Book reviews, Cogitas

"The Long March" by Sun Shuyun

Review by Jemma Hooper, 13th August 2009 . Tags: adventure, China, communism, death, history, non-fiction, politics, USSR

Most of us in the West only have a hazy idea of the Long March. Even those of us who took History Degrees. China just didn't loom that large even amongst those taking a world view 20 years ago. So, with the nascence of the Chinese superpower, it's high time we all learnt a bit more about the country that will dominate this century.

Sun Shuyun provides the perfect introduction to modern Communist China by investigating it's founding myth - The Long March. A descent into the wilderness of China by a beaten Red Army, which makes Moses flight from Egypt look tame by comparison. However long the distances, harsh the weather, the terrain, the enemy attacks, the Communist purges that you can imagine, this book reveals them to be more so.

Not that this is haigography. Sun's great skill is in presenting the story of the Long March as she knew it from school and the Chinese media and weaving in both her personal journey along the route and the reminiscences of all classes of those who participated in the March. We learn the myth, the reality and how arduous the journey still is today. We loose count of the times Sun mentions in passing journeys of 10 hours or more, which would be enough for most people.

Even Moscow's role is revealed. A most destructive one at that. You can see how their policies didn't fit with Chinese realities, their military advisors all but annihilated the Red Army and they backed the wrong people such as Chiang. You can see where the Sino-Soviet antipathy came from.

My only criticism is that the book isn't longer. It seems to end abruptly and I'm hoping this leaves room for a sequel.

Link to this post: http://www.cogitas.net/bookworm/search.php?p=11

"Carol (The Price Of Salt)" by Patricia Highsmith

Review by Natalie Masse, 13th July 2009 . Tags: adventure, fiction, lesbian, love, New York City, relationships, solitude

I read the whole book in two days, and it’s not because it’s a short book. Patricia Highsmith is famous for writing crime novels and you can feel her control of the pace and the reader's heartbeat in this lesbian tale.

The story is about falling in love with others, in love with oneself, and in and out of love with the world. It explores the place of lesbianism in New York in the 1950s, a tale of both hope and tragedy. It’s about self discovery, the fight between the inner and the outer world.

With elements of suspense, this is a cross between a pulp romance and a literary novel about the human existence. Kind of like Paul Auster meeting Ann Bannon. While the style of the writing is quite typical of the pulp fiction movement, the content offers food for thought.

The melange might seem obnoxious but it isn’t - it works, it grips you, you have to know what happens to Carol.

There is also a lot of humour, albeit somewhat dark, and Therese, the narrator, offers a candid view of New York.

This is a classic. Absolutely recommended.

Link to this post: http://www.cogitas.net/bookworm/search.php?p=9

"Into The Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Review by Natalie Masse, 25th June 2009 . Tags: adventure, Alaska, death, non-fiction, wilderness

“Into the wild” is the story of Alexander Supertramp, aka Chris McCandless, an idealist American youth who died aged 24 in the wildnerness of Alaska, in 1992. This is also the story of Jon Krakauer, an American writer and mountaineer, who understood what Chris tried to achieve, who understood the concept of testing himself against nature.

The book includes interviews with those who played a role in Chris' life, be it his parents or people he met on the road while hitchiking. Almost more important than the interviews is the central chapter during which Jon relates his own experience when he climbed a new route up the Devils Thumb, Alaska. Even though this chapter is about Jon, it feels very much about Chris.

Whether you admire or criticise Chris for what he has done (I'm personally on the fence), this book will help you understand what goes on in the mind of those giving themselves extreme physical challenges, something the film based on the book failed to do.