The Sheltering Sky

I got A Canticle for Leibowitz and The Sheltering Sky from the library at the same time. I decided to read Leibowitz first because it was recommended from a friend. I found The Sheltering Sky while I was researching the life of William S. Burroughs (Author of Naked Lunch, the book I couldn't finish). I wasn't sure if I was still going to read it, because I thought the author would share too many similarities with William Burroughs, but I was wrong. The story is cohesive and easily understandable. Some things in it are a bit strange, but not disturbing like the visceral scenes in Naked Lunch. I looked back at what I had read about what the two authors had in common and found out that William Burroughs actually just moved to Tangier, Morocco because of Paul Bowles fiction. There was no reference to sharing any similarities in writing style.

With that said, I am glad I read it. It was an interesting book about a husband and wife travelling through North Africa. The couple is attempting t0 rekindle their marriage, but unsure if that is what either of them wants. It is complicated by the husband's inability to focus and the wife's constant strategizing for how to win her husband back.

The first two parts of the novel are set in cities where there are plenty of Westerners that the couple interact with on a regular basis. The third, and final, part of the book is a strange and intense journey into the Sahara Desert made by Kit (the wife). My interpretation of how the book is broken into sections is that each section is a different stage of the main characters' insanity. The first section shows the general social disorders that the husband and wife have, the second shows the couple become more and more unable to function regularly by putting them in crisis situations and showing their inability to logically solve their problems, while the third section of the novel is an exploration of post-traumatic insanity as viewed through Kit's eyes.

Having the book slowly move Southward throughout the downward spiral of madness was an interesting way to show the harshness of the African terrain and society. It is clearly seen in the novel that the further a Westerner gets from their own culture, the more vulnerable they are. By the end of the novel we are in a mostly untouched African culture that takes advantage of Kit's insanity and naivety, giving the perfect setting for the chaos that is happening in her mind. This had to be an intentional effect to help the reader truly feel the intensity of the character's mental state.

The book was very well written. I found his ability to describe both the natural world and his character's emotions and thoughts incredibly impressive. His writing style and language alone make the book worth reading.

All in all, I think the Sheltering Sky is a great book. It didn't give me any epiphanies or open up too much for interpretation or discussion, but it was definitely worth reading for the compelling story and the impressive prose.

A Canticle for Leibowitz

Wow. Merely minutes ago I finished A Canticle for Leibowitz (by Walter M. Miller Jr.). This was recommended to me by a friend and I had not heard anything about it before. Little did I know, it is considered by many readers and quite a few polls to be the best science fiction novel ever written. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and I was blown away. It is very different from what you would expect of a post apocalyptic science fiction novel. The author decided to focus the story on relationships, religion, and human nature in general. When I think of a story about a civilization after massive nuclear war, I think of a horror story filled with chase scenes and ominous mutants, not the canonization of the patron saint of electronics. Nor do I think of the reinvention of electricity or the re-emergence of a cold war. Frankly, there was so much meaning packed into this three part, three hundred page novel, that I don't even know what to write about.

I suppose I want to focus this entry on the theme of human nature and sin. There are several times when these themes are brought forward directly in the dialogue and there is also a general undercurrent of the themes going on throughout the novel. The direct references are usually in the form of a sermonette from an abbott to either a certain person or just directed at the world in general. The sermonettes usually invoke the horrors of "the flame deluge" (nuclear war) and are not focused on condemning the advancement of scientific research (the Albertan Order of Leibowitz regards properly practiced science as an act of worship), but they are actually focused on the condemnation of humankind's pride in their advancement.

I felt while reading the book that the author obviously was a student of scripture and Christian tradition based on his mature depiction of what sin was and how it worked in the character's lives. After lots of study and thought I came to the conclusion that I believe sin isn't found in action, inaction or even in thought. It is only found when our motives are selfish and our selfishness in some way affects those around us. I would say that the monks in A Canticle for Leibowitz would agree with this belief, and that Walter M. Miller Jr. probably has a similar understanding of what the traditional definition of sin truly is.

With that said, while reading A Canticle for Leibowitz, you see humans throughout the novel falling into the same trap that they fell into at the time of the nuclear war. I wanted to believe that after the initial time of anarchy after the blast, the world would realize that war and hate are not going to advance any civilization or solve any problems, but just result in the eventual destruction of humanity. That didn't happen in this novel. The survivors of the initial war all have the same, built-in flaws of the original humanity before the nuclear destruction. There was hope from some of the scientists in the second part of the novel that humanity had learned not to repeat history, but some characters also sincerely doubt humanity's ability to save itself and call upon God to miraculously save us from ourselves.

I feel that though the virtue of hoping for the best is important for the continuity of personal faith, it is in vain if you aren't aware of the necessity of intervention. Whether you are a stern atheist or fundamentally religious, I believe there is a sense we have where we naturally understand that intervention is necessary if we are to become truly moral and virtuous beings. Not necessarily the intervention of gods or supernatural forces, but just that something outside of the self (nature, other humans, etc.) is necessary for us to see the error of being completely selfish. As a Christian, I believe it is necessary for Christ to intervene in order for us to bring about any type of new eden or utopian society, but not necessarily through the means of a literal second coming. This is a mere conjecture, a weak theory, but I'll share it anyways. I believe it is possible that the second coming is through His body, the church, finally realizing it's form and acting as the body of Christ through and through. I think even if you disagree with the part about Christ, and would say it just takes humans entering into each other's lives and teaching one another about love and peace and self-sacrifice, we wouldn't be too far apart in our beliefs.

Anyhow, I guess that's what I got most from this book. The fact that the only way we can prevent ourselves from complete annihilation is through miraculous intervention. And I think that is part of what Walter M. Miller Jr. was trying to say as well. Even in the novel's ending (which I wouldn't dare reveal here)* there is hope for some form of miracle to save humanity.

This was a great book, with countless other lessons to learn from it. Everyone with a brain should check it out.

*I found this a funny thing for me to say, since I only know one person who reads this blog regularly. Who would I be ruining the ending for?

Damascus Nights

I finished Damascus nights last Wednesday and decided to wait on posting my final words about the book. I was testing the lasting power of the book's impact on my life. It was a great book. I don't know if it stands up to many of the classics I have been reading lately, but it definitely is worth reading if you ever get the chance.

The story was the perfect amount of fantasy and truth. The way it did this was by placing a very small fantasy plotline into a story of modern living in the city of Damascus. There was very little magic or mystery in the story, but the one magic thing that happened opened your eyes to the stories that Salim and his friends tell. The morals of their stories are sometimes ambiguous and sometimes obvious, but the parables themselves gave me hints of spirituality that made the book incredibly rewarding to read. The characters in the book were all sympathetic and likable. By the end of the novel I wanted them to be my friends, or perhaps for the book to be the first in an indefinite series of books involving these characters.

It is always exciting for me to experience new cultures through literature. I had never really read anything set in the Middle East or written by an author from the region, so this was like a whole new world to me.* The story even touched on that a bit when one character told stories of America and none of the other characters would believe the things he said. The best of that was his story of trying to barter in department store in New York City. As I said before, the stories that were being told sometimes had simple and childish morals that were written to remind you of them in a creative way. Sometimes the stories had larger themes and were focused politics rather than simple morality. Those stories were usually very tragic and affected me in a more intimate way ( i.e. Made me want to learn more or get involved with solving the probles mentioned).

Anyhow, enough Jibber jabber. Great read! Check it out!


*(Funny that I said "a whole new world" because the story of Aladdin and the seven theives is in the book A Thousand and One Nights which is one of this author's main influences. This was done completely by accident.)

Damascus Nights notable joke

"There are these two assassins hiding right outside the presidential palace. They're waiting for the president to come out, and their fingers are glued to the triggers of their pistols. Well the whole day goes by, but this president never leaves the palace. So the assassins keep waiting. The next day comes and goes, and still no sign of the president. Then the third day comes and the same thing happens. By now the men are pretty upset.

'Where the hell can he be?' Asks one.

The other man turns to his companion, full of concern, and says,

'God, I hope nothing's happened to him!'"

Damascus Nights notable quote

"You should use your head and learn: never tell everything you know."