Why is it that a fourth re-reading of this magnificent story of the Napoleonic Wars seems even more delicious than the first time around? There are 21 novels in this series and I’ve embarked on another voyage. “I give you joy,” as these sailors say to each other. From listening to Locatelli’s C major quartet, that almost causes a duel, to the concluding words of acquittal in … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Master and Commander’ by Patrick O’Brian
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Lafayette in the “Somewhat” United States’ by Sarah Vowell
This quote describes Sarah Vowell’s new interpretation of our history: “... I like to use whatever is lying around to paint pictures of the past ...” The Marquis de Lafayette just happens to be her tool in this decidedly non-academic, irreverent, and often sarcastic interpretation of the effect that a rich 19-year-old French aristocrat had on our so-called … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Lafayette in the “Somewhat” United States’ by Sarah Vowell
Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Best of Saki’ by H.H. Munro
Yet another trip to our home library to retrieve an aging paperback read many years ago. Hector Hugh Munro, the English author also known as “Saki,” wrote these delicious satirical skewerings of the English upper classes just before the First World War. Despite the enormous changes that have taken place since then, in Blighty and the rest of the world, these 49 short stories … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Best of Saki’ by H.H. Munro
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life’ by Edward O. Wilson
Edward O. Wilson, the remarkable professor emeritus at Harvard, who is known for his studies of ants, for the third time asks, “Who are we?” His first question was partially answered in The Social Conquest of Earth (2012) in which he analyzed the confusion of human existence, as our convoluted and introspective species tries to come to grips with our brief existence. Two years … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life’ by Edward O. Wilson
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Rogue Lawyer’ by John Grisham
Grisham opens with a familiar sentence: "My name is Sebastian Rudd.” See similarly Melville and Moby Dick’s: "Call me Ishmael" or the more recent: "Je suis Charlie." He gives us short, pithy sentences (no Proust here), replete with a sarcastic, cynical view of the underside of American society. A political screed, too: our legal system is all fouled up. The novel confirms … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Rogue Lawyer’ by John Grisham
Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Court and the World’ by Stephen Breyer
Should our Supreme Court be a pragmatic, flexible, problem-solving institution or should it continue to rely on the distant past to address today’s challenges? Stephen Breyer, perhaps our most articulate and thoughtful Supreme Court Justice, discusses in his latest study “the new challenges imposed by an ever more interdependent world,” asking how we should “interpret” our … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Court and the World’ by Stephen Breyer
Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Medusa and the Snail’ by Lewis Thomas
Step back, once again, to read the questions posed by a thoughtful physician. Dr. Thomas presents us with some 29 brief, challenging, curious, skeptical, and often humorous essays on the human condition. They inevitably raise more questions than answers: Why do we feel euphoria when watching small animals going about their work? (I ask this after sitting on our deck, … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Medusa and the Snail’ by Lewis Thomas
Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Wild Places’ by Robert Macfarlane
Last year, at our son’s suggestion, I read and reviewed with enthusiasm Robert Macfarlane’s The Old Ways (2012), his recounting of extensive walks in Great Britain, Spain, Palestine, and Tibet (see LymeLine.com review of Oct. 12, 2014.) That led me to his Landmarks (2015) and now to an earlier work, The Wild Places. What begins as a eulogy for our disappearing wilderness … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Wild Places’ by Robert Macfarlane
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Worrying: A Literary and Cultural History’ by Francis O’Gorman
“What if ... ?” This is the key question that confronts all worriers, their dominant question about an ever-uncertain future. Professor O’Gorman, who teaches at the University of Leeds (U.K.) readily admits he is a worrier, and, in this slim volume (163 pages) he deftly probes, with humility plus good humor, the various definitions, strategies, relevant observations, … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Worrying: A Literary and Cultural History’ by Francis O’Gorman
Reading Uncertainly? Ruminations on Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, 1854
With the advent of a new year, this seemed the perfect time to publish this wonderful review by our resident book reviewer and aspiring poet Felix Kloman. Felix looks back at a book published 161 years ago and yet finds contemporary wisdom among its pages, some of which is especially pertinent as we enter 2016. As my stack of reading dwindled recently to nothingness, by … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? Ruminations on Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, 1854
Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Social Conquest of Earth’ by Edward O. Wilson
Who are we? This has been the eternal question of our curious and self-reflective species. Paul Gauguin, in Tahiti in 1897 in his final painting, expanded this question into three: D'ou Venons Nous? Que Sommes Nous? Ou Allons Nous? (Where do we come from? What are we? And where are we going?) As the weather finally begins to cool, it is time for some serious reading … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Social Conquest of Earth’ by Edward O. Wilson
Reading Uncertainly? ‘H Is For Hawk’ by Helen Macdonald
The New Yorker ads trumpet admiring words: “Riveting;” “Breathtaking;” Dazzling;” “Captivating.” May I offer a modest dissenting view? Helen Macdonald’s new novel about her response to the death of her father in England and her adoption of a goshawk to help her overcome her misery is, in fact, an orgy of compulsive introspection. She draws heavily on the earlier history of … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘H Is For Hawk’ by Helen Macdonald
Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Sympathizer’ by Viet Thanh Nguyen
How often do we take sides while harboring a suspicion that the other fellow’s view actually has some merit? Nguyen’s narrator, never named, but referred to as “The Captain,” states his position at the outset: “ ... I am also a man of two minds ... I am simply able to see any issue from both sides.” The Captain is a Vietnamese, ostensibly working for the American forces at … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Sympathizer’ by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Children Act’ by Ian McEwan
“Who am I to judge?” asked Pope Francis last year, when asked about the Roman Catholic Church’s view of homosexuality. An excellent question, as our lives are full of "judgments" rendered by a wide variety of personalities. So with interest I turned to Ian McEwan’s latest novel. I’ve read most of his work, thoroughly enjoying his language, characters and situations, set in … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Children Act’ by Ian McEwan
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Sea Room’ by Adam Nicolson
Why do islands so often seem to be symbols of disconnection when, in fact, they illustrate multiple connections to the past, present and future? Adam Nicolson, a privileged Englishman (Eton, Cambridge and Parliament) explores these thoughts through the medium of the three rugged Shiant (pronounced “Shant”) Islands, in the middle of The Minch, a rushing, spilling, tumultuous … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Sea Room’ by Adam Nicolson