Christopher Robbin's travelogue about Kazakhstan is an engaging look at the large former Soviet state bordering the powerful countries of Russia and CChristopher Robbin's travelogue about Kazakhstan is an engaging look at the large former Soviet state bordering the powerful countries of Russia and China. The population is composed of the formerly nomadic Kazakhs, Russians, Chechens, Germans, and others. Robbins tells us about famous people being exiled and imprisoned in remote Kazakhstan--Trotsky, Dostoevsky, and Solzhenitsyn--as he describes the various regions of the country. He also notes the extreme weather of hot summers and dangerously frigid winters.
The author was fortunate to have access to Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazabayev who offered comments about the country under Soviet control, and the independent nation it became. They traveled to the Aral Sea which has shrunk into a small salty sea after its waters were used for an irrigation project by the Soviets. Nazarbayev also took Robbins to visit the toxic area where nuclear bombs were tested by the Soviets. Kazakhstan has great stores of oil and minerals, and President Nazarbayev helped bring modern industry to the country. Kazakhstan is putting up modern buildings, but old Soviet-style construction is still present in many cities. While the information provided by President Nazarbayev was interesting and offered some rare opportunities to the author, the reader should be aware that the politician has been accused of corruption.
As the title suggests, Kazakhstan is the birthplace of apples and the author visited orchards growing the native variety which is no longer popular. Robbins loved the beautiful open spaces, the mountains, and the resilient spirit of the Kazakhs. The book combines humorous incidents with solid research and serious topics to form a fascinating travel book....more
In the 13th Century Marco Polo, the Venetian explorer and merchant, dictated his memoir, "Book of the Marvels of the World", also called "The Travels In the 13th Century Marco Polo, the Venetian explorer and merchant, dictated his memoir, "Book of the Marvels of the World", also called "The Travels of Marco Polo". It told of his wonderful adventures along the Silk Road from Venice to China, as well as the sea route back to Venice. Denis Belliveau, a photographer, and Francis O'Donnell, an artist and ex-Marine, decided to pay homage to Polo by journeying to 200 places mentioned in Polo's book using no air travel. They prepared for a year, studying the Turkish language, getting sponsorship from Kodak and other groups, obtaining visas, and getting letters from regional warlords.
This book tells about Belliveau's and O'Donnell's 25,000 mile journey, accompanied by stunning photographs. Belliveau shot 3,000 rolls of film, kept journals, and made drawings. They were held at gunpoint in Afghanistan, crossed the Wakhan Corridor, got caught in a dangerous sandstorm in the Taklamakan Desert, saw the Monlam festival in Tibet, stayed in a yurt and ate homemade cheeses in Mongolia, walked through the jungles of Sumatra, and saw carved Buddhas in Sri Lanka. Quotations from Marco Polo are highlighted in gold italics next to their experiences at the same location. In some locations there had not been much change in the way of life in 700 years. The duo completed their journey in Venice in 1995, the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's travels.
The explorers were good storytellers, and the writing felt like they were talking to a group of friends. The photographs by award-winning Belliveau were magnificent. They have also made a documentary about their expedition....more
Hugh Conway, a veteran of the Great War and a British diplomat, told a novelist friend an incredible story. He and three other people were being evacuHugh Conway, a veteran of the Great War and a British diplomat, told a novelist friend an incredible story. He and three other people were being evacuated from a rebellion in Baskul when their plane was hijacked and flown to Tibet. After they crash landed in the frigid, windy mountains, their dying pilot told them to go to the lamasery of Shangri-La. The four passengers were guided there by porters and a postulant from the lamasery. After winding through dangerous mountain passes for hours, they arrived at the lamasery overlooking a protected fertile valley. It's a place of peace and contemplation where everyone is satisfied by practicing the ethic of moderation.
The lamasery is also a repository of great books, knowledge, wisdom, culture, and art. The High Lama "foresaw a time when men, excultant in the technique of homicide, would rage so hotly over the world that every precious thing would be in danger...."(144) Conway has never been the same since living through a horrible experience in the Great War, and is drawn to a peaceful, scholarly life in Shangri-La. But another member of his party feels differently and tries to convince Conway that he is losing his mind.
Published in 1933, the book points out how the world is in turmoil and foresees another huge war in the future. The story is a wonderful fantasy set in a beautiful utopia. The epilogue gives hints about what might have happened to Conway, but leaves a lot to the reader's imagination. It left me hoping that Shangri-La is real, hidden and protected by the mountains of Tibet....more
"The Expatriates" revolves around the lives of three women who have moved from the United States to Hong Kong. Their lives have become intertwined due"The Expatriates" revolves around the lives of three women who have moved from the United States to Hong Kong. Their lives have become intertwined due to several traumatic events. In the end, these shattered women support each other as they share the bond of love for their children. The novel is about loss, grief, forgiveness, marriage, motherhood, and the challenges that women face. The exotic setting of Hong Kong, and a look into the life of an expat added extra interest to the story....more
In the late 1970s, four women friends were politically active students in Bombay. Thirty years later, Armaiti has terminal cancer and wants the other In the late 1970s, four women friends were politically active students in Bombay. Thirty years later, Armaiti has terminal cancer and wants the other three women to fly to her home in America for a bittersweet reunion. Laleh lives a comfortable life in Bombay with her successful husband and their children. Kavita, who has a secret relationship, is finally at peace with her lifestyle. Nishta, a Hindu woman who converted to Islam at her husband Iqbal's request, has become a virtual prisoner in her home since he became deeply religious. Iqbal turned to fundamentalism after Bombay's Moslems were beaten, murdered, and forced from their homes and jobs in 1993.
Umrigar tells about their politically active student days when they protested against injustice, and the world they found now. India had gone through many social changes in those thirty years. Although there has been improvement, there is still widespread discrimination against people of certain social classes, religions, and gender. Some husbands still treat their wives like second-class citizens. The author shows us a slice of life in India through the lives of the friends and their spouses.
The final pages of the book are rather open-ended. While the college friends may not have the burning idealism of their youth, they are still willing to help someone in a meaningful way thirty years later....more
The Norwegian ambassador, a friend of the Prime Minister, has been found in a Bangkok motel/brothel with a knife in his back. The Norwegian governmentThe Norwegian ambassador, a friend of the Prime Minister, has been found in a Bangkok motel/brothel with a knife in his back. The Norwegian government has requested that detective Harry Hole fly to Thailand to work on the case with the Thai police. Why was the depressed alcoholic Hole chosen? There are politicians that want to cover up the sordid details, and they feel the self-destructive Hole will be too busy drowning his sorrows to do a thorough investigation. But Harry sobers up, and looks deeply into the dealings of a group of corrupt Norwegian expats. The fast-paced plot has lots of twists and turns as Hole ferrets out the murderer.
The story shows lots of local color in the seedy streets of Bangkok--the world of prostitutes, drug dealers, opium dens, and pornographers. Traffic is out of control as drivers muscle their way through congested roads like a swarm of insects.
Harry found cockroaches in his room. He had "read that they hide when they hear the vibrations of someone approaching and that for every cockroach you can see there are at least ten hiding. That meant they were everywhere." It seemed that society's "cockroaches" were also everywhere in the corrupt underworld.
Cockroaches is the second Harry Hole novel. The series of books by Jo Nesbo was translated into English starting with the third book, The Redbreast. His first two books, The Bat and Cockroaches, were translated later, and give the reader some of the back story of the damaged detective.
The Space Between Us is a novel about the relationship between two Indian women, the upper-middle class Serabai, and her lower class servant, Bhima. TThe Space Between Us is a novel about the relationship between two Indian women, the upper-middle class Serabai, and her lower class servant, Bhima. The lives of these two likable women have parallel experiences that connect them, but there is always that "space between them" due to class differences. Poverty, education, family, and gender roles are also explored in the story. In India's patriarchal society men hold the power, and abuse of women of all classes is often overlooked.
The author also wove in descriptions of Bombay (Mumbai)--the slum where Bhima and her granddaughter resided, Sera's apartment, the markets, the beach, the traffic, the food. Umrigar based the book upon her experiences growing up in Mumbai. There was a real domestic servant named Bhima who worked for her family. She served as a model for the hard-working, stoic character in the book. ...more
The Girl from the Coast is loosely based on the experiences of Pramoedya Ananta Toer's grandmother. The fourteen-year-old lovely girl from a fishing vThe Girl from the Coast is loosely based on the experiences of Pramoedya Ananta Toer's grandmother. The fourteen-year-old lovely girl from a fishing village became the wife of a nobleman, the assistant to the Regent of Rembang. Her parents thought they were giving her a better life in this arranged marriage. Although the girl was surrounded by riches, she led a life of loneliness in the Bendoro's large house. She found out she was just a "practice wife" or a concubine since a nobleman must marry within his own social class. She is referred to as "the girl" throughout the story which seems fitting since she is treated like a piece of property, rather than as an individual. The kindness of an older woman servant helps the girl navigate her way in the household. Her story is written simply but emotionally, almost like a fable.
The story took place during the Dutch colonial rule of Java (Indonesia) around 1900. The brutality of the Dutch occupants is described by many characters, especially the forced labor to build a railroad line. The tale also gives us a look into the lives of the men and women in the fishing village where the fishermen risk their lives in the sea to put food on the table.
The author had written a trilogy about his family's history and the growth of the nationalist movement in Indonesia. This first book is the only one that survived. The last two books were destroyed by the Indonesian military. An epilogue was added on to the English version of this novel to give closure to the girl's story. The author spent more than seventeen years imprisoned by both colonial and independent governments for his political activity....more
The parents of Anand Giridharadas left India when they were in their twenties to pursue new opportunities and greater freedom in the United States. ThThe parents of Anand Giridharadas left India when they were in their twenties to pursue new opportunities and greater freedom in the United States. The author reversed the trip, going to India to work as a management consultant, and later as a journalist. He looks at the changes in India through the view of his own family's history, and through years of interviewing Indians from all walks of life. He writes about the conflicts between traditional parents and their modern children regarding old traditions, especially arranged marriages. He interviews Indians of the new generation that escaped their low standing in society, and reinvented themselves as entrepreneurs and industrialists. As India goes through rapid economic growth, and attempts to throw off the divisions of class and caste especially in urban areas, the young Indians meld together old customs, modern technology, and new opportunities. As individual freedom and ambition grows, the importance of the large extended family declines. This was a fascinating look at the new India....more
Vietnamese-American Andrew Pham writes about his search for cultural identity in a book that is both a memoir and a biking travelogue. He remembers thVietnamese-American Andrew Pham writes about his search for cultural identity in a book that is both a memoir and a biking travelogue. He remembers the fall of Saigon, his father's imprisonment in a communist reeducation camp, and the family's escape from Vietnam in a leaky fishing boat when he was a ten-year-old. After a stay in an Indonesian refugee camp, the family came to the United States and eventually settled in California. Although he recognizes the sacrifices made by his parents, he also recounts how the Pham children were subjected to his father's temper and beatings. The suicide of his transgendered sibling was the impetus for Andrew Pham's journey of self-discovery.
The author quit his job as an aerospace engineer, and traveled by bike up the Pacific Coast, through Japan, and up the length of Vietnam. He visited important places in his family's history and found them completely changed. While he had some enjoyable times, he also saw terrible poverty and extreme corruption. Dysentery was an unwelcome companion over part of the trip. He weaves together two story lines--about his family and about his bike trip.
He was called "Viet-kieu" (foreign Vietnamese) in Vietnam, a slur by people who envy his success. In America, he also feels like an outsider. He experiences survivor guilt, explores his roots, and feels the pull of two cultures. He still seems to be searching at the book's end--and maybe it will be a lifelong search--for who he is. Laced with adventure and humor, this was an engaging story that held my interest....more
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