Victory City by Salman Rushdie

 

“The poisoner usually ends up drinking the poison himself. Just something for you to think about.” A quote from Victory City, a novel by Salman Rushdie.

   I think this novel will become a literary classic. I am thankful for this masterpiece nourished by the study of history and myth, molded by the artistry and prowess of an author with insightful perspectives. Rushdie’s imagination and inventiveness stretch beyond the limits of history, gifting us with a novel whose originality cannot be compared with anything I’ve read before.

 It is not only its literary beauty what makes it sublime and original. The novel illuminates every aspect of human nature and evinces how the strengths and flaws of it shape the fate of societies and human lives. I think these forces will also determine the destiny of humanity and life on earth, so this book is expansive in its nature. It is a wellspring of allegories that mirror the conflicts and challenges of our modern societies. It is a reminder of how the destructive forces of human nature—greed, envy, rage, lust-- have the potential to lead to our self-destruction if they are left unchecked.

  On the last day of her long life, poetess and prophetess Pampa Kampana completed her immense poem about the story of Victory City in Sanskrit, then buried it in a clay pot sealed with wax. The story and all its secrets were unearthed four and a half centuries later. It is retold in plainer language by the narrator, who is “neither a scholar nor a poet but merely a spinner of yarns, and who offers this version for the simple entertainment and possible edification of today’s readers, the old and the young, the educated and the not so educated, those in search of wisdom and those amused by folly, northerners and southerners, followers of different gods and of no gods, the broad-minded and the narrow-minded, men and women and members of the genders beyond and in between, scions of the nobility and rank commoners, good people and rogues, charlatans and foreigners, humble sages and egotistical fools.”

  The best and the worst features of humanity bubble up on the pages of Victory City. Pampa Kampana was a little girl when she witnessed the burning of the women of a defeated kingdom. Most of them were widows. Her mother also surrendered her life to the flames.

“Gravely, without making any complaint, they said farewell to one another and walked forward without flinching. Nor were there any screams when their flesh caught fire and the stink of death filled the air.”

  Pampa Kampana felt the universe was sending her a message. She would turn her face toward life instead. “She would not sacrifice her body merely to follow dead men into the afterworld. She would refuse to die young and live, instead, to be impossibly, defiantly old. It was at this point that she received the celestial blessing that would change everything…”

 Pampa Kampana was endowed with special talents and gifts. The goddess within her spoke to her.

“You will fight to make sure that no more women are ever burned in this fashion, and that men start considering women in new ways, and you will live just long enough to witness both your success and your failure, to see it all and tell its story, even though once you have finished telling it you will die immediately and nobody will remember you for four hundred and fifty years.” Pampa Kampana would strive to give women equal agency in a patriarchal world.

 Pampa Kampana lived for 247 years and here’s her story: an enchanting novel of love, adventure and politics. How did Salman Rushdie manage to offer a surprise on every page? How did he create such a masterpiece? It is hard to describe the wisdom and grace that unfold through this magical story, so embark on the enigmatic journey and explore the messages it conveys.

   When Salman Rushdie received the Freedom to Publish Award last year, he urged people to stand up to intolerance and support the freedom to read. Let’s reflect for a moment on the freedom to read the books we choose. Let’s remind readers of their right to read.

  The freedom to read books in the United States of America is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Have you ever paused to meditate on what it means to ban books? The act of banning books curtails the rights of both readers and writers. The act of banning or restricting books also implies that it is acceptable to silence a group of people, to violate their right to free expression. It makes no sense in a democracy. It is a violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. If there are people out there who do not like a specific book, they can use their freedom to read it and express their views on it, but they do not have the right to ban it.

   There is a political party in America that follows the playbook of Vladimir Putin. Let’s be clear here. The choice to read or not to read a book is personal, and nobody should be forcing others to make that choice. The people who advocate for book bans claim that they want to make decisions on what their children can read. This is not true. What they want is to impose their own censorship on other families. If they do not want their children to have access to a book, they should have a conversation with their own children, but they should have no authority over other children’s choices. Claiming to support freedom while supporting the act of banning or restricting books in public libraries indicates an Orwellian pattern of behavior. It is the clear sign of a fascist ideology. This is wrong on many levels, but, first and foremost, it is a violation of the First Amendment.

  My Writing Life blog supports democratic principles, promotes the freedom to read books and stands against hate.

 

 

Supplementary links:

https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-anti-lgbtq-campaign-echoes-putin-playbook-experts-1806093

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240430-russia-s-book-police-anti-gay-law-opens-ugly-new-chapter

 

 https://apnews.com/article/salman-rushdie-public-appearance-freedom-of-speech-02d429629e1daee57a49b53995ef71c5

https://pen.org/report/book-bans-pressure-to-censor/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/kids-action/articles/we-support-the-freedom-to-read

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nazi-book-burnings-recurring-symbol

 

https://www.salon.com/2023/12/27/congressman-traveled-to-uganda-to-support-anti-lgbtq-penalty-law_partner/

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-01-10/capitol-insurrection-iran-hostage-crisis

 

Birding to Change the World by Trish O'Kane

 

 Trish O’Kane did not know that her excitement for her new teaching job at the University of Loyola in New Orleans would dissolve into an unexpected life-transforming tragedy: she and her partner lost their new home to hurricane Katrina a few weeks after moving there. 

  As a journalist and writer Trish O’Kane had risked her life working in Guatemala, investigating massacres perpetrated by the Guatemalan military. On several occasions she’d had to run to save her own life. She had also worked in Alabama as an advocate for human rights and social justice and had taught writing in a women’s prison. Driven by her passionate nature to teach journalism and writing at Loyola University, she moved to New Orleans. What she did not know after losing her home to Hurricane Katrina was that her grief would awaken her to a new kind of awareness. Trish fell in love with birds, and the birds taught her how the environment is deeply intertwined with matters of social justice. The birds became her teachers, and her new appreciation for birds led her to search a new path in her career. 

  It is important to remember that 1,390 people lost their lives as a result of this devastating hurricane. Before it happened, however, people did not believe how destructive it would be. Yet the birds had given their warning. 

 “In retrospect, I’ve realized that one thing was different that day. The birds. They were so loud. Birds are usually quieter at noon. But that day there was a cacophony, especially of gulls, whirling and shrieking.

“Seventeen years after I stood on that levee, scientists know there are certain signals that fire up an avian news network (ANN), particularly changes in atmospheric pressure.”

  Infrasound is another signal that triggers an avian news network. The low-frequency ground-transmitted waves produced by volcanoes, earthquakes, waterfalls, storm systems, and tsunamis. Many birds can hear it.

 How can I describe this spellbinding book? When I fall in love with a book I am speechless at first, but then my words flow gently, like a symphony of birds merging with the harmony of a waterfall on an exquisite morning filled with the sweet scents of pine trees and flowers.

 I feel so thankful for this unique read. Birding to Change the World shows how enthusiasm and passion can create ripples of positive changes that have the potential to expand beyond the borders of a park and a city as long as one cares to pay attention. Birding to Change the World is about the inspiring power of community. It shows how people can come together when they genuinely care about something and are committed to work through their disagreements.

  Trish's book is about human beings enduring personal tragedies and finding healing in Nature. It is about cooperation and connections that enable people of all ages to discover the talents in themselves and in Nature. It is about the transforming power of communication and about seeking ways of creating constructive solutions to grow, learn and thrive together.

 Once I started reading Trish’s book I could not put it down. I learned about it from a book blog, and I requested it from my amazing local library because I knew I had to read it. My intuition was correct. Birding to Change the World made my heart sing, dance and soar.

  When Trish O’ Kane moved to Madison, Wisconsin, to pursue an environmental studies PhD, Warner Park became her haven. The park teems with wildlife and Trish played a unique role in supporting the community of people and animals in their journey of discoveries. The experience became an adventure that led to unforgettable undertakings and actions to protect that haven. Trish’s zest to understand and protect Warner Park created an opportunity that drew people of different backgrounds together to protect the trees, the wetlands and wildlife, and, in saving the Warner Park, people saved themselves.

  As birds cross human borders, they remind us that we all live in the same planet. I was mesmerized to learn that cliff swallows migrate from Warner Park to places in Argentina and Brazil, and then they return to Warner Park the following spring. One cliff swallow eats up to one thousand mosquitoes per day.

Warner Park is also “a major feeding station for migrating birds passing through, birds coming from much farther north heading south in the fall and passing through again in the spring.”

Bird migration is not an easy endeavor. Fifty percent of the birds die during their migration.

 “Long-distance migratory birds coming through Warner Park may have been making this epic journey from Latin America to the United States and Canada for at least 10,000 years. But in the last century, our species has turned their flight routes into death-defying obstacle courses. Ornithologists have known for decades that strong lights can confuse birds’ navigation systems. The lights of buildings and cell towers lure them to their deaths either by collision or exhaustion, since they circle around the lights for hours until they drop.” I wrote about this issue when I reviewed the book The Darkness Manifesto, so feel free to read my post.

 Massive die-offs happen across the United States and Canada when skyscrapers and buildings are lit up throughout the night. “According to NYC Audubon, collisions with lighted buildings (especially with windows) kill at least 600 million birds a year in the United States of America; 230,000 of those happen in New York city.”

 

 Trish O’Kane examines the healing power of birds and nature by exploring current research and by sharing the amazing life stories of people. According to Daniel Cox, a lead researcher, “Birds around the home, and nature in general, show great promise in preventative health care, making cities healthier, happy places to live. This is why English hospitals and clinics now partner with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to offer bird walks to recovering patients.”

 Today we celebrate the Fourth of July, so Happy Independence Day to my readers in America. As I brace myself to protect my furry friends from the unpleasant sounds of fireworks, I take this opportunity to inspire my readers to celebrate in ways that align with life instead of death. Fireworks may have been a tradition for a long time, but as the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson has taught us, following traditions blindly can be a selfish, cruel action. I can do my best to protect my furry friends, but I cannot do anything for wildlife. I cannot stop the panic of the veterans who suffer from PTSD. The noises of fireworks can trigger terrifying emotions. 

 I prefer to celebrate the Fourth of July by honoring the life that surrounds me. ( I’ve never welcomed or appreciated the destructive power of fireworks).

 There is a whole chapter about fireworks in Birding to Change the World, and I want to share some important pieces of information here:

 “A 2015 study of 133 firework shows and 88 avian species, primarily in Germany and the United States, determined that birds do not adapt to fireworks. Some birds abandon nesting areas. Some species suffer significant physical stress and even die of fright. Many species panic and flee. Young birds that have not learned to fly become easy prey, have accidents or get lost completely. Fireworks increase the risk of mortality for individual birds, and, thus, the death rate of the bird population.”

 The use of fireworks also produces carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which pollute the air and worsen climate change. Fireworks pollute the environment with microplastics and various heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and barium in addition to toxic chemicals like perchlorate, which is found in both munitions and fireworks. These toxic chemicals and heavy metals persist in the environment, affecting human health and harming wildlife. Who wants our drinking water, air and soil to be polluted with these toxic chemicals? I am sure you will agree with me that it is wiser to choose patriotic forms of entertainment to support our community and country.

 Perchlorate, for example, damages the brain of babies even before they are born. Under the Trump administration, the regulation to limit the levels of perchlorate in drinking water was rolled back. Thankfully, the regulation was put back in place in May, 2023 under Joe Biden’s presidency.

 Being patriotic also means being well informed and making good decisions to support one’s health and the health of one’s community. Hopefully, My Writing Life blog has inspired you to do that.

  Happy Reading!

 

 Here's an important article on the ways climate change affects the quality of our drinking water, and about the need to address this critical issue:

https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/climate-change-can-worsen-your-drinking-water-quality-the-checkup.php

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

 

“There were many moments during the writing of this book when I thought that elephants may be even more evolved than humans—when I studied their grieving habits, and their mothering skills, and their memories. If you take away anything from this novel, I hope it is an awareness of the cognitive and emotional intelligence of these beautiful animals—and the understanding that it is up to us to protect them.”-Jodi Picoult

 Out of the four books I’ve read by Jodi Picoult, Leaving Time is my favorite. If you love a good mystery and are eager to explore the emotional and cognitive intelligence of elephants and understand the unique individuals they are, you will appreciate this novel.

 Leaving Time is the most suspenseful book I’ve read this year. Connecting with the realities of the elephants is a compelling aspect of the book, and I have to admit that the immoral choices of many of the human characters make the read somewhat annoying.

 It is impossible to imagine the ending of the story. There is no way to guess, but I embrace the layer of mysticism it presents. It is hard not to shed a few tears at the end. I think it is a bit odd that the readers are not warned about the fact that this novel has a touch of magical realism.

 Leaving Time is about the timelessness of love between a mother and her child. It makes you reflect on the precious bond that transcends time and space and how that love connects to our present. It made me think of the moments in which I dreamed of a loved one who had passed away. Yet the energy that connects me to that person lives on in thoughts and actions of strength and hope in ways that escape the realm of words.

  There is something I did not like. The perpetrators of the two acts of violence made me uncomfortable because I did not find them credible. Yet I know it can happen in extremely rare cases… The revelation was to me the monster of social misogyny poking its ugly head into the reader’s mind and a product of the author’s unconscious bias... I will not elaborate further on this. (Jodi, will you ever give mothers a break?).

 Alice Metcalf is Jenna's mother. She is an elephant researcher who left behind a journal with several entries about her personal life and her observations of elephants. Jenna wonders why Alice left her behind. Is Alice dead or alive?

  Be prepared to be taken on an adventure into the world of troubled human characters, and learn about the emotional lives of elephants, both in the wild and on a sanctuary. You will learn about empathy, grief, family bonds and so much more. The novel is informative and thought-provoking. Have you ever thought about empathy and what it implies? Here’s an interesting passage from page 134:

“When I was in Pilanesburg, I watched an elephant come across a rhino calf that was stuck in the mud of a watering hole. The rhinos were distressed, and that in turn upset the elephant, which stood around trumpeting and rumbling. Somehow, she managed to convince the rhinos that she had practice doing this, and to just get out of the way and let her take over. Now, in the great ecological sphere of things, it was not beneficial to the elephant to rescue a rhino baby. And yet she went in and lifted the baby with her trunk, even though the rhino mother charged her each time she tried. She risked her own life for the offspring of another species. Likewise, in Botswana, I saw a matriarch come upon a lioness that was stretched out beside an elephant path while her cubs played in the middle of it. Normally, if an elephant sees a lion it will charge—it recognizes the animal as a threat. But this matriarch waited very patiently for the lioness to collect her cubs and move away. True, the cubs were no threat to the elephant, but one day they would be. Right then, however, they were just someone’s babies.”

 Leaving Time is a riveting read with intriguing characters. My favorite human character is Serenity, a “psychic” who befriends Jenna, a thirteen-year-old teenager in her quest to find her mother, who disappeared ten years ago. Then there is Virgil, an alcoholic retired detective who is determined to help Jenna find her mother. The trio captivated me from the beginning… and I liked the elephants.

 The story of these humans is fiction but the ones about the elephants are as real as their plight. There are many forces decimating the population of these compassionate, intelligent beings. Elephants die in the hands of poachers. There is a criminal network responsible for poaching African elephants to benefit from the trade of ivory. The network smuggles ivory from Africa to China. A wealthy middle class in China fuels the demand for ivory products. Corruption in Africa is part of the puzzle that enables the slaughter and trafficking of ivory. Trafficking of ivory is also used to fund terrorism.

  Before the publication of Jodi Picoult’s book forty-one elephants were killed in Zimbabwe because their water hole was poisoned with cyanide. The purpose was to obtain ivory to profit from it, so don’t purchase ivory or anything made of ivory.

  The illegal trafficking of ivory is still happening. This report was published last week by Homeland Security Investigations.

 The slaughter and abduction of elephants lead to trauma, disruption of complex relationships and aggressive elephant behavior in the wild. Elephants are captured for elephant-back safaris, zoos and circuses, where they endure brutal, cruel treatment and endless suffering. In circuses elephants are forced to perform tricks through deprivation of food, water and rest, and by physical restraint, pain and fear. Max Brandett, a former circus worker reveals the details of the horrifying treatment of animals in circuses, so I encourage you to read his report. The elephants are even chained in cages. You can read it from the link I offer. I will not share the information here because it is traumatizing to even write about it. 

 It is disgusting to learn how cruel humans are to these amazing animals. Please, avoid supporting circuses and do everything you can to help stop this cruelty from taking place by educating others on the issue. Avoid paying for elephant-back safaris and make sure that zoos provide the right conditions for elephants and that they don’t capture any more elephants from the wild. In captivity elephants live a life of misery.

 Last but not least, climate change is affecting the survival of elephants in multiple ways. For example, climate change causes prolonged droughts in the African savanna. Also, older elephants are more prone to die as a result of extreme high temperatures, and the loss of the older elephants has a serious impact on the survival of the herds. Supporting regulations that address climate change is also necessary for human survival… and how can anybody oppose regulations that protect the quality of water and air? Let’s make it clear and concise: the regulations that help curb climate change also protect the quality of air and water, so what is not to like about that?

 Climate change also leads to water and food shortage, and the situation worsens the conflicts between humans and elephants and creates tensions that make humanity more prone to start wars and new conflicts. Peaceful coexistence requires a kind of holistic approach to the crisis. 

 There are various organizations working to give assistance to elephants. The elephant sanctuary in Tennessee, which inspired some of Jodi Picoult’s writing, has been helping rescued elephants by providing them with individualized care, the companionship of a herd, and a setting that supports their health and wellbeing. The organization also supports elephants by educating the public. You can also visit the Global Sanctuary for Elephants website. This organization helps to establish elephant sanctuaries worldwide:

 www.globalelephants.org

 

You can learn more about elephants in the wild and the dangers they face by visiting the following sites:

www.elephantvoices.org

https://www.ifaw.org/journal/what-is-ivory

www.tusk.org

www.savethelephants.org

 Here's more information about the link between terrorism and the exploitation of wildlife:

https://editorials.voa.gov/a/stopping-terrorists-from-trafficking-in-natural-resources/6803286.html

I wrote about The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony a while ago. If you haven’t read it yet, feel free to check my post.

The photos of elephants are from unsplash.com: the second photo is by Mylon Ollila; the first photo is by Mathew Spiteri .

Knife by Salman Rushdie

 

“We would not be who we are today without the calamities of our yesterdays.”-Salman Rushdie

 On the night of August 10, 2022, Salman Rushdie dreamed that a gladiator at a Roman amphitheater attacked him in front of an audience. Two days later, at the amphitheater of the Chautauqua Institution in New York state, he was on the verge of giving a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm when a terrorist ran down the aisle toward him and stabbed him multiple times with a knife.

 I will refrain from using the terrorist’s real name here, and I will refer to him as the “c-c” man. The letters “c-c” stand for the words “coward-criminal,” or “criminal-coward,” in the order in which you prefer to think about him. Let this sink in for a moment: the hateful c-c was a twenty-four-year-old radical Islamist who attacked an unarmed seventy-five-year-old man.

 Salman Rushdie has won several literary awards and is the author of over twenty books. The reason for c-c’s action was that c-c had read a couple of pages of one of Rushdie’s books and decided that he did not like him. 

 The twenty-four hours that followed the attack on August 12, 2022, were hours of uncertainty. Due to his critical condition Salman’s loved ones did not know if he would survive. He was on a ventilator, suffering the consequences of multiple injuries. I followed the details of his medical care with great interest, but the miracle of his survival is not only related to the work of health care professionals. It is true that doctors, nurses and physical therapists worked in tandem to make  his recovery possible. However, the healing process involved his devotion to life; the assiduous engagement of his loving wife; the affection of his friends and family members; the empathy and support of his colleagues; and the solidarity of strangers from all over the world.

 His recovery included several procedures and rehabilitation sessions along with the patience and steady work of Salman himself.

  In this era of noisy apologists for terrorism, it is important to read Salman Rushdie’s memoir Knife. In these strange times in which so many people appear to be okay with regimes that treat women as second-class citizens, in which so many people inform themselves by using tik-tok and other forms of social media while being absorbed in video games, it is necessary to promote books that can open new perspectives of understanding the present.

 Rushdie’s book can also be a helpful resource for anybody who has been through something tragic. Sharing his harrowing experience and his personal journey of recovery and healing is an important aspect of the book. Cultivating resilience within the solid foundation of love and meaningful work was part of the process of recovery. The fortress of his attitude encouraged both his body and mind to move forward against all odds.  Along with the grief, there is personal growth, and in this journey of pain, uncertainty and horror, we learn, once again, that love trumps hate.  Unfortunately, Salman Rushdie lost his right eye, but he did not lose the enthusiasm to move forward and to continue writing his masterpieces. His latest novel is called Victory City and I have already requested it from my local library.

   Salman Rushdie was born in India, but he is also a British citizen and an American citizen. His insights and reflections clearly show that he does not succumb to the clumsy patterns of “groupthink,” and he dares to examine facts with honesty; his knowledge and experience are important gifts for every generation.

  I cherish the literary references in Knife, for they emerge from intelligent associations that are the product of his creative mindset and knowledge. His musings and insights reflect deep introspection and make for an intellectually stimulating read, but Knife was also a kind of emotional rollercoaster for me. Tears of frustration, sadness, anger and even joy took me by surprise as I connected with the intimacy of his experiences.

 There is also a memorable love story on the pages of Knife. I appreciate how Salman values and admires his wife’s multiple talents. Her name is Rachel Eliza Griffiths and they have been together for seven years. I will be exploring her writing as well. The couple had always safeguarded their privacy and I loved to read about their relationship. I agree with his words when he says, “There is a kind of deep happiness that prefers privacy, that flourishes out of the public eye, that does not require the validation of being known about: a happiness that is for the happy people alone, that is, just by itself, enough. I was sick of having my private life dissected and judged by strangers, tired of the malice of wagging tongues.” He elaborates this idea further in a way that resonates in this era of social media, “Something strange has happened to the idea of privacy in our surreal time. Instead of being cherished, it appears to have become, for many people in the West, especially young people, a valueless quality—actually undesirable. If a thing is not made public, it doesn’t really exist. Your dog, your wedding, your beach, your dinner…” With Eliza, Salma Rushdie rejected this approach and chose privacy… “Eliza and I decided to be private people. We showed that even in this attention-addicted time, it was still possible for two people to lead, pretty openly, a happily private life. Then, cutting that life apart, came the knife.”

  His reflections on art are simple, yet profound. “Art is not a luxury. It stands at the essence of our humanity, and it asks for no special protection except the right to exist. Art accepts argument, criticism, even rejection...

“Without art our ability to think, to see freshly, and to renew our world would wither and die.”

 Can art survive authoritarian regimes and extremist ideologies? Salman attempts to provide some sparks of hope when he shares these examples, “The poet Ovid was exiled by Augustus Caesar, but the poetry of Ovid has outlasted the Roman Empire. The poet Mandelstam’s life was ruined by Joseph Stalin, but his poetry has outlasted the Soviet Union. The poet Federico Garcia Lorca was murdered by the thugs of General Franco, but his art has outlasted the fascism of the Falange.”

 

Feel free to check these supplementary links:

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/salman-rushdie-palestine-israel-hamas-b2548290.html

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iranian-dissidents-abductions-assassination-attemts-60-minutes-transcript/

 

https://abcnews.go.com/US/salman-rushdie-speaks-stabbing-claimed-life-taking-power/story?id=109234123

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/gaza-plagued-poverty-hamas-no-shortage-cash-come-rcna121099 

 https://www.jns.org/its-time-to-be-honest-about-radical-islam/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/france-paris-boys-charged-in-alleged-antisemitic-gang-rape-of-12-year-old-girl/

Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick

 

 Benedict Stone wanted his wife to come back home. Estelle moved out for a while, and Benedict did not know if she would return home. When somebody knocked on his door one night, he thought it was Estelle. He was wrong. The person at his doorstep was Gemma, his sixteen-year-old niece, whom he had never met in-person. Gemma had traveled from America to England to visit him for the first time… and she was determined to stay with him.

 Benedict owned a Jewelry store he had inherited from his parents who died unexpectedly in Sri Lanka after a tsunami struck the region, when they were on vacation. After the tragedy, Benedict took the responsibility of raising his younger brother, Charlie. Charlie was Gemma’s father, but he and Benedict had not been in touch with each other for eighteen years. The reason for their estrangement is not revealed until later in the book, so I was intrigued to understand the source of the conflict between the two siblings.

  Benedict had a special interest in gemstones. In his attic he kept a journal his father had crafted in which he described the history of each gemstone and the meanings assigned to them. The discovery of this journal mesmerized Gemma. Her enthusiasm and interest in gemstones awakened in him a talent for crafting more creative designs. Her presence brought new ideas, triggered changes in his lifestyle and sparked the excitement of  new beginnings.

  Benedict was also determined to inspire his wife to return home. I was about to type the words “win her back,” because those were the words that Phaedra Patrick used repetitively when she expressed that Gemma encouraged him to “win her back.” Gemma used those words, and then I was about to type them here. Thankfully, I stopped myself on time. When we think about “a man winning a woman back,” we are implying that a woman is some kind of trophy that needs to be obtained. The situation can be considered the analogy to some sort of competition in which the man works to attain something. Yet a woman is not an object. It is a human being with feelings, emotions, aspirations, flaws, strengths and talents—just like a man. Therefore, I think it is appropriate and fair to express it differently. Words matter. Let’s say that Benedict strongly desired to inspire Estelle to return home. Women are considered the “muses” of men. Can men also inspire women? Yes, it can work both ways. Don’t we want a fair and egalitarian society? Thankfully, the plot aligns well with the idea.

 There is a lot to like and a lot to dislike about Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone.

 I like how Phaedra Patrick digs into the nature of the characters intertwining bits of backstory into the situations of their present. Infertility had caused a lot of stress in the couple. For this reason, Estelle decided to move out for a while to find out if she wanted to stay with Benedict the rest of her life. Phaedra Patrick exposes the heartbreak of not being able to conceive and how it stoked tension and stress in the relationship. After so many years of trying without success Benedict discussed the possibility of adopting a baby. Estelle blatantly opposed the idea. In their discussion I found something I dislike about the story. Estelle treated the process of adoption with contempt. I understand that she did not like adoption as an option and that everybody has a right to make their choices. However, her statements about adoption are disrespectful to those who choose this path. I believe that Phaedra Patrick could have presented another viewpoint to counteract Estelle’s irrational, inappropriate comments about adoption. She never did this.

  Another aspect I did not like about the novel is that there are situations I did not find credible. How did a sixteen-year- old teenager have the money to purchase a plane ticket from England to America? How did she manage to do everything without her father’s knowledge and consent? As far as I know, she did not have a job or a source of income.

 What did I like about the novel? The main characters are well developed. The story takes place in a small English village. I like the pace of the story and how the author connects the present with the past without boring the readers. Moreover, the author blends into the story the significance and history of gemstones, projecting on the reader’s mind a display of colors and shapes that delight the senses and kindle the imagination. I appreciate the quirkiness in connecting them to the themes of the novel. Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone can be considered a light read you may take with you when you are on vacation.

 According to the Encyclopedia Britannica “gemstones have attracted humanity since ancient times and have long been used for jewelry."

It is entertaining and fun to learn about the history and symbolism of the gemstones. For example, lapis lazuli legends are among the oldest in the world. According to the Gem Society the myth of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, and her descent and return from the underworld may date from as early as 4,000 BCE. Inanna entered the underworld wearing a lapis lazuli necklace. Many ancient civilizations valued lapis lazuli, and the stone has religious significance.

  Green aventurine is a type of translucent quartz found in India, China and the state of Vermont in America. The origin of the word is Italian and it means “by chance.” This gemstone is associated with good fortune and abundance.

  Ancient Egyptians worked amethyst into amulets as a form of prayer and protection against harm. St Valentine (third century, Rome) wore an amethyst stone carved with Cupid’s likeness. In Medieval times chaste love was highly valued as true love. Amethyst symbolizes this vision of love because the stone has the power to calm passions and enhance mental clarity.

  

 The themes of Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone offer fountains of hope and optimism. The  novel inspires readers to do the best they can with what they have in life. It is about making choices that help us thrive in the direction we choose, accepting the life we have with inspiration and creativity. It is about being truthful and open to the challenges life throws at us. It is also about the magic and force that exist within the family bonds we cherish and cultivate with patience and wisdom, and the work we can do to make those bonds stronger over time. It is about the importance of choosing and cultivating thoughts and attitudes that support one’s goals and life purpose.

 It is about being unstoppable.

Here's an insightful article on the need to eradicate the stigma around adoption:

https://www.adoptionchoicesofnevada.org/why-is-adoption-still-considered-taboo/

The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins by Hal Whitehead and Luke Rendell

 

“On the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.” Douglas Adams

  The authors of The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins are scientists who spent several years researching dolphins and whales. Do not expect anything mystical or poetical about this book. It delves into the cultures of dolphins and whales through an objective exploration of their lifestyles.

  The introduction scrutinizes the meaning of culture, illuminating the concept from a variety of accepted human perspectives. The detailed account of what culture means to different people made me meditate on the impact of human cultures on the planet. The first part of the book also focuses on the significance and meaning of community and social learning. The analysis of these topics prepares the terrain to learn about whales and dolphins in subsequent chapters.

   The facts shared by these scientists opened my eyes to the incredible diversity of dolphins and whales, not only in numbers of species but also in the cultural diversity that exists within each species.

    If you have a special interest in dolphins, I highly recommend Voices in the Ocean by Susan Casey, which I reviewed nine years ago on My Writing Life blog. Unlike Voices in the Ocean, The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins does not focus so much on anecdotes, but there are a few of them that I enjoyed reading. As you probably know, there have been many cases of dolphins and whales helping or rescuing humans in life-threatening situations. The authors share a few examples.

  There is the story of a sailor who fell overboard in rough seas during a sailing race in the Caribbean. The racing boats had to stop the race, but they were unable to spot the sailor. A group of dolphins approached the man, providing company and relief.

 “At about the same time one of the search boats noticed dolphins approaching and then moving off in a particular direction. They did this several times. The sailors on the search boat wondered whether it was some kind of signal and followed. They soon found the swimmer and his dolphin companions.”

  Some experts may argue that the actions of those dolphins were a result of their curiosity. However, empathy and life-saving actions toward non-human beings have also been witnessed and documented. “On March 12, 2008, Moko, a bottlenose dolphin, guided a mother-calf pair of pygmy sperm whales out of an intricate set of sandbars off the coast of New Zealand where they seemed hopelessly disoriented and trapped—rescue workers were considering euthanasia after the pair stranded themselves four times.” Thankfully, the bottlenose dolphin worked to rescue the whales. It was also thrilling to learn about a seal who was saved by a humpback whale when she was escaping from the predatory attack of a killer whale.

  It is important to remember that social learning happens not only within the communities of a specific species, but also among different animals. The study of the behaviors and interactions between species can also lead to a new understanding of actions consistent with cooperation and survival in the natural world. I have explored these concepts previously when I wrote about the book Sweet in Tooth and Claw. They are also discussed in the book by Suzanne Simard: Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest.

    Researching the behaviors of different animals is also a gateway to fathom various aspects of human nature. This is what happened to Frans de Waal, who published a book in 1982 about the behaviors of a chimpanzee community housed in seminatural conditions at Arnhem Zoo in the Netherlands. “He provocatively titled the book Chimpanzee Politics because he saw direct parallels between the power struggles and social maneuvering among the chimpanzees in the zoo and the behavior displayed by politicians all around the world.”

   Let’s keep learning about dolphins and whales and about other non-human beings who share the Earth with us.

  I am offering some supplementary links to inspire you to support whales and dolphins and the people who work to protect them:

 

An interview with Dr. Lori Marino:

https://savedolphins.eii.org/news/diving-deeper-into-the-whale-sanctuary-project-with-dr-lori-marino

https://savedolphins.eii.org/campaigns/sjd

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0562

 

 Photo by Talia Cohen; source: Unsplash

Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult

 

“You can take dead trees in an orchard, and bring them back to life.”

  I thought this novel would be about humpback whales, but humpback whales do not take center stage here. After having a strong argument with her spouse, Jane Jones packed up and left California with her fourteen-year-old daughter, to drive across America and reach Massachusetts. The odyssey was made even more incredible by Jane’s poor sense of direction. Her brother, Joley, helped guide her through letters.

  Bear in mind the story took place in 1990, when GPS devices were not common. Her brother, Joley, knew how to make the journey more exciting for her while she escaped from her concerned husband, Oliver Jones, a famous researcher with a passion for studying the singing of humpback whales. As you may know, it is hard to put Jodi Picoult’s books down.  

 What hooked me to this peculiar story straight away was the bond between Joley and Jane. Her brother’s genuine interest in helping her, their loyal relationship and the mysterious adventure Jane embarked upon piqued my curiosity. To make the read even more lively, Jodi Picoult unfolds the secrets of each character slowly, enhancing the motivation to learn about their personalities and life trials as we embrace the uncertainty of Jane’s journey throughout the landscapes of America.

 The novel has a dash of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and a dash of Romeo and Juliet. There are alternating chapters written from the points of view of different characters, a literary strategy that has the potential to elicit empathy in the readers.

   Jodi Picoult’s books are addictive. This one is not an exception.

    While wondering whether Oliver would find them, I enjoyed reading about the relationship between Rebecca and Jane as they roved the roads and highways of America, discovering places that I will probably never visit myself. I liked how the suspense of the story soars, even though I was a bit irked by the lack of chronological order… Rebecca’s narrative starts from the end, whereas the other characters’ narratives are presented in chronological order.

  I appreciated the bond between mother and daughter. Sometimes I was struck by the special moments they shared, conversations that seemed to promise new dimensions of understanding between mother and daughter. Therefore, I was disconcerted and disappointed by Jane’s unexpected reaction to Rebecca’s love interest while they spent time in Massachusetts. When Rebecca fell in love, Jane behaved in an irrational, selfish way that was not consistent with the way she normally interacted with her daughter. I did not expect that sort of response from Jane. It was puzzling to me. It made me pause and reflect. I wondered if Jane would have behaved differently if Rebecca had been a teenage boy. The adverse situation led to a tragedy that could have been avoided. I did not like that a young person died in this novel. The dramatic outcome could have been fleshed out more. I still have questions about it.

  Jodi Picoult’s interest in family relationships becomes clear in her novels, and is one of the reasons why I enjoy reading her books.

 Like the male character who researched wolves in Jodi Picoult’s Lone Wolf, Oliver Jones had neglected his family and had also been unfaithful to his wife a few times, but Jane’s escape appeared to be life transforming for him: Oliver is ready to change because he loves his wife and does not want to lose her. At least this is the hint Picoult offers the readers. On the other hand, his own attitude toward his previous infidelities is not something that ignites remorse in him. He seems to accept his past infidelities as a normal part of his cultural landscape.  

 Oliver Jones was passionate about his research, just like the wolf lover in Lone Wolf, but what about Jane Jones? She was a speech pathologist, but I did not get a deep sense of her love for her career. How did she feel about her career and hobbies? Jodi Picoult could have dug deeper into this aspect of her as a human being. Are women not expected to devote time and motivation to their own passions? Or do they need to follow the motions of the novel to satisfy the plot? Hence, I would not describe this novel as a journey of self-discovery because there are important branches from Jane’s personal tree of life that appear to be missing here. Is a woman’s identity only defined by her family relationships?

  I don’t think so.

   With poetical language Jodi Picoult throws us into the world of her characters, imbuing situations with vibrant sensations, displaying vivid settings and painting memorable experiences. This novel conveys the expression of different forms of love and how relationships change over time. Picoult uses humor to dilute the tension, but she also reveals pain and the simplicity of everyday life while weaving into it intrigue and mystery, twists and surprises about the characters and their intimate experiences. There is a lot I would like to write about here, but I will refrain from doing so lest I spoil the story for my audience. Go ahead and enjoy this one. I can’t wait to read more of Jodi Picoult’s books!

  I would like to add a special comment for Jodi Picoult here. Dear Jodi Picoult, please avoid using the word “pig” as an insult in your characters’ conversations. Pigs are compassionate, complex, intelligent beings who deserve to be treated better. Thank you.

 Songs of the Humpback Whale made me muse and reflect on the future of the  characters. It is a good choice for a book club. I don’t belong to any book club myself, but I know this novel may spark controversy and fiery arguments and discussions. It is what thought-provoking books do, so let’s keep the waters of literature flowing. Enjoy the stream of reflections and emotions that can well up from Picoult’s novel. Let the bumpy ride make you uncomfortable. Good literature does that.

  I wrote about two other books by Jodi Picoult:

The Storyteller

Lone Wolf

 

Here’s an interesting article on relationships between siblings:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/04/27/1246380504/siblings-happiness-relationship-family-age