Women in Political Theory - Diana H Cooles

This book looks at how misogyny and western political thought were intertwined in their origins and how this relationship has worked itself out through the classic texts of traditional and modern political theory. The concluding chapter examines contemporary feminist theory by discussing post-structuralist and post-modernist themes, which allows for a reappraisal of the critical perspectives brought to bear in the earlier chapters and for a discussion of recent feminist developments in terms of textual analysis and critiques of foundational categories and concepts.

A thoroughly astounding book. I sat breathless after finishing, all the new information whizzing around my brain. Brilliantly paced, it is a long chronological adventure through the perceptions of women in political and philosophical realms. Not a book of politics or philosophical theorisation in and of itself it is more a exploration of other's ideas and the way that that perception has evolved and interwoven in time. 

I found that the structure of the book was excellent, things moved on in a fluid way and it made the flow of time and perception wonderfully obvious. 

Diana Cooles's writing is personally sublime. Her style is right up my street, she writes in such a precise, unemotional and clean way. Complex ideas and concepts are gotten across succinctly and quickly with no unnecessary information or waffle. 

To be fair, the language used can be difficult in places. It is a highly academic book that needs to be read in small chunks. Definitely not a speed read. The discussion is also admittedly very Western focused. However Diana openly admits that and states that lack of non-western theories and political discussion is a continuing issue in modern feminism in general. 

Overall a wonderful and highly recommended book. A great introduction of feminist politics and philosophy in general. I would say that is reminds me of A Quest for a Moral Compass by Kenan Malik. The same brilliant ability to make the difficult, and at time elitist, accessible to all. 

Age Rating 15+. Nothing untoward however the concepts discussed do require a high degree of previous reading, intimate knowledge of Freud and quite a bit of patience.  

The Ghost Bride - Yangsze Choo

"One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride..."

Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound.

Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price.

After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim's handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy—including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family—before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever."One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride..."

Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound.

Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price.

After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim's handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy—including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family—before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever."One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride..."

Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound.

Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price.

After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim's handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy—including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family—before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever."One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride..."

Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound.

Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price.

After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim's handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy—including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family—before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever."One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride..."

Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound.

Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price.

After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim's handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy—including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family—before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever."

Despite some beautiful imagery and scene settings, “The Ghost Bride” is painfully slow. Even though it has the calming zen-like presence common to most Asian historical fiction novels; the plot is halted, as well. Choo has the habit of telling Li Lan’s story versus allowing the reader to ‘live’ it which is unusual as the story is told in 1st-person narrative. Li Lan never comes alive and is one-dimensional, boring, and not available for attachment. This weakens the pace of the story and filters the characters.

“The Ghost Bride” flows too much like a young adult fictional novel as Choo simplifies and overly romanticizes the plot (in a teen lust of way) while also constantly explaining things. Meaning, Choo interrupts dialogue to explain a Chinese term or tradition or even has the characters explain these to each other in a “As you know, Bob…” style common to annoying HF novels. This is not how people think or speak to each in ‘real life’ taking away from the reality of the story. Also annoying is Choo’s overuse of foreshadowing which isn’t subtle, to say the least.

Although “The Ghost Bride” is rich in historical context in terms of the story settings; the characters act, think, and respond in a much too modern way in comparison to other Asian historical fiction novels. “The Ghost Bride” is noticeably modernized, reducing the possibility of memorable and moving characters and/or plots. The novel simply lacks that special “oomph”. 

I had to eventually put it down and didn't want to carry on so I can't comment on

how the book ends. 

Age rating 13+. Creepy ghosts. 

The City of Brass (#1) - S.A Chakraborty

"Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.

After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for..."

I really enjoyed this book. It is not without its flaws, granted, but I still found it highly engaging and a whirlwind of fun. 

Nahri, our main characters, is a twenty-year-old thief and con artist, working marks in 18th Century French-occupied Cairo. She has a gift for discerning medical maladies and treating them. She is supernaturally adept at languages and at parting the unwary from their money. Her character started out so well. She was a survivor; clever and mischievous, making decisions with her head rather than her heart, who’d do what needed to be done to make it through another day and though not all her decisions could be labelled as sound, they were necessary nonetheless. I appreciated that so much, after all, who isn’t a sucker for a survivor story?

Unfortunately as the story progressed her character seemed to become less and less important and less cohesive. Page after page she kept making one foolish decision after another which was so unlike her, as if the Nahri at the beginning of the novel transformed into a completely different character by the end.

All that pride I felt at the start was crushed. It was very disheartening and I am hoping that she becomes more like herself and, finds her power in Daevabad, in the next book. 

My favourite character is the book has to be Alizayd. I really felt for him and his struggle to find out the truth and be morally upstanding in a world that seems entirely morally grey. The confusion of his alliances because of his mixed tribe heritage was also really interesting. He felt the most realistic and complex of the characters. It was a little odd to me that in a community that is depicted as largely Muslim, Alizayd was the only character who was remotely portrayed as being so.....only he was ostracized on account of being Muslim by pretty much EVERYONE ELSE.

Ali is a pious, self-serious and kind-hearted scholar, trying to understand his own privilege and to balance exercising his own power with the love he has for his powerful family. Yet he was perceived, by everyone else, as an oddity for simply being devout – for declining his brother’s invitation to drink alcohol, for not

frequenting parties, etc. He was even called a “religious fanatic”

And last but not least of the main characters is Dara. Here’s the thing: I’m of the firm belief that a great character does not necessarily translate into a “good person”. In fact, some of the best literary figures are completely horrible people, and that's because a character’s worth should always be hinged on how interesting and complex they are, not on their morality in case they were real. But you know what? Male protagonists whose arc revolves around growth and actual personality will always be more interesting than insufferable wankers who punch everything and treat everyone around them like garbage.

Dara’s character lacks any creativity, emotion, or purpose beyond carrying on a pointless ancestral grudge. It’s impossible to sympathize with him, let alone root for him. He is shown to be incredibly prejudiced against shafits (half humans), believe his tribe is better than anyone else's and all round so supremist and exclusionary. This was never combated by the author or Nahri, merely brushed off by the fact that he is sweetly old-fashioned. Like no women he is deeply racist and insufferable. 

Now on to the plot, the book is quite long. It is definitely a set up for the rest of the trilogy, getting the stage set and the reader informed. However I didn't feel like the book dragged. I was interested and engaged the entire time. I am a sucker for fantasy politics and world building so it might be more my cup of tea than others.  Daevabad is stunningly complex and vibrant. Ancient tribal hatreds are kept at bay by a strong, fabulously morally grey and ruthless ruler. King Ghassan ibn Khader al Qahtani must contend not only with inter-tribal tensions, he must cope with a growing insurgency. (Think sundry Middle East rulers with tribally diverse populations.) 

The City of Brass is both smart and very entertaining.

 The richness of the world we see here gives added heft to a wonderful story. The world Chakraborty has created hums with humanity, well, whatever the djinn equivalent might be for humanity (djinnity?).The writing is really well done.

You will smell the incense, want to keep a damp cloth at hand to wipe the dust and sand from your face, and a cool drink nearby to help with the heat. It is also wonderful to learn more about a culture that is not my own. This is a wonderful, engaging, and fun read. Will certainly stick around for the second one. 

Age rating 14 +. There is quite a brutal scene where a man is crushed to death, people are burnt alive in molten metal and there are many concubines however nothing is explicitly sexual.