Newland Bookclub

Our Kind of Traitor - John Le Carre

2012-01-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

John Le Carre continues his series of post-Cold War spy novels with a cast of intelligence professionals and keen amateurs against the dangerous web of present-day Russian criminal syndicates and their limitless resources. This is the story of a Russian mafioso called Dima, who meets by chance a young British couple, Perry and Gail, while they are holidaying in the Caribbean. Dima will become 'lethally expendable' following a mafia reorganisation, and he decides to use Perry and Gail as go-betweens with British intelligence to trade knowledge for refuge for himself and his rag-tag extended family. They are put in touch with Hector Meredith, a marginalised and close to retirement senior spy manager, who judges Dima's offer to be a career-redeeming, last big operation.

Hector and his number two Luke, who is similarly marginalised, take Perry and Gail through the ensuing action, to an abrupt ending, which though written large from the beginning, comes as a shock nevertheless.

There was some disappointment to find that the plot does not stand very close scrutiny, and is unbelievable in parts, and sometimes a bit convenient, like the original meeting in Antigua. Nevertheless, it is a good read, though Le Carre's distinctive voice jars a little in places and we are drawn back to the Cold War, when this story is set firmly in the current financial crisis threatening us all. There is a wonderful account of a meeting between politicians and financiers on a yacht in the Adriatic - which unashamedly refers to Peter Mandelson's visit a couple of summers ago to a yacht in Corfu owned by a Russian oligarch. Is what Dima has to sell of any value to the British? The betrayal at the heart of the book is part of the degradation of everything around it. Have things been turned upside-down so completely that is necessary for those who once held 'old-fashioned' values to depend on the proceeds of crime for survival?

Highly recommended are two earlier novels by Le Carre, 'The spy who came in from the cold' and 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'.

2011-10-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Jamaica Inn — the film

This 1939 Alfred Hitchcock film bears little resemblance to du Maurier's book. Mary played by Maureen O'Hara, who is noted as coming from Ireland, was yet to become a Hollywood Star. Charles Laughton, as co-producer of the film, threw his not inconsiderable weight around.insisting on taking the role of the Squire. He can well be described as 'lording' it over everyone — the albino, villainous vicar being an impossible character to include in 1930's Hollywood. Leslie Banks who played Joss, Mary's uncle has a suitably wonky eye, heavy features and a menacing stance but isn't half as bad as in the book. Patience, his wife, is perhaps the most uninspiring of the characters — rather like the book.

However, the wild seas — how very wet the actors must have got — the bleak moors and the coldness of the Inn came over well. Jem, the romantic interest in the book, is changed into an undercover customs/police man, Traherne. The story line diverges dramatically towards the end.

Considering that Daphne was alive at the time of its production it seems she had little influence over the script.

We have to remember of course that 1939 was a very different time from now and also from Cornwall of the early 19th century. Hollywood films had to conform to strict production codes and audiences' expectations were different too, and of course war was looming.

The book
We were pretty critical of the film but everyone enjoyed the book. It is a good read, a page turner, as they say with good characterisation. Patience irritated me but also personified all those women, particularly in days when opting out of a marriage was very difficult, who stayed with abusive men who have holds over their women. Just a kind word infrequently reminds them of the love they once had and is sufficient. How Mary put up with it all was rather pathetic, why she cared so much is beyond me. She could perfectly well have gone back to her farm which her mother had been running on her own before she died and Mary seems like a sensible woman with the guts to do it herself. We wonder if her relationship with Jem would have ended up the same way as the older couple?
Du Maurier is a master of atmosphere and description and it is a good story.
It is surely time for it to be refilmed and we could all come up with suitable actors for the main parts. Remembering Charles Dance in Rebecca left a few swooning.

12 Books That Changed the World

2011-08-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

Melvyn Bragg's book took 12 diverse books and dedicated a chapter to each of them. There was a strong reaction to the book; were these the right ones, why did he miss out this one and include that one, Bragg was saying more about the authors than the books and as a consequence s0me felt the writing lacked a degree of depth producing a shallow representation of the originals.

However as is often the case when there is dissention in the group it produced a very long, lively and spirited discussion leaving us to have to be very patient before reaching the coffee and cake stage of the evening.

Several themes were noted; many of the authors came from wealth backgrounds leaving them to dedicate their entire lives to their passions, several came from a similar time in history and religion was an important aspect of some of the writings and beliefs. The book, even prior to the meeting had stimulated enough interest for further reading to have taken place, adding to the discussion and at times diverting us.

A few of the authors and subjects were more familiar than others. We learnt about the influencial Marie Stopes whose book on Married Love was deemed so controversial that its publication had to be delayed until after ww1 as it was believed it would be so unsettling to both men and women such were her revolutionary ideas. We were reminded of the importance of the Magna Carta beyond the boundaries of this country and that Adam Smith's ideas on free trade and how they would assist the world are still relevant and quoted today. Language and its use in the past and todays world were a big talking point when it came to the King James Bible and Shakespeare. Our modern ways of expressions taking from these mighty tomes. Wilberforce did much throughout his life to abolish the slave trade and we admired his perseverence, despite his failing health to keep presenting his bills to parliament. When the Abolition of Slavery Act was finally passed in 1883, he was 3 days away from this death.

The FA rules were thought to be a controversial inclusion and whilst we felt they were significant we did not accept that they were the only reason why football has become such a global phenomenom. Although having seen, predominently boys play football it is a good thing that someone knows the rules as, mayhem could quite easily breakoutif left entirely to their own devices. Mary Wollstonecraft was a rather controversial figure in many ways but did very strongly believe that education was essential to ensure true freedom for women. There was absolutely no argument with this!

We liked some of the individuals more than others and warmed to Faraday who came from very humble beginnings as did Arkwright whom we liked less. The latter brought employment to many and the factory system of working enable many to find employment but it also saw the shift of people from the country to the towns to find work. Darwin made some marvellous discoveries and wrote of them in The Origin of the Species, but like many of the others mentioned in the book Bragg made little reference to those who had gone before whose research and discoveries probably made it possible for him to be so influential.

This is however true of us all, that we benefit from those that blazed the trail before us.

Much has been left out of the analysis of the book so if the gaps are very

Three Men in a Boat

2011-07-18T02:43:00.000-07:00

5th July 2011

It was generally agreed that the story told in the book was quite "laddish". The 'pranks' of three young men in the late 1800s were comically told and made for relatively easy reading. It was noted that it is impossible to accurately provide a chronology to the story. There is a great deal of digression and many non sequiturs in the recounting of this journey down the Thames. The book suffers from the author's indecision regarding the genre of the book - whether it is a treatise on the British countryside, a comedy or a serious reflection on the mores of the period. Many of the reflections on the British countryside are maudlin and the social commentary is erratic and sits jarringly amidst the narrative. The characterisation of the three young men is poorly fleshed-out and the three merge seamlessly into a single person. Nonetheless, the book provides an insight into the period, albeit, from a very limited perspective.

Beloved by Toni Morrison

2011-07-15T04:52:00.000-07:00

Be warned, Beloved is not an easy read and you need to stick with it! It is really two different stories , one being told through flashbacks to the 1850s and the days of slavery, the other taking place in the novel's present, 1873. Thus the story unfolds in an elliptical way, as allusions are made in the narrative to events which are only developed and clarified later on in the book.

The main character is Sethe, who escapes from slavery by fleeing across the Ohio River, then kills her older daughter in an attempt to keep her being taken back to the South by her cruel old master, the Schoolteacher. This story is taken from the real story of Margaret Garner, who like Sethe, escaped from slavery in Kentucky and murdered her child when slave catchers caught up with her in Ohio.

A ghost then haunts the house, 124 Bluestone Road, where Sethe lives with her younger daughter, Denver. Paul D, who knows Sethe from their past, moves into the house and chases the ghost away. A mysterious figure, calling herself by the name on the dead daughter's tombstone, Beloved, appears at the house shortly after that. It is generally believed by all the characters in the book that Beloved is the embodied spirit of the dead girl.

Paul D and Beloved hate each other, and he is finally driven out of the house by her, and by the revelation that Sethe murdered her baby. Thereafter the relationship between Sethe and Beloved becomes more intense and exclusive, with Beloved growing increasingly manipulative and parasitic, and Sethe more obsessed with satisfying her demands. Denver is worried about the way her mother is wasting away, and seeks the help of the community to exorcise Beloved from 124. Beloved does eventually disappear in the ensuing confusion. Afterwards Paul D comes back to Sethe, and the story thus ends on a hopeful note, Paul saying that he and Sethe "got more yesterday than anybody. We need some kind of tomorrow."

The book does not mince its words. Apparently when Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's cabin she had to tone down the facts to make the novel publishable - this book really brings home to the reader the spiritual, emotional and physical devastation wrought by the horrors of slavery. The book is also a commentary on the legacy of slavery, which affects not only the identities of its black victims, but also those of its perpetrators, and which leads to everyone suffering a loss of humanity and compassion. Morrison suggests that, like Sethe, contemporary readers must confront the history of slavery in order to address this legacy which reveals itself in on-going racial discrimination and discord.

One final point: this is a complex, non-linear story, and there are, at least in this edition (World Book Night 2011), no numbered chapters, which means that it is very difficult to find your way around it when you need to refer back to a relevant point.

The man who never was

2011-04-06T05:43:00.000-07:00

We had all read Operation Mincemeat by Ben McIntyre who had the wonderful good fortune of first finding Montague's son and then with him discovering the the proverbial tin trunk ful of material relating to this marvellously eccentric operation. Most had also seen the BBC docudrama of the same name. The original film while being a period piece from the 1950s though set in the 1940s reminded us of the way in which people spoke, smoked and generally related to each other. There is a major departure from the 'real' story with the inclusion of Riley who is supposed to be Irish yet talks with a rather odd German accent and is supposed to be a German spy. The truth was in fact much more complicated with agents and consuls/vice-consuls and various other personages in Spain either working for or against their own countries and a clear head is needed to remember who is who and who is betraying whom. The film is preceded by a waiver that the name of the "man" is not revealed and he is given a father while in fact the man's name was known and his parentage was unknown but we have to keep remembering that society was different in the 1950s. This is also particularly relevant with regard to Montague who was, if not in love with Pam then at least much taken by her and wined and dined her frequently. When the film was made of course he was still alive as was his wife so it could not have been revealed. There was another very fifties deference to current mores when the body is being dressed for the operation - we never see how they get the clothes on or indeed his face. The final scenes show the grave as it was - William Martin's real name has now been added to the gravestone. We all enjoyed it and no one went to sleep - which has happened before - we think that the original was in black and white and that the film has been coloured up.

2011-03-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

Roald Dahl – Going Solo

Going Solo is a sequel to Boy, Dahl’s autobiography of his early life. Going Solo begins with Dahl leaving England and travelling to Mombassa in 1938 to work for Shell. He was then 22yrs old. When war breaks out he joins the RAF and is sent as a fighter pilot to Greece.

There was some debate about the authenticity of episodes in the book, especially in the first part when Dahl is in Africa. The story of the lion taking the cook’s wife is one such which was a familiar apocryphal story with some members. Never-the-less this did not take anything away from the flow of the story telling.

We realised that Dahl used some of these early experiences in his childrens' stories, for instance comparing Dahl’s cabin mate, Mr U.N. Savory (?) who wears a wig, with The Witches where “witches have no hair, and must therefore wear wigs directly on their naked scalps, resulting in a condition they call "wig-rash.”

The eccentricity of characters especially the naked joggers running round the deck of SS Mantola prompted much discussion about colonial isolation, eccentricity in general and nudist experiences (Marion’s life-drawing class in particular).

The second part of the book about Dahl’s experiences as an RAF Hurricane pilot in North Africa and Greece is a complete contrast to the light hearted beginning in Africa. Dahl joins his squadron in Greece and realises there are only 15 Hurricanes and 2 Bleinhem bombers protecting the whole of Greece. The men are outnumbered 50:1 and as a result are uncommunicative. The mortality rate is so high the pilots have nothing left but concentrate on their own self preservation.

Dahl details the incompetence of the RAF command to which the pilots are sacrificed and emphasises their vulnerability against the unstoppable momentum of the huge German army machine. There doesn’t look to be any hope.

Remembering that Dahl was only 22/23 at the time we wondered whether his sense of duty, respect for authority and innocence protected him through these horrific experiences. It took me back to reading John Buchan and tales of daring do - really a different time altogether. We wondered how young people today, with a more questioning approach, would behave in such circumstances.

In all the message of the book is anti war and anti authority. There was an underlying suggestion of unsaid questions. Questions for instance prompted by Dahl seeing a German pilot flying past in his cockpit: “Why are we here?” “What on earth are we doing?”

I enjoyed the book very much - it gave a very vivid description of the life of a young man during this time, and is told with good humour and compassion.

The Music Room

2011-02-16T08:43:00.000-08:00

Having heard an extract of this biography some time ago and Broughton Castle being so close by it seemed a good choice. It has three strands; William Feinnes childhood in the family home a 700 year old moated castle, the sad deterioration of his brother as his epilepsy progresses and the medical details of the development in medical treatment for the illness.
William Feinnes describes what for him was a wonderful childhood. He grew up in a house owned by the family for centuries, which they shared with film crews, theatre groups, musicians and faithful staff as well as a possible 'ghost', but if there was one it was a friendly one, as Mrs Fiennes told people 'as it did not give then any trouble'. The author says as a child he never asked 'why the house was open to the public and that thousands of strangers walked past our bedrooms and peered into the kitchen window each year'. He did however understand that the staff had to be paid.
This theme of duty to care ran through the entire book. The parents dedication to caring for the house as part of the country's heritage and therefore to leave it in good order for future generations. The family's care for each other and especially Rich, the son and heir who at a young age developed epilepsy that was to destroy his life, challenge the family and as his behaviour changes as his illness progressed see many of their expectations challenged. What came across very strongly was the family's 'ordinariness' despite these things. They seem to be self contained, a real paradox when we appreciate how much they needed the outside world to keep their own physically, and practically afloat. We felt a real warmth for the parents, both who gave unceasingly.
The book is very visual, the writing drawing very clear pictures. There are wonderful descriptions of the father taking Richard and William tree felling, clearing the moat and doing ordinary things even though at times the reader gets the impression that these are extraordinary people in difficult circumstances. Mother oils the suits of armour with WD40 to keep the hinges working and touches up the wall paper with a fine paint brush where it is beginning to fade. The author himself draws a wonderful picture of his discovery of the house and its contents and talks about how parts, for him seem to be beyond where it is safe to explore.
But the main trust is the about the author's older brother, told from his perspective. He seems to have no difficulty in accepting that Rich is different, that he can fluctuate from gentle giant to unpredictably aggressive in seconds. That he behaves in a way that might terrify others and that his behaviour becomes so unmanageable at home that he has to go to a special centre; sent away but not as in so many case to be hidden from sight but to enable the family to go on loving him and offering him at weekends and for holidays as much love and caring as they can.
We wondered why it was called the Music Room, but it seems that in this room there were many happy memories including mother playing her viola, practising her scales, the author's fascination for the instruments, the metronome and the lavish furnishings. But also of the family gathered there together and Rich singing. He held the attention of them all, dressed in his suit and waistcoat, holding his score out like a professional he sang out of tune and seemingly beguiled them all. Sadly Rich dies at 41.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum, by Kate Atkinson

2011-01-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

Throughout the story of Ruby Lennox there are some objects that keep appearing at different moments of her family's history, like the glass button and the rabbit's paw. Such objects seem to be the only references that conjure up the slightest notion of a museum, because mainly this is a serious tale of life's ups and downs; those that we bring upon ourselves (such as running off with door-to-door photographer in an attempt to escape the drudgery of motherhood), and those that are beyond our control, such as fire, war and traffic accidents.
I admit I got halfway through the book and had to start again as I had lost track of the characters - Ruby does leap about a bit in her retelling of the family history which can be confusing and requires the reader to assemble the story rather like a jigsaw. In fact, once you have created the whole picture, you need to go back to the beginning to discover all the details that you have missed, such as the references to Ruby's twin sister.
Ruby's role as first person narrator is somewhat voyeuristic as she recounts family events through photos, places and objects. It is her narrator's omniscience that gives you the sense of looking at a museum archive and watching a soap opera at the same time. Finally Ruby has to escape the clutches of her family ties (rather like her great grandmother) and she launches off into a life where she does have some control over her ups and downs.
Now, have a look at your own possessions and family heirlooms. How many of them have been passed on to you by a relative? What historical dramas have they witnessed? How do they link you to your ancestry and to the eras before you were born? What's behind the scenes of your museum?

Sea Room by Adam Nicolson

2011-01-18T23:22:00.000-08:00

Lynne chose this book as a result of having heard it reviewed by Mariella Frostrup on Radio 4's Book Club. This book has received some exceedingly positive reviews, see:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2004/may/16/travel.features

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/jun/30/features.review

It is one distinction of this book that there was (for once) unanimous agreement amongst the members of the book club regarding their opinion of it. Everyone agreed that this book was:

over long;
unnecessarily verbose;
of limited interest to anyone other than the author and his family;
lacking in narrative structure;
poorly edited;
self-indulgent;
and perhaps most damning of all - boring!

It is heartening how the unanimity of opinion in the group made for a warm, lively, friendly discussion.

Lynne's cheesecake was enjoyed by all.

The laurels for best marmalade are still up for grabs!

Excellent Women

2010-11-29T10:11:00.000-08:00

Our last read was 'Excellent Women' by Barbara Pym. Barbara Pym wrote for many years with little success before being championed by Philip Larkin and David Cecil in the 70s, and more recently by Alexander McCall Smith, who has written the introduction to the latest issue of the book.

She has been very favourably compared with Jane Austen, with that minute observation of character, and that gentle, engaging humour that makes the reader smile, but not laugh out loud. At the same time, neither of them says anything about the great issues of the time, both write about the world within the narrow boundaries of their experience, and about the small concerns that make up daily lives.

Her character in this novel, Mildred, a daughter of the vicarage, lives alone in her almost self-contained flat somewhere in London. She moves between her home, a part-time job with 'distressed gentlefolk' and the Vicarage. She is a great friend of the Vicar, Julian, and his sister, and personally I thought it would be ideal if she and Julian were to make a match of it, but this will never happen.

We all felt that Mildred comes across as much older than the 30-something she must be. She presents a portrait of a certain kind of woman at a certain period of history, in this case the early 50s, the dreary post-war days before rationing was lifted. Some found her annoying, pious, sanctimonious, boring, a busybody. Others found her funny, very subtle, entertaining, and enjoyed her wry comments on her world.

If you enjoy this book, I can recommend the 'Sunday Philosopher's Club' series by McCall Smith.

Picnic at Hanging Rock

2010-10-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

We started talking about the book - some adamantly disliked it, someone didn't even bother to read it while others loved it so I guess that's what a bookclub is all about.

The story reminds one of the mysteries of the Australian outback, the haunting sounds of the wind in the gum trees, the insects in the heat and the calls of the galahs while at the same time the British colonialists try desperately to hang on to their symbols of upper class status - porcelain teacups, cut glass for drinking out in the bush - three-piece suits in the dry hot summer - bonkers we now think.

The story can be read as a strange tale of young girls and their teacher disappearing on Hanging Rock - the hysterics of the two survivors - and the unexplained death of another girl back at the College. It is written in such a way that the reader never really knows if the story is based on any kind of truth - is it? will we ever know? Or it can be read as the old and the new coming together yet remaining apart. Where Nature overcomes Man who is totally unequipped to cope. Even Albert the Australian pitted against the Rock does not find the girls and the local police appear rather timid and wary of exploring too deeply amongst the crevises. In fact it is the more weedy and more inexperienced Michael who finds the crucial piece of evidence. Is this to show that his breeding and upper class fortitude and 'character' are evidence that he is in fact superior to Albert in more ways than just money and class.

We then watched the Peter Weir film - made in the 1970s but set in 1900. It was very beautifully shot with many Pre-Raffaelite allusions. Some of us found it too fluffy, fey, effete, soft focus - not gritty enough as we have sometimes come to expect of Australian movies?

There were certainly some oddities - the marvellous panpipe music was lovely to listen to - but a continent away from its home - a touch of didgerdoo would have added to the tension and the atmosphere. I was reminded of A Passage to India and the cave scenes - indeed the lack of scenes for we don't know there either what actually happened.

But Australia is a mixture of two (and now of many) completely different cultures and the movie industry has sometimes found it difficult to show this. This film is worth seeing for its prettiness rather than for its acting which is rather minimal, for yet another strange story from the bush (the Dingo baby story has just risen its head again as I write this), rather than for any psychological analysis of young women and for a view into what life really was like for a few young women at the turn of a century when Queen Victoria was still on the throne.

British colonialists became a smaller and smaller group yet they still wielded enormous power and influence. Many didn't know how to leave Britain behind and their clinging to the 'old ways' seems to emphasise their insecurity. Many of course did become native, while many others returned to the 'old country' when they retired finding a different place from that which they had left.

Three of our bookclub are children of the colonies. I have been to Hanging Rock and my children have climbed it. It is indeed a weird place with the eerie sounds of wind and the vastness of the empty bush all around.

As an aside on New Year's Day horse races take place at Hanging Rock which are worth going to should you ever get the chance.

Mrs Woolf and The Servants, by Alison Light

2010-09-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

“An invaluable glimpse into the hidden history of domestic service in an absorbing narrative, beautifully written” The Times

Unfortunately we were all disappointed with this book. It is not clear whether it was;
a) attempting to be an academic thesis about Virginia’s work,
b) a study of her domestic life,
c) a history of Virginia’s servants.
It lacked depth, was too long (a great deal of the material was not relevant) and the text meandered along jumping from one subject to another with no coherent structure - we wondered it if was edited at all. It certainly was not about Virginia’s servants.

It appeared that the book was put together from pieces of research left over from the author’s other work, as if the unused research material was too good to waste and resulted in this mishmash of unformulated ideas.

Despite this there was a great deal of good material and we felt that there was a nugget of a good book within the text (if not three). Some information was telling and informative but it was not well used. If Alison Light had concentrated on one subject in more detail ie the servants (women in service, nannies and childcare, au pairs etc, what’s changed?) she would have produced a much more coherent work.

All in all we felt there was some worthy material here but that the book had missed a trick and brought nothing new to the genre of Mrs Woolf or her servants.

Grapes of Wrath

2010-08-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

Henry Fonda plays Tom Joad in this black and white movie. There is something both nostalgic and haunting about black and white photography. The scenes in the Joad's old homestead are extraordinary in their beauty yet they convey a sense of abandonment and of a past that has gone forever foretelling what will lie ahead for Tom, Casey and the Joad family.

While it is known that Steinbeck consulted on the screenplay it was a pity, though probably in keeping with the times, that the continuity does not always make sense. Characters just disappear, chunks of the book are left out and one wonders why so many of the scenes were so obviously set against immovable backdrops. This affected the sound so that one felt one was at the theatre as the voices sort of echoed. The film ends with one of Ma Joad's long monologues of homespun philosphy rather than with the uniquely poignant and, to me anyway, life-affirming scenes in all literature. Monologues with their intense focus on one person's face are almost unknown in modern films (Hunger is a recent exception and much was made of the dialogue in that film) and black and white filming lends itself to this well. The character cannot escape our scrutiny, we see every line and wrinkle, every twitch and twinkle in their eye - perhaps film actors today would prefer us not to see so much? We enjoyed that.

The book can be read in two ways, either all the way through (a lot of pages indeed) or alternate chapters which contain the story with the intervening ones being commentary on the state of society, politics, history and the ruthlessness and also desperation of people when nature turns against them.

Steinbeck does not, unlike many American authors, bring in religion at all. Indeed it is noticeable that the family do not say grace, nor read from the Bible when they bury grandpa, and Casey's loss of faith may well mirror Steinbeck's - I don't know and guess I'll have to read up on that.

We talked long into the night and ended with Austrian Coffee Cake.

2010-06-20T15:03:00.000-07:00

A Little History of the World, by E.H. Gombrich
This delightful recounting of the history of the world (though actually I think it was pretty much euro-centric at heart) is told by the well-known art historian (The Story of Art) and was first published in 1936. Gombrich's aim was to beguile, rather than flumux, a young readership with the magical stories from various episodes of man's history on the planet. The whole book, which spans from 'once upon a time' (which Gombrich describes as standing between two mirrors and seeing an endless reflection), reaches the second world war .
The story has a soap opera feel about it as Gombrich frequently reminds you to think about events , characters and themes that reoccur; Hannibal crossing the Alps on elephants, the strength and determination of the young empire-builder Alexander the Great, the fervour-driven misson of the knights of chivalry, the startling discoveries and revelations of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo, new appraoches to religion following the lives of Muhammad and Luther.
Having last studied history seriously as a school subject (a long time ago!) in concentrated and disjointed snippets of a particular era or event, it was interesting to grasp it all in one go and to see how events spanning decades and centuries were so inter-related. Most of all, the little history provided a amazing insight into who we are and why we live as we do today. The didactic tone of the story-telling could be interpreted as being slightly patronising. However, if you have such a patchy knowledge of history as I do, you will find the simplified approach both refreshing and memorable.
I chose this book after listening to a talk given by Neil McGregor describing some of the objects from his radio show 'The History of the World in 100 objects.' The first object he talked about was a pair of swimming reindeer carved from a mammoth's tusk. The object, which is serenely beautiful, was carved 13,000 years ago. But when you look at the object there is a flicker of a thought - were people then so differnt from us? Well, our understanding of the world and the objects that control our every day lifes may be very different from the Ice Age, but the emotions ruling our hearts may not be so different ...
The recurring theme of the Little History is that we continue to strive for the same order, wealth and enlightenment as all of our ancestors. The equipment and tools that we use to achieve it, however, are different. What Gombrich does so well is to put it all into a perspective that is manageable and modern.

A belated posting by the host, but I had to decipher my notes!!

2010-05-19T01:59:00.000-07:00

The meeting in May was not book-based, but asked members to bring along their suggestions for readings around the theme of 'Contemplating the Future'. I suggested this not having any idea of how the evening might pan out, but as ever our ideas roamed widely.

As host I started with a future that I cannot begin to contemplate, inspired by the recent film 'The Hurt Locker', and I read 'An Irish Airman Foresees his Death' by W B Yeats. How does a person face the certainty of death? Is it just adrenalin that keeps soldiers going? We did talk a lot about the contemplation of death. Donna read 'As I Walked out one Evening' by W H Auden, where lovers swear eternal faithfulness, but how hopeless it all is:

But all the clocks in the city
Began to whirr and chime:
'O let not Time deceive you,
You cannot conquer Time.

Marion delighted us all with a poem of her own, typically forthright, 'When the future seems bleak and you've nothing to do'. The message? Don't just sit there wondering what the future might hold, just go out there and take it into your own hands and do all the things you've dreamt about for so long.

Sheila read from one of Paul Theroux's books, where he talks about his feelings on being diagnosed with cancer. The future is not always about things ending, but also about new beginnings.

Merinda discussed David Mitchell's 'Cloud Atlas' and the alternative universe that it presents. The chapter we looked at is about the recording and archiving of memories. It is also about dreams of other lives: 'Dreams are all I have ever truly owned'. I am not sure whether they were dreams of an afterlife, the one future we didn't speak of is the possibility of life after death.

Lynne raised the question of the future of bookclubs, and of reading in general, with the rise of new media. The consensus was that the medium didn't matter that much, a question of personal preference, but we'd still be reading!

Finally, I could not resist reading a couple of my favourite poems which take a quirky look at the future, Jenny Joseph's 'Warning' (When I am an old woman I shall wear purple) and Roger McGough's 'Let me die a youngman's death'.

This month's cake was Death by Chocolate, what a way to go!

Contemplating the Future

2010-05-18T23:10:00.000-07:00

In the absence of the host's blog here are a couple of thoughts that were discussed, commented on, debated or mulled over.

The effect of time
The importance of the past to determine the future
The impact of electronic media on book sales and bookclubs
The importance or not of face-to-face interaction
What is a book — is it the whole package or is it the words within?
Death — lots on death though not much on the afterlife

We read peoms by the famous and the not-so-famous. We read from books old and new and some of us just came up with ideas of our own. Ending the night with Death by Chocolate cake we left with much food for thought.

A visit to the theatre

2010-05-09T05:03:00.000-07:00

Following on from our last meeting, when we watched 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof', we decided to go as a group to the Oxford Playhouse to see another Tennessee Williams, 'The Glass Menagerie', produced by the wonderful Shared Experience company. TW himself said in his introduction that it is about memory. It certainly seems to be quite autobiographical.

Tom and his sister Laura live with their mother Amanda, played by Imogen Stubbs, in a small flat in run-down part of St Louis. Amanda lives with the memories of her beautiful charmed youth.

Tom works in a warehouse and has been christened Shakespeare by his fellow workers because he is always writing. But he feel his life is too internal, and he yearns to experience the 'real' life he sees in the movies he goes to every evening.

The character of Laura seems to be based on that of TW's sister Rose, who ended her days in an asylum. She has been sent to secretarial college, but never attends her classes, as she cannot deal with people.

Like all TW, very intense and full of the heat and humidity of his settings. An excellent cast.

Enjoyed by all.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

2010-04-20T23:12:00.000-07:00

Tennessee Williams gives us a closeup view of family tensions in this controlled film of his play. Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman still in their 20s are beautiful to watch. Liz harangues less than in the written work and Paul is more personable. The no-neck monster children are every bit as annoying. Burl Ives is more avuncular and there is the scene in the basement filled with souveniers his wife has bought on their travels which is an addition to the play - perhaps just to give us all a break from the stifling atmosphere of the bedroom.

Brick and Maggie, though having come to some agreement which we can only guess is that brick will stay with her on the understanding that there is no sex, still have a closeness and there is a telling scene in which she hugs him and he nearly responds. His hands are about to hold her and then he holds off. He is also, at the end of the play, having confronted his 'demons', complicit in her lie about her pregnancy. We are left wondering about their relationship when they are not on view. Will he give up drinking? Will he inherit? Will she ever become pregnant.

As always TW dives into the heart of family life. He keeps the number of characters very small and exposes the underside of relationships. Yet it is not all bad - there is always some kindness, some love, even some joy.

Did we enjoy it - yes I think we all did - if only for the glory of Paul Newman from our and his youth. The colour was exceptionally good on the copy of the film - and it didnt feel 50 years old.
My copy of the play had been heavily annotated alonside TW's directing notes. It is amusing to see how film makers of the 50's, and indeed the 60s too, still felt it necessary to redo a character's hair midway through a scene, to give them clean clothes or as in Taylor's case remove her brastrap when she changes into her evening dress - one minute its there and the next its gone. The style of filming is in itself a window on the social mores of the times - the time of the making of the film rather than its setting.

2010-03-20T02:05:00.000-07:00

In complete contrast to Esprit d'Corps our March book was Toast - the story of a boy's hunger by Nigel Slater.
Incredibly well written, deceptively simple, with brief descriptions conjuring up whole personalities the book is written from a child's point of view. The black and white frankness of his opinions and feelings was sometimes startling. His relationship with his parents, Josh and Joan came across with vivid realism. Chapters after the death of his mother had particular poignancy especially The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe chapter where as an act of remembrance Nigel puts on his mother's clothes.
I really enjoyed this book and am spurred on to read more by him. The evening ended with lemon meringue pie (pg 154) and talk of childhood food experiences.

Esprit d'Corps

2010-02-16T15:07:00.000-08:00

What an hilarious evening we have had at Lynne's home - the Pooh like Capital Letters, the sparse tight writing, the innuendos and the wit of Lawrence Durrell's short stories reduced us to tears of laughter.
Thanks for choosing it.

2010-02-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

Following on from our reading of 'When I Lived in Modern Times', I have just read a very interesting book called 'The last Jews of Kerala' by Edna Fernandes. It is about the surviving members of India's oldest Jewish Diaspora (about 2000 years old) in Cochin. The thing that sets them apart from other Jewish communities is that they have never known persecution. They were welcomed by the local Indian rulers, to quote the blurb, into ' ... a land where Jew and Muslim, Hindu and Christian have lived and prayed in harmony for centuries'. This community is now dying, and many have moved to Israel. We wondered how Jewishness was defined, and this puts an interesting slant on that discussion.

Another good read is 'The Thirteenth Tribe' by Arthur Koestler, which traces the history of the ancient Khazar Empire, a major but almost forgotten power in Eastern Europe, which in the dark ages became converted to Judaism.

January 2010

2010-01-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

Sitting around in Sheila's living room we deconstructed When I lived in modern times.
We discovered that all 5 of us have ancestors far away - 4 in Eastern Europe.
This book is about identity and in particular being Jewish - at least 3 of us have jewish forebears - did we know that it had been pragmatic for some of them to convert sometimes to Catholicism, were the Jews a Race - we think probably yes.
The Bauhaus style of Tel Aviv was news to some.
As with so many novels we didn't think the author had really thought how to end the book. The character's final deception when she actually meets a nice guy in Nice doesn't ring true and tells us that she hadn't learnt anything at all from her time in Israel.
We also talked about the type of women whose husbands filled the posts of civil servants in foreign parts - how adaptable and unflappable they were.

2010

2009-12-26T04:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone
Here are our books for the next few months.
When I Lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant, Lawrence Durrell's Esprit d'Corps and Cat on a Hot Tim Roof - which we will also watch as a film and see what we think about the adaptation. So we are roaming from Israel to the Balkans to the USA - continuing our literary journey around the world, having been to the Spice Islands, 16th Century England, cyberspace and Brighton.

2009

2009-12-18T14:57:00.000-08:00

Chris started us off with Ursula Le Guin's science fiction The Left Hand of Darkness at her house where she also started the tradition of wine and cake.
What did we all think?

I would never have even known that le Guin wrote adult stories and indeed found it all rather weird.

Then we moved to Lynne's house after we had read 26A by Diane Evans an interesting book in that it felt like the author had written it either while studying creative writing or had just finished a course. It was too full of figures of speech which were rather laboured. It describes the gradual deterioration of one sister's state of mind. I certainly dont agree with the Independent's comment that it is -Very enjoyable...beautifully realized and wholly convincing...Evans writes with tremendous verve and dash' or that as others have desribed it as very witty? Sorry but suicide is NEVER witty.

Donna gave us Giles Milton's Nathaniel's Nutmeg which covered every thought and aspect of the trade in spices between the English. Dutch and the East Indies. These two great trading nations treated the islands as their own. There is much to discuss here. The author does seem to have felt that he couldn't leave anything out after what must have been years of painstaking research. Why Nathaniel's bravery was cnsidered to have changed the world is debatable though it obviously refers to acquisiton of Manhattan by the British but he is not mentioned until one is nearly finished reading the book.

At Marion's house we first watched Richard Attenbrough in Brighton Rock and then went on to evaluate the adaptation. We didn't find him all that convincing as Pinkie.

Our last book of 2009 was the Booker prize winning, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantell. I did wonder if any of the judges actually read the whole book. Did it need to be so long? I have already packaged mine up as a gift for a friend. Rather like Nathaniel's Nutmeg one wonders why the book is titled Wolf Hall unless it is seen as a symbol of what was going on in England at the time and also perhaps to tempt you to buy her sequel.