'A Gentleman in Moscow' by Amor Towles

A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles (4.0)

This is a delightful book with history, interesting characters and thoughtful situations throughout. My only complaint is the premise – would the revolutionaries of Russia have given an aristocrat house arrest in a fancy hotel for the rest of his life? If you can buy into that – following the Count as he watches the tumultuous history of the Russian revolution and beyond from the confines of the Metropol Hotel in Moscow is a treat. I particularly liked that his aristocratic affectations were charming and not obnoxious. Also the new Russia and Russians did not come across as cartoonish as they often are in fiction of that time. The Count’s ability to accept his fate and live his life to the fullest possible is admirable. One can learn from this character’s example that our attitude is a big part of our happiness, regardless of where we are.

'The Tortilla Curtain' by T. C. Boyle

The Tortilla Curtain, T. C. Boyle (3.0)

While I found this to be a very well written book, I did not enjoy reading it. Unfortunately the topic is as relevant (and painful) today as it was in the 90’s when it was written. The chapters follow various diverse characters existing (it’s hard to call it living, in some cases) in the same area of suburban LA. You have the relatively wealthy families who are moving out of the expensive LA basin into the larger yards and ‘nature’ of the canyon areas. They haven’t moved as far as the Valley (heaven forbid), but they admit they are avoiding the undesirable element that is taking over much of the affordable areas in the basin. Unfortunately for them, those same undesirables are the people who will do manual labor in their neighborhoods for next to nothing. So you also get to see the parallel existence of an illegal Mexican who has crossed the Tortilla Curtain and has brought his pregnant wife up to LA for a better life. I found the characters to be familiar and believable – though I was constantly wondering ‘is this really a better life?’ It certainly doesn’t appear to be. Mr. Boyle makes the dangers and inconsistencies of the day-to-day life of the Mexican family clear and heartbreaking. Three-quarters of the way through you ask yourself ‘can they take anymore of this bad luck? and unfortunately they will. Important, but hard to read.

'Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics' by Immanuel Kant

Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics, Immanuel Kant (2.0)

This book has been recommended to read in order to understand Kant’s philosophies. He wrote it as a supplement or ‘Cliff notes’ to his ‘Critique of Pure Reason’, which is considered by many to be undecipherable. Unfortunately this is not much easier, though luckily much shorter. He starts by saying that the majority of readers are not smart enough to understand (or critique, a particular sticky point with him) the material to follow, which is not exactly a confidence builder. He proceeds to attempt to answer 4 major questions: 1. How is pure math possible? 2. How is natural science possible? 3. How is metaphysics in general possible? 4. How is metaphysics as a science possible? I am proud to say I read the whole book, and had a reasonably good grasp on questions 1 and 2. By the time I got to 3 and 4, it was much muddier. I found his repeated use of a few archaic words and lack of examples did not help my understanding. It did help to read some of the passages aloud to someone and discuss. While I’m glad I read it, I can’t give this a high rating, as there are so few people who may actually enjoy reading it. I also believe that it isn’t the best book to read to understand Kant, as it doesn’t fully explain his points, more that he uses this Prolegomena to back-up criticisms that came later. This is one of the few times I would suggest if one wants to learn more, to read the Spark notes or Cliff notes of his ‘Critique of Reason’.