The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

Looking back at my review for Kafka on the Shore, I feel like I understand the novel better having more Murakami experience. The WInd-up Bird Chronicle is my favorite book of those I have read. It is less violent and seems more psychological and has a tidier conclusion than the other two novels.

It opens, of course, with the search for a missing feline. The feline belongs to a couple, Toru Okada and Kumiko Okada. An essential bit of information here is that the cat is named after Kumiko's brother, whom is detested by them. Of course there is a cat psychic (Tokyo must be full of such) whom Toru is supposed to work with to find the cat, but it turns out that they (the cat psychics are a two sister team) play a larger role helping Toru to reconcile to his wife's sudden and unexplained disappearance.

Toru's attempts to understand what led to her departure and how to get her to return take up ~600 pages, perhaps not for the faint of heart. There is a significant strand of story concerning the Japanese invasion and occupation of Manchuria which I admit I knew nothing about. What the book does best is to describe the psychological process of understanding using dreams and "real" characters as manifestations of aspects of people. At least, that is how I am choosing to interpret the book.

Muriel Spark

 A friend passed along two books to me by Muriel Spark. I thought they were interesting although stereotypically British.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was the better of the two.  I thought it was surprisingly (since the outcome is know from the beginning) suspenseful. The setting is a girl's private school in Edinburgh where one teacher, Miss Jean Brodie, tries to mold a group of girls into a clique. The main narrator is Sandy, and she "betrays" Miss Jean Brodie to the school administrators. What is interesting is exploring the recollections of each girl about that period of their lives, especially Sandy's. Understanding her motivation is what keeps one reading to the end.

The Only Problem is a darkly humorous story. It is also much less interesting to read than TPOMJB. In its attempts at being funny I found it hard to relate to or take seriously. I didn't feel sympathy for any of the characters as they were all equally bad. Bad in the superficially realized, this is an archetypically-chummy-wealthy-British-man-living-abroad character. This is his best-friend-from-college-chum who wants to help his wife get a divorce. Add lots of improbable events in, without allowing any real emotion or connections to be created and you get the story.
Muriel Spark is a talented writer and TPOMJB reminded me, because of the repetition, of Stein. Although she was writing after Stein, perhaps benefiting from her influence.

A Chess Story

Stefan Zweig published this short story in 1941 as "Schachnovelle." It is set aboard an ocean liner sailing to Buenos Aires. The narrator, whose motivation is curiosity about the chess mind, sets out to entice the famous fellow passenger Czentovic to play a chess game. Czentovic, we are told, is a chess master who lacks both social and intellectual skills, but has an innate talent for chess. Cz's entire life story is revealed to the reader and then the narrator sets out to see Cz at play. This requires strategy but once Cz has been induced to play a game against the narrator and other passengers they lose the game. Then during the second game a mysterious man appears and suggests winning moves they can make. The group of amateurs win. The narrator, intrigued, follows the mystery man. Mystery man relays his story, as follows:

He, Dr. B, was a monarchist banker in Austria when the Nazis arrive. He was imprisoned, and interrogated for months. During this time he started to break down and was desperate for something to focus his mind on so as to withstand the interrogations and remain sane. He, luckily, steals a book of famous chess games from a jailers jacket. He studies this moves, until they are memorized then he makes up new games in his mind. He does this for months and finds it quite useful as a way to focus his mind and retain sanity. Then he decides to play both sides at once, white and black, and his mind  compartmentalizes. He suffers a breakdown, and a fever and finds himself in a hospital. His doctor diagnoses him with a chess mania and suggests he not play again. The doctor also diagnoses him as insane and so he escapes from the Nazis.

Back on the cruise ship Dr. B plays another game against Cz. This time Cz antagonizes Dr. B with slow play and Dr. B starts to regress into "chess madness." The narrator, tells Dr. B to not regress and Dr. B, losing the game exits.

It is a good story, psychologically accurate, and intense (compared to Stein it is dated though). The author Zweig and his wife, Lotte Altmann, committed suicide in February 1942 due to the dismal future prospects.

A little Stein

Gertrude Stein, writing in the first half of the last century, experimented with words, phrases, and sentences. In Three Lives the writing is not so different from the psychological modern style of writing, but Tender Buttons pushes the boundaries of word meanings to an extreme. To me Stein's writing seems less dated, and more contemporary, because elements of her style have come to be used widely.

"Three Lives" consists of three unconnected life portraits, "The Good Anna," "Melanctha," and "The Gentle Lena." "Melanctha" was the most interesting of these and the lengthiest. The woman portrayed is complicated, difficult and ends sadly (as do Anna and Lena). The conversational style is deceptively simple and much information is conveyed by the repetitive language.

"Tender Buttons" is what?

"This cloud does change with the movements of the moon and the narrow the quite narrow suggestion of the building. It does and then when it is settled and no sounds differ then comes the moment when cheerfulness is so assured that there is an occasion" (pg. 298).

I do not claim to understand. It is readable, but pointless, as far as I can understand it. Although, those with a background in literature probably have more interesting things to say about "Tender Buttons" than I do.

1q84

A central characteristic of Murakami's 1q84 lies in its place and time. The book begins with Aomame exiting 1984 Tokyo and entering 1q84 Tokyo, though she does not realize the transition immediately since the new universe is only infinitesimally different than the Japan of 1984. Aomame and Tengo alternately narrate each chapter and the connection between the two of them is gradually revealed.  Morality does not restrain Murakami characters. This is a mythic novel (as is Kafka on the Shore) in which nothing can be taken as first presented. Sex is not merely sex, but can serve other purposes, personally and in society. Family may or may not even be family.

Aomame does notice that police are wearing semi-automatic pistols instead of revolvers and thinks that she has simply missed the news. For the reader, this change signifies a more militaristic Japan than that in the world Aomame came from. Later, when Aomame acquires a gun, she is advised that "'According to Chekhov...once a gun appears in a story, it has to be fired.'" Interestingly Murakami does not obey this precept, which he puts into a character's mouth. Neither Aomame's gun, nor the police guns are used, which demonstrates that Chekhov is incorrect. Perhaps Murakami just wanted to demonstrate that Chekhov could be wrong, or perhaps show that reality is more complicated than a Chekhov play. Chekhov is mentioned prior to this, when an excerpt about the Gilyaks from Sakhalin Island is read aloud. It is an ethnographic description of a way of life, and Gilyak interaction with Russian explorers/colonizers. 

One note about the English translation - the title is 1Q84. When it would look better as a lower case q - 1q84. That looks more like 1984, which would be more fitting.

It has been almost a year since I posted here. These are the last set of books we read in the book club:

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse
Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Consolation by Anna Gavalda

Too many virtuous heroes - a poor view of reality

Dead Souls is a satirical story about a swindler, Tchitchikov, trying to swindle in various backwater villages. As Gogol characterizes him:

"But all the same I have not taken a virtuous man for my hero. And I may even say why I have not. Because it is high time at last to let the poor virtuous man rest; because the phrase 'virtuous man' is too often taken in vain because they have made a regular hack of the virtuous man and there is not a writer who has not ridden him to death, lashing him on with whip or anything that comes to hand; because they have so overdone the virtuous man that there is not a shadow of virtue left about him, and his nothing but skin and bone; because it is through hypocrisy they invoke the virtuous man; because the virtuous man is not respected. No, the time has come at last to trot out the rascal! And so let us trot out the rascal!" pg. 43

Tchitchikov is described as the hero throughout though his actions are generally reprehensible. He is an excellent anti-hero. Gogol provides wonderfully satirical sketches of the people that Tchitchikov attempts to befriend and take advantage of. The brief descriptions of individuals are vivid and engaging. Unfortunately, people appear and disappear very quickly.

 Gogol writes frequently in a conversational style, directly to the reader,

"And which of you, full of Christian meekness, not in public, but alone in private, at the moment of solitary inward converse, asks in the depths of your own soul, this painful question: 'Is there not a bit of Tchitchikov in me too?'" pr. 75

If everyone has a little bit of Tchitchikov in them then we must all be somewhat superficial and rascally. That might not be so bad according to Gogol. Especially if we do not expect to find virtue everywhere, or expect ourselves to be too virtuous. Perhaps virtue is valued because it is rare, and not something one claims for one's own.

Who are the barbarians?

The Barbarians Are Coming, another sidewalk acquisition, has a surprising trajectory.

Sterling is a young and dedicated chef. Having graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) he is attempting to make his way in the world. Unfortunately, in his professional life it is assumed that since he is Chinese he should cook Chinese food. He does not like cooking Chinese food. When his parents surprise him with a mail-order bride he does not say thanks either. Instead he marries his Caucasian girlfriend, Bliss.

A significant section of the latter part of the book is narrated by Sterling's father, Genius. He reminisces about his arrival in New York and an affair that he had. This secret past, which occurred before his wife arrived at Ellis Island, haunts him.

The writing is quite amusing and provides caricatures of all characters. Only Sterling and Genius have any real spark of life though. The other characters, especially women, seem mysterious to them and also to the reader. The lack of depth creates bland characters and makes for a bland and predictable plot. 

Two stories unentwined

There is a lot of potential for In the Shadows of the Sun to be a great book. There are two narrative threads, unfortunately, which stay very separate and once they do join together they don't seem to really entwine.

The book begins with Jack's story. Jack is fighting in the Pacific theater and through his eyes is narrated the Bataan Death March, which he survives. The second narrative thread is the story of Jack's family in New Mexico. They are having their own interpersonal troubles. Additionally, the government appropriates their ranch land as a bombing range. Jack's family is misinformed that he has died, but then when he resurfaces he is welcomed home.

The problem with this book is that these two experiences the book describes never meld together. Only 35 pages of the 238 page book take place after Jack has returned to New Mexico. There is very little narration by Jack or resolution to the story. There is no integration between the brutality which Jack experienced and the changes that have occurred back home. Each story is interesting independently, but together they don't work. Perhaps there is no resolution that Parsons could see for Jack to reintegrate or continue in the civilian world.

Dysfunctional families and daughters

A Thousand Acres (Jane Smiley) and Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald) can be classified under the category of sexual abuse stories. Though this is reducing each to a simplistic definition it is the most descriptive heading for them. The (shocking) turning point of each book is the sexual abuse that occurred by the father with his daughters.

A Thousand Acres begins when the three daughters are grown up. The family patriarch is a horrible tyrant and not too surprisingly it turns out he molested his daughters when they were young. However, the youngest daughter was not molested which makes for yet more drama. What I enjoyed about this novel was that the point of view was that of the middle sister, Ginny, who sounded both genuine and provided excellent narration. For example,
"Ty and I didn't pursue our conversation, didn't thrash out what it was I had learned or what it meant. I acted more decisive and made rules. I sensed that Ty disapproved, but it was a touchy subject, and I was afraid to talk about it because I hated friction with Ty. It was easy to discount his unvoiced opinion, too." (pg. 155)
By giving Ginny a voice and letting her describe the events from her point of view our understanding of the situation is shaped by what she says and doesn't say. The reader may guess about what is happening, but since we only have her narration, and no one's reality is exactly right on, the plot is more interesting. Smiley got the narrative point of view right.

 Fall on Your Knees is set in an even harsher time and place - Cape Breton Island at the turn of the last century. It is a multigenerational saga focusing on James and Materia and their daughters. What makes the book somewhat interesting is that Materia's family is Lebanese. Why anyone accustomed to Lebanese weather would live in such a cold place is a mystery. This detail adds some realism to the book, as fact is often stranger than fiction. One wonders whether the book is based on real people from the historical record. If so, the rest of the story is sad. The father James is abusive of his wife, and his three daughters. Unlike A Thousand Acres the narration of the story switches between the many different characters. This allows for a much more nuanced understanding of the story, not to mention the longer historical period encompassed. However, this also makes the story seem to be less personal, and more historical. One never quite escapes from the historical detail as one can in A Thousand Acres. An example of this narration, "Mahmoud never wants to see Materia or her husband or her children or any evidence of them ever again. The only communication he's had with the Piper family for the past nineteen years has been the business arrangement with James, and they've both done well out of that while never once coming face to face. But that's over now." (pg. 159)
MacDonald's approach is, as illustrated by this excerpt, less personal. It makes for less interesting reading and the surprise ending is more surprising since information was withheld, rather than the reader having a narrator with a limited point of view. This method allows for wider scope though.

Both of these books showcase dysfunctional family dynamics. The relationships between family members are unhealthy and abusive. The sisters in both books are mean and cruel to each other over the course of their lives. Due to isolation and powerlessness they have no one else to be cruel and mean to. Would I read these books again? Probably not.

Everything according to plan...

Acquiring books by chance is something I enjoy as much as when I specifically choose a book. One that I rescued from a lonely sidewalk is The Bridge of San Luis Rey. It is a good book for character development and description as it has vignettes about each character.

Set in Peru, Thornton Wilder opens by narrating the breaking, in 1714, of a rope bridge which spans a deep riverine chasm. Five people were crossing the bridge when it broke and they fell to their deaths. An eye-witness to the break, was Brother Juniper who, being religious, wonders whether the deaths of these five particular people had some meaning or was a random act of nature. To that end Juniper decides to collect the details of their lives. In so doing he hopes to form a picture of each person and understand why they died.

The following four chapters bring these characters to vivid life, though Brother Juniper's question does not really seem to be answered. Though I enjoyed the stories of each character and learning how they intersected with one another, the conclusion appears to be that there was no plan. Brother Juniper's compilation of facts addressing the deaths is burned publicly as is he at the end of the story.

realism

Often, I will judge a book as good or bad by how convinced I am that the world portrayed is realistic. Sometimes books succeed in creating a realistic sense by focusing on the outer environment, sometimes on the inner lives of the characters. What distinguishes A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is the melding of the outer world and inner lives.

The premise of the story is the intersection between a lower middle-class woman, a pair of low-caste migrant tailors, and an upper-caste college student. Or, between a middle-aged woman who has abandoned hope, two young men full of hope, and an older man who still harbors hope for his nephew, if not for himself. Hope can be defined in a variety of ways, and is by each of these individuals. But in each shape it is faith in the world and fellow humans.

Dina, in an effort to maintain financial independence from her overbearing brother, rents a room in her house to Maneck, who is a college student. Simultaneously, she advertises for tailors to work for her home-sewing business. As these individuals get to know each other and fill the roles that were previously empty the world(s) which each individual inhabits seem a little bit brighter and happier. Sadly, this hopeful mood wanes and by the end of the novel hope has shrunk back to the stingy thing it had been at the beginning.

I was very surprised by how sad and isolated each character had become by the end of the novel. It was worth  reading, but only if followed by reading more optimistic writing!

"Protodialectical inquiry" into beliefs about Yam Gods

Oblivion consists of eight short stories by David Foster Wallace. Each story is written in a detailed and complex style. Wallace's writing method is unique because he interweaves the main narration with thoughts, other activity, and irrelevant details. Each sentence has to be understood as belonging or not belonging to the main narrative. This requires more effort on the reader's part than most books.

"Another Pioneer" is one of the shorter stories and the one which matches the content and the manner of writing best. The narrator is never identified, but speaks in a polished, academic, and ironic manner about an incident recounted to him by a friend. This incident was the conversation between two men on a plane which the friend overheard. The story that one of the men recounted to the other described a boy in an unspecified village in South America who single-handedly brought about modernizing changes in his village and acted as a prophet. The story itself is not as interesting as is the narrative voice retelling it which is persuasive and manages to engage the reader in the analysis of the second-hand story:

"Structurally, this scene apparently functions as both the climax of the protasis and the as it were engine of the narrative's rising action, because at just this point we are told that the original exemplum splits or diverges here into at least three main epitatic variants" (p. 126).

It is not the story being told that is inherently interesting, but the manner in which it is told. The narrator's voice is pompously analytical and cohesive. This story contrasts with "Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature" which has a much less structured theme, but whose narrator is psychologically not a model of health.

Though this collection is worth reading the style is lengthy, and verbose. The Onion has an amusing article about how a "girlfriend" stopped reading Wallace's breakup letter at page 20. Though his writing style takes some getting used to, it is arguably more rewarding to read than most books which are written in more a friendly manner.

The best book ever - for the moment

Freedom, the newest novel from Jonathan Franzen is the book of the moment. It currently has 884 reviews on Amazon.com. The published reviews of the book are similarly numerous and listed on the Wikipedia page for Freedom. The question is what can I add to the critical reviews already available about the book?

Like any book that receives this much critical acclaim, Freedom, contains something that appeals to a wide and disparate group. It resembles Franzen's previous book, The Corrections, in its focus on a dysfunctional family. And when Franzen writes dysfunctional characters there is generally a sexual element to their relational issues. The dysfunction sexual relationships that are the centerpiece of Franzen's writing no doubt contributes to his popularity. Franzen almost had the dubious distinction of winning the Bad Sex in fiction prize for this choice passage.

A secondary element that makes the book popular, is its being held up as a model of "America," and the benefits and problems of unbridled freedom. It is claimed that it embodies some key American experiences, and to a certain extent this is true. However, due to the focus on a specific time and issues, the writing is limited and the book itself is not likely to be interesting to readers a decade from now.

One serious problem that I had with the book is Franzen's writing which leaves some characters one-dimensional, and gives the impression that they are only written in to move the plot along.

This is an interesting (mostly) readable book, but probably not a good representation of anything specifically "American." It is far more accurate to describe it as simply a flawed novel.

Light writing about heavy subjects

War Dances, by Sherman Alexie, consists of seven short stories and sixteen poems.

The title story, "War Dances," appears to be an autobiographical musing on mortality, focusing on Alexie's learning that he has a brain tumor and his experience with his father's hospitalizations. The structure of the story is unusual in that it is short (only 34 pages long) and divided into sixteen subsections. Each subsection, "My Kafka Baggage," "Symptoms," "The Symptoms Worsen," "Blankets," etc. is a succinct scene that together, cluster around and build up the story of mortality that Alexie wants to tell.

Though mortality is the subject of several of the stories, the telling is very light and humorous. This is an easy to read summer book.

Fathers, sons, and paternity issues

Go Tell it on the Mountain (James Baldwin) and Call it Sleep (Henry Roth) are thematically very similar novels. Both are centered on young boys who must cope with difficult, abusive fathers and poverty.

Call It Sleep (CIS) was published in 1934, but begins in 1907, ending around 1917. The father of the family had immigrated from Germany and the novel opens with the arrival of his wife and son. The story is recounted through the boy, David's eyes. He is very impressionable and sensitive, and his father's animosity aggravates his sensitive nature. Adjusting to life in New York's slums is a challenge. Roth's writing was unique in its use of Yiddish and vernacular speech for dialogue and the scenes that are described are evocative.

David's father has a very belligerent character and doubts that David is actually his own son. Because of this doubt he treats his wife and son cruelly. His cruelty, Roth implies, pushes the mother and son to be unnaturally loving and close. Frequently David's love for his mother seems to cross over into a sexualized feeling. There are frequent references to his mother's bosom, jealousy of a family friend who attempts to seduce her, etc. For example, after an upsetting incident David says: "'Mama! Mama! Mama!' Only the sheltering valley between her breasts muffled his scream of fear to her heart."

Or earlier,
"With knees drawn up, David watched her wipe the linoleum beneath his chair. The shadow between her breasts, how deep! How far it - No! No! Luter! When he looked! That night! Mustn't! Mustn't! Look away! Quick!"

The relationship between David and his mother (who's name, Genya, is used rarely) appears to not be healthy, and until the end of the novel the reader wonders if David will end up having a mental breakdown as he does not seem functional. He also does not seem like a realistic 4-12 year old boy. However, not having been a boy perhaps I am not an authority on the subject.

Go Tell It On The Mountain starts with John, a 14 year old narrating his family story, living in Harlem. His parents had migrated North to New York as young adults and he is the first generation to grow up in the "liberal" North rather than in the "segregated" South.

In contrast to CIS, the narration switches between John, his aunt, his father, and finally his mother. Due to this multiplicity of perspectives the story is recounted in a more realistic way. John's father dislikes him, but the secret to his dislike is hidden from John. Just as David's father doubts his paternity, John's father also has paternity issues. With the four narrative voices of the story the reader understands better what has shaped the characters and life histories of the narrators. John has deep scars from his father's dislike though which emerge when he enters a trance-like religious state in church:

"Then his father was upon him; at his touch there was singing, and fire. John lay on his back in the narrow street, looking up at his father, that burning face beneath the burning towers.

'I'm going to beat it out of you. I'm going to beat it out.' His father raised his hand. The knife came down. John rolled away, down the white, descending street, screaming: 'Father! Father!'"

The father seems to symbolize both John's father and God who is invoked by each character as an overpowering presence who must by appeased, despite uncertainty as to what his wishes are. John's vision seems to be a way of reaching an understanding of his father and his relationship with him.

Both of these novels deal with similar issues of immigration, cultural assimilation, ethnicity, and father-son relationships. Both fathers are violent, rather hateful people, both mothers loving and virtuous. And both fathers hate their sons because they suspect or know that they are not genetically their own. Both sons grow up with a hatred of their "fathers" that is violent.

Walking on a wire

Let The Great World Spin is a novel which centers on Philippe Petit's tightrope walk between the Twin Towers on August 7th, 1974. This single event has been taken as the starting point by Colum McCann from which the lives of a multitude of individuals are effected.

Each individual is given a chapter to delineate their world. There is the Irish priest and his brother working in the South Bronx and the prostitutes that the priest is attempting to help. Another story is added by a wealthy housewife whose son was killed in Vietnam. With each narrative strand added to the story it becomes clearer how all of their lives are intertwined. The final chapter is set in 2006 and brings the story to a satisfactory conclusion.

McCann's strategy in this novel allows in-depth views of his characters on the days before the tightrope walk, and the day of the walk. Notably absent are any details about Petit, but perhaps that is because he is a real person.

Ancient Egypt

Christian Jacq is a French Egyptologist and author of fifty books about ancient Egypt. Acquiring several of his books, it seems suitable to review them together as they make a more coherent story taken together.

The Lady of Abu Simbel (TLAS), and Under the Western Acacia (UTWA), are the last two books in a five part "Ramses" series. They describe the final decades of Ramses reign (1303-1213 B.C.). TLAS opens in the middle of the protracted battles with the Hittites. Ramses, with his lion, Invincible, and his army, attacks some rebellious Canaanites and brings them back into the Egyptian fold. There are multiple battles throughout the book, plots, domestic and foreign, to unseat Ramses, but he is always prepared. Moses is presented as a leader of the Hebrews who is rather zealous and unreasonable. The story of the plagues is retold as a failed public relations attempt to spin natural phenomena:

“Aaron stretched out his staff and declared loudly, 'Since Pharaoh still refuses to allow the Hebrews to leave Egypt, here, after the water that changed into blood, is the second plague Yahveh inflicts on the oppressor: Frogs, thousands of frogs, millions of frogs, which will go everywhere, into the workshops, the houses, the bedchambers of the wealthy!”...

“Satau smiled. Neither he nor Kha would have to do anything to combat this plague. Aaron should have consulted Moses before uttering a curse which wouldn't frighten a single Egyptian. At this time of year, the frogs' proliferation was quite normal – in fact, the people considered it a good omen. In hieroglyphs, the sign of the frog served to indicate the figure 'a hundred thousand', that is, an almost incalculable number, proportional to the abundance brought by the Nile flood.” (pg. 299)

This reinterpretation of the Hebrew story is quite interesting and made me wonder whether there is good reason to believe that this was in fact the Egyptian perspective on events.

However, Jacq's portrayal of Ramses not just as the representative of the Gods, but as a God, with no human failings quickly makes any historical accuracy questionable. Ramses is although not monogomous only capable of loving one woman. IN UTWA Ramses states that, “The Royal Children – those are simply honorary titles” (pg. 24). Yes, although Ramses had two wives, and a harem, he only had three children, and all those historical records documenting his progeny actually refer to the official titles bestowed on them rather than to any genetic relationship. Ramses only love was Nefertari, who dies at the conclusion of TLAS.

A second point of difficulty in the book is the slavery issue. In UTWA Ramses travels to Tyre, Phoenicia and attempts to end slavery:

“This is the real reason for my journey. No Tyrian who wishes to trade with Egypt must traffic in slaves.

The Phoenician was shocked, and it was all he could do to be keep calm and not protest vigorously. 'Majesty,' he said, 'slavery is a law of nature. Trading societies have always practiced it.'

'There's no slavery in Egypt,' said Ramses. 'Human beings are the gods' flock and no individual has the right to treat another as an object without a soul, or as merchandise.'

Narish had never heard such wild talk. If the speaker had not been the Pharaoh of Egypt, he would have thought him a madman.

'Weren't your prisoners of war reduced to slavery, Majesty?'

'They were sentenced to hard labour for periods that varied according to the seriousness of the accusations made against them. When they were freed they could do as they pleased. Most of them remained in Egypt, and many of them founded families.'....

[Ramses] 'Do you think the pyramids and the temples could have been built by gangs of slaves?' (pg. 290)

Reading this exchange was for me quite strange. Logically the answer to the question is that only slavery would enable the building of the pyramids. No people in their right minds would willingly do that kind of work. Whether the Egyptians call it slavery or indentured servitude is irrelevant.

A third book, The War of the Crowns, is the middle book in the “Queen of Freedom” series. The queen in this case is Ahotep (1560-1530 B.C.), who lived well before Ramses. This was a slightly more interesting book, in that Ahotep, although Godlike, is in a much more difficult position and there appears to be some doubt as to her success, and the survival of Egypt. The enemy at this time were the Hyksos. The Egyptian empire had been reduced to a shadow of itself. The Hyksos have horses and the Egyptians do not. Despite the inequality in strength and infrastructure the Egyptians manage to triumph due to their superior gods and righteousness.

If you like to read about ancient Egypt and learn about the history of the ancient kingdoms that existed these are probably worth reading. Unfortunately, though Jacq has a degree in Egyptology his books seem to be heavy on imagination and light on reality. A little less fancifulness and more reality would improve the books. Perhaps Jacq chose to write this way in fear of alienating people with modern ethics? But to make the ethical systems of the ancient Egyptians resemble that of modern Western Europeans so closely just makes the reader skeptical of the entire proposed world.

The Unreflecting

Rosie Carpe is a novel (by Marie NDiaye) that is supposed to be about the woman of that name – but in fact seems to recount her story in a distant and disconnected way. It could also be said to be about identity, maternal connections, or the lack thereof. Though all of these elements are present it is not easy to make a claim that the book is about any one of them.

Briefly, Rosie, who is in her mid-twenties, arrives in Guadaloupe with her five year old son, Titi, and pregnant with a second child, of unknown paternity. Lagrand, Lazare's purported friend, picks her up from the airport. From him, Rosie learns that much of what she believed concerning her brother and parents is false. Rosie attempts to shape a new identify for herself in Guadaloupe, separating herself from her impoverished, colorless, insensate existence in Paris. In this attempt she seems to fail.

The first two chapters of the novel are narrated by Rosie. The third is split between Lagrand and Rosie and the final chapter is narrated by Lagrand. Of the two narrators, Rosie is both less trustworthy and less sympathetic. The first chapter, 36 pages describing hours waiting in the airport and the car ride home, details Rosie's generalized uncertainty, self-pity, and distaste for her son. The sense that Rosie is either mentally unstable or deficient becomes increasingly clear. Throughout the internal recounting of her life, in the second chapter, Rosie appears to be dull, unreflective, and not a real champion when it comes to decision making. Halfway through the book the reader can not help but feel disconcerted by Rosie's neglect of Titi and fundamental instability.

When Lagrand takes over the narrative role it is a relief since he is not only the only moral character in the book, but also (seemingly) honest about events in the world. He feels drawn toward Rosie, seemingly inexplicably, desiring her company despite sensing that she is lacking in an ethical center.

That Lagrand is a black Guadaloupean, and the Carpe family are white is no doubt significant from the author's point of view. Lagrand, who's mother was institutionalized, grew up with his grandparents and reflects that perhaps he was better off for it. Titi, who is an adult by the conclusion of the book, is also raised by his grandparents, but turns out less well. Lagrand, who became motherless, was able to identify that Titi was in a precarious position with his mother and to rescue him. Perhaps it is because of his own mother's abandonment that he can forgive Rosie and still love her.

Other aspects of the book which seem portentous are the names, Lazare, who disappears and seems to rise from the dead throughout the book; Lagrand, who is a great person; Rose-Marie (Rosie), the sister of Lazare; the family name of Carpe, perhaps. Unfortunately, attempting to find clues justifying the plot of the novel is a futile activity. Perhaps it is an elaborate parable about motherhood, love, and redemption, but it is more likely just what it appears to be – an unhappy novel about pathetic people.

Padan & Pigs

“Get moving! Quick, the ship is going under!”

Down in the hold the pigs were still squealing desperately.

“Save the pigs!”

“Why?”

“One should never go into the sea without a pig!”

Because these animals have an unrivaled sense of direction. They can orient themselves in the sea even during a storm. You throw them in the water and: TAK! They immediately point their snouts in the direction of the closest shore... When they go “OINK, OINK, OINK, OINK!” four times, you're headed to land, and they're never wrong!

And that's why the Genoese people say: “On every ship you should always bring aboard an authentic pig...besides the captain...who's just an ordinary pig.”

If I am ever on a sinking ship I hope there are pigs available! This is just one of many helpful ideas embedded in the narration of Johan Padan and the Discovery of the Americas by Dario Fo. This is an unusual story in that it is told in a nontraditional manner with illustrations, and it is an alternate history, on the small scale, of interactions between Europeans and Native Americans.

Interestingly, the text is intended as a script for a one-man standup performance. It was originally composed in Italian “dialect,” then translated to standard Italian, and then again into English (by Ron Jenkins and Stefania Taviano). The oral nature of the text is illustrated by the use of many words for sound effects. The narrative is told through dialogue and monologue. Despite the fact that this was composed as a script Fo started by drawing pictures to capture his ideas. From these pictures Fo then wrote his story. The line drawings illustrating the story are not high art, but they do show the scenes that were envisioned and mesh closely with the text.

As alternate history, The Discovery of the Americas is a small-scale story about the successful revolt of one group of Native Americans against a group of Spaniards with the help of Johan Padan. Padan, after spending several years with various native groups no longer sees them the same way as Europeans do (or as he did when he first arrived). So, when he encounters Europeans again he is surprised/reminded by their barbarity towards natives and casts his lot with them.

This is a thoroughly recommendable book. Though it is salacious and Eurocentric in parts it seems essential to the character of Johan Padan and the European world/belief systems being portrayed. The unique form also makes this a book that is engaging.