Reading - August 2024

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (2013)

When I first picked this novel (in the book exchange at work) I thought the title meant that this was about people who are both crazy and rich. For some characters this is true - the ridiculous excesses of the over-privileged are never far from the storyline - but mostly it means that they are just incredibly wealthy. Regardless of the satirical elements though, the appeal for many surely will be in simply marvelling at the amazing wonders of the super-rich. Unfortunately, this tired quickly for me and Kwan's insistence on naming every possible designer and detailing every element of interior decor became heavily distracting, and the whole thing started to drag a bit. The story kept me going, as I wanted to see how it ended, but although the resolution was as expected - happy! - it was a bit sudden and unsatisfying at the end. I suspect there's more in the sequel, although I'm not going to bother too much about finding out.

The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith (2004)

Ostensibly this is a murder mystery, but I think that McCall Smith is just using that as a basic structure on which to hang a quiet study of a certain type of character and society. The cast is clearly being introduced for a series of novels and so there's a lot of scene-setting and not really much detection. The final conclusion is muted, even by McCall Smith's standards, and although there was kind of a twist, it didn't really meet the basic requirements of the genre. I might try and find the next book though.

Chariots of Fire (second draft) by Colin Welland (1980)

It's hard to be objective about the differences between this early draft and the final result, as it's one of my favourite films and I wouldn't change much about it. However, one thing that has occasionally struck me is that there isn't much anti-semitism in the film itself, and if you're not looking for it (or, arguably, if you're not Jewish) you might completely miss it. Most mentions come from Harold Abrahams himself, talking about how he experiences it. But in real life I'm pretty certain it was a lot more prevalent; anti-semitism was an accepted, establishment position (still is, in some areas of British life, and I'm not talking about the far right). This draft includes a lot more explicit prejudice, and that shows more clearly what Abrahams was reacting to. So maybe keeping that in might have made sense. On the other hand, there's a whole set of scenes in which the US coach tells his team that they need to avoid the temptations of the Paris night-life and "nocturnal emissions" because it will sap their strength, which feels like it comes from a completely different film, like a 1920s-set Porky's or something, and was rightly cut!

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (2023)

There are probably useful ideas and insights aplenty in this book but the writing is not interesting enough to warrant wading through to find them, and the perpetuation of various flavours of bullshit is something I find borderline offensive. I almost gave up early on when Rubin delivered his own spin on the hoary old "there are some things science will never understand" ridiculousness, but when he started advising people to trust their gut instincts rather than experts when it comes to career and life decisions, because apparently it always works out for the best - well, I'd had enough. It's nice that Rubin's life has been successful, but as is too often in these cases, it's mostly down to luck, not superior instincts. And don't get me started on the tired old "artists are tortured souls, which is why they take drugs" garbage. (Note that these are not actual quotes, I'm just summarising the impression I got)