Review: Sugli specchi e altri saggi. Il segno, la rappresentazione, l'illusione, l'immagine

Sugli specchi e altri saggi. Il segno, la rappresentazione, l'illusione, l'immagine by Umberto Eco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this age of online shock-value headlines, conspiracy theories and general lack of critical thinking, it's a breath of fresh air to read essays by Umberto Eco, which provide the opposite.

I must say, however, that while the first essay on mirrors was excellent, some of the others dragged on a bit and were a tad repetitive (which makes sense, being a collection of articles, essays, etc.). I also enjoyed his thoughts on Dumas' Count of Montecristo (I had no idea he had been paid by the word).


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Review: In Praise of Shadows

In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

More of an essay than anything. An interesting read into the aesthetics and tradition of Japan vs. modernity and Western encroachment.


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Review: The Memory Palace: True Short Stories of the Past

The Memory Palace: True Short Stories of the Past by Nate DiMeo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A nice collection of historical tidbits that we don't know anything about but probably should (I think I only knew one of these stories before reading the book).

They get tied into the author's personal memories and stories, which I thought worked rather well here.

A great read.


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Review: Novelist as a Vocation

Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For Murakami fans, this was a great insight into a little of his life. Otherwise I'm not sure there is much to this.

Many of Murakami's points seem to contradict each other. For example, he says novelists are open-minded and don't mind newcomers, while a few essays later he talks about all the vitriol he encountered when he wrote his first novel(s), or how he says writing is not a chore and comes naturally to him, but then discussing how he had to "discipline" himself into writing for 4 hours straight each day (or was it 1600 words?).

Regardless, it might be this pseudo-consistency that make his novels so good. In many ways, these essays, like his novels, seemed not like reality, but reality-adjacent.

I really liked his advice: "I think the first task for aspiring novelists is to read tons of novels".



A good read if you're already a Murakami fan.



3.5 stars




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Review: Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

Three Japanese Buddhist Monks by Saigyō
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A nice read into Buddhism, as well as just life in general.

Some of my favorite parts (both by Kenko):

It is a most wonderful comfort to sit alone beneath a lamp, book spread before you, and commune with someone from the past whom you have never met.

It is an excellent thing to live modestly, shun luxury and wealth and not lust after fame and fortune. Rare has been the wise man who was rich.

Btw, if you like this, check out Essays in Idleness: The Tsurezuregusa of Kenkō. This is the same author. 


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Review: The Comfort Book

The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I can't really say much of this stood out for me. Probably very comforting for those going through depression or low points psychologically.

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Review: Interrelated Issues in Korean, East Asian and World Literature

Interrelated Issues in Korean, East Asian and World Literature by Dong-il Cho
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A collection of essays/writings by the same author. This is a great topic, but unfortunately he doesn't seem to go very far with it. The essays (understandably) repeat many points, but between tackling literature in East Asia, worldwide, exploring various genres, and spending some time seemingly badmouthing a Eurocentric viewpoint of literature, he can only go so much in depth. He seems to be at his strongest exploring interrelated issues between Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese (and possibly Ryukyu) literature, and I would have loved to see this explored more in-depth.

Still, some quite interesting points, at least for me. Especially the topics of different types of epics, oral literature and the reasons they aren't prevalent in certain areas, and females in literature in East Asia.


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Review: Essays One

Essays One by Lydia Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Every one of these essays was a pleasure to read, and Lydia Davis' manner of writing is superb. 

Also, this book made me curious about Lucia Berlin, who I will be checking out soon. 

This is another book I found out about thanks to Tyler Cowen, and I'm very glad I did. This is a must-read for anyone who takes pleasure in reading and desires more of it. 

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Review: The Taipei Chinese PEN—A Quarterly Journal of Contemporary Chinese Literature from Taiwan《中華民國筆會英文季刊─譯之華》 N. 207

The Taipei Chinese PEN—A Quarterly Journal of Contemporary Chinese Literature from Taiwan《中華民國筆會英文季刊─譯之華》 N. 207 by Various
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another good collection of poems and essays. I'm not sure why they changed the name of the journal to "Florescence". 

"National Language - The Voice of the Other" by Sen Kim Soon was my favorite.  

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Review: Transactions - Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 97

Transactions - Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 97 by Various
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent read. I found every one of the essays/stories interesting in their own way. 

The first one, by Brother Anthony of Taizé, is about two very early Korean Catholics, one of whom was fairly quickly sanctified after his death (Andrew Kim Dae-geon), while the other has yet to be so (Thomas Choe Yang-eop).

Next are 2 student essays: "Is Retro the new Present?" (by Lee Chaemin) and "Walking 'Hand-in-Hand' toward Harmony" (by Kim Dongha), about the 1988 Olympics. I hadn't realized how important they were. With the 1980 Olympics having been boycotted by the US, and the 1984 Olympics boycotted by the Soviet Union, the 1988 Olympics finally featured everyone again in Seoul. 

The next essay is about how Western POWs were used by the Japanese Army as PR in Korea, being paraded through the country and as a showcase for how prisoners are treated well. This was all news to me. By Matt Van Volkenburg.

This is followed by another interesting piece of history, about when the Korean king hired some foreign bodyguards (which seems to have been a pretty misguided choice to say the least), by Robert Neff.

The essay by Nate Kornegay on late 20th century architecture in Korea was a throwback to me, and I was thankful for the photos, since that was when I first traveled to Korea. 

Then there followed 2 essays from the Youth Panel: One on Collectivism and Competition (and the harm created by Korea's mix) by Hyunjee Romy Cho, while the other was about a 'happy mutant' kid in Daechi-dong, against all odds, by Myungseo Kim. 

Then there is a somewhat long introduction to the Donghak (Cheondogyo) religion by Choe Chong-dae. It was interesting to read the founder's writings, although it became somewhat repetitive after a while. 

The final story was Kimchi Kitty, by Martin Limon, which I enjoyed. 

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Review: Noi. Racconti a due voci tra Italia e Canton Ticino

Noi. Racconti a due voci tra Italia e Canton Ticino by Valentina Giuliani
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting collection of essays, by an Italian working in Ticino and a Ticinese reporter on Italy. 

Growing up in Ticino with a mother from Florence, much of what they say hit home with me. I always find the most entertaining part to be the differences in expressions and words (Italians don't say Tipp-ex??). 

It's interesting how they tackle the same issues from different perspectives, both being able to move past the stereotypes and (generally) finding the good in the other side. 

I was curious as to why the Italian wrote in the third person about a fictitious (but presumably more or less autobiographical) character, while the Swiss person wrote essays in the first person. Still, it works quite well. 

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Review: Dire quasi la stessa cosa: Esperienze di traduzione

Dire quasi la stessa cosa: Esperienze di traduzione by Umberto Eco
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent collection of essays. Many of these were repeats for me, since they were featured (in English) in "Mouse or Rat". Still, either one of these books should be required reading for any literary translator. 

The arguments about how people who speak different languages view words differently depending on masculine and feminine (Sun is masculine in Italian, Spanish and French, while moon is feminine, but this is the opposite in German, so when Hoffman said The sun invited the moon to dinner, the imagery is very different. Likewise, Ingmar Bergman's death might seem weird to an Italian/Spanish/French speaker, since death is feminine in those languages (and seen as the feminine "sweet death" in ancient literature). Although sometimes this talk veers a bit too much into Sapir-Whorf territory. 

Also interesting is Sol Worth's quote "Pictures can't say ain't". In other words, people can interpret a piece of art to be anything they wish it to be. When Magritte wanted to specify it wasn't a pipe he literally had to write it. 

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Review: The Complete Essays

The Complete Essays by Michel de Montaigne

This collection, which gave us the term "essay", is a fun collection to read through in one's spare time. The topics vary, sometimes repeat, but are always quite interesting and relevant, even today. 

Some of my notes:

His chapter on Animal intelligence is very interesting, not least because we are still having that argument today. When a bird can memorize hundreds of locations, or a mouse can learn to press a certain lever, we still call it instinct, while when a human can we call it intelligence. 

Appollonius: Slaves lie. Freemen tell the truth. 

Cesar was a great general, but spent more time discussing his engineering achievements because he wanted to be known as a great engineer

"Let him shun this childish ambition of trying to seem more clever by being different"

"Oh stranger you say what you should. But otherwise than you should."

"I would rather follow facts than reason"

But wow. His views on women seem crazy, even for his time. Unless he was being facetious, which I admit was usually difficult to tell. Especially in sections where he admonishes people for quoting famous personages, and says he'd just as soon quote his local villagers, while all his essays (including that one) are interspersed with quotes from famous people. 

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Review: Beginning with My Streets: Essays and Recollections

Beginning with My Streets: Essays and Recollections by Czesław Miłosz

I thought I would find the first part, discussing Vilnius and Lithuania, the least interesting, since I know so little about that region. But it turned out to be enthralling. Especially his back and forth with Tomas Venclova. I confess the other sections then didn't retain my interest all that long, and this book probably should've been a dnf for me. This is mainly because I think Milosz is too poetic and philosophical for me, and I just found it hard to keep up. For this reason I won't give a rating, but I'd rate the first part 4.5 stars. 

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Review: Essays in Idleness: The Tsurezuregusa of Kenkō

Essays in Idleness: The Tsurezuregusa of Kenkō by Yoshida Kenkō
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Perfect for night-time reading. Relaxing, enlightening and interesting thoughts by a 14th century Japanese monk. 

Some of my notes:

"They call liquor the chief of all medicines, but it is, in fact, the origin of all sicknesses. [...] As for the future life, liquor deprives a man of his wisdom and consumes his good actions like fire; he therefore increases the burden of sin, violates many commandments and, in the end, drops into hell. [...]. Though Liquor is as loathsome as I have described it, there naturally are some occasions when it is hard to dispense with. On a moonlit night, a morning after snowfall, or under the cherry blossoms, it adds to our pleasure if, while chatting at our ease, we bring forth the wine cups. Liquor is cheering on days when we are bored, or when a friend pays an unexpected visit"

(No. 175)

"Oshiki corresponds to the tonic note A. Interesting that this tone was used in both East and West for tuning" 

(Note on No. 220)

No. 79. 

The story about the monk getting his head trapped in a pot (No. 53) was pretty wild. 

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Review: Il fascismo eterno

Il fascismo eterno by Umberto Eco
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent essay on fascism in all its guises. Particularly handy was the list of 14 points that all Fascist states will have in common (available here: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_fascismo_eterno). 

Now read through that list and see which countries you think they apply to (these days, definitely to Russia, and I can think of a couple others). 

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Review: Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 1

Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 1 by Royal Asiatic Society
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a gem! A reprinting of the first-ever issue of Transactions. I got this at the RASK offices in Seoul. The first two essays concern the Chinese influence (one emphasizing that it is large, and the other rebutting saying it isn't so), and then there is some commentary, and an essay on the Buddha of Eun-jin. 

What is fascinating is that these discussions are taking place during the Chosun dynasty, so we get to see a foreigners' (quite well-informed, imho) view of Korea prior to any Japanese colonization, North-South division, etc.. 

An oddity: This claims King Se-jo (not Sejong) had metal types cast and developed a new alphabet (Hangul), and that it happened in 1406, so before Sejong's reign. This can't be right, can it? 

Some of my notes:

The author says he met people who still cut off their fingers (and fed the blood to their parents??) to show their filial piety. 

The Qing dynasty apparently wasn't respected in Korea during the Chosun dynasty, since they were Manchus. 

Korean native histories are almost impossible to find at this time. Almost all history in school and elsewhere deals solely with China (sort of like Taiwan now maybe??)

There is still native contempt for Hangul script. I guess it really was revived only after the Japanese occupation. 

A list of the most important Korean holidays are Samyungil, Hansik, Tano, and Chinese Harvest Home festival (Chuseok??)

文獻通考 is almost the only Chinese authority on Korea from back then. 

This claims King Sejo (世祖， not Sejong) had metal types cast and developed a new alphabet (Hangul), and that it happened in 1406, so before Sejong's reign. This can't be right, can it?

It says "The green cloak worn by women as a veil over their heads" is not Chinese but Korean. What is this??

 

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Review: Known and Strange Things: Essays

Known and Strange Things: Essays by Teju Cole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent collection of essays discussing everything from art, literature, race, countries, economics, society, and just recounting events. 

I must admit, much of it was too erudite for me, especially toward the beginning, discussing authors/artists/photographers I had never heard of, and I felt I would have gotten a lot more out of these essays if I knew more about them. 

Fredrik Backman said "I'm a white, heterosexual, Western European man with an education and a job. There's not a single organism in the entire universe who knows less about inequality than me. But I'm trying to learn.", and I was reminded of that quote when reading Teju Cole's essays about race, whether in America, Europe or Rio de Janeiro. They reminded me I will never truly understand what it's like to be a black man (or in anyone else's shoes really), but I should keep trying nonetheless, and his essays are a great way to do that. 

There were some instances where I disagreed with him, like some of his statements about economics. But overall I enjoyed all of these essays, and discovered many new things thanks to them. I also looked up René Burri's photo "Men on a rooftop", and followed his journey as he tried to pinpoint exactly which building it was (on Google maps). I wasn't successful. I'm assuming he was on the Altino Arantes building, but I couldn't see the view from the photo. 

Many of the essays were blasts from the past (like Kony 2012) and I can't help wondering what he makes of Trump, responses to Covid, race relations today, etc. 

One of my bookmarked quotes, discussing elections:

"We participate in things not because they are ideal, but because they are not"

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Review: In This Earth and In That Wind

In This Earth and In That Wind by Ŏ-ryŏng Yi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

These essays really reminded me of Lin Yu-tang's in style, and I guess it's good that every country has their own essayist/critique who performs some introspection in a smart, erudite way (Umberto Eco probably fulfilled that role for Italy). 

The essays on the peculiarities of the Korean language are fascinating, although some of them veer into Sapir-Whorf territory (much like Lin Yu-tang did with Chinese in his writings)

The chapter comparing Napoleon to Kim Yu-shin was excellent, as was the one comparing Syngman Rhee to Hitler. 

Some of these essays are out of date, but in a way that makes them even more interesting, since they are a glimpse into old Korea. 

Overall well worth reading. I was given this for free by the RAS Korea and I'm very thankful for that. Otherwise I wouldn't have discovered this author, who unfortunately passed away earlier this year. 

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Review: Against Interpretation and Other Essays

Against Interpretation and Other Essays by Susan Sontag
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I admit that many of these essays were on people and/or works I had never heard of. Having said that, I found the ones on Cesare Pavese and Ionesco quite interesting (the one on Ionesco was scathing), as well as those dealing with Sartre and Camus.

Interesting to learn about Happenings, and Assemblages, since I had never heard of them before. Also interesting were the notes on Camp Style (especially considered how the term is used these days in the UK). The essay on Science fiction was extremely thorough, but I can't say I found it all that interesting, except possibly that Sci-fi movies were pretty much all disaster movies.

Still, Sontag was obviously extremely observant and intelligent. I doubt we have anyone quite like her around today. 

All essays date from the 1960s.

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