Tag: books

CURING DISEASE

Green questions the profit motive of drug companies that ignore the benefits of drugs that poor societies cannot afford that would cure tuberculosis. At the same time, Green implies the political will of all nations fail to provide known curative drugs for tuberculosis.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Everything is Tuberculosis (The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection)

Author: John Green

Narration by: John Green

John Green (Author, YouTuber, and philanthropist.)

“Everything is Tuberculosis” is an apt title for John Green’s book but unlikely to attract many listener/readers. However, those who have read John Green’s books are attracted to his story because of the humor and insight he offers to living life. Green offers an interesting human perspective about a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people every year and is both preventable and curable. Recognizing this critic’s own biases, “Everything is Tuberculosis” is a belief that there are only two important issues for human species’ survival, i.e., world peace and personal health. “Everything is Tuberculosis” deals with the principal of health while others write about world peace.

Tuberculosis transmission.

Peace is only indirectly addressed in “Everything is Tuberculosis” while health is the primary focus of Green’s book. Today, approximately 1.23 million people die from tuberculosis every year. Surprisingly, it remains the deadliest curable infectious disease in the world. An estimated 10.7 million people are presently diagnosed with tuberculosis. This high infection rate is for a disease that is curable and preventable. Green explains in countries with high rates of poverty, undernutrition, overcrowding, high HIV infections, and poor medical services tuberculosis becomes a greater killer of human beings than any other infectious disease.

The fear and anxiety of Covid mimics the fear of tuberculosis.

Green personalizes his story by being its main character. He writes in the first person and uses his personal anxiety driven thoughts to explain tuberculosis’ illness and vulnerability. As a child, Green recalls his own illnesses and anxieties that required hospitalization. He contrasts his life of economic security with the lives of many people in the world that have little to no economic security. He views tuberculosis, not as a scientist or patient, but as an observer of poverty in Sierra Leone and the personal life of a young boy with the disease.

The cost of medication.

The young boy’s recovery experience is on-again/off-again, in part because of his father’s skepticism about the effectiveness of drugs and his belief in God, but also because of a failure of experimental drug treatments from other tuberculosis patients that die. There is a happy ending when a new drug cure is found and started; the boy recovers, resulting in eradication of the infection. He finishes high school and goes on to college. Other stories of the disease in Sierra Leone show distances patients have to travel, the cost of treatments, and different economically challenged families who are discouraged by continued treatment. Those patients that do not continue the medical treatment often see regrowth of the Tuberculosis bacteria which ends their sons, daughters, fathers, or mother’s lives.

Green’s point is that human beings are dying from tuberculosis, a curable disease that kills; not because it is often fatal, but because of a human-systems’ failure.

TB deaths are a predictable outcome of poverty, undernutrition, overcrowding, political neglect, and global indifference. Green gets at the heart of the problem of societal indifference. The indifference is both political and economic. The political indifference comes from every government that is only concerned about their country’s health and welfare. The economic difference is similar but more pronounced in capitalist countries that focus on profit more than societal benefit. Political difference is in nation-state’ leadership whether countries are democratic or other.

Green questions the profit motive of drug companies that ignore the benefits of drugs that poor societies cannot afford that would cure tuberculosis. At the same time, Green implies the political will of all nations fail to provide known curative drugs for tuberculosis.

WORLD INIQUITY

One comes away from Trevor Reed’s book with the feeling he tilted at Don Quixote’s windmill. One’s heart goes out to Ukraine and their fight against an implacable Russian President who tilts at a different windmill.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Retribution (A US Marine’s Fight for Justice, from the Russian Gulag to Ukraine’s Front Lines

Author: Trevor Reed, Jim DeFelice

Narration by: Roger Wayne, Joey Reed

Trevor Reed (on the left) is the subject of Retribution. It is co-written with the novelist Jim DeFelice (on the right).

U.S. Marine infantry.

Trevor Reed is a former Marine infantry soldier who was imprisoned for being drunk and disorderly in Russia. He became a victim of Russia’s hostage exchange system. The story of his young life and how he became a marine and a Ukrainian combatant against Russia is explained in “Retribution”. As a strong-willed youth who challenged parental control, he became an athletic wrestling champion in high school. His disciplined physical work ethic made him a 145 lb. highly self-confident young man who decided (contrary to his father’s council as an ex-marine) to enlist in the marine infantry.

The risk of travel to foreign countries.

Reed’s story of being arrested in Russia is a lesson about the risks of traveling to a foreign country that disagrees with America’s form of government. Reed became romantically involved with a young woman in Russia who he had corresponded with after completing his 4-year commitment in the Marines. Alina Tsybulnik, his Russian girlfriend, visited America, became a friend of his family, and invited Trevor to Russia. They became intimate friends.

Alina Tsybulnik and Trevor Reed.

Tsybulnik is enrolled in a Russian college to become an attorney. When Trevor visits her in Russia, they go out on the town. Trevor gets drunk and disorderly and is arrested by the Russian police in 2019. In what is characterized as a gross exaggeration of Trevor’s actions on their night on the town, Trevor is sentenced to prison for nine years in a Russian penal colony. In April 2022, after three years, Trevor is released in a prisoner exchange.

Trevor Reed’s parents.

Reed shows himself to be a tough-minded person who refuses to cooperate with the Russian prison guards’ orders to work while being unfairly imprisoned in a work camp. He is visited by his father who works to have the Biden administration get his son released. Alina Tsybulnik uses her legal experience with the Russian legal system to get Reed released. The corruption and purpose of incarceration in Russia is shown to be political by Reed’s story. Reed explains how even some Russian administrators, not to mention his girlfriend, resist the political ministrations of the system but are unable to change its policies.

Alexei Navalny, a Russian dissident, is sentenced to an Arctic penal colony and is poisoned. He dies in that Arctic colony at the age of 47 in 2024.

The last chapters of Reed’s book recount his effort to get a level of revenge against Russia’s injustice by volunteering in Ukraine’s war against Russia’s invasion. Reed had become a fluent Russian language user because of his intellect, his relationship with Tsybulnik, and his imprisonment. He used that skill to join the Ukrainian resistance. One comes away from Trevor Reed’s book with the feeling he tilted at Don Quixote’s windmill. One’s heart goes out to Ukraine and their fight against an implacable Russian President who tilts at a different windmill.

OUT OF CONTROL

Ahab reminds one of a leader who wishes to impose meaning on a meaningless world. Ahab refuses to see the limits of his power over the unknown, a feeling one can see in errant leaders of the world today.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Moby Dick

Author: Herman Melville

Narration by: Anthony Heald

Painting of Herman Melville (1819-1891, American novelist, short story writer, and poet.)

Interestingly, Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” is a reflection of his personal experience on the sea between 1839 and 1844. He first sailed on a merchant vessel in 1839. Between 1841 and 1843 Melville sailed on long voyages seeking sperm whales and right whales on the Acushnet which sailed out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. He chose to join the Navy on the USS United States and served from 1843-1844. He had an intimate understanding of what he wrote about.

Sperm Whale

An interesting side bar to “Moby Dick” is information about whales. Whale hunting and harvesting is important in the 19th century for the collection of the spermaceti organ in a Sperm whale’s head. Spermaceti is taken out of the organ by men dipping buckets into the head cavity of the whale. The sperm whale roamed the Pacific, Indian Ocean, the South Atlantic, and offshore grounds of the equator. Other whales had spermaceti but not in the quantities of the Sperm whale. Aside from spermaceti harvesting, whalebone is collected for corsets, umbrella ribs, buggy whips, fishing rods, and for the carving arts, for tools, furniture accents, and sailor scrimshaw works. Whale steak, and fried whale scraps became popular for some consumers. In sum, Melville shows how whaling offered the global economy a boost in the 19th century.

Whale spermaceti.

The value of spermaceti is for candles, ointments, and cosmetics because of its waxy, crystalline purity. Spermaceti value declined for two reasons. One, intense whaling in the 19th century killed nearly 200,000 sperm whales and their species decline made it more expensive to hunt and, as it always was, dangerous to kill. Along with the cost and danger of hunting whales, a significant reason for change is that industrial substitutes like kerosene, petroleum lubricants, and synthetic waxes and oils replaced spermaceti’s utility. In 1946, an International Whaling Commission is formed to regulate whaling. Finally, in 1982, the IWC created a global moratorium on commercial whaling.

The main characters of “Moby Dick” are Ishmael, Captain Ahab, Queequeg, Starbuck, Stubb, Flask, and of course, the great white whale.

Ishmael is like Melville, a novice on a first voyage with Captain Ahab. Queequeg is a native islander whose father is a chief or king of an island from which Queequeg came. Melville describes Queequeg as a calm self-possessed whale harpooner who is a former cannibal who worships (in long trances) a wooden idol called Yojo. He is powerfully built, beautifully tattooed, and graceful in his movement. Queequeg’s character shows generosity and quiet wisdom and becomes a close friend and confident of Ishmael. They become brothers who are neither subordinate nor superior in their relationship.

As the story progresses, listeners become acquainted with Starbuck, Stubb, Flask and finally, Captain Ahab. They sale together on a ship out of Nantucket called the Pequod. Starbuck is the first mate, a Nantucket Quaker who is deeply religious, principled, and brave while being suspicious of Captain Ahab’s behavior. In contrast, Stubb and Flask are mates who follow Captain Ahab wherever and however he leads. Stubb and Flask believe life is “meant to be”, without fear or favor because they are whaleman who obey their orders.

Captain Ahab, as acted by Gregory Peck in 1956, is an imposing, and enduring figure with a scarred face and ivory leg.

Ahab appears later as he comes from his cabin on the Pequod several chapters later in the book. He is pale, gaunt, and storm-beaten with a fierce intensity of purpose. Ahab has charisma but he is monomaniacal and terrifying because of his fierce desire to find and kill Moby Dick, a white whale that severed his leg in an earlier voyage. He views Moby Dick as a malevolent force in the universe that can only be subdued by the American will to conquer, dominate, and transcend the limits of the human condition, i.e. a condition imposed by nature, fate, God, or the inscrutable forces of life.

Ahab, to some, is a symbol of ignorance.

Ahab refuses to recognize his fallibility and the randomness of living in a world over which he has limited control. Ahab finally harpoons Moby Dick but the rope of his harpoon wraps around his neck and drownds him in the sea. He is bound by his obsession for control over a universe’s indifference. Ahab reminds one of a leader who wishes to impose meaning on a meaningless world. Ahab refuses to see the limits of his power over the unknown, a feeling one can see in errant leaders of the world today.

LITERATURE

Serpell has written an excellent review of Morrison’s work as a novelist. It illustrates the great power and importance of literature to reveal an understanding of ourselves and humanity.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

On Morrison 

Author: Namwali Serpell 

Narration by: January LaVoy

Namwali Serpell (Author, Zamian/American, professor of English at Harvard.)

Ms. Serpell has written an insightful and informative review of Toni Morrison’s written works. Morrison died on August 5, 2019. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. She also won a Pulitzer Prize for “Beloved” in 1987. Morrison graduated from Howard University in 1953 and received a master’s degree in American Literature from Cornell in 1955. Her writing is partly about racism in the United States, but her story telling is about human beings, regardless of their race.

Toni Morrison (1931-2019, American novelist, professor of literature, and editor.)

Serpell explains how one can understand the brilliance of Morrison as a writer of great fiction. Morrison’s reading of literary classics is a part of her success as a writer. Serpell’s explanation of the many allusions in Morrison’s books show how brilliant both Serpell is in her understanding of literature and Morrison’s success as a literary Nobel Prize winner.

Tolstoy and Morrison are among the great writers of their times

What comes through to this critic is how ignorant one can be about what makes a writer great. Morrison is a writer that in someways removes the color of one’s skin from society by creating stories that are true about every American today. The story in “The Bluest Eye” of a father who rapes and impregnates his own daughter is an appalling truth about world gender discrimination and human degradation. It illustrates the brutality and inequality of gender discrimination in society. Societal inequality is not just about the color of one’s skin but in the false belief of racial and gender superiority.

Like Baldwin, Morrison was a voracious reader of books.

Serpell reveals the many allusions to classic literature in Morrison’s work. From Shakespearean drama to the modern literature of Eliot and Joyce, Morrison draws on behaviors, and social strategies that shape her stories. Morrison gives the same depth to Black life as all human life. Serpell shows Morrison draws on singular heroes and forces that have driven the characters of other famous and successful writers.

Morrison’s Published Books

  • The Bluest Eye (1970)
  • Sula (1973)
  • Song of Solomon (1977)
  • Tar Baby (1981)
  • Beloved (1987)
  • Jazz (1992)
  • Paradise (1998)

In the last chapter of “…Morrison”, Serpell visits a memorial to Morrison. Serpell explains that reading Morrison is like developing a relationship with her. The author notes Morrison did not shy away from the truth of discrimination. She explains Morrison looks at monuments to discrimination like the statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, VA. and believes they should be left in place to remind society of stories that show how unjust inequality is to humanity (the statue is removed in 2021). Morrison is shown to be a great Black writer with a clear understanding of what it is to be an American.

Toni Morrison Memorial.

Interestingly, Serpell is highly critical of Morrison’s poetry. Serpell suggests Morrison has great poetic power in her prose but fails when she tries to write poetry. (Not being a follower of poetry, this reviewer is no judge.) What one can read in Morrison’s prose shows an imaginative density that seems the equal of what people say about poetry. It is somewhat surprising that Morrison could not be a good poet. In any case, Serpell has written an excellent review of Morrison’s work as a novelist. It illustrates the great power and importance of literature to reveal an understanding of ourselves and humanity.

JUST BEING

Until equality of opportunity is somehow politically assured, human nature will always victimize those who are different.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Fire Inside (The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde)

Author: Rima Vesely-Flad Ph.D.

Narration by: Heni Zoutomou

Rima Vesely-Flad (Author, Buddhist and Black History scholar with a Ph.D. in Social Ethics.)

The premise of Vesely-Flad’s book is somewhat misleading because its cover highlights James Baldwin and Audre Lorde while much of the text is a biography of Rima Vesely-Flad. “The Fire Inside” does address beliefs of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde but it is the dimension of black life in America that is the book’s subject. A large part of the story is the author’s life as a woman born to a white mother and black father. Vesely-Flad explains her grandparents were offended by their granddaughter’s birth because of her having a Black father.

The beliefs and fame of James Baldwin are reported in many books written about him and by him. Audre Lorde and Vesely-Flad, on the other hand, are not well known to the general public. Lorde’ and Vesely-Flad’ stories are gender versions of Baldwin’s story.

Audre Lorde (American writer, professor, philosopher, feminist, poet, and civil rights activist.)

Ms. Lorde was born in 1934 to Caribbean immigrant parents from Grenada. She became a poet who wrote about racism, structural oppression, sexism, and sexual orientation. A book of her poems was first published in 1968, and she became a National Book Award winner in 1988. She was an active participant in the women’s movement, civil rights, and LGBTQ liberation. A famous line which became a rallying cry Lorde created is “Your silence will not protect you”. Her beliefs are about the majority of people in America and their power. She argues–the American white majority should confront the truth of who they are, and how society represses those who are non-white. This is the theme that fits the reputations of Baldwin and Vesely-Flad in “The Fire Inside”.

“Go Tell It on the Mountain” is an autobiographical view of life and growth to manhood as a Black child raised in Harlem. It took ten years to write but became Baldwin’s most famous book. It released Baldwin from the ghost of his stepfather’s cruelty and set the stage for his exploration of race, religion, sexuality, and personal identity.

As a bibliophile, one is drawn to “The Fire Inside” because of the picture of Baldwin on its cover. Many who have read Baldwin’s work are drawn to this book because of his fame and writing about American racism. The stories of the author’ and Lorde’s lives reinforce much of what one has read in Baldwin’s books.

The author of “The Fire Inside” follows and considers herself a Buddhist. Neither Baldwin nor Lorde were Buddhists, but Vesely-Flad argues they followed many Buddhist beliefs by confronting and clarifying suffering in America. They exposed the illusions of ego, fear, and domination which are goals of Buddhism. Like Buddhists, the author argues Baldwin and Lorde insisted on liberation of the personal, political, and spiritual beliefs of the individual.

What an author like Margo Jefferson explains in “Negroland” is American society makes her life different because of her color.

Vesely-Flad explains both Baldwin and Lorde are gay. Black Americans who believe in their right to be as they are should not be challenged by the political, spiritual, and religious beliefs of society. The point they make is that one’s inner life is their own. As long as one is not using anger, discrimination, or power to oppress others, they have an equal right to their personal life, liberty, and opportunity.

How will input from human beings escape the imperfect nature of humankind?

Vesely-Flad’s idealization of life and liberty exists nowhere in the world because of human nature. One is drawn to religions like Christianity, Protestantism, and some would argue Buddhism, but in practice we all remain trapped by human nature and become discriminatory. Vesely-Flad’s story of her life and experience have the same social ugliness that is known of Baldwin’s and Lorde’s lives. Until equality of opportunity is somehow politically assured, human nature will always victimize those who are different.

COMPATIBILITY

What one finds in “Funny Story” is that human relationships are always works in progress. Nothing in a long-term relationship is without conflict.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Funny Story

Author: Emily Henry

Narration by: Julia Whelan

Emily Henry (Author, American writer of NYT’s bestselling romance novels.)

This is a “Funny Story”, written with the same skill that is noted in a previous review of this author’s writing in, “Great Big Beautiful Life“. “Funny Story” reminds one of human relationships when one is young and unattached. Of course, it is written from a woman’s point of view, but it reveals some truths about love, partnering, and marriage.

Every life is a world.  Paulo Coelho’s The Winner Stands Alone magnifies the ephemeral nature of money, power, and fame. 

For some people, living life alone is liberating but emotionally unfulfilling. Living with or marrying someone is like placing a bet on a roulette table. It can reward or deprive you of some level of joy. Henry’s story begins with a single woman, with modest ambition and little money, who falls in love with a wealthy, handsome man whom she marries. The woman’s name is Daphne. Her new husband, Peter, buys a house but soon chooses to leave and divorce Daphne to marry another woman. The other woman, named Petra, is a childhood friend raised in a family of similar wealth. Petra had been living with a male lover named Miles, a working man of modest means who is employed at a winery. Miles is a friend of Peter and sexual partner of Petra but is yet to meet Daphne.

Love and marriage.

Once one knows of the relationships between the main characters, the story moves along with the jilted wife, Daphne, and Miles’s becoming housemates after the abrupt departure and divorce by Peter who believes he is in love with Petra. The author creates a “Funny Story” with an odd arrangement with Daphne becoming a house mate with Miles because she is broken hearted and too broke to be able to live on her own. One can quit listening to the book because the table seems set to show the jilted wife will fall in love with Miles and live happily ever after.

One who believes “birds of a feather flock together” presumes two wealthy families are more likely to have offspring who marry each other because of their similarities of experience and wealth in their families’ backgrounds. One may either quit the book or keep listening to the story in expectation of a “happy ever after” ending.

What “Funny Story” says about life is that marriage between people of similar backgrounds is more likely to be happy than marriage of people with different backgrounds. Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule. Good relationships or marriages can be based on complimentary ways of dealing with life where two people make each other more complete human beings. The accoutrements of similar wealth and education aid compatibility but are not sole determinants of intimate relationship success. A listener/reader stays with “Funny Story” to find out which social relationship the main characters achieve, i.e., complimentary partners, partners in misery, or single unattached loners.

What one finds in “Funny Story” is that human relationships are always works in progress.

Nothing in a long-term relationship is without conflict. Those who recognize their complimentary compatibility are more likely to remain attached through marriage, partnership, or long friendship. Those who have too much in common and too little that complements their differences seem more likely to part company.

LIFE’S MEANING

John Green explains in “The Anthropocene Reviewed” that learning how to cope with life when its hard or joyful is what it is to be human.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Anthropocene Reviewed (Essays on a Human-Centered Planet)

Author: John Green

Narration by: John Green

John Michael Green (Author, Indianapolis native, raised in Florida, now living in Indianapolis, graduated from Kenyon College, with degrees in English and religious studies.)

“The Anthropocene…” is a clever series of essays that reveal a biography of John Green’s beliefs and how they have been affected by the world. Born in Indianapolis, he is raised in Florida and returns to Indianapolis when his wife is offered a job as an Art Director. These essays are drawn from his life experience, candidly revealing beliefs about himself and human activities that shape the earth’s climate, ecosystems, and geological processes. Green writes about his understanding of the diversity of things ranging from cosmic events like Halley’s comet to his obsessive consumption of Diet Dr Pepper. Along the way, Green reflects on the big and small events of life that reflect on many Americans lives.

Defining anxiety in oneself.

Green appears to be more anxiety driven than most people. His growth as a writer is shown to be related to his childhood memories, his personal illnesses, and his life encounters. That seems true for all human beings which is why his essays appeal to listener/readers of his famous stories like “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Turtles All the Way Down”. Of course, writing success in life, like all achievements, come with cost. Personal emotions and the environment in which we live shape our lives in good and bad ways. Greens self-analysis reflects on his anxieties, vulnerabilities, and wonderment. He writes of close relationships that helped him get through his school years. His illnesses are partly brought on by anxiety and depression which are not uncommon in any society. The difference is that Green is able to write about them with candor and humor to make reader/listeners more comfortable with their own experiences.

Life is life.

What Green reminds this listener of is a saying that my daughter hates to hear. “Life is life”. We deal with life in our own way, i.e., colored by who we are from our genetic inheritance, our personal strengths and weaknesses, and the way we deal with the circumstances in which we live. Green creates a 5 star rating system for experiences in his life. Histories of the bubonic plague and the world’s most recent experience with the covid pandemic receive 1 star. Natural sunsets, the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, and the Lascaux ancient cave paintings get 5 stars in Green’s opinion. These ratings are Green’s way of explaining suffering, healing, and the beauty of art in our lives. The beauty of nature, civilization’s artful adaptation, the closeness of family, professional help, and music have helped him cope with anxiety and depression. They also show what he finds beautiful, what he fears losing, and what he believes is worth saving.

What is the meaning of life?

The depth of a person’s feelings are not the same for all human beings, but we all have a rating system for what life means to us. Humans need to understand they are not alone in happiness or sorrow. John Green explains in “The Anthropocene Reviewed” that learning how to cope with life when its hard or joyful is what it is to be human.

2 + 2 = what?

Democratic socialism is a great ideal but offers no solution for the flaws of human nature. The slim hope for Orwell’s democratic socialism is “The Ministry of Truth” which ironically is its greatest danger.


Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Ministry of Truth (The Biography of George Orwell’s 1984)

Author: Dorian Lynskey

Narration by: Andrew Wincott

Dorian Lynskey (Author, journalist, based in London)

Dorian Lynskey has written an informative biography of George Orwell’s most well-known book, “1984″. Orwell, a 6’ 3” political activist and theorist, shakes the foundations of communism and democracy. He argues both systems of government fail their citizens. Orwell argues the power of the few in communism and rising authoritarianism in capitalist democracy create an environment of inequality that victimizes the powerless and poor of society.

Orwell believes government run by the few is seduced by personal interests. Lynskey argues that Edward Bellamy influenced Orwell by showing how the utopian visions of all governments, however well‑intentioned, become authoritarian when they demand total social conformity. From that insight, Orwell writes “1984”

Edward Bellamy (American author, journalist and political activist, died at the age of 48 in 1898.)

Orwell’s “1984” becomes more relevant and threatening today because of artificial intelligence. The potential of A.I. for thought manipulation by purveyors of misinformation, and its surveillance capabilities threaten societal norms.

Personal convictions of Orwell’s political beliefs are exemplified by his participation in Spain’s civil war.

Lynskey argues that 1984 is relevant today because the forces of communism and democracy manipulate truth, are authoritarian, and define language in ways that harm society. Lynskey’s view isn’t that we live in Orwell’s world, but that we live in a world where Orwell’s insights may help us understand what is happening around us.

George Orwell (1903-1950, died at age 46.)

Orwell pillories the Soviet Union and communism in his satirical book “Animal Farm” which he wrote between 1943 and 1944. He had experienced Stalinist-like repression in the Spanish Civil War. Those who have travelled to the Baltics and listened to families that lived under Stalin’s reign over their countries will understand Orwell’s view of communism. Pigs in Animal Farm are Stalin’s apparatchiks that become the ruling class in Animal Farm, just as they did in the Baltics. They claim leadership, privileges and exempt themselves from labor. As “…Farm” leaders they squeal propaganda, censor activists that resist their piggish control and manipulate language to exploit the working class of the farm. The pigs lie among themselves by believing sacrifice of everyone is necessary for the “greater good” while the pigs feed on farming production and others grow hungry.

“1984” does not directly attack democracy but it reveals its weaknesses, illusions, and vulnerabilities.

“1984” is written near the end of Orwell’s life and becomes his most successful publication. He shows how democracies can sleepwalk into authoritarianism. Some would argue that is happening today in the guise of immigration policies that deny basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Agencies designed to serve America are being dismantled by today’s government. The idea of “it can’t happen here” is happening here. Propaganda and misinformation distort what is actually happening across America. Many Americans are becoming complicit with the rhetoric of a punitive federal government.

The rhetoric of misdeeds.

Lynskey explains “1984” is relevant today because the struggle over truth, language, surveillance, and authoritarian thinking has intensified, making Orwell’s warnings seem like a toolkit for understanding the present.

Orwell went to Morocco primarily for his health—specifically to recover from severe lung problems that are later recognized as tuberculosis. Morocco was a cheap place to live with a warmer climate that eased his respiratory illness. He left Morocco in 1939 and returned to Britain during WWII. After the war, he spent his last years (1946-1949) writing “1984” in Jura, Scottland. He died in London on January 21, 1950.

Lynskey explains Orwell, like Martin Luther King, believed in socialist democracy.

What is missing in “The Ministry of Truth” is an Orwellian solution to capitalist greed in western culture. Human nature interferes with the ideal of socialist democracy. “The Ministry of Truth” shows how prescient Orwell is about the ills of government but discounts the dark side of today’s democracies, i.e., namely capitalism. The underlying weakness of capitalism is the consequence of a permanent underclass because of economic inequality. Lynskey notes Orwell rejects capitalism because of its flaws, but socialist democracy is no answer because of human nature. Orwell seems to acknowledge that material life with capitalism is better, more freedom is inherent, but less perfect. However, socialist democracy offers no solution to that part of human nature that is human greed. He criticizes democracy without offering any alternative.

The ubiquitous internet and iPhone are not foreseen by Orwell.

The internet is a medium for “alternative facts” that can as easily offer lies as truth. When power speaks with “alternative facts” truth is lost and the public is misled. Society is diminished. Democratic socialism is a great ideal but offers no solution for the flaws of human nature.

Inequality in America.

The slim hope for Orwell’s democratic socialism is “The Ministry of Truth” which ironically is its greatest danger. A “…Ministry if Truth”, with the potential of A.I., can aid or destroy democratic socialism by focusing on concrete recommendations to mitigate inequality. On the other hand, A.I. in the hands of an unchecked tyrant can increase inequality.

LIFE’S LUCK

Tana French’s story is a thriller that exposes the illusion of life’s predictability. Control of one’s life is shown to be a fiction. Life is unpredictable regardless of one’s economic circumstances, physical appearance, apparent health, education, or power.

Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Witch Elm (A Novel)

Author: Tana French

Narration by: Paul Nugent

Tana French (Author, America-Irish writer and actress, born in Burlington, Vermont, lives in Dublin, Ireland.)

In “The Witch Elm” Tana French ponderously begins with a young man considering a change in jobs. As one continues reading/listening, it gains momentum and specificity as a story of a handsome, financially secure, young white man who is attacked and nearly killed in a home invasion. The attack is brutal; nearly ending his life. The details of his recovery and his family’s history expose the social and moral blindness of humanity. “The Witch Elm” reveals many truths about people who consciously or subconsciously bury facts about themselves, their families, and their past to happily live their lives.

Human identity.

We do not see ourselves or others as we are because of human nature, culture, and social conditioning that begins with birth and ends at death. French writes “The Witch Elm” to explain how human beings keep secrets from their consciousness and conceal their human acts in a hollow of their mind, i.e., like things placed in the hollow of a “…Witch Elm” tree.

The patience of Job.

French’s writing is excellent, but her book requires the patience of Job. The author gives listener/readers an insightful view of life. However, the theme of her story is too repetitive. The story of her hero, Toby, is not “everyman” because of the wealth of his family, the privilege of being white, good looking, and employed in the prime of his life. With the exception of being white, all of these privileges are lost when he is nearly beaten to death.

Human control.

In recovery, Toby is physically damaged, fearful, confused, and, at times, loses control of himself. He returns to his family home which gives him the illusion of safety but finds something happened in his past in which he played a part that accidently killed a playmate. Though he did not remember the incident, two siblings had hidden a young boy’s body in the hollow of a tree in front of the family home. When Toby is confronted, in his diminished mental condition (from the home invasion beating), he gets into an argument with his uncle about the earlier unremembered accident and wraps his hands around his uncle’s throat and strangles him to death.

Life’s luck.

Every life is filled with good and bad luck, but most are blind to the privileges they have over others. Being white, rich, handsome, or beautiful is taken for granted which creates a moral blindness toward those who do not have those characteristics. Toby’s life seems perfect before he is attacked in his home. He is nearly killed and rendered mentally damaged in the beating he receives from unknown assailants.

The illusions of life.

Life is mostly taken for granted. The consequence of that truth is humans have a distorted view of life. We measure everything we know and do against a distorted view of ourselves and measure others against that false image. French gets close to what leads to the cause of social dysfunction in the world.

French’s story is a thriller that exposes the illusion of life’s predictability. Control of one’s life is shown to be a fiction. Life is unpredictable regardless of one’s economic circumstances, physical appearance, apparent health, education, or power. The title of French’s book alludes to the folkloric myth of a “…Witch Elm”, i.e., associated with secrets, spirits, and things concealed in the hollow of a tree.

HUMAN TRUST

Susan Choi shows how trust and experience change human lives. She illustrates how power, desire, memory, and storytelling are engines of that change.


Books of Interest
 Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Trust Exercise (A Novel)

Author: Susan Choi

Narration by: Adina Verson, Jennifer Lim, Suehyla El-Attar

Susan Choi (American novelist, received the Nation Book Award for Fiction with “Trust Exercise”)

Susan Choi attended a High School of Performing Arts in Texas. “Trust Exercise” is a reminder of life as a teenager in America. There are a number of High Schools of Performing Arts in America. Having personally visited Las Vegas’s High School, Choi’s story reminds one of the remarkable students who choose to supplement their education in a performing art’s school.

Choi’s story shows the hyper emotional character of teenage life. Placing her characters in a Performing Arts’ high school makes her story somewhat more plausible but teenage sex in a school hallway when classes are in session seems more imagination than reality. On the other hand, it reminds one of fantasies that run rampant in one’s teenage years.

The importance of teachers in the world.

Getting past Choi’s sensationalism, there is an underlying truth in her story. Teachers in our high school years can have a great impact on who we become as adults. Choi creates a charismatic teacher who conducts a theatre class for high school students. His influence demonstrates how power shapes teenager’s lives in both good and bad ways. The memories of childhood are shown to be unreliable, but their impact on a mature adult’s life is immutable whether their memory is accurate or not.

Growing to adulthood.

From high school and other life experiences a teenager grows to adulthood, in part, through exercises in trust. Often children consciously or unconsciously note power imbalances between themselves and others. One thinks they are not as smart, sexually attractive, or capable as someone else. Choi shows human nature grows based on relationship trust even though trust is ambiguous. Trust begins between parents and children, grows between friends, our teachers, lovers, book readers and listeners. Choi’s point is that adults become who they are through trust relationships.

Versions of who we are.

Choi creates versions of people to show how they process trust with others. Choi’s main characters are Sarah, David, Karen, and Mr. Kingsley. Sarah is a secret keeper who is highly vulnerable to what others think of her. David is closed into himself and looks to others for what life can offer him. Karen is a steady observer who becomes confrontational in accordance with her perception of other’s beliefs or criticisms. Mr. Kingsley is a manipulative and, at times, coercive teacher. He challenges his students to expose their emotions to strengthen their character but creates dependence on himself more than themselves.

There is a sense of being back in high school in Choi’s novel.

High School Year Book Albany Union High School, Albany, Or. 1965.

Choi’s novel shows people, even in a high school for the performing arts rarely achieve fame. Presuming Choi is telling a story of people she knew in high school, none appear to become famous. Neither Sarah, Karen, David, nor Mr. Kingsley seem to achieve much public recognition. Karen becomes a therapist. David seems to have exceptional talent, charisma, and potential in high school but becomes another faceless American worker. Interestingly, the most successful character is Sarah who becomes a published novelist. Choi infers the scale of her success is ambiguous at best, but she does have a career that seems more successful than many who are classmates. (Good for Sarah or is her name Susan?) “Trust Exercise” reminds reader/listeners of their high school years and makes one wonder what happened to their classmates.

Choi shows how trust and experience change human lives. She illustrates how power, desire, memory, and storytelling are engines of that change. Teenagers trust too easily, some adults exploit trust, and some story tellers manipulate the truth. One can only learn from life and experience what we should or should not trust.