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A book club read, even after discussing Hiromi Kawakami’s [b:Strange Weather in Tokyo|18283207|Strange Weather in Tokyo|Hiromi Kawakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375634096l/18283207._SY75_.jpg|2974590], I would struggle to define it as a piece of literature.
One the one hand, the slice-of-life prose is reminiscent of Takashi Hiraide’s [b:The Guest Cat|17574849|The Guest Cat|Takashi Hiraide|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363582979l/17574849._SX50_.jpg|24515019], though that is where I would say the similarities end. Strange Weather in Tokyo also reads like a dreamy series of vignettes, as Tsukiko remembers her varying encounters at an izakaya she haunts after work with her former high school teacher that she calls “Sensei.” Being in her late 30’s, Tsukiko is stuck in a state of arrested development, that leaves her somewhat untethered in time and space as she processes events.
“I had been very much the adult when I was in elementary school. But as I continued on through junior high and high school, on the contrary, I became less grown-up. And then as the years passed, I turned into quite a childlike person. I suppose I just wasn’t able to ally myself with time.”
This could be attributed to childhood trauma that is alluded to, as well as the strict and structured nature of school in Japan, as a lack of creative outlets can lead to dispassion in adulthood. Either way, Tsukiko makes questionable choices, as she tries to feel something significant, or anything at all. I can’t say I’m thrilled with the dynamic between Tsukiko and Sensei given their past, as it leads to an inevitable power imbalance at awkward times, but this is Tsukiko’s tumultuous story and I am just here to read along.
Overall, this was an intriguing read. If anything, go in with and open mind, and for goodness sake do not let the distracting cover give you any first impressions, because this is a book that definitely should not be judged by its cover.
One the one hand, the slice-of-life prose is reminiscent of Takashi Hiraide’s [b:The Guest Cat|17574849|The Guest Cat|Takashi Hiraide|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363582979l/17574849._SX50_.jpg|24515019], though that is where I would say the similarities end. Strange Weather in Tokyo also reads like a dreamy series of vignettes, as Tsukiko remembers her varying encounters at an izakaya she haunts after work with her former high school teacher that she calls “Sensei.” Being in her late 30’s, Tsukiko is stuck in a state of arrested development, that leaves her somewhat untethered in time and space as she processes events.
“I had been very much the adult when I was in elementary school. But as I continued on through junior high and high school, on the contrary, I became less grown-up. And then as the years passed, I turned into quite a childlike person. I suppose I just wasn’t able to ally myself with time.”
This could be attributed to childhood trauma that is alluded to, as well as the strict and structured nature of school in Japan, as a lack of creative outlets can lead to dispassion in adulthood. Either way, Tsukiko makes questionable choices, as she tries to feel something significant, or anything at all. I can’t say I’m thrilled with the dynamic between Tsukiko and Sensei given their past, as it leads to an inevitable power imbalance at awkward times, but this is Tsukiko’s tumultuous story and I am just here to read along.
Overall, this was an intriguing read. If anything, go in with and open mind, and for goodness sake do not let the distracting cover give you any first impressions, because this is a book that definitely should not be judged by its cover.
There were few things that perplexed people more in the 1800s than a powerful, unattended, young woman. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu explores this concept with [b:Carmilla|48037|Carmilla|J. Sheridan Le Fanu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386923594l/48037._SY75_.jpg|47015]. Following a carriage accident near their home, young Laura and her father first meet Carmilla, whose mother is in a hurry and leaves her in this family’s care. Carmilla is beautiful, charismatic, and Laura is super excited to have a companion her own age. That is, until Carmilla starts exhibiting some strange behavior that transforms her from mysterious to horrifying.
“You are mine, you shall be mine, you and I are one for ever.”
What is so great about this story, is that Carmilla’s infatuation with Laura (and vice versa) is never in and of itself demonized. Carmilla brutally murdering young girls, consuming their blood, and generally being an undead being is what everyone takes issue with. Carmilla’s attraction to Laura is just one symptom of her growing sense of possessive need for the girl, which for the 1800s is surprisingly progressive. This need for vampiric control and domination, masked in charisma and mystery, would later be echoed in Bram Stoker’s [b:Dracula|17245|Dracula|Bram Stoker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387151694l/17245._SY75_.jpg|3165724]. But let the record show, Carmilla did it first, and I dare say, Carmilla did it better.
Rating: 3.5 stars
“You are mine, you shall be mine, you and I are one for ever.”
What is so great about this story, is that Carmilla’s infatuation with Laura (and vice versa) is never in and of itself demonized. Carmilla brutally murdering young girls, consuming their blood, and generally being an undead being is what everyone takes issue with. Carmilla’s attraction to Laura is just one symptom of her growing sense of possessive need for the girl, which for the 1800s is surprisingly progressive. This need for vampiric control and domination, masked in charisma and mystery, would later be echoed in Bram Stoker’s [b:Dracula|17245|Dracula|Bram Stoker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387151694l/17245._SY75_.jpg|3165724]. But let the record show, Carmilla did it first, and I dare say, Carmilla did it better.
Rating: 3.5 stars
In the early 1800s a group of wealthy friends infamously spent a summer together in Geneva that led to a writing contest of sorts. Unequivocally, Mary Shelley won this contest with [b:Frankenstein: The 1818 Text|35031085|Frankenstein The 1818 Text|Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498841231l/35031085._SY75_.jpg|4836639], one of the most influential horror and sci-fi novels of all time. This is more-or-less the first legacy that overshadows John William Polidori’s [b:The Vampyre; A Tale|472966|The Vampyre; A Tale|John William Polidori|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347792075l/472966._SX50_.jpg|461235]. The second and third would be the future and more influential vampire stories of [b:Carmilla|48037|Carmilla|J. Sheridan Le Fanu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386923594l/48037._SY75_.jpg|47015] and [b:Dracula|17245|Dracula|Bram Stoker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387151694l/17245._SY75_.jpg|3165724].
Admittedly, the original Vampyre feels underdeveloped as a story compared to Frankenstein, and underdeveloped as a character compared to Carmilla or Dracula. That said, there are many of the hallmarks of the deadly and captivating creature that would serve as the groundwork for an entire vein of horror lore. The Vampyre is introduced as a suave, seductive “gentleman” who primarily feasts on and sullies women—a lady killer if you will. Overall if you want an alright, short, old-school horror read this one is pretty alright.
Admittedly, the original Vampyre feels underdeveloped as a story compared to Frankenstein, and underdeveloped as a character compared to Carmilla or Dracula. That said, there are many of the hallmarks of the deadly and captivating creature that would serve as the groundwork for an entire vein of horror lore. The Vampyre is introduced as a suave, seductive “gentleman” who primarily feasts on and sullies women—a lady killer if you will. Overall if you want an alright, short, old-school horror read this one is pretty alright.
The myth of the vampire has been an intriguing topic of reading for me this year. Introduced with Polidori’s [b:The Vampyre; A Tale|472966|The Vampyre; A Tale|John William Polidori|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347792075l/472966._SX50_.jpg|461235] and refined with Le Fanu’s [b:Carmilla|48037|Carmilla|J. Sheridan Le Fanu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386923594l/48037._SY75_.jpg|47015], Bran Stoker likely created the most popular iteration of the villain with [b:Dracula|17245|Dracula|Bram Stoker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387151694l/17245._SY75_.jpg|3165724].
There were a number of pros and cons in this novel. The good includes the introduction of the characters of Dracula and Van Helsing, a duo that has well stood the test of time. Moreover, so much of what is now established as key vampire lore is introduced with this book, especially as this is the first in the cannon to tie the vampire with Christianity and repression, keeping in line with the Victorian times in which the book was written.
Dracula represents everything Christianity fears, a being who subverts the natural order and sullies/ruins the women he feeds on. After biting Mina, she seeks biblical aid and has a Wafer (aka: the body of Christ) placed on her forehead. This action burns her flesh and she exclaims, “Unclean! Unclean! Even the Almighty shuns my polluted flesh! I must bear this mark of shame upon my forehead until the Judgement Day.”
Now this shame, that seems to be specific to the women in the book, is certainly a detraction and a part of why I did not rate this book higher. However, giving Dracula the power to defile God and the holy does give him a pretty major villain boost that I feel has allowed for him to remain relevant. This relationship is also reflexive, in that I feel Dracula has shaped a lot of what people visualize as “evil” or “temptation” in present.
That said, that is where the “power” of Dracula more-or-less ends for me. The rest of the book can be a tedious bore, especially when it focuses solely on snooze-fest characters like Jonathan Harker. There is also the fact that it is written in epistolary format, the O.G. found-footage style that was introduced spectacularly as a horror device with Mary Shelley’s [b:Frankenstein: The 1818 Text|35031085|Frankenstein The 1818 Text|Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498841231l/35031085._SY75_.jpg|4836639]. Just as that book outshined it’s contemporary The Vampyre, it does so again with Dracula. Them’s the breaks, at least for me.
Overall, there were things I liked and others I disliked; my final consensus is that this book is okay. Read for yourself and decide!
There were a number of pros and cons in this novel. The good includes the introduction of the characters of Dracula and Van Helsing, a duo that has well stood the test of time. Moreover, so much of what is now established as key vampire lore is introduced with this book, especially as this is the first in the cannon to tie the vampire with Christianity and repression, keeping in line with the Victorian times in which the book was written.
Dracula represents everything Christianity fears, a being who subverts the natural order and sullies/ruins the women he feeds on. After biting Mina, she seeks biblical aid and has a Wafer (aka: the body of Christ) placed on her forehead. This action burns her flesh and she exclaims, “Unclean! Unclean! Even the Almighty shuns my polluted flesh! I must bear this mark of shame upon my forehead until the Judgement Day.”
Now this shame, that seems to be specific to the women in the book, is certainly a detraction and a part of why I did not rate this book higher. However, giving Dracula the power to defile God and the holy does give him a pretty major villain boost that I feel has allowed for him to remain relevant. This relationship is also reflexive, in that I feel Dracula has shaped a lot of what people visualize as “evil” or “temptation” in present.
That said, that is where the “power” of Dracula more-or-less ends for me. The rest of the book can be a tedious bore, especially when it focuses solely on snooze-fest characters like Jonathan Harker. There is also the fact that it is written in epistolary format, the O.G. found-footage style that was introduced spectacularly as a horror device with Mary Shelley’s [b:Frankenstein: The 1818 Text|35031085|Frankenstein The 1818 Text|Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498841231l/35031085._SY75_.jpg|4836639]. Just as that book outshined it’s contemporary The Vampyre, it does so again with Dracula. Them’s the breaks, at least for me.
Overall, there were things I liked and others I disliked; my final consensus is that this book is okay. Read for yourself and decide!
This year I have had to complete a great deal of research on the lesser-known history surrounding suffrage and the 19th Amendment. Throughout this process, [b:Unequal Sisters: An Inclusive Reader in Us Women's History|6885866|Unequal Sisters An Inclusive Reader in Us Women's History|Vicki L. Ruiz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348838876l/6885866._SX50_.jpg|3069804] has been an invaluable source. There are so many different perspectives represented in this edited volume, and while it is hard to quickly characterize given its level of diversity, this is what allows it to accomplish what it sets out to do—represent underrepresented moments of “women’s history,” even questioning what that even is. If you are looking for a resource on these topics, I definitely recommend this volume.
Considering that most history textbooks used in U.S. schools are actually printed in Texas, I always felt that there was likely a number of blind spots in the general narrative due to this prevalent setup. Exploring the activity between 1910 and 1920, Monica Muñoz Martinez does an excellent job of detailing atrocities committed by state law enforcement and others in [b:The Injustice Never Leaves You: Anti-Mexican Violence in Texas|38240526|The Injustice Never Leaves You Anti-Mexican Violence in Texas|Monica Muñoz Martinez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524454222l/38240526._SY75_.jpg|59922910] that many would want us to forget.
“We must reckon with the fact that the southern border of our country was created—and policed—violently, and not valiantly, and that we have continually suppressed this truer, more accurate past. It is a past that bleeds into the present, a suppression that continues to shape our future.”
In the mid-1800s a number of Americans, many slave-owners from southern states, started moving into Texas. They brought with them many of their existing prejudices and horrific lynching practices. These attitudes set the stage for a number of murders of the indigenous Mexican-American population committed by both private citizens and official law enforcement (the Texas Rangers) in the early 1900s; atrocities that are meticulously detailed in this volume.
Many of these stories have been forgotten by the public, but are being unearthed and examined by historians. With Martinez’s archival work, combined with oral history, she is able to paint a clear picture of murky times, as well as how these actions impact living populations today. Mobs lynched ethnic Mexicans with impunity and law enforcement co-signed vigilante murders by providing these racist actions with their stamp of approval, if they weren’t the ones the perpetrate such actions.
“On numerous occasions the authorities asked the committee to agree that Texas rangers should be able to act outside the parameters of the law. More specifically, they suggested that suspending legal procedures and regulations would be necessary to protect Anglo-American citizens and their property.”
In addition to the hidden history uncovered, part of what makes Martinez’s work so relevant is her exploration of how this past trauma manifested into generational trauma. When someone’s family member is brutally killed under the vague (and false) pretense of him being “dangerous,” but there is no public record or reprimand for the authority figures carrying out an execution without trial, it can really feel like your loved one’s life did not matter. On so many levels. What does that mean for someone, whose grandparent was erased from the earth in this way?
Overall, this is a great read, and one that I highly recommend to anyone interested in U.S. history.
Rating: 4.5 stars
“We must reckon with the fact that the southern border of our country was created—and policed—violently, and not valiantly, and that we have continually suppressed this truer, more accurate past. It is a past that bleeds into the present, a suppression that continues to shape our future.”
In the mid-1800s a number of Americans, many slave-owners from southern states, started moving into Texas. They brought with them many of their existing prejudices and horrific lynching practices. These attitudes set the stage for a number of murders of the indigenous Mexican-American population committed by both private citizens and official law enforcement (the Texas Rangers) in the early 1900s; atrocities that are meticulously detailed in this volume.
Many of these stories have been forgotten by the public, but are being unearthed and examined by historians. With Martinez’s archival work, combined with oral history, she is able to paint a clear picture of murky times, as well as how these actions impact living populations today. Mobs lynched ethnic Mexicans with impunity and law enforcement co-signed vigilante murders by providing these racist actions with their stamp of approval, if they weren’t the ones the perpetrate such actions.
“On numerous occasions the authorities asked the committee to agree that Texas rangers should be able to act outside the parameters of the law. More specifically, they suggested that suspending legal procedures and regulations would be necessary to protect Anglo-American citizens and their property.”
In addition to the hidden history uncovered, part of what makes Martinez’s work so relevant is her exploration of how this past trauma manifested into generational trauma. When someone’s family member is brutally killed under the vague (and false) pretense of him being “dangerous,” but there is no public record or reprimand for the authority figures carrying out an execution without trial, it can really feel like your loved one’s life did not matter. On so many levels. What does that mean for someone, whose grandparent was erased from the earth in this way?
Overall, this is a great read, and one that I highly recommend to anyone interested in U.S. history.
Rating: 4.5 stars
I hate to admit it, but there are very few stories that appeal to me when romance is the central plot. I really don’t know what it is, I do enjoy it when it is a part of a story, but I am typically way less invested when it is the end-all, be-all of a narrative. So, I was genuinely surprised by just how much I enjoyed V.E. Schwab’s [b:The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue|50623864|The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue|V.E. Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584633432l/50623864._SY75_.jpg|46895612], and it invoked a great deal of self-reflection on my literary preferences.
In general, I think I don’t enjoy romance as the main focus of stories, because that usually means the main character’s driving goal or sense of self-worth is inevitably linked to their being desired by another individual. In particular, there are so many stories centered on women who feel they do not “win” or have value unless they are chosen by another person, man or woman. With few exceptions, I tend to find this tedious more often than not. So, when I enjoy a love story, it’s for damn good reason.
Schwab subverts the very nature of what a “love story” even is with Addie LaRue. Addie is born in provincial France in the 17th century, and as a young woman she faces the fate of having to marry a man she does not love, or like much for that matter. Desperate to retain her freedom, she makes a deal with a God in the forest to escape this fate. In exchange for her soul, she is granted immortality.
That said, be careful what you wish for, especially if the deal is coming from a shady omnipotent figure who feeds on souls. Each day Addie remains young, but the second she leaves someone’s sight—she vanishes from their memory. Not a soul can remember her, and her very identity is erased from time and space. That is until she meets a boy in present-day New York who does remember her. And this is the least surprising thing that happens in this novel.
This story is simply not what you think it will be. A 300-year-old person who has experienced centuries of tentative relationships (to put it mildly) is both a human with the same wants and needs as anyone else, and an entirely different being altogether. Addie is both of these contradictory things, nothing, and so much more all at the same time. What love even is to her is different than what it would be to a person with a normal lifespan, and the nuanced exploration of this concept is what makes this novel so divine.
I cannot say much more, because the less you know the better, but wow is this a great book. If you want a fun and heartfelt read then give Addie LaRue a chance; her name will be one that is hard to forget when all is said and done.
Rating: 4.5 stars
In general, I think I don’t enjoy romance as the main focus of stories, because that usually means the main character’s driving goal or sense of self-worth is inevitably linked to their being desired by another individual. In particular, there are so many stories centered on women who feel they do not “win” or have value unless they are chosen by another person, man or woman. With few exceptions, I tend to find this tedious more often than not. So, when I enjoy a love story, it’s for damn good reason.
Schwab subverts the very nature of what a “love story” even is with Addie LaRue. Addie is born in provincial France in the 17th century, and as a young woman she faces the fate of having to marry a man she does not love, or like much for that matter. Desperate to retain her freedom, she makes a deal with a God in the forest to escape this fate. In exchange for her soul, she is granted immortality.
That said, be careful what you wish for, especially if the deal is coming from a shady omnipotent figure who feeds on souls. Each day Addie remains young, but the second she leaves someone’s sight—she vanishes from their memory. Not a soul can remember her, and her very identity is erased from time and space. That is until she meets a boy in present-day New York who does remember her. And this is the least surprising thing that happens in this novel.
This story is simply not what you think it will be. A 300-year-old person who has experienced centuries of tentative relationships (to put it mildly) is both a human with the same wants and needs as anyone else, and an entirely different being altogether. Addie is both of these contradictory things, nothing, and so much more all at the same time. What love even is to her is different than what it would be to a person with a normal lifespan, and the nuanced exploration of this concept is what makes this novel so divine.
I cannot say much more, because the less you know the better, but wow is this a great book. If you want a fun and heartfelt read then give Addie LaRue a chance; her name will be one that is hard to forget when all is said and done.
Rating: 4.5 stars
I cannot recall being on a longer library waitlist than the months I spent waiting to read John Lewis’ [b:Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America|13622279|Across That Bridge A Vision for Change and the Future of America|John Lewis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1339118188l/13622279._SX50_.jpg|19225744] following his tragic passing this July. One of the “Big Six” who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., and having served as a congressman for Georgia for over 30 years, Lewis’ legacy is one that will resonate for generations.
The copy I read was the re-release published in 2017, and perhaps most interesting, was how John Lewis frames his past experience advocating for civil rights in the 1960s, with the current events of the Trump Administration:
“Even I, who has looked down the barrel of a gun with only my faith to defend me, would say there is a unique hostility in these times that almost seems worse to me than what we experienced in the 1960s. It is true, we were confronted with state-sponsored brutality, and people died because of the complicity of local government with fear mongering and terror. Yet, in those days, we could look to federal authority as a sympathetic referee in the struggle for civil rights and as an advocate for the need to challenge justice.”
If there is one thing that Lewis makes clear, it is that the road to progress is longer and harder than many believe it to be. The Fifteenth Amendment, passed in 1870, did grant people of color the right to vote, but progress was impeded by Jim Crow era “grandfather clauses.” Enacted at the state level, these laws dictated that anyone whose grandfather did not have the right to vote before the Civil War, would be subjected to a so-called “literacy test” just to qualify to vote. To say that these tests were ridiculous would be an understatement; the smartest person you know likely couldn’t pass one.
It was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that all Americans were actually granted the right to vote. This was one hundred years of advocacy, protest, demonstration, social organizing, and then some just to reach this point. Looking at movements through a deeper historical lens, John Lewis denounces the “fast food mentality” of the present day. He would argue that true change requires patience as much as perseverance.
“Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.”
Overall, this is a pretty great read from a great American mind. I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a message of hope in otherwise bleak times.
The copy I read was the re-release published in 2017, and perhaps most interesting, was how John Lewis frames his past experience advocating for civil rights in the 1960s, with the current events of the Trump Administration:
“Even I, who has looked down the barrel of a gun with only my faith to defend me, would say there is a unique hostility in these times that almost seems worse to me than what we experienced in the 1960s. It is true, we were confronted with state-sponsored brutality, and people died because of the complicity of local government with fear mongering and terror. Yet, in those days, we could look to federal authority as a sympathetic referee in the struggle for civil rights and as an advocate for the need to challenge justice.”
If there is one thing that Lewis makes clear, it is that the road to progress is longer and harder than many believe it to be. The Fifteenth Amendment, passed in 1870, did grant people of color the right to vote, but progress was impeded by Jim Crow era “grandfather clauses.” Enacted at the state level, these laws dictated that anyone whose grandfather did not have the right to vote before the Civil War, would be subjected to a so-called “literacy test” just to qualify to vote. To say that these tests were ridiculous would be an understatement; the smartest person you know likely couldn’t pass one.
It was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that all Americans were actually granted the right to vote. This was one hundred years of advocacy, protest, demonstration, social organizing, and then some just to reach this point. Looking at movements through a deeper historical lens, John Lewis denounces the “fast food mentality” of the present day. He would argue that true change requires patience as much as perseverance.
“Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.”
Overall, this is a pretty great read from a great American mind. I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a message of hope in otherwise bleak times.
I feel like everyone and their cousin has told me to read Frank Herbert’s [b:Dune|44767458|Dune (Dune, #1)|Frank Herbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555447414l/44767458._SY75_.jpg|3634639] by this point, and while I put it off because I was worried it would not live up to the hype, now I can only kick myself for not having read it sooner. What a fantastic book.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
First off, Herbert is masterful at world-building; he is for sci-fi what Tolkien is for fantasy. If you enjoy the extended universe of films like Star Wars then you will like Dune, especially once you consider that George Lucas pretty much ripped off a lot from Herbert—just sayin’.
A story of different ruling Houses—the Atreides, Harkonnen, and Corrino—comes to a head on the planet Arrakis. This planet is key in that it produces mélange, or “spice,” a substance that fuels the Known Universe. In addition to fueling travel, mélange is a potent drug that extends life and gifts users with enhanced mental capabilities. It sounds like psychedelic mushrooms that double as petrol, and this kooky McGuffin had me all in.
“There was the sharpened clarity, the inflow of data, the cold precision of his awareness. He sank to the floor, sitting with his back against rock, giving himself up to it. Awareness flowed into that timeless stratum where he could view time, sensing the available paths, the wind of the future… the winds of the past: the one-eyed vision of the past, the one-eyed vision of the present, and the one-eyed vision of the future—all combined in a trinocular vision that permitted him to see time-become-space.”
Also, notable, are the Bene Gesserit, a group of women who have magical powers (basically—space witches), and the Fremen, the native people of Arrakis subjected to imperial rule. All of these different factions are at odds with one another, but these two both believe in a coming messiah. In a book filed with powerful rulers, will the Kwisatz Haderach be the leader long prophesized? Well, if there is any concept that rises as most prominent in this text, it is that one should not place blind faith in a mythical savior.
Such a figure would have obvious appeal in an intergalactic empire filled with cruel uncertainty. The simple notion takes something complex, makes it into something more digestible, and shields a small individual within a larger security. But simple does not mean safe. A human with a kind heart, and a being with multitudes of knowledge, one would think that a savior such as this would have all the answers. But omnipotence does not free a human of dealing with the bullshit of being human. We will always be subject to the context of our time.
“How would you like to live billions upon billions of lives? …There's a fabric of legends for you! Think of all those experiences, the wisdom they'd bring. But wisdom tempers love, doesn't it? And it puts a new shape on hate. How can you tell what's ruthless unless you've plumbed the depths of both cruelty and kindness?”
Overall, this book is such amazing fun. I look forward to reading the other entries in the series; this strange, strange universe is something any nerd could happily get lost in.
Rating: 4.5 stars
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
First off, Herbert is masterful at world-building; he is for sci-fi what Tolkien is for fantasy. If you enjoy the extended universe of films like Star Wars then you will like Dune, especially once you consider that George Lucas pretty much ripped off a lot from Herbert—just sayin’.
A story of different ruling Houses—the Atreides, Harkonnen, and Corrino—comes to a head on the planet Arrakis. This planet is key in that it produces mélange, or “spice,” a substance that fuels the Known Universe. In addition to fueling travel, mélange is a potent drug that extends life and gifts users with enhanced mental capabilities. It sounds like psychedelic mushrooms that double as petrol, and this kooky McGuffin had me all in.
“There was the sharpened clarity, the inflow of data, the cold precision of his awareness. He sank to the floor, sitting with his back against rock, giving himself up to it. Awareness flowed into that timeless stratum where he could view time, sensing the available paths, the wind of the future… the winds of the past: the one-eyed vision of the past, the one-eyed vision of the present, and the one-eyed vision of the future—all combined in a trinocular vision that permitted him to see time-become-space.”
Also, notable, are the Bene Gesserit, a group of women who have magical powers (basically—space witches), and the Fremen, the native people of Arrakis subjected to imperial rule. All of these different factions are at odds with one another, but these two both believe in a coming messiah. In a book filed with powerful rulers, will the Kwisatz Haderach be the leader long prophesized? Well, if there is any concept that rises as most prominent in this text, it is that one should not place blind faith in a mythical savior.
Such a figure would have obvious appeal in an intergalactic empire filled with cruel uncertainty. The simple notion takes something complex, makes it into something more digestible, and shields a small individual within a larger security. But simple does not mean safe. A human with a kind heart, and a being with multitudes of knowledge, one would think that a savior such as this would have all the answers. But omnipotence does not free a human of dealing with the bullshit of being human. We will always be subject to the context of our time.
“How would you like to live billions upon billions of lives? …There's a fabric of legends for you! Think of all those experiences, the wisdom they'd bring. But wisdom tempers love, doesn't it? And it puts a new shape on hate. How can you tell what's ruthless unless you've plumbed the depths of both cruelty and kindness?”
Overall, this book is such amazing fun. I look forward to reading the other entries in the series; this strange, strange universe is something any nerd could happily get lost in.
Rating: 4.5 stars