Category: Non-fiction Book Reviews

Non-fiction Book Reviews

Art and Biology: The Age of Insight by Dr. Eric Kandel

Dr. Eric Kandel is a vocal and very articulate advocate of unifying art and science, as opposed to previous scientists/philosophers who asserted the unbridgeable gulf between humanism and scientific study. Dr. Kandel’s Nobel Prize (2000) Prize is in Physiology or Medicine for “research on the physiological basis of memory storage in neurons.” Thus, it’s not surprising that towards the end of The Age of Insight, … Continue reading Art and Biology: The Age of Insight by Dr. Eric Kandel

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Non-fiction Book Reviews

The Judgment of Paris: Edouard Manet’s Cultural Legacy

Not about the Greek myth—take this book’s title literally. In the mid-1800s, Ernest Meissonier followed the rules of the French Academie des Beaux Arts and was revered as an artist, while Edouard Manet defied them—employing freer techniques and painting life as he saw it being lived—and was reviled. Such was the judgement of Paris. Manet’s paintings Olympia and Le Dejeuner Sur L’herbe caused scandals that … Continue reading The Judgment of Paris: Edouard Manet’s Cultural Legacy

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Non-fiction Book Reviews, Writing Craft

The Lady’s Genius Is In The Details: John Mullan’s What Matters in Jane Austen

The first time I read Jane Austen, I was hooked. If you had asked me at that time why, I wouldn’t have known what to say. Since then, I’ve read all her published novels. Not just once but several times. I have my favorites. Pride and Prejudice, of course. Then Persuasion, which I think is her most mature novel. I’d rank her other novels as … Continue reading The Lady’s Genius Is In The Details: John Mullan’s What Matters in Jane Austen

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Non-fiction Book Reviews

In Praise Of Love—But What Is It, Really?

If Àlain Badiou, greatest living French philosopher—that is, according to his compatriots—writes a book called In Praise of Love, wouldn’t you pay attention? After all, love is an ever fascinating subject and some of the greatest philosophers are French (Voltaire, Descartes, Sartre to name a few). And the French are up there as some of the world’s greatest lovers (after the Spaniards, Italians, and Brazilians—all … Continue reading In Praise Of Love—But What Is It, Really?

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Non-fiction Book Reviews, Writing Craft

Hemingway’s Paris of the Twenties: A Moveable Feast

In the cramped studio we rented when we first stayed in Paris a few months, a well-worn paperback of Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast lay on top of three or four books on a night table. The intriguing title was familiar, the first few pages beguiling. I “knew” Hemingway, having read two of his books. Reading about 1920s Paris in Paris? Who could resist? Besides, … Continue reading Hemingway’s Paris of the Twenties: A Moveable Feast

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Non-fiction Book Reviews

The Existential Life: Left Bank: Art, Passion and the Rebirth of Paris 1940-1950

Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. I heard those names spoken with some reverence by my professor of Western Thought, a course deemed essential to round out all college degrees by the university I was attending. In the next breath, the professor uttered, “Existentialism.” Even now, I’m not entirely sure what the word means although its precepts (or at least some of them) are … Continue reading The Existential Life: Left Bank: Art, Passion and the Rebirth of Paris 1940-1950

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Non-fiction Book Reviews

My Paris Kitchen by David Leibovitz

I can’t remember the last time I bought a cookbook. Until My Paris Kitchen, by David Lebovitz. The ones I have, I hardly ever consult anymore, since I have my own collection of recipes all organized in my iPad recipe app. But for me, if you throw in certain magic words, then I could be tempted to shell out a few dollars—I splurged on a … Continue reading My Paris Kitchen by David Leibovitz

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Non-fiction Book Reviews

Stark Truth: Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

I suppose in a large country like India you can see life in as many ways as you can imagine it to unfold. But in the poorest hovels of that huge country the reality is that life unfolds in ways you’ve never imagined. Ways that make you wonder how people can endure them. Ways that coax your admiration for a resilient social class whose existence … Continue reading Stark Truth: Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

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Non-fiction Book Reviews

The French do it again: An irresistible Story of Sex

How much do you know about sex? Probably less than you think. That’s how I felt, anyway, after reading The Story of Sex, a delightful book on sex. I first came across The Story of Sex in an article in theguardian.com with a long, formidable title: A graphic history of sex: ‘There is no gene that drives sexuality. All sexuality is learned. As if that … Continue reading The French do it again: An irresistible Story of Sex

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Lolita
Non-fiction Book Reviews

Mature Iranian Women’s Kinship with Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita—Reading Lolita in Tehran

I anticipated a great read with Reading Lolita in Tehran. It tackles two of my main interests—a woman’s journey through life, and her experience living in a culture quite different from that I live in. I strongly empathized with what I saw to be its underlying themes. But after reading pages and pages full of details to support those themes, I thought, okay, I get … Continue reading Mature Iranian Women’s Kinship with Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita—Reading Lolita in Tehran

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contemporary Fiction, Fiction Reviews, Non-fiction Book Reviews

Two Short Books Set In France

What accounts for tastes? The appeal to your senses or sensibilities? The pressure to be a la mode, maybe? Or, because something helps the image of you that you want to project to the world? There are a few things billions of people like for obvious reasons. Those, we have no need to explain. People’s fascination with Paris, for instance. I’ve never actually met anyone … Continue reading Two Short Books Set In France

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Non-fiction Book Reviews

The Real Jane Austen, A Life in Small Things: A Review

Reading The Real Jane Austen, A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne, I understood more clearly why Austen novels appeal to me. And, more than ever, I’ve come to appreciate these novels for their artistry. Not just as a reader—but maybe more importantly—as a writer. Once again, this book proves “God is in the detail.” But for details to serve fiction well, they must … Continue reading The Real Jane Austen, A Life in Small Things: A Review

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Non-fiction Book Reviews

Thierry de Duve: Kant After Duchamp

I read art books. Not often. Sometimes I just need a break from made-up stories. My interest in artsy pursuits dates from childhood. I got into drawing growing up with three brothers who refused to play with me. Today, I have pretensions to being a painter of sorts. Anyway, I read this book—all 500-some intimidating, fascinating pages of it. It teased me into expecting that, … Continue reading Thierry de Duve: Kant After Duchamp

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Non-fiction Book Reviews

Loving A Prince And That Summer in Sicily

How many ways can you get to know a culture different from that in which you grew up? One delectable way described in this review is through cuisines, which I’ve amplified in another post. Marlena DeBlasi takes a different tack in her memoir, That Summer in Sicily. While she does sumptuously describe sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures in earlier chapters, she seduces you into experiencing … Continue reading Loving A Prince And That Summer in Sicily

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Non-fiction Book Reviews

Nancy Singleton-Hachisu’s Japanese Farm Food

Who expects to be entertained reading a cookbook? Hungry, perhaps and eager to try out recipes from it. But, in fact, some cookbooks do more than give you recipes and possibly some background story behind them, so they’re not only informative, they’re entertaining. One such book is Japanese Farm Food. I know little about Japanese farms and indigenous Japanese culture except for what I’ve seen … Continue reading Nancy Singleton-Hachisu’s Japanese Farm Food

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