My thoughts on: All Our Broken Idols by Paul M.M. Cooper

 

Kabul. Taliban takes over Afghanistan. The news flashes over practically every social medium these past few days. And my thoughts drifted back to a book that I’d just read two weeks ago – All Our Broken Idols by Paul M.M. Cooper. And I was blown away, simply because I think this is how history should be taught and read.

 

All Our Broken Idols oscillates seamlessly between two spans of time – Nineveh B.C and Mosul 2014, two points of views – Aurya’s and Katya’s, and two forces – King Ashurbanipal in past Nineveh and ISIL in present Mosul. Cooper draws astounding parallels between past and present that says one thing: the past is embedded in the present. Lots of times, the cry is never again, yet the past repeats. In Katya’s words as she faces the ISIL invasion (which did take place in June 2014), “Hasn’t this all happened before?” Makes me think, why is that? When everything is supposed to get progressive– the economy, the education, yet doesn’t traditional mindsets always catch up with us somehow?

 

I’ve heard countless motivation speakers say ‘don’t dwell in the past, we must move forward.’ Yet, how do we move forward if we don’t understand the past? Not just knowing it as facts from a history book, but really understanding how history encapsulates the present day. And only then, can we make a stand not to be prisoners of historical errors.

 

This is what Cooper has done in his book – made me think beyond Mosul, beyond Nineveh, and think about other civilizations, and its impact on current world events. Almost each nation today has a repeat of their history– whether it’s religion, traditions, governances, society or the economy. If a country today is Marxist, there is a history to it. If a country today is democratic, there is a history to it. There is also a gap as to what is portrayed and what really happened at that time, seen in Cooper’s depiction of the Lion and what it means to Sharo, Aurya and Katya – a symbol of how history in all its strength is presented and represented for the gain of people in power. Then again, to think about it, talk about it and rethink; re-act instead of reacting, gives us the people, the power to reshape society, as we evolve. But that can only be done if we understand the parallels between the then and the now, the past and the present which seem so conflicted, yet inseparable like twins at war from the womb.

 

Thank you, Paul M.M Cooper for this action-packed historical fiction. You’ve connected the dots and applied history to today; making the reader think. I’ll say it again, this is how history should be taught, read…and learnt.

 

All Our Broken Idols – Stunning title. Stunning concept. Stunning content.

 

My thoughts on: Pretending by Holly Bourne

 

 

“I hate men.” April’s (the main character) first line cut through all my perceptions that Pretending was going to be any usual rom-com. As much as it’s feminist, it isn’t a man-bashing novel either. Interestingly, at the end of the first chapter, April says, “I still fancy men.” So, what is it about men in this novel? That’s when I would say a novel every woman, but mostly a novel every man should read to know the mind of a woman and the type of man she desires – the emotionally intelligent man. And here Bourne talks about a real woman, like a lot of us…who don’t look picture perfect early in the morning like those models on those fashion covers, or we aren’t as bootilicious as those women in those music videos. But why do we have to be Barbie when we are not looking for a Ken?

 

Pretending is a no-holds barred view on men, women, sex, relationships…and that relationships are not all about sex, though sex is of importance in the relationship equation. Bourne has many great one-liners: witty, raw and relatable. And then she cleverly leads us to the bigger points, through April’s experiences. As I got comfortable with April and Joshua’s romance, I cheered on April’s thoughts and I paraphrase: Since when was a kiss simply just to lead on to more kisses, and not just a goal to get a woman in bed?

 

From real relationship questions, Bourne also deals with the dark side of abuse against women and PTSD. She dares to deal with the tough questions – rape in relationships; girlfriends raped by boyfriends who don’t even think of it as rape because they’re too busy thinking about their own selves. It brings me back to when I caught a snippet of the Phil McGraw show and how hundreds of teens girls are having sex not because they want to, but just to please their boyfriends, or because they’re too scared to lose them to the next pretty girl across the room.

 

Yet, the best part about Pretending is it never defends women blindly either. It goes to show that lies hurt both men and women equally. And at the end of the day, a woman wants to love a man who loves her the way he wants to be loved.

 

One solid message of Pretending: pretence never solves anything, so best to get real in relationships, exchange real care for another, and only then can real romance exist.

 

Thank you, Holly Bourne for this insightful, realistic yet highly entertaining novel…a thin line to navigate but so carefully and beautifully done.