Watermark - Christy Ann Conlin

A collection of short stories from this Nova Scotia writer.  An intriguing collection of stories, some of  them quite bizarre.  Elements of horror and gothic. 

The Memento - Christy Ann Conlin

A writer from the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia.  The tale of a formerly wealthy family and the faded splendor of their former summer retreat.  The tale is mostly told from the perspective of the remaining servants/employees. 
Definitely some strong gothic storytelling elements used effectively in the book, both is the setting, the description and the underlying evil that puts in motion the entire story.  Conlin has a good descriptive touch.

Cabiria - Fellini

Bel film in nero e bianco.  Racconta la storia di una prostituta che arriva a non perdere interamente la sua propria innocenza di fronte alla crudeltà e alla bruttezza del suo mondo.  Si vede nel film qualche scene della vecchia Roma. 

A Better Man - Louise Penny

Latest Inspector Gamache novel.  Theme this time is spousal abuse within families.  Also, the stereotypes we use when judging others.
The recent Quebec floods are also worked into the structure of the book. 

Celestial Bodies - Jokha Alharthi

This is a rare novel, a novel by a writer from Oman, and a woman writer at that.  It recounts the life of several interconnected families in the latter half of the 20th C in a small village.  There are a number of social observations which are interesting to see:
- the power and importance of the father in a family, even as the sons themselves age and become fathers
- insight into the woman's universe, so separate from that of the men - this takes up a lot of the book
- the institution of slavery and its persistent ramifications after it is finally banned
- the beginnings of rebellion as young people leave despite family disapproval to work in bigger cities or even other countries
- various attitudes towards love and marriage, some highly pragmatic, some impossibly idealized and dreamy

The book is narrated in short bits and passages as the author passes from one character to another and one social position to another.  It works because it is broken up, though I found the end a bit too choppy.

Pinocchio - Roberto Benigni

E veramente un film di bambini.  La storia di Pinocchio finalmente è una storia morale del genere ottocento.

Benigni ha una tecnica meravigliosa, si riconosce, ma magari quello stile di recitazione non è molto apprezzato da me.  Non ho più il gusto del 'slapstick' e del 'gag'.

Roma - Fellini

     Questo film mi piace molto!  Mostra una vecchia Roma che è ormai sparito.  La Roma di quartieri e di vita comune.  Nel film si può vedere questo cambiamento.  Nelle scene degli anni 30 mostra la vita comune negli appartamenti a camere in affito e nelle piazze dove si mangia e si beve insieme.  Le scene della Roma moderna mostra soltanto traffico - la lunga introduzione sulla l'autostrada verso Roma, e anche nell'ultima scena famosa con la banda di motociclisti  che di notte fanno il tour dei monumenti di Roma.  C'è anche le scene coi giovani, i 'hippies' chi hanno sempre una specia di vita in comune, ma che non sono apprezzati dagli autorità civili.  

   Sarebbe anche interessante di riflettere un po' sull'aspetto di film dentro il film.  Ci sono scene dove Fellini filma la gente che sta facendo il film stesso.  Fa la stessa cosa in suo film 'I Clown'.  

Requiem - Antonio Tabucchi

Romanzo di fantasia.  Raconta un giorno e una notte di qualcuno chi viene a Lisboa per incontrare un amico.  Fa diversi incontri con la gente - tassista, zingara, due amici morti, il suo padre giovanotto, la sua moglie morta.  La storia si svolge in ristoranti, in un bordello, in un cimitero, nelle strade.  Ha una qualità onirica molto riuscita.  Fa pensare a Borges, anche al Inferno nel fatto che il protagonista incontra e interroga i suoi morti.
Come Sostiene Pereira, a raccomandare...

Alain Tanner ne ha fatto un film ma sembra introvabile...

Manège - Rodrigo Rey Rosa

Another novel by the Guatemalan novelist.  Less interesting than African Shores.  Basically a crime novel, but not very suspenseful.  Includes similar elements - crime, perversion, dark elements.  Bit of a story within a story happening.  Storyline itself is not strong enough to hold it together.  Could be read as a social critique of the rich and powerful families of Guatemala, which is portrayed as essentially a mafia zone...

Is There Anybody to Love You? Kalin Terziyski

Collection of short stories by a Bulgarian author, mostly set in Sophia.  The stories are all a little odd - funny situations, unexpected endings, quirky twists.  It would be interesting to read more by him but there is not much translated.

Agent Running in the Field - John LeCarré

Another great book by this author.  The contemporary issues underlying this current book are both very topical and demonstrate more perception than current media or public awareness.
1 - how the English elite, and particularly the London financial system, has turned into an enabler for, and profits hugely from, vast sums of money coming out of criminal regimes and being parked for security in London banks and property.  Particularly from Eastern Europe.  Le Carré's point is that this lucrative relationship has started to colour and control England's diplomatic and international agenda.

2 - the possibility of a U.S. England alliance designed to destabilize and ultimately destroy the E.U. as an institution through fake news, provocations, support for far right groups.  This idea is highly plausible.  Brexiteers see the E.U. as a threat to their agenda.  Trump and the American Right see the E.U. as an economic and political threat in an arena where for the past fifty years they have controlled the playing field.  The Anglo socio-political world view - every man for themselves, wealth as a legitimizer of power - stands in opposition to the E.U.'s more socialist leanings.  Just as the West once stood as a stark contrast to the ugliness of the Soviet regime, Europe's more humane and inclusive politics stand in stark contrast to the growing social ugliness of the Anglo political world.  In a sense, the U.S. and England are now on the same side as Putin in relation to the E.U.   Another interesting little aside in the novel is the author's comment that Trump says the things about the E.U. that Putin can't say as he attempts to weasel his way deeper into the economics and politics of the region.

This is LeCarré's most disturbing book so far, from the point of view of issues he examines.  I suppose because the central conflict is entirely located within what would have formerly been seen as the Free World.  It suggests that, rather than having disappeared with the fall of the Soviet Union, the rot has in fact spread into Europe and the U.S..

The African Shore - Rodrigo Rey Rosa

Guatemalan writer influenced by Paul Bowles.
A strange story set in Morocco. A strange narrative that intertwines many unusual local characters with a stranded Columbian tourist (stranded, but kind of willingly).  There is also an injured owl.  Not quite sure what it all adds up to, but it is a good read.  An undercurrent of violence, perversions, desperation and walking on the wild side.  Gives a feel for the life of the community and the streets.

The Lazarus Project - Alexander Hemon

A layering of two stories.  Lazarus is a Jewish immigrant killed without cause by the police in Chicago in the very early 1900s.  It is based on a true story.  This part explores the racism of the dominant society, the exaggerated stories they tell themselves, and also the economic exploitation of immigrants, especially at that time of rapid economic expansion and the founding of great fortunes.  You also get a sense of the social unrest and social conflicts of the time.  Same racist tropes you see today in the U.S,
The other story is about the author working on the Lazarus project, and the trip he takes to Ukraine, Moldova and Sarajevo as part of this ostensible research.  This part looks at difficult cultural / worldview differences between Bosnia, Ukraine, etc, and the more prosperous Western countries but at a very personal, interactive level.  Some of the immigrant author's comments about American culture and world view are very biting, but quite accurate.  There are also many stories about the siege of Sarajevo - one of the side characters.

The Book of My Lives - Aleksander Hemon

A collection of what read like short stories, but are actually short autobiographical pieces.  Somehow he sees how his life resembles fiction.  Some wonderful pieces on his early times as a newly arrived accidental immigrant in the U.S., stranded by the start of the war in Bosnia, that examine what it feels like to be a new immigrant, living with the "us" and "them".  A very sharp observer of people, their peculiarities and foibles.  You also get some sense of Slavic culture through the pieces about his family and his relationship with his father.

The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway

While Hemingway's revolutionary narrative style is still evident today, I find his stories tedious and predictable.  There is a similar maudlin quality to the ones I read (before I couldn't take any more....)  Always the damaged hero disappointed in love in some way.  Weird combination of 20th c style with 19th c dramatic heroine plot structures.

Berji Kristin: Tales from the Garbage Hills - Latife Tekin

A fascinating social portrait of a time and place - the period of mass migration from Anatolian villages to Istanbul and Ankara, and the creation of massive overnight slum neighbourhoods.  A portrait of the village mind in confrontation with capitalism and the effects of untrammelled industrialization.  Also a portrait of capital at work in the neoliberal post 60s military coup in Turkey.  Dovetails nicely with another book I read recently - Why Turkey is Authoritarian:  From Atatürk to Erdoğan, by Halil Karaveli.  The novel puts some flesh and bones onto the political situation of the time - government unquestioning support of capital, ignored corruption, links between politics and organized crime, suppression of worker rights.

The Cockroach - Ian McEwan

Great impromptu spoof of the whole Brexit deal and the individuals and forces behind it.  Bit of a take-off on Franz Kafka.  Basically, cockroaches take over the bodies and minds of leading political figures behind Brexit.  Their goal is to create a world in chaos and disorder to promote living conditions more suitable to their continued reproduction and success - another way of looking at Brexit, Trump and Putin (amongst others) who strive to create legal, political and social conditions favourable to their own greed and desire for power

This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality - Peter Pomerantsev

  A complex exploration of how our communication has moved away from facts and reality to the fantasy worlds of Facebook and Twitter.  Looks at social and economic causes.
Some interesting examinations of how totalitarian forces have coopted the language and gestures of the Left to counter their influence.
  Some scary case studies of how Facebook and Twitter have been used by would-be dictators and extremists to control people's perception of reality, to win elections and to create riots and commit murder.

  Worth rereading, as ideas are quite complex and wide-ranging.

Anarchist Banker - Fernando Pessoa

   Curious little story/novella.  A long dialogue between two characters where the successful, wealthy banker builds an argument as to why he is a true anarchist, as opposed to the anarchist political movements of the time.  Anarchy means being free, and the only person you can really free is yourself.  All movements are essentially a form of tyranny, as all movements have leaders. To free yourself from money, you cannot destroy it, so you must surpass it by becoming so rich it doesn't limit your freedom.  Clever.

The Uses and Abuses of History - Margaret MacMillan

  In spite of the title, a fairly light read looking at the way history is used by politicians and radicals to further their ends.  She outlines some interesting historical myths used in recent history to justify some horrendous actions - Serbia, post-Vichy France - as well as instances where governments have refused to listen to historical experts with specialized knowledge of countries - U.S. policy in the Middle East, especially Iraq. 
  She also discusses the issues around current governments acknowledging responsibility and apologizing for actions done in the past in different times with different values.  There are two sides to this coin.
   Worth a read, but if you are a thinking consumer of the news and history, not much new here.

Nothing is True and Everything is Possible - Peter Pomerantsev

  A very interesting book about how the modern Russian mafia state works, and how Russia has changed since the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of Putin.  What makes this book interesting is who's stories the author tells.  This is not an analytical book, a theoretical book, nor a look at well-known key figures.  The author tells the stories of regular, everyday people that he meets in the course of his ten years of working for Russian media. (His difference as a reporter is that he actually grew up in London but kept up his Russian with his dissident parents who had moved there.)
   Some salient points:
   The historical progression goes something like this:  The fall of the Soviet Union leads to the rise of two groups; mega-entrepreneurs who quickly become very rich, and a well-organized criminal mafia with roots in the Gulag system.  This leads to chaos.  The rise of Putin follows, and he uses the KGB structure to rein in/destroy/subsume the independent criminal mafia.  Putin uses his new KGB mafia alliance to destroy or rein in the mega-entrepreneur class.  Slowly the mega-entrepreneurs transfer their wealth to London and leave the country.  Huge amounts of money are extorted, profitable business are taken over, whole areas of the economy are taken over, and the resulting spoils are distributed amongst Putin's underlings.  Slowly the mega-entrepreneurs transfer their wealth to London and leave the country.  The government/mafia inserts itself into most of the economy.
    It becomes clear in the book that Putin controls all levers of power in the country - government, military, criminal organizations, media, the courts, the economy.  It would seem the only crack in the structure is when Putin is no longer, but the result will probably resemble a civil war amongst various underlings to capture the top position - which won't help the country at all; in fact, make everything worse.

   Like China, it would be very interesting to study this phenomenon of countries where revolutionaries have tried to destroy the organically rooted culture and replace it with an entirely new imposed ideologically based culture.  These types of radical breaks do something strange to the society.  It would be interesting to look at this from a sociological point of view.  I wonder if there are parallels to be made with various personal psychological issues and pathologies...

La luna e i Falò - Cesare Pavese

    Otttimo romanzo.  Molto bello, complicato e sottile.  Racconta il ritorno di un uomo alla sua paese de gioventù e l'impossibilità di ritornare al passato.  È un romanzo chi raconta l'alienazione culturale della vita moderne industriale.  Come nel libro 'A Mind at Peace' da Tanpinar, racconta i costi emozionali e sociali del confronto con l'Occidente industriale, ma in questo romanzo la cultura et la vita tradizionali sono quella dei paesani europei - interessante quello perché, esattamente come la cultura turca, benché questo qui sia una società europea, è nonostante straniera alla modernità.

    L'immagine dei falò ritorna nel libro, e ogni volta prende nuovi significazioni, nuove sottigliezze.  Il libro è pieno di belle immagini del paese e del ciclo dei stagioni - e anche di immagine orrendi.

Dear Shameless Death - Latife Tekin

    A novel based on the author's experience as a child of moving to the big city (Istanbul or Ankara) from her small isolated village in Anatolia.  Many parts of the novel read like surrealism or magic realism but in large part I think instead it reflects the "magical" thinking of childhood and of people deeply embedded in a world of tradition, superstition and folk religion.  I especially enjoyed the character of the young girl, Dermit, and think the author does an amazing job of entering into the perceptions and thinking of childhood, which is very hard for rational adults.

How Fascism Works - Jason Stanley

A well-written concise book looking at the way fascism/autocratic forms of government establish themselves in a democratic context.  Step by step, technique by technique analysis.  Reads like a "how to" manual for would-be dictators.
Each critical step draws examples from history, mostly Mussolini and Hitler, and then looks at these same steps being taken currently in various countries around the world from the U.S. to Turkey to Russia to many others.
It is both interesting and useful to look at these steps and ask which ones you see currently operating within your own society.  Kind of a social health check-up. 
Worth reading several times.
Also worth reading in tandem with Ece Temelkuran's recent book, "How to Lose a Country".

How to Lose a Country - Ece Temelkuran

Subtitled "The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship"
    Brilliant book chronicling Turkey's slide into its current dictatorship/autocracy, with asides looking at the same process in other countries - U.S., Hungary, Russia, Poland, Britain.
She brings up the point that this structure of government can actually be called a form of mafia government.
     A good companion read to "How Fascism Works".
    Temelkuran points out some interesting techniques used by would-be leaders, particularly their use of the news cycle and the outrageous statement as a means to controlling the media's and people's attention, directing it towards controversial topics as the government gets on with some other agenda that it doesn't want attention on.
    A very disturbing book.  You have to worry about your own homeland heading in that direction. So far, Temelkuran has focused on the actions of the would-be dictator as he moves towards absolute power, but I am interested in the ground, the socio-political situation that makes his rise possible, that he exploits on his way up.  My sense is the fertile ground lies in groups that see themselves excluded from the benefits of society as it stands.  And it has to be a significant group in terms of numbers.  When I consider Turkey, Russia and Hungary, it seems that desperate poverty is certainly one of those conditions of exclusion.  Hence, the aspiring fascist/dictator groups get the support of these poor people by simply giving them some of the basic necessities of life for free. (Same thing was done in Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood - these poor people may not buy into the religious or nationalist message, but they sure appreciate the food and other necessities.)  Or by creating low-paying fake jobs for them - as Orban is doing in Hungary.  This, however, is not one of the basic techniques in the U.S. - their mythology is too strongly against any kind of social welfare...
So you can conclude here that increased income inequality, either within society as a whole or regionally, is one key element that helps prepare the ground for the rise of autocrats.
     Another group to exploit would seem to be the people who see themselves excluded for religious or cultural reasons.  In Turkey, the religious factor is obviously at play in several ways.  First in the former dominance of a secular elite.  Second, in some discriminatory laws around religious clothing that excluded people from higher education and government positions.  Cultural exclusion can also be seen. At play, I suspect, was also a disdain towards the people and society of smaller, more traditional Anatolian towns and villages, which also suffered, coincidentally from higher levels of poverty.  A would-be dictator gets their support by appearing to take them seriously, by speaking their cultural language, by granting them respect.  Which "respect" also seems to be a big selling point for Trump in the eyes of many mid-western and small town Americans (who also experience higher levels of poverty and joblessness.)
    A third issue also seems to be exploitable by would-be autocrats, the issue of "the other", of immigrants, (or of the "foreign" E.U regulations in some European countries).  It is essentially a reverse side of cultural exclusion  - the fear of becoming a cultural stranger in your own country due to immigrant culture or culture imposed from outside. This is the issue that can be used with the middle-class, secular citizen. This trope is being exploited in many countries, but alone it doesn't seem to get the would-be autocrat too far.  Economic exclusion and cultural exclusion seem to be more powerful issues to exploit.

    The other interesting idea she brings up, which is peculiar to our current technology and era, is the idea of the mob - how harsh it can be, how dangerous, how beyond reason.  In situations like that of Turkey (and the U.S.) Twitter etc. essentially function as tools for the formation of mobs at lightening speed.  The mob follows you everywhere because it infiltrates your online life.  It can also easily track your address, your family and connections.  This is a new and very scary tool for enforcing conformism and for silencing dissent through fear.

Machines Like Me - Ian McEwan

   Quite a brilliant book about living with intelligent robots.  Has a bit of a futuristic/science fiction flare, but mostly sociology.  It is the story of a couple who are living with one of the first highly advanced humanoid robots, programmed to programme itself through learning and through experience.  In part, a consideration of practical, emotional and ethical issues that can arise when intelligent machines are making decisions for us.  Mostly, a consideration of how complex, messy and emotional human "thinking" and decision-making is - far from logical in the computer science, programmed way.  Also, a reflection of how messy the relationship is between our ideals, our messages and our actual behaviour.  Actually, also a very interesting point with regard to how we see ourselves when we can conceive of intelligent machines as some kind of human stand-in.  So, in the end, really a book about us humans.
   The most touching part of the book is how many of these first intelligent robots end up self-destructing in some way as a result of interacting with us humans....  humorous point.

Il Viaggio a Roma - Alberto Moravia

Storia di quattro persone che cercano in modo strano di farsi una famiglia.  Un ragazzo alla ricerca delle tracce di sua madre, il suo padre alla ricerca del suo figlio di cui è separato da molto anni, e di farsi una nuova famiglia felice.  C'è anche un'altra famiglia che incontra il ragazzo durante il suo viaggio a Roma:  una madre alla ricerca di marito, e sua figlia alla ricerca e di un marito per sua madre, e anche di un padre/amante.  Situazione complicata, pieno di sottintesi sessuali tra i vari personaggi.  Il mondo che mostra Moravia fa schifoso.  Pare che è il suo tema abituale; ha un senso cinico dell'uomo.  Preferivo la collezione di storie, Racconti Romani, che ho letto prima - i personaggi sono schifosi ma le storie sono più interessanti.

Patience (After Sebald) - Grant Gee

Quirky little film which is a mix of several things:
- a pilgrimage in film to some of the key sites in the book, 'Rings of Saturn"
- an examination of themes within the text and how they appear
- people's personal thoughts on and reactions to the book
- some biographical elements
- a look at some unusual projects people have done working with the book (a digital map with connection lines and text related to all the places mentioned in the book; a flow colour coded flow chart of events, characters and locations within the book

- visually quite lovely; mostly grainy black and white - some nice effects

- worth another watch at some point (from Public Library)

Madonna in a Fur Coat - Sabahattin Ali

Turkish writer born in southern Bulgaria, not too far from Smolyan during the last years of the Ottoman Empire.  This book was published shortly before his death/murder in '48.  Interesting in the same way that Tanpınar is interesting.  It is interesting to the see the early writers of the new Turkish literature confronting and working with the genres and styles of Western literature.  This novel reminds me of some of the romantic work published in France and Germany in the late 18th and early 19th century - tortured souls who feel alone and alienated, doomed romantic love.  In this particular novel, with what is almost a reversal of traditional male and female roles, also represents some kind of a social revolution or challenge to traditional Turkish society of the time.  Ali had some seminal experiences in Berlin apparently, some time before the war, that shaped his politics and social views.  Seems he was a socialist and must have had very liberated social views around men's  and women's roles in society.
Not a particularly enjoyable read for me, as I don't really like that "tortured soul" Western tradition or genre, but a very interesting read when place in its historical and social context.

Also found an article about him in the Guardian - seems this book is one of the most popular in Turkey right now.  Interesting discussion of why.

Duck, Death and the Tulip - Wolf Erlbruch

A beautiful children's picture book on the subject of death.  Neither sentimental nor uplifting.  Presents a couple of fundamental truths - death is always with us.  Death just is, neither evil nor horrifying.  Part of the river of life.

Ahlat Ağacı - Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Another beautifully realized film by this great director.  Set in the Çanakkale area.
Very much a film of ideas, and the superb filming and framing serves to support and maintain your interest.  A lot of the films ideas are actually developed through dialogue between the main character and various groups. (Reminds me a bit of the film, "My Dinner with André".
The main character is a young man trying to figure out what direction to take in his life, what to believe in amongst the many possibilities/perspectives within his surrounding society.
There is an ongoing tension with his father who has also lost his way and seems addicted to gambling.  There are conversations with buddies doing military service, young village imams, a young woman from his town about to marry for money, a small-time author, local businessmen, local politicians.  There is a deep critical look at many of these aspects of society, an awareness of how narrow and essentially selfish/self-serving these attitudes are.
Can be a bit depressing, but the ending is hopeful in an interesting way.

The Flea Palace - Elif Şafak

Read this before, long ago.
Essentially a social portrait/social criticism of Turkish society in the complex, overlapping world of modern Istanbul.  Hits on leftists, pious groups, gays, cynical westernized leftist academics, rich profligates, poor Anatolian immigrants, the cleaning obsessed, elderly crazies, various kinds of family dynamics, cats, garbage problem, social and sexual mores, the "Ukranian wives" thing.
Humorous critique.
Bit of a tale within a tale, but not so successful/essential from that point of view.

Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Aichie

Originally checked this book out as a possible addition to my Tanpınar/Saleh cultural alienation collection.  Unfortunately, doesn't meet it, but it is still interesting in some ways.
Basically, the story of a Nigerian woman who moves to the States, struggles at first, but graduates from an elite university.  Years later she returns to Lagos in Nigeria.
In her time in the US, she runs a highly popular blog about being African / black in the US.   Entries from the blog are included in the novel - interesting way to run a novel of ideas within the context of a "story" novel.  For me, these blog entries are the most interesting part of the book - they provide some very sharp and deep thoughts on race, race relations, race culture, race attitudes etc. in the contemporary US.  (One of my favourites:  I wasn't black until I moved to the US)

The book is mostly a very perceptive and critical look at race politics and relations in current society in the US.  The Nigeria section does present some critical analysis, but much more shallow - and strangely, sounding more like the criticism an urban Westerner would levy.

The Time of Mute Swans - Ece Temelkuran

A novel set in Ankara during the late 70's, early 80's, when there was almost open warfare between left and right.  Told from the perspective of a young boy whose family lives in a gecekondu, and a girl living in a middle-class left-leaning family.   It looks at several things:  1) the general tenor and feeling of the time  2) the awkward relationship between the poor working class and the leftist intellectuals  3) generational differences in perspective on life, politics (and other things)  4)  some of the violence perpetrated by rightist groups   5) The lack of understanding between various groups within the society, and the resulting backstabbing 6) corruption amongst both the military and the political class
Overall, the adults in the book do not show well, being obsessed with their own agendas and concerns, as seen by the little people looking on.

In spite of these themes, it presents a very touching and human perspective on the various main characters in the book.

As an aside, Temelkuran is a persona non grata currently in Erdoğan's Turkey. 

Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe

A novel recounting the life of an upstanding Igbo man in his society just before the collapse of the traditional social structure.  In latter part of the book it also looks at the confrontation of traditional Igbo society and values with European colonizers in Niger during the very early years of the 20th century.
The story is told completely from Okonkwo's perspective.  Achebe develops a detailed picture of the society, its values, its structures and how different groups relate. Okonkwo, as a successful member, stands behind the values and norms of his society and strives to maintain a high socia position.  Part western style tragedy, things fall apart for him partially because of bad luck, partially because of his own unbending character.  And finally, because of European colonization and its effects - loss of status, loss of tribal strength and social cohesion.  Unlike the other theme I was thinking about, those who live between two cultural worlds, Okonkwo refuses to engage with that foreign system of values.  (I suppose, given that Achebe studied in Europe and is using essentially a western literature structure,  he would be the one living between two cultures....)

A Mind at Peace - Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar

   Not an easy read - at times slow, at times too didactic,  at times at bit scattered - but never-the-less a very interesting book for many reasons.   Mostly due to Tanpınar's position as one of the first writers of the new Turkish Republic, and his position as a writer who crosses over between the old Ottoman (and Anatolian) culture and Western culture.
   (Aside from all of this, the book is a wonderful portrait of Istanbul in its last days as an Imperial, sophisticated city with a culture and life all its own.  A time when the Boğaz villages were true villages and people spoke of going into the city as a real trip.  Both a visual portrait of how that city was, and also a social portrait of a certain lifestyle.)

  From a stylistic perspective, the book shifts through several different ones.  At times it read like Aldous Huxley's novels of ideas (Huxley is actually referenced in the novel), at times like a long interior monologue of impressions and sensations, at the end even like a kind of Magic Realism with a long scene where the main character, Mümtaz,  interacts with his recently dead acquaintance.  I wonder if this comes with the the rush to confront and absorb the West at the time of the collapse of Ottoman culture with its ties to the traditions of the East - almost a rabid desire to know and absorb this new Other.
   Also, a social drama built around a love story, where you see the confrontation of old and new values imposed on the lovers by the various people in their social circle.  A subtle confrontation, however, which does not divide along the lines of youth and age - witness Nuran's uncle, Tevfik, who is wholly supportive of their relationship.  In fact, most of the objections come from their younger circle of friends.
   Ihsan, Mümtaz's uncle, is the source of much of the novel of ideas passages, where Tanpınar, overtly explores the many social issues and shifts that must take place, or are in fact taking place, in order to build a new society with a new unifying vision or mythology.   Interesting, as these shifts also form a major part of the plot line itself.
   Another side of the book explores the feelings of nostalgia for a lost culture, with its lost heroes and figures of cultural importance.   Also, for the very culture itself, especially Ottoman classical music, which plays an important part throughout the book.  Many classical pieces and makams are referenced, from within a perspective of the subtle culture around these pieces and makams - it is possible to find some of the references on Youtube and Turkish music sites (Neyzen).

   At one point Tanpınar points out the very "hüzün" condition of his generation and social class - they live within a culture whose supporting structure and political context has disappeared.  They are essentially an orphaned culture, destined to disappear - as it largely has, except for the rather broad brush stroke version that remains, having lost much of its subtleties.   In this, Tanpınar stands before his time in that, with the global expansion of Western culture, corporatism and Western consumerism, most of us now live in an orphaned or dying culture, or wholly within the post-national consumerist universe (not counting the cartoon versions of national culture so popular now with right wing nationalist political movements).

References:

Song in Mahur - Refik Talat Alpman?

Makams - key modes/moods in Ottoman music - Ferahfeza, Acemaşıran, Beyatı, Sultaniyegah, Nühüft, Mahur

Tab'i Mustafa Efendi - composer (nothin on Youtube - check Neyzen for his hicaz saz semaisi

Ismail Dede Efendi - composer

The Curtain - Milan Kundera

A collection of essays focused on the history and nature of the novel as an art form.  An interesting look at his personal list of significant novelists who advanced or shifted the form and nature of the novel - interesting possible reading list.  His develops a rather loose idea of how the novel is the form that closest reflects our modern sensibilities.

Several themes besides.
Some interesting reflections on the path of young artists in general vs. that of older, mature artists.  Also, how the image or understanding of an older artist's work can be deformed by judgements of later generations who bring a different era, a different set of judgemental values, a different historical perspective to some aspect of the older artist's life or work. (Think Gunter Grass, of late.)  (This is a recurring current problem, with our generation judging past history, events and figures based on today's social values and politically correct ideology.  Interestingly, we live in a period of both great moral relativism and yet cannot understand the idea of "different times, different values" - I suspect it hinges more on transgression of moral values, moral issues I particularly hold dear...)

Mussolini's Rome: Rebuilding the Eternal City - Borden W. Painter, Jr.

Interesting look at how Mussolini changed the face of Rome and established from nothing many of the communities and suburbs that surround the historical city.  As you wander around central Rome, you don't realize how much of Mussolini's Rome you wander through.  Part of his presence is actually an absence, especially around many of the central historical monuments.  In these areas, he cleared away many encroaching houses and structures to make the historical architecture more visible, more present.  Many of the the longer, wide open boulevards in central Rome are also his work.  Scattered through much of the city just outside the old historical centre are more modern buildings, usually apartments - most of these date from this time and Mussolini's plans to both rebuild and increase the population of the city.   This would be true of much of the Ostiense area, significant parts of Testaccio and also the whole area south of the old Trastevere neighbourhood along Via Trastevere.  The Ostiense train station is also his work (Hitler arrived there for his visit prewar).  

The neighbourhood I would like to visit is the EUR neighbourhood - while there are other satellite towns that are wholly the creation of Mussolini's vision, this is the one most easily accessible from central Rome - next visit.

The book also contains a fair bit of the history of Fascism in Italy, but it is easy to skip these bits if you are already familiar with it.  Includes some photos, but reading in combination with Google Maps and photos is better.

Interestingly, one neighbourhood that seems to have been hardly touched is the old Trastevere neighbourhood - which may mean it stands as a record of what a fair bit of Rome looked like outside the historical centre.

There is also the theme of politics, dictatorship and how they use architecture as a means of self-aggrandizement and myth making.  There is also the element of social control:  many of the areas that were razed were poorer areas that tended to be communist or socialist.  These "undesirable" populations were relocated to areas far from the city centre where they were easier to control, also making it harder for them to both get to their work, and also to have a political presence in the central city.  (Untouched is the theme of enrichment through redevelopment of a Fascist insider business circle....)  (All of this reminds me of Erdoğan and his work in Istanbul...)

Immigrant City - David Bezmozgis

Another collection of short stories about Russian Jewish immigrant life - mostly in Toronto, but some stories set in big U.S. cities.  Best word for stories - touching.  He hits moments of uncertainty, confusion, when things suddenly become more complex, more layered than imagined. 
very well-written collection.

Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie

Clever enough but not my favourite - a bit too intellectual and bloodless in structure and style.  Not enough grit.

Let It Bleed - Ian Rankin

An earlier John Rebus novel, I think.  Well-written, but Rebus is not quite as sympathetic a character as he becomes later.  Focus on corruption in high places and links between big organized crime and government figures.

Deadline - Barbara Nadel

Another Ikmen mystery.  Exciting, well-written - her style keeps improving.  Takes place in the Pera Palace hotel with a plot line loosely based on Agatha Christie drawing room mysteries.

ZeroZeroZero - Roberto Saviano

A book by a well-known Italian writer who focuses on the mafia.  This book looks at the cartels in Central and South America, and explores the links between the Italian mafia and these cartels.  Above all, it is a catalogue of the incredible brutality of the cartels' method of operation.
It also explores specifically the world of cocaine, and the obscene profits that the cartels accumulate from this trade.  Saviano also looks at how some of the biggest European, British and American banks are involved in laundering this money for the cartels.  He basically maintains that, especially after the 2009 crash, this cocaine money was what was keeping much of the banking system afloat by providing easy liquidity. 
I couldn't finish it - too repetitive, too depressing.  A great example of how big crime, economic elites and big government all work together.

The Shadowland - Elizabeth Kostova

A novel set in post communist Bulgaria.  The beginning and ending are week, but the main body of the story, which recounts the life of a classical musician under the communist regine, is quite interesting.  Kostova paints an interesting picture of what seems to be a forgotten history.  Bulgaria under communisms underwent something similar to what Stalin perpetrated in Russia - suppression of the educated class, random arrests, labour camps, elimination through gulags of certain sectors of the population.  And then, post communist regime, the rise of apparatchiks in the new corrupt capitalist system. 

The Dawn Watch - Maya Jasanoff

A biography of Joseph Conrad.  The author also sets his novels against the historical events and shifts of the time.  Nice integration of historical perspective and literary themes.  Jasanoff is basically developing the idea that Conrad was ahead of his time in exploring the alienation and rootlessness of modern society, the mechanization of work and the passing of skilled workers and tradesmen, and also the predatory nature of modern capitalism hidden beneath its veneer of social improvement.

A History of Modern Italy - Anthony L. Cardoza

Italy from late 1700's to 2016.  Nice concise account of unification and the formation of the Italian State.  You get a sense of who the people are whose names are on so many streets in Italian towns.  (Basically, important figures in the struggle for unification.)
Yet another example of a state that can't seem to escape its historical political culture.  So many conflicting interests - regional competition; state vs. church; competition for dominance within a specific region; district or town; winner take all approach with accompanying corruption and crime; corrupt elites in all areas of leadership who mainly look out for themselves.  Been like this for 1000 years, and no one can seem to change it.  Politicians serious about change are always chased out in the end.  The wealthy and powerful elite doesn't seem to have modified their greed and grasping ways since the heyday of 19th century capitalism.
One thing that leaves me angry is how the current populist parties like the Northern League, etc. can dare to suggest that Italy's problems are the result of immigration!  In fact, they are self-created and self-perpetuated, and have been decades, centuries even, in the making.

In a House of Lies - Ian Rankin

Latest Rankin book.  Very good!  All kinds of stories woven together and crossing each other.   The denouement remains a mystery right until the end.  Rebus is even funnier and more ironic as he ages and speaks from retirement.  No real central issue or theme that I can see - except perhaps the perennial "bureaucratic process is no match for raw intelligence".

Il mare colore del vino - Leonardo Sciascia

Scrittore italiano della Sicilia.  Questo libro è una collezione di storie brevi che raccontano diversi aspetti della vita nella Sicilia - società, mafia, incontri sociali, rapporti tra donne e uomini, religione e superstizioni.
Bello scrittore.  Voglio leggerne più.

J. D. Salinger: A Life - Kenneth Slawenski

A very respectful biography that avoids getting bogged down in the rumours and seamier sides of his biography associated with accusations made by one of of his former women.  Slawenski covers the known, verifiable biographical points of Salinger's life in so far as they can be determined in a man who was so obsessed with personal privacy.  The biography actually spends a lot of time examining his body of work.  Slawenski discusses many short stories that seem to have disappeared, and sketches what he knows about the contents of some of them.  He also looks in detail at all his published work and traces the development of Salinger's ideas in each one.  What becomes clear is that Salinger's work was essentially a spiritual journey which seems to have, in large part, come out of his horrific experiences during WW II, experiences that seem to have destroyed his faith in people and society, and left him damaged spiritually in some way.   His work can be seen as some attempt at healing.
I wonder at the same time if he ever really got out of his ego box.  His work shows a deep love for children and an understanding of their openness or innocence, or their clarity of vision of the world around them in some basic way.  Yet, it becomes clear he was not such a great father...  As you read about his later life, it almost seems as if he retreated into the world of the Glass family that he created, as an idealized substitute for the reality of the family and people around him. 
Worth reading if you like Salinger's body of work.

England and Other Stories - Graham Swift

Some good stories in the collection, but overall not as good as Waterland and Wish You Were Here.  Not as complex, but I suppose that is a limit of space with short stories.

Wish You Were Here - Graham Swift

Brilliant.  An exploration of tragedy of the collapse and disappearance of the rural small farm tradition in England.  It chronicles the loss of family farms that have been in the same families sometimes for centuries.  Loss of one's sense of place, of one's rootedness.  In fact, the disappearance of a whole rural society and culture, a way of belonging.  The last bits of an alienation that began more than a century ago.  Swift's exploration of the mind of the son about to give up the family farm is subtle and deep.  Again through that marrying of theme and narrative voice.  (He is generally wonderful with narrative voice in all his work.)

Mothering Sundays - Graham Swift

Another brilliant piece of writing.  A tightly knit world and narrative voice that you just sink into.  A short novel set in the 20s on two country estates.  The whole story unfolds in the course of one afternoon - with flashbacks and background information delivered in asides.  An exploration of the meeting of two young people across the social divide of servant and upper class.  There is a beautiful extended passage where the young servant explores the mansion of her beau stark naked  one afternoon when the house is unusually empty, and after her beau has gone off to meet his bride to be.   A surprising ending... suicide?  Not clear.

Tales of Belkin - Alexander Pushkin

A collection of short novellas - early writing.  Wonderfully crafted.  Even though the world he portrays (rural Russian estates, military officers) is very foreign, the stories hold your attention.  An interesting look into the values and social conventions of another time and another place.

How Democracies Die - Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt

A very interesting, concise and well-written look at the phenomenon of the elected officials who slide their democratic systems into what is essentially a dictatorship.
The authors clearly outline four essential elements, though every "elected" dictator doesn't necessarily meet all four criteria.
- disregard for the constitution and the value of elections
- willingness to use violence
- delegitimizing of the opposition
- highjacking the institutions of government and the institutions that provide checks and balances

As they look at these points, they draw clear illustrations of the tactics from various historical and present-day scenarios:  Hitler, Putin, Erdogan, Marcos, Chavez, amongst others.

All of this in the first quarter (or third) of the book.  The rest of the book is taken up with an examination of how these elements have played out within the American system at various historical points, including most recently, Trump.  (I didn't read this section - seemed to be of more interest to Americans specifically.)

The Green Man - Michael Bedard

Fourth book in the series that began so many years ago with "A Darker Magic".  I enjoy watching the development of Emily, the main character, over the decades of her life that the series spans. 
Interesting also see the structures and motifs that underlie every book in this series.   Very different from his master work, "Redwork".
I would like to reread the whole series some time.

Land of the Blind - Barbara Nadel

Another crime/detective story by Nadel set in Istanbul.  An enjoyable read, as always.  Like a short visit to Istanbul.  Not the most sophisticated fiction, but still enjoyable.  And she certainly knows her Istanbul geography and history, as she uses it in her stories.

More Money Than Brains: Why School Sucks, College is Crap, and Idiots Think Their Right - Laura Penny

Another brilliant book by this author.  Same serious research and insightful comments in a witty and humorous style.  Social criticism looking at some of the fundamental attitudes working to dumb down our society, and how we buy into it.  Political and social forces.  Chronicles the shift in our society over the past 40/50 years that has led to a society of ignorance at all levels.
Definitely worth rereading for some choice quotable arguments, stories and facts.

Your Call is Important to Us: the Truth About Bullshit - Laura Penny

Brilliant social analysis in a very witty and irreverent style.  Well-researched, both from a historical perspective and a social trend perspective.  No naive suggestions about how to deal with this, as it is a social problem ie. social trends at large underlie it.
Worth rereading.

How to Change Your Mind - Michael Pollan

Basically a look at the history of psychedelic drugs in the U.S. , and an account of some personal experiences.
As a look at the actual psychedelic experience, there are other better books out there, the old classics by Huxley, etc.
In this book though, there are some very interesting facts:
- psychedelics (mostly LSD) were used by psychiatrists in the 50s and 60s to treat alcoholism and some other serious mental illnesses with considerable success
- there was a lot of research done on this topic - for political reasons, during the late 60s, this all ended when these drugs were listed as restricted.
- psychiatrists are now again looking at using these drugs to treat alcoholism and other addictions, depression, anxiety
- the counterculture use of these drugs as spiritual tools has never really died out, just gone underground - there are people who work as guides for this kind of experience if you are interested

Kingdom of the Blind - Louise Penny

A sequel to most recent Gamache book about drug smuggling across the Quebec border.  This is an excellent book, moving between the peculiar peace of Three Pines and the underworld of Montreal's drug scene.  I think it is her best book so far. 

Motherland Hotel - Yusuf Atligan

A Turkish novel from 1973.  Bit of a strange novel - for the time, I suspect both certain aspects of the style, and some of the subject matter, were a bit shocking or controversial.  About a small town hotel clerk who is quite bizarre mentally, a bit obsessive.  In the course of the book, he gets worse, finally has some kind of crisis and commits suicide.  For me, not the most interesting storyline.  What is interesting is the evocation of small town life at that time - the people, the cafes, the mood.  Reminds me of some the small Black Sea towns I stayed in back in the lat 70s.  There is also a fair bit about the main character's family history, so you see how the Greek invasion affected the lives of these people living in the interior, not too far from Izmir.