Humanities Book 2: Doctor Haggard's Disease - Patrick McGrath

McGrath's style is exquisite. This book is a must read for all bibliophiles. It is a contemporary gothic novel. According to my friend Wikipedia "His fiction is principally characterised by the first person unreliable narrator, and recurring subject matter in his work includes mental illness, repressed homosexuality and adulterous relationships".  That sums it up really well.

The book is set in WWII era, and is set in England. McGrath very well describes the setting, the culture, the life then. If you were watching Downton Abbey, it could be a darker follow up as to where they left off. The society, in England, is the same although changing quickly, and going to war yet again.

The main character or narrator is definitely unreliable, but it is a fascinating look into a diseased man's mind and processes. The other characters are all from this unsound narrator's perspective, so it would be unwise to jump to conclusions about them, they are very interesting nonetheless.

A summary: The plot follows the narration of one Dr. Haggard, who describes his love affair with his first love. His only love. The heart break that follows and how her love haunts him. He later meets her son, long after her death. The son is a spitfire pilot and he knows time is not on his side, as Hitler's blitzkrieg was progressing to England rapidly. He needed to find out about his mother's affair with Dr. Haggard, he pursues, so the story goes.

I recommend this book for a nice read in isolation, with coffee or a whiskey. Probably a whiskey because there's some crazy stuff that goes down. It's a short read and can be done in a week, however it is heavy stuff. The plot is convoluted, and the end is shocking as I've been told by many of the other students. The characters especially Dr. Haggard are gripping. I had a hard time putting down this book because the desire to want to know what happens next is so nagging. The language is lovely and I can not wait to read other of McGrath's works.

Plot: 9/10
Entertainment: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Thought Provoking: 10/10
Recommend: 10/10

NEVER judge a book by its cover.

The Magicians - Lev Grossman

I've been dying to review this book but I have had to wait till my feelings about it matured. So as a novice reader would find they tend to like books where they can see themselves as the main character, or where the character has no flaws - ie. Harry Potter, Twilight series, or Superman. The Magicians is about a a boy Quentin, who is obsessed with a magical world similar to Narnia. He's in high school and soon gets an invitation to a secret magical school not unlike Hogwarts. He passes the multiple entrance exams and he's suddenly a student. They quickly dispense of how he was able to ditch his mother and father and real life circumstances to be able to join the school.

The school is a small part of the larger plot but if I remember correctly it takes up most of the first book. The other characters in the book are Alice, his soon to be secretive but very intelligent (like Hermione) girlfriend. Eliot and Janet who are his house leaders for lack of better term, and his friends from old real life times, who he has now ditched. Oh and the strange character Penny who becomes important in later books.

Quentin himself is an interesting character because he is introverted, a perpetual grumpkin, and might suffer from Major Depressive disorder as described in the DSM IV. This is a strange combination, however not rare, for the protagonist. People hate this book because he is hard to identify with (I've read a lot of the reviews), others enjoy his character because he is real. I slowly began to enjoy his character after reading The Monsters (by the Hooblers) and Doctor Haggard's Disease (McGrath), where the character's flaws were the pivotal part of the story. Quentin's flaws add that overall feel to the book. Also it probably addresses mental illness and depression in a very real way.

The book gets time to get into, however after reading all three books one realizes that together they form a pretty good series. The series is now a show on the syfy channel, and they are of course, putting their own twist on it, but it makes it all the more interesting.

If you ever enjoyed the Narnia series, then this book is for you but for adults due to the sexual content, drugs and lots of drinking. Yes a Harry potter for adults. A Narnia-Harry Potter series for adults, however I would like to see this series someday stand on its own. to me Fillory is slowly becoming a very different imaginary world from Narnia.

I fell in love with the series after reading it, letting the adventure of the experience of reading it sink in, and watching the tv series where they change a lot. I think I will review the other books in the series in comparison to the actual tv show series in the future.

I'm giving it a bunch of eights though because it may be a tv show, but it is not a masterpiece, just fun for grown ups and drinking games.

Plot: 8/10
Entertainment: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Writing Style: 6/10
Thought Provoking: 6/10
Recommend: 8/10

Redeployment - Phil Kay

I'm not one to read war stories, or biographies for that matter. I really am not enthusiastic about or enjoy anything related to war, so this book would never have been something I would have picked up on my own. We were looking for a new book for the common read program and so I picked the most unlikely book to me so that I could broaden my range (also the other books did not seem that exciting). Trying something new, something unfamiliar is not something we often chose to do willingly. This was extra motivation. I had about a week and a half to read it. Deadlines.

I have so much to say about this book, but it is hard to do so without giving it all up. A few things about the book: it is a bunch of "short stories", it is full of military talk/ jargon, and lastly the language used by soldiers is often colorful, so do expect the "F-bomb" often. Last but not least this is a very adult book, graphic, raw, brutal, honest. Not for the weak of heart. On the other hand it is great because there is a lot we can learn from it through discussion.

The first chapter is about marines who shot dogs on purpose. There is one chapter dedicated to courtesans if you get my meaning. There was a chapter dedicated to how money was used to manage the chaos of what was Iraq, the War in Iraq, the politics behind it all. There was a chapter on how it felt to come back and how women in your life and out of your life, perceived you. There was a chapter on going back to school as a veteran (vet), and how various people reacted, how vets viewed people...

There is so much to discuss here, as I mentioned earlier so it is a great book for reintegration of vets into school etc. This book also addresses the reality behind war, so its great for people who want to join the army but are not sure.  This book addresses the complexities of war, great for discussions on those who have made up their minds on which side of the fence they stand (anti-war or pro-war etc.). Lastly the casualties of war, which are the so called "war heroes" themselves and how it impacts everyone. It is something we all need to address and discuss as a society after Vietnam war, WWII etc. We needed to adjust to the heroes coming back, the victims, the refugees back then and we need to face the realities now. We must face it eventually, or we are denying a huge truth. Even when we did not support the war we are some way a part of it. I think this ties in with studies in Geography and existentialism in someway: although we think imaginary lines in the ground divide us, we are all connected.

This book leads to a lot of deep realizations. This was another book I read while working out,  and lead me to be choking up tears or gasping while running at full speed. This is a book for quiet time, to reflect, to digest the horrors. This is a book in which you are willing to hear the truth, and to take it in and know these things happen. A book that will way heavy, on the conscience and make you want to do something about it. But what? Where do we start?

This book is not entertaining, there is no plot, the characters are all different yet all the same. Yes I am going deep here. Thought provoking - hell yeah. Writing style - fuck yeah. Recommend... well its up to you.

Plot: 7/10
Entertainment: 5/10
Characters: 9/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Thought Provoking: 9/10
Recommend: 8/10

Lines I loved:

"She's been Muslim for like three days".
"My father thinks Islam is the religion of poor blacks."
"Where the Army was going to kill all those people you've been mistaken for. And you get to watch."
"For me the hardest thing is taking off the wedding rings."
"...he shot the kid..."

More great lines in this book. I suggest if you want to know more, read it. Yes a lot of these are rather instigatory if not politically incorrect at some level. Like I said it is not entertaining but educational, eye opening, and something we need to talk about to make this a better world for the future.

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

The renowned Plath, at last. This book was a beast I did not know was coming. So if you are looking for a very cerebral exploration of a woman in the 1950's mind, and how it all worked, and works even today, Plath was deeply insightful.

This book is about Esther Greenwood, she's intelligent, attractive, and successful in the way you could be in the 1950s as a woman. However, something goes wrong and everything spirals out of control for her. What is real and what is fake becomes a blur, and one begins to question society's sanity, and Esther's sanity.

As I read this I was drawn into and could identify with Esther's character to the T, other than fashion choices of course. It was deep and disturbing at some points. If you are looking for a classic, an experience of a life time you will not easily forget, good writing, this is the book for you. It is also very artsy and emo, and now I know what all the cool English kids were raving about. Just so you know this is a heavy read, maybe not as much as Finnegan's Wake, Whitman, or Joseph Conrad.

Plath's life itself is intriguing, and interesting to read about after this book, or before this book in order to better understand where it stems from. I have not been able to understand the poetry aspect of Plath yet, perhaps some day.

Here are some quotes from the book I enjoyed:
"There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends."
"I collected men with interesting names."
"...was a real fanatic about virginity for both men and women."
"...I had never been really happy again."
"...the trouble was I hated the idea of serving men in anyway..."
"I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double life, one pure and one not."
"I had never met a woman-hater before."
"...my mind slipped from the noose of the thought and swung, like a bird, in the center of empty air."

Plot: 8/10
Entertainment: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Thought Provoking: 9/10
Recommend: 8/10

The Postmortal - Drew Magary

The Postmortal was a book picked for our school's college wide  Common reading program. This meant there were going to be many activities college wide based on this book, including but not limited to Drew Margary visiting our campus. (Sadly I was unable to go to this event but I heard good reports).

This book was truly fresh and ground breaking. As the back cover reads "Imagine a near future where a cure for aging is discovered and - after much political and moral debate- made available to people worldwide. Immortality, however, comes with its own unique problems - including evil green people, government euthanasia programs, a disturbing new religious cult, and other horrors."

You can not imagine what this book holds, from introspection of a person who has taken the cure, to world wide politics, this book hits it all from the small to the big picture of immortality. We begin to wonder, what happens to people who are already old? Do they get the cure? What happens to marriage, would you really want to be married "till death do us part"? At what age do we administer the cure - is it cruel to keep a baby as a baby forever? Is it worth keeping a 90 year old 90 forever? What about resources? What about armies?

What would you do? As the book unfolds the life of the narrator and his choices are revealed. The ride the book takes you through makes you wonder what decisions you would make. Definitely entertaining, interesting story line and the character shows growth throughout the book. The language is not heavy like Dickens or Whitman, but it tells the story clearly and easy for even millennials to comprehend.

Some excerpts I loved in this book:
"Immortality will kill us all".
"You got me, I'm terrified of death."
"Death be proud".
"There are no golden years I have a stockpile for..."
"You said you'd love me forever".
"...how we're going to quantify success from this day forward... the cure forcing us to redefine the notion of excellence... if your career- nay, your entire life- has no definitive story arc?"
"The church of man is a nondenominational faith that promotes the worship of man and woman on earth."

I will leave you with that. Read it! (the cover is not much, but never judge a book by its cover).
For a nice visual guide loosely following this book watch The Immortalists on Netflix.


Plot: 10/10
Entertainment: 10/10
Characters: 8/10
Writing Style: 6/10
Thought Provoking: 9/10
Recommend: 8/10

Paper Towns - John Greene

This book is now a movie, but I did read it before the movie was released. I am not sure why I picked it up, but perhaps it was the interesting premise. Interesting observation I read two books in which the protagonist has the same name - Quentin. This is one of them (the other being The Magicians Series). So Quentin is totally crushing his childhood friend Margo Roth Spiegelman, who like him have all grown up. So one night of senior year of high school she crawls in his window and they both have a fun night. The next day she is gone, but she has left clues for him.

Its a great young adult novel book, but as an adult and an ex-student of psychology, there seems to be some depression, and other mental illnesses, reflected here. It would be an interesting study. Once again Plath, Whitman, and some other classics are referred to. We learn more about these classics, as the mystery unfolds, and as the secrets of that hallowed night are revealed.

I liked a few lines in the book which might make you interested in it too. Here are a few quotes from it.

"This was the first time in my life that so many things would never happen again."
"She reads the Whitman and highlights 'I tramp a perpetual journey'."
 One of my favorites- "The rules of capitalization are so unfair to the words in the middle of the sentence." Is that not the beauty of English.
"I had been imagining her without listening, without knowing that she made as poor a window as I did."
"Someone who might read travel books to escape having to live in the town that so many people escape to. Someone who- because no one thought she was a person - had no one really to talk to."

A road trip is also in the book, and the build up to the end is really great. I am not sure if I was happy with the ending or not, then again it is YA. I would recommend it to those looking for a light, yet deep read, something with a happy ending which will leave you smiling. This book will make you want to explore the classics like Whitman after this by the way.

I hope to catch the movie too sometime as it hits Netflix.


Plot: 7/10
Entertainment: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Writing Style: 8/10
Thought Provoking: 9/10
Recommend: 8/10

To Kill a Mocking Bird - Harper Lee

This book is a classic. Not much more needs to be said about this book as it has stood the test of time. I re-read it because Go Set a Watchman, which I am yet to read, was being released this summer, after many a year of being hidden. I just needed to refresh my memory of the book... the novel about "childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it..." A lot of which i did not understand when i first read it as a wee lass.

I need not summarize this book, but I do remember the tag line "Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded a masterpiece of American Literature." I still have my copy which was printed in 1982, is rife with typos. Back to the "love story" theme, after reading it you are filled with all the other feelings other than love. There is a "love" but there is not one main romance story going on. It is not a 50 shades of gray, it is not a 50 shades of black or white either. This book explores relationships, life, and the little world of a little girl. The world is the little town of Maycomb, in Maycomb County Alabama. In this little world which is set in the 40s and 50s essentially, young woman being proper, segregation, the Dewey decimal system, fancy hats, and so many other things still exist that do not legally exist today.

What I found most interesting after re-reading this book were things I did not originally grasp as a child when I had first read it. I was not much older than Scout, the narrator of the story, when laid eyes on it. I could not stop reading it as it is written in a very engaging manner, it gets it's hooks right into you no mater what your age.

There are social-cultural aspects, education, political, geography, justice, racism, class-ism, some psychology, existential and much much more parts to this plot. It is a masterpiece from that perspective. What I noticed while re-reading it was how looking at the world today, how not much has chanced in 50 or more years sociologically/culturally. We think they have, but perhaps it is not very if we look at the several cases recently that have happened in regards to class and race.

Other things I began to understand after all those years were all the references to weather and climate, football, and American culture (how the South is different from the North, etc.). Ie. they speak about how it snowed, and snow was something not common, and is still not common in Alabama. Living in Ohio, I know all to well how this works. Back then however they had no centralized heating (and probably still don not in Alabama, Florida etc.), so how they heated the houses and why Miss Maudie's house caught on fire all make sense. How the smell of the fire may linger on furniture and other things for ages. It ruins it and takes years to get the smells out.

The other aspect that came to light was the relationships between all the characters. There was the main court case which the book sort of revolved around was the "victim" and the "perpetrator", which came to light, the children and their father, the girl Scout coming into society because her aunt made her do so, and so much more. It was so fascinating reading it as an adult, and fun too. I actually read the entire book while on the elliptical for 5 days.

The book is a classic and a must read by everyone. I am excited to read the new one, however I am worried I will be disappointed, much like my fear for the new Star wars movie (which was marvelous). Do re-read it if you read the new one, I am sure it will help bring perspective.

My favorite quotes:
"many years later that I realized he wanted me to hear every word he said."
"didn't you know his nickname was Ol' One-Shot when he was a boy?"
"Two geological ages later, we heard the soles of Atticus's shoes..." shout out to geology!
"Her face was the color of a dirty pillow case..."
"There was indeed a caste system in Maycomb, but to my mind it worked this way..."
"Yonder's some Mennonites, Jem said to Dill. They don't have buttons."

Plot: 10/10
Entertainment: 8/10
Characters: 10/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Thought Provoking: 10/10
Recommend: 10/10

Calpurnia, Jem, and Scout (from the movie).

Everything I Never Told You: A Novel - Celeste Ng

Celeste Ng, brings to light the plight and joys (less Jo of being an Asian in America from as early as the 50s - the 70s/80s. Things you would have never thought, are brought into our attention. These are not uncommon feelings, experiences, and not felt by only Asians. Any immigrant moving to a place which they are the only ones, is what this book is about. Any person who tried to fit in, and not stand out. Any person who did not like their own very alien or different physical attributes.

This books is an intellectual, and emotional journey through the lives of a Chinese-American man, and an American woman and their family. The tagline at the back of the book is such: "Lydia is dead but they don't know this yet." So begins this delicate novel about the Chinese American family living in the 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia's body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos."

One of the things I loved about this book was that it was set in Ohio. A place I live in currently, and am very familiar with. Ohio in the 60s, and 70s, is something I am not familiar with, although my father did go to Case in the late 1970s. I imagined some of it from what it would have been like for him; as a result this book hit close to home, if not home itself.

The book develops the characters so richly, and you feel them. You are them. It brought tears to my eyes, on multiple occasions.  I suggest not reading it while at the gym. This book is a great book for sitting at a cafe, or at a park on a sunny day. It helps to let the taste loll about in your mouth, and slowly swallow and digest it as some parts maybe heavy or grey. Another very deep, thought provoking, moving, and gripping book. It will often times remind you of your own family and its issues, and various family dynamics.

The book also focuses on grief, and how different people deal with the various stages of grief. It is not only grief that is looked at but also loss- loss of a life not lived, loss of love, loss of dreams. The pressures of being in an Asian, or Asian American family is explored. In some ways even something of teasing and bullying is exposed seemingly lightly touched on, but it is there staring you in the face.

Another book for those looking to go deeper. For those who want to see things from someone else's eyes. Those who want to empathize. This book is a ride that we may have experienced in some form, but not in the way Lydia and her family has.

Plot: 7/10
Entertainment: 6/10
Characters: 10/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Thought Provoking: 9/10
Recommend: 8/10

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

After reading The Girl on the train, which I had read a different article on (there are two books with a similar title, and basically the wrong book saw a boost in sales because of The Girl on the Train. Vs. A girl on a train or something that similar). The idea was to read Sylvia Plath, since the Girl on the train mentioned her and how she died. The drama surrounding her life, the morbidity and the depression. However, this book caught my attention due to its tag line "students at a school do not know how special they are until they grow up..."

Ishiguro is a classical writer. His language, descriptions are all very reminiscent of Edwardian England even. He did write remains of the day, a very slow, yet dramatic and intentional novel/ movie. Never Let me go is no different, rife with layers of messages, symbology and deep meaning. At first it is all very ambiguous and it seems as though they are all just rich children at a very prestigious school.

Slowly the book reveals mysteries behind the school. Eventually midway through the book when they have graduated we find out what is really going on. There is a character Ruth who is played by (those of you who would rather skip the arduous read) Keira Knightley in the movie by the same name, is perfectly portrayed in the tiny love triangle that does seem to be the center of the movie.

The climax though is what the mystery is behind the school, their projects etc. Once revealed we are all faced with that moral question. It is the other side of living, of being that is projected. In some ways it reminds of the movie AI (Artificial Intelligence), also a few other movies.

Although this is a slower paced book, it is a classic. It is thought provoking, characters are deep and interesting, the language is also very good. I do recommend it for those looking to delve deeper into emotions and thoughts of life, the world, science, and people.

Plot: 9/10
Entertainment: 6/10
Characters: 9/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Thought Provoking: 9/10
Recommend: 8/10

Wish List: India

Strangely enough, I have not read some noted Indian authors, or books on India. Why this is so, I do not know. Perhaps the Rock'n'Roll is very strong in me, but every now and then I hear the call of the Sitar and Tabla.

On that note, I am amazed as to why I have not fully watched "Slumdog Millionaire", and "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", among others. I have not really enjoyed a "Bollywood" movie in a long time, since the 3 Idiots.

So here's to wishing. Wishing to watch more Indian movies this year, maybe a trip to India? Oh Sigh, visas! Other than that, I also wish to read more Indian authors such as Malgudi days, Jhumpa Lahiri, Salman Rushdie, etc. I have had some Jhumpa, Narayan, etc. books for ages, and regrettably have not touched them in many years.

This year I will dust the covers, and explore those pages.

The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins

I read this book early in the summer. It was one of my first books of a long list of books to be read. This book is a light read, ie. it is not Chaucer, Hardy or Hemingway. The content of the book, however, can be heavy, and even disturbing mentally. Some may say this book is for women, but its a great book with insight into depression and a stage a three clinger type situation (watch "The Wedding Crashers" for reference).

I actually wrote a lot of notes while reading the book, to put down thoughts, mark my favorite lines, and to mark tactics in the writing itself. I promise I read for leisure but note writing makes it even funner for me. Some stuff here maybe straight from my notes.

The books starts off  as "point of view" from various characters. It's from the point of view of the main character Rachel. Over the course of the book I feel the main character changes. The books chapters are dated and timed, which is a very important part of the mystery, so pay close attention to those. The nice part is you can always go back and check the chapters.

A few things I tried to pay attention to apart from the dates, were the stations, towns and neighborhoods mentioned in the book as the mystery of it all unravels around these details. As the story unravels we understand that our Rachel who we are forced to side with due to her being the protagonist at this point and only being able to see her point of view, is a lonely heart broken lady who is having the hardest time getting over her divorce. She does see it being very one sided, such as she was the victim of a cheating man. The man who took everything from her, and left her with nothing.

She is the very broken hero of this story. Someone we love to hate, but also can understand her pains. She drinks a lot and is very morbid. The only thing that keeps her going is imagining the lives of her old neighbors who she does not know. She enjoys day dreaming of their perfect lives. Eventually she mentions Sylvia Plath and how she had to deal with a cheating husband, which eventually led her to put her head in an oven, and then her husbands' mistress ended up doing the same. (This later piqued my interest to read Plath). As you can imagine there are heavy psychological undertones to this.

We later get insight into other female characters' points of view. We learn, just as in our lives, other people have as complex relationships due to insecurities, and preconceived notions. We get an in-depth look into this monstrosity that can sometimes envelope us while we are with our nearest and dearest ones. We get to see the inner workings of the minds of three women so intertwined, without a few of them not even realizing it.

Why do I think this book is relevant: In a world where relationships are changing dynamically with the times this book gives us insight into our minds. Also into various degrees of mental illness, we can see how depression can effect people. This book does touch beyond depression, borderline, narcissistic and other personality/ behavioral disorders. Though fascinating it is a problem very real to many, and we need to help rather than term them as loony. So that is my case for relevance.

This book if not entertaining it was a true ride. Fast paced, a book you can not put down, a thriller, a mystery that will have you sweating and cursing the characters involved. Right after which there maybe a few other books you may be interested in reading.

Plot: 7/10
Entertainment: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Thought Provoking: 9/10
Recommend: 10/10