For me this, THIS, is what book group is all about. I can honestly say I probably would never have picked this book up off a shelf and, if I had, and I had read the Foreword, I'd almost certainly have put it back. If, perchance, I'd held on to it, the opening chapter would have been sufficient to ensure I got no further: it was verbose, rambling, the sentence structure complex to the point of confusing and it had no obvious direction. However, because this was book group, I forced myself to read on (which is not to say I always finish everything - ceasing to read can be a valid commentary!). What I discovered in reading on was a gem, a book of sheer brilliance: well written, articulate, thought-provoking and, unlike the aforementioned Foreword and first chapter, easy to read but compelling.
Dishoom was a bustling, buzzing venue, serving tasty, fresh and spicy Indian dishes in a manner meant for sharing. We ploughed in to the food with gusto and into the book discussion with similar vigour. Although it could be difficult to catch what was being said on the edges of the table, I think it fair to say everyone enjoyed this book although nearly everyone had a similar reaction to the opening chapter. I thought it was meant to set the tale in a post-war, McCarthyism / Roswell era demonstrating people's confusion and simplicity and indicating their need for a strong simple message which they could consume and follow easily. Perhaps, thinking about it now, something to unite them instead of divide them - hence the fast adoption.We discussed the writing style and the paucity of actual detail of Cavesword - was this an indication of the lack of content in John Cave's speeches or just the author's easy-way out? It took us a while, however, to begin to discuss the (very obvious) parallels between Cavesword and our real world religions, in part, perhaps, out of that sense of reserve that says religion is not a topic for polite company and a fear that criticism of a, or any, religion may be taken as criticism of a person who believes in that religion. Yet, we are brave-hearted individuals, confident in our varied beliefs, so we didn't shirk the discussion. Are John Caves' initials are entirely coincidental? Is Iris, as mother, meant to parallel Mary? With that in mind, this book can be viewed as a criticism of religion generally, and Christianity specifically. John Cave was a simple man with a simple desire to travel the world and a simple belief that death was not to be feared and could, in some cases, be welcome - not in itself a bad message (although where the line is drawn was a key issue in this book and has been and continues to be a subject of religious and political debate and much science fiction). He was otherwise unremarkable had little else to say though his delivery, apparently, was mesmerising. Most of Cavesword, however, was not written by John Cave or even pronounced by him - some of it was composed by Eugene Luther and other writers during Cave's life and yet more by other writers after Cave died. Comparing this to the religion with which we were most familiar, we discussed whether this differed to or continued to parallel Christianity: Jesus did not write down his own words; the new testament is not a contemporaneous record of his life; and the gospel writers each addressed their words to specific sectors of the societies for which they wrote so query whether they may have deliberately chosen to push agendas of their own or, even unintentionally, have added their own interpretations, even if they meant to create accurate histories of the life of Jesus. This discussion could run and run! We drew it to a close for the night but the thoughts roll on. One thing we all agreed upon is that great evils have been done by man to man in the name of religion: it doesn't mean the original message of the religion itself is wrong but that its original meaning can be easily corrupted or entirely lost over time.
This is a simply-written book of great depth and very thought-provoking. I love it, Shubha, I love it.
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| Shubha stunned that we both liked the same book |