CHICAGO: When his novel was originally published in Arabic in 1987 as “Mi’raj Al-Mawt,” the acclaimed work furthered the fame of celebrated Syrian novelist Mamdouh Azzam. Now, just over thirty years later, the book has been published in English with the title “Ascension to Death” and it is gripping a new audience as it unravels the story of a young girl’s fate in a southern Syrian village. In this heartbreaking tale, Azzam plays out the devastating love story of Salma and the conservative Druze village in which she is born and in which she will die.
Azzam first introduces Salma to the reader as a captive. She has been locked in a shed, her body has begun to wither and her will to live is slowly fading away. All she has are her memories of fleeting happiness, a rarity in the life of the young orphan girl who was abandoned by her mother and raised by an uncle who has never shown any affection. To Salma, marriage is her savior, not a husband, because to choose the man she wants to marry is not an option.
Azzam’s account of Salma’s life, her fate and the lives of the villagers is almost like a secret confession. He reveals the terrible truth of his main character’s life and the almost automatic complicity of the villagers as they destroy her for falling in love with the wrong man.
The villagers constantly betray Salma, meaning her relationships are often fleeting and built on shaky ground. The author writes of an environment where love is an open enemy, happiness is only meant for those who can buy it and traditions — however outdated — are treated with unfaltering respect.
Azzam delicately convinces the reader that Salma “is a sad bird in a wicked hunter’s cage” and that life can be full of misery, especially when your neither your life nor your fate is for you to decide.
Book review: ‘Ascension to Death’ tells the story of a woman with no freedom
Book review: ‘Ascension to Death’ tells the story of a woman with no freedom
- Syrian novelist Mamdouh Azzam tells the story of a young girl in Syria
- Azzam’s account of Salma’s life, her fate and the lives of the villagers is almost like a secret confession
What We Are Reading Today: A Guide to the Anolis Lizards (Anoles) of Mainland Central and South America
Author: Steven Poe
Anoles are highly visible and aesthetically pleasing lizards that are abundant throughout Central and South America.
The subjects of countless evolutionary and ecological studies that have advanced our understanding of basic principles in biology, these colorful reptiles are notoriously difficult to identify, and species names are often confusing and inconsistent.
“A Guide to the Anolis Lizards (Anoles) of Mainland Central and South America” is the first book to enable the identification of all known species of anole in the region while establishing baseline knowledge for further research.
REVIEW: ‘Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster’ offers reanimated chaos in 4K
LONDON; The “Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster” has arrived, breathing new life into Capcom’s iconic open-world zombie classic.
Almost 20 years after the original’s release, this version strikes a fine balance between a remake and a remaster, modernizing visuals, controls and gameplay while retaining its chaotic charm. With 4K resolution, smoother frame rates and gameplay improvements, “Dead Rising’s” latest iteration has, in a sense, grown up with its audience — although “grown up” might not be the best description for a game where a cactus can be a weapon.
The remaster brings you back to Willamette, Colorado, where you play as the cocky, wise-cracking photojournalist Frank West. His mission? Survive a 72-hour real-time, in-game clock ticking down inside a mall overrun by zombies, with missions to complete, bosses to fight, and absurd items to wield.
The day-night cycle brings shifting challenges and horror-movie ambiance that change the feel of each hour. You’ll often find yourself toggling between planning missions and impulsively grabbing whatever is in sight to fend off the undead. The remaster’s refined graphics and 60fps frame rate make both these approaches more fluid, whether you’re grappling with zombies or sneaking a killer snapshot.
And yes, Frank’s camera skills still matter. In addition to navigating an endless crowd of brain-hungry zombies, the game rewards you for snapping high-quality photos, encouraging you to capture the grotesque and hilarious. This adds an amusing layer of strategy and humor to the game, which doesn’t take itself too seriously. The absurd world of Dead Rising still allows you to dress Frank up in a range of ridiculous costumes, turning him from a somber zombie slayer into a comical hero fighting against the cathedral of consumerism — the mall itself.
As you progress, Frank’s skills evolve, allowing you to transform him into a near-indestructible wrestler, body-slamming zombies and crowd-surfing his way to safety. Missions often involve rescuing NPCs and escorting them to safety, and a roster of larger-than-life “Psychopath” bosses keeps the action intense. Beneath the mindless zombie slaying lies a satirical critique of American consumerism that resonates more with time; the remaster’s updated look adds to the commentary, making the mall’s neon lights and cluttered shelves all the more biting.
Of course, not all issues have been exorcised in this remaster. Some glitches linger, like the odd lift button bug that can render what should be a deadly encounter into an easy escape. Plus, it’s a shame that Capcom didn’t implement a co-op mode — a feature that could have elevated the chaotic fun to new heights.
Ultimately, “Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster” is as humorous as it is brutal, blending laughs with thrilling tension. The game continues to draw players into Frank West’s absurdly dangerous world, now rendered in beautifully gruesome detail. It’s a fantastic journey back to a familiar, zombie-filled playground — ideal for longtime fans and newcomers alike who are ready to face the horde.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Algorithms for the People’ by Josh Simons
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are reshaping our world. Police forces use them to decide where to send police officers, judges to decide whom to release on bail, welfare agencies to decide which children are at risk of abuse, and Facebook and Google to rank content and distribute ads.
In these spheres, and many others, powerful prediction tools are changing how decisions are made, narrowing opportunities for the exercise of judgment, empathy, and creativity.
In “Algorithms for the People,” Josh Simons flips the narrative about how we govern these technologies.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Physical Nature of Information’
Author: Gregory Falkovich
Applications of information theory span a broad range of disciplines today.
It teaches the tools universally used by physicists working on quantum computers and black holes, engineers designing self-driving cars, traders perfecting market strategies, chemists playing with molecules, biologists studying cells and living beings, linguists analyzing languages, and neuroscientists figuring out how the brain works.
No matter what area of science you specialize in, “The Physical Nature of Information” unlocks the power of information theory to test the limits imposed by uncertainty.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Organic Line’
- Once recognized, however, the line has seismic repercussions for rethinking foundational concepts such as mark, limit, surface, and edge
Author: IRENE SMALL
What would it mean to treat an interval of space as a line, thus drawing an empty void into a constellation of art and meaning-laden things? In this book, Irene Small elucidates the signal discovery of the Brazilian artist Lygia Clark in 1954: a fissure of space between material elements that Clark called “the organic line.”
For much of the history of art, Clark’s discovery, much like the organic line, has escaped legibility. Once recognized, however, the line has seismic repercussions for rethinking foundational concepts such as mark, limit, surface, and edge.
