Book Review: On the Isle of Antioch by Amin Maalouf

 Behind all our human progress—inventions, technological advances, comforts, and medical breakthroughs—that have made our lives better, longer, and more pleasant are stories of toil, struggle, and hard work. But even when we are in the middle of all these advancements, we realise that we are facing challenges of unprecedented magnitude. We are arming ourselves with deadlier weapons, researching and producing dangerous viruses artificially, eroding and destroying natural resources and the flora and fauna, oppressing the downtrodden, and generally making mistakes that can threaten our own existence on earth.

What if there is a different branch of humans who seperated themselves from us in a distant past, who refused to participate in the rat race and single-mindedly strived to achieve a utopia, made unimaginable strides in technological innovation, and even challenged the notion of death? What if they are observing our lacklustre and unfocused efforts to get ourselves out of the ditch, like a modern man observing a hunter-gatherer tribe? How would we react if they decided to interfere in our lives? Will we trust them to help us ascend, or will we be threatened by their superiority? Will we deify them as our saviours, or will we demonise them for their interference?

In his novel On the Isle of Antioch, the French-Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf depicts a situation in which a technologically advanced set of humans decide to interfere in our affairs and our varied responses to it. This is speculative fiction, with undertones of existential philosophy. The story has the potential to make its reader contemplate our own past and our interferences with each other and with nature in a critical manner. The novel was originally written in French, and its upcoming English edition is translated by Natasha Lehrer. I received an advance copy of the book by the publisher, World Editions, through netgalley.com in exchange for my honest feedback.

Alec Zander, a cartoonist who leads a lonely life on the barren island of Antioch, wakes up one morning to find his power and all communication with the outside world cut off. When he realises that this is a worldwide phenomenon, he fears the worst—the nuclear standoff between the US government and a rebel group has been ended by one of them. He decides to contact his lone neighbour, Ève, a disillusioned, alcoholic writer who has written a cult novel and couldn't repeat the feat once again. Once the connection is reset, his friend in White House reveals to him the contact from an advanced human race that was separated from the main stream centuries before and has decided to support humanity. The novel further explores the ramifications of this information and how different people react to a better class of humans deciding to interfere.

The novel is narrated in the form of daily notebook entries written by the protagonist as the situation evolves. Narrated in the first person, this format gives a very personal feel to the plot. It also builds the suspense and tension of the plot, as readers are on the same page as the protagonist. We are as clueless about the situation as he is and are only privy to any information that he has. This helped to build a rapport with the character and feel the ambivalence of the plot with more intensity. It also helped that the protagonist is a largely impartial person who hears everyone with equal importance and decides to just chronicle the events instead of passing a judgement. He is wavered by emotions, temptations, and different narratives, but largely we find someone who is inquisitive enough to see things without an agenda clouding his intellect.

The novel works as a philosophical reflection on our past, present, and future as a human race. It makes us aware of our past, which built an empire through trial and error and by spending blood and sacrifice. But the past has led to the present, which makes us rely on an egoistic leadership that never thinks of us as a whole and a community that is ready to follow like sheep when someone offers a quick fix solution. As individuals, each of us has an eventual certainty of the future, but as a collective, we are anxious and unsure of it. The novel indicates a trail that may eventually lead us to a better place than our presence—a trail that's marked by increased empathy and cooperation between us.

Book Review: River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure

Alva is a Chinese American girl born to a failed American actress who grew up poor in Shanghai in 2005. She is unable to accept her mother Sloan marrying Lu Fang, a rich international businessman, as it destroys her plan to someday go to America, a country that she has never visited but is obsessed with. Little does she realise that there is a past that connects Sloan and Lu Fang, an ambitious soul whose academic dreams are cut short by the Cultural Revolution. This starts a story that spans two entwined generations of multiple cultural identities.

River East, River West is the upcoming debut novel by Aube Rey Lescure. The novel, which is set in China, deals with cultural identity and explores how a change in the political and economic situation of a country can create a crisis in personal relationships and one's sense of self. I received an advance copy of this novel from its publisher, Duckworth Books, through Netgalley in exchange for my honest feedback.

The title River East, River West denotes two districts of Shanghai that are divided by the Huangpu River. River West is the old colonial zone of Shanghai, and River East is the Chinese suburb. The plot of the novel is essentially a tug of war between two cultures—Chinese and American—and its effect on the characters. Alva is the main casualty, having belonged to both sides. When Alva has to choose between two campuses of an American school, she chooses the one in River West, indicating her interest in being an American. Her mother, Sloan, has abandoned America because she feels that being an expatriate in China will give her the respect that America never gave her. But her life in China was not a walk on roses either.

The academic pursuit of Lu Fang was culled by the Cultural Revolution. He had to contend with being a pen pusher, but later, when the economic policies changed, he struggled and became a wealthy businessman. He wanted his son, from his first wife, to pursue studies and a career in America. But his son, who never had to face the adversities that Lu Fang faced, never felt the need. Thus, we find that all the major characters are in a state of dilemma, and their ambitions and desires are contradictory to each other's.

Chinese policies and reforms play a major role in determining the motives of the characters. Sloan's satiation of her need for respect and privilege, Lu Fang's desparation to move away from China and his decision to prepare his son to pursue it when he realises it's impossible for him to do it, and Alva's desparation to identify herself as an American and her resultant descent into the rabbit hole all stemmed basically from societal conditions that arose from them.

Except for Sloan, who has experienced it firsthand and knows the reality, America is a dream world for all others. All of them have preconceived notions about life there, which are shaped by the American symbols they see around them in a newly liberalised China. We see several American brands and pop culture references popping up frequently in the narrative. At one point, Alva even asks a person who did a barbaric act if he would dare to do it if he were in America.

The novel follows a non-linear narration from the alternating points of view of Alva and Lu Fang. Alva's sections span a time period from 2007 to 2008 and Lu Fang's from 1985 to 2005. The novelist uses this format successfully to frequently topple the reader's expectations. We form conclusions from the information that is available to us, but in the next chapter, a new twist or turn shifts the narrative to a different angle.

The generational gap is a frequent motif that reappears in the novel. Sloan and Lu Fang have expectations from their children, and they enforce these without considering the reactions of their kids. They have good intentions in mind, but the rigidity of the parents' behaviour only serves to drive the kids away. Another example is the plight of Alva's friend Gao, who is also a victim of an over-disciplinary father. Another interesting element that the writer uses repeatedly is the fall from heights, both literally and metaphorically. We find this used to contrast the characters. Some of them fall and survive, while others don't. The final act begins the biggest fall of them all, the fall of the Lehman Brothers.

River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure is a devastating story of human beings who are essentially pawns of the bigger machinery that runs the system—local and global econopolitics. But reading it, we realise that they still have the power to adapt if they are ready to stand together as a unit, accepting each other.

Book Review: Orbital by Samantha Harvey

A derelict international space station that is moving around the earth at a distance of 250 kilometres at a speed of seventeen thousand miles. Six astronauts and cosmonauts of different nationalities are living inside this metal globe. In every twenty-four hours, they see sixteen sunrises and sunsets. Their job is to observe the earth, do experiments, maintain the station, coexist with one another, and survive their tenure inside it.

Orbital, the upcoming novel by Samantha Harvey, exhibits twenty-four hours of the existence of these six inhabitants. We find them observing their mother planet for sixteen earth days. We get to know about them, their pasts, their regrets and ambitions, their loneliness up there, their relationships with others in the team, and their struggles to maintain their physical and mental balance. I received an advance copy of Orbital from its publisher, Grove Atlantic, through Netgalley in exchange for my feedback.

The author uses a very interesting narrational style in this novel. The third-person narrative never anchors on any of its characters for most of the time, and even when it does, it shifts very quickly from one member to the next. Like a relay running team, each of the characters comes into focus for a short time, and in that time we get to know them personally. We find who they left behind on earth, the messages they receive, the experiments they have to do, and how they adapt (or not) to the situation of living inside a rapidly travelling vehicle far out in space with strangers and the constant change of scenery. Even when the characters are sleeping, the narrational voice never stops or cuts to the next scene. It goes on to describe the ever-changing geographic visuals of the earth that are visible from the station, maintaining a reporting style throughout the novel.

This kind of narration worked for the novel in two ways. First, the quickly shifting focus works as a disruptive force that constantly breaks the attention of readers. As a result of this rollercoaster style, they get the feel of travelling at high speed and being in an orbit themselves. There is no plot development as such in the novel, and most of the plot deals with the loneliness and internal struggle that the astronauts have to deal with. But the narration gives the novel its pace and urgency.

The second achievement of this unique kind of storytelling is that the reader is always kept at a distance from the plot. We understand the pain and loneliness, and we empathise with the characters, but eventually we are observers. We observe the six of them going on through their routine; we observe what's inside the station; and we also see the earth through the screens of the vehicle. The astronauts are observing the earth intently and communicating with their control on the earth. The earth control, in turn, continuously monitors the progress of the travellers. We realise that, essentially, we are also becoming a part of the chain.

We find that one of the characters has brought a postcard depicting La Meninas, the famous painting by Diego Velázquez, which also connects to the relationship between the chain of observers established by the plot. The painting, which is much debated and studied, poses philosophical questions about the existence of different points of view and the relationship of the viewer with art. It shows all its characters, including the painter himself, observing each other and makes the viewer not certain what exactly is the focus of the painting.

A few other artefacts described in the novel also make the reader debate this conundrum, like the moon landing photo by Michael Collins, which makes one character of the novel wonder if Collins is the lone living man who isn't included in it as it shows moon landers with earth in its background. This reflects the astronauts of the novel observing the earth, which they see as barren from up there, the only signs of life being illuminations whenever it's night, all the while it is teeming with life, invisible to them. Another photo of a character's mother taken on the day of the moonlanding that features the moon, of course without the astronauts who were on it while the photo was being taken, is another clue that reveals the intention of the novel.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey is a slender, though profound, novel that uses the tale of six astronauts inside a claustrophobic spacecraft to explore themes like relations, perspectives, points of view, and the temporal and spatial effects that different points of view exert on a viewer.

Book Review: Feedback by Nicholas R. Golledge

 When we stand where we are and look as far back into the past as we can, we sense something astounding. We find that our way to the present, in which we humans, the intelligent beings capable of manipulating nature according to will, stand on this blue planet, can be totally attributed to pure luck. There were billions of variables affecting this evolutionary tale at various points in time, and even if one of them was slightly altered, intelligent life would not exist today. This realisation makes us consider the possibility of the existence of an invisible hand that worked miracles and 'conspired' to bring us here. Or is it a rare accident that has a chance in billions, in which the dice always fell in our favour for millions of years? 

In his book Feedback, expert climate scientist Nicholas R. Golledge tries to solve this conundrum by uncovering the hidden connections that bind every cyclic system on earth, from plate tectonics to our social lives. He comes to the conclusion that every system that is cyclic is pushed away from an equilibrium state through multiple feedbacks, and these feedbacks ensure that the system is progressively pushed away until it reaches a point at which it breaks down. After the breakdown, the system adapts, reorganises, and rebuilds again to start a new cycle. The feedback ensures that the new cycle is more optimised and more ordered than the previous ones. I received an advance copy of this book from its publisher, Globe Pequot, through Netgalley. 

The book elaborates its concept in eight chapters, each one focusing on a 'living' system that has evolved using feedback and demonstrating an asymmetrical, sawtooth kind of cycle in which it moves forward slowly and steadily and then suddenly breaks down. Golledge demonstrates this pattern repeating in different systems like plate tectonics, the climate system, biodiversity, the evolution of humanity, human societies, and even the working of the human self. He then goes on to claim that knowledge about this concept of the self-evolving and organising nature of systems can be used to improve the prediction of future trends in most human endeavours.

The book, though comprising a little more than 250 pages, is crammed with information from varied disciplines. It is narrated very passionately, and some of the chapters ended up being page-turners, like a thriller story. It also shed light on several scientific facts. For example, I never knew there was a time period in the history of Earth where the duration of a day was just six hours! I agree that it takes its sweet time to make its actual point, and most of the conclusions felt speculative at the end. But ultimately, Feedback excels in equipping its reader with great insights into the path that we—our planet, all the different species that inhabit it, and us humans—had to take on our way up to here and now.

I am also linking a YouTube video in which the writer explains some of the fundamental concepts that formed this book. 

വിഗതാക്ഷരങ്ങൾ വിപ്ലവാക്ഷരങ്ങൾ

 ദിവസം ഓരോ പേജുള്ള ഒരു കഥ വെച്ച് മുന്നൂറ്ററുപത്തഞ്ചു ദിവസം കൊണ്ട് മുന്നൂറ്ററുപത്തഞ്ചു കഥകൾ എഴുതാൻ, ശ്രമിച്ചു നോക്കിയാൽ സാധിച്ചേക്കാം. എന്നാൽ, വ്യത്യസ്തമായ പ്രമേയങ്ങൾ കൈകാര്യം ചെയ്യുന്ന, ആദിമധ്യാന്ത്യപ്പൊരുത്തത്തോടെയുള്ള, സാമൂഹിക പ്രസക്തിയുള്ള, മികച്ച രചനാശൈലിയിലുള്ള മുന്നൂറ്ററുപത്തഞ്ചു കഥകൾ സൃഷ്ടിച്ചെടുക്കാൻ, ഭാവനയും പ്രതിഭയും വേണം എന്ന് തെളിയിച്ചു തന്ന ഒരു മലയാള നുറുങ്ങു കഥാസമാഹാരം ആണ് നന്ദകിഷോർ രചിച്ച വിഗതാക്ഷരങ്ങൾ. കഥാകാരന്റെ വാക്കുകളിൽ, 'വഴിവിട്ട് സഞ്ചരിച്ച' ഈ കഥകൾ ജീവിതത്തെ, സമൂഹത്തെ, അതിൽ അടങ്ങിയ പൊരുത്തക്കേടുകളെ, ഒന്നു വഴിമാറി നിന്ന് വീക്ഷിക്കാൻ വായനക്കാരനെ നിർബന്ധിപ്പിച്ചേക്കാം. 

കാവൽ എന്ന ആദ്യ കഥ കോവിഡ് ലോക്ഡൌൺ കാലത്തുണ്ടായ അനിശ്ചിതത്വത്തിന്റെ, ഏകാന്തതയുടെ, പശ്ചാത്തലത്തിൽ എഴുതപ്പെട്ടതാണ്. ആഗോളതാപനം, വാർദ്ധക്യം, പ്രതീക്ഷ, മറവി എന്നിങ്ങനെ പല വിഷയങ്ങൾ ഈ കൊച്ചു കഥയിലൂടെ മിന്നി മറയുന്നു. തുടർന്ന് വായിക്കുമ്പോൾ കഥകളിൽ കാണുന്ന പൊതു സ്വഭാവം മിതമായ വാക്കുകളിൽ പ്രകടമാകുന്ന ആശയധാരകളുടെ ധാരാളിത്തമാണ്. പല കഥകളും വായനക്കാരന് വ്യാഖ്യാന സാധ്യതകൾ സമ്മാനിക്കുന്നതാണ്. ഒരു നല്ല കഥ, അതിന്റെ വായനക്കാരനെ, കഥാകാരൻ പറയുന്നതിനേക്കാൾ പറയാതെ വിടുന്നതെന്ത് എന്ന ചോദ്യം ചോദിക്കാൻ പ്രേരിപ്പിക്കണം.

ഉദാഹരണത്തിന് തിരസ്കൃതർ എന്ന കഥയെടുത്തു നോക്കൂ. ശുഭ്രവസ്ത്രധാരികളായ വിധവകളുടെ കൂടെ ക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ ഭിക്ഷയ്ക്കായി എത്തിയ വർണ്ണ വസ്ത്രധാരിണികൾ ഒരു മുരളീരവത്തിനായി കാതോർക്കുന്നു. ഭർത്താക്കളാൽ ഉപേക്ഷിക്കപ്പെട്ട അവർ വിധവകളല്ല. എന്നാൽ സമൂഹം അവരെ ബഹിഷ്കരിച്ചതിനാൽ അവർക്ക് അക്കൂട്ടത്തിൽ കൂടാതെ വഴിയില്ല. തുടക്കത്തിൽ കാട്ടുന്ന വസ്ത്രധാരണത്തിലെ കോൺട്രാസ്റ്റ്, കഥയുടെ അവസാനം സമൂഹ മനസ്സാക്ഷിക്ക് പുറത്തു നിന്നുള്ള ഓടക്കുഴൽ നാദത്തിലുള്ള അവരുടെ പ്രതീക്ഷയിലേക്ക് കഥാകാരൻ വിളക്കിച്ചേർക്കുന്നു. കൂട്ടത്തിൽ കൂടേണ്ടി വരുമ്പോഴും, നിരർത്ഥകമെന്ന് ഉറപ്പുള്ള പ്രവർത്തികൾ ചെയ്യുമ്പോഴും വിദൂരതയിൽ നിന്നുള്ള ആ വിളി നമ്മളെല്ലാം കാത്തിരിക്കുന്നില്ലേ? 

കഥകളിലെ പ്രമേയ വൈവിധ്യം എടുത്തുപറയേണ്ട മികവാണ്. രാജാവും മന്ത്രിയും കൊട്ടാരവും നാലുകെട്ടും പ്രേതവും പ്രേമവും രാഷ്ട്രീയ നേതാവും വിപ്ലവകാരിയും കവിയും കള്ളനും പോലീസും രോഗിയും വൈദ്യനും നിർമ്മിത ബുദ്ധിയും സമൂഹമാധ്യമവും സാദാ മാധ്യമവും എല്ലാം ചേരുന്ന കഥാപ്രപഞ്ചമാണ് വിഗതാക്ഷരങ്ങൾ. പരിസ്ഥിതി വാദവും ഫെമിനിസവും ലിബറലിസവും മാർക്സിസവും നാഷ്ണലിസവും ഹിന്ദുത്വയും ടെക്നോളജിയും എല്ലാം ഇതിൽ വിഷയങ്ങളാകുന്നു. നർമ്മവും ആക്ഷേപഹാസ്യവും ഹൊററും സസ്പെൻസും പ്രണയവും പ്രതികാരവും സയൻസും രാഷ്ട്രീയവും കലയും ഇതിവൃത്തങ്ങളാകുന്നു. 

ഈ പ്രമേയബാഹുല്യത്തിലും കഥകളെ ബന്ധിപ്പിച്ചു വെക്കുന്ന ഒരു ചരട് കാണാം- സാമാന്യ മനുഷ്യരെ മാനിക്കാത്ത, അവരെ ചൊൽപ്പടിയിലാക്കാൻ വെമ്പുന്ന, സ്വതന്ത്രചിന്തയെ ഭയക്കുകയും എതിർക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്ന വ്യവസ്ഥിതിയോടുള്ള കലഹം. എല്ലാ എസ്റ്റാബ്ലിഷ്മെന്റുകളും കാലാന്തരത്തിൽ അപഭ്രംശത്തിനിരയാകും. അത് തടുക്കാനുള്ള ഒരേ മാർഗ്ഗം, എപ്പോഴെല്ലാം അത് വഴി തെറ്റുമോ, അപ്പോഴൊക്കെ പ്രതികരിക്കുക എന്നതാണ്. അല്ലെങ്കിൽ, ഒരു ഘട്ടം കഴിഞ്ഞാൽ നമ്മുക്ക് അതിനുള്ള ശേഷി കൈമോശം വന്നു പോകും. വിഗതാക്ഷരങ്ങളിൽ ഓരോ നുറുങ്ങുകളും ഈയൊരു കടമ നിർവഹിക്കുന്നു, അതിന്റെ വായനക്കാരനെ പ്രകോപിപ്പിക്കുന്നു, പ്രാപ്തനാക്കാൻ ശ്രമിക്കുന്നു. 

സമാഹാരത്തിലെ അവസാനത്തെ രണ്ടു കഥകൾ- കഥാശിഷ്ടം, ഭരതവാക്യം- വായനയ്ക്ക് മികച്ച പരിസമാപ്തി നൽകി. ഒരു കഥാകാരന്റെ ദൌത്യം വ്യക്തമാക്കുന്ന രചനകൾ. അവന് കഥയെഴുത്തില്ലാത്ത, കലഹങ്ങളില്ലാത്ത, സമൂഹം കൽപ്പിച്ചു തന്ന അതിർവരമ്പിനുള്ളിൽ നിന്നുള്ള സാധാരണ ജീവിതം സാധ്യമല്ല എന്ന കഥാശിഷ്ടം വ്യക്തമാക്കുന്നു. താനില്ലാത്ത ഒരു കാലത്തും കഥകൾ അനുസ്യൂതം തുടരാനുള്ള പ്രചോദനം അടുത്തവർക്ക് പകരുന്ന നിതാന്ത സഞ്ചാരിയെ ഭരതവാക്യം പരിചയപ്പെടുത്തുന്നു.