The MANIAC

Having read When We Cease to Understand the World first, I am even less sure I like Mr Labatut's writing style. At least when it comes to narrating the life of well-known scientists like John von Neumann. I guess I am torn in two. On the one hand, I am happy that books like The MANIAC exist as they help more readers become aware of people and events that I believe enrich one's knowledge. On the other hand, I do not like how much of the text is based on speculation and, even worse, exaggeration to the point that may be harmful for the academic development of the younger generation. My biggest quarrel with the book lies in the way Mr von Neumann's intelect is exaggerated. By that I do not mean to deny that John von Neumann was a genius, but I do want to make clear that anyone has the potential for greatness—including, of course, academic greatness—and that John von Neumann was not as unique as the book tries really hard to convince the reader that he was. People, especially young people, might be misled into believing that one has to be born a genius, and may be discouraged to put the necessary effort to achieve great scientific discoveries. Furthermore, Mr Labatut's never ending insistence on delivering high praise for John von Neumann gets really tiresome and makes for a difficult read.
  Fortunately, even though the vast majority of the book is dedicated to John von Neumann, the short last part of the book brilliantly pivots to another topic: the boardgame go and AlphaGo. Mr Labatut's writing style is perfect in this last section of the book. Mixing mythology and fact in a way that the line between those two is never blurry, which consequently made me confident that I was learning new things without the need to worry that I might be misled into believing that fictional parts of the book might be real. The last part of the book was so compelling that I read it in just one go, as I was unable to stop reading. That was a refreshing change, especially after the tedious litany on how great John von Neumann's intelect was.

First Love and other stories

An excellent collection of three short stories:

2. First Love
1. Spring Torrents
3. A Fire at Sea

  In order of appearance, and indexed in my personal order of preference. This book should have really been called "Spring Torrents and other stories". Not only because Spring Torrents was the main short story, but also because it was my favourite. Although, I was happy to read First Love. It reminded me of my younger self and the way I used to think about love and of the behaviour that I thought that being in love implied. It will not come as a surprise when I say that I was too childish, and that I am somewhat embarrassed by my past behaviour. I am less embarrassed by my way of experiencing love in my twenties, perhaps because I am much closer to those years.
  I wonder if we should be taught in school what love is. By that I mean that maybe we should have a class dedicated to thinking about what our feelings mean to us and how they are perceived by others in society, and maybe our teachers could give us some friendly advice.
  Maybe I should read more about the theory of our emotions and how to deal with them. I would really recommend this book to anyone who might want to spend some time thinking about being in love.

American Pastoral

 What a boring read. The first third of the book was decent, but afterwards it quickly spirals down into a tiresome repetition of a story that could have been told in far fewer pages.

When We Cease to Understand the World

 My heart is really torn. On the one hand, the first three short stories were amazing. I learnt so many interesting things, things that are somewhat related to science, I learnt about the life of interesting mathematicians and their quirks. It was great! But then the second half of the book turns more... imaginative and speculative, in a way that I did not really like. Speculating in crude terms about the sexual behaviour of certain scientists was not in line with the first half of the book, and its contrast was therefore more jarring. What I liked about the first three stories was how non-fictional they were, and you could tell that the second half of the book was so blatantly made up. I was really disappointed. But yes, I would definitely recommend that people read the first half of the book. It is really worth it.

Red Dragon

 An extremely quick read. I read its 455 pages in three days. I know there are people out there who can probably read them in a single day. Very skillfully written, several of its passages perfectly conveyed the extreme cruelty Dolarhyde had to go through in his childhood—successfully scaring me. Also, I never thought a literary equivalent of a film's "jump scare" existed until I read chapter 46 of this book. Ralph Mandy's death really did come out of nowhere and scared me. In that sense, this book made me feel things no other book had ever made me feel, and that was a great new experience.
  This book really left me wishing I could read even better horror stories. I have only read one Stephen King: "Dreamcatcher" but it was not nearly as good as this one. I am open to recommendations. If you feel like you have never read a decent scary novel, I would recommend starting with "Red Dragon".

To the Lighthouse

 Quite painful to read. It was basically a collection of sentences that had little relation to each other. It was very difficult to follow the many seemingly disjoint ideas contained in a single paragraph. I could not even tell you what the story was, despite my just having finished reading the book. I am as clueless as if I had only read the title.

Lessons

 This was a nicely told story whose style reminded me of the film "Boyhood" (Linklater, 2014). As with many books, the plot has its interesting parts and its not so interesting parts. It comes together nicely at the end, when I found out that I cared for Roland and, consequently, for Lawrence. But I still think several parts in the middle could have been more interestingly written. I found myself thinking much about the sexual relationship between Roland and his piano teacher Miriam Cornell. I kept asking myself why did Ian McEwan feel like he needed to include that relationship in his book. The book would have been essentially the same without it, seeing as the most consequential aspect of Roland's life was his having been abandoned by his wife. Reading the book I thought that relationship was more important to Ian McEwan than it was to Roland himself. I do not find it a good sign when I feel like an author is desperately trying to input their intent or moral code into their stories.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

 The only other thing I have read by Anne Brontë is Agnes Grey, and compared to it I did find The Tenant of Wildfell Hall to be a much better book. Jo recommended this book to me saying this novel actually did what Mating failed to do, that is, talk about relationships in a way that is actually relevant to people thinking seriously about them. Indeed the relationship between Gilbert and Helen is more admirable than the relationship between the unnamed protagonist in Mating and Nelson Denoon. At the same time, I would not say that Gilbert and Helen's relationship was a good example. It seemed to me that Gilbert was a little too immature. That may have been because that was the first time he was experiencing being in love—and yes, I am saying that that childish infatuation he had for Eliza does not count. Perhaps I saw too much of myself in Gilbert, which made me dislike both him and me. Helen was a better person. The things I disliked about her are of a different nature. I simply disliked how strong her religious convictions were. I hated how she was fine giving up the chance of being happy with Gilbert while alive with the excuse that they could be together in paradise after they died. I hated that her idea of perfect love meant loving literally everyone with the same intensity, with no special distinction for Gilbert. What is the point of being in love, then? There were a few good plot twists, and one very good moment of suspense there when we thought that Helen might be marrying Mr Hargrave. That was gossip among townspeople at its best.
  I am left still looking for a love story that may teach me something valuable. A relationship that I can admire. If you know of any, please do let me know.

Time's Arrow

 This was quite a unique experience: a story where time is going backwards. I was captivated by that premise. Sadly, that enthusiasm lasted only for the first three chapters. After that, the narrator's perspective started to seem a little disingenuous, seeing that he could analyse and have good observations about certain aspects of Odilo's life but at the same time could not figure out that the "good" things that were happening were actually just the opposite. This was a very short book, and it would have been a mistake to make it longer. Just as it was a mistake to have the last chapter talk about Odilo's childhood. Especially because nothing interesting was said. It was so disconnected from everything else in the book. Such a shame, because I started reading the book with very high hopes and ended up feeling a little disappointed. I do recognise that writing something like this must have been very hard. And I must admit that the good parts in it were really good. The thing Martin Amis did with the dialogue between characters—which had to be read backwards (from bottom to top) to make sense—was truly finely done.

Meditations, with selected correspondence

 First, thank you to my friend Claire Young for recommending this book to me, and to my sister for giving it to me as a Christmas present.
  It is quite a decent book. The only other book whose "literary style" is close to Meditations is perhaps How to Be a Gentleman, which is another great read for everyone. The thing I thought most interesting was that this must be the closest thing to having a conversation with and listening to the personal thoughts of someone who lived virtually two thousand years ago. It is thus interesting to see how those thoughts are so similar to and could very well be those of a person who is alive today. I do not think I read in it any idea that was revolutionarily new to me, but I did like how many things it contained with which I did agree. I was happy to learn about stoicism and, to a lesser extent, about cynicism and epicureanism. I was surprised to see that I agreed with stoicism to a lesser extent than I had previously believed—this I say not having ever formally learnt anything about it before. One of the "chapters" I liked most was:
  "Practise even at the things that you have lost all hope of achieving. For the left hand, though inefficient at everything else through lack of practice, is more powerful than the right when it comes to gripping the bridle; for it has had good practice at that."
(Aurelius, M. Meditations. p. 148. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Oxford University Press, 2011).

  Which is advice I have given to myself at least on a couple of ocassions. Most recently when I started running, I genuinely thought I would never be able to run 5 km. I gave up on that goal, but continued running nonetheless. Now I can comfortably run 23 km.
  And there was another "chapter" that made me think of people who have been victims of HIV stigma:
  "[I]n other words, let it judge nothing to be good or bad if it can happen to a good person or bad without distinction."
(Aurelius, M. Meditations. p. 64. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Oxford University Press, 2011).
  Not that I believe that there are "good" people and "bad" people. But if something can happen to anyone, do not judge them for what has befallen them.
  There are indeed many other ideas that are very much worthy of consideration and discussion, so do read this book of you are looking for some guidance or reassurance. Now, my book came with a selection of letters between Marcus Aurelius and Fronto, one of his eighteen tutors. They are an excellent complement that allows us to take a further look into Marcus Aurelius's mind and life. There are some people who think that Marcus Aurelius and Fronto had a homoerotic relationship. What do I think having read those letters? It is hard to tell. Yes, there are certain letters that had me convinced that they must have had a romantic relationship. But having read all of the thirty-one letters included in my book, I was left thinking: "Well, maybe they were simply truly very good friends". I do not know. Perhaps the reason I am inclined to dismiss their affectionate style in the letters is because Marcus Aurelius did make a couple of homophobic remarks in Meditations, which was not intended for publication, it was simply his personal record of thoughts. I guess, I am unable to form a verdict having only read this book. Maybe if I read more about his life and work I would be better able to form an opinion with regard to his relationship with Fronto.

My Name Is Red

Unfortunately I did not really enjoy reading this book. Perhaps what I thought was its most interesting aspect was that the story was told from the different points of view of each of the characters. I also wanted to say that I think this might be the second book that I am aware I have read that contains a character whose name is the same as the author's. The other book being The Divine Comedy. I disliked all of the miniaturists' philosophy on art, and their corrupt adulation of blindness. I also thought the story was weak and simple. Towards the end I did get the sense that the book might have been inspired by historic events, and I was glad to see that a chronology was included as an appendix. But that still was not enough to make me think this was a book worth recommending.

Aztec

I did not like this book. My mother recommended it to me. She said it was one of her favourites. I just... did not like this book. It was so uncomfortable to read. I suppose reading this book is similar to watching Gaslight (1944) except the book does not have a satisfying ending, it is all just uncomfortable.
  From Mixtli we get so much classism, sexism, racism, homophobia, and arrogance. What makes it worse is that I am not sure we are meant to think of him that way. I think he is supposed to be a likeable character. He certainly does not seem to be aware of any of his prejudices.
  Sure, I did learn many new things I did not know about some of the indigenous Mexican civilizations. But I wish I had read a history book instead. Which, I guess, is the only positive aspect of reading this book. It has made me want to read more about the history of Mexico. If I can save someone from reading this book by saying which books I have decided to read, then please know that I intend to read The Oxford History of Mexico (William Beezley, Michael Meyer) and Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs (Camilla Townsend.)

The City and the Pillar

I wish I knew the name, so that I could thank him properly, of the handsome young man who lived in Powell Hall and took me to West Sands one night in October 2020 and recommended this book to me. He was so intellectual, and seemed like a devoted athlete too. I told him of Harvard's uncencored version of The Picture of Dorian Gray, and he said he thought Gore Vidal was like the Oscar Wilde of our era. I think I can see what he meant by that.
  I think this is a good book. There might be some interesting ideas in it. But I also think that I truly did not like the religious interest that Jim had for Bob. It remined me of Love in the Time of Cholera. At the time I really liked the religious interest that Florentino had for Fermina. But I was 16 years old then. Now I truly understand what Fermina meant when she exclaimed "Pobre hombre" when she saw Florentino again after many years of not seeing him. That idea of love is one that I now no longer find desirable. I was also surprised at how monosexual Jim seemed to be. I guess that is how most people think of themselves. Except, for some reason, I was expecting Jim to be... different.
  I do recommend this book. It might be the best I have read of its genre, whichever that might be.

"Everyone is by nature bisexual," said the gray-haired man. "Society, early conditioning, good or bad luck—depending on how you were told to look at it—determine the result. Nothing is 'right.' Only denial of instinct is wrong."
  (Vidal, G. The City and the Pillar. p. 200. United States of America: Vintage Books, 2018.)

The China Study: Revised and Expanded Edition: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, and Long-Term Health

 An extremely interesting book that is the next best thing to directly reading a scientific article on nutrition, though there are many of those cited in the references should one wish to go to the sources.
  I highly recommend this book to everyone, but especially to those interested in a plant-based diet. Regardless of one's philosophical point of view on life. My diet was already plant-based before I started reading this book, but I am now seriously trying to follow a Whole Foods Plant-Based Diet, though I have not been perfect.
  Every time I start doubting myself, I remind myself of the many undeniable accomplishments I have achieved since changing my diet, and I can now also remind myself of everything that is said in this book.
  Thank you to everyone who made this book possible. Let me take a moment to remember Isaac Newton. "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."

Mansfield Park

 #OMG, what a disappointment. The first two volumes of this book are engaging and well-written. But all of a sudden everything quickly falls apart on the third and last volume. Edmund deserved so much better, and the improbable development of Henry Crawford is so unbelievable that I have decided it could not have happened. Fanny is all the opposite she genuinely believes she is.
  Ever since March 2012 when I finished reading A Suitable Boy I have wanted to know, just like Kabir when he asked Lata, if Mansfield Park was any good. The answer is no, it is not.
  So much shaming of behaviour that people should not be ashamed of. So much prejudice. Nah, man. My recommendation: read the first two volumes, close the book, and never open it again.

His Dark Materials

A very long time ago my father gave me the first book of this trilogy, in Spanish. I remember reading the first page and dedicing that it was too boring for me. Indeed I did not read the book for many, many years; certainly more than 15 years. But then there were several independent instances through the years where I heard people expressing high praise for these books. Finally, when Aidan told me he really liked the universe of these books, I made the executive decision of buying all of them in one volume and read them.

  I am happy that I made that decision, as the narrative is entertaining and the books are well-written. Without knowing anything about Phillip Pullman, I knew just by reading the book that it had to had been written by an English author since the writing is characteristically polite and elegant. Which made the scenes of violence surprising in a way that I had not read before. And I think the writing alone is the reason I would recommend reading His Dark Materials.

  The rest of the book —the universe that Pullman created, and the storyline— is pretty much just the excuse Pullman had to show to the world how beautiful his writing is. In fact, the rest of the book is standardly simple. Though I do appreciate that the author offers young readers an introduction to the debate on right and wrong, and to humanity's fraught relationship with Christianity.

  I am left with mixed feelings. Though, I think Michael Torpey would be of the opinion that if a book makes you think about things, and makes you feel feelings, then it is probably a good book.

The Invention of Nature

Oh, what a book! I am not sure if I hated it. This is a biography of Alexander von Humboldt, and I really like him. I have very fond childhood memories of going to the Museum of San Ildefonso to see an extremely beautiful exhibition of his life and work. But this book!
  I find it extremely repetitive in the most banal way. This novel could have most certainly been reduced to a short story without losing any of the main things that were said in it. The main point of the novel should definitely be restated here: it would be cool if more people knew about Alexander von Humboldt. I am actually not sure if that was the main point of the novel, but that is what I would like more people to know.
  Also, I really did not appreciate the many vague insinuations that Alexander von Humboldt was not heterosexual. I think that if that is what the author wanted to say, she should have said it explicitly. In conversation with my friend Jo, she pointed out that maybe nobody knows, and because he lived so long ago there might not be many records in that regard. Is that what the author wanted to convey? Who knows!

The Man in the High Castle

The first few chapters of the book were not only promising, but the praise that the author received ("The most brilliant science fiction mind on any planet", Rolling Stone) helped convince me that this was going to be an excellent novel. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the second half of the book and my final opinion is that one can skip this book altogether.
  I suppose it is to be expected that certain science fiction books start looking odd when the future they were imagining starts diverging from what actually happened in the future. Yes, this book tries to conceive a world with an alternative history but I am sure that even if Germany and Japan had won the Second World War, certain technological advances, such as being able to read the newspaper on your smartphone instead of having to wait for physical copies to be delivered, would come first than the ability to colonise other planets. Even though these discrepancies in the history of technological advances are fairly common in the novel, they are not enough to invalidate the whole story. Yet, certain aspects of the book, specifically the racist comments against white people and the anti-semitic remarks, seemed to me quite gratuitous.
  Trying to imagine a world where Germany and Japan won the Second World War is indeed a difficult thing to do, but I think this book does a bad job in its attempt.

Monkey

What a great book of adventures! Monkey reminded me of both, Don Quixote and Iliad. As it is a book of sequential little adventures where the gods are active characters in the story and interact with the people living on Earth. Except Monkey is much nicer to read than Don Quixote because, unlike Cervantes's novel, it is the right length, and at least in Arthur Waley's translation it is quite easy and plesant to read.

  I also enjoyed getting to know more about the life that Monkey led before his voyage with Tripitaka, as it made me appreciate more his evolution from stone to Buddha. This is a great translation of a great book. It kept me entretained from beggining to end. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a light and humorous read.

Slaughterhouse-Five

I do not really have much to say about this book. The structure of the ideas felt quite strange for the first parts of the book but it gradually became more interesting towards the end in terms of narrative style. Perhaps the quaint manner of telling the story was to convey the feelings of a mad man that became that way because of the horrible experiences that he had gone through during the war. It was an enjoyable read but I would not recommend it.