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alisarae's Reviews (1.65k)
Aaahhh this was so cute and cool!! I loved the story, characters, and tiny details. Perfect for spooky season.
Sabriya is the story of a girl in 1920s Damascus. A major nationalist movement is underway, and Syria's youth are bubbling with patriotic ferver to overthrow the imperialist French rule. Sabriya eagerly consumes underground literature that her brother and his friend pass along to her; she longs to join them in the rebel cause -- if only she could be accepted as a woman. As one blow after another hits the Syrian movement for independence, Sabriya's family life suffers mirrored tragedies.
Before reading this novel I had no idea about this chapter in Syria's history. There is a good overview of this turbulent time here: https://countrystudies.us/syria/. But what really struck me was Idilbi's sharp analysis of how cultural misogyny held back the movement for independence and how it directed Sabriya's life down a certain path. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this book, and I loved the rich drama. I'd definitely recommend it, but I have to warn you to not be scared off by the clunky English translation.
Before reading this novel I had no idea about this chapter in Syria's history. There is a good overview of this turbulent time here: https://countrystudies.us/syria/. But what really struck me was Idilbi's sharp analysis of how cultural misogyny held back the movement for independence and how it directed Sabriya's life down a certain path. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this book, and I loved the rich drama. I'd definitely recommend it, but I have to warn you to not be scared off by the clunky English translation.
The off-the-beaten-path Sayaka Murata that we have come to love! I honestly adore all her characters. They are so quirky and embrace their outsiderness. And the very very teensy tiniest bit of horror flavor was a nice touch too.
aahhhhh I loved this book so much! Becky Chambers is such a genius. The characters are all so endearing and unique, I just want to be their friend and go on soace adventures with them.
I love cults. I love gossip. I love gossip about cults. But also, this book does a great job of breaking down the tons of different interactions the author had while in an MLM ("Rejuvinate" the pseudonym for Rodan & Fields) and explaining how they are the exact same manipulation techniques used by cults. Really good overall and worth reading if you like cults as much as I do.
PS did you know the KKK originally operated as a pyramid scheme?
PS did you know the KKK originally operated as a pyramid scheme?
This book is so interesting that I tore through it in 2 days. I loved the examples of Eastern logic that they gave from Indonesia -- Western vs Eastern logic can really catch us off guard! I learned a lot from this book but it is not meant to be an exhaustive look at the problems with translation, cultural misunderstandings, etc. It is a starting point for becoming more aware of common pitfalls and has good resources for further reading.
Here are my chapter summaries (lots of spoilers):
1. Our cultural mores lead us to over-emphasize, overlook, or reason away details & teachings in the Bible surrounding sex, money, and food. Eg Jesus frequently talked about money and rarely about sex, yet which types of sin are more scandalous in a church?
2. Race/ethnicity. Each culture has their own prejudices, and it is easy for us to completely miss the point or project our culture's prejudices onto the Bible. When the Bible mentions where someone is from, it is usually a shortcut to a whole host of history and cultural generalizations about the person so it would be good to do some background reading in a Bible dictionary. The same as if we say, "They are from the West Coast" or "Arkansas" -- the reason it is brought up is usually to give you a warning of what that person believes and how they act.
3. Use of language.
- Sufficiency. Readers often believe that if something is important, we'll have a word for it. The reality is that if something is not important to your culture, you likely won't have a great word for it. Eg the four types of love in Greek vs our struggle to describe and express love in English - think of the struggle that two hetero guys have to tell each other that they love each other... linguistically difficult because it is culturally difficult! Another example is with the Hebrew word chesed. English doesn't have a one-word translation for this, so it is translated as a dozen different words across the Bible. Greek also didn't have a 1-1 translation, so Paul translates it as love-joy-peace-patience-kindness-goodness-faithfulness-gentleness-self-control - the famous fruit (singular) of the Spirit. Another great example: makarios, content and balanced in your situation, as in "makarios are the peacemakers..." Perhaps we struggle to feel makarios because we don't have a great word for it?
- Equivalency. What the text says literally is often not what it means. There are the obvious idioms, but there are also linguistic challenges. In many languages you don't need a subject before the verb (sujeito oculto in PT). English not only requires a subject, but we also really dislike passive voice and perceive it as deliberately confusing. "Blessed are the peacemakers" - Jesus didn't say, "God blesses the peacemakers," but our minds usually try to read it that way.
- Clarity. The Bible often uses poetic and metaphoric language. The point is made cyclicly, not linearly. Metaphorical keywords, my pastor calls them hyperlinks, are designed to quickly ferry the listener to a host of references. When Jesus says "I am the good shepherd," we can understand this on the surface as "Shepherds lead and protect their sheep, so he means he is a good leader for his followers." Perhaps we can also read it the other direction, "He is implying that the other religious leaders are bad and exploitative leaders." But the reference is to Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd..." meaning Jesus was making a statement about his divinity and indeed, the audience accuses him of blasphemy (Jn 10:33).
4. Individualism vs Collectivism. "You" in the Bible is almost always plural (grammatically or implied like you-Israel). Even when it looks singular, as in you-Jacob for example, it often implies the person's entire family as well. It's interesting to think about how English used to have a plural you, and now we don't (well, not in proper English anyways...), and our society has grown increasingly individualistic. When reading the Bible, if you read with the plural in mind, you'll decrease your chance of misreading the author's intention.
5. Honor/Shame vs Innocence/guilt. I have learned a lot about this topic but it is still the hardest cultural concept for me to understand. I won't go into detail here. The authors bring up that anecdotally and there is also scholarship to back this up, that people from shame-based cultures don't have the feeling of a guilty conscience, they don't feel "pricked by the Holy Spirit." Yes, even Peter and Paul (a fascinating argument is made there). Until they are confronted by an external source (shame is brought on externally, vs guilt that is internal), they really don't feel bad about what they did. Ever wonder how David didn't recognize that he was the rich man who stole the neighbor's lamb in Nathan's parable? Like, how did Nathan have to literally spell out "YOU are the man!"? It makes more sense if he genuinely didn't feel guilt over it. It is important to understand this concept because it plays a key role in many of the decisions that Bible characters make and implications of those stories. Even God seems quite concerned about honor and shame being brought to his name and this is a big negotiation tactic that characters use with him.
6. Time. Chronos is clock time, Kairos is "good timing." Usually when the Bible mentions time, it is referring to kairos. God works on kairos time. That's why the "end times" are so hard to nail down - it is based on the right timing, not a time.
7. Relationships trump rules. Westerners want to believe that a rule is a rule, and it should apply to everyone all the time. An authority figure breaking a rule is being corrupt, unjust, or at least unfair (heaven forbid we readjust our perspective and see it as being merciful). We get very ruffled when the Bible seems to break its own rules. How could Paul be so critical of circumcision, be so confrontational to Peter about following Jewish rules in the presence of other Jews, and then go and circumcise a traveling partner because they were going to a city with a big Jewish community? We misread the text when we think rules define the relationship. This also comes into play with Paul's references to grace and faith (charis and pistis). These were common terms used to describe Roman business relationships between a patron and client - the patron offers a gift, the client responds with loyalty or faithfulness. These grace-faith relationships set the rules for business across the entire city. If you don't have a relationship, you can't play by the rules because you can't play at all (think about Israel breaking the rules vs Israel breaking the covenant... the rules don't matter if you don't have a covenant, and rule-breaking can be forgiven if you do have a covenant).
8. Vices and Virtues. Our cultural training usually overrides what the Bible has to say about what a vice and a virtue are. Self-sufficiency and saving up a lot of money are cultural virtues that are against what the Bible teaches, yet we tend to ignore or downplay those parts. We also like to rank vices and virtues based on our cultural priorities. A common Greek rhetorical device is to list 5 things and then give a summary point: "anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language... do not lie" (Col 3:8-9). Paul was not making a comprehensive list or ranking these. He was just using a 5-point custom.
9. Applying everything to "me." Similar to the problem with singular vs plural you. When we try to apply verses to us individually, we set ourselves up for grave disappointment or for sounding trite and detached from reality. "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Israel was going into exile/slavery, where individuals for the next two generations were not going to prosper or be harm-free. But if you read it for the people collectively, to be applied to later generations, it holds true. "God's planned end will happen in my lifetime" is another common misbelief that stems from a me-centered worldview and it leads to a misreading of the Bible. Ah yes, now that YOU have been born and are a Christian, God can send the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
Here are my chapter summaries (lots of spoilers):
1. Our cultural mores lead us to over-emphasize, overlook, or reason away details & teachings in the Bible surrounding sex, money, and food. Eg Jesus frequently talked about money and rarely about sex, yet which types of sin are more scandalous in a church?
2. Race/ethnicity. Each culture has their own prejudices, and it is easy for us to completely miss the point or project our culture's prejudices onto the Bible. When the Bible mentions where someone is from, it is usually a shortcut to a whole host of history and cultural generalizations about the person so it would be good to do some background reading in a Bible dictionary. The same as if we say, "They are from the West Coast" or "Arkansas" -- the reason it is brought up is usually to give you a warning of what that person believes and how they act.
3. Use of language.
- Sufficiency. Readers often believe that if something is important, we'll have a word for it. The reality is that if something is not important to your culture, you likely won't have a great word for it. Eg the four types of love in Greek vs our struggle to describe and express love in English - think of the struggle that two hetero guys have to tell each other that they love each other... linguistically difficult because it is culturally difficult! Another example is with the Hebrew word chesed. English doesn't have a one-word translation for this, so it is translated as a dozen different words across the Bible. Greek also didn't have a 1-1 translation, so Paul translates it as love-joy-peace-patience-kindness-goodness-faithfulness-gentleness-self-control - the famous fruit (singular) of the Spirit. Another great example: makarios, content and balanced in your situation, as in "makarios are the peacemakers..." Perhaps we struggle to feel makarios because we don't have a great word for it?
- Equivalency. What the text says literally is often not what it means. There are the obvious idioms, but there are also linguistic challenges. In many languages you don't need a subject before the verb (sujeito oculto in PT). English not only requires a subject, but we also really dislike passive voice and perceive it as deliberately confusing. "Blessed are the peacemakers" - Jesus didn't say, "God blesses the peacemakers," but our minds usually try to read it that way.
- Clarity. The Bible often uses poetic and metaphoric language. The point is made cyclicly, not linearly. Metaphorical keywords, my pastor calls them hyperlinks, are designed to quickly ferry the listener to a host of references. When Jesus says "I am the good shepherd," we can understand this on the surface as "Shepherds lead and protect their sheep, so he means he is a good leader for his followers." Perhaps we can also read it the other direction, "He is implying that the other religious leaders are bad and exploitative leaders." But the reference is to Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd..." meaning Jesus was making a statement about his divinity and indeed, the audience accuses him of blasphemy (Jn 10:33).
4. Individualism vs Collectivism. "You" in the Bible is almost always plural (grammatically or implied like you-Israel). Even when it looks singular, as in you-Jacob for example, it often implies the person's entire family as well. It's interesting to think about how English used to have a plural you, and now we don't (well, not in proper English anyways...), and our society has grown increasingly individualistic. When reading the Bible, if you read with the plural in mind, you'll decrease your chance of misreading the author's intention.
5. Honor/Shame vs Innocence/guilt. I have learned a lot about this topic but it is still the hardest cultural concept for me to understand. I won't go into detail here. The authors bring up that anecdotally and there is also scholarship to back this up, that people from shame-based cultures don't have the feeling of a guilty conscience, they don't feel "pricked by the Holy Spirit." Yes, even Peter and Paul (a fascinating argument is made there). Until they are confronted by an external source (shame is brought on externally, vs guilt that is internal), they really don't feel bad about what they did. Ever wonder how David didn't recognize that he was the rich man who stole the neighbor's lamb in Nathan's parable? Like, how did Nathan have to literally spell out "YOU are the man!"? It makes more sense if he genuinely didn't feel guilt over it. It is important to understand this concept because it plays a key role in many of the decisions that Bible characters make and implications of those stories. Even God seems quite concerned about honor and shame being brought to his name and this is a big negotiation tactic that characters use with him.
6. Time. Chronos is clock time, Kairos is "good timing." Usually when the Bible mentions time, it is referring to kairos. God works on kairos time. That's why the "end times" are so hard to nail down - it is based on the right timing, not a time.
7. Relationships trump rules. Westerners want to believe that a rule is a rule, and it should apply to everyone all the time. An authority figure breaking a rule is being corrupt, unjust, or at least unfair (heaven forbid we readjust our perspective and see it as being merciful). We get very ruffled when the Bible seems to break its own rules. How could Paul be so critical of circumcision, be so confrontational to Peter about following Jewish rules in the presence of other Jews, and then go and circumcise a traveling partner because they were going to a city with a big Jewish community? We misread the text when we think rules define the relationship. This also comes into play with Paul's references to grace and faith (charis and pistis). These were common terms used to describe Roman business relationships between a patron and client - the patron offers a gift, the client responds with loyalty or faithfulness. These grace-faith relationships set the rules for business across the entire city. If you don't have a relationship, you can't play by the rules because you can't play at all (think about Israel breaking the rules vs Israel breaking the covenant... the rules don't matter if you don't have a covenant, and rule-breaking can be forgiven if you do have a covenant).
8. Vices and Virtues. Our cultural training usually overrides what the Bible has to say about what a vice and a virtue are. Self-sufficiency and saving up a lot of money are cultural virtues that are against what the Bible teaches, yet we tend to ignore or downplay those parts. We also like to rank vices and virtues based on our cultural priorities. A common Greek rhetorical device is to list 5 things and then give a summary point: "anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language... do not lie" (Col 3:8-9). Paul was not making a comprehensive list or ranking these. He was just using a 5-point custom.
9. Applying everything to "me." Similar to the problem with singular vs plural you. When we try to apply verses to us individually, we set ourselves up for grave disappointment or for sounding trite and detached from reality. "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Israel was going into exile/slavery, where individuals for the next two generations were not going to prosper or be harm-free. But if you read it for the people collectively, to be applied to later generations, it holds true. "God's planned end will happen in my lifetime" is another common misbelief that stems from a me-centered worldview and it leads to a misreading of the Bible. Ah yes, now that YOU have been born and are a Christian, God can send the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
I normally don’t read body horror, postmodern lit, books by male fiction authors… but somehow I made it through this one. I wouldn’t really recommend it but it does uniquely crystalize American Consumerism. It really impressed me that Donald Trump was such an idol to Bateman, ha. I am also intrigued by the theory that Bateman didn’t actually commit any murders, I wanna read up on that. And finally: why is Les Miserables so important in the first half of the book but eclipsed by another Broadway play in the second half?
Recommended for people just getting started with their adult financial life. The focus is on young singles who want to set it and forget it with their finances. I liked it but it doesn’t really address more complicated financial situations.
A very light introduction to different genres in the Old Testament and ideas of how to read and engage with the text.
Tips on narrative techniques stuck with me the most, for example, when a story is repeated what details change and why are those significant, do they show foreshadowing or have some other purpose.
I liked it but am more curious about books listed in the appendix.
Tips on narrative techniques stuck with me the most, for example, when a story is repeated what details change and why are those significant, do they show foreshadowing or have some other purpose.
I liked it but am more curious about books listed in the appendix.