In The Light Of What We Know Zia Haider Rahman

De verwachting was, na DWDD en alle andere spetterende reviews, hoog gespannen .... maar er was niet om doorheen te komen ..... Van de hak op de tak, van de ene naar de andere verteller, sprongen voor- en achteruit in de tijd ....

En wat weten we nu eigenlijk? Ik heb werkelijk geen idee!

It's September 2008 when a haunted man rings a doorbell in the well-off residential area Kensington in London. It takes the storyteller a while to recognize his friend Zafar from Oxford in the haggard man at his doorstep. As he lets Zafar in, he becomes the witness of a thrilling tale that ends up as a half-told confession. Both men have a Pakistan background and studied mathematics in Oxford. The story is a typical 21-st century tale in that it uses the banking crisis and the Iraq and Afghan wars as a background. It subtly shows how Pakistani or other 'foreigners' are never fully integrated into society, leading to problems with loyalty. It also sheds light on the untold story of the practice of war and subsequent reconstruction by swarms of consultants who are mainly interested in each other and the lavish salaries.
As could be expected from a storyteller who is a mathematician by training, the story is beautifully crafted, well paced and it keeps the half-told confession behind until the final few pages. The language is rich, eloquent and full of references, underlining the Oxford education.
Why should you read this book? Because it offers you a glimpse behind the facades of banks, ministries, non-governmental organizations and armies that determine most of today's news. Writer Zia Haider Rahman has a rich and varied background in Bangladesh, Oxford, Walls Street and international human rights. In the troubled Zafar, Rahman has created a powerful and vivacious vehicle for his thoughts and observations and doubts about our world in turmoil.
The hidden theme, although it features in the book's title, is not so much the east-west juxtaposition. Rahman frequently cites Gödel's theorem about the limits of what we can know - even in mathematics. World visions rest on assumptions of which we can never be sure. Evidently, the visions of neoconservatives and mullahs are worlds apart. However, it's logically impossible to tell who is right.

Vaak verwarrend geschreven, verhaallijn niet altijd duidelijk. Echter, wanneer je je door het eerste deel heen weet te worstelen, zeer de moeite waard!

Niet perse het boek van de maand wat mij betreft. Er zitten mooie en boeiende stukken in (vooral waar de schrijver de tegenstelling tussen arm/rijk blank/zwart beschrijft), maar ik heb af en toe ook passages overgeslagen omdat het me teveel geneuzel was.