Book Review: The Plague

The Plague by Albert Camus; translated by Stuart Gilbert (New York: Vintage International, 1948. 320 pp)

Born in French Algeria, Albert Camus was a renowned author and philosopher. He attended the University of Algiers. Camus is best known for his novels, The Plague and The Stranger as well as his view of absurdism in philosophy. He won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1957 and died in a car accident in 1960.

Stuart Gilbert was an English literary scholar and translator. He translated into English works from André Malraux, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Georges Simenon, Jean Cocteau, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Awaiting the Big One

It seems every couple of years, a potential pandemic arises. Whether swine or bird flu, society lives in fear of the next Spanish flu, a robust strain of influenza capable of wreaking havoc in the world. Perhaps this phobia emerges from the fear of the unknown. If we can’t measure and experiment it, how can we ever be prepared? Such an illness reminds us of the powerlessness of humanity. No matter how advanced our technology becomes, a small virus can destroy society.

Interestingly, the portrayal of pandemics exists throughout the media of artistic expression. Just recently, we encountered the theme in the blockbuster, Contagion.

While most certainly not the first in this genre (though it might be—more research is required and I am too lazy to do it), I found Albert Camus’ The Plague fascinating.

The Plague

Photo by José Goulão 

Chronicling the rise of a pandemic in the Algerian city of Oran in the early 1940s, The Plague follows Dr. Bernard Rieux and his fellow medical workers as they combat the bubonic plague.

Much like the devastating plague of the Middle Ages, residents begin the spiral downward when they notice the city’s rat population dwindling in dramatic fashion.

“Puffing a cigarette, Jean Tarrou was gazing down at the convulsions of a rat dying on the step in front of him. He looked up, and his gray eyes remained fixed on the doctor for some moments; then, after wishing him good day, he remarked that it was rather odd, the way all these rats were coming out of their holes to die” (13).

Soon, the strange rat deaths transfer to their human counterparts. What begins as a few cases emerging daily grows exponentially in the coming weeks. Very quickly, the plague overwhelms Rieux.

“And every evening mothers wailed thus, with a distraught abstraction, as their eyes fell on those fatal stigmata on limbs and bellies; every evening hands gripped Rieux’s arms, there was a rush of useless words, promises, and tears; every evening the nearing tocsin of the ambulance provoked scenes as vain as every form of grief. Rieux had nothing to look forward to but a long sequence of such scenes, renewed again and again” (90-91).

The grueling deaths from the plague create a miasmic atmosphere. Rieux and his motley assembly of volunteers traverse thequarintined city helping the sick. What follows is a life and death struggle between citizens and this faceless affliction.

Gritty Realism

For me, The Plague resembles Saramago’s Blindness and I wonder how much influence Camus provides for Saramago. The prose in The Plague displays a gritty realism reminding the reader of the ever-present danger lurking behind every breath, wheeze, and cough.

Camus vividly depicts this realism when describing the agony of infected Oran citizens. Recounting a young child, Camus writes:

“When for the third time the fiery wave broke on him, lifting him a little, the child curled himself up and shrank away to the edge of the bed, as if in terror of the flames advancing on him, licking his limbs. A moment later, after tossing his head wildly to and fro, he flung off the blanket. From between the inflamed eyelids big tears welled up and trickled down the sunken, leaden-hued cheeks. When the spasm had passed, utterly exhausted, tensing his thin legs and arms, on which, within forty-eight hours, the flesh had wasted to the bone, the child lay flat, racked on the tumbled bed, in a grotesque parody of crucifixion” (215).

Such prose is heartbreaking and horrifying. The level of detail strikes fear in the heart of men. What is keeping our modern society from facing a new strain inflicting damage such as this?

A Fight Against Terror and Its Relentless Onslaughts

Albert Camus

Truthfully, life will always be a fight against such unknown assailants. Camus poetically ponders,

“Nonetheless, he knew that the tale he had to tell could not be one of a final victory. It could be only the record of what had had to be done, and what assuredly would have to be done again in the never ending fight against terror and its relentless onslaughts, despite their personal afflictions, by all who, while unable to be saints but refusing to bow down to pestilences, strive their utmost to be healers” (308).

When such unknowns emerge, a robust resolve to heal is the only response humanity has. Epidemics come and go. Some exotic bacteria will wreak havoc someday. But humanity has a choice. We can either cower behind an inevitable deterministic attitude, or we can fight.

Camus’ The Plague exhibits the horrifying nature of disease. It also promotes the tenacity of humanity. If you are interested in gritty realism, check out The Plague.

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5
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Posted by: Donovan Richards

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Book Review: 1Q84: Book Three

1Q84: Book Three by Haruki Murakami (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. 1184 pp)

Born in 1949 in Japan, Haruki Murakami studied drama at Waseda University. He began writing fiction at the age of 29, inspired to write a novel while watching a baseball game. Murakami earned literary fame with his best-selling novel, Norwegian Wood. In the wake of its success, he earned writing fellowships at Princeton University and Tufts University. Murakami has won the Franz Kafka Prize, the Kiriyama Prize, the Yomiuri Prize, the Jerusalem Prize, and the International Catalunya Prize.

Check out reviews for Book One and Book Two.

Do We Need the Answers? 

I recently confabulated with a friend about the hit television series, Lost. While I thoroughly enjoyed the entire scope of the show, my friend became increasingly frustrated as the seasons passed. For him, the larger and more complex the plot and setting became, the less interest he held in the show. I, on the other hand, appreciated the core narrative thrust of the series—the characters and their relationships. I knew I would never find answers but, to me, Lost wasn’t about answers.

I find the concluding book of 1Q84 to suffer from the same issues my friend presents in his Lost argument. The world Murakami has built over the course of 700 pages is grand, mysterious, and unexplainable. While I enjoyed Lost because of its characters, I never found a similar connection with Tengo and Aomame in 1Q84. As such, the unexplained mysteries moved to the front of my mind and I now comprehend my friend’s position regarding Lost.

The Sleuth 

In Book Three of 1Q84, Murakami adds another central voice. Where previous books altered between the perspectives of Aomame and Tengo, Book Three adds an antagonist, Ushikawa.

A supporting character in the previous books, Ushikawa takes center stage when Sakigake hires him to hunt down Aomame in the wake of a mysterious death to their Leader.

Photo by Alastair McFarlane

An ugly man with an unusually large head—some have nicknamed him a bobblehead—Ushikawa stalks a cold lead. After the night Aomame spent time alone with The Leader, she has disappeared off the map.

Ushikawa scours her history hoping to find the smallest lead to this supposed assassin. After countless weeks on the trail, he might have found a connection—Tengo, the ghost writer who rocked Sakigake with the novel Air Chrysalis. Could Tengo and Aomame have been in cooperation? To find out, Ushikawa stakes out Tengo’s residence.

Shadowing Tengo through his residential Tokyo district, Ushikawa notices Tengo’s unusual attention to the moon. Finally, he, too, gazes at the celestial being.

“Ushikawa always saw himself as a realist, and he actually was. Metaphysical speculation wasn’t his thing. If something really existed, you had to accept it as a reality, whether or not it made sense or was logical. That was his basic way of thinking. Principles and logic didn’t give birth to reality. Reality came first, and the principles and logic followed. So, he decided, he would have to begin by accepting this reality: that there were two moons in the sky” (845).

In a moment, Ushikawa’s world turns upside down.

The Holed-Up Assassin 

Meanwhile, Aomame shrouds herself within an apartment in the same Tokyo district. After meeting with The Leader, her life hangs in the balance. Secrecy, carefulness, and patience mean the difference between life and death for Aomame as Sakigake searches for her.

Aomame’s only defense resides in the gun on her dining table.

“She sat at the dining table and picked up the automatic pistol. She pulled back the slide, sending a bullet into the chamber, thumbed back the hammer, and stuck the muzzle in her mouth. Just a touch more pressure with her trigger finger and all this sadness would disappear. Just a touch more. One more centimeter. No, if I pull my finger just five millimeters toward me, I will shift over to a silent world where there are no more worries. The pain will only last an instant. And then there will be merciful nothingness” (641).

Despite not having relations with a man for an extended period of time, Aomame soon feels the telltale signs of pregnancy. A couple home pregnancy tests later, Aomame confirms the impossible—an immaculate conception.

In some inconceivable way, Aomame is convinced the child in her womb belongs to Tengo, her childhood classmate for whom she’s loved since her earliest years.

“And there’s a clear reason I’m here. One reason alone: so I can meet Tengo again. If you look at it the other way around, that’s the only reason why this world is inside of me. Maybe it’s a paradox, like an image reflected to infinity in a pair of facing mirrors. I am a part of this world, and this world is a part of me” (855).

Despite her current need to remain invisible, Aomame desperately seeks a way to reconnect with Tengo.

An Aloof Writer 

Finally, Tengo remains oblivious to these underlying themes. Worried about the backlash from Air Chrysalis, Tengo travels to his father’s nursing home finding him in poor condition.

Photo by Trey Ratcliff

Even more, while visiting, Tengo encounters an extraordinary vision of an Air Chrysalis (a complex bubble made from strips of air) with Aomame in it. This discovers sparks the flame for his grade school crush and he, too, seeks to find Aomame. But the vision also alters Tengo. He no longer knows what is real.

“Was this actually real? Or had he once again boarded the wrong reality? He asked a passenger nearby and made sure this train was indeed head to Tateyama. It’s okay, don’t worry, he told himself. At Tateyama I can change to the express train to Tokyo” (723).

With Ushikawa, Aomame, and Tengo spiraling closer together, life, death, and the fate of the world hang in the balance.

When a Plot Needs to Provide Some Answers 

1Q84 depicts the brilliance of Huraki Murakami’s imagination. A talented writer, 1Q84 is an entertaining read. But the grand scope of the novel begs for deeper explanation. We have a narrative with parallel universes, mysterious spiritual beings called the Little People, and magical floating globes made of air called an air chrysalis. The analytical side of my brain wants answers. Why did this crazy world exist? How did it happen? I loved Lost and didn’t mind not receiving answers because the point of the show wasn’t about the world surrounding the characters; the point was the characters.

Perhaps Murakami attempted to do the same with 1Q84. But I’m not drawn to these characters. Maybe it’s because I’m not an assassin or a ghost writer. However, Lost had its fair share of extreme characters and it wasn’t a problem.

In the end, I really enjoyed the buildup in Book One and Book Two but I wished Murakami could land the plane with Book Three. I appreciate reading 1Q84 but I wish it were better.

Book Three Verdict: 2 out of 5 stars

1Q84 Verdict: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Posted by: Donovan Richards

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Film Review: The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises directed by Christopher Nolan; written by Johnathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan, and David Goyer (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Entertainment, and Legendary Entertainment, PG-13, 164 Minutes)

Starring Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Anne Hathaway

The Trilogy Phenomenon

I’m forever dubious of the trilogy phenomenon. Whether it be The Hunger Games, the dreadful Twilight phenomenon, or even something wonderful like The Lord of the Rings, I find myself stepping foot into the movie theater ready to undergo some form of disappointment. Why? Once the second or third movie is made, the filmmakers all too easily assume it’s a sure thing that people will see the movie, as they are already invested in the franchise’s past. As a result, the filmmaker (or even author) will normally put less effort into the storyline, and the story ends up flat-lining.

However, with the Dark Knight trilogy, I’m happy to say I didn’t find my worries to be the case. In the last installment of the Christopher Nolan series, The Dark Knight Rises succeeds where so many other trilogies fail only because it holds the key: redemption.

Dark vs. Light

Redemption is what makes the story flourish. In the wake of the Aurora, Colorado shooting, it would seem as though redemption is hard to find in The Dark Knight Rises. And, in such a darkly made film, one would assume redemption would be the last thing to find. However, I think Nolan intentionally uses the darkly lit screen and the depravity in the storyline to intentionally illuminate this single theme.

In the final installment of the Nolan trilogy, we find Batman/Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) secluded in his mansion, unaware of the city around him. Peacetime has entered Gotham City, and while Gotham rejoices, Bruce Wayne lingers in endless depths of remorse. 

Simply, Wayne is a defeated man and suffering a loss of a dead lover, Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhall from The Dark Knight) when a thief (Anne Hathaway) enters his mansion stealing his fingerprints. This simple act spurs Wayne out of inaction and into saving his city from a new threat, Bane (Tom Hardy).

Torture of the Soul

Avoiding any major spoilers, Bruce Wayne eventually finds himself in a prison with a way out: to climb. Put there by the villain of the movie, Bane, Batman is now worse off than he was before. Feeble, broken, and damaged he wallows in prison as the guards slowly work to bring him back to health. The question is, “Why?”

Bruce Wayne: “Torture?”Bane: “But not of your body...Of your soul.”

A television screen dimly lights the prison where Wayne recovers. It shows footage of a broken Gotham falling into anarchy. Wayne can’t help but watch, knowing he is stuck in prison.

Bane explains there is no worse torment than to see and grasp hope and not attain it. Eventually, Wayne gets better and stronger than before. He tries to climb out with a safety rope, but can’t make it. 

Why? He isn’t afraid; he is simply angry. Bruce fails time and time again, unable to make the jump. The prison’s physician reminds Wayne that fear is good, and fear is healthy. The right kind of fear motivates, and the proper fear is even redemptive. Wayne finds his fear is ultimately for others: it is a sacrificial kind of fear.

Wayne must become like a child (akin to Matthew 18:3) in order to get out. A child ascended before, without the rope, and made it. Wayne is forced to do the same in order to reach out to his devastated city and save the day as the Dark Knight. 

Wayne’s past and brokenness is redeemed because he is forced to be like a child. More to the point, an entire city discovers redemption because one man was forced to realize his ardent love for his city and reconcile with the truth of the situation. 

As Alfred (Michael Caine) puts it in the movie: 

“It’s time for truth to have its day.”

Christopher Nolan finds a way to make truth have its day. He puts forth the theme of redemption throughout the entirety of the movie, making The Dark Knight Rises a fitting end to the trilogy. If you haven’t, I sincerely recommend seeing the movie now.

Verdict: 4.5 out of 5
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Posted by: Andrew Jacobson

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Album Review: Ten Stories

Ten Stories by mewithoutYou (Pine Street Collection, 2012. 40 minutes)

mewithoutYou is an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band includes Aaron Weiss (vocals), Michael Weiss (guitar), and Rickie Mazzotta (drums) with a carousel of supporting musicians. mewithoutYou signed with Tooth and Nail Records releasing their first four records with the label. Ten Stories is self-released and offers a return to the band’s earlier sound.

Circular Narrative 

“All circles presuppose they’ll end where they begin, but in their leaving can they ever come back round.” – Aaron Weiss adapted from Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit.

Looking back on the music that defined my teen years, not much of it carried staying power. I liked ska, but the genre died in 1995. Punk rock had energy, but the lyrics are pointless and I have nothing to angst against. Hardcore and Metal, for the most part, exist as a medium by which talented musicians prove their worth; I don’t want to listen to their unending quest for technical superiority.

Of the bands in my teenage years, mewithoutYou is the only one sticking around. While my teenage-self rocked to energetic music caring little about the lyrical content, the rich narratives penned by Aaron Weiss supplement my current passion for the band.

Background Narrative 

In truth, Aaron Weiss has always been narrative-heavy. In fact, my first introduction to the band emerged from the most interesting band blog post I’ve ever read.

To be concise, mewithoutYou—a Philadelphia-based band—played a show in Baltimore. Ever seeking introspective solitude, Aaron urged the band to depart for Philadelphia without him—he wanted to walk home. What ensued was a half-hilarious, half-existential account of this singer’s 3 day hike back home.

I’ve been a fan ever since.

Circus Narrative 

With Ten Stories, we find mewithoutYou flourishing underneath rich lyrical stories. The album’s opener, “February, 1878”—an inside joke since the band has a song titled, “January, 1979”—depicts a horrific circus train crash.

“February 8th, 1878 south of Trout Creek west of Cedar Lake on a winding mountain trail of the North Pacific Union Rail, the snow arrived on time the circus train was running late rip spot’s past and all the knuckles worn firebox bursting to the running boards a pounding in his chest crushing like a cider press the Hogger rode the throttle round the bender like a flank-strapped horse”

Some animals flee in the melee; some remain in the opened cages, afraid of change.



The rest of the album, then, tells the stories of these escaped animals.

While the animals experience a wide spectrum of life, my favorite tracks are “Aubergine” and “Fox’s Dream of the Log Flume”.

Romance Narrative 

Literally, a love song between a labrador and an aubergine, “Aubergine” also unveils the inner fears of Weiss.

“Sugar down the syrup in the Queen Anne’s lace shining in the light of the nightshade cultivating unsophistication in my face trying to think of nothing to say / grapes gone sour and the spinach went to seed (it was spindly and sick from the outset) / waiting for the hour with the wherewithal to leave, patient as a dog for its master. / The Labrador was locked to the promontory rocks, she called down ‘time is an illusion.’ / An inconsequential shift as the continents drift but my confidence was crushed and I miss you regardless.”

While certainly ethereal, such pointed observations can only exist with experience. I can certainly relate to waiting with the wherewithal to leave.

Philosophical Narrative 

Additionally, “Fox’s Dream of the Log Flume” provides a sublime example of Weiss’ brilliance:

“FOX: Provisionally, ‘I’ practically alive mistook signs for signified and so since have often tried to run them off the cliff like Gadarene swine and tied my though-ropes in anchor bends wondering whether we were someone better, then, or maybe just better able to pretend (and what better means to our inevitable end! BEAR: No, I don’t know if I know, though some with certainty insist ‘no certainty exists’ well I’m certain enough of this: In the past 14 years, there’s only one girl I’ve kissed”

“Provisionally ‘I’” and a “provisionally ‘you’” from later in the song emerge from existentialist thinker Martin Buber. The “I” and “You” only have meaning in relationship with each other. Yet, at the same time, we are individuals. We aren’t “I” unless there are others in relationship with us, but, only as an individual can we even consider the idea of “I”.



Weiss’ mention of Gadarene swine paints a vivid metaphor. Weiss is referring to the story in the Synoptic Gospels where Jesus casts a legion of demons out of a man and into a drove of pigs sending them careening of a cliff to their demise.

Weiss unlocks a classic philosophical fallacy when he states, “some with certainty insist ‘no certainty exists’”. Any collegiate level course on epistemology will communicate the difficulty of finding certainty. Blame it on Descartes but we can never find conclusive proof for any claim. Yet, to state with certainty that we can’t find certainty is a fallacy. We can only talk in terms of what is most likely to be true.

Circular Narrative 

With Ten Stories, mewithoutYou has come full circle in connection to my listening experience. While as a teenager I focused almost exclusively on the music, my journey led me away from the band as I grew and expanded my tastes. But like any circle, progress brings me back round again as I find enlightenment in another aspect of the band’s sound—namely, the lyrics.

mewithoutYou is not for everyone. If you need a beautiful singing voice or sweetly tuned instruments, I suggest you steer clear. But, if your sweet spot in music surrounds brilliantly deep lyrics, give Ten Stories a listen.

Verdict: 4 out of 5

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Posted by: Donovan Richards

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Book Review: The Queen's Lover

The Queen's Lover: A Novel by Francine Du Plessix Gray (New York: Penguin Press, 2012. 259 pp).

Francine du Plessix Gray (b. 1930) is a Pulitzer-prize-nominated writer and literary critic. She is most known for her works, Them: A Memoir of Parents, and At Home with the Marquis De Sade: A Life. For the former, she received the National Book Critics Circle Award.

High Society Problems

When I was in high school, we, as a class, were forced to read the dreaded Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I didn’t connect with the book at all, and didn’t care to. I never liked the novel because it was both dry and boring in my opinion. I didn’t care enough of aristocratic high society problems to even give the novel a chance. Similarly, The Queen's Lover by Francine Due Plessix Gray explores some of those same problems in a work of historical fiction, and I found myself running into the same problems I had with Pride and Prejudice.

A Masquerade

Told in memoir-type format, the novel reads more like a journal—so realistic I found myself wondering how much of it was true. The Queen’s Lover begins at a masquerade ball in Paris in 1774, where Swedish nobleman Axel Von Fersen meets a dashing young woman.

Photo by Mark Sebastian

“My new friend also had grown aware, quite suddenly, of the band that had gathered about her; and without saying good-bye, as impulsively as she had begun our conversation, she wheeled around and swiftly walked away, briefly lifting the gray velvet mask off her face with an exasperated gesture, as if it were smothering her and she needed to inhale a deep breath of air. It was in that split second that I realized who she was—that I recognized her as Marie Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria-Hungary, beloved daughter of the mighty Empress Maria Theresa, and now the wife of the notoriously timid, reclusive Dauphin Louis-Auguste, who might at any moment become the king of France” (16).

An Affair and a Revolution

Photo by Panoramas

Marie Antoinette soon becomes Queen of France, and the encounter at the masquerade ball launches a life-long affair spanning the course of the French Revolution. Fersen, through his ties with Antoinette, becomes close with King Louis XVI, and the entire royal family. Fersen would like nothing more than to stay at the side of his beloved Marie-Antoinette, but the American Revolution tears him away. He is one of the first to enlist in France’s group of militiamen to fight for America’s independence. Much changes while Fersen is gone, as in 1789 the Bastille is stormed. At this point in the novel, it read less like the dry Pride and Prejudice of my youth, and more like exciting historical fiction. 

The revolutionaries hate the king,

“He was indeed witnessed to have eaten, for breakfast alone, four veal cutlets, a chicken, a plateful of ham, half a dozen eggs, and a bottle and a half of champagne. It is at this point that the king’s enemies began to refer to him as ‘the fat pig’” (79).

However, Fersen provides a different portrait of the king, Fersen shows the king to be loving and compassionate, and holds deep affection for his lover Antoinette's husband. As a result of this compassion, Fersen devises an escape for the family and their young children (who are suspected to be Fersen’s children). The attempt, however, fails, and Fersen is forced into captivity while he waits for the King and Queen to face the guillotine.  

While the novel started out in aristocratic, high-fashioned prose akin to that of the famed Jane Austen novel, I found that The Queen's Lover ended up being much more dramatic, more exciting, and more riveting for me in the end. Francine Due Plessix Gray did a fantastic job writing a memoir of historical fiction, where it was believable in every way.  She did so well crafting the novel that I may even give Jane Austen a second chance.

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5

Posted by: Andrew Jacobson

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Book Review: Design for the Real World

Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change by Victor Papanek (New York: Pantheon Books, 1971. 394 pp)

Born in Vienna, Austria in 1923, Victor Papanek immigrated to the United States to study design and architecture. He earned his B.A. at Cooper Union and his M.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Papanek taught design at many institutions worldwide and functioned as a strong advocate for socially and ecologically responsible design.

The Many Hues of Charity 

It’s very easy to become caught in the notion of charity equaling money. We see disasters on television and nothing seems easier than a monetary contribution from the friendly confines of our couch. Some, however, choose to dive deeper. They see a need in the community and they volunteer outside of work hours. Could we go farther? Is there a way to use your time on the clock to help those in need?

A divergent thinker, Papanek’s Design for the Real World peregrinates through a myriad of topics over the course of its 300+ pages. But in particular, I found his thoughts on work as charity intriguing.

The Meaning of Design 

Photo by Vector Hugo

For starters, let’s get on the same page regarding the meaning of design. Living in the midst of the Internet era, one might confuse design with web development—the act of creating a website. Yes, design can take the form of building a website. But it’s much bigger.

Others might consider design through the lens of logos and typography. While design plays a part in producing these items, it’s more holistic.

For Papenak,

“Design is composing an epic poem, executing a mural, painting a masterpiece, writing a concerto. But design is also cleaning and reorganizing a desk drawer, pulling an impacted tooth, baking an apple pie, choosing sides for a back-lot baseball game, and educating a child” (3).

In short, design is the act of creativity behind solving a problem.

The Problems of the Design Industry 

Design can be a lucrative industry. The world is rife with problem solving opportunities. As designers continue to use their skills to create new products and solve increasingly complex issues, Papenak’s Design for the Real World represents a careful caution about reckless design-for-profits.

Instead of designing products that last, designers create goods with designed obsolescence—one makes more money when customers continually repurchase the same items. Even more, most of the design industry caters to the highest classes. While 80% of the world struggles around the poverty line, designers work on the next product for the affluent.

Papanek mourns this development:

“Isn’t it too bad that so little design, so few products are really relevant to the needs of mankind” (51)?

Working Charitably

Papenak argues for a charitable principle in the design world. Much like the Old Testament tenet of “gleanings”, Papenak suggests designers devote a portion of their time lending creativity and problem solving abilities to social and ecological issues.

“Being designers, we don’t have to pay money in the form of kymmenykset or a tithe. Being designers, we can pay by giving 10 per cent of our crop of ideas and talents to the 75 per cent of mankind in need” (57).

Photo by Anna

The entire world needs to experience the gift of design. Imagine the result if business in general and design in particular devoted 10 percent of its time to helping those in need. Whether by developing free systems to help lift people out of poverty or designing products cheaply and efficiently to assist those in need so they can spend time more wisely, the donation of time and intellectual capital can realistically change the world.

Design for the Real World dives into many issues. But for me, the charitable giving of our time resonates. Our work is a gift. While some positions lend themselves better to financial charity or volunteer work, other jobs directly influence the way we live. It is well worth considering how we can be charitable with our work. Check out Design for the Real World.

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5

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Posted by: Donovan Richards

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Book Review: 1Q84: Book Two

1Q84: Book Two by Haruki Murakami (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. 1184 pp)

Born in 1949 in Japan, Haruki Murakami studied drama at Waseda University. He began writing fiction at the age of 29, inspired to write a novel while watching a baseball game. Murakami earned literary fame with his best-selling novel, Norwegian Wood. In the wake of its success, he earned writing fellowships at Princeton University and Tufts University. Murakami has won the Franz Kafka Prize, the Kiriyama Prize, the Yomiuri Prize, the Jerusalem Prize, and the International Catalunya Prize.

Check out my review of Book One.

Discerning Between Unenviable Options 

Often times, life does not provide a right answer. When pondering between two choices, both have pros and cons. If life was a series of obvious choices, we’d never question whether our lives are headed in the right direction. With Book Two of 1Q84, Haruki Murakami establishes one of life’s classic paradoxes where no obvious answer exists but a decision, nevertheless, must be made.

In Book Two, the reader finds the crux of the 1Q84 storyline. If you recall from my Book One review, main characters Aomame and Tengo have operated on parallel narratives seemingly intertwined in unknown ways.

A Dangerous Mission 

Photo by Marufish

Aomame, the vigilante assassin of violent men, accepts the most difficult assignment of her illegal career. Her organization learns of gross sexual misconduct from The Leader, a figurehead of a secretive, rural cult called Sakigake.

A dangerous mission, Aomame must prepare for failure. Suicide is an option.

“At least once a day she would stand in front of the bathroom mirror and put the muzzle of the loaded gun in her mouth. Feeling the hardness of the metal against the edges of her teeth, she imagined herself pulling the trigger. That was all it would take to end her life. In the next instant, she would have vanished from this world. To the self she saw standing in the mirror, she said, A few important points: not to let my hand shake; to brace for the recoil; not to be afraid; and, most important, not to hesitate” (354).

A closely guarded figurehead, the completion of this mission will result in flight for Aomame. Sakigake is an affluent organization that will stop at nothing to bring retribution for their leader’s death if the mission is successful.

In Between Fact and Fiction 

Meanwhile, Tengo receives further pressure in the wake of Air Chrysalis’ success. For starters, the author, Fuka-Eri, has run away. The longer she is missing, the more intense the scrutiny the publisher will receive and news of Tengo’s involvement as a ghost writer could ruin everything.

Even worse, the fantastical fictional narrative to which Tengo contributed is shifting into reality. He sees two moons in the sky.

“Could this mean, then—Tengo asked himself—that this is the world of the novel? Could I have somehow left the real world and entered the world of Air Chrysalis like Alice falling down the rabbit hole? Or could the real world have been made over so as to match exactly the story of Air Chrysalis? Does this mean that the world that used to be—the familiar world with only one moon—no longer exists anywhere? And could the power of the Little People have something to do with thins in one way or another” (548)?

The world of 1Q84 is becoming more influential.

A Choice 

In the process of completing her assassination attempt on The Leader, Aomame gains a fresh but unpleasant perspective.

Photo by Spreng Ben

For starters, The Leader wants to die. A window into the world for the Little People, The Leader cannot handle life anymore. As a conduit for these fantastical beings, The Leader no longer wants to carry this burden.

Even worse, the Little People are targeting Tengo for his involvement in Air Chrysalis, unknowingly cueing the public to the secretive workings of these mysterious beings.

Aomame faces an exceedingly difficult decision. Kill The Leader and ensure her inevitable death when Sakigake hunts her down and save Tengo, or release The Leader, save her life, and guarantee death for Tengo.

Having formed an irrational bond with Tengo in elementary school, her decision has no right answer.

Right, Wrong, Or Balance 

No matter Aomame’s choice, people will suffer. The ethic of good and evil carries no weight. In fact, The Leader argues,

“’In this world, there is no absolute good, no absolute evil,’ the man said. ‘Good and evil are not fixed, stable entities but are continually trading places. A good may be transformed into an evil in the next second. And vice versa. Such was the way of the world that Dostoevsky depicted in The Brothers Karamazov. The most important thing is to maintain balance between the constantly moving good and evil. If you lean too much in either direction, it becomes difficult to maintain actual morals. Indeed, balance itself is the good. This is what I mean when I say that I must die in order to keep things in balance’” (447).

What would you do in Aomame’s shoes? Is self-preservation worth someone else’s life? Is balance a better question than right and wrong? We all face unending choices every day. While most of our decisions do not possess the same onus, choices are rarely clear.

Book Two progresses the 1Q84 narrative nicely and I eagerly look forward to Book Three.

Verdict: 4.5 out of 5.

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Posted by: Donovan Richards

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