What I've Been Reading: Mid to Late 2017

As has been the case for a couple of years now, I haven't been able to read nearly as often as I would like to, and so I haven't read all that many books this year. All the same, I have finished a number of interesting books since the last time I wrote about my reading, which has also been a rather long time. As has sometimes been the case in the past, it has been so long since I finished some of these books that I no longer all the things I originally planned to comment on, and it's even possible that there are a few books that I've read in this period that I completely forgot to comment on at all. But these are the main books I've read over the past seven months or so; I only finished the last two on the last day of the year.

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
This is a well-written sci-fi novel that is set in a near-future world in which the world is recovering from a ecological and economic collapse which almost completely destroyed global trade. While exactly what happened is not laid out in detail, it seems that not only has global warming raised sea levels around the world, but harmful genetic modifications of crop diseases and pests have run rampant, decimating the world's food supply and creating a situation where a handful of Monsanto-like "calorie companies" dominate the world food market with their proprietary food products that have been genetically modified to resist the new diseases and pests, though these same companies are deservedly viewed with great hostility in much of the world, as they seem to have been at least partly responsible (whether intentionally or out of negligence) for many of the problems in the first place. The story takes place in Thailand, one of the few countries in the world to have mostly stayed free of the economic power of the calorie companies, as the kingdom has its own gene bank generating food that is mostly disease free.

One interesting aspect of the story is that while the story focuses on a number of characters, the only one who is totally sympathetic is Emiko the windup girl herself, who is an android somewhat reminiscent of those in Blade Runner, though considerably more vulnerable. Anderson Lake, the "calorie man" who the story opens up with, seems less sympathetic as the story goes on, and as noted above he is working for a company that resembles a more powerful and even more evil version of Monsanto. His Malaysian Chinese subordinate Hock Seng gains sympathy for his past, in which his entire family was murdered in a genocidal massacre, but despite having been the victim of racism he is very racist himself, and has only limited empathy for others. The Thai environmental enforcement officer Jaidee is a more positive character than the main non-Thai characters, but he is rather self-righteous and his role in the latter half of the book is limited, for a reason that I will not mention here. His subordinate and protege Kanya is also fairly symapathetic, but she has her own issues. On the other hand, there are several characters who are pretty thoroughly unsympathetic, particularly a couple of high ranking Thai officials. But given human nature, especially when faced with a grim, dog-eat-dog world like the one the story is setting in, I have to say the characters seemed rather more realistic than not. The portrayal of the local cultures - right down to inclusions of words and phrases from Thai and occasionally other languages such as Mandarin Chinese as well - struck me as quite realistic too, speaking as someone who has spent a fair amount of time in Thailand (and Malaysia, a country which of course figures in Hock Seng's background), speaks Chinese and a bit of Thai and has at least some degree of knowledge about the cultures and history of the region, though I do wonder whether it is likely that so little would have changed culturally given all the other major changes between our present day world and the world of the book. It's not only the Thai characters who behave very much like the Thai of today; the farang (Western expats like Anderson) are similar to characters you might see in Thailand in the present. Hock Seng, in turn, is almost a throwback to an early era, as he seems at times to be a bit of a stereotype of a 20th century (formerly) wealthy ethnic Chinese chauvanist, though again there are most likely still people like that in the region today. Despite these caveats, both the characterisations and the portrayals of the local cultures are overall among the book's strong points, and are part of the reason that I recommend it to pretty much any kind of reader.

The Kingkiller Chronicle Day One: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
This is a fantasy book that I picked up a number of years ago, as I'd heard some favorable mentions. I'd even gone ahead and bought its sequel, but I only got around to reading it recently. It proved indeed to be quite good, with a well-realized world and a compelling story. The main character, Kvothe, does hover at the edge of unbelievability due to his incredible range of talents, but then he is supposed to be an exceptional individual, and as an added twist, he himself acknowledges embrodiering stories about his deeds to boost his reputation. In any case, he is an interesting character, and not without his flaws, so while this could be characterized as heroic fantasy in the tradition of Conan of Cimmeria, it is heroic fantasy told with flair and style. Kvorthe's own tales of his life are invariably entertaining, and the prelude and interludes to his recital are equally engrossing and draw the reader deeper into the world the characters inhabit. In fact, the biggest downside that I discovered to the novel is one that is not part of the book itself. I knew that the book was the start of a trilogy and as I noted I had already bought a used copy of the second book. Having found that the first book matched its rave reviews, I decided to look for the third book, even if I had to get it new (though in paperback form - aside from price considerations, my overstuffed bookshelves really don't need any massive hardbacks stacked onto them). But I discovered to my surprise that even though the second book was published in 2011, the third book is not out yet, and there isn't even a prospective release date for it. I discovered that there was a lot of comment online among fans about this, with many complaining about the long wait (often making comparisons to George R.R. Martin, whose Song of Ice and Fire series is also coming along rather slowly), though others have defended Rothfuss's right to take as long as he needs. In general, I tend to sympathize with the author, since I realize that producing any kind of writing, let alone a literary masterpiece, on demand is very difficult, and Rothfuss may want to take especial care to ensure that the ending of his tale meets the expectations raised by the rest of it. Nevertheless, I also hope he manages to finish soon, and as much as I enjoyed the first book, I'll probably hold of on reading the second one until there's a clear prospect of seeing the third in print not too long afterwards. Nevertheless, I would strongly recommend the book to anyone who enjoys fantasy or well-written adventure fiction in general, with the caveat that at this point the story remains unfinished.

A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
A wide ranging science fiction novel that directly or indirectly encompasses many centuries of time, numerous star systems and a number of different civilizations. The main story takes place over a period of decades in an unusual star system where the parent star goes through peculiar but regular dormant states in which its only planet goes into a deep freeze. This star, its planet, and the developing alien civilization that lives there become the object of attention from two human civilizations, one a long-lasting, wide-ranging trading civilization and one a newer, well-organized but essentially tolitarian civilization just beginning to expand. The collision between the two human groups, the growing pains of the alien civilization and the increasing contact between the aliens and the humans drives the plot. Among the intriguing aspects of the novel are its portrayal of a biotechnologically based form of slavery, its picture of life on a planet with a very unusual climate and its portrayal of human efforts to understand a truly alien civilization. Though at times Vinge seems to betray a rather excessive faith in the power of trade and the so-called free market, this doesn't interfere greatly with the story which remains entertaining throughout. One thing I would have liked to see is a little more clarity on the fate of a couple of the main characters, though from an artistic standpoint I can see the virtue of leaving a few things unresolved.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
I read this classic American novel of the Dust Bowl era many years ago (in high school, I believe), but I had forgotten most of it. The Joad family's situation remains pretty grim throughout, with only brief periods of relief, but Steinbeck makes a point of portraying their resilience and that of their fellow refugees from the Dust Bowl, even as he also paints a blacker picture of how they are exploited and despised by those that they encounter. The novel ends unresolved, though its final image is one that reinforces a theme that runs through the novel, that being the recognition of the need to help those in distress, even while those providing the help are themselves are in little better condition. It should be noted that while Steinbeck is certainly trying to make a political point here, his characters are not one-sided; whether among the Joad family itself or among their fellow "Okies" (the disparaging term given to them by the people of California) the willingness to help their fellows is not universal and even those that do help do not always do so without reservation. While those that exploit or oppress the refugees tend to be more one dimensional, even there occassional glimmers of humanity show through, such as when the inspection station officer allowed the Joads through without inspection because he believed Granma was sick. Overall, the novel is a keen portrayal of a bleak part of America's history, one that many would do well to be reminded of, particularly now, when climate change threatens to create many desperate refugees like the Joads, not only outside the US but, if current trends continue, within the country as well.

Paradise Lost by John Milton
This famous epic poem from the 17th century has left a number of marks in later literature from the frequent appearance of quotes like "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven" to inspiring entire works, such as Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Regarding the latter, while superficially Pullman approaches the subject matter from the opposite direction than Milton, who conspicuously remains an orthodox Christian in his beliefs, it is worth noting that William Blake once said of Milton that he was "of the Devil's party without knowing it." It is certainly true that Milton's portayal of Satan is not lacking in sympathy, and in fact he shows Satan himself reflecting philosophically on his fate and even feeling some regret about taking the path he has taken. While Milton clearly did not consciously side with Satan in any way, many readers are left with a more equivocal view. Another interesting aspect of Milton's poem is its more obvious equivocation between a Ptolemaic (Earth-centered) and Copernican (heliocentric) view of the Solar System, or rather the universe, as the distinction between the two was not clear at that time. Galileo is mentioned a couple of times, including a reference to his telescopic observations. There's even a reference to the possibility that there may be life elsewhere in the universe, though ultimately Adam is told he should concern himself too much with such things. This brings up a more obviously negative aspect of the poem, and that is its almost unremittingly sexism. Both before and after the fall, when Adam is visited by angels serving as messengers from God, Eve is expected to remove herself (during the earlier visit, though she does listen in some, as she is still close by) or is actually put to sleep while the angel explains things to Adam. There are numerous references to women's intellectual and spiritual inferiority and their duty to submit to the lead of their husbands. Of course this view of women as inferior and submissive to man was widespread in Milton's time, but it is still rather off-putting to read, especially as it crops up constantly. Despite this, the poem is worth reading (though it is not a particularly easy read, as the language is quite different from today's English and less straightforward than the slightly earlier works of Shakespeare), as it remains an important and influential work of English literature.