Pot pourrie Sunday

1. The Universe in a Single Atom: How Science and Spirituality Can Serve Our World, HH Dalai Lama, published by Little Brown books, pp 240, Rs 750

2. On Literature by Umberto Eco, published by Vintage, pp 352, Rs 795

3. Saturday by Ian McEwan, published by Vintage, pp 304, Rs 450

4. Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction by Sue Townsend, published by Penguin books, pp 416, Rs 500

5. Conviction by Ricard North Patterson, published by Pan books, pp 500, Rs 500

What the books are about

The Universe in a Single...

As the Dalai Lama observes in this wise and humble book, dialogue between scientists and those interested in spirituality is important because science is not neutral; it can be used for good or ill, and we must approach scientific inquiry with compassion and empathy. Similarly, a spirituality that ignores science can quickly become a rigid fundamentalism. Sometimes the Dalai Lama discovers similarities between the two fields. For example, Einstein’s idea that time is relative dovetails neatly with Buddhist philosophical understandings of time. Still, he does not accept all scientific thinking as holy writ: though he is intrigued by scientific stories of origins, like the Big Bang theory, Buddhism holds that the universe is “infinite and beginningless.” The Dalai Lama gently suggests that although parents who select certain genetic traits for their children may intend to give their children a leg up, they may in fact simply be capitulating to a social pressure that favours, say, boys over girls or tall people over short.

On Literature:

After the opening essay on the general significance of literature, Eco examines a number of major authors from the Western canon. A stimulating chapter on the poetic qualities of Dante’s Paradiso is followed by one on the style of the Communist Manifesto. The next three essays centre on nineteenth- and early twentieth-century literature: one on the French writer Nerval’s masterpiece, Sylvie, one on Oscar Wilde’s love of paradox, and one on Joyce’s views on language. The last three pieces deal with the road that leads from Cervantes via Swift to Borges’ Library of Babel, then an essay on Eco’s own anxiety about Borges’ influence on him, and the volume ends with an article on the enigmatic Italian critic and anthropologist Piero Camporesi. on Literature is a provocative and entertaining collection of sprightly essays on the key texts that have shaped Eco, the novelist and critic.

Saturday:

Saturday, February 15, 2003. Henry Perowne is a contented man — a successful neurosurgeon, the devoted husband of Rosalind and proud father of two grown-up children. Unusually, he wakes before dawn, drawn to the window of his bedroom and filled with a growing unease. What troubles him as he looks out at the night sky is the state of the world — the impending war against Iraq, a gathering pessimism since 9/11, and a fear that his city and his happy family life are under threat. Later, Perowne makes his way to his weekly squash game through London streets filled with hundreds of thousands of anti-war protestors. A minor car accident brings him into a confrontation with Baxter, a fidgety, aggressive, young man, on the edge of violence. To Perowne’s professional eye, there appears to be something profoundly wrong with him. Towards the end of a day rich in incident and filled with Perowne’s celebrations of life’s pleasures, his family gathers for a reunion. But with the appearance of Baxter, Perowne’s earlier fears seem about to be realised.

Adrian Mole...

Adrian Mole’s pen is scribbling for the twenty-first century. Working as a bookseller and living in Leicester’s Rat Wharf; finding time to write letters of advice to Tim Henman and Tony Blair; locked in mortal combat with a vicious swan called Gielgud; measuring his expanding bald spot; and trying to escape the clutches of Marigold and win-over her voluptuous sister Daisy, Adrian yearns for a more meaningful wo-rld. And he’s not ready to surrender his pen yet.

Conviction:

When the body of 11-year-old Thuy Sen is found in San Francisco Bay, the police swiftly charge Rennell and Payton Price with her grisly murder. A 12-person jury, helped along by an incompetent lawyer for the defence, are quick to find the brothers guilty — and to sentence them both to die for their cimes. Twelve years later, Payton is days from his execution, and overworked pro bono lawyer Teresa Peralta Paget, her husband Chris, and stepson Carlo, a recent Harvard law graduate, become convinced not only that Rennell didn’t receive a fair trial, but that he’s innocent. Racing against the clock and against insurmountable legal obstacles, Teresa, Chris, and Carlo desperately try and stop the execution of an innocent man.

Information courtesy: UNITED BOOKS, Ganesh Man Singh building and Northfield Cafe, Thamel, ph: 4229 512, Bluebird stores in Lazimpat & Tripureshwore, ph: 4245 726, Namaste Supermarket in Pulchowk, ph: 5525 017 & Momo and More, Old Baneshwor