QUIET: THE POWER OF INTROVERTS IN A WORLD THAT CAN'T STOP TALKING by Susan Cain

QUIET: THE POWER OF INTROVERTS IN A WORLD THAT CAN'T STOP TALKING by Susan Cain

My 19 year old daughter recently asked what her hobbies were. I said, "Your friends are your hobbies". She looked at me like only 19 year olds can look at their mums. But it is true - her reason for being is her  interactions with other people, preferably not old(er) ones like me. Based on an informal 20 question questionnaire on page 10 of this book she is almost 100% the perfect extrovert. Me, on the other hand, I am 70% introvert, and now that I know this, it explains all sorts of things about me. Unlike my lively daughter who needs to get her batteries charged from the energy of others, I need to get my batteries charged from not being with others, from being by myself. Finally I understand now why I don't like crowds, why I don't like going to parties or gatherings where I don't know people, why I am not the world's most natural and spontaneous entertainer, why I let the phone go to voice mail, why I enjoy writing so much, why sitting at home on New Year's Eve with mushrooms on toast, a bottle of bubbles and TV makes me feel so good! And it has been done more than once.

Even though this book is about whether you are one or the other, the author makes very clear at both the beginning and the end, that introversion/extroversion personality analysis is one of many tools and theories out there, and often it seems in conjunction with other theories too. So, as with all this stuff, it is all very interesting and useful and probably helpful to self understanding but not necessarily the gospel truth.

The author is a self proclaimed introvert, hence her interest in the subject. Her main argument in this book is that the world we live in, ie the current Western orientation to the Cult of Personality rather than the Cult of Character of perhaps 150 years ago does not suit the more introverted personality, which could be anywhere from a third to half the population. Think back to when you were at high school - who were the popular kids? Was it the science nerds? Was it those who spent their lunch hours in the library? Was it those who played solitary or individual sports like chess or fencing or even badminton? No of course it wasn't! It was the rugby boys, the girls who swanned around after them in packs, the kids that took the risks like smoking, drinking, having sex. The ones whose style of dress the rest of us tried to follow. The cool kids. Perhaps this is seen no more clearly than in her chapter on the differences between Asian students and non Asian students at American high school and universities.

The book is full of explaining all these sorts of differences and whether we are actually born with tendencies towards introvesion/extroversion; how our upbringing and early life shapes us; cultural differences; how survival of the fittest is not always survival of the loudest or the strongest; the effect the Cult of Personality had on the Global Financial Crisis; how as parents we can help our children who may not be so out there as us or their siblings, and even in our relationships where we can see and be understanding of our differences. And much more.

I have got so much out of this book, and it really does make me feel much more comfortable in my skin. Now I know why I used to howl my lungs out at the top of the sand dunes faced with all that ocean and noise. Why I was one of only two kids on 11 year old camp that wouldn't do the abseiling. And why I love books, reading and doing these book reviews!

ONLY TWO SEATS LEFT! THE INCREDIBLE CONTIKI STORY by John Anderson

ONLY TWO SEATS LEFT! THE INCREDIBLE CONTIKI STORY by John Anderson

Way back in the 1970s and 1980s doing a ConTiki trip through Europe was almost a rite of passage for every young NZer or Australian going on their OE. This was what you did first - hot off the plane, and onto a big bus. How else were you supposed to meet new people, do new things, go to new places? I would regularly slope into travel agents' around the city and make off with numerous brochures advertising these coach tours for 18-35s, and ConTiki was the one that always looked the most exciting, the most fun, the coolest one to be doing.

This book is the story of the roller coaster ride that is the ConTiki story, told from beginning to end by John Anderson, the young NZer who in 1962 sailed away from NZ shores to England. A few months later, looking for a way to trip around Europe with like minded individuals, and 25 pounds in his pocket he did just that. Beginning with a combi van that seemed to be barely held together and 11 brave young souls, John, blessed it would seem with the gift of the gab, proceeded to take this  group of unknowns on a tour of Europe. Epic. And from that one 'done on the smell of an oily rag' trip, John knew he was onto a winner. He became unstoppable in his dreams and his plans to take over the world in coach tour holidays for the young. Naturally there were hurdles - some managed well, and others not so well. And that is what this book is all about. 

This warts and all tale is travelogue, entrepreneurial handbook, motivational guide, autobiography, business textbook all rolled into one. And it is a highly entertaining and interesting read. The author is very open and candid about the development of the business, the personalities involved, his aspirations, the successes and failures. The staff and the passengers, naturally, provide the best stories, and there are some beauties in here. John Anderson is a legend, and I really hope he gets onto organising some of those tours he mentions for all of us who will never be between 18-35 again! ConTiki is now one of 24 travel/holiday related businesses owned by Travel Corporation. And its brochures look wonderfully similar to those of 30 plus years ago. Long may they reign.

LET OUR FAME BE GREAT: JOURNEYS AMONG THE DEFIANT PEOPLE OF THE CAUCASUS by Oliver Bullough

LET OUR FAME BE GREAT: JOURNEYS AMONG THE DEFIANT PEOPLE OF THE CAUCASUS by Oliver Bullough

After reading the novel 'A Constellation of Vital Phenomena' a month or so ago, which is about the wars Russia brutally and relentlessly waged against the people of Chechnya, I realised how little, in fact nothing, that I knew about this region. Sitting here in the southernmost regions of the world, on an island surrounded by water I have no comprehension at all of being surrounded by other countries/nations/states. The closest I get to all that is my neighbours. I felt after reading that novel, in light of Russia hosting the Winter Olympics in Sochi, and in the recent goings on in Ukraine/Crimea that it would be very useful to know a little more about yet another hot spot in our world. I was reading some reviews for this book, and was reminded that those who set off bombs at last year's Boston Marathon were also from Chechnya.

Were my eyes opened in my reading of this book. Chechnya and Sochi are probably the only two places many people have heard of in this region of Europe. They are in the area of land known as the Caucasus Mountains which is a mountainous range part of Russia, separating the Black Sea from the Caspian Sea and by its rugged topography, effectively separating Russia from the countries south of the Caucasus - amongst others Turkey. This area of mountains has been fought over endlessly for hundreds of years between Russia, Turkey, and amongst the numerous and very diverse ethnic groups that inhabit these mountains. There is nothing pretty at all about any of it. Nothing. And it is likely to always be thus.

Oliver Bullough is a Welsh journalist who has developed a passionate interest in making sure that the many voices of the peoples of these regions are heard. From 1999 to 2006 he lived and worked in Russia for magazines, newspapers, and finally for Reuters. He saw first hand the ruthless efficiency with which the Russians dealt to the Chechens who were fighting for independence from Russia. He makes no apologies for the behaviour of the Chechens in their hostage taking tragedies of the Moscow movie theatre  in 2002, and the Beslan school siege of 2004, but he does attempt to inform the reader as to the history of the whole region, the attempts by the Russians over the past centuries to control and wipe out by massacre or deportation whole populations and ethnic groups. The Black Sea resort of Sochi, for example, is the site of the wholesale massacre of the Circassion population in the mid-nineteenth century, or Stalin's wholesale evacuation of thousands and thousands of Karachais, Balkars, Chechens and Ingush to the desolate lands of Kazakhstan. Just to mention a few.

Bullough delves deep into historical material, manuscripts, he has travelled extensively through the area, speaking to those who were deported in the 1930s,  those who were children and now elderly who survived the massacres and complete wiping out of their villages, those who have been victims of the  wars of the last twenty or so years, those who are now economic refugees in Poland and Austria. This is a huge book, part travelogue, part history lesson, part current events. It is incredibly interesting, easy to read and short of going there, if you dare, will give you more knowledge and understanding of the land and the peoples than you could wish for. None of it is pretty, Putin is no different really from his appalling predecessors at suppressing resistance, and with the latest trouble in Ukraine, the future looks pretty hopeless for those who continue to live there and defy Russia. This is pretty depressing of course, but only makes it that much more important that we read and learn about these areas before they disappear forever.  

  

BURIAL RITES by Hannah Kent

BURIAL RITES by Hannah Kent

Agnes Magnusdottir was the last person to be executed in Iceland. This was in 1829, and this novel is a fictionalised account of Agnes' life and how she came to be in such an unenviable position. The author, is a young Australian woman, who as an exchange student to Iceland in 2003, first learnt about Agnes and in her words, became 'transfigured' by this tragic figure. In an interview she did with the Guardian newspaper, she talks about the loneliness and feelings of alienation she felt as a teenager in this foreign landscape and culture she found herself in. Years of research followed and the result is this haunting, compassionate and beautifully written novel, with not only Agnes at its core, but also the landscape of Northern Iceland - desolate, bleak, harsh, and cold.

It would seem that Iceland has always been a place of high literacy, reflected in the meticulous records, letters and documents that the author was able to draw upon in her research and which she has incorporated into her writings. The facts of Agnes' life and the murders she was associated with are also well known, as are many of the stories that have evolved over the decades about her, and the people in her life during her last weeks.

The novel centres on the last six months of Agnes' life, when she is placed in the custody of a farming family near where the executions are to take place. The family consists of Jon and Margret, and their two daughters Steina and Lauga, who I take to be late teens/early twenties. As part of the sentencing process, Agnes is also under the care/instruction of a priest, and she has asked specifically for a particular young priest to be her guide. The family, understandably, is very wary about having a convicted murderess living with them. But over time Agnes who is 33, and has considerable knowledge and experience of farm work, herbal medicines and midwifery, becomes very human to the family. In addition, we learn the story of her terrible life and how she came to be convicted of the murders.  She really had no hope at all in her life, and it probably was only a matter of time before something she couldn't control happened to her. It is awfully sad, but very powerful and unfortunately typical of the lives of many, many women through history and today.  

LET'S EXPLORE DIABETES WITH OWLS by David Sedaris

LET'S EXPLORE DIABETES WITH OWLS by David Sedaris

This guy is big in the US, really big. The Amazon reviews for this book alone total over 1000, all four or five star. He seems to almost have a cult following. I had never heard of him, so after doing a bit of googling, I have found out that he is a Grammy award nominated humorist, comedian, author and radio contributor. In the past twenty years he has published eight books, five of which have been New York Times Bestsellers. According to Wikipedia much of Sedaris's humor is autobiographical, self deprecating, and often concerns his family life, his middle class upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina,  his Greek heritage, jobs, education, drug use, obsessive beheviours, and his life in France, London and West Sussex with his partner Hugh. And so it is in this book.

And yes, he is a very funny writer, a wicked turn of phrase and blessed with the ability unique to successful comedians to make the mundane things of our every day life very, very funny. For example, now that he has reached a certain age, his father has been pestering him to have a colonoscopy. Which he finally does and documents for the ignorant reader's benefit in minute detail. The delight he takes in telling his father the results is worth reading the whole book for - it is the last 'essay' in the book. A visit to Australia prompts memories of childhood singing that Australian classic 'Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree'; the joys of travelling in a country where English is not the language of the majority; his visit to a London taxidermist to source a stuffed owl for a present.

The strange thing for me about this book however, is that not really any of it has remained with me since I finishing it. I can see why he has been so successful, and as I haven't read any of his earlier writings, I may not be the most qualified reviewer. But if anything his writings are a little self indulgent and I found myself vaguely annoyed by him. Smug is the word that comes to mind. Perhaps this is what happens to successful writers in middle age. He may well become the 'grumpy old man'  the type of writer in the future.