Babylon By Bus:
The true story of two college dropout hipsters who invented the “Yankees Suck” T-Shirt, making a small fortune in the process, decide to travel the world, making increasingly extreme travel adventures until ultimately traveling by bus from Amman Jordan to Baghdad Iraq, where they land jobs coordinating NGO’s for the Coalition Provisional Authority in the middle of the Iraq War. I was expecting outrageously tales of warzone hijinks, surreal experiences, and lots of heavy drug use which I got- what I didn’t expect was such a coherently written book that also strongly analyzed the current situation in Iraq. Jeff and Ray do have crazy adventures, but also detail the massive blunders and shortsightedness that had lead to the ever declining quagmire in Iraq, but do it without oversimplified anti-war rhetoric. Great as an adventure story, great as a warzone tale, and incisive and educational about many of the reasons why things have gotten so bad, this one I’d recommend on all counts- except for the kind of crappy writing.
The Ruins: Scott
Great travel horror novel by the author of A Simple Plan. Recommended beach or airplane reading.
The Places In Between: Rory Stewart
A much more interesting, funny, and well written book about Afghanistan than the kite runner. Written by a british historian who literally walked across the country after the fall of the Taliban. Amazing dry wit, astute cultural observations and keen political understanding.
Off The Books- The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor- Sudhir Venkatesh
Somewhat reminiscient of “nickel and dimed” about the working poor, but really tackles race and gender as well as class in an academic (but accessible) sociological/economic study of one neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. This is also the writer cited in “freakonimics,” which I really enjoyed. Its about the off-the-books work that people who are unemployable by the mainstream do- some of which is drug dealing and prostituion, but much of which is informal off the books, childcare, counseling, and other entrepreneurial jobs in order to make ends meet. Also explains the symbiotic roles of community leaders from pastors to gang leaders, and why neither are entirely what they seem. The only problem issue is making sure that it is read and thought over carefully to understand nuances and lack of choices available to people outside of white middle class America, because it could almost just as easily perpetuate negative stereotypes about people in the inner city.
Islam: Karen Armstrong
The origins and early history were fascinating, and then it really started to slow down in the middle. The last part picked up steam again as it discussed Islam’s struggle to move into modernity, and explained the historical forces that push to move the religion forwards and backwards.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Thursday, February 1, 2007
January Books...
The Coma:
Alex Garland has written some great stuff, but this experimental novel really never took off for me. A great idea- a nonlinear narrative of consciousness in a coma, but it ended up feeling like it was trying too hard to be something it wasn’t. The book also took about an hour to read, which was a little disappointing as well.
Social Intelligence:
This is the best semi-popular book on psychology I’ve read in a long time. Sometimes it seems like I just read basically the same book about psychology over and over again, that cite all the same studies and research, but this really pulled them all together well. Although it references all the studies and researchers I already find interesting: Ekman, (4 horsemen guy), Baron-Cohen (Simon, not Sascha), and others, it distills them efficiently and makes useful and meaningful connections and offers applications to them all.
The Kite Runner: Khaleed Hosseini
Book as movie
I have very mixed feelings about this novel, the tale of an Afghan refugee who grows up in America, and his childhood friendship with a servant boy. Clearly, the book’s intention is to educate westerners about Afghan culture and recent Afghan history by telling a story filled with details that illustrate the rich culture and heartbreaking history of a nation. (Though I can’t help but wonder if another, political, agenda, to justify the war there- perhaps the author’s intent, perhaps the book was usurped in this way.) In the details, the book succeeds- by pulling no punches and including wonderful small written illustrations of life in Afghanistan over the past forty years, I walked away feeling like I understood much better. But the story taken by itself, was almost laughably absurd in its Hollywood-like plot, right down to the three-act structure and everything from the beginning coming perfectly full circle to the nauseatingly sweet and manipulative ending. It was like the writer went to a screenwriting workshop and then wrote a novel- is this what the novel has come to, an early draft of a Hollywood movie? The completely Western narrative structure superimposed on another culture ultimately felt forced, detracting and distracting the reader from what was recommendable about this book, which did make for an educational and quick read. I may spoil the end a bit here so stop reading if you plan to read the book but come on: He now has to fight his childhood enemy to the death forty years later? And I was thinking the moment the character was introduced If this guy comes back forty years later as the bad Taliban guy, I’m gonna throw up. Well, he did. Basically, this is a crappy epic movie in books form.
From a cultural standpoint of trauma, I also questioned the book. The boy is traumatized by the relationship with Assef- no doubt, but his trauma reaction is completely western- suicide attempts, silnce, etc. I’m not sure if the sequilae of trauma really unfold this way in a culture where child abuse/buggery is more integrated into /endemic to the culture. That’s not to defend the behavior with a kind of cultural relativism, just that I don’t think you can put an American trauma reaction on an afghan situation.
Alex Garland has written some great stuff, but this experimental novel really never took off for me. A great idea- a nonlinear narrative of consciousness in a coma, but it ended up feeling like it was trying too hard to be something it wasn’t. The book also took about an hour to read, which was a little disappointing as well.
Social Intelligence:
This is the best semi-popular book on psychology I’ve read in a long time. Sometimes it seems like I just read basically the same book about psychology over and over again, that cite all the same studies and research, but this really pulled them all together well. Although it references all the studies and researchers I already find interesting: Ekman, (4 horsemen guy), Baron-Cohen (Simon, not Sascha), and others, it distills them efficiently and makes useful and meaningful connections and offers applications to them all.
The Kite Runner: Khaleed Hosseini
Book as movie
I have very mixed feelings about this novel, the tale of an Afghan refugee who grows up in America, and his childhood friendship with a servant boy. Clearly, the book’s intention is to educate westerners about Afghan culture and recent Afghan history by telling a story filled with details that illustrate the rich culture and heartbreaking history of a nation. (Though I can’t help but wonder if another, political, agenda, to justify the war there- perhaps the author’s intent, perhaps the book was usurped in this way.) In the details, the book succeeds- by pulling no punches and including wonderful small written illustrations of life in Afghanistan over the past forty years, I walked away feeling like I understood much better. But the story taken by itself, was almost laughably absurd in its Hollywood-like plot, right down to the three-act structure and everything from the beginning coming perfectly full circle to the nauseatingly sweet and manipulative ending. It was like the writer went to a screenwriting workshop and then wrote a novel- is this what the novel has come to, an early draft of a Hollywood movie? The completely Western narrative structure superimposed on another culture ultimately felt forced, detracting and distracting the reader from what was recommendable about this book, which did make for an educational and quick read. I may spoil the end a bit here so stop reading if you plan to read the book but come on: He now has to fight his childhood enemy to the death forty years later? And I was thinking the moment the character was introduced If this guy comes back forty years later as the bad Taliban guy, I’m gonna throw up. Well, he did. Basically, this is a crappy epic movie in books form.
From a cultural standpoint of trauma, I also questioned the book. The boy is traumatized by the relationship with Assef- no doubt, but his trauma reaction is completely western- suicide attempts, silnce, etc. I’m not sure if the sequilae of trauma really unfold this way in a culture where child abuse/buggery is more integrated into /endemic to the culture. That’s not to defend the behavior with a kind of cultural relativism, just that I don’t think you can put an American trauma reaction on an afghan situation.
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