The mermaid and the Minatour

I chanced upon this work by the late Dr Dorothy Dinnerstein, as I was reading about strategy and leadership. Published in 1976, the current beautiful National Library Board in Singapore no longer carry the book. This book was a well known body of work, listed in one of the top 10 book list of Gloria Steinem, a noted American feminist, as a pioneering well-researched book about the sexual arrangement that underlies the "maladies of society".

I shall update again when i managed to get my hold on the book. But here is the link and excerpt from a well-written commentaries from New York Times staff Vivian Gornick when the book was published in 1976. 

On a side note, how wonderful of digitization of the New York Times that archives the old newspaper articles of this media institiution.

Book 1: The Heart by Maylis de Kerangal

The third book I finished in 2020 is The Heart by Maylis de Kerangal. I believe I picked this one up years ago from books that Bill Gates recommended. Coincidentally, BillG decided to step down from the board of Microsoft and Berkshire the day prior, to focus on his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The book, unlike most fiction I read, has the quality that touches your mind, heart, and soul. It is not exactly satisfying. It stays with you a while after you finished the book. I finished it in 2 days while on medical leave.

The Book Cover

The book was written in French, and translated by Sam Taylor to English. The story took place in 24 hours elapsed, exactly. From the celebration of life, for a 19-year-old boy who cares about surfing, and throughout the book his persona emerges, but not quite clear. The prose was well articulated, and defines everyone on the book in unique perspective, with a combination of description of things around the person, their thoughts, POV, but also description of universe. I guess I like this description the best from Priya Parmar's NY Times 2016 review of the book

The story unfolds in an intricate lacework of precise detail. Each character is introduced in particle form, and then the details compound until a wholeness is reached, a person takes shape and steps forward.

Goodreads link.

Book read

Today I finished up a book that's been sitting on my shelf, What Alice Forgot. The story line was smooth, narrative interesting from first-person and third-person point of view. I love the POV from Alice's 30-year old self as well as the sense of the grown-up busy housewife of Sydney urban mom with 3 children. A delicious way to spend my lazy Saturday.

Amy Tan Valley of Amazement

This is my first Amy Tan's book. Amy Tan is a Chinese-American author who's famed for writing novels with are sensitive, depicting the wrought-emotional ties between mother-daughter as this showcases in this novel. I bought the book at the Kinokuniya bookstore in Bangkok where I was wondering on a Sunday the weekend before my business trip.

The review on Amazon turned out to be less than fantastic. I thought this book was entertaining but I have to agree that I felt no more emotional connection. There are certain parts that are very good, such as the letters' exchanges. There are parts in between that are not realistic and seemed like a chore to read.

My learnings are it is tough to grow up in cross culture environment. One shouldn't take one's fate for granted. And emotional damage of abandonment and neglect are greater in future in the form of inability to love and receive love. Ability to receive love is also very important, and as essential to happy and loving life.

Book

Hereby my book list of year 2015:

Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling
It is said that Rowling published the book under a different pen-name. It had a decent success until it exploded when people got to know (or it was leaked) that she wrote this book. I enjoyed this book craft. One review said "this book is about pain and cruelty". This book is astonishingly well written, humorous, and humane.

Recovering

It is day 4 of my pneumonia. I am recovering - or I think I am. I'm still coughing but at less intensity. The phlegm or the secretion from lung, you are supposed to get rid off, is thankfully didn't turn glob green. But instead lighten its color to light yellow.

I tried to pace my antibiotics, and since I am supposed to take twice a day, I pace it 12-hour a part at 11 o'clock. I then take the probiotics roughly in between that, trying to take them in between meals.

I made homemade soup yesterday with hotpotch of greeneries, red and yellow bell peppers. Today I made pork meatball with simple recipe of minced pork, flour (supposed to be cornflour but I only had all-purpose flour at home), spring onion, then salt and pepper. They are comfy food.

Researching only, it seems that the only food to avoid is dairy products, such as milk as it allegedly promote phlegm production. I am reading David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell, a recommended read.