"When I thought of my wife, it was not disgust or anger I felt so much as a kind of revulsion."
When I first read about this premise of The Vegetarian,"When I thought of my wife, it was not disgust or anger I felt so much as a kind of revulsion."
When I first read about this premise of The Vegetarian, it was difficult for me to imagine how this seemingly mundane lifestyle choice would evolve into the horrifying reading experience as which the novel is marketed.
Yeong-hye suddenly decides that she wouldn't eat meat anymore – an event not exactly far out of the ordinary. Granted, we may assume that in Korea – at least at the time of publication and in certain social circles – vegetarianism was a more radical ideology than it is today in Central Europe. It's puzzling to her husband, from whose perspective the first act is narrated. It's even more outlandish to the older generation of her parents. But it's really the concomitant effects that get under their skin, and the reader's.
Yeong-hye experiences a severe change of personality. To others she appears taciturn, aloof, unapproachable. The things she says rub people the wrong way. She is drastically losing weight and her sickly countenance is more than worrisome. If her new dietary habits are the cause for the biographical disruption, she has to be brought to her senses.
The Vegetarian is about control, or perhaps the lack thereof. What I've just described is the build-up for the anger and frustration that drive the drama in the eponymous first chapter (first published as its own self-contained novella). The events are not for the faint of heart and trigger warnings should be taken seriously.
The situations depicted in this book seem intelligible, at least to some extent, when considered against the backdrop of dreams, restrictive social norms, child abuse, artistic expression, or even just the want for peace and quite. But our conceptual means fails against the helplessness and horror on display.
The graphic prose makes this a very visceral read. Interspersed are dream sequences of animal abuse convey to the reader impressions of the trauma that haunts Yeong-hye's subconscious mind. Yeong-hye and her brother and sister grew up with a domineering father and in an environment of domestic violence rooted in his experience in war. She herself is controlled by deep-seated compulsions that gradually influence her perception of reality.
The second act, told from the perspective of Yeong-hye's brother-in-law, is about sexual obsession. Desires are yet another from of being controlled by unknown forces of the mind, and here again they shape his experiences and relationships. These wants are notoriously difficult to explain rationally. Perhaps there is survival value to the fact that we instinctively back away from behavior that we cannot understand.
To my mind it seems fair to say that free will is less decisive than is generally supposed. There is so much about our daily lives that happen out of habit and cognitively solidified behavioral patterns. It's not just eating disorders or obsessively washing your hands. Each day there are probably only a couple of instances that result from, or even require, genuine decision making.
Yet, most people feel the urge to put things in order, with their standards for orderliness firmly established by childhood experiences and life-long reinforcement. Much strife and violence stems from the all too human predisposition for judging others.
The Vegetarian conspicuously exposes this opposition in the dramatic extreme.
Charlie Gordon is a simple man who does cleaning work in a bakery. Unlike what you may think, on some level he is painfully aware of his cognitive limCharlie Gordon is a simple man who does cleaning work in a bakery. Unlike what you may think, on some level he is painfully aware of his cognitive limitations. Flowers for Algernon explores the fascinating premise: what if intellectual disability like his could be "cured"?
As Charlie undergoes an experimental procedure that dramatically enhances his intelligence, we witness a complete transformation of his perception of himself and the world around him. This reframing of his life reveals layers of family and social dynamics that were previously hidden from him.
In the beginning, readers understand situations that Charlie himself cannot comprehend, allowing us to feel both his frustration and vulnerability. As his awareness grows, we see him develop a condescending attitude toward the minds he once admired. He begins to recognize the limitations of their understanding, particularly regarding his own condition – a realization that causes him deep anxiety about what they claim to know about him.
As Charlie's enhanced intelligence begins to deteriorate, the story ultimately comes full circle. The narrative becomes increasingly disheartening as we witness Charlie's regression with a profound sense of loss.
The story is told from a letter-esque first-person perspective that makes the reader experience the transformation through Charlie's eyes. In this aspect, the novel may not be without its inconsistencies. The beginning occasionally strikes a false note, as when Charlie remembers the word "Rorschach". But first-hand access to his emotional reactions vividly reveals an inner turmoil hitherto unknown to him.
Charlie's journey raises the question of whether he was happier in his original state – evoking John Stuart Mill's famous assertion that "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied." Yet, maybe there is more to living a good life than mere happiness. What makes someone worthy of respect and dignity?
The story resonates because it examines fundamental aspects of the human condition: our drive for recognition, the difference between knowing people and having friends, and how changes in cognitive ability affect personality and social relationships.
Flowers for Algernon encourages readers to sympathize with those who are different, making it a rightful staple in school curricula for its ability to sensitize young minds to important issues of empathy and respect.
With Hyperion, Dan Simmons created a science fiction epic that is equal parts mystery, philosophical exploration, and thrilling storytelling, unfoldinWith Hyperion, Dan Simmons created a science fiction epic that is equal parts mystery, philosophical exploration, and thrilling storytelling, unfolding in a universe on the brink of interstellar all-out war.
Seven so-called pilgrims are chosen to journey to the Time Tombs on the eponymous planet, hoping to present a wish to the Shrike, a powerful and enigmatic being that dwells there. This quest represents what may be humanity’s last chance for survival against the Ousters, a long-before separated faction of humanity threatening with a devastating attack.
Rather than a straightforward narrative, Hyperion is structured around six novella-length stories that each traveler shares along the way, blending elements of adventure, war, noir detective work, political resistance, family drama, and fictional biography.
Readers may find themselves reminded of H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Murderbot Diaries, or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but the novel still feels fresh and original even today. It asks some intriguing questions questions, like what it would be like to age backward, losing memories one day at a time. Or to be modeled on another person’s personality. In fact, one android character was created from the tormented real-life poet John Keats, whose work inspired some of the story's themes.
Simmons’ language is almost overwhelmingly dense at times, but that only adds to the atmosphere and immersion. Overall these stories were great fun to read. I'm not sure where the story is going – well, it's very obvious where it's going, but not how this will fill up another brick of a book – but I'm very excited to continue with the series!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate B&W Collection Vol. 1 brings together the first seven issues of the original comic series, along with a oneTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate B&W Collection Vol. 1 brings together the first seven issues of the original comic series, along with a one-shot focusing on Raphael interspersed in-between. While I've watched the cartoon and 90s life-action movies, I've never read any of the comics. The volume gives a great introduction to the early days of these pop-culture staples.
The pace is incredibly fast and has our heroes dive into one spectacular action sequence to the next. One standout moment is the almost issue-spanning car chase, which well symbolizes the kind of ride you are up for. Similarly awesome was the action that follows the news-broadcast build-up at the T.C.R.I building. At that point it's already quite epic when the Turtles return to Earth.
The first issue is relatively self-contained and somewhat reads like a proof of concept. But the stakes escalate quickly, taking the Turtles far beyond their original street-level scope. To keep up the artwork too grows increasingly detailed with every issue, reflecting the creators' expanding vision and confidence.
The collection has all the raw energy you might expect from the early days, but the creators quickly tapped into a well of creativity to create stories that are great not just for nostalgia. Very excited to see where the series is going from here!
**spoiler alert** Winter's Heart is is not exactly the most popular book in the Wheel of Time series. A random sample of rankings I've found online le**spoiler alert** Winter's Heart is is not exactly the most popular book in the Wheel of Time series. A random sample of rankings I've found online lets me believe that it might be many people's least favorite. To be honest, I struggled very hard with The Path of Daggers and in the end didn't feel as if enough stick with me to write a review. After that the ninth entry was the first I wasn't excited for going in.
And it's off to a very slow start. An eighty pages Prologue about some Aes Sedai I cannot quite place (there have been so many, haven't there?), not exactly something to get you all hyped again. After that we follow Perrin for numerous chapters in a row.
Remember when Perrin was the proud leader in the battles of the Two Rivers? Yeah, he was awesome back then. It was a very long time ago. Since then he has done nothing of note. Now Faile was kidnapped (by... someone) and he's determined to get her back. Only that he spends a couple of chapters complaining and not doing much. I think that was it, the subplot doesn't find any closure here.
Then there are numerous Elayne chapters. She rules, but she hasn't yet officially gained the Lion Throne. In fact, her succession is disputed. I think that's what these chapters are primarily about? There is also some "progress" in the love... triangle? Quadrangle? I think Elayne, Min and Aviendha are now all bond to Rand and feel his pain. Literally, apparently this guy is suffering horrendously from the two wounds afflicted by Padan Fain. But this doesn't really offer much depth to their relationship(s).
In fact, Elayne is now pregnant, and it happens rather unceremoniously. Other than that she doesn't really seem ahead of the game. She certainly acts in character when she is poisoned and afterwards rewards the man who came to her rescue. He could have attacked her with a poisoned knife out in the open and that girl wouldn't have seen the trick. I've said it before, but she's really annoyingly stupid. Things only marginally improve when in later chapters she is assisted by other characters.
All throughout there are chapters recounted from the points of view of other characters. You know, the kind of people that make you go, who was that again? Maybe Tuon deserves her own chapter or two, because of where her ark is going with Mat (I'll get to that). But Shalon? I think she has a couple of chapters. She travels around with some Aes Sedai, like to an Ogier stedding? I have to admit that I didn't pay enough attention to know why this matters to the overall story. Perhaps her subplot wasn't completed, yet.
I think it's fair to say that Mat is the star of the show. I'm not sure if he has the most chapters (it's probably Elayne), but I feel like the latter half of the book mainly focuses on him. Or maybe it was because he followed a more easily discernible quest. Which certainly isn't to say that it was an interesting quest.
Mat is essentially where he was before, in Ebou Dar in Altara. Actually, I could swear he left at some point. Wasn't there the exact same scene of him leaving his rapist lover, and in the end saying that he will honestly miss her? That happened, right?
Anyway he's still (or back or back to being) Queen Tylin's sex slave and his big goal is to escape this situation. Only that the situation isn't presented as being as dire as would be warranted. Imagine the situation was gender swapped, Jordan would have told a very different story, right? Anyway, you wouldn't believe how many chapters it would take him to get things going. Granted, the city is now under Seanchan occupation, but events are moving forward only very slowly. And eventually his big plan is to recycle the circus scheme. Boring and a drag!
There is some silver lining, though. Oh, there is something else I just remembered. What's with this old Noal fellow who assists Mat in his fight against the Gholam and later shows up again when Mat is in need of help? There is very little of him in between. I don't know if this relationship is going anywhere. So far the most lackluster of sidekicks.
Now, I was talking of silver linings. There have been many prophecies all throughout the series, not the least the countless of visions that Min has about people's fates. Frankly, I'm not keeping track. But there was one in particular, I think back from when Mat died (I think he did) in Rhuidean. Something about the woman he is to marry. Since the Daughter of the Nine Moons is explicitly referenced, it turns out to the Tuon, high Blood of the Seanchan empire. So far we know only very little about her, other than the fact that she wanted to buy Mat. I hope this is going somewhere.
Finally, there is Rand. He's there throughout, but it's only in the last few chapters when he regains his status as main player. His quest is actually pretty cool. No really! As was foretold, some of the Asha'man went crazy and attacked him in The Path of Daggers. Now the Dragon Reborn strikes back.
Their tracks lead him to Far Madding where he's able to confront two of them. He also faces Padan Fain once more, who again sneaks of when given the chance. Rand then sets out to heal the male source of the One Power from the taint that makes men go crazy. I think the storyline has all the potential for an epic climax, though in the end it was a bit underwhelming. This being said, I applaud the effort of not bringing us yet another massive battle and instead thinking of something different. At least the mental images of glowing statues and stuff were cool.
Yeah, that was Winter's Heart. The fact that it's all set in the dead of winter doesn't really matter much. Egwene's armies make no progress whatsoever (she sure is taking her time). The Forsaken make real fools of themselves (as Mike emphasized in his review).
Overall, I didn't have much positive to say about the book. Strangely, I did enjoy the reading experience for the most part. People say they found it hard to make it to the end. I didn't, at no point did I feel like giving up. I guess give me magic, swords, and pulp-y humor and I'll have a fine day. In this spirit, bring on the next one!
The Dark One experienced a series of setbacks. In the past couple of books, our heroes were able to ove**spoiler alert** "Let the Lord of Chaos rule."
The Dark One experienced a series of setbacks. In the past couple of books, our heroes were able to overcome many of the Forsaken. Rand was able to bring nations behind him, so that even public rulers like Sammael are on the defense. Firmly in power, Rand dares to grant amnesty to male channelers. He hired no other than former false Dragon Mazrim Taim to train his army of soldiers capable to wield the One Power, his Asha'man, as they'll come to be known.
So, our evil lord is understandably pissed. But we already know that his prison isn't holding up too well and he is re-gaining some of his power. He lets his presence know by making the whole world burn up. More secretly he brings some other Forsaken into the world. And by know you should know, in the world of Wheel of Time this means – that he will leave the stage and the revived will only creep about the end of a chapter or two. We do understand, though, there are things still to come!
This kind of setup is growing on me. For some reason Jordan loves to remind his readers how dire the situation really is, perhaps to overshadow all victories that are about to unfold in the course of the next one thousand odd pages. In fact, Lord of Chaos might be the book of empowerment on our heroes side.
The most fateful character growth is undoubtedly Egwene's. After she has learned Travel by entering the World of Dreams in flesh, she is summoned to Salidar to speak before the rebel Aes Sedai. It turns out, they decided that Egwene will be the next Amyrlin. Meanwhile, Nynaeve discovered how to Heal women of stilling as well as men of gentling, respectively.
In this way she is able to reconnect the former Amyrlin Seat, Siuan Sanche, to the True Source. It's without consequence, though, as it still leaves her much weaker than before. I thought the development was emotionally very twisted and you can only imagine how disruptive it must have felt to her. I would have liked if it had been explored further, though. Also, the healing of the other former false Dragon, Logain, is so far not much addressed, either.
Moreover, it's puzzling to me why these core moments pass by so quickly. I feel like Jordan doesn't fully answer the questions that motivate these plot points. Why Egwene? How exactly does Nynaeve discover the long-lost art of Healing a stilling? I've read people complain about how important episodes in the series come about rushed, and as with certain episodes in the previous book, there are clear examples here.
Maybe the series is really more about its pulpy charm, and there is much of this here. For instance, there is this incredibly ridiculous quarrel between Perrin and Faile, because Berelain is sexually approaching the guy. It's really stupid, especially since it doesn't even pretend to add anything to the plot. Rand is also reunited with Min, whom he relentlessly friend-zones. What also happend: Over-the-top love pulls Egwene in Gawyn's dreams. At this point it's really clear what to expect from the romance bits, and I kind of enjoy the stupidity of it all.
We learn some new things about Rand. Not only is he of Aiel ancestry, in a distant sense he is even related to Elayne. Apparently he is the son of some other Daughter-Heir of Andor who disappeared some twenty-five years ago? Not sure about the details, but that's probably because she ended up with the Aiel for whatever reason. We learn a few things about the houses and lords, but I applaud Jordan for resisting the temptation of prolonged info-dumping.
In this context it felt a bit odd that Elayne and her mother remain fully passive for the entirety of the book's plot. Believing that Morgase is dead – she is de facto imprisoned by the Children of Light – Rand is determined to make his friend the new ruler of Andor. Somehow Elayne doesn't act on this, not sure if she even knows about Rand's stance. I suspect she will be the focus of the next novel, similar to how this one focused on Egwene and Nynaeve.
Noteworthy are also some cool additions to the magic system. We learn that bonding warders can be used as a weapon and against the other person's will. There is a bit of an unusual edge to it, because of how much it plays fast and loose with the mechanics. Nynaeve is still suffering from the blockade that prevents her from channeling freely, and it's fun to see in what ways her teachers try to overcome the limitations. I think it's also the first time that there is talk of Talents (with capital "T"), like being able to reliably make out ta'veren.
By far the most important development is the fact that Lewis Therin Telamon now speaks to Rand in his mind. Clearly this is to suggest that he is slowly getting mad. What is interesting, though, the voice in his head already is mad. It's all very comical, like Venom's voice in Eddie Brock's head. I thought it was very good fun and certainly made Rand more interesting to me.
The plot at the end of the last book led towards confrontation between Rand and Sammael. Surprisingly, nothing of this sort happens here. The Forsaken even offers truce, even if Rand doesn't accept. I guess this wouldn't be a fourteen-part series if things moved that quickly. Instead, the real villain is the White Tower. Or not even that, some more or less random representatives of the White Tower.
To be honest, Rand demonstrated some unhinged stupidity when he fell for their trick of bringing "servants" with them. It all happens during their second audience, suddenly it's the baneful number of thirteen and the Dragon Reborn is captured! Seriously, who would have thought. It's another instance of where the visuals – the way you would imagine the scene to play out – being much more important than any brilliant writing to make it happen.
It all leads to the Battle of Dumai's Wells. For me this was certain the highlight and most memorable sequence of the entire book. It again conjures up grandiose images, with Perrin off horse and slashing through enemy lines with his axe, assisted by reckless wolves. The giant Loial himself axe in hand. A small army of Asha'man arrives by way of a gateway, to my mind somewhat reminiscent of Avengers: Endgame. Their response is significantly more brutal though, as they literally make their Shaido enemy explode. This and the fact that Rand has been tortured makes this probably the darkest entry in the series so far.
At this point I won't expect any smart plot twists, nuanced reveals, or finely woven developments. You really have to remember, The Wheel of Time is all about fun. And on this front Lord of Chaos very well delivers.