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November 07, 2007
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Hilary
gave
 
to:
An Instance of the Fingerpost: A Novel (Paperback)
by Iain Pears
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my rating:
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June 16, 2007
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Hilary
gave
to:
Six Records of a Floating Life (Penguin Classics)
by Shen Fu
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recommended for: People interested in Chinese history *beyond* the imperial court
read in December, 2006
Hilary said:
"An illuminating look at life among the not-quite-elite at the apogee of the Qing dynasty.
Shen Fu was a late eighteenth-century private secretary in various local government offices in the Suzhou area. This is a series of diary-like (except not c...more
An illuminating look at life among the not-quite-elite at the apogee of the Qing dynasty.
Shen Fu was a late eighteenth-century private secretary in various local government offices in the Suzhou area. This is a series of diary-like (except not chronological) observations he made about his life. The private secretaries were the ones who helped the magistrates and other provincial officials carry out their tasks. Their job was very important, since the provincial officials they worked for were often unfamiliar with the area and sometimes even ignorant of the local dialect. These guys had studied for the civil service exams but generally not passed even the lowest tier of them. So they were literate, but not successful.
Even though these guys (unlike the provincial officials) generally stayed in the same area during their careers and became very familiar with (not to say entrenched in) it, yamen secretary does not seem to have been a particularly stable lifestyle, at least not in Shen Fu's case. He seems to have had a lot of problems with debts of various kinds.
The neat thing about this book is that it is at once very familiar and very foreign. Lots of the things Shen Fu writes about, in a wonderfully frank and personal tone, are things the reader can relate to: passionate love, financial troubles, bickering relatives, bureaucratic corruption, delight in a good meal, etc. But others are historically particular. For example, when they're in a hard spot, Shen Fu and his wife give their underage daughter to the family of her betrothed, so that the family can raise her (and have a maid) until it's time for the marriage. And when Shen Fu's father dies, he beats his head on the coffin until he bleeds--demonstrative filial piety being the usual, and expected, behavior. The combination of familiar and foreign elements makes this a great way to immerse yourself in a fascinating historical period....less
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June 13, 2007
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Hilary
gave
to:
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World (Paperback)
by Tracy Kidder
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my rating:
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recommended for: people who care about health policy and globalization
Hilary said:
"The story (so far: he's only in his 40s, I think) of Paul Farmer, living saint. Harvard prof of infectious diseases and founder of Partners in Health, Farmer is a righteous thorn in the side of--well, everybody except for the sick and destitute.
T...more
The story (so far: he's only in his 40s, I think) of Paul Farmer, living saint. Harvard prof of infectious diseases and founder of Partners in Health, Farmer is a righteous thorn in the side of--well, everybody except for the sick and destitute.
The thing that makes Farmer stand out from the scores of good people involved in international public health (aside from his obsessive workaholism) is that he refuses to accept the cost-benefit rationale for providing treatment. This is the rationale that says it doesn't make any sense to treat farmers in Haiti with the best drugs for multi-drug-resistant TB, because that would cost too much. Meanwhile, Farmer points out, we spend much more treating a case of MDR TB in the US than it would cost in Haiti. But it's not "cost effective" in Haiti because what people in rich countries are willing to spend on the health of people in poor countries is only a tiny fraction of what they're willing to spend on high-tech med in their own countries (and on expensive wars, one might add).
In addition to thinking that this is immoral, Farmer also thinks it's foolish from a self-interest point of view. After all, in this day and age, infectious disease anywhere is a potential danger everywhere.
Anyway, this book will inspire you, shame you, and make you think. Kidder's smooth writing style also makes it an engaging read. Definitely recommended.
I've been meaning to read Farmer's own alliterative manifestos (Pathologies of Power, Infections and Inequalities) but this seemed more appealing as a leisure read. Still haven't gotten around to the others....less
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June 12, 2007
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Hilary
gave
to:
Monkey/Folk Novel of China (Paperback)
by Cheng-en Wu
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my rating:
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recommended for: People with kids
Hilary said:
"Everyone with small kids should read -Monkey- to them! It is great fun, in addition to being perhaps the most widely read Chinese novel of all time (original title -Journey to the West- 西游记, which translator Arthur Waley wisely changed to Monke...more
Everyone with small kids should read -Monkey- to them! It is great fun, in addition to being perhaps the most widely read Chinese novel of all time (original title -Journey to the West- 西游记, which translator Arthur Waley wisely changed to Monkey). The story, originally written in the sixteenth century, is based on accumulated legends surrounding the Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang's journey to India to collect scriptures. Xuanzang was a real person, but the novel is sheer fantasy. In the novel, he's accompanied by three monsters who have been turned into disciples by the grace of the Boddhisatva Guanyin: Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy.
I think kids of a certain age would adore the protagonist Monkey, who is rambunctious and irrepressible. Although he is constantly getting in trouble, he also has plenty of magic powers that end up saving the "adults" in the book time and time again.
A few aspects that some parents might object to: there's a fair amount of violence (cudgeling, mostly), though it's not at all graphically described. There's some scatological humor and general rudeness. If that kind of thing doesn't bother you, though, I think this is a book that you AND a 7-to-10-year-old can love. It's nicely divided into very short chunks that would be perfect for reading as bedtime stories....less
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Hilary
gave
to:
春
by 巴金
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my rating:
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read in November, 2007
Hilary said:
"The book strikes me as a kind of Jane Austen novel with a liberal dose of May Fourth indignation tossed in. The main tension of the novel comes from the impending marriages of the young female protagonists. All are arranged marriages, most are bound ...more
The book strikes me as a kind of Jane Austen novel with a liberal dose of May Fourth indignation tossed in. The main tension of the novel comes from the impending marriages of the young female protagonists. All are arranged marriages, most are bound to be unhappy, and the girls don't seem to have the wherewithal to do anything about it. You get the same feeling you get from watching "Raise the Red Lantern," viz. "Bring on the revolution!"
The characters seem awfully restrained to an American reader, but -Spring- is a very good study of the social mores of a different time and culture. If you are learning Chinese, it's a good way to practice your reading and increase your speed--compared to some other modern fiction (e.g. Lu Xun), this is a breeze to read. The vocabulary is simple and repetitive.
I got interested in Ba Jin when he died a couple of years ago, and the Chinese press was full of effusive praise for him. This book, Spring (Chun), is the middle book of the "Torrents" trilogy. Why start in the middle, you may ask? Well, I happened upon this book at a second-hand book sale in Beijing the same week Ba Jin died. So that's what I bought. I didn't have the time to crack it open until about a month ago, though....less
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June 06, 2007
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Hilary
gave
to:
The Omnivore's Dilemma
by Michael Pollan
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my rating:
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Hilary
gave
to:
The Noodle Maker: A Novel (Paperback)
by Ma Jian
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my rating:
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