Mark Reece's Blog, page 14

Review- What is Life?

What Is Life?: Five Great Ideas in Biology by Paul Nurse

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A very interesting and well written book, Paul Nurse describes what he calls five great ideas of biology. These are cell theory (the idea that all living things are either a cell of collection of cells), genes, evolution, life as chemistry, and life as information. The writing is very straightforward, almost childlike in places in the clarity of the ideas expressed and the author's passion for them, but also dense with information. I read a lot about biology but still learnt a great deal from the book. Nurse writes that biologists often struggle to detail grand ideas, instead getting caught up in the detail of their findings. If that is the case, then What is Life is a good corrective.

The final chapter feels a little naive, in which the author implores people to follow the science and take more care over issues that affect everyone, such as climate change. Still, one can hardly expect anything other than optimism from such a worldview.

The one thing that would have been useful would have been a suggested list of further reading, as many of the points demand further study. However, this is a great popular science book that I would widely recommend.



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Review- Toddler Hunting and other stories

Toddler-Hunting & Other Stories by Taeko Kōno

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There is a very strong authorial voice in these stories, not in the sense that the author has a moral that they want to portray to the reader, but in the way that the atmosphere, the aesthetic, is overwhelming after only a few pages. The protagonists are all middle aged Japanese women, either not particularly happily married, or not particularly happy not being married; in either case, there is a pervading sense of alienation and unease.

There is also a certain psychological distance between the characters and the reader, and themes of sadomasochism and fantasies of violence flow through the stories. The relationships between husbands and wives, or men and their mistresses, are examined minutely, and often turn on a few words spoken or not spoken, the tone used, an emphasis placed or not. Many of the protagonists challenge or reject notions of 'femininity', often in repugnant ways. In particular, many of the women in the stories are lonely and fantasize about harming children. There are also hints of abuse and pedophilia in some of the stories, although always elusive, never directly stated, perhaps indicating the nature of child abuse itself. The tone throughout is truly unpleasant, but never in a way that is showy or gratuitous; the protagonists hardly seem worse than the expectations placed on them.

An interesting aspect of many of the stories is the timing of the endings, which often occur just before the plot strands start to become explicit. This may upset some readers, but as a way to highlight the way that abuse occurs out of sight, it is a brilliant device.

The feminist angle of the stories is shown perhaps most dramatically in the titular story- 'Toddler Hunting', telling the story of a woman who despises female infants, but who has an unhealthy obsession with baby boys. In the hands of lesser writers, such a plot line may seem designed to shock, but in the story, the idea is so naturally woven into the character's mindset that it becomes natural.

A brilliant collection of stories, which will certainly divide opinion, as perhaps they should.



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Review- Wisden 2021

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2021 by Lawrence Booth

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The 2021 wisden is shorter than usual, although still 1,248 pages long. The quality of the writing is as good as ever, and the cricket is almost incidental to it. Putting aside the match reports, there are the usual mix of articles, placing cricket within a social context around the world. There are also stories of animals stopping play, a cricketer being attacked by a monkey, etc.

Everyone who likes cricket should read the wisden, and perhaps some who don't, too.



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Review- Earthlings

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Murata is becoming one of my favourite authors. This book won't be for everyone, but anyone who enjoys literature that describes extreme alienation, such as Kafka or Gogol, is likely to love this.

The protagonist of the novel, Natsuki, has an overwhelmingly strong sense that society is a factory that aims to reproduce itself, which means that all the brainwashed participants will pressurize those who don't want to work or produce babies into becoming 'good components'. This sense is akin to a monomania, and in the world the author paints, every social interaction revolves around that goal. In Earthlings, all the characters are simultaneously intense, and psychologically flat; everyone has the same goal that they stick with throughout their life, which they pursue obsessively- either to join or escape the 'factory'. This means that although each scene is tense, there is a strong air of unreality early on.

As a child, Natsuki conceives the idea that she is an alien, and this enables her to look on the activities of the 'earthlings' with ironic detachment. The book is very funny on occasion, as when members of her family press her to study or to find a husband, Natsuki never brings any energy, and always sees through the pretensions of the people around her. She notes, deadpan, that her sister's hairiness will be a problem because it will prevent her from becoming a productive tool for the factory. Natsuki is severely alienated by the restrictions placed upon her, be it the expectations of woman, or that of compliant workers, to the extent that she struggles to share any experiences with people around her.

Her flat detachment also enables her to survive episodes of sexual abuse, and to view all relationships with the same irony that she views everything else. Given that she has so little inner life, Natsuki does not display obvious emotional damage as a result of the abuse, which instead, only confirms her suspicions about the motivations of the 'factory'. She notes, deadpan, that there is no reason why adults should be so outraged when children have sex with each other, when adults have sex with children all the time without anyone caring.

The only people Natsuki can connect with are her cousin, Yuu, who also believed he was an alien as a child, and her husband, Tomoya, who she meets on a website for people who need to get married to satiate their parents but who dislike sexual contact. After marrying Tomoya, Natsuki is able to live her own life to a greater extent, but this freedom ends when she fails to become pregnant, and the nature of her marriage becomes apparent. The subsequent confrontation with her relatives sets up the final sequence of the book, which rapidly becomes hilariously grotesque, as the necessarily limited rebellion of the 'aliens' reaches its destructive conclusion.

In one sense, the novel is limited by its psychological crudity, but that allows the author to create a world with an internal coherence and logic that are entirely compelling. It will be interesting to see whether Murata's future books depict a similarly closed world; in any case, I greatly enjoyed this book and will be interested to follow her next steps.



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Review- This paradise

This Paradise by Ruby Cowling

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Overall, this was an enjoyable short story collection. Several of the stories are experimental in form, which can be annoying, but is generally done well here. In particular, 'The ground is considerably distorted', is told using both conventional narrative, and in social media updates that run down the sides of the page. This creates an interesting contrast between what the characters are thinking and what they are publically announcing, and also enables the story to be viewed in different ways, depending on which order the narrative is read.

For me, the standout story was 'Flamingo Land', a close to reality tale about a family whose social security payments require them to be within a particular weight range, forcing them to take a series of desperate measures around weighing time.

A few of the stories didn't work quite as well; I'm not convinced that the author has an accurate view of computer games, for example, meaning that her stories focused on that subject weren't as effective. However, this was an original and interesting collection, that I hope the author builds on.



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Review- The Beak of the Finch

The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time by Jonathan Weiner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was a very interesting book. Many works on evolutionary biology discuss the topic in overarching terms, with a focus on evolutionary change as it appears over long period of time. By contrast, The Beak of the Finch gave a much more detailed case study, which was interesting both in showing the practicalities of how scientific research is conducted, and also how evolution can occur very rapidly in harsh environments.

Most of the book focuses on the work carried out by Peter and Rosemary Grant, a husband and wife team who devoted many years to studying finches on the Galapagos islands. They carried out their work with great diligence- trapping birds to mark them, recording their ancestry, and studying aspects of their environment, including, for example, the availability and hardness of the nuts the birds feed on. This careful research enabled the grants to record evolutionary change in real time. It is fascinating to know that during a drought, a difference of less than a millimeter in beak size was often the difference between life and death. This harsh selection pressure led to a rapid change in the peak size of the birds within a few generations.

The passion of the Grants for their science is evident in the writing, which lovingly describes the care they took over their work, in addition to their care for the finches and other wildlife on the islands. The book has a novelistic in passages where the Grants' lifestyle and thoughts are described (this does get slightly strange in places, where their clothing and mannerisms are noted at some length).

Although heavily focused on the finches, the book also touches upon similar empirical studies that show evolutionary change over a small number of generations, including guppies and pesticide resistant insects. The latter subject was particularly interesting in the description of how the speed of the change took pesticide companies by surprise. The book has made me want to read some of the original studies.

All in all, a very fine popular science book, which has developed me understanding of the topic considerably.



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Review- BRB's cinderella

BRB's first full length ballet since Covid was performed at the Birmingham REP. The arena probably wasn't ideal for this kind of performance- the stage looked a little small, and the musicians couldn't all sit together. However, the set looked great, and was skillfully used to maximize the space.

The two ugly step sisters were for me the stand out performers, regularly stealing the show with their comedic bad dancing, although they also showed real spite in the kitchen scenes.

Miki Mizutani was lovely in the title role, portraying a retiring sweetness. It was perhaps a little curious that she was not on stage more often.

The sequence with the stars (that is, the dancers playing the roles of stars) was also wonderful: highly choreographed, and dazzling.

I'm very much looking forward to the BRB going back to the Hippodrome later this year, but this was a very enjoyable performance, which also felt highly suited to a time in which the lock down is coming to an end.

Review- Zuleika Dobson

Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A very curious book. Zuleika Dobson is so stunningly beautiful and charming that any man she meets falls in love with her. After getting into an all male Oxford college because her uncle is a warden there, she soon has a devoted following amongst the undergraduates, most notably the Duke of Dorset, a snobbish and highly reserved man, who is also the sole member of an ancient society. The Duke has hitherto been resistant to any kind of relationship with women, but instantly falls in love with Zuleika, which makes her reject him, as she cannot love anyone who loves her. The Duke then pledges to commit suicide, and when the other undergraduates discovers his promise, they all do the same, including boys who have never met her.

In outline, the plot sounds as if it has a misogynistic tinge, but the satire is so pronounced and silly that this isn't really so. The only character who is anything other than a caricature is the Duke, and there are some very funny lines sending up his pretension. For example, he worries for a long time that his ancient society would die out with him, so he often considers suitable people for membership in his role as president (seconding himself in his other role as vice-president). However, until the fateful term, he feels that he has to reject the candidates as never quite living up to his standards. He reads the result of the vote of one to himself.

Part way through the novel is a bizarre chapter, where the author reveals that they are acting under the auspices of the classical Greek gods, who intended the events to occur, although they are (of course) above organizing the more vulgar details, such as the Duke tripping over and hunting his ankle one day. This perhaps indicates a parallel with The Illiad, making a mockery of the pretensions of the undergraduates.

Meanwhile, Zuleika's uncle, the warden of the college, believes that the students are playing a prank on him when they do not turn up to an after boat race dinner (having all drowned themselves), so does not deign to make any comment on events. He does not seem particularly concerned even after learning the truth- perhaps similar things happen every year? There may well be many in-jokes that are only known to people who have attended Oxford.

This is a book where everything is sacrificed to farce; it will appeal to people who enjoy the anarchic humour of novels such as A confederacy of dunces, or Tristan Shandy. That crowd includes me.



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Birmingham royal ballet- curated by Carlos

I recently saw Curated by Carlos, which is the first performance put on by the Birmingham Royal Ballet since the lock down. With the Hippodrome still shut, this took place in the REP, which probably isn't ideal for the purpose; there wasn't enough space for all the orchestra to be together, although the company improvised well, and it felt great to have a live performance again.

The first performance, 'city of a thousand trades' was in my view the weakest of the three. There was a contemporary feel, with voice overs and props that the dancers regularly moved around the stage. The messages about inclusion and migrant's journey into Birmingham felt a little forced, particularly the voice overs.

The second performance, Imminent, had a more classical feel, and had an interesting backdrop, with a door in the back of the stage gradually opening throughout the performance, ending with the dancers walking through. The link between the events on stage and climate change (mentioned in the programme), wasn't immediately obvious (without having read the programme beforehand, I thought the ballet had a fantasy theme). Nevertheless, there was some wonderful dancing and the set was very evocative.

The final performance was split into three parts, as a violinist, then a guitarist, followed by a pianist, performed Bach. The dancing was rigorous, based on a highly synchronized sequence where the dancers moved between four lines.

All in all, the performance was well worth waiting for. Carlos Acosta's start as the Birmingham Royal Ballet's director has been long delayed by Covid; here's hoping that this is the first of many premiers.

Review- Mrs Dolloway

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I didn't get very far with this, as I found the writing style turgid, with too much work required for what was being said.

Given the status of the book, perhaps it's one that I'll try again in a few years.



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