divine angst

I requested this book at Christmas on, actually, the recommendation of a blogger (can’t remember which one now) who mentioned it as an alt-history. You know, the kind of book that takes as a premise, “what if x had not happened and y had?” I love those sorts of speculative fictional histories, so I put it on my Amazon wish list and, voilá, I received it.

I was not as pleased as I hoped I would be.

In the end, I was reminded more of Sophie’s World than any other book I’ve read. Rather than exploring the true historical options presented by a world in which the Black Death completely eradicated Christian Europe, the author took that opportunity to explore the philosophical options. The course of human history remains basically unchanged in this novel: technological innovation including wireless communication, motorized travel, and even the atom bomb are introduced without impediment. Yes, north America as we know it is colonized from the west (over the Pacific) rather than from the east—a big point in the back-cover blurbs. But in the end, north America figures very slightly in the book, so don’t expect much from that revelation.

As a philosophical exercise, the novel has much to recommend it. Robinson delves deeply into the differences and similarities of eastern religious thought—primarily Islam and Buddhism—and does a lot of good writing about the two. But I felt cheated. I expected a greater focus on what historical differences might be expected in a world where western civilization never unfolded. Can we really expect that science would develop with the same linearity as in western civilization given the vastly different perspective of eastern thought? Really, my big gripe started to surface in the third quarter of the book when technologies we take as givens began to appear—some sort of air travel, some sort of radio communication, steam locomotion. I’m not bothered by their existence in this universe, but I did want more explanation. Instead, in many cases, they simply appear. Meh.

Also, despite this eastern-based world originating post-Roman empire, there is little discussion of the impact of Greece and Rome on philosophy or technology. A few fleeting references give some credit for certain mathematical concepts to those two cultures, but otherwise they are ignored.

Also, Christianity and Judaism are assumed eradicated—which is completely within the rights of the author, but somehow unbelievable. Christianity is presumed destroyed by the plague, even though there were Christian settlements in the Middle East and Northern Africa at the time. My undergraduate major (or one of them) was religion, so I’m bothered by this religio-historical oversight. What happened to the Christians who weren’t living in Europe (and there were some)? The plague is said to have killed “all the Christians,” leaving Europe essentially vacant, while the Middle East (and presumably Africa, which also is NEVER mentioned) untouched. So what about Ethiopian Christians and Jews? I was hugely bothered by this. Perhaps you noticed that?

Basically, I was disappointed. I was hoping for an alt-history that might delve into some of the religious and philosophical issues we face today—the relationship between the three “peoples of the book”—Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. I was hoping for a novel with some insight into the cultural differences between these cultures, as promised by the promotional blurbs. What I actually found was an exposition on Buddhism as it relates to Islam as well as some philosophy on higher thought and the meaning of life.

If you enjoyed Sophie’s World, you’ll enjoy this. If you’re expecting a true alt-history, go elsewhere.

During our trip to Chicago, I had the chance to meet LawMom for coffee. This was my first in-person blogger meeting, and it was terrific! LawMom is just as personable as her blog would suggest—she’s chatty and interesting and fun, and I’m so glad we got the chance to meet. (Mr. Angst tagged along, and he tolerated our law and blawg chatter pretty well.)

And of course, we talked a lot about why we’re applying to law school and what we want to do when we’re done, and I’m just so impressed with her whole outlook on the process. Unlike me (!) she’s wanted to go to law school for such a long time. And even though other things in her life have happened first—marriage, having kids, being a stay-at-home-mom—she still wants to go. I’m so very impressed by that. I can tell LawMom really wants to be a lawyer, and I think she’ll be a terrific one.

So I’ll recommend to all you blawgers out there (and bloggers): if you get the chance, have a blogger meet! It’s fun to put a face and a voice and mannerisms to the words you’ve been reading for so long.

I can’t help but play with this sucker a lot. And yes, these look disturbingly like me.

Work	Play

When we got home last night, I checked the mail, hoping for the long-awaited admitted students’ packet from Northwestern. (I’m sort of afraid that if I don’t get it, it means they made a mistake in admitting me. Silly, I know. I bet WhyLaw understands the feeling!)

At any rate, I didn’t get the packet, but I did get a scholarship offer from GW. This is exciting to me, but only makes the decision-making process harder.

See, while we were in Chicago, Mr. Angst found out he got into his program there. Paperwork still has to be mailed, but he’s in. This is terrific—we know we’re going somewhere!—but it also has some weird downsides.

Firstly, this program isn’t his dream program. It’s a good program, and he’ll succeed in it, but it’s not his dream program.

Second, and more important, this program is really designed for working people, so all the classes are in the evening. Mr. Angst won’t be working—he wants to be a full-time student. But if we end up there, whether he works or not, he’ll be in class two or three nights a week while I’ll be in class during the day. 1 + 2 = we’ll never see each other. That would make me very sad.

So while I would still love to go to Northwestern, part of me is hoping Mr. Angst gets into his dream program in DC so we can actually spend time with each other. I love the guy and I’d kind of like to have him around. He’s in class at night now and I miss seeing him. I can’t imagine how much worse it will be when we’re both students.

The scholarship offer from GW makes DC more attractive—and the letter had a very nice, handwritten note about my experience and interests, referencing my personal statement, and that makes me feel warm and fuzzy. So now I have something else to consider in the mountain of pros and cons.

Basically, it’s still just the waiting game. Waiting and waiting and waiting. Don’t bother sending good thoughts to me anymore—send quick admissions decisions thoughts to Mr. Angst and his programs. I’d like to know where we’ll end up so I can start mentally preparing.

If you’ve never been to Austin, it will be hard for you to appreciate how much UT’s campus dominates the center of town. As you drive through on I-35, there are two major landmarks that will invariably catch your eye: the Capitol building and Royal Memorial Stadium. You’ll also note the Tower, that great big phallic symbol.

UT’s campus is BIG. It takes a long time to walk from one side to the other. It’s pretty pedestrian friendly, though, and you’ll see lots of students, faculty, and staff roaming around. You’ll also see lots of visitors since UT has several museums and the like on campus.

It’s hard for me to be objective about the campus as a whole, since I’m really familiar with it (though I did not go to UT). I’ll try, then, to focus on the Law School as a separate entity.
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