Category: On the shelf

For Caption: “…wit and satire firing on all cylinders.”

The Series

It has been exactly 42 years since The Hitchhiker’s Guide began as a BBC radio comedy. This number is significant since 42 is the answer to everything: life, universe, and all of it as promulgated by the supercomputer, Deep Thought, in the series.

Douglas Adams wrote 5 volumes in this series which has sold more than 15 million copies. What are the reasons for its unfading popularity? It is a book that has fuelled many a child’s imagination about the universe, made sci-fi both cool and accessible, gave science and technology a futuristic but questioning look, highlighted the surreality of our lives, and spoke of the human condition with a measure of humour and candidness.

The Story

Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect survive the destruction of Earth and are thrown into a space and time odyssey which becomes a quest for the meaning of life. Fabulous and fantastic characters are introduced into the plot to resolve complex scientific paradigms and the advances of future technology.

The twin headed Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillan, the Vogons, who are bureaucratic and mean-minded (also terrible poets), Marvin, a chronically depressed robot, and Slartibartfast, a planetary architect, are all brilliant expository characters. Prescient technological advancements are couched in humorous names like telepathic Babel Fish, space-faring Dolphins, Infinite Improbability Drive, Deep Thought, and a spaceship called Heart of Gold. And, of course, hyper-intelligent Mice are studying the humans!

The Author

Douglas Adams has a masterly command over the English language, with his arsenals of wit and satire firing on all cylinders. He displays a deep understanding of scientific applications and conflates them with philosophical takes on every aspect of the human condition. The series has spawned: a television series, numerous stage plays, comics, a video game, and a feature film.

Final Note

Many people remember it as the most impactful book(s) of their lives; even people not pursuing any field of science. For me it sowed the seeds a fascination with science and technology which germinated into a lifetime love for the sciences and its impact on our lives.

The Author

Walter Isaacson, is a journalist and corporate captain who has distinguished himself as a biographer of powerhouse individuals in history. How a former CNN chairman, and managing editor of Time, got to writing biographies of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, Henry Kissinger, and Leonardo da Vinci is a story we will keep for another time.

Writing biographies of great people is a supremely arduous proposition. There is a tendency to be hagiographic, or even committing errors of prejudiced omission. The amount of research required to distill the psychological perspective is herculean. Insufficient records, or overarching popular opinions, are also constraints to be surmounted.

The Genius (1452 – 1519)

We often use the word genius loosely but for Leonardo it may not be enough of a word to describe him. His curiosity for diverse subjects, assimilation of knowledge, and then accomplishing mastery in multiple subjects is mind-boggling. He was a polymath with interests in architecture, anatomy, engineering, art, botany, geology, mathematics, music and literature.

Beyond this he was occupied with creation: how the earth and humanity fits into the scheme of the universe. His Vitruvian Man is an example of this quest. His paintings: Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Salvatore Mundi, and others are not only great examples of the sfumato technique, but speak eloquently of human creativity.

The Book

Luckily for us Leonardo kept prolific notebooks with diagrams, sketches, and notes: Walter built his narrative from these. Incidentally, Bill gates paid $30-$40 million for just one of the notebooks called Codex Leicester!

Kenneth Clark, also a biographer, bemoaned that had Leonardo not spread himself thin between subjects, he could have finished many more paintings. But that is the characteristic that Walter makes central in this biography: if Leonardo was not so multifaceted how could have painted with the dexterity that he did? All his influences and knowledge from other fields added to the ontogeny of his bewitching craft.

The book is interpolated with sublime illustrations. Buy the hard-cover edition: you are bound to fall in love with it.

The Author

This is the second book of Saramago’s I revisited in the last one month. Reading without much punctuation brings on a rhythm and rapidity to the words and ideas that infiltrate my brain, and leaves me breathless. Such a style would bore and drag in the hands of a lesser writer, and perhaps, turn away a reader. But then, Saramago knows how to race between blindness and light, heaven and earth, real and metaphorical, the sarcastic and the platitudinous, and turn up at the winning post without breaking much of a sweat.

Cain is the last book that Saramago wrote, just before his death, and along with The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, remains true to his irreverence for religious scripture and iconography. He died with his atheist (and communist) beliefs intact; mocking religion, customs, people, possessions, well almost everything, but with a lightness of touch that makes his work memorable.

The Story

Trying to write a story where Cain is the protagonist and God is the villain is no easy joy-ride. What Saramago does with aplomb, to give his take on multiple episodes of the Old Testament, is to allow Cain the freedom to wander through both time and space. Cain’s punishment for murdering his brother, Abel, was to wander forever, and it is this detail that Saramago exaggerates to build his storyline. Book of Genesis stories such as Original Sin, Fall of Man are mixed with biblical favourites, Noah’s Ark, Tower of Babel, Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, a later myth like the story of Lilith, and the sufferings of Job at the hands of Satan. The reader is sent on a roller-coaster between time and stories, with Cain pointing an accusatory finger at God for all the mistakes he made.

The Subtext

Cain is a representation of the common man who has his flaws (meanness, jealousy, lust, greed, revenge, etc.) but suffers various injustices at the hands of those in power. The concept of God here is nothing but that of a tyrant: oppressive, petulant, scheming, ruthless and diabolical. Cain is given a wide berth to rave and rant against the vileness of God but the story is balanced by wit, situational comedy and a simplicity bordering on naivete.

The Author

Jose Saramago’s writing style (without regard for much capitalization and punctuation) is unique and takes some getting used-to. Once you have read a few pages though, you will be whisked into his world which is irreverent, cynical, satirical and poignant, all at the same time. He wrote in Portuguese and had powerhouse translators’ gift us his magic in English. He was a communist, wrote many memorable books, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998, and died in 2010. His best book by popular consensus is Blindness, but The Elephant’s Journey continues to be a favourite with readers around the world.

The Story

The story is based on historical fact but the narrative is fictional. In 1551, King João III of Portugal gifted an elephant to his cousin, Archduke Maximilian of Austria. The elephant (Solomon) and his mahout (named Subhro) had to make the long journey from Lisbon to Vienna via Valladolid (Spain), then to Genoa by ship, and then across the Alps from Venice to Innsbruck, and then again by river to Vienna. In those times, the people of these parts had not seen an elephant, and as the story unfolds and the journey progresses, we are introduced to various characters who are both intimidated and awestruck by the elephant.

We are introduced to villagers, priests, militiamen (cuirassiers) in different topographies including the swirling mists and snows of the Alps. Solomon is made to participate in a fake miracle at Padua; and then actually performs a real miracle by not trampling a baby in Vienna.

Subhro (I see a Bengali reference here) the mahout, is entertaining, resourceful, and aware of his sudden importance in this mission. Even though he is dedicated to Solomon, he too is an opportunist and makes some money off simple-minded miracle-seekers. Subhro says that he is a Christian but he talks about Ganesh and displays a fair knowledge of Hinduism. These are digs at religion, especially Christianity, which is a Saramago favourite, and both village folk and priests are shown in unexposed light.

The Narrator

Saramago himself is present throughout the journey as the ubiquitous narrator, with reflective statements, understated comments and cynical observations to liven the proceedings. Even while being scornful or ungracious, he maintains a light-heartedness to his storytelling which gives the story an extra dose of simplicity, warmth and memorability.

If you have not read Saramago, or this 200-page literary gem, give it a shot: it will warm the cockles of your heart.