It is becoming difficult to focus on books these days. Takes extra effort to read with all the distractions coming along. But once the fascination kicks in, it is a breeze through to finish a book. 2019 in book world will be remembered when I discovered Ursulla Leguin's EarthSea world. How much I wish to read them again :)
2020 started with me becoming a Murakami fanboy. It started with Kafka on the shore and then I read 1Q84 which actually turned out to be a trilogy. Without further adieu, here is my entire reading list of 2020
Kafka on the Shore, 1Q84.
Haruki Murakami
Murakami blends magic realism with narrative storytelling in which characters are trying to rediscover themselves. Characters drive themselves, often pushing themselves, outside of their comfort zones; there is a sense of journey in his novels. Eventually, good things happen to good people which makes his work feel good. Kafka on the shore was much better than 1Q84. Detailed review here
The rise and fall of Third Reich
William Shirer
My motivation to read this came from the question posed by White Ribbon - Where does evil come from? I had always wondered about the rise of Hitler. William Shirer's 1100 page long covers the saga starting from the early days of Hitler, his education and youth, how he came into politics, what shaped his ideology. The book covers his rise to power in Germany and how institutions failed to prevent this. The second part is the path to war starting with Germany's bordering nations, how WW-1 victors namely France and Britan kept quiet and let the whole thing escalate to proportions that we know now. The third part of the book is about how the war ended, role played by US and UK into it.
Throughout the book, Shirer keeps on reminding that the Third Reich was meant to last a 100 years but it collapsed in about 18 years. So, there is hope in humanity. However, the sense of parallels that led to rise of Hitler and in the present day is non trivial. One big difference however is that under Hitler, common many did get a sense of economic security and prosperity, something that is missing in today's times.
The book undermines the tour de force was Hitler's will. He took a lot of risks and many were successful. However, the book could have done a better job in emphasizing the role of his commanders who were actually in the battlefield. Hitler, being the ego-maniac that he was, took credit for all of his victories.
Shirer benefits from all the records that were made public, testimonies of folks made during the Nuremberg trials and other media reports. It is definitely a fascinating read, with some scary and sad content. Unfinished book review is here.
Bride of the Forest: The Untold Story of Yayati’s Daughter
Madhavi Madhavan
Yayati's daughter was given a boon/curse that she would be bearer of kings and she would be a virgin forever. In a society where one of king's duties is to bear a male heir, a society where boys are preferred over girls and in a society where virgins are sacred, this is a curse. I loved this book, actually a lot. Madhavi weaves the tale adding so much detail, character and imagery that it is difficult to put down. Her writing has a flow, it has a sense of melancholy, not just for the main character but also what happens to folks around them.
Our mythological stories surely has insane amount of creativity in them. Rishis get jealous of kings, stubborn kings want to prove themselves, gods come with certain expectations, so much happens and then there are curses, opposite of the spells of Harry Potter.
The story is truly a sad one. The ending lifts the story as it becomes a story of ultimate sacrifice. We do not know about Drishatvati because she traded her fame to ensure Yayati goes to heaven. I would very much like to watch a modern day retelling of this book. This is magical realism in one of its finest writings.
Brave new world
Aldous Huxley
One of the science fiction books that is in top 100 Time books to read. Brave New World imagines a society where the science of artificial birthing has been engineered. The true purpose of society is to maintain an order. Natural instincts of human beings tend to disrupt order and hence they need to be neutered. Mental stimulation comes with games, sexual apetite is fulfilled by making it a mundane part of life. Sleep learning shapes the mind to internalize the new world as a tautum. And then there is soma, a drug, that makes one feel good. It is recommended to consume soma in limited amounts daily to bear the existence of life.
Much of the book is about the world building, how would such a structure exist. It imagines a class-hierarchy based society where every class is trained to not question the other one and how they are better than others. The conflict originates when there are few folks who are at ill-ease in such an order. To propel the narrative, Huxley adds a comparison with a conservation area in Mexico where human beings still live in their primitive lifestyle. In a key twist, Huxley brings in a character from the primitive world to this new world of order without all the trainings.
Sandman
Neil Gaimon
I have read books 1 to 4 of this 10 part comic series. Sandman, also known as Morpheus or Dream, is the one of the endless who rules the Dream world. Each book is a collection of stories that revolve around dream, dreamworld and ofcourse, our Sandman.
It is insanely good. Book 4 has been the best, followed by two, one and three. The series is very anti climactic. To give you an example, in book four, Sandman has to go to Hell, whose ruler is Lucifer. In his last visit to hell, things did not go well between Sandman and Lucifer. This present visit is setup as a big show down between these two characters and Morpheus is definitely the weaker one. However, as he reaches Hell, Lucifer had decided to call it quits and is in the process of locking the gates. Gaiman repeats this trope in different forms and is always a delight.
Into the Woods - How Stories work and why we tell them.
John Yorke
This classic book breaks down the story in its raw forms - structure, arcs, characters, conflict. What is a 3 Act play, what is a 5 art structure. It is all about the nuts and bolts of a story that is coming since the days of Greek tragedies. The book analyzes screenplays of popular movies and shares how all of them follow the same principles under the hood.
Lolita
Vladimir Nobokov
I can see why this is considered a classic. Lolita is a story about a middle aged man who likes underage girls, nymphets. He likes one in particular the most, Dolores also known as Lolita, and eventually becomes her stepfather and a lover.
It is a hilarious, non-erotic treatment of a difficult subject, written in a way that evokes empathy for the main character. Part road book, part memoir, part observational commentary, it has great things going for it. Yet, I found it difficult to finish. Outside of the nymphomania, Lolita's point of view is mostly non-existent or comes across as a YA, young-adult, which is not something that I relish reading on.
To me the best part was the last meeting between Lolita and her stepfather where they are meeting after four years. It is very raw, fresh and gives you a summation of the her childhood and the impact of such a relationship has on children.
A memory called empire
Arkady Martine
I simply love when I read/watch something before it gets insanely popular. The way I discovered it because it came via highly recommended from folks who are strong influencers. This book won the Hugo award this year.
A memory called empire is a space opera where one planet has figured out how to encode memories and consciousness of a person into a neuro capsules that can be fitted inside others. The recipient of such a capsule is living the lives of two people, one of their own and the second from the capsule. The capsule person could themselves had a capsule and as such generations of knowledge can be passed down using this technology. Arkady uses an ambassador who takes this technology to the epicenter of the empire where the king is dying with no heir. Such tech would keep the king alive through a different vessel and all interesting geo political things happen when tech meets sci-fi world building.
Written beautifully, the text has a sense of simplicity in a chaotic world. Characters with different motivations work independently which makes sense, however it may not be good as a whole. Loved the book and waiting for its sequel.
Getting More
Stuart Diamond
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