Book Review- The Exorcist

My personal rating: 4 out of 5 Stars.

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty << Click on title to buy from Amazon

As a kid I was always scared as hell by evil spirits, demon possessions and all. But I outgrew it in my late teen and young adult years. I figured out that the more scary things in life are crime, psychos, pedophile, rapists, violent criminals, drugies, genocides and wars and also diseases! But well, I think it was somewhere in 2007, when I got laid off and had no work. I would be in deep trouble but I had some money saved so I got into binge book buying off a website called Trademe (which is New Zealand equivalent of Ebay). I bought tons of second hand books. It was always good to buy a second hand cheap book so that you don’t have to worry about returning it to library.

I bought Exorcist paperback (and also later the sequel Legion) for only about $1. It was a dirty, yellowed and worn out paper back when it arrived in the mail. I was never fan of horro fiction and despite the popularity of Stephen King (who I have come to admire as a person listening to his interviews, though I still havn’t anything by him cover to cover) and Dean Koontz, I never ever felt like reading a horror or supernatural novel. But Exorcism and demon possession stuff mystified me. Like me, many people come to this book through the Exorcist movie. And yes, this book has much more than movie. I found it surprisingly good, entertaining and yes! I was spooked in places. There is something about diabolical demons creeping into the life of innocent and sweet girl that is very unsettling.

I think I am giving this book 4 stars for originality .. well not that evil spirit stuff hasn’t been tried before in the genre of horror writing.. But Blatty gets credit for making Jesuits, the cool guys. I also loved knowing about all the workings of  Jesuits, the Catholic Church, Georgetown University and also the things about exorcism. But on the other hand I blame Blatty for promoting superstition and promoting things like ESP and stuff as facts. He does the same in the second book, The Legion. So well… 4 stars for making this book scary and also for surprisingly good writing in many places.

Book Review- Bridge to Terabithia

My personal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson << Click on the title to buy from Amazon

This one is a bit over-rated but still great book. And it is short, stays to the point and has some really warm and moving moments. The story is quite original. Though the theme and plot seem to follow John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and men- in my opinion. Actually,  I could say in a way this short novel is a cross between Huckleberry Finn and Mice and Men. Let me know if you agree with me to some degree.

But again, this short novel sure got really warm moments, many of them actually. Jesse’s relationship with his kid sister is really sweet. And of course Jesse with his queen of Terabithia creates magic. It is like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn but one of them happens to be a girl. And then there is a puppy thrown in the mix somehow and bit of a love triangle by little Jesse’s young lady teacher’s unusual girlie warmth towards him. And the devastating ending… Anyone with spare time must pick it up and make great use of their time. And as I read reviews on Amazon I find this is an extremely popular book; deservingly so.

Dreamscapes

Post originally published in February 2007 on my main blog

Picture: A sort of Gothic looking country road.

This morning around 5am… a sort of surreal dream shook me and I woke up wondering what it was!? This inspired me to write a short piece about dreamscapes and that dream. I know I am not one special person who experiences surreal dreams…. most of us do. And it will be very interesting to get people to comment (though my blog’s reach is minimum)…what sort of dreams they dream, what they find striking, what kind of dreams they classify as pleasant or nightmares or inspirational or gloomy…

Ok! I will get back to my dream. This is the constant theme in my dreams… my soaring into the sky… defying gravity… soaring and floating in the magnificent blue sky, dotted with pretty fluffy white clouds here and there. The dream normally starts at me walking on the ground and I just want to run and take off… just like an airplane racing on the runway and taking off …. like some little miracle.

I do know… this particular theme recurs time and again in my dreams because I have an extreme need for personal freedom, liberty that directly clashes with the legal, social, cultural, political, religious and evil designs of this world ***I love you Ayn Rand*** lol…. I think we all have this kind of feeling in some nook and corner of our brain. Well, here is my dream…..

This time I was walking with a school bag hung on my back (reminder of my school days that I always considered a harrowing conformist prison. lol).. Apparently, I was walking towards my morning class that was to begin shortly. I did not want to. And I looked at the road and other people around me sullenly as I walked towards my class. I wanted to just take off and fly…as I always do in most of my dreams.

I walked past a bus stop…. there were many people (young, old, slim, fat, ugly, average looking, pretty) waiting for some bus. Everyone started staring at me… as if they knew I had some big secret…and that I was up to doing something, ON MY OWN, that will give them no credit as a society of people. So, I started to walk fast… then run… run faster… faster…. then skip…. every kangaroo like skip would lift me up in the air…. every skip got larger and larger., something like those astronaut on moon where gravity restricts less… And now.. I almost began to glide in the air.

Then…I soared…. like an eagle… effortless and smoothly… People at the bus stop saw me lift off. Their jaws dropped. I saw them getting smaller and smaller. They hated me for doing my own thing, on my own. They pointed fingers at me and muttered among themselves what an evil and selfish person I was.

But I continued to soar…. adrenalin rushed in my veins…. I was feeling so high and good. I soared above the buildings, the roads, the traffic lights…I did not have to stop for anything. Soon, I figured I was approaching these very high and rugged cliffs…. I would have to soar higher so I could cross them…

And I did so…. I managed to fly over these lofty cliffs. I smelled sea breezes. I got confused. I looked down…. all around me for miles and miles there was this immense ocean!!! It sparkled with  dark greenish tinge-color of dark moss-… and its ripples reflected shiny sun above me, like thousands of tiny mirrors. Very surreal.

Now, this can be considered either beautiful or otherwise. But I am not finished yet. My dreams often end in something dreadful… something like Hitchcock movies. So, now…there is one very big problem with this picture that none of you can even imagine…. I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SWIM!!!!

So, naturally, seconds after observing this pristine, vast ocean of  dark metallic green color I am filled with deep sense of foreboding….. that begins to grow inside me…. And… I begin…. to descend…. I am paralyzed like someone going through horrible dark depression…. I know I can still soar…. but fear starts to take over and I continue to descend towards this infinite ocean…. that grows darker and darker as I fall…………..

At this moment, before I could splash… I woke up to see it was 5am…. I looked out of the window. No ocean… Just roads, houses bathing under the street lights and in the black sky above… quite a few stars still shining brightly, right before the dawn….

Is genius/ creativity a form of madness?

NB.- Originally published on 4th August, 2007 on my main blog.

Picture: A shiny sliver of mad moon shines over a dark, gloomy landscape.

Thanks to my 360 pal Sgt. Ruthledge’s blog, ”Creative genius- destructive demons” for initiating the idea of madness/depression and its link to creative genius. This theme has always captivated my own thoughts. In fact reading short biographies of mad writers, artists is one of my favourite activities. lol. So, needless to say his blog induced a hefty comment from me that I am copy pasting here in this post. The idea is to introduce little introduction of some of ”mad” geniuses and see that every genius or original thinker had his or her dark or at least odd demons. The stories of these lives are not only unnerving but also at times, heart- breaking. Sgt. himself mentions a great deal about the tragic life of Sylvia Plath, who like many mad or tormented artists committed suicide.

Sgt. had asked three questions in his post:

1) Do you think the creative artist and destructive demon necessarily go together?

2) Being public figures, it is a given that celebrities and other famous persons will receive more than their share of attention. Do you think their opinions are worth more than others outside their own field of expertise or fame?

3)What famous genuises, artists, intellectuals, or celebrities can you name that were dogged or destroyed by personal demons?

Piqued by these questions my brain which was in trance of oodles of coffee produced this comment:

Your questions.

1.) Having written the above paragraph though, I admit, it is necessary for creative people to be mad or odd or different. And a TINY number of people with real mental aberrations (as mentioned above) do go on to produce works of dazzling originality and creativity. William Styron (author of Sophie’s Choice and Confessions of Nat Turner) said, “The good writing of any age has always been the product of someone’s neurosis.” And as if to confirm the same he wrote a little book that became very popular, ”Darkness Visible” in which he recounted his own encounters with dark clinical depression and consequent hospitalization, recovery.

Important point to state here is that FIRST someone has to tame their ”madness” or odd way of thinking in order to create and SECOND be lucky enough to be noticed and published by others. In other words there may be a thousand cases of very destructive and painful manic depressive illness but only 5 or 10 would become real artists of lasting value. The same is true with any other tormented soul with known or unknown madness. The great French writer Gustave Falubert advised, ”Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work.”

2.) Opinion of artists and celebrities matters to an extent. But so does anyone else’s: audience, readers, critics. Indeed a genius or a great artist or a celebrity is so called because OTHERS recognize it and appreciate their talents. Realistically, without the patrons and fans artists would not exist. Anyone can CLAIM he or she can write like or better than Shakespeare or John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Byron, Pushkin etc. It sounds kind of an affront to real artistic genius but RECOGNITION is vital. But on the other hand, THE ONES, will be recognized sooner or later. Unfortunately, some masters of their art are recognized or ”re-discovered” posthumously.

3.) Well that’s a fun question to answer. I believe almost ALL creative geniuses were odd or mad in some way or another. Of course very popular ones have already been mentioned. I would repeat their names and add some others that come to my mind:

Van Gough, Mozart, contemporary Russian music composer and the other great writer: Tchaikovsky and Fyodor Dostoevsky, the latter had a kind of Epilepsy that brought him both dangerous seizures and ecstatic epiphanies. Wikipedia mentions that they both met only once. Someone noted a similarity between their work and remarked: “With a hidden passion they both stop at moments of horror, total spiritual collapse, and finding acute sweetness in the cold trepidation of the heart before the abyss, they both force the reader to experience those felings, too.”

And yet some more!: Byron (”mad, bad and dangerous”), Hans Christian Anderson, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, Graham Greene, James Joyce (in whose mind the line between genius and madness got so blurred that it was difficult and annoying to tell which was which!?), Sylvia Plath (her only Novel Bell Jar is semi-autobiographical and is a realistic portrait of her own ever looming depression), Carson McCullers.

I should stop. Need more coffee. My madness is running out. LOL ***END OF COMMENT**
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

At the end of this blog I must mention probably the greatest of all scientists who laid the foundation of modern Science, especially Physics, Sir Isaac Newton. I forgot to mention him in my cursory list. Now, I will use an excerpt from my favourite book, ‘A Short History of nearly Everything’ in the words of Bill Bryson and let you enjoy:

”Newton was decidedly odd figure. Brilliant beyond measure but solitary, joyless, prickly to the point of paranoia, famously distracted…upon swinging his feet in the bed in the morning he would reportedly sometimes sit for hours immobilized by the rush of sudden thoughts to his head… and capable of most riveting strangeness; once he inserted a Bodkin, a long needle of the sort used for sewing leather into his eye socket and rubbed it around, ‘betwixt my eye and the bone as near to the backside of my eye as I could’ just to see what would happen. What happened miraculously was nothing…”

”Set atop these odd beliefs and quirky traits however was the mind of a supreme genius. Even working in the most conventional channels he often showed tendency to peculiarity. As a student frustrated by the limitations of conventional mathematics, he invented an entirely new form, the Calculus; but then told nobody else about it for 27 years.”

Aren’t you astounded!? I AM.

Shakespeare- Sonnet 30

I would never read nor know William Shakespeare’s works if I was not force fed his works in my literature class. Thank heavens he shall remain with my thoughts for the rest of my life. Sonnet 30 is one of my most beloved. It is so sad and yet so sweet. It also deals with probably the biggest grief we as human beings have to face sometime in life- the death of a loved one (It could be your friend, spouse, lover, parent or anyone else dear to your heart).

Any yeath also reminds you of the sad truth that we’re all to die, anon… But it is muse like this that reconciles us with the truth, ever so sweetly…. Enjoy.

Sonnet 30

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought

I summon up remembrance of things past,

I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time’s waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
For precious friends hid in death’s dateless night,
And weep afresh love’s long since cancell’d woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish’d sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o’er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restor’d and sorrows end.

Book Review- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn<Click on the title to buy from Amazon.

Review originally published on August 13, 2006.

Sweet madness woven around a river of beauty and imagination

I read Huckleberry Finn just this year! Of course I heard about the book and references to it all my life. I guess I had to take the plunge. And what a joyful ride it was! I liked these two chaps- one white and free another black and slave- on the run so alone under the sun and stars. At the same time they are chasing their own wild dreams and adventures.

Humour is spread all over the book and it often takes quirky turns. I can laugh at some very small bits from the beginning of the novel where Tom Sawyer makes an unsuccessful attempt to form a gang of robbers, towards the end of book where impish Tom kisses his own aunt on the lips under disguise of some other boy and Jim being supplied with all sorts of insects and snakes while in captivity.

But what makes this story great is the noble theme that runs throughout the book. Society’s inhuman and exploitative nature and human heart’s own capacity for love, compassion and friendship, above all. As we see in the book human compassion and friendship triumphs over greed, malevolence and injustice of an unjust and small hearted society.

Book Review: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

The Fountainhead: <Click on title to buy from Amazon

A beautiful unique book with pulp philosophy?

When I read this I was not more than 24 and it caused the storms in my mind! I believe it was the during Christmas holidays of 2003. It has this ability to do this to you on your first reading. About 3 years later when I revisited it, it sounded a bit sophomoric in some places but still a great story even if you do not agree with the philosophy. Everyone is going to have mixed feelings for this novel. And you might change your opinions about it with time. So, I am offering two review. First short one was written in 2007 and I call it a sane one. The other one was written almost as a satire or parody of all those who WORSHIP this book blindly as some kind of religious text. So here we go.

First Review (written in 2007)

Just as Christians love their Bible, Muslims their Koran; many Atheists, Rationalists, Entrepreneurs, Individualists love Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. It is one of those books that changes the way you think or causes you to question your thoughts.

This novel is more loved for the political, philosophical message than the plot but in my opinion plot and story are superbly gripping. Howard Roark is one of a kind, his love story and odd courting, romance with Dominique is wild. But it’s not all love story, you will see how Rand ruthlessly conveys her agenda through this book that overshadows everything else in the novel.

All characters have their very interesting story: Toohey, the monstrous villain and the communist kind; Gail Wynand, the powerful tycoon who got it all but did he not give his soul in return?; Dominique, the sad, mad girl with a rich daddy, she is hopelessly in love with that man called Howard Roark who is the beginning and the end of this novel.

Yeah I’m giving you teasers only. I would be a damn fool to reveal the plot and spoil the wild fun and inspiration you’re bound to experience. In case you’re a people person or the one who likes to get along with everyone, you may feel nauseated with disgust.

Second long review which is also satirical was written about a year before the above one on May 9, 2006.

Fountainhead is a classic book in its own right. But as someone said in these reviews that you don’t have to buy a philosophy completely in order to like it. I love the ideas of Ayn Rand but I don’t buy them all like any ‘second hander’ would. For this reason my review contains criticism of Objectivism ( That has the tendency to become crypto- Nazism). It is just my opinion and I’m just using my freedom of expression for the sake of discussion as it is impossible for many to read Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and not dream up political parties!

Ayn Rand’s brilliance shines and grips the reader from page 1. You’re wildly engrossed by the mystique of this young Howard Roark. You Wonder, What he’s upto? And you start your journey into the ideal of Individualism and the trend of the Crowd/ The herd/ The Collectivist/ The Second-hander.

Mind you, this book is dangerous in the sense you may end up buying more than you would like to bargain! Ayn Rand is hauntingly convincing. It hits your mind and the soul. It agitates, stimulates and provokes you to think… question… think again.

But I was delighted to read this book because I already held most of the ideals of the book very high in my heart and they were only confirmed as I read Fountainhead. It is exhilarating to discover that someone somewhere in this Universe not only shares your deepest thoughts but has profoundly manifested them in beautiful writing.

CRITICISM- Of course few months after the reading you will be able to shake off your initial mania ( If you passively buy Rand’s Objectivism) and you would see the holes in the philosophy of Objectivism. It is OK to disagree with Rand on some points as Objectivism requires us to be objective and listen to our OWN conscience/ Reason!

For start, why must one disbelieve the existence of God to subscribe to Objectivism/ Individualism? Objectivism and Atheism must come together, because God DOES NOT EXIST, so says the Objectivist. Hmmm.. No one has seen black holes either but many believe in their existence, same is true with the dark matter and many other phenomena etc.. I think Agnosticism (on the question of God) would not be too irrational, better still… let it be a matter of one’s conscience.

Second, I question Howard Roark’s morality and fairness. His first love- making with Dominique is a sort of consensual rape (???). Then he forgets her. Then he starts the sexual relationship again and continues it without any compunctions even when Dominique is married. Maybe he considers that the ethical issue regarding committing adultery is a religious diktat, a selfish, rational man is above that moral [...] ? I am not sure. I found it a behavior that undermines his integrity. It might sound harsh but for the sake of truth it is important to mention (in this review) that there is a very firm evidence that Ms. Rand herself carried on a long term/ intimate affair with much younger married man while she was still married to her husband. Both their spouses knew about it but were not allowed to interfere.

Same UNAPOLOGETIC/ NONCHALANT adultery is portrayed in Atlas Shrugged between Mr. Reardon (who is a married man with a beautiful, devout-mostly- wife) and Miss Taggart. I found their first sex act to be a very funny scene where Mr. Reardon declares he has always lusted after Miss Taggart and that he is a sex animal of some sort who would not mind giving up his every ambition, dream and industrial empire just to have Miss Taggart as his bonk buddy. What in the Dickens was that???? I still crack up when I think of that fall of superman and superwoman for a night of nookie. Hilarious and UNNOTICED BY Randmaniacs.

And what about Howard Roark being the poster boy for Cigarette companies. Our hero is a chain smoker of sorts and the picture is supposed to become romantic when Roark and Dominique smoke together. hmmmm… Why must a rational man smoke? Incidentally, Ms. Rand herself was a smoker and was diagnosed with lung cancer later in life…

Another small thing that kind of confuses me, is Ms. Rand’s consistent portrayal of THE IDEAL MAN or WOMAN as someone with Blond/ Red hair. What is with the hair colour? If only Anglo Saxon race is the ideal human race then rest of the planet is screwed and that’s a lot of screwed people stuck in eternal doom because they are not the right race. Ayn Rand happened to be Jewish to thicken the plot…

Coming back to the mind of Roark, I find, Roark’s most striking statement that contradicted all his other statements was his admission to Dominique, ”I LOVE YOU.” I found it so glaring an expression coming from him. Love and submission is exactly against his militant beliefs about his selfishness, ego. Love = sacrifing yourSELF to other Self, that is anti- Self. But anyhow, Roark lets Dominique be the sexual plaything for two other men (She even marries both of them!) One more inconsistency in his integrity.

His reverence, deep respect and submission to his mentor Architect in the beginning of the book is another notable example that shows Roark got a very soft, caring, humane and even EMOTIONAL nature. He is not cold, selfish and rational all times as the book seems to suggest in some parts.

Great Novel from a great author— But don’t get me wrong because of above points. I had to mention them as – though I absolutely love this book- I cannot understand why some poeple want to make religion out of couple of novels. It seems some sort of ‘Inerrancy of Ayn Rand, transliteration of Objectivism as personified in very entertaining novels’. It’s just too much hype and mawkishness really.

Such idol worship aside, DO READ Fountainhead whenever you get a chance. Most possibly, it will be one of the greatest AND VERY ENTERTAINING books you will ever read. This book has a great plot, very interesting characters; Toohey’s character has been developed terrifically. Even I was duped in the beginning of the book that Toohey was a good man! His character is an enigma really. Though he is the promoter of second handers he himself is a genius and a devilish manipulator. Rand presents him as a diabolical communist of sorts as she herself had strong hatred of communist ideology, mostly because of her experiences/impressions of Soviet Union.

And surely, there is a great inspirational theme that boils down to: BE YOURSELF/ NEVER IMITATE other human beings/ NEVER BORROW SOMEONE ELSE’S IDEAS/ NEVER SEEK ACCEPTANCE OF YOUR THOUGHTS OR ACTIONS… in words of Rand There is absolutely no need to SACRIFICE SELF TO OTHERS AND VICE VERSA. And if you manage to do EXACTLY all that you might be Tarzan in Brazilian rainforest.. hang on… it got to be Sweedish woods because otherwise there is a chance of getting the race wrong…

A CLASSIC- But as some reviewer (maybe on Atlas Shrugged page) said we don’t have to fully buy a philosophy in order to appreciate it, very much unlike religious texts. And philosophy aside, I found this book very enjoyable, gripping, suspenceful, profoundly inspiring and stimulating. It’s a great read for sure. Certainly in my top 10 list. Despite above critism I love the book because it is so beautiful and so unique. Dialogs between Characters can be very profound, really meaningful and thought provoking. Fountainhead is the sort of book you have to read several times and question your existence and that of this world.

Book Review: American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

American Psycho: <Click on title to buy from Amazon

Review Originally written on May 10, 2006

A violent video game of a modern Psycho

This is the only Ellis book I have read and apart from some parts (that I found myself skipping!) where I was getting annoyed and bored by endless descriptions of products, clothes etc. I actually liked this book. It does emanate a sense of doom and horror. I also found it quite funny. This is also a notable book for pushing the boundaries of censorship regarding graphic violence and misogynistic elements. I incidentally have included it in 5 notable novels that pushed the boundaries of censorship on my other blog CLICK HERE TO READ

The book does justice to its subject. Dark humour is splattered all over this book, so is blood, body parts and torn out guts. Bateman also clubs verbal insults (mostly through his narration) on various races, people, women, homosexuals (Ellis came out as a bisexual in 2005, not that it matters but may throw some light on how he treats or satirizes his subjects) etc. But it only shows that Patrick Bateman is incapable of not hating anything.

At times I found the details of everyone’s attire rather humourous and I mostly skimmed over them anyway. Ellis himself has admitted that those ridiculous descriptions were mostly tongue in cheek. Not only they serve the purpose of satirising the lifestyles of rich people, desperate to be noticed, but also ACTUALLY most of the descriptions that sound impressive got humour hidden under the surface. This is author’s subtle joke. If read carefully, a reader may realize the color matchings etc. of people’s clothes make them clowns of sort.

Almost all characters in this novel are SUPER SNOBS with too much money and no sense what they should do with it. They are very superficial. In the beginning of the book when Bateman is at the house of Evelyn for a small get together, their conversation on international affairs is funny. Bateman’s own views on the world sound lofty but are nothing more than newspaper clippings put together shoddily. He got no idea what he is talking about. More aware readers may realize what the devil was that comment about Sikhs and Jews killing each other in Sri Lanka?!

Violence is disturbing mostly because innocent, helpless people are being slaughtered by Patrick Batemen for personal sadistic pleasures. List of victims include a young boy who Bateman lures into a corner in a public place and slits his throat. Bateman tries to fill the vacuum of his life with the killings and mutilated corpses strewn all over his apartment. He even tries necrophilia and cannibalism. Though, we see, his joys from this madness don’t bring him peace of mind.

Bateman is a megalomaniac. He plays god with people he kills and also the beggars and homeless people he brutalizes with jokes and physical afflictions. Bateman is also very jealous of other people’s success and is stuck in the cut throat rat races of modern world. His seething mad-jealousy at his friends’ business cards being more impressive than his, is one example. To make matters worse, he got no compassion for the poor or destitute. Their misery gives him sadistic joys.

Actually, the gory story is a reflection of Bateman’s own jaded soul and hollowness. What I can’t understand why Bateman has to go from one evil to another, all the time. He rarely shows any genuine glare of humane thoughts or conscience. Though there are some warm moments in the novel. I quite liked the banters of Bateman’s buddies. Also, quite a few women in the novel are warm and caring (Evelyn, Jean). All the parts of the novel which mention Bateman and Jean together are really warm.

But still Patrick Bateman chooses to dwell in the dark. Bret Easton Ellis never gives him a chance to show or get affection. There is no remote possibility of Jean and Bateman being a source of lasting comfort to each other, despite their emotional chemistry being almost ideal! There is no exit for Bateman.

Well, I would like to think that yuppie Patrick Bateman will gradually grow out of his obsessions and delusions as he grows older. Maybe Ellis owes us a novel that somehow fixes the grossly messed up lives of his characters. But maybe that would be asking too much from a man who is so deft at this postmodern genre and developing characters who have bitter emotions, jaded souls and very bored minds. They must think and act extreme to escape their maddening ennui.

Book Review: Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham

Of Human Bondage (Bantam Classics): <Click on title to Buy from Amazon.

Review originally written on May 18, 2007.

Somerset Maugham remains my one of my favorite authors just because of this one book. His writing is deceptively simple but conveys deep meanings. I have not had the opportunity to go through his other works that remain on my shelf. But I will get to them anon. Here is my take on Of Human Bondage.

So, what is the meaning of life after all? This is all what this book is about. Maugham thought he owed himself this book and he completed it with brutal honesty. This book kept me on the edge and stirred me deeply especially regarding the questions of God, purpose of life and the human condition.

It is a long journey in the life of Philip Carey (from childhood to manhood), who goes through many twists of his life and lots of suffering. To begin with he has a club foot, he lost both his parents as a child, there is no parental love in his life. He is brought up by his uncle and aunt ( Sort of dull, soggy, dogmatic but decent and old Anglican church leader and his devout wife) who are barely any substitute for the warmth, love and comfort of having your own parents.

Philip’s suffering is made worse by his bashfulness and low self esteem. The initial parts of the book where he is mocked, bullied and laughed at in school because of his club foot are sad. But more sorrowful is his unshakable faith in God (stuffed in his head by his uncle) and his constant prayers to God to heal his club foot. Of course little child’s club foot never heals and his prayers never get answered.

The rest is his long journey through life, experiences with friendships, love, romance, education, work, learning and revelations. Gosh, I hate that Mildred; one of the most annoying characters I’ve ever read.

I’m glad though Maugham chose to end this long brooding novel on a cheerful and positive note. Also, there is good deal of humor in novel. I laughed at most of the time his crazy poet friend came onto scene (at least in the beginning). I should also mention that Maugham introduces to many philosophical concepts about the meaning of life but does not bore you with academic philosophical theories. We just see it all through the thoughts shaping inside Philip’s mind. Well done.

Upcoming: Books reviews and fiction (yours and mine)

Dear Readers, Soon you will be able to read all of my 103 book reviews from my shelfari page!!! http://www.shelfari.com/emberglow/

I wish to write my book reviews in my new blog and also provide you Amazon.com links in case you may like to buy those books (new or second hand). So, keep your eyes wide open. This blog is coming alive.