Children of the Alley: A Novel

Children of the Alley: A Novel by Naguib Mahfouz translated by Peter Theroux 

Also known as Children of Gebelawi. The novel uses a Cairo slum to provide an allegory of the history of humanity, with stand ins for various religious figures (Adam, Moses, Jesus, Mohamad) and science. I missed the whole allegory part and just saw it as a good story. People are tied to the alley, but struggle to grow out of it. They often see being a gangster as a good outcome. Some people do rise out of it, but it is tough for them to return. There is also a distant overseer that manages the inheritance. The people struggle to grow, but have a tendency to return to the base behavior they are used to.

The Manchurian Candidate

The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon

During the Korean War, a group of soldiers was captured and brainwashed. One of the soldiers (Raymond Shaw) was programmed to be a killed. When given the code and trigger (involve a certain card in solitaire), he would obey a command and remember nothing of what he done. This gave him the perfect opportunity to commit murder. He would have no recollection of doing it and thus be impossible to convict. After he returns from the war, he gets a job at a newspaper and is programmed to knock out his boss.

The Raymond's stepfather is a senator in the mold of anti-communist McCarthy. Raymond's mother is the one who runs the political show. Ben Marco was a friend of Raymond's from the war. He has nightmares about the brainwashing experience and tries to find out more.

Things then get carried away. Raymond kills a few political figures. He later gets married, only to assassinate his wife and father in law (a senator). Marco finds out the nightmares were real and slowly uncovers the codes to trigger Raymond. Raymond's mother works to move her husband up in the political ranks until he is nominated to VP with a plan to become president after the presidential candidate is assassinated. Marco, however, catches on and has the plan changed so that Raymond kills his mother and step-father instead and then takes his own life.

The characters have eerie parallels to modern politics with reactionary political figures and media. There have been a few movies made with different time periods and would not be hard to envision a modern one today. The brainwashing seems a little "too good", but it makes for good drama with a little bit of suspended belief. Raymond's mom is easy to hate. She is so hungry for power, and loves to manipulate and use others. She is willing to conspire with the enemy, kill and manipulate. After being abused by her father she turns around and abuses her son. This is mostly her story of power and manipulation, with a brainwashing device to move it along.

Pippi in the South Seas

Pippi in the South Seas by Astrid Lindgren, translated by Gerry Bothmer

A city slicker sees a sign for Villa Villekulla and thinks it must be a house for sale. He wants to buy it and rid it of the children there. Alas, he discovers that Pippi is in fact the owner. Later Pippi's father returns and they get to go on an adventure ot the south seas. They met some friends, but also run into people that want to steal from them. Alas, things never turn out well for thieves with Pippi. In this book most of the community accepts Pippi for her uniqueness, but others in the world are still discovering her charm. It is a fairly good extension, but not as rich as the original.

Little Blue and Little Yellow

Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni

Blue and Yellow are friends. They get close and turn green. Neither family believes they are their kid. Then they finally see green cry blue and yellow tears. Now the families believe. It shows colors mixing. As long as you don't think too much about it, it works.

Father Bear Comes Home

Father Bear Comes Home (I Can Read Level 1) by Else Holmelund Minarik (Author), Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)

As with the other little bear books, the pictures are excellent in this one. The stories have a simple, innocent touch. The anthropomorphic bears have a few real world scenarios. In the first, bear and owl imagine they are catching a whale and octopus when fishing. In the second, bear imagines that dad may bring home a mermaid. This grows until all his friends expect to see a real mermaid. They are somewhat contented when the can hear the sea in shells. In the third, Little Bear is cured from hiccups, while in the 4th, he imagines a mermaid.

Invitation to a Beheading

Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov

Cincinatis is in prison for a bizarre crime. He is sentenced to death. However, they cannot tell him when he will die. He tries to write about his experiences. There are various hangups and issues, such as the executioner getting sick. Finally the day comes. There are some Kafkaesque moments in here, but I had troubled sticking with it. 

Level 7

 Level 7 by Mordecai Roshwald

I was concerned when the introduction droned on a while about why this book was so important and that the author chose "fiction" to better communicate his ideas. Luckily, the book itself was well written and did not seem problematic. In the book, "Level 7" refers to the 7th level beneath he ground. This was the most secure fallout shelter. The "button pushers" are located there. They will be the ones that will push the button to nuke the enemies if hostilities break out. There are resources to sustain life for hundreds of years down there. The higher levels have greater populations of gradually decreasing importance.

The structure of the novel is the journal of one of the inhabitants of Level 7. At first he doesn't realize why his there. He gradually learns and steadily adapts to the monotony of life underground with the repetitive music and bland food. They picked people with few attachments in the world, however, they do allow the people in this level to get married. Eventually the time comes and the buttons are pushed. They learn the world has been mostly destroyed. Some of the "button pushers" struggle with their role in the operation. The non-belligerents suffer almost immediate destruction. The belligerents each claim victory. However, those on the upper levels soon fall ill and die due to radiation poisoning. The sickness gradually comes down to the lower levels. The 7th level is initially preserved. Alas, the nuclear reactor powering the level starts to leak radiation leading to their poisoning. The book has a grim warning of the futility of nuclear war.

Hawaii: A Novel

Hawaii: A Novel by James A. Michener

Michener novels go very long. Each chapter could easily be a standalone novel. Hawaii explores the history of Hawaii as a work of historical fiction. It starts with the early formation of the South Pacific islands and the plants and animals that arrive there. Then it goes onto the life on Bora Bora. This first part is perhaps the most "fiction" part of it. A difficult life is described on the island, with a group wanting to escape the difficulties and human sacrifice to find a new location. They set off blindly and eventually establish life in Hawaii.

The next section describes early missionaries. They came from New England and had to make a months-long trip around South America to arrive. They worked hard on civilizing and converting the natives. They did have success in eliminating some of the more negative parts of the culture and getting converts to Christianity. However, the converts were somewhat loose. While some did integrate with the Hawaiians, the primary preacher kept his family apart. They would go to church with the people, but would not generally associate with them.

The book then focusses more on the business and politics. At first it was often white mariners or missionaries that would settle and work on business ventures. Eventually, an irrigation system was set up (bringing rain from wet to dry side of islands.) This opened up the need for plantation labor. There was a wave of Chinese immigrants. This group worked hard and set up their own commerce. They also freely intermarried with Hawaiians, while still maintaining Chinese ties. Next came the Japanese. They tended to be more tightly intertwined with their group. They were more likely to become involved in government offices. There were also European (especially Portuguese) and other immigrants. These get mentioned in passing, but not with the detail of the Chinese or Japanese.

Hawaii became a true multi-ethnic area, with many groups intermingling, while still maintaining their identity. The people had various foibles. In the narrative, the narrative tends to follow the more flawed characters, while there is often another character that will try to convince them of the "better" way to do things. There are various bits of subterfuge needed to accomplish goals (such as making Hawaii part of the US). Though eventually, there is a reckoning. The book finally ends with Hawaii becoming a US state.

This is the second Michener book I've read, and it feels a lot like the previous one. The people seem to be quite similar to those in the other book, even though they occupy a very different time and place. Is this a statement on the universality of humanity or is it an unintentional flaw?

A Raisin in the Sun

 A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

An African American family in Chicago get an inheritance and want to decide what to do with it. Grandma wants to get a house in a nice neighborhood. One of the adult sons wants to invest in a business. They decide to do a bit of both. Alas, somebody runs off with the business money. They do have the house. However, the neighborhood does not want them there. In a nice way, they offer to buy them out to keep the neighborhood white. The family thinks about it, but decides not to.

The play explores the subtle challenges of race and class in society. The family is concerned about how they will be seen by others, judging both those above them and those below them. Money may cause a change in material circumstances, but you are still left with your internal character.

A Canticle for Leibowitz

There has been a great nuclear war and the world is left in ruins. People have determined that technology was the problem, so they have worked on destroying all remnants of technology. Leibowitz helped retain manuscripts describing technology in a remote abbey. The monks copied important records, storing some, while also committing much to memory. 

The many centuries of history. The world stayed away from technology for hundred of years. The monks had to go through great struggles to save some records. Eventually the world had created new technology.

This is an interesting take on religion and technology. Could past societies have advanced to an advance state, only to have all knowledge destroyed? The passed-down remnants of religion would be the one source of the ancient knowledge that still remains. However, this knowledge would be interleaved with much other details with many bits expected to be known. (there is a bit where they try to recreate some technology and acknowledge that some things were not explained because they were just expected to be known.)

The novel also covers a long period of time. There are some records that are only preserved by luck. However, much is lost. After many centuries of time, the world world starts to create technology again in a slightly different way, only to encounter similar problems. How can we learn from our mistakes and not throw out the baby with the bathwater?

Naked Lunch: The Restored Text

Naked Lunch is a series of somewhat autobiographical experiences from the author's drugged up mind. The "book" is only about half the audiobook. Afterwards, there is some correspondence, including the author's views of best ways to treat drug addiction. There are also some "outtakes" and editorial details. The analysis of the different types of drug addiction and different ways to help an addict were some of the best parts. The book itself does not try to do anything to glorify the underground sex and drug scene. It is horrible depravity. It feels absolutely disgusting. The junkie is stuck with a nasty addiction and a need for more "junk" just to put up with living in their world.

Tin Drum

Tin Drum is narrated by Oskar, a German drummer who is currently confined to a mental institution. He was born in the period after World War I, and lived through World War II and the postwar era. Had had grown up in Danzig, which was a free city in the interwar period and had a predominantly German population. (After World War 2, it became a part of Poland and now has a predominantly Polish population.) The narration regularly switches between first person and third person (even in the same sentence.) It is unclear whether many of the events actually happened, or were just a imagined. (After all, he is in a mental institution.) He seems to think the world has a great appreciation for him and his talents. In one episode, an entire club is "impressed" with his great dancing skills, though his "date" has been scared away. There are also numerous sexual encounters which seem to be more a product of a juvenile imagination gone out of hand, rather than real life. At one time, he is playing in an "onion bar". This curious institution serves up raw onions for the patrons to cut and start crying. This results in emotional sharing. However, his drumming end up being even more powerful emotional stimulants than the onions and he finds himself fired. As a narrator, he is just not all there, but he does tell an interesting story.

A Fall of Moondust

A ship goes on a site-seeing trip on the moon. The trip is so non-eventful that the captain is out chatting with the passengers. However, a sudden moonquake buries the ship. Everybody is ok, however, oxygen is limited to a week. And, they soon discover that heat may be their biggest problem.

Outside, the traffic controllers notice the ship is missing, but don't see any sign of it. However, a scientist is able to use his knowledge to help pinpoint the ship's trace. Eventually they send down some pipes to pump in oxygen and later rescue the passengers.

This is, at its core, a disaster story. It just happens to be set on the moon. The radio play was well done. It is a pity that this form isn't used more. It combines the dramatization of a movie with the "you can listen while you are doing stuff" nature of an audiobook.

Alas, Babylon

This reminded me a lot of One Second After. (Only this one was written a few decades earlier.) They both center around some southerners who have some survivalist mentality. A big event happens that rips away modern technology, and the people manage to create a society. They are the "good guys" who hole up in their semi-rural community, while the city dwellers resort to becoming savage marauders.

In Alas, Babylon, the catastrophe is a nuclear war. Russia uses submarines to launch nukes at most major US cities and military sites. The US managed to launch a retaliatory force that wiped out much of Russia. In the end, the US won, but in the process, life was severely disrupted for most everybody. Even "survivalists" who had been prepared, merely found themselves the greater targets. Humans may attack with guns, but dogs and other animals could also become dangers. Some people don't even get that far. They see the "meaning" of their life ripped apart by the changes, and manage to end it rather than try to adapt.

Makes you wonder if this is what happened to some ancient civilizations that were only encountered in later stages. Perhaps the Australian Aborigines or American Indians had a civilization much more advanced than us today, but managed to wipe most of it out before the Europeans came around. The "survivalists" that were left reverted to the primitive ways of life.

Starship Troopers

Hmm... Now I see where Orson Scott Card got a lot of his background for Ender's Game. The setting is a futuristic world where only military veterans can vote. (However, while serving, military members cannot vote.) The system 'evolved' after the excesses of democracy in the late 20th century. The military put the group ahead of the individual and thus were the best to restore order to society. Military service is still optional, with no penalty for not serving (or dropping out).

The narrator of the story 'accidentally' enlists in the military, partially because he is with a friend, and partially because he runs in to a girl on the way. Most of the story is about his observations of life and the military service. In the end, some aliens blow up Buenos Aires and we get a little action as they fight the bugs.

The first person narrative is engaging and personal. The book was much different than the raw, raw fighting novel I was expecting. On the surface, it is a glorification of the military. However, the "military" that is glorified is much different than what we have today. Limiting the franchise is always somewhat arbitrary. The author presents good evidence in favor of limiting it to members that have served voluntarily in the military.