Somewhere in in his Faust, Goethe compares humans reasoning and arguing to grasshoppers who make lots of noise and move around a lot only to end up whSomewhere in in his Faust, Goethe compares humans reasoning and arguing to grasshoppers who make lots of noise and move around a lot only to end up where they were in beginning. The astronauts leaving Earth only to orbit it reminded me of that metaphor. Its amazing how unscalable space is - leave alone the nearest planet, we consider reaching moon an achievement. Of course, even reaching moon might have seemed like a lunatic's dream a century ago (the word 'lunatic' originates from a word for moon). So may be in a few decades, humans might reach new planets, or at least richest amongst will - with all our plastic bags and pot bellies. That sounds more like science horror fiction stories like that Ray Bradbury's Martin Chronicles. Agent Smith had a very powerful point when he compared humans to viruses.
Anyway, talking about the book - its amazing but modern. Not much of a story or conventional character development. It has the prose which you will either find beautiful or trying too hard to be stylistic.
Though centered on astronauts who have left the planet, the book is really about Earth, its beauty and importance. There is a beautiful chapter about a cosmological clock in which whole human history proportionate to a mere few seconds - in those few seconds, all our diverse humanity and cultures is contained. It might even win the booker though the fact that it is science-y doesn't bode well.
“The earth, from here, is like heaven. It flows with colour. A burst of hopeful colour. When we’re on that planet we look up and think heaven is elsewhere, but here is what the astronauts and cosmonauts sometimes think: maybe all of us born to it have already died and are in an afterlife. If we must go to an improbable, hard-to-believe-in place when we die, that glassy, distant orb with its beautiful lonely light shows could well be it.”...more
A bunch of character portraits from narrator's life that end up drawing narrator's own character. Powerful idea and some Powerful writingA bunch of character portraits from narrator's life that end up drawing narrator's own character. Powerful idea and some Powerful writing...more
"Moscow statues conspicuously failed to resemble the people they represented."
This is more non-fiction than fiction and more Russian than Albanian. Ka"Moscow statues conspicuously failed to resemble the people they represented."
This is more non-fiction than fiction and more Russian than Albanian. Kadre uses a telephonic conversation for discussing the bitter sweet relationship of art and tyrants. He draws parallels with other such cases and mostly beats around the bush in his reflections. There are some good lines but the best thing about the book is it reads like a gossip column about famous writers - their relationship and betrayals. Some of writers that find mention are Pasternik, Akhamatov, Sokolov, Joseph Brodesky, Homer, Pushkin, Tolstoy, Kadare, Dostovesky, Aleksandr Blok, Gorkhi, Mandelstam, etc. At least 3 Nobel laureates in that list and likes of Freud, Karl Marx, Stalin and Lenin are other celebrities getting mentions. Of Anna Akhmatova
"the queen of the Neva’ according to her admirers, and ‘half nun, half whore’ according to Andrey Zhdanov, called by some ‘the Sappho of Russia’, or ‘Anna of all the Russias’, in the monarchist–imperial style of one young poet,"
"She and Pasternak had dedicated not entirely innocent verses to each other, to the point where Pasternak, whenever he chanced to meet her, would forget that she had a husband and would propose marriage to her, which she just as naturally refused."
"The pairing of Mandelstam and Pasternak was genuine, almost fashionable. Everybody talked about them together, so Anna Akhmatova’s question, Mandelstam or Pasternak, coffee or tea, became proverbial. Which of these two shall we talk about, dear guest? What shall we order? Coffee or tea?" ...more
The only thing 2023 book list taught me is that the probability of your getting Booker nomination increases if your first name is Paul - there are thrThe only thing 2023 book list taught me is that the probability of your getting Booker nomination increases if your first name is Paul - there are three Pauls in this year’s list. I got nothing much to say about this one - its well written and has some excellent moments but very few of them and it doesn't offer the kind of experience I would expect from a Booker winner....more
My favorite from booker long list this year. It is actually second book in the list that dealswith the loss of mother (though it's really about a contMy favorite from booker long list this year. It is actually second book in the list that dealswith the loss of mother (though it's really about a continued relationship of narrator and her father with their mother or elsewhere that of a mother with her absent child) but the prose is far superior than Western Lane. There are also elements in it that transcend the individual tragedy with continous reference to the cultural and folk traditions....more
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