Review: The New Testament: A Translation

The New Testament: A Translation by David Bentley Hart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've always thought the profession of Translator should be more respected when dealing with (a translation of) the Bible. All too many interpretations are taken from commonly accepted faulty translations, and yet very few people are actually qualified to translate ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek from the original/oldest sources. 

Obviously I'm not one of the those people, so I can't really judge the accuracy of Hart's translations, but at least it is something he takes very seriously. His introductory and concluding chapters detail this. In this translation, he endeavors to not only provide an accurate translation (dealing with words like "spirit", "fornication", "eternity", etc.), but also tries to convey the voice of the original text (when it was erudite, when more coarse, when not necessarily written by a native speaker, etc.). 

The result is very interesting indeed. Plus it gave me a chance to revisit the New Testament, which, like it or leave it, is one of the main canonical texts of our age. 

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Review: The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino

The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love the idea, and the execution was good as well. I just really didn't like Mr. Nishino and I found most of his loves less than enthralling (possibly because they were his loves). I get the feeling that by the end you're supposed to feel bad for Nishino, but I confess that wasn't really the case for me. 

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Review: Sudden Death

Sudden Death by David Rosenfelt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Probably 4.5 stars. I like this series.

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Review: Bootlegger's Daughter

Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Solid murder mystery, and interesting having it take place in a fictionalized version of Johnston County, just south of Raleigh, N.C. I'll be looking forward to more in this series. 

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Review: Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache

Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache by Keith H. Basso
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having started this book, I almost left it unfinished after the first part. I still don't know why I had it in my wishlist. Regardless, it is definitely a unique book. This is part linguistics, part anthropology, part philosophy, all dealing with the Western Apache. The idea of "place-making" is, as far as I can tell, unique, and yet there are echoes of it in other cultures I'm sure. 

No matter who you are, this is almost definitely what Tyler Cowen refers to as a "view quake" book. 

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Review: Lugano la bella sconosciuta. Una città inaspettata e curiosa

Lugano la bella sconosciuta. Una città inaspettata e curiosa by Jonas Marti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An excellent book that needed to be written. Now I hope someone (this same author?) writes one for the rest of Ticino. 

I'm only giving it 4 stars, however, because I feel like some things were missing. The Last supper of Ponte Capriasca seems worth mentioning (I take all my friends who visit to go see it): https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_Cena_(Ponte_Capriasca)

as well as the old Principessa Sissi statue that used to be behind Farmacia Vittoria, in Piazza Indipendenza. I never knew why the statue was there, and then one day they took it away. I also feel like there are a few stories from Canobbio (where I grew up) that could have been included. 

Also, so much talk about how splendid the Castello di Trevano was, and then just mentioning that it was demolished in 1961. I have figured out why they would have demolished it. Especially just to create the prison-like middle school and high school I attended. What a waste...

Anyway, an excellent trip around the Luganese and the history of the region. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the region. 

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Review: Io e te

Io e te by Niccolò Ammaniti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A nice novella. Coming of age. A tad depressing and dark. 

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