Brokeback Mountain | Annie Proulx

I have to admit, the only reason I picked up this fifty page short story was specifically so that I could read it before watching the acclaimed movie. I'm not a big fan of short fiction, in fact I don't read much of it, however I am glad I bought and read this piece. I have a new found respect for short fiction. It also lent me some inspiration for my own work!

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This poignant tale of two men who find an unspoken love for each other, is raw and unfiltered. Nothing about their story is gay or queer. It simply is about a relationship that consumes them both as they grow and mature and live their different lives. What Innis and Jack experience cannot be limited to homosexuality, as it transcends across boundaries into something more universal that all people can endure and admire.

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I will keep Annie Proulx in mind next time I'm looking for book to really dive into!
(Oh, by the way.. The movie was brilliant too!)

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My Rating
****

Mindscan | Robert J. Sawyer

What makes humans so ... human. Is it our faith? Is it intelligence? What about our souls? Our consciousness? Maybe it's our biological make up as a species that makes us so unique? Can you really narrow it down to one factor? Above that, what makes a person ... a person?

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While reading Mindscan you come to know of a time when death can avoided, and immortality is attainable. You pay an arm and a leg for it though. In fact, you pay alot more than that. The procedure allows your consciousness to be copied to a shiny synthetic new you.

Copied.

The old you looses all rights of personhood. The discarded you remains in your old body and retires to the far side of the moon along with the other 'shed skins'. The new you looses the finer touches of the human experience, the undefinable authenticity of human being. In exchange, you live on indefinately in a stronger more durable shell of latex and titanium and chemicals. It's quite the trade off really, especially if your family and friends can still see the real you behind your high definition cameras, and behind the touch of your durable latex hand, or through your digitally remastered voice output. But who needs friends and family if you can outlive all of them combined?

Jake, Sawyer's main character is a middle aged man who has undergone this extreme to release himself from the restrections of an incurable birth defect. He meets Karen who undergoes the same procedure to retain the rights the very novels that brought her so much success before her elderly body expires. Jake has a terrible time adjusting, as does his friends -- as does Karen's son and sole heir to her extensive estate. And, Jake and Karen support each other while their shed skins throw in the monkey wrench!

But what's this? ... Jake hears voices in his brand new alloy skull of his. That isn't supposed to happen... is it?

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I'm a Sawyer fan, I'll admit. His skill at weaving thought provoking plots simply amazes me. His ability to create characters that you care about is at times uncanny, and strengthen the stories he tells. He explores various aspect of the human condition through these stories and dives deep while doing it. I enjoy travelling into the worlds of his novels. Each one is quite a remarkable and rewarding trip! This quality is evident in Mindscan.

Jake Sullivan is an average man with many weaknesses and issues. He's very much a character that you could meet someday. However, this is where I find the novel lacking. Jake's character isn't as likable as some of Sawyer's other characters. I don't really warm up to his character until after he's shed his depressing outlook on life... after he's upgraded his body. In this regard, I cannot say I favour this particular novel over his others. Chalk it up to personal taste.

The setting is rooted in the near future, enabling the reader to easily identify with the main character and where he comes from. Enter 'what if' situation. The author takes the reader along with the main character through an event, in this case the procedure, that fundamentally challenges some fact about humanity -- when is a person not a person? The answer however, is left up to the reader to decide. Sawyer examines this question thouroughly without loosing the reader along the way. For me, the story enlightened me to the possible consequences to such a radical procedure and made me think, made me question what I would do! What would you do?

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My Rating
****