Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Handmaid's Tale (novel)

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Offred is a Handmaid living in Gilead, a fictional futuristic city. The President of the US, as well as the rest of the government, has been assassinated, and the US has been taken over by a religious regime under which women are forbidden to read or learn and are valued only for their capacity for reproduction. Offred, like every other woman of childbearing age and ability, has been torn from her family, her husband likely killed, her daughter stolen and given to a new family, and placed at her "post" where she is expected to produce offspring for her Commander. The Handmaids are, in fact, forced into surrogacy, becoming pregnant with their Commanders' babies and then forced to give their babies over to their Commander and his wife. This is a time of public executions and extreme oppression; a time in which women are not allowed to read, are forced to cover themselves from head to toe, are forbidden from making friends or forging any attachments at all. In the end. the reader is given the opportunity to at least wonder if Offred succeeded in escaping this hell and starting a new life elsewhere; the question is never answered definitively.

I didn't really enjoy the story. It was well-written to be sure, but I found it strange, dark, and depressing. I think it's categorized as a must-read, though, so if anyone wants my copy, say the word.

Monday, April 12, 2010

The New Atheism (non-fiction)

The New Atheism by Victor J. Stenger

It's official: there is no God, something I've known for a long time. Okay, that's a little tongue-in-cheek, but in all seriousness, in this book, Dr. Stenger makes the case that any belief in supernatural is irrational, that everything we know, from the farthest galaxies to the inner workings of our brains - including our thoughts, emotions and personalities - can be reduced to matter and physiological mechanisms, and nothing more, and that not a shred of proof of the existence of God has ever been brought to light. Believers argue that the existence of God is beyond the reaches of science, but that in itself seems irrational (and convenient). After all, if God plays such an important role in the world and in people's individual lives, if people have a "personal and intimate relationship with God," as I've heard people claim, then there should be some evidence of "his" existence. And there's just not, folks - never has been. The bible is not historical fact - it's a collection of stories written by a group of men long, long after Jesus Christ supposedly died (the truth is, there's not even any historical proof that Jesus Christ actually existed; he very well may be a mythical figure). At best the stories are fables and parables; at worst they are tools used to brainwash.

There is no accounting for all the evil and suffering in the world, either. Man's free will, supposedly granted by God, doesn't cut it. How does that explain natural disasters like the earthquake in Haiti that recently killed hundreds of thousands of people? But the best believers seem to be able to come up with is "God works in mysterious ways . . . it's not for us to understand." Well, I'm calling bullshit, and so are a lot of other people, fortunately, including Dr. Stenger.

The book also talks about how religion and belief in the supernatural is actually dangerous; how making decisions based on irrational, baseless faith and superstition rather than on reason and logic can result in terrible consequences, and how so many of man's evil deeds are committed in the name of God. Religion encourages racism and oppression and violence and intolerance, and at the extreme, even killing. Non-believers don't exclude or kill in the name of Atheism. Non-believers value the world and life because we know it's all we've got.

It's interesting to me that so many people who consider themselves true believers were either born into it (i.e., had it spoon-fed to them from infancy), or they "found God" after hitting some sort of rock bottom in their lives. "I was a broken person, but God made me whole." I've heard it over and over. But just like The Cowardly Lion, The Tin Man, and The Scarecrow, the courage, the heart, and the brains they eventually got, they actually had all along - none of it came from The Wizard, who, as we all know, turned out to not be real.

Okay, enough of my personal rantings. Back to the book. The author, a scientist, tends to throw sarcastic barbs in from time to time, which I think the book could have done without. He also goes into some pretty mind-numbing, coma-inducing stuff about things like physics and quantum mechanics. Overall, though, he does a superb job of explaining the position that there is no God and that the world would be a much better place without religion.

I would challenge ye of religious faith to read this book. What do you have to lose? For the record, I've read at least some of the bible and have attended many a church service and listened to many a sermon in my day.

Told ya my next book was going to be controversial.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Say You're One Of Them

Say You're One Of Them by Uwem Akpan is a book of 3 long short stories and 2 shorter stories about different countries in Africa, with children or young adults as the central characters.

Using young people as the main characters seemed to really make the stories more touching, especially given the conflicts portrayed in the book. Religious and tribal conflicts and sheer poverty are the main themes.

Although I had glancing knowledge about Africa and its troubles, these stories really gave a new dimension to my understanding. The stories are very engrossing and easy to read, with the possible exception of one which uses a lot of African dialect. The story set in Rwanda struck me as the most moving and harrowing.

They are sad stories, though, but given the state of Africa, that's not surprising. It is a good read and I recommend it. (This one is on my Kindle)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County (novel)

Hmmm. The cover touts this as "THE NATIONALLY ACCLAIMED BESTSELLER." I don't get it.

It tells the story of Truly, a giant (literally; she is born with the condition acromegaly) living in a small town. Being a person with a condition that makes her vastly different from the people around her subjects her to the predictable taunts and rejection, made all the more extreme since she grows up in the shadow of her beautiful, petite, seemingly perfect sister. Eventually Truly's perfect sister leaves town, and in the aftermath of her disappearance, Truly is left to hold together the small, dysfunctional family her sister leaves behind. Truly discovers the secrets stitched together in an old quilt made by a long-dead descendant of her brother-in-law, and suddenly finds herself holding the power to heal and to harm in the palm of her hand.

I suppose this story is about how love can transcend everything. The author has a knack for writing with a very colorful hand and creating larger-than-life characters. I liked her storytelling style, but not so much the actual story. I stuck with it to the end, but found that I never grew attached to any of the characters and was glad when I finally turned the last page.

That said, this book has gotten some really good reviews on Barnes & Noble and Amazon, so maybe it's just me. Anyone want my copy? It's up for grabs.

The book I'm working my way through now oughta make for some interesting discussion.