With such title, I had hoped for a story of Maugham’s stamp: humorous understanding of the human heart set in the most lyrical prose. And while there are hints of just that, for the most part I found it a sentimentally guarded travel book of his journey through Burma (Myanmar), Siam (Thailand), Cambodia, and Hong Kong... Continue Reading →
Books: “A primer into the most beautiful mathematics” by Yoko Ogawa + Masahiko Fujiwara
「世にも美しい数学入門」 Currently not translated into English, this is an interview style conversation between novelist Ogawa and the celebrated Japanese mathematician, Masahiko Fujiwara. The two unlikely pair came together for Ogawa’s research for her novel “The Housekeeper and the Professor.” As per its title translated literally, “A primer into the most beautiful mathematics,” the discourse includes... Continue Reading →
Books: “The Woman Warrior” by Maxine Hong Kingston
Do not mistake this story of an immigrant Chinese family with those you find in a high school summer reading syllabus. Since its publishing in ’76, The Woman Warrior has been lauded as a feminist book, and it is easy to spot Kingston’s influence in today’s writing; ideas of motherhood, what it means to menstruate,... Continue Reading →
Books: “The Dispossessed” by Ursula K. Le Guin
Where to beginning!? Ursula (first name basis, cause what girl doesn’t remember the charismatic villain-ness in ‘The Little Mermaid’?), is a genius. We can talk about the social/political aspect of the book all day; two sister planets: one living in capitalistic sin with government spy power which gives rise to protests (sound familiar?), and a... Continue Reading →
Books: “The Memory Police” by Yoko Ogawa
This was my second novel by author Yoko Ogawa, and my first impression remains; there is a quiet elegance in acceptance. As with “The Housekeeper and the Professor,” Ogawa challenges the notation of memory – how much ‘self’ remains despite the loss of personal history, loss of sentiment attached to an object. The writing is... Continue Reading →
Books: “The Sellout” by Paul Beatty
This was a hard book to get into, but once in, hard to get out of. With sentences that run long and mixes subjects (both grammatical subjects and social topics), that is laden with sarcastic observations of racism in American, blink and you will miss the casually integrated story lines. But once the eye is... Continue Reading →
Books: “Come As You Are” by Emily Nagoski, Ph.D.
A snippet on the back cover describes that the book “will transform your sex life.” I think it does much more: as a woman, it transforms how you look at yourself, physically and emotionally, it forces you to take seriously your current context (are you stressed, are you relaxed, are you happy with yourself), and... Continue Reading →
Books: “The Merry-Go-Round” by W. Somerset Maugham
Originally published in 1905, “The Merry-Go-Round” is one of Maugham’s more earlier writings. Having read his later novels first, it was astonishingly easy to tell; burdened with Edwardian values, the story of characters’ facing moral dilemmas between integrity and happiness, reads more like a Henry James novel. The humorous narrator, who is Maugham - both... Continue Reading →
Books: “More Far Eastern Tales” by W. Somerset Maugham
Part II of the wonderful collection of short stories set in the steamy jungles of Malaya. Maugham’s magic of story telling is simply enchanting! The tales are a product of its surroundings - in that the English code of conduct seem melt away under the Malayan sun, and in its place, vines of primal desires... Continue Reading →
Books: “Motherhood” by Sheila Heti
I had bought this book a few months back and kept it to read for Mother’s Day. It was, therefore, a surprise to learn the book was about an internal struggle to reconcile the body and mind to the outcome of NOT becoming a mother. I was quite frustrated with it but if I am... Continue Reading →
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