Exploring the World from the Comfort of your Own Home

Growing up in the UK, I’ve studied a lot of literature written by British authors. Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy, and John Keats, to name a few. But I did look at American authors too, authors such as Toni Morrison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and John Steinbeck. Yet, one of the things that I felt was missing from my literary education was world literature: texts originally written in a language other than English, or whose authors are not from Britain or America.

Being the avid reader that I am, it didn’t take long before I found myself dipping my toe in the proverbial sea of world literature. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, allowed me to take a closer look at Nigerian culture. Living in London, I had quite a few Nigerian friends and so I wasn’t a stranger to eating jollof rice and fufu, or taking part in the Nigerian Independence Day celebrations on the first of October. Still, reading Half of a Yellow Sun, which partly takes place during the Nigerian civil war, showed me a whole new side to the rich and painful history within this West African country. The same can be said about Khaled Hosseini’s novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. These novels showed me a deeper understanding of how drastically, and rapidly, life has changed in Afghanistan in the last forty years. I realised, by reading these books, that I had the ability to learn so much about different histories, cultures, nations and individuals from the comfort of my own home.

Recently, I have decided to jump into the deep end (yes, I’m still referring to my ‘sea of world literature’ metaphor here, stay with me on this one) by reading as many books as I can from authors who are neither American nor British. Reading Italian authors such as Primo Levi and Umberto Eco has reminded me that the literature of one nation can be very diverse. I don’t think that many people can say that If Not Now, When? by Levi, and The Name of the Rose by Eco, have much in common. The first is about Jewish partisans at the end of WWII, and the second discusses Christianity in the 1300’s. Both are enlightening, well written, and thought provoking in their own special way, but they’re like chalk and cheese. A lot of people tend to generalise when it comes to reading world literature. They think that because they’ve read books from one particular author they now know all about the culture. That, however, is not the case. Reading books by different authors from the same country can give you a much better, and more detailed, understanding of the culture and history of a country. 

For me, reading these great books has been a pleasure and a privilege. I have travelled to far off places, I have submerged myself in many different cultures, and I have learnt about new ideas and ways of thinking. Each novel has given me something to think about, and each one has stayed with me long after I have read the last word. The power of words is an incredible thing and if we only focus on reading literature from the places we are from, we are missing out on having a great adventure.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

I read this novella a few days ago and I can't stop thinking about it. So far, I've recommended it to three friends and my mum! As an admirer of Gothic literature and mystery novels, I really don't know why it took me so long to start reading this book in the first place.

I think most people are familiar with the characters of Jekyll and Hyde because they are very present in pop culture (think Halloween costumes, horror movies, and the fact that we refer to two faced people as being "a real Jekyll and Hyde kinda guy"). Because of this though, the main crux of the story was spoilt for me.
At the beginning of the book, the reader isn't supposed to know that Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are the same guy. But of course, I knew that already, and so the impact of the reveal wasn't as powerful as it should have been.

Saying that, I loved the novella! It's written from the point of view of John Utterson, a lawyer who is friends with Dr Jekyll. He soon meets Mr Hyde, an apparent acquaintance of Jekyll. Hyde is an ugly gentleman with a terrible personality, and Utterson doesn't understand why Jekyll is friends with this strange guy. At the end of the book, Utterson discovers that Jekyll and Hyde and one and the same, and the mystery surrounding the two distinct personalities is cleared up.

Even though I went into the story knowing the whole Jekyll and Hyde situation, I was still incredibly impressed with the narrative structure. Because the story is told from Utterson's point of view, the reader doesn't know the connection between the Jekyll and Hyde characters until Utterson does. This, I feel, was a brilliant technique because it maintained suspense and it keeps the reader guessing until the very end.

One of the most eye opening things for me was the reasons behind Jekyll's transformation and why he kept wanting to be Mr Hyde. Hyde enabled Jekyll to live out his evil fantasies and to indulge his vices without being detected. Jekyll is so sick of portraying himself in a certain way to the public, and in Hyde he is free to let loose and to enjoy being self-indulgent. In this way, I think both Jekyll and Hyde are incredibly relatable characters. We're all like Jekyll, keeping up appearances to the outside world and trying to be inherently good. But really, all we want to do is show our Hyde side and not give a damn about the rest of the world, because sometimes it's fun to be bad.

If you fancy a quick and highly entertaining read, give this one a go.

Desperately Seeking Sherlock

I've mentioned in a previous post that I am big fan of detective novels, and you can't get more 'detective-y' than Sherlock Holmes!
I have read a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories in the past and I grew up watching Jeremy Brett's rendition of the great sleuth on TV with my mum (he is definitely one of the best Sherlock actors ever, go check him out). I've even been to the Sherlock Homes museum at 221 Baker Street (yes, it really exists!).

Recently, though, I've had the Sherlock bug. I started watching the American adaptation, "Elementary", with my friend because we were getting impatient waiting for the new season of the British adaptation, "Sherlock". And if you're wondering, the British version is a million times better, but the American version is watchable and it fills a void I guess.

Anyway, watching "Elementary" made me want to read some of the books again. So, in the space of a day, I read A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four. Both books are rather short (just over 100 pages each) and they are incredibly fast paced, so I couldn't put them down.

I love the characterisation of both Watson and Sherlock because they are incredibly unique characters, yet they compliment each other really well. I also think that Arthur Conan Doyle does a great job of creating a mystery by providing readers with little clues here and there. Due to the complicated nature of these mysteries, it's so easy to be swept up in Sherlock's brilliance and we can't help but gape in awe as he uses his power of deduction to solve the case.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books. They should tide me over before the next season of "Sherlock" is aired...hopefully.