Devon Book Club discussion
Bits and Bobs
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Introducing the Empathy Library
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Interesting. I see they've got Rohinton Mistry's wonderful novel as a 'full marks' book in their top 10 list: A Fine Balance. It is one of the five best novels I have ever read!!
Mod
Yes, I loved it too. Not sure I'd count it among the top 5 but I certainly enjoyed it. What are the other 4 in your top 5?
Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "Interesting. I see they've got Rohinton Mistry's wonderful novel as a 'full marks' book in their top 10 list: A Fine Balance. It is one of the five best novels I have ..."Okay, I would also have top 5 lists in numerous other categories: nationality of authors/settings, time periods, styles/genres/ etc. etc. More accurately, (I think) 'A Fine Balance' is one of my top 5 novels for encouraging empathy. However, it is also among the top 5 for: 'Contemporary Literature from India' (obvs, not Lit in Translation) and for 'Lit from former commonwealth countries'. It is also just one of the first I think of when people with similar tastes just want something new, but wonderfully good to read - as in ... I know we have lots of books we've already read in common, but they might just love: ... As well as the Mistry, the ones that always come to mind are: Shirley Hazzard's The Great Fire, Alice Munro's Lives of Girls and Women, Nadeem Aslam's (anything, but especially) The Wasted Vigil, and Nicola Barker's Darkmans - which I always describe as 'Middlemarch on speed'. I've reread them all several times, and will no doubt reread them more. But yes, as far as 'top books' go they don't approach a 12x rereading of 'Middlemarch' or 'Daniel Deronda'.
Mod
Thanks Carol. I confess to not having read (or heard) of any of them but thats whats so good about this group - lots of new reads.
OK -my top books would include right at the top of the very small pile that ever get 5 stars:
Crime and Punishment The Tin Drum; A Scots Quair: Sunset Song, Cloud Howe, Grey Granite;
To the End of the Land; Kafka on the Shore; Anna Karenina; Swann's Way
A Suitable Boy
Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "Interesting. I see they've got Rohinton Mistry's wonderful novel as a 'full marks' book in their top 10 list: A Fine Balance. It is one of t..."Oh yes, agree completely about hearing of new reads, especially when they are ones that are already on the TBR pile and I just need the extra push to bring them to the top. Of your list also agree about 'C&P', 'The TD' (which I've only recently re-read following GG's death, plus 'Cat & Mouse'), 'AK' and 'SW'. I guess I'd put them into separate Russian/German-Polish/ & French, best 'classics' (or something) lists! I do mean to read 'A Sc Qu' & the Murakami, but do not know the others - so will investigate. My only surprise is the Seth. I tried to read it not long after 'A Fine Balance' and while it was a ... page turner (which is not generally my measure of a good book!) I decided to give up and read the rest of Mistry, and then other contemp Indian Lit. I've still got it, and may go back to it, but ... Why do you like it so much?
Mod
I loved the characters and actually felt a bit bereaved when I finished it as I felt I got to know them (but A Suitable Girl is due for release in a year or so as a sequel, so that's good as I want to know what's happened to them all) but I also found the insights about Indian culture, economy, caste and politics enjoyable. I thought it covered the geo political landscape really well.
Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "Interesting. I see they've got Rohinton Mistry's wonderful novel as a 'full marks' book in their top 10 list: A Fine Balance. It is one of t..."Wow, you don't give out 5* very often, Ian. I have to admit that I am far less discerning and dole out 5* to any book that I REALLY enjoyed. I really need to use a scoring system out of 10 so that I could give lots of 9s and save 10* for my absolute favourites. My current top 2 are Patrick Gale's Notes from an Exhibition (and I can't even explain why that one moved me so much) and Captain Corelli's Mandolin which is a new addition to my top favourites. However, it sounds like I should read A Fine Balance and see if it can displace some of favorites 5*s!! ;-)
I love the idea of the empathy library. My husband forwarded me an article, a couple of years ago, from the scientific journal "Science" on a study that showed that reading "good" literary fiction does actually improve your empathy (they called it "Theory Of the Mind")- it was entitled "Reading Literary Fiction Improves Theory of the Mind" by David Comer Kidd and Emanuele Castano (Science Vol. 342 no. 6156 pp. 377-380)and you can see the abstract at http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342... The editor of the journal summarised it thus: "Theory of Mind is the human capacity to comprehend that other people hold beliefs and desires and that these may differ from one's own beliefs and desires. The currently predominant view is that literary fiction—often described as narratives that focus on in-depth portrayals of subjects' inner feelings and thoughts—can be linked to theory of mind processes, especially those that are involved in the understanding or simulation of the affective characteristics of the subjects. Kidd and Castano (p. 377, published online 3 October) provide experimental evidence that reading passages of literary fiction, in comparison to nonfiction or popular fiction, does indeed enhance the reader's performance on theory of mind tasks. " So we can read good books happy in the knowledge that we are improving our minds :-)
Mod
I am a bit sparing with teh 5* Ellen - has to be really top book. I agree that 5 stars doesn't give that much room for differentiating but, hey, its not scientific. All for fun. What an interesting article - I'll post that on FB as well on your behalf.
Devon Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
A Fine Balance (other topics)Notes from an Exhibition (other topics)
A Fine Balance (other topics)
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (other topics)
A Fine Balance (other topics)
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"The library is founded on the belief that empathy can transform both our own lives and the societies we live in. As the novelist Ian McEwan put it, 'Imagining what it is like to be someone other than yourself is at the core of our humanity. It is the essence of compassion, and it is the beginning of morality.' There is now plenty of research showing that books and films are a great way to help us make the imaginative leap of empathy". - See more at: http://empathylibrary.com/about-the-l...