Beastmomma

What’s the most serious book you’ve read recently?
(I figure it’s easier than asking your most serious boook ever, because, well, it’s recent!)

I would have to say White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.  Since I was on my honeymoon, I wish that I had picked up something light hearted.  You can find my review here.

From Amazon:

First published in 1937 and issued in the U.S. by Random House in 1970, Said's romantic tale of young love and political upheaval in Central Asia calls for violins and handkerchiefs. Set mostly in Azerbaijan during WWI and the Russian Revolution, this captivating novel is a cinematic, at times melodramatic, mix of romance and wartime adventure. Its hero, narrator Ali Khan Shirvanshir, a Tartar and Shi'ite Muslim, flouts social convention by marrying his childhood friend, Nino Kipiani, a fair-skinned Georgian Christian. Ali rebels against a tradition-bound, male-chauvinist society typified by his father's pre-wedding advice: "Do not beat her when she is pregnant." When war erupts, Nino, ensconced in a villa in Tehran, keeps her pregnancy by Ali a secret as long as she can. Their marriage is a union of Western and Eastern sensibilities. Nino is unhappy in Persia, but Ali is reluctant to accompany her to Paris, where she flees with their infant daughter as Ali marches off to defend the short-lived Azerbaijani republic against the invading Red Army. Said (1905-1942) was born Lev Naussimbaum in Baku, the son of a German governess and a Jewish businessman. He combines starkly realistic depictions of war with colorful tableaux?wild dances, an oral poetry competition, desert camels, a meddlesome eunuch. A saga of war and love and the difficult marriage of Europe and Asia in the Caucasus, this is at heart a rousing, old-fashioned, tear-jerking love story.

Pages: 288 (paperback)

Rating: 3 out of 10

I read Ali and Nino by Kurban Said for the April book club meeting of the short lived Seattle book club.  At the time, I was not sure that I would finish.  I forced myself to complete the book because I was facilitating.  I found the book very hard to read.  While the premise was interesting, I did not find it very engaging.  One thing that I appreciated was the conflict that Ali felt as his feelings for Nino grew.  In his culture, women are considered less than men.  As he falls in love with Nino, he starts to view her as a person.  Their relationship does not fit into the typical mold for a Muslim or a Christian marriage.  Set against a backdrop of war, the main elements of the plot are predictable.  However, the book offers insight into the cultural factors surrounding the Russian Revolution of 1917 and other factors of Baku.

This is the fourth book I completed for the Orbis Terrarum challenge.

Plot Summary from Amazon:

In this darkly comic début novel set in India, Balram, a chauffeur, murders his employer, justifying his crime as the act of a "social entrepreneur." In a series of letters to the Premier of China, in anticipation of the leader’s upcoming visit to Balram’s homeland, the chauffeur recounts his transformation from an honest, hardworking boy growing up in "the Darkness"—those areas of rural India where education and electricity are equally scarce, and where villagers banter about local elections "like eunuchs discussing the Kama Sutra"—to a determined killer. He places the blame for his rage squarely on the avarice of the Indian élite, among whom bribes are commonplace, and who perpetuate a system in which many are sacrificed to the whims of a few. Adiga’s message isn’t subtle or novel, but Balram’s appealingly sardonic voice and acute observations of the social order are both winning and unsettling.

• Pages: 288 (Hardcover)
• Rating: 6 out of 10

My pleasure reading has really slowed down for the last few months.  It is taking me much longer to finish books.  Turns out that having a summer of transition does not leave me much time or motivation to finish books.  Thank goodness for honeymoons and beach time where I can sip a drink with an umbrella on a chair while flipping through a book.  I started White Tiger by Aravind Adiga while I was in India in March.  I would read the book in spurts.  Fortunately, the style of the book lends itself to be put down and picked up several times.  The book is a series of letters from the main character to the Chinese premier who is going to visit India.

The book offers insight into India's economic and social caste system.  On one level it is the story of how a village boy rises to the upper echelons of society.  On another level it is a story about the mindset of those in the lower class.   It is also a story about India's political and governmental corruption.   Parts of the story made my stomach hurt because I could relate to the main characters feelings of desperation, helplessness, and anger.  I also found myself upset at how some people seemed to have no consequences for their actions.   The analogy of a rooster coop is used to demonstrate the mindset of the poor and part of how servants and masters relate to each other.

I read this book for the Orbis Terrarum challenge.  

I know it has been almost two months since I have posted a review or anything book related.  My excuse is that I have been busy with the following things: graduating from law school, getting MARRIED, moving across country, and now preparing for my honeymoon.   My pending reviews fill me with guilt and I have a strong desire to just spend time with my brand new Partner.  He and I have been long distance for the last three of our five year relationship; I just keep pinching myself because I cannot believe my good fortune in getting to see and spend time with him without getting on a plane!

Enough rambling and excuse making.  I am diving back into the reading and reviewing and general merriment.  Granted things will likely be slow for another two weeks while I am on my honeymoon.  However, when I returned it will be GAME ON!

I have decided to participate in the Everything Austen Challenge which is being hosted by Stephanie's Written Word.   From the website: The Everything Austen Challenge will run for six months (July 1, 2009 – January 1, 2010)! All you need to do is pick out what six Austen-themed things you want to finish to complete the challenge. What is considered Austen-themed? Obviously, any of the books Jane Austen wrote herself count, so if you've been contemplating reading one of her novels, now is the time! Or, maybe watch the different movie versions of Pride and Prejudice. You could even try reading one of the many sequels written by various authors or listen to one in your car on your way to work. Truly, the list can be endless! All you need to do is pick six Austen-themed items to read and/or watch to participate. Note that you can mix it up a bit – maybe commit to watching three movies and reading two books – or if your TBR pile is huge, pick out six movies you would like to watch – YOU DECIDE!

I am deciding to go with the movie and television route.  In a few months, I may switch things out.  For now, I am just feeling overwhelmed with reading.  Here are my six items all taken from the suggestion list:

• Lost in Austen
• The Jane Austen Book Club
• Jane Austen in Manhattan
• Persuasion
• Northanger Abbey
• A&E Biography: Jane Austen

I had such high hopes for the latest written work by Abe F. March.   Here is the description I read about his book: 

An American attack on Baghdad leaves heartbroken and angry survivors.  Two different families, one Muslim and one Christian, are wiped out in the 2003 raids and their young adult progeny are determined to avenge the loss of their loved ones.  An Israeli Secret Service Agent with a grudge of his own, knows just how to tap into the vulnerabilities that grief leaves, and he organizes the training of select men and women whose desire for vengeance is strong enough to consider a deadly covert mission in America.  Trainees will learn to blend in, disappear in the multicultural mix of the US and then infest the food and water supply with a deadly flu virus capable of mutating and infecting the human population.  The antidote - if it works - will only be revealed under strict demands.
 
As part of their indoctrination, mission members must have a deep understanding of the causes of conflict in the Middle East.  Peering through the darkness of their grief and hatred, some team members come to realize that they could ultimately be responsible for millions of innocent deaths.  Their actions could break the stalemate between the Israelis and Palestinians - or bring on unparalleled tragedy.

Unfortunately, the book did not live up to my expectations.  I did enjoy the idea that plotting and carrying out revenge brings with it feelings of regret and the potential to change one's mind.  However, I found the character development inconsistent and incomplete.  The number of pages devoted to each character was not the same; within one subsection of a chapter, I would get little bits of information about several people in a way that did not make much sense.  Additionally as the book progressed, I found the plot development harder and harder to believe.  Towards the end of the book, especially, I felt that things were just unrealistic.  Since I did not have a lot of information about the characters, I also did not have sympathy or understanding about the choices they made.  I did appreciate the message that the author was trying to give, but many times I felt that I was being lectured instead of getting engrossed in a story.  Finally, I know that I am not an editor or an expert, but I found a few typos and editing mistakes which were also distracting. 

On the plus side, I think the book raises important questions about how terrorism and terrorist are defined.  I think that the book asks us to question the difference between ignorance and responsibility.  While I would likely not recommend this book to a friend, I am going to count it as an entry for the Orbis Terrarum challenge.