Category Archives: fiction

PROMPT: Fictional World

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Daily writing prompt
Which fictional world would be the most fun to vacation in?
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The world of H2G2 would at least be amusing in its absurdity. That said, I don’t know that I want to read much that’s set in a place that’s fun, and I know writers disdain them. Literary utopias always have a dark side. Story tension and interest do not build from a place where everyone is having fun.

BOOK: “The Rum Diary” by Hunter S. Thompson

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The Rum DiaryThe Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Simon & Schuster

Thompson wrote this novel in the early 60’s but did nothing with it until the late 90’s when — apparently — he needed the money. That doesn’t sound like it would bode well for a work of literature, but it grew on me. The story follows a roughly six-month period from the time a journalist, Paul Kemp, arrives in Puerto Rico to start work at an English language newspaper in San Juan to the time he departs in the wake of the paper’s demise.

The plot is loose and late — by that I mean the most emotionally resonant events are clustered toward the book’s end. This doesn’t mean that it’s a slow-burn through the beginning and middle, per se. There is a lot of decadence and merriment going on among the protagonist and his colleagues that makes for an amusing read. Also, there is a bit of sexual tension as Kemp arrives on the island on the same plane as a pretty blonde who turns out to be the girlfriend of one of his co-workers (and thus verboten,) a girl who’s bad news, yet still the object of simmering obsession.

I found this to be a fun read and would recommend it for those curious about the hedonistic lifestyles of tropically based journalists in the 1950’s. Thompson apparently did spend some time in San Juan in 1960’s and the book is said to be loosely influenced by journalists he met and events that happened there.

Note: There is a movie. I have not seen it. Judging by the trailer, however, I would say it’s a quite loose adaptation beyond the setting and some of the characters in broad strokes.

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PROMPT: Fictional Character

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Who is the fictional character you relate to the most?
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Capt. John Yossarian of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. The only sane response to an insane world is to be insane.

PROMPT: Inspired

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What’s a movie or book that inspired you to travel?
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I would say it’s much more common for travel to inspire me to read a particular book than the other way about. I can’t think of a case in which reading a book was the prime mover in a decision to travel to a given place. But I do try to read some literature from every country or literarily active city that I visit.

PROMPT: Sequel

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Daily writing prompt
What’s a book you think deserves a sequel?
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I think sequelization is a pox upon the literary world. I would hazard to say that anything good I’ve ever read was a standalone work. Seldom does the “resolution-to-hook” ratio lead to a satisfying, let alone illuminating, reading experience. A popular book series is far more likely to end like the television series Lost than to pull all its outstanding narrative strings together coherently.

Unless you’re talking nonfiction, in which case I would be open to another volume of The Complete History of the World at some point.

PROMPT: Nominate

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Daily writing prompt
Emperor Palpatine has announced open elections for a new Emperor — and he’s nominated Darth Vader. You get to nominate one challenger.
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Let’s see. Someone fictional and from the future. I nominate Arthur Dent. #ArthurDentforEmperor

PROMPT: Changed

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What’s a piece of media (book, movie, song) that changed how you see the world?
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Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

Also: Quiet by Susan Cain; Water Margin by Shī Nài’ān; and Self-Reliance and Other Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson

BOOK: 齐天大圣 by Yinuo Wang

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齐天大圣 Monkey King: A Bilingual Chinese Storybook (Pinyin & English) with HSK Vocabulary (Learn Chinese with Mythology：Bilingual Pinyin Edition 9)齐天大圣 Monkey King: A Bilingual Chinese Storybook (Pinyin & English) with HSK Vocabulary by Yinuo Wang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazon Page

This book collects episodes from the classic Chinese novel, Journey to the West, and condenses each into a page or two. Specifically, these are episodes from early in the story of Journey to the West, before the protagonist (a.k.a. Sun Wu Kong / the Monkey King / the Great Sage Equal to Heaven) actually departs on his journey to the west with a monk to get Buddhist scriptures. It is Sun Wu Kong’s origin story in a highly condensed form.

The illustrations of the book are aesthetically pleasing and are colorful and non-threatening (i.e. suitable for young readers.) Also, the book has quizzes and vocabulary building exercises at the back.

My biggest criticism of the book would be that it bites off more than it can chew. With single pages for major events and no room for transitions, the plates are a bit incongruous and don’t feel like a story as much as like viewing someone’s scrapbook. A lesser criticism would be that with a loose translation style (which is fine,) it sometimes translates the same characters in two different ways. (As it does with the title card which it translates quite literally as “The Great Sage Equal to Heaven” and the opening page where it translates the same four-character phrase quite loosely as “The Great Monkey King.”) This would not be an issue if the book were not a book for learning to read.

As I said, this is more like Sun Wu Kong’s scrapbook than his life story, but it is a nice way to practice beginner level reading. I’d recommend it for those beginning to read Chinese, particularly if one already knows the Journey to the West story.

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BOOK: “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk

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Fight ClubFight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – W.W. Norton

Through a weird and wild storyline, Palahniuk offers insight into two (intertwined) crises of identity that have only grown more prominent since the book (and the David Fincher film adapted from it) came out in the late 90’s. First and foremost, there is a craving for, yet confusion about the nature of, masculinity. As men raised by women struggle to ape masculine behavior only to over-emphasize conspicuous features such as violence and aggression while missing more subtle aspects such as the instinct to protect and a grasp of responsibility, self-empowerment, and fortitude. The second identity crisis is self as consumer, wherein people start linking who they are to their consumption, and this becomes demoralizing because it’s such a hallow way of seeing oneself. (I say the crises are “intertwined” because it’s a long and painful fall to go from “protector” to “consumer-” the latter having nothing at all to feel good about.)

This is one of those books that people either find illuminating or unreadable. There is a lot in the book that is stomach-turning. For many, this will be the violence, but — for me, and I suspect many others, — it’s the “mischievous” pranks that Tyler Durden and the unnamed lead “play” as they work as waiters. Upton Sinclair once said of The Jungle that he aimed for the reader’s heart (i.e. to bring awareness to labor issues in the meat packing industry) and hit them square in the stomach (i.e. people’s main takeaway was that how their food was made was gross and needed to be corrected.) This may be a similar situation. Palahniuk, I suspect, is trying to show how these full-grown men in some ways haven’t escaped the grossest era of boyhood as they attempt to find their power in the world, but it mostly reminded me to not eat at banquets or other gatherings of rich people.

I found this to be an insightful book and would highly recommend it for anyone trying to figure out some of the oddities of the world in which we find ourselves living.

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BOOKS: “Know Yourself and Your Enemy” by Qixia Yu

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Know Yourself and Your Enemy 知己知彼百战不殆 (Bilingual Chinese Idiom Stories)Know Yourself and Your Enemy 知己知彼百战不殆 by Qixia Yu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Author Amazon Site

This illustrated bilingual book tells a story out of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It’s a popular tale of strategy in which the renowned strategist (and then Prime Minister) Zhuge Liang outfoxed the (also) renowned General Sima Yi as the latter brought a large army to the walls of the capital where Zhuge Liang was residing. The city was only weakly guarded because the bulk of forces were on campaign and they could not be recalled in time to be of service. Were it not for Zhuge Liang’s insightful stratagem, the capital would have been lost.

This is a great book for those learning Chinese for a few reasons. First, it contains pinyin and English translation. Secondly, it’s illustrated in a way that is not only aesthetically pleasing but which also helps a learner follow events – despite gaps in language understanding. Third, it’s an interesting story, and a nice break from the usual (re: dreadfully boring) beginner level reading fare. Finally, it’s a nice bite-sized chunk of writing for someone who still has to think out words and sentences. I don’t know that the author restricted themselves to any particular HSK level. It seemed to have some language beyond what was in HSK 3 / 4 readers I’ve read but is still relatively simple and straightforward in its language. Restricting to a simple level might be an issue with any historical work because there are going to be terms that are important but certainly aren’t among the most common words today (e.g. halberd.)

If you’re learning Chinese and are interested in strategy, martial arts, history, or Chinese literary classics, I’d highly recommend reading this book.

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