This year, my world was moved by current events and personal challenges. Books helped me steady my way, and so I continued reading. I have read new books, old books, classics in French and English. I have read fiction and non-fiction, in paper and electronic form. I was not particular about what I would read, so long as I kept reading. Here is a round-up of some of my favourites.
'[Political leaders have] ratcheted down the quality of jobs. We've made people use up their savings since the great crash of 2008, so they're in a bind. They have really no choice but to offer themselves at lower wages or at less benefit or at less security than before, which is why there's the anger, which is why there was the vote for Mr. Trump in the first place, because this talk of recovery really is about that stock market with the funny money that the Fed Reserve pumped in, but is not about the real lives of people, which are in serious trouble, hence the numbers, like a average American family can't get a $400 emergency [loan] because it doesn't have that kind of money in the background. So, you've undone the underlying economy, you have this frothy stock market for the 1 percent, and this is an impossible tension tearing the country apart.'
Barbara Kingsolver published her latest novel in October of this year. Unsheltered was much awaited given that Kingsolver has a number of acclaimed novels under her belt, including The Lacuna and The Poinsonwood Bible. Unsheltered tells two parallel tales of families living in the same old house, in Vineland, New Jersey, about 100 years apart. The novel takes on fascinating historical elements, but overall falls below this reader's expectations.
Dans ce court roman rédigé à la hâte par Benjamin Constant, le lecteur découvre le personnage d'Adolphe, meurtrit et déchiré par le fardeau moral que lui impose sa relation amoureuse. Constant était un homme politique et littéraire du XIXe siècle, et la profondeur d'analyse sentimentale exposée dans ce roman en fait un classique incontournable.
In this simple novel, Yoko Ogawa brings to life an improbable trio with an absolute passion for prime numbers and baseball. Published in 2003, translated into English from Japanese, The Housekeeper and the Professor is a quick read that will surprise readers with its purity, humour and hope.
'Nearly 114,000 Syrian refugees have returned home this year, the Russian military said Tuesday, a mere fraction of the nearly 6 million who have fled the country since the start of the seven-year conflict. UN agencies said they need $5.5 billion in the coming year to support Syria's neighbours hosting the refugees. The UN said Tuesday that Syria's neighbours, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, are hosting the majority of the Syrian refugees, while dealing with their own economic and social challenges. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said that over the last eight years around one million Syrian children were born in the region and registered as refugees.'
Citizens' Press translated Edouard Louis' reflection on the ongoing yellow vest movement in France.
As socialists, it's no surprise to us that the study of capitalism should be paired with an understanding of history, sociology, and politics. In Wolfgang Streeck's 2016 book How Will Capitalism End? Essays on a Failing System he does just that. In fact, he does more than that, he gives capitalism a death sentence and it doesn't look good.
'Numerous sources have told CTV Toronto that General Motors is planning to close all operations in Oshawa, Ont., affecting thousands of high-paying jobs. The announcement is expected to be made on Monday, in the city of about 159,000 people located roughly 60 kilometres east of Toronto.'
'WikiLeaks has done what other media organizations can and should and do all the time, which is receiving classified information and publishing it in the public interest. That information was verified. It has been shown to be in the public interest.'
