Pattern Recognition - William Gibson

Another brilliant book by Gibson, and the first in the Blue Ant/Hubertus Bigend trilogy. The likable but neurotic protgagonist, Cayce (pronounced "Case"), is a coolhunter - a precog who uses her sensitivity to brands and logos to serve as a consultant to major franchises, helping them make branding choices based on what she senses will become trendy or not. In her spare time, Cayce and her online otaku friends obsess over "the footage" - segments of breathtaking, unearthly films scattered across the net, discovered a fragment at a time. Cayce's life changes when an exceptionally powerful employer hires her for a special consulting job, and draws her into a web of intrigue, Soviet mafia, and mystery...

I also really identified with Cayce, and many of her reflections resonated with me, such as, "Does she feel liminal, now, or simply directionless?"

Gibson's 3 Trilogies:

The Sprawl Trilogy:

• Neuromancer
• Count Zero
• Mona Lisa Overdrive

The Bridge Trilogy:

• Virtual Light
• Idoru
• All Tomorrow's Parties

The Bigend Books:

• Pattern Recognition
• Spook Country
• Zero History

Moscow Diary

Finished reading Benjamin's Moscow Diary. Very interesting and pleasurable to read. It is the chronicle of Benjamin's visit to Moscow and his frustrated desire for Asja Lacis, his internal struggle over whether or not to join the Communist party, and his attempts to get by in a difficult Soviet society despite speaking almost no Russian. It is also filled with colorful and beautiful descriptions of the city, its churches, museums, culture and inhabitants.

In one passage Benjamin records his friend Reich's observation that

"in great writing the proportion between the total number of sentences and those sentences whose formulation was especially striking or pregnant was about one to thirty - whereas it was more like one to two in my [Benjamin's] case."

This density of style is apparent in Benjamin's works, but I had not thought of it as a flaw in his writing...the style just requires more time spent decoding. However, I can see that it could discourage some from reading him. However, Moscow Diary is direct and fresh, as well as insightful and interesting, making it a good choice for someone who is interested in trying Benjamin but wants an easier read. I highly recommend.


Further reading: In my Russian lit class, The Soviet Experience, we read an essay Benjamin had written that was based on his Moscow diary. I don't remember the name of the essay, but we read an analysis of it by my prof Zhenya called "The Withering of Private Life: Walter Benjamin in Moscow." I recommend both.

The Master and Margarita

A while ago I read Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, which is great. A wild caper in which the devil and his friends come to Moscow and wreak havoc. The protagonist, the Master, is thought by most to be largely autobiographical.

Bulgakov worked on the book from 1928 until his death in 1940. In 1930, after a campaign denouncing him as anti-Soviet, Bulgakov burnt the first manuscript. He later returned to the novel, although he did not live to see it published. The uncensored version of the novel was not published in the Soviet Union until 1973.

It is a fantastic work, and many quotes are famous in Russia even today (according to my Russian lit prof, Zhenya Bershtein). I highly recommend it!!