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Books unfinished, roads untravelled

I might have some good books to offer here.

By Andrei Z.Published 11 months ago Updated 11 months ago 19 min read
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Books unfinished, roads untravelled
Photo by Gülfer ERGİN on Unsplash

Here I would like to give an account of my abandoned but not forgotten books, shelved and covered with layers of dust; the books I started reading but never managed to finish; the dust, mostly digital, it keeps accumulating on my hard drive, in my heart hive. What is the purpose of my emanations? Let’s assume that I’m pursuing the goal of cataloging and savoring all the knowledge I could have gained in due time, but haven’t. If you’d like, you can also refer to my writing below as to the confession of a confused man. When it comes to books and knowledge in general, I often find myself stranded amidst this boundless ocean. I want to know things. I want to understand things. It is important to separate knowing from understanding here. Being a walking encyclopedia of terabytes of data you cannot apply to real-world situations and problems is of no interest to me. Or maybe I’m lying to myself. It’s hard to imagine applying loads of fiction I've read to real-world problems. But on the other hand, I could argue with my last statement by introducing the following consideration: almost every story contains some experiences and lessons we can learn from. Even if it only brings a momentary smile to our faces—it counts!

The books I’m going to talk about in this impromptu essay of mine, at least for the most part, do not require the sort of understanding which would be necessary for delving into chemistry, physics, or any other specialized textbooks. Yet, I would say that many of them require a certain comprehension level to appreciate them. And looking ahead, I must admit that at the time, I wasn’t able to comprehend some of them. Maybe I will someday.

There’s a folder on my computer called Books to Read. Currently, it contains 37 items, 16 of which are successfully finished and moved to yet another folder-within-the-folder with the corresponding name. This leaves 21 more which, as of today, stay either at the stage of complete neglect from my side or are pending to be finished. In general, I prefer real, physical fragrant books over their binary encrypted siblings. Hardcovers, paperbacks—all is fine with me. But I don’t disregard the opportunities provided by LCD technology backed up by the Internet’s almost limitless resources. I open a certain website that was seized and blocked by the US Department of Justice not so long ago (now it’s back to life :&), and I type the book name in the search bar. And the next moment, I can enjoy ASCII-encoded texts. I will withhold from elaborating on the moral side of book pirating. Anyway, the majority of the authors I read (with some reservations) are dead, so I think they won’t complain much. Don’t get me wrong: I respect book publishers, and I respect intellectual property laws. I visit bookshops and buy real books with real money. Now, in my brand-new collection, which was born about 9 months ago when I moved countries, there are 6 books. And I visit libraries and borrow books and then return them back. But also, I download books from the Internet because they are available there, and it’s very convenient, and I don’t see it as a crime. I’d call it a world wide web library.

But it’s the topic for another discussion. I return to cataloging my unfinished books. I hope you’ll be able to find something interesting on this list. It’s quite diverse and includes fiction, books on history and philosophy, autobiographies, and popular science. I keep my specialized books separately and won’t bore anyone with them, at least for today. If memory serves me right, I started my collection back in 2020 or even in 2019. These books are somewhat special to me in a way that I can tell a small story related to each and every one of them (and that’s exactly what I am going to do very soon). Some of the books are in English, some in Russian, and a few in Belarusian. I’ve just counted their ratio so that I could be more specific in my report; so, 11 out of 21 are in English, the rest—in Russian and Belarusian. Below, of course, I will refer to their English names. Finally, I’m done with the intro. Let's talk books.

1. How to Travel with a Salmon & Other Essays by Umberto Eco

I discovered Eco for myself quite a long time ago. It all started when my dad brought a stack of books from school (where he worked and still works, and where I used to study) that were about to become a wastepaper. I think most of them were rubbish (yet it did not prevent me from reading them all), but there was one gem in this pile of rather mediocre and bad-smelling volumes [I don’t remember exactly which specific place my dad was able to extract the books from, but they had some particular and rather unpleasant stench emanating from them; so we had to wind-ventilate them outside for a while.]. The Name of the Rose read the front page. In the following years, I read some more of Eco's novels, including (but not limited to) Foucault's Pendulum and The Prague Cemetery.

They were the books that leave a long-standing wow effect. History, mysteries, facts, and fiction are all intertwined on the pages to yield some dazzling storylines of love, murders, conspiracies, paranoias, and so much more. Yet, these were the books not easy to digest. The pages came crashing down on my then-yet-underdeveloped-brain with the erudition of the man: actual historical figures and events, Kabballah, physics(!!)… Still, I really enjoyed all these creations of his. But at some point, I started to feel that his novels are quite similar to each other: they all revolve around some sophisticated tangled conspiracy and/or mystery. And I got tired. But then, one day, I realized that he has a lot of non-fiction essays, and I decided to return to his literary work.

That’s how How to Travel with a Salmon ended up on my digital shelf. It’s a pleasant and entertaining read seasoned with humor, satire, and true stories from Eco’s life.

Now my publisher is furious and thinks I’m a chronic freeloader. The salmon is inedible. My children insist I cut down on my drinking.

2. The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry

March 2020. Normal life with all those things we used to take for granted day after day is no more. At the moment, I was staying in Portugal for my exchange studies. Just a few weeks before, I had had a conversation with somebody, and they’d mentioned that Portugal was blessed and lucky to be washed by the salty mighty Atlantic Ocean and that hopefully, we would stay away from the COVID havoc growing all around Europe. Naïve! Around mid-March, we all ended up locked up in our dormitory, learning about new and new confirmed cases from the news. About then, my sister mentioned this book to me in one of our Skype conversations which she had heard about at her work. I got interested. Not because I didn’t have enough on my psychological plate from the everyday news feed but because I felt somewhat ashamed by the fact that I didn’t know anything about the 1918 influenza pandemic. Also, I felt indignant at our education system. Back at school, we learned about WWI, we learned about the goddmamn October Revolution and the subsequent formation of the USSR. But we were not told about the influenza pandemic. WWI's death toll is estimated to be around 20 million people, while the number of victims killed by the 1918 pandemic is about 50 million. There are so many pan-human and personal tragedies behind these cold numbers. But it is a part of our history, and we should know it. Did Spanish flu (this name actually is a misnomer) catalyze the end of the war? I bet it did. But so did the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Back then, people didn’t even know the true cause of the disease. For the first time, the influenza virus was isolated only in 1930. People were dying like flies without no means to fight it and no effective medicines or vaccines. Yet, for some time, they kept playing soldiers, fostering the spread of the virus.

Influenza virus was isolated only in 1930.

The Great Influenza gives a quite detailed record of the events of the time, mainly from the perspective of the American side though, as the narrative revolves around such historical figures as Henry Welch and Oswald Avery and such places as John Hopkins University and Rockefeller Institute. It definitely is an informative and instructive read. Although, I would also be interested in looking at the events from the European perspective.

3. The Manhattan Project: The Birth of the Atomic Bomb in the Words of Its Creators by Cynthia C. Kelly

I actually don’t remember how I got interested in this topic. Maybe, it started with my curiosity about Oppenheimer’s life. Nowadays, I guess, the majority of people who know the name would refer to him as the father of the atomic bomb and maybe comment on something like evil genius. But was there a human being behind this genius? Turns out there was. He was a teacher, a charmer, a leader with no lack of self-confidence (and some arrogance). Was he a genius? Yes. Was he responsible for the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the long years of cold war that followed? Yes. Alongside 130,000 scientists, engineers, and other workers involved in the Manhattan Project. Alongside the US military forces and government. If we take it further, alongside the Japanese government, who refused to submit to the terms of the Potsdam Declaration issued by the Allies after Germany had surrendered.

The book is a compilation of numerous memoirs, correspondences, and public speeches of different people involved in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos in one way or another.

4. Inventing Japan: 1853–1964 by Ian Buruma

I have a friend who is an all-Japanese fan, and I believe at some point, she somehow infected me with this, if not passion, then curiosity. I didn’t venture to dig deep. I focused on the 19–20 centuries. I was wondering: what served as a prerequisite for Japan to ally with Nazi Germany. What I found even more interesting and intriguing to learn about was the aftermath of WWII and the so-called Japanese economic miracle because while the ways of morality demise and self-destruction of humanity are definitely didactic, the ways of healing and rebirth are more than merely didactic, they are also inspiring. To my shame, to this day, I haven’t completely answered these questions I had asked myself. I read two or three chapters of the book and stopped somewhere at the turn of the twentieth century. Not because the book was poorly written, but it’s just that I am somewhat of a mess with a short attention span and too many questions in my head.

Overconfidence, fanaticism, a shrill sense of inferiority, and a sometimes obsessive preoccupation with national status—these have all played their parts in the history of modern Japan, as we shall see. But one quality has stood out to serve Japan better than any other: the grace to make the best of defeat.

5. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

So many times I bumped into different allusions to Frankenstein's monster that finally, this autumn, I decided to read the book and to meet the guy in person. Also, the timing was perfect for this acquaintance, as I just had moved to Geneva. Right away, I can say that I didn’t like the novel much. The main character of the book, Victor Frankenstein, struck me with his stupidity, which was close to imbecility; every decision he made throughout the pages I read was a perfect example of how not to behave. Naïve and unrealistic, these were the adjectives that came to my mind. The protagonist was supposed to cause readers' sympathy. He got none from me. But I must admit that in terms of the language and the storyline in general, Shelley did a great job. The sentences, the paragraphs, and the chapters were easy to read and follow, and the flow of the story was just fine. Frankenstein's monster was a wondrous creation of a wild (and unhealthy) imagination. The environs of Geneva were depicted in an attractive and I dare say geographically accurate way.

Only the protagonist made me really sick.

6. War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa

This book is a fictionalized narrative about the War of Canudos conflict in Brazil that took place in the late 19th century. The book brought the author his Nobel Prize in literature in 2010 and is one of the novels from my reading list of Noble Prize-winning authors. A fictionalized account of actual historical events is one of my favorite genres. The reason behind this, I think, is the fact that historical fiction introduces one to the real people and events that our world has seen and known and thus teaches one a great deal about our world, but yet it is not limited by the stringency and tediousness of scientifically accurate historical monographs. It was a rather difficult read for me. I did enjoy it, but it’s the kind of book that should be read steadily but leisurely. An excerpt of Brazilian history, so distant from my reality yet so touching and poignant.

7. Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov

I started my acquaintance with Nabokov's literary heritage by reading his Lolita. A story told from the perspective of the antagonist. Although, I’m not absolutely sure if this term applies well here. Does Humbert Humbert cause moral repugnance in reader? I bet he does. But he also, in some way, buys you off with his frankness. On the web, I came across the term “villainous protagonist.” Well, whatever. The fact is that Nabokov created a gem of literary art. I was rather surprised to learn that it was challenging for Nabokov to publish the novel. All the US publishers he approached kept rejecting him.

We would all go to jail if the thing were published.

Eventually, the book was published in 1955 (two years after it was finished) in Paris by Olympia Press, then notorious for essentially publishing pornography. In the US, it was published only three years later. I read Lolita in Russian about five years ago, and thereafter, I swallowed some of his other novels as well, also in Russian. But then once, I finally found enough courage/motivation/etc.etc. to read one of his books in English. Bend Sinister was the first novel he wrote in America. It’s a dystopian tale that chronicles a life of a fictional European city ruled by a fictitious dictatorial government. Well, I know some actual autocratic government seated in the geographical center of Europe right now. Hope they’ll rot in hell.

Some other thing that I really admire about Nabokov is his masterful proficiency in both Russian and English, which made him one of the few renowned and great bilingual authors of all time.

8. I speak for the Silent Prisoners of the Soviets by Vladimir V. Tchernavin

Here comes another Russian author. I happened upon this book when I was googling about The Gulag Archipelago (yet another book by a Russian author who got a Nobel prize in literature for his works). This book describes Tchernavin’s life in the 1920s–30s: his work in Murmansk as an expert in the fishing industry, incrimination in sabotage by Soviet authorities and subsequent arrest and concentration camp exile, and, finally, his escape from there. I had read a number of books and articles about Stalin’s regime of terror before. What struck me the most while reading this book was the obtuseness of Soviet officials with all their dogmas, tenets, and ideas. The way they operated was the way of literally everyone- and self-destruction, an entire lack of reason, and blatant ignorance (not talking here about heinous violence and inhumanity). And what terrifies me is that it so closely resembles the current situation in my home country. Time has stopped for us. It’s a freaking vicious cycle that we cannot break for centuries now.

9. Babylon Berlin by Volker Kutscher

Approximately the same time period: 20s–30s, but events described in this book unfold in Germany, and they are, if not totally, then largely fictitious. A rather typical crime novel, except for the historical stage on which the events described in the book take place. Actually, I first watched the eponymous Netflix series and only then learned that the show was based on the book. I really enjoyed the series. The location and the historical context are ideal for a spectacular thriller: Berlin, clashes between communists and social democrats, the Great Depression, and the rise of Nazism. All this makes the series not just fun but also somewhat educative to watch. After finishing the series, I tried to read the book; and I wasn’t impressed by it much. All in all, I agree with the below review on Goodreads.

10. Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

I was always wondering what Zarathustra was saying so important. Turns out it's loads of allegories and apologues. My apologies to Nietzsche, but to my taste, he mostly wrote some obvious truths and clichés in this book.

One must be a sea, to receive a polluted stream without becoming impure.

Good advice! But so what?

My relationships with philosophy are rather strained. During my bachelor studies, it was the only subject I was very close to failing during the exam. So, call my judgment subjective and narrow-minded, and you’ll be right.

Here is one more quote from Zarathustra I really loved:

There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy.

11. Critique of Pure Reason by Emanuel Kant

It was a mistake to open this book. I think my brain got irreversibly damaged that day. I am pretty sure it’s a remarkable book, well structured, and full of convincingly articulated points and arguments. But to my mind, this specimen of pure theoretical speculations about practical things should at least not occupy 700-something pages of readers' life. Eloquence or verbiage? For me, it felt like the latter.

12. The Witch by David Lindsay

Lindsay fell into my hands at the time when I was pretty sure that it was not possible to surprise me with any kind of literature anymore. I’ve seen things! I can distinguish between a well-written book and a mediocre one. I either enjoy a book or not. I either understand the author’s message or not. But then I received a Christmas/New Year gift from my friends, a paperback book reading A Voyage to Arcturus on its cover. And I was surprised by the time I finished it. It is something completely unique, a work of incredible imagination and depth of thought. Beautifully cruel, incomprehensibly engaging, and compelling. The language of Lindsay’s story is quite simple, maybe one can even say unremarkable, but the imagery he created is unearthly astounding. It is a philosophical work. It is a work of fiction. And I am not sure if I understood what Lindsay was trying to say in his book or what were his takeaway messages and morals. It’s something subject to different interpretations. But if you’re not much of an interpreter, you can just enjoy the vivid pictures his writing creates in your head.

A Voyage to Arcturus: An Illustration Gallery: https://fantasy.glasgow.ac.uk/index.php/2020/11/16/a-voyage-to-arcturus-an-illustration-gallery/

The Witch is another and the last (and unfinished) book written by the author. I didn't manage to peruse it at the time, but everything indicated that it's a deep and thought-provoking piece.

13. The Magpie on the Gallows by Alhierd Bacharevič

https://bruegel.vlaamsekunstcollectie.be/en/artwork/magpie-gallows

A book by my compatriot in exile. The book's name comes from the name of a painting by the Dutch artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. You won’t find it in the English translation, unfortunately. But there’s another book by Bacharevič translated into English, or, more precisely, into mixed English–Scots: Alindarka's Children. The book was longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize in 2021, and, well… take a look at the reviews on Goodreads.

14. The World of Yesterday: Memoires of a European by Stefan Zweig

My recent acquisition. I started reading it a few weeks ago and still am planning on finishing it. Time will show. This book was advised to me by a friend who is a passionate but inconsistent bookworm, just as I am.

Austro–Hungarian Empire, its Renascence and subsequent fall, WWI, temporary lull, WWII. So far, I have almost finished just the first two chapters, but what I’ve already noticed is that in his story Zweig sometimes contradicts himself. At first, he says that 19th-century Vienna was almost a paradise for intelligentsia—writers, poets, musicians, etc. But the next moment, he reflects on his gymnasium times and points out that the education system established in Austria back then was barren, lifeless, and, in a way, even oppressive. But then, our life is full of contradictions. In brief, this book is more than just a memoir; it’s a deeply humane account of mankind's life just before the deadly storm and, eventually, amid this cruel and dark—inhumane—tempest.

15. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbot

The last one. I haven’t started reading the book yet, but expect it to be quite fun. Quoting Wikipedia,

Written pseudonymously by "A Square", the book used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to comment on the hierarchy of Victorian culture, but the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions.

A screenshot from the book

That’s it for today! Obviously, I haven’t described all the books from my Books to Read folder, but talking about them won’t help me read them (I have finally realized this simple fact!).

Now, I feel tired of writing. And also tired of reading what I’ve written.

Sometimes I think: is reading any good at all? There’s a whole world of opportunities out there. Every minute we waste reading a book, we could have spent exploring the real physical world with green grass, blue seas, impudent seagulls, and so much more.

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P.S. Sorry for my vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation typos. Enjoy!

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About the Creator

Andrei Z.

Overthinker.

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Nice work

Very well written. Keep up the good work!

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  • Kendall Defoe 10 months ago

    I have a few here on my shelves. And "Foucault's Pendulum" is not difficult to read. It just has no real focus to it. I gave up on Golding after "Pincher Martin" and "Free Fall", and the Nabokov who wrote "Lolita" is enough for me. Nietzsche is a force to respect, and "Flatland" does not seem much of a challenge. But you have given me a lot to consider!

  • L.C. Schäfer11 months ago

    Why would you say Shelley's imagination was unhealthy? The questions she poses in Frankenstein are things many people throughout the ages have wondered about. I'd argue it's part of the human condition. The book is widely considered to be the first science fiction novel. Do you consider all sci-fi writers to have an unhealthy imagination, or just her? 🤔 Time spent reading is never wasted. If you want to write (well) you have to read.

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