on eating meat: the truth about its production and the ethics of eating it, by matthew evans31/7/2019
 Chef, writer and farmer Matthew Evans tackles the thorniest of ethical issues concerning our food choices.
On Eating Meat investigates every aspect of meat production – ethical, economic, practical and environmental. In essence, argues Matthew Evans, Australians eat too much meat (three times the global average). Not only that, Australians want to eat cheap meat. And therein lies the problem. Cheap meat is ruinous to the environment, of questionable value to human health, especially when consumed in large quantities, and lastly, is terrible for animal welfare. The sections describing attempts to inspect intensive farming operations – piggeries and chicken factories, most notably – are worrying. Evans was blocked and frustrated at every step. Big corporate producers are secretive and defensive, not wanting the general public to see how they operate. What is the solution to this problem? More consumer activism for a start, whether it be at the checkout or simply demanding better welfare standards. Evans believes the debate has been set solely by animal welfare activists, especially vegans, whereas meat eaters should be taking a leading role. Ideally, he would like to see vegans and carnivores come together to advocate for better animal welfare standards. While this seems unlikely, there are good arguments made in its favour. Evans shows that whether your diet is vegetarian or vegan, animals still die as a consequence. Orchards cull animals to protect their fruit, seasonal crops kill small animals, such as rodents, egg production involves feeding unwanted male chicks into mulchers and the dairy industry produces unwanted male calves, either killed on site or sent to market. This is a book that always strives for honesty and balance, in what is often an ethical minefield. Matthew Evans leaves no stone unturned as he looks at food production and its impacts from all possible angles. Every reader will find some new fact to surprise and shock: commercial bees employed to pollinate food crops, the amount of bugs that end up in food, the rampant use of antibiotics to promote animal growth, the impact of feral cats on Australia's native wildlife, etc. A book perhaps as important as Peter Singer's Animal Liberation for its thoughtfulness and intellectual rigour. On Eating Meat: The Truth About Its Production and the Ethics of Eating It, by Matthew Evans. Published by Murdoch Books. $32.99 Review by Chris Saliba  A fascinating, brief overview of Australia's first languages.
R. M. W. Dixon is a Professor of Linguistics who specialises in Australia's first languages. Before Europeans and the English language, Australia's First Nations spoke some 250 different languages. Early on in Australia's Original Languages, Professor Dixon clears up a common misconception. The 250 languages originally spoken were not dialects. They were not variations on the same basic language, such as American English or Australian English. Each language was entirely different, with its own vocabulary, grammar and complex forms of expression. If our language reflects our emotional, social and psychological complexity, then Australia's Original Languages provides a snapshot of its speakers' nuanced and intricate modes of thought, categorisation and social organisation. For example, First Nations' kinship structures provide a broad classification system with names for every member, describing how they relate to the society at large. The key is that everyone is interrelated, and the language reflects the social structure. Some First Nations speak two languages, one a regular, mainstream language, and another, what's known as an avoidance language, used for particular relationships. This book is subtitled “An Introduction”. R. M. W. Dixon gives the broadest overview of a subject that, by its nature, has great complexity. It's a reminder of how the First Nations people who speak their own language carry within them a unique consciousness and view of the world, coupled with an expressive vocabulary and grammar. For readers who enjoyed Bruce Pascoe's brilliant Dark Emu, Australia's Original Languages provides many fascinating insights. Australia's Original Languages: An Introduction, by R. M. W. Dixon. Published by Allen & Unwin. RRP: $32.99 Review by Chris Saliba  Finnish-Kosovan author Pajtim Statovci's debut, My Cat Yugoslavia, mixes surreal invention with late twentieth century history to examine the trauma of war and displacement.
Bekim is a young man born to Albanian parents. He has four other siblings, three sisters and one brother. When war breaks out in the early 1990s, the family must flee their home in Kosovo. Bajram, the socially conservative father, considers moving to America or Australia, but finally settles on Finland. Life in Finland, an advanced democracy with a first class economy, turns out to be a place hostile to foreigners. While Bajram and his wife Emine watch the news, with its daily stories of their country being ripped apart by war, their children find their own identities torn. Neither Finnish or Albanian, they don't fit in anywhere and drift emotionally from their parents. Pajtim Statovci's debut novel My Cat Yugoslavia (translated by David Hackston) runs two parallel stories, of mother and son. First the reader is introduced to Bekim. He's gay, somewhat emotionally detached and is struggling to form a permanent relationship. For company, he buys a pet boa constrictor, a muscular creature that is nonetheless quite placid. Later, in a bar he meets a cat that wears human clothes and talks. He invites the cat back to his flat, but discovers the cat is xenophobic and homophobic. The second story is a history of his mother, Emine, from the time she marries as a teenager to when her children are finally grown, covering the time span from 1980 – 2008. She endures a horrible “traditional” marriage, is beaten and treated like a slave rather than a wife. Despite these hardships, she sometimes feels pity for her husband and can understand his grief in losing his country. There is much to enjoy in this fine debut. Pajtim Statovci writes an urgent and compelling prose that is hard to put down. His subject matter – loss, displacement, generational trauma – comes from a place of personal experience, giving his story authenticity (Statovci's family fled Kosovo in the early nineties). For those who have forgotten the Balkan Wars, My Cat Yugoslavia is a stark reminder of the atrocities suffered during those years. Statovci also adds surrealistic features (mysterious cats and laid back snakes), giving his story a pleasantly beguiling aspect. A fascinating debut and an author to watch. My Cat Yugoslavia, by Pajtim Statovci. Published by Pushkin Press. RRP: $19.99 Review by Chris Saliba  A little known Russian master of the short story.
Nikolai Leskov began his writing career as a journalist, was a contemporary of such Russian greats as Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, and started publishing fiction in 1862. He traveled widely around his homeland of Russia and was intimately acquainted with all levels of society, a knowledge that is reflected in his stories and novellas. He wrote several full length novels, but it is the shorter form in which he excelled. The Enchanted Wanderer and Other Stories, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, is a collection of Leskov’s best. The stories in large part describe 19th century Russian life, although at break neck speed. There’s never a dull moment. Socially, the focus is on the clergy, the military, tradesmen, artisans and the many roles women play. In one of Leskov’s most famous stories, "The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk", bored housewife Katerina takes up with the farmhand Sergei and undertakes several murders, allowing her to seize control of her husband’s considerable estate. While it is a breathtaking story of unrepentant wickedness, it also highlights women's expected role as submissive servants to house and husband. Other stories exemplify a society that is deeply superstitious, with a runaway imagination. “The Spook”, an engaging story about a poor social outcast living on the fringe of town, shows how the misunderstood can find themselves turned into an ogre and scapegoat for anything that goes wrong. The great thing about Leskov’s short stories are their sheer energy and verve. Everything travels at a rate of knots, with snappy dialogue and a host of buoyant characters. There’s much humour and humanity here, too. Leskov takes pity and forgives the human condition, while also exploiting it ruthlessly for entertainment value. These stories are a joy to read, like nothing you’ve ever read before, and like all great literature, one reading will never be enough. The Enchanted Wanderer and Other Stories, by Nikolai Leskov. Published by Vintage Classics. $24.99 Review by Chris Saliba  Dostoevsky wrote The Eternal Husband between two of his major works,The Idiot and The Devils. It's a lesser known novel that should not be overlooked.
The Eternal Husband opens with the rich landowner Velchaninov fretting over a legal case concerning an estate. He's a hypochondriac, a flighty, nervous type who is haunted by memories from his past. Velchaninov tries to rise above his personal demons, giving himself pep talks that he is managing, even overcoming his problems. But still, the scenes of his past keep returning in his mind's eye, many of them shameful. If only he could put these ghosts away and enjoy his status as a respected landowner. Making matters worse is the appearance of a strange man. This unknown man has an uncanny habit of reappearing again and again. Velchaninov almost feels that he is being taunted, that the flickering, inquisitive eyes of the stranger are indeed a reproach, even a challenge. Velchaninov becomes utterly paranoid until things build to a climax. The man hovers outside his lodgings. Unable to stand the suspense any longer, Velchaninov opens the door. They stand face to face, but something strange happens. Velchaninov recognises the man. He is Trusotsky. The two men were friends a decade ago. A complicating factor is Velchaninov's relationship with Trusotsky's wife, Natalya – they were having an affair. Natalya has now passed away, leaving only a daughter, Liza, who may be Velchaninov's. Does Trusotsky know? Is Liza Velchaninov's daughter? The psychological game of cat-and-mouse played out in The Eternal Husbandreads like an absurdist farce. Both main characters, Velchaninov and Trusotsky, are highly strung and continually dance around each other, keeping their cards close to their chests, trying to outmanoeuvre each other. What the theme of the novel is remains a mystery, however Dostoevsky excels at bringing to life our changeable, inconsistent natures, forever haunted by bad memories, paranoia and fevered daydreams. Dostoevsky doesn't paint these human failings as tragic, but rather as comic. There's an operatic, almost campy madness to most of the narrative. In one memorable scene Trusotsky raves deliriously to Velchaninov about how much he admires him, and then kisses him on the hand. Moments later Trusotsky demands Velchaninov kiss him back (“do kiss me!”), which he does, on the lips. A highly accomplished, utterly original portrait of the human psyche in its everyday, disordered state. The Eternal Husband, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Published by Alma Classics. $14.99 Review by Chris Saliba |
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