READING UPDATE & BOOK REVIEWS: FRANK HERBERT, ANITA SHREVE AND GOTTFRIED KELLER

Happy first day of Autumn everyone! I hope you had a fantastic start of week and new season. I have another reading update to share with you. I read a lot and I post my reading update pretty regularly (for example here, here, here, here and here). Today I'll review three books. Godmakers by Frank Herbert, The People of Seldwyla by Gottfriend Keller  and Resistance by Anita Shreve. Two of these authors are new to me (Keller and Shreve) and one is very familiar (Frank Herbert). Scroll down to read my book reviews and recommendations. 

THE GODMAKERS, A NOVEL BY FRANK HERBERT 5/5

The Godmakers is an ambitious, thought-provoking and bold science fiction novel.  If you're familiar with Herbert's Dune series, you'll have a pretty good idea about what it might be like in terms of its exploration of war, peace, human government and religion.  If you haven't read Herbert before, then you're probably in for a surprise.  It is not a long novel, but it is quite eventful. There is lot to take in, but The Godmakers is definitely attention worthy.  The pacing might be a bit uneven, but on the whole it is such a well written novel. The opening chapter might seem a bit confusing if you aren't familiar with Herbert's style of writing, but once the story takes off you find yourself right into the midst of things, i.e. complex situation happening in a future Universe. Our redheaded protagonist Lewis Orne lives in a postwar Universe (where everyone is terrified of great Rim wars happening again). Orne works for R&R, an organization that studies and rediscovers planets and societies. Quickly into the novel, the protagonist is transferred into A-I, an organization that prevents wars. But there is this thing of- the more we oppose something, the stronger it comes. Is that inevitable? Can human beings live without wars or is it a part of our nature?

This science fiction work could perhaps be described as a theological dystopia. The Godmakers might be read as a series of short stories set in the same Universe. This novel was developed from four short stories and every chapter has a somewhat closed feeling to it. However, the novel seemed well balanced and plotted to me. It was absolutely fascinating to read about many concepts (the strong matriarchal society that controls the politics, the genetic planning that can create superhuman powers, the multi planet society that is complex to maintain) that got  developed fully in Herbert's Dune series. Even in this novel these themes are sufficiently well developed to make the reading seem mind-blowing at times. Moreover, it is amazing how well Herbert managed to develop these concepts in such a short novel. As I said, it is certainly an ambitious science fiction novel, one that merges religious and philosophical themes with technological and scientific progress.

Asking questions is important, but it has to be the right kind of question. “When a wise man does not understand, he says: "I do not understand." The fool and the uncultured are ashamed of their ignorance. They remain silent when a question could bring them wisdom.” Herbert certainly asks a lot of question in this one. Does he give us definite answers? That is on any reader to decide. I always liked the way this writer questions everything and really gets to the bottom of things. I think I learn a lot about human society by reading his novels, in particular his Dune series. Speaking of that, I wonder what somebody who hasn't read Dune would make of The Godmakers? Would it feel too overwhelming or confusing? Was my enjoyment in The Godmakers a reflection of the fact that I adored the Dune series? Are there any possible flaws in this novel that I didn't catch? Do you I really care and should I? I enjoyed reading The Godmakers so much that I cannot honestly find a flaw in it. Perhaps I shouldn't overthink it. I think this novel deserves five starts.  I'm certainly glad I had the chance to read it.

THE PEOPLE OF SELDWYLA, A COLLECTION OF STORIES BY GOTTFRIED KELLER 5/5

I believe this was my first book by Gottfried Keller and I LOVED it. I was absolutely blown away by the complexity of stories in this book.  The People of Seldwyla is a collection of stories set in Seldwyla. Every tale is well rounded and features a credible and interesting cast of characters. The realism of these stories invokes reflection and raises many questions. If you want a book that will make you think, this collection of stories is the right choice. Keller wrote with ease, or so it seems. Reading him is a pleasure, but as easy as the stories are to follow, they are also quite deep and far-reaching. These stories question human nature as such. Moreover, in their exploration of Seldwyla's society they offer a satirical view of all human societies.  Surprisingly, it actually took me a while to get into his first story. Maybe the time just wasn't right. I started reading The Romeo and Juliette from Seldwyla back in April, but I must have forgotten about it Therefore, I only picked it up again a month or so ago. Once I got into his writing, I really liked it. Keller's psychological portraying and social analysis is amazing profound and detailed. In some ways, he reminds me of Cervantes. Some of his short stories are a bit depressive in tone and only one of them has a happy ending (and even that one is bittersweet), but that is to expected in a realist work of literature. Gottfried Keller was a Swiss writer and poet who wrote in German, so he is often regarded as an author belonging to the German literature. He was one of the most popular realist writers of the nineteenth century. Realism was always especially dear to me, some of my favourite writers wrote in that literary epoch. Given my love for classics, it's really odd that I haven't read out Keller before. Indeed, it took me a surprisingly long time to discover Keller, but better late then never I always say. Right now, I just can't wait to read more of Keller!

RESISTANCE, A NOVEL BY ANITA SHREVE 1/5

I really wanted to like this book, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Well, the beginning of Resistance wasn't bad but it all went downhill from there. This was my first book by Anita Shreve and despite the fact that I didn't like it, I'm prepared to give this author another try- hopefully her other works are better. Anyhow, I have many issues with this book, but I will just try to write down a few:

ISSUE NO# 1 -ILLOGICAL WRITING AND TERRIBLE PACING 

This is one of the most unevenly paced and illogical books that I have ever read. The introduction to the book wasn't bad, a bit cliche and stereotypical but bearably so. However, after the introduction what we get is a story that not only drags but doesn't make much sense. The author uses a ton of repetition, possibly mistaking it for poetical writing and setting the done- it was just painful to read. The plot is both slow and obvious. There was one episode (a date in a cafe) that was downright silly and terribly written (in every sense of the word). Towards the end of the book, there is a sudden twist and it really got my hopes up, I was sure that the book will start to make sense. Alas, it didn't. In fact, the culmination of the book was the worst kind of ending for this story. If possible, the ending made the book even more sentimental, emotionally manipulative, predictable, stereotypical, and cliche.

ISSUE NO#2 THE CHARACTERS WEREN'T WELL DEVELOPED 

I found it hard to relate to the characters, possibly because they weren't written very well. This especially applies to the protagonist of the novel, the American pilot and the Belgian resistance fighter/housewife. Instead of taking the time to form characters, the author relied on adding random details about them and repeating them ad nauseam. I can see how someone might still be drawn to them, but I wasn't- or I wouldn't keep noticing all the odd details. For me personally, Shreve's writing didn't made the character come to life and it wasn't poetical. The other characters were just as stereotypical. The only character that I found touching was an old Jewish lady mentioned at the start of the novel, but I have a feeling that hers is a true story (or based on a true story), so the fact that it was touching had little to do with the writer's skill.

ISSUE NO #3 AN INTELLIGENT WOMEN THAT KNOWS HOW TO USE ONLY ONE TENSE

 The main character Clare who is supposedly and intelligent women who reads English book apparently knows how to use only one tense in the English language: the present continuous. She keeps using it through the book, never learning another tense. It is both annoying and it makes the reading painful. As someone who teaches English as a second language, I can tell you this makes no sense. A person just starting to learn English might confuse the present and continuous tenses, but the very notion that a person wouldn't learn or use more than one tense is idiotic. Obviously, an adult person would have a clear enough concept of past, present and future. As far as I know, tenses exist in the French language. Someone who stills struggles with English might use the present simple when the present continuous is more appropriate or confuse one tense with another occasionally but they wouldn't use one present tense to describe past events- all the time. It makes no sense.

ISSUE NO#4 THINGS DON'T ADD UP 

Another thing that I found annoying is that a lot of things didn't add up. For example, Claire is supposed to be taking care of a large farm, that includes a lot of animals that need to be fed and etc. every day. The American pilot admires her for that quite clearly on one occasion. However, when the two of them hide in one part of the house for days because they are afraid of Nazi Germans finding them, those animals and the farm magically take care of themselves and Claire is able to get back to her farm duties without problems. I also found it strange how easy they found it to hide from the Germans, it was all to convenient- every time. There was little logic to their actions. Sometimes the two of them would hide for days without moving. Sometimes they wouldn't eat anything or drink anything for fear of being heard, but more often they would risk everything by listening to BBC radio loudly. Whatever.

ISSUE NO #5 CONDESCENDING ATTITUDE 

I had a feeling the author is being condescending towards the Belgians. They are all depicted as stupid peasants, especially in comparison to the American pilot (who doesn't do much in the course of the book but still he is somehow the hero- on what merit, I don't know). I got this feeling that the pilot's superiority is something to be taken for granted even if it is uncertain how he deserved it. Some of the Belgian characters are depicted as brave, but they are not impressive or well portrayed characters. They don't seem relevant, besides obviously Clare who has an interest in English literature, so that makes her better than anyone else in the author's eyes. Insert eye-role. The main problem is that the pilot seems to belong to the future with his way of thinking. An American man living in WW2 wouldn't be that much different from one living in Europe, he certainly wouldn't think like a man from twenty one first century. I think author confused the times in this one. 

ISSUE NO #6 THE PROBLEMATIC PORTRAYAL OF NAZIS 

 I also don't like the 'all powerful' and 'larger then life portrayal' of Nazis. All right, they don't take a significant part in the book but there are some unpleasant implications. The Nazis are supposed to be all knowing, all seeing, infiltrating even the smallest of peasant resistance movements. If the Nazis were so smart, why did they lose the war? I honestly can't remember reading a book that describes Nazis as conceded, pompous, lazy or stupid. I feel like the Nazis are always hyped up to make the fight against them seem more dramatic. It is almost as bad as saying that what they believed (the racial superiority of Germans) is true. I don't particularly enjoy reading about Nazis as some kind of superhuman beings.

ISSUE NO #7 IDOLIZATION OF WAR

While we're on a subject, I don't like it when war is being idolized or romanticized. I have a feeling that some people enjoy reading about terrible things that happen to others, for purposes that have nothing to do with learning or education. They do it for excitement, possibly because they have or live empty lives themselves. It is one thing to read about historical horrors for the sake of education, it is another to make a fetish and/or soap opera from it. I have my own term for it, I call it 'war porn' and I don't like it at all. I'm often surprised with how little do people actually know about WW2 in terms of numbers and statistics. Most people don't even know how many people were killed in their own country, possibly because their whole concept of WW2 history is founded mostly on romantic films. I could go on and on about this novel but maybe it is enough to say that I didn't really care for it. However, I might give this author one more chance. Everyone can write one bad book, it doesn't mean her other works are bad. 

 Thank you for reading and commenting. What have you been reading lately? Have a lovely day!