Title: Translations
Author: Brian Friel
Original title: Translations
First published: 1981
Genre: Play, Historical
Series: --
Publisher: Faber Faber
Format: Paperback
Pages: 91
Finished: 20/10/2021
Summary: The time and place is late August 1833 at a hedge-school in the townland of Baile Beag - an Irish speaking community in County Donegal. The 'scholars' are a cross-section of the local community, from a semi-literate young farmer to and elderly polygot autodidact who reads and quotes Homer in the orginal.In a nearby field camps a recently arrived detachment of the Royal Engineers, engaged on behalf of the Britsh Army and Government in making the first Ordnance Survey. For the purposes of cartography, the local Gaelic place names have to be recorded and transliterated - or translated - into English, in examining the effects of this operation on the lives of a small group of people, Irish and English, Brian Friel skillfully reveals the unexperctedly far-reaching personal and cultural effects of an action which is at first sight purely administrative and harmless.
First published: 1981
Genre: Play, Historical
Series: --
Publisher: Faber Faber
Format: Paperback
Pages: 91
Finished: 20/10/2021
Summary: The time and place is late August 1833 at a hedge-school in the townland of Baile Beag - an Irish speaking community in County Donegal. The 'scholars' are a cross-section of the local community, from a semi-literate young farmer to and elderly polygot autodidact who reads and quotes Homer in the orginal.In a nearby field camps a recently arrived detachment of the Royal Engineers, engaged on behalf of the Britsh Army and Government in making the first Ordnance Survey. For the purposes of cartography, the local Gaelic place names have to be recorded and transliterated - or translated - into English, in examining the effects of this operation on the lives of a small group of people, Irish and English, Brian Friel skillfully reveals the unexperctedly far-reaching personal and cultural effects of an action which is at first sight purely administrative and harmless.
My thoughts: This was a short play that I was asked to read for a university course about sociolinguistics this semester. It was indeed a very fitting play for the course, as it portrays domains and varieties well, and also gives some good examples of codeswitching (bet I won't know for sure what these terms mean in a year, or even six months from now.... I barely know what they mean right now lol). Anyway, disregarding the connections this had to my studies, I did find it to be a decent play and I did get fairly emotionally invested. I cared for Manus and felt that his relationship to both his father and brother were realistic and engaging. It was interesting to see the colonization of Ireland by Britain from this perspective and presented in this way. I wish I could see the play someday. In the end, though, reading play scripts is not my preferred cup of tea, and Translations did not really change that. I enjoyed it a fair bit, but I can see myself forgetting all about it pretty soon.
Rating: 3/5
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Title: Semiosis
Author: Sue Burke
Original title: Semiosis
First published: 2018
Genre: Sci-fi, Adult
Series: Semiosis #1
Publisher: HarperVoyager
Format: Paperback
Pages: 325
Finished: 13/08/2012
Summary: Only mutual communication can forge an alliance with the planet's sentient species and prove that mammals are more than tools. Forced to land on a planet they aren't prepared for, human colonists rely on their limited resources to survive. The planet provides a lush but inexplicable landscape--trees offer edible, addictive fruit one day and poison the next, while the ruins of an alien race are found entwined in the roots of a strange plant. Conflicts between generations arise as they struggle to understand one another and grapple with an unknowable alien intellect.
First published: 2018
Genre: Sci-fi, Adult
Series: Semiosis #1
Publisher: HarperVoyager
Format: Paperback
Pages: 325
Finished: 13/08/2012
Summary: Only mutual communication can forge an alliance with the planet's sentient species and prove that mammals are more than tools. Forced to land on a planet they aren't prepared for, human colonists rely on their limited resources to survive. The planet provides a lush but inexplicable landscape--trees offer edible, addictive fruit one day and poison the next, while the ruins of an alien race are found entwined in the roots of a strange plant. Conflicts between generations arise as they struggle to understand one another and grapple with an unknowable alien intellect.
My thoughts: Semiosis was a great novel to end the sci-fi summer course with, as it turned out to be one of my favourites from the reading list. I think it's up there with Solaris and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. In fact, I think I liked this most of all. If I had to pitch this novel to someone, I'd describe it as Spore fanfiction written really well. For real. Following the humans on Pax as they evolve and expand their civilization over the course of many generations was fascinating and I would love to read more about their story. Splitting the novel into several perspectives was a choice well made, as I would probably have been bored following only one character from one generation. With a timeline that encompasses 107 years of history, getting bored was never a problem. Furthermore, Burke's depictions of non-human sentient beings was clever and creative, more so because she describes several such beings which are severely different from each other. An intelligent rainbow bamboo? Giant insect-like creatures, descendants of an ancient advanced civilization? More of this, please! It has been especially engaging to write my final essay for the course about this book and Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, in which I explore the causes of human conflict upon encounters with foreign environments and non-human beings. I recommend this novel to anyone who wishes to ease themselves into the sci-fi genre without being bombarded with scientific terms, confusing descriptions posing as world building, or too gloomy characters. This novel will entertain you, fascinate you, and have your imagination running wild.
Rating: 4,25/5
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Author: Jane Austen
Original title: Persuasion
First published: 1817
Genre: Classic
Series: --
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 279
Finished: 06/08/2021
Summary: Twenty-seven-year old Anne Elliot is Austen's most adult heroine. Eight years before the story proper begins, she is happily betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she precipitously breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that such a match is unworthy. The breakup produces in Anne a deep and long-lasting regret. When later Wentworth returns from sea a rich and successful captain, he finds Anne's family on the brink of financial ruin and his own sister a tenant in Kellynch Hall, the Elliot estate.
First published: 1817
Genre: Classic
Series: --
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 279
Finished: 06/08/2021
Summary: Twenty-seven-year old Anne Elliot is Austen's most adult heroine. Eight years before the story proper begins, she is happily betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she precipitously breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that such a match is unworthy. The breakup produces in Anne a deep and long-lasting regret. When later Wentworth returns from sea a rich and successful captain, he finds Anne's family on the brink of financial ruin and his own sister a tenant in Kellynch Hall, the Elliot estate.
My thoughts: Slowly but surely, I work my way through all of Jane Austen's delightful novels. This is the fourth book of hers that I have the pleasure of reading, and it did not disappoint. Persuasion is written in the same elegant prose which Austen never fails to deliver. Her every word is carefully selected, her dialogues thoughtful, and her characters captivating. Anne develops so much in this novel, going from repressed and shy in her character to blossoming and revealing her true traits. It was a joy to follow her unravelling, and no less a pleasure to read of her love for Wentworth.
I am learning of the typical traits of Austen's novels, and it saddens me a bit that they all seem to follow the same patterns. Unlikely romances, class differences, men of deceptive appearance, and love triangles to create drama and suspense. However, as I like to say, why change a successful concept? Austen obviously masters her tropes well and can execute them like no other. Though this, to me, did not live up to the level of Pride and Prejudice, I still liked it a lot and will recommend it with warmth.
Rating: 4/5
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