Tuesday’s with Morrie

But the world did not stop, it took no notice at all, and as Morrie pulled weakly on the car door, he felt as if he were dropping into a hole.

Now what? He thought.

ABOUT

Morrie did to Mitch what life could not—he got Mitch to cry.

Tuesday’s with Morrie is a potpourri of a dying man’s aphorisms; an archive of his days before the deadly ALS finally gets him. As Morrie awaits death with the finish line in sight, he reflects on what’s important in life.

Fresh out of college, Mitch is terrified of being left behind, of losing out to others. He indulges in a relentless pursuit of money and fame, not understanding what he wants from life…until he’s reunited with his dear professor Morrie, sixteen years after he left college. Mitch and his dying professor take up one final project before the curtain draws in on Morrie’s life—this book—which not only gives Morrie a mission to fulfil in his final days, but also pays his medical bills.

UPSIDE

Morrie, dear Morrie

It’s a naive, but delectable view of human experiences. Tuesday’s With Morrie is very, very touching and it made me cry. It’s now my go-to book when life gets hard.

The way Mitch intersperses the main line of story with snippets from his college life and random thoughts make the narrative dreamy. It also provides the reader with a more wholistic view of Mitch’s relationship with Morrie. In my view, one couldn’t have asked for a better layout.

The tone of the book is emotional and the writing extremely simplistic. While reading the book, I lived through Morrie’s gradual, inevitable decay. And when he died, I cried as I would’ve had for any other loved one. Like Mitch, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. At times, I felt like a fly on the wall, tuning in to one of the usual Tuesday conversations between student and professor, astonished by the latter’s courage in face of a disease as debilitating as ALS.

Morrie’s courage and resilience and his love for life shine right through Mitch’s words. As my eyes soaked up the book one line at a time, I became aware of Mitch’s love and admiration for his dying professor.

I thought about all the people I knew who spent many of their waking hours feeling sorry for themselves. How useful it would be to put a daily limit on self pity. Just a few tearful minutes, then on with the day. And if Morrie could do it, with such a horrible disease…

“It’s only horrible if you see it that way.” Morrie said. “It’s horrible to watch my body slowly wilt away to nothing. But it’s also wonderful because of all the time I get to say goodbye.

He smiled. “Not everyone is so lucky.”

I studied him in his chair, unable to stand, to wash, to pull on his pants. Lucky? Did he really say lucky?

Someday, I wish to find my Morrie.

DOWNSIDE

Tuesday’s with Morrie perhaps lacks the WOW factor because it brings nothing new to the table. There’s nothing in here that you do not already realise or know.

To some readers, Morrie’s ideas may sound excessively utopian and his way of life may seem impractical and unattainable. That is okay, because Tuesday’s with Morrie is not a self-help book, but a tribute to Morrie Schwartz. You may not agree with all that Morrie preaches, but you will surely recognise that he’s a courageous man with a heart of gold.

I would say…

If you plan on reading this one, do so with an open mind. Do not expect Tuesday’s with Morrie to solve life’s greatest mysteries, because it won’t. It will, however, inspire you to create the life that you will truly love. And perhaps as a reward, you’ll be reminded of someone who helped change your own life.

Morrie, wherever you are, may you find happiness and peace.

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Lolita

I knew I had fallen in love with Lolita forever; but I also knew she would not be forever Lolita.

– Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov

About

Perhaps in a strange, fateful way, Humbert’s inherent singularity and diabolical obsession with Lolita began with his child-love Annabel.

Humbert Humbert, a European scholar and college professor in America, is haunted by the memory of a lost adolescent love. A surprising turn of events upsets and ultimately wrecks his life when he disgracefully falls in love with Dolores Haze (nicknamed Lolita), the twelve year old daughter of his landlady. Obsessed and totally consumed by her thoughts, he’s ready to employ any grotesque scheme to posses his Lolita forever.

 Upside

Nabokov weaves a delicate net of lyrical prose to enthral his readers; Lolita is deeply expressive and intensely poetic. The story is told in first person, by Humbert himself, when he was held captive in jail. Such is the power of Humbert’s soulful utterances, that more than once the reader will nod in a scandalised affirmation of  Humbert’s vile desires.

It is disturbing to note that Nabokov’s obsessed pedophile isn’t entirely revolting or disgusting, but is someone you want understand. Humbert cleverly fools himself and the reader into believing that he is a caring, passionate lover who wants to protect his Lolita.

His justifications, his reasons and his outrageous declaration that it was Lolita who seduced him are nauseating to the reader’s human mind. Humbert is a sinful planner. He systematically secludes his prey and fills her with self-doubt and fear and robs her of a normal childhood. Inspite of this, the reader is unable to truly hate the pedophile.

While the reader is tempted to sympathise with Humbert’s sad past, Lolita almost always comes across as crass, and unworthy of much compassion. As distasteful it seems, at one point I was almost tempted to believe that Humbert and Dolores were part of a tragic love affair that just couldn’t happen for a million reasons.

Clearly, Nabokov is a master of deception. He has the reader hooked, confused, shocked- gasping for more. Lolita is a brilliant, brilliant character study.

Downside

Nabokov’s Lolita asks disagreeable questions.

To justify his conduct, Humbert directs the reader’s attention to the fact that in many tribal cultures, it is acceptable for a grown man to marry a 12 year old girl. He pleads that before he ever laid his dirty man-hands on Dolores, the precocious nymphet had already had sex with another boy. He desperately wants the reader to believe that 12 year old girls are ready to mate and cites numerous examples where young girls are sold by families in exchange of land, cattle, gold and whatnot.

While this may make the reader uncomfortable, I wouldn’t go so far as to classify this as a drawback of reading Lolita. Being compelled to tackle these questions of morality in today’s modern society is a part of what makes this book a great read.

I would say…

Pick this one up! I’ll give Lolita a full five stars for its creative world play. I cannot recall any other book that simultaneously evoked such conflicting feelings of disgust and charm in me. I will gladly recommend Lolita to anybody who’s willing to challenge his or her sanity.

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Sin Cera, Without Wax

“During the Renaissance, Spanish sculptors who made mistakes while carving expensive marble often patched their flaws with cera—‘wax’. A statue that had no flaws and required no patching was hailed as a ‘sculpture sin cera’ or a ‘sculpture without wax.’ The phrase eventually came to mean anything honest or true. English word ‘sincere’ evolved from the Spanish sin cera—‘without wax’. David’s secret code was no great mystery—he was simply signing his letters ‘Sincerely’.”

~Dan Brown, Digital Fortress

In this book the words did thrive, it’s a perfect five (I’m sorry I couldn’t resist).

Digital Fortress is one of the best techno-thrillers I’ve ever read. I’ve been bowled over. I just can’t take my eyes off this green book. I love it, I love it, I love it. The plot’s heavy on crypto, dense on love. I enjoyed Da Vinci Code, but this is some next level stuff. It’ll give you smart thrills. A perfect gum of cryptography, envy and love is what this is. I’d use more adjectives but school taught me to go easy on them— the less the better. Can’t say I learned well, but okay.

My takeaway from the book? “Everything is possible. Impossible just takes longer”.

Also, I cracked Tankado’s mystery code before the team did. Ha.

Wait, why am I babbling? Because I’m in love.

Dan Brown, you’re responsible for creating David Becker. You’re responsible for my insanity. I need a David Becker

See this is why I don’t like great books. They make you fall in love with fictional characters.
Why did the story have to end?

Sigh.