Book Review: THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT by Walter Tevis

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There are a lot of chess books in my Kindle lately... and it's all because I was assigned to be the Chess coach of my school.

Two weeks ago, I only knew the basics.

But now, having read a bit more, and having finished THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT, I think I'll be ready to compete in an actual contest soon! (And there are SO MANY of them in the Philippines!!!)

Just kidding.

I know I have YEARS of preparation should I ever want to enter a real match.

It gives me great joy to watch my students play. There's nothing like watching a child discover the thrill of intellectual activity!

This skill of imagining the chessboard is one that all competitive chess players seek to develop, and now there's algebraic notation to help players study the games of the masters, and record their own for self-review.

Any chess coach will tell you that part of the training lies in studying tactics. There are SO MANY! Beginning, mid and end game ones with cool names like The Queen's Gambit (an actual move!), or the similar sounding King's Gambit, or other beauties like the Caro-Kann Defense or Philidor's.

I think reading Beth Harmon's story, instead of watching it on Netflix, was more beneficial because it allowed me to take notes of the strategies employed in the games, which author Walter Tevis had doublechecked by National Grandmasters for accuracy.

When one thinks nineteen moves ahead, as Beth Harmon and her enemies do, then it's best to READ about the moves! Haha.

It must be said that the book (published in 1983) uses the old descriptive kind of notation (for example, "pawn to queen four"), as opposed to the simpler, algebraic notation used today (simply "d4"), and so it took quite a bit of time and effort to imagine the moves as Tevis wrote them. Thankfully, he writes about games in a delightful blend of cursory detail... just enough chess jargon to give one a sense of the personality of each player, but not as boring as reading competition annotations.

There is beauty in the game, and I marvel at the twists and turns of Fate that led me to discovering this late in life. But more importantly, I rejoice that I have years ahead with which to enjoy yet another gem of human experience.

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Book Review: WHEN WOMEN WERE DRAGONS by Kelly Barnhill

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

"There is no room for sorrow in a heart full of fire."

I REALLY wanted to like this book. And my heart is sorrowful that I didn't.

Who wouldn't be drawn by the premise: that one day, thousands of women suddenly became dragons? It was SO FULL of promise, as were the opening chapters.

But then it dragged on and on, with the extended metaphor for women raging at the patriarchy losing its power the more it was repeated, that eventually I just got the impression that the book was merely about the virtues of being angry at the world.

And that's it.

The dialogue was flat and at times, didn't make sense. The ending was rushed. The writing was lackluster.

Also, the book tried to do so many things; referencing the COVID tragedy, the general lack of respect for scientific data, detailing the evils of racism, and prejudice against LGBTQ+ same-sex relationships, all in one book that was, originally, about feminism.

And I've long suspected this to be true not just in literature but also in film and other fields... that today, people are so afraid of being cancelled, of being called the opposites of allies, that they would put a book like this on a pedestal because of its topic, and not entirely because of the author's skill, nor the quality of the work itself.

Rage is all well and good, but no amount of anger can make up for lack of literary merit.

And I truly wish this book had it, that I may speak better about it.

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Book Review: THE HALF KNOWN LIFE (IN SEARCH OF PARADISE) by Pico Iyer

The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise by Pico Iyer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I've been looking forward to the latest Pico Iyer, and I fear great expectations led to greater disappointment.

It lacks focus. It read more like disparate chapters of exotic locations, with quotations of other, better known authors when they in turn visited the likes of Varanasi and Kashmir.

All in all, extremely missable and nowhere near the quality of his other works.

If "the half known life is where so many of our possibilities lie," then the reality of this book is merely half of what the imagined possibility was, to me.

And this is what drives us readers on to the next book, ever onwards. The possibility of transcendence is something we eternally strive for, glimpses of which were present in this book, half-formed.

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Book Review: THE MASK OF APOLLO by Mary Renault

The Mask of Apollo by Mary Renault
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"And yet had not the very hand of God gripped and crushed this city deep in the ground we should have disappeared in darkness, and not given a theme for music, and the songs of men to come." ~Euripedes

Once upon a time, a great city-state existed, so vast and powerful as to rival Athens herself. But what happens when it is ruled by a despot, its citizens' souls made small and mean through decades of dictatorship? What happens when the dictator dies, and his weak son takes over to rule in his stead?

The city-state is Syracuse in Sicily, the dictators Dionysius the Elder (I) and Dionysius the Younger (II). Enter our hero, Dion, educated at Plato's school in Athens, who seeks to undo the maleducation of Junior by inviting Plato himself to try to teach the boy to be a real man. But can a mere teacher of a prince, no matter how good, undo the damage wrought by the parent tyrant?

"Fighting the base with base weapons had shrunk their souls; before one can make the good life, one must remember what it is... So we dream. Of what? Some man sent by the gods, first to make us believe in something, if only in him, and then to lead us... We have dreamed a king."

But can one man be the solution?

Renault also writes, "A city is only a crowd of citizens. If each of them has renounced his private virtue, how can they build a public good?" She quotes Plato when she says: "A state can be redeemed only by good men spreading goodness round them till the lump is leavened, and there are enough just men to govern."

Mary Renault once more brings Ancient Greece to life in what, I think, is her best book ever (and when I reread my past raves about her trilogy on Alexander the Great, this is saying A LOT!). All the fiery polish of her passionate, scholarly pen is seen here in condensed form, giving off a more brilliant and focused light.

THE MASK OF APOLLO, on the surface, is a novel about a great actor, during the 4th century BCE when these artists were seen not as mere entertainers, but as servants of the gods, whose religious rites were so important they were exempt from military service. It is a time of great open air theaters with astounding acoustics, seating 14,000-18,000 people, with echo chambers and thunder drums that can reproduce even earthquakes, as the man bearing the face of a deity shows himself high above on the god-walk.

If the book was merely about the theater at that time, I would have been fascinated enough already.

But then Renault expands her lens and shows how the theater, education, and political philosophy react in the cauldron of experimentation as polis after polis sought to try one form of government after another, much like an actor changing masks (most of them wearing several over the course of one play!).

It is no accident that Socrates/Plato wrote about the theater, and what kind of plays ought to be seen by citizens in the quest to forge nobler men's souls. It is part of education, after all, for a play is never just a show. Done right, it can transform hearts and minds of thousands at a time.

"The theater, after all, can only teach one how; men as they live must show one why."

Some of the most enjoyable scenes in the book were set up like the dialogues of Plato, which made me realize how they are best appreciated when PERFORMED out loud like a staged reading! As when men debate about the ideal form of government, or censorship in the arts. "Men could be more than what they are. Why show them only how to be less?"

Like the best of Greek theatre, as befits a retelling of true history, Renault's novels tend to end in tragedy. But the postscript offers hope as she introduces a young Macedonian prince, who in turn will be educated by Aristotle, himself a student of Plato. Where one hero falls, perhaps another shall rise. And thus the wheel of education and human progress turns.

As one whose life has been changed by watching plays (literally impacting how I made major life decisions), and has seen firsthand its transformative effect on formerly shy young men and women, I read this book with reverence and awe. And now hold it to be among the best ever written. Rich in themes, written with godlike virtuosity, one can easily believe Renault to be possessed by a daimon! If you could only read one Renault, let it be this one!





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Book Review: THE LIFE CHANGING MANGA OF TIDYING UP by Marie Kondo

The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up by Marie Kondō
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I've been reading a lot of manga lately (and watching a lot of anime) so when I saw that the (in)famous Kondo book had this version, I suddenly developed an interest in reading it (sorry, picture-less version!).

This is one of those books one reads, and immediately feels more like a legitimate grown up upon finishing. With tips on how to store everything, the proper way to fold, and the correct attitude towards documents and every item at home, the manga sure packed a lot inside a cutesy romance frame narrative. Free up space in your home, tidy up and attract promotions and love life!

However, I found myself snorting in derision in many places, especially when it comes to Kondo's opinion on books. First of all, clapping one's hands over one's books won't "wake them up." And also, every book lover is an optimist that SOMEDAY, we shall get to read those books in our TBR pile.

Hmmm maybe I shall take this Adulting thing one step further and actually implement what she taught. When I have more free time, perhaps. Ahahaha.

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Book Review: CONCLAVE by Robert Harris

Conclave by Robert Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"We are an Ark... surrounded by a rising flood of discord."

I've enjoyed Robert Harris thrillers as a high school student, so when I found out that they're making a film of this book starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci, I tracked down a copy like a good Catholic booklover!

This book came out in 2016, and it is so timely. Even for non Catholics, this book is very interesting. What kind of world religious leader do we need in this troubled era? One who seeks engagement with the marginalized, one who seeks to bring people together... or one who takes controversial stances on divisive issues and thus... divides?

"God has entered the room... We are sequestered under lock and key at the point where time and eternity meet."

The Conclave takes place upon the death of a Pope, and the princes of the church are brought inside the great Sistine Chapel and locked inside until they vote a worthy successor.

If you're wondering what's so thrilling about a bunch of priests voting inside one room... gosh, let me tell you, A WHOLE LOT!! And the thrill of it is, the situations are so plausible, because they're based on amalgamations of current events that have rocked the Catholic church in recent years. Every scandal, every theological issue, every debate about relativism versus absolutism is represented well in this concise thriller that's under 300 pages.

Another reason why I'm super excited about the upcoming film is that there is a main character who is Filipino! Woot woot!

Highly recommended! See you when it hits the movie theaters in a few years! That twist near the ending is just * French's kiss * spectacular!

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Book Review: THE ALTERATION by Kingsley Amis

The Alteration by Kingsley Amis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"What I shall miss by being altered is so important that it would be quite wrong to alter me."

We begin with song inside a glorious Catholic cathedral in England. A prepubescent boy soprano has a gift that others seek to artificially preserve by surgically altering him for the greater glory of God. But the boy wishes otherwise.

This is the central drama, but there are others. And the REAL drama is the setting: it is the 1970's, and England is Catholic. Martin Luther didn't start a Reformation, but became Pope. Henry VIII never became King as his older brother, Arthur, stayed true to the faith. Science is anathema, electricity and other technological advancements distrusted by decent men.

"I feel nothing but wonder and gratitude when I look on so many centuries of patience, hope, content, trust, constancy, restraint and certitude, so much art, letters, music, learning, all founded upon one great lie."

This is a very altered world from the one we live in. It seems pleasant enough on the surface, with books like "St. Lemuel’s Travels," "The Wind in the Cloisters," Father Bond stories, and "Lord of the Chalices." There's incredible state funding for Mozart masses as well, easy enough to do when the Church leader is the supreme head of State as well.

But woe to any who dare to speak against papal authority. The knife that threatens the boy soprano isn't the only one being wielded by those loyal to keeping peace and order by all means, Christian and un-Christian alike.

"They conduct a tyranny and call it the Kingdom of God on Earth."

This was my first Kingsley Amis, and although the book was very short, it felt a lot longer because Amis makes incredible demands on the reader. He presupposes intelligence, a good grasp of history that can withstand his counterfactuals, and a grasp of the English language and literature that can catch all the many references. It's not exactly a relaxing read, and more for those seeking the expansion of literary horizons.

Reading the book was a meditation on how disinformation and alternative facts work in 2023. I recently encountered someone whose upbringing and education made her vulnerable to state-sponsored propaganda, and it was like talking to someone from Mars. I suppose I am the Martian, from her point of view. And it's a chilling reminder on the desperate status of truth in modern society, how it is a social construct, seeing that we can't even agree on FACTS anymore.

And honestly, I don't know which is scarier: this fictional alternative universe of Amis where religion reigns supreme over reason, or the real world where citizens exist in private universes, each with their own version of virtual reality.

This is, I suppose, the challenge of my generation: how to bring people together, to work for the common good, despite all these enormous differences.

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