My Harry Potter Mission

I decided to embark on my own Harry Potter quest of sorts before the release of the seventh and final book of the series - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - on 21 July 2007. Inspite (or perhaps because) of the enormous popular appeal of the Harry Potter series, I have only ever finished reading the first book - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone although I have seen all the five movies. As is often the case though, movies are often a poor substitute for books in terms of wealth of detail and character development.

The goal was to attempt to finish the first six Harry Potter books before the release of the seventh and final book, enabling me to join in the mass fervour, excitement and speculation (or to sum it up generally - mass hysteria) over how the series would end. Considering the fact that I only had a week to the launch of Deathly Hallows, this necessitated reading a book a day up to the launch date.

The going was relatively smooth to begin with, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were completed in two days flat. However, from that point onwards the books stopped resembling normal paperback novels and started to resemble massive printed doorstops (with the capability in hardcover form to do serious damage to one's foot). Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire still raced along quite nicely - I particularly loved the excitement of the Quidditch World Cup, but I definitely found the Order of the Phoenix far too indulgent and long winded. In the end I failed in my task - I was still at the beginning stages of the Half Blood Prince when Saturday the 21st swung around.

I dutifully bought the Deathly Hallows on the evening (as opposed to the morning) of the 21st, not wanting to join in the mayhem of overnight queues and squalling children. I dutifully resisted the temptation to even glance at it while I laboured through the remainder of the Half Blood Prince. Admittedly, the sixth book got more exciting as it went along, and its conclusion was quite a cliffhanger.

What I should have counted on was my sister coming by my house and asking to borrow the Deathly Hallows first, so she could read it. As I was still part way through the Half Blood Prince I decided to give in to the pressure and pass it to her. However, my sister in her usual fashion, didn't have much time to read the book (but decided she still wanted to have it anyway) and by the Tuesday afterwards had barely gone through 100 pages.

I had completed the Half Blood Prince by then and built up a considerable head of steam and was by then desperate to read the Deathly Hallows - the entire point of the Harry Potter enterprise being to read the first six books in anticipation of the final one. I at first resorted to reading the majority of the novel in Borders. To this day I still haven't seen the hardcover copy of the Harry Potter that I had purchased.

Being very conscious of the fact that the great appeal of the Harry Potter series lies in the intricate plotting and fully formed characters (it certainly isn't the brilliance of Rowling's prose) I won't give any details of the plot away here. Suffice to comment that the Deathly Hallows definitely picks up the pace, and does a pretty good job of tying up loose ends, bringing together numerous plot details hinted at in the earlier novels. It is proof, if ever it were needed, that the entire series was conceived as a unified whole, and testament to Rowling's ability to create such a richly detailed imagined world.

Dinner at Rang Mahal

Knowing that she enjoys Indian cuisine, I booked dinner for two at the Rang Mahal, located at the Pan Pacific Hotel for the ex-Girlfriend on the eve of her birthday. The Rang Mahal is reputed to be one of the premiere Indian restaurants in Singapore, serving up not just Indian food mind you, but "haute Indian cuisine" and boasts of "legendary fine dining" on its website.

The restaurant boasted a wide variety of choices from its selection of pan-Indian cuisine, particularly North Indian delicacies. Being spoiled for choice I settled for their Thali platter of the day. This involved a soup and starter which was followed by a main, two curries and basmati rice served on a lovely glass platter. If this sounded like it was all impossible to finish, I assure you that it was not. This really was haute cuisine - small, slightly larger than bite size portions, especially the curries. The food was wonderfully flavoured from the lentils to my main course of lamb. A generous helping of naan bread and a fresh salad rounded the Thali set off. Definitely something to savour. For those who are interested the Rang also boasts a comprehensive (and award winning) wine menu.

On the whole, I was suitably impressed by the service. The staff were attentive, well-trained and generally polished. They did the small things well, and then some - such as a waiter using a cloth to dab at a spot on the carpet where the ex-Girlfriend nearly tripped. The overall service experience was only marred by the fact that it took a short while to get a waiter's attention for the bill. Also not to sound too snobbish, it would have been useful if the front of house and reservations person could speak slightly better English. It was definitely interesting to be informed that there was no reservation under my name on arrival at the restaurant (I had called to book earlier) only to find that she had written my name down as "Caleboo" (and after I had explicitly spelled it out in its entirety for her). It provided amusement for the ex-Girlfriend at the very least.

The restaurant was very tastefully designed. We were seated just within the entrance in a kind of walkway or pavilion leading to the main dining hall. Tables were divided by wonderful decorative screens affording us plenty of privacy. I also loved a small stone fountain set into the ground, lit by a series of small candlelit table lamps. The restaurant as a whole featured lovely wood and stone decorations on an Indian theme. Overall, I would have said that the ambiance and setting was perfect but for one drawback - the live music from the atrium lounge could be readily heard from our table by the entrance and often threatened to drown out the soft traditional Indian classical music that was being played.

Final Verdict: The Rang is one of the standard bearers for Indian fine dining in Singapore. If you love Indian food, this is a must try especially given the high quality setting and attentive service.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

I spent quite a bit of time over the past couple of days ensconced in Borders ostensibly in an attempt to take advantage of their latest coupon offering 30% off of your total bill if you purchase three of more books. On Tuesday, I began reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, got hooked and finished the entire book at one sitting in Borders itself. On Thursday night I spent most of my time browsing around, eventually purchasing How We Survived Communism and Learned to Laugh by Slavenka Drakulic, At Large and At Small: Essays by Anne Fadiman and The Devil in Amber by Mark Gatiss.

The protagonist of the Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez, hails from Pakistan. He manages to win a scholarship to Princeton and subsequently goes on to work for a highly selective and top notch New York corporate firm, Underwood Samsom, which specializes in the appraisal and valuation of companies that are the subject of hostile takeover bids. However, we first meet Changez in a very different setting - a restaurant and tea house in an old district of Lahore in Pakistan where he finds an American wandering the streets, invites him to the tea house and begins to tell him (and the reader) his story.

The story is fundamentally about a person first enticed by then disillusioned and disenchanted with America. The crucial turning point for both the protagonist and America is the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre. Despite him having attended an American University and pursuing the American dream, Changez's immediate reaction to the twin towers falling is a momentary thrill and a sense that America deserved it. He is initially ashamed by this reaction but he is sent down a relentless path of questioning his relationship with America even as he observes the sudden upsurge of patriotism (in a flag bedecked New York) and suspicion against foreigners (when he starts to grow a beard). This is compounded as America invades Pakistan's near neighbour Afghanistan and his homeland is involved in a deadly nuclear standoff with India in which America is determined to stay neutral in order to avoid having to choose between two allies in their war on terror.

Hamid, a Pakistani who himself studied at an Ivy League university and worked on Wall Street, writes a novel that is both powerfully allegorical yet still remains very accessible and personal due to the easy and familiar tone of the narrator. September 11 is the fulcrum of the story because it initiates the changes in both the protagonist (whose name Changez is hardly subtle) and in the American psyche itself. In many ways, however, Hamid turns our expectation on its head. The fundamentalism in the title is as much the American corporate variety (Changez's firm repeatedly tells them to "keep to the fundamentals") as it's Islamic counterpart.

Another allegorical turn involves Changez's relationship with Erica, a rich, well-connected WASP New Yorker whom he falls for while on a post-graduation holiday (paid for by his signing on bonus). However, his relationship with Erica is as fragile and ephemeral as his relationship with America. Erica is caught up and cannot let go of the past, specifically her relationship with a close childhood friend turned lover who died of cancer. It is certainly no coincidence that Erica is a shortened form of (Am)Erica.

Final Verdict: This was definitely a very engaging novel. Hamid is able to create a powerful sense of drama and tension out of his premise, and the sense of one man questioning his pursuit of what may be a chimerical dream and questioning of his adopted values is often captivating. That said, Hamid's use of irony is often completely unsubtle to say the least as is his overall contention that America - and not the Islamists are the real fundamentalists. Ultimately, a hugely enjoyable read.

The Ladies Night Debate

There has been considerable debate over a recent incident at a local nightclub, The Powerhouse, which was reported in the press. A lady in her 50s was denied the usual 5 free drinks upon entry for Ladies Night at the club and was instead given spa vouchers. She was informed that it was club policy to only issue free drinks to women who were 35 or younger. This soon led to widespread condemnation of this policy as being ageist and discriminatory. Many were further insulted when the club chose to enforce the policy by checking identity cards upon entry.

When asked to explain its policy, Powerhouse, part of the St James group of clubs stated that there were "specific business reasons behind the policy". According to their Chief Operating Officer, "the allure of Ladies' Night for men is that they want to see young, pretty women. We are responding to their expectations." The club also noted that it had the right to set the rules and regulations governing promotions.

While I understand the antagonism surrounding this policy, I must grudgingly support the club in this instance. They are absolutely correct in saying that they have the right to set any specific rules and regulations governing promotional privileges and entry provided that they are clearly stated. This would include a policy of only giving free drinks to ladies under the age of 35, even if we find the objective - that of attracting younger and prettier clientele which would in turn attract more high spending male clientele - worthy of criticism.

The simple fact is that ladies night privileges are specially given by the club, at their own expense. They thus have the right to decide who they want to award these privileges to. I find my sympathy waning for the women who gripe at no receiving the additional drinks free, considering that lady's night is in itself a form of thinly disguised discrimination. Why do the men not complain about the fact that they are being discriminated against on the basis of sex seeing that women are so blatantly having their cover charge waived?

It would have been quite a different story if the club, instead of barring these older women from the free drinks (and to be fair they did receive a substitute free gift), had barred them from entering the club altogether on the grounds that they are too old. That would certainly raise a hue and cry, and deservedly so in my opinion.

This brings me to the crux of this post, for such blatant discrimination on the grounds of age in terms of barring individuals from entering a club already exists. Almost every club in Singapore set different minimum ages limits for entry for males and females. Many, such as St James set a minimum age limit for men at 23 or even 25. They have no grounds for this blatant discrimination other than stating this is "club policy". Basically, clubs can let in anybody they want as long as they are above the legal drinking age of 18 years old.

Given what I just said, isn't it a bit ridiculous that there has been such a hullabaloo about discrimination, ageism, unfairness etc. in the case of these women not being given 5 free promotional drinks given that they still had the right to enter the premises and had their cover waived to boot? Let us put things into perspective. If you really want proof of ageism and discrimination, just look towards all those young men, serving their country as full time national servicemen, barred from having a night on the town for the simple reason they are deemed too young in the eyes of the club.

What I Have Read - So Far

I thought that this would be a good chance to put up a list of all the books I have finished reading in the first half of the year, as well as choosing my highlights for the year to date. Anyhow here is the complete list:

1. Table for Three: More Tales of Saffy and Amanda by Jason Hahn
2. The Iraq War by John Keegan
3. Lyra’s Oxford by Phillip Pullman (Young Adult)
4. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
5. All The Shah’s Men by Stephen Kinzer
6. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
7. Imperium by Robert Harris
8. Platform by Michel Houellebecq
9. The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford
10. The Epiplectic Bicycle by Edward Gorey (Illustrated Short Story)
11. Twelve Books that Changed the World by Melvyn Bragg
12. The Secret Goldfish and Other Follies by Tan Teck Howe
13. Those Feet: A Sensual History of English Football by David Winner
14. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
15. Crispin: Cross of Lead by Avi (Young Adult)
16. Dreamers by Knut Hamsun
17. The Making of a Philosopher by Colin McGinn
18. Slow Waltz on Cedar Bend by Robert James Waller
19. A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Got Singapore by Richard Lim
21. The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea by Yukio Mishima
22. To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer
23. The Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky
24. Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans
25. Nothing But the Truth by Avi (Young Adult)
26. Lanzarote by Michel Houellebecq
27. Frameshift by Robert Sawyer
28. Alien Asian: A Singaporean in America by Simon Tay
29. Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
30. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
31. How To Read A Novel: A User’s Guide by John Sutherland
32. The Courage Consort by Michel Faber
33. The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
34. The Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
35. The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq by Patrick Cockburn
36. Six (Genesis) by Jim Crace
37. An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire by Arundhati Roy
38. Among the Dead Cities by A.C Grayling
39. Marley and Me by John Grogan
40. Continue to Pester, Nag and Bite: Churchill’s War Leadership by Martin Gilbert
41. The Sensation of Independence: A Biography of David Marshall by Chan Heng Chee
42. Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (Young Adult)
43. Everyman by Phillip Roth
44. The Eternals by Neil Gaiman (Graphic Novel)
45. The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
46. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
47. Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
48. The Children of Hurin by J.R.R Tolkien
49. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
50. The Quarry by Damon Galgut
51. The Glamour by Christopher Priest
52. Shadowmancer by G.P Taylor

Titles in Bold are highly recommended, titles in Italics are recommended. I have limited myself to recommending 10 titles in total (out of the 52). All in all, the main factor governing my reading so far was that I tended to go for novels that were short (less than three hundred pages). This was due to the fact that I have had less time to read since starting work, and was generally only being able to complete a book over a number of sittings.

I guess I really could have used my reading time better: Slow Waltz on Cedar Bend and The Horse Whisperer were definitely inexcusable. But reading is for enjoyment and relaxation and you sometimes what you really need is 300 pages full of brainless crap. [I promise a more detailed write up on specific titles soonish whenever I have time - in other words don't count on it]