1Q84-Haruki Murakami

I just finished reading this book and I'm not yet 100% sure what I think about it but wanted to write about it now anyway.
It's a fantasy/ romance novel that is focused around the characters of Aomame and Tengo who are wrapped up in a mysterious sort of alternate reality that has Little People and two moons in the sky.
I loved the beginning of this book, I have never read anything by Murakami before and I thought his prose was absolutely magical. There were times when I had to stop reading and ponder over every word in a sentence and just let it wrap around me while I thought of every facet of meaning. I stopped and wrote done numerous sections that I really liked. The translators deserve a big round of applause as I did not feel at any point that I was reading a translation which is very rare.
I've read that Murakami has always been interested in Western culture and that is quite evident throughout the novel as there are frequent references to the literature of Shakespeare, Proust, Carl Jung, and of course Orwell. The title and Aomame's name for the alternate world is, of course, based off of Orwell's 1984 but apart from a couple references to the book itself by a couple characters and connections between Big Brother and totalitarian religious organizations, he didn't really do much with the 1984 theme. I did like that it was set in that year as modern technology would have drastically changed a number of aspects of the novel. The connection to 1984 has made some people label this as a dystopian type novel but I think that's quite inaccurate though since it is one of the factors that lead me to read this rather large book I am glad of it.
I really enjoyed several segments in which Murakami was basically writing about writing and the process thereof. 
A number of the supporting characters were intriguing and I particularly liked Tamaru. 
Some things I didn't really like:
- almost everyone mentioned was described as having a face that shows little to no emotion.
- there are a number of rather disturbing descriptions of sexual situations
- I love fantasy and am usually able to suspend my disbelief but this book was got way too surreal and unrealistic at several points.
- Often quite repetitive as he writes the same event from different perspectives but almost no new information is presented. He also often describes quite mundane everyday actions that are very realistic but as they're part of everyone's life are rather boring to read about. i.e. aimlessly looking in the fridge when you've just thought about the contents and then describing that the contents were exactly as you thought before opening the door. That kind of thing.
 - The last 'book' of the story was quite repetitive and had lost almost all of the anxiety and worry for the characters that drove on earlier sections and I found the ending rather predictable. Though there is still mystery around what is going to happen to the characters in the future and whether the ending is the real ending to their story.

This also makes me curious and worry about whether Japan is as rife with domestic violence and random violence against women as this book made out or was the fact that almost everyone knew a woman who was killed or driven to suicide by the violence of men was a just a connecting factor? Their porn suggests that their may be some truth to it. Japan kinda scares me in that respect.

 I'd rate this book a 4 out of 5 and I'll probably read more Murakami in the future.

"Most people are not looking for provable truths. As you said, truth is often accompanied by intense pain, and almost no one is looking for painful truths. What people need is beautiful, comforting stories that make them feel as if their lives have some meaning. Which is where religion comes from"

 "When the time comes, though, they just quietly go off and disappear. I'm sure it means they've died, but I can never find their bodies. They don't leave any trace behind. It's as if they've been absorbed by the air. They're dainty little creatures that hardly exist at all. They've come out of nowhere, search quietly for a few, limited tings, and disappear into nothingness again, perhaps to some other world." -about butterflies

AshtheViking

This is the first new book I've read this year after rereading the Lord of the Rings books so I'm already behind in my 50 book count for this year. Must read more!

Recent Reads I Haven't Reviewed.

There's a couple books I've read this summer without writing up a full review so I'll combine them all into one instead of making several posts. 
Dance with Dragons- George R.R. Martin

 This LONG awaited continuation of the Song of Ice and Fire series was a great read as always from Martin. Any author that can sneak in a Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference about farting in someone's general direction without it coming off as cheesy is my hero. I'm in anguish over some of the events of the end of the book because Martin continues his typical cruelty of the character cliffhanger. I felt somewhat less emotionally affected by the majority of the events in this novel and some parts (Daenerys) bored me with their repetitiveness. Compared to the typical fantasy I'd give this book a 5/5 but because it pales in comparison so some of the others in the series I'm downgrading it to a 4/5. Also the first book I read on my new Kindle.


Wolf Hall- Hillary Mantel

This is an historical novel chronicling the rise and career of Thomas Cromwell who came from humble beginnings as an abused son of a blacksmith, became a successful merchant, and finally became advisor and close friend to Henry VIII. I enjoyed the read immensely and it was a relatively quick read despite its large size. It was a much much more realistic portrayal of Henry VIII's character and motivations behind the English Reformation and his relationship with Anne Boleyn compared to the historical wrecks that have been popular recently. The book seemed slightly imbalanced. For the first 3/4 of the book the pace was steady but very detailed and then the last 1/4 was rushed. She's currently working on the sequel that continues to follow Cromwell's life and I'll probably read that once it comes out. I give this book 4/5 rating.


Let the Right One In- John Ajvide Lindqvist

I want to read as much Scandinavian lit as possible(but I'm not a big fan of crime fiction which is the big trend) so I decided to try this paranormal vampire-ish fiction. I read this entirely on the train from Bergen to Oslo so it's pretty short. It's about a bulllied boy who has a mysterious new neighbour who is a very odd little girl. There's been a series of odd murders in the area that seem to be connected. The paranormal aspects of the novel mostly seem to highlight the sad truths of childhood that the young boy experiences and the friendship between the boy and the little vampire is quite touching. Some parts involving a pedophile are seriously disturbing. This vampire book is not for people expecting a Twilight novel. I give it a 3/5 rating. 

Blindness- Jose Saramago 

An epidemic of white blindness strikes an entire country and one woman who has retained her sight takes it upon herself to protect and lead a small group of the blind. This dystopian-ish novel makes you wonder what you would be willing to do to help others while remarking at the depths of depravity to which humanity is capable of descending. It seems that if people en masse lose one sense then they lose all humanity. The structure of the novel was a little weird as there's no names and everyone is only referred to by physical characteristics that had been assigned them before the blindness struck. There's also limited punctuation- with no quotation marks and only periods and commas. While discomfiting it was a fantastic novel that I give 4.5/5. 

Steppenwolf- Herman Hesse

I read this book quite a few months ago because the lyricist and vocalist of one of my favourite bands said he was reading it during the recording of the album. That band is the Irish Primordial (see my Hole in the Sky post for a couple pictures) and Alan Averill wrote the song Lain with the Wolf in reference to Hesse's novel. I always appreciate literary in my metal so I had to read it. I didn't particularly enjoy the book but I have a feeling I'm not the target audience. I have very little compassion for a depressed middle aged man who's contemplating suicide. Harry Haller is described as extremely intelligent, very accomplished, and enlightened. The reader is told these facts but never shown these qualities . The only thing I could relate to was the fact that he had had a family, friends, and life but eventually pushed everyone away which is unfortunately something I could see happening eventually in my life, not on purpose but happening gradually. Hearing Primordial's song about the themes of the book made me look at certain aspects of the novel different and appreciate the spiritual struggle of Haller that I hadn't really focused on when I read it. I think a reread could make me like the book more but for now it's getting a 2/5 rating. 

Currently Reading: The Blade Itself- Joe Abercrombie I don't know how much reading I'll be doing considering school work but I have to read 29 more books by the end of December to meet my 50 book goal for the year.

Book Review: When You Are Engulfed in Flames- David Sedaris

Rating: 2 stars
Why I got it: It was in the bargian book section of Chapters and I had heard a lot of good things about Sedaris. I also really liked the cover.

I don't read short stories. I'm much more inclined to pick up a sprawling epic than a book of short stories yet for some reason I have bought several over the years, one of them being When You Are Engulfed in Flames. The book jacket called these stories essays- but essays are something I know well, they start with an introduction which contains a thesis and then continues to argue whatever point the thesis makes. These were not essays as I know them and the genre of personal essay confuses me. This is basically a collection of exaggerated recollections from what seems like a rather mundane life. There were moments I thought things could get interesting when he mentioned the drugs and alcohol but apparently they were covered in a different book and those vices have been given up. He also should have a wealth of cultural exchanges and comments because of the different countries he's lived in but apart from a comment on Japanese toilets and language lessons, you could barely tell that he had ever left his bedroom. Perhaps once again these are told in other books but I have no interest in hunting down the possibly interesting sections in a man's life. Even the parts that were interesting I often couldn't help but feel that there was so much more potential for humour or that I personally had a more extreme or engaging story about the same topic. Other reviewers have remarked that Sedaris makes the mundane funny and interesting but not for me. There was a handful of weak chuckles throughout the book but I didn't find anything hilarious. The book somewhat reminded me of a blog, which would be fine if that's what is was and I had come across it online and not paid $10 for it. Overall, I was unimpressed with the book and doubt I'll buy anything else from Sedaris.
Quotes: "I have often heard of cigarettes compared to friends. They can't loan you money, but they are, in a sense, there for you, these mute little comfort merchants always ready to lift your spirits. It's how I now feel about macadamia nuts, and these strange little crackers I've been buying lately. I can't make out the list of ingredients, but they taste vaguely of penis."

"If you have never spent whole afternoons with burning ears and rumpled hair, forgetting the world around you over a book, forgetting cold and hunger--

If you have never read secretly under the bedclothes with a flashlight, because your father or mother or some other well-meaning person has switched off the lamp on the plausible ground that it was time to sleep because you had to get up so early--

If you have never wept bitter tears because a wonderful story has come to an end and you must take your leave of the characters with whom you have shared so many adventures, whom you have loved and admired, for whom you have hoped and feared, and without whose company life seems empty and meaningless--

If such things have not been part of your own experience, you probably won't understand what Bastian did next."
- Michael Ende - The Neverending Story

Book review: Beyond Belfast: a 560-Mile Walk Across Northern Ireland on Sore Feet

Rating 2/5

Why I read it: I'm Irish, I have some family in Northern Ireland, and I was interested in Ferguson's depiction of the religious strife there.

What I thought: I think I remember enjoying the beginning. I started it ages ago but then lent it to a friend who was going to be travelling 'round Ireland and thought he could use it as a guide for some places. Looking around my room a couple days ago my eyes fell on it and I decided to finish it. Some parts were very entertaining and interesting but many parts dragged heavily. While I understand that his following of the Ulster Way was a template of the book I think in many places it subtracted from my enjoyment of the text because he wasn't enjoying his travels and there's only so many complaints about rain and boggy ground you can read before you want to yell at the author "It's Ireland, what do you fucking expect?" I think people should travel for the joy of travelling and he even admitted that he didn't feel a terrible sense of accomplishment when he finished his trek. I can't remember what they are now but there were a couple historical mishaps that rubbed me the wrong way, probably something to do with Vikings that I didn't like.

Quote:
"I liked the idea of Guinness more than Guinness itself. There were times I felt that way about Ireland as a whole."

Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Rating: 5/5
Why I read it: Went on clearance for $5 at my work and I had heard good reviews so I bought it and for some reason I chose it off of the overflowing bookshelf to bring with me for the conference trip.
From the back: By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife;s library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.



My opinion: My favourite book I have read this year. I really thought this book was beautiful, a difficult task considering the harsh subject matter of the Holocaust. The relationship between Liesel and her foster-father is truly touching and I love the basement scenes with her and Max. The story shows that there were families and children that did not get caught up with the propaganda and the hatred spread by the Nazi party campaign and those that knew what was happening to the Jews was wrong, but it also displays their complete helplessness to actually do anything to help. As Liesel learns how to read she learns the power of words and their part in Hitler's rise. The two big highlights of the story for me were the homemade books from Max. They touched my heart and almost brought tears to my eyes. The remnants of Mein Kampf that occasionally shone through the pages were a constant reminder that this hateful ideology cannot ever completely be covered but it does not have to eliminate all hope. The self depiction by Max of himself as a bird as opposed to human reminded me of Maus and Spielgelman's depiction of the Jews as mice. The physical differences between Jews and Germans are really a cultural creation proved by the fact that Max is able to travel with fake German papers for a time and that Liesel cannot see the difference between them because she is a child raised in a non-hateful family. But is a construct that has been so drilled into them that even Max sees himself as different- as undeserving of comfort and kindness. The little asides that pepper the book were a little jarring at first but then I got used to them and think it was an interesting writing style. The usage of Death as the narrator was brilliant, and it allowed a commentary on humanity from an involved outsider perspective. Basically I thought this was a brilliant book at will not disappoint, however, it is not a happy book despite how much hope is within the pages. Just read it saumensch.

Quotes:

• "and for comfort, to shut out the din of the basement, Liesel opened one of her books and began to read."

• "The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: a boy that loves you"

• "Often I wish this would all be over, Liesel, but then somehow you do something like walk down the basement steps with a snowman in your hands."

• "She said it out loud, the words distributed into a room that was full of cold air and books. Books everywhere! Each wall was armed with overcrowded yet immaculate shelving. It was barely possible to see paintwork. There were all different styles and sizes of lettering on the spines of the black, the red, the gray, the every-colored books. It was one of the most beautiful things Liesel Meminger had ever seen. 

       With wonder, she smiled.        That such a room existed!"

• "In years to come, he would be a giver of bread, not a stealer - proof again of the contradictory human being. So much good, so much evil. Just add water."

We are the people of the book. We love our books. We fill our houses with books. We treasure books we inherit from our parents, and we cherish the idea of passing those books on to our children. Indeed, how many of us started reading with a beloved book that belonged to one of our parents? We force worthy books on our friends, and we insist that they read them. We even feel a weird kinship for the people we see on buses of airplanes reading our books, the books that we claim. If anyone tried to take away our books - some oppressive government, some censor gone off the rails - we would defend them with everything that we have. We know our tribespeople when we visit their homes because every wall is lined with books. There are teetering piles of books beside the bed and on the floor; there are masses of swollen paperbacks in the bathroom. Our books are us. They are our outboard memory banks and they contain the moral, intellectual, and imaginative influences that make us the people we are today.
-Cory Doctorow

Book Review: The Protector's War by S.M. Stirling

 Rating: 3/5

Why I read it: Read the first in the series for a medieval studies class and really enjoyed it. 

In Dies the Fire,  the Change stops all technology from guns to cars and everything between. In the post-change world people are forced to adapt to the new yet old modes of living and most form a pseudo-medieval type society. This books takes place ten years after the Change and life has become oddly normalized but the evil medieval history professor is still hell-bent on controlling everything. The communities of Juniper MacKenzie and Mike Havel work together to improve life for their people and protect everyone against the machinations of the Protector and his warlord barons.

What I thought: I think it's largely a case of middle book syndrome because while I enjoyed the book I didn't really care about it. It was mostly just setting the stage for A Meeting at Corvallis. As a medievalist who is getting more and more into the re-enactment side of things I think I enjoy these books so much because of their premise. Several times I thought that it would be great if such an event did occur and my skills and knowledge would become relevant while we "return to nature". I think I enjoy the premise more than I like the actual book considering there are several things that drive me crazy:
1)The Wiccan stuff. I'd feel the same about any religion or faith because there's just too much of it and it just exudes craziness way more than any of Astrid's fantasies. I understand and appreciate the way religion is used for social cohesion and it's understanding how such a religion could take ground in such a world. However at times there was so much of it it bordered on preachy, especially when Rudi is concerned.
2) the italics . He uses them for both thoughts and sign language dialogue which when used together on one page can get choppy and confusing. He also uses italics and un-italics for emphasize which is simply annoying on the eyes when used with the frequency he does. 

3) Juniper, Signe, Eilir all annoy the crap out of me. Astrid may be the crazy one but she annoys me the least. Stirling is terrible at writing female characters apparently considering I love severl of the main male characters.
4)I did enjoy the descriptions of everyday life in the post-Change world but there was way more of it than really necessary.
5. Parts of the book skipped back and forth in time. He provides little chapters heading with the date and location of the chapter but I had gotten into the habit of ignoring those as they are unnecessary for all but perhaps 6 chapters.
6) Should have a different title. There is no war in this book.
Overall, it was a fun read despite the aforementioned problems and I will read the third novel eventually.

Book Review - The Way of Shadows- Brent Weeks

Rating: 4/5

Why I read it: Had seen good reviews for it and was able to get the trilogy for a little more than a single paperback.

Azoth is a street urchin who sees becoming the assassin Durzo Blint’s apprentice as his only chance of a better life.   

I’m a tad conflicted about how much I like this novel. It was fast-paced, engaging, and very entertaining. I really liked and cared for Azoth/Kylar and Blint but I didn’t really care all that much for a number of the other main characters. As an avid fantasy reader I’m used to scores of characters with odd names and twisting plot lines but occasionally with this novel I felt lost and I wondered what the point of including certain scenes was. This occurred most with the Solon/Dorian/ Feir group. I’m sure their purpose will become clearer in the following books.

There was some exploration into the human condition when Weeks examined the depths of depravity people will dive to in order to survive and the potentiality to redeem oneself afterward.    

There were a couple things I was a little incredulous about and some plot points that seemed like they were supposed to have a bigger impact and just fell flat. Overall it’s an entertaining and relatively quick read (for its 645 pages). I’d recommend it for fans of gritty fantasy and assassins. If you enjoyed this book I suggest reading The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

Quotes:

"Assassination is an art, milord. And I am the city's most accomplished artist."

"Do you know what punishments I've endured for my crimes, my sins? None. I am proof of the absurdity of men's most treasured abstractions. A just universe wouldn't tolerate my existence."

“Every man worth a damn is a hypocrite.”

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

This book is one of my favourites and I had to reread it for my class and essay. I read it first a couple years ago while I was going through a major dystopia fling that started with the iconic 1984. So I read it alongside Huxley’s Brave New World, Zamyatin’s We (another book I had to reread for the same class), Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, and maybe a couple others. I don’t like rereading books very often because it feels like I’m taking time away from new books that I haven’t yet explored but I did enjoy the very quick reread of this book in an afternoon and I just fell in love with it some more. What I found interesting however is hearing how vehemently some people hate this book. Perhaps it’s the genre of dystopia or that is focuses on women’s issues but a number of people said they absolutely did not like a single thing about this book.

            I am a fan of dystopia yet it also terrifies me because I can see how these types of regimes would really not be that hard to implement. Atwood is clear in interviews and in the author’s note that other than the synthesis nothing in her book is entirely original. Absolutely every one of these policies or situations has been used at some point in history and that is what terrifies me. My mother would probably dislike this book because she sees it as unrealistic yet I think the power of this sort of books is their realism. You just have to look back to the United States after 9/11 to see a society that is willing to give up a number of their freedoms in exchange for the (false) feeling of being secure. People were willing to allow a police state to take over and for civil liberties to be suspended for an unknown amount of time because they were told it was for their own protection. How hard would it be to install a totalitarian regime in the wake of the suspension of civil liberties? The graphic novel and film V for Vendetta, explores the possibility of a nation’s own government causing the initial panic in order to create a complacent society that would gladly accept a protective overarching regime.

Atwood criticizes many of the right-wing American religious centred lobbies that are undoubtedly misogynistic. The pro-life ( more appropriately anti-choice) lobby is criticized in this novel because the forced birth type society is their ideals taken to the very extreme and they don’t like what they see. I think one of the most important secondary characters in the novel is Serena Joy. She was a religious evangelist who preached that the position of women was in the home and that the new feminist movements were actually anti-women, she hypocritically wasn’t confined to the home but she said that was a sacrifice she had to make to serve god and help people. But when her preached ideal society based on the morals she previously avowed came into being she was then relegated to the home and it is clear she is not happy with her new passive and powerless position.

Another important aspect of dystopias that cannot be dismissed is that this type of society is not completely unrealistic. Atwood’s writing of the novel was influenced by what she was hearing about monotheocracies in the Middle East, especially Iran. One of my goals in life is to write a dystopian novel but instead of a Christian basing, mine would have its foundations in the teachings of Islam though I have a hard time thinking about how one could write a fictional novel where the oppression of women is more extreme than what currently happening in the Middle East and parts of Africa. The only hope I’d have for it would be that if the oppression was relocated to a familiar setting of North America or Europe, some people might finally open their eyes to the true horridness of Shar’ia Law and its clear foundations in the Qu’ran and the Hadith.

Anyways, that’s enough of a ramble, if you haven’t read The Handmaid’s tale yet go and do it because it is fantastic. If you’re not frightened - you’re not paying attention.

Book Review: Wise Man’s Fear

Book: Wise Man’s Fear

Author: Patrick Rothfuss

Rating: 4.5 stars.
Length: 994 pages
Why I read: Because I loved The Name of the Wind and Pat's blog.

Quotes: “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

“No man is brave that has never walked a hundred miles. If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet introspection”

This book was the much awaited sequel to The Name of the Wind and it was worth the very long wait. The book follows Kvothe through more of his problems at the University with studying, financial issues, troubles with a rich asshole bully, and his heart’s desire. Much of the book is spent away from the University as he waits on important nobles and learns new languages and fighting skills abroad. One thing I love about Kvothe is his love of learning for learning’s sake. He very much believes that knowledge is power but wants to gain as much knowledge as possible regardless of the power it bestows upon him. He just wants to learn- something I relate with very closely considering I never really want to leave school. Regularly I found myself forgetting that he was only 17 years old but I guess it makes sense due to his forced early maturation because of harsh circumstances and since like most fantasy it was set in a medieval-esque setting 17 isn’t that young. It was occasionally jarring to me though in parts where his age seemed unrealistic. But then he’d reveal his innocent side and be bashful around females. Speaking of females one part I thought dragged on wayyyyyy too long as the Felurian scenes- yes so he got to frolic with a faerie and learn a bunch of sex techniques but eventually I got tired of hearing about them romping in the woods or the river or among the butterflies.

            Overall it was a great fantasy novel and did not feel as long as the nearly 1000 pages looked. Very much worth the wait. I am a little disappointed that it didn’t have as much music in it as Name of the Wind. You know how a lot of people attempt to verbally describe music and it just falls flat? Pat Rothfuss is not like that. He is a master at describing music; in fact there was a scene in Name that almost made me cry because the description of the music was so beautiful and powerful.

A 137 year old book! :D

        I’m so excited about this. I was wandering around a used bookstore because I was an hour early for a bus and I found The Gods and Other Lectures by Robert G. Ingersoll, published in 1874. I’m pretty sure it’s a first edition. People keep asking me if I think it’s worth any money but I really don’t care all that much. It’s an awesome book. I haven’t read much of it so far but if you know anything about Robert Ingersoll you know he was quite a controversial person back in his time. He was one of the main personas during the “Golden Age of Freethought” and promoted agnosticism. They wanted him to run for political office but only on the condition that he conceal his agnosticism which he refused to do on the basis that he thought concealing information from the public was immoral. Considering now, at least in American politics, a person who was openly atheist or agnostic would never be able to run it prevents those who are best suited (statistically more intelligent) and honest from leading the most powerful country in the world. Even though religion does not play nearly as important role in public and political spheres here in Canada, I don’t think I have ever heard of a political leader announcing his atheism.

Some quotes:

• “Give me the storm and tempest of thought and action, rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith. Banish me from Eden when you will; but first let me eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge.”

• “The notion that faith in Christ is to be rewarded by an eternity of bliss, while a dependence upon reason, observation, and experience merits everlasting pain, is too absurd for refutation, and can be relieved only by that unhappy mixture of insanity and ignorance, called ‘faith’.”

• All that is necessary, as it seems to me, to convince any reasonable person that the bible is simply and purely of human invention—of barbarian invention—is to read it. Read it as you would any other book; think of it as you would of any other; get the bandage of reverence from your eyes; drive from your heart the phantom of fear; push from the throne of your brain the cowled form of superstition- then read the holy bible, and you will be amazed that you ever, for one moment, supposed a being of infinite wisdom, goodness and purity, to be the author of such ignorance and of such atrocity”.

• “These devils generally sympathized with man. There is in regard to them a most wonderful fact: In nearly all the theologies, mythologies and religions, the devils have been much more humane and merciful than the gods.”

I could go on forever. None of this is new for me just simple common sense but it’s amazing to think of how revolutionary this must have been in 1874, hell many people today would be horrified by the ridicule with which he treats their most sacred ideas. But as he says “the instant we admit that a book is too sacred to be doubted, or even reasoned about, we are mental serfs”.