Lost in Translation by Ella Frances Sanders

Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World by Ella Frances Sanders 


"Words allow us to grasp and hold on to an extraordinary amount," Sanders writes. "The ability that language gives us is incredibly complex."

For instance, while writing this I had a bad case of Iktsuarpok.

 That's an Inuit word when you keep getting up to look around for someone who's coming, then sitting down, and getting up to look around again. (There's always someone who doesn't know. . .)

Lost in Translation is a charming collection of unstranslatable words in many languages, from Finnish to Urdu, which describe emotions and actions we all feel and do, regardless of language. Describing them in English often takes many words while other languages condense them into one. Unlike those books which list the longest words or most convoluted, reading this one it felt comforting to know that it actually is a worldwide thing to understand someone's directions perfectly when they tell you but then forget when its time to make a turn. ("Akihi", Hawaiian)

A definition is given along with a more human description, which artfully expresses the essence of the word. The whimsical artwork makes it a light read. Its perfect to keep out on a table to casually browse, and then stun people with your linguistic knowledge.

Lost in Translation can be read in one sitting but its rich content will keep you returning for more.

 

Midnight in Siberia - A Portrait of a Nation Through its Railway

 Midnight in Siberia by David Greene

    The Trans Siberian Railway in the longest and one of the most famous in the world but there is remarkably little written about it in English. Many have written of Siberia, the place, but aside from brief sections in Paul Theroux's and Colin Thurbon's books, the railway has escaped the eye of literature. NPR host David Greene has to some extent remedied this with Midnight in Siberia, an account of his winter journey on the train in 2013. He uses the rail journey as a frame through which he explores the larger human experiences of modern Russia, making it an important social work Americans should read and bear in mind when reading the headlines. 

      Having made the journey myself, I can say his descriptions of life on the train were vivid and brought to life a few memories. "I would take a ride (on the TSSR) over a ride on amtrak any day of the week." he writes, "There's nothing boring about riding the Trans-Siberian. Its hard, yet poetic, perplexing yet entertaining." The train becomes a world unto itself and you form a daily routine on it; the hot water boiler which becomes your primary source of water; the dining car, where most of the socializing happens; getting guidance from your provodnik; the thrill of simply getting off at rural stations; sharing a closet sized space with four people.

       And here Greene's background as a journalist shines as he finds the real subject of the book, the Russian people. The train is a vehicle to explore this, which ties together the narrative. Each chapter is named for a different person he encounters, in which he describes their story. They range from environmental activists, to small business owners trying to make it in the new economy, to anthropologists exploring the ancient roots of Siberia.  All tell tales of woe and success (mostly woe). It is at once grim yet hopeful, and brings out a portrait of an endearing people. The result is an informative picture of modern Russia, good and bad, from which the reader can draw his own conclusions.

                                                             

      If there is any fault in Midnight in Siberia, it is that in places it treads the much-tread ground of psychoanalysis which boils down to "Russians are different from Americans", when the journey and interviews could have easily stood on their own merits without commentary.  Another is that the icy winter setting is exactly what we expect of anything set in Russia. Ian Frasier comments in his Travels in Siberia that "writers are required to visit Siberia in winter" and it seems to be true. (This is more of a personal interest of the reviewer than a fault with the book however as I made the trip in the summer - when it is generally warm, sunny, and green.)

           

     The book is physically well-presented and overall an easy read. In the end, Midnight in Siberia is a valuable new addition to the travel shelf, and will appeal to anyone with an interest in both Travel and the general human experience.

 

The Inkblots- One Man's Quest to Help people by Healing their Minds

 A psychiatrist invents a way to test patients. Sounds academic and faintly tedious? I thought so too until I read The Inkblots. In it Damion Searls brings to life the powerful story of one man's quest to help people, and the posthumous journey of his method to do so.

     Freud taught that our true selves can be discerned through what we say (think: "freudian slip").  Rorschach, a contemporary Swiss psychologist, thought that what we see is more revealing, and spent much of his life exploring the profound connection between what we see and what we feel. Why do schitzophrenics have physical sensations of things that they see happening when they know they aren't real? How do feelings manifest themselves through art? Why do people "feel" motion (or emotion) in static images? (It would seem like some knowledge of psychiatry would be needed to appreciate these issues, but the author walks the reader through all the various theories and makes them comprehensible to the layman.) The culmination of all these questions for Rorschach lay in the eponymous inkblot test, in which people are shown ten abstract paintings and asked to describe what they see.
   When used correctly it can work wonders. But while Freud's theories have been endlessly explored, Rorschach's by contrast have been neglected and misused. The test is not a "personality test" (the online quizzes using the inkblots are in fact the opposite of how they work). It does not give answers; it provides the insightful psychologist with clues to explore. Later psychiatrists developed it so far as to have mathematical formulas which can be calculated. The author includes some case studies in which the Rorschach test, was used to detect crimes and criminals.
   The blots look random: couldn't anyone make shapes and ask others what they look like? Not so: the designs, choice of color, the decision to mirror them, to do so vertically rather than horizontally, are all guided by artistic principles. Rorschach goes so far as to use art to treat his patients and in one scene brings a catatonic man to heal himself by drawing. Psychoanalysis of abstract art, he finds, is a powerful tool to understand the human mind in ways no other method can uncover. This aspect could carry its own book.
   The author brings Rorschach's career to life with flair. He is an all-around likable renaissance man who holds parties and shows for his patients, experiments with photography, investigates cults, dabbles in abstract art. He witnesses wars, revolutions, and injustice within the psychiatric establishment with Dr. Zhivago-like impartiality, concerned only with the welfare of mankind. "'The most interesting thing in nature is the human soul," he wrote, "and the greatest thing a person can do is heal these souls, sick souls.' His life makes uplifting reading and I felt rewarded after learning about it.
     The same way a gripping fact-based movie makes you to explore the truth behind it, The Inkblots will inspire those unfamiliar with psychology to explore it and the surprising ways it can help us.

You can check out more of Damion Searls work at his website:
http://www.damionsearls.com/

I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.


                                                                      

In Julia Child's Kitchen -A How-to For Everyone

    
    In Julia Child's kitchen is a mix of cookbook, textbook, and memoir that will appeal to everyone who likes to cook as well as those who simply enjoy the idea of cooking.
     The recipes, which cover all the basics from cooking oysters and lobsters to perfecting baguettes, are interspersed with how-to's and explanations of technique, as well as many anecdotes from her own experiences in the kitchen and on her early cooking shows. With its charming mix of recipes and stories I've found myself reading it for pleasure as much as for cooking.
     Many of her stories aim at encouraging the amateur chef, and indeed there is something reassuring reading about one of America's premier chefs mess up a soufflé, or practice a fancy way of flipping an omelet she just learned.
     Julia child is aware that many accessories and ingredients are not readily available in the home kitchen, and she shows how to substitute and improvise, and includes a comprehensive list of European vs American measurements. This is information that will help you when tackling other cookbooks, particularly those published in the UK which often have wonderful-but-untranslate-able recipes.
     I only learned after googling the book that it was published as a companion for her TV Show; with only rudimentary knowledge of her show or other books I still use and enjoy it very much.

"The Tunnels"- A Real-Life Thriller with a Message

     

     The Berlin wall was a staple of 60's Spy culture. The poignant opening and close of John le Carre's famous novella "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold," "A Funeral in Berlin," the original Casino Royale. Pieces of it are in museums around the world and millions watched it be taken down. We know it existed and it is taken for granted that people tried to cross it and some died in the attempt. Who exactly they were is usually left to the imagination. Greg Mitchell has remedied this with his book "The Tunnels"- a satisfying read which will appeal to anyone who likes a good story, and contains some case-studies we can learn from for today. In it he presents two wildly different stories which intersect: one a nitty-gritty story of escape and evasion that would put Paul Brickhill to shame, the other a Newsroom-style drama of the press assembling a documentary about the latter and fighting to get it aired. Between the two, there is never a dull moment in the book. If you're a "page around" reader like me you'll quickly get hooked on what you open up to. The many characters and their experiences are brought to life vividly (and I might add, authentically, without the aid of faux dialogue.)
        The first story focuses on the tumultuous 3 year period following the decision by the Soviets to construct the wall to stem the exodus of Berliners from their zone into the US-controlled zone. Ordinary citizens, mostly seeking to be reunited with family, worked their way around this, primarily by tunneling, a craft which they are forced to learn quickly by trial and error. "It was like grave digging except you had to excavate horizontally, for days, and survive in the musty chill long after light and air began to dissappear. Soon one couldn't toil for more than an hour before feeling faint for lack of oxygen. Some of the men suffered from fever and hacking coughs." Over time air, lighting, and even phone systems are incorporated as well as simple-yet-effective tradecraft to escape detection. So many worthy people figure in the narrative it seems unfair to single out an example for a review. One of the main characters is Harry Seidel, a cycling champion living in the west who tunnels east with the aim of rescuing his mother- rescuing many others in the process. Harry is a likable hero and his story carries much of the story, but his is just one of many cliques of tunnellers which figure in the book.
      The second story revolves around an NBC news team which captures the underground drama for a documentary. They embed with a group building a tunnel from the west into the east and not only finance the tunnel but capture footage of escapes as they happen. It is a chance for "history in the making, cinema verite, danger and every turn, day after day, happening right in front of the camera's eye- one might call it something new for TV..." They battle rival networks, dangerous shooting conditions, the threat of discovery by the East German Police (whose double agents have already infiltrated some tunnel groups), and, most dangerous of all, opposition from their own government. From the White House, nuclear war looks like a frighteningly real prospect, as Kennedy and his aides weigh how to oppose the Soviets without provoking them. Berlin has an ingredient missing in other confrontations: "Berlin was not only the political flash point of the cold war, it was...one of the few arenas where the United States and USSR came into direct one-on-one conflict." The administration looks to find a way to make the media operate in sync with their concerns about global tensions so as not to spark "the" incident which may prove the tipping point. (Soviet spy Rudolph Abel once commented that he had little need for undercover work in America as so much was readily available in newspapers and published reports). They agree it is in the interest of the common good to prevent a potentially inflammatory documentary from being shown. It takes a great deal of influence from some of the best reporters of the day to prevent the project from being killed.
      The author's background as a journalist himself shines through, both in his easy-to read writing style and his approach. He avoids taking sides or inserting his own opinions, instead assembling facts and presenting them to the reader, who may draw his own conclusion. It also gives him a leg up when addressing still-relevant issues that surround journalism like the conflict between security and freedom of information.
        The text itself gets 5 stars. The jacket description leaves a little to be desired. First, the byline reads "Escapes under the Berlin Wall." That gives the impression of something definitive, like the tunnel equivalent of M. R. D. Foote's "MI9." I was a little disappointed at first to find it was only half devoted to the tunnels (and only during a short period at that). Once realized however, the book was highly enjoyable. Second: the second part of the byline reads "the historic films the JFK white house tried to kill" and on the inside flap has two quotes from Kennedy ("A wall is better than a war" and "we don't care about east berlin") all taken out of context, making the book sound like a revisionist dig at Kennedy rather than the nuanced story Mitchell actually tells.
        Looking back we can be grateful that the NBC team took the time to record the escapes. The program won several awards and is available for viewing on youtube. It is haunting in its simplicity and imparts to the viewer a sense they are truly witnessing history.

http://www.gregmitchellauthor.com/bios/greg-mitchell

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.