Summer Reads #2 – The Sandman Saga by Neil Gaiman

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american gods, book review, books, christianity, comic books, coraline, god of dreams, greek mythology, literature, mirrormask, moirai, morpheus, mythology, Neil Gaiman, ramadan, Reading, religion, stardust, the kindly ones, The Sandman, the three fates, Vertigo Jam

According to Neil Gaiman, if the Moirai (the Three Fates) lived among us, they would be harmless old cat ladies with a penchant for yarn-bombing.

 

This year I managed to complete the Sandman Saga, which was a big one for me, because after reading a lot of Neil Gaiman, I was still undecided on how I felt about him and his writing.

He’s one of these authors who is gifted and has a prolific output of work – the man can turn his hand to anything literary and make a success of it. The Sandman comics have also long been touted as his magnum opus, but I just didn’t have the time to get through it due to work commitments.

But 2018 was the year for it, and I’m sooooo glad I got through this, because it was AMAZING! Neil Gaiman is everything they say he is – an absolute genius.

If like me, you weren’t that particularly impressed with Coraline, Mirrormask, Stardust or found American Gods to be too steep and cryptic in terms of plot and character development, then The Sandman Saga is definitely for you.

In my humble opinion, this has to be Gaiman’s biggest achievement. In it he display’s his amazing prowess and knowledge of world mythology; creates a world where all gods, of all races across all times exist in the here and now, some as faint echoes and others as living amongst us, unbeknownst to us. In a way, The Sandman is not just about the adventures of Morpheus the Dream-God (one of the Eternals); it is through his interactions with humans, his losses and gains, his victories and calamities that Gaiman puts together a meta-mythology, a place where all gods are a figment of human imagination and exist as long as we exist.

I love this idea – it’s fresh, new, and something that he goes into in great detail in American Gods where he explores how ancient gods gain new grounds through the diasporas of different peoples’ across the ages, and how genocides are enough to wipe out the existence of others. It is powerful in that it puts the existence of faith into the hands of story-telling. The gods travel and stay tethered to survival through our stories. According to Gaiman, without the tradition of oral story-telling, our gods would come to naught. Being a story-teller, I like this idea, a lot!

Thus I found Sandman to be a bibliophile’s delight, because Morpheus, the god of dreams is the ultimate storyteller. He controls the gateway to the subconscious, he is a merciful god to a certain extent, yet when the world of dreams is in flux (as it is when we are first introduced to him in Preludes and Nocturnes issue #1), it causes chaos in the human world.

The saga begins when a group of Occultists (among them, the infamous Aleister Crowley) gather to summon and entrap Death itself. Their little parlour game goes awry and instead of entrapping Death, they manage to snag Death’s twin brother, Dream. Morpheus, therefore begins his 70 year confinement at the hands of these occultists, which results in terrible consequences for people around the world. Some fall asleep never to wake up again, others die stark raving mad because of their inability to sleep, others are subjected to terrible nightmares that are endless. In short, the world is thrown into flux, but the Lord of Dreams finally finds a way to escape his fate as a ‘genie in the lamp’, and must begin a journey across space and time, and between worlds to claim back the power that was seized in his absence.

This is of course, just the beginning of the saga. So much more happens, and I can’t remember a time when I was so engrossed by mythology as I was with this series. It has made my understanding and appreciation of American Gods much more meaningful as I see now what Gaiman was trying to do.

The Sandman was him playing in the sand pit. He stated himself that the series made him grow as a writer as he became bolder with his world-building, and with those amazing connections he makes between character and the series.

My favourite issues comprise of the stand-alone Ramadan, which has a very 1001 nights flavour to it and the masterful way he put together The Kindly Ones, the penultimate volume to the saga, where he explores the potency of the female in mythology. The Kindly Ones as they are referred to, assume the avatar of the mother, the lover, the female scorned. The way he portrays the Three Fates and the alchemy of feminine ‘madness’ was especially breath-taking.

I’ve made up my mind: Neil Gaiman truly is one of a kind.

I can only hope to meet him in person one day and listen to his pearls of wisdom about writing.

NOTE: Special mention to the illustrator David McKean, whose illustrated the front covers for each volume. His style artfully illustrated the nightmare and the dreamscape of Morpheus’ world. But if you look carefully past the disturbing nature of his images, you will see a balance of symbolism, which like a dowling rod divines the very heart of each volume and issue. A wonderful collaboration.

 

 

 

Book Review | ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini

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afghanistan, book review, Kabul, khaled hosseini, Kite Runner, Qurban, religion, the kite runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime…”

Set in Afghanistan during the 1970’s, ‘The Kite Runner’ is an insightful novel that spans three decades of the life and customs of a people and a country that have tragically become synonymous with terrorism. The story opens on an Afghanistan very few of us know or even care to remember; at a time when its streets and people were not ravaged by the mania of religious extremism and war; when it was (believe it or not) a country of prosperity and liberal thought.

Growing up in the midst of this is our narrator Amir with his odd family made up of his father Toghfan Aga, a bear-like man who is among the wealthiest and most respected public figure in Kabul. With them live their faithful servants, Ali and his young son Hassan, who have served the family for many generations as well as Toghfan Aga’s business partner and closest friend, Rahim Khan.

This is the tale of Amir and his friendship with Hassan, and how the tragic events of one fateful day drives these two motherless boys apart. Guilt-ridden Amir is destined from that day forth to carry the immense burden of his betrayal, all because he did not have the courage to stop the things he saw in happening in a dirty alleyway.

I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek…  Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years. 

Amir’s lack of courage is something his father is aware of, to the point that Baba Toghfan sees him as an embarrassment to his bloodline and treats him as thus. This however doesn’t deter Amir from yearning for Baba Toghfan’s approval. As Amir covets his father’s love he becomes more and more jealous of Hassan, whose every gesture and deed wins the approval of Baba Toghfan. The seeds of jealousy coupled with that of Amir’s growing ‘meanness’ against his Hazara playmate come together in a terrible event that mirrors the break-up of Afghanistan itself.

Normally I would not have picked this as a read, but as it’s part of the A-level curriculum it was required reading. The novel deals with themes of sacrifice, loyalty, father-son relationships, betrayal and eventual redemption. All the characters have their own secret sins and regrets, and as the novel progresses time manages to unearth even the most deeply buried ones.

It’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it.  Because the past claws its way out.

Critically speaking the story is well-structured, but there is a certain divide in the narrative that seemed to also cut my interest level in half, which comes precisely when war erupts in Afghanistan and Amir has to leave for America. The excitement and tension that Hosseini had built up and managed to sustain suddenly lost its fizz.

It’s a cruel thing to say, but I suddenly stopped caring about the characters. I would have loved it if the narrative had gone for a complete change at that moment and swapped over to Hassan’s point of view. The moment would have been ripe for such a switch, and we would have also seen everything that goes on in Afghanistan after Amir and his father run away. It would have been interesting to have stayed in the line of fire and to have witnessed some of Hassan’s/ Rahim-Khan’s feelings as I still have a lot of unanswered questions about those characters.

However, it is a good text to study at A-level, as there are a lot of bridges between concepts, ideas, symbolism etc that makes it a fertile text to use in that respect. I was instantly struck by the references to trees and decided to do a little googling. To my surprise quite a few people also picked up on the messages Hosseini was giving through his strategic use of trees in the text. There was also the concept of sacrifice that married well with the custom of the ‘Qurban‘. Hosseini explored the theme carefully and I was very impressed with how he was trying to explain the subtle complexities of this Islamic tradition by making it a focal point.

Despite its’ failings as a story, I can’t wait to teach this text from a critical perspective. We all have our biased views on Afghanistan, so it’ll be wonderful to step outside ‘known’ authors and experience the literary re-birth of a country ravaged by war and censored by religion that can barely be called ‘Islam‘. ‘The Kite Runner’ is an important text on many levels and I believe Hosseini has better stories to tell in the time to come.

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Related articles

• Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, aims to build bridges to Kabul with new book (guardian.co.uk)
• Day 15 – 30 Day Book Challenge- Foreign Culture (angiesgrapevine.wordpress.com)
• Khaled Hosseini Plans New Novel Next May (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)
• New Khaled Hosseini Novel Coming in May (themillions.com)

Book Review | ‘Cat’s Cradle’ by Kurt Vonnegut

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bokononism, cats cradle, dystopian, humour, kurt vonnegut, l ron hubbard, religion, science fiction, scientology

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.”

So you thought Scientology was wacky? Then you obviously haven’t read ‘Cat’s Cradle’. Forget Hubbards’ many layered, ‘brownie point’ rank system to reach the exalted state of ‘Xenu’; you need

‘Bokononism’. It’s not only completely rubbish and written by a mad man, but also insanely fun to implement. OK, I know it’s not ‘real’, but I really enjoyed the little sing-song calypso psalms that pepper the story every now and then.

‘Cat’s Cradle’ is, when all’s said and done, dystopian fiction. It looks at the delicate balance of the ecosystem, and how one crazy idea in the head of a crazy and very capable person can in effect, completely destroy life as we know it. Written in the first person, the story involves a writer obsessed with the scientist Hoenikker, the supposed ‘father’ of the atomic bomb and his attempts at writing a thesis around the day the bomb went off. During his research he gets to meet Hoenikkers weird and defective offspring, not to mention his work colleagues who give him insight into the frightening genius of the man.

What is evident is that a) Hoenikker’s scientific intelligence was off the scale, but b) had severe emotional lacks which means that c) he approached his work with all the curiosity of a child, but none of the responsibility of an adult. This revelation sends huge shock waves through our researcher, especially when he realises that the last project the good doctor was working on, was ‘Ice 9’; a sliver of which has the capacity to turn every water particle into ice. Some killing machine right? And where did the idea come from? A random crazy general from the American War Department who is constantly complaining how the Marines are fed up of working in all that mud all the time.

But the doctor died before it was ever realised, so we can breathe a sigh of relief, right? Right? No, we can’t. The nightmare scenario begins to unfold, as our poor researcher boards an airplane for the island of San Lorenzo which consequently will also be the very place where this strangest of Armageddon’s take place.

Dystopian fiction is usually quite depressing and grey, but Vonnegut changes all that. ‘Cat’s Cradle’ is in essence about a very upsetting scenario which despite all the light-hearted humour, still seems like it COULD happen in reality. But it is the humour that saves it from being just another ‘Brave New World’. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but makes very accurate observations about society and the ludicrous things we use science for. Vonnegut doesn’t beat you over the head with his message about weapons of mass destruction, but leaves a margin of seriousness within all the silliness for you to chew on.

This is an intellectual novel that is very easy to get into that also resonates deeply with current issues of climate change, war and destruction. Read this. You won’t regret it.

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Fanning The Flames of Hatred | ‘Burn-A-Koran-A-Day’

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9/11, book burning, christianity, islam, judaism, religion

Battle of the faiths. Pastor Terry Jones of Florida outside the ‘Dove World Outreach Centre’, setting a fine example for the rest of the world on religious respect and tolerance: by fighting fire with fire, quite literally. ‘Dove World’… O the irony!

Libricide or ‘book burning’  as it’s more commonly known; has existed for thousands of years. Today it has raised its’ ugly head yet again, as I woke  to the baffling news that Pastor Terry Jones from Florida was planning to burn copies of the Koran as his way of honouring September the eleventh. Inevitably, many Americans will be in mourning, but what the world should remember is that it’s not just Americans who mark this as a dark day for civilisation. The awful events that occurred resonated throughout the world and will never be forgotten by anyone, be they Christian, Jewish or Muslim.

Speaking from personal experience, the toppling of the towers was probably one of the most shocking events I’ve ever had to witness. The attack itself was labelled as an attack on America, Capitalism and Christianity. However, what I saw was something much worse than a sadistic blow to the West. I saw the deaths of thousands of innocent people from different races and religions. I saw men, women and children crushed under the immovable hatred of fanatic fundamentalism. I saw an unholy sacrifice. Many lambs unwillingly and unknowingly led to a gross slaughter ordained not by any God, but simply by the evil, vengeful will of man. I saw an attack on humanity and it grieves me no end to think that today is labelled as something that the West mourns about and the East boasts about. There is no East or West for terrorism on this scale. Not all muslims are guilty of what happened, not all of them are terrorists and the Koran is definitely not to blame. I wish that Pastor Jones could understand this and put an end to his twisted, selfish outlook on the whole situation. If he was a real man of religion, he would know that burning a holy book is sacrilege, and his reasoning just speaks volumes about his faith and respect for others.

Religious leaders preach peace and prosperity. Tolerance and mutual understanding is undoubtably the ‘keystone’ in the bridge towards uniting faiths. So I ask myself, ‘Where is the tolerance?’ What kind of Pastor is Terry Jones when he incites anger in fellow Christians and invites them to commit sin? Because book burning is a sin. It’s akin to renouncing the past. Renouncing the past means foregoing the well of knowledge that has come before you (for good or evil). To forsake your past means to condemn your future to uncertainty. Words and books are really all we have and it is our duty to protect these chronicles, even more so if the book is supposed to be a word of God.    

When I look at the three major faiths, I see their doctrines are closely intertwined; even their birthplace points to a single geographical spot. Some enlightened men of religion have even proclaimed that Jews and Muslims are in fact related through Abraham. For a man of ‘the book’, I find it hard to comprehend exactly what Pastor Jones is trying to prove or gain from burning the Koran. Just as 9/11 was a work of evil, this is also a work of great evil. Thankfully a lot of people know this, but if a heart is consumed with rage they are blind to reason (the same way a terrorist like Bin Laden was blind to the horror he created). At this moment, the dear Pastor is no better than his adversary.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam: The three ‘Abrahamic’ religions, inextricably linked to one another by ‘family likeness’ and history.

As a devoted reader, I take time to check things out myself rather than believe hearsay. This applies to religious texts too, where I discover that the things said border on slander. The key to being a ‘reader’ is to keep an open-mind and explore. The Koran, Torah and Bible are the most popular books of all time, making them open to all kinds of interpretation. Language barriers aside, the numerous translations of these texts have made them open to all kinds of flaws, often resulting in confusion. Consider this: the bible was written in Hebrew and Aramaic. One of those languages are now obsolete and the original form of the text is missing. The Koran is written in high Arabic which is difficult to understand, even for a scholar. The book is famous for its open-ended sentences, making translation very tricky indeed. However together with the Torah, it is one of the books most read in its original language.

Having read parts of all three books, my experience of them swayed between pure outrage to profound understanding. If nothing, they offered me a glimpse into way people lived before and after Christ. They are windows into the dark ages of mankind when a guiding light was desperately needed. I also learned that sometimes, it’s not what is written that matters, but what your mind wants to believe. If like the Al-Qaida, you take a concept like ‘Jihad’ and twist the words into your own version of religious prejudice, then the book becomes a mirror, glancing back the evil in your heart. In the end, the world is what we want it to be. History is our library and we write the chapters daily. Holy books provoke, challenge and make us think about the world around us. The actions we take are ultimately what define us. Nobody and nothing can command us to live in a certain way. The people who hide behind religion for their own personal gains are the ones doing the commanding. One such commander and infamous book-burner was the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang. 

The famous Terracota Army of First Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Incidentally he is also the most famous book-burner to date, ordering thousands of priceless historical manuscripts to be torched to ensure his people forget their past.

Qin Shi Huang, The Great Emperor of China  is renowned for uniting the feudal warlords unders one flag. To insure his success, he fought every clan to make sure that victory was his. This grand design was achieved after much blood-shed, and it could have been forgiven if not for one last thing he did. Huang’s biggest crime to date was not the murder of his own people, nor the raping and pillaging of the villages. The spilling of human blood is a terrible thing; but interestingly it was his destruction of historical documents that stands as his worst crime.

A lot of people wonder why Huang did such a thing. What was his motive? More importantly, what was he afraid of? The answer itself points to the genesis of book burning, he reason why it exists. In the psychology of a ruler there lies the realisation that conquering the present and the future is easy, but changing the past is impossible. Like Rameses II, who upon the prophecy of Moses ordered all Hebrew children to be killed, so Huang set about silencing his ancestors that had come before him. Both rulers acted out of fear for their empires, the former by killing children, the latter by destroying his past.

History shows us that book burning goes hand in hand with war. It’s just another way of wiping out a culture. Incidentally the burning of the Royal Library of Alexandria by Julius Caesar also coincided with war, as did the Nazi book burnings ordered by Hitler. In fact, wherever you look you will find three key ingredients; despotism, religious prejudice and war. The prejudice here is born from intentional misunderstanding by people like Pastor Jones who  pave the way to scenes like Iraq and Afghanistan where famine and blood-shed reign supreme.

Having touched on the issue of famine, I would like to end by saying that today is coincidentally also the first day of Eid which comes after the holy month of Ramadan. Eid is commonly known as the ‘sugar festival’. After a month of fasting, families come together to enjoy a big feast. Traditionally today is also known as the day for forgiving and forgetting. Family feuds, sibling rivalry, arguments and grudges are resolved. 

I hope people like the dear Pastor develop their Christian compassion in more useful ways instead of wasting their time in making fools of themselves. Two wrongs definitely do not make a right. My advice Pastor, read before you burn. You might find that Islam is not ‘the devils work’ after all. And don’t worry, reading another religion won’t convert you. It’s not contagious if that’s what you’re worried about! I wish there was a cure for ignorance…