Reading Journal #4: Two More for the End of January

I'm still reading books more quickly than I can review them, which is a shame as both of these titles deserve full reviews.  First up is Ann Patchett's State of Wonder, which I've been meaning to read since it was short-listed for the Orange Prize in 2012.  The story opens with Marina, a pharmacologist for a large drugs company, learning about the death of her colleague Anders in the Amazon rainforest.   Anders was checking up on the progress of the mysterious Dr Swenson, who had claimed to find a tribe where the women bear children right up until their death, and who was developing a drug to enable Western women to do the same.  Marina is given the task of finding out what happened to Anders, and of completing his assignment, and Patchett follows her into the rainforest, where she doesn't find what she is expecting to.

Patchett touches on a lot of big themes in State of Wonder, including race, colonisation, research ethics, the agendas of pharmaceutical companies and the decision of when to have children. However, she also combines this with a fast paced and interesting plot, which is surely the best of both worlds.  I enjoyed the character of Dr Swenson, who was full of contradictions, and Marina's personal growth was well done. Patchett's writing was lovely too, especially in the section where Marina has to inform Anders' wife of his death. My only complaint is that the final section moved way too quickly, with too many plot points resolving themselves in a way that seemed a bit too coincidental to be true. Reading State of Wonder was an enjoyable experience and I'm looking forward to picking up Bel Canto now.  4 out of 5.

Next I picked up an essay collection from the library.  Where I'm Reading From was a random pick from the shelves; I'd never heard of Parks before but I'm always susceptible to books about books (and pretty covers), so I was keen to give this one a go.  Where I'm Reading From contains 37 essays divided into four sections, covering world literature, bookish issues, being a writer and translated fiction. Inevitably, I enjoyed some essays more than others.  For example, I enjoyed Parks' thoughts on e-books, that in a sense they are a truer reading experience as you get the text of the book without the distractions of covers or publisher decisions, and there isn't the impulse to acquire them as they look good on your shelves, or because they make you look 'well read'.  It's not an opinion I agree with, as I think there is more to physical books than Parks gives them credit for, but it was still interesting to read.

One of Parks' main arguments throughout the collection is that 'world literature' is leading to everything becoming too similar, with the variety of local experiences being lost.  He quotes authors who make decisions based on the fact that their work will be translated into English, if they aren't writing in English themselves.  Characters with complicated names are avoided, and local customs are either left out completely or over-explained.  Authors paint a picture of their country that they think will satisfy the West, as so much emphasis is now placed on global sales and translation rights as a mark of author status.  Parks argues that this means that lots of the variety and richness of fiction rooted in a particular culture is being lost.  Again, I'm not sure that I agree, but it's something I had never thought about before.

Whilst Where I'm Reading From was definitely thought provoking, I found it too repetitive.  Lots of the essays basically say the same thing, just from a slightly different angle, and this made the collection feel over-long.  I enjoyed mentally debating with Parks, but think Where I'm Reading From would have been a lot stronger if it was shorter.  3 out of 5.

Life at the Bottom by Theodore Dalrymple

Theodore Dalrymple is a British consultant psychiatrist who works both at an inner city hospital and in a prison.  Life at the Bottom is a collection of essays about what he describes as the 'underclass' of British society - people without jobs or good education or stable family lives.

As you can guess from the way he labels them 'underclass', Dalrymple wasn't exactly an objective observer.  I'm sure his views come from decades of experience with thousands of patients but he came across as overly pessimistic.  He didn't seem to realise that as a psychiatrist, he would naturally see the patients that most need help i.e. those that are not responsible, functioning members of society.  From these patients, he has drawn big conclusions that aren't always true.  For example, he makes a lot of statements about the education system that as a teacher, I know are false.  If he has fabricated and exaggerated in that area, it's reasonable to think he would have in others too.

Putting his bias aside, Life at the Bottom was pretty depressive reading.  Dalrymple's main argument is that what is holding people back is not poverty or lack of opportunity, but ideas and attitudes.  And it did have a ring of truth - there are schools where your life would be made a misery if you do well in lessons, and families without aspiration, into their third generation of unemployment.  You absorb the values and attitudes of those you grow up with, and those attitudes can be a big brake on success.

In one essay, Dalrymple describes the experience of foreign doctors who come to do a year's placement in the NHS.  At first they are amazed at how well everyone is looked after, and at how no one is allowed to go hungry, sick or cold.  But as time goes on, their attitude changes as they see a poverty of ambition rather than a material poverty.  Dalrymple contrasts this with the poor he saw when he worked in Africa, who took pride in always trying to better themselves.  I do think too many people have poverty of ambition, in all sections of society, not just in the 'underclass'.

I will say that benefits and the sections of society that Dalrymple describes are an area I feel unsure of, politically.  I used to have very clear cut liberal views but experience has clouded that a bit.  Life at the Bottom hasn't made it any simpler, but it was interesting to read such a strong Conservative position.

Verdict: Interesting and a good conversation-starter
Source: Bought for my kindle
Score:  3 out of 5

The Literary Blog Directory is now up to 30 blogs!  Thanks again to everyone who is taking part or publicising.  Click on the picture for blogs to read, more information or to sign up.