The American dream is quite a bit more complicated than the stories you hear. The book American Pastoral written by Philip Roth is an example of the inevitable dysfunction of trying to achieve this mythic concept. Roth, who is Jewish, tells the tale of a paradise lost for the protagonist, Swede Levov, whose hopes for an idyllic life are shattered by a bomb planted by his daughter Merry that killed an innocent doctor. I found this book to have extreme characters and a plot that tried too hard to represent American culture. Overall, I didn’t really find like this book that appealing and I would not recommend anyone to read it.
The plot was very much like an onion; you peel through layer after layer and find no significant substance in the middle. This book does a great deal of character development and the story follows the rise and fall of Swede Levov. Swede tends to follow a predetermined path of success by inheriting the family glove making business and achieves a good deal of initial success. He was a popular All-American kid that grew up in New Jersey and tried to pursue his version of the American dream. He was known for his placid demeanor and his friendly people skills. He was the paragon of moderation and a person who always lived up to his responsibilities.
In his life, he only challenged his family by marrying a genteel beauty queen who gives birth to his daughter Merry. He sets up a life for his family that is a caricature of perfection; he has wealth and status from running a profitable business and he couple’s this with the tranquility of being able to live on a farm. His life is the fusion of small-town America with a more benign version of capitalist America. All in all, he coasts through life by solving all problems and never has to deal with the nastier side of living. That is, until his daughter Merry becomes a radical anti-war activist and bombs a post-office in protest against the war in Vietnam. From this point on, his American dream collapses as Merry runs away. He tries desperately to get in touch with her, but his semblance of normality, of coasting through life without problems, his American dream, has been completely shattered. The veneer is destroyed and when he meets his daughter many years later, he is exposed to the dark-side of America; a land full of exploitation and greed that has basically crushed his daughter. His marriage falls apart and he does, as we find out early on the book, try to recreate some semblance of normalcy through a second marriage; however, his first marriage—which is the period in his life that is primarily discussed in this book—is exposed as hollow and that shit happens even to the people who follow all of the rules and societies norms.
The biggest problem I found with this book was that Roth tried to make the story too stereotypical of American culture and made his characters too extreme and well beyond the realm of believability. While it is true that all human beings are incredibly complex and it’s true that bad things happen can happen to good people, I found his presentation of these themes to be rather hyperbolic and unbelievable. All in all, I did not find this book to be that impressive, nor do I think that this book was really worth reading.
-Nausherwan Hafeez, 8-25-09
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
[Book Review] Islam: The Natural Way
Islam is meant to be the golden mean between all extremes. The central argument of Islam: The Natural Way by Abdul Hamid Wahid is to emphasize this point and explain a step-by-step way how Islam is the natural way for all of creation. This book, in general, is good at illustrating all of the basic beliefs in Islam in a very straightforward and easy way. I found the biggest weakness in this book to actually be the first chapter and there were a number of ideas in his book that weren’t explained as much as they should have been, and some concepts also need some more précising. Still, this book is a good way to find out about the basic beliefs in Islam, famous Sunnah and Hadiths, and particularly relevant quotations from the Qu’ran.
To begin with, this book starts on a very shaky foundation. The entire first chapter is aimed at disproving alternative viewpoints, the nature of and the belief in the existence of God, and the roots of Islam. The chapter does a very poor job of countering alternative worldviews and this section should be ignored. In terms of proving the existence of God, the author quickly comes to the conclusion that there is a God, but his reasoning has many holes in it. However, this books goal is not to explain alternative world viewpoints or discuss the more philosophical nuances in relation to the existence of God, but to explain to the reader what the fundamentals of Islam are about. Consequently, this chapter should be taken with a grain of salt, as the rest of the book focuses on Islam.
The second chapter is entitled “You and Your Condition” and gives an excellent discussion on the responsibilities, activities, and learning of man. The chapter quotes the Quranic verse that says, “On no soul does God place a greater burden than it can bear” (2:286, p. 37). This chapter argues that all men face different challenges and everyone has a variety of responsibilities; it is how we tackle these issues that determine whether or not we are successful in this life. This means that the individual should seek useful knowledge—and, of course, Islamic knowledge is sad to be obligatory—and live a balanced life. Everything is supposed to be done in moderation, and we all must be mindful of our sleep, exercise, cleanliness, fasting and personal issues. The emphasis in this chapter, along with the other chapters in this book, is how Islam is a rational path that leads all creatures to harmony.
The next couple of chapters discuss the individual in relation to their livelihood, family, neighborhood, community, and the universal Ummah.
One is supposed to make a livelihood that benefits oneself and is beneficial to the society. In Islam the dualistic concept of fard ‘ayn—duties obligatory on an individual such as prayers—and fard kifaayah—duties obligatory on the whole community—work in concert so that the individual has personal self-worth and is worthwhile to the community. So, for example, it would be a fard kifaayah for Muslim communities in the West to produce individuals in areas where there is a lack of Muslim representation in such as journalism, academia, and politics.
By earning a good livelihood, one is able to support a healthy family. The nuclear family—which is still emphasized in Western cultures—is critical for the process of tarbiyyah, that is the nurturing of the child. But, Islam also puts an emphasis on respect and relationships in the extended family, thereby broadening the social base of the religion. The basic unit of the family is marriage between a man and a woman. The author argues that,
As for the neighborhood, community, and universal Ummah, Islam teaches that you should be involved at all of these levels. It is said that you should not go to bed if your neighbor is hungry. Working within the community helps to foster natural social ties that bind everyone together. All of us are tied to the universal Ummah, as Muslims believe that no race is superior to any other, and that all people are brothers and sisters in Islam. This is why 25% of the worlds Muslims are Arabs and the largest Muslim country in the world is Indonesia. Islam in America exemplifies this fact, as it is the most ethnically diverse religious community in America. The true egalitarian nature of Islam can be seen in Mosques all across America where immigrant Pakistani’s can be seen praying next to indigenous African Americans and White Americans. It truly is the content of one’s character, not the color of their skin really matters.
The rest of the book discusses relationships with other faiths, global issues, and life after death. Islam argues that there is no compulsion in religion, and while Islam is said to be the universal religion for all mankind, people have the free will to believe what they desire to believe. Islamically it is believed at birth, we are all Muslims—i.e. creatures that submit to the will of God—and that through our varied circumstances, we are shaped into Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists or nonbelievers. Islam is meant to be a natural way to live a harmonious life and to prepare ourselves for the life after death. The gathering on Mount Arafat during the Hajj is meant to be a microcosm of mankind on the Day of resurrection, with billions of people hoping for salvation and eternal bliss.
All in all, I thought this was a good introductory book for the basics on Islam. Other good introductory books would be Islam: A Short History by Karen Armstrong and Muhammad: The Life of the Prophet by Martin Linges. The former gives a succinct overview of Islamic history and the later tells the story of Muhammad (pbuh) and his life. It is my personal belief that Islam is indeed the natural way and does a good job balancing individual concerns with concerns for the wider community.
-Nausherwan Hafeez, 5-24-09
To begin with, this book starts on a very shaky foundation. The entire first chapter is aimed at disproving alternative viewpoints, the nature of and the belief in the existence of God, and the roots of Islam. The chapter does a very poor job of countering alternative worldviews and this section should be ignored. In terms of proving the existence of God, the author quickly comes to the conclusion that there is a God, but his reasoning has many holes in it. However, this books goal is not to explain alternative world viewpoints or discuss the more philosophical nuances in relation to the existence of God, but to explain to the reader what the fundamentals of Islam are about. Consequently, this chapter should be taken with a grain of salt, as the rest of the book focuses on Islam.
The second chapter is entitled “You and Your Condition” and gives an excellent discussion on the responsibilities, activities, and learning of man. The chapter quotes the Quranic verse that says, “On no soul does God place a greater burden than it can bear” (2:286, p. 37). This chapter argues that all men face different challenges and everyone has a variety of responsibilities; it is how we tackle these issues that determine whether or not we are successful in this life. This means that the individual should seek useful knowledge—and, of course, Islamic knowledge is sad to be obligatory—and live a balanced life. Everything is supposed to be done in moderation, and we all must be mindful of our sleep, exercise, cleanliness, fasting and personal issues. The emphasis in this chapter, along with the other chapters in this book, is how Islam is a rational path that leads all creatures to harmony.
The next couple of chapters discuss the individual in relation to their livelihood, family, neighborhood, community, and the universal Ummah.
One is supposed to make a livelihood that benefits oneself and is beneficial to the society. In Islam the dualistic concept of fard ‘ayn—duties obligatory on an individual such as prayers—and fard kifaayah—duties obligatory on the whole community—work in concert so that the individual has personal self-worth and is worthwhile to the community. So, for example, it would be a fard kifaayah for Muslim communities in the West to produce individuals in areas where there is a lack of Muslim representation in such as journalism, academia, and politics.
By earning a good livelihood, one is able to support a healthy family. The nuclear family—which is still emphasized in Western cultures—is critical for the process of tarbiyyah, that is the nurturing of the child. But, Islam also puts an emphasis on respect and relationships in the extended family, thereby broadening the social base of the religion. The basic unit of the family is marriage between a man and a woman. The author argues that,
“So far as the interaction between society, morality, and sex is concerned, there are four choice apparently open to any society:He goes on to argue that an entirely homosexual society would mean the death of our species. An entirely promiscuous society is thought by some to be the best, but he argues:
1. an entirely homosexual society;
2. an entirely promiscuous society;
3. a society in which no sexual relations exist except between husband and wife;
4. a laissez-faire society in which all the above forms are tolerated.” (p. 116)
“ In such a society, it is imagined that everyone will have complete freedom to choose whoever he like at whatever time he prefers. With such freedom will come the deepest enjoyment as well as the reproduction of the species.So he argues that the most natural state for a society is in which sex is regulated between the husband and the wife. In this sort of relationship, sex is actually encouraged by Islam, and sex is an act that is rewarded by God. He goes on to say:
The reality will be different and there will be horrendous difficulties. People will become obsessed with sex. Strange as it may seem, sexual deprivation will be a major problem. Incest and deviant behavior will be common as it is in many societies that are promiscuous. Sexually transmitted diseases will spread.
The effects of all of this on human values and behavior are incalculable. Overall, it will have a degrading effect on sex itself and on human relationships. Sex will not be seen in the context of a whole, loving relationship, but will become an end in iteslef and in the process destroy respect, love, care and responsibility in human relationships.” (p. 117)
“When you intend to have sexual intercourse with your wife, the noble Prophet advised that you should court her and approach her in a gentle manner, not in a rough way as animals do. And when you have satisfied yourself, you should wait until she is also satisfied.” (p. 122)So sex is encouraged in Islam and leads to happiness for a married couple. This happiness can then be also employed and used to support the family.
As for the neighborhood, community, and universal Ummah, Islam teaches that you should be involved at all of these levels. It is said that you should not go to bed if your neighbor is hungry. Working within the community helps to foster natural social ties that bind everyone together. All of us are tied to the universal Ummah, as Muslims believe that no race is superior to any other, and that all people are brothers and sisters in Islam. This is why 25% of the worlds Muslims are Arabs and the largest Muslim country in the world is Indonesia. Islam in America exemplifies this fact, as it is the most ethnically diverse religious community in America. The true egalitarian nature of Islam can be seen in Mosques all across America where immigrant Pakistani’s can be seen praying next to indigenous African Americans and White Americans. It truly is the content of one’s character, not the color of their skin really matters.
The rest of the book discusses relationships with other faiths, global issues, and life after death. Islam argues that there is no compulsion in religion, and while Islam is said to be the universal religion for all mankind, people have the free will to believe what they desire to believe. Islamically it is believed at birth, we are all Muslims—i.e. creatures that submit to the will of God—and that through our varied circumstances, we are shaped into Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists or nonbelievers. Islam is meant to be a natural way to live a harmonious life and to prepare ourselves for the life after death. The gathering on Mount Arafat during the Hajj is meant to be a microcosm of mankind on the Day of resurrection, with billions of people hoping for salvation and eternal bliss.
All in all, I thought this was a good introductory book for the basics on Islam. Other good introductory books would be Islam: A Short History by Karen Armstrong and Muhammad: The Life of the Prophet by Martin Linges. The former gives a succinct overview of Islamic history and the later tells the story of Muhammad (pbuh) and his life. It is my personal belief that Islam is indeed the natural way and does a good job balancing individual concerns with concerns for the wider community.
-Nausherwan Hafeez, 5-24-09
Saturday, May 02, 2009
[Book Review] Of Love and Other Demons
Love ends tragically. That is the essential point of Gabrial Garcia Marquez’s Of Love and Other Demons. This is only the second book I’ve read of his, the first being Chronicle of a Death Foretold which I read back in high school. I’ve always heard good things about his major two works, One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera, and I had high expectations for this book. While I was not disappointed; however, at times, it was difficult read, as it was written in non-stop linear form. The book reminded me of the some of the other Latin American writers I’ve read in times past; in particular, I thought back to Isabel Allende’s House of Spirits and Juan Rulfo’s Pedro Paramo. As the book was a short, quick read, I would recommend it to those interested in the harsher aspects of love, as illustrated through the world of magical realism that Marquez harrowingly paints.
Each character in this novel experiences the burning flames of love, only to have loved destroyed for one reason or another. The protagonist of this piece was Sierva Maria, the daughter of the Marquis and Bernarda. The Marquis had once fallen madly in love with a woman in an insane asylum, but was forbidden from marrying her by a strict father who wanted him to maintain his noble heritage. Consequently the Marquis entered into a loveless arranged—but never consummated—marriage that ended tragically with the death of his wife by a lightning strike, said to caused by the insane woman who he had initially fallen in love with. After the death of his wife, the insane woman wanted to marry him, but he had sworn to himself that he would never marry again. However, a cruel and manipulative commoner forced herself upon the Marquis, stole his virginity and made him marry her, since she had conceived a child allegedly thought to be his. This loveless marriage was a sham and his wife, Bernarda, gave birth to their daughter Sierva Maria. Bernarda herself was inclined towards a hedonistic lifestyle, but fell madly in love with a man she met in the streets. That man was eventually killed and Bernarda, with a broken heart, fell in a downward spiral without her lover until she became a corpulent shell of woman who eventually isolated herself in preparation for her inevitable death from excess.
Then there is the story of Sierva Maria. She was the child of an unhappy couple who ignored her and she was raised amongst the African slaves. Eventually after being attacked by a rabid dog, she was committed to a convent because the Marquis feared she had rabies. She, of course, did not have rabies, but that didn’t stop the church from thinking she was possessed by the devil. This notion was reinforced by the fact that she spoke multiple African languages and was more comfortable with the African slaves than the Hispanics. Eventually she was put in the care of a pedantic 36-year old priest, Cayetano Dealaura. He was supposed to be in charge of her exorcism but instead fell madly in love with the twelve-year old Sierva Maria. The priest, who had spent his entire lifetime accumulating a vast knowledge through both religious and secular books, had never known the pleasures of the flesh. After confessing his carnal desires to the Bishop, Dealaura was stripped of rank and title and put to work in an isolated leper hospital. In spite of this, Dealaura would sneak into Sierva Maria’s cell every night to talk to her and enjoy furtive kisses. Eventually, as with every other love-story in this book, his love affair ends tragically.
All the while, the sole logical—albeit heartless—figure in this book was the Portuguese Atheist Jewish doctor Abrenucio. He represented the realist in the book, who had read widely, particularly in “heritical” (i.e. books banned by the Catholic Church) books and believed in science and reason. He believed that this existence was the end all be all of existence and commented that, “… love was an emotion contra natura that condemned two strangers to a base and unhealthy dependence, and the more intense it was, the more ephemeral.” Well that’s one way to look at things, that is, if the glass is half-empty I suppose.
This book was enjoyable but a rather bleak, if perhaps honest account, of love in this world. Garcia’s writing screams of heartbreak and the un-fulfillment of love. It was a sad reflection on the agonizing aspects of love. Love can be so passionate, so fierce, and yet be as transitory as the passing wind. I believe that one must seize love, however and whenever it finds you, and enjoy it for as long as it lasts. Love long, love deeply, and love the one you’re with, because who knows what tomorrow will bring.
-Nausherwan Hafeez, 5-2-09
Each character in this novel experiences the burning flames of love, only to have loved destroyed for one reason or another. The protagonist of this piece was Sierva Maria, the daughter of the Marquis and Bernarda. The Marquis had once fallen madly in love with a woman in an insane asylum, but was forbidden from marrying her by a strict father who wanted him to maintain his noble heritage. Consequently the Marquis entered into a loveless arranged—but never consummated—marriage that ended tragically with the death of his wife by a lightning strike, said to caused by the insane woman who he had initially fallen in love with. After the death of his wife, the insane woman wanted to marry him, but he had sworn to himself that he would never marry again. However, a cruel and manipulative commoner forced herself upon the Marquis, stole his virginity and made him marry her, since she had conceived a child allegedly thought to be his. This loveless marriage was a sham and his wife, Bernarda, gave birth to their daughter Sierva Maria. Bernarda herself was inclined towards a hedonistic lifestyle, but fell madly in love with a man she met in the streets. That man was eventually killed and Bernarda, with a broken heart, fell in a downward spiral without her lover until she became a corpulent shell of woman who eventually isolated herself in preparation for her inevitable death from excess.
Then there is the story of Sierva Maria. She was the child of an unhappy couple who ignored her and she was raised amongst the African slaves. Eventually after being attacked by a rabid dog, she was committed to a convent because the Marquis feared she had rabies. She, of course, did not have rabies, but that didn’t stop the church from thinking she was possessed by the devil. This notion was reinforced by the fact that she spoke multiple African languages and was more comfortable with the African slaves than the Hispanics. Eventually she was put in the care of a pedantic 36-year old priest, Cayetano Dealaura. He was supposed to be in charge of her exorcism but instead fell madly in love with the twelve-year old Sierva Maria. The priest, who had spent his entire lifetime accumulating a vast knowledge through both religious and secular books, had never known the pleasures of the flesh. After confessing his carnal desires to the Bishop, Dealaura was stripped of rank and title and put to work in an isolated leper hospital. In spite of this, Dealaura would sneak into Sierva Maria’s cell every night to talk to her and enjoy furtive kisses. Eventually, as with every other love-story in this book, his love affair ends tragically.
All the while, the sole logical—albeit heartless—figure in this book was the Portuguese Atheist Jewish doctor Abrenucio. He represented the realist in the book, who had read widely, particularly in “heritical” (i.e. books banned by the Catholic Church) books and believed in science and reason. He believed that this existence was the end all be all of existence and commented that, “… love was an emotion contra natura that condemned two strangers to a base and unhealthy dependence, and the more intense it was, the more ephemeral.” Well that’s one way to look at things, that is, if the glass is half-empty I suppose.
This book was enjoyable but a rather bleak, if perhaps honest account, of love in this world. Garcia’s writing screams of heartbreak and the un-fulfillment of love. It was a sad reflection on the agonizing aspects of love. Love can be so passionate, so fierce, and yet be as transitory as the passing wind. I believe that one must seize love, however and whenever it finds you, and enjoy it for as long as it lasts. Love long, love deeply, and love the one you’re with, because who knows what tomorrow will bring.
-Nausherwan Hafeez, 5-2-09
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