Moshni Hamid's "Exit West" A Futuristic Mongrel Society Sans Borders Wins Man Booker '17

Moshni Hamid (b Pakistan 1971) is a self-described mongrel living a somewhat nomadic existence with his wife & daughter between his home country and other foreign countries: London, NYC, Italy & Greece.   Hamid's novel "Exist West" is set not too far off in the future in a not too incredulous world where migrants make up the majority of the population in every nation.  "Exist West" received the 2017 Man Booker Prize.  The story follows Nadia & Saeed, a young couple newly in love in a war torn Muslim nation (assumed to be Pakistan).   Thrust together through a militant take over & intolerable living conditions, Nadia & Said plan a harrowing escape.  Together they find passages through "doors" which mystically open onto other cities in Greece, Britain & the US.  The dystopian refugee living conditions they come upon entering & exiting through mysterious portals land them as undesirable migrants who must fend for themselves under harsh & unwelcoming circumstances.   The novel looks at a future world that is becoming so overrun by immigration that the indigenous population is dissipating along with basic necessities for survival.   The attachment between Nadia & Saeed becomes one of necessity and obligation.   As they manage to construct an adaptable living situation just outside the city of San Francisco, arrived via a "door" their bond of attachment erodes.  Saeed's logistical distancing from his homeland & religious observances draw him back into his heritage.  Nadia completely dissociates from her familial ties & upbringings.   As much as Hamid envisions a future society of integrated races, nationalities & religions as the outcome  of an ever increasing migrant populous, there is much to be said for the loss of tribal customs as there is for a world melded together into a hybrid amalgamation.  Before the buildup of a new order of co-existence there is an apocalyptic purgatory.  Atwood's terrifying sci-fi "Oryx & Crake" leads to a rebirth of an innocent & peaceful new race.  Hamid's "Exit West" is a torpor of displacement that is more convincing and thereby all the more insufferable.

Julian Barnes' THE ONLY STORY - The Only Question Is - Is it Better to Have Love and Lost...

"The Only Story" is Julian Barnes' (b UK 1946) latest novel which is a about a May - December romance between 19 year old Paul & the 46 year old married mother of 2.  This isn't necessarily an awkward & unsatisfying cougar love story, although it is mostly just that, it's truly a facade for masking the grief for his beloved wife, Pat Kavanagh.  Julian & Pat were married from 1979 until her death in 2008.  Barnes is the recipient of many literary honors including the Man Booker for "Sense of an Ending."  His book "Levels of Life" ('13) was interesting & eloquent; part historic fiction and part memoir dealing specifically with mourning for his wife and his life without her.  The sense of loss and isolation in "Levels of Life" were profoundly moving.  "The Only Story" is the only work by Barnes  I did not deem exceptional.  Paul is 19 when the luck of the draw pairs him with Susan at the local country club in a tennis doubles match.  Somewhere between driving her home and a daunting backhand, they become a mismatched couple.  At first Paul thinks his affair as daring & sophisticated.  But, the ongoing saga morphs into a toxic co-dependency that saps 20 years of Paul's young social life.  Paul's love (if not blind devotion) enable Susan's alcoholism & depression.  The unsettling living arrangements allow Paul to live in Susan's home along with her husband and two daughters his age.  If only Paul were to leave Susan to find someone his own age and make something of his life.  Paul ponders his motives & love for her yet remains in this quagmire for decades.  I question his lackadaisical commitment knowing there are many seemingly incompatible  emotions that can thrive side by side in the same heart.  The only question of importance Paul asks when looking back on his life, "Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more; or love the less, and suffer the less?  That is, I think, finally the only real question."  This is not the only indication that Barnes is likely referring to the loss of his wife. "He grew older.  His life turned into an agreeable routine with enough human contact to sustain and divert, but not disturb him.  Soon no doubt the funeral years would begin.  Death is the only closure I believe in and the wound will stay open until that final shutting of the doors."  Whereas I felt empathy for Barnes sharing his grief in "Levels of Life" in "The Only Story" I felt annoyance at Paul for squandering his youth frivolously playing it down the middle.  

The Great American Read - PBS Presents 100 Most Beloved Novels - WATCH READ and VOTE

PBS presents "The Great American Read - 100 Most Beloved Novels.  This is a wonderful show because it speaks to the multitude of gifts garnered by reading and the gift of sharing the love for reading.  In today's high-tech fast paced world, it's gratifying to know that one is hardly alone in the love of reading.  Reading is both a solitary act and a unifying act.  It's through reading one develops empathy and humanity.  James Baldwin's "Another Country is on the list. "You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.  It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive."  Reading is a source of comfort and stimulation.  One's imagination is sparked through reading.  It's an easy inexpensive means to travel & adventure.  "The more that you read the more things you will know.  The more that you learn the more places you'll go." (Dr Seuss)  Meredith Viera hosts this PBS special listing the favorite 100 novels.  (I'd like to know how the 100 were selected.)  The books were endorsed by writers, actors, scientists, artists and celebrities.  Barbara & Jenna Bush & Chelsea Clinton's talked of the gift of having been read to & the joy they get reading to their family & others.  Lesley Stahl said her greatest happiness is reading to her grandchildren.  Ms. Stahl raved about "Charlotte's Webb" as did a very thoughtful 2nd grade class who learned lessons on friendship & not to judge people by their looks.  "You  shouldn't judge a book by its cover or people by their looks."  Sarah Jessica Parker recommends the book "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe which explains how cultures are destroyed.  Neil deGrasse Tyson chose "Gulliver's Travels" which took him to a whole other different world.  Author John Green recounted the stunning impact "Catcher in the Rye" has made on him both as a young person & as an adult.  Prof. Gates was euphoric about "Their Eyes Were Watching God."  Young people spoke of the excitement of "Harry Potter" novels which brought magic & a sense of wonder into their lives.  Actress Gabrielle Union spoke candidly about the healing she felt from reading "The Color Purple" after she had been raped.  Allison Williams chose my favorite "Frankenstein" a novel by Shelly about humanity.  Mankind is the monster not the creature brought to life by Dr. Frankenstein.  Anyone can vote from the list for their favorite which will be announced in the fall.  A flagrant over sight is Bradbury's "Fahrenheit  451".  "There are worse crimes than burning books.  One of them is not reading them."  (J. Brodsky)  

M. Thien's Novel DO NOT SAY WE HAVE NOTHING is a Scholarly Saga of China's Cultural Revolution

"How could a person know the difference between what was real and what was merely illusion, or see when a truth transformed into its opposite?  What was theirs and what was something handed down?" asks Madeleine Thien (b Canada 1974) in her epic novel that unravels the hidden & horrific tragedies of China's Cultural Revolution in the 20th C.   Thien's literary/political novel spans over decades & 3 generations of intertwined families in China and Canada.  The dystopian society depiction of life under Chairman Mao's regime is a chilling reminder of this oppressed epoch that is too easily dismissed or distorted.  This historic epic novel gracefully mutes and forcefully recounts the loss of any personal freedom to live, love or do as one chose.  Everything was dictated by the Party.  Any resistance was met with repercussions: prison sentences, torture, public humiliation and executions.  There was only the one regimented line of existence under Mao as under Marx, Engels and Lenin.  Thien's award winning novel was short listed for the Man Booker Prize ('16).  She constructs a novel that is a majestic in structure and crescendos in the Tiananmen Square massacre.  The story is driven by musicians whose creative artistic talents & desires were destroyed.  The reverential references to musical compositions, written legacies and interconnecting relationships tend to overwhelm the reader in their complexities & mournful longings.  "My generation was tossed around by Chairman Mao's campaigns.  Our lives were completely wasted."  All hopes & aspirations were pinned to the next generation.  This is at the pulse of this historic novel.  The books title "Do Not Say We Have Nothing" was the counter revolutionary chant quelled by government tanks in Tiananmen.  "Arise slaves, arise.  Do not say we have nothing.  We will be the master of the world."  This is an English translation via transformations from Russian slogans and the French socialist anthem.

THE HUNDRED DRESSES by Eleanor Estes a Lesson in Empathy for the Young

Author/Illustrator Eleanor Estes (b Amer 1906-1988) was a 3 time recipient of the Newbery Honor;  the highest award allotted works of fiction for young readers.  "The Hundred Dresses" was first published in 1944 and earned Estes a Newbery Honor for her heartfelt story which teaches without preaching to be compassionate.  It also imparts to the knowledge that failing to stop cruel behavior towards others is just as hurtful & shameful.  Wanda is the girl who doesn't fit in the group because she has a funny sounding last name & wears the same dress everyday to school.  The girls in the class don't acknowledge Wanda except to taunt her.  Day after day Wanda wears the same blue dress to school & stands alone on the playground.  Thinking it fun to ridicule Wanda, Peggy taunts Wanda about her meager wardrobe.  Wanting to fit in, Wanda tells the girls she has 100 dresses in her closet.  This outlandish but determined claim becomes the butt of a game.  Peggy belittles Wanda in front of the other girls.  None of the other girls, including Peggy's friend Maddie fault the pretty & popular Peggy.  Despite Maddie's misgivings about how Wanda is either ignored or bullied, she doesn't attempt to befriend Wanda or tell Peggy to back-off.  This short story is a friendly family fable for teaching young children kindness & strength of character.  In today's world of cyber bullying & cruelty, this bedtime tale is a treasure.  I cried reading "The Giving Tree" but "The Hundred Dresses" may prevent children from causing others to cry.

Nathan Englander's Short Story Collection "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank"

"It is hard to know what a person would and wouldn't do in any specific instance."  If there's one apex to absorb from Englander's wickedly funny & piercingly painful stories it's the precarious balance of humanity amongst inhumanity.   The first short story from which Englander's Pulitzer Prize nominated "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank" derives its title is a hilarious comparison between 2 Jewish couples.  An American couple with one son and ex-pats now living in Israel who have become ultra-orthodox & have 10 daughters.  While both couples get high from the son's pot they discuss a "Righteous Gentile Game" a.k.a. "The Anne Frank Game." But it is vehemently denied as a game but a pathological mindset to prepare for an American Holocaust.  One considers who could be entrusted with hiding them to save their lives while putting their own at risk.  The following stories in this thought provoking all harken to survival.  Survival is what matters most just to be able to start again.  "Camp Sundown" is about a Berkshires camp for elderly Jews and young Jewish toddlers.  The camp director is besotted with craziness from the older campers.  Some  are survivors whose amusingly annoying antics take a very dark & disturbing turn.  The message  resonates amongst the shadows in a blazing testament to no innocent bystanders. "To stand by for murder is murder.  The turning away from the head is the same as turning the knife."  Englander (b Amer 1970) handles topics hard to address.  His stories speak of Israeli wars and Israel as both the defender & the oppressor.  Jews against Palestinians & Arabs and dissension and destruction within the Jewish culture through assimilation. "You want truth and justice for everything and for everything to fit in its place. But somethings are in between."   Englander's incisive stories are told with wit, wisdom, humor and sorrow.  "The palest shadows of kindness were enough to deep a dead man alive."  This resounding collection of stories should be talked about when what's talked about is literary writing at its finest along with meaningful theological & philosophical discussions.