I read a book and want to tell you about it...
Once upon a time in the not-too-distant future (in distant days longing to sense it all so clear):
HATRED OF THE DAY: How it is too warm in the house, how it is too hot and humid outside and conversely, how cold it is indoors at most office buildings. Do I bring a jacket or should I just step outside to warm up every fifteen minutes or so?
Crappity Crap: The Birthday Massacre has postponed their shows in my part of the world because of scheduling problems. Me sad but hey, maybe it just means they will be playing somewhere closer when they do swing by the neighbourhood.
Book Review: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.
I have several need-to-read books on my shelves, my reading habits having relapsed a bit over the years. I have a Greg Rucka book that is based on a video game franchise, some of the Feng Shui Detective books by Nury Vitacchi and the short story collections from Neil Gaiman (of which I have previously read most of in other short story collections, but still, I want to reread them as they finally have all been gathered together). It is not just novels either, I am finally just getting around to reading the Captain Britain book by Alan Moore and Alan Davis which was originally published in the dark ages (the collection that I am reading was published in 2002 which was also when I got it). The Miracleman books by Moore and Davis are just as good as Watchmen and I am enjoying every little bit of Captain Britain.
It is not just that I stopped reading, I just stopped reading continuously as much as I used to. Maybe it was all the books that I got assigned to read one right after the other for several years straight in high school and college. I like to take my time to read and being forced to read three hundred pages of small print in a week just took its toll. I can still do it and enjoy a book if I want to and if the story warrants it (I read Anansi Boys in a few days; but the last Queen & Country novel took months for me to finally finish- both being great books), but usually nowadays, normally I will take three to four weeks to finish a decent sized novel.
And three to four weeks is how long it took me to finish the Namesake, a book I picked up after I kept hearing about the movie version (which I have not seen) and how Kal Penn sought the role and how the tale is another definitive take on being Asian American nowadays.
So how did I like the book? It reminds me of the kind of book you would get assigned to read in an English literature class and/or an Asian American history class. It also is the kind of book that would get assigned to read for a Psych 101 course to show how the environment one is surrounded by would affect their personality.
The book is primarily about the story of the unfortunately named Gogol Ganguli and how he lets his life and identity be shaped by having that name. Of course he outwardly hates the name to the point that he legally changes the name to Nikhil as soon as he can thus creating a new identity for himself (Nikhil and Gogol are the names of an esoteric Russian author that was loved by his father). But even after the name change, the narrative still refers to him as Gogol hinting that he inherently accepts this name and the book is the journey of how he finally accepts the name when he lets the identities of Gogol and Nikhil reconcile and combine and he is finally begins the process of being at peace with who he is.
So- plot wise, a little boring but you have to remember that this is coming from someone who is more accustomed to genre tales of the fantastical, weird science, detective stories, spies and whales that used to be missiles that fall out of the sky. The book excels in being the descriptive take of a person’s life, it really does seem that you are dropping into the life of someone and being an intimate observer into their thoughts and feelings.
It gets a little cliché that the main periods of this person’s life are marked by the more significant relationships that he is in (the first love, the first long term love and the marriage that eventually did not work) and the quiet periods in between. But hey- someone told me once that life is nothing more than a small handful of moments and our reactions to them. By bookending these moments, the book gets chick flicky- for lack of a better term (I would say chick lit is that better term, but some reason that does not work with my reaction to the book).
What is impressive for me though, is that Lahiri manages to capture the mind of a male character despite being a woman. Plenty of men have been known to write effective female characters (Joss Whedon comes to mind) but this might be the first instance that I have observe a woman write a male character where he does not become a caricature or just a dude with a chick’s world view (the male characters of Anne Rice come to mind). Gogol is very much a dude and is written effectively enough that you forget the gender of the author (unlike the aforementioned Joss Whedon whose female characters sometimes tend to shout, “Hey- I am a powerful woman being written by a guy!”).
Another thing I liked is that the book is also the tale of the parents of Gogol. Even though they are not on every page and the father dies halfway though- both are always there as though they are always watching Gogol- not in a creepy way but in the way that the actions of Gogol are reflective of how he was raised by these two kindly individuals who till their last days struggle with the two cultures they live in. As the book ends with Gogol reconciling his identities, the book also concludes with his mother literally living in two worlds by choice.
As the book is championed by those who say it is representative of the Asian American Experience, the book is that but thankfully it is not in your face. It is not Bengali Lifestyles 101 or My Big Fat Bengali Wedding and for that you should be so happy. There is enough to establish that the characters are from an outside world who come to integrate (and integrate successfully) with this world so far from where their roots are and still retain those roots to different extents.
In the end, the book is an intriguing examination of identity and an amazing look into the life of a fictional character.
Plus Zuleikha Robinson is in the movie and we cannot get enough of her.
A solid B for the book.
Coming Soon: More books! In the coming weeks, I plan on picking up the last Harry Potter book and I really hope that Jo Rowling gets all metaphysical and existential on us in the end (like how Neon Genesis Evangelion turned out after we got used to giant robots beating up stuff). See all the little readers heads get blown away as Harry destroys the world to save the world and he is haunted for eternity by his guilts which take the form of all the people he knew in a landscape dominated by a blood red sun.
But we all know that is not going to happen.
The series has so far been free of hardcore haters like the kind you see that haunts the fandom of once beloved franchises like Star Trek and Star Wars despite the last two Potter books being mediocre.* Now that it is all over, it would be interesting to see if the Potter fandom stays as faithful to the series or if it will be ripped into two warring sides.
*Talking about Books 5&6 here, although I will probably change my mind on Book 6 if the last one is a decent capper to the series. And my opinion on Book 5 may change when I see the movie (as much as I hate that a movie can be better than the book it is based on) as I hear the movies excises the bad parts of the book. Plus there is supposedly no Quidditch in the last book and that alone makes the book a worthwhile read in my opinion (the Quidditch on the later books just seem so forced, obligatory and just too long).
By the way, Snape was a bastard in the beginning and he will be a bastard in the end. But, damn, what a magnificent bastard he was.
Also looking forward to the first novel from Warren Ellis, Crooked Little Vein. In fact I am anticipating this more that the Potter book and I will be locked in debate over which to read first (probably the Potter book because everyone will be talking spoilers about the book so best get it out of the way).
The first line of Crooked Little Vein is about a rat taking a piss in your coffee mug and just in that one line perfectly encapsulates that you are now in the mind of Warren Ellis, pay the toll, get stomped in the head and get ready to be taken for a ride. It is the best first line of a book since The Myth of Sisyphus encouraged philosophy majors all over the world to take their own lives.
I cannot wait for the rest of the book.
In other news and speaking of the absurd:
The Dead Zone of the Gulf of Mexico is expected this year to be about 6,662 sq miles (17,255 sq km). The Dead Zone is a virtually oxygen free area that supports no life except for algae that eat up all the available oxygen. The growth of the algae has been exacerbated by fertilizer run off.
An area of death almost 6,666 square miles big?
Somewhere Alistair Crowley is smiling.
________________________________________________________________________
HATRED OF THE DAY: How it is too warm in the house, how it is too hot and humid outside and conversely, how cold it is indoors at most office buildings. Do I bring a jacket or should I just step outside to warm up every fifteen minutes or so?
Crappity Crap: The Birthday Massacre has postponed their shows in my part of the world because of scheduling problems. Me sad but hey, maybe it just means they will be playing somewhere closer when they do swing by the neighbourhood.
Book Review: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.
I have several need-to-read books on my shelves, my reading habits having relapsed a bit over the years. I have a Greg Rucka book that is based on a video game franchise, some of the Feng Shui Detective books by Nury Vitacchi and the short story collections from Neil Gaiman (of which I have previously read most of in other short story collections, but still, I want to reread them as they finally have all been gathered together). It is not just novels either, I am finally just getting around to reading the Captain Britain book by Alan Moore and Alan Davis which was originally published in the dark ages (the collection that I am reading was published in 2002 which was also when I got it). The Miracleman books by Moore and Davis are just as good as Watchmen and I am enjoying every little bit of Captain Britain.
It is not just that I stopped reading, I just stopped reading continuously as much as I used to. Maybe it was all the books that I got assigned to read one right after the other for several years straight in high school and college. I like to take my time to read and being forced to read three hundred pages of small print in a week just took its toll. I can still do it and enjoy a book if I want to and if the story warrants it (I read Anansi Boys in a few days; but the last Queen & Country novel took months for me to finally finish- both being great books), but usually nowadays, normally I will take three to four weeks to finish a decent sized novel.
And three to four weeks is how long it took me to finish the Namesake, a book I picked up after I kept hearing about the movie version (which I have not seen) and how Kal Penn sought the role and how the tale is another definitive take on being Asian American nowadays.
So how did I like the book? It reminds me of the kind of book you would get assigned to read in an English literature class and/or an Asian American history class. It also is the kind of book that would get assigned to read for a Psych 101 course to show how the environment one is surrounded by would affect their personality.
The book is primarily about the story of the unfortunately named Gogol Ganguli and how he lets his life and identity be shaped by having that name. Of course he outwardly hates the name to the point that he legally changes the name to Nikhil as soon as he can thus creating a new identity for himself (Nikhil and Gogol are the names of an esoteric Russian author that was loved by his father). But even after the name change, the narrative still refers to him as Gogol hinting that he inherently accepts this name and the book is the journey of how he finally accepts the name when he lets the identities of Gogol and Nikhil reconcile and combine and he is finally begins the process of being at peace with who he is.
So- plot wise, a little boring but you have to remember that this is coming from someone who is more accustomed to genre tales of the fantastical, weird science, detective stories, spies and whales that used to be missiles that fall out of the sky. The book excels in being the descriptive take of a person’s life, it really does seem that you are dropping into the life of someone and being an intimate observer into their thoughts and feelings.
It gets a little cliché that the main periods of this person’s life are marked by the more significant relationships that he is in (the first love, the first long term love and the marriage that eventually did not work) and the quiet periods in between. But hey- someone told me once that life is nothing more than a small handful of moments and our reactions to them. By bookending these moments, the book gets chick flicky- for lack of a better term (I would say chick lit is that better term, but some reason that does not work with my reaction to the book).
What is impressive for me though, is that Lahiri manages to capture the mind of a male character despite being a woman. Plenty of men have been known to write effective female characters (Joss Whedon comes to mind) but this might be the first instance that I have observe a woman write a male character where he does not become a caricature or just a dude with a chick’s world view (the male characters of Anne Rice come to mind). Gogol is very much a dude and is written effectively enough that you forget the gender of the author (unlike the aforementioned Joss Whedon whose female characters sometimes tend to shout, “Hey- I am a powerful woman being written by a guy!”).
Another thing I liked is that the book is also the tale of the parents of Gogol. Even though they are not on every page and the father dies halfway though- both are always there as though they are always watching Gogol- not in a creepy way but in the way that the actions of Gogol are reflective of how he was raised by these two kindly individuals who till their last days struggle with the two cultures they live in. As the book ends with Gogol reconciling his identities, the book also concludes with his mother literally living in two worlds by choice.
As the book is championed by those who say it is representative of the Asian American Experience, the book is that but thankfully it is not in your face. It is not Bengali Lifestyles 101 or My Big Fat Bengali Wedding and for that you should be so happy. There is enough to establish that the characters are from an outside world who come to integrate (and integrate successfully) with this world so far from where their roots are and still retain those roots to different extents.
In the end, the book is an intriguing examination of identity and an amazing look into the life of a fictional character.
Plus Zuleikha Robinson is in the movie and we cannot get enough of her.
A solid B for the book.
Coming Soon: More books! In the coming weeks, I plan on picking up the last Harry Potter book and I really hope that Jo Rowling gets all metaphysical and existential on us in the end (like how Neon Genesis Evangelion turned out after we got used to giant robots beating up stuff). See all the little readers heads get blown away as Harry destroys the world to save the world and he is haunted for eternity by his guilts which take the form of all the people he knew in a landscape dominated by a blood red sun.
But we all know that is not going to happen.
The series has so far been free of hardcore haters like the kind you see that haunts the fandom of once beloved franchises like Star Trek and Star Wars despite the last two Potter books being mediocre.* Now that it is all over, it would be interesting to see if the Potter fandom stays as faithful to the series or if it will be ripped into two warring sides.
*Talking about Books 5&6 here, although I will probably change my mind on Book 6 if the last one is a decent capper to the series. And my opinion on Book 5 may change when I see the movie (as much as I hate that a movie can be better than the book it is based on) as I hear the movies excises the bad parts of the book. Plus there is supposedly no Quidditch in the last book and that alone makes the book a worthwhile read in my opinion (the Quidditch on the later books just seem so forced, obligatory and just too long).
By the way, Snape was a bastard in the beginning and he will be a bastard in the end. But, damn, what a magnificent bastard he was.
Also looking forward to the first novel from Warren Ellis, Crooked Little Vein. In fact I am anticipating this more that the Potter book and I will be locked in debate over which to read first (probably the Potter book because everyone will be talking spoilers about the book so best get it out of the way).
The first line of Crooked Little Vein is about a rat taking a piss in your coffee mug and just in that one line perfectly encapsulates that you are now in the mind of Warren Ellis, pay the toll, get stomped in the head and get ready to be taken for a ride. It is the best first line of a book since The Myth of Sisyphus encouraged philosophy majors all over the world to take their own lives.
I cannot wait for the rest of the book.
In other news and speaking of the absurd:
The Dead Zone of the Gulf of Mexico is expected this year to be about 6,662 sq miles (17,255 sq km). The Dead Zone is a virtually oxygen free area that supports no life except for algae that eat up all the available oxygen. The growth of the algae has been exacerbated by fertilizer run off.
An area of death almost 6,666 square miles big?
Somewhere Alistair Crowley is smiling.
________________________________________________________________________
posted by Catterpillarboy at 4:26 AM
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