Published in 1980
Don't remember much about it. Was a very dark book...
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Dusklands
By JM Coetzee
Published in 1974
Two novelettes, one about a scientist and Nam veteran who has a breakdown while doing research for the US government and the other about a South African colonizer who has his revenge on an impudent tribe of Hottentots. Both stories unflinchingly examine the rational western man who sets himself up to defeat/civilize the 'barbarians'. Coetzee reveals inside these men a barbarian much like the ones they imagine they are fighting. Of course this barbarian neither protagonists (if one can really call these men so) recognizes let alone attempts to fight.
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
By Daniyal Mueenuddin
Published in 2009
Very well-crafted stories. I'm not a fan of short stories but I enjoyed this book. Mueenuddin writes about a Pakistan that most English-language Paki writers avoid (mostly because they know nothing about it). The book has made it into all the major publication's books of the year lists. And for good reason.
Life of Pi
By Yann Martel
Published in 2001
Quite enjoyed it. Am sorry I resisted reading it for so long!
Dominance without Hegemony
By Ranajit Guha
Published in 1999
A bold book that tries to fit India's colonial experience into a surprisingly simple theoretical model. The thesis is that the British bourgeoisie retained control of India for centuries without achieving hegemony, which can be understood as winning the ability to speak for the ruled rather than dictate to them. The colonizer never managed to assimilate the colonised through persuasion, choosing instead to use coercion, heralding his own demise. The Indian nationalists too according to Guha have pursued dominance of India without hegemony causing them to rely too much on coercion to perpetuate their rule. Guha's book affords a very interesting way of looking at the non-cooperation movement by drawing a conceptual distinction between subaltern and elite politics.
The Mirage of Power: An Inquiry into the Bhutto Years
By Dr Mubashir Hasan
Published in 2000
Not much to say about this one. As one of the leaders of the PPP and a member of Zulfi's cabinet one would think he'd have a lot of insight into those years but really it was almost entirely devoid of anything that could remotely resemble an inquiry. It was a cross between a poorly written biography and a half-hearted scholarly rebuttal of charges against his failings as the finance minister.
There are some interesting insights into the transformation in Bhutto's character over his term in power but by and large Hasan steers clear of the bigger picture. Instead he studiously chronicles his own experience in office, refusing to comment on the PPP government as a whole, its failings, the difficulties it faced, the mistakes it made. In fact he even avoids a serious defense of PPP's nationalisation policy, which he oversaw. He does not discuss its logic in much depth, assess his success, explain his shortcomings or question the policy. Overall, it's a dull plodding read meant mostly for unfortunate historians who will have to pore over these unreadable pages scouring for some scrap of real information that might just have slipped through Hasan's recollections.
Wolf Hall
By Hilary Mantel
Very enjoyable. A page turner in the most unexpected way. It wasn't that the plot was supremely gripping but just that Cromwell is such a great character and you get so taken by his charm and become so invested in his rise. When it ended I found myself wishing there were a few hundred more pages to read, which for a book that's already around 700 pages is quite a feat.
The Childrens Book
By AS Byatt
Published in 2009
Quite charming. If you're up to the task of reading some 700 pages of a somewhat slow-paced but nonetheless interesting novel, then please try it. She has a way with the characters. The fact that she can write about nearly 30 different characters and their unfolding lives in one novel is a great feat. The fact that their lives are a bit like soaps (unexpected parentage, unwanted pregnancies, rebellious daughters and such) but thankfully without the melodramatic style.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)