More exceptional reading this month, highlighted by the featured book chosen for me by the other member of the S & E Book Club: 40 Rules of Love by Turkish writer, Elif Shafak. It's the tale of how Shams Tabrizi transformed Rumi from a scholar into the religious poet of love combined with the related story of how a modern Connecticut housewife with a barren and unfulfilled life finds the meaning of love as well. It's a profound book that is accessible to all readers, particularly those who love the poetry of Rumi.
I also read three other exceptional books which I assigned 4-star ratings; they deserve your attention too. Even the final three works, with slightly lower ratings, are worthy of a read.
So, please, whatever you do, even if none of these seven books capture your attention, please read at least one book this May. Your mind will bask in the glow of your efforts.
I read seven books in April and here are my one-sentence reviews of each book and the rating scale I use.
***** An extraordinary book: one of my Top 15 all-time favorites
**** An outstanding book: highly recommended
*** A good book: worth the read
** An OK read, but you'd be better off finding something else
* Not worth the read; avoid at all costs
40 Rules of Love, Elif Shafak (****)
The message that love forms the essence of existence flows across this profound novel that spans the centuries, featuring wonderfully-imagined versions of Shams Tabrizi and Rumi.
Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri (****)
This novella of a woman living alone in today's Italy who quietly reflects about her past, present and future defies a one sentence review--it is beautifully drawn, like a series of intricate paintings.
Maus, Volume I, Art Spiegelman (****)
The author takes his father's reminiscences about their family's life and persecution in Hitler's Nazi Reich and transforms them into what became a Pulitzer-prize winning comic book where the Nazis are drawn as vicious cats, the Jews are mice, and the compliant Poles are illustrated as swine--a powerful and poignant, trailblazing work of the genre.
A History of Cambodia, 4th Edition, David Chandler (****)
This complete history of Cambodia feels like an exciting drama, of a people who have somehow endured through profound tragedy, corrupt and ineffective governance, and waves of hostile invaders--one of the most fascinating histories I've ever read, which has added incredible understanding to my visit to Cambodia.
Man of Contradictions: Joko Widodo and the Struggle to Remake Indonesia, Ben Bland (*** 1/2)
This even-handed biography of the current Indonesian President provides the reader not only with insight into the current leader's behavior, but also explains why the Indonesian political system and government is so difficult to manage--essential reading, especially for a newcomer who wants to better understand this perplexing nation.
Notes on Grief, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (***)
If you are expecting a guide that provides insight on the process of grieving you will be sadly disappointed as the book would better be titled either "Notes on MY Grief" or "I Adored my Father and I Really Miss Him," but if you approach this book as a daughter's loving tribute to her departed father and a memoir of personal grief, then you will better appreciate Adichie's chronicle of her own intense sorrow.
Tokyo Ueno Station, Yu Miri (***)
One of the saddest novels I've ever read, Miri traces the life, death, and afterlife of a Japanese man whose existence has been perpetually filled with poverty and misery and who ends up dying, homeless, at Tokyo Ueno Station Park--it's a poetic and haunting reproach of Japanese society's abandonment of and cruelty toward its poor.
One additional important note
I am intentionally trying to read one book a month that right-wingers, Trumpists, and MAGA minions are targeting. This month, Maus is the book that reactionary school boards are banishing from the curriculum. Volume II of Maus has a drawing of a Jew (portrayed as a mouse) that is in a concentration camp and the reader, if they look really carefully, might notice the female mouse has an exposed breast. That's the reason they've given for banning the book from the curriculum. But, it is also the case that the right-wing is so filled with Holocaust deniers and anti-Semitic folks, that such a powerful statement against Nazis and the evil of the Holocaust like Maus is a truth that they don't want their children exposed to.
It is horrible how Trumpists are destroying our culture, eradicating the truths they don't like, and using fascist techniques such as book-banning to advance their cause. If you are an American, what are you doing to fight this horrible uptick in book banning and censorship? Please do something. One suggestion would be to join, support, and fund the American Library Association's efforts (@ ala.org) to counteract this threat to our democracy.
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