“Poe's Heart and the Mountain Climber : Exploring the Effect of Anxiety on Our Brains and Our Culture” by Richard Restak

This book gave me anxiety. I should have paid more attention to the small shrift in the title of “Poe's Heart and the Mountain Climber : Exploring the Effect of Anxiety on Our Brains and Our Culture” by Richard Restak. Generally, the book is Neither about Poe Nor about Mountain Climbers. IT IS ABOUT ANXIETY and is heavily geared toward scientific enthusiasts and/or medical students. I seriously believe that if an anxiety suffering patient picks up this book by the time he/she reaches the end, he/she would’ve experienced an increase in anxiety symptoms.

For me it started unexpectedly with the lengthy exploration of how best to define what anxiety is…page after page, test after test…But I quickly brushed aside any fears of growing anxiety associated specifically with my worries of wasting my time yet again with a bad book and proceeded to read.

More pages followed with more definitions and tests and again the same feelings creped up on me of time wasted again. This time I listened to these feelings and found them to be true especially after the medical terminology kneed me in the groins of my brain with statements like

“... the next time you're feeling anxious, think about the brain circuitry that underlies your anxious responses: the role of the amygdala, the conditioning responses, and, most of all, the power of the frontal lobes to override or at least moderate the ..."

or
“…During the evolution of our brain, the massive growth of the prefrontal cortex resulted in an increase in back-and-forth traffic between that area and the amygdala….”

and also

“…But despite their inability to recall seeing the fearful face, PTSD veterans show an exaggerated amygdala response on íMRI testing, a response that varies directly with the severity of their PTSD symptoms…”

By the time I reached the Epilogue, I was hyperventilating. Thankfully, it proved the most helpful portion of the book and it is in this portion that the author redeems himself from causing my anxiety.

While in his “Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain's Potential” mr. Restak give frequent and helpful advices within each chapter of the book, he does this only in the Epilogue of this book. My advice, unless you absolutely need to know how anxiety is linked physiologically with your mind, skip to the Epilogue. My overall impression is that a lot of the information in this book is unnecessary unless you are planning to go to med school or are preparing for a scientific conference on the brain and its imbalances.

-by Simon Cleveland

“The Body Artist” by Don DeLillo

“The Body Artist” by Don DeLillo is simply a rare escapade into the world of literary realism. There is so much harmony in this book that it I found it difficult to disassociate myself from the hypnotic force of its words.

The novel is a very comprehensive observation into the psyche of a lonely widow whose profession is to paint the reality of her feelings, emotions and experiences via her artistic skill – the capacity to manipulate her own body in performances during which she enacts her own personality as well as those of her dead husband and a ghost. But it really doesn’t matter what the story is about and I can’t stop repeating this ever since reading Franzen’s “The Corrections”. The realism of these highly effective magicians (DeLillo, Franzen, Auster) dubbed writers by the society, is so captivating that the only reason I pick up their books is to immerse myself in the pure texture of words. With these types of books there is no need to compose a thrill ride, or mystery, or some bizarre supernatural occurrence. There isn’t a need because the construction of their works is supernatural itself. I may be sitting down, or laying down, or walking when I read or listen to these books, but I might just as well be blind, or a prisoner, or a king somewhere, it simply wouldn’t matter, because every time I’m instantaneously transformed into a giant ear, a colossal eye, an infinite brain whose only task is to acquire and process, and feed on the beauty of their words. And so that’s all. This book, like the rare few out there is a precious gem. It should be studied, it should be a required material in schools, it should be praised. I highly recommend it.

- by Simon Cleveland

“Scipio Africanus: The Man Who Defeated Hannibal” by Ross Leckie

“Scipio Africanus: The Man Who Defeated Hannibal” by Ross Leckie is an interesting account of what may have happened with the Roman leader before and after he defeated Hannibal. If you like the show “Rome”, you’d definitely like this book. The descriptions of the roman legions, the senate, the Latin, the ancient lusts for gold, glory and power, it’s all well packaged and would make you reminisce about those ancient times and what it might have been like… In the beginning of the book parallel narratives of both Scipio and Bostar (his servant) amuse and hasten the pace of the story. Then slowly the book sinks into one of those ‘I did this, he said that, we attacked him, they got killed…’ type of an account and interest meanders a bit. However, the narrative is easy enough and does captures the attention, at times even excites the imagination. But after all, like most sequels, this one doesn't live up to the glory of ‘Hannibal’. If you are a fan of good ancient action novels, pick up a copy of "Hannibal". If you’ve already read it and just feel like figuring out what went on with Scipio pre/post Hannibal's defeat, then this novel can be an 'okay' continuation of your trip.

-by Simon Cleveland

"Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

There is a place in a world where irony meets comedy, courts it, marries it and from this marriage reality is born. This world is called “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller. In this land of probabilities a narrative encircles a reality (like a ball encircles roulette’s bowl before landing on a lucky number for some or a cursed one for others) before revealing the final results. And in the process of encircling, the same narrative paints characters out of the white pages with the colors of stories full of absurdities, and in spite of these absurdities these characters represent parallel witnesses of real personalities - the ones in our own reality.

The more I read the book, the more I discovered how Heller's world complements mine, how it reflects it like a mirror as it examines the meaninglessness of war, name, rank, serial number, order, death, economy, capitalism, love, sex, religion (and not necessarily in the same order) and several other highly regarded objects of (im)moral value, and in this reflection it condemns them.

Initially, I thought everyone in this novel was crazy. Then, I thought Heller was crazy. In the end I found out that it’s the (I) reader who is crazy, that the world (I) he lives in is crazy, the job (I) he does is crazy, the aspirations (I) he holds are crazy, the mind (I) he tries to expand is crazy, and yet it feels is good, and sacred, and meaningful, and happy, and cuddly, because (I) he makes it to be so, and because others say it is, and because (I) he is never going to be Youssarian (although secretly (I) he dreams of becoming like him).

For those of you who don’t have time to delve into the story completely I recommend the movie. Otherwise, the book is a must read.

-by Simon Cleveland

"Waiting" by Ha Jin

Man marries a woman out of respect for his parents. Later, man meets another woman and gets a crush on her. They both wait for 18 years (without consummating their relationship) so that man can get a divorce from wife. Once the divorce is finalized, man marries woman, gets her pregnant and eventually discovers that he was better of with wife # 1.

When I picked "Watining" by Ha Jin, I was under the impression that the National Book Award committee did its homework by reading the story (not the book, but the story behind the book) before bestowing its prestigious award to the author. Boy was I wrong. The book never lives up to the expectations of the average reader. Believe me, I’m not looking for much. All I’d like to find is relief from the mundane feelings of boredom. If I’m to sacrifice 6 hours of my time for a book as opposed to learning a new language, watching a new movie, playing a new computer game, I expect to be entertained not with dull Chinese realism, but with a sensational story, a new custom, worthy vernacular, anything but mind-numbing realism full of bad human choices and self-pity.

My opening sentence of this short criticism summarizes the whole book. The rest of the story relates daily human interactions of an ill-conceived society. Do yourself a favor, learn a new language, play a new computer game, watch a new movie, anything but pick up this agony. If you must learn something about Chinese history, the Cultural Revolution, or complex societal relationships of the Eastern world, then I highly recommend “Wild Swans” by Jung Chang.

-by Simon Cleveland

"The Great Fire" by Shirley Hazzard

The only great thing about “The Great Fire” is its name.
This is one of those books that as you read it, you find yourself lost in thoughts about the morning commute, the long ago expired and still unpaid decal on your front windshield, about the dog, that you forgot to feed and you now know it repaid you by doing its business on the one spot of the carpet, which you fiercely guarded and hoped to protect before the weekend party with your boss and his pricy wife who for some time now has been…but then you collect your thoughts and try again to refocus your attention on this story of post war Japan and the Australian soldier who fell in love with a teenager, or was the chap British…and the she, the bosses wife, who strangely winked at you during the last Christmas party and you felt like choking…he must have been Australian since in the end he decided to stay with the girl in Australia…but now you know that the spot in the carpet would forever remain brownish with its if not putrid then at least nagging reminder of the day you forgot to feed the damn dog because the book you were tying to read…but who really cares whether the Australian and the teenager remained faithful to each other, after all the world really changed since 1947…and so you hope that the next paycheck would be enough for you to make a call to ‘Stanley Steamer’ and have them fix the memory of your immoral transgression...But back to the book! If you love British style novels of the kind where old ladies and younger chaps (with names like Bertram and Aldred) get together to have some tea, then in their spare time write long romantic letters, and from time to time remind each other of the horrid world war 2, this is the book for you. If you are like me, meaning you have so much on your mind that it’d take a much stronger novel to keep your attention pinned to its pages, then I highly recommend you withhold the urge to read this one.

- by Simon Cleveland

"Choke" by Chuck Palahniuk

The one thing you'll do as you read Chuck Palahniuk's "Choke" is literaly choke. Amidst the sex-aholic addicts, demented patients, colonial characterization of 18th century America and the sporadic jumps to the past for a glimpse of an abusive childhood, time and time again you'll choke and choke and choke.
You'll choke when you read about the strange idiot who thought he was the resurrected Christ and went about chocking on food in restaurants so that innocent folks could save him and from whom later he could extort money. You'll choke when you read about the demented mother who kidnapped a child and proceeded to make its life a living hell, while she committed crime after crime. You'll choke when you read about the strange compulsive freak who rather than taking control of his life proceeded to collect hundreds of rocks from the streets and bring them to his home and then store them in his bathroom, in his stove, in his refrigerator. You'll nearly vomit at the numerous disgusting descriptions of sexual intercourses, degrading acts of perversion and rape. I did. I should’ve dropped this book and instead picked up another, watched some TV, gone shopping or something else. But the one thing that'll really make you sick is the sorry excuse for a narrative, this ‘let me start a sentence for the sake of stating it, write a bit of gibberish for the sake of writing and end it without convening anything but the idea that this is a sentence with a noun, adjective and a verb’ foul and pathetic excuse for a book.

I now hate the 4 wasted hours on trying to get into the author’s mind, because I’m literaly convinced that the author is mentally sick.

Listen to my advice, yield to reason, DO NOT contaminate your mind with disgusting knowledge of middle age, bold characters with sticky fingers, empty hearts and compulsive and severely questionable mental states. Play a game of Monopoly, take your dog out for a walk, go swimming, skiing, scuba diving, anything but waste time on this book. If you don’t believe me, believe Nietzsche who said in his ‘Beyond Good and Evil’:

“…There are books that have inverse values for soul and for health….these books are dangerous and cause deterioration and dissolution…Books for the general public always smell foul: the stench of petty people clings to them…”

But you don’t even have to believe Nietzsche. All you have to do is trust the words of Mr. Palahniuk himself:

“If you’re going to read this, don’t bother. After a couple pages, you won’ want to be here. So forget it. Go away. Get out while you’re still in one piece. Save yourself. There has to be something better on television. Or since you have so much time your hands, may be you could take a night course. Become a doctor. You could make something out of yourself. Treat yourself to a dinner out. Color your hair….”

- by Simon Cleveland

“The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen

How good could a book be? Everyone asks ‘Was it a good book?’ ‘Was is worth it?’ ‘Was is interesting?’

Could a book be simply ‘good’, or just ‘very good’, or ‘very very good’, or ‘excellent’? Rather, what if I said that it was so good that if it was a fish, its eye would be the size of your head? It was so good that if measured in the length of yarn, its distance would be enough to rap itself around the Earth six times and still have enough to cover the length of I-95 from Maine to Florida and back. Or, it was that good that if it was a laugh, you’d not want to stop until your eyes were crying rivers, your heart was pounding so fast it resembled a water pump on steroids, your hands were sweating so much that you wished for a second to be made of sand, to be dead.

I am talking about ‘The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen and I’m still trying to answer the nagging question ‘how good was it?’

It probably wouldn’t be enough for you if I told you an elite magazine called it simply a ‘masterpiece’. You’d probably like to know more if I mentioned that when I read it all I could think of was forsaking everything else that made sense in life and wanting to run head over heels to the nearest book store for another of Mr. Franzen’s ‘masterpieces’. Yes indeed. The book was so good that it could make a lazyboy chair sit upright and beg to be taken out for a walk. It was so good that I resembled a dog who sniffed the juiciest stake it ever laid eyes on and simply turned away because there was something better, something more exciting waiting in the other room.

You know what? I can’t put it into words. And you know why? Because I lack the mastery, the skills, which Mr. Franzen has in order to create dimensions into the minds of the readers. That’s how good the book was. It not only engaged me as a reader, but it actually drew me into the substance of its words, it pushed me down a slipper slop on a brand new shiny slay while at the same time it held my hand and patted my back to calm me down. It was as good as the feeling I get after a crazy week when I finally marinate in front of the TV while watching the latest episode of ‘The Sopranos’.

As I was reading the colorful utilization of language, I couldn’t do much else but wonder at the possibilities this book opened for me as a writer. ‘And you thought you’ve read it all’ is all I could say to myself. No, my friend, you haven’t read anything until you read this book, because I can say that it’s not only worth its own literary genre (see hysterical realism) but the fact that after 100 years, it’d still be listed as the Tolstoy or Joyce of the 21’st century.

It’s useless to give you an idea of the story line, because for the first time in my life I realize that a book doesn’t need to have a story line to capture one’s attention. If a writer can unfold reality to a degree where he folds the edges of it to create his own dimension of feelings, of experiences and of existence, that’s all a reader would ever need.

If you are near a library, look for this book. If you are near a bookstore, buy a copy. And then, when you sit down to read it, whether its in the nighttime or during the day, you’d recognize the power of words, the beauty of language, the value of ‘goodness’ in a book.

Mr. Franzen, you are my god!

- by Simon Cleveland

"Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot" by Richard Restak

Want to know why listening to Mozart could improve your brain? Check out “Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot : Unleashing Your Brain's Potential” by Richard Rastak. The author, a successful neuropsychiatrist, demonstrates (among other things) an exceptional awareness of the intricacies of the human brain. Based on his knowledge and professional experience (which includes decades of successfully treating numerous patients), he’s come up with 28 suggestions that if followed can not only improve memory and mental alertness, but also expand cognition and prevent brain cell degradation (avoid dementia and Alzheimer’s disease - read the book!).

For those interested in a summary of these suggestions, take a look at the book’s ‘Table of Contents’ (this way you can pretty much get the feel of what’s examined in the work). However, the suggested mental exercises deserve a special consideration (and that’s why I advise you to check out the book). Additionally, the author presents valuable details about the capacity of the human brain and effectively links it with its evolutionary development (another reason why the book is worth exploring).

Finally, I tried a couple of the proposed exercises (they truly work!!!) and came up with some good results, which I’ve posted in my other Blog “What Is The Meaning Of Life?”. Dr. Rastak’s language is smooth and easy to comprehend, the examples are quite useful and so I highly recommend this book.

- by Simon Cleveland

"How To Be Alone" by Jonathan Franzen

"How To Be Alone" by Jonathan Franzen is the most remarkable collection of essays I've read so far. Perhaps there's a better one, perhaps there are other authors whose mastery of language is sufficient enough to awaken my curiosity about the power of words over feelings. Perhaps, but I’m simply not aware of any other (hint! Help me find them). And in all honesty, I'm not sorry. Because once I've read Franzen, I've discovered the reasons behind my personal amazement of what language is. It is the realization that words carry feelings. Well, not quite. Words possess meaning and their poetic use delivers perception (yes that sounds better). Think about it. 7 million years of humanoid evolution and while the body slowly adapted its physiology to the demands of the environment, our brains played sluggish catch-up. And now, here we are, utilizing a language created only about 100,000 ago with a mind that is still learning how to cope with the billions of thoughts and physiological responses to everything imaginable, and at the same time being bombarded with words, most of which have already lost their sparkle even before the second cup of coffee is finished, and suddenly we discover Franzen's essay – the one beacon in the darkness of the mundane ocean of the familiar, the cliché – and it’s shining like a sun, pointing to the only source of emotions and meaning, reminding us of why we think, why we feel, why we live. Like a skillful organ player, Mr. Franzen manipulates the keys and pedals of words to create in me a frame of mind, feelings and dreams. And that’s what I call art.

I recommend this book to everyone who has ever wondered what it means to be a skillful writer. Even if you don't agree with what Mr. Franzen stands for, you are obligated (by the power of the written word) to take some time and read one of his essays (my recommendation is the 'Harper' essay. You won't be disappointed).

- by Simon Cleveland

"The Man Who Turned Into Himself" by David Ambrose

Ever since ‘Superstition” I’ve been hooked on David, so to speak. Reason? Because “Superstition” defied even the conventional expectations for what some may call a ‘mind-boggling’ novel. But this review is not about “Superstition”. It’s about David Ambrose’s first novel ‘The Man Who Turned Into Himself”. What can I say? For a first novel, the book is good (not exceptional). Having read some of his other works, I can almost see the progression of his writing and creative skills from good, to better. (“Coincidence” and “The Discrete Charm of Charlie Monk” deserve special mentioning).

Like his other novels, “The Man Who Turned Into Himself” incorporates scientific theories, employs extraordinary twists, and leaves the reader in admiration of the author’s bizarre imagination. ‘Rick’, ‘Richard’ and one other nameless character own the center stage of the book. Yes, they are three separate individuals, and yes, they are one and the same man, except all three converge into the mind of each and even physically manifest themselves within the reality of each. Confused? Not to worry, David Ambrose has taken good care of describing how that’s possible by attributing these intricate supernatural occurrences to the world of the quanta (the still little know and much less understood universe of the building block of everything around us). The story is remarkable; I congratulate David Ambrose on his labor. I must say, parallel universes and the resulting human behavior (as a byproduct of mastering the capacity to travel between them) deserved a story of their own and I believe this book is that story. However, despite the exceptional tale and the author’s superhuman attempt to ease the readers into it, something lacked. What lacked was the eeriness with which his latter novels petrify the observers. Who could resist the shivering sensation when Professor Sam Towne and Joanna Cross find themselves in a reality slowly erasing their existence, which they themselves created in the first place (See “Superstition’). Well, this same sensation never quite materialized in ‘The Man Who Turned Into Himself’ and I really really missed it. Regardless, for the lovers of the odd, this book may be engaging enough.

- by Simon Cleveland

"The Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality by Brian Greene should be assigned as a requirement reading for every high-school graduate in the nation and this isn't a joke. Sure, there are some hard to comprehend concepts, such as the Calaby-Yau shapes, Higgs field and String Theory, but this shouldn't turn down any life loving enthusiasts who are in search of understanding of the universe's nature. Aren't we all part of this phenomenon, and if so, why not try to understand it better?

Conceptually the material is presented with smoothness of language, intelligent humor and enough engaging examples to make even those not familiar with physics fall in love with the scientific data.
I'd like to commend Mr. Greene for a job well done (in my book you Sir get an A).

But what's the book all about? It's about the fundamental aspects of life - those tiny little particles of matter that we can't see, but that comprise our essence. And not really. It's about the essence of these particles, about the one component of all that matters, of the string that vibrates in its own way to shape the particles that shape us. And that's not exactly true. It's about the nature of the string, about its frame of mind, about its existence in its own universe, obeying its own physical laws. Ah, yes, now I'm getting somewhere. It's about the possibility of the seemingly impossible fact that not all of what we see is what we think it is. Yes, it's about the force, no, the meaning of everything. Well, perhaps I overshot it a bit. The book does not give an answer to the question "What is the meaning of life?" but it comes awfully close and the reader is left with awe and encouraged to uncover this meaning for himself. Think about it, if the universe has a beginning, if it’s obeying the laws of thermodynamics, if entropy is what it really is, then in this linear progression of time, in this unequivocal connection between space and time and gravity and electromagnetic forces lies the answer to the meaning of our existence. And what is it? The author leaves it up to us to make this determination. Trust me on this, put this book at the top of your reading list.

- by Simon Cleveland

"The Unfolding of Language" by Guy Deutscher

A couple of days ago I finished reading The Unfolding of Language : An Evolutionary Tour of Mankind's Greatest Invention by Guy Deutscher. Wow, it's exhausting just to say the name, imagine what it felt like to read the book. But, seriously the work is intellectually challenging and often provoked me to engage in thoughts on the ever changing state of human language. And yes, metaphors are the erodent of language (in case you were wondering). Many times I found myself reminiscing about the complexity of the ancestral expressions. By the way, anyone who thinks modern language is more intricate than say Latin or ancient Babylonian needs to pick up this book. Mr. Deutscher’s analysis seemed logical enough to make me a believer that dead languages were a lot more eloquent than modern ones. But this is where interesting stops and tedious begins. I felt this book was geared toward students in linguistics as oppose to the average reader (my apologies to the author, but I’m a graduate in business). At times it seemed Mr. Deutscher couldn’t make up his mind on what to include in the actual body of the book and what to leave in the Appendixes (and trust me, there is a lot that should’ve been left in the Appendixes). For example, consonances and grammatical rules of African languages did little to entice my eagerness to immerse myself in the constructs of language. Often I had to go back and reread some pages forcing myself to ascertain their usefulness and applicability in my daily life (unsuccessfully, if I may add). I expected the 'evolutionary tour' to include historical aspects of the human evolution, but...oh well. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend this book. Instead, for those readers interested in introductory material into the evolution of language (masterfully coupled with historical analysis) I recommend Genes, Peoples, and Languages by Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza.

- by Simon Cleveland