Bamboo and Blood

This is a review of the latest (third) installment in the Inspector O series by James Church.

Of the three books in the series (so far), I think this one is the second best. The first in the series, A Corpse in the Koryo, is the best in the series (and a really great book).

This book is set in the 1990's during the North Korean famine, but this stays more or less in the background in many respects. Inspector O spends a large part of the book in Geneva in any case - plenty of cloak and dagger there and even a love interest of sorts. Strangely enough, his boss Pak is back, although he died in an earlier book - maybe they are not coming out "chronologically". Pak was a really good character, so it is nice to see him again.

The thing that I missed here was the local color of North Korea that was so extensive in the first book - there was some here, but not that much. As in all the books, Inspector O investigates, but things are never quite fully resolved (or not resolved at all) by the end, which is a little less than satisfying. It is never quite clear (even to the Inspector) why things are being investigated, or if they really tie together. But then, North Korea is a bizarre place and maybe this is all part of a game generated by the jockeying for power among the top dogs. Unlike the other books, there is some attempt to explain at the end, but it does fall a little short.

Overall, this is a much better book than the second in the series, but no where near as good as the first. It is still worth a read.

Cultural Literacy

This is a review of "Cultural Literacy" by E.D. Hirsch. In it, he explains this concept of cultural literacy, why we should care, how we are losing it as a people and what can be done about it. Hirsch makes many good points, but goes off on some tangents now and then - the small font did not help.

Cultural literacy refers to knowing certain basic information on our shared culture - the author focuses on the shared culture of the United States, but other bases could be used I guess for different (large) groups. The major importance of this, other than being able to make interesting conversation I suppose, is to be able to follow what one reads, since writers cannot possibly explain every detail in things that they write. This type of literacy may explain why some people do better than others on reading tests and function better in the work force.

To digress a bit, I guess we should not be surprised that we are becoming a country of cultural illiterates, given what is popular on TV. Fortunately, we can get old TV series of better quality on Netflix and ignore most of today's TV. But that would not solve the problem of the younger generation for the most part not knowing what they should about our shared culture.

One problem is in defining the "list" of topics one needs to know about to be culturally literate. The author recognizes that some will complain about who decides and what is included on the "list". Of course, many of these same people are responsible for where we are now, so maybe we should not care what they have to say. Hirsch says to the remainder of the complainers that we can argue about that as we go, but we need to start. Wise man! He goes on to say that the "list" should only change slowly with time, making it possible to keep up, so to speak, as well as to be able to communicate over many generations.

Something REALLY worth noting was the comment regarding science topics for the "list". Actually, it may have not been Hirsch who made this comment, but a physicist who helped him come up with the first "list". In any case, the point was that people in today's society have to understand the basic concepts in the major sciences, or we may be in big trouble with newer technologies; public complacency or overreaction due to ignorance may allow dangerous technologies to develop or prevent good ones from coming off the drawing board. By the way, "drawing board" might need to be on the list for the youth of today to get my meaning in that last sentence given how computers have taken over recently.

The book is a bit old now, but still a worthwhile read. It was mentioned in the new book (reviewed previously) "Real Education" - another book worth reading on a similar topic. There is also a dictionary now on the topics on the "list" which also looks good.

The Pilgrim of Hate

This is the tenth book in the Cadfael series by Ellis Peters. It differs quite a bit from the PBS TV version.

There is a lot going on in this book. The (actual) Stephen-Maude struggle for the throne of England is in the background, but plays quite a role in the plot of the story. There is a murder, but it happens far from Shrewsbury Abbey where most of the story takes place. The story is set during the St. Winifred festival.

The festival attracts a number of pilgrims, as well as some shady characters. There is one group, an aunt and her niece and crippled nephew, who owe a lot to good old St. Winifred by the end it seems. I enjoyed the character of the aunt, although she is not a major one. In addition to these, there are two men traveling together on a bizarre pilgrimage who stop for the festival. In a surprise turn, Cadfael's son, Olivier, makes an appearance.

It is hard to see how all will turn out which makes for a good read waiting for the truth to be revealed. The title is a clue, but not a very big one. I highly recommend this book!