Life of Pi, again

The spouse was asking me why I didn't recommend one of my favorite novels, Life of Pi, to the presidential candidates. Well, I said, "Life of Pi" is more about personal belief -- the decisions every human being has to make about what they will believe about things they can't see or prove. That includes religious belief, but it's also about what kinds of things are possible in the world, kind of metaphysical questions. I don't think a president in particular needs to consider those questions any more than anyone else. They're important questions for everyone.
Not that the question of faith can't be a political question. It clearly is, and lately you can see it in a round of quasi-political books advocating atheism: Christopher Hitchens' God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything or Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation. Those books (which, to be clear, I have read only reviews of) remind me of what "Life of Pi" says about atheists. Our hero young Pi -- who is so religious he embraces Hinduism, Christianity and Islam equally -- encounters his science teacher, Mr. Kumar, at the zoo. Admiring the animals, Mr. Kumar tells Pi he is an atheist:

"When I was your age, I lived in bed, racked with polio. I asked myself every day, 'Where is God? Where is God? Where is God?' God never came. It wasn't God who saved me -- it was medicine. Reason is my prophet and it tells me that as a watch stops, so we die. It's the end. If the watch doesn't work properly, it must be fixed here and now by us. One day we will take hold of the means of production and there will be justice on earth."
This was all a bit much for me. The tone was right -- loving and brave -- but the details seemed bleak. I said nothing.

A bit later, Pi reflects:

It was my first clue that atheists are my brothers and sisters of a different faith, and every word they speak speaks of faith. Like me, they go as far as the legs of reason will carry them -- and then they leap.

Gnash, gnash

Oh the vexatious cull!
I got rid of my John McCain memoir. Gave it away or something.
What was I thinking?
I was thinking, "He's running for president, every library in the country will keep this book forever. I don't need to keep it."
Now I'm thinking, "I want to look at that book and I don't feel like dragging down to the library to get it."
Grrrr ... .

Sherman Alexie and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

I've read several reviews and news stories about the author Sherman Alexie. I first heard of him in the '90s when he was an up-and-coming young Native American writer who had published a book of stories with the truly fabulous title of "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven." He later wrote the screenplay to the film "Smoke Signals," a novel, and another collection of well-reviewed short stories. But Alexie was sadly on my list of Writers I Just Haven't Gotten Around to Reading Yet, Even Though I Would Like To. (I should formalize this list and post it.)
He has a young adult novel out now that is getting stellar reviews, and this week when I was at the university library, a copy was sitting on the new books table, so I snagged it.
What a great book! Hearkening back to my MLK post from last week, it's a living blend of sharply marked opposites. Funny and uplifting, sad and bleak and depressing. It's about Arnold Spirit, Jr., a teenager who decides to leave the reservation to attend the all-white high school, in hopes of improving his education and his fortunes. He also draws cartoons: "Who My Parents Would Have Been if Somebody Had Paid Attention to Their Dreams," for example, and "How to Pretend You're Not Poor."
Like many good YA (Young Adult) novels, "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" dwells a lot on budding sexuality and the body. In the above video clip, you'll hear how Arnold and his new friend Gordy talk about boners, in the context of getting excited about books. (It's worth listening to Alexie's reading.)
But Alexie's above reading ends before my favorite part. The scene goes on:

"I don't think you should run through life with a real erect penis. But you should approach each book -- you should approach life -- with the real possibility that you might get a metaphorical boner at any point."
"A metaphorical boner!" I shouted. "What the heck is a metaphorical boner?"
Gordy laughed.
"When I say boner, I really mean joy," he said.
"Then why didn't you say joy? You didn't have to say boner. Whenever I think about boners, I get confused."
"Boner is funnier. And more joyful."
Gordy and I laughed.
He was an extremely weird dude. But he was the smartest person I'd ever known. He would always be the smartest person I'd ever known.

Happy Birthday James Joyce

Bust of James Joyce
Originally uploaded by spoonreader

Today is the 126th anniversary of James Joyce. Happy Birthday to the master! Yes, I say yes!

Mark and Angie at Sandycove
Originally uploaded by spoonreader

And here is a photo of me and my love at the James Joyce Museum and Tower at Sandycove, near Dublin. This is from back in August.

Books and the Presidential Campaign

Katie Couric asked the presidential candiates which single book they would take with them to the White House, aside from the Bible. Read about it here.
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney cited recent history books. Obama picked Team of Rivals, a biography of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Mitt Romney picked John Adams by David McCullough. I was pleased by their picks, because I suspect they chose books they actually had read and enjoyed.
I was less impressed by the old safetys. John McCain named Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton both wanted The Federalist Papers.
Mike Huckabee, on the other hand, picked a book I'd never heard of, called Whatever Happened to the Human Race. A little research on my part reveals that this is a serious philosophical book with a Christian orientation on life issues. Barnes and Noble says:

In this moving book, the renowned pediatric surgeon and Surgeon General of the United States, C. Everett Koop, M.D., joins with one of the leading Christian thinkers of our day, Francis A. Schaeffer, to analyze the widespread implications and frightening loss of human rights brought on by today's practices of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. They see the present as a crucial turning point. Choices are being made that undermine human rights at their most basic level. Practices once labeled "unthinkable" are now considered acceptable. The destruction of human life, young and old, is being sanctioned on an ever-increasing scale by the medical profession, by the courts, by parents, and by silent citizens.

Meanwhile, Bill Moyers asked his viewers which book they would recommend for the president to read. A lot of people submitted answers here. I don't see too many interesting suggestions though, and some of the answers are just silly.
What would I suggest? The first book that popped into my head was Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, which isn't about politics or history or anything like that. It's a short, lyrical novel about a country minister who is dying and writing a letter to leave to his young son. To me, the novel is about humility and the limits of knowledge, and how good-hearted people can disagree vehemently on the best way to solve problems. This was more of an intuitive choice; it's just the first thing I thought of. If I think of something more apropos, I'll post again.