Review of Coronavirian memories
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- Nino Chinonso Onwurah
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Review of Coronavirian memories
Coronavirian Memories soared beyond my expectations. Far from the coronavirus-focused discussions I anticipated, Michel Valentin confronted me with a compendium of far-reaching knowledge. Nothing could have prepared me for the musings on nature and life that this book, veiled by a simple title, elicited in me. However, my astonishment evaporated eventually; if you have the privilege of gliding through the pages of this book, you cannot but remain awestruck by the enigma of viruses.
Michel resurrected the historical accounts of previous pandemics. The horrific descriptions of the stench of death facilitated by the Athenian plague and the Black Death left my mouth agape for several moments. Covid-19 paled in comparison to some of these unrivaled plagues. Tears escaped my eyes in response to my broken heart when I learned of the fatal punishment exerted by the despairing mob on the poor souls they ignorantly accused of being the perpetrators of the plagues. Yet, as Michel pointed out, we refused to learn from history, again and again. Undoubtedly, we'll continue to pay the price.
However, do viruses deserve our hatred? This book inspired an incredible admiration of viruses within me. Arguably, as Michel reflected, these simplest of beings, existing at the boundary of life and non-life, might have been the necessary facilitators of human evolution. Michel expressed the hypothesis of recent research that links some elements of human consciousness to an ancient viral DNA transmission. The study also discovered that viral invasions account for 40–80 percent of the human genome.
Within the pages of this book, Michel has created an outstanding classic. I adore the book for confronting the reader with thought-provoking questions from which there is no escape. Are we not the real viruses of nature? Has our capitalist-induced encroachment into the wild not dispossessed these viruses of their natural habitats? Does this close brush with death not inspire an appreciation of the things that matter in life? Is nature fighting back to repair our damage? I’ll leave you to discover a lot more of these should you attempt to encounter this gadfly of human indifference to nature.
I appreciated the author's beautifully executed attempt to analyze the subject from the root. The exploration of the origins and the genetic codes of biological existence, together with the philosophical analysis of various propositions, enlightens the mind with invaluable information. The contributions from different academics added gloss to an already elegant masterpiece and lent more credence to the author’s arguments.
Interestingly, some elements I might have disliked while reading ended up being appreciated in the end. Many long sentences diminished comprehension, but these were indispensable as the author sometimes had a lot of information to squeeze into a sentence. Moreover, some topics were very technical. Again, they have to be necessarily technical, lest the substance be diluted. The question is whether you can persevere to attain the contemplative delights provoked by this book.
I rate this book four out of four. Irrespective of any other factor, the enlightenment that this book infuses deserves nothing less. I recommend this book to natural scientists and philosophers. With due inspiration from this book, political leaders and CEOs of companies can drive an enormous positive change. Till I encountered this book, I had never experienced a more compelling passion for nature.
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Coronavirian memories
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I love the part where the reader is elicited to ask if we're actually the virus.
Thanks for the beautiful review.
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If anything is more important than knowledge of the Creator, he wouldn't have said " My people die from lack of knowledge....because they did not choose to love the truth.
If it contains the truth and nothing but, then it's worth a read.
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