Rashmi bookmarks “A Fall of Moondust”

Well. This was new. This novel by Arthur C. Clarke is about one of the popular tourist attractions on the Moon: a cruise across Sea of Thirst, a lunar sea filled with an extremely fine dust, which almost flows like water. A Fall of Moondust follows the ill-fated Selene, which becomes victim to a moonquake and is trapped underneath the moon's surface.

I found this book very different from the normal Clarke fare in its concentration on the element of human drama as the 22 passengers aboard the cruise ship struggle to stay alive. As they engage in a variety of activities from poker sessions to book readings to mock court cases, the story progressively brings out such a rich display of characters. From Mr. Harding's innocent questions that strike a deep nerve of anger and regret in Myra Schuster, to Radley's final "confession"; from the rescue operations of the brilliant Chief Engineer Lawrence, to Father Vincent Ferraro, who believes in man and god, to astronomer Dr. Thomas Lawson who believes in neither, this was a very well crafted portrait of human nature.

Of course this angle also had its negative side. Every time the melodrama of Captain Pat Harris and his chief stewardess Sue Wilkins (are they together or are they not?) reared its boring head, I tended to skip a few lines.

What was also really interesting about this story was its detailed attention to actual facts; Wikipedia tells me it is called "hard science fiction" (as opposed to soft sci fi). While there was no limit to the imagination as far as the setting was concerned, the storytelling did not cross the limit of scientific possibility. That peculiar feature of the sand which results in Selene's sinking without a trace, in blocking all attempts at communication with the outside world, as well as in creating a blanket that generates life draining heat … a rescue mission plan that includes drilling a hole into the ship and has drastic results including dangerous cave-ins, fires and  CO2 poisoning … the situation was fantastic, the solutions were real.

This was a very interesting read; although to be very honest, I can get good drama from other sources, but the kind of untouched sci fi genius that Clarke has, I can't - and I missed that in this book.

Rashmi bookmarks “Fortunately, the milk”

Once upon a time, the mother of this family had to go out of town on a business meeting. She left some ‘to do’ notes and lots of food in the fridge. Oh and they were out of milk, so she asked the father to get some. Come next morning, and as the children sat down to their breakfast, they realized that their best option might be to have cereal with orange juice. Dad dashes off to the store and comes back with the milk … much, much, much … later.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. You see, between the store and the home, he got swept away on an incredible adventure that had everything from an alien abduction, to a meeting with the Queen of Pirates, to a ride on a hot air balloon (I mean, a “Floaty-Ball-Person-Carrier”) operated by a stegosaurus, and a Time-defying meeting with an ancient people following the prophecy of the eye of Splod. (I have to say, the time travel forward to the distant future was awesome; the time travel to a few minutes in the past to announce the ‘prophecy’ that they were to fulfill in the near future, was hilarious!)

Adding a dash of magic to the already extraordinary world of Neil Gaiman are illustrations by Skottie Young, who really manages to capture the wonder of storytelling so perfectly.

As always, a thoroughly enjoyable read. Gaiman continues to fascinate me :)

Rashmi bookmarks “The Broken Ones”

Stephen M. Irwin tells the story of one Wednesday, September 10, when the Earth’s polarity switched, causing planes to drop out of the sky, communication satellites to go bust and the world’s economy to crash and burn. ‘Grey Wednesday’ also marked the day every human being got a personal and constant companion - a ghost.

What a unique concept.

And what a way to waste a good concept.

Not that I disliked the book - there were some really good parts throughout - what was really disappointing was how a good idea slid into a mediocre story, because the writer did not take any arc to its natural conclusion and presented a story that belonged to no genre at all, with no payoff whatsoever.

Detective Oscar Mariani and Neve de Rossa represent the Personal Sightings Act or Nine-Ten Act (named so after September 10), a newly created department to manage all criminal activity borne of the claim, “the ghost made me do it”. As they get called in to investigate murders, each new crime forms a new link in an old chain of murder and mystery.

The greatest issue with the storytelling was its pace - fast and exciting at times, but lagging so dreadfully at others, that interest often waned.

The other problem I had with this story was the fact that the author seemed undecided about what kind of story he wanted to write. Irwin starts off with science fiction and creates a post apocalyptic world, full of filth and litter and the smell of sex everywhere, with junkies and panhandlers and children younger than eight years old hooking. Abruptly he shifts gears and goes into full blown horror mode, replete with gory murders including cigarette burns and images carved on bodies to intimate parts brutally carved out and victims thrown into industrial motor fans. Then he decides to go into the crime and mystery genre - and actually does create an interesting angle, especially in the slow reveal of links that existed between seemingly random people such as Penelope Roth and Megan McAuliffe. Then, quite out of the blue, the story enters fantasy mode with some giant bird chasing the detective (a section that was probably the sketchiest of the lot).

About two-thirds into the book there is a mention of Grey Wednesday and for a moment I was trying to recollect where I had heard that term before … I had actually forgotten all about it. At the end, I was left feeling like this was an average story with great potential, nothing more, nothing less.

Rashmi bookmarks “The City and the Stars”

One billion years in the future. Earth so old that it only has desert land and one city, Diaspar. Run by the Central Computer, this enclosed city is made up of people put together in the Hall of Creation. And a replica of the entire city is saved in the Council Hall, so that changes can be made and the city modified as needed.

A rewrite of his first novella, Against the Fall of Night, The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke is the story of a time when humanity, just like a couch or a house or a city, is created - its memories deleted or saved in the Memory Banks for all of eternity. Into this world, where everyone is a recycled creation, Alvin is born. This is the story of the quest of the first child to be born on earth for at least 10 million years.

As always, Clarke presents ideas that have never been explored before. What also emerges in this tale about history’s greatest scientific achievement: the creation of an incorporeal intellect is the question of Religion. What happened to the Galactic Empire at the end of the Dawn Ages? What really happened at Shalmirane? … As Alvin and his companion Hilvar journey together beyond the stars and start to uncover bits of history, the true story of the Religion of the Great Ones, led by the Master, unravels and subsequently uncovers the disastrous results of imposing limitations on something as limitless as the human mind.

I have to say I was a little disappointed by Alvin’s final decision, especially given the fantastic story that Vanamonde revealed, incomplete though it may have been. Still, here is yet another foray into that limitless Space that surrounds us all; a foray that only Arthur C. Clarke can effortlessly and convincingly make.

Rashmi bookmarks “Double Indemnity”

This roman noir novella by James M. Cain has been one of the more fast-paced, slick and beautifully choreographed stories I have had the breathless pleasure of reading.

“I had killed a man, for money and a woman. I didn’t have the money and I didn’t have the woman.”

Insurance agent Walter Huff has been in this dubious business for so long, he admits to have stopped caring. That sad truth is the partial reason behind the gruesome events that follow. Of course, charming femme fatale Phyllis Nirdlinger, who consults him about accident insurance for her husband, is the other.

I will not talk too much about this story - that would completely undercut the tone set by the book: fast, with no room for slow musings; surprising, with no patience for needless melodrama; and cool, with no need for benign mercy.

From the misplaced devotion of Huff, through the devious wile of Phyllis, to the inadequate attempts of Lola, and finally to the brilliant mind of Keyes, the tension in this story was created as much by the exceptional writing as it was by the murder itself.

100th blog: Thank You...

I dedicate my 100th blog to some of the greatest creators of all time; writers whose works have affected me deeply - not just in opening my heart to the deepest emotions, but also opening my mind to the greatest sense of wonder.

Enid Blyton, thank you. You are where it all started! My entire childhood lives in the world you have created; from flying off in a Wishing Chair to exciting adventures in an Enchanted Wood; from the best of fun in Toyland with Noddy and Big Ears to the best of friends at St. Clare’s and Malory Towers; to of course the greatest of mystery and adventure with everyone from Barney and the Secret Seven to the Famous Five and the Five Find-Outers.

P. G. Wodehouse, thank you. Your wit and humour remain untouched; your command of the English language remains unsurpassed till date. On my worst day, I can still pick up a PGW and be laughing in moments. From the mad capers of Tales of St. Austin’s (which is, I think, my first PGW) through the wildly improbable situations of the dapper Bertie Wooster and his highly ingenious valet Jeeves, to the comically ridiculous world of Blandings Castle and Lord Emsworth … you continue to dispel the darkness in this world.

Agatha Christie, thank you. You invited me in to a perfect world, steeped in old English charm, took me through old mansions and quaint villages … and then, you revealed a murder so mysterious, I couldn’t even begin to choose from the countless suspects! Starting and ending at Styles, from the Mysterious Affair to Curtain, Hercule Poirot remains one of my favourite detectives of all time.

Arthur C. Clarke, thank you. You are the highest that a human mind has reached in the world of science fiction. You have taken me to worlds beyond the realm of imaginable possibilities and made my head spin with the wonders that may or may not be Out There. 2001: A Space Odyssey is the first science fiction I ever read, and my world has never been the same since then, as I have travelled stars and galaxies through Space and Time.

Ray Bradbury, thank you. The extent of your imagination, the creation of far and distant worlds, and through it all, the sheer poetry in the rich and varied stories that are, at heart, about all of us - your writing has held me enthralled as it has moved from the apocalyptic Martian Chronicles through the beautiful Dandelion Wine to the horrifically fantastical Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Charles Dickens, thank you. Words cannot express how much in awe I am of your writing. The Pickwick Papers has made me laugh, A Christmas Carol has made me feel so good and A Tale of Two Cities has made me cry; with always just the perfect word you have crafted memorable people with unforgettable life stories.

Rabindranath Tagore, thank you. Music, painting, theatre, writing - you have created brilliant gems of works in all. Your writing has ranged from poetry to novels to short stories to memoirs. The beauty of Gitanjali, the pathos of The Postmaster, the tragic beauty of Thakurda … your poetic genius lifts simple, everyday events into a realm of literary brilliance, and I am constantly amazed by the creative heart that places the strength of human dignity above all the petty joys and sorrows of this world.

Thank you, also, to some Japanese writers I have discovered more recently … Yukio Mishima, Haruki Murakami, Yasunari Kawabata, Murasaki Shikibu, Natsume Soseki, Kobo Abe … I thank you for introducing me to a beautiful world that actually exists, and of which I sadly had very little knowledge; a world that is at once very old and very new, where the drama of The Temple of the Golden Pavilion co-exists with the existentialism of Woman in the Dunes; where the simplicity of The Old Capital offsets the fantasy of Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World; and where the tale of one man in Kokoro carries as much power as the epic saga of The Tale of Genji.

(There are many other writers whose magic has influenced me; the haunting poetry of Edgar Allan Poe, the tragic beauty of Oscar Wilde, the surreal creativity of Philip K. Dick, the far reaching worlds of Jules Verne, the quirky fiction of Douglas Adams … all the names cannot be recounted in one sitting!) - But these are the writers I have grown up with, and whose words continue to create the world I live in. These are the writers who have made me what I am today. And for that, I say to them, thank you.

Rashmi bookmarks “Extreme Vinyl Cafe”

This is the first time I have heard of Stuart McLean and his CBC Radio program The Vinyl Cafe (tsk! tsk!, I know), but what a great experience this first step into his collection featuring his popular fictional characters Dave and Morley has been.

McLean chooses to use letters addressed to him (the authenticity of those preposterous letters I leave to your judgement) as segue to recounting those tales that form the stories in this collection.

Usually when I read a short story collection, my blog has a countdown of my top three or top five stories … this collection cannot be presented as such, for the simple reason that it is a continuous narration of life itself, with each story yet another slice of life.

I laughed at Dave’s predicament when stuck with Mary’s fancy dessert in a fancy elevator, late for a fancy event in ‘The Birthday Cake’, and I cried as 87-year old Bruce Towler gave life one last shot in the arm in ‘The Cruise’. I saw the peace in letting things go once in a while as Dave and Morley’s wrong turn led to the right cabin in ‘Petit Lac Noir’ and I actually laughed out (very) loud when Dave locked himself in the trunk of his car with a rat in ‘Rat-a-tat-tat’. ‘Wally’ reminded me of the wonderful world of children in all its innocent glory as Sam and Murphy launched a mission to rescue the redundant (oh, horror) Wally; and when Tommy’s grandfather’s death revealed the old man’s most cherished possession - an unscratched lottery ticket, ‘The lottery ticket’ revealed a world of unbridled hope that has the power to surpass time and life itself.

I’d also like to add that while these stories are told by a Canadian and set in Canada, that really should not give anyone the feeling that the stories are exclusive in any way. Emotions of happiness and heartbreak are universal, and each story contains very deep elements of both - while at all times maintaining a very light look at life and a fresh burst of joy. It’s one of those books you can pick up and re-read any time.