1984 - George Orwell

 It had been a long time since I read this - maybe even since middle school. What struck me was that the threat from Big Brother and The Party actually only seemed to affect party members, while the proles (proletariat) seem somewhat outside of the system entirely. I was struck by the insistence on the mental violence being perpetrated, which crosses over into physical violence in the later parts. I was unconvinced that power for powers sake was so encompassing. The question which struck me was: what is the purpose of ruling over people like those Winston becomes? I do not think Orwell provides a suitable answer.

Kaffir Boy - Mark Mathabane

 The memoir of a Black man growing up in the township of Soweto outside of Johannesburg in the 1960s. When read in conjunction with Giliomee's Afrikaners it reveals the shortcomings in the latter. For all of Giliomee's protestations that the governance which took place during apartheid had benefits for White and Black South Africans, he does not adequately address the human cost, in terms of the lives of individuals. Mathabane discusses the effects, not on a structural, but personal level, in terms of hunger, depression, anxiety, lack of opportunity and so forth. He does so with wit and thoughtfully.

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

A spare tale of father and son traveling through a post-apocalyptical wasteland. McCarthy seems to be inviting the reader to ask how different certain aspects really are to the world we inhabit. What do we hold closest? What will we sacrifice for? What does tolerable and intolerable loss look like? What does it mean to each of us to carry the fire?
 

The Caine Mutiny - Herman Wouk

 

A naval adventure primarily concerned with issues of duty and honor, in which there are no easy answers. The version I read referred to Queeg as perhaps the greatest ship's captain in American literature. Well, Ahab still stands head and shoulders above the rest. A quick and enjoyable read, Wouk's book is nevertheless freighted with complexity. Because we see Quueg's actions from the crew's perspective we enter the court martial trail on their side. By the end it is unclear whose side we are 'supposed' to be on. Perhaps there is no right answer.