Non-fiction selections

I'm cross-posting this from Sefria Sheli, my other blog for book reviews.

Of late, I have been reading a good deal of non-fiction books. The latest three being The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman; The Lost City of Z by David Gann and Riches Among the Ruins by Robert P. Smith.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures chronicles the story of a Hmong family living in Merced, California, and their experience in the California medical system. The sad story of their little and her battle with severe epilepsy only takes up a small portion of the book, and the rest is filled with historical and cultural context that makes the book all the more meaningful. Although Fadiman, a journalist, is sometimes sporadic in her writing, the book reads well, especially for non-fiction.

I think the best aspect of this book was the way in which Fadiman presents both Western and Eastern medicine as viable treatments. There are times in the book when you want to ring the necks of the noncompliant family, and there are other times when you want to punch the doctors in their faces. There is most definitely miscommunication between the two sides, and fleeting moments of understanding; but by the end, the reader does not finish the book with any feeling of resolution. The child's parents refuse to give correct dosages of medicine, and the doctors do not adjust the medicine so that compliance would be easier to fulfill. And when the government takes the little girl away... chaos ensues. I learned so much from this book about the Hmong, and got a new perspective on Western medicine.

Riches Among the Ruins: Avdentures in the Dark Corners of the Global Economy also taught me a lot--about sovereign debt trading. This business memoir dolls out lessons--on business, psychology and traveling in some of the most scathy places.

The author patiently explains how sovereign debt trade works the world around, and also sheds some light onto how currency flows across borders, trade claims are reclaimed, deficits are created and most importantly, how to make a spread on these inevitable actions. Some of my favorite lessons from Riches Among the Ruins include: 'fake it til you make it,' and 'think Yiddish, dress British.'

Even though this is non-fiction ("every word is true!" insists the author), the book reads much like a spy novel, with almost half the characters under pseudonyms--cambistos, gold-diggers, corrupt businessmen, and the like. The website provides some additional context, including up-to-date commentary on current events, such as Venezuela and Ecuador, and Iraq (vis-a-vis debt obligations).

The Lost City of Z is one I'm still working on, so I'll have to come back to it.

Revisionist Historical Fiction: The Big 'What If'

Two books that struck me were The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon and The Plot Against America by Philip Roth.

Roth's Plot is an eerie picture of anti-Semetism in America, set under an alternate reality. Unlike many 'what-if' scenarios, this picture comes tightly together throughout the foten slow storyline. You get this sense of disbelief as you go along (paralelling the strong characters' own incredulance), and, even though in the back of your mind you suspect you know what is really going on, you say, "no, that can't be right-- they're just being paranoid."
The premise is that Charles Lindbergh, the beloved pilot who awed the world with his 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic (and against all odds) encapsulated the image of a true American hero. After his infant son's kidnapping and eventual murder, he had the full sympathy of the American population, and when he waltzed in on the Republican National Convention at a time when the party had no strong candidate, he easily won the election for presidency.

Soon thereafter, Jewish families across America started to feel the squeeze of anti-Semetism, most profoundly in the form of assimilation. Sons are sent away to host families (always good Christian families) as part of a government program by the Office of American Absorption. Some realize what is going on and immediately move to Canada, while most families are in disbelief or denial. In the end, a viscious anti-Semetic plot is unveiled, and by this time, the reader is so engulfed in this made-up fantasy that you believe every word.

The book is beautifully written-- much like the rest of Roth's novels. But Plot is a bit different in style. It's a lot cleaner and a bit slower. It actually progresses in a forward chronological order, unlike Portnoy's Complaint. Some of the sentence structres are very complex, and may contain two or three independent clauses. You may have to track bacwards to get the full impact of every sentence.

Such a good book.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union is the same type of revisionist historical fiction as Plot. The premise of Union is that the founding of the State of Israel didn't pan out, and Jews were relocated to a peninsula in Alaska. In this setting, there is an outward, accepted an practiced anti-Semitism, unlike in Plot Against America. In this sense, the characters are more involved in revolutionary activities. Chabon paints a creepy image of the Jewish community, and how the divides within it are as pronounced, if not more, even when placed under such unfair, racist conditions. Union contained some great sci-fi-like scenarios and used Esperanzo (always a plus!) to create an image of a crowded, disadvantaged ghetto, reminiscent of Holocaust-era ghettos. There's a good deal of hope and cheering for the good guy in this one.

Also loved it.

Jewish-themed Books: Reviews & Discussions

I am starting this blog as a forum for discussing books with Jewish themes or by Jewish authors. I'll start by sharing some of my favorite Jewish-themed books. Philip Roth's Plot Against America and Micheal Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union will be my first reviews. Please feel free to comment and suggest books. I want this to be a discussion. Some of my best books were purely from friends' recommendations.
Enjoy the blog!