A Thousand Splendid Suns

In the reading guide that is at the end of the book, as part of the suggested further reading, appears Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and I thought that it was an excellent recommendation because as I was reading A Thousand Splendid Suns I was also thinking that these two books had a very strong connection. In both cases, the authors try to teach the reader about the history of their countries. Though, I must say, I thought Half of a Yellow Sun was more successful in that regard.

  A Thousand Splendid Suns concentrates on the violence that Afghan women have endured even before (in the case of rural Afghanistan) the rule of the Taliban. To the extent that the narrative becomes quite dark and depressing. Reading the book became much more enjoyable and interesting once my friend Katherine Wellington taught me more about the history of Afghanistan. Knowing more about the social and historical context in which the characters develop does make you appreciate the story in a more complete way.
  I am definitely grateful that I read this book because, once again, I feel like I am aware of more aspects of human history around the world. I also thougth the book was well written. It has several poignant passages that succeed in conveying the cruelty and severity with which Mariam and Laila were treated.

The Man in the Brown Suit

This book is hilarious! I am actually not sure if this is primarily detective fiction or a comedy. Maybe it is meant to be both. It definitely reminded me of a telenovela where the most absurd things always happen and every bit of mystery is carefully explained in the end, which I quite enjoy. I have decided that Sir Eustace Pedler is my favourite character. He is so charming and funny, and always has the best remarks. Although some of them are quite inappropriate and maybe it would be best if he kept those to himself, lest he end up in an article of The New York Times involved in the #MeToo movement.

  Now that I think about it, there are several remarks or descriptions that are either sexist, racist, or otherwise inappropriate. The book is amazing and kept me constantly laughing but I do wonder whether it could have benefitted from more strict editing.

  Also, the prologue is written in such a different style from the rest of the novel. Almost as if the prologue was actual detective fiction. It makes me really want to read something that is as well written.

  All in all, I highly recommend this book. You are bound to have a fun time reading it.

The Hate U Give

I am going to take Angie Thomas's words "Find your activism and don't let anyone tell you what that should look like", and say that this blog post is me doing a little activism: please read this book.

  Reading often allows us to enter someone else's experiences. In this case, it allowed me to enter Starr's experiences with racist police brutality. Despite it being a horrifying experience I believe more people should be aware of it. I also agree with Angie Thomas when she said that people tend to focus exclusively on the negative aspects of poverty stricken societies. One of the reasons that make me say that The Hate U Give is quite well written is that I think it succeeds in depicting both sides of such societies: the beautiful and the ugly. The peaceful evening at home that you spend with your family watching TV, contrasting with the shootings that you can hear on your street.
  This book was yet another opportunity to practise being empathetic, and to join in prayer so that we can all grow into a more mature, respectful, and understanding society. Please read this book, and meditate a few minutes after you finish reading it.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

He pauses for a moment, and my eyes flutter open, and he smiles, so I smile back. And then he leans in to kiss me again, sweet and feather-soft. And it's almost too perfect. Almost too Disney. This can't actually be me.

(Albertalli, B. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. p. 276. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Penguin Books, 2018).

  I really like this book. It made me laugh so many times, and it made me cry of happiness. This is the kind of book I wanted to read when I read The Fault In Our Stars back in 2012 which, to me, was more or less of a disappointment. But Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda certainly met my expectations.

  The first part of the book was somehow difficult to read because I was not sure I was enjoying the way things were developing. Falling in love with someone you do not know but only through e-mails seemed a little too avant-garde, I suppose. But the tension that the structure of the plot builds, together with the rewardingly pleasing falling action, made me immensely grateful that I read this book.

  Also, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda gave me the opportunity to continue asking myself about my sexual orientation. And I thought it was somehow unfortunate that people had to "come out" and state their sexual orientation because it makes me think of sexual orientation as being a static object, as opposed to a dynamic one. What happens if you have already declared your orientation but soon afterwards change your mind? Do you have to come out again, this time as something else? I wonder how magical it would be if people simply assumed that everyone can fall in love with anyone, at any time. Maybe that is just me.

  By the way, Blue, I also used to love the first day of school. And it also had to do with school supplies.

Fahrenheit 451

This book was so easy to read. Perhaps as easy to read as Simon Singh's Fermat's Last Theorem. Which is enjoyable, because seeing how fast you read through the book can be satisfying.

  But the story that it tells, yet once again, makes me feel like most books are written by bibliophiles who believe knowledge is the key to humanity's greatness and success. It is at these times that I think of John Green's How Young Is History? video whose topic is, basically, that "the idea that History means progress is very new, like almost all of the 250,000-year history of humans looks more like a sine curve than an ascending line".
  Perhaps I like that video because, in my interpretation of its message, it coincides with my belief that we do not need to devote our lives to increase our rational intelligence to be happy, nor is that type of intelligence a prerequisite to have a meaningful and enjoyable life. My point is: I have heard people describe this book as one that tells about a dystopian future. But to me the idea of a society that does not read books, or that does not dedicate their lives to trying to expand the limits of knowledge, is not dystopian at all.

Fermat's Last Theorem

This book is based on a BBC documentary on the same topic which I watched back in 2011 when my friend Fabián was visiting St Andrews for the first time. Last year, also while visiting St Andrews, he gave me this book as a present.

  What is interesting about this book (and, also the documentary) is that it achieves something that, in my opinion, had been missing in other places. What I mean is: John and Hank Green have YouTube shows where they explain various subjects from the humanities and the sciences with entertaining factoids. They conspicuously do not have a show on mathematics. To be fair, it would appear to be far more challenging to have a show on mathematics. But it is precisely because of that reason that this book is remarkable, because it is a very entertaining book that aims to explain pure mathematics with a narrative full of factoids. Oddly enough, I thought the documentary was slightly better than the book.

Watership Down

This book was recommended to me by Michael Torpey, a friend whose opinion I value highly. Even though I had not previously heard about it, Watership Down apparently is almost an English classic. Almost everyone around me had at least seen the animated movie version.

  The story is entertaining and easy to read. Though I found that the rabbit mythology, introduced as short stories within the novel, felt at times like they were interrupting the fluidity of the plot. It seemed to me that the plot gained little by including these myths, and that their omission would not have significally changed the course of events. However, I must accept that having included these stories within the story did contribute to the beauty of the epilogue, which left me with a smile.

  I do agree with some of the criticism that I have read. The female rabbits are indeed portrayed mainly as sexual objects, and I do believe that all the current dialogue on sexual misconduct intensified the awkwardness of this portrayal. One must remember that this novel is based on stories that the author told his daughters to entertain them on long journeys, surely he did not mean any harm? Though there was also an ethnic reference which further contributed to making the story feel dated.

  Perhaps I am beeing too harsh. I should leave it on a positive note: Watership Down is a nice story about rabbits.