This book is based on the extraordinary and gut-wrenching story of Lali Sokolov, (formerly Eisenberg), and his survival through three years of being at Auschwitz, and his torturous journey home to Slovakia in order to find his family and reunite with the love of his life, (Gita), whom he met in the camp.
The book has been disparaged by some who claim it is not an authentic or factually accurate enough story of the Holocaust, despite being based on the true story of Lali. Despite the author working with historians, other experts of the Holocaust claim there is too much dramatic license used.
Despite this, the story is powerful and moving - anyone with a layman's understanding of the Holocaust will be able to recognise symbols and landmarks used, from the slave labour to the gas chambers. Lali (spelled Lale in the book) is a clever man with a survival for instinct. He never makes friends with any of the guards - that would be impossible - but he knows what to do in order to collect favours and keep himself and his friends alive.
The love story between Lali and Gita is desperate, slow-moving, and high stakes. There is no way of telling in the novel whether they end up together or not, which adds to the already compelling nature of the story.
As a whole, I found the writing a bit rushed at times - this may be due to the nature of it having been written as a screenplay first - but the characters and relationships between them were absorbing enough to gloss over that at times.
This story isn't - and was never intended to be - a truly deep insight into the Holocaust itself. No single book could ever do that. But it is a powerful story of love, survival, and humanity against all odds.
Friday, 10 May 2019
Monday, 29 April 2019
Review: The Effortless Mind: Meditation for the Modern World, Will Williams
Note: I received a proof copy of the book in exchange for a review.
"The Effortless Mind is renowned meditation teacher Will Williams' must have guide for modern-day meditators. Suffering from chronic stress and insomnia, Will undertook years of research and training with leading experts from around the world, which led him to find the cure he was looking for in Beeja meditation."
This book is such a powerful, fulfilling, and important read. It's not just about meditation, but about the science and psychology of it as well. Will starts with an engaging and clear breakdown about our evolutionary brain - most notably, the role of the fight or flight response. It is this understanding of our brain which underpins the whole book and why meditation is so important and useful. In a world in which our fight or flight response is triggered most of the time, when it is biologically meant to be in case of emergencies only, we need to find ways to put our minds at rest and recalibrate.
Will doesn't just explain the theory, though. He includes extensive personal stories in the book - not only of his own journey but those of his clients as well. All of it comes back to a particular form of meditation known as Beeja Meditation, the purpose of which is to calm one's brain down by playing a personalized sound in your mind for twenty minutes, twice a day.
As stress affects so many parts of the human biology and psychology, it follows that resting affects them positively. Beeja Meditation, as attested by the many stories in this book, is one provable form of effective self-care. Clients' stories in this book range from the open-minded to the highlight skeptical, but they all end with one conclusion - Beeja Meditation has helped them for the better.
Will doesn't just talk about Beeja Meditation, however. Throughout the book are different meditation exercises that are clearly explained for the reader to try. I did try some of them myself, and it is quite radical how much of a difference they make. There are some other practical, simple tips as well, designed purely to help us cope in a highly digital society, such as making your bedroom a digital free haven.
Overall, this is one of the most fascinating, fulfilling, and insightful books I have ever read. As Will says in the book, we simply are not built to be on high alert 24/7, with handfuls of days or weeks littered throughout the year to relax. Busyness should not be a sign of success - it's a toxic way of thinking that needs to stop. Good physical and mental health is the most basic and crucial of things to get right - and that should be our goal.
"The Effortless Mind is renowned meditation teacher Will Williams' must have guide for modern-day meditators. Suffering from chronic stress and insomnia, Will undertook years of research and training with leading experts from around the world, which led him to find the cure he was looking for in Beeja meditation."
This book is such a powerful, fulfilling, and important read. It's not just about meditation, but about the science and psychology of it as well. Will starts with an engaging and clear breakdown about our evolutionary brain - most notably, the role of the fight or flight response. It is this understanding of our brain which underpins the whole book and why meditation is so important and useful. In a world in which our fight or flight response is triggered most of the time, when it is biologically meant to be in case of emergencies only, we need to find ways to put our minds at rest and recalibrate.
Will doesn't just explain the theory, though. He includes extensive personal stories in the book - not only of his own journey but those of his clients as well. All of it comes back to a particular form of meditation known as Beeja Meditation, the purpose of which is to calm one's brain down by playing a personalized sound in your mind for twenty minutes, twice a day.
As stress affects so many parts of the human biology and psychology, it follows that resting affects them positively. Beeja Meditation, as attested by the many stories in this book, is one provable form of effective self-care. Clients' stories in this book range from the open-minded to the highlight skeptical, but they all end with one conclusion - Beeja Meditation has helped them for the better.
Will doesn't just talk about Beeja Meditation, however. Throughout the book are different meditation exercises that are clearly explained for the reader to try. I did try some of them myself, and it is quite radical how much of a difference they make. There are some other practical, simple tips as well, designed purely to help us cope in a highly digital society, such as making your bedroom a digital free haven.
Overall, this is one of the most fascinating, fulfilling, and insightful books I have ever read. As Will says in the book, we simply are not built to be on high alert 24/7, with handfuls of days or weeks littered throughout the year to relax. Busyness should not be a sign of success - it's a toxic way of thinking that needs to stop. Good physical and mental health is the most basic and crucial of things to get right - and that should be our goal.
Wednesday, 17 April 2019
New Review: The Strawberry Thief, Joanne Harris.
I was lucky enough to listen to, and meet, Joanne Harris in person when she visited Kenilworth as part of her book tour. Fans of Joanne Harris, most particularly her "Chocolat" series, will be delighted with 'The Strawberry Thief'. I was confident that I was going to love it, but even so, it's been a while since novel had me quite so spellbound as this did.
This can be read as a standalone novel, but I would recommend reading, at the very least, 'Chocolat' before this so you can have the better understanding of the characters and circumstances that led up to this point. Names like Armande, Narcisse (on whom much of the story hangs), and Zozie deserve to be known - honestly, you're doing yourself a favour if you read the three books that come before this one.
But anyway, back to the subject at hand. Vianne is feeling as settled as she can be in Lansquenet-Sous-Tannes, despite the call of the wind enticing her to move on. She has put down roots; the chocolaterie is well established and frequented, even during Lent; she has even almost made a friend in the Priest, Reynaud. She longs as only a mother does for her firstborn, Anouk, who is making a life for herself in Paris. Her second child, Rosette, is unlike any other child - but in a way that Vianne is sure will enable her to keep Rosette with her forever. Rosette is really the star of this book, but Vianne and Reynaud have important journeys to go on, as well.
The inciting event, as it were, is the death of Narcisse and the subject of his will. His daughter and son-in-law, absent for many years, have made many appearances for the past two years, which is of course nothing to do with the fact that Narcisse is nearing the end of his life and therefore set to leave a substantial inheritance. In a splendid trick that infuriates his daughter, he leaves her and her husband all of his land except for the most valuable part - a special wood which contains a strawberry field. This, he leaves to Rosette. He also makes Reynaud, whom he never particularly liked, the executor of his will, as well as leaving a long document for only Reynaud to read - a confession of sorts.
Vianne, though happier in a general sense, seems to suffer a consistent undercurrent of anxiety. Firstly over her children (as any parent can understand), but it becomes more acute when Narcisse's flower shop is let out. I won't write about who rents it and for what purpose, but what I will say is that it forces Vianne to confront things about herself that she thought she had quashed - for her own sake as well as her children. It's never really clear whether the proprietor of this shop is someone we are supposed to be wary of or empathise with - it depends whether you are reading from Vianne's or Rosette's POV, and more particularly if the name 'Zozie' means anything to you. However, what I will say - and this probably isn't too spoilery - is that this person seems, in some ways, to be a mirror image of Vianne, or the parts of Vianne that she feels she needs to put away.
Rosette is easily my favourite character in this book. She's talented, imaginative, open-hearted and guileless (for the most part). She's powerful, too, and what the rest of the town sees as 'wrong' with her (i.e. she doesn't necessarily present as neurotypical), is what makes her extraordinary. As the story goes on, we find out more about why she is the way she is. She is pulling the strings of a lot of different parts of the story, although she may not be aware of it.
I am so, so glad that Joanne Harris invited her readers back into this world with her. It has the right combination of freshness and familiarity, a good dose of mythology and magic, (I was most intrigued to find out that the word 'hurricane' is named after Hurakan, the Mayan god of the wind), and, of course, the sensual feast that compelled readers to love 'Chocolat' in the first place.
'The Strawberry Thief' is available in all the usual places, but if you get it from the link below, you get a beautiful signed edition that comes with a bonus short story:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-strawberry-thief/joanne-harris/9781409192169
This can be read as a standalone novel, but I would recommend reading, at the very least, 'Chocolat' before this so you can have the better understanding of the characters and circumstances that led up to this point. Names like Armande, Narcisse (on whom much of the story hangs), and Zozie deserve to be known - honestly, you're doing yourself a favour if you read the three books that come before this one.
But anyway, back to the subject at hand. Vianne is feeling as settled as she can be in Lansquenet-Sous-Tannes, despite the call of the wind enticing her to move on. She has put down roots; the chocolaterie is well established and frequented, even during Lent; she has even almost made a friend in the Priest, Reynaud. She longs as only a mother does for her firstborn, Anouk, who is making a life for herself in Paris. Her second child, Rosette, is unlike any other child - but in a way that Vianne is sure will enable her to keep Rosette with her forever. Rosette is really the star of this book, but Vianne and Reynaud have important journeys to go on, as well.
The inciting event, as it were, is the death of Narcisse and the subject of his will. His daughter and son-in-law, absent for many years, have made many appearances for the past two years, which is of course nothing to do with the fact that Narcisse is nearing the end of his life and therefore set to leave a substantial inheritance. In a splendid trick that infuriates his daughter, he leaves her and her husband all of his land except for the most valuable part - a special wood which contains a strawberry field. This, he leaves to Rosette. He also makes Reynaud, whom he never particularly liked, the executor of his will, as well as leaving a long document for only Reynaud to read - a confession of sorts.
Vianne, though happier in a general sense, seems to suffer a consistent undercurrent of anxiety. Firstly over her children (as any parent can understand), but it becomes more acute when Narcisse's flower shop is let out. I won't write about who rents it and for what purpose, but what I will say is that it forces Vianne to confront things about herself that she thought she had quashed - for her own sake as well as her children. It's never really clear whether the proprietor of this shop is someone we are supposed to be wary of or empathise with - it depends whether you are reading from Vianne's or Rosette's POV, and more particularly if the name 'Zozie' means anything to you. However, what I will say - and this probably isn't too spoilery - is that this person seems, in some ways, to be a mirror image of Vianne, or the parts of Vianne that she feels she needs to put away.
Rosette is easily my favourite character in this book. She's talented, imaginative, open-hearted and guileless (for the most part). She's powerful, too, and what the rest of the town sees as 'wrong' with her (i.e. she doesn't necessarily present as neurotypical), is what makes her extraordinary. As the story goes on, we find out more about why she is the way she is. She is pulling the strings of a lot of different parts of the story, although she may not be aware of it.
I am so, so glad that Joanne Harris invited her readers back into this world with her. It has the right combination of freshness and familiarity, a good dose of mythology and magic, (I was most intrigued to find out that the word 'hurricane' is named after Hurakan, the Mayan god of the wind), and, of course, the sensual feast that compelled readers to love 'Chocolat' in the first place.
'The Strawberry Thief' is available in all the usual places, but if you get it from the link below, you get a beautiful signed edition that comes with a bonus short story:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-strawberry-thief/joanne-harris/9781409192169
Friday, 12 April 2019
Review: The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, Deborah Rodriguez
In the middle of the Afghanistan conflict, a little coffee shop in Kabul stands as a testament to the determination to continue life as normal. Five women, wholly different and unconnected, come together and create ripples in the city.
Sunny, the cafe owner, is an American working in Kabul while her boyfriend is away. Yazmina is a young widow who got taken to the city to pay off a debt, and whom Sunny takes into her protection. Candace is a wealthy American woman who comes to Afghanistan to help her younger lover. Isabel is a British journalist searching for the story of her life. Halajan owns the building where the cafe is situated, and she is carrying a years-long secret of her own.
Religious and secular values collide in this story - the cafe serves as a microcosm for the many clashes of values facing Afghanistan during the conflict.
The author's rich experiences of living in Kabul shine through the story. Images of the city pour through every sentence, and despite the encroaching conflict it seems like a dynamic place to live. The heroism and courage of not only the primary characters but the host of unnamed secondary characters who carry on life as normal serves as a dramatic undercurrent - although the people are just trying to live their lives, it's always with the knowledge that a bomb could explode at any moment.
The strong bonds that these women form was one of my favourite parts of the novel. The way they look after each other, keep each other's secrets and support each other's projects and journeys show the importance of deep and meaningful relationships, particularly in such a fractious atmosphere where life can be counted in seconds and minutes.
It's definitely a book to set aside a good few hours to read in good chunks at a time, and I'll definitely be following up with the sequels soon.
Sunny, the cafe owner, is an American working in Kabul while her boyfriend is away. Yazmina is a young widow who got taken to the city to pay off a debt, and whom Sunny takes into her protection. Candace is a wealthy American woman who comes to Afghanistan to help her younger lover. Isabel is a British journalist searching for the story of her life. Halajan owns the building where the cafe is situated, and she is carrying a years-long secret of her own.
Religious and secular values collide in this story - the cafe serves as a microcosm for the many clashes of values facing Afghanistan during the conflict.
The author's rich experiences of living in Kabul shine through the story. Images of the city pour through every sentence, and despite the encroaching conflict it seems like a dynamic place to live. The heroism and courage of not only the primary characters but the host of unnamed secondary characters who carry on life as normal serves as a dramatic undercurrent - although the people are just trying to live their lives, it's always with the knowledge that a bomb could explode at any moment.
The strong bonds that these women form was one of my favourite parts of the novel. The way they look after each other, keep each other's secrets and support each other's projects and journeys show the importance of deep and meaningful relationships, particularly in such a fractious atmosphere where life can be counted in seconds and minutes.
It's definitely a book to set aside a good few hours to read in good chunks at a time, and I'll definitely be following up with the sequels soon.
Thursday, 11 April 2019
Review: The Long Forgotten, David Whitehouse
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review:
"When the black box flight recorder of a plane that went missing 30 years ago is found at the bottom of the sea, a young man named Dove begins to remember a past that isn't his. The memories belong to a rare flower hunter in 1980s New York, whose search led him around the world and ended in tragedy. Restless and lonely in present-day London, Dove is quickly consumed by the memories, which might just hold the key to the mystery of his own identity and what happened to the passengers on that doomed flight, The Long Forgotten."
"The Long Forgotten" takes us through the narratives of three individuals: Professor Cole, who finds a black box recorder in the belly of a whale; Peter Manyweathers, a lonely cleaner in New York who spends most of his days cleaning out the apartments of residents who died alone without being discovered for weeks, months, or even years; and Dove, a former foster child living in London who suffers from strange and acute headaches.
Dove, a complex young man with a troubled history and no idea of who his real parents are, starts remembering things that don't belong to him. However, he soon succumbs and becomes, if not addicted then intensely compelled by the memories. They belong to Peter Manyweathers, who finds a letter in a library reference book about flowers. The letter details some of the world's rarest flowers which Peter resolves to find. He teams up with a man called Hens, who troubles Peter on an instinctual level, but he's so desperate for friendship that he ignores these misgivings.
From cliff diving in Gibraltar to the depths of the jungle in Sumatra, the author paints a vivid world that non-botanist enthusiasts would otherwise be unaware of. The flowers that Peter and Hens hunt down are some of the world's rarest, strangest, and spectacular. David Whitehouse's writing throughout is vivid, engrossing, and heartbreaking. It's a page-turner that didn't necessarily appear so at first sight, but I was quickly absorbed and took the book with me everywhere just in the hopes of being able to snatch a few more pages. It has a bit of everything; romance; heart-wrenching moments; family drama; thrills; and a way of connecting characters that at first glance appear to be wholly unconnected. A brilliant read.
"When the black box flight recorder of a plane that went missing 30 years ago is found at the bottom of the sea, a young man named Dove begins to remember a past that isn't his. The memories belong to a rare flower hunter in 1980s New York, whose search led him around the world and ended in tragedy. Restless and lonely in present-day London, Dove is quickly consumed by the memories, which might just hold the key to the mystery of his own identity and what happened to the passengers on that doomed flight, The Long Forgotten."
"The Long Forgotten" takes us through the narratives of three individuals: Professor Cole, who finds a black box recorder in the belly of a whale; Peter Manyweathers, a lonely cleaner in New York who spends most of his days cleaning out the apartments of residents who died alone without being discovered for weeks, months, or even years; and Dove, a former foster child living in London who suffers from strange and acute headaches.
Dove, a complex young man with a troubled history and no idea of who his real parents are, starts remembering things that don't belong to him. However, he soon succumbs and becomes, if not addicted then intensely compelled by the memories. They belong to Peter Manyweathers, who finds a letter in a library reference book about flowers. The letter details some of the world's rarest flowers which Peter resolves to find. He teams up with a man called Hens, who troubles Peter on an instinctual level, but he's so desperate for friendship that he ignores these misgivings.
From cliff diving in Gibraltar to the depths of the jungle in Sumatra, the author paints a vivid world that non-botanist enthusiasts would otherwise be unaware of. The flowers that Peter and Hens hunt down are some of the world's rarest, strangest, and spectacular. David Whitehouse's writing throughout is vivid, engrossing, and heartbreaking. It's a page-turner that didn't necessarily appear so at first sight, but I was quickly absorbed and took the book with me everywhere just in the hopes of being able to snatch a few more pages. It has a bit of everything; romance; heart-wrenching moments; family drama; thrills; and a way of connecting characters that at first glance appear to be wholly unconnected. A brilliant read.
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Review: The End of Mr Y, by Scarlett Thomas
This has been on my bookshelf for years and for some reason, I kept putting it aside, or picking it up and beginning it before misplacing it for ages.
Last week, I finally picked it up again and determined to finish it.
Ariel, the main character, is a recently-started PhD student with a focus on literature and 'thought experiments'. However, her supervisor mysteriously disappears, and, on the day the book begins, a building close to Ariel's university building collapses.
On her way home, she stops in a second hand bookshop and cannot believe her eyes when she finds a rare copy of "The End of Mr Y", a book that is said to be cursed. She reads it, and it's about a scientist who meets a travelling magician, who shows him that it is possible to enter a dimension called the Troposphere and inhabit other people's minds.
Ariel, curious about the fiction/reality of the story, finds the recipe for the mixture used to enter this world, but then the trouble begins. Two men, decommissioned from the CIA, find her, desperate to find the recipe so they can sell it on the black market.
In between the high stakes of Ariel's escape from the clutches of these men are discussions of philosophy, exploration into love (which Ariel has never experienced), the freedoms and pitfalls of casual sex, and the ethics of changing History when given the opportunity. As far as entering the Troposphere goes, think "Inception" with the ability to inhabit other minds thrown in.
It's a story full of originality, thought-provoking discussions, humour and heartbreak.
Last week, I finally picked it up again and determined to finish it.
Ariel, the main character, is a recently-started PhD student with a focus on literature and 'thought experiments'. However, her supervisor mysteriously disappears, and, on the day the book begins, a building close to Ariel's university building collapses.
On her way home, she stops in a second hand bookshop and cannot believe her eyes when she finds a rare copy of "The End of Mr Y", a book that is said to be cursed. She reads it, and it's about a scientist who meets a travelling magician, who shows him that it is possible to enter a dimension called the Troposphere and inhabit other people's minds.
Ariel, curious about the fiction/reality of the story, finds the recipe for the mixture used to enter this world, but then the trouble begins. Two men, decommissioned from the CIA, find her, desperate to find the recipe so they can sell it on the black market.
In between the high stakes of Ariel's escape from the clutches of these men are discussions of philosophy, exploration into love (which Ariel has never experienced), the freedoms and pitfalls of casual sex, and the ethics of changing History when given the opportunity. As far as entering the Troposphere goes, think "Inception" with the ability to inhabit other minds thrown in.
It's a story full of originality, thought-provoking discussions, humour and heartbreak.
Wednesday, 6 March 2019
Review: The Point of Poetry, Joe Nutt
Note: I exchanged a free copy of this book in exchange for review.
I learned a new word as a result of this book - metrophobia, or the fear of poetry. As Joe Nutt hypothesises, most fear of poetry comes from a simple lack of understanding of poetry itself, or the point of it. The current way of teaching about it in secondary schools can also be a contributing factor - my own memory of learning about poetry at secondary school, (although it vastly improved at A Level as a result of my fantastic teacher), is simply analysing line by line, looking for poetic techniques to PEE (point, evidence, explain) to death, rather than looking at it holistically and most importantly, placing it in context.
What Joe Nutt is basically present what poetry teaching at school should look like, right down to not even putting the poem of each chapter at the beginning - they are, very deliberately, placed at the end. What this allows the reader to do is understand the context of the poem, a bit about the poet's life, and links to aspects of other poets and the culture of the time. Thus, by the time you get to the poem itself, you're more armed, so to speak, to fully enjoy the poem and also be able to technically read it better (e.g. The Prelude by Wordsworth).
Nutt's love and passion for poetry bleeds from the pages. I'd never disliked poetry as such, but I wouldn't really picture myself sitting down and reading and thinking about a book of poems, rather than a novel. This book has changed that for me. For example, I picked up a copy of Paradise Lost from my bookshelf, took a quick scan, and thought that I would never be able to make it through. The last chapter of Nutt's book has shown me that I can, although it would be wiser to take it in small chunks.
There were some things that Nutt said that I found myself disagreeing on, (see the part about 'safe spaces' at universities, as I think the whole concept has been unhelpfully trivialised), but for the most part, I connected to what he was saying, not just about the poems but the politics and culture that go along with it.
If you never got along with poetry at school, this is definitely a book to get you back into it. And for those who love poetry, anyway, this book will just be like a good conversation with an old friend.
I learned a new word as a result of this book - metrophobia, or the fear of poetry. As Joe Nutt hypothesises, most fear of poetry comes from a simple lack of understanding of poetry itself, or the point of it. The current way of teaching about it in secondary schools can also be a contributing factor - my own memory of learning about poetry at secondary school, (although it vastly improved at A Level as a result of my fantastic teacher), is simply analysing line by line, looking for poetic techniques to PEE (point, evidence, explain) to death, rather than looking at it holistically and most importantly, placing it in context.
What Joe Nutt is basically present what poetry teaching at school should look like, right down to not even putting the poem of each chapter at the beginning - they are, very deliberately, placed at the end. What this allows the reader to do is understand the context of the poem, a bit about the poet's life, and links to aspects of other poets and the culture of the time. Thus, by the time you get to the poem itself, you're more armed, so to speak, to fully enjoy the poem and also be able to technically read it better (e.g. The Prelude by Wordsworth).
Nutt's love and passion for poetry bleeds from the pages. I'd never disliked poetry as such, but I wouldn't really picture myself sitting down and reading and thinking about a book of poems, rather than a novel. This book has changed that for me. For example, I picked up a copy of Paradise Lost from my bookshelf, took a quick scan, and thought that I would never be able to make it through. The last chapter of Nutt's book has shown me that I can, although it would be wiser to take it in small chunks.
There were some things that Nutt said that I found myself disagreeing on, (see the part about 'safe spaces' at universities, as I think the whole concept has been unhelpfully trivialised), but for the most part, I connected to what he was saying, not just about the poems but the politics and culture that go along with it.
If you never got along with poetry at school, this is definitely a book to get you back into it. And for those who love poetry, anyway, this book will just be like a good conversation with an old friend.
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