A Cyborg Manifesto. Science, technology and socialist feminism in the late twentieth century by Donna Haraway

Cyborg Manifesto is an essay on feminism, part of Simians, cyborgs and women. A book of essays on feminist theory.

I can't say I enjoyed this read. Its dense academic writing isn't easy to read. Add to that my ignorance of historical and theoretical context. Add to that, that after reading the introduction to the book (which I kind of enjoyed) I went on reading the first 3 essays (the plan was to read Cyborg Manifesto only) which discuss work on natural sciences in the late 19 century and early 20 century. Haraway explains how some reputed scientific work of the time was biased against women. Scientists applied socially constructed ideas on violence and dominance in their studies acknowledging them as natural. Can't say more because, not my thing...
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Skip to the Cyborg Manifesto,... I realised this essay doesn't discuss much (not as much as I had wished) the concept of cyborg. What it does (in my limited understanding) is to use, the concept of "cyborg", first to acknowledg the humanity of cyborgs (they are humans!), and second to emphasise the non-natural  aspects of their construction to use them as theoretical tools to improve modern world feminism. Ideas like "women should stay at home" or "women should be mothers" would not apply if we thought of ourselves as cyborgs. Why? Because cyborgs are not natural but constructed. Cyborgs can reconstruct themselves the way they want given the tools available in our time. (I wish I could develop this idea more but I can't ) Anyway I guess theorists such as Haraway used the concept of cyborg to dispute structures such as men dominance over women which are, I think, not natural.

I downloaded a pdf version of the book from my university library.
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Fun bit, Haraway, mentions science fiction authors such as Octavia Butler, Joanna Russ and Samuel R. Delany. .

Solaris by Stanislaw Lem (4🌟)

Solaris is a science fiction novel. It is considered a classic of its genre. Originally published in Polish in 1961. It was translated to English by Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox.

The story follows Kelvin, a psychologist who arrives at a space station orbiting Solaris. He finds the crew suffering from hallucinations or so he thinks. After one day or so Kelvin is visited by a a woman who resembles his wife. Only his wife has been dead for over a decade.

Throughout the story we see Kelvin's state of mind deteriorate while at the same time he does some research to understand what's going on on the planet. However I do not consider this novel a character study but an exploration of ideas.

This novel not only explores the emotional and psychological effects planet Solaris has on humans but also the strange ocean-like organism which seems to be the only inhabitant of the planet. There is also a fair amount of historical scientific accounts of in situ exploration and theories about the nature of the Solarian ocean. Is it sentient? Is it alive?

My edition is a paperback published by Faber and Faber in 2016. 214 pages.

The Walking Man by Jiro Taniguchi (4🌟)

Stories about a man who walks. Very little dialogue. This book is more about sensations than action. Beautiful city views and natural landscapes. The man goes out with his wife, dog or by himself to enjoy those little things in life most of us tend to ignore.

Not sure which story I liked the most. I liked all of them but I certainly liked some scenes more than others. For example where the walking man relaxes on a tree or when he helps an old lady or many in which he just wanders the streets with no clear purpose but to enjoy the walk.

East Asian Film Noir. Transnational Encounters and Intercultural Dialogue. Edited by Chi-Yun Shin and Mark Gallagher. (3.8🌟)

12 essays exploring East Asian Film Noir or at least with film noir elements.

My Favourite essays :

Chapter 1. Out of the past: film noir, whiteness and the end of the monochrome era in Japan by Daisuke Miyao. Discusses Jasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Twilight and Conflagration by Kon Ichikawa.

Chapter 2. Ghost in the Shell: the noir instinct by Dan North. Discusses noir elements in the anime films.

Chapter 11. Tony Leung's Noir Thrillers and Transnational Stardom by Mark Gallagher. On The famous chines actor's hability to portray noir characters. (You may know Tony Leung from the Infernal Affairs trilogy and In the Mood for Love)

Chapter 12. Double identity: the stardom of Xun Zhou and the Figure of the Femme Fatale by Chi-Yun Shin. On The actress's portrayal as femme fatale characters. (I've seen this actress before in The Banquet (2006) Now I'm more interested in seeing more of her filmography, particularly Suzhou River and Painted Skin.) #filmnoir #eastasianfilm #chiyunshin #markgallagher #readstagram #nonfictionbook #marzoasiatico

Chinese Science Fiction Short Stories (3.6🌟)

I read two science fiction short stories, publishes online on  Clarkesworld magazine, which I really enjoyed. I learned about them in a blog about chinese science fiction. Here the links:


Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight by XIA JIA, translated by KEN LIU

And

Wu Ding's Journey to the West by TANG FEI, translated by ANDY DUDAK

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (3.8🌟)

Siddhartha is the story of a man, son of a Brahmin (priest), who searches for enlightenment all his life. The novel relates important events in his life since he leaves his family to join the samana (people who abandon material possessions and their socialobligations in life). Siddhartha has an encounter with Gotama, the buddha, leaves the samana, to live a "normal" life, life he abandons after a few years as he feels dissatisfied with what he has become. In the final chapters of the book Siddhartha finds peace in the company of an old ferryman.

The above story may not sound exciting but I don't think this was the point of the book. To me the point was to reveal a man's inner thoughts as he observes the world that surrounds him, as he teaches what he knows and learns from others. Most importantly to show how a man (or woman? I guess) can choose spirituality over materiality and be happy. The novel provides some insights into Hinduism, Buddhism and their cosmology. I found the glossary, at the end of the book, pretty useful.  I think this an excellent read for anyone, who like me, wants to learn about Buddhism and the way Buddhists see the world.

My edition is a Penguin Modern Classics. It has 121 pages including an introduction by Paulo Coelho  and a glossary of indian terms.

The Early Cases of Akechi Kogoro by Edogawa Rampo (4🌟)

The early cases of Akechi Kogoro is a collection of 4 short stories. Actually it's 3 short stories and one long story. The stories were originally written in Japanese in 1925 and 1926, and were translated by William Varteresian.

The stories follow a detective called Akechi Kogoro solving crimes in a style which reminds me of Sherlock Holmes.

Kogorõ is some sort of private detective who works with the police. Two stories in this book relate murder cases. There is also kidnapping and stalking. The detective gets involved in the cases by chance or is called by the victims or relatives. There is always a veil of mystery around Kogorõ. He sometimes disappears for days to follow suspects or run enquiries.  He investigates crime scenes with great attention to detail and puts together facts and evidence using logic. I loved the way each of the cases is solved, particularly the one in the last and longest story.

Rampo does not reveal much about Kogoro apart from his detective work. We don't know much about his life except that he lives on his own in a rented room and that he likes to read. Despite this I found the  detective a likable and interesting character.

1. The Case of the murder on D. Hill. - a woman is killed inside a bookshop
2. The Black Hand Gang - a kidnapped girl
3. The Ghost - a dead man wants revenge
4. The Dwarf - a young rich woman disappears and her parents ask Kogorõ to find her.

My edition was published by Kurodahan press in 2014. It comes with an introduction and endnotes. 201 pages.