book review

Author du Jour: Malin Persson Giolito

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GiolitoPersson_Quicksand-small“Quick Sand” by Malin Persson Giolito

(trans. Rachel Willson-Broyles, Other Press, pp 432, $26.95)

Kudos to Other Press for publishing this Nordic wonder. “Quick Sand” has been bestsellers in more than 20 countries, mainly the old continent, and despite its success, it was shocking to see that no US publisher would rush to snatch up the US rights. “Quick Sand” is Persson Giolito‘s fourth crime novel. The story takes its cue from a mass killing, such as the one which took place in Norway in 2011 . . . Its main protagonist, the 18-year old, Maja Norberg, is a popular student who survives a school rampage. Set as a flashback, prior to the gory event, the plot trails Maja’s past to find out whether she participated in the mass murdering. She has been accused, being the only one to survive, and waits in jail for her trial.

This alone would not have been enough to get this book included in this month column. But Persson Giolito’s craft takes us on a psychological ride, where perhaps the narrator of the story is not as reliable as first thought. She met a questionable character, Sebastian Fagerman, prior to the massacre. Little by little, we can hear the cogs of her internal life flicker with strange sounds. As she is swept off her feet, alienating everyone in her immediate circle, we ponder if her outcries are not simply screams for help . . . that everyone missed.  Then do we want her to be guilty? Do we want her to be innocent? Or do we simply want to be passers-by entertained by her story? . . .  You will have to listen to yourself very careful as you read this unnerving book.  You do not want to be missing something.

Author du Jour: Jesse Jarnow

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Heads-Jarlow-cover-small“Heads,” by Jesse Jarnow

(Da Capo Press, pp 468, $27.99)

If you are a fan of books dealing with the history of salt, timber or something more exotic like sex, you will delight in “Heads,” a book about psychedelics. Though the term has now gained multiple definitions, notably in relation to music and culture, the psychedelics refer to here belong to drugs, yes narcotics. A well-time book, given the massive popular wave to legalize Marijuana. However, you will find no bell chiming in favor of psych drugs.

In this well-documented spiraling history of how these drugs transformed our present culture, Jesse Jarnow offers a fresh outlook. While we can talk about peyote and other forms of LSD derivatives, it is impossible to understand the meaning of Psychedelic without going back to the 60’s, starting first as a counter-culture on the eve of the Vietnam War and the Civil Right Movements. Thinking Huxley having a bad trip in “Doors of Perception,” or Leary’s promoting drugs in Harvard, via Richard Alpert, aka Ram Dass, experiencing a spiritual awakening, would confine the movement to known anecdotes.

Jesse Jarnow has dug deep into the roots of Psychedelia. For a generation, which perceived itself as living in a repressive society, music became the catalyst of a cultural revolution, the bedfellow able to unleash repressed psychological emotions. If Grateful Dead means anything to you, I will set you on course, as you may wonder what “New Age practices, hacktivism, yoga, natural childbirth, Burning Man, Central Park graffiti, with artist like Bilrock and the late Keith Haring, and the internet, have in common. The answer may surprise you.

Author du Jour: Diane Shainberg

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ChasingElephants-Cover-small-10-09-10 “Chasing Elephants, ” by Diane Shainberg

(Book Case Engine, P 190, $4.99)

Fifteen years have elapsed since the first publication of “Chasing Elephants.” With insight, it is always easy to see the remarkable achievement of overlooked if not often the consistent neglect and plight of before-their-time books. It is a delight to see this book reprinted today, not so much to bring justice to a groundbreaking work but also to disseminate the importance of Diane Shainberg‘s ideas.

What are those precursory ideas? Fifteen years is not a long time and, yet it is a good benchmark to be able to accept, dismiss, or follow the evolution and impact of one lifework. Given the demonstrated climate, economic, and humanitarian crisis already unraveling at our doorsteps, the work appears properly time to exercise its wisdom. More than ever a new global consciousness is needed if we want to avoid, once again, catastrophic decisions and outcome, based on outdated models. We must think in terms of totality, implying that it is paramount that we create a new global awareness and consciousness. We must write the integral trends for the future, the complex nexus of interrelatedness, cross-fields and pluri or multi-disciplines. The elaboration of this new consciousness however starts with each of us. Before going global, we must not only think local but learn to develop this awareness ourselves, on our own. No one but our self is responsible, and no one can bypass this work. No shortcut exists. After the work is done, the multiplicity of our new single consciousness will create the totality the world needs. An ambitious program from which we cannot turn a blind eye.

While “Chasing Elephants” does not aspire to such a broad scope, Shainberg‘s writing clearly points into this direction. It advocates for the first step necessary for personal healing, a crucial step if we want to contribute to the new consciousness without reliving or reenacting the wounds of the past in complete blindness, falling back into our personal trenches. The Elephants only stay in the room as long as we need them. Once we see them, they are no longer needed and take a leave of absence.  This is the inspiring journey Diane Shainberg takes us on.  With heart-wrenching anecdotes, case-studies, first-row testimonies, without shying away from her own struggles and suffering, she ushers us on the road to freedom and peace. Without forgetting that along the way, during her long journey into the world of Buddhist, she reminds us that compassion stands as our best companion.

Author du Jour: Jennifer Noonan

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No-Map-to-This-Country-small“No Map to this Country” by Jennifer Noonan.

(Da Capo/Life Long Books, p 316, $19.99)

This book is about the “A-Word.” A could stand for Atomic, since explosion is implied, but in this case it is about autism. Autism is a trend that keeps on gaining momentum, and its label, once inflicted on a child, reverberates as a social suicide for families. The merit of Jennifer Noonan’s journey is precisely to expose the daily struggle families with autistic children must live through, bringing her resourceful personality to the front.

When her son was diagnosed, like most parents, she found herself entering a world, she was unprepared for, a world laden with misinformation and guidance. Her struggle was not to investigate the whys but rather to locate the unique abilities and challenges of her child to change his plight.

“No Map to this Country,” captures the initial sense of despair watching her child scream and spin, while feeling powerless to help, to her decision to put a stop to it. Gathering her own information, leading an endless crusade, she tackles the world of dietary, immunology, and metabolic research, and so to unveil a treatment fit for her son. She began experimenting with alternative diets, supposed to be beneficial to autistic children. I will not reveal whether she succeeded, but her journey allowed her to sound her limitations. With stark frankness and uncanny humor, Noonan narrates how through a six-year ordeal and with determination, she managed to rescue her own family from implosion. Autism not only impacts children but families above all.

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