Archis's Blog

I knew the title would catch your attention. This is just a book review on another excellent book by George Bernard Shaw. This is one of his typical preface-is-better-than-the-actual-book kind of books. The preface itself is so insightful and intriguing, that you wonder if there’s anything at all left to discuss in the rest of it.

All in all a great read. For all those who hate reading all the boring rambling comments by authors in futile attempts to make writing “seem like art”, you’ll find Bernard Shaw refreshing. He’s direct, precise, to-the-point and makes no attempt at disguising his writing under some self-concocted definition of “art”. This in itself is an art that has been lost for many years.

There isn’t one sentence in his books that don’t belong there, or that don’t contribute to the point he is making. The books are quite small and are 2-4 day reads of regular readers, and maybe an overnight read for power readers. The langauge is simple and easy. Again, no half-ass attempt at making it “seem like” art. The purpose of a book is to present a point of view. The purpose of art is expression. Bernard Shaw uses vocabulary and grammar only to the extent that he needs to express his thoughts. If use of complex phrases and impressive words don’t contribute to his point, you won’t find them anywhere. In fact, many of his biggest hits like, “Man and Superman”, and “Major Barbara” are in exceptionally simple english.

In case you get time, and you’re reading queues are empty, I’d strongly recommend “Getting Married” as your next read.

The book itself isn’t much about the process of marriage as it is an investigation into “definitions of marriage”. The book explores what “civilised gentlemen” really mean by “marriage”. GB Shaw should probably win a Nobel Prize in mathematics. He tends to follow a very strict scientific approach in analysing a situation – he first looks at symptoms, and then presents theories which fit those symptoms. And I guess most of you who’ve seen married couples should be able to see what’s really happening in the background based on their actual behaviour as compared to their verbal claims.

Maybe for someone new to Bernard Shaw plays, this may not be an effective book at the first glance. In case you want something more palatable and non-controversial, begin with “The Unsocial Socialist”, move on to “Major Barbara”, and then read “Getting Married”. Finally I feel one shouldn’t go without having read “Man and Superman”. I feel that’s one book that no “civilized” person should have not read.