The following are books for my reading challenge with updates on the reading:

1. A Quickening Maze – Adam Fould – Read
2. Brother’s Karamazov – Dostoevesky – Reading
3. The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh – Mark Roskill
4.  Thus Spoke Zarathustra – Nietzsche
5. Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc – Mark Twain – Reading
6. Architecture of Happiness – Alain De Botton -  Read

7. Norwegian Wood – Murakami – Read

8. Chicken with Plums – Marjane Satrapi (Animated Novel) – Read

Guess I still have 4 books to go.

I read today like I used to read as a girl. I had some hundred odd pages left and wanted to finish the book in one go.

The book definitely has the flavour of a love story but to me its more than one love story. Toru Watanbe had several women in his life. Each of them knew that he was an innately decent guy. He lived his life with honesty and that was what they were looking for. To me that is enough reason to be with a man. Intellectual honesty.

There are parts of the book where just like in real life you can’t express why you did a particular thing, and in such parts things were left hanging to the reader’s imagination. Further, one could see Toru maturing and reaching a stage where he could understand himself and express the understanding with precision. The book started when he was seventeen and went to on when he was 20-21.

His greatest trait was that he accepted all persons with their limitations, their ugliness and their weaknesses as a matter of fact. The limitations were emotional – like Nagasawa, psychological -  like Naoko, physical – like Reiko with her age and her wrinkles and also sociological like Midori’s.  It was obvious he loved Midori, but never made his move on her till she was with someone else. He did not sleep with her till Naoko died.

What one may call his stubbornness, is really his strength.

To me “Norwegian Wood” is like a painting. A picture that depicts the life altering years of one man.

I loved it and would recommend it to everyone, age no bar sex no bar.

My husband read this book and told me its nothing like Wind-up Bird Chronicle, that one wouldn’t know unless told that it is the same author.  The truth is, this book may be far out from the league of Wind-up Bird Chronicle, but it is the same style. He expresses the philosophy of the protagonist through the voices of others, during their conversation with him. The randomness of the conversation with strangers and the ease with which he slips into deep conversations with certain people. The style is pretty much the same. The protagonist surprisingly doesn’t talk much. Just observes.

Also his rendition of college life is so real. I have lived in a hostel myself and know that I had left my parents far behind while I was trying to sort stuff out in my head. He never once mentions Toru’s parents or his relationship with them. Its not that Toru is dysfunctional socially or a sociopath, just that the years of his life being described have nothing to do with his social connections to his parents or others.

On the whole, a very enjoyable reading experience. I would give the book – 5 stars.

Guys,

I am very happy to say that though I edited my list, I am not way behind target. I am currently reading Norwegian Wood by Murakami and loving it. Have also read Architecture of Happiness by Botton. I have a confession to make though. I never completed the book. There are some books where I have read 3/4ths and decided not to complete it ‘coz I feel I have got everything from it that I needed.

This is one of those. Its a very light book that takes you through some marvelous architectural pieces. The book expounds on the art that architecture is and how it requires to combine art with logic. Also the book gives an insight into the ways in which architecture can change your life, your everyday life, your moods, your happiness and in general your lifestyle.  Warning at the same time that architecture should not be deemed to have such a sweeping power on your life. When I get the time, I will post some excerpts from it.

Happy reading guys.

A breezy book, easy to read and a unique and enjoyable style. I really hope he wins the Booker. I finished this book last tuesday and have not had a chance to write at all since then.

Well it is about this poet – John Clare, who is in a mental institution. Tennyson arrives in the neighbourhood with his brother and admits him in the same institution. (Yes! I mean the poet Alfred Tennyson. The author has beautifully blended the fact and fiction.) The paths of the two contemporary poets never cross really. But their lives are interwoven with the rest of the characters.

Perceptions are created and dispelled by the author. The hue of John Clare’s character has several variations throughout the book. One begins to empathize with him towards the end. Whereas Tennyson’s life is as amorphous and as dreamy as Tennyson himself. The Doctor’s (Dr. Mathew Allen who runs the institution) daughter falls in love with Tennyson and expresses herself to him. I love the way he has subtly dealt with the subject. Tennyson’s non-reaction explains it all. He simply does not understand that girl in the state of mind he is in.

In fact, the entire story is filled with subtleties. Margaret, an inmate, who thinks she is actually Mary, John Clare who thinks that Mary (his childhood sweetheart) is the one he is married to and not his own wife and the event that brings them together. Yet, John Clare yearns for his freedom to live with his real wife and kids. Also the part where Tennyson is preparing for his nobel prize is beautifully written. It is mind blowing the simplicity with which the author engages you in the scene and fires your imagination.

The author has intricately drawn a contrast between the good and the bad and the ugly (forgive my cliche!).  The man i.e. John Clare is incoherent, thinks he is Lord Byron, yet can see that the Caretaker of the inmates is abusing his power and is taking undue advantage of Mary. He gets out of the institution and also saves the girl whom he earlier thought was Mary (the childhood sweetheart) with the knowledge that she is not a part of his fantasies and desires. The supplosedly sane individuals like the caretaker, have crooked minds filled with evil as is demonstrated by the one incident which the author describes.

The title is apt. The Quickening Maze – is that which John Clare believes is engulfing him pushing him to ingeniously procure his freedom – the very maze that Tennyson is unable to see.

This competition sounds fun and interesting. I have off late only been able to read a book a month and am setting myself a realistic target. So between now and December 20th I will be reading the following books.

1. A Quickening Maze – Adam Fould
2. Brother’s Karamazov – Dostoevesky
3. The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh – Mark Roskill
4. Temples of South India – Ambujam Anantharaman (To be deleted)
5. Thus Spoke Zarathustra – Nietzsche
6. Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc – Mark Twain
7. Architecture of Happiness – Alain De Botton

8. Norwegian Wood – Murakami (New)

9. Chicken with Plums – Marjane Satrapi (Animated Novel)

I also need to read all of the National Geogrpahic magazines that I have neglected from June 2009 onwards. Would also like to throw in the Paris Review.

This would be my reading challenge.

I have recently, on account of my health and my husbands’ condition (he has auto-immuno disorder), been concentrating on trying to do the right thing. Live right, eat right and exercise. Its exhausting.

My husband is an exercise freak – in that he freaks out on hearing the name of exercise. I am trying to exercise, have joined the gym but of no use. I have not lost a single kilo in the last two months that I have been to the gym. I sometimes think, it would help both of us, if we exercise and go to the gym together. One motivates the other kind of thing.

Exercising is still manageable. What gets to me is dietary restrictions. Trying to turn vegetarian – avoiding meats. Great. The one thing that my husband loves is greens – different kinds of spinach. But some say can’t give him, as it will increase urea content. We eat okra three times a week at least. But just found out, okra may increase my allergic reactions. Phew!!

Can’t eat carbs. But can’t eat all types of protein together. I am not to mix pulses and curd. However, I shouldn’t eat just veggies and fruits, should eat optimal amount of carb.

I am really exhausted. I sometimes wonder if by the time I achieve the right balance, I will be too old to enjoy the benefits of this process. Having said which, my attitude of neglecting my health has lead me to this state of health in which I am.

The only thing that keeps me going is an optimistic thought that every step in the right direction brings me closer to the balance and before I know it, it will be achieved. After that I just have to watch for abberations and correct them as and when they arise.

As for my husband, I hope he gets going as well.

“It is as if, after a night of terrible dreams, one looked around the world, defeated, helpless.” – Imre Kertesz

One definitely cannot imagine what the victims of Aushwitz would have gone through. Of course, there is abundant literature on the subject and we get different views in each piece of work. I am going to outline the various things I have read or seen in that connection and may be reflect on the subject.

My first exposure to the Nazi treatment of Jews, obviously apart from word of mouth, came from The Odessa File by Fredrick Foresyth. He is, of course, a master story teller and the book recounts through the diary of one person who commits suicide and the horrors that the concentration camps were. Of course, then I was too young to understand the concept of mass killings or genocide. Let’s just say my sensitivities weren’t that developed.

There was one movie titled “Life is Beautiful” which put a positive spin on the gory past. It was about an intelligent Jew who refuses to let his son despair and manages to convince him that all this was but a game and if they won, they would be rewarded with a big tank. The bleak and horrifying situation around the concentration camp is turned into a game and despite everything, we can not help but smile at the antics of the Protagonist. The child ultimately is freed and one can’t help but feel joyous.

Then, years later I saw Schindler’s List. The movie moved me in many ways and I got a glimpse of what a horror the whole situation actually was. The abuse of power by one man as an example of all the Commanders of the concentration camps who device ingenious ways to torture people. Strangely these persons/German commanders find ways to benefit themselves in the midst of all this. Of course, we see how Schindler manages to let several escape and the historic list actually is the reason for the survival of the entire Jewish community.

Then I watched (not read) Sophie’s Choice. It is an intricate story of a young polish woman who was sent away without reason and without any explanation with her children. Towards the end of the story we learn that Sophie’s choice really relates to her having to make a choice between her two children – to be killed. She ultimately loses both her children and comes to be cared by a mentally challenged person.

An extremely varied perspective is that of “The Reader”, from the eyes of those who were part of the regime, and wish to continue a normal life. The trial, the embarrassment of the protagonist and her experiences at the time. She got little children to read to her before she sent them away! Was she postponing their destiny or was merely arbitrarily using her powers to put an end to their lives? No one can really tell.

I started writing this post in February and then shelved it. However, for some reason I saved it. Yesterday I watched Valkyrie, the movie. This was another perspective. Well, more than a perspective it was an example of hope. It is touching what some German Commanders and Generals tried to achieve for their Germany, who were sensitive to the obnoxious ways of Hitler.
They almost had him. But Hitler was not to be deceived and each of the members of the Valkyrie Operation was shot dead or hung to death.

Of all that I have read and heard of the Holocaust so far, Imre Kertesz’s one sentence (supra) summarises the anguish perfectly. It is difficult to say whose anguish it is – the sufferers, the people who caused the suffering, the silent witnesses or the generation that abhors the silent witnesses.

I wonder what was the command Hitler had over the people. Can a mass of people really, truly believe in the extermination of an entire race? Hitler’s antipathy towards the Jews is really indiscernible. Today, can a Hitler pull something off like that?

Today, possibly we are too factionalised for something like the Holocaust to happen. My only question is, are we today protected against such tyranny were it to be perpetrated by another mad man. Is it even today a possibility? I shudder to think, yes. Only it is a different set of people with a different agenda. Can we protect ourselves? Can we protect our next generation?

I shudder when I think, another holocaust is not impossible.

I don’t really know how to deal with infidelity.

If one really loves another, there is no room for infidelity. However, the other side of the coin is that if one really loves another, one must be able to forgive infidelity!

Sometimes just the thought that the person you love could be interested in some one else, evokes a pang in the heart. It is a preplexing feeling. The victim of another’s infidelity could be both murderous and suicidal. One would hope to elevate to a higher moral level and raise it above jealousy. Ofcourse, jealousy is the state of mind of the affected and infidelity is the act of an “affector”.

Whenever I think of infidelity, I connect it to Milan Kundera’s – The Unbearable Lightness of Being”. The protagonist simply couldn’t help being an infidel. His wife and partner died of it. Every day she woke with the nausea of knowing that her partner had been elsewhere. He could see her pain, he could see her nausea, her anguish, but was helpless against his senses.

It is something that evokes different reactions. Some react by throwing you out of their lives. Some would leave. Some would kill themselves and some would murder the aide.

Despite being in a monogamous relationship can one defend infidelity. Anyone who understands the absurdity that is of being infidel to the one you love, should be able to dismiss it and not think about it.

Ofcourse infidelity can be of varied natures and intensities. To one, it would have to mean ultimately sleeping with another. To another it could be simply thinking about it. Do we oscillate between one extreme and another? Of course we do.

The question is – at what point does the relationship snap? Like the woman in Milan Kundera’s novel, if you are unable to snap the relationship, you will snap yourself.

I cannot explain the why of infidelity but I surely can explain monogamy. Every truly monogamous relationship is based on a conscious rational choice. It is not that you cannot leave your partner, but it is that you choose not to.

Is there some one who can explain infidelity to me?

Of all that I have read and all the new authors that I had read in 2008, the one author who took me by surprise and affected me most was Coetzee.  The first book that I had occasion to read was “The Life and Times of Michael K.”

It seemed to me that the book was Michael K’s autobiography.  The book is a about a simple SouthAfrican/ African man and his attempts to live a life of freedom, choice and respect. Coetzee’s choice of words, the prefect description were the highlights of the book. Reading it was like walking on a stream of water. The reader is aware of the fluidity of the stream below him, yet the firmness of the surface allows him to tread over it. Over all it was a great experience.

Immediately, after “K” I picked up “Youth”.  I was amazed at the distinction in the language, descriptions of the setting and the people involved. This book is about a young man, a boy who has unfulfilled aspirations and in the end comes to terms with it. Coetzee suddenly transforms himself to an immigrant in London. I am not sure if any other author could have written a similar plot that would interest me.

After a break, I read, the “Master of Petersburg”.  The novel is of course based in Russia, Petersburg more specifically and Coetzee takes you to Russia with him. He spins a romantic story, that of a father and son. He builds a plot and as you watch in amazement, leads the protagonist to his fate. I am not sure whether the story is biographical. All I know is that it perfectly fits his mysterious hero – Fyodor Dostoevesky.

That the same person could write so beautifully three absolutely different novels in three unconnected settings is a display of his genius. I discovered a genius. I discovered creativity. I discovered all of this in 2008.

It is true that Experience is the greatest teacher of all. (Apologies for the cliche, but its true).  Having experienced the state of restlessness, frenzy and an unsettled mind, relaxation comes as a wave of relief. It is like walking through a fresh garden of lovely orchids in the morning dew and watching the sun rise.

However, in order to relax one needs to be in harmony with oneself.  Happiness, contentment and satisfaction are also essential elements.  When you hear all this talk about calming the mind, the Swamiji’s coming out to be help your mind relax, one wonders – Why does a human being need help to relax, to be at ease with himself?

It is only when one is at absolute ease, that the other frame of mind – the frenzied mind comes to light. One can only understand the difference in contrast.  We humans are like the ostriches. We like to believe nothing is wrong with us.  May be that is why, one never realizes that the mind is actually troubled. When one is relaxed and feels this rush of calm for the first time, it is not difficult to notice that the past was not even close.

Now, when I say – “Please relax!” to someone, I can truly understand what it means.

This is also linked in a way to loneliness.  When one us unable to be truly alone and feels lonely, a restlessness creeps in along with boredom. When one is truly relaxed, you will find that there is no trace of boredom, nor is there loneliness.