A Book Blog by Books do Furnish a Room 2013

[bobblybear]

It's been on my TBR pile for many years, too.

[Marie H]

I look forward to your review for Foucault's Pendulum too. It was on my TBR for a couple of years, but I gave it away (to a charity shop) this year, in a TBR clear out. The book sounded too daunting  .

[Books do furnish a room]

I've been avoiding Foucault's Pendulum for years!

The Gulag Archipelago by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

A bleak and unremittingly grim account of the gulags between 1918 and 1956, narrative history rather than Solzhenitsyn’s usual literary voice. There are occasional flashes of hope and redemption, but these are few.
Solzhenitsyn provides a historical account reasoning through the state’s decision-making process and covering all the process of prison and exile from arrest to release (not so many reached release). There are detailed descriptions of the food, interrogations, torture, sanitary arrangements, travel, weather, clothing, the guards, stool pigeons, the daily work, rebellions, hunger strikes, executions, cells, relationships between the sexes and exile. It is comprehensive and Solzhenitsyn does not spare the reader. He also outlines some of the policies which led to the gulags, the architects of them (primarily Lenin and Stalin) and provides some estimates of the death toll generally from the gulags, starvation and land clearance; figures are in the tens of millions all told.
It is an indictment of what Lenin and Stalin made of Marx in the Russian situation and some of the logical inconsistencies in the system (you achieve the withering away of the state by making it bigger). The whole thing is a testament to the fortitude of the human spirit. There are occasional flashes of humour; the party meeting where no one wants to be the first to stop clapping and so it goes on for over 8 minutes springs to mind.
The book is of historical importance; placing the origins of the gulag with Lenin rather than Stalin; he just exploited and perfected it. It is a must read and there isn’t a lot more to say. Anyone who wants to understand Soviet history has to read this.
8 and a half out of 10

Starting Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee

[Books do furnish a room]

Restoration by Rose Tremain

A really enjoyable Restoration farce with a great deal of heart. Robert Merivel is a would be physician and son of a glove-maker to the king. He lives for pleasure and is something of a rake and does not take his medical studies too seriously. He comes to the attention of the king and for a while he is part of the court and plays the fool. The king decides to marry him to one of his mistresses. This involves going to live on an estate in the country and much partying and debauchery ensued.
Merivel eventually falls and loses everything. He ends up working in a Quaker madhouse as a physician in the Fens. He also moves back to London and experiences the plague of 1665 and the fire of 1666. Lots of gaps there to avoid spoilers.
It is very funny, beautifully written and most of all there is real character development; not just for Merivel, but also for the excellent supporting cast. Although there is a touch of Tom Jones about it; the descriptions of madness are moving and perceptive.
This could have been awful, but it is rather good and there are some very funny passages; watch out for the Indian Nightingale and Merivel's attempts at painting (inventing impressionism in the 1660s only to be ridiculed).
All in all a good historical comic novel.

8 out of 10

Starting The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

[pontalba]

I actually have Restoration on the shelf here.  I picked it up because I have this thing for Charles II.  lol  Haven't read it yet though. Love your review!

[Books do furnish a room]

It's worth a look Pontalba, and she's just written a sequel

Justine by Lawrence Durrell

I have been meaning to read the Alexandria Quartet for many years and now seems to be a good time. The first part of the Quartet focuses on a struggling writer (Darley); it tells in retrospect the story of a doomed love affair between Darley and Justine, the wife of an Egyptian Copt called Nessim. It is set in Alexandria and there is a strong supporting cast of characters: Pombal, an official at the French consulate who lives with Darley; Capodistria, a Greek who is a broker; Scobie, a transvestite; Pursewarden, another novelist. Clea and Balthazar have their own novels.
The writing is poetic and luscious and you can feel the shimmering heat of Alexandria and its scents, colours and sounds. The city is almost another character; a city of dreams and lost horizons. The whole thing is magical, erotic, steeped in Freud. The poetry of Cavafy at the end is especially apt.
The events are not in order chronologically, but there is coherence to them; the setting is the 1930s. This is only the first piece and the tale is retold in the rest of the Quartet, but the imagery is as shimmering and dreamlike as the city. There is also a great deal of symbolism and Melissa (Darley’s lover) has a central and sacrificial role.  It is certainly one of the most beautifully written books I’ve read; but I think there is a yearning and searching at the heart which isn’t resolved in this volume.
All of life is here; can’t wait for the next one.

9 out of 10

Starting Balthazar by Lawrence Durrell
 

[Kylie]

Excellent reviews, as always, Books. I've been daunted by The Gulag Archipelago, but it sounds fascinating, so I think I'll add it to my wish list.

[Books do furnish a room]

Thanks Kylie. There is a three volume 1800 page version of Gulag, but I read the shorter version (about 650 pages) and i would recommend that.

Triple Fugue by Osbert Sitwell

Six short stories by Osbert Sitwell, brother of Edith. They are variable and there are a couple of very good ones and one rather odd attempt at science fiction/predicting what will happen in the future. They were published in 1924.
Sitwell wrote several novels, some poetry and criticism; and in later life a five volume autobiography. These short stories are early efforts and reflect Sitwell’s privileged upbringing and interests. Sitwell was an interesting character with a wide circle of friends and a variety of literary interests. Sitwell was gay (not that you would know that from his wiki entry) and had what amounted to a marriage with the author and socialite David Horner. His sister Edith was always supportive (unlike his brother Sacheverel). Sitwell and his sister were acquainted with D H Lawrence. It is well known that the setting for Lady Chatterley’s lover was the Sitwell family seat Renishaw Hall. What is less well known is that it is very likely that the character of Clifford Chatterley was based on Osbert (Lawrence was notoriously homophobic and by portraying Osbert as the impotent Clifford he was having a dig at Osbert).
The short stories;
Low Tide; The tale of two spinster sisters from late middle age onwards. They move to a northern seaside town with a modest income. They are rather eccentric and alienate the pillars of society in the town (without knowing or realising it). The fact that they make themselves up and like to try to look young is particularly scandalous. The town is based on Scarborough where Sitwell spent many summers in his childhood. The description is accurate and some of the local landmarks are recognizable. The story charts the decline of the sisters into old age and penury and is rather poignant and quite good.
Friendship’s Due; This is a rather brief and quite effective story about a poet who over time and circumstance loses his fire and reputation and becomes a literary critic. It involves a sort of poetic Faustian pact between three poets that goes slightly wrong. The ending is rather weak.
The Greeting; This is a slightly sinister and rather good story about a lonely nurse looking after the sick, rather difficult with of a kindly eccentric man. It is a murder mystery with a rather good, though not unexpected, twist at the end.
His Ship Comes Home; A story about a well-known society middle-aged figure known for moving from party to party; a sort of parasite feeding off women who find him charming. He is also not averse to a little blackmail and tale-telling. His long-suffering wife dies and he manages to ensnare a rather rich widow, hoping to enjoy her wealth. Oops; big mistake. Rather a satisfying denouement.
The Machine Breaks Down; Similar type of story to the above about another society man whose real asset is his wonderfully mellifluous voice. That is the machine that breaks down. Completely forgettable.
Triple Fugue; A real oddity. Written in 1923/4 and set in 1948, Sitwell tries to predict the future with some success. He assumes there are further world wars and predicts the growth of the importance of flight. Most interestingly, there is no more democracy and society is run by the press barons, who know what the people want and give it to them. Rather prescient I think. Sitwell also predicts significant medical advances with a lengthening of lifespan to about 180 years, via some form of rather odd transplanting, it’s all very odd and the story itself is very weak and just gets in the way. Nevertheless the speculation is interesting.
A group of interesting and variable stories.

6 and a half out of 10

Starting The Stain by Rikki Ducornet
 

[Books do furnish a room]

Stone's Fall by Iain Pears

A quite decent historical thriller with lots of twists and turns, plot devices galore, red herrings, political machinations, high finances, boys own spying adventures, romance, betrayal, industrial espionage, the entente cordiale, naval warfare, anarchism and the evil that people do. It is well written and researched and works backwards; from a funeral in the 1950s, to London in 1909, Paris in 1890 and finally Venice in 1867.
The starting point is the death of a wealthy industrialist and financier in, John Stone, in 1909. The death takes place in unusual circumstances and it is unclear how and why he died; the will also leaves a number of mysteries. Stone's wife hires a journalist to look into it; so the fun begins.
This is a decent historical thriller. The twist at the end is nasty if you don't see it coming (it seems from the reviews some did and some did not. Most of the characters are well written and strong, but because of the way the plot jumps around there is little continuity and the reader has to adapt to three different narrators.
If you want to see something odd look up the wiki entry on this book; it takes obssession to a whole new level, really strange!!
It is quite a hefty tome and Pears seems to be adept at writing gripping historical thrillers. If you like that that sort of thing it is worth reading. The denouement is shocking, even if you guess it. It certainly made me think that here is an author who really doesn't like his characters if he can create this; However I am not a writer and perhaps am not in a position to make that sort of judgement. Despite the fact that the strongest and most interesting character is a women, there is also perhaps a touch of misogyny in the whole piece. However my random thoughts perhaps indicate that there is quite a lot going on and it held my attention (admittedly at the end of the day just prior to sleep with the cat sleeping across my legs!)

7 out of 10

Starting Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie