The Last Jew … reviewed by John

Note: The following title is not in our collection. Please check other libraries for location information.

The Last Jew, a novel written by Noah Gordon in 2000, is a wonderful example of historical fiction.  Set in Spain around the time of the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, the protagonist, Jonah, starts his adventures as a 15 year-old Jew without family or friends.  In a country where it is a crime punishable by death to even shelter a Jew, he tries to survive and maintain his Jewish identity as the last Jew in Spain.  Like the best historical fiction, we learn lots of fascinating history while enjoying a suspenseful plot and a cast of noble and villainous characters.

Before the expulsion, there are the “Old Christians”, the Jews, the Moors, and the “New Christians” (recently converted Jews or Moors).  But if you are a Jew, conversion to Christianity may not save you.  That’s because of the Spanish Inquisition, a special tribunal of the Catholic Church charged with crushing heretics and apostates.  The grandfather of more recent witch hunts, the Inquisition used torture and terror to achieve its ends.  Those found guilty (often on false evidence) were burned alive at the stake, or, if they were lucky, strangled to death before the flames consumed their bodies.  The public executions bore the sinisterly ironic name of auto-da-fés, literally an “act of the faith”.

But our hero somehow stays one step ahead of the Inquisition, peregrinating through the Spanish countryside, experiencing love in its many forms, and searching for his true vocation.  Along with much else, we learn about the legal (and illegal) trade in sacred relics, medicine in sixteenth century Europe, and the splendours of the doomed efflorescence of Moorish culture in Grenada.  At the story’s end, we are left with Jonah’s wistful attachment to his family and his old religion, in the face of the hostile alien culture around him.

The cover art on the paperback edition I read is a reproduction of Goya’s painting, “The Inquisition Tribunal”, which itself rewards a close look.  Anyone who likes history, adventure, and romance, will certainly enjoy this book.

Your comments are welcome.

Enter the Gateway to the East … reviewed by Jason

Asian Heritage Month

According to the eighteenth-century Swedish geographer Philip Johan von Strahlenberg (born Philip Johan Tabbert), one arrived in Asia as soon as one crossed the dividing line along the Aegean Sea, Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara, Bosporus, Black Sea, Kuma-Manych Depression, Caspian Sea, Ural River, and Ural Mountains. The gateway to the east, a region long seen as fascinating and mysterious, has seen constant flux and movement for thousands of years. Many have travelled through it. These books can guide you through as well.

The Lonely Planet World Food series includes a culinary travel book devoted to Turkey. World Food: Turkey includes colourful pictures and maps, recipes and sections on the history of Turkish culture and food, staples and specialties, drinks, and street food. Readers can also learn about regional cuisines and shopping at the Pazar (market) as well as acquire some basic Turkish words and phrases to get by.

Journalist Robert D. Kaplan’s Eastward To Tartary is a historical odyssey through the Caucaus mountains from Turkey through Georgia, Armenia, Azerbajian, and Turkmenistan. The stories of conquerors and peoples past populate Kaplan’s book as do anecdotes about the author’s travels.

Poets and Pahlevans: A Journey Into The Heart of Iran follows Canadian Marcello Di Cintio through that country’s intricate cultural landscape. An interest in poets and wrestlers (pahlevans) leads Di Cintio to Iran in the first place and he finds, much to his bemusement, that both often occupy the same venues.

Out of Steppe: The Lost Peoples of Central Asia is a chronicle of Oxford scholar Daniel Metcalfe’s five month trip through the region interviewing members of little known and forgotten communities along the Silk Road, including the nomadic Karakalpaks of Uzbekistan, the Jews of Bukhara, ethnic Germans in Kazakhstan, the Yaghnobis of Tajikistan, the Hazara tribes of Afghanistan and the animistic Kalashas of Pakistan’s Hindu Kush. A rich mosaic of a book for those fascinated with obscure peoples.

Moving further east to Afghanistan, Rory Stewart’s The Places in Between is about his trek (by foot) across the country post-9/11. Stewart interviews people from many walks of life and on all sides of the war while bringing in historical anecdotes as well.

Travel TV series host Michael Palin explores the rugged terrain shared by several countries and many more peoples in Himalaya. Included are fascinating photographs of Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Yunnan (China), Nagaland and Assam and Bangladesh.

The gateway beckons!

Comments are welcome.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother – reviewed by Heather (patron)

Asian Heritage Month

I went into this book knowing the criticisms and critiques, and all out ranting from some readers. Amy Chua’s third book focuses on her methods of raising her two daughters according to the Chinese standards she was raised by. Throughout the book she makes comparisons between Eastern and Western parenting techniques, explaining her parenting, which some readers may have considered abusive, if not extremely strict.

Chua’s memoir is honest and compelling, and doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. Chua expected the best from her children and expected that they would do the work to get there, even if that meant three hours of piano practice after a full day of school and homework, whether they liked it or not.

At some points I agreed with Chua’s methods wholeheartedly, although I don’t know if I contain the strength of will to carry out on such rigid standards. At times I thought her out of line, but that is the beauty of this book – it evokes strong emotions from the reader, both good and bad.

Her illustrations of both of her daughters is rich, and I can almost feel them glaring out of the book, looking for acknowledgment and agreement or sympathy right from me. I would be terribly interested to see a follow-up piece from the Chua daughters, an answer to their mother’s battle hymn.

Whether you agree or disagree with the generally high standards Eastern parents tend to place on their children and their education and musical feats, this book is must read just to understand the mindset of one such Eastern parent.

Have you read this book? Comments are welcome!

Chocolate Facts from Healthy Starts Here! … written by Melani

Apparently the perfection of chocolate flavour is in the process…the more processing, the less flavanols (the anti-oxidants) – and a higher cocoa percentage, does not mean more flavanols, by the way.

So, who are the makers of the best quality chocolate? Believe it or not, “Mars” is one of the leaders, Callebaut (Swiss), Naturex (French), and Hershey’s are also at the top of the list.

Dove Dark (made by Mars) and Hershey’s extra-dark are apparently top picks for both flavour and anti-oxidants. Green & Black’s, and Dagoba (not to be confused with Yoda’s hangout in the Star Wars trilogy) are also makers of fine quality organic chocolate.

These tantalizing facts are from yet another book I’ve just catalogued for the collection, called Healthy Starts Here!  140 Recipes that Will Make You Feel Great by Mairlyn Smith.

May the flavonols and the Force be with you.

中文電子書借閱服務 … written by Shirley

Asian Heritage Month

高貴林公共圖書館 – 中文電子書借閱服務

想隨時隨地都能享受閱讀的樂趣? 高貴林公共圖書館現已推出中文電子

書借閱服務。 電子圖書館內儲藏多達二千餘冊, 以供持有圖書證

的讀者免費使用及下載。 藏書內容廣範, 種類多樣化,

包括小說、歷史、傳記、英語學習、健康、理財、親子教育、兒童讀

物及文學文獻等。用者先要下載所需電子書閱讀管理軟件, 其後可到訪

圖書館網頁, 點擊右上角的 Library to Go , 再點選中文圖書,

就可瀏覽內容豐富的中文電子館藏書。讀者點選或預訂所選之電子書

後,再輸入所屬的圖書館及其圖書證號碼就可登入借閱及下載於電腦及

其他電子閱讀器, 例如 SONY READER, KOBO, iPAD 等。

閱覽期可選為７天、１４天 或 ２１天。
由於它們會在期限之後自動歸還, 故不用擔心逾期罰款這個問題。

用法簡易,不 受 時 空 地 域 限 制, 且費用全免。

若要索求更多下載電子書的資訊, 可到以下網頁瀏覽: http://www.library.coquitlam.bc.ca/Downloading+eBooks+help.htm

其他有關電子書詳情,可至圖書館網站 或向圖書館管理員查詢。

五月是亞裔傳統月, 讓我們齊來籍此分享閱讀的樂趣從而

加深認識亞洲文化的博大精深及奧妙。