Mere Mortals Book Reviews

The adolescent Peruvian coming of age story seems a tad more intense than most others. 'Cubs & Other Stories' by Mario Vargas Llosa is a group of 7 fictional (but lifelike) short stories mostly involving young men/boys. The titular story is of a boy who is castrated by a dog and then turns into a wild rebellious teen. All take place in Peru with most of them occurring in the capital of Lima. These were written at the start of Llosa's career and were mostly published independently in newspapers before being compiled. I summarised the book as follows. "My thoughts on books that are 'collections' has not altered in the slightest. Due to the quantity of slang this was a difficult read in Spanish and I'm not sure the English version would have been any more interesting. It wasn't bad but there was nothing within that stood out (maybe due to the young age of the author)." I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out! Timeline: (0:00) - Intro (0:33) - Synopsis (2:48) - Young Men: Risk takers due to differing values (5:49) - Personal Observations/Takeaways (7:26) - Summary Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/

A book where I'm certainly glad the ending got cut short! 'The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea' by Yukio Mishima is a story of 3 characters with romantic notions that crunch up against reality. Set in post WWII Yokohoma, young Noboru struggles to accept the courtship and impending marriage of his widowed mother Fusako with the stoic sailor Ryuji. The themes delve into the sentimental honour to be gained with glory and finding meaning in life by dampening emotions to embrace destruction/emptiness. I summarised the book as follows. "All 3 have an idealised emotional perspective of the world which seems to come crashing down, for better and worse. I liked the 3 pronged storyline & gained some insight into Japanese culture. I myself wasn't too put off by the disturbing scene with the kitten, but this isn't for the squeamish." I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out! Timeline: (0:00) - Intro (0:27) - Synopsis (4:01) - Glory: Honour gained by notable achievements (7:24) - Inhuman: Finding meaning through destruction & emptiness (10:18) - Personal Observations/Takeaways (13:27) - Summary Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/

An absurd, ridiculous tale of dark humour that might just contain some deeper meaning. 'Gould's Book Of Fish' by Richard Flanagan tells the tale of William Buelow Gould, an English convict transported to the penal colony on Sarah's Island and who becomes enamoured with ..... fishes! Whilst it contains elements of real life it is dominated by the fantastical events & insanity of the principal characters. I summarised the book as follows. "I hope Flanagan has as much fun writing this as I did reading it. It's a mad tale narrated by a loony convict. So many good points with the unique fish chapters, absurd humour & entertaining characters. The only downside is that I'm disinterested in art/fishes/penal colonial history so the backdrop wasn't my favourite. I do think this book could be amazing for other people though." As always, I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out! Timeline: (0:00) - Intro & Synopsis (4:00) - Insanity: A reasonable method for sense making (9:13) - Fiction: A vehicle for imparting meaning (rather than truth) (12:53) - Personal Observations/Takeaways (14:39) - Summary (15:30) - Aussie Slang Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/

It's eerie coming across the literary version of yourself, essentially the same person who lived a different life and made different decisions. 'My Brother Jack' by George Johnston is a classic Aussie story about family relations, cultural snapshots, responsibility and dashed dreams. It is narrated by David Meredith and is mostly an introspective story but with the constant play of the polarity between himself and his brother Jack. There are many themes contained within but David's shirking of responsibility and Jack's portrayal as the classic Aussie bloke really jump out. I summarised the book as follows. "It him home hard and was maybe even too close to home. I saw so much of my innate personality in David, basically an alternate Kyrin living an alternate life (& I didn't like what I saw eeeep). It reveals the cultural feeling in the air between the two world wars and the ending left me reeling. A fantastic book that is very close to being in my top 10!" As always, I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out! Timeline: (0:00) - Intro & Synopsis (4:21) - Shirking: An avoidance of duty &/or responsibility (9:59) - Old Mate: What makes an Aussie man? (15:33) - Personal Observations/Takeaways (21:12) - Summary (22:16) - Aussie Slang Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/

'Innovation in Australia' by Ben Kehoe explores big questions which ultimately land us with a view that we really need a better vision for our future. Can business leaders can play a bigger role? In Innovation in Australia: Creating Prosperity for Future Generations, Ben Kehoe discusses how Australian businesses can improve their rates of collaboration, commercialising our innovative Australian ideas here, rather than shipping them offshore, and how this can increase the prosperity of our nation. If you would like to support the channel and grab the book, find the following handy link! https://amzn.to/3hw8Zbb As always, I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Mere Mortals out! Timeline: (0:00) - Intro & Synopsis (2:30) - Summary (5:00) - Themes (9:40) - Moon Shots https://innovationinaustralia.com.au/ Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." 'Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind' by Shunryu Suzuki is a musing on Zen Buddhism, enlightenment and meditation practice. Suzuki Roshi was a populariser of Zen in America and many regard this as one of the finest books on the topic. The core themes centre on the spiritual attainment of Buddha nature and the philosophy behind the practice of Zazen. I summarised the book as follows. "It's a succinct, simple & simultaneously confusing read. It explains the central essence of Zen without all the tradition or religiosity. There are some practical tips for meditation (Zazen) but is more heavy on the spirituality and grand concept of embodied enlightenment that Zen tries to convey. Personally I felt it became a bit repetitive at times and would also say that this book is NOT for everyone, better to have read it with some grounding in Buddhism or the other eastern religions." As always, I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out! Timeline: (0:00) - Intro & Synopsis (2:24) - Buddha Nature: The already attained enlightenment within all (4:43) - Zazen: The practice of non-practice (7:29) - Personal Observations/Takeaways (10:34) - Summary Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/