Pramod K. Uday.

 

 

          "Passion is often treated as something dangerous by the majority. In the preface of my book, 'For the Sexy, Romantic Bibliophile', I wrote:

Whenever a person chooses to be so passionate about anything, when they choose to move on to the extremes or edges, rather than remain in the safe inner regions, that person is bound to have insecurity feelings and doubts, as he rarely finds any other human souls when he looks around. Then that person may desperately seek out those with similar passions, very often just to confirm his sanity, for those who prefer the safe inner regions will definitely try to make that person return back and join the crowd, the pack, by even critically and self-righteously dubbing the odd one an insane person. (Uday, Pramod K.; Pg # 15-16)

 

          Now you might be wondering why I begin the critique of this book by quoting the preface of one of my books that has no similarity at all to the title under consideration. There may not be any similarity in the themes, but I'm led to believe that at least the authors take after each other! Derek is one of the most passionate and sincere men of letters I have seen till date!

 

          I had the time of my love reading this great intellectual adventure on paper and find myself thinking my adjectives, which I normally flaunt tastelessly, are not powerful or expressive enough to put across to you the joy and thrill and pleasure I feel, now that I have really 'studied' (and not just 'read') this awesome book from cover to cover. When it ends, you feel like you want more! You want the book to go on and on and never come to an end! As Lehmann-Haupt wrote in The New York Times about Zukav, Derek'sLove's Prison is one of "the most exciting intellectual adventures I have been on" as a reader, writer and a professional book reviewer.

 

          Derek just steals your hearts away with his endearing and desirable thirst for knowledge and also his willingness to pursue the truth, not the subjective truth, but the objective truth. What is especially laudable about this extraordinarily talented writer is his philosophical propensity and humility that makes him raise that celebrated question which was originally raised by Pilate in the Bible, "What is truth?" You find an amazingly humble writer who searches truth with unflagging zeal and passion and then when he finally unravels the mystery, steps back, resigns to a quite corner, letting the 'experts' take charge. He admits he is no expert and invites all the professionals of the art field to test his findings.

That's (the testing) is up to you scientists out there and those who know it. …. Remember, I am really no expert in any field (Bair, Derek; pg # 323)

 

          Derek had really done his best in enlarging the scope of his book and it only renders it more readable. While discussing one of the greatest geniuses of art, the immortal Leonardo da Vinci, Derek also touches on a variety of topics ranging from obesity to anger management, from religious tolerance to homosexuality.

 

Perhaps what I love the most about this book is what Derek himself calls the "interjections", where he writes about the writing process itself and also about himself. It also deals with the story behind this story, shows you what was going on in the back stage, so to speak. They look like extracts from the journals of a writer who has led an amazingly eventful and intellectually exciting life. The readers are bound to love the frankness, intimacy and the personal warmth. Putting the book down after the initial reading, I feel like I have found a kindred spirit in Derek. Might be an effect of the intimate tone of the 'interjections' (I love that apt title)

 

          This book calls for an intuitive interpretation; the subjective style militates against the acceptance of this book by those who tend to be more objective, by those who have accepted the tyranny of the left hemisphere of the brain that controls logical ratiocinations and linguistic activities. The sensitivity of Derek is bound to take you by surprise, drawing all the sensitive readers closer to him. Also note that I use the word 'sensitivity' without attaching to it any of those myriads of pejorative connotations that are normally attached to it by those who look down upon emotions and feelings.

 

          The empathic treatment of the close relationship between Da Vinci and Salai is laudable. This analysis of the relationship enables Derek to touch upon the controversial subject of homosexuality. This analysis gives us ample glimpses of Derek's tolerance, or rather, his ability to embrace and enjoy difference. This also gives him a chance to comment on the misinterpretation of the Holy Book and even worse, the inaccuracy and deliberate frivolity involved in the translation and modernization of the Holy Bible. As Derek points out, the original Biblical verse which says "A man shall not lay with a man as he would a woman" was altered (intentionally?) to "homosexuality is an abomination" in many current versions under the pretext of "simplifying" the Bible. Derek's subtle sarcasm comes through as he says "For some reason people think it's perfectly ok to change what the original words were – to intentionally make it worse." (Pg # 229)

 

Personally, what I love in this book the most is probably Derek's theory regarding Mona Lisa based on the relationship between Leonardo and Salai. I do not intend to spill the beans. Suffice it to say that it is pure genius and nothing else. Derek, you do make a valid and scientific point here and as a lover of art who lacks any expertise in art, I invite all the experts and professionals of the art field to examine Derek's theories in an objective way. Derek really deserves your attention and objective analysis. You won't be wasting your time reading and testing Derek's theories.

 

Derek is pleasantly philosophical at many sections of this book. To illustrate, he asks: 'When you're closing your eyes what is it that you're actually "seeing?" Is it complete darkness – the back of your eye lids, or your mind?' (Pg # 266)

 

We are also bound to love Derek's ideas on writing:

"I think journaling and writing about yourself and your thoughts is the single most beneficial thing you can do for yourself. It makes something real, it solidifies something. Writing is the only characteristic I can find that separates man from animal. Writing is what makes us human in many ways. It's the essence of our humanity." (Pg # 289)

The final chapter helps us see Derek's altruistic urges and also his noble ambition to wipe out hunger and to reach out and support all of humanity.

 

Passing on to the style, Derek surely needs the services of an editor. The many linguistic errors might make the book appear "less professional" to the shallow reader, who is more bothered about the dress rather than the body, the language rather than the content, almost as the stylistics of Russia who wanted to bring about revolutionary changes in Literary Criticism at the beginning of the last century. Please note that I said a "shallow reader". Being an editor myself, my meticulous and overly critical eye couldn't help noticing some of the linguistic aberrations such as a hesitancy to use past participle form of verbs, the use of semicolons instead of commas, the use of two dots as ellipsis, the use of the word 'affect' instead of 'effect' and so on. But even this 'defect', curiously, only adds to the positive impression that Derek leaves on our minds with his book. Those 'errors' could be seen as a result of the writer's passion for his ideas, that leaves him with no time to focus on the style or language. The writer loves his ideas so much and the writing of those ideas excites him so much that those ideas suck up all of his enthusiasm and energy, leaving him with no energy which he can use to check the grammatical or linguistic accuracy of his language.

 

          After all, as Derek himself says, it is all a matter of your perspective and perception. One remarkable thing about the book is the impact that it can have on your perceptions. After reading the book, I notice that my senses, especially the eyes, have been made sharper by the book. I have sort of started looking at things in a 'different' way. Just a few minutes ago, before I settled down in front of my computer to type this review, my attention was attracted by the shadow of the water in my green water bottle that I had just taken out of refrigeration. On the shadow on the wall, I noticed the water drops gracefully slithering down the sides of the bottle onto my study table. Just a normal sight of course! But after reading this book, it may not be so! It all depends on your perception. And don't take my word; just grab your copy of this wonderful book today and see for yourself!

 

To conclude, this Love's Prison is a thrilling and exciting intellectual adventure that is bound to lure and satisfy all those devoted art lovers and also all those who love intellectual stimulation and the pleasure that they derive from it. As a writer, editor and professional book reviewer, I strongly recommend this book to all."