Me talk pretty one day
So I picked up Me Talk after a lot of interweb types insisted David Sedaris is da bomb. I’m here to tell you that he is not. He is not the funniest writer I have read, he is not awesomeness personified. Me talk is considered the best autobiographical writing by many. What it really is, is a blog in a book.
Having said that, the book is still a pretty good read. Funny and poignant, and unrelentingly caustic. Do not get swayed by the hype, and you might get to enjoy Mr Sedaris at what he does best - write a blog in a book. This particular one recounts his peculiar childhood in North Carolina, his bizarre career path, and his move with his lover to France. Every glimpse we get of Sedaris’s family and friends delivers laughs and insights.
The funniest line? This:
This is the grown man who now phones his father to say, “Motherfucker, I ain’t seen pussy in so long, I’d throw stones at it.”
4/15/2005
Q and A
Q and A is the first novel by Vikas Swarup. It is set in modern India. It tells the story of an illitrate waiter who goes to a popular quiz show called “Who Will Win A Billion” and answers all the 12 questions. Instead of getting the money he gets arrested! The show producers sue him for cheating, for how come an illitrate person answer all those tough questions if he didn’t cheat. The waiter says that he was able to answer the questions because he has gone through certain experiences in his life which provided him the answer to those particular 12 questions. Now he tells the story of his life question by question.
It is a very good book with lots of twists and turns. Very entertaining and unputdownable. I finished it in one day though it’s a big novel.
I cannot write any more because I’m in my office and writing this review while my training is going on. So go and buy this book and finish the bastard in one go. Tra-la!
4/13/2005
Sixty million Frenchmen can’t be wrong
I usually don’t post book reviews on my blog, and I don’t know whether this time is just a one off, but Sixty million Frenchmen can’t be wrong is the kind of book most of us are not likely to actively seek or even encounter in most bookstores. It is, however, a book that deserves to be read. I came across this book almost by chance in a Canary Wharf bookstore while waiting for some friends. The fact that my friends did not turn up at all meant that I had read through quite a bit of the book before I finally decided to buy it and head home.
The blurb goes something like this: “They work 35 hour weeks and take seven weeks of paid vacation every year, and yet they have one of the largest, most productive economies in the world. They smoke, drink, and eat the most fat in the world, yet they live longer and have fewer heart problems than most of the world.” The contrast instantly struck me. More so because the French have almost everything that we in the developing world so desire, and yet they don’t work half as long as we do in a week. Of course, they’re also pretty laid back with respect to the Americans, British, and other English-speaking societies and it is from their perspective that this book is written(The authors are French Canadians).
Another thing I noticed while reading the book was the number of parallels that I could draw between French and Indian culture as I read the book. I’m pretty sure that the authors never investigated the parallels between the Indians and the French, but if they did, they’d realise that as alien as they might be to each other, the Indians and French are very close in their attitude towards the State and each other. Like the French, Indians expect their State/Government to do a lot for them in their lives. This is highly unlike the Americans or the British, who are more comfortable taking the reins into their own hands. Also, the French have a close bond to their land despite living in a highly developed and industrial society. The reason that the French system works so much better than the Indian state is the sheer difference in the numbers the Indian state must support. The French government also seems to have a highly developed sense of social responsibility (what the authors refer to as Interet General, or general interest).
The book also does a good job at explaining a lot of the idiosyncracies (or rather the things we think of as idiosyncracies) of the French and the French societal structure. For instance, it explains why French politicians seem to get away even after outrageous claims are proven against them. Or why it is that most foreigners tend to get the raw end of the deal when they approach sales clerks or government service counters in French cities.
The book is divided into three parts: Spirit, Structure, and Change in that order. Each of these parts is full of insights into the French mindset, their system, and what shaped them. My personal favorite would have to be the Spirit section if only so for the large number of anecdotes and events the authors quote in their bid to prove their point. That brings me to another great thing about this book. Unlike most other books about the French in English, this one is definitely well-researched. The authors do not chose to live their time in France in some quiet country house. They live in a working class Paris neighbourhood and make it a point to interact with the people around them to understand them better. Although the book isn’t too objective, it does not pass any judgements on French society, which is a sad mistake most American authors make when approaching France/French as a subject. In other words, the authors do not set out to prove any stereotypes. If anything, they debunk some popular myths about the French along the way.
For those of you who are the least bit anthropologically inclined, or ever intend to visit France, this book is a must have. In fact, the cover of the edition I bought went so far as to quote a reviewer saying that the book is worth handing out at the Charles de Gaulle airport. I wholly agree with that view. We frequently tend to treat the French as just another western society. This book explains why we are so very, very wrong in doing that. The French are as different from the Britons or the Americans as chalk is from cheese. The book is also available through firstandsecond.com in India.
Unfortunately, I managed to leave my copy behind when I left for India. I was about 50 pages away from finishing the book. I’ll get it back the next time I go, but meanwhile, if somebody buys a copy, do lend it to me.
