The 4th World

Sitting in the dark, illuminated by the glow of my laptop screen as I remove staples, punch holes, and attach labels to 500 sheets of paper to make lovely binders for tomorrow. Why can't every Tuesday night be like this?

Persuasion

I'd heard that Persuasion is one of Jane Austen's best novels, so I snapped it up when http://www.free-ebooks.net/ offered it. The heroine, Anne Elliott, has a life complicated by a vain father, cold eldest sister, annoying younger sister, AND! she lived with regret because she had turned down her The One -- Captain Wentworth -- because her dear friend Lady Russell didn't think it was a good match (the Elliotts were too highly bred to consort with the lower social classes). This novel was published in 1818, and Austen describes the prevailing attitudes of the upper class at the time with her usual good humor and earnest prose.

At the heart, Persuasion is an examination of the constancy and steadfastness of human hearts, both men's and women's. Anne was influenced by Lady Russell into not marrying the person she was madly in love with, and she would only see him again eight years later, when his resentment over her rejection had had time to fester and make him act coldly towards her. Austent throws other obstacles in the lovers' way, such as a pretty young woman besotted with Captain Wentworth, and Mr. Elliott, Anne's handsome and gentlemanly cousin (BAAARRRRFFF *cough* inbreeding *cough*), professing interest in her. I'd had enough experience with Austen to expect the ending -- of COURSE Elliott turned out to be a tool, and whatserface ended up marrying someone else -- but was still kilig [SPOILER ALERT] at the way Captain Wentworth finally confessed to Anne that he remained faithful to her.

(ZOMG. Please may I have an English captain, and please may he have Alan Rickman's voice? Or I can just have Alan Rickman. I'm not picky.)

Anyway, Austen crafts a fine love story, one more mature because the central characters are older (in their twenties), and understand love AND loss. *sniff* We can't all have happy endings like Anne Elliott and Captain Wentworth, but then again, that's what fiction is for: to remind us that the imagination is where dreams really come true.

Solaris

I love Solaris. I read it during my 2-day trip to Bangladesh. This Polish sci-fi novel takes place on a space station located above and dedicated to the study of the planet Solaris, which is covered with an "ocean" that appears to be a massive conscious entity. The scientists on the station find themselves being "studied" by the ocean -- but who can tell what the motives are of this particular alien? Perhaps it was taking revenge on them for using high levels of energy to test it, or perhaps it was mindlessly pulling out their repressed memories for no reason whatsoever. The point is that it's an alien, and we can't understand it, and we don't even understand ourselves.

Lem points out that people don't go out into space to look for aliens; we venture into space to look for mirrors, for ourselves. This novel was written in the sixties, and so at the very start of the space age Lem captured the theme of human self-preoccupation.

The other thing amazing about this novel is the absolutely fantastical depictions of the constructs that the ocean creates, and the designations that pioneering scientists have made for the observable ones. On this note, Lem also describes the infighting among scientific circles almost along religious lines, like schisms forming among churches. There would be leaders who would define a certain school of thought, which would be published, and then others would come and prove it wrong, and there would be another school of thought, and so on.

The main plot centers on the psychologist, Kelvin, whose dead-by-suicide ex-lover appears to him on the space station. [SPOILER ALERT] He eventually comes to understand that this construct is not the original, but he loves her anyway, despite her inhuman tendencies (superhuman strength, physical inability to remain apart from him, and almost limitless regenerative capabilities). I found her sympathetic as a character because she cares for him, but then she was specifically made to, and she realizes this and is horrified by it. She also reacts to his horror at her existence, and in the end [MAJOR SPOILER ALERT] works with another scientist to end her pseudo-life. Or is it actual life? After all, she was developing a personality...

As a final point in my review -- the author mentions the incredible amount of data and raw material accumulated throughout the years of studying the ocean, and still its nature and purpose remain unclear. Just like us. So in the end, we will always find a mirror in space.

Btw - here is what Lem has to say about his own novel, as a reaction to the latest film version (from Hollywood): http://english.lem.pl/index.php/arround-lem/adaptations/soderbergh/147-the-solaris-station

Phoenix Harvest

(Note: pictured here is book 1; the cover is the same as for book 5.)

The fifth book in Han Suyin's autobiography, Phoenix Harvest, presents China's Cultural Revolution through the eyes of a well-educated, well-traveled doctor who had access to people in positions of power. (Although political power in 1966-79 was never a guarantee, a fact that Han Suyin documents well.)

The book is peopled with intelligentsia and cut-up bits of their suffering; Han Suyin discloses their abuse at the hands of rogue Red Guards piecemeal, as they themselves would not reveal much to her until well after the tumult had died down.

The author's devotion to China is evident throughout the book, and her deep love for Chou Enlai (or Zhou Enlai). In the book is a powerful description of the silent gathering of people to watch the "little ambulance" that took Chou's body to be cremated. She also described the hundreds of thousands of white paper flowers made by children to hang on the trees near the memorial, making the trees look like they had just had a snowfall.

I particularly enjoyed Han Suyin's delight at the minority populations near the desert. Her illustrations of the views and the peoples are vivid and inviting. She also talks about Imelda Marcos' visit to China, and how all of a sudden the ladies were doing their hair just like Imelda. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Towards the end of the book, Madame Mao and the Gang of Four get more page time, and this section really highlights the self-censorship and mass delusion that the author had been observing in other people since the beginning of the book. In any case, the Dragon Lady and her cohorts are arrested, and Han Suyin becomes hopeful, and ends her book on a note about love.

Btw, Han Suyin became famous as a writer after she wrote A Many-Splendored Thing, which is "a Eurasian love story (her own)." Now I am torn between reading the book and watching the film, because the poster to the right, which is for the film version, promises lots and lots of extreme cheesiness. I can just imagine the lines... "Oh darling wouldn't it be wonderful if we were married..." "But we are! Or did you mean to each other?" (lines shamelessly stolen from Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes)

Next book: The Long Day Wanes by Anthony Burgess (writer of A Clockwork Orange), which apparently contains every Asian stereotype ever. Yesssss.

Final outfit

Here's my final shalwar kameez. It made me look like a frog. People didn't think it looked good on me -- I could tell by their up-and-down glance and subsequent diplomatic silence. By contrast, today, a bunch of people have told me I look good in my outfit -- the black and white one that Mama said looked like "pamburol." (Our counselor commented, "Mothers do that. They say such things.").

It was decided recently that I am "Miss Pan-Asia," since apparently I could pass for any Asian. Just now one of my colleagues here at the office was telling me that the Bangladeshi staff were hesitating about me because they couldn't figure out whether or not I was Bangladeshi. And then a student told me I look Cambodian. Ha! Ha! Ha! The generic Asian-ness of my Filipino features makes me the ideal ninja super infiltrator agent!!! Hire me now, governments of the world!!! Please find my resume below:

RESUME

N----- S----- S---- M----

Education: B.A. at Middlebury, M.A. at Harvard, M.R.S. at Miss Kitty Meow Meow's School for Proper Young Women, O.M.G. at Cambridgeside Galeria, M.B.A. at Institute for Super-secret Ninja Assassins (expected 2012)

Work Experience: Multimedia Assistant at Middlebury College, Development Intern at AUWSF, Part-time worker at The Street Corner (evening shift), Minion at AUWSF, Minion at AUW, Ninja Apprentice (Special Class) with Miss Nori at Miss Nori's Ninja Academy

Interests: Cats, world domination

Hobbies: TBD

References: Available upon request

Book Review: The Dignity of a Woman

The Dignity of a Woman (Josei no hinkaku) is touted as a bestseller in Japan. The author, Mariko Bando, writes earnestly and humbly about how to behave in your private life, in social situations such as parties and events, and in the workplace.

A lot of what she writes is about common courtesy -- saying "Thank you" whenever appropriate, or not putting on makeup in the train (a habit of young Japanese girls that I aggressively stared at during my time in Kyoto) -- and the funny bits in the books are when she goes over the top. For example, the author writes that we should hand-write thank you notes. Okay, a little quaint, but fine. Then she recommends keeping beautiful cards in our purse so we could whip them out any time and compose a message of gratitude. Er?

She also suggests putting a little makeup on when we're home alone, in case company stops by and *gasp* sees what you really look like!!! Oh, the humanity! And you must also be dignified even when you think no one's watching you, just like in the Pillow Book where this girl chowed down on some rice straight out of the serving bucket and her stalker, excuse me, admirer saw her and was so grossed out that he left her forever. Or how about the author's opinion that unrequited, one-sided love is "the most thrilling." (Now we know how the Japanese developed such a highly tuned stalker mindset: ancient literature!)

Anyway, there was one passage that made me stop and think. The author says something to the effect that admitting you have faults and asking someone to accept you as you are is "presumptuous." Ms. Bando is saying that we should always work towards improving ourselves. I agree. Now excuse me, I must go powder my nose before delicately eating some rice from my rice bowl in preparation for hand-writing thank you cards to everyone who was nice to me.

Book Review: This Land is Their Land

Just finished reading a book by Barbara Ehrenreich called This Land is Their Land. It's about the economic disparities in the US, in areas like healthcare, higher education, quality of life, etc. It's an easy read because she divides each section into tiny 2-3 page chunks. Her writing is acerbic and hilarious.

I was chuckling throughout the thing, but my favorite parts have to be her mock-ranting about "unemployed" children in America, who have this strange notion that they are entitled to care, and her cry for pet insurance for children (as pet insurance is better in some cases than human health insurance).

I encourage you all to read it. It made me briefly consider staying here in Bangladesh rather than returning to the States.

Next up: The Dignity of a Woman, by Mariko Bando. Sounds promising, as there is a section entitled, "Avoid Getting Fat." We all know chubbiness detracts from your dignity as a woman!!!