The Aquatic Uncle by Italo Calvino

The Aquatic Uncle, written by Italo Calvino is easily one of the best stories we have read. In the story, Calvino's narrator, Qfwfq, talks about the moment when he first crawled out of the seas and began life on land. However, his stubborn great-uncle, N'ba N'ga, chose to remain underwater. Qfwfq is a little embarrassed to have a great-uncle who is a fish, and things get worse when his fiancée, Lll, begins admiring the old fellow's determination to preserve his old ways. Abandoning Qfwfq, she dives back into the sea. I think they story speaks a lot about how change does not necessarily guarantee improvement. I can really relate to this story because I often consider my family very conservative, old-fashioned, and sometimes backwards. I understood how Qfwfq felt bringing a girl around his uncle because he did not want his families old way of thinking to be reflected on him.

A Clockwork Orange

This week I decided to read A Clockwork orange. I never read it before or saw the movie so I thought it would be interesting. The story was way more explicit than I thought it would be. Alex and his gang of young criminals lurk through this futuristic city and wreak havoc on the town. They steal cars, get in fights with other gangs, and even rape people. Once Alex went to jail, I found it hard to feel bad for him because everything he did in the past. 

I really like the part when they start experimenting on Alex. This is the only scene that I had ever seen from the movie so it was interesting to put it into context. It almost reminds me of behavioral experiments people did in the 50s to "treat" mental illnesses.

I plan to finish the book soon and hopefully see the full movie.

Bloodchild

I thought that Bloodchild, although somewhat disgusting, was very interesting. The fact that humans are being used as vessels for another species to birth their young is very odd and almost perverse. The situation that Gan finds herself in seems similar to certain things that are happening in many societies today. Just like in Bloodchild, not everyone in our country has the option to choose what happens to their bodies. I think that this story comments on that in a very compelling way. This alien species has attempted to befriend the Terrans in order to use them for their own purposes. I can easily relate this to our own government. We have this group of people that manipulate others into thinking that they have their best interest in mind, all the while they are parasites using us for their own gain. 

Something else that also stood out to me about the story is how the Tlic people tend to impregnate men instead of women. This kind of further pushes the scenario because I think in some ways it challenges what I think of masculinity in society. I thought it was a little more disturbing knowing that the men were the ones being impregnated. Somehow in my mind that is worse than the women being the ones having to carry the burden. 

I would love to see this story extended into a full novel. I wish that Octavia Butler included a little more information as to what T'Gatoi actually looked like beyond her multiple limbs, so the first thing I would do is provide a few more details. Besides the appearance of the Tlic I am also curious of the overall setting of the story which we did not get many details about anyway. I would like to see how Butler invisions this future.

Babel-17

Although I have not yet finished it, Babel-17 is a very good read. I liked the beginning before I knew completely what was going on. Somehow trying to guess what exactly was happening is fun for me. I am speaking more specifically about the part when Dr. Wong is trying to explain her abilities to her other doctor acquaintance. I think the concept of the book is very interesting and I like the dynamics between the characters like the General and Dr. Wong. Not sure if I will go back to finish this one.

Snow Crash

I am so glad to finally  be reading sci-fi. The last couple books have been very fun to read and Snow Crash was enjoyable as well. I think that Neal Stephenson is a pretty good writer and I tend to love any sci-fi story set in futuristic Los Angeles. The fact that we are dealing with a pizza-delivery man that has to navigate through this dangerous futuristic city is very fun and I actually plan on finishing this book when I get the chance. I cannot imagine what is must like being Hiro and having to deliver pizzas for the mob!

The Stars My Destination

This week I read "The Stars My Destination" by Alfred Bester. I found this book particularly fun to read but I am not exactly sure why. I thought that the concept of the book was interesting, and found the ideas about teleportation and time travel to be very fun, but the writing did not really stand out to me. I guess the science fiction genre just captures my imagination a little more than other genres. I would like to read more Alfred Bester in the future and see how his other works compare to this one from a storytelling standpoint. I would also like to see what kind of other topics he has covered.

Fantasy

This week I started reading Coraline. This is my first time reading Neil Gaiman's work and I really liked the mood of the book. However, what I like most about Coraline is the visual style of the movie so there kind of feels like something is missing. I still have not finished the story yet.

Besides Coraline I also read Tarantula by Bob Dylan. It is not a fantasy book but I definitely enjoyed this book more than the other. I enjoyed the unstructured way that the book ran on and on. It felt like I was just reading excerpts from Bob Dylan's raw, unedited mind. The book combines poetry, lyrics, and spoken work but in some ways it feels like a storybook. Recurring themes seem to creep up and paint a better picture of what Bob is actually referring to.