Books, the past, the future

Well, its been a while since I last had enough on my mind that could actually be written out meaningfully. I suppose reading real books does this to me, it starts me thinking about the meanings and purpose behind the works. I have recently found two authors who's writing I have enjoyed more than I would have expected.

C. J. Sansom's historical works starring the lawyer Mathew Shardlake are interesting. They are well written, in the style of a fairly generic mystery story. What really makes them good is the historical content. Set in the 16th century, in the time of King Henry VIII, Sansom brings into discussion the politics of the time. Shardlake is shown to become disillusioned of the reform in the first novel "Dissolusion" but he has long disagreed with the papist faction. This leaves the reader with a hero who is open to both worlds in a sense, and so the story is not about religion, but simply politics.

The stories contain enough fiction to captivate a wider audience, but also enough fact that the captive audience cannot help but learn some of the less pleasant details about the history of England, and the time of Henry VIII in particular. The set of three books spans a period of four years, in which three wives are killed. For the first time ever, I know the names of the wives of Henry, assuming he only had six, which I think he did.

So thos books give you thoughts on the past. I have also been reading the novels of David Mitchell, who writes convoluted stories that intermingle, and there are characters who cross between books in a manner which either suggests the author struggles to create cameos, or is a clever way of saying, "all these novels are actually linked." I have read three of his novels, and all three have the same kind of convolution as the movie inception. Stories within stories, and no clear description of when waking or sleeping. But there are two things that strike me most strongly about these books. One Mitchell is a fan of the Japanese and Eastern culture. Two he makes some of the works of George Orwell look optomistic.

These novels are set well ahead of where we are today, but a large amount of what we see happening we know could very well come true. The wars that are suggested are not unrealistic, although they due portray a particularly cynical view of America and the American military forces. What Mitchell does which both darkens his works and gives hope to the reader is he gives his characters their humanity. They are realistic, and it is possible to imagine meeting one of them in life. Even those characters who play cameo roles have enough depth that one can relate to them ad to their feelings.

This look into the future is bleek, but the people inside it are shown to be just like us, even if they are more likely to be caught up by the crime bosses, or develop amazing scientific technologies. The fact that every hero is humane, and even the villians are possible to relate to leaves the reader feeling positive, where it would be easy to leave them feeling negative about what the future promises.

So there are my Ramblings on the books I've been reading. I hope you haven't been too bored.

Life, the universe, and everything

So, I hand in my big project, hoping that now I will be able to relax a little. But instead I find that tonight I am restless, and unable to convince my brain to stop wizzing for long enough for me to work out what is making it wizz. So I am looking at what is happening in my life that might be worth wizzing about.

Only, things actually look pretty good from an objective point of view. I can go shopping for some sports equipment which I would like to buy, and I don't need to worry about either the money or the time. I have a hockey match which will be a lot of fun to play. And I am able to spend some time this week catching up on interesting physics things that have been neglected recently, due to project pressures. There is onehing which is a bit of a bummer, and that is the fact that my cell phone battery seems to have been overcharged, which shouldn't even be possible, but has made the battery physically swolen, and it loses its charge in about ten minutes when being used. But that shouldn't be causing my brains to wizz.

So it is time to think, what else is happening in my life. I have covered academics, that looks good. I have covered sport, that looks good too. Technology is being a pain, but hopefully I will be able to fix that soon, by buying a new battery. So perhaps it is my social life.

The question there could be actually, "do I even have a social life?" The answer to that would be yes. So is it worrying me? Perhaps a little. I have to tell a good friend that I will not be able to attend her 21st birthday do, because I will be away with family that weekend, but she will understand that, so tjat shouldn't be stressing me. I have some things I need to get done for my youth group, but objectively they are all fairly simple.

So I come to the conclusion, that there is no one thing that causes my brains to wizz like mad, but rather perhaps a collection of things. It would be awesome if things were all simple, and peoples reactions were as predictable as a physics edperiment, or a piece of complex code. But unfortunately there is no debugger in the IDE of life, so we just have to put up with the occasional bug, and possibly create a work around. That's why life hacks are so popular. So if that is the case, then I will steal shamelessly from Douglas Adams, and say the answer to why my thoughts and brain are wizzing endlessly must be very simply, 42.

Pressure

Being under pressure sucks. That said, maybe I should have a look at my life, and realise that there is so much that doesn't suck for me right now, in fact I am really blessed. Even though I am feeling the pressure, how many people can say that they are doing their final year of a degree in physics and computer science, and aiming to be top of the class in all courses, and acting as class representative for three out of four classes? I have been given oportunities, I need only to make the most of them. Yes it is hard when I have four reports to write before Wednesday, and for one of them the data is dodgy. But over all, I have been given a chance not everyone will get.

I have had the priviledge of being a leader on a youth camp. Doing something I love, and making sure that everything keeps happening, and that everyone has everything that they need. It was great, we had a chance to minister to kids from all sorts of backgrounds, and I also, as a bit of a bonus, got to catch up with some friends who I don't see nearly enough of. It did chew about five days during which I could have been doing varsity work, but it was a sacrifice well worth making, even if it is adding to my pressure now.

As I feel the pressure groing inside of me, and start feeling more.and more like I'm going to explode, I start to write more in my journal, which leads me into praying more. And that leads me to realise just how blessed I am to be able to take everything to God in prayer, and know that he will be able to sort it out, and that He will make everything turn out good in the end. Even if I skrew up, Jesus is able to fix my mistakes, and has a plan for me. Romans 8:28 says "and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

So as a conclusion to that, I suppose I can say, that even when it feels like the pressure is too much, I know that I am never alone, and that I have been blessed beyond what I would think to ask for if I was given the opportunity.

Jane Austen, a diversion

Having just returned to my digs before the start of a new semester at university, I have found myself in need of something to occupy much of my time before lectures start. So with great enjoyment I have been making the most of one of my holiday purchases, that is a volume of the complete novels of Jane Austen.

I first worked my way with some difficulty through Emma. A novel which according to some critics is Austen's greatest work, but which was not given such honour by the author herself. My feeling is that perhaps it is altogether too well written, since you are intimately involed in the feeling of Emma Woodhouse herself, and are made to cringe when you realise just how spoilt she has been. It is, however, great consolation to watch the development of all the characters. Finding Mr Elton to be fickle and unworthy of the attention he believed himself to deserve, and seeing poor Harriet Smith learn to not always trust her good friend's advice. The best development must, however, be said to be that of Emma herself. Watching and feeling how she learns regard for the feelings of those around her is greatly informative into her way of life, and makes for a most enjoyable ending to the story.

Having finished with Emma, I felt I was still in need of diversion, and realising that I had a less well known novel in Lady Susan I attempted that next. The style of this one is most interesting, in that it is a series of letters between all the interested parties, betraying to the reader an intimacy with each letter writer which is not known to the characters about whom they write. The Lady Susan for whom the novel is named is seen for what she truly is quite quickly by the reader, and as soon as her daughter Frederica is introduced one cannot help but feel sorry for her. Her treatment by her mother is quite disgraceful. This novel gives a view to a different side of society to that which I am accustomed from Austen. It shows the scheming and nasty side of the upper class women, when usually we see a much more romantic side of this same class.

To continue, I must confess to having read another, which is agaain very different in tone. Dealing very much in vanity, and pride of position and how these and the evils of peer pressure can influence the lives of the characters. I speak now of Persuasion. The novel deals quite extensively with what may happen to a young lady surrounded by vain and shallow companions when her greatest fault lies in being to gentle. If poor Anne Elliot were to have a little more backbone when it came to dealing with er family one cannot help but feel that she should have been very happy much earlier. That would of course mean that there was no story, but it is most amusing to see all the different reaction to Anne meeting Captain Wentworth in so many different situations. It is also good to see how over time her confidence grows through living with those who are able to appreciate her for who she really is.

Hereby my abbreviated opinion on three novels of Jane Austen, all in very different styles, abd all with very different meNings. But intereatingly enough all social commentries on the same society, that of high born ladies.