Book Review: THE BOOKS OF JACOB by Olga Tokarczuk

The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"For is it not so that our stories are told to us by others? We can know ourselves to the extent that others tell us who we are and what it is we're struggling to do."

Tokarczuk set out to tell the story of a failed Messiah (the historical figure Jacob Frank), whose radical view of Judaism made him undergo multiple conversions (as a Muslim, then as a Catholic) to pursue a greater truth, and who managed to amass an army of converts along the way. Jacob Frank may very well have started out being a pioneer in syncretism, or the combining of different paths to God, before being overcome by success and ordering his followers to do acts not fit for social media (but are written of as sins in our very own Old Testament).

The story is simple enough. The story behind the book's creation, and the continuing story of the immense backlash against its author, shows how its theme of truth-telling versus accepted prepackaged history still speaks intimately to Catholic Poland.

One comes away with the book greatly impressed by the author's act of Tikkun: any act for "the repair of the world, mending the holes in its fabric."

Reading this book made me reflect on the disorganized state of organized religion in my own country, where more than one person claims to be the son or prophet of God. This book makes its readers reflect: how can a messiah be considered "false?" Why do people long for a savior, be it in the religious or political sphere? It also suggests how ridiculous all religious conflicts can be, when analyzed in full light: wars fought over matters of semantics or poor translations. The peace and glory of God overshadowed by the petty pride of man.

"The Messiah is something more than a figure and a person -- it is the dearest and most precious human thought: that salvation exists."

The book's length may have been "necessary" in order to drive home the point that, like any other great faith's Great Book, organized religion is historically a group of texts carefully selected by men to promote their vision of what brings light to the world. But as a reader... I have to say, the length sucked. Haha!

It was just sooooooo loooooooong, around 900 pages! Also, the pages are numbered backwards. The numbered pages start at page 892 and end on page 27. The author said this is to emphasize how "every order, every system, is simply a matter of what you've got used to." It's also a tribute to how Hebrew is written.

To be brutally honest... had circumstances not forced me to be imprisoned in one room for the week it took to get through this mountain of a book, this would probably have suffered the fate of other DNF books (Don't worry, the quarantine wasn't due to COVID! But workers came to the house for badly-needed renovations).

But now that I'VE SURVIVED... I'm glad. This book is an unforgettable experience.

"The world itself demands to be narrated, and only then does it truly exist, only then can it flourish fully. But also that by telling the story of the world, we are changing the world."

View all my reviews

Book Review: THE ARCHITECT'S APPRENTICE by Elif Shafak

The Architect's Apprentice by Elif Shafak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"You think God is similar to you. Angry, rigid, eager for revenge... whereas I say: instead of believing that the worst in humans can be found in God, believe that the best in God can be found in humans."

Part love story, part mystery, this historical reimagining of the Ottoman empire at its height under Suleiman the Magnificent was a queer but apt choice for December 24 reading. I never would have thought, from the blurb, that this book was appropriate for our family's situation on Christmas eve, but it really was! Proof that sometimes books find us when we need them most.

A dear friend has been reading almost all of Elif Shafak's books and posting about them nonstop. Now that I've read my first Shafak, I think I begin to see why.

This novel was about one of the great architect Mimar Sinan's apprentices, who enters Istanbul as a boy and spends his long life at the mercy of Fate, with his trusty white elephant at his side.

(In a thrilling case of literary intersections with real life, Mimar Siman was also the architect who built the Bridge on the Drina, which is also the title of a book I loved, by Ivo Andrić!! And of that book, Elif Shafak said that when she finished, something inside her had shifted forever.)

What is the point of working so hard, when one can be imprisoned or killed, or one's life's work destroyed, at the mere whim of men? What is the point of loving completely, when the beloved is doomed to die anyway?

The answer, perhaps, lies in this: "Love reflected in heartbreak. Truth reflected in stories."

Shafak's truth is this: "I cannot prevent people from destroying. All I can do is keep building."

We are all architects of the great domes of our lives. Shafak made sixteenth-century Istanbul her venue but the characters' stories ring with the truth of universality. We cannot escape the slings and arrows of misfortune, but Shafak's book encourages us to try and build a life of beauty and purpose anyway.

"Life was the sum of choices one did not make; the paths yearned for but not taken." I'm glad my friends chose to share Shafak with me, I shall continue to look for her other books!

View all my reviews

Book Review: THE PROVENSEN BOOK OF FAIRY TALES by Alice and Martin Provensen

The Provensen Book of Fairy Tales by Alice Provensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are some books that are guaranteed to make lifelong readers out of children, when put into their hands during their precious, impressionable period. It's not enough that these books feature colorful illustrations. They need to have magical words inside as well, that lend themselves well to read-alouds with Mommy dearest before bedtime. This beautiful book is one of them!

It's pure gorgeousness, from cover to back. The table of contents alone is a work of art unto itself! Featuring 12 literary fairy tales ("consciously created works of literature" as opposed to folk fairy tales) compiled and illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen, it is a feast for the senses that I drew out for as long as possible.

I found it interesting that I only knew 2 of the dozen fairy tales (The Happy Prince and Beauty and the Beast). Adults will enjoy this as well!

The illustrations by the Provensens are unique. While not beautiful in the traditional sense, they do have a strange magic about them, managing that strange mix of interesting and child-like. They remind me somewhat of the approach of Roald Dahl's illustrator, Quentin Blake. I think that, when children see these imperfect drawings, they are inspired in turn to draw scenes from the books, and are filled with confidence in their own nascent artistic skills instead of being overcome by doubt after seeing immaculate, perfect drawings in their story book.

It's interesting to read these fairy tales as an adult, because we get to see what values previous generations thought worthy of immortalizing in literature. Honesty, self-sacrifice, integrity... it would do the adult population of the world good to go back to our literary roots and be reminded that once upon a time, we believed that good would triumph over evil. May we never stop believing, still.

View all my reviews

Book Review: ON MOZART by Anthony Burgess

On Mozart by Anthony Burgess
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The complete title reveals everything you need to know: "On Mozart: A Paean for Wolfgang being a celestial colloquy, an opera libretto, a film script, a schizophrenic dialogue, a bewildered rumination, a Stendhalian transcription, and a heartfelt homage upon the bicentenary of the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart."

It's like something from Dexter's Lab! A literary experiment, something put in words by a fan who wanted to offer tribute, but one whose vanity only permitted him to write a mishmash of pages, with a very small target audience: musicians. (Specifically, those who prefer tonal to atonal music, hehe.)

It's quite novel, of course. I do not deny Burgess' brilliance as a writer. But being a teacher, I wish Burgess had written this in a more simple style, so the book could find a wider audience. (Then again... Burgess and simplicity?! Never the twain shall meet!)

But for those with the requisite music history and theory background, this slim book offers very interesting views on Mozart's greatness, the changing role of music and the artist from Mozart's time to present day, and the importance of Music itself.

Burgess says Mozart's supremacy arises from perfection of Form, the absence of vulgarity, and the absence of sentimentality. I found his analysis of tonality vs. atonality very insightful:

"(Sonata form is...) The composer's complete submission to a prescribed pattern. That pattern was the sonic equivalent of the society which music served... No matter how rigorous the fundamental structure of an atonal serial work, the ear and the brain have the impression that this is the music, of, yes, social breakdown."

Burgess' Mozart was a supreme artist who soared above petty workmanship from rehashed formulas. To those who would deny that Mozart's work was art, Burgess wrote: "Art is a trade that ennobles itself, and the consumer, by giving more than what is paid for. The market is served, but also God."

Yes, the man who seemed to take dictation from God wrote music to pay bills. But what he wrote transcended mere commerce.

At the end, Burgess himself acknowledges that "the symphonization of fiction is shown to be an implausible undertaking, but things have occasionally to be done to show that they cannot be done... The celebration of Mozart cannot be accomplished in words."

Why does Mozart continue speak to all of us today?

"It is not Mozart's function to soothe: he is not a tranquilizer to be taken out of the cupboard. He purveys an image of a possible future rather than of an irrecoverable past... Mozart reminds us of human possibilities. He presents the whole compass of life and intimates that noble visions exist only because they can be realized."

Burgess cries out, in short, for harmony and order in an increasingly dissonant world. And that is something we can all relate to.

View all my reviews

Book Review: THE OVERSTORY by Richard Powers

The Overstory by Richard Powers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"The best arguments in the world won't change a person's mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story."

This was my first book for the Christmas break, and I'm nervous for the succeeding ones in my TBR pile. How can they measure up to this worldview-altering, potentially life-changing book?!

I first heard of OVERSTORY a few years ago as "that book about trees that won the Pulitzer." They were right. But also, wrong. It's not just about trees. As Powers said, "the word TREE and the word TRUTH come from the same root."

"Cut it like it's a gift, not like you've earned it... When you cut down a tree, what you make from it should be at least as miraculous as what you cut down."

There are books that are worth their cost in terms of trees cut, paper wrought from mashed up bits of eternity. This is definitely one of them. (It's also the first time a book ever made me conscious/guilty of buying an actual physical volume, instead of purchasing a soft copy for my Kindle!)

This book was meant to plant seeds of discontent, to provoke a reaction in its readers. Powers, a physicist/programmer/musician/writer, is able to blend so many tales in one epic, like many different rings that tell the tale of one mother tree. The first part is a collection of short stories about eight people, and as the novel progresses, we see how their lives become entwined in The Great Tale. Some become environmental activists, while others try to lead secular lives pursuing law or computer programming. But no matter how different our paths, we all live in the same world and will share in the same fate.

Powers skillfully blends fact with artistic license. His account of the real eco-guerillas and the Redwood Summer of 1990 were the heart of the novel. The scenes of police brutality and the heartbreaking consequences of breaking human laws in pursuit of a greater morality are laid out so vividly, I will be dreaming of living on top of a 20-storey redwood for weeks to come!

The teacher in me marveled at the hundreds of scientific gems within. Who knew that 2000 year old seeds from Masada could still germinate? Or that trees communicate with each other?

The reader within could only sigh in bliss over Powers' sentences. This is top novel writing: perfect, efficient art. Nothing overdone, no wasted space. All 502 pages were necessary.

The human is awed and humbled. Powers pointed out that if the planet had been born at midnight and ran for one day, we humans would only appear four seconds before midnight.

And yet, for all our youth and short visit on Earth, we have simultaneously done (possibly) irreparable damage, and brought forth such wondrous things. This beautiful wonder of a book challenges us to take concrete steps. Clicking on my GCash app and collecting points to plant trees is great, but what else can I do? It's going to take ALL of us, not just Greta Thunberg.

Tagging this under #whenliteraryprizesareworththehype! Got this one after reading BEWILDERMENT, and between the two amazing reads, I will be hunting down Richard Powers' backlist for the foreseeable future, with glee!

View all my reviews

Book Review: AN ACTOR'S HANDBOOK by Konstantin Stanislavski

An Actor's Handbook: An Alphabetical Arrangement Of Concise Statements On Aspects Of Acting by Konstantin Stanislavski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I put down this long-sought-for book, all I could think was... WOW. For so thin a volume, it packs a whole lot of golden truths! Not just for acting, but true also for Life in general.

I also thought of how lucky I was in my teachers... they taught me Stanislavski without me ever knowing it WAS Stanislavski!

The less said about this book, the better. Theatre people will know that there are truths meant to be lived and experienced, that no amount of lecturing and quoting is going to be a good enough substitute for DOING. And for non-theatre people... go ahead and read it! But for it to make sense, you need to apply it. Join a workshop. Audition for a show. The world would be a better place if everyone experienced being part of an artistic team at least once in their lives: a school play, a student orchestra, a community choir.

Excited to share this with my students!

View all my reviews

Book Review: HOW DO YOU LIVE? by Genzaburo Yoshino

How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a lovely book! I particularly liked it when I found out that it was written especially for school children in Japan way back in 1937. It was meant to be an ethics textbook, only in storybook form.

Neil Gaiman points out in the introduction how it reminded him of Moby Dick: there's a narrative but also so many separate chapters about so many other different things. I think I learned more about Napoleon and Gandhara Buddhas from this book, than from any other source!

It tells of the adventures of Copper, a sophomore in junior high school, who tries to navigate teenaged life without the benefit of a father's guiding hand, for his dad had already passed away.
* tear *

His father's last words meant for his son were: "I want him to become a great man! A fine example of a human being."

And so Copper's mom and uncle join forces in trying to help a naughty lad become "great," but not in riches nor power. For them, a great life -- the only kind of life worth wanting -- is one spent in helping others, in bringing only good and beauty to the world.

The combination of epistolary chapters with present-day events was quite charming, and will make anyone want to pick up pens to write their "impressions."

We race through our days so quickly. Am grateful for this little book that invited me to stop and smell the sampaguitas. And go over my day, the consequences of my actions, to regret my mistakes and resolve to do better next time.

"Art and knowledge have no borders." How wonderful that this will soon become a Studio Ghibli movie, some 90 years after its publication!

View all my reviews

Book Review: THE WOMEN OF COPPER COUNTRY by Mary Doria Russell

The Women of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"A life lived for others is a life well lived. Make one life a little easier, the whole world gets better in time. Work for the common good, and a good life will become more common."

This was my 5th Mary Doria Russell novel and she does not disappoint. There are two broad types of MDR novels: either a sweeping sci-fi/philosophy novel in the tradition of THE SPARROW (her undisputed masterpiece), or historical fiction highlighting an event that time has forgotten (like A THREAD OF GRACE).

THE WOMEN OF THE COPPER COUNTRY falls under the latter category. It ends with the Italian Hall Disaster of 1913, and that scene simply broke my heart.

MDR novels really should come with a warning, though: read with tissue. Be ready with plenty of ice cream after (or in my case, bibingka malagkit! Hurray!)

Behold Annie Clements (alternatively spelled Clemenc), the American "Joan of Arc" whose height and strength made her the leader of a union strike in Calumet, Michigan. Born to a town where everything and everyone was the private property of Calumet & Hecla, which at one time was the biggest copper producer globally, the reader bears witness to one woman's struggle against destiny, against rich men, all in the name of generations yet unborn.

"She still believes in the common good, and that's what the country needs right now."

Be warned, though, that MDR is not a romance writer. There are no happy ever afters in novels meant to highlight past wrongs, bringing its readers to see the uncomfortable truth: social evils in the name of capitalism are yet painfully present today.

It's impossible not to draw parallelisms with a similar figurehead in Philippine politics today, one whose optimism and sheer decency have become a symbol of hope for millions. She attracts fellow Filipinos who share her idealism and belief that together, we can still save the tomorrows of our children.

Today, several of her opponent's followers released posters claiming that this son-of-a-thief has practically won the elections already, and that the voting is a mere formality. While we ponder the disturbing implications (a bought-and-sold outcome?), there are those of us who believe that there are still more good-hearted, honest Filipinos than cynical ones. That there are more of us who will fight for long-term good, and not short-term financial gain by selling our votes. That we have fought this same political evil before, and can beat it again.

"Is it worth it?"
"Maybe not for us... but we plant the seeds of justice, and justice will rise out of all this muck someday... I believe in the future. I do. One day, life will be better for the ones who come after us."

View all my reviews

Book Review: THE BRIDGE ON THE DRINA by Ivo Andrić

The Bridge on the Drina: Introduction by Misha Glenny by Ivo Andrić
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"This is not a building like any other, but one of those erected by God's will and for God's love... the greatest blessing is to build a bridge and the greatest sin is to interfere with it"

My dad had a well-worn, much-loved copy of this book, one I'd heard of but never really thought of getting until I saw Papa's copy. And I knew at once I HAD to read it! Sadly I had to order a new edition as the old copy had several missing pages.

Elif Shafak said that when she finished reading this book, something in her had shifted forever.

And I, typing with moist eyes after closing the cover, have to agree.

What kind of book would win the 1961 Nobel over contemporary contenders such as John Steinbeck and J.R.R. Tolkien?

This book about a bridge, written by one who personally knew Gavrilo Princip (the assassin who started World War I) and Adolf Hitler. Ivo Andrić survived World War I and II, being incarcerated in prison and under virtual house arrest in both wars due to his work (the Yugoslavian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and assistant to the Prime Minister!!).

"The time has not come to die but to let it be seen of what stuff a man is made. These are such times."

When he writes of war and peace, it is from one who has lived in both times. When he writes of men and governments, it comes from close scrutiny borne from lived experience. When he writes of the history of his country as seen from the people who live around an Ottoman-built bridge dating from the Italian Renaissance (that still stands today!!!), he writes of his own hometown of Višegrad in today's Bosnia and Herzegovina (NOT to be confused with Visegrád in Hungary). He knew the bridge's history intimately and when he writes of it, it becomes alive! As do the people: Jew, Christian, and Muslim, living side-by-side in peace for the most part, only driven to atrocities after orders come down issued by heads of state in distant countries.

"That wild beast, which lives in man and does not dare to show itself until the barriers of law and custom have been removed, was now set free. The signal was given, the barriers were down."

The book is an amazingly accurate portrayal of 400 years of history with so many characters that Andrić makes us care for -- not an easy thing to do! He tells of GENERATIONS in the span of about 400 pages, and it feels like reading the Bible at times, only that he features men and women of three faiths, featuring the heights and depths of human experience. The most unforgettable chapter involved the ones were criminals were impaled by Ottomans (described in bloodcurdling detail!!!), and the best ones were when the university-educated young men were debating on their future and that of their country. All take place on this great bridge: deaths, weddings, love affairs.

To tourists, it is the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge. But anyone who has read Andrić's immortal novel now thinks of the bridge with something approaching love. I didn't know it was possible to feel this way about a structure!! And yes, the Nobel is richly deserved. This book both condemns and uplifts humanity. What a movie, what a play it would make! There are monologues and dialogues here, of such delight!

"Anything might happen. But one thing could not happen; it could not be that great and wise men of exalted soul who would raise lasting buildings for the love of God, so that the world should be made beautiful and man live in it better and more easily, should everywhere and for all time vanish from this earth. Should they too vanish, it would mean that the love of God was extinguished and had disappeared from the world. That could not be."

View all my reviews