The Sudden Disappearance of the Worker Bees - Serge Quadruppani

A mystery set in northern Italy.  Plot line incorporates several modern issues - technologisation of life, biotechnology, the state within a state of Italian politics.  Unfortunately, not that successful as a book. The characters and setting are weakly developed; the details stand out too much as significant details.  The story is also a bit contrived and improbable.  If this is Quadruppani's first, he could get better. Have to wait and see.

About Looking - John Berger

A collection of essays reflecting on photography, painting and the act of looking.

The first few essays are about photography. "Why Look at Animals" is a reflection on the objectification of animals in the modern world, and the disappearance of the look of recognition between living beings across the species barrier.  It relates to the Winogrand book of photos about animals I read recently.  p. 13 "This reduction of the animal, which has a theoretical as well as economic history, is part of the same process as that by which men have been reduced to isolated productive and consuming units... The mechanical view of the animal's work capacity was later applied to that of workers..."

The other really dynamite essay is "Uses of Photography", reflections on Susan Sontag's book.
p. 58 " During the second half of the 20th century the judgement of history has been abandoned by all except the underprivileged and dispossessed.  The industrialized, 'developed' world, terrified of the past, blind to the future, lives within an opportunism which has emptied the principle of justice of all credibility.  Such opportunism turns everything - nature, history, suffering, other people, catastrophes, sport, sex, politics - into spectacle.  And the implement used to do this - until the act becomes so habitual that the conditioned imagination may do it alone - is the camera.

- from Sontag: "Our very sense of situation is now articulated by the camera's interventions.  The omnipresence of cameras persuasively suggest that time consists of interesting events, events worth photographing..."

There is another interesting essay, "Francis Bacon and Walt Disney."  He argues for a basic similarity both in underlying style and ethos  between the two - similar distortions of the human body, violence, colour ranges.  Both explore alienation - Disney makes it funny, Bacon makes it banal, the subject of art.  No moral judgement in either.  Interesting idea.

Didn't get through all the essays.  Some interesting ones on seminal figures in art in the first half of the 20th century.  Need to have another look.

How the Light Gets In - Louise Penny

The best novel yet I have read by her.  Much surer style, much tighter plot, better balance of veracity details and action.  Still the odd jump in the plot that remains unexplained though...  In this novel, she ties her plot to current and historical events in Quebec history, especially issues of governmental corruption.
Definitely will continue reading her.

The Hanging Garden - Ian Rankin

Another great books by Rankin - one of his early ones, I think.  It has an interesting introduction where he talks about the overlooked genre of detective noir fiction, and how it can be used to explore bigger themes.  (Another example of this being Le Carré)
Brings in the growing presence of the eastern european and caucasus mafia, and the globalization of crime and criminal organizations - the Yakuza even make an appearance.
As usual, digs at corporate ladder-climbers and those motivated by the egotism of professional position and power.

Lost Enlightenment - Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane - S. Frederick Starr

A fascinating account of one of the great forgotten ages (and regions) of intellectual and artistic achievement.  A worthwhile read for a number of reasons:

- the sheer contrast of the historical region with its current state

- the tantalizing hints of what must have been there as an intellectual and artistic tradition before the arab invasion, which was really the arrival of the barbarians by then central asian standards

- the underlying theme of the importance of persian culture and cultures of the persian linguistic families in the flowering of this great age; underlines that this culture was a highly influential culture in the whole middle-eastern and central asian region

- the historical importance of this central asian intellectual tradition to the later flowering of european thought and development, both as a source of ideas and as a source of ancient texts 

- Starr's speculations on the reason for the decline of the region:  increasing focus on religious dogmatism in a conflict between the two versions of Islam leads to intolerance and a narrowing of the field of thought - something to consider in this age of dogmatisms, religious, cultural, social, political as so on...

- Starr's observation that, even excluding the possible highly advanced society preceding the arab invasion, this Central Asian Golden Age lasted longer than any other similar historical golden period in any other society world-wide

- great source for thinkers and poets to chase down

This book is a great reference to put any writers (Rumi, Khayam etc.) in their political and social context.

Not a fast read, as it is very detailed and explores central intellectual themes as well as social, political, and economic milieux. 

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

This books starts off as a very entertaining read - the image of the old man, trapped in the dreary routine of a seniors residence, climbing out the window and escaping, is a delightfully capricious image.  The chain of crazy improbabilities that make the story unfold is also quite entertaining.  And the collection of misfits that form.  And the main character's stumblings into the main political events fo the 20th century.  The author's nonchalant tone in the recounting of all these events adds to the humour.
So far so good up to about the introduction of the elephant.  After that, the chain of improbabilities becomes a bit repetitious, the lack of direction in the story becomes rather obvious, and the links to historical events become just too tenuous.
With the author's attempts to link the main character to the political history of the 20th century, this books reminds me of "Any Human Heart" by William Boyd and its connections to the main figures of the 20th century art world.  But unfortunately, a less successful book...

The Animals - Gary Winogrand

An early collection of photos by Winogrand - self-published.  Apparently, quite a flop when it came out in 1969.
Especially for that time, a disturbing collection of photos - nothing romantic or ennobling in his representation of the animals in the New York City Zoo.  As photos, you can see his style of flirting with chaos within the frame, however, in many of the photos I don't see the one element that brings a focus to the photo, or else the element is not strong enough, or doesn't carry enough meaning or emotion or surprise to support the weight of the rest of the chaotic frame.  There are some good moments, however.

A good accompaniment is to read John Berber's essay, "Why Look at Animals?" at the same time.

Maybe what you see in these animal photos is the same alienation, the same sense of loss and hopelessness that can be found in some writers of the 50's and 60's - for example Sylvia Plath, Gwendolyn MacEwen.