The great thing about literature is that it is meant to provoke thought, to educate, or offer an escape. There are so many life-changing and perspective altering books out there, but I think that one of the biggest and favourites for me is Vas: An Opera in Flatland by Steve Tomasula. I read it in my third year of university for my Postmodern Literature class, and I was absolutely riveted by this book and the discussions by the professor.
I will introduce this book by saying that it is not your typical, linear plot novel. It defies traditional storytelling. It is experimental fiction. It is also full of non-fictional moments as well. It is just weird. It is mind-boggling, but it is also awesome.
The story focuses on our protagonist, Square, who is pressured by his wife, Circle, to get a vasectomy. Throughout the book, many different facts, quotes, pictures, diagrams, etc. are shown and they all come together to question the idea of eugenics, humanity, history, and the idea of free will. How far would people go to chase the idea of perfection? When does the "good of society" outweigh the needs and rights of individuals? How does history portray this? How do we practice "free will" in our society and is it really "free"?
This isn't really a book I would recommend to everyone. Like I said earlier, it is really weird. At one point, the gene sequence for chromosome 12 is listed for over 25 pages. However, despite its strange format, the messages that it conveys is extremely eye-opening and powerful. It changed my perspective and made me realize that we always need to question history, science, and society, because information can be misleading.
In the middle, it depicts two quotes, each from Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler that essentially say the same thing about eugenics, and yet, history depicts these two men as having completely opposite ideologies; perhaps, not so opposite after all. It certainly makes one rethink what else we been led to believe.
I will introduce this book by saying that it is not your typical, linear plot novel. It defies traditional storytelling. It is experimental fiction. It is also full of non-fictional moments as well. It is just weird. It is mind-boggling, but it is also awesome.
The story focuses on our protagonist, Square, who is pressured by his wife, Circle, to get a vasectomy. Throughout the book, many different facts, quotes, pictures, diagrams, etc. are shown and they all come together to question the idea of eugenics, humanity, history, and the idea of free will. How far would people go to chase the idea of perfection? When does the "good of society" outweigh the needs and rights of individuals? How does history portray this? How do we practice "free will" in our society and is it really "free"?
This isn't really a book I would recommend to everyone. Like I said earlier, it is really weird. At one point, the gene sequence for chromosome 12 is listed for over 25 pages. However, despite its strange format, the messages that it conveys is extremely eye-opening and powerful. It changed my perspective and made me realize that we always need to question history, science, and society, because information can be misleading.
In the middle, it depicts two quotes, each from Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler that essentially say the same thing about eugenics, and yet, history depicts these two men as having completely opposite ideologies; perhaps, not so opposite after all. It certainly makes one rethink what else we been led to believe.