by Judi Dench

as told to John Miller

***** (5/5)

Autobiography: And Furthermore by Judi Dench

Click here to buy the book And Furthermore by Judi Dench (with free delivery)

Book Review:

This autobiography of Judi Dench’s career was a fun and easy read. As an actor myself, I loved reading about her stage productions and the different experiences, directors and actors she encountered. Dench comes across extremely down to earth and hard working actor with a playful sense of humour. I read the book with a mixture of envy and awe – Dench was actually fought over to play Shakespeare’s Cleopatra by two directors, Peter Hall and Terry Hands, who had both decided to direct the play at the same time!

The autobiography, as told to John Miller, contains lots of stories about the productions that she acted in throughout her long career, a couple she directed and also touches on some major personal life events – meeting her husband Michael Williams, their daughter Finty, the fire that destroyed their first home and Michael’s death. I was surprised about how candid she was in recounting her bad experiences with productions – run-ins she had had with theatre directors, or how disorganized a film set was. She goes into the negative experiences she has had as much as the positive ones.

I loved reading about Dench’s playful side. She is such a trickster, always enjoying a good laugh. One example is the long running challenge that developed between her and one of her actor colleagues Tim Piggot-Smith to see who could return a black leather glove to the other in the most unexpected places – usually on stage. The game has become so well known over the years that when questioned by the audience, someone always asks, ”Where is the glove now?” I guess it’s stunts like this and other more subtle games Dench and her fellow actors play on stage that keeps them going through a 6 month run of the same show!

Dench recounts her Oscar experiences when she was nominated for Mrs Brown and Shakespeare in Love. She even kept a diary of the days leading up to the first one because she knew how surreal it would be. It was fun to read about her amazement and awe at the experience, to know that even seasoned actors get excited and swept up in it all. Dench, who won the Oscar for her supporting role in Shakespeare in Love, said, “I was so surprised to win it for eight quick minutes with bad teeth.”

This is a good book for actors as well as people interested in theatre, not to teach you about acting, but to get an insight on how Dench lives the life of an actor, as well has her attitude towards working in theatre. I read ‘And Furthermore’ with a healthy dose of jealousy, but moreover received inspiration from a veteran actor whose work I really admire.

I’ll end with an anecdote about Anthony Hopkins who was playing Anthony to Dench’s Cleopatra in Peter Hall’s production for the National Theatre (Hall won out in the end). Hopkins never minded not being in the fifth act, in fact he actually loved it. In his death scene, as he was lying cradled in Cleopatra’s arms, he would whisper, ”I’m going upstairs to have a nice cup of tea. You do Act V, and I’ll have a nice cup of tea.”

Love that!

x Julie

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A Memoir of Life in Death

by Jean-Dominique Bauby

Translated from the French by Jeremy Leggatt

****½ (4.5/5)

Memoir / Non-Fiction / Inspirational

Click here to buy The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (with free delivery)

Book Synopsis:

At the age of 43,  Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor-in-chief for French Elle, survived a massive stroke which resulted in locked-in syndrome.  Paralysed from head to toe, but with his mind still as alert as ever, Bauby wrote this book with the help of Claude Mendibil. Mendibil would recite the alphabet to him and when she arrived at the letter he wanted, Bauby would blink. Blinking his left eyelid was Bauby’s only means of communication with the outside world. This book was literally crafted letter by letter.

In a place of enforced stillness, Bauby manages to truly take a step back and observe his world. From the depth of his diving bell, he still manages to travel with the wings of a butterfly.

Jean-Dominique Bauby died just two days after the French publication of his book.

Book Review:

First off, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly gave me a healthy dose of perspective. It reminded me of how easily we can give up when things don’t go our way. You could say that Bauby had lost everything. Unable to move, let alone speak, communicating via a slow and tiresome method of reciting the alphabet and blinking at the desired letter, it would be so easy to be overtaken by helplessness. But Bauby reached through the physical and mental barriers and with the help of a friend, created a unique and powerful piece of writing, that has the ability to speak to all of us.

Much of the memoir is about his day to day struggles – from boredom, to the inability to communicate a simple request to a nurse, frustration, to the sounds that agitate him. However, Bauby’s situation of being “paralyzed, mute, half-deaf and deprived of all pleasures” is juxtaposed with the power of his imagination which would transport him from his hospital bed, to anywhere he desired. “There is so much to do. You can wander off in space or in time, set out for Tierra del Fuego, or for King Midas’s court….discover Atlantis, realize your childhood dreams and adult ambitions.”

My friend who recommended this book to me described it as ‘the essence of life’. Yes, Bauby’s situation was wretched, and I’m positive that given a choice, he would have done almost anything to avoid the stroke that paralysed him. But this is a fantsatic example of making the best of your situation. Bauby drew on his strength as a writer and created for himself a legacy. From a point of personal observation and personal stories, Bauby cleanly lays out his thoughts in this short and simple book. As a reader, we have the opportunity to see into the mind and experiences of a man with locked-in syndrome, but more importantly, we can take away with us Bauby’s perspective of the duality of life -  you can be trapped in a diving bell, but from within that, you also have the ability to take flight like a butterfly.

x Julie

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P.S. I recommend watching this TED Talk by Dr. Brené Brown, a researcher professor who has spent the past ten years studying a concept that she calls Wholeheartedness. It kind of relates to this book in a vague way, but even if it doesn’t relate at all, it’s a good talk to watch as it that makes some very interesting observations.

P.P.S. I love TED Talks. If you don’t know what they are, go to TED.com

a memoir by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi

***** (5/5)

Autobiography / Biography / Memoir / Non- Fiction

Click here to buy Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi (free delivery)

Book Cover Synopsis:

Malika Oufkir has led a split life. She spent her childhood days raised as a princess, but from the age of nineteen, she was imprisoned with her mother and siblings for the next 20 years.

Maika was General Oufkir’s eldest daughter. He was the closest aide of the King of Morocco, who adopted five-year-old Malika and brought her up as his daughter’s companion. Malika grew up in privilege and luxury, in the shelter of the court harem.

But on 16^th August 1972, everything changed. General Oufkir was executed for attempting to assassinate the king. Malika, her mother, her five siblings, and two loyal friends were immediately arrested and imprisoned.

After being locked up for fifteen years, the last ten of which they were placed in solitary cells, the Oufkirs dug their way out of the prison using their bare hands, and made a courageous escape.

After 5 terrifying days of freedom, they were recaptured and eventually put under house arrest for another five years.

In 1996, at the age of 43, Malika was finally free to leave Morocco and begin her new life of freedom.

Stolen Lives is a shocking true story of resilience in the face of extreme hardship. A tremendously touching account of bravery and perseverance An example of how humor can exist even in the darkest of places. It is difficult to comprehend that it could have happened in our own times.

My Book Review:

You must read this book. As the last paragraph of the book’s synopsis says, ‘it is difficult to comprehend that it could have happened in our own times.’ Malika’s story is almost like a fairytale, except in fairytales, we often skip the horrible bits and drive through to the happy ending. It’s dispicable that King Hassan II, in our day and age could have imprisoned the innocent family of his attempted assassin,  the youngest of which was 3 years old, for what amounted to 20 years. It’s completely shocking, yet this happened. And is still happening to others now, I’m sure, in various parts of the world.

In all, Malika, her mother, Malika’s 3 sisters and 2 brothers, along with 2 women who came with the family out of loyalty (a commitment which is extraordinary and admirable to me) were locked up for an unknown indefinite amount of time. They were the ‘disappeared’. And it just got worse at every step along the way. They were truly being punished for their father’s sins. Every time they there was some semblance of  comfort in their lives, it was taken away from them. They never knew where they were being moved, were extremely malnourished, and what’s most heartbreaking is that the family was separated from each other, blocked by cell walls for 10 years.

But out of this horrifying life story comes moving human stories. Whilst locked in separate cells, they constructed an amplifier out of wire and radio parts which they pushed through small holes in the walls to communicate with each other. Through this hidden device, what sustained them was a story that Malika made up. A story that she kept going for 10 years. They also survived on humour. The Story, humour and looking out for each other and i guess sheer survival instincts kept them all alive.

None of them knew how long they would be imprisoned, when this torture would end – maybe, maybe, this is what gave them hope, that King Hassan might one day pardon them. However, I think, this lack of knowledge of a future caused what Malika calls ‘the night of the long knives’, a night of true despair, where a mass suicide could very well have taken place had they been successful.

Then comes their astonishing and terrifying escape. Failed, but magnificent because they managed to get their story out to the world and eventually secure their own freedom.

After 20 years outside time, obviously assimilating back into modern society would be hard, extremely hard. Abdellatif, who was imprisoned at only 3 years old, and 23 when he truly got to see the world, missed his childhood, teenage and early adult years. All he knew was prison. It was almost worse for the rest of the family who had lived a life of luxury in their past life, Malika herself as an adopted princess. This is what I didn’t understand when I read Malika’s follow-up autobiography Freedom. I read Stolen Lives and Freedom the wrong way round, and I had no idea what they truly had experienced. When you read ’20 years in prison’, 20 years is long, but its just a number until you go on the journey of Stolen Lives. As I said in my review of Freedom, an intellectual understanding of her circumstances is no where near an emotional understanding of what she went through.

Click here to buy Freedom by Malika Oufkir (free delivery)

Click here to read my Review of Freedom

I highly recommend this complex autobiography. It shows the ugly and vengeful side of human beings, but more so the strength and love that we are capable of. And it is because of these qualities that this story has a happy ending.

My admiration goes out to the 9 individuals who suffered through those 20 years, they truly deserve peace and happiness.

x Julie

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]]> http://readinglikerabbits.com/stolen-lives-twenty-years-in-a-desert-jail/feed 1 http://readinglikerabbits.com/infidel http://readinglikerabbits.com/infidel#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:15:12 +0000 juliewee http://readinglikerabbits.com/?p=848 Infidel

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

***** (5/5)

Autobiography / Non-Fiction

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Book Synopsis:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is among today’s most controversial yet admired political figures. She made international headlines when her friend and colleague Theo Van Gogh was assassinated in the Netherlands for making the film Submission with Hirsi Ali. His Islamist murderer stabbed a note to his body threatening that Hirsi Ali would be next.

This celebrated writer of The Caged Virgin, and courageous champion of free speech has led an extraordinary life.

In her astonishing memoir, she tells of growing up in Somalia in a staunch Muslim household, to escaping an arranged marriage, to her intellectual re-birth in the Netherlands, to becoming a member of the Dutch parliament, and finally of her life under constant security protection because of her open critique of Islam.

Having made the immense and dangerous ideological shift from a devout Muslim to an outspoken atheist, Hirsi Ali now fights for the rights of Muslim women and the reformation of Islam.

My Book Review:

The journey that Ayaan Hirsi Ali has made up till now is nothing short of amazing.

To be honest, it’s been about a year since I read this book, but the power of the incredulous journey that Ayaan made from the traditional life with her family in Africa to escaping into the Western world without a penny or a friend, to being elected a member of the Dutch House of Representatives, has remained firmly in my psyche.

The most astonishing aspect of this autobiography is in observing Ayaan’s development and her changing, progressive way of thinking.

Ayaan is now an activist who made the open conversion from Islam to atheism. She is very critical of Islam, speaking out especially about the place of women in Islamic societies.

This is an important, current and true life story. Ayaan speaks up loudly for what she believes are grave injustices in this world and suffers the consequences – constant death threats and the threats carried out with the murder of her friend Theo van Gogh. But still she speaks out.

x Julie

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by Christopher Titmuss

(Author of Light on Enlightenment)

Spiritual / Non-Fiction / Quotes

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Book Synopsis:

Buddha’s teachings are still profoundly relevant despite the fact that he lived 2500 years ago, because his teachings came from a down to earth wisdom.

This is a compilation of some of Buddha’s thoughts and advice put together by Christopher Titmuss, a meditation master who has been a Buddhist monk.

There is one quotation for every day of the year to guide and free those who reflect upon them from the conditioning of our minds, and so bring about change in different aspects of our lives – spiritual, social, personal and political.

My Book Review:

I saw this book in a second hand bookstore and immediately thought of it as a christmas present for a friend of mine. There are some very wise and accessible quotes in this daily meditation book. They are usually 4 to 5 lines long and never longer than half a page (the book’s size is A5), and I love that there is one quote for every day of the year. One a day, easily digestible and your daily dose of spirituality! A mini-meditation to start your day!

I am not Buddhist, but do believe that Buddha’s teachings have a lot to offer.

Here are some quotes that connected with me:

January 17

“Dry up the remains of your past and have nothing for your future. If you do not cling to the present then you can go from place to place in peace.”

January 24

“Though all his life a fool associates himself with a wise person, he no more comprehends the Truth than a spoon tastes the flavour of the soup.”

There are some obvious quotes like:

February 13

“These five trades should not be taken up:

trading with weapons,

trading in living persons,

trading in meat,

trading in intoxicants,

trading in poison.”

I guess they are like the 10 Commandments. Obvious, but who knows, maybe a human trader would read this and suddenly realise he’s doing wrong? Useful…

Some of the quotes are a bit heavy for me, talking about nirvana, enlightenment, dharma and disciples. But I guess it doesn’t hurt to read them.

The little book is also beautifully put together with a painting of Buddhas on the cover and line drawings of a flower or a ships wheel on every page.

I’ll end with another quote I like:

March 2

“Rain soddens what is covered up,

It does not sodden what is open.

Therefore uncover what is covered

That the rain will not sodden it.”

x Julie

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The True Story Behind ‘Hotel Rwanda’

By Paul Rusesabagina with Tom Zoellner

***** (5/5)

Non-Fiction / Autobiography

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Book Synopsis:

Paul Rusesabagina’s extraordinary courage inspired the film Hotel Rwanda, which received 3 Academy Award nominations and starred Don Cheadle.

“The killer would not look at me.

In that one small turn of the face, I saw there might be some room for me to maneuver. I saw that I had a small chance to save the lives of thirty-two of my neighbours who were huddled in the cars behind me.

All I needed was to find the right words. Everything now depended on my words…”

During the Rwandan genocide of 2004, Rusesabagina used his position as general manager of the Hotel des Mille Collines to protect over twelve hundred Tutsis as well as moderate Hutus. Though a delicate balance of diplomacy, smooth talking and cautious trickery, he managed to maintain the Hotel des Mille as a safe house, while the madness raged beyond its gates.

Rusesabagina transports the reader to those 100 days of cold-blooded murder, to the torment of those who witnessed their loved ones murdered before them. He relates how he felt as he served liquor and cigars to killers by the hotel’s pool, when just above them, he was attempting to hide as many of their potential victims as he could in the upstairs rooms.

What’s more, he describes his feelings of betrayal and deep disappointment when the international community chose to ignore the genocide.

Rusesabagina’s autobiography reveals the racial complexity of his personal life being a Hutu but married to a Tutsi and his attempt to address the question: What causes a whole nation to go insane?

The strength of Paul Rusesabagina’s character is clear, but more importantly, he was an ordinary man who stepped up and acted with true courage and humility during an extraordinary time.

My Book Review:

Where do I start? This is the personal story of a man who did what he could amidst the unthinkable. 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda in just 100 days, the fastest and most efficient genocide in history.

The hotel manager, Paul Rusesabagina, is the most admirable man I have ever had the privilege of encountering. In the face of brutal chaotic killers, some of them his neighbours, who blindly hacked apart friends, children and the elderly, Rusesabagina, stood calm and rational. He used every word in his power to protect the 1,200 people who were hiding in his hotel.

Rusesabagina begins by explaining the history of Rwandan racial politics. How the disparity of power and apparent facial structure built up over the years, split Rwanda into two, The Hutu’s and The Tutsi’s,  eventually erupted into anarchy and frenzied killing.

The autobiography is divided into 3 parts:

• The history behind Rwanda’s racial politics

• The 100 days during the genocide when Rusesabagina and the refugees were living in the hotel, constantly fending off imminent slaughter and

• Rusesabagina’s life and view of Rwanda after the genocide.

I found I had to distance myself from the descriptions of the horrific killings that are described in the book, in order to sanely get through reading it. Despite the almost unimaginable events, this was surprisingly a very easy book to read.

Easy to read for 2 reasons:

1) Rusesabagina is an amiable and humble man, with unmatchable integrity.

2) Because it is important. It is important to know this history that is so recent we should consider it the present. It is important to see and respect men like Paul Rusesabagina and know that words and non-violence really can work in real life.

I thought The Holocaust would have been lesson enough, but this is the list of genocides from Wikipedia that have occurred between 1951 to 2000:

Australia (1900-1969), Zanzibar, Guatemala, Bangladesh War of 1971, Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Cambodia, East Timor, Argentina, Sabra-Shatila in Lebanon, Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraqi Kurds, Tibet, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Azerbaijan, West New Guinea/West Papua and Sri Lanka.

It would be so easy to write these mass killings off as ‘things of the past’ or ‘things that only happen elsewhere’. We live privileged lives in cushy 1st world countries, and as we discover in An Ordinary Man, it was countries like ours who could have put a stop to the mindless slaughter. But we didn’t. The world did nothing. Even with 2,700 UN troops stationed in Rwanda, Rusesabagina says:

“In my opinion the UN was not just useless during the genocide. It was more then useless. It would have been better off for us if they did not exist at all, because it allowed the world to think that something was being done, that some parental figure was minding the store.”

Rusesabagina made endless calls and faxes to government bodies, including the White House, but was ignored every time. There is a passage in which he describes a conversation he had with a woman at the White House. It will make your blood boil.

Paul Rusesabagina speaks plainly and sincerely. Watch the movie and read the book. This is present and possibly continuing history.

x Julie

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By Richard Bach

Photographs by Russell Munson

***** (5/5)

Fiction / Inspirational

Click to buy this book (free delivery)

Book Synopsis:

Seagulls fly to find to food. Seagulls eat. Seagulls survive. This is seagull law. But Jonathan Livingston Seagull has discovered the sheer joy and pleasure of flying and swooping and diving. Because of this, Jonathan is banished by the seagull elders. But Jonathan still continues to fly, expanding his horizons and searching for his higher purpose.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a fable about seizing life by the horns, and following your dreams, even if it means going against the norms of the flock.

A story that will inspire you to follow your dreams, so that you can soar too.

My Book Review:

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a beautiful and inspiring story. After reading it, I feel like I can do anything. IF I choose to. It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut in your mind, but when you read Jonathan’s story you want to join the race to learn and to shed all your limitations. Bach writes, ‘Break the chains of your thought and you break the chains of your body too’.

This book is wise and accessible, told simply from the point of view of a frustrated seagull with dreams and aspirations higher than what his fellow seagulls could ever comprehend. Russell Munson’s photographs which are scattered throughout the book, of seagulls in flight, cement the idea of flying and freedom. There are so many quotes I want to extract from this book, but you really have to read it to understand.

I have read Jonathan Livingston Seagull twice now, and have decided I should read it periodically, to remind myself that ‘whatever stands against freedom must be set aside’ and that nothing can be achieved without practice. Give this inspirational book as present to yourself or to others.

I also recommend another Richard Bach story Illusions, The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.

x Julie

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