Sarah Crichton Books

Thief

alicia — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:00:00 +0000

“This night I was trying to describe what my orgasms were like, but I doubted if what I wanted to say would sound compelling to anyone but me...” explains Suzanne, before writing a letter to a convicted rapist who is serving his sentence in prison and whom she has established a relationship with.

Maureen Gibbon’s Thief is the story of Suzanne, a complex woman trying to make sense of her own rape, while exploring her own sexuality. Gibbon creates a multi-layered character, an average woman with a troubled past who lives a secluded life and for the most part, likes to have superficial relationships, without letting anyone into her life.

What’s most riveting about this short novel is the style in which Gibbon lets the reader into the very private life of Suzanne. Thief is a short novel, and the reader might be compelled to read it in one sitting. Each chapter is an intimate view of Suzanne’s thoughts, the kind of thoughts that are rarely discussed, especially because they seem fleeting and extremely personal. The protagonist describes her innermost sexual thoughts and experiences, from masturbation to her fantasies and even to her attack. It is at this point that there is a sense of voyeurism, a bond with what goes through Suzanne’s head. Gibbon allows the reader into the deepest secrets of Suzanne and there’s an understanding of her feelings of shame and guilt, an understanding that Suzanne herself is lacking.

Thief is written in a raw style and yet it doesn’t appear vulgar or cliché; instead, it’s a direct look into a woman’s thoughts and the path she explores to understand own self. The novel is well written and engaging; the story of a woman who, through sexual acceptance, reaches another level of self-discovery.

Written by: Jessica Sánchez, September 22nd 2010

Death to the Dictator!: A Young Man Casts a Vote in Iran’s 2009 Election and Pays a Devastating Price

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:05:00 +0000

By Afsaneh Moqadam

Sarah Crichton Books

Less than one year after Iranian demonstrators took to the streets to protest the fraudulent re-election of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President of the Islamic Republic, writer Afsaneh Moqadam tells the true story of Mohsen Abbaspour, a man in his early twenties who votes for the Reformist party and its leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Swept up in the euphoria of possible change, the once politically apathetic Mohsen finds himself alongside his friends and fellow reformists in the streets posing the greatest challenge to Iranian authorities since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Presidential Guard, Basijis and police eventually suppress the demonstrators through brutal force and mass arrests. Like many fellow citizens, Mohsen is arrested, taken to the notorious Evin prison and then to Kahrizak. He is repeatedly interrogated, tortured, and raped until he is finally released on August 29, 2009.

In the letter that accompanied this book, the publisher vouches for the truthfulness of this account and informs us that a pseudonym has been used to protect the author’s identity. Given the relatively short period since the events of June 2009, the requisite anonymity is unsurprising, especially since Moqadam could well be Abbaspour. This book offers an insider account of what transpired in June 2009 from the perspective of a twenty-something secular protester and gives the reader a rare glimpse into how a young Iranian views the ruling party, his parents’ generation of revolutionaries and the shift in power from the mullahs to the neo-fascist Revolutionary Guard and its protector, Ahmadinejad. This perspective is particularly significant when we consider that Mohsen and his generation are largely the result of a pronatalist policy implemented in the 1980s in order to create an Islamic army of twenty million. This policy backfired producing a baby boom made up of individuals similar to Mohsen: educated with bleak employment opportunities and little if any interest in military service.

Another interesting aspect of the story is the speed at which change apparently occurred. Shadi, a veteran of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, tells Mohsen that it took them a year or two to get as far as the reformists had in just two weeks. Moreover, just ten days after the stolen election, brazen and fearless protesters began chanting the previously inconceivable, “Death to Kamenei!” The story sheds light on how technology acted as a catalyst in this revolt. In spite of using spy-ware provided by a major cellphone maker and slowing Internet speed to a snail’s pace, the authorities were unable to keep up with the transfer of information and images through new technology and social media.

Although many readers will find the rape and torture difficult to stomach, this part of the story must nevertheless be told. The more people become aware of rape and torture, the greater the likelihood that one day they will take a stand against these acts. Death to the Dictator! reads like a true account; however, in addition to a few structural problems, the English was somewhat stilted, which did interfere with the flow of the story and led me to believe that this book was released prematurely. Nevertheless, if you’re interested in knowing more about one Iranian’s experience during this tumultuous time then you will enjoy this book.

Written by: Heather Leighton, August 30th 2010

The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:01:00 +0000

By Sonia Shah

Sarah Crichton Books

Vampire mania has taken hold and Sonia Shah’s The Fever goes back in time before Twilight and even Dracula to the first vampires: mosquitoes and their parasites. Shah tells a good story, and this story has everything from drama and risk to villains and exotic locations. The villain is malaria, the exotic locations cross the globe over the past millennia, and the drama and risk are life-and-death situations. Shah documents her research well and conveys a great deal of information about these unlovely Plasmodium parasites, and the mosquitoes that transmit them, without overwhelming the reader or becoming depressing.

This well-documented book covers historical, social, and medical aspects of the disease, its vectors, and human response in separate chapters. Chapters cover each topic chronologically; the chapter on medical research details competing theories from Italy and England, eventual collaboration from the United States, priorities that appall (including racist and classist application of prevention and treatment methods), and the scholarly conclusion that malaria (like everything) must be addressed locally and that efforts combating malaria must be informed by local conditions and life. This last has been ignored, with every effort to find a profitable magic bullet.

On one hand, it’s reassuring that malaria is not unique in this way. The same has been said, and ignored, about other public health issues like HIV; criminal issues like vice; and every feminist issue discussed beyond its social, ethnic, and cultural boundaries. On the other hand, it’s depressing that the same lessons are learned and forgotten in so many contexts. Shah’s investigation into the history of malaria renders her clear-eyed about the ways current efforts to combat malaria may be effective today, but lead to new resistance and a repeat of short-term gains followed by a resurgence once malaria is no longer chic for celebrities and donor organizations to campaign against. (The book was written before this year’s announcement that scientists have genetically engineered mosquitoes resistant to malaria parasites, and I look forward to Shah's opinion of this development.)

Shah places blame for the persistence of this scourge not only on malaria’s tenacity and ability to mutate quickly but also on profiteers from the Dutch colonizers of Indonesia to Novartis, geopolitical events, and vested interests. Some of these include the role of the Vietnam War in the proliferation of malaria; the denial of effective treatment; and apathy from people who live with malaria, a low priority among a long list of worries. But Shah is not full of invective. Rather, she explains why malaria is seen as a normal part of life in places where malaria is endemic, even as she explains that declines in rates of malaria are associated with decreased fatalities from all other diseases, prompting greater concern about a disease that compromises health and well being beyond its own deaths.

Lay readers of science will be interested in this book, as will anyone skeptical about coexistence with microbes or interested in public health efforts.

Written by: Melissa Ditmore, July 26th 2010