Fabulous review as usual, Rebecca. You must be a copious note taker when you read. The novel summary itself is invaluable but your insights are enlightening. You have done this impressive novel justice with your time, attention to detail and thoughtful exploration of the author's message and hopes. I again loved your music pairing. A+ for entertainment value. Cohen is a favourite and Merchant brings back memories. You keep me up to date on revolution rap too.
"Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen. There are NO cracks in your review?
"Recent" reviews came out wrong. I've enjoyed all your reviews, but I'm thinking specifically of the last few you've done but just forgotten the name of the most recent title you reviewed. Newbury Ducks? And Invisible Man. And Don Quixote. And all of the international longlisted books. You give me so many reading aspirations and goals.
Thank you so much, Ken. I have felt the same about your recent reviews. It's the way you, and others, reconfigure the texts and add something of yourself and your perspective that enlivens and gets at the heart of them. I LOVE that quote from the song "Anthem" and think of it often, especially when "despair for the world sets in me" (that's a Wendell Berry quote, or paraphrase, at least). That's how the light gets in.
Rebecca…I was so inspired when I read your review and dashed out a response but must have not pressed send.
First, I was furious they didn’t let the author finish his speech. He’s just won an incredibly prestigious prize and writes better than anyone running the show. Give the man his due!
Loved your song choices, as usual.
I knew a lot about the history of Sri Lanka. It being new to you certainly didn’t affect your understanding of the text or the complexities of the racial tensions or anything else for that matter.
Generally I do not like gore, ghouls or depictions of half disintegrated bodies. But I found an enormous humanity in Maali, even though you rightly point out his flaws. I was so impressed with his dogged determination to get the photos, or negatives, into the right hands, and then the world.
This response doesn’t resemble what I wrote last night. I only remember being so pleased that you loved Seven Moons, as I did, and found it a very deserving winner of The Booker Prize. It will certainly stay with me for a long time and I am grateful to the author for writing such an impactful novel.
I think you're a much more astute reader than I am, lol. I didn't fully get the book until I wrote about it. Writing is how I need to process and think / make sense of things. There are probably things that I still missed, as I'm so new to the context.
I don’t know that I am a more astute reader than you and your references to other pieces of writing are excellent. Funny…an unnamed (purposefully on my part) had questions about where Study of Obedience took place. I had figured it out. He thought Quebec!! Good lord. There were no pogroms in Canada. They write in our script. If the protagonist could easily learn German and Italian then she wouldn’t have issues with French. I was shocked. Obviously not an astute reader.
I think it’s wonderful that you use writing to make sense of what you read. I love teaching writing, but have always preferred reading.
I thought it brilliant when you identified it as Pale of the Settlement. I haven't read the book yet, but obv I'm a student of Jewish history. I would like to think I'd have figured that one out, but who knows. LOL.
I was like, oh, of course Cecile figured it out and got it right. Without even cracking open the book (my library hasn't bought it yet), I immediately realized that you were correct.
I planned many trips but other than landing in Colombo on my way to the Maldives I haven’t visited Sri Lanka. Only through the Lonely Planet. I love history. I mostly teach ancient history but am self-taught. The Tamil Tigers and their horrific suicides bombings were very much in the news. And many Sri Lankans lived in Abu Dhabi so I knew people well and we would talk about Sri Lanka.
I need to think about how to respond to this brilliant review. I really struggled with the bleak darkness and violence of this one. Powerful but repellent. However, it has sat in my mind for a couple of months and your review has caused me to re-evaluate it.
I love your music choices. Cohen is one of my favourites and I had never heard Natalie Merchant's version of this old standard. Dick Gaughan and Billy Bragg and so many others have covered it on this side of the pond. I've seen Natalie Merchant and Leonard Cohen live. Leonard went down on his knees and sang Hallelujah directly to me. Or at least it felt like it...what an intimate performer he was.
That's so wonderful about Cohen! And Merchant. What extraordinary art to witness. I can understand struggling with the bleakness and violence of this one. I guess for me, I didn't experience it as bleak while I read it, because I felt the humor and humanity of it and knew that the aim was for a hopeful future -- to influence the unfinished project of peace and freedom from violence for everyone in Sri Lanka. The atmosphere is decidedly noir, and maybe it was that kind of aesthetic, in addition to the gallows humor, that made it palatable for me.
What did you feel while you were reading it? Any shape that the re-evaluation of it is taking?
I can't generally read things that are too gruesome, but the countervailing force is the need to bear witness to unacknowledged genocides and atrocities. Art, like prayer, is the space through which we imaginatively hold the pain of others, recognize their humanity, and try to give their souls peace. I knew nothing of Sri Lanka's Civil War and genocide before reading the novel, just as there are so many other conflicts and traumas around the world that i'm still unaware of. I didn't know about America's genocidal massacre of Filipinos until well after my formal schooling had ended. I can't always go in for bleak texts, but I suppose this one was balanced and important enough for me. There are so many souls crying out to be remembered, or at least acknowledged, and the author created a way for the traces or the ghosts of them to remain.
Yes. It’s late tonight and I teach early tomorrow. But I will try to recreate my response. I was really blown away and so glad that you ‘got’ the book as I did but I don’t have the writing talent to express my thoughts and feelings or emotions as you do.
Rebecca, this is a wonderful and expansive review of this book. I loved the book for many reasons:
I loved the premise of the main character being a dead war photographer. I read this after Prophet Song and I thought how the one that a civil war that was a historical event took the magic realism road and the imaginary civil war took the hyper realistic view.
Fascinating connection between those two texts! Did it enrich your experience to read them together? I haven't read Prophet Song yet. Do you think I should read it soon? What are you reading now?
Personally I think Seven Moons was the better book. I haven’t heard anybody make this connection I don’t know if it will ring true for anybody else. The plot was ingenious in Seven Moons, just think, 7 days to find out who murdered you in the underworld. The fact that you brought up that he was antihero was an astute observation. In the early 90’s in his barfly life George Michaels would be playing.
I did love the Leonard Cohen song and
The Natalie Merchant song. It struck me how current that is in the political arena in US today.
What have I been reading? I finished Never Let Me Go last week, guess who recommended it! I tjj no ought it was amazing. It was like a trilogy in a novel.
One thing that struck me about that book was similar to your statement about art.
In Never Let Me Go art gave the clones soul. That book was ahead of its time. It was set in the same time as Seven Moons but it was dystopian and science fiction.
I read Crooked Plow from the short list and I liked it but I did not dive as deep as I should have. I am now listening to Ordinary Human Failings: a novel by Megan Nolan.
Long list women’s prize, did not make short list. I like it. On my kindle I am starting What I’d Rather Not Think About from Booker International short list. I would like to read the rest of the shortlist. By the way you did inspire me to read The Book of Jacob. It was thought provoking. Thank you. 🙏
Also I found on Substack Heather Cox Richardson gives a daily news report. It is always a day late but I like her. Thanks for that!
Fabulous review as usual, Rebecca. You must be a copious note taker when you read. The novel summary itself is invaluable but your insights are enlightening. You have done this impressive novel justice with your time, attention to detail and thoughtful exploration of the author's message and hopes. I again loved your music pairing. A+ for entertainment value. Cohen is a favourite and Merchant brings back memories. You keep me up to date on revolution rap too.
"Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen. There are NO cracks in your review?
"Recent" reviews came out wrong. I've enjoyed all your reviews, but I'm thinking specifically of the last few you've done but just forgotten the name of the most recent title you reviewed. Newbury Ducks? And Invisible Man. And Don Quixote. And all of the international longlisted books. You give me so many reading aspirations and goals.
Thank you so much, Ken. I have felt the same about your recent reviews. It's the way you, and others, reconfigure the texts and add something of yourself and your perspective that enlivens and gets at the heart of them. I LOVE that quote from the song "Anthem" and think of it often, especially when "despair for the world sets in me" (that's a Wendell Berry quote, or paraphrase, at least). That's how the light gets in.
Rebecca…I was so inspired when I read your review and dashed out a response but must have not pressed send.
First, I was furious they didn’t let the author finish his speech. He’s just won an incredibly prestigious prize and writes better than anyone running the show. Give the man his due!
Loved your song choices, as usual.
I knew a lot about the history of Sri Lanka. It being new to you certainly didn’t affect your understanding of the text or the complexities of the racial tensions or anything else for that matter.
Generally I do not like gore, ghouls or depictions of half disintegrated bodies. But I found an enormous humanity in Maali, even though you rightly point out his flaws. I was so impressed with his dogged determination to get the photos, or negatives, into the right hands, and then the world.
This response doesn’t resemble what I wrote last night. I only remember being so pleased that you loved Seven Moons, as I did, and found it a very deserving winner of The Booker Prize. It will certainly stay with me for a long time and I am grateful to the author for writing such an impactful novel.
I think you're a much more astute reader than I am, lol. I didn't fully get the book until I wrote about it. Writing is how I need to process and think / make sense of things. There are probably things that I still missed, as I'm so new to the context.
I don’t know that I am a more astute reader than you and your references to other pieces of writing are excellent. Funny…an unnamed (purposefully on my part) had questions about where Study of Obedience took place. I had figured it out. He thought Quebec!! Good lord. There were no pogroms in Canada. They write in our script. If the protagonist could easily learn German and Italian then she wouldn’t have issues with French. I was shocked. Obviously not an astute reader.
I think it’s wonderful that you use writing to make sense of what you read. I love teaching writing, but have always preferred reading.
An unnamed reader! Should proofread! 🫤
I thought it brilliant when you identified it as Pale of the Settlement. I haven't read the book yet, but obv I'm a student of Jewish history. I would like to think I'd have figured that one out, but who knows. LOL.
I am sure you would have. And narrowed it down as Polish and Lithuanian, for example, use our script so they weren’t in contention.
I was like, oh, of course Cecile figured it out and got it right. Without even cracking open the book (my library hasn't bought it yet), I immediately realized that you were correct.
Yes, yes! Me too. I feel so grateful as well. How did you come across Sri Lanka's history? In your travels? Have you been there?
I planned many trips but other than landing in Colombo on my way to the Maldives I haven’t visited Sri Lanka. Only through the Lonely Planet. I love history. I mostly teach ancient history but am self-taught. The Tamil Tigers and their horrific suicides bombings were very much in the news. And many Sri Lankans lived in Abu Dhabi so I knew people well and we would talk about Sri Lanka.
I need to think about how to respond to this brilliant review. I really struggled with the bleak darkness and violence of this one. Powerful but repellent. However, it has sat in my mind for a couple of months and your review has caused me to re-evaluate it.
I love your music choices. Cohen is one of my favourites and I had never heard Natalie Merchant's version of this old standard. Dick Gaughan and Billy Bragg and so many others have covered it on this side of the pond. I've seen Natalie Merchant and Leonard Cohen live. Leonard went down on his knees and sang Hallelujah directly to me. Or at least it felt like it...what an intimate performer he was.
That's so wonderful about Cohen! And Merchant. What extraordinary art to witness. I can understand struggling with the bleakness and violence of this one. I guess for me, I didn't experience it as bleak while I read it, because I felt the humor and humanity of it and knew that the aim was for a hopeful future -- to influence the unfinished project of peace and freedom from violence for everyone in Sri Lanka. The atmosphere is decidedly noir, and maybe it was that kind of aesthetic, in addition to the gallows humor, that made it palatable for me.
What did you feel while you were reading it? Any shape that the re-evaluation of it is taking?
I can't generally read things that are too gruesome, but the countervailing force is the need to bear witness to unacknowledged genocides and atrocities. Art, like prayer, is the space through which we imaginatively hold the pain of others, recognize their humanity, and try to give their souls peace. I knew nothing of Sri Lanka's Civil War and genocide before reading the novel, just as there are so many other conflicts and traumas around the world that i'm still unaware of. I didn't know about America's genocidal massacre of Filipinos until well after my formal schooling had ended. I can't always go in for bleak texts, but I suppose this one was balanced and important enough for me. There are so many souls crying out to be remembered, or at least acknowledged, and the author created a way for the traces or the ghosts of them to remain.
What are you reading now?
Yes. It’s late tonight and I teach early tomorrow. But I will try to recreate my response. I was really blown away and so glad that you ‘got’ the book as I did but I don’t have the writing talent to express my thoughts and feelings or emotions as you do.
I think you have a lot of talent, especially in sharing your experiences. And thank you!
Rebecca, this is a wonderful and expansive review of this book. I loved the book for many reasons:
I loved the premise of the main character being a dead war photographer. I read this after Prophet Song and I thought how the one that a civil war that was a historical event took the magic realism road and the imaginary civil war took the hyper realistic view.
Fascinating connection between those two texts! Did it enrich your experience to read them together? I haven't read Prophet Song yet. Do you think I should read it soon? What are you reading now?
Personally I think Seven Moons was the better book. I haven’t heard anybody make this connection I don’t know if it will ring true for anybody else. The plot was ingenious in Seven Moons, just think, 7 days to find out who murdered you in the underworld. The fact that you brought up that he was antihero was an astute observation. In the early 90’s in his barfly life George Michaels would be playing.
I did love the Leonard Cohen song and
The Natalie Merchant song. It struck me how current that is in the political arena in US today.
What have I been reading? I finished Never Let Me Go last week, guess who recommended it! I tjj no ought it was amazing. It was like a trilogy in a novel.
One thing that struck me about that book was similar to your statement about art.
In Never Let Me Go art gave the clones soul. That book was ahead of its time. It was set in the same time as Seven Moons but it was dystopian and science fiction.
I read Crooked Plow from the short list and I liked it but I did not dive as deep as I should have. I am now listening to Ordinary Human Failings: a novel by Megan Nolan.
Long list women’s prize, did not make short list. I like it. On my kindle I am starting What I’d Rather Not Think About from Booker International short list. I would like to read the rest of the shortlist. By the way you did inspire me to read The Book of Jacob. It was thought provoking. Thank you. 🙏
Also I found on Substack Heather Cox Richardson gives a daily news report. It is always a day late but I like her. Thanks for that!
Brilliant. I wrote a long response and it has disappeared.
Oh, no! I'm so sorry. Would you mind trying to re-write it, at least partially? Would love to hear your thoughts, Cecile!
I will comment, but first I must contemplate. Amazing❤️❤️❤️