I had recently come across a reference to Platonov as an interesting Russian writer from the period of the early revolution through to Stalinism. So I decided to seek him out.
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy reading the book Soul all that much. It seems to be very much a novel of ideas, and fairly dry as far as stories go. It's hard for me to know how much of early 20th centure central asia is actually reflected in the story line and characters, as I don't have the background knowledge. I can also see how his writings might have created some scandal in that there seems to be some criticism of Soviet policy - centrality of the State, the concept of Nation, the role of the State as the great saviour. Again unfortunately I don't have the background to evaluate this. But, as a casual read, not too appealing, at least for me.
I am waiting for one more of his books, his best know one - Moscow. We'll see...
Monday, 29 April 2013
Standing in Another Man's Grave - Ian Rankin
Another great story by Ian Rankin. Well worth the read.
Like John le Carre, Ian Rankin has a subtext of philosophical/social musing running through his books. It is there in many of them as "the little guy (Rebus) against the powers that be". This line of musings is getting deeper though - in this book it appears more as technocracy, bureaucracy and political correctness against the human (and the just) in all the rest of us. In the character of Siobhan's captain, he has created a marvellous caricature of the ladder climbing young bureaucrat snuffling after every butt licking opportunity and publicity moment - a type anyone in a corporate or large bureaucratic organization should be more than familiar with...
Like John le Carre, Ian Rankin has a subtext of philosophical/social musing running through his books. It is there in many of them as "the little guy (Rebus) against the powers that be". This line of musings is getting deeper though - in this book it appears more as technocracy, bureaucracy and political correctness against the human (and the just) in all the rest of us. In the character of Siobhan's captain, he has created a marvellous caricature of the ladder climbing young bureaucrat snuffling after every butt licking opportunity and publicity moment - a type anyone in a corporate or large bureaucratic organization should be more than familiar with...
Sunday, 7 April 2013
From the Holy Mountain - William Dalrymple
An interesting look at an aspect of Middle Eastern history that is not discussed much - the history and state of Christianity in the Middle East. The book is loosely structured as a travelogue built around an account of a journey by two monks it the 6th century. Dalrymple sets out to follow their root and compare the churches, monasteries and Christian communities John Moschos and his companion visited 1400 years ago.
Dalrymple's travels and comments bring up a number of interesting points or threads.
1) You get a strong sense of Christianity as essentially a middle eastern religion with historically a very strong presence in the region. This is something ignored by European and American christian churches, as if they wanted to forget its essentially Arabic origins. This also explains the indifference of western churches to the plight of Christian communities in Israel and Egypt (amongst other countries) where governments are working to eliminate Christianity from the country and its history. You can include Turkey in this mix, but there the process of elimination is almost complete (and is strongly tied to ethnic issues also). This indifference also I think points to the narrowness of the various Christian sects and their lack of acceptance of other branches of the faith; perhaps also to the strong historical link between nation states and organized religion.
2) The strong link between Islam and Christianity - there are early orthodox sects that pray in the same way Muslims do, except they also cross themselves while genuflecting.
3) Links between early church liturgy and Arabic/middle eastern culture. The music of some of the Syrian orthodox sects sounds so much like Arabic vocal music - there's lots on Youtube.
4) The fact that Syria has historically been a haven for middle-eastern Christians pushed out of other countries. Unfortunately, due to their strong ties to the Assad family, with the Syrian revolution this may no longer be the case -we could be looking basically the end of Christian communities in the middle east. Especially when you add in the current situation with the Copts in Egypt.
5) Just the simple fact that large parts of the middle east were essentially Christian at one point in time.
6) His travels and encounters in Israel and Jerusalem dovetail perfectly with Ilan Pappé's account of Israel's policies and actions in relation to Palestinians regardless of whether Christian or Muslim. (You can also add Armenians to the list when considering Jerusalem.) Dalrymple in fact reaches many of the same conclusions about the nature of Zionism.
7) The Jews only controlled the area of Israel for about 600 years, which certainly doesn't grant much of a title to the land. (this fact to be verified)
8) Archaeologically, the Muslim take over of Byzantine middle eastern lands does not seem to have created much of an archaeological, cultural or economic break in the historical record. Any cultural and population shifts were very gradual - this was no barbarian horde wreaking havoc as they moved through.
9) The strong relation between Syrian monks/monasteries and the church in England - one of the first Archbishops in Canterbury was Syrian. There also seems to be a link between the illustrated manuscripts produced in Syrian monasteries and the early illumination work of Irish monks (now that's travelling...)
10) There are some interesting bits about Urfa and Diyarbakır which would be worth noting if travelling in that area again.
11) Lots of travel information for Syria, but I'm not sure at this point how much of it will remain after the current conflict is over.
Includes a decent bibliography
TO FIND:
John Moschos, The Spiritual Meadow
A History of the Arab Peoples, Albert Hourani
The Slaughterhouse Province, Leslie A. Davis (turkey?)
The Cradle of Mankind: Life in Eastern Kurdistan, W. A. Wigram (1914)
Dalrymple's travels and comments bring up a number of interesting points or threads.
1) You get a strong sense of Christianity as essentially a middle eastern religion with historically a very strong presence in the region. This is something ignored by European and American christian churches, as if they wanted to forget its essentially Arabic origins. This also explains the indifference of western churches to the plight of Christian communities in Israel and Egypt (amongst other countries) where governments are working to eliminate Christianity from the country and its history. You can include Turkey in this mix, but there the process of elimination is almost complete (and is strongly tied to ethnic issues also). This indifference also I think points to the narrowness of the various Christian sects and their lack of acceptance of other branches of the faith; perhaps also to the strong historical link between nation states and organized religion.
2) The strong link between Islam and Christianity - there are early orthodox sects that pray in the same way Muslims do, except they also cross themselves while genuflecting.
3) Links between early church liturgy and Arabic/middle eastern culture. The music of some of the Syrian orthodox sects sounds so much like Arabic vocal music - there's lots on Youtube.
4) The fact that Syria has historically been a haven for middle-eastern Christians pushed out of other countries. Unfortunately, due to their strong ties to the Assad family, with the Syrian revolution this may no longer be the case -we could be looking basically the end of Christian communities in the middle east. Especially when you add in the current situation with the Copts in Egypt.
5) Just the simple fact that large parts of the middle east were essentially Christian at one point in time.
6) His travels and encounters in Israel and Jerusalem dovetail perfectly with Ilan Pappé's account of Israel's policies and actions in relation to Palestinians regardless of whether Christian or Muslim. (You can also add Armenians to the list when considering Jerusalem.) Dalrymple in fact reaches many of the same conclusions about the nature of Zionism.
7) The Jews only controlled the area of Israel for about 600 years, which certainly doesn't grant much of a title to the land. (this fact to be verified)
8) Archaeologically, the Muslim take over of Byzantine middle eastern lands does not seem to have created much of an archaeological, cultural or economic break in the historical record. Any cultural and population shifts were very gradual - this was no barbarian horde wreaking havoc as they moved through.
9) The strong relation between Syrian monks/monasteries and the church in England - one of the first Archbishops in Canterbury was Syrian. There also seems to be a link between the illustrated manuscripts produced in Syrian monasteries and the early illumination work of Irish monks (now that's travelling...)
10) There are some interesting bits about Urfa and Diyarbakır which would be worth noting if travelling in that area again.
11) Lots of travel information for Syria, but I'm not sure at this point how much of it will remain after the current conflict is over.
Includes a decent bibliography
TO FIND:
John Moschos, The Spiritual Meadow
A History of the Arab Peoples, Albert Hourani
The Slaughterhouse Province, Leslie A. Davis (turkey?)
The Cradle of Mankind: Life in Eastern Kurdistan, W. A. Wigram (1914)
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Caucasus: In the Wake of Warriors - Nicholas Griffin
Part travelogue, part history. Not sure what the point of the travelogue is really - there are some interesting encounters but the travelling group dynamic parts don't really seem to add much. Both aspects lack any kind of critical analysis or insight.
While there is a lot on Shamil, there are some anti-mythic or anti-hero facts and anecdotes included, which for me saves those sections. There is also a tantalizing section on Shamil Basayev, though again not particularly deep or well-analyzed.
Overall, a bit incoherent, rather like the group he is travelling with, but with some interesting points or passages that set it apart from some of the other books on the topic.
Includes a small bibliography for further reading.
While there is a lot on Shamil, there are some anti-mythic or anti-hero facts and anecdotes included, which for me saves those sections. There is also a tantalizing section on Shamil Basayev, though again not particularly deep or well-analyzed.
Overall, a bit incoherent, rather like the group he is travelling with, but with some interesting points or passages that set it apart from some of the other books on the topic.
Includes a small bibliography for further reading.
The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus - Charles King
I found this book to be a good overview of the history of the Caucasus as a whole. He covers the early periods, the Russian conquest, and has a few chapters on the post-Soviet situations. It is a good introduction to the topic, and I especially appreciate that he doesn't devote too much time to the whole Shamil story (which some books tend to overdo).
I found the chapter called "The Imaginary Caucasus" interesting. He examines the whole mythology of the Caucasus in Russian and world culture. These kinds of discussions of colonialism and its mentality are interesting. He draws a parallel the the American mythology of the Native Indains.
It includes an extensive bibliography for further reading.
To find:
Klaproth, Travels in the Caucasus and Georgia - 1812
Lermontov, A Hero of Our Time
Pushkin, Captive of the Caucasus
Tolstoy, The Wood-Felling (short story)
Tolstoy, The Cossaks (novella)
Freshfield, The Exploration of the Caucasus (1896)
Repentance (film) Tengiz Abuladze (Georgian)
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (film), Sergei Paradjanov (Georgian)
The Color of Pomegranates (film), Sergei Paradjanov (Georgian) - life of Sayat Nova
I found the chapter called "The Imaginary Caucasus" interesting. He examines the whole mythology of the Caucasus in Russian and world culture. These kinds of discussions of colonialism and its mentality are interesting. He draws a parallel the the American mythology of the Native Indains.
It includes an extensive bibliography for further reading.
To find:
Klaproth, Travels in the Caucasus and Georgia - 1812
Lermontov, A Hero of Our Time
Pushkin, Captive of the Caucasus
Tolstoy, The Wood-Felling (short story)
Tolstoy, The Cossaks (novella)
Freshfield, The Exploration of the Caucasus (1896)
Repentance (film) Tengiz Abuladze (Georgian)
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (film), Sergei Paradjanov (Georgian)
The Color of Pomegranates (film), Sergei Paradjanov (Georgian) - life of Sayat Nova
Turkey: What Everyone Needs to Know - Andrew Finkel
A good general introduction to modern Turkey. Finkel touches on many current issues and trends, and gives historical background where necessary. I would say it is a fairly balanced presentation, looking at strengths, issues and weaknesses. For me, I would like to see a bit more depth but I think it functions well as an overview or introduction to the present state of Turkey.
The Forgotten Palestinians - Ilan Pappé
Subtitle: A History of the Palestinians in Israel
A meticulous account of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the years immediately following the establishment of Israel in 1948. Pappé is a meticulous historian who made use of recently released archival material (such as notes and journals of some of the main actors and leaders of the time) to determine the exact nature of the policy towards Palestinians and Palestinian villages post 1948, and also to catalogue forced removals, destruction of villages, massacres and rapes as noted in these sources. It turns out these archival sources corroborate many of the actions and events Palestinians have claimed for decades.
His style is not hysterical or hostile; he maintains a historian's tone for most of the book. There are occasional glimpses of he feeling and reactions as he discovers the truth behind the propaganda and myths he has been fed growing up in Israel and passing through the education system.
There are interesting quotes at the beginning of chapters mostly taken from statements, descriptions and international reactions to what went on in Bosnia - these stand in stark contrast to the west's and UN's statements and reactions to the events that occured in Palestine. They also serve to back up his conclusion that the Palestinians were subjected to ethnic cleansing, given the similarities between the two conflicts.
A very important book because of who he is and his profession as a historian. A difficult read, but not brutal - there are very few graphic details. It's just the endless repetitive nature of the actions against the Palestinian villages over a period of years.
A meticulous account of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the years immediately following the establishment of Israel in 1948. Pappé is a meticulous historian who made use of recently released archival material (such as notes and journals of some of the main actors and leaders of the time) to determine the exact nature of the policy towards Palestinians and Palestinian villages post 1948, and also to catalogue forced removals, destruction of villages, massacres and rapes as noted in these sources. It turns out these archival sources corroborate many of the actions and events Palestinians have claimed for decades.
His style is not hysterical or hostile; he maintains a historian's tone for most of the book. There are occasional glimpses of he feeling and reactions as he discovers the truth behind the propaganda and myths he has been fed growing up in Israel and passing through the education system.
There are interesting quotes at the beginning of chapters mostly taken from statements, descriptions and international reactions to what went on in Bosnia - these stand in stark contrast to the west's and UN's statements and reactions to the events that occured in Palestine. They also serve to back up his conclusion that the Palestinians were subjected to ethnic cleansing, given the similarities between the two conflicts.
A very important book because of who he is and his profession as a historian. A difficult read, but not brutal - there are very few graphic details. It's just the endless repetitive nature of the actions against the Palestinian villages over a period of years.
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