Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor E. Frankl

From Storygraph: Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Based on his own experience and the stories of his patients, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. At the heart of his theory, known as logotherapy, is a conviction that the primary human drive is not pleasure but the pursuit of what we find meaningful. Man’s Search for Meaning has become one of the most influential books in America; it continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living.

My Thoughts: It is hard to know how I would cope under the circumstances Victor had to live through. I feel like modern life has made me extremely soft, but I guess you never know what kind of resources you have until tested. A really thought provoking book Victor Frankl argues that we have responsibilities to our life (the world) that give it meaning. Some lines of note:

“Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him-mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp … It is this spiritual freedomwhich cannot be taken away that makes life meaningful and purposeful.” p 66

Writing about two men who expressed a desire to commit suicide but were convinced not to “In both cases it was a question of getting them to realize that life was still expecting something from them” p 76

“If the meaning which is waiting to be fulfilled by man were really nothing but a mere expression of self, or no more than a projection of his wishful thinking, it would immediately lose its demanding and challenging character; it could no longer call man forth or summon him” p 100

“In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible” p 111

“For only to the extent to which man commits himself to the fulfillment of his life’s meaning, to this extent he also actualizes himself. In other words, self-actualization cannot be attained if it is made an end in itself, but only as a side effect of self-transcendence.” p 112

“For what matters above all is the attitude we take toward suffering, the attitude in which we take our suffering upon ourselves” p 114

4.5 stars. This is my entry for Austria in the Read Around the World Challenge.

What We Can Know – Ian McEwan

From Storygraph: From 2014 to the year 2119, in a world submerged by rising seas, What We Can Know spans the past, present and future to ask profound questions about who we are and where we are going. A masterpiece and Ian McEwan’s finest novel yet
 2014: A great poem is read aloud and never heard again. For generations, people speculate about its message, but no copy has yet been found.
 2119: The lowlands of the UK have been submerged by rising seas. Those who survive are haunted by the richness of the world that has been lost.
 Tom Metcalfe, a scholar at the University of the South Downs, part of Britain’s remaining archipelagos, pores over the archives of the early twenty-first century, captivated by the freedoms and possibilities of human life at its zenith.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this but it was slow in parts. The thing that made me most think was the way the future historians had access to the emails and messages of the people they were studying. I wander what kind of digital detritus I’ll leave behind.

Line of note, when the main character leaves to do research: “There was the unimaginable and unforeseen thrill of being away, of renewal, and remembering that the world was huge and various, and you and your concerns were small”

3.5 star read.

The Three-Body Problem – Cixin Liu

From Storygraph: Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.

My Thoughts: I’ve already seen the TV series so the plot was familiar to me. I do prefer to read first then watch the movie/TV adaptation so having already seen the TV series did reduce my enjoyment of this novel. It was a bit slow getting started and then seemed to speed up as it progressed. I’m going to make sure I read the next two books before the next season of the TV series comes out. I’m counting this for my China entry in the Read Around the World Challenge. Hugo Award Winner. 4.5 star read.