Books I Read In November
Job: A New Translation by Edward L. Greenstein
I’ve been reading quite a lot of the Bible recently in various translations. I enjoyed David Bentley Hart’s New Testament, and Robert Alter’s Genesis, and this is in a similar vein - an attempt to do a translation that captures as much as possible from the original text.
It would be fair to ask “isn’t that what all translations try to do?” but when it comes to the Bible the answer is often “no”. A lot of Christian translations of Job, for example, try to fit the original poem into a structure that makes more Christian theological sense, making Job into a sort of ultimate stoic and a forerunner of Jesus’s suffering, but the text isn’t like that. Job rails against god, and although he doesn’t “curse” god (as is the point of the work) he certainly has his fair share of criticisms. Pretty well-founded ones too.
It’s an odd work, even in a Christian-focused translation, but reading something closer to the original really shows up how odd it is to modern ears. Besides that, it was probably taken from a conquered culture, meaning that it’s not like a lot of other books in the Old Testament theologically.
This translation is good, and Job itself is not a long book so if you’re interested in reading some of the Bible, then it’s worth a shot.
A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor
I listened to the podcast of this on the BBC some time ago, and I’d recommend both. Neil MacGregor used to run the British Museum, and in this he tells snippets of world history by relating it to various items in the museum’s collection. As such, it’s both far-reaching and very specific and is a fascinating read.
A History of the World in 100 Object on Amazon
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
It’s difficult to capture this novel in a short paragraph without it sounding immensely strange. Effectively, it centres around a single character who dies repeatedly, then relives her life, with things changing slightly in each of these different lifetimes.
As well as having a great central plot, which is much more grounded than the above paragraph would suggest, it also becomes a meditation on the effect of contingency in life. It’s beautiful and moving and one of the best novels I’ve read this year.
Absolute Sandman vol. 3 by Neil Gaiman
I’ve been re-reading The Sandman recently, with its upcoming arrival on Netflix. A few years ago I bought the Absolute (huge) editions, which remain the nicest way to appreciate the artwork. It’s such a wonderful series and each re-reading I notice more. It remains the greatest comics series.
Absolute Sandman vol. 3 on Amazon
The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson
You know what you’re going to get with a Bill Bryson book. A well-researched, easily read, book with a charming wit. In this case, Bryson turns his attention to the human body, stepping through the operation of various elements, outlining what we do and don’t know, and how things can go wrong.
Fatalism in American Film Noir by Robert B. Pippin
I’m a fan of Film Noir and this is basically a long essay on the role of fatalism in the genre. A couple of things stood out for me.
Firstly, that Film Noir the regular use of flashbacks and narratives put us in the position of a being like an ancient audience watching tragedy. We’re seeing events unfold fatalistically - they cannot be changed because they’ve already happened.
Secondly, we are misled about our agency in our own lives. We don’t have as much control over our actions as we think we do. Our history, culture, genetics etc shape us dramatically. This impacts the functioning of democracy because we are not the democratic agents we assume ourselves to be. This is something that democratic societies require of us, but we are not able to provide it.
Like a good Film Noir, both these points are rather dark and disturbing. The book has a pretty light touch though and is very readable.
Fatalism in American Film Noir on Amazon
An Autobiography by Agatha Christie
As I’ve posted, I’ve been reading through all of Agatha Christie’s novels recently, and so I thought I’d get some context by reading her autobiography. It’s a long book, and it takes about half of the work to get past her childhood. It’s a charming, meandering book though and if you have any interest in her, or a personal history of the early 20th century, well worth a read.
An Autobiography by Agatha Christie on Amazon
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
When I read The Great Gatsby at school, I hated it. Probably because I was made to read it for A Level. I think, though, that I just wasn’t able to appreciate its subtlety and its tragedy as a child. Returning to it, I’ve come to love it almost as much as any novel I’ve read.
I thought, therefore, I’d try some other Fitzgerald. Tender Is The Night is not as succinctly powerful as Gatsby, but it captures the complex lives of rich Americans living abroad, and like his most famous novel, is a deep and moving tragedy.
Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami
I love Murakami, and this is one of my favourites of his. The story is, like most of his novels, magical-realist and captivating. An artist going through a divorce goes to live in the secluded house of his friend’s artist father (who has dementia and is in a hospital).
Like a lot of Murakami, there are oddities outside the magic, not least the fact that a plot point revolves around the development of a 13 year old’s breasts, but it’s a wonderful novel nonetheless.
Killing Commendatore on Amazon
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? on Amazon
Metaphysical Horror by Leszek Kołakowski
I wrote about Kołakowski’s and religion here. The book is pretty academic, with flashes of interest. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone that doesn’t have a pretty firm grounding in philosophy, but it’s an interesting read.
Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
I mentioned this in my first post here. It’s a very short book that encourages anyone to share the work they do online. The gist is that if you want to be creative, you should be sharing your work as you go as this improves the work itself, creates communities and aids others. As this blog shows, I found it rather inspiring.