Mark Reece's Blog, page 10

Review- Everyone knows your mother is a witch

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Set in the seventeenth century and said to be based on real life events, this novel tell the story of Katharina Kepler, who was accused of witchcraft. The accusations are nonsensical, including that Kepler rode a goat backwards, and that she caused harm to numerous people who slighted her. Kepler is confident, independent minded, sometimes rude or eccentric, cares deeply for her cow, camomile, and creates herbal remedies to treat minor ailments. These characteristics make her vaguely threatening to many of her neighbours. She also has a degree of independent wealth, which encourages envy.

Part of the book is told from the perspectives of Kepler, her powerful son (an influential astrologer), and Simon, Kepler's neighbour, who helps her with legal papers. However, the parts of the novel I found most enjoyable were the court transcripts, in which Kepler's accusers are asked to give their testimony. They are questioned in formal, legalistic language, but give rambling, incoherent accounts that both undermines the prosecution case, and hints at their tawdry motivations. These are both funny and well written.

Overall, this short novel is enjoyable and easy to read, with subtle characterization, particularly the parts told in epistolary form.



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Review- The women of Troy

The Women of Troy by Pat Barker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a sequel to 'The silence of the girls', continuing the retelling of Greek myth after the point where the mythological Greek fighters have captured Troy and taken many of its women captive.

There are a small number of action sequences, but most of the book focuses on the personal struggles of the women slaves. Some of them resist their subjugation and are met with crude violence, others maneuver to improve their position. Many, such as Briseis, the main protagonist of the novel, avoid confrontation and do their best to survive while inwardly cursing the fighters who killed their countrymen and who they were forced to marry.

The fighters are marginal to the story, except as sources of potential violence should the women try to escape. Many of the men do not recognize the women's presence, as their status as slaves means that they are no longer considered human. The fighters are generally portrayed are thugs (Pyrrhus) or opportunists (Odysseus). It may have been Barker's intention to make The Women of Troy the rhetorical opposite of the classical texts, in which the women were marginal and could often be summed up by a noun. On the other hand, the characterization of the women slaves is very insightful; although their world is now highly restricted, they are portrayed memorably in ways both subtle and dramatic. Most particularly, Amina attempts to bury the king of Troy, Priam, who was brutally killed by Pyrrhus. When she is discovered, she shows utter disdain for her captors and tries to take sole responsibility for her actions, despite having being helped by Briseis. In this way, the agency of the slaves is rhetorically restored.

There is a realism to both this book and its predecessor, in that they accurately depict the tawdry brutality of war. This is of course in sharp contrast to the heroic fantasy that is betrayed in The Illiad, despite the undoubted brilliance of that work. I understand that the next book in the series will be a re-telling of The Odyssey, which I very much look forward to reading.



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Review- Derren Brown's 'The Showman'.

Derren Brown recently performed 'The Showman' at the Wolverhampton grand theatre, which had been delayed for two years because of Covid.

Brown asked for the details of the act not to be made public, as some of them depend on the audience being surprised. Overall, the act felt less distinctive than some of Brown's other performances, but still highly impressive and entertaining.

He is highly charismatic and energetic on stage, which, at least when he is seen live, tends to overcome any shortcomings. Part of this performance concerned Brown giving thoughts on 'living in the moment', which felt a little trite at points. Also, some of the act involved the use of hypnosis in a way that didn't feel particularly original, especially given the range of Brown's previous performances.

However, overall, the show was very enjoyable. Many of Brown's tricks are built up slowly, with parts of them introduced as trivia or asides, only to be built into the act later. Also, there appeared to be misdirection in the explanations he gave for some of the tricks, which created a great sense of mystery, and made one think about the performance for several days after it was over.

Derren Brown in definitely someone to watch live, with even his more generic performances sticking in the memory.

Review- The gendered brain

The Gendered Brain: The New Neuroscience That Shatters the Myth of the Female Brain by Gina Rippon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Although this book focused on reviewing purported sex differences between male and female brains, it also gives an introduction to some aspects of neuroscience, such as child development. The central argument is that sex differences in brain structures are generally smaller than are typically supposed, and that even where they exist, their connection to social behaviour is often unclear.

The main reason why I think that the book is a success is because Rippon has a good understanding of the social sciences, which enables her to question how to structure categories, and which of the variables being measured is dependent on the other. For example, Rippon gives many examples of situations where a brain difference has been described as the cause of social behaviour, as if the causation is beyond question. However, in such a case, there are many possibilities, including:

1) The brain differences cause the differences is social behaviour.
2) The social behaviour causes the brain differences.
3) The brain differences are incidental to the social behaviour.
4) The metrics used in the differentiation are social constructions rather than properly discreet categories.
5) There are errors in the study's design.

Given what Rippon states about brain plasticity, that is, the ability of the brain to 're-shape' itself as a result of experience, determining the chain of causality, that is, distinguishing between 1) and 2) in the above list, may be more of a philosophical rather than scientific task.

It seems to be the case that most humans believe that identifying sex is very important- Rippon gives example of this in infants, who are able to tell the difference between male and female voices. That phenomena is also apparent in other circumstances, such as the worry that is sometimes felt by people who don't know the sex of someone they meet. I wonder whether this urge is behind the passion by which the topic has often been pursued.

The structure of the book is a little wayward at times, filled with digressions, but not in a way that I found distracting. The author is witty and urbane, making the book easy to read, despite the complexity of the topic, and the large weight of references in relies on. The wider perspective that Rippon brings to the topic makes the book enjoyable and interesting.



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Short story published

One of my stories is going to be published by 'Here Comes Everyone' as part of their 'Gods and Monsters' edition.

https://hcemagazine.com/

Review- The boy in the striped pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a curious book. It is essentially a fable, or perhaps a fairy tale set in a fantasy version of Nazi Germany. The protagonist is a nine year old boy called Bruno, whose life is overturned when his father becomes a commandant at Auschwitz. The family moves to the concentration camp, and Bruno is sad at leaving his friends and old school behind. However, he later befriends a Jewish prisoner with the same birthday as himself- Shmuel.

The writing is fast paced and engaging, and the descriptive language is often convincingly child-like, filled with repetition and striking imagery. Furthermore, Bruno is depicted as often being selfish but not unlikable- a difficult balance to draw.

There are a number of significant problems, however. Firstly, the characterization is lacking. Bruno is too obviously a literary conception of a child, simultaneously entirely innocent, missing the tone of events in a way real children rarely do, whilst also being too knowing. For example, he repeatedly refers to Hitler as 'The Fury', despite being regularly corrected. Nine year olds can generally pronounce words quite well. The relationship between Bruno and Shmuel isn't convincing. If Bruno really doesn't know anything about the camp, then it isn't obvious why he would want to be friends with someone with so little personality, who sits sadly and only talks about being hungry. Other characters are similarly flat- Bruno's father is strict, his mother worries and drinks, his sister is silly. Hitler is rude, but Eva Braun is nice.

Secondly, the depiction of Auschwitz is clearly unreal- Bruno is allowed to wander around unsupervised, making friends with a Jewish prisoner without anyone noticing. Shmuel is able to get another uniform and is often unguarded. The historical sense is so lacking that it may have been better to have either made the book obviously fantastical, or given it a science fiction setting.

These problems mean that the ending of the book, although dramatic, doesn't have great impact. In short, the novel is readable but the problems mean that it is not fully realized. The fable kind of works, but feels superficial, which is a shame.



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Review- The reason I jump

The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a difficult book to review. I understand that there are questions about the authenticity of the authorship, which I don't think need to addressed directly in a review, except to the extent that the translation is awkward in places, with the second person tense regularly used, and constant references to 'guys' and other language that it seems unlikely that a thirteen year old would use. This makes some of the passages cringe worthy.

The book is mostly written in sections that begin with a question about autism, followed by the author's answer. Subjective experience is almost invariably generalized, giving many section an odd quality, as it is obvious that the author's experiences or opinions cannot be universal amongst autistic people. For example, there are a number of bizarre flights of fantasy in which the author speculates that autistic people might be a throwback to earlier stages of human evolution, are outside civilization, or are somehow not complete people. Of course, the author is entitled to their view, but it is curious that on the one hand they are knowledgeable about autism, and on the other, seem to have no awareness of how critical many autistic self-advocates are about those kinds of ideas.

I found the book to be more informative when the author spoke about the physical disabilities that some autistic people experience. Those sections were mostly written in a less florid style and seemed more believable. Assuming the authorship to be genuine, this was an interesting account of a subject that is difficult to understand by those who do not experience it.

The book also contained a number of short works of fiction, which were of a similarly mixed quality. Some were fairy tales and were funny and interesting; the longer works were often tedious.

It is difficult to know whether to recommend this book; I think it would be misleading for anyone with no knowledge of autism. It should definitely be read with caution, but there are some interesting sections.



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Review- The decay of the angel

The Decay of the Angel by Yukio Mishima

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In this final book of the sea of fertility series, Honda, who was a main character in the previous books, is now an old man living in post second world war Japan, which is depicted as a vapid place populated by debauched people. After a chance encounter with an orphan, Toru, Honda decides to adopt the boy after seeing three moles on his chest, which he takes as a sign that Toru is a reincarnation of the three other iterations of the same people, each of whom was the focus of the previous books. Honda recognizes Toru as 'evil' but nevertheless, gives him an education in etiquette so that he can pass in society and be recognized as Honda's heir.

After receiving his education, Toru becomes a powerful figure in Honda's household and starts to brutally abuse him, to the point of occasional violence. Honda's friend, Keiko, informs Toru of his supposed history and berates him for being unworthy of his predecessors, accusing him of being a fake. This prompts Toru to try to commit suicide, perhaps in a parody of the tragic deaths of the other protagonists. However, he succeeds only in blinding himself. When Toru survives beyond the age that the others died, Honda believes that he is a fake and goes to see Satoko, the lover of the first supposed iteration (Kiyoaki), and now an abbess of a Buddhist temple. She reveals that she cannot remember anything of the events surrounding Kiyoaki, which causes Honda to doubt his own memory and life.

Although the author appears to want the reader to accept that Toru is a 'fake', it isn't obvious why this is the case. After all, Honda believed in the earlier reincarnations almost entirely on the basis that the three protagonists of the earlier novels had moles on their bodies in similar places. The fact that Toru lived longer than the previous protagonists doesn't obviously mean anything. Furthermore, it isn't clear why Toru should be considered evil. Toru is certainly selfish and abusive, but the protagonist of the second book- Isao- who was portrayed as wholly praiseworthy- was a fanatical nationalist who became a murderer. If Toru is an example of the supposed degeneracy of Japan after it abandoned its imperialist ambitions, then he is a much milder evil than Isao.

In these ways, the author's preoccupations warp the logic of the book. Of course, this novel is heavily associated with Mishima's actions after it was completed. Although Honda sometimes doesn't seem complex enough as a main character, the conclusion of the book brilliantly, and perhaps inadvertently, highlight his delusional beliefs in reincarnation. Perhaps Mishima had more in common with Honda than Isao, or at least feared that he did.

As was the case in the previous book in the series (Runaway Horses), the supporting characters are often shallow, as the author appears to believe that Japanese people who aren't ethnic nationalists must be petty and weak. Furthermore, many things and people are called 'Western' or 'Westernized' as if the reader should know what that means- as if (for example) different types of rooms in 'The West' are all the same.

The decay of the angel is therefore a flawed book, but it is also, in many ways, a brilliant one. As described above, the ending is highly illuminating, if not necessarily in the way the author intended. Many of the descriptive passages are sublimely beautiful, and the psychology of Toru is well handled. Certainly, a worthy end to a magical series.



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Review- The temple of dawn

The Temple of Dawn by Yukio Mishima

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The third book in the sea of fertility series is by far the weakest of the tetralogy, but still contains some wonderful prose in places.

Unlike the first two books, the main protagonist of this novel is Honda, now a wealthy lawyer. Unfortunately, he isn't interesting enough to carry the story. At this stage in the series, he is cynical and tired of life, but not in a striking or original way. The main plot, in which Honda schemes with socialite Keiko to seduce a young girl, is inferior when compared to the earlier books in the series. Keiko has an American boyfriend- a point that is often emphasized disapprovingly, and surrounds herself with childish pseudo intellectuals.

Although the author repeatedly references Honda's strict adherence to reason, it isn't evidence in Honda's behaviour. In fact, his beliefs often seem bizarre- such as when he comes to the conclusion that his former friends have been reincarnated as a princess on the basis that she has moles in the same place on her body.

Honda is fascinated by reincarnation and Buddhism, and there are long passages in the book devoted to summarizing ideas about the topics in different cultures. These sections are extremely dull and entirely detract from the plot, to the point where I skipped many of them. The novel would have been better had they been excised.

I wonder whether the problems of this novel stem from Mishima's political beliefs being too all-encompassing for him to create characters with opinions that opposed his own. There is a strong sense of crude nationalism in this, as if Japan's defeat in the second world war meant that its people had nothing better to do than talk nonsense and become pepping toms, as exemplified by Imanishi, an associate of Keiko: a dull, unbelievable character. The narrative of Japan's decline after the war can only be achieved by artfully avoiding any mention of Japan's actions during it.

A further example of this is Mishima's odd references to 'Westernness' at various points throughout the novel. People, items of furniture, and other things are called 'Western' as if it was a descriptive phrase or should tell the reader something. The most absurd example of this in when Keiko is described as having led a Western lifestyle, which means that she has longer legs than other Japanese women. This is a silly fantasy born of ethnic nationalism.

Having said all of that, what makes the novel readable is Mishima's wonderful, elegiac style. Such a great writer has the ability to make nonsense seem believable, and if the characters in this novel fall flat, the descriptive passages are often beautiful and incredibly elegant. When one reads a series such as the sea of fertility, it must be done as the author intended.



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Review- Odessa stories

Odessa Stories by Isaac Babel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


These stories are set around the time of the Russian revolution, and are split into three sections. The first set of stories are based around the exploits of a series of colourful gangsters. Some of them feature historical figures, but the tone feels decidedly apocryphal. The next section contains a series of connected tales about a Jewish boy growing up in Odessa. After his family become caught up in a pogrom, he is forced to change the way he lives to survive. The final and much shorter section gives an overview of Odessa and its people.

I think that the stories in the second section were by far the strongest. The environment described is rich and evocative; the stories depict a crude antisemitism, in which, for example, only a small percentage of Jewish children were allowed into particular schools. This encouraged parents to look for any advantage for their children, including forcing them to study obsessively, and, in some cases, turning to crime. The voice of the child is evocative, and there are many memorable scenes, particularly in 'The story of my dovecote', when the boy's dream of owning dove's is brutally crushed during a pogrom following the 1905 revolution.

The first set of stories felt similar to some modern gangster films, in which the criminals are honorable and elegantly spoken, spending their gains on the areas they come from. As such, they are enjoyable, but feel a little silly at times. They don't contain the realism present within the stories in the second section. Furthermore, I found that there were too many characters introduced in quick succession, making the plots hard to follow in places. Possibly, the book was written for readers who at least know the legend of some of the characters.

Overall, this collection gives a strong sense of the Odessa during the time of the Russian empire and shortly after the 1917 revolution, of a city with a sizeable Jewish population, much of which was forced into surviving through shady business dealings, but who, nevertheless, were proud of the city. It is a fast paced and enjoyable book.



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