The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm of a very mixed mind about this book. I'll break it down by what I liked and what I didn't like.

What I liked:

Weisman covers the past, present and future of the planet- if in the future humans are extinct.

He gives a lot of background about how humans have damaged the planet and caused the extinction of species from our very earliest history.

Weisman does a pretty good job of highlighting how complicated and awful the things that we're doing to the planet are. These things are harming animals (and presumably us) and might ultimately lead to the extinction or aggressive evolution of many species.

In the future, our extinction, whether or not caused by this damage (probably not- our extinction is unlikely because we're basically cockroaches of survival) will not fully heal the planet. In fact, some of what we do is monitor our own damage by fighting invasive species or keeping the nuclear facilities/gas refineries/other scary factories from melting down.

He also discusses the benefits of population control.

Terrifying.

What I didn't like:

This book is super disorganized and boring. The three parts and chapter headings claim a certain organization that doesn't hold up as you read. The effect is that you feel like you're just reading a bunch of examples of awful things we've done, and how this might play out in a humanless future. I think this is because the idea for the book/title was a gimmick for sales.

His discussion of population control is very irreverent and doesn't seem very professional.

Here's an important thing he didn't discuss. What if we don't all disappear (unlikely) and in a more plausible situation a huge number of us die of a modern epidemic. How do the survivors take care of and protect all the nuclear facilities/gas refineries/other scary factories from melting down? How do we avoid some terrifying doomsday political takeover? How do we simply deal with all the bodies and trash that's left behind?

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The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike

The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked the writing in this one better than the first one- less flowery. I also thought that this one by showing the ways in which the women did and didn't change over the years, solidified that Updike really knew who they were. Regarding this, I think reviewers are unfair to Updike in his character not being feminist creations. I don't think reviewers would be so aghast if the author were a woman (but possibly a little). Yes, these aren't morally inspirational women, but neither are they the same evil cartoon of a person. They are three very unique and developed characters. Everybody has at least a bit of a dark side, these women are witches, so obviously they going to be darker, but they are unique and dark in different ways. And without Daryl in this one, there is no element of being manipulated by outside forces in this one. Which is, at a minimum, empowering.

The aging perspective of the characters is interesting and realistic. They seem very much of their time. (Though this point gets boring sometimes- I didn't really need to read about Sukie complaining about computers like every grandma on the planet.) I can definitely relate to Suzanne's daughter and her relationship with her mom Suzanne.

That said, the story was less interesting or maybe just less fun than the first. I know that's not a fair reason to give it less stars, but there it is.

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Anthem by Ayn Rand

Anthem by Ayn Rand
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm not a fan of Ayn Rand's philosophy, but as the child of Cuban immigrants, I can't discount the horrors of "socialism" turned repressive regime. I know European countries have until recently prospered under systems that are more socialist than in the United States, and I'm generally in support of the progressive reforms of the left. However, I have a great distaste for the hero worship of leaders such as Che Guevara that helped bring about the oppressive regime of Castro in Cuba. So I do think Ayn Rand's work in Anthem, though a very heavy-handed allegory, has some value. Especially since Anthem is mercifully short and has a romantic subplot. Extra star for the love interest actually.

What I think is really too far is the idea that God is the ego, when it seems quite the opposite. In my opinion, God is closer to what happens when you voluntarily abandon the ego. A philosophy of the ego as God seems childish and as dangerous as the totalitarian socialism Rand opposes.

Also: Ayn Rand - How Is This Still A Thing?: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

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Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Allegiant by Veronica Roth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think maybe I had already lost interest in the series before I even started this book. But sometimes the third book in a series makes you fall in love all over again by tying things up in a fun and interesting way. Not so with this one. It was pretty boring. To the extent that I even became interested in some of the characters earlier in the series, this offered us little insight into them. Even the new setting in the third book didn't breathe any life into the story. I gave it an extra star because it gave a final resolution to the whole story, which I appreciate.

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Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having read my first graphic novel just a few weeks ago, I can't stop now. Alison Bechdel is really smart. Her subject matter is interesting, but what's more interesting is how she thinks about and writes about the subject matter. It's one of those books that mention a million other books. She makes me want to read even more.

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The Third Man by Graham Greene

The Third Man by Graham Greene
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The End of the Affair is one of my favorite books, but this doesn't move me as that did. As a mystery or moral tale, it's a good read.

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Cutting Teeth by Julia Fierro

Cutting Teeth: A Novel by Julia Fierro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Brooklyn playgroup plus their spouses and one nanny goes to Long Island for a short vacation together and drama ensues. Together the playgroup characters capture what it feels like to be a modern day parent in the urban United States: there is baby lust, difficult pregnancies, so much anxiety, a renegotiation in marriage, financial stresses, mom wars and jealousies, gender issues- both among parents and children- the whole deal. I don't think the author left anything out. I think that it very accurately captures the state of parenthood right now. This is not what it was like for previous generations, and (let's hope) not what it will be like for future generations.

My favorite part of the novel is the Tibetan nanny that grounds the whole story by being a reminder of the difference between things that matter and things that ultimately don't matter. Of course, in real life as in the novel, this reminder often doesn't stop us from experiencing the pain of our personal dramas.

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The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is part history of the development of genetics, part explanation of the working of genes, and part explanation of how genetics influences or causes certain diseases or traits. There is also a discussion of current capabilities in gene-editing and its ethical implications, though this feels too brief especially as it leans on a familiarity with the movie Gattica, which I have not seen. I regularly read science news and listen to science podcasts so I didn't feel like I learned much from this book, though I think it's a good general overview for someone who doesn't follow science in the news. I found the sections on individual diseases and traits to be the most interesting and would like to read more about that. Overall, not as in-depth or engaging as Emperor of All Maladies, Mukherjee's tome on cancer.

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Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. This book has everything. It's a literary beach read? The first half of the book is in the husband's (3rd person) perspective, and the story there is weird and really good. Then the second half is the wife's (3rd person) perspective and the story becomes more intense, detailed, and darker. The perspective is nearly omniscient by the end. It's mostly a story about loneliness, and being abandoned by family in all the different ways in which one can be. But it's also about staying faithful to family and friends and learning to help each other or ask for help when no one is deserving. (Or they are.) I think the thing I love the most is the story is made up of almost all anti-heroes that are made good, or partly good, only by their love of one another.

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Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This two part story is amazing. I preferred the first part, but both parts are great. It's a great opportunity to learn about Iran, fanatical religions and political parties both in general and specifically. But some of what I love the most is how Satrapi looks at both Iran and Austria's culture (or a more general Western one) through the eyes of a feminist.

It's sad that Iran remains an Islamic theocracy, under the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, since 1989 until now.

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