2023 in Books..

Cliches have a way of degenerating into recursive loops.

I could have begun this with “At the risk of sounding cliched….”, but then would I have not been guilty of regurgitating a phrase that has itself become as cliched as cliches go?

Extricating myself from this maze of logic might be a tall task and hence I will proceed to do what I set out to, without much ceremony. The year is drawing to a close and this is a round-up of the books that have inspired and enriched me as an individual.

When I look back at all the books that have struck a note with me this year, I see a common theme running through them. I see that the ones which ultimately left a deep impression in my mind are the ones that have a streak of pioneerism running through them - whether it is pioneering exploration or scientific adventure or just the sheer force of human will that makes ordinary individuals do extraordinary things.

So, here are the top five books (all non-fiction) that I have encountered in 2023 along with a couple of honourable mentions.

The Measure of All Things by Ken Adler

Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it is an account of the attempt by a couple of astronomers to standardise the myriad systems of weights and measures prevalent in 18th century France (and most of the world) and thus ushering in the metric system. It is a tale of the dogged pursuit of science in tumultuous times - the extent to which a group of individuals were willing to go to define an unit of length in terms of a universal standard (viz. length of the meridian) as against arbitrary benchmarks often derived from the sovereign’s body parts. Thus, was born the “metre” and the triangulation procedure adopted by these two pioneers then went on to become standard fare used by other geographers in mapping out alien landscapes - incidentally, it was the same technique used by the East India company officials to map out India in the 19th century.

Solito by Javier Zamora

This is an incredible story of a nine year-old’s quest for a better life. His life disrupted by the Salvadoran Civil War, nine-year old Javier embarks on an epic voyage to the US to join his parents who have already relocated there. Unaccompanied by any family member and traveling with a group of strangers, he navigates treacherous human traffickers, dodges border patrol and treks through miles of featureless deserts to cross over into the US. Through the numerous physical and psychological challenges that he encounters, the one thing that keeps him going is his indomitable will to start a new life with his parents in the Promised Land. Javier, a precocious talent and a successful poet now, gives a very human touch to this amazing story of his triumph against overwhelming odds. Aside from being an inspirational account, his later success in life, is an ironic commentary against the current politics of ‘illegal immigrants’.

Vermeer’s Hat by Timothy Brook

While the central narrative in this book will not be an exceptional one for a student of history, the innovativeness in narrating it will certainly be a first. The author takes a handful of paintings by the 17th century Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer, and analyzes each one in depth. In particular, he focuses on the objects in each painting and traces their origins - a beaver hat from Canada, a piece of porcelain from Ming China and so on and so forth. Through these origin stories, the author is able to broaden the canvas of his narrative to wider forces of globalization and exploration that were sweeping through the world and leading to far-reaching changes. While on the one hand it was a story of heroic individuals journeying to the ends of the known world, it was also a story of rapacity, plunder and destruction of native civilizations and their sophisticated cultures. The narration is masterly and is bound to leave one with a renewed appreciation of the early-modern era, especially of the linkages that each of us have with the wider world.

The Wager by David Grann

This is a gripping tale about the British ship, The Wager, which goes on a secret mission against Spanish forces in the Atlantic and gets wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia, with no rescue in sight. And thus begins an epic saga of survival where the castaways try to live off an inhospitable terrain. In due course, the rigid bonds of discipline and hierarchy that define naval life begin to weaken ultimately leading to mutiny and betrayal. Aside from the romanticism and adventure involved in virgin sea voyages, this is also a tale of team dynamics and leadership under extreme conditions.

Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo

Set in the Antebellum South, this is the amazing story of an enslaved couple (Ellen & William Craft) escaping slavery disguised as master and slave. Their epic flight north to Boston and then to Canada and finally England, itself an act of tremendous daring, was made all the more outstanding by Ellen who took the wildly audacious route of assuming a role that transgressed two sacrosanct boundaries - that of race and gender. Apart from the physical and moral degradation that it engendered, slavery’s most insidious impact was on the individual’s self-esteem and his ability to dream. Hence, the heroism of the likes of Ellen & William lies in their ability to conquer this very insidiousness and dream of a life where they script their own destinies. It is a story of human grit and a fight against iniquity that should inspire future generations. It is also an argument against stereotyping, for some of the most critical allies that Ellen & William had in their struggle were White abolitionists.

So, these are the books that touched me with their very human tales of endurance, determination and victory under extremely difficult circumstances. These, also, were books which plugged in gaps in my knowledge and were useful that way as well. A couple of other honourable mentions that I would like to make are - The Power of Language by Viorica Marian and Status And Culture by David Marx. At some level, both of these are arguments for diversity and multiculturalism and provide unique points of view, especially for the uninitiated.

Happy 2024 and Happy Reading!!???