Hi reader, hope you are enjoying the longest days of the year! If not, here are some notes on recent reading to help pass the time.
Mud Sweeter than Honey by Margo Rejmer (March 2022)
In this oral history, Rejmer gives voice to the Albanians from all walks of life who lived and suffered under the communist rule of Enver Hoxha. If this specific chapter of recent European history is unknown to you (as it was to me before I read this book), then it may help to see my first note from Mud Sweeter than Honey - Stalin’s death marked the end of the cruelest form of communist regimes, but Albania was an exception. One thing that sticks out from this account was how ruthlessly the totalitarian regime treated those who were educated, sensitive, or outspoken, perhaps revealing what those in power considered the greatest threat to their absolute rule. I think Rejmer's work in a broader sense speaks to the necessity of artists to use their abilities to set the record straight, with writers obviously bearing a significant portion of this responsibility in the aftermath of a time when so many voices were lost, silenced, or erased by the forces of propaganda, coercion, and terror. This isn't the kind of work from which I feel compelled to recommend specific chapters, but I should note that "A Stone on the Border" was the most unforgettable of the many searing accounts.
Dialogues and Letters by Seneca (June 2019)
Seneca, also known as "Seneca the Younger" (I couldn't find any info on "Seneca the Older") was a Roman Stoic philosopher whose work influenced many important figures of future generations (including Dante, Montaigne, and this blog). This particular work collected a number of his better-known essays, including "On the Shortness of Life", alongside letters written to someone named Lucilius (who is best known for being the recipient of these letters). I don't have a strong recall of this read from three years ago but it seems like relying on a handful of collected notes is an appropriate idea - as this book itself suggests, it's crucial for readers to identify their own nuggets of relevant wisdom within written works.
It seems that the aforementioned essay was the likely source for a handful of the most impressive notes. I've written down that life seems short only because we waste time, that we should not put off for later anything that might be ruined by a downturn in health, and that the best way to shorten life is to pursue another's preoccupations. I should also mention that despite his reputation it seems Seneca was not necessarily an original thinker but rather one who collected, formalized, and popularized Stoic philosophy. This suggests that a modern-day Seneca might make for an ideal Business Bro ("Business Bro the Younger") but some of his insights offer counter-evidence to my grim conclusion. For example, he notes that a strong performer is often merely stronger than the task, or that we should avoid tasks which generate more tasks, cannot be easily abandoned, or come with the potential of a shifting finish line; Business Bro or not, it seems clear that Seneca would at least share my distaste for admin.
