Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country was touted to me as a must read for my upcoming trip to South Africa.  Quote: you will feel this book in your soul. I always find it dangerous when people make such statements about a book I'm about to read.  So...if I don't feel it in my soul...does that make me a bad person? 

I believe Paton's book was published the year apartheid came into effect (1948) and he was already speaking about the inequality between whites and natives.  Not knowing much about South African history, I suppose the inequality was in existence for a while before apartheid formalised it by law.  In 1948,  South Africa was experiencing many social problems as a result of urbanisation.  The natives were leaving the villages and moving to the cities in search of work. All industry was controlled by the white South Africans and the natives (men) worked for them.  The men were not allowed to bring their wives and families into the city to live so many families were broken up this way. The traditional tribal social structure was being broken down and crime escalated as a result.  In a country where the natives are generally mistreated by the whites, Paton shows us the amazing compassion that can occur between the races and this is what makes the book stand out but I can't admit to haven't had a soul shattering experience while reading it.

3 out of 5 smileys    

This collection of short stories was rewarded with the Pulitzer Prize a few years ago. Lahiri's stories provide glimpses into the lives of Indians, either set back in India or America.

I liked the diverse range of stories from this talented writer, no two are alike, and are told from a variety of individuals.  This really gives you a flavor of the Indian experience across a broad spectrum. I also like how not all the stories are focused on race relations and the difficulty of assimilating into a foreign culture.  There are so many books on that theme that I'm not interested in reading another bog standard version.  This theme isn't neglected, of course, but is woven through in a more subtle manner amongst other other issues such as a mother's love for her children, a miscarriage, and a touching story on getting a driver's license (!). 

For you Christine, I give this 4 out of 5 smileys!      

My site seems to be turning into one book review after another but that's only because I managed to read a bunch of books while sunning myself in Egypt. I should only be so lucky to read a book every two days in normal existence!

The New York Trilogy consists of 3 short stories all based in the city with the city itself as an important character in the first story, City of Glass.  All 3 stories are about someone seeking out someone else. And these searches become so all consuming for the investigator that he finds his own life up to scrutiny as well.  If I were to describe this trilogy in one word it would be engrossing. I was completely engrossed in all 3 stories while reading about another person being completely engrossed in the search being carried out. And so reenforcing Auster's theme brilliantly.

Another interlocking theme is identity and how it is easily changed and confused by us all.  For example, in City of Glass, Paul Auster is a detective (yes, the author uses his own name which is another play on identity) but a writer Quinn assumes Paul's identity and becomes the detective.  Everyone is convinced that Quinn is a detective and he convinces himself as well.

I've come to conclusion that these 3 stories are standalone with only some overlap.  They've been put into one collection due to some reoccurring themes and overlaps.  After the first read-through, I went back and skimmed a few sections trying to look for some concrete clues to link them all but I don't think that they do really connect.  Auster has left a lot of mystery surrounding the stories which is a reflection of his view on life and not to expect all mysteries to have satisfying endings. 

A definite thought provoking read and I'm going to check out some of his other works next.

This one I picked up while in Egypt and is a novelization of French and German missions sent to Alexandria, Egypt in the late nineteenth century in order to find the microbe causing cholera and to find a cure for this infectious disease.  Roche builds an atmosphere akin to your modern horror film where you feel that evil is around every corner and you can feel its presence sight unseen.  But cholera has been a very real evil of reality and has been capable of killing tens of thousands in a matter of days.  Roche makes a point (which becomes a bit repetitive) that while the disease was everywhere, contact with the disease was quite random and the forces of fate had some role to play on who was infected and who was not.  Her descriptions of what the disease did to the bodies of its victims rivaled that of any horror film in its goriness and would satisfy your morbid curiosity. 

Roche's novel is a bit weak on the scientific experiments and processes which was disappointing to me. She instead throws a love story into the mix which is of complete fiction. I don't think it added much to the book and I would've rather learned more about the scientific aspect of the missions.  The relationship aspect was only of interest due to the other topics that were brought out of it including class divides, religious affiliations, and the topic of arranged marriages.

This was an easy beach read albiet on a rather gruesome topic.

Happy news this week.

I'm now an aunt and Bigfoot is an uncle. My in-laws had a baby boy, Zachary, 7 lbs. 6 oz.

And my best friend from high school just got engaged and I will be MOH. Time to plan another Hawaiian wedding!

10 days away in Egypt felt like an eternity but only in a good way.  It feels so strange to be back in London and dressed in constricting work clothes when all you've been wearing are linens and swim wear.  From touring the pyramids to swimming in the Red Sea, it was a lovely get away. 

Here are some of my favorite photos:

Gigantic pyramids and teeny-tiny people.

My camel, Shazeem, did not appreciate me climbing aboard at all.  He kept trying to turn around to bite my leg and gave me some really nasty grunts at the end of ride.

Bigfoot's more docile camel.

Our tour group.

In front of the now nose-less and beard-less Sphinx.

Amazing 4000 year old hieroglyphs - can they really be in such good condition? I almost think they are fake!

Apparently the world's oldest boat. The ancient Egyptians would bury these boats in giant pits next to the pyramids for the pharaoh's use in his afterlife.

In Cairo, these beautiful fans open and close through out the day as needed.

Mosques in Cairo, as 90% of the population are Muslim.

Here are some fishy pictures from either scuba diving or snorkeling in the Red Sea. We were more impressed by the dives we did in the Maldives. But I think it might have been an oversight on our part in not researching the best dive sites in the Egyptian Red Sea.  I think you have to go to particular reefs in order to see the more spectacular stuff.  But in the Maldives, it was pretty spectacular where ever we went.  There was this one dive in Egypt where we saw these amazing coral gardens. Just mountains and mountains of healthy pink coral surrounding you.  I was in awe but too bad we didn't have our camera for that dive.  

With a little Korean girl on the cover of this book, I thought this would be your typical tale of a young Asian girl's struggle to reconcile her heritage with that of American culture.  A borrowed this book from a friend and her praise of the book amounted to 'it's ok, something to read if you're on the plane'. And since I was going away on a beach holiday, Digging to America seemed like a good choice.

Surprisingly enough, Tyler does not focus much on the two adopted Korean babies but more on the families that take them in, one American and one Iranian.  The American family is your stereotypical one: loud, open, warm, and at times all-consuming of the quieter, more reserved Iranian one.  You get a sense that the American family was there to play against the Iranian one so that Tyler could show you the Iranian view point a more effectively.  In certain instances, the Iranians succumb to the American influence and in others they stand their ground and stick to their own cultural values.  It is the classic struggle of all immigrant stories.  Immigrants need to adapt to their new surroundings but also find ways of keeping their own identities at the same time. 

I can't say this book gave me any new insights beyond that of my own family's immigrant story, but the characters are colorful, likeable, and brought a story alive for you. 

Like a cat, my job seems to have 9 lives. Everytime I contemplate leaving, something happens which delays this. The reasons usually are good: pay rise, bonus, position opening up, etc.  But for such a small company of 20 odd people, inordinate amounts of shit (read drama) goes on.  It's hard to deal with on a good day much less a bad day.  Also with such a small company, I've basically reached the top. Being a partner now, the only person above me is the CEO. 

The equilibrium was just altered again a few days ago when our parent company ousted the CEO and instated a new one.  I definitely wasn't surprised by the announcement but this just means that I have a new boss effective immediately which means a whole new round of drama to contend with.  It's hard work.

I never would have known that this book was meant to be funny if it were not for the quote 'Extremely funny' from The Times printed on the cover of my copy.  I don't think I laughed once while reading this book. Some reviewers of the book have mentioned that it's fast reading since it's just over 300 pages.  I agree.  It did get through this book quickly but only because I wanted to be done with it!  I found just about all the characters annoying and the the author repetitive. 

Two sisters who normally only squabble are forced to work together when their 84 year old father decides to rescue a 36 year old 'blonde bombshell' from a harsh life in the Ukraine and gives her a better one in England.  The younger sister, who never knew her father very well, slowly begins to find out about her family history during this battle against the blonde bombshell.  The author punctuates the book with flashbacks of the family's life back in Eastern Europe in order for us to gain a better understanding of their complicated relationship.  I found these accounts too abruptly inserted into the story and gave it a very chopped up feeling. I gather these accounts were meant to give you more background to empathize with the characters but I've come away from the book with only cold feelings.

With the warmer weather here (I'm talking 60's - warm for London), I've gotten back into walking. Yup, just walking.  London is a city meant to be explored on foot. The transport system is very poor and will drive you crazy with its inefficiencies.  But that's not really my main motivation for walking. With its maze of streets, you'll only find the most interesting bits of it on foot rather than passing along the main roads in a car.  There are so many curious hidden away streets and buildings all over the city to discover. So that's what I like about it. Oh, and I also haven't been to the gym in months and this is my one way of getting some exercise.

I found a really cool website where they provide you walking directions from point A to B, tells you how long it will take, how many calories you'll burn, and also the CO2 emissions you've saved by not using a car or bus.  Walk It.  I found that a one way brisk walk from my home to work burns 170 calories.  That takes about 32 minutes which is hardly any slower than public transport.

Another website, Shortwalk, demonstrates just that and produced a map that shows the walking time from each tube stop in central London. They frequently discovered that walking took roughly the same amount of time.

For organized walks, there's info at Walking the Way to Health and Saturday Walking Club.