Again with the length, Chris. A book in a day is doable, regardless of length (within reason), but even so, 500 pages of literary fiction wasn't on paper the quickest read, even factoring in three hours or so of travelling to get to grips with it. But having been recently recommended it very strongly, the fact I'd been meaning to read it for ages anyway, and finally with it having been chosen for a forthcoming book club, it must have been fate. Or something.
And so my penultimate book of the year was Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty. It even has the distinction of being a Booker winner, so that's another one I can tick off on that count too. It was also a very good one and it's certainly much easier to read a book in a day if it's good and you're enjoying it and this definitely succeeded on both counts. Set in the Thatcherite heydays of the 1980s, it has everything you would expect from that decade – money, class, politics, homosexuality, sex, drugs, AIDS, snobbery, prejudice and hypocrisy by the shed load.
For the most part a celebration of the decade, at least as far as most of the characters are concerned, for they live lives apart from the masses. Yet throughout there are portents and shadows of things to come and in the third part of the book, things come crashing down as, to mix my metaphors, the dark underbelly of the decade rears its ugly head. The savagery and hypocrisy with which this happens, the limits to the tolerance shown throughout, the destruction of relationships and friendships, leads one to as whether they were really there or if simply it was convenience or the classic fair-weather friend scenario as the protagonist gets hung out to dry.
Throughout it, the lives of the people involved are woven together with skill and the writing is, like much of the subject matter, at least to the characters and possibly the author, a thing of beauty. The imagery and idea of lines is referenced throughout, but whether these things are natural or artificial (superficial?) varies depending on the observer. A coming of age story, a family affair and definitely a moral tale too, this book superbly captures many facets of a decade much maligned, ruled by greed and strife, and does so with a streak of dark humour throughout.
Book number: 99
Title: The Line of Beauty
Author: Alan Hollinghurst
Category: Books that have been sat on my bookshelf for too long
Friday, 30 December 2011
Thursday, 29 December 2011
Don't look back in amber
With three books left to read and the date rapidly approaching Christmas Eve, it would probably make sense to stick to something short and sweet. Three helpings of Spot the Dog, for example. However, these cursed categories meant that such a plan wasn't really a possibility. And while I like Spot, I also wanted to read what I wanted to read. Which would probably explain why I decided it would be a good idea to get stuck into an 800 page behemoth. In actual fact it was a quintet (or pentad, if you prefer) collected together, but either way it was a bit of a beast.
It was also Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny, one of a set of classic fantasy stories that I have now collected all of and read at least half of. And it seemed like a good idea to tackle it at the time. Combining snippets of a modern setting with the true city world, Amber, and the infinite number of reflections, or Shadows, it deals with the royal family, a classic example of blood being thicker than the proverbial. All centuries old, they have many rivalries and friendships as they all play what could happily be called a game of thrones.
Through deceit, lies, memory and skill with arms and words, the reader follows Corwin, Crown Prince of Amber as he tries to pick his way through a series of challenges in order to gain and then protect the throne from not only his siblings, but also a series of outside influences from the Court of Chaos. A masterwork for a reason, the mysteries are unravelled amidst the politicking and the nature of power and those who seek it is brought into question. One thing I will comment on though is the copyediting (or the typesetting), as the book was riddled with so many errors it was ridiculous. I'm aware of how easy it is to make mistakes and I'm sure there are numerous typos throughout the blog, never mind my day job, but the number that slipped through the net in this case was rather silly.
Book number: 98
Title: Chronicles of Amber
Author: Roger Zelazny
Category: Books with colours in the title
It was also Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny, one of a set of classic fantasy stories that I have now collected all of and read at least half of. And it seemed like a good idea to tackle it at the time. Combining snippets of a modern setting with the true city world, Amber, and the infinite number of reflections, or Shadows, it deals with the royal family, a classic example of blood being thicker than the proverbial. All centuries old, they have many rivalries and friendships as they all play what could happily be called a game of thrones.
Through deceit, lies, memory and skill with arms and words, the reader follows Corwin, Crown Prince of Amber as he tries to pick his way through a series of challenges in order to gain and then protect the throne from not only his siblings, but also a series of outside influences from the Court of Chaos. A masterwork for a reason, the mysteries are unravelled amidst the politicking and the nature of power and those who seek it is brought into question. One thing I will comment on though is the copyediting (or the typesetting), as the book was riddled with so many errors it was ridiculous. I'm aware of how easy it is to make mistakes and I'm sure there are numerous typos throughout the blog, never mind my day job, but the number that slipped through the net in this case was rather silly.
Book number: 98
Title: Chronicles of Amber
Author: Roger Zelazny
Category: Books with colours in the title
The people's princess
Well, ok, not the People's Princess – I get enough of her from the Little Fat One, including a bizarre reenactment of a famous car crash in Paris during a family game, though that's a different story – but rather a princess for the people. Which is perhaps the kind of thing that only happens in fairy stories. And now I have the Monkees stuck in my head. Hmm. You may, quite rightly, wonder what the hell I'm rambling on about this time, but it all kind of makes sense, in my head at least. And in some ways this kind of vaguely anecdotal riffing is quite fitting for a fairy story that is both wonderful in and of itself, as well as holding up a mirror to the genre as a whole.
I refer, of course, to William Goldman's The Princess Bride. Which was right up my street really, and finally made sense of one of those quotes that infiltrate your consciousness somewhere along the lines, yet you have no idea from whence it came. If you know the book or, more likely, the film, you probably know which one. Anyway, it was a name I knew, but knew nothing about and as it turned out, I can only really say I wish I'd known about it sooner.
I've always been a sucker for the fantastic, for a happy ending, and for a well-told tale – this gave me all three. The "author's" narrative interwoven with the story itself added an extra layer to the story, giving it a different perspective and peering closely at the nature of fairies stories and of the nature of storytelling itself – how we deal with tragedy, what we tell people to protect them, and life's hardest lesson, that no, it is very much not fair. Throw in an entertaining cast, full of seemingly archetypal characters, but who all have rather more going for them, a classic adventure yarn, and a narrator of no small skill and you have all the ingredients for a fine novel. Even better, they were blended together successfully in order to create a book worthy of them.
Book number: 97
Title: The Princess Bride
Author: William Goldman
Category: Charlotte's choice
I refer, of course, to William Goldman's The Princess Bride. Which was right up my street really, and finally made sense of one of those quotes that infiltrate your consciousness somewhere along the lines, yet you have no idea from whence it came. If you know the book or, more likely, the film, you probably know which one. Anyway, it was a name I knew, but knew nothing about and as it turned out, I can only really say I wish I'd known about it sooner.
I've always been a sucker for the fantastic, for a happy ending, and for a well-told tale – this gave me all three. The "author's" narrative interwoven with the story itself added an extra layer to the story, giving it a different perspective and peering closely at the nature of fairies stories and of the nature of storytelling itself – how we deal with tragedy, what we tell people to protect them, and life's hardest lesson, that no, it is very much not fair. Throw in an entertaining cast, full of seemingly archetypal characters, but who all have rather more going for them, a classic adventure yarn, and a narrator of no small skill and you have all the ingredients for a fine novel. Even better, they were blended together successfully in order to create a book worthy of them.
Book number: 97
Title: The Princess Bride
Author: William Goldman
Category: Charlotte's choice
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Changing rooms
And so earlier this week, the final book club session of the year was held. Still going strong into its third year now, I'm still enjoying it and every time the mix of people, the range of opinions and the chance to chat with good company and share ideas make it a great experience. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the concept, but I really like it. Even if I feel pretty stupid at times compared to some of the fantastic minds brought to bear on the subject at hand. And I still like the fact it throws up things that I'd not usually choose for myself.
Such as E.M. Forster's A Room with a View. Never read any Forster before now but did rather like it. It was short (a bonus for both book club and this challenge) and amusing, being a satire on English pretensions and values, a social comedy if you will and definitely reminded me of Evelyn Waugh. Which is a good thing, by the way. It did take me a while to get into and I preferred the second part in England more than the opening in Italy, but it was wittily observed and cleverly written. Indeed, stylistically, I'd not have guessed it's now over a century old. Which is also intended as a compliment.
And with a lot of chat about the film adaptation, a viewing of which occurred straight after the discussion, it was certainly very faithful to the book. I liked the way it was put together, even if some of the characters weren't quite how I imagined them and it kept the humour of the story very well. My companion felt it lacked the energy of the book and was, I sense, slightly disappointed by it, but perhaps the more so because she really liked the book. Some cast though and I was glad to have seen it.
Book number: 96
Title: A Room with a View
Author: E.M. Forster
Category: Book club/recommendations
Such as E.M. Forster's A Room with a View. Never read any Forster before now but did rather like it. It was short (a bonus for both book club and this challenge) and amusing, being a satire on English pretensions and values, a social comedy if you will and definitely reminded me of Evelyn Waugh. Which is a good thing, by the way. It did take me a while to get into and I preferred the second part in England more than the opening in Italy, but it was wittily observed and cleverly written. Indeed, stylistically, I'd not have guessed it's now over a century old. Which is also intended as a compliment.
And with a lot of chat about the film adaptation, a viewing of which occurred straight after the discussion, it was certainly very faithful to the book. I liked the way it was put together, even if some of the characters weren't quite how I imagined them and it kept the humour of the story very well. My companion felt it lacked the energy of the book and was, I sense, slightly disappointed by it, but perhaps the more so because she really liked the book. Some cast though and I was glad to have seen it.
Book number: 96
Title: A Room with a View
Author: E.M. Forster
Category: Book club/recommendations
What I talk about when I talk about love
By which I mean (and By which I mean I'm referring to the title), this book. Pretty much. Put simply, A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan was one of the best things I've read in a very long time. Stunningly good on just about every level. It was funny, sad, wise, touching, uplifting, warm, beautiful, witty, satirical, had a massive heart, broke mine and repaired it more than once during its course, and overall pretty bloody good really. It made me laugh, it made me cry and verily I loved it.
So what's it like then? Other than the aforementioned, obviously. It's like J.D. Salinger without the neuroses, Douglas Coupland minus the geekery, Jeffrey Eugenides with added zip and zing, Irvine Welsh with a bigger heart, Kazuo Ishiguro on speed, Nick Hornby with more sex and drugs (but no less rock and roll) and a whole lot more, as well as being itself. And like I said, pretty bloody good.
Following the lives of an interconnected group of people across different periods of their lives, it captures the moments when lives collide, seeing into people's worlds, the events that shape them, witnessing their failures, disconnectivity and disappointments, but also seeking redemption, nurturing friendships and finding happiness. The connectivity of the stories, growing and changing with characters as we move back and forth through time, and the genuine warmth towards the characters.
A worthy winner of the Pulitzer, absolutely no question in my eyes and the news that it's being adapted for TV by HBO certainly has me curious to see what they do with it. In the meantime, while it's in production, you could do an awful lot worse than reading. Go on, I dare you.
Book number: 95
Title: A Visit From the Goon Squad
Author: Jennifer Egan
Category: Pulitzer Prize winners
So what's it like then? Other than the aforementioned, obviously. It's like J.D. Salinger without the neuroses, Douglas Coupland minus the geekery, Jeffrey Eugenides with added zip and zing, Irvine Welsh with a bigger heart, Kazuo Ishiguro on speed, Nick Hornby with more sex and drugs (but no less rock and roll) and a whole lot more, as well as being itself. And like I said, pretty bloody good.
Following the lives of an interconnected group of people across different periods of their lives, it captures the moments when lives collide, seeing into people's worlds, the events that shape them, witnessing their failures, disconnectivity and disappointments, but also seeking redemption, nurturing friendships and finding happiness. The connectivity of the stories, growing and changing with characters as we move back and forth through time, and the genuine warmth towards the characters.
A worthy winner of the Pulitzer, absolutely no question in my eyes and the news that it's being adapted for TV by HBO certainly has me curious to see what they do with it. In the meantime, while it's in production, you could do an awful lot worse than reading. Go on, I dare you.
Book number: 95
Title: A Visit From the Goon Squad
Author: Jennifer Egan
Category: Pulitzer Prize winners
Short and sweet
Short stories are something I don't read a lot of. In spire of this, I do enjoy a good short story and there's definitely an art to them. Indeed, I suggested it as a possible category for this very challenge, but the idea was vetoed. On my mental reading list for a long time now has been to give this area some love and in particular some love to Raymond Carver, as his reputation as a master of his craft preceded him.
And for my birthday I was served What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. As it transpires, what we talk about is an awful lot of things. And of everything about his writing, which was sharp, direct and spare (excellent, in other words), his dialogue was brilliant. It captured the way people really speak and interact. Each story (and some were very short indeed) worked as a snapshot and despite the lack of links between them, there was certainly an overall feel to them, a flavour, a sense of place.
So basically I liked it just as much as I thought I would, which is pretty hard to complain about when I had pretty high expectations in the first place. I will definitely look to try some more, Carver's canon is not large, and then I shall move on to other short stories. David Vann has been mentioned in the same breath and I liked Caribou Island from way back over Easter, so watch this space...
Book number: 94
Title: What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
Author: Raymond Carver
Category: Chris' choice
And for my birthday I was served What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. As it transpires, what we talk about is an awful lot of things. And of everything about his writing, which was sharp, direct and spare (excellent, in other words), his dialogue was brilliant. It captured the way people really speak and interact. Each story (and some were very short indeed) worked as a snapshot and despite the lack of links between them, there was certainly an overall feel to them, a flavour, a sense of place.
So basically I liked it just as much as I thought I would, which is pretty hard to complain about when I had pretty high expectations in the first place. I will definitely look to try some more, Carver's canon is not large, and then I shall move on to other short stories. David Vann has been mentioned in the same breath and I liked Caribou Island from way back over Easter, so watch this space...
Book number: 94
Title: What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
Author: Raymond Carver
Category: Chris' choice
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Smuggle up by the fire
If there's one kind of pre-20th century book that I do go for, this year seems to have highlighted that I do enjoy a good adventure yarn. Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas, throw in a dash of Holmes, a pinch of mystery and suspense, and garnish with some swashbuckling and I'm likely to be sold.
J. Meade Falkner's Moonfleet was therefore pretty much ideal when I stumbled across it. A tale of smuggling and the sea, treasure and treachery, it certainly ticked all of the requisite boxes. And I seemed to rattle through it at a fair enough pace, which is no bad thing as the year is drawing to an end and I've not had so much time to devote to the pleasures of the printed word.
Anyway, it largely did what it said on the tin. I liked the Dorset setting, especially as I'm now passingly familiar with some of the places and the ongoing theme of the 'Y' and the making of decisions and their implications was a neat touch. I was slightly suprised at the scale of the adversity faced by our hero and his mentor, which went beyond what I would suppose to be the norm, and I wasn't actually expecting the ending that came. I thought it was more like to be a moral tale than one of material gain, but following matrimony, it ended up being both. And because it was a little unexpected, I suppose I liked it all the more.
Book number: 93
Title: Moonfleet
Author: J. Meade Falkner
Category: Pre-20th century fiction
J. Meade Falkner's Moonfleet was therefore pretty much ideal when I stumbled across it. A tale of smuggling and the sea, treasure and treachery, it certainly ticked all of the requisite boxes. And I seemed to rattle through it at a fair enough pace, which is no bad thing as the year is drawing to an end and I've not had so much time to devote to the pleasures of the printed word.
Anyway, it largely did what it said on the tin. I liked the Dorset setting, especially as I'm now passingly familiar with some of the places and the ongoing theme of the 'Y' and the making of decisions and their implications was a neat touch. I was slightly suprised at the scale of the adversity faced by our hero and his mentor, which went beyond what I would suppose to be the norm, and I wasn't actually expecting the ending that came. I thought it was more like to be a moral tale than one of material gain, but following matrimony, it ended up being both. And because it was a little unexpected, I suppose I liked it all the more.
Book number: 93
Title: Moonfleet
Author: J. Meade Falkner
Category: Pre-20th century fiction
Sunday, 11 December 2011
The culture of affluence
A worringly large number of years after graduating from my first degree, I have finally accomplished something perhaps I should have done at the time. Admittedly it doesn't seem to have done me too much harm, but I can at last now claim to have fully got to grips with it. My special subject in final year was on the culture of affluence, Britain in the 1950s and 1960s – and I unashamedly loved it. The politics, the social and cultural changes, and even, to a lesser extent, the actual economics.
And now, finally, I can say I've read what was probably the most influential economic text of the period, John Kennet Galbraith's The Affluent Society. Light bedtime reading it probably is not, but it was pretty accessible, which was fine by me. It gave a basic overview of the development of economic thought (useful for simpletons such as myself), before going on to explain the current problems of the existing system, at least from the author's perspective. Although first published almost 60 years ago now, it was interesting to see how little has changed in that period. Indeed, few of the problems have been rectified and if anything, they have been exarcerbated.
Still, it was interesting to understand more about how theories fit in with practice and the historical precedents which are used and have been applied over time with varying degrees of success. Mr Galbraith was clearly a wise man who had an exceptional grasp of his subject, not least in the fact he was able to make it relatively accessible to a lay reader. Just a shame that his message and ideas seem not to have been picked up on by those with the ability to do something about how we live.
Book number: 92
Title: The Affluent Society
Author: John Kenneth Galbraith
Category: Non-fiction
And now, finally, I can say I've read what was probably the most influential economic text of the period, John Kennet Galbraith's The Affluent Society. Light bedtime reading it probably is not, but it was pretty accessible, which was fine by me. It gave a basic overview of the development of economic thought (useful for simpletons such as myself), before going on to explain the current problems of the existing system, at least from the author's perspective. Although first published almost 60 years ago now, it was interesting to see how little has changed in that period. Indeed, few of the problems have been rectified and if anything, they have been exarcerbated.
Still, it was interesting to understand more about how theories fit in with practice and the historical precedents which are used and have been applied over time with varying degrees of success. Mr Galbraith was clearly a wise man who had an exceptional grasp of his subject, not least in the fact he was able to make it relatively accessible to a lay reader. Just a shame that his message and ideas seem not to have been picked up on by those with the ability to do something about how we live.
Book number: 92
Title: The Affluent Society
Author: John Kenneth Galbraith
Category: Non-fiction
Pride and prejudice
Right now, what with the season of goodwill approaching and my social life going into overdrive, probably the first word that springs to mind regarding this blog (and also my reading habits) is neglect. However, approaching the next title, the words that sprang most to mind were those two Ps: pride and prejudice. The former is not something I possess in abundance, I'm happy to try new things and willing to speak my mind and stick my neck out and not worry about embarrassing myself. The latter is something I try to avoid too, preferring to judge and to speak from a position where I am qualified to do so.
And on that note, while I'm happy to pour scorn on Twilight (and a large number of people who I usually believe to have good taste have fallen foul of this one), I have never read it, though I will admit that a lot of what I've heard isn't positive. Anyway, I no doubt will eventually grapple with it (or maybe life's just too short), but I have just finshed reading Stephenie Meyer's other book, The Host. I'd been told a variety of things about this, from "It's actually quite good" to "A good idea, terribly executed" and now I can actually put some thoughts together on this one.
Where to begin? Well, a great writer she ain't. More disappointing is the fact that there was a lot of potential for it, but sadly very little of it was realised. In terms of the story, well, it was only twice as long as it needed to be to tell, well, not very much. A quarter of the way in, having been pleasantly surprised by the growing relationship between the two protagonists (human and soul) and the fact I assumed it would be a quest novel and had been proved wrong, I had reasonably high hopes that it could go in a few different interesting ways. Sadly, having shared these ideas at this stage, I was told I was going to be disappointed. I was. At this point, very little happened both in terms of story progression and character development and the potentially kick-ass dystopian fight for freedom or internal conflict never happened. There wasn't even any freaky alien sex – Meyer, you clearly have some very fucked up fantasies – to chuckle at.
So perhaps it was what I was told, a good idea badly executed. The concept was an interesting one but instead of something interesting, all I got was a bizarre love triangle (square?) and a lukewarm relationship drama from the back of a cereal box. It could have been so much more and I think it's that which disappointed me the most.
Book number: 91
Title: The Host
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Category: Charlotte's choice
And on that note, while I'm happy to pour scorn on Twilight (and a large number of people who I usually believe to have good taste have fallen foul of this one), I have never read it, though I will admit that a lot of what I've heard isn't positive. Anyway, I no doubt will eventually grapple with it (or maybe life's just too short), but I have just finshed reading Stephenie Meyer's other book, The Host. I'd been told a variety of things about this, from "It's actually quite good" to "A good idea, terribly executed" and now I can actually put some thoughts together on this one.
Where to begin? Well, a great writer she ain't. More disappointing is the fact that there was a lot of potential for it, but sadly very little of it was realised. In terms of the story, well, it was only twice as long as it needed to be to tell, well, not very much. A quarter of the way in, having been pleasantly surprised by the growing relationship between the two protagonists (human and soul) and the fact I assumed it would be a quest novel and had been proved wrong, I had reasonably high hopes that it could go in a few different interesting ways. Sadly, having shared these ideas at this stage, I was told I was going to be disappointed. I was. At this point, very little happened both in terms of story progression and character development and the potentially kick-ass dystopian fight for freedom or internal conflict never happened. There wasn't even any freaky alien sex – Meyer, you clearly have some very fucked up fantasies – to chuckle at.
So perhaps it was what I was told, a good idea badly executed. The concept was an interesting one but instead of something interesting, all I got was a bizarre love triangle (square?) and a lukewarm relationship drama from the back of a cereal box. It could have been so much more and I think it's that which disappointed me the most.
Book number: 91
Title: The Host
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Category: Charlotte's choice
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Life of Brian
This is actually the second book I've read this year by an author I've had the pleasure of meeting. Admittedly they were at completely different stages of their careers – the first a Booker Prize winner with a rich legacy of work, the second a debut novelist writing for a small independent publisher. But he was a very nice young chap (indeed, I imagine he's a little younger than me), very funny and charming and slightly awkwardly eccentric in a very English kind of way. But then I like that, so I'm certainly not registering this as a complaint. Anyway, having heard him talk about both his book and the process of writing it, getting it published and then promoting it, I was certainly interested enough to want to read it – and I don't think I was the only one who walked away thinking that.
Cult Fiction – I do like the title – by Ardie Collins is a satirical look at religion. The quote before the story starts is from Douglas Adams and the influence of the eternal hitchhiker is very obvious throughout the book in its style. The surreal streak, the asides, the talking directly to the reader is clearly the product of a rich history of English eccentricity, no doubt taking in other standards such as Monty Python and Terry Pratchett. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it does appeal to me and I enjoyed it. It wasn't just a cheap, quickly abandoned gimmick, and the references to prior events and the clever ending show that there was a plot and not just a series of random interconected thoughts that somehow ended up in story form.
Indeed, it's message is very much like Life of Brian. Basically, it pokes fun at the problems with organised religion, interpretation of events and how things develop in completely different ways to how they were intended. Poor Stephen, the hero of our tale loses his home and his faith (the two are connected) and while trying to figure things out, inadvertently ends up starting a cult. The willingness of people to follow anyone is highlighted as the aptly named Brian hijacks the group and essentially starts telling people what to do – think "Yes, we're all individuals" and you get the gist of it. It's not wholly original, but it is fun, entertaining, nicely plotted and puts its point across well so it works for me.
Book number: 90
Title: Cult Fiction
Author: Ardie Collins
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
Cult Fiction – I do like the title – by Ardie Collins is a satirical look at religion. The quote before the story starts is from Douglas Adams and the influence of the eternal hitchhiker is very obvious throughout the book in its style. The surreal streak, the asides, the talking directly to the reader is clearly the product of a rich history of English eccentricity, no doubt taking in other standards such as Monty Python and Terry Pratchett. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it does appeal to me and I enjoyed it. It wasn't just a cheap, quickly abandoned gimmick, and the references to prior events and the clever ending show that there was a plot and not just a series of random interconected thoughts that somehow ended up in story form.
Indeed, it's message is very much like Life of Brian. Basically, it pokes fun at the problems with organised religion, interpretation of events and how things develop in completely different ways to how they were intended. Poor Stephen, the hero of our tale loses his home and his faith (the two are connected) and while trying to figure things out, inadvertently ends up starting a cult. The willingness of people to follow anyone is highlighted as the aptly named Brian hijacks the group and essentially starts telling people what to do – think "Yes, we're all individuals" and you get the gist of it. It's not wholly original, but it is fun, entertaining, nicely plotted and puts its point across well so it works for me.
Book number: 90
Title: Cult Fiction
Author: Ardie Collins
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
Grounds for divorce
For a long time during this challenge I've had some ideas of things I wanted to read and was definitely going to pick up during its course. Other slots were empty, left to whims and new discoveries and maybe even just a little bit of what I fancied. With Pulitzer Prize winners, despite having a few ideas, hardly any were pre-planned and certainly none were really set in stone as must-reads. In the latest instance, I didn't even know the book I'd picked up was a winner until I saw it on the blurb – I'd only picked up whilst charity shop browsing, an admittedly pretty regular occurence.
Anyway, Edith Wharton won the one of the very early prizes for the Age of Innocence, as I discovered during the aforementioned browsing session, and, as I could only assume that the fates were guiding me at this point in time, I proceeded to purchase it and then to read it. Maybe it was the fact I've been busy and distracted, leading to a fairly disjointed reading, but I can't say I particularly connected with it.
That's not to say it wasn't well written, more that it wasn't really my cup of tea. I had reasonably high hopes, being that it's a bit of a relationship kitchen-sink drama and I like that kind of thing, but I never quite got into it properly. The characters are well-drawn enough and all have their flaws and if you're not supposed to necessarily like them, perhaps there should have been more of a connection than what I managed. As a snapshot of the period it is interesting in terms of how divorce is regarded, and obviously this is a million miles away from today, but that is hardly a reason to dislike it. Suspension of disbelief can be achieved by far more fantastic and far-fetched things and I can hardly claim this to be a failing on the part of the book. I just didn't ever really get onboard with it. Maybe, to couch it in relationship terms, we just never sparked the way I thought we might.
Book number: 89
Title: The Age of Innocence
Author: Edith Wharton
Category: Pulitzer prize winners
Anyway, Edith Wharton won the one of the very early prizes for the Age of Innocence, as I discovered during the aforementioned browsing session, and, as I could only assume that the fates were guiding me at this point in time, I proceeded to purchase it and then to read it. Maybe it was the fact I've been busy and distracted, leading to a fairly disjointed reading, but I can't say I particularly connected with it.
That's not to say it wasn't well written, more that it wasn't really my cup of tea. I had reasonably high hopes, being that it's a bit of a relationship kitchen-sink drama and I like that kind of thing, but I never quite got into it properly. The characters are well-drawn enough and all have their flaws and if you're not supposed to necessarily like them, perhaps there should have been more of a connection than what I managed. As a snapshot of the period it is interesting in terms of how divorce is regarded, and obviously this is a million miles away from today, but that is hardly a reason to dislike it. Suspension of disbelief can be achieved by far more fantastic and far-fetched things and I can hardly claim this to be a failing on the part of the book. I just didn't ever really get onboard with it. Maybe, to couch it in relationship terms, we just never sparked the way I thought we might.
Book number: 89
Title: The Age of Innocence
Author: Edith Wharton
Category: Pulitzer prize winners
London lives
Sometimes it's nice to be ambitious. It's not something I've generally aspired to, indeed, my plans for life, such as they are, are pretty simple and probably not all that interesting. Then again, *I'm* pretty simple and not all that interesting. In fiction, however, ambition can be a very good thing. It's good to aim big, but with the caveat it's only good if you can pull it off. Probably one more reason (and there are many) why I'm not a writer. Anyway, when the blurb is talking up Dickens and Thackerary and Trollope (not that I've ever read any of either of the latter two), it's either setting itself up for a fall or it's something pretty grand in scope.
A Week in December, then, is Sebastian Faulks' state-of-the-nation novel. Set, unsurprisingly, across a week in the lives of a huge cast of Londoners approaching the tail-end of the year, it's aim is nothing short of trying to chronicle a snapshot of how we live now, a decade or so into the 21st century. Having never read any Faulks before, other than when he was writing as Ian Fleming, I had no real idea what to expect, though I know he comes with a big reputation. I also gather this is not particularly like his other works, but I suspect that will be one more discussion to come out at book club later in the week.
First off, I liked it. It took a little to get into it, but then I digested it pretty quickly, which is usually a good sign. It's not perfect and how it is to judged may depend on what you want out of it. As a story, it is interesting exploring the lives of characters and how they interweave, though there is no real central plot as such – the finale of the book is the dinner party which we knew was coming the first chapter. However, the size of the cast and the scope of what the book is trying to do also hinders it in that there are too many characters and not all of them are really developed properly and some remain almost anonymous. That said, John, Gabriel, Jenni and Hassan are all strong characters and their stories are all definitely worth the telling. Faulks is also clearly a skilled enough author to move things along and to tease you with expectations of things to come and to throw you off the scent, which is no bad thing.
The other problem is essentially the aim of the book itself. To chronicle things, the author is passing his own judgement, casting a discerning eye on society and picking out the themes he wants to highlight in today's society – money, religion, alienation, law, love. It is therefore his vehicle or sopabox to draw our attention to these things. Knowing that is the point, some of the dialogue and ideas seem a little odd when coming from the voices of the characters, though this may be unavoidable. So in essence, the scope and aims of the book are at once its strengths and its weaknesses in different ways. As a grand in scope, zeitgeisty book, I think it succeeds pretty well, but there are also certain issues with this and your enjoyment of it may to an extent come from what you want out of it and how you choose to judge it.
Book number: 88
Title: A Week in December
Author: Sebastian Faulks
Category: Book club/recommendations
A Week in December, then, is Sebastian Faulks' state-of-the-nation novel. Set, unsurprisingly, across a week in the lives of a huge cast of Londoners approaching the tail-end of the year, it's aim is nothing short of trying to chronicle a snapshot of how we live now, a decade or so into the 21st century. Having never read any Faulks before, other than when he was writing as Ian Fleming, I had no real idea what to expect, though I know he comes with a big reputation. I also gather this is not particularly like his other works, but I suspect that will be one more discussion to come out at book club later in the week.
First off, I liked it. It took a little to get into it, but then I digested it pretty quickly, which is usually a good sign. It's not perfect and how it is to judged may depend on what you want out of it. As a story, it is interesting exploring the lives of characters and how they interweave, though there is no real central plot as such – the finale of the book is the dinner party which we knew was coming the first chapter. However, the size of the cast and the scope of what the book is trying to do also hinders it in that there are too many characters and not all of them are really developed properly and some remain almost anonymous. That said, John, Gabriel, Jenni and Hassan are all strong characters and their stories are all definitely worth the telling. Faulks is also clearly a skilled enough author to move things along and to tease you with expectations of things to come and to throw you off the scent, which is no bad thing.
The other problem is essentially the aim of the book itself. To chronicle things, the author is passing his own judgement, casting a discerning eye on society and picking out the themes he wants to highlight in today's society – money, religion, alienation, law, love. It is therefore his vehicle or sopabox to draw our attention to these things. Knowing that is the point, some of the dialogue and ideas seem a little odd when coming from the voices of the characters, though this may be unavoidable. So in essence, the scope and aims of the book are at once its strengths and its weaknesses in different ways. As a grand in scope, zeitgeisty book, I think it succeeds pretty well, but there are also certain issues with this and your enjoyment of it may to an extent come from what you want out of it and how you choose to judge it.
Book number: 88
Title: A Week in December
Author: Sebastian Faulks
Category: Book club/recommendations
Saturday, 12 November 2011
All's fair-y in love and war
One thing that my book club has taught me is not to judge a book by its blurb. So many times has the promise of the words failed to deliver in an expected way. Not always badly, mind, but quite often the books have not been what I was expecting. And we always tend to talk about the cover too – whether we like it, whether it suits the book, potentially the different versions for some books. Now both of these things are obvious marketing tools which do have some value and will make me potentially have a look as to whether I want to read it. But of anything that is likely to make me want to read something, a recommendation probably tops the list. This could be from a friend, or, in a less personal way, a quote or recommendation on the book from someone I like and trust.
I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman and a quote on the back, plus an introduction from the author was enough to make me pick up Martin Millar's The Good Fairies of New York. A quick look read of the blurb and in this case I was instantly sold. And in this case, not mis-sold. A very funny, manic caper throughout New York with a whole bunch of different fairies was exactly what I was after and also what I got. Drug-addled old women who think they're Greek warlords, the New York Dolls, quests for impossibly rare flowers, productions of Shakespeare and mischievous, drunken, sexy Scottish fairies – what's not to like?
Millar is obviously a fine comic writer, devising likeable and amusing characters and knowing how to get the best out of them throughout the romp and numerous farcical situations. Yet more than that were some of the wryly observations, using the fairies poking fun at how humans do things as vehicle to do this. The ethnic and racial harmony elements to it did not exactly say anything new, but did highlight the silliness of such things and set in New York, the melting pot to end all melting pots, it seemed fitting.
Perhaps most surprising of all though was the tender handling of Kerry's Crohn's disease – a horrible, really debliating condition and one close to my heart as a good friend of mine suffers from it. I'm far from an expert on it, but I figure that any methods of informing people about it can only be a good thing. It's not something I'd heard of beforehand and the senstivie handling of it gave the story it's most human aspect. And it had the hard-fought, deserved happy ending that you'd want from such a comic tale. So long as I didn't think about their reputation or the potential for disaster, I'd jump at the chance to spend a night out drinking with Heather and Morag and to wish to spend time with their creations is perhaps as high a compliment as you can pay an author.
Book number: 87
Title: The Good Fairies of New York
Author: Martin Millar
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman and a quote on the back, plus an introduction from the author was enough to make me pick up Martin Millar's The Good Fairies of New York. A quick look read of the blurb and in this case I was instantly sold. And in this case, not mis-sold. A very funny, manic caper throughout New York with a whole bunch of different fairies was exactly what I was after and also what I got. Drug-addled old women who think they're Greek warlords, the New York Dolls, quests for impossibly rare flowers, productions of Shakespeare and mischievous, drunken, sexy Scottish fairies – what's not to like?
Millar is obviously a fine comic writer, devising likeable and amusing characters and knowing how to get the best out of them throughout the romp and numerous farcical situations. Yet more than that were some of the wryly observations, using the fairies poking fun at how humans do things as vehicle to do this. The ethnic and racial harmony elements to it did not exactly say anything new, but did highlight the silliness of such things and set in New York, the melting pot to end all melting pots, it seemed fitting.
Perhaps most surprising of all though was the tender handling of Kerry's Crohn's disease – a horrible, really debliating condition and one close to my heart as a good friend of mine suffers from it. I'm far from an expert on it, but I figure that any methods of informing people about it can only be a good thing. It's not something I'd heard of beforehand and the senstivie handling of it gave the story it's most human aspect. And it had the hard-fought, deserved happy ending that you'd want from such a comic tale. So long as I didn't think about their reputation or the potential for disaster, I'd jump at the chance to spend a night out drinking with Heather and Morag and to wish to spend time with their creations is perhaps as high a compliment as you can pay an author.
Book number: 87
Title: The Good Fairies of New York
Author: Martin Millar
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
Sweet Jane
Slowly over the course of the year I've ticked of one or two canonical works that I'd never previously read, generally of the pre-20th century variety. The kind that people with degrees in English Lit have probably all read and some people assume that everyone, particularly someone such as mysef who reads a lot, must at some point in their life have read. Or at least know the story of.
Having finished reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, a book I feel definitely fits into that previosuly described category, I was discussing what I thought of it with my housemate. I really enjoyed it and one of the things I said was that it probably had such an impact because I had no idea about the story, indeed knew next to nothing about it beyond the names Jane Eyre (well, duh) and Mr Rochester. She was surprised, but having never read it, nor seen any version of it, I also wasn't sure how much even some classic works like that have really leaked into popular culture in terms of people actually knowing the plot. Certainly the odd reference can be made, but I do think it's very different to those of films and TV programmes, where even people unfamiliar with the work will probably get the link.
But anyway, I did go into blind, as it were, and I did like it a lot. It was a really gripping, engaging read and I was perhaps surprised by this and certainly surprised by some of the things that happened. I didn't know anything about the gothic horror elements and I liked those and I liked the life story narration, 'all that David Copperfield crap', to borrow a phrase.
And at the heart of it, a love story and I can certainly be a sucker for those. What was nice about it was that things were not perfect, the characters were not perfect and were never portrayed as such. Indeed, the author went out of her way to emphasise that neither of the couple were particularly physically attractive, but that they just had that spark, that certain something that worked. A tick in a box against a great work is now something I can do, but unlike some where that's about all I can say about it (George Eliot, you may get a second chance, but you'll have to work hard for it), this one was definitely far more rewarding than that.
Book number: 86
Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Brontë
Category: Pre-20th century literature
Having finished reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, a book I feel definitely fits into that previosuly described category, I was discussing what I thought of it with my housemate. I really enjoyed it and one of the things I said was that it probably had such an impact because I had no idea about the story, indeed knew next to nothing about it beyond the names Jane Eyre (well, duh) and Mr Rochester. She was surprised, but having never read it, nor seen any version of it, I also wasn't sure how much even some classic works like that have really leaked into popular culture in terms of people actually knowing the plot. Certainly the odd reference can be made, but I do think it's very different to those of films and TV programmes, where even people unfamiliar with the work will probably get the link.
But anyway, I did go into blind, as it were, and I did like it a lot. It was a really gripping, engaging read and I was perhaps surprised by this and certainly surprised by some of the things that happened. I didn't know anything about the gothic horror elements and I liked those and I liked the life story narration, 'all that David Copperfield crap', to borrow a phrase.
And at the heart of it, a love story and I can certainly be a sucker for those. What was nice about it was that things were not perfect, the characters were not perfect and were never portrayed as such. Indeed, the author went out of her way to emphasise that neither of the couple were particularly physically attractive, but that they just had that spark, that certain something that worked. A tick in a box against a great work is now something I can do, but unlike some where that's about all I can say about it (George Eliot, you may get a second chance, but you'll have to work hard for it), this one was definitely far more rewarding than that.
Book number: 86
Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Brontë
Category: Pre-20th century literature
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Cracking the code
And so as the year is drawing to a close, I'm still just about on task and the first of the ten categories is now complete. One of the first to be begun and one it is fair to say I have raced through and had broadened my horizons, the first to be ticked off the list is crime. And back on familiar turf (though could arguably be the familiar Turf), with my first encounter with Morse. And Lewis, of course. I've never read any, nor watched it, though I have seen part of an episode of Lewis being filmed outside the Bodleian at some point.
Anyway, figuring the best place to start may well be the beginning, my first taste of Colin Dexter's creation was his first tale, Last Bus to Woodstock. With most classic detective series, an interesting central character is often what drives the books and allows for the series to develop. Morse himself fits the bill and certainly has a bit of the Holmes in him – enigmatic, slightly detached and with some less than wholly exemplary personal habits. Throw in the straight man sidekick and you have a good dynamic and while so much is owed to Conan Doyle, any resemblance and debts paid are, as far as I'm concerned, no bad thing at all.
The crime itself kept me guessing throughout, didn't seem contrived and although the circumstances and the evidence are very much dated pushing thirty years hence, within the framework of the story it all seemed to fit. And this time, I enjoyed seeing the familiar setting of Oxford, so perhaps it's just the story and the writing of that other one about murder in the City of Dreaming Spires that I took issue with. Clearly now a British institution, it's easy to see why he's such a popular character. I suspect I shall pay him another visit or two in the future.
Book number: 85
Title: Last Bus to Woodstock
Author: Colin Dexter
Category: Crime
Anyway, figuring the best place to start may well be the beginning, my first taste of Colin Dexter's creation was his first tale, Last Bus to Woodstock. With most classic detective series, an interesting central character is often what drives the books and allows for the series to develop. Morse himself fits the bill and certainly has a bit of the Holmes in him – enigmatic, slightly detached and with some less than wholly exemplary personal habits. Throw in the straight man sidekick and you have a good dynamic and while so much is owed to Conan Doyle, any resemblance and debts paid are, as far as I'm concerned, no bad thing at all.
The crime itself kept me guessing throughout, didn't seem contrived and although the circumstances and the evidence are very much dated pushing thirty years hence, within the framework of the story it all seemed to fit. And this time, I enjoyed seeing the familiar setting of Oxford, so perhaps it's just the story and the writing of that other one about murder in the City of Dreaming Spires that I took issue with. Clearly now a British institution, it's easy to see why he's such a popular character. I suspect I shall pay him another visit or two in the future.
Book number: 85
Title: Last Bus to Woodstock
Author: Colin Dexter
Category: Crime
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Thanks for the ride
Despite the fact it had been in my calendar for months, it hadn't really occurred to me that what I had picked up on a whim at library, by which I mean I'd wanted to read it for a while, occasionally forgot about it and this time it happened to be there, could be regarded as a bad omen. Starting to read a book where the first thing that happens is a bride leaves her fiancee just before they're about to get married the day before one your friend's weddings is perhaps not the done thing. Fortunately, there were no parallels between truth and fiction and the wedding went off smoothly and, so far as I can tell, a very good time was had by all.
Which is more than can be said for Pell, deserter and protagonist in Meg Rosoff's The Bride's Farewell. I've been a fan of Rosoff since reading How I Live Now a few years ago and I think she understands the teenage mindset. She challenges her readers and doesn't provide easy answers and there's no shortage of misery to be had in this outing. One thing I've noticed as a recurring theme in her work is the number of mute or very quiet characters. I'm not sure if there's an explanation, but Pell's brother is in that mould.
The writing is compelling and there is a streak of romance throughout, but though there is a happy ending of sorts, there's plenty of tragedy in between and despite being a strong heroine, Pell is faced with the consequences of some of her actions and has to do her best in adverse circumstances. Although fairly slight, it did a great job in capturing the feel of the countryside, the wildness of it and the struggle for survival in the Victorian setting. Rosoff's first foray into historical fiction, it draws obvious (to my mind at least) comparisons with Celia Rees, another young adult author who I admire and who creates strong female characters. Fortunately neither of them have been silly enough to say 'Girl Power' (Miss Steiner, I'm looking at you), but I think this can only be a good thing, for readers of both sexes and all ages.
Book number: 84
Title: The Bride's Farewell
Author: Meg Rosoff
Category: Chris' choice
Which is more than can be said for Pell, deserter and protagonist in Meg Rosoff's The Bride's Farewell. I've been a fan of Rosoff since reading How I Live Now a few years ago and I think she understands the teenage mindset. She challenges her readers and doesn't provide easy answers and there's no shortage of misery to be had in this outing. One thing I've noticed as a recurring theme in her work is the number of mute or very quiet characters. I'm not sure if there's an explanation, but Pell's brother is in that mould.
The writing is compelling and there is a streak of romance throughout, but though there is a happy ending of sorts, there's plenty of tragedy in between and despite being a strong heroine, Pell is faced with the consequences of some of her actions and has to do her best in adverse circumstances. Although fairly slight, it did a great job in capturing the feel of the countryside, the wildness of it and the struggle for survival in the Victorian setting. Rosoff's first foray into historical fiction, it draws obvious (to my mind at least) comparisons with Celia Rees, another young adult author who I admire and who creates strong female characters. Fortunately neither of them have been silly enough to say 'Girl Power' (Miss Steiner, I'm looking at you), but I think this can only be a good thing, for readers of both sexes and all ages.
Book number: 84
Title: The Bride's Farewell
Author: Meg Rosoff
Category: Chris' choice
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Cambridge over troubled water
I've said it before and will no doubt say it again, but having picked up considerably more books this year than I might normally that would come under the category of crime or thrillers, I wonder why I'd not done so much before now. Admittedly this could be quite a broad category and plenty of what I read may loosely come under there and not so much that would be found in the aforementioned section of a bookshop or library. But either way, the results have largely been positive.
Certainly this applies to Kate Atkinson's Case Histories, my debut encounter with this popular novelist. There are obviously various measures of popularity, but there's only so many authors who get posters on the tube or at railway stations, so that's got to be a mark of something. Anyway, it was easy to see why. An interesting, complex detective, several plot strands slowly revealed and interlinked over the course of the novel, and richly imagined and sometimes darkly comic characters.
Set in Cambridge, the familiar setting was pleasant (perhaps I was too harsh on my judgement of The Oxford Murders in this capacity, though overall I still feel it was rather disappointing) and provided a believable backdrop to the tale. It's small enough, indeed feels small enough, to have a rural air about it still, yet not so small that one can't scatter a handful of stones in the street without hitting a murderer or ten.
Jackson Brodie is the hero, somehow finding himself involved in a series of bizarre yet plausible events, and he is tough, rather likeable and has a heart. As well-drawn as he is, it was the rest of the cast that really made the novel and the multiple viewpoints were handled with skill, highlighting what each really thought of the others and using the device to reveal information throughout in order to drive the plot forward and maintain the mysteries. More, please.
Book number: 83
Title: Case Histories
Author: Kate Atkinson
Category: Charlotte's choice
Certainly this applies to Kate Atkinson's Case Histories, my debut encounter with this popular novelist. There are obviously various measures of popularity, but there's only so many authors who get posters on the tube or at railway stations, so that's got to be a mark of something. Anyway, it was easy to see why. An interesting, complex detective, several plot strands slowly revealed and interlinked over the course of the novel, and richly imagined and sometimes darkly comic characters.
Set in Cambridge, the familiar setting was pleasant (perhaps I was too harsh on my judgement of The Oxford Murders in this capacity, though overall I still feel it was rather disappointing) and provided a believable backdrop to the tale. It's small enough, indeed feels small enough, to have a rural air about it still, yet not so small that one can't scatter a handful of stones in the street without hitting a murderer or ten.
Jackson Brodie is the hero, somehow finding himself involved in a series of bizarre yet plausible events, and he is tough, rather likeable and has a heart. As well-drawn as he is, it was the rest of the cast that really made the novel and the multiple viewpoints were handled with skill, highlighting what each really thought of the others and using the device to reveal information throughout in order to drive the plot forward and maintain the mysteries. More, please.
Book number: 83
Title: Case Histories
Author: Kate Atkinson
Category: Charlotte's choice
Age before beauty
Something that never ceases to amaze me is how The Beatles managed to so completely revolutionise popular music in so many ways. It's like they invented the wheel, then made the next three and the chassis, then decided to pull it apart again and reinvent it from scratch. All in the space of seven years. Some bands go that long between albums. Writers are similar – the length of time between novels can be huge (Franzen, Eugenides) and in other cases startling short (Cartland, the Paterson factory), though perhaps neither of the latter two have much of the hallmark of quality about them. By reputation anyway, having never read anything by either of them, I suppose I shall have to reserve my opnion for a later date.
What did surprise me was the prolific output of some Victorian novelists. Dickens churned out classics like they were going out of style, the majority of them weighty tomes, and he had his fingers in several other pies all the time. Verne apparently wrote about 80(!) novels and my latest victim, Dumas was also pretty quick on the draw. The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, neither what one would classify as slender volumes were both turned out in under two years. Having enjoyed both greatly, I prepared to buckle my swash once more and picked up Twenty Years After, the first of the three sequels featuring the musketeers.
Older, perhaps wiser, though not necessarily any richer or happier, our fab four have gone their separate ways and are all pursuing different ends. Indeed, to begin with they end up split between two different factions. However, they are able to put aside their differences and prove that they had a bond that would stand the test of time. Excellent adventuring stuff, full of twists and turns, plus swordplay, wordplay and a plot set in both France and England against the backdrop of the English Civil War, and it did everything I asked of it. The politicking and fairly extensive cast at times confused, not least because everyone seemed to have several titles or names, but these are minor quibbles that probably reflect more on this reader than the writer. I look forward to the next time I can draw my rapier (or my rapier wit) and send up a hearty cry of "All for one!"
Book number: 82
Title: Twenty Years After
Author: Alexandre Dumas
Category: Pre-20th century literature
What did surprise me was the prolific output of some Victorian novelists. Dickens churned out classics like they were going out of style, the majority of them weighty tomes, and he had his fingers in several other pies all the time. Verne apparently wrote about 80(!) novels and my latest victim, Dumas was also pretty quick on the draw. The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, neither what one would classify as slender volumes were both turned out in under two years. Having enjoyed both greatly, I prepared to buckle my swash once more and picked up Twenty Years After, the first of the three sequels featuring the musketeers.
Older, perhaps wiser, though not necessarily any richer or happier, our fab four have gone their separate ways and are all pursuing different ends. Indeed, to begin with they end up split between two different factions. However, they are able to put aside their differences and prove that they had a bond that would stand the test of time. Excellent adventuring stuff, full of twists and turns, plus swordplay, wordplay and a plot set in both France and England against the backdrop of the English Civil War, and it did everything I asked of it. The politicking and fairly extensive cast at times confused, not least because everyone seemed to have several titles or names, but these are minor quibbles that probably reflect more on this reader than the writer. I look forward to the next time I can draw my rapier (or my rapier wit) and send up a hearty cry of "All for one!"
Book number: 82
Title: Twenty Years After
Author: Alexandre Dumas
Category: Pre-20th century literature
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
The tiger who came to Téa
Balkan fiction is definitely something that I can't claim to have previously dabbled with, at least not that I can recollect. Indeed, Britain has never been great at publishing fiction in translation and only tends to follow non-Anglophone writers as a surge after a breakout success. Post-colonial literature being the main exception, though much of that is written in English. The same is admittedly true of The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht, who is now a nationalised American, but it is refreshing to hear new voices from different corners of the world.
I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it, something about the title put me off – the combination of 'tiger' and 'wife', keywords in various recently successful books, almost sounded a bit artificial. I did like the cover though, bright, eye-catching and with an evocative illustration. As it turned out, my fears were misplaced, it was a good read and an example of how to successfully blend dual narratives (past and present). The writing is very assured for a debut, full of lyrical language.
Easily my favourite of the narrative strands was that of the deathless man. The folk story elements of this and its rich imagery were what made the book stand out to me. Similarly, the story of the tiger's wife was entertaining, but took a backseat in my view. I was less keen on the modern narrative, it didn't quite have the suspense I thought it would and was perhaps more of a vehicle to showcase the other narratives. The quality of those more than made up for it though and the modern one was far from bad, it just didn't grab me in the same way and therefore suffers in comparison. Overall though, it was a well-crafted, enjoyable tale and I'll be interested to see what the young Ms Obreht does next.
Book number: 81
Title: The Tiger's Wife
Author: Téa Obreht
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it, something about the title put me off – the combination of 'tiger' and 'wife', keywords in various recently successful books, almost sounded a bit artificial. I did like the cover though, bright, eye-catching and with an evocative illustration. As it turned out, my fears were misplaced, it was a good read and an example of how to successfully blend dual narratives (past and present). The writing is very assured for a debut, full of lyrical language.
Easily my favourite of the narrative strands was that of the deathless man. The folk story elements of this and its rich imagery were what made the book stand out to me. Similarly, the story of the tiger's wife was entertaining, but took a backseat in my view. I was less keen on the modern narrative, it didn't quite have the suspense I thought it would and was perhaps more of a vehicle to showcase the other narratives. The quality of those more than made up for it though and the modern one was far from bad, it just didn't grab me in the same way and therefore suffers in comparison. Overall though, it was a well-crafted, enjoyable tale and I'll be interested to see what the young Ms Obreht does next.
Book number: 81
Title: The Tiger's Wife
Author: Téa Obreht
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
Bitter fruit
If one were to gereralise, one would probably say that in great American fictions, there are two time periods and settings that dominate above all others. The first is the civil war, the second the Great Depression. And if one can make such a statement without sounding too weird, I'm a big fan of Depression-era (and Jazz Age) fiction. Steinbeck, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, not to mention Lewis and Warren, who I've added to my repertoire this year. If there's such thing as a Golden Age of American fiction, that may well be it.
Set in Albany, New York, towards the end of the 1930s, William Kennedy's Ironweed is most comparable to Steinbeck from the above list. Though written 50 years later, it certainly evokes the period admirably, chronicling the day-to-day struggles for existence of two hobos. Down on their luck, without homes, jobs, it follows the simple things thay have to do to earn a buck or put a roof over their head for a night.
The realisation of Francis, the protagonist, is the book's main charm. Middle aged and beaten down by circumstances, he maintains a sense of honour and a tender care for his companion Helen. He strives to the best he can, turning a blind eye where he has to, but determining to do his best by her, this sense of purpose perhaps being what drives him on. Without it, without the desire to pay his debts, it would be easy to see how he could simply give up. But his silent resolve, not doing anything amazing, yet with a quiet courage and dignity to it is the heartbeat of the book and one that resonates with every pulse.
Book number: 80
Title: Ironweed
Author: William Kennedy
Category: Pulitzer Prize winners
Set in Albany, New York, towards the end of the 1930s, William Kennedy's Ironweed is most comparable to Steinbeck from the above list. Though written 50 years later, it certainly evokes the period admirably, chronicling the day-to-day struggles for existence of two hobos. Down on their luck, without homes, jobs, it follows the simple things thay have to do to earn a buck or put a roof over their head for a night.
The realisation of Francis, the protagonist, is the book's main charm. Middle aged and beaten down by circumstances, he maintains a sense of honour and a tender care for his companion Helen. He strives to the best he can, turning a blind eye where he has to, but determining to do his best by her, this sense of purpose perhaps being what drives him on. Without it, without the desire to pay his debts, it would be easy to see how he could simply give up. But his silent resolve, not doing anything amazing, yet with a quiet courage and dignity to it is the heartbeat of the book and one that resonates with every pulse.
Book number: 80
Title: Ironweed
Author: William Kennedy
Category: Pulitzer Prize winners
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Stranger than fiction
As clichés go, the one about truth being stranger than fiction is both one of the oldest and one of the most apt. "I'm not making this up" may seem at times a little like protesting too much, but while not always stranger, the right story (or even the wrong story) in the hands of a skilled storyteller should always produce an interesting tale. "It's how you tell 'em", so to speak.
If crime is something I'd not previously gone very near, then what could be termed true crime was a truly new experience. Add to the fact it's Victorian, which is a time period that many adore, but i have no great affinity with in either historial or literary terms, and you'd think that The Suspicions of Mr Whicher might not be my cup of tea. Fortunately, Kate Summerscale knows how to tell a story, for it does indeed read like one, rather than, say, a report. The development of the characters is key to this, the details about their pasts and how previous events may have fed into the present. And the continuation past the event, to look at the lives of the individuals afterwards makes it a more complete, if not wholesome, tale that is focused on the people as much as the crime.
I can't say I'd ever heard of the murder, though clearly at it was big news, the Moors murders, Soham murders, Jamie Bulger or Madeleine McCann of its day. The scandalous nature of the crime, the hidden family secrets, the history of detective work all add up to create a far more interesting narrative, with plenty of enlightening facts thrown in than it might otherwise have been. Eminently readable, I can see why it received such wide-ranging and diverse praise, for it successfully ticks all the boxes on what such a title should do.
Book number: 79
Title: The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or the Murder at Road Hill House
Author: Kate Summerscale
Category: Crime
If crime is something I'd not previously gone very near, then what could be termed true crime was a truly new experience. Add to the fact it's Victorian, which is a time period that many adore, but i have no great affinity with in either historial or literary terms, and you'd think that The Suspicions of Mr Whicher might not be my cup of tea. Fortunately, Kate Summerscale knows how to tell a story, for it does indeed read like one, rather than, say, a report. The development of the characters is key to this, the details about their pasts and how previous events may have fed into the present. And the continuation past the event, to look at the lives of the individuals afterwards makes it a more complete, if not wholesome, tale that is focused on the people as much as the crime.
I can't say I'd ever heard of the murder, though clearly at it was big news, the Moors murders, Soham murders, Jamie Bulger or Madeleine McCann of its day. The scandalous nature of the crime, the hidden family secrets, the history of detective work all add up to create a far more interesting narrative, with plenty of enlightening facts thrown in than it might otherwise have been. Eminently readable, I can see why it received such wide-ranging and diverse praise, for it successfully ticks all the boxes on what such a title should do.
Book number: 79
Title: The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or the Murder at Road Hill House
Author: Kate Summerscale
Category: Crime
Saturday, 8 October 2011
A doctor calls
I don't think I would ever describe myself as a man of science – not that I would describe myself as a man of god either, maybe a man of letters, or of ice cream – but I certainly have a healthy (geddit?) respect for science in all walks of life. This includes medicine, despite the slightly mixed treatment I've had lately for a variety of things. I try to avoid taking things unless I need to – I want it to work when I do. Having suffered from a bout of cold/flu/general mehness, I've been dosing up on everything I can and it seems to have been a success.
That success can be attributed to figures like Martin Arrowsmith, fictional scientist and title character in Sinclair Lewis' Arrowsmith. He undoubtedly is a man of science, dedicated to his job at the expense of all else, even his wife, who is in her own quiet and subdued way, his tower of strength. He concentrates on his work, rather than getting dragged into the politics of university departments, finding solace in that above all else. Shedding a lot of light on the scientific establishment, its workings, pressures and culture, it paints an interesting picture of man caught between his work and the rewards it might bring.
One one hand, he is self-absorbed, tireless and dedicated, focusing on his work rather than being tempted by the trappings of fame and wealth when he stumbles upon a major cure for disease. As an insight into this world, it's easy to see why it has been widely admired, it focuses on the pressures put on individuals and the ethical dilemmas they face. It's well crafted and written, though it would say I found it interesting more than truly absorbing or engaging. Lewis actually refused the Pulitzer Prize he won for the novel on the basis that he felt it was awarded on fashion rather than literary merit, but I think it has stood the test of time, which is arguably the only prize worth winning.
Book number: 78
Title: Arrowsmith
Author: Sinclair Lewis
Category: Pulitzer Prize winners
That success can be attributed to figures like Martin Arrowsmith, fictional scientist and title character in Sinclair Lewis' Arrowsmith. He undoubtedly is a man of science, dedicated to his job at the expense of all else, even his wife, who is in her own quiet and subdued way, his tower of strength. He concentrates on his work, rather than getting dragged into the politics of university departments, finding solace in that above all else. Shedding a lot of light on the scientific establishment, its workings, pressures and culture, it paints an interesting picture of man caught between his work and the rewards it might bring.
One one hand, he is self-absorbed, tireless and dedicated, focusing on his work rather than being tempted by the trappings of fame and wealth when he stumbles upon a major cure for disease. As an insight into this world, it's easy to see why it has been widely admired, it focuses on the pressures put on individuals and the ethical dilemmas they face. It's well crafted and written, though it would say I found it interesting more than truly absorbing or engaging. Lewis actually refused the Pulitzer Prize he won for the novel on the basis that he felt it was awarded on fashion rather than literary merit, but I think it has stood the test of time, which is arguably the only prize worth winning.
Book number: 78
Title: Arrowsmith
Author: Sinclair Lewis
Category: Pulitzer Prize winners
Thursday, 6 October 2011
He gets everywhere, that bloke
And following on in very similar fashion in terms of category, genre (sort of), and relevance to work was the next one. I hadn't planned this to be the next, having a stack of books (actually and virtually) to work through to take me most of the way to the end of the year, but with a library recall and only two days to finish it, needs must. And while I don't know a vast amount about the French Revolution, I can't seem to escape the moustachioed former dictator of Germany at work and sometimes that can get you down. After all, there's only so many days of reading about eugenics or Nazi war atrocities that a man can deal with before going slightly mad.
Fortunately, although the run-up World War II is the setting for Judith Kerr's children's classic When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, it's not really set in the Third Reich and those nasty Nazis don't really feature. Which given it's about a family of Jewish emigrants in Switzerland, France and ultimately Britain makes sense when you think about it. The rise of the Nazis is constantly in the background and moments of anti-Semitism rear their ugly head at times, but this is largely a book concerned with childhood and growing up.
It's not a coming of age tale as such, young Anna is a bit young for that really, but it's a story of adapting, changing and forging an identity in foreign settings. All of which are beautifully conveyed through deceptively simple prose and a real feeling for what life must have been like. The sheltered element to the tale and the maintenance of innocence in spite of the very real dangers lends it a degree of fragile beauty and it's a finely constructed book, with largely as happy an ending as is possible given the circumstances. That it's very strongly based on true events makes it all the more powerful and I've since done a bit of reading around the story and can see how fine some of the margins were. If I did read this as a child, I can't remember it, but I certainly wish I had – it's a classic for a reason and something deserving of being read by as wide an audience as possible.
Book number: 77
Title: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Author: Judith Kerr
Category: Books with colours in the title
Fortunately, although the run-up World War II is the setting for Judith Kerr's children's classic When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, it's not really set in the Third Reich and those nasty Nazis don't really feature. Which given it's about a family of Jewish emigrants in Switzerland, France and ultimately Britain makes sense when you think about it. The rise of the Nazis is constantly in the background and moments of anti-Semitism rear their ugly head at times, but this is largely a book concerned with childhood and growing up.
It's not a coming of age tale as such, young Anna is a bit young for that really, but it's a story of adapting, changing and forging an identity in foreign settings. All of which are beautifully conveyed through deceptively simple prose and a real feeling for what life must have been like. The sheltered element to the tale and the maintenance of innocence in spite of the very real dangers lends it a degree of fragile beauty and it's a finely constructed book, with largely as happy an ending as is possible given the circumstances. That it's very strongly based on true events makes it all the more powerful and I've since done a bit of reading around the story and can see how fine some of the margins were. If I did read this as a child, I can't remember it, but I certainly wish I had – it's a classic for a reason and something deserving of being read by as wide an audience as possible.
Book number: 77
Title: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Author: Judith Kerr
Category: Books with colours in the title
Children of the Revolution
Throughout the course of the year it does seem at times that what I've been doing at work has been reflected in what I read. Partly this is coincidence and a result of working a reasonably varied number of topics (largely history-based for some time now), though it is also partly due to choice. My Yankophilia from earlier in the year seems to have faded a bit, but as one project ends, another begins and while my knowledge of the French Revolution was pretty much non-existent a couple of months ago (and it's far from encyclopaedic now), it happens to be something I've worked on recently. Oh, and also the backdrop for my latest read.
The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner is a young adult novel set in late eighteenth-century Paris and largely has everything you'd want from such a book. A pinch of magic, a swirl of romance, a healthy dose of swashbuckling, a fine cast of heroes and villains – all of the ingredients are there. The story rattles along, doing a successful job of painting the city, though would perhaps have benefitted at times with some explanations of things – I feel that someone with no knowledge of the period would be a bit lost amongst some of the terms and that a lot was assumed. Similarly, the workings of the magical powers wielded by the protagonist and antagonist, how they acquired and controlled them, what their limits were, etc. were all a bit vague and I would have appreciated some further knowledge of these. Admittedly in hindsight it seems this was a sequel to a previous story, in which some of these issues were addressed, but a little recap or first-time information wouldn't have gone amiss.
I enjoyed the fact that the villains were both sinister and blunt and not overly clichéd. Likewise, the heroes were interesting enough and while not finely sculpted creations, they were not caricatures. The real strength of the book though was in the narrative and drive, which told a tale for the most part very well. My biggest complaint is that the climax was, well, somewhat anticlimactic and seemed a little hurried, but all loose ends were tied up in true adventure style and I can't complain too much about that.
Book number: 76
Title: The Silver Blade
Author: Sally Gardner
Category: Books with colours in the title
The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner is a young adult novel set in late eighteenth-century Paris and largely has everything you'd want from such a book. A pinch of magic, a swirl of romance, a healthy dose of swashbuckling, a fine cast of heroes and villains – all of the ingredients are there. The story rattles along, doing a successful job of painting the city, though would perhaps have benefitted at times with some explanations of things – I feel that someone with no knowledge of the period would be a bit lost amongst some of the terms and that a lot was assumed. Similarly, the workings of the magical powers wielded by the protagonist and antagonist, how they acquired and controlled them, what their limits were, etc. were all a bit vague and I would have appreciated some further knowledge of these. Admittedly in hindsight it seems this was a sequel to a previous story, in which some of these issues were addressed, but a little recap or first-time information wouldn't have gone amiss.
I enjoyed the fact that the villains were both sinister and blunt and not overly clichéd. Likewise, the heroes were interesting enough and while not finely sculpted creations, they were not caricatures. The real strength of the book though was in the narrative and drive, which told a tale for the most part very well. My biggest complaint is that the climax was, well, somewhat anticlimactic and seemed a little hurried, but all loose ends were tied up in true adventure style and I can't complain too much about that.
Book number: 76
Title: The Silver Blade
Author: Sally Gardner
Category: Books with colours in the title
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Circus envy
And so on to the other word-of-mouth-recommendation-on-the-cover book. Funny how these random patterns crop up. This is no doubt a mere coincidence, as is the fact that two books in a row that I've read happen to have been about circuses. That's largely where the similarities end though. As I mentioned previously, I'd never heard of this book and it's a very different and much more straightforward tale than anything I can imagine coming from the pen of Angela Carter.
Set in the early years of Depression-era America, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is the story of Jacob, a veterinary student hit by sudden tragedy, who runs away to join the circus. No, really. His joining of the circus is accidental, but his training soon makes him valuable to his new employers. What follows is two love stories, a conventional one, as Jacob falls for an already-married performer, and also one of his relationships with his charges, particularly the elephant Rosie.
It highlights the hardships of the Depression well, showing how ruthless people could survive, while others were simpl glad to be fed, if not paid, and how bonds can be quickly forged and fall apart just as easily. The brief distraction from the suffering of life brought by the circus also works well. It is told by Jacob looking back on past events as a very old man in a nursing home. Although I didn't feel this added much to the story, neither did it detract from it. I also felt that until quite a way into it, I was never wholly convinced that the narrator was male, something about it just didn't sit right with me. That said, it was an enjoyable enough, easy read with a solid plot, likeable characters and that is no bad thing in my book.
Book number: 75
Title: Water for Elephants
Author: Sara Gruen
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
Set in the early years of Depression-era America, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is the story of Jacob, a veterinary student hit by sudden tragedy, who runs away to join the circus. No, really. His joining of the circus is accidental, but his training soon makes him valuable to his new employers. What follows is two love stories, a conventional one, as Jacob falls for an already-married performer, and also one of his relationships with his charges, particularly the elephant Rosie.
It highlights the hardships of the Depression well, showing how ruthless people could survive, while others were simpl glad to be fed, if not paid, and how bonds can be quickly forged and fall apart just as easily. The brief distraction from the suffering of life brought by the circus also works well. It is told by Jacob looking back on past events as a very old man in a nursing home. Although I didn't feel this added much to the story, neither did it detract from it. I also felt that until quite a way into it, I was never wholly convinced that the narrator was male, something about it just didn't sit right with me. That said, it was an enjoyable enough, easy read with a solid plot, likeable characters and that is no bad thing in my book.
Book number: 75
Title: Water for Elephants
Author: Sara Gruen
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
Birds of a feather
When you're stuck in A&E at 1am, having already been there for three hours, I can assure you that you are very glad of something to read once your companion and I-spy partner has left for the comforts of home and bed. Ideally that something should require little brain power and not have a ridiculously small font, but frankly any distraction from the pain in your kneecap is a good one. My accomplice kindly left me her copy of Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus, one of her favourite novels. No pressure then.
My previous experience of Carter was The Magic Toyshop, which I generally liked as a bit of a fairy tale kitchen sink drama. This was not dissimilar in blending together elements of the fantastic with personal tales, but on a much larger scale. Both the Russian setting and the circus backdrop gave the story plenty of zest and life and worked well for the biggest freak of them all, the protagonist Fevvers, a Cockney girl with wings. It also serves as a vehicle to express ideas on women's rights, class and social outcasts and misfits. The almost anachronistic placing of more modern ideas onto traditionally Victorian characters highlights the problems of society both then and now and adds a layer of complexity to the cast and the novel as a whole.
The blurring of reality and the constant need for questioning of what we're told works to create a tale that delights in playing with conventions. And the language is fantastic. Carter is clearly a top drawer writer as the prose oozes with splendid turns of phrase or memorable descriptions, building up further layers of perception and deception. So perhaps not the ideal material for the circumstances, but certainly well-written and gripping enough to hold the interest and certainly a novel worthy of praise and study.
Book number: 74
Title: Nights at the Circus
Author: Angela Carter
Category: Book club/recommendations
My previous experience of Carter was The Magic Toyshop, which I generally liked as a bit of a fairy tale kitchen sink drama. This was not dissimilar in blending together elements of the fantastic with personal tales, but on a much larger scale. Both the Russian setting and the circus backdrop gave the story plenty of zest and life and worked well for the biggest freak of them all, the protagonist Fevvers, a Cockney girl with wings. It also serves as a vehicle to express ideas on women's rights, class and social outcasts and misfits. The almost anachronistic placing of more modern ideas onto traditionally Victorian characters highlights the problems of society both then and now and adds a layer of complexity to the cast and the novel as a whole.
The blurring of reality and the constant need for questioning of what we're told works to create a tale that delights in playing with conventions. And the language is fantastic. Carter is clearly a top drawer writer as the prose oozes with splendid turns of phrase or memorable descriptions, building up further layers of perception and deception. So perhaps not the ideal material for the circumstances, but certainly well-written and gripping enough to hold the interest and certainly a novel worthy of praise and study.
Book number: 74
Title: Nights at the Circus
Author: Angela Carter
Category: Book club/recommendations
Death has a shadow
They say that word of mouth is the best kind of publicity and marketing, the kind that according to the cliché money simply can't buy. While this is probably true, it amuses me in a small way to then see something being marketed as a word of mouth sensation. Such a ploy has actually been used on two books I've read recently (the other to follow soon), though presumably to good effect in the case of the former, as I'd heard lots about it and been looking forward to it, and considerably less so with the latter, which I'd never heard of (though maybe I wouldn't be regarded as it's target market).
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón is the first of those titles and I liked it a lot. It's always satisfying when a book does live up to the billing, the hype and everything else, as this can often raise expectations to places that cannot reasonably be attained and one can come away not feeling as fulfilled as perhaps one would have been otherwise. Set in Franco's Spain in the aftermath of the Civil War, the book ticks every box that one could hope for. Young love, missing persons, false identities, sinister antagonists, bloody deaths and more are all mixed together with skill.
The coincidences and the many plot strands that tie the characters together could in other circumstances have seemed contrived and unbelievable, but the story is unfolded carefully and told well, keeping me glued to it. Indeed, it had that page-turning quality to it that not every author or book can have. The central idea is a good one and then spreads out in many directions before being carefully brought back together. A solid cast is maintained over the course of the novel and has a good mix of intriguing characters. For me top of the list was Fermin, a splendid mix of wisdom, loyalty and joy that should serve as an inspiration to us all. And while there is plenty of tragedy throughout, it has a fitting ending that few could argue with.
Book number: 73
Title: The Shadow of the Wind
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Category: Charlotte's choice
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón is the first of those titles and I liked it a lot. It's always satisfying when a book does live up to the billing, the hype and everything else, as this can often raise expectations to places that cannot reasonably be attained and one can come away not feeling as fulfilled as perhaps one would have been otherwise. Set in Franco's Spain in the aftermath of the Civil War, the book ticks every box that one could hope for. Young love, missing persons, false identities, sinister antagonists, bloody deaths and more are all mixed together with skill.
The coincidences and the many plot strands that tie the characters together could in other circumstances have seemed contrived and unbelievable, but the story is unfolded carefully and told well, keeping me glued to it. Indeed, it had that page-turning quality to it that not every author or book can have. The central idea is a good one and then spreads out in many directions before being carefully brought back together. A solid cast is maintained over the course of the novel and has a good mix of intriguing characters. For me top of the list was Fermin, a splendid mix of wisdom, loyalty and joy that should serve as an inspiration to us all. And while there is plenty of tragedy throughout, it has a fitting ending that few could argue with.
Book number: 73
Title: The Shadow of the Wind
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Category: Charlotte's choice
Double act
And somehow another couple of weeks have fallen by the wayside with no updates. On the plus side, I have been reading and have got through a couple of chunky tomes – sheer laziness has been the major obstacle at the moment. Actually, that's probably not being entirely fair on myself, life seems to have been pretty darn busy recently (or it's just taking a lot out of me). But either way, I've come way too far to quit now (I'd like to think I'm not a quitter anyway) and it's now time to correct the silence of the last little while.
Specimen A, Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar, one of the aforementioned chunky tomes has been waiting to be read for a while now (can you see where I'm going with this one?) and a long return journey to York and back seemed like the perfect opportunity to get stuck into and make a bit of a dent in something lengthy. One of a series of classic fantasy that I've been slowly making my way through, this is pulp of the first class from some of the genres best-loved characters. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are archetypes of the barbarian and the thief and this collection of tales, ranging in length from a few pages to novellas follows them from their first meeting throughout numerous adventures and capers.
It's easy to see why many have tried to emulate this – it rattles along at a fair crack, with plenty of action and a good dose of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Yet it is the development of the characters, who are well-formed, good but not invincible, and (naturally) emotionally damaged early on that elevates Leiber above so many pretenders to the throne. Small-scale capers rather than epic clashes is the order of the day here, but the combined tales weave together to form something much bigger than the individual scrapes and what would in the city of Lankhmar probably be regarded as a legend.
Book number: 72
Title: Lankhmar
Author: Fritz Leiber
Category: Books that have been sat on my bookshelf for too long
Specimen A, Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar, one of the aforementioned chunky tomes has been waiting to be read for a while now (can you see where I'm going with this one?) and a long return journey to York and back seemed like the perfect opportunity to get stuck into and make a bit of a dent in something lengthy. One of a series of classic fantasy that I've been slowly making my way through, this is pulp of the first class from some of the genres best-loved characters. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are archetypes of the barbarian and the thief and this collection of tales, ranging in length from a few pages to novellas follows them from their first meeting throughout numerous adventures and capers.
It's easy to see why many have tried to emulate this – it rattles along at a fair crack, with plenty of action and a good dose of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Yet it is the development of the characters, who are well-formed, good but not invincible, and (naturally) emotionally damaged early on that elevates Leiber above so many pretenders to the throne. Small-scale capers rather than epic clashes is the order of the day here, but the combined tales weave together to form something much bigger than the individual scrapes and what would in the city of Lankhmar probably be regarded as a legend.
Book number: 72
Title: Lankhmar
Author: Fritz Leiber
Category: Books that have been sat on my bookshelf for too long
Thursday, 15 September 2011
New friends
In engaging with crime and thrillers, I have for the first time been meeting some classics of this world. Before this year, my run-ins had off the top of my head only been with Holmes and Bond. Dashing through some classics, with probable future engagements with the likes of Smiley, Marple and Morse, I've had my first encounter with Poirot and now Georges Simenon's Maigret, in Maigret and the Idle Burglar.
Maigret is actually not a character I'd heard of before, but as the star of 75 novels, clearly he's a staple of the genre. Maybe because he's French my ignorance of European writing is being exposed, which is quite a lot of ignorance when I add up all the things that I know little or nothing about despite spending half my life with my nose in a book – really there just are so many books and so little time.
Anyway, my first experience was largely a positive one. What I liked about it was actually that it didn't feel like a self-contained story, but part of a larger world. It was a very simple premise (man gets murdered), but it felt like more than just a whodunnit, as it explored aspects of people's characters, particularly Maigret's. This made it seem a bit more real, and the exploration of how things were investigated by the police was also interesting, with it not simply being a case of the hero going against the grain, or being, well, all heroic. He also felt refreshingly normal, rather than having six divorces, Asperger's syndrome and a crack habit, like some detectives seem to be portrayed as, lest they be deemed dull. Short and to the point, I can see how Simenon made a career out of it.
Book number: 71
Title: Maigret and the Idle Burglar
Authors: Georges Simenon
Category: Crime
Maigret is actually not a character I'd heard of before, but as the star of 75 novels, clearly he's a staple of the genre. Maybe because he's French my ignorance of European writing is being exposed, which is quite a lot of ignorance when I add up all the things that I know little or nothing about despite spending half my life with my nose in a book – really there just are so many books and so little time.
Anyway, my first experience was largely a positive one. What I liked about it was actually that it didn't feel like a self-contained story, but part of a larger world. It was a very simple premise (man gets murdered), but it felt like more than just a whodunnit, as it explored aspects of people's characters, particularly Maigret's. This made it seem a bit more real, and the exploration of how things were investigated by the police was also interesting, with it not simply being a case of the hero going against the grain, or being, well, all heroic. He also felt refreshingly normal, rather than having six divorces, Asperger's syndrome and a crack habit, like some detectives seem to be portrayed as, lest they be deemed dull. Short and to the point, I can see how Simenon made a career out of it.
Book number: 71
Title: Maigret and the Idle Burglar
Authors: Georges Simenon
Category: Crime
Beetles about
Somehow (I say somehow, though in reality it was quite easy to do), in my quest for pre-20th century literature, I'd overlooked what appears to have been a much bigger category than I'd first imagined. Having previously only really thought about the classics (and there are any number of these which I've never strayed anywhere near, and then expanded my horizons when I remembered that what I mostly like in this category is more adventuresome stuff, I was pleasantly surprised when the library served me up classic Victorian horror.
Handidly packaged with distinctive yellow covers, a couple of years back Penguin published a series of ten such titles. Ever willing to dabble, I plumped for The Beetle by Richard Marsh. Published in the same year as Dracula, it was apparently even more popular with contemporaries than today's rather better known title. It certainly didn't disappoint with the supernatural element, throwing you straight in at the deep end as early as the second chapter. I don't think I'm giving much away to say that the insect of the title is a scarab and that the antagonist is of Egyptian origin. I really liked the use of the beetle throughout and enjoyed the ending.
The four perspectives in the narrative were interesting, telling events from different points of view. However, with the overlap between some of them, it didn't drive the book along at a particularly fast pace, as it was recapping previous events through the course of several chapters. Whilst this was quite interesting, it was also not really necessary and possibly inhibited the story in this sense. However, I think that the different narrators worked well to showcase how the beetle had managed to infiltrate the lives of numerous persons. An enjoyable thriller, with a strong sense of the otherworldly throughout, I'd happily give another in the series a spin.
Book number: 70
Title: The Beetle
Author: Richard Marsh
Category: Pre-20th century literature
Handidly packaged with distinctive yellow covers, a couple of years back Penguin published a series of ten such titles. Ever willing to dabble, I plumped for The Beetle by Richard Marsh. Published in the same year as Dracula, it was apparently even more popular with contemporaries than today's rather better known title. It certainly didn't disappoint with the supernatural element, throwing you straight in at the deep end as early as the second chapter. I don't think I'm giving much away to say that the insect of the title is a scarab and that the antagonist is of Egyptian origin. I really liked the use of the beetle throughout and enjoyed the ending.
The four perspectives in the narrative were interesting, telling events from different points of view. However, with the overlap between some of them, it didn't drive the book along at a particularly fast pace, as it was recapping previous events through the course of several chapters. Whilst this was quite interesting, it was also not really necessary and possibly inhibited the story in this sense. However, I think that the different narrators worked well to showcase how the beetle had managed to infiltrate the lives of numerous persons. An enjoyable thriller, with a strong sense of the otherworldly throughout, I'd happily give another in the series a spin.
Book number: 70
Title: The Beetle
Author: Richard Marsh
Category: Pre-20th century literature
Monday, 5 September 2011
You don't know what love is
An unforeseen set of circumstances, roughly along the lines of a lot of people, myself included, being unable to make it, meant that my book club meeting this month was postponed by a week. This was fortunate, as it gave me chance to finish reading the book, Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera. That said, I knew I wasn't going to be able to make it anyway, so was under no great pressure to do so, nor to force myself to pick it up and get on with.
Which was one of things about it – it wasn't something I had to force myself to pick up and read, but neither was it something I was desperate to get back to. Indeed, I'm struggling to find anything to say about it really – like last night's footprints covered by this morning's snow, it's hard to tell that it was ever really there. It just didn't have an impact on me or leave much of a trace, which I suppose is damning with faint praise.
It was well written, wich a nice flowing style, but it generally took me a while to get into each time I picked it up, possibly due to a lack of real narrative drive. This isn't necessarily a problem, I'm usualyy quite happy for rambling anecdotes and observations, I don't need hardcore action and plot twists every page, but thinking about it, here it was perhaps made the book feel so strangely lightweight. Yet, it wasn't difficult or a chore to read once I did get into it and I did read decent chunks at a time. Similarly, I have largely no feelings for the characters – they kind of left me cold and I wasn't interested in them. I thought Juvenal was quite a nice chap, Florentino was an idiot and Fermina was utterly nondescript. Indeed, so little impression did they have on me, I found it hard to remember at times who was who. And that's about it. It wasn't a bad book by any means, but neither did I really think it was much good.
I'm struggling to find anything much to say here now, never mind for an hour-long discussion. I had pretty high hopes and had heard pretty good things, I guess I was expecting something like The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which is superb. I didn't get that. Love is wonderful and painful and confusing and right and wrong and deep and mysterious and passionate and platonic and all kinds of other things, at least so I thought. But if this is love in all it's forms – a bit flat, oddly devoid of passion, lacking in feeling – I'll pass, thanks.
Book number: 69
Title: Love in the Time of Cholera
Author: Gabriel García Márquez
Category: Book club/recommendations
Which was one of things about it – it wasn't something I had to force myself to pick up and read, but neither was it something I was desperate to get back to. Indeed, I'm struggling to find anything to say about it really – like last night's footprints covered by this morning's snow, it's hard to tell that it was ever really there. It just didn't have an impact on me or leave much of a trace, which I suppose is damning with faint praise.
It was well written, wich a nice flowing style, but it generally took me a while to get into each time I picked it up, possibly due to a lack of real narrative drive. This isn't necessarily a problem, I'm usualyy quite happy for rambling anecdotes and observations, I don't need hardcore action and plot twists every page, but thinking about it, here it was perhaps made the book feel so strangely lightweight. Yet, it wasn't difficult or a chore to read once I did get into it and I did read decent chunks at a time. Similarly, I have largely no feelings for the characters – they kind of left me cold and I wasn't interested in them. I thought Juvenal was quite a nice chap, Florentino was an idiot and Fermina was utterly nondescript. Indeed, so little impression did they have on me, I found it hard to remember at times who was who. And that's about it. It wasn't a bad book by any means, but neither did I really think it was much good.
I'm struggling to find anything much to say here now, never mind for an hour-long discussion. I had pretty high hopes and had heard pretty good things, I guess I was expecting something like The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which is superb. I didn't get that. Love is wonderful and painful and confusing and right and wrong and deep and mysterious and passionate and platonic and all kinds of other things, at least so I thought. But if this is love in all it's forms – a bit flat, oddly devoid of passion, lacking in feeling – I'll pass, thanks.
Book number: 69
Title: Love in the Time of Cholera
Author: Gabriel García Márquez
Category: Book club/recommendations
Safe as houses
Sometimes it's nice to know what you're going to get. And it's even better when that things is something that you desire. Nick Hornby definitely falls into that category – you know it's going to be funny, true to life, laced with wisdom and experience, and, above all, interesting. Hornby is an author who for me could write about anything and find something interesting to say about it.
And in this case, that something is books. Housekeeping vs. the Dirt is the literary, witty, interesting, professionally written version of this blog, written by somebody who is all of the aforementioned. It's his second collection of articles written for The Believer, an American arts magazine about what he reads each month. I'd like to claim it was an inspiration for this, but it wasn't. At least not consciously, and frankly I'm happier not knowing what my subconscious is doing a lot of the time.
Anyway, having read the first collection and enjoyed it as much as expected, I really did know what I was getting into with this. Numerous months of lists of books bought and books read, often bearing no relation to one another (sounds familiar), plus insights into what he has actually read, accompanied by observations on all kinds of things, often revolving around literary life. I will no doubt flick through again at some point and pick out some choice recommendations. And there are even excerpts from some of his favourites. What's not to like? More please.
Book number: 68
Title: Housekeeping vs. the Dirt
Author: Nick Hornby
Category: Non-fiction
And in this case, that something is books. Housekeeping vs. the Dirt is the literary, witty, interesting, professionally written version of this blog, written by somebody who is all of the aforementioned. It's his second collection of articles written for The Believer, an American arts magazine about what he reads each month. I'd like to claim it was an inspiration for this, but it wasn't. At least not consciously, and frankly I'm happier not knowing what my subconscious is doing a lot of the time.
Anyway, having read the first collection and enjoyed it as much as expected, I really did know what I was getting into with this. Numerous months of lists of books bought and books read, often bearing no relation to one another (sounds familiar), plus insights into what he has actually read, accompanied by observations on all kinds of things, often revolving around literary life. I will no doubt flick through again at some point and pick out some choice recommendations. And there are even excerpts from some of his favourites. What's not to like? More please.
Book number: 68
Title: Housekeeping vs. the Dirt
Author: Nick Hornby
Category: Non-fiction
Life and times
And for my next trick: another prize winner. Wait, did I just do that? Apparently so. Well, this time we're hopping across the Pond for the Big American One. Or in this instance at least, a Canadian one. What's that all aboot, eh? Probably (definitely) a cheap shot, but let's not pretend that I'm above that.
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields, then. This choice was more of an accident than anything else – it was sat at the top of a stack of books on the bedside table of the Tiny Cave (the Tiny Cave being the dumping ground/room in which I now sleep when I'm back in Suffolk). So I figured it must be fate as it fitted into one of my categories and sounded good. It was good too.
A celebration of life told in the form of ten chapters covering the life of our protagonist from birth to death. Told in different styles, from multiple perspectives, it has everything you would expect – life, death, love, marriage, divorce, children, work, travel, moving – but what I liked most about it was its celebration of the ordinary. There weren't necessarily any big This is a Book About questions, nor any Meaning of Life answers, but there didn't need to be. Well told, through a variety of different narrative styles which only jarred a little, its strength lay in its simplicity and the fact that really we don't always know that much, much is outside of our control, and that life happens to all of us whether we want it to or not. All we can do is try and live it to the best of our abilities within the constraints placed upon us.
Book number: 67
Title: The Stone Diaries
Author: Carol Shields
Category: Pulitzer Prize winners
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields, then. This choice was more of an accident than anything else – it was sat at the top of a stack of books on the bedside table of the Tiny Cave (the Tiny Cave being the dumping ground/room in which I now sleep when I'm back in Suffolk). So I figured it must be fate as it fitted into one of my categories and sounded good. It was good too.
A celebration of life told in the form of ten chapters covering the life of our protagonist from birth to death. Told in different styles, from multiple perspectives, it has everything you would expect – life, death, love, marriage, divorce, children, work, travel, moving – but what I liked most about it was its celebration of the ordinary. There weren't necessarily any big This is a Book About questions, nor any Meaning of Life answers, but there didn't need to be. Well told, through a variety of different narrative styles which only jarred a little, its strength lay in its simplicity and the fact that really we don't always know that much, much is outside of our control, and that life happens to all of us whether we want it to or not. All we can do is try and live it to the best of our abilities within the constraints placed upon us.
Book number: 67
Title: The Stone Diaries
Author: Carol Shields
Category: Pulitzer Prize winners
Spoilers
And for my next trick: another Booker winner. Sometimes when you're on a roll (or in this case, a hot streak of one), you just crave something similar. Which isn't always easy within the confines of the categories and isn't necessarily the point (there was a point?!), but to hell with it, that's what I did.
Indeed, 'to hell with him' might not be a bad subtitle for Amsterdam, Ian McEwan's *checks cover* 1998 winner. It certainly covers the gist of it between the three or four main characters as their relationship changes through dramatic events with unforeseen consequences, as they are all tied together by a woman who played a crucial part in all of their lives and has just passed away.
In my experience, McEwan seems to be a divisive author – plenty of people I know love him and plenty dislike him strongly. My sole experience till this point was On Chesil Beach, which I thought was pretentious and I didn't find much to enjoy in it. However, I'm all about second chances (and third – I can be pretty easy to get onboard and hard to kick off) and put all previous thoughts and prejudice to bed.
And I'm glad I did, because it was excellent. It was superbly written, consistently gripping, the characters were interesting and well-realised, the plotting carefully done, full of twists and bascially pretty much everything one could hope for. It's not a long book, but I did actually read it in the mythical single sitting. Which is largely a ringing endorsement for it.
Except for the end. Which I thought was ridiculous and thoroughly unbelievable. Sure, the characters were rather self-absorbed, self-obsessed and at times showed themselves to be not particularly nice individuals. And which is a good case in point for strong characters not having to be likeable or relatable to in order to interesting. But bearing in mind their relationship, even if it did unravel somewhat through the course of the book as events spiralled out of their control, the ending just seemed totally far-fetched to me. While sometimes closure is nice and human nature inevitably wants to know what happens, in this case I think some ambiguity (did it happen or not?) would have been far stronger. As I've said before, probably somewhere else in this blog, an ending can really make or break a book, especially as that's the last thing that you take away from it. It's testament to the strength of this one that it didn't break it for me, it was otherwise extremely good, but it is disappointing to have it spolit in such a way.
Book number: 66
Title: Amsterdam
Author: Ian McEwan
Category: Charlotte's choice
Indeed, 'to hell with him' might not be a bad subtitle for Amsterdam, Ian McEwan's *checks cover* 1998 winner. It certainly covers the gist of it between the three or four main characters as their relationship changes through dramatic events with unforeseen consequences, as they are all tied together by a woman who played a crucial part in all of their lives and has just passed away.
In my experience, McEwan seems to be a divisive author – plenty of people I know love him and plenty dislike him strongly. My sole experience till this point was On Chesil Beach, which I thought was pretentious and I didn't find much to enjoy in it. However, I'm all about second chances (and third – I can be pretty easy to get onboard and hard to kick off) and put all previous thoughts and prejudice to bed.
And I'm glad I did, because it was excellent. It was superbly written, consistently gripping, the characters were interesting and well-realised, the plotting carefully done, full of twists and bascially pretty much everything one could hope for. It's not a long book, but I did actually read it in the mythical single sitting. Which is largely a ringing endorsement for it.
Except for the end. Which I thought was ridiculous and thoroughly unbelievable. Sure, the characters were rather self-absorbed, self-obsessed and at times showed themselves to be not particularly nice individuals. And which is a good case in point for strong characters not having to be likeable or relatable to in order to interesting. But bearing in mind their relationship, even if it did unravel somewhat through the course of the book as events spiralled out of their control, the ending just seemed totally far-fetched to me. While sometimes closure is nice and human nature inevitably wants to know what happens, in this case I think some ambiguity (did it happen or not?) would have been far stronger. As I've said before, probably somewhere else in this blog, an ending can really make or break a book, especially as that's the last thing that you take away from it. It's testament to the strength of this one that it didn't break it for me, it was otherwise extremely good, but it is disappointing to have it spolit in such a way.
Book number: 66
Title: Amsterdam
Author: Ian McEwan
Category: Charlotte's choice
Picking up the pieces
And so once again there's been a brief interlude between entries – mostly due to not having internet access and partially due to failing to summon up the necessary energy to write something – but the books have still been slowly piling up on the 'to write' list, so I figured I ought to start tackling that log jam before I forget everything. Indeed, my memory is comparable to that of a goldfish at the moment anyway, so I'm not sure if I have anything useful or interesting to say. Which would imply I usually do and frankly I'm not sure that's true. But anyway, to the point...
In an entirely separate and longer running project, I've been trying to work my way through all of the Booker Prize winning novels. I'm not doing badly at it either – barring the first decade of the prize, of which I've read precisely no books, I'm probably about two-thirds of the way through those from 1980 onwards. Which isn't too bad, I don't think. So when I was rummaging through the shelves (or returning the books to their rightful places from the boxes of Moving House), I stumbled across half a dozen unread Booker winners, some of which have been gathering dust for some time. Perfect. Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient was by my reckoning the longest serving of these, so that became my next read.
Interestingly, I felt it had lots of similarities between another Booker winner I read a few months ago, Penelope Lively's Moon Tiger. The narration, the structure, the time period, the striking imagery that felt at once alien and familiar, intimate and looking in from outside. It worked well in both of them as the characters try to put their lives back together, or more, perhaps, to adjust to what has suddenly become normality, after the madness of what has gone before. I liked the fragmentary nature of the structure, encapsulating the way the characters were trying to piece things together. The slow unravelling of mysteries and the way the reader can piece things together for themselves is skilfully done and I can certainly see why it won. Obviously there's an element of subjectivity in awarding prizes, though I think people can usually recognise and appreciate quality, even if it's not their cup of tea or even if they actively disliked it. In this instance, I ticked pretty much all the boxes though. Job's a good 'un.
Book number: 65
Title: The English Patient
Author: Michael Ondaatje
Category: Books that have been sat on my bookshelf for too long
In an entirely separate and longer running project, I've been trying to work my way through all of the Booker Prize winning novels. I'm not doing badly at it either – barring the first decade of the prize, of which I've read precisely no books, I'm probably about two-thirds of the way through those from 1980 onwards. Which isn't too bad, I don't think. So when I was rummaging through the shelves (or returning the books to their rightful places from the boxes of Moving House), I stumbled across half a dozen unread Booker winners, some of which have been gathering dust for some time. Perfect. Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient was by my reckoning the longest serving of these, so that became my next read.
Interestingly, I felt it had lots of similarities between another Booker winner I read a few months ago, Penelope Lively's Moon Tiger. The narration, the structure, the time period, the striking imagery that felt at once alien and familiar, intimate and looking in from outside. It worked well in both of them as the characters try to put their lives back together, or more, perhaps, to adjust to what has suddenly become normality, after the madness of what has gone before. I liked the fragmentary nature of the structure, encapsulating the way the characters were trying to piece things together. The slow unravelling of mysteries and the way the reader can piece things together for themselves is skilfully done and I can certainly see why it won. Obviously there's an element of subjectivity in awarding prizes, though I think people can usually recognise and appreciate quality, even if it's not their cup of tea or even if they actively disliked it. In this instance, I ticked pretty much all the boxes though. Job's a good 'un.
Book number: 65
Title: The English Patient
Author: Michael Ondaatje
Category: Books that have been sat on my bookshelf for too long
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
I'm not sick but I'm not well
Once in a while you read something that really strikes a chord with you, managing to capture exactly what you're feelign at that moment in time. And when it really works, it manages to summarise it so succinctly, far better than you can manage by yourself (why I'm reader not a writer I would guess), and even to help explain why you might be feeling like this. Such a book is Oliver James' Affluenza. Whether it has done anything to improve my mood is debateable, being that I'm feeling lsot, frustrated and wondering what the point is in a lot of things. What is more reassuring is that it tells me that I'm not a lone in feeling like this and James' research also works wonders in explaining why.
An explanation of what has gone wrong for people, mentally, predominantly in English-speaking countries over the last thirty or forty years, how our values have been eroded and changed, and how our emotions have been manipulated into so many distressing situations, is a pretty large subjetc matter. Placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of consumerism, the cult of individuality, or to borrow the author's term, selfish capitalism, also initially seems like a bold stroke. And yet the evidence seems very difficult to argue with. The more consumerist, the less equal (see Wilkinson and Pickett's The Spirit Level) a society, the greater the desire in that society to have rather than to be, the unhappier it is and the greater levels of mental ill health.
Focusing on several different aspects of life, across many different countries, incontrovertible proof is used to show that, as The Beatles pointed out, money can't buy love, or, for that matter, happiness. Also, it seems that no matter how much you have, you never think you have enough, you always want more and that our whole economy, seemingly our whole point now, is to consume. None of which may necessarily appear that radical, but for me at least it has a different ring to it when it's backed up with evidence, rather than simply the ring of conventional (or not) wisdom. At a time when we've had disaffected swathes of the population rioting and looting in a haves versus have nots kind of way, at a time when I'm struggling to work out what I want from life, a job, a career, it all seems rather apt.
What makes this so good though, is not just the evidence, imperial and anecdotal, but the fact that suggestions are made for solutions and cures. Sure, they're not necessarily easy and sadly are most likely pipe dreams – there's poison coursing through the veins of what remains of our society, which has in itself been largely dismantled through consumerism and individuality. In parts these are just the opinions of the author, but he states as much, and often calls on a great deal of evidence and experience, and, to me at least, make a lot of sense.
A fascinating books, showing how things have been corrupted from their original intent in the post-war order, how money and business and advertising are all, at the expense of the things that really matter. It was also particularly interesting for me as my special subject at undergrad was on the culture of affluence in Britain in the 1950s and 60s, so this work references various old friends (hello Young! nice to see you Marcuse!). It's interesting to see how things have changed, how this situation has come about, how it was predicted, and how we seem to have lost ourselves. If, like me, you wonder why the hell you've been doing everything you've been doing, wondering to what end you've simply been jumping through hoops for your entire life, especially if it doesn't make you happy (it doesn't) and isn't that important (it isn't), why so many people fill their lives with so much shit, why we buy and consume in the hope of some kind of meaning, read this book. It might not help and it might not solve anything, but it might just make things a little clearer.
Sure, I fail on all kinds of levels at a lot of these thing; I'm not perfect and am happy to admit that and having alll kinds of paradoxes and hypocrisies is one of the perils of being human. And yeah, maybe it hasn't improved my mood and maybe I do feel rather disaffected at the moment, but in understanding I hope that it will help me to unravel things a bit and find some more of the important things in life – happiness, purpose, intimacy. Right now I might want to spend most of my time catching bodies coming through the rye, but goddamn it, I might just be better off that way.
Book number: 64
Title: Affluenza
Author: Oliver James
Category: Non-fiction
An explanation of what has gone wrong for people, mentally, predominantly in English-speaking countries over the last thirty or forty years, how our values have been eroded and changed, and how our emotions have been manipulated into so many distressing situations, is a pretty large subjetc matter. Placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of consumerism, the cult of individuality, or to borrow the author's term, selfish capitalism, also initially seems like a bold stroke. And yet the evidence seems very difficult to argue with. The more consumerist, the less equal (see Wilkinson and Pickett's The Spirit Level) a society, the greater the desire in that society to have rather than to be, the unhappier it is and the greater levels of mental ill health.
Focusing on several different aspects of life, across many different countries, incontrovertible proof is used to show that, as The Beatles pointed out, money can't buy love, or, for that matter, happiness. Also, it seems that no matter how much you have, you never think you have enough, you always want more and that our whole economy, seemingly our whole point now, is to consume. None of which may necessarily appear that radical, but for me at least it has a different ring to it when it's backed up with evidence, rather than simply the ring of conventional (or not) wisdom. At a time when we've had disaffected swathes of the population rioting and looting in a haves versus have nots kind of way, at a time when I'm struggling to work out what I want from life, a job, a career, it all seems rather apt.
What makes this so good though, is not just the evidence, imperial and anecdotal, but the fact that suggestions are made for solutions and cures. Sure, they're not necessarily easy and sadly are most likely pipe dreams – there's poison coursing through the veins of what remains of our society, which has in itself been largely dismantled through consumerism and individuality. In parts these are just the opinions of the author, but he states as much, and often calls on a great deal of evidence and experience, and, to me at least, make a lot of sense.
A fascinating books, showing how things have been corrupted from their original intent in the post-war order, how money and business and advertising are all, at the expense of the things that really matter. It was also particularly interesting for me as my special subject at undergrad was on the culture of affluence in Britain in the 1950s and 60s, so this work references various old friends (hello Young! nice to see you Marcuse!). It's interesting to see how things have changed, how this situation has come about, how it was predicted, and how we seem to have lost ourselves. If, like me, you wonder why the hell you've been doing everything you've been doing, wondering to what end you've simply been jumping through hoops for your entire life, especially if it doesn't make you happy (it doesn't) and isn't that important (it isn't), why so many people fill their lives with so much shit, why we buy and consume in the hope of some kind of meaning, read this book. It might not help and it might not solve anything, but it might just make things a little clearer.
Sure, I fail on all kinds of levels at a lot of these thing; I'm not perfect and am happy to admit that and having alll kinds of paradoxes and hypocrisies is one of the perils of being human. And yeah, maybe it hasn't improved my mood and maybe I do feel rather disaffected at the moment, but in understanding I hope that it will help me to unravel things a bit and find some more of the important things in life – happiness, purpose, intimacy. Right now I might want to spend most of my time catching bodies coming through the rye, but goddamn it, I might just be better off that way.
Book number: 64
Title: Affluenza
Author: Oliver James
Category: Non-fiction
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