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| 1631493183
| 3.69
| 1,612
| Oct 2017
| Oct 03, 2017
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The Origins of Creativity is better than The Two Cultures, but it starts off on shaky ground. In casual conversation, The Two Cultures is often describ The Origins of Creativity is better than The Two Cultures, but it starts off on shaky ground. In casual conversation, The Two Cultures is often described as the definitive text that calls for the mixing of the sciences and the humanities. But if you read it, it is much more a diatribe against the literary figureheads of the time than it is about a blending of disciplines. And central to understanding this tone is that in C. P. Snow鈥檚 time, literary critics had culture preeminence and scientists were marginalized. Now, however, that power dynamic has shifted, and Wilson writes The Origins of Creativity in a time when scientists have cultural authority, and the literary college professorship is increasingly provoked to justify the utility of the humanities. And so in this time when every other headline begins with 鈥淪tudies show鈥︹€� or 鈥淩esearchers say鈥︹€�, the beginning of The Origins of Creativity, while much more genial than The Two Cultures, appears nonetheless to have a similar bend: the sciences plumb the 鈥渦ltimate causes鈥� of things, Wilson writes, while the humanities 鈥渁ttempt at best proximate explanations.鈥� Small slights like this litter the opening chapters. But the scales balance (or even tip?) by the end. 鈥淚f science is thereby the bedrock of the humanities,鈥� Wilson writes in the final chapter, 鈥渢he humanities have the farther reach. Where scientific observation addresses all phenomena existing in the real world, scientific experimentation addresses all possible real worlds, and scientific theory addresses all conceivable real worlds, the humanities encompass all three of these levels and one more, the infinity of all fantasy worlds.鈥� Perhaps I carried into this book my own skepticism: what credibility does Wilson have to speak about the humanities? And further, what authority does he have to write about creativity? He seems to be afforded the same latitude these days that we give to scientists or scholars who achieve a certain eminence: they can write about anything. (Perhaps this is a leveling of what was happening only to the literary caste in Snow鈥檚 time.) In the end, Wilson鈥檚 efforts are earnest, even if he moves fast and easy in regards to the humanities. Somehow, he lands on metaphor, archetypes, and irony as definitive elements of the human experience, and allots them each about four pages. (And he discusses metaphor without even a side reference to George Lakoff!) Why these only? It reminds me of the linguists鈥� insistence for decades that what defined human intelligence was the ability to nest ideas within ideas, clauses within sentences 鈥� until human languages were discovered that don鈥檛 do this. Over a lifetime, Wilson has contributed enormously to human understanding 鈥� I was moved and inspired down a course of several years of reading by his essay 鈥淎 Biological Basis for Morality鈥� 鈥� and his work as a scientist may be paralleled by only a few other living souls. The Origins of Creativity has the feel of a coda, a recognition that the cumulative knowledge of his lifetime 鈥� and of all of science 鈥� needs a complement. It seems to suggest that, upon reflection back at an extraordinary career, something remains lacking, and that that is the work ahead for the rest of us. Wilson鈥檚 final chapter suggests that we can enter a Third Enlightenment in which, only through a spirit of common inquiry that combines the humanities and the sciences around the guiding directions of philosophy, we can answer the Big Questions of human experience. He is hopeful that this can be done, and poses six essential questions: - Why do we exist as opposed to never having existed? - What is the nature of consciousness and how did it originate? - What is the origin of life and how did it proliferate? - Why is there sex? - Why must we die, of old age if nothing else? - In the age of artificial intelligence, what is, precisely, a human being? These, he suggests, we can answer now in ways that we never could before. And it will take versatile, integrative thinking to do so. It鈥檚 an inspiring, hopeful close, and it celebrates the two cultures in ways that empower scholars and students alike, from all disciplines. Do I recommend it? Yes, a stimulating and at times delightful read. Would I teach it? No, but I would recommend it to my colleagues and school leadership. Lasting impression Wilson is as compelling as ever when revealing and exploring the mysteries and principles of science, and while he breezes through the humanities, he does so with an earnest affection and hope for a shared future. ...more |
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not set
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Jun 2018
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Jun 25, 2018
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Hardcover
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| 0691174768
| 9780691174761
| 0691174768
| 4.23
| 688
| 1939
| Feb 21, 2017
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Flexner鈥檚 essay argues the centrality of curiosity to human invention, and Dijkgraaf鈥檚 essay is an echo. A paean to freeing the human spirit by offerin Flexner鈥檚 essay argues the centrality of curiosity to human invention, and Dijkgraaf鈥檚 essay is an echo. A paean to freeing the human spirit by offering unfettered opportunity to pursue passions and interests, Abraham Flexner鈥檚 1939 essay makes the case for self-directed learning that we are hearing choruses of today. He does so in the context of his experience as the founder of Princeton University鈥檚 Institute for Advanced Study, an institute that housed at different times such scientific greats as Albert Einstein, John von Neumann, and Robert Oppenheimer. The essay is brief, in four short parts, and while in this slim volume the essay numbers 36 pages, with each page at about 170 words, it makes for a quick read. This is suitable. The prose is light, the argument simple, the structure clear. Curiosity is the most important quality, Flexner argues in part one. Utility limits us, he says. Instead, so many pervasive inventions emerged from useless research, he continues in part two. In part three he suggests first that this is because useless knowledge grows and aggregates such that practical minded people can later put it to use, and then, second, that it is therefore most honorable to create spaces where people can pursue their interests with unbounded time and access. This all cumulates in part four, where Flexner pitches the Institute for Advanced Study as one such place. That context, of course, pushes the question: is this kind of freedom appropriate at all developmental stages? As adults, we see and feel Flexner鈥檚 point: let us break the bonds of our mundane jobs and lives! For our children, too, we certainly seek to avoid mundanity, but do we not also believe that a broad, liberal arts education is appropriate for most if not all students? An education built solely around a student鈥檚 interests, without guidance to think and develop skills in a range of disciplines, leaves children without balance. There is a middle ground, of course: a broadly-based education taught in ways that provide choice and flexibility. Teachers can provide opportunities for curiosity, individuality, and pursuit of imagination in the context of a well-rounded curriculum. Perhaps this is the key takeaway for non-graduate-level educators. Flexner founded a college prep school that ran for 15 years (1890 - 1905), and one wonders about the details of its implementation. What of Robbert Dijkgraaf鈥檚 companion essay? It celebrates Flexner, raises notice that Flexner鈥檚 call for greater basic research is increasingly important today, and offers some memorable stories both extending part two of Flexner鈥檚 essay and also trumpeting the importance of imagination. 鈥� The essays are published with Dijkgraaf鈥檚 essay first, which makes as much sense to me as placing scholarly essays about a Shakespearean play before the play itself 鈥� we haven鈥檛 read the play yet; how can we appreciate the essay?! 鈥� so I skipped to Flexner鈥檚 essay first and then read Dijkgraaf after. This made Dijkgraaf鈥檚 essay, titled 鈥淭he World of Tomorrow,鈥� unfortunately anticlimactic. Do I recommend it? Yes, for teachers and people fostering innovation. Would I teach it? No, but I鈥檇 quote it. Lasting impression: Part of a growing collection of resources I鈥檒l turn to as justification for autonomy in a range of settings. ...more |
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Jun 2018
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Jun 12, 2018
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Hardcover
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| 0520202651
| 9780520202658
| 0520202651
| 3.81
| 573
| Jan 01, 1991
| Aug 29, 1995
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Like many people, I heard the podcast first. RadioLab: 鈥淲ords that Change the World.鈥� A ten minute introduction to Ildefonso, a 27 year old deaf man w Like many people, I heard the podcast first. RadioLab: 鈥淲ords that Change the World.鈥� A ten minute introduction to Ildefonso, a 27 year old deaf man who had never learned the concept of words, spoken or signed, and Susan Schaller, his younger American Sign Language teacher who set out to teach him. The story is moving and inspiring, a step outside of the cave of language, a ten minute introduction to the revelation that words are an invention and that they change who we are. The book complements the podcast. It deepens the story, revealing not only more detail about Ildefonso himself and Susan鈥檚 efforts to teach him, but also more detail about the world of languageless people, people who, though without words, have a rich communicative life of gesture and narrative. What do words do to us? To the way we communicate, to the way we think, and to the way we act? How much are words reliant on sound? How do spoken and signed languages differ in syntax? Can a signer have a sign language 鈥渁ccent鈥�? These are just a few of the questions wrapped into 鈥淎 Man Without Words,鈥� and while Schaller鈥檚 narrative focuses on Ildefonso (and the book is primarily the narrative of this one storyline), she surfaces many answers, too. That said, Schaller also makes many missteps, both, it seems to me, in her teaching and in her presentation of some of the people. While Schaller is empathetic, deeply motivated and caring, writing 鈥淗e had entered the universe of humanity鈥� when Ildefonso learns his first words might not be the most sensitive way to celebrate. Yes, words may be a uniquely human invention, but as the reader learns later, those without language nonetheless have a rich interior, human life. Ultimately, the narrative doesn鈥檛 go too far beyond what the podcast shares, but it does share more of Ildefonso鈥檚 history and personality, and of Susan鈥檚 history. We learn what happens in the decade and more following Susan and Ildefonso鈥檚 meeting, and, in sometimes overwrought (but earnest) prose, we come to a better understanding of the world of languageless people. Schaller鈥檚 story is an easy and compelling read. I鈥檇 be curious to learn about the response of people who read this before hearing the podcast. Do I recommend it? Yes, for those who are interested in the nature of language itself, this is an evocative story of how language changed a person. It meaningfully explores life with and without words. Would I teach it? Excerpts, perhaps. It鈥檚 not a long book, but it isn鈥檛 dense enough to teach the whole text. I think this could be effective in partnership with the RadioLab podcast. Lasting impression: As a complement to the podcast, this offers a better sense of Susan and Ildefonso鈥檚 relationship, even if it doesn鈥檛 substantially deepen in the impact. The most compelling moment might be the experience of a meeting of four languageless people as they tell each other stories. ...more |
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not set
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Jun 2018
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Jun 11, 2018
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Paperback
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| 0521457300
| 9780521457309
| 0521457300
| 3.66
| 1,462
| 1959
| Jul 30, 1993
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I feel like I was sold a false bill of goods. This was supposed to be the essay that set out clearly the gulf between the sciences and the humanities. I feel like I was sold a false bill of goods. This was supposed to be the essay that set out clearly the gulf between the sciences and the humanities. I鈥檇 been hearing about it for years. I鈥檓 pretty I sure I skimmed it once online: 鈥淵ep, the sciences鈥� yes, literary鈥� poor communication鈥� dire consequences, ok鈥︹€� I鈥檇 ordered a hard copy some time ago. I anticipated an explanation of oppositional modes of thought, of how these two cultures are so distant. Something that would define patterns or trajectories of scholarship, or of discourse. But no. Perhaps the fault was mine, my expectations where they were. If that鈥檚 what I was looking for or what you鈥檙e looking for, well, this summary basically covers it. Instead, Snow鈥檚 essay is about politics, comparative education systems, and income inequality. Bringing the disciplines together, he says, is necessary for closing the gulf between rich and poor. He only characterizes鈥攏o, caricatures鈥攖he two disciplines. Or if we鈥檙e honest in our analysis, he really just makes an argument that our politicians should be better versed in the sciences, so we can teach more science to our students, because that is the solution to our economic problems. And in the end, Snow doesn鈥檛 seem to think much of the humanities. (By the way, I don鈥檛 recall the term 鈥渉umanities鈥� appearing anywhere in the essay. Instead, it鈥檚 鈥渓iterary intellectuals鈥� by which he appears to mean writers and critics, and not scholars, and within that, maybe even just novelists. And he certainly doesn鈥檛 seem to mean the arts more broadly; he doesn鈥檛 use the word 鈥渁rts鈥� until the last page of the sequel essay he wrote four years later.) No, mostly he makes fun of the literary intellectuals, who he claims labeled themselves intellectuals and, being a bunch of luddites, immerse themselves in the past, 鈥渨ishing the future did not exist.鈥� He even titles a section: 鈥淚ntellectuals as Natural Luddites.鈥� The literary intellectuals are the traditionalists, he says, and are ill-suited for contemporary times. The culture of scientists, on the other hand, 鈥渃ontains a great deal of argument, usually much more rigorous, and almost always at a higher conceptual level, than literary persons鈥濃€攅ven though the scientists do cheerfully use words in senses which literary persons don鈥檛 recognize, the senses are exact ones. And as if to put a pin on the point: 鈥淩emember, these are very intelligent men.鈥� And later: 鈥淚n the moral, they are by and large the soundest group of intellectuals we have; there is a moral component right in the grain of science itself, and almost all scientists form their own judgments of the moral life.鈥� Any such defense of the literary crowd? Nope. But wait! The scientists, says Snow, don鈥檛 read very much. 鈥淭heir imaginative understanding is less than it could be. They are self-impoverished.鈥� Ah, there is the value of the writers. But wait鈥攚hat鈥檚 the next sentence? 鈥淏ut what about the other side [the literary intellectuals]? They are self-impoverished too鈥攑erhaps more seriously, because they are vainer about it.鈥� Really? I guess Science is the true intellectual feat of humanity, says Snow, and what the writers need to do is learn more about it and spread the good word more. And having established that, Snow takes on the education system in the U.K., measuring it up against the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R., hardly to return. Is there anything about empirical sources of knowledge (science!) versus discursive sources of knowledge (humanities!)? Nope. Anything about isolating variables in experiments versus hypothetical variables in fiction? Nope. Anything in there about the balance of reason and feeling? Nope. This is what I wanted. This is what it seems the title suggests. Or, this is what I projected onto the title. I was looking for an exploration of the differences between those who scour the world for knowledge and those who explore the implications of that knowledge. I was hoping for something that laid out different intellectual frames of thinking, the kind you鈥檒l find in James Turner鈥檚 book Philology: The Forgotten Origins of the Modern Humanities. No such landscape here. Now, to his credit, in his essay three years later (鈥淭he Two Cultures: A Second Look鈥�), Snow admits that describing the two cultures wasn鈥檛 really his goal鈥攊t was about income inequality: 鈥淏efore I wrote the lecture I thought of calling it 鈥楾he Rich and the Poor鈥�, and I rather wish I hadn鈥檛 changed my mind.鈥� And further to his credit, he says there鈥檚 nothing original to his thoughts, and he downplays any significance to his words except that they happened to come at a time when people wanted to hear about鈥� two cultures. He writes: The first deduction, then, is that these ideas were not at all original, but were waiting in the air. The second deduction is, I think, equally obvious. It is that there must be something in them. I don鈥檛 mean that they are necessarily right鈥ut contained in them or hidden beneath them, there is something which people, all over the world, suspect is relevant to present actions. It would not have mattered whether these things were said by me or Bronowski or Kling, or A or B or C. My guess is that the title made the piece. It captured a general sense of divide. And it promises a lot, and I bet people (like me) heard about it, projected layers and nuance onto it, and then talked about it with others. The title is perfect in its simplicity, after all. It suggests its conclusion right from the get go, and this makes coffee table conversation easy. And so, while I do think Snow鈥檚 moral center is generally praiseworthy鈥攈is whole goal is to help the impoverished people of all nations find gainful employment for healthier, happier, and longer living鈥攖he work left me wanting to read something else. PS. Something else worth reading is the Introduction, by Stefan Collini, written in 1993. But that's a whole separate review. Do I recommend it? No. Kind of a bear to get through, and a little insulting. But perhaps yes, so that you can be authoritative when people bring it up. Would I teach it? No. Something like this might be useful in an interdisciplinary class like the digital humanities class I鈥檓 about to teach, but this isn鈥檛 the text I would choose. Lasting impressions: Snow is sometimes humble and deeply interested in the issues of his day. And, he appears to have credentials: he had both a PhD in Physics and had published numerous novels and works of non-fiction. But the text falls short of its title. This isn鈥檛 about 鈥淭he Two Cultures鈥濃€攊t鈥檚 about global income inequality. If you want to read about the sciences and humanities, keep looking鈥� ...more |
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1
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not set
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Feb 2017
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Mar 17, 2017
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Paperback
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| 4.32
| 395,036
| May 14, 2013
| May 14, 2013
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Americanah is not a perfect novel, but it offers an incisive representation of being an outsider. And like great novels, it wraps its insight in a pag
Americanah is not a perfect novel, but it offers an incisive representation of being an outsider. And like great novels, it wraps its insight in a page-turning love story. Americanah reveals to us the microaggressions of everyday life鈥斺€淐an I touch your hair?鈥� 鈥淲ait until my friends see you.鈥濃€攊n the context of vividly drawn people, real scenarios infused with life, tension, trauma, joy. These insights aren鈥檛 necessarily new, but woven as they are into a richly told story, they have more heft. When we talk about race and class dynamics in the abstract, we struggle with our different perspectives on what words mean and how they鈥檙e used. When we encounter these words and tensions in the context of a life, however, we share the characters鈥� experience, and we more readily understand the weight of what transpires, the injury of the offenses. Ifemelu, the protagonist, is a bright and driven Nigerian woman, and we follow her from high school through her early professional career as a blogger. She doesn鈥檛 start as a writer, but her experience growing up in Nigeria and moving to America propels her to write directly and often comically about the tensions of class, race, sex, and more. Ifemelu always understood the fact of race, but it wasn鈥檛 until she came to America that she discovered that being black carries with it all kinds of complications. The blog she writes, therefore, is entitled 鈥淩aceteenth or Various Observations About American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black鈥�, and its cleverness earns her a position as a visiting writer at Princeton University. Her posts are often included in the novel. Ifemelu is witty and pragmatic. Her life is pulled in different directions, and her talent and her beauty open doors that invite forces and feelings at work in the relationships that surround us all. Her life rises and falls. Her family and friends grow close and distant. She and others change. Meanwhile, Obinze, her old boyfriend from Lagos, sets off on his own as well, traveling to England and back and having his own education on race and global politics. Ifemelu and Obinze are charismatic characters, and we are drawn to them because of their earnestness and hopefulness. The novel isn鈥檛 perfect. Some of the characters feel more like caricatures (Curt the rich, white boyfriend or Blaine the distant, intellectual boyfriend) and some of the images feel heavy handed (the turkeys on the neighboring rooftop), but Ifemelu鈥檚 fullness and flaws make up for the shortcomings. I questioned the satisfying closure of the novel. But only for a second. If you have a smidgen of sensitivity to the racial tensions in the world today, this is a fruitful read. Americanah is refreshing and fulfilling, not in the least for its ability to give voice to unspoken experiences, for bringing them out in the open in a way that is cathartic and, ultimately, redeeming. Do I recommend it? Absolutely. I would almost call it essential reading for a diverse world. Would I teach it? If I had more time. It鈥檚 long (575+ pages). A required summer read perhaps. Lasting impressions: Adichie is a delightful storyteller, and she wraps poignant, keen, and humorous insight into a compelling love story. This novel helps anyone understand America鈥檚 complicated racial tensions, and Nigeria鈥檚 complicated class hierarchy. I would like to read this again some day. ...more |
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1
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not set
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Jan 2015
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Jan 17, 2015
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Hardcover
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| 1594488274
| 9781594488276
| 1594488274
| 3.53
| 3,147
| 2011
| Oct 13, 2011
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Like many great novels, The Wandering Falcon is as much a story of a people as it is a story of a person. I鈥檝e always wondered about the tribal region Like many great novels, The Wandering Falcon is as much a story of a people as it is a story of a person. I鈥檝e always wondered about the tribal regions at the borders of Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. What is it that makes governance so complicated in those regions? Who are the people that live there? The Wandering Falcon tells a story from that region, and in the process, tells the story of the region--or at least part of it. Written by seventy-year-old Jamil Ahmad, The Wandering Falcon is spare in its language and quick in its movement--but full of the details that make stories vivid. Chapters move briskly, and characters enter and exit the action of the story with the brevity familiar to anyone accustomed to life on the road. It is unsentimental while still probing deep and moving relationships. Whether this is a writing style or a cultural characteristic (or both) isn鈥檛 entirely clear. The landscape is mountainous and similarly spare, and life in the novel is uncomplicated by the trappings of modernity--in part because it is set in the post-WWII, mid-20th century and in part because life in the tribal regions, this novel suggests, was a nomadic life, untethered by urban and suburban infrastructural utilities and supply routes. But this does not mean that the characters鈥� lives are uncomplicated. The relationships are as complex as any: between people and people, people and tribe, tribe and tribe, tribe and government, and government and government. The story of Tor Baz, the main character, is the throughline between these relationships, and, stretching from his birth to early adulthood, it is one of openness, discovery, honor, love, tragedy, and optimism. Tor Baz is the best kind of guide, even-keeled and adaptive, and Ahmad鈥檚 narrative reads like storytelling; perhaps it Ahmad鈥檚 voice, simple and sage, that lends Tor Baz his easy character. The Wandering Falcon is not perfect--it reads like a collection of short stories with a recurring set of characters--but it is unfailingly vivid, and anyone with any experience in the desert or in the Middle East will fondly recognize many of the novel鈥檚 depictions of people and place. Do I recommend it? Yes. It is short, crisp, and every sentence paints a picture. Would I teach it? I鈥檓 not sure. It doesn鈥檛 fit in the context of my current classes, but it seems a valuable source for exploring how to depict character. Lasting impressions: Stark and vivid, the story teaches as much as it tells. I find it a welcome, human, and compelling contextualization of much the news we鈥檝e heard coming out of the most politically complex region of the Middle East for the last decade. ...more |
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1
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not set
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Nov 2012
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Dec 01, 2012
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Hardcover
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| B0DSZSN5RF
| 4.29
| 4,289,403
| Sep 21, 1937
| 1990
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I didn鈥檛 remember The Hobbit being so directed towards children. That鈥檚 probably because I last experienced it as a child. I listened to it then on au
I didn鈥檛 remember The Hobbit being so directed towards children. That鈥檚 probably because I last experienced it as a child. I listened to it then on audiobook, and I only had vague recollections of it: the battle with Smaug, flashes of dragon scales and great archers. But what鈥檚 remarkable now is having read Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Canterbury Tales, and other texts written in or about Old and Middle English. And reading The Hobbit in their context--and reading the excellent annotated edition by Douglas Anderson--reveals that while Tolkien did, indeed, write The Hobbit for young family members, the story is deeply influenced by those early texts, and it is deeply infused with early English language and early English and Scandinavian (Norse) mythology. If you鈥檝e been under a rock for the past decade, The Hobbit is the prequel to the Lord of the Rings series, and it tells the story of Bilbo Baggins鈥� early adventures: how he won a powerful ring from a cave-dweller named Gollum, how he joined a party of dwarves to recover a stolen treasure, etc. The Hobbit was written before the Lord of the Rings, though, and so, surprisingly, the infamous ring that features so prominently in the Lord of the Rings stories is not, in fact, the central narrative of The Hobbit. Instead, the storyline of The Hobbit is a riotous adventure, written in the humorous voice of a clever grandfather telling a tall tale to his grandchildren, reminding them every now and then of what has been said before. And so while this is literature, we wonder what kind of literature it is. Is it, for example, scholarly? It鈥檚 written by a scholar, for sure--Tolkien was an Oxford professor of Anglo-Saxon and English Language and Literature--but it鈥檚 subject is far removed from our understandable reality. With dragons and goblins and elves, the story inhabits the fantasy genre, but it has deep roots in a literary and linguistic tradition. And so, what counts as scholarly? Or, more specifically, can fantasy literature be scholarly? We study works that are rich in language or bright in the light they shed on the human experience. If this is the criteria, then The Hobbit can be said to be both, and Anderson鈥檚 annotated edition takes great steps towards making the scholarly elements of The Hobbit accessible. Tolkein鈥檚 character鈥檚 names--of people, places, and things--delve deep into linguistic history to add layers of meaning. And the characters themselves navigate various spaces in the landscape of human conflict. Ultimately, The Hobbit esteems language and the experience of the common man. As one footnote late in the novel points out, Bilbo鈥檚 journey is one from innocence to experience, and it is reflected in his speech. He returns to his home late in the story and marks the arrival by a sudden urge to recite a poem. His common speech is replaced by sophisticated verse, complete with meter and rhyme. He has grown, and unlike the vast majority of literature, this growth comes as a result of triumph or happiness, and not as a result of tragedy or despair. Must tragedy be the human condition? Must hope be relegated to fantasy? Can the aspirational elements of The Hobbit--the human aspirational elements--connect enough to our human experience today to be relevant, respected, in a scholarly landscape, or is fantasy--imagination--too outlandish? In the opening pages of the novel, Tolkien writes, 鈥淭his is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours鈥� respect, but he gained--well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.鈥� Readers of The Hobbit are not unlike Bilbo. And I suspect we know what Bilbo would say about whether what he gained was worth his neighbours鈥� respect... Do I recommend it? Yes. A great story, plenty to read into. Would I teach it? I'm shifting slowly on this one. I wouldn鈥檛 have considered it, but after Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Canterbury Tales, it might make a good read for students as a capstone, particularly approaching a vacation. Lasting Impressions: Full of playful prose, riddling characters, and clever interrelations, The Hobbit makes, at first, for a fun and imaginative ride, and then, if you want, for good food for thought. A great step into the way back machine. ...more |
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1
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not set
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Jun 2012
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Jun 02, 2012
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Hardcover
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| 1451648537
| 9781451648539
| 1451648537
| 4.15
| 1,315,754
| Oct 01, 2011
| Oct 24, 2011
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Executive summary of Isaacson's "Steve Jobs": Executive summary of Isaacson's "Steve Jobs":
But these are not spoilers. The drama of this biography is in the decisions Jobs made, the way he followed through on these ideals. Read the book. In the same way that you understand a proverb much more after you've had a life a experience that demonstrates it, these will mean much, much more when you see them in the context of Steve Jobs' life. Plus, you'll also discover Jobs' equally as compelling character traits: from his idealism to his irascibility. ...more |
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Nov 2011
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Nov 17, 2011
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Hardcover
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| 9781400032716
| 1400032717
| 3.89
| 1,550,943
| Jul 31, 2003
| May 18, 2004
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I like that these characters are real鈥攊f not really fleshed out鈥攃haracters: they have flaws, they love fully and try as hard as they can, and sometime
I like that these characters are real鈥攊f not really fleshed out鈥攃haracters: they have flaws, they love fully and try as hard as they can, and sometimes they make bad decisions and are caught up by their own limitations. I have a hard time, however, reconciling this realistic world of imperfect people with the near-perfect resolution of the final three pages. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a quick read. It鈥檚 the story of Christopher Boone, a 15 year-old boy with autism, who discovers that his neighbor鈥檚 dog has been violently killed. Christopher is a mathematical prodigy, and with the advice of his school counselor/teacher and the inspiration of his super-rational hero, Sherlock Holmes, Christopher navigates neighborhood politics, his complex family history, and his own disability in efforts to discover the perpetrator of the crime. Narrated by Christopher, the story is written in curt, emotion-free sentences. It reveals a world in which metaphors are the source of confusion, not poetry; in which trust is built irrevocably on behavior, not faith; and in which compassion without logic means close to nothing at all. Other characters cycle in and out of Christopher鈥檚 path, and because of the absence of his empathy towards them, our own empathy, like the hearing of someone who is blind, is sensitized to fill the void. In this way, we sense not only the deepening crises surrounding Christopher, but also the way in which emotion intrudes upon his own logical world. Focusing on Chrisotpher, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time gives us a glimpse of a world that is not our own. But focusing on the characters around him, we can see the everyman in a way that both reveals his shortcomings and redeems him at the same time. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is not a great and wondrous novel鈥攎any moments unfold too easily, and, despite some emptying despair, the ending feels a little too good鈥攂ut the novel is fresh and different. Do I recommend it? Yes. Short and full of stuff. Would I teach it? I don鈥檛 think so. I鈥檓 not sure that the language sustains it. Excerpting it may prove useful, however. Lasting impressions: cool narration, a warm message, and the heat of familial conflict. ...more |
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Jul 11, 2010
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| 9780156001311
| 0156001314
| 4.14
| 382,805
| Sep 1980
| Sep 28, 1994
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鈥淚 felt like poisoning a monk,鈥� wrote Umberto Eco, describing the genesis of The Name of the Rose. But how much drama could really exist in a 14th cen
鈥淚 felt like poisoning a monk,鈥� wrote Umberto Eco, describing the genesis of The Name of the Rose. But how much drama could really exist in a 14th century monastery? Enough, it turns out, for the political and theological stability of Europe to hinge upon the events of the Benedictine abbey in which The Name of the Rose takes place. But how enjoyable can it really be to read long-winded speeches by grumpy old monks parsing theological arguments about everything from heresy to the habits of Jesus? Surprisingly enjoyable, it turns out, even though lengthy latin sentences speckle every page and arguments focus on historical figures and groups that an average reader could never expect to recognize. For the events of the novel are narrated by Adso of Melk, a novice Benedictine monk who is as often baffled as we are, and we, like he, learn to let flow by the names and places and sentences we don鈥檛 understand, confident that Franciscan Brother William of Baskerville, former inquisitor and imperial envoy for whom Adso serves as scribe, will press us into a place of understanding. The Name of the Rose is a medieval murder mystery. But one difference between this and other novels set in the Middle Ages (namely, Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett) is that in The Name of the Rose, Eco immerses us not only in the context of the time period, but also in its subtleties. Follett鈥檚 12th century feels a lot like our own; it is full of familiar relationships: spurned lovers, political rivals, broken families. Often he throws in nuggets about what people could wear, how they ate, etc. Eco鈥檚 14th century, however, is consistently and unmistakably medieval and unmistakably elevated to the learning of a wealthy and renowned abbey. Follett's details, which may seem novel to us, are taken for granted in Eco's prose, and discussions of what would be on the medieval monastic mind鈥攄iatribes, even, on the nature of heresy, the holiness of laughter, and whether poverty is a divine ideal鈥攊nterrupt and accent plot twists. And, in fact, they become essential to following the motivations of the characters. These are monks, after all; one wouldn鈥檛 expect the typical motives (love, power, etc) to apply鈥� This immersion is elemental to the enjoyment and intrigue of The Name of the Rose. Eco wrote, 鈥淚 wanted to become completely medieval and live in the Middle Ages as if that were my own period.鈥� And so, William鈥檚 exegeses on logic and laughter seduce us with their learning. Adso鈥檚 cataloging of the many and varied devils, demons and monsters of medieval imagination (in true Eco style) bombard us with wild and vivid images. The numerous orders and denominations of the church highlight the fever-pitched religious passions of the day. If it isn鈥檛 clear by the end of the novel that The Name of the Rose is not only a pleasurable read, but also an intellectual dive into the politics and theology of cusp-of-the-Renaissance Europe, then the thirty page postscript flat out talks us through the academic preparations Eco embarked upon in order to write The Name of the Rose. Some writers say that they discover their works by following characters they create and seeing what happens next. Eco seems not to be of this camp. He seems to have constructed his work deliberately and intentionally, working through questions of literary theory and style as much like a scholar as a novelist. The result is that The Name of the Rose is a singular work. It is steeped in its subject. On a fundamental level, from its topic to its sentence structure to its deliberate use of individual words, The Name of the Rose is fresh and illuminating. Do I recommend it? Yes, for any serious reader, curious mind, or medieval enthusiast. Would I teach it? Yes, if I could find the time鈥� Partnered Texts: The Canterbury Tales, Pillars of the Earth Lasting impressions: Monks, mysteries, monsters, manuscripts, a labyrinth, and electric multi-lingual prose that I look forward to reading again. Favorite Line:: 鈥淪o, rather than appear foolish afterward, I renounce seeming clever now. Let me think no more, until tomorrow, at least.鈥� ...more |
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Jul 09, 2010
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| 1934137197
| 9781934137192
| 1934137197
| 3.41
| 37,503
| Jan 01, 2009
| Jan 01, 2009
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Paul Harding described laying out the text of Tinkers on his living room floor and, after some whiskey, cutting up the pages and stapling and taping t
Paul Harding described laying out the text of Tinkers on his living room floor and, after some whiskey, cutting up the pages and stapling and taping them back together to assemble the novel as we know it. That feels about right. Tinkers opens at George Washington Crosby鈥檚 deathbed, his family gathered from corners of the country to witness his final week. A former clock-maker and repairman, George is confined to his bed, and he is often unable to communicate and even think clearly. As the novel counts down his final hours of memories and hallucinations, the narrative leaps back and forth in time to simultaneously reveal the story of Howard Aaron Crosby, George鈥檚 father. The original family tinker, Howard makes rounds in the deep Northeast in the early 20th century with his cart full of tools and trinkets for sale and for hire. He struggles to support his family, including young George, and he struggles as well with debilitating epileptic seizures. Tinkers is the kind of novel people will (accurately) call 鈥減oignant鈥� because it makes sadness into something smart. But it is perhaps smarter than it is sad, if only because the reader grows so aware of the juxtaposed and alternating stories of father and son鈥攊nterspersed with some technical writing about clocks, shifting narrators, shifting verb tenses, and apparently (at first) non-sequitur journal entries鈥攖hat reading the novel requires so much cerebral assembly that it repeatedly threatens to overshadow the keen sadness of the dying protagonists, the deteriorating families, and the growing helplessness and fading that pervade the story. Surely, Tinkers is touching in the end. (鈥渢ouching鈥濃€攁 word perhaps as gooey as 鈥減oignant鈥�) It immerses us in familial love and responsibility as they are understood at many ages and as they are balanced against making sense of ourselves in an unforgiving, if beautiful, natural world. Diligently keep track of the various threads of the story and consistently take care to empathize with the longing and desires of the main characters, and there follows some redemption in the end. But it is a difficult journey. Would I recommend it? Yes, for the indulgent academic. I didn鈥檛 feel that Tinkers was a great novel, but it鈥檚 interesting and it鈥檚 short. In the end, I like it鈥攂ut that may be the pressure of the Pulitzer sticker on the cover telling me it鈥檚 worthwhile. Would I teach it? Probably not. It would take too long to sort through the plot with students. Lasting impressions: Knowing that Tinkers is inspired by Harding鈥檚 own grandfather, I imagine that it is extremely satisfying and rewarding for him (as must be the story of its publication and subsequent prizes), but it is not very accessible. Tinkers may be a short novel, but it is not easy. Mostly, I recall the local geography, the rustic landscape, and the pervading sense of vulnerability. ...more |
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Jun 30, 2010
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Hardcover
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| 045122213X
| 9780451222138
| 045122213X
| 4.34
| 800,205
| Oct 1989
| Oct 02, 2007
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I thought The Pillars of the Earth was going to be a long, technical novel that I鈥檇 have to muscle through--it鈥檚 almost 1000 pages long, it鈥檚 set in t
I thought The Pillars of the Earth was going to be a long, technical novel that I鈥檇 have to muscle through--it鈥檚 almost 1000 pages long, it鈥檚 set in the 1100s, and the cover is decorated with a diagrammatic sketch of a church. These are not the typical makings of a gripping read. (I remember now that The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories written in the late 1300s about a pilgrimage to a cathedral, is one of the bawdiest pieces of writing around.) So I was surprised to find that The Pillars of the Earth is a page-turning thriller reminiscent of hack-and-slash gothic/fantasy novels. Knights and earls, priors and monks, millers and wool merchants鈥攁ll jockeying for power. Oh right, and much of this does indeed revolve around the technical but surprisingly-immersive construction of a cathedral. Assuredly, there isn鈥檛 anything wondrous about how The Pillars of the Earth is told. It is full of eye-rolling clich茅s like attractive protagonists and ugly antagonists; blunt, generic descriptions; and supposedly clever villains that repeatedly oversimplify their opposition (e.g. 鈥淚n that case it鈥檚 only a matter of time before he disappears from sight. And then, I should think, the earldom is yours.鈥�). But through all this the tale the novel tells is grand in scope, true in feeling, charged with emotional pull, and full of detail about life in the Middle Ages. Notably, there is a lot of bloodshed in The Pillars of the Earth. I lost track of the number of murders and the number of rapes, finding myself announcing 鈥渁nother one鈥� with surprising regularity. This may be an accurate reflection of the early Middle Ages; many other details Follett references reveal that he鈥檚 done some homework on the medieval era, from dress to habits, social structures, politics, economy, diets, and more鈥攁s well as cathedral construction. Indeed, The Pillars of the Earth is a vast lesson on cathedrals and the life surrounding them. We learn about the geography of cathedrals鈥攖he naves, clerestories, chancels, and crypts, etc. We learn about the technology of cathedrals鈥攖he arches, the roofs, the windows, and, of course, the flying buttresses. We learn about the politics and architectural styles of cathedrals鈥攈ow they are financed, who constructs them, and who and what influences the style. And we learn about the intersections of all these lessons鈥攈ow technology can change the geography, how style grows out of culture, how politics can overtake everything else. And Follett has a way of making all this complexity accessible. Enter the thriller format: the storylines of the cathedral and the handful of main characters whose lives thread together and apart over the course of almost 50 years are couched in the what-happens-next structure of a mystery. Chapters end with cliffhangers, characters are strong-willed, and confrontations are frequent. Life is frequently on the line. As a result, the book grips you, and the savvy of the novel鈥檚 construction is that the details of the cathedral and the details of life in the Middle Ages become the points of dramatic suspense. Defense against invading enemies depends on the technique of the masons. Romantic catharsis relies on social rules set by the church. Political victory is made through architectural prominence. Denouement only follows with the balancing of power between church and state. Most importantly, though, is that even if the novel is packed with sensation, Ken Follett gets people. He has an empathic imagination that lands on the kinds of details that make a reader want to say out loud: 鈥淵es! That鈥檚 so true!鈥� If you鈥檝e ever lost all motivation for something, you鈥檒l recognize the 鈥渄isconnected, desolate thoughts鈥� of a listless and beaten character. If you鈥檝e ever had a crush, you鈥檒l recognize characters鈥� increasing self-analysis. If you鈥檝e ever reflected on your work environment, you鈥檒l find yourself nodding when you read: 鈥淧hilip was good to work for. His orders were clear, he left Jack room to make decisions for himself, and he never blamed his servants for his own mistakes.鈥� Yes! That鈥檚 so true! These kinds of details are the stuff of the humanities. They show us truth in action. The Pillars of the Earth didn鈥檛 win any great awards鈥攍ikely because the story lacks any subtlety whatsoever and the prose is unremarkable at best鈥攂ut it is a vast novel of great scale that explores the trials and tribulations of a lifetime, successes and failures great and small in love, work, neighborliness, politics, friendship, and faith. Would I recommend it? Yes, but not for the weak of stomach. It contains much violence. Would I teach it? No. Too long, too graphic. No close reading. Partnered texts: The Canterbury Tales, Morality Play. Lasting impression: The Pillars of the Earth is a great escape. It鈥檚 dressed up like a beach read, but underneath it鈥檚 an exploration of architecture, history, politics, and love. ...more |
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Jun 23, 2010
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| 1439169950
| 9781439169957
| 1439169950
| 3.45
| 9,818
| Feb 02, 2010
| Feb 02, 2010
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Hyper-abstract intellectualization. Overly-ruminative prose peppered with mysterious and incomplete sentences. Pages of characters projecting thoughts
Hyper-abstract intellectualization. Overly-ruminative prose peppered with mysterious and incomplete sentences. Pages of characters projecting thoughts onto others. Ugh. I get what DeLillo is going for in Point Omega: the environments that we create and choose to inhabit blind us and remind us of what makes up every millisecond of our human existence. And, the relationships and events of our lives thrust us inevitably forward, into and through the importance and significance of now. This is a nice revelation to have. But one line perhaps best sums up why DeLillo鈥檚 treatment of this idea doesn鈥檛 work for me: the narrator鈥檚 wife, in a gentle criticism of the narrator鈥檚 film work, asks, 鈥淲hy is it so hard to be serious, so easy to be too serious?鈥� Reading Point Omega, I feel DeLillo is, like in Falling man, too serious about his subject, too self-conscious and self-indulgent. (And also, that comma without the conjunction in the middle of the quote鈥攚hose mother speaks like that?) So the story: Defense Department intellectual Richard Elster flees from the city and immerses himself in the vast and vacant land- and skyscape of the desert southwest. He seeks perspective and escape. Young filmmaker Jim Finley visits him there to persuade him to make a one-take, no-cut documentary interview. Before long, Elster鈥檚 daughter, Jessie, arrives and a new dynamic opens up between the three of them. Bookending this action are two scenes from an art exhibit obsessively frequented by an anonymous fourth character and visited once by Richard and Jim, and another time by Jessie. The mind moves fast and furiously in these scenes in Point Omega, but, in the name of economy (or self-indulgence?), it leaves the prose in scraps behind. We鈥檙e thrown quizzical contradictions like: 鈥淚t was like bricks in a wall, clearly countable, not like the flight of an arrow or bird. Then again it was not like or unlike anything.鈥� Or 鈥溾€橫eaningless,鈥� he thought 鈥榦r maybe not.鈥� And other times we鈥檙e left pondering chapter-starters like: 鈥淓very lost moment is the life.鈥� Intentional vagueness and self-conscious profundity really rub me the wrong way. Equally maddening is when characters spend pages fabricating other characters' thoughts and personality鈥攅specially when it鈥檚 painfully, painfully obvious that the imagineer is wrong (and borderline insane): the helpless and anonymous fourth character, a man at a museum who lingers for hours every day watching and contemplating the film Psycho played in super-slow motion, fantasizes about the thoughts and personalities of the people who enter and leave鈥攁nd we are forced to follow his twisted thought. Argh. Argh. Argh. Argh. Argh. Instead of groaning, perhaps I should choose instead to give DeLillo credit for capturing the man鈥檚 instability. (DeLillo says that the idea for the novel came from watching this exhibit repeatedly at the MoMA. I hope the character in the novel is an exaggeration, and not a mirror, of his own thoughts鈥�) Overall, it seems that everyone is in search of something in Point Omega, and no one quite gets there. We and the characters are pulled away from the omega point, when time slows down and understanding is complete, by the people and action around us. I respect this, but I wish that the experience of achieving this understanding could have been more pleasurable. Do I recommend it? For DeLillo enthusiasts and serial music fans... Would I teach it? Shockingly, maybe. It鈥檚 short, and full of stuff. Related texts: Falling Man Lasting Impression: Stylized reflection on the acceleration and deceleration of time and knowledge. Postscript: (Note: I'm about to perform an act of literary blasphemy and talk about sports. Don't hate on me.) I have not seen Douglas Gordon's installation, 24 Hour Psycho, but I did see the Superbowl, and the super slow motion clips of wide receivers and defensive backs running and colliding serve equally well for demonstrating the thousands of mental calculations the human mind makes every second, and therefore encouraging us to consider time and thought in new ways. The most relevant difference, I imagine, is that 24 Hour Psycho is the result of careful calculation and artful construction, while sporting events are the result of athletic improvisation. Nonetheless, as an insight into what we see and don't see in our behavior, I think the result is the same. ...more |
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Feb 2010
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Feb 07, 2010
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Hardcover
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| 1594202176
| 9781594202179
| 1594202176
| 3.88
| 8,655
| 2009
| May 08, 2009
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I started this book ravenously--Science! Youth! Grief!--then I lost momentum. Then I fell into it again--Adventure! Bloodshed! Secret Societies!--then
I started this book ravenously--Science! Youth! Grief!--then I lost momentum. Then I fell into it again--Adventure! Bloodshed! Secret Societies!--then I became cynical about it. (One character says, 鈥淕rief, youth, science鈥� People are so goddamn predictable. I should write a book about how to suckerpunch people into caring.鈥�) When I finally finished it, I put it down with a fair respect for both its accomplishments and its shortcomings. Here鈥檚 the hook: 12-year-old cartographer genius Tecumseh Sparrow (TS) Spivet goes on an adventure and fills the margins of his story with notes and illustrations that offer clever visual representations of verbal information. Compelling! Here鈥檚 the rub: TS lives with his parents鈥攚ho are as one-dimensional a cowboy and scientist as can be; Dad rarely speaks without apostrophes, and Mom rarely retreats from her work鈥攁nd his sister, who teenybops through most of her time on the page. They all live with the shadow of Layton, TS鈥� younger brother who died in a gun accident. These and other characters develop little. In fact, I鈥檓 not sure there are any real people in this novel. Boo! But the adventure and dramatic scenarios are enjoyable just the same: We quickly learn that TS has won a great prize from the Smithsonian for his drawing portfolio, and the novel recounts the story of his solo adventure to DC, which leads to our revelations and his surprising discoveries about his family. (But how old is TS when he tells the story? The voice never quite settles down.) The story takes three parts, and their differences evoke a kind of structural schizophrenia: The first section (鈥淭he West鈥�) reads like a character-driven novel set in the mountains of Montana. (Is that redundant? Mountains of Montana?) TS navigates his gruff and silent father, his meticulous and officious mother, his irritable and angst-ridden sister, and the demons of his brother鈥檚 death. His charts and diagrams make us see everything in new ways, but still we wonder what makes this family fit together. This could be a novel in itself. But then we鈥檙e off! The second section (鈥淭he Crossing鈥�) lulls us into the genealogy of the Spivet family and the emptiness of the Great Plains. Stolen notebooks read like historical fiction and the ennui of the plains turns into a wormhole. Suddenly there鈥檚 magical realism and life-threatening bloodshed. Action! Alas, however, the diagrams become less interesting and less profound. And then the third section (鈥淭he East鈥�) juices us with a secret society thriller that reads like a cross between teen fiction and political diatribe: teenagers navigate secret tunnels between governmental halls of power, adults bicker senselessly like children while hatching plans against the president and his administration, mysterious characters from TS鈥� journey impossibly turn out to have been insiders all along. What?! Suddenly, Plot cashes out and Suspension of Disbelief asks us for a loan the size of the national debt. The more pages I turned, the more I wanted to know what happened next, but the more the mystery-thriller undercut what little serious interest I had in TS and his family as characters. What saves The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet for me are the wonderful verbal/visual puzzles, the occasional moment of literary sleight-of-hand (the sparrows! The worm hole! The subtle foreshadowing!), and, of course: science, youth, and grief. Reading parts of this was truly electric, even if it doesn't fully redeem characters I don鈥檛 believe in and an inconsistent frame for the narrative at large. Do I recommend it? Yes, for escape on a rainy day. Would I teach it? Not likely, though I might excerpt some passages and pictures. Related Texts: Pale Fire; The Da Vinci Code, Illustrated Edition; The Answer is Always Yes Lasting impressions: Boy genius, broken family, secret society thriller. The Selected Works of TS Spivet wants to be everything, but it doesn鈥檛 fully succeed. Along the way, however, it does elicit some moments of emotional pull, and it entertains us and opens up new possibilities for the novel. That's no mean feat. ...more |
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Feb 2010
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Feb 06, 2010
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Hardcover
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| 0394820371
| 9780394820378
| 0394820371
| 4.20
| 298,888
| 1961
| 1996
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When he left the Navy, Norton Juster began writing a non-fiction book about urban planning. As an outlet from the grueling work, though, he spent his
When he left the Navy, Norton Juster began writing a non-fiction book about urban planning. As an outlet from the grueling work, though, he spent his free time concocting the imaginative scenes that later became The Phantom Tollbooth. One publisher鈥檚 advance later, he gave up on the scholarly work and finished The Phantom Tollbooth instead. And we鈥檙e all better off for it. Part Alice in Wonderland, part secular Pilgrim鈥檚 Progress, The Phantom Tollbooth takes ten year-old Milo on a journey out of boredom and into a wild world of Watchdogs (dogs made from big watches), the Mathemagician (who rules over the city Digitopolis), King Azaz the Unabridged (who rules over Dictionopolis), and creatures like the Awful Dynne, who collects the noisy sounds of the world, and the Lethargarians, who sit around and do nothing all day. It鈥檚 a bright adventure into the creative possibilities of the mind. In Dictionopolis and Digitopolis Milo discovers the value of words and numbers; on the Mountain of Ignorance he learns that knowledge can fight off inattention and indulgence; in the Doldrums, he avoids ennui by thinking; and through it all, he discovers that a little attention reveals wondrous details in everything around him. All told it鈥檚 an episodic allegory that feels like the whole wonder of grade school in a few hundred pages. But the real pleasure of it is the whip-smart wordplay. We barely catch it as children, but Juster鈥檚 physical representations of intangible things鈥攍ike the very short Officer Shrift, who arrests people without giving them a chance鈥攊ntroduce young readers to multiple layers of meaning. And as adults, there鈥檚 a laugh, a groan, or a tickled 鈥渉uh!鈥� in every paragraph. The Phantom Tollbooth isn鈥檛 perfect, however. The opening chapters are electric with wit, but the mystery and momentum of the early pages fade into a string of sometimes cumbersomely connected scenes, as if Juster鈥檚 clever ideas were simply lined up in a row. And, not all puns are created equal. (Still, they're puns, and we have to love them). But these are tiny complaints. Every child should read The Phantom Tollbooth; it鈥檚 a bit of a lesson book on how to live. In the interview at the end of the audiobook (read by David Hyde Pierce), Juster says that many of the demons in the story鈥攍ike the terrible Trivium, who waylays us with inane tasks鈥攔eflect the challenges that he struggles with in his writing. And if we all do as well as Milo does, then we鈥檒l surely live happier, fuller lives. Do I recommend it? Yes. Read it at different times over the course of your life. You鈥檒l notice different things. Would I teach it? It would be fun. It鈥檚 young in spirit, and it might serve as fresh contrast to texts exploring allegory or the image of the road. Lasting impressions: I first read The Phantom Tollbooth in the third grade, and though I only remembered excerpts from it before revisiting it recently, looking back at it now, I wonder if it was the most formative experience of my childhood. ...more |
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Dec 2009
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Dec 21, 2009
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Paperback
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| 0880014504
| 9780880014502
| 0880014504
| 3.84
| 1,031
| 1988
| Jan 01, 1996
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A friend once told me that really good poems operate on three levels. The first is the literal level. (What happens?) The second is the figurative lev
A friend once told me that really good poems operate on three levels. The first is the literal level. (What happens?) The second is the figurative level. (Abstracted, what does that mean?) And the third is the poetic level. (What if this poem were actually about poetry?) The Gift of Stones operates on these three levels. On the literal level, it is a cusp-of-the-Bronze-Age story of an outcast who becomes a storyteller and witnesses the collapse of his village. On the figurative level, it explores the power of desire, the perils of professional stagnation, the pattern of technological obsolescence, and much more. And on the poetic level鈥攐r, in this case, on the novelistic level鈥�The Gift of Stones is, in fact, a tale about stories and storytellers. It begins with a narrator describing how, as a child, her father lost his arm as a result of a poisoned arrow shot by horsemen from a neighboring town. From there, it tracks the father鈥檚 growth as a young outcast, his return as a storyteller, his relationship with a widow and her child, and the change his village undergoes as its inhabitants discover that even their fine craftsmanship has been rendered obsolete by the arrival of bronze. And throughout, the novel is aware of its telling. Its narrator tells the story of a narrator, who tells the story of his village and what he learns about telling stories. And each narrator reminds us of the skills and tools he or she uses; each narrator pulls us out of the narrative and reminds us that the teller shifts his tale to respond to the audience, that stories need not tell truths, that symbols, images, and devices enable the teller to enrich her tale and infuse additional meaning. This meta-awareness reminds us of our responsibilities as good readers. But even without this reminder, The Gift of Stones provokes thoughtful questions: how does desire affect our judgment? When and why do we change our habits and behaviors? Where does imagination come from? What are the goals of different socioeconomic classes? How much truth is told in stories? Why do we tell stories? How long have we told them? By date, The Gift of Stones feels prehistoric鈥攊t is likely set sometime between 6500 BC and 2500 BC鈥攂ut the characters within feel not unlike people today. They are tradesmen and merchants, they are funny and jealous, they make mistakes, they manipulate each other, they gossip, they are proud of their work, they perform minor acts of heroism, they test each other鈥檚 patience and understanding, and more. If nothing else, this novel is a fresh reminder that people have been people鈥攁nd not wordless troglodytes鈥攆or a long, long time. Do I recommend it? Absolutely. Chock full of compelling and human characters that struggle with familiar issues, the story is bound by twists and turns that reflect our better and worse natures. Would I teach it? Tough call. The novel is perfect (perfect!) for the classroom鈥� except that it is heavy on bodily fluids, and it contains only two female characters: a woman who survives through prostitution, and her helpless daughter. These characteristics may reflect social norms of the Bronze Age, but the former has a tendency to derail adolescent discussions, and the latter offers unfortunate gender stereotypes for developing teenagers. Lasting impressions: Maybe it's the teacher in me, but The Gift of Stones seems to be a tale about the Bronze Age that is, in fact, a clever guise for a novel about storytelling. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Nov 2009
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Nov 25, 2009
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Paperback
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| 0312427654
| 9780312427658
| 0312427654
| 4.25
| 36,002
| Apr 03, 2007
| Jan 22, 2008
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Oh, I wanted this to be great! Alas, only part of it is. To wit: Gawande鈥檚 umbrella themes dominate the book, but they are a distraction from his best
Oh, I wanted this to be great! Alas, only part of it is. To wit: Gawande鈥檚 umbrella themes dominate the book, but they are a distraction from his best conclusions, which are tucked quietly in the afterword. In his introduction, Gawande asks, 鈥淲hat does it take to be good at something in which failure can be so easy, so effortless?鈥濃€攁nd even though he says, 鈥淭his is a book about performance in medicine,鈥� the question applies not just to medical practitioners. All of us can ask the same question about our jobs and our lives. What does it take to be good? What does it take to be better? This is why I bought and read Better. Gawande鈥檚 answers are anti-climactic at first. He breaks his results down into three categories: diligence, doing right, and ingenuity. Fine. He tells us stories that demonstrate each one, and we see clearly in these stories how being diligent, doing right, and taking fresh approaches improved outcomes. This is a familiar formula: big themes, some examples, conclusion. Great. Sure, the stories are sometimes fascinating, but the problem is that diligence, doing right, and ingenuity are the kinds of words thrown up in primary colors on black-bordered posters with images of skyscapes, mountain-tops, or waterfalls. They are noble ideals, but they are vague as pieces of advice for doing what we do better. I would imagine it鈥檚 hard even for doctors to internalize these lessons. But then comes the afterword, where the gold is buried: 鈥淪uggestions for Becoming a Positive Deviant鈥濃€攚hich, for non-statistics-types, means 鈥渟uggestions for becoming better.鈥� Huzzah! There are five: 1) Ask an unscripted question, 2) Don鈥檛 complain, 3) Count something, 4) Write something, and 5) Change. This is the good stuff. Gawande鈥檚 final suggestions here are simple and applicable to anything. They subtly encourage creativity. They are suggestions that teach. If I have an office next year, I will post them on my wall. Do I recommend it? Yes, if only for the afterword. The stories are well told, too, I guess. Would I teach it? No. For non-fiction writing, I might use some of Gawande鈥檚 New Yorker articles, though. Lasting impressions: Perfectly fine stories sorted by theme and a summary that makes them all worthwhile. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Nov 2008
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Mar 31, 2009
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Paperback
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| 0743278909
| 9780743278904
| 0743278909
| 3.86
| 264,425
| 1970
| Feb 07, 2006
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I confess to enjoying this book more than I like it. The writing is often heavy-handed, and the story is a generic hero epic. But who, if you dream of
I confess to enjoying this book more than I like it. The writing is often heavy-handed, and the story is a generic hero epic. But who, if you dream of adventure, can deny it? Jonathan Livingston Seagull is an outcast member of his flock. Unlike other gulls, he is not content flapping around and squawking and scavenging for food. He wants to fly and hunt like hawks and eagles. He wants to break out of the static mould and old ways of the elder gulls. His brazenness earns him exile, and that is when his journey begins. Who wouldn鈥檛 want to be Jonathan Livingston Seagull, reaching terminal velocity in his dives, soaring effortlessly on the wind, climbing to astronomic heights, and eventually transcending the laws of physics? Bullish prose and formulaic characters can鈥檛 overshadow this flight. And so, even as part of me wanted to wince at clich茅s, another part of me stuffed those reactions under the pillow. Jonathan鈥檚 thirst for more is as familiar as the cast of supporting characters around him. He and they are archetypal figures in stories of transformation and revolution: the hero, the antagonist, the mentor, the student. It is right out of the pages of Joseph Campbell鈥檚 The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Frequently perfectly predictable. But Jonathan鈥檚 adventure, if you鈥檝e ever had flying dreams, is the adventure we all want to have. And it feeds that longing for freedom鈥攐r whatever the psychologists say flying dreams mean. Sign me up. Do I recommend it? Yes. It鈥檚 exhilarating. Would I teach it? No. Not enough stuff in the prose. Lasting impressions: Sometimes cumbersome writing offset by a tale that accesses a deep seated desire to fly. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Feb 2009
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Mar 22, 2009
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Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0930289234
| 9780930289232
| 0930289234
| 4.39
| 580,634
| Nov 1987
| 2005
|
In the classic noir scenario, we imagine a private eye in a smoky office in some small town鈥攐r at least in a small forgotten section of a big town. Th
In the classic noir scenario, we imagine a private eye in a smoky office in some small town鈥攐r at least in a small forgotten section of a big town. The scale is intimate, and the detective gets drawn into the complicated relationships that knock everyday people about. Ill feelings arise, grudges are borne, silent contests ensue, and at some point the conflict inflames into violence or escape, which inevitably brings about the mystery, and therefore the detective. He is our narrator, and in between observations about the shortcomings of his small world, he uncovers small truths about the behaviors of men and women. He rationalizes to us what he can, and chalks the rest up to the sordid state of humanity. Life is grit, he concludes. We stick it out, appreciating moments of beauty, but mostly we put in our short time until it鈥檚 over. Then he lights his cigarette, puts his feet up on the desk, and pulls his hat down just over his eyes. The Watchmen has this same grim, smoky room feel, but the scale is much larger. The Watchmen is apocalyptic noir. A brooding character dubbed Rorschach is our narrator at first, but he is joined by a team of costumed men and women who are vigilante crime fighters in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, mostly in New York City. Rorschach sets the mood, taking us through a close-knit criminal underworld, but the others expand the scale and setting to corporate upper classes, military escapades, domestic family life, and international governmental leadership. Eventually, of course, the fate of the world is at risk. The result is a story both intimate and grand. In comic book (graphic magazine?) tradition, many characters are drawn in the psychological extremes, and through them author Alan Moore injects philosophical currents that push conflicts between the margins and the norm鈥攂etween the save-the-world crowd and the let鈥檚-get-through-today crowd. Woven into this dynamic are fictitious politics and social changes of the 60s, 70s, and 80s that despite their fiction reflect many of the social and political forces and fears of the times. The result is a cool blend of action, mystery, and romance鈥攑articularly cool if you鈥檙e a teenager. The violence is often gratuitous, the storyline is stuffed with melodrama, there is little emotional subtlety, and the female characters uniformly have large breasts. Along these lines, the term 鈥済raphic novel鈥� has a double meaning. Primarily, it refers to use of images in a novel; the story of The Watchmen is told pictorially as well as verbally. But secondarily, it reflects the 鈥済raphic鈥� nature of the story; blood and guts are everywhere. The images are not for the unimaginative. That said, the visual element of this graphic novel is not insignificant. In the spirit of Columbo and Murder, She Wrote, mysteries are solvable long before their solutions are revealed, if only readers pay attention. If we separate traditional novels into narrative and dialog, then in the graphic novel the narrative is shown through pictures, and the dialog is put in white bubbles. Artist David Gibbons does this to great effect. Just as attentive readers of traditional novels pick up clues in the prose, so attentive readers of The Watchmen will glean information from its many-colored frames. Let me be clear: this is a long comic book full of superheroes. But it aspires to more. It succeeds, I believe, but not so much that it will draw massive numbers of crossover fans from the purely literary world. Do I recommend it? Yes, particularly if you like candy with health food stuffed inside. Would I teach it? Nope, but it has many teachable moments. Lasting impression: Lots of gore, bloviating conservatives, bleeding liberals, men and women wearing tights. While reading this, I found myself thinking often of the movie The Fifth Element, but with more politics and less humor. The Watchmen is a trip for the mind and for the senses. It asks big questions, but it leaves reality far, far behind. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Mar 2009
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Mar 03, 2009
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Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0679734813
| 9780679734819
| 0679734813
| 3.99
| 6,689
| Nov 14, 1990
| Nov 14, 1990
|
Sneaky! Trust and Deception, Wealth and Poverty, Friendship and Loneliness, Generosity and Greed鈥攖his play has a little of them all. But the way it mo
Sneaky! Trust and Deception, Wealth and Poverty, Friendship and Loneliness, Generosity and Greed鈥攖his play has a little of them all. But the way it moves through them feels a little unsettling, a little paranormal, like all the characters are floating around in the ether, and not in New York City. (But then again, good chunks of New York City really aren鈥檛 all that connected to reality.) In this play, the subject is mostly upper class, East-Side/West-Side Manhattan. In Six Degrees of Separation, characters from different classes and backgrounds are thrown together in unusual situations, and we watch as they endear themselves to each other, enrage each other, and ultimately confront the differences that separate them. The result is both humanizing and condemning, and we鈥檙e left thinking a little harder about what we value, who we care for, and why. In production, characters in Six Degrees sometimes speak to the audience and sometimes speak to each other. Sometimes the play feels natural, other times it takes on the feel of an abstract ensemble performance. I can鈥檛 say I鈥檓 a fan of this, and to me, as a result, moments in the play seemed forced. Nonetheless, those moments also force us to think a little harder about what we鈥檙e reading/seeing. Notably, the title plays only a small part in the play, and the theme of interconnectivity between all people falls in behind more dominant themes of class and race. Do I recommend it? Yes. Thoughtfully critical. Would I teach it? Mmm. Maybe. It鈥檚 socially astute and full of interesting relationships, even if it some of it seems designed to shock. Lasting impression A puzzle. The Talented Mr. Ripley meets My Fair Lady on the Upper West Side. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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Feb 2009
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Feb 28, 2009
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Paperback
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my rating |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 3.69
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Jun 2018
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Jun 25, 2018
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| 4.23
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Jun 2018
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Jun 12, 2018
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| 3.81
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Jun 2018
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Jun 11, 2018
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| 3.66
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Feb 2017
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Mar 17, 2017
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| 4.32
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Jan 2015
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Jan 17, 2015
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| 3.53
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Nov 2012
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Dec 01, 2012
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| 4.29
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Jun 2012
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Jun 02, 2012
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| 4.15
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Nov 2011
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Nov 17, 2011
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| 3.89
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Jul 2010
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Jul 11, 2010
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| 4.14
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Jul 2010
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Jul 09, 2010
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| 3.41
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Jun 2010
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Jun 30, 2010
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| 4.34
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Jun 2010
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Jun 23, 2010
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| 3.45
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Feb 2010
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Feb 07, 2010
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| 3.88
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Feb 2010
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Feb 06, 2010
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| 4.20
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Dec 2009
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Dec 21, 2009
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| 3.84
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Nov 2009
|
Nov 25, 2009
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||||||
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| 4.25
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Nov 2008
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Mar 31, 2009
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||||||
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| 3.86
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Feb 2009
|
Mar 22, 2009
|
||||||
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| 4.39
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Mar 2009
|
Mar 03, 2009
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||||||
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| 3.99
|
Feb 2009
|
Feb 28, 2009
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