Inspite of being extremely busy over the past few weeks (paper deadline, finals week, etc.), I've managed to find enough time go through atleast a couple of chapters a day of A Clash of Kings, Book 2 of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin (my mini-review of A Game of Thrones (Book 1) is here). I am generally of the opinion that squels rarely live up to the original, but A Clash of Kings proves me wrong! While the first book laid the basic framework and introduced the numerous characters, this book really fleshes out the characters until they almost seem alive!
One of the unique features of this series is the style in which the story is told. Each chapter is through the eyes of a particular character. Martin exploits this beautifully, and literally transforms the reader into the character. I've never felt so intimate with the characters of a book! I was almost able to predict how someone would react to a situation before reading about it. The richness of each character is also amazing. No one is simply good or bad, but a shade of gray instead. The reader knows all the characters so well that it becomes extremely hard to take sides in a battle.
The book starts off a little slow, but quickly builds up. The book isnt big on action (other than the big battle towards the end), and Martin has been criticized for this often. But I think I really like the way he tells the story. The medieval politics, alliances being formed and broken, betrayal and backstabbing, ravaging and looting, courage, guilt, love, friendship, and a light sprinkling of magic and dragons makes recipe for a great read!
The thing I did not like much were the chapters on Bran, and Daenerys. Bran and his wolf dreams, were, well, boring. And Daenerys' story is basically at the same place it was at the end of Book 1. I wish there were more chapters on Tyrion (the most amusing villains ever), Arya, Jon, and Robb instead.
Just one last thing... It turns out that the author, George R R Martin did his BS and MS in Journalism from Northwestern University (I am a graduate student there)!
Update: I just finished reading the Prologue of A Storm of Swords (Book 3 of the series), and all I can say is WOW! Easily one of the best starts to a book I've read! This keeps getting better and better.
If you've ever had a dream in which you're painfully aware of having lost something, or someone, but you have no idea what or who has slipped away from you -- a dream in which an absence is a presence, a cookie-cutter-shaped hole moving like a ghost in the space around you -- you'll understand "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" intuitively. You may also find it devastating. - Salon reviewImagine it were possible to have a bad memory erased from your mind. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind discusses some of the serious philosophical questions associated with memory erasure. It also tells an old and beaten-to-death story in a very new, different and compelling fashion.
Joel Barish discovers that his long time girlfriend no longer even recognises him. It turns out that she underwent a surgery at Lacuna Inc. to have all memories of him erased. Simply to take revenge, Joel decides to undergo the same surgery himself! Most of the movie takes place inside his head. We see his memories as they get erased one by one. Somewhere along the line, Joel feels that he no longer wants to go on with the surgery, but there is little he can do about it...
In the dream sequences that Joel has while his memory is being erased, events happen in reverse chronological order (similar to Memento). At other places, particularly in the begining and the end, the order of occurance is left somewhat vague on purpose (see spoiler below for my interpretation). The acting is exceptionally good, music is nice, direction great, screenplay awesome. What more can you ask for in a movie? Well, an intelligent audience to appreciate all this!
As with other Charlie Kaufman movies like Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, it felt like something was wrong in the movie. I dont quite know what it was. I think its the fact that these movies are actually quite disturbing, but are told in a manner that covers up for that. So you end up neither too happy, nor at complete ease. The movies suggest deeper philosophical issues, under a thin veil of humor. But this is not all. There is something else that makes his style very original and unnerving - which is really great! All the three movies are strongly recommended.
How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot: Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each prayer accepted, and each wish resign'd. - Alexander Pope
Click below for some theories about the ending (MAJOR SPOILERS inside)
SPOILER - You've been warned!
Joel and his girlfriend end up getting back together in the end, even though they have lost all previous memories. Maybe the erasure is not perfect...
But what is more interesting is this. The original script goes way beyond and suggests that this is a cycle that keeps repeating! They keep erasing their memories over and over again for about 30 years! The ending in the movie kind of suggests this, but it is kept intentionally vague.
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.There is another theory which states that this has already happened. - Douglas Adams
There are many other subtelties being discussed at the imdb boards for the movie. Things like why Mary "hates" Patrick, and other bits of useless trivia...
I read Animal Farm a while back, but never got around to post an entry on it. There is very little I can say about this that hasnt been said about a million times already. But I do want to make a couple of points.
I found the Preface specially interesting. Orwell talks about the difficulties in getting this book published, thanks to the Ministry of Information and the self-censorship imposed by British publishers. What this really shows is how capitalism can be no better than socialism if the government (or any one entity) gets too strong. Thats what is happening in the US today (think Microsoft, RIAA, DMCA, etc.).
The other really interesting thing was how the Seven Commandments of the Animal Farm change over time. For example, "No animal shall sleep in a bed" becomes "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets", "No animal shall dring alcohol" becomes "No animal shall drink alcohol in excess", and the classic "All animals are equal" becomes "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".
This reminds me of something that was pointed out to me recently. Moses' commandment "Thou shalt not kill" got changed to "Thou shalt not kill another human being" over time to make eating meat okay. Changes like these happen all the time, and are forgotten by the society in a couple of generations. This is not something specific to socialism, or the type of governance.
The book gives a very vivid description of what was going on in USSR under Stalin, but I feel that a talented author can write a similar book on all the bad things going on in the western world today. With China advancing at the rate it is, one thing that is pretty clear is that democracy is not a necissity for efficient functioning of a country, and that socialism is not necessarily an evil.
Both capitalism and socialism have their perils. Its all a matter of perspective and either can be made to look worse than the other.
All animals are equal, But some animals are more equal than others.I will work harder.
I detest what you say; I will defend to death your right to say it. - Voltaire
Anyone remotely associated with Comptuer Science should know about Dr. Edsger W. Dijkstra. Here I reproduce his famous “advice to a young scientist”. (The original PDF is available here.)