'Life and Death in Shanghai' by Nien Cheng

Life and Death in Shanghai, Nien Cheng (5)

I seldom give a perfect score to a book, but I regularly cite this as one of my favorite non-fiction books. In this book Ms. Cheng has intertwined her harrowing experiences during the Cultural Revolution with the relatively confusing historical events. You are captivated by a personal story mixed with a history lesson. For those of us who have visited China, but were either not born or were too young to remember the tumult of the communist beginnings in the 50’s through 70’s, it is fascinating to see the struggles of power that happened yearly – like a ping pong match between groups competing to be more ‘Mao-ist’. Nien Cheng lived in Shanghai through it all. Given her husband’s position (working for Shell Oil), their money (a lot) and her eventual position at Shell after her husband died, she becomes a target of the Red Guard. They are determined to expose her as an international spy. One of the biggest reveals of the book is that she wrote it – so you know she survives – but you don’t know how. By the end of the fascinating events, I came to believe it was by combination of personal strength, the intelligence to use anything around her to her advantage, and plain confusion and stupidity of the events around her. This story is ultimately a sad one, but very much worth reading.

'China Mountain Zhang' by Maureen F. McHugh

China Mountain Zhang, Maureen F. McHugh (2)

I was surprisingly disappointed with this novel. I found it in the library and was taken with the many awards noted on the back cover, including Hugo and Nebula nominations. While it is set in a near future, which has China having taken over the majority of the US and has a parallel storyline concerning a commune on Mars, there was very little Science Fiction to note. The novel focused far more on social issues. The main character is a gay technician who happens to be half ‘ABC’, American Born Chinese and half Hispanic. The early 20^th century issues he faces with his lineage and his sexual orientation encompass the entire book. While important issues, they seem ill placed in this book. There were a couple of unique concepts – kite flying as a sport (where the fliers ride the kites while ‘jacked in’ to the internet); and engineers that design buildings by free forming ideas in a computer. But overall I slogged through this book – which is never a good sign.

'Being Mortal' by Atul Gawande

Being Mortal, Atul Gawande (4)

I believe this is an important book for all to read, though I’ll add the caveat that it is painful to read. The descriptions of aging, the sad tales of terminal patients and the obvious soul searching we are urged to do with regards to our own feelings and those of loved ones. With data and examples, Dr. Gawande illustrates how we have become a culture with advanced medicine that uses those advancements to draw out our lives, often with disregard to the quality. While the average person died (relatively quickly and peacefully) at home in the 1940’s, we now live longer and tend to die of frailty in a medical facility as the many larger maladies are staved off with advanced medical treatments. Living longer can be great, but he points out how often we (family members, loved ones) tend to forget there are still choices that can be made to keep the quality of life worthwhile – and how important it is to understand how each person defines that quality. While the discussion is painful, I can see the importance of understanding the person’s fears, wants and needs while making decisions that can hugely affect their daily life.

''The Moonflower Vine' by Jetta Carleton

The Moonflower Vine, Jetta Carleton (3)

I characterized the first 1/3 of this book as ‘an old lady’s book’ and continually put it down. I think the first section was too void of conflict and too milquetoast. After the first two sections (each chapter highlights a different family member’s point of view, though not their first person narrative), the real truth began to emerge and the characters became more real, complex and far more interesting. This is a story of a family in a relatively isolated small town in Missouri during the mid twentieth century. The father is a taciturn teacher, who has a clever, but not school smart wife and several daughters with very different personalities. Ms. Carleton does a very good job illustrating the dynamics of such a family – both good and bad. She also had painted a picture of the literal environment of Missouri that is far more lovely and inviting then I remember. While I don’t believe this is the missing classic many purport it to be, the eventual plot and character development won me over.

'A Maze of Death' by Philip K. Dick

A Maze of Death, Philip K. Dick (4)

I often wonder what draws me to PKD novels and short stories. They are dark, usually hard to follow and most often remind you that Mr. Dick wrote much of his work while under the influence of hallucinogens. ‘A Maze of Death’ once again reminded me of his amazing creativity and how forward thinking many concepts in his books are, but mostly, it surprised me. I treasure a story with an interesting plot and eye-opening surprise that is not just manipulative (a la ‘Gone Girl’). I quickly read through this book anxious to find out what was really happening. There are 14 individuals who have volunteered to colonize a planet – this is considered normal in this particular time/world. They don’t know what they will be doing on the planet – that is to be disclosed once they all arrive. A small hiccup occurs as their communication device (a tape recorder from the 60’s – a reminder of PKD’s real time frame) fails and the colonists are stranded without knowing their objective. As soon as this occurs, one of the colonists is murdered. In Agatha Christie style, one by one the characters are picked off, with no idea if they are part of a government experiment or victims of a crazed colleague. Layered over the plot is a culture with a unique religious context. Several of the characters seemingly can directly contact their deity and his minions, which leads to interesting diversions and possible explanations for their situation. Overall, I’m surprised this has not been made into a movie – definitely a peer to ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Minority Report’.

'The Martian' by Andy Weir

The Martian, Andy Weir (4)

A few chapters into this book, I was afraid it might be one long MacGyver-like story with too many paragraphs devoted to detailed explanations of the main character’s prowess in keeping himself alive. Luckily (or maybe I should say ‘skillfully’?), Mr. Weir adds a lot of drama, humor and interesting twists and turns so that this story is less a how-to textbook and more of a riveting adventure tale that has been compared to Robinson Crusoe or ‘Castaway’ without a Wilson. The book starts with an astronaut, Mark Watney, who has just been accidentally stranded on Mars by his colleagues. They believe he is dead and they evacuate in a hurry, luckily leaving much of their provisions and equipment. In this near future, there are several planned trips to Mars (similar to the Apollo missions of the 60’s), so Mark now has to figure out how to stay alive until the next group arrives – in over a year’s time. I don’t want to give away too much, but I will say I found the drama more interesting and compelling than that of ‘Castaway’. The unique locale, Mark’s brilliance and humor, and very realistic situations combined to make this a great story. I was not surprised to hear that it is being made into a movie, but I recommend reading the book first!