. O’Neill writes, Continue reading
Filed under Digressions, Friends / Family, Literature
I just finished reading Philip Roth’s The Human Stain — kind of an American version of Milan Kundera’s The Joke. The story takes place during the summer of 1998 in the middle of the Bill Clinton – Monica Lewinsky scandal.
After reading the first page, I was transported back to my own summer of 1998. Most of my memories of that time are blurry , for it was spent seven day a week, fourteen hours a day, for all of June and July preparing for and then taking the New York Bar Examination. August I spent in recovery with withdrawal pains. Yes, withdrawal pains. Continue reading
Filed under Digressions, Literature
I had already made my book and music online purchases for my trip back home when I realized that there were two other books that I had forgotten. One minor setback — that actually helps with my personal finance — is that I always travel obsessive-compulsively light. I do not check in luggage, and I take only one reasonable carry-on and a computer case.
Between the incredibly efficient (yet probably not environmentally friendly) American washer/dryer technology and already having a stockpile of underwear and toiletries back home, I really don’t need to pack much anyways. Thus when on the trip to the States, I basically just fill my suitcase with clothes that I no longer wear (I essentially retire or relegate them to my U.S. closet) and a few small gifts (if any). While in the States, I permit myself to purchase only a quantity of goods whose to volume is equal to the size of my reasonable carry-on.
Not only does this safeguard me against spending an absurd amount of time running errands to make random purchases for friends and co-workers in Europe, it also allows me to stay within a budget. The items that can accumulate and become costly are iPods and CDs. CDs don’t take up any space at all. Once I buy them, I reduce them to electronic format anyways and store them inside my computer. Ipods — much cheaper in the U.S. because of the weak dollar — are inevitably what everyone asks me for and also do not take up much suitcase space. I can also get iPods for a bunch of different people in just one trip to the Mall — for some reason, everyone I know thinks that there is an Apple store on every American street corner, and sending me out on an iPod and/or MAC shopping spree is like walking to the end of my driveway to pick up the mail.
Why am I telling you this? Continue reading
Filed under Digressions, Literature
My modus operandi prior to traveling to the States for the summer and Christmas is to replenish my garrison with books and music that I cannot otherwise readily find in Europe. Thus, a week or so before leaving, I always go on Amazon or Ebay and make a large purchase (to be shipped State side). The supply — supplemented throughout the year with local purchases — generally lasts me until the subsequent trip. As a matter of fact, I have only two books left on deck that should last me from now until the time I travel. That’s some pretty good timing! In any event, here is what I have ordered.
Books:
Music:
Filed under Digressions, Jazz, Literature
I am about half way through (around page 300 of 600) Ahab’s Wife: Or, The Star-gazer. The novel, one of my mother’s favorites, had been lying dormant for years on my book shelf until a week or so ago when I decided to open her up and give some air to pages. After a slow start, I am finally fully involved in its development.
Then right when Una, the story’s main character, was at last about to touch land after a dramatic voyage at sea, Spain convincingly beat Russia 3-0 in the European Cup semi-finals. This victory marks a major change in the Spanish national soccer team’s history of disappointing performances in major international competitions.
The moment the match ended, the spontaneous festivities broke out in the streets of Madrid. Outside my window, it sounded like a mix between a war zone (firecrackers and car alarms), San Fermines, and a fascist pep rally. Although I am not the biggest fan of patriotic boasting, reaching the finals of the European Cup is a major ego booster to a (soccer-loving) nation and source of pride and future bragging rights.
But amidst all of the cheering and chanting (“que viva España” and “a por ellos, oé”) and celebrations, I kept wondering how people could so openly rejoice after everything that Ahab’s wife, Una, had just been through and everything that awaits her ashore. It just goes to show that we live in little bubbles isolated from our own immediate surroundings, like a raft alone in the open sea.
Filed under Digressions, Football/Soccer, Literature, Living la vida española
Right now I am reading Amin Maalouf’s The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, and although I thought it would be more entertaining, it is slower moving and denser than I had anticipated. Nevertheless, it is still rather fascinating, especially when viewed in a contemporary context.
For example, there is an Arabic saying that goes something like, “Arabs only agree with other Arabs to disagree with each other”. From Maalouf’s accounts, you can see how much of the Crusaders’ success — given their numerical inferiority — had to do with the total lack of unity amongst the Arab rulers and peoples in the region. The Europeans further benefitted from the local rivalries by forming alliances, increasing the distrust between Arab rulers, and dividing and conquering. Does it sound familiar?
It is also interesting to read about the Crusaders’ brutality and how an early notion of jihad was born more from a political struggle of a people against ruthless (even at time cannibalistic) foreign invaders. In a similar vain, there is an op-ed in today’s New York Times precisely about the term jihad and its misuse by Western politicians and the media. Check it out: Continue reading
Filed under Essays, Literature
I have just recently finished reading The Heart Does Not Bend by Makeda Silvera and Embers by Sándor Márai. Continue reading
Filed under Essays, Literature
I recently finished Special Topics in Calamity Physics and The Enchantress of Florence. Both had similar qualities and similar failings — the writing skills of the authors are undeniable, yet neither lead you anywhere interesting. At the end of the day, you read a lot of explosive, highly stylized language, but it amounts to little more than that. Continue reading
Filed under Digressions, Literature
I just finished Unburnable by first-time novelist Marie-Elena John from Antigua. Although the novel does have its shortcomings, it was overall a fascinating look into the complexities of Caribbean culture and the legacy of slavery, colonialism, and West African culture on the people who today inhabit the West Indies. The story takes place in both my hometown of Washington, DC and in the island of Dominica, and in a sense also compares and contrasts the Caribbean and African American experiences. If you’re interested in any of the aforementioned, I definitely recommend it. Here is a sample from Unburnable: Continue reading
Filed under Digressions, Literature
Grave Error 