Book Reviews: What ARE
people on the road reading? What exactly do people
on the road read these days? Is it still 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'?
What about Carlos Castanada - is he still cool? Send us you reviews - let us know
what you are reading. Was it a case of couldn't put it down, or did it end up
supplementing your toilet paper supply? Tell us the facts!
| Reviews: | | | | | New
books... Andrew Hicks
and Edith Mirante write in to tell us about
their books... Andrew has written a book that starts at Khao San Road (no... not
that book!) and Edith one on Burma... Click here for
more... | | |
| | | The following review was
offered by Cheri Boucher (curvygirly@hotmail.com):
| | | Disgrace -
JM Coetzee
Coetzee begins 'Disgrace' by capturing the imminent tone of
the novel. We watch the pursuits of David Lurie on his way to meet his exotic
prostitute. Aware himself of the depravity of the act we watch as his mind goes
through a myriad of emotions from desire, to helplessness, neediness and to acknowledgement
that his old grunts would excite noone. David Lurie is a man aware of his own
shortcomings but unable to resist the urges of the body. He imposes himself upon
a seemingly inexperiencenced and impressionable young girl. This short lived tepid
affair leads to a great change in circumstance for Lurie as he finds himself unable
to bend to academic rule and concede an apology. A journey begins for Lurie and
he decided to spend time with his daughter in her isolated smallholding. Initially
liberating the experience turns into an altogether darker affair with no form
of satisfying resolution. The book highlights polical disordence in the county
and affects a feeling of acute helplessness to deal with an inate savagery. Coetzee
writes with great style and has the ability to at once leave you empathising with
the characters but not necessarily pitying them, as they prove to be a product
of their own stubborn choices, without personal compromise. An interesting and
thought provoking - albeit fictional - insight into an altogether different basal
system. | | | | | | |
| The following reviews were offered by Cheri Boucher (curvygirly@hotmail.com):
| | | |
'Chocolat' - Joanne Harris
Wonderfully indulgent prose slinks together
a truly inspiring story. Erudite Vianne stumbles upon a sleepy French village
and sets it alight with her infectious good nature. The characters are brimming
with life, as delectable as their chocolate counterparts. Vianne Rocher is the
pivot of 'Chocolat' creating magic on the wisp of wind that takes her to where
she is needed. The story, the writing, the characters, the evil Pastor are all
tantalising. | | | 'The
Damage Done' - Warren Fellows
A compelling read. Fellows documents his
hellish time spent in a Bangkok jail for heroin trafficking. The book is harrowing
to say the least and you almost get a sense of voyeurism reading it. There are
also some glints of good, an insight to human nature, endurance and the overall
need for survival. Unfortunately there is no happy ending as the experience itself
proves to last longer than the jail term and completely be a life sentence. |
| | 'A Hundred Secret Senses'
- Amy Tan
A dazzling tale weaving strains of the past, present and future
into a whirl of cultural tapestry. Tan writes relationships beautifully, as the
main character comes to terms with what it means to be. Her weirdly exotic and
at once mundane sister paints an illusionary world that tries to catch up with
the protagonist. Japanese and American history and culture are developed with
imagination and vibrancy. | | | 'Memoirs
of a Geisha' - Arthur Golden
An eloquently told story of a poor young
girls journey through life, until becoming a Geisha. Ripped from poverty, thrust
into brutality and formed into splendour. A wonderfully told story that emphasis
differences in time and culture with modern Japan and its Western counterparts.
The novel offers an insight into Japanese views towards women, a very Freudian
virgin/whore demarcation. More than social or political commentary though, it's
a tale of glamour, aspiration, hope and more enduringly, love. |
| | 'Fury'' - Salmon Rushdie
Rushdie once again delivers us a wry look at a chosen time and place. Based in
New York the very flawed protagonist has purposely escaped his wife to unleash
a particular fury within him self. The novel deals with the disease of our times,
noise, congestion, consumerism, materialism and promiscuity. Relationships portrayed
are worthless and shallow, devoid of any meaning apart from an inherently selfish
need. The main character is fabulously male and his great love fabulously female.
Women are shown to be playthings of men, caricatures emphasising exoticness, beauty
and Nabokov's 'Lolita'. Well written, and look out for the star of the entire
book, the hilariously loquacious cab driver! | | |
'Geisha' - Liza Dalsby
More factual than fictional.
An interesting novel written by the only Western person to have experienced what
being a Geisha is like, Liza Dalsby - an Anthropologist. Opens up a mysterious
and eroticised world, offering a unique insight. All relationships are explored
along with customs. History is also alluded to. However, if you are looking for
an absorbing tale, this is not the novel for you. | | |
'Iris' - John Bailey
A truly wonderful
love story written by the lyrically acclaimed John Bailey. Bailey veers from over
sentimentalising the relationship with his once brilliant wife. Instead we are
offered a beautifully written account of their eclectic lives together. Spanning
forty plus years - a great myriad of love bursts through. You get a sense of nostalgia
whilst reading, recalling any trip you may have taken to Europe, such is the prose
that engulfs you. Charmingly written. | | |
| | | |
| The Banalization of Nihilism: Twentieth-Century Responses
to Meaninglessness' by Karen Leslie Carr |
| Reviewed
by Niall Maclachlan |
Niall Maclachlan | | | | This
is not only the best work that I have ever seen on the difficult subject of nihilism,
but it is possibly the most well-written work of non-fiction that I have ever
read. | | | | Carr
begins by describing how nihilism became conceptualized and articulated with the
onset of modernity. She then carefully defines her terms, clearly differentiating
aspects or modes of nihilism (alethiological, epistemological, moral, metaphysical,
and existential), in anticipation of what follows: a carefully considered analysis
of the conceptual development of nihilism, as traced through the thinking of Friederich |
| |
| Nietzsche (for whom nihilism was the great crisis of the
modern world, a terrific disease that threatened civilization, yet offered the
opportunity for a genuine affirmation of life by wiping out false and outmoded
valuations); theologian Karl Barth (for whom nihilism was the shattering precondition
of faith and genuine religiousity); and contemporary post-modernist critic Richard
Rorty (for whom nihilism would seem to be a welcome means of undermining or dissolving
the oppressive power structures of the status quo). Carr concludes by convincingly
arguing that the contemporary willingness to embrace nihilism wholesale as a liberating
conception, without careful consideration of its more harmful potentials, ultimately
undermines whatever liberating potentials it may hold, and, ultimately and ironically,
reinforces the status quo rather than undermining it. | | |
| Carr manages to make a good deal of sense out of extremely
difficult material; her work is highly readable and well presented. Recommended
reading for anyone with an interest in modern western intellectual history or
contemporary cultural criticism. If you are about to throw the baby out with the
bathwater, this book will make you think twice. | | |
| Cheers Niall - please give me a call. Me and you should
do some serious cruising. Yep - we should certainly hang for a while! |
| | | | | |
| "Jakarta Shadows" by Alan Brayne - Reviewed
by Jessica Sharland |
| | |
Murder, confusion and intrigue, Jakarta Shadows captures the undertones of
Indonesia, and the spirit of post-colonial change, a high speed adventure with
a difference........ Had me gripped from the first paragraph. Gin-sodden,
alienated aid worker, Graham, is caught up in an investigation into a series of
sex murders and manipulated by shadowy forces so he can't tell who, if anyone,
he can trust. He's far from your traditional square-jawed hero, but as the odds
against his survival mount, your sympathy for this flawed narrator grows: by the
time he faces interrogation by a malevolent but exquisitely polite stranger in
his own soulless living room I was shaking with terror along with him. I'm
not sure that I ever unravelled what was going on - I guess you're probably not
supposed to - but found it an immensely satisfying read. If you like Graham Greene,
JG Ballard or Alex Garland you'll love this. And if you're heading for Bali's
beaches, this'll give you a better glimpse under the surface of life in Indonesia
than any guidebook. What the press have said: Manchester
Evening News, May 11, 2002
Hot, damp, colourful, dirty...Superior debut
from Brayne...penetrating insight into the uncomfortable dynamics of a post-colonial
society. Sunday Mercury, May 5, 2002 Birmingham's excellent publishing house has
unearthed a winner in Mr. Brayne...Compelling and disturbing...a well-judged thriller.
The Bookseller, February 8, 2002
Echoes of Graham Greene...stylish,
thought-provoking thriller...reeks of the damp heat, violence and corruption of
Indonesia Synopsis: 'I glanced at the heavy flesh slumped in the chair next to
mine, too close for comfort. Something behind the eyes made my skin crawl.' Graham
Young, disenchanted and rootless aid-worker, is seeking gin-fuelled oblivion in
Jakarta's Hotel Platinum when a stranger intrudes into his comfortable ex-pat
life.
Jakarta is edgy after the fall of Soeharto, the country engulfed
in religious strife and violence. And Graham's escape routes are cut off as he's
pursued by detectives investigating a rash of sex killings. 'Sidestepping sinister
forces, Graham slides from a glitzy mall buzzing with would-be rich to the Moonbeam
for pool games with 'butterflies of the night'. But a thumbprint in blood, a student's
unwelcome attentions and malevolent interrogation ratchet up his paranoia.
Terror surfaces even on cloudless Bali. And around every corner loom the
shadows of treachery and unspoken guilt.' When you read Jakarta Shadows, you get
a sense that the experiences of central character Graham have been catalogued
by someone with real insider insight. Author Alan Brayne has been living
in Indonesia for years teaching English, you can write to him directly to find
out more about his experiences and the backdrop for Jakarta Shadows at alan_brayne@yahoo.co.uk.
There will be a free copy posted direct to your postal mail address if you are
the first visitor to write to Alan! Jakarta Shadows is now available in
Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and the UK soon to be on bookshelves throughout
SE Asia.
You can order a copy online from: www.amazon.co.uk
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