Animal Farm by George Orwell

I have a goal (more like a dream!) to finish reading the Top 100 Books of the Last 100 Years. This is now my 36th. So here goes!

When I started reading Animal Farm I was very amused. This is the story of Manor Farm where the animals were able to drive away their human farmers and take over. A farm that could run on its own without the intervention if humans was fascinating. The animals created their own rules, schedules and systems that made the farm run smoothly. All the animals were fed, all the cows milked, and all the eggs collected. The pigs, being the smartest creatures, set the rules and managed the farm, while the rest of the animals worked.  

First Edition Cover, 1945

But as I read on it became apparent that there was an underlying message.  Apparently the farm symbolized Russia and the animals the Russians. As time passed the pigs started to pass most of the work to the laboring animals and began enjoying the best food, sleeping in comfortable beds, and drinking alcohol even if these practices were against the commandments they initially set for themselves. The leader pig, Napaleon, symbolized Stalin.  This is symbolic of how power eventually corrupts those who have it and how their own rules start to deteriorate.  The laboring animals are abused and they are no better off than when the new leaders came to power.

George Orwell

It's something that happens to governments and makes you wonder whether its better not to have a government than to have one that is corrupt. greedy and abusive.  This question is subject to debate but what is amazing is how a seemingly unassuming 80-page story about animals can lead us to think as much. For me it shows the brilliance of the author to have been able to drive home the message without any mention of government or policies whatsoever.   George Orwell was a democratic socialist and a critic of Joseph Stalin. He was hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism.  

Other than government corruption, it also shows how leaders who are corrupt remain so when the people themselves are ignorant and indifferent. 

Time Magazine chose the book as one of the 100 best English-language novels (1923 to 2005)^. It also places at number 31 on the Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels.  Many of Orwell's works have influenced modern pop culture until today, including the terms "Orwellian", "Big Brother", and "doublethink".

All in all, Animal Farm was a great, seemingly light, but in reality a very thought-provoking read.  Highly recommended!

When The Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe

If you're looking for books written by Filipino authors who made it big in the international scene, then this is one of the books you must read.  It was precisely for that reason that we chose this book for our June Book of the Month at Read Philippines and while I was reading it I was pleasantly surprised. 

Reading When The Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe was like taking a stroll down memory lane with my parents and grandparents' stories of the 2nd World War.   The story begins in the middle of the Japanese occupation with two brothers, 10 and 12 years, who leave the safety of their cellar to look for food and unexpectedly get to witness the brutality of some of the soldiers.  When they get home to their anxious parents one of them is badly injured.

Tess Uriza Holthe

My heart immediately went out to the this group of people in Holthe's story which expertly captures the atmosphere of Manila during this time.  It was like living a life of constant fear and worry that each day might be your last.  The living conditions are by no means humane, with 5-7 people cramped in a tiny cellar, with no food or supplies, while bearing the stifling heat and breathing in each other's odors.  

The novel is written like an epistolary novel, where a section is devoted to telling the story of each of the main characters. Their heartwarming, even gut-wrenching, stories drew me in right away.  Each of the characters is very well developed and credible, especially that of Domingo Matapang. He embodies the philosophy that when elephants dance we fight back, instead of the having to hide.

Tess Uriza Holthe was born and raised in San Francisco to Filipino parents.  Her mother, who was an elementary school librarian, always had a book saved for her as she was growing up. Her father, a maintenance mechanic for a sweater factory, recounted stories of his experiences as a child during the 2nd World War in the Philippines over countless browned-bag dinners with Tess.   This was where Tess got her inspiration.  Click on Tess' photo to go to her official site.

But one thing that we must know about the title is that "when the elephants dance" the chickens don't necessarily have to be careful, as written in the opening of the first chapter.  In the last chapter Tess explicitly sends the message of the book that when the elephants dance we Filipinos have to stand strong together and put our differences aside. We are strong and we must keep our pride intact.

To Dusty Death by Hugh McCutcheon

After chancing upon this rare book in a used book shop, my friend bought it for me because she knew I was a sucker for thrillers. Little did she expect that I would enjoy it tremendously.

To Dusty Death is the story of Richard Logan who came out of a nightmare of blackness to find himself lying on a patch of waste ground with a lump on his head and no memory of what happened to him during the past three weeks.

Logan designs safes and could open them too, and upon returning home to his wife he found to his horror that in his pocket was the business card of a private detective whom his wife had hired to look for him and who had been murdered a few days before.

When further attempts are made on his life, Logan tries to retrace his movements during those lost 3 weeks. With the help of his wife he comes very close indeed to dusty death in a finish of almost unbearable suspense in Hugh McCutcheon's fast-moving action-packed thriller.

Don't let this book's thin and unassuming form fool you. The plot is fast paced, without a dull moment, and comparable to Bourne Identity and the action thriller film Unknown starring Liam Neason.

Richard Logan's character is brave and respectable, while the other characters are well developed as well.

The book is well-written and builds up to an exciting climax. It makes several references to literary authors and their works such as Shakespeare, Joseph Conrad, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.   The title itself comes from a quotation from a famous passage in Shakespeare s Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5.

Its surprising why it was published only by an obscure publisher from Israel in 1960. There is also very little information about Hugh McCutcheon available except that he wrote the script for the film adaptation of the book entitled Pit of Darkness in 1961.  He did write more than a dozen action novels before and after To Dusty Death, some also by the same publisher.

To Hugh McCutcheon, wherever you are, i hope to someday read the rest of your novels!

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

I finally finished the conclusion to widely acclaimed book-inspired Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke.  In this last installment, while the Folchart family is trapped in Inkworld, Mo has taken the role of the hero Blue-jay, a Robin-Hood like character.  While the evil Adderhead continues his dark reign over Inkworld, the White Book that Mo made for his immortality is now rotting and making him weaker.  Determined to take his revenge on Mo, the Adderhead allies with Orpheus, the Milksop and the Piper to kidnap the children of Ombra to force Mo to give himself up.  Mo strikes a deal with Violante and Death to stop the Adderhead, while Resa and Meggie must do all they can to help Mo before they can ever hope to return home.

While Inkheart happens in our world and can stand alone as a complete story, Inkspell and Inkdeath both happen in the magical realm of Inkworld and are written as one continous story.  Funke's Inkworld is a richly imagined world comparable to Hogwarts. It has everything from spirits, giants, glass men, brownies, faeries, shapeshifters, and giant nest trees, to old mysterious castles that are all a treat to the imagination.

Characters.  The leading characters are strong and well-built.  However, there are too many side characters and creatures that can make the story a little hard to follow. But if you have made it all the way to the third book you would probably have gotten used to it by now.  Perhaps this was Funke's attempt at making Inkworld as real as possible by filling it with all these magical creatures and places.

Plot.  Just like the first two books Inkdeath didn't have a strong linear plot that slowly builds up to a climax. Instead it has a long and winding one, and it took me a lot of patience to finish this thick, almost 700-page, book. There were several unnecessary scenes and events that only lengthened but didn't add to or build up the plot (such as Mortola's unsuccessful attempt to kill the Black Prince w berries, and Mo's transfer to the Castle in the Lake after he gives himself up to Violante because everything after that could have just happened in Ombra and there would not have been a big difference to the story.)

As a narrative for me the book fails completely, just like the previous books. Events happen and end abruptly without proper build up or transition even if they are crucial. Characters suddenly speak even before they're properly set up in the scene. It was a little difficult to follow at times. Perhaps it was 'lost in translation' from the original German?

Values.  As a children's book I would think twice before giving Inkdeath to a 10-year-old. It has more violence than expected including numerous sword slayings, flaying of a man alive, dismemberment, etc.  This to me makes it more fitting for young adults.

Mortimer's role as a father is central to the story but children may misunderstand that when he was being selfish and not thinking about his family he was actually under the Bluejay spell.   Resa's role as a mother entailed a lot of sacrifice on her part to save her family but was not properly appreciated nor acknowledged, especially by Meggie who remained distant from her until the end of the story.

All in all, Inkdeath can be an entertaining read as long as you don't mind the long winding plot. 3.5 stars.