Books I've read this summer for global education

Hello everyone,

I wanted to talk a bit about the books I've read over the summer that have relevance to being educated about global issues. This will be a working document for a bit, as the books on the list of books I am working on will steadily migrate to the "Books I've Read" list. Also, reviews for books I have read will get steadily added. Without further ado, let's get to it!

Cambodia

Never Fall Down



This book was recommended to our travel group to Cambodia as a means of seeing what Arn Chorn Pond had experienced under the Khmer Rouge regime. The account that Arn provides is full of detail concerning the regime and details his harrowing experience as a young musician trying to survive. I read it in a single night. I just couldn't put down the book. The account of Cambodia at that time period is so unlike anything that I have experienced or either that I am familiar with at all, and contains brutal imagery and anecdotes. However, where this book distinguishes itself is how it humanizes the people that had helped to perpetuate suffering, the cadres and commanders of the Khmer Rouge. Arn is very special in that he was well-regarded in the Khmer Rouge as a musician for the regime, and was even known throughout camps for his skill. Through his eyes, we observe the humanity of the people who compose the regime, including Sombo, a young authority who despite being part of the regime takes care of Arn the best he can. We also learn about the danger that Arn faced in being a well-regarded member of the regime, as he was under intense time pressure to learn songs from master musicians to avoid certain death, and pushed into the role of a child soldier to "obtain glory" for the regime. Even more harrowing is his escape from the regime, where he braves hunger, fatigue, poisoning from the fruits on the trees along his journey, and despair at not knowing where he or the people he cares about are. Never Fall Down is a truly representative personal window into the Khmer Rouge and how it functions, and I would recommend it to all who are interested in learning about the Khmer Rouge or the nature of authoritarian governments and how their broad decisions have acute consequences for individuals.

First They Killed My Father





The Girl in the Picture (yet to finish)





America

Eternity Street (yet to finish)

I didn't completely finish this book, but I read a bit more than half and I have a good enough idea of the writing and subject matter to talk a bit about it. This was mentioned as a good book to learn about the history of Los Angeles by Poly's very own APUSH teacher Mr. Melgoza, and I jumped on the chance to read it when I had free time.  I think most Angelenos should read this book to know the history and state Los Angeles was in centuries ago. In fact, LA was in such turmoil that some critics called it “el ciudad de los diablos” or the “City of Devils”. Eternity Street gives the reader a good idea of the intense struggle between varying groups, such as Americans, Native Americans, or Mexicans, to gain power in the area of Los Angeles and is revealing concerning certain characters. I was particularly surprised at Fremont’s irresponsible activity during the Mexican-American War, a figure that I had learned about briefly as an explorer, prominent figure in California’s colonization, and eventually, a presidential candidate. This book does a great job of describing colorful figures in Los Angeles’ history and giving one a look into their mind and decision-making processes. (I feel one thing that would make the book more readable is a focus on select figures in Los Angeles' history, as the book is filled with colorful characters that get ultimately harder to keep track of over the course of the book because there are just so many described. Eternity Street is a book that would be best enjoyed with pen and paper ready to describe characters that show up, and in more detail than what is already provided.)

Between the World and Me



This book was highly anticipated. I have heard great things about this book from people in my grade who are interested in social justice and the like and I was quite excited to read it.

1984 by George Orwell


I had mixed feelings about this book. This was assigned to me for summer reading for English class, and I think that greatly detracted from my enjoyment of my book. If I had read 1984 independently of the class, I think I would have more positive things to say, but I still think a lot of my more negative comments concerning this book should be put out there. 1984 is a great book, for sure. Orwell captures many of the aspects of a totalitarian government excellently both in scope and in specificity, and I could see many parallels between other historical governments who have functioned in similar manners, including the Khmer Rouge government and the Soviet Union. He also came up with Newspeak, which is genius, and many terms mentioned in 1984 have become terms used in conversation, most notably, Big Brother to discuss the figurehead of a dictatorship and "doublethink," a concept that we are all familiar with but Orwell thought to encapsulate.

Now for the criticisms:

I feel 1984 doesn't have as much relevance as claimed on the back. Even considering the modern technology and advances society has made that may render some facts in the book obsolete, 1984 is simply a thought experiment that depicts a world that will never exist. At least, in my opinion, it won't. Society is not capable of that kind of dramatic change, I feel. I also don't see the creation of three large nations as being sustainable at all. The first error with this is that these disparate countries can be unified in the first place, which is unlikely given the cultural homogeneity present in Asia or Europe. The second has to do with keeping these gigantic nations together. Humans are bad at being leaders of a lot of other people. We aren't built for that, to comprehend a government at such a scale, just like we can't really feel the difference between a million and a billion (they're both large numbers). The third is really to do with how all nations are at a standstill, because they are almost equal in power and culture, which I think would not be the case. Even communist China and Russia had significant differences despite their numerous similarities. The other element of the plot that really irked me was Winston's continued survival througout the book. Oceania is supposed to be a nation that gives no sympathy to its opponents, and Winston continually makes mistakes that should have gotten him killed or locked up in a labor camp within the first 30 pages of the book, if not less. The fact that O'Brien was watching him the whole time rubbed me the wrong way, too. It really went counter to the idea of Oceania being ruthless and efficient, killing indiscriminately and quickly and I couldn't suspend disbelief enough to continue enjoying the book when Winston's romantic escapades and rants against the regime in his diary went unpunished for the large majority of the book. It just struck me as a lazy plot device to introduce all aspects fo the society, which I felt maybe could have been implemented more creatively.

I'd still strongly recommend this book, of course, but just take everything said with a grain of salt. This is a fictional world created decades before now, where our understanding of the world is different.

Japan

General comments: I was overall very impressed with the quality of the translations of the books I read. All of the novels listed below read a bit differently than novels in English because of the Japanese means of self-expression and more immediately, the difficulty in translating ideas in Japanese that have no equivalent in English. (This is a common problem in many languages. Take German, with the word "Schadenfreude" that really has no direct translation into English, but means something like "Taking pleasure from others' pain." In this case, Yukio Mishima's "The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea" is not the original title of the book, which cannot be translated satisfactorily into English while retaining the original nuanced meaning.)


No Longer Human



This book was recommended to me by a tutor and I don't think I was really prepared to read it. No Longer Human is a very dark book. It's narrated in first person, from the perspective of a narrator (Oba Yozo), who reflects on his life and how he cannot relate to others in society. It's very interesting to analyze the narrator and his perspective on life. Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects of this book is that it is semi-autobiographical. A surprising amount of events and traits that are associated with Yozo are shared with Dazai himself. They are both artists, in a sense, that have originated from aristocratic families, dropped out of college, ran away with multiple women, and most extreme, attempted double suicide. The book doesn't pull any punches when it comes to describing Yozo's life. The very first line of the book is "Mine has been a life of much shame. I can't even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being."

What made me the most uncomfortable about reading this book ultimately was how much I could relate to the narrator. The narrator ends up a serial adulterer, drug addict, and second-rate cartoonist for a third-rate magazine, yet much of his struggle to maintain a facade of normalcy rings true for me and I can safely assume many others. Yozo assumes the role of a clown during his youth to fit into the crowd, and dabbles in "modernity" with his involvement in a Communist chapter, yet never manages to achieve happiness or do anything that society sees as valuable. Despite the fact that many characters end up looking down on Yozo near the end of the book, he isn't completely to blame for his ostracism from society. After all, it is the effort of society itself that ostracizes those who are seen as ugly, lazy, or impure. What is exceedingly clear in the book is the fickle nature of man, with characters that initially take a liking to Yozo but completely reject his humanity later in the book. No Longer Human is one of the most influential pieces of contemporary Japanese literature for how it discusses human nature and the "casual cruelties" that society inflicts upon all its inhabitants. For this reason, it "[echoes] the sentiments of youth" (Hiroshi Ando) in the postmodern era in Japan, and I would argue, to an extent, the rest of the world. I have no doubt that the social isolation and confusion with understanding others as individuals has a role in the production of the "hikikomori" crisis, as well as the low birth rate present today in Japan, caused in part due to a shifting in interpersonal relationships. Raw, terrifying and sobering, No Longer Human is well worth your time to read this summer for a snapshot into Modern Japan and Japanese literature.

The Setting Sun



Osamu Dazai also wrote The Setting Sun, a novel that deals more with Japan's falling aristocracy and its radically changing atmosphere post-World War II. The Setting Sun has more description of the environment that the protagonist Kazuko experiences than No Longer Human, and definitely feels like a different story. It's depressing, but doesn't deal with the issues surrounding mental health as much as it deals with the theme of the fallen aristocracy in Japan (although it has richly designed characters.) Kazuko's descent into what society deems as "depravity" is the focus of the book. The Setting Sun is known for the idea of fallen aristocracy, as that is what the term "the setting sun" has come to mean, or rather, the idea of the falling of the old powers and the transition into contemporary Japan. It's a rich study into the state that aristocrats are in at the time, and if you're a careful reader, much more can be gleaned from this book such as customs present at the time and the countryside environment surrounding Kazuko and her mother. Something else that is highly enjoyable is the rich surroundings and vignettes discussed in the book. I'd highly recommend this book as well for the unique window it provides into Japan's transition into modernity and the shifting of preestablished social hierarchy.

The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea



Yukio Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell From Grace From the Sea is a truly unique book in how it discusses the idea of glory and describes events. From the start, the book is brimming with detail trademark of Mishima's work, which later will further amplify the effect of the strange and unexpected events that surround Ryuji, a sailor who eventually marries the mother of the protagonist.

Kokoro by Natsume Soseki



(Spoilers below)

I was initially of the understanding that the word "Kokoro" by itself meant "heart", but the description of the book describes further its significance, as not meaning just "heart," but rather, "the heart of things" or feelings. (It is worthy of notice that Chinese functions similarly with the concept of "heart," except the character "xin" usually has a subtext that refers to the spirit or mind.) Kokoro is a great title for such a book, which deals with feelings and descriptions of interpersonal relationships. Personally, this book is one of my favorites, but it is very hard to describe concisely without omitting details that are vital to a description that could do it justice. Kokoro follows the relationship between an old man referred to as "Sensei" throughout the book and a young student. Quickly, through the eyes of the young protagonist, we learn about the idiosyncrasies of Sensei's life. I have found that Kokoro feels a more cheerful story than some of the other works of Japanese literature listed here due to the protagonist's voice, yet subtleties throughout the story reveal a darker history of Sensei's that is revealed at the end of the book.

Perhaps the first instance of this is when the protagonist finds out that Sensei visits his friend's grave regularly. Upon the protagonist's asking if he can accompany Sensei, Sensei replies: "I cannot tell you why," Sensei said to me, "but for a very good reason I wish to go to that grave alone. Even my wife, you see, has never come with me."

Even more disturbing is this interaction below that occurs when the protagonist is visiting Sensei and his wife at home:

"It would be so nice if we had children," Sensei's wife said to me."
"But we'll never have one of our own, you know," said Sensei.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Divine punishment," Sensei answered, and laughed rather loudly."

Sensei more directly references his wrongdoing below:

"In all the world, I know only one woman. No woman but my wife moves me as a woman. And my wife regards me as the only man for her. From this point of view, we should be the happiest of couples."

Notice the choice of the phrase "we should be" as opposed to "we are" to discuss the imperfect nature of their relationship. This tips the reader off that some event in Sensei's past has permanently altered the relationship between him and his wife, possibly related to his friend. Sensei, being a reclusive and pessimistic character, is repentant of whatever that event was that caused him to lose trust in others. He sees little in himself that he thinks is appealing, yet the protagonist continues to talk to him, which proves to be quite bothersome to him. After talking to the protagonist for some time, Sensei admonishes the protagonist for being eager to know him as a person: "You are like a man in a fever. When that fever passes, your enthusiasm will turn to disgust. Your present opinion of me makes me unhappy enough. But when I think of the disillusionment that is to come, I feel even greater sorrow."
Sensei's pessimism reveals some truths about the state of Japan during Soseki's era, the turn of the 20th century. Looking back on his life and surrounding environment, Sensei regretfully reflects that "Loneliness is the price we have to pay for being born in this modern age, so full of freedom, independence, and our own egotistical selves." Indeed, loneliness is a theme that pervades the entire book. It is quite strange that the protagonist sets out to establish a friendly relationship with Sensei, seeing as they are from very different eras and that Sensei is not a particularly outgoing person. This may stem from the protagonist's loneliness from being a student or from Japanese culture as a whole. Sensei himself is a very lonely individual, a hermit who isolates himself from society as a result of the trauma he faced as a young man. The family of the protagonist consists of isolated individuals as well. We barely see the members of the protagonist's family because he himself lives in the city, away from his parents who live in the countryside, as well as his siblings, who live in different cities in Japan for work and education. I feel Sensei's reflection during a letter to the protagonist comments on the state of affairs for the common man in Japan as well: "In truth, if there had not been such a person as you, my past would never have become known, even indirectly, to anyone." The isolation that people feel culminates in being forgotten, because as the common phrase goes, "People die when they are forgotten." Sensei and presumably others are confronted with the reality of isolation (which is particularly relevant in the current era with the influence of Japanese workplace culture) and have to confront the futility of their efforts, that without human connections, little of what they do in the present or future truly matter.

Kokoro's third part is particularly touching. The entirety of the last part of the book is devoted to a long letter that is addressed to the protagonist from Sensei, which details his life in detail, including the reasons why Sensei has such a pessimistic outlook on life and why he visits his friend's grave alone. We get to see how the members of Sensei's family have manipulated him monetarily after the deaths of his two parents at a young age and the unfolding of his relationship with a young woman who is the daughter of his landlord. Because Sensei has enough money to afford rent in college, he moves in with a family and becomes friendly with the landlord and her daughter, and eventually invites his friend, only known as "K", to live with them because of his difficult situation with his family. K is a student who is son to a Buddhist monk that sends him to live with a wealthy doctor, his foster father, who eventually disowns him due to his desire to pursue a different career than medicine and his deception of his foster father. Left without bearing, K seeks housing with Sensei, which leads them to living together with the landlord and her daughter. K develops a relationship with the daughter, which intimidates Sensei, as he is also romantically interested in the daughter and he sees himself as intellectually inferior to K, a brilliant student. When presented the opportunity, Sensei backstabs K. K confesses to Sensei his love for the daughter, which surprises and worries him. K puts himself completely at mercy to Sensei and asks him for advice in the relationship. Knowing full well K's pain and frustration at this issue, as a Buddhist, who believes in the neglect of passion, including romantic desire, Sensei insults him at his most vulnerable point by using K's words that were previously used to insult Sensei against K. Sensei then asks for the landlord's daughter her hand in marriage, which she accepts. This prompts K's suicide, which Sensei feels personally guilty for, given his inability to control his overwhelming jealousy. Sensei's letter is a rich description of the thinking behind his aloofness and his descent into obscurity, one filled with emotion and sadness.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in exploring the topic of loneliness and how people deal with loss.

Fires on the Plain




Russia

Cancer Ward (yet to finish)



Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov



Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabokov

Mexico

Pedro Paramo



Germany

The Metamorphosis




Spain

Advice for a Young Investigator/Reglas y Consejos Sobre Investigacion Cientifica



I loved Advice for a Young Investigator. Santiago Ramon y Cajal is an excellent writer who has enlightening thoughts to provide concerning the necessity, beauty, and practicality of scientific research in Spain, yet his timeless words are extensible to research around the world. As a person who is very much interested in science and research, I felt that Ramon y Cajal had a lot of intriguing points concerning science and the considerations one must take into account when thinking about pursuing research seriously, but I think people who aren't as interested in research may still find some different insight in this book concerning Spain that is unique and worth reading.

South Africa

Born a Crime


Scientific reading:

The Epigenetics Revolution by Nessa Carey




Ones I'll try to read soon -

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky




I am a Cat by Natsume Soseki



China: A History



Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov



The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann




Lenin's Tomb by David Remnick



The Samurai by Shusaku Endo



Prelude to Revolution by Alexander Rabinowitch

Zhou Enlai: The Last Perfect Revolutionary by Gao Wenqian

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima