Page 82 - EW August 2025

Books

him. Even his wife Amina, a distinctive value system
mother of his seven chil- mandating absolute faith STOLEN FOCUS: WHY YOU CAN'T
dren in a gesture of defi- in Allah. Yet in the last PAY ATTENTION
ance walks out “to get an story, an unnamed wife Johann Hari
operation done.” thrown on the wayside BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING
Open, continuous and with her children cries Rs.599
uninterrupted oppres- out heartrendingly at the Pages 240
sion of women by way of injustice heaped on her:
incessant child-bearing “If you were to build the
and rearing, fear of talaq, world again, to create
the husband’s right to males and females again… focus of people — espe- In this timely oeuvre
marry four wives (with Come to earth as a woman, cially GenZ — worldwide. the author alerts the
most women ignorant Prabhu!” Among them: increase world that latter-day
of the conditions prec- In this evocative an- of speed, switching and tech maladies are
edent), demands for dowry thology, Banu Mushtaq filtering on digital media; stealing the minds,
instead of paying mehr has stepped out of her collapse of sustained read- attention and focus
(bride price) are underly- community and regional ing; mind-wandering; rise of people worldwide,
ing issues which shape environment to voice the of tracking and manipula- especially Gen Z
the stories, focused on the pain of the disempowered tive technologies; surge in
fragile position of Mus- in a multicultural and stress levels worldwide;
lim women guaranteed multilingual world. Litera- deteriorating diets and ris- scrollers and browsers.
equal rights under the ture has provided her what ing pollution; rise of global For them, “when the
Constitution. Even young she describes a “space” ADHD (attention deficit consumer sleeps, business
girls like Asifa and Salma to celebrate diversity and hyperactivity disorder); sleeps,” notes Hari.
are obliged to sacrifice accept difference enabling and the trend of confin- As a result sleep de-
carefree childhood when her to bridge the distance ing children physically privation and its natural
forced to become caregiv- between the individual and psychologically from consequence, slowing
ers of younger siblings and the global community. youngest age. minds and mental agility
and perpetually pregnant JAYATI GHOSH To alert the world that a has become ubiquitous.
mothers. massive pandemic of sto- According to Hari, 40
This selection of short len focus is likely to lead to percent of Americans, 23
fictional stories embodies Timely warning cognitive decline of global percent Brits, and overall,
echoes of oral language, scale, the author has taken 15 percent of the Western
colloquial expressions and N THIS TIMELY great pains. This book world are sleep deprived.
a cultural ambience that oeuvre, Johann Hari, is replete with dozens of The average American
is brilliantly translated. Ian acclaimed author interviews with technol- spends 17 minutes on
In her translation Deepa whose books Chasing the ogy leaders and savants, reading, 5.30 hours daily
Bhasthi has radically Scream (2015), Lost Con- academics, psychologists, on his cellphone, and 20
incorporated Kannada, nections (2018) have been neurologists, scientists, percent of road accidents
Arabic and Urdu words published in 40 languages, researchers and authori- are due to digital distrac-
into English without and adapted for movies ties on behaviourial and tion. The average Ameri-
alienating or exoticising and television serials and social sciences. It is truly a can teen believes he can
languages by using italics. whose TED talks have labour of love. follow six to seven forms
Use of traditional honorif- attracted over 80 million From these interviews of media at the same time.
ics — Amma and Abba, viewers, warns about a and investigations, the Information overload is
Chikkappa and Chikkam- new epidemic sweeping author concludes that the increasing the pace of life
ma, Bhai Saheb, Bhabhi, the world — the erosion of modus operandi of tech and burdening people of
Doddamma — create con- concentration and dilution giants of Silicon Valley and all ages — especially youth
versational drama rooted of cognitive capabilities. Palo Alto — Google, Meta, — with a growing stress
in the real and quotidian. In this tome of over 300 Twitter, Instagram — is to mountain.
The sound of the aazan, densely packed pages, the continue innovating and The importance of sleep
recitation of namaz, un- author lists the causes and developing algorithms adequacy is highlighted in
dertaking the Hajj, saying effects of latter-day tech that keep users hooked to a full chapter. Hari writes
a dua, recalling a kafan maladies that are stealing an ever-growing number that the modern world
and kabristhan, construct the minds, attention and of attention-grabbing is living to the rhythm of

82 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2025