julie Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Miss Poppy Yes, definitely , I loved Shipping News. Wonderful characters in that story . A Fine Balance took every bit of gumption I had to stick with it. The writing was excellent,but the subject matter was very hard to get through . It's a good thing I BOUGHT the book,because if I would have borrowed it, I probably wouldnt have finished it . I'm a cheapskate when it comes to buying books,if I buy them, then I feel more like I HAVE to read them ,so I'm not wasting money. Sounds stupid, but that's the way I am . I actually had to lay it down several times during the time I read it . So it was a challenge, but one well worth it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 4, 2012 Author Share Posted September 4, 2012 The Pedant In the Kitchen - Julian Barnes Amazon Synopsis: "The Pedant's ambition is simple. He wants to cook tasty, nutritious food; he wants not to poison his friends; and he wants to expand, slowly and with pleasure, his culinary repertoire. A stern critic of himself and others, he knows he is never going to invent his own recipes (although he might, in a burst of enthusiasm, increase the quantity of a favourite ingredient). Rather, he is a recipe-bound follower of the instructions of others. It is in his interrogations of these recipes, and of those who create them, that the Pedant's true pedantry emerges. How big, exactly, is a 'lump'? Is a 'slug' larger than a 'gout'? When does a 'drizzle' become a downpour? And what is the difference between slicing and chopping? This book is a witty and practical account of Julian Barnes' search for gastronomic precision. It is a quest that leaves him seduced by Jane Grigson, infuriated by Nigel Slater, and reassured by Mrs Beeton's Victorian virtues. The Pedant in the Kitchen is perfect comfort for anyone who has ever been defeated by a cookbook and is something that none of Julian Barnes' legion of admirers will want to miss." Review: Julian has come late to cooking (and that's men for you ) .. he was never encouraged to cook as a child and his father's occasional culinary attempts were discouraging (re-heated porridge and terrible bright red, soggy packed lunch beetroot sandwiches). When he left home his attitude to cooking was governed by factors such as poverty, skill or the lack of it and what he calls 'gastronomic conservatism' (and I call 'being picky' ) but slowly his interest built until cooking became a bit of a hobby. By his own admission though he is a bit of an anxious pedant 'I adhere to gas marks and cooking times. I trust instruments rather than myself.' He's not very experimental either, at least not to begin with and there's a certain amount of anxiety mixed into his dishes (and I totally know about this .. I never have to season any of my dinner party food because of the liberal amount of sweat .. not to mention tears .. that has dropped in ) It's very reassuring to read that Julian .. as intelligent as he is .. still puzzles over onion sizes or what constitutes 'a drizzle' and is also succeptible to the lure of the gadget. So much of it rang bells that I was constantly nodding and smiling (though I am more slapdash and less pedantic). Very amusing .. I don't know if these were originally monthly/weekly columns but that's how they read. Probably only of interest to foodies though. 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Sounds like a good read, Kay, adding to my wishlist now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 4, 2012 Author Share Posted September 4, 2012 A Fine Balance took every bit of gumption I had to stick with it. The writing was excellent,but the subject matter was very hard to get through . It's a good thing I BOUGHT the book,because if I would have borrowed it, I probably wouldnt have finished it . I'm a cheapskate when it comes to buying books,if I buy them, then I feel more like I HAVE to read them ,so I'm not wasting money. Sounds stupid, but that's the way I am . I actually had to lay it down several times during the time I read it . So it was a challenge, but one well worth it . I think it will be a winter book then Julie .. I don't know why but I'm able to take on more challenging books in the winter .. in the summer I am more jittery and wanting books that are reader-friendly (having said that I've picked some shockers this year. My summer brain .. which let's face it .. only wants to think about ice cream and flip-flops .. has been really put through it.) I always think I should be reading 'beach reads' .. even though I've not been to one this year Actually I've spent most of the past month with Virginia and my brain could do with a little comfort food .. like 'Five Go to Smugglers Top' or something Sounds like a good read, Kay, adding to my wishlist now! Well you're a foodie like me Claire .. so ideal If you want to borrow my copy let me know, it's not a book that you often see when out and about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 4, 2012 Author Share Posted September 4, 2012 The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce Waterstone's Synopsis: When Harold Fry nips out one morning to post a letter, leaving his wife hoovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other. He has no hiking boots or map, let alone a compass, waterproof or mobile phone. All he knows is that he must keep walking. To save someone else's life. Review: Harold Fry receives a letter from Queenie Hennessy .. an old work colleague who he hasn't seen in years. The letter is short and to the point, it's a goodbye letter .. Queenie has cancer and is dying in a hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed. Harold writes an equally brief answer .. he just thanks her for her letter and says he is sorry and then pops out to the postbox to send it leaving his wife, Maureen, hoovering upstairs. As he walks to the postbox he starts reflecting on his life and on Queenie and by the time he gets there he decides not to post it but to walk on a bit further. He calls into a petrol station for some sustenance and gets chatting to the assistant there .. he tells her about the letter and it turns out that she has had personal experience of dealing with cancer ... her aunt had it. You have to think positive she says ‘You have to believe. That’s what I think. It’s not about medicine and all that stuff. You have to believe a person can get better. There is so much in the human mind we don’t understand. But, you see, if you have faith, you can do anything.’ .. this inspires Harold, perhaps he can save Queenie. He takes it into his head to walk all the way to Berwick (from Kingsbridge in South Devon .. so the whole length of England almost) as a sort of pilgrimage, a quest to save Queenie. Now Harold is getting on a bit, he's not the most active of fellows and he's not properly attired, equipped or shod. He hasn't even got his mobile phone with him .. he's left that indoors .. and money isn't all that plentiful so, all in all, this is a really batty idea that's never going to work. But he feels he needs to do it and so, giving it as little thought as possible, he carries on. Harold's journey is to reach Queenie but it's also a journey of discovery (I hate to use the 'j' word but no other seems to fit) because as he walks .. and interacts with different people .. he reflects on his life (and of course it's much easier to think it all out now he has removed himself from the thick of it) and we begin to understand the state of play between him and Maureen .. and where Queenie fits into all of it. He has a wayward son too who he thinks he's failed .. and there seems to be a connection between this and his own childhood. It's a bit like puzzle pieces .. for a time they're on the table looking at us but eventually they've all clicked into place (but I did a fair amount of second guessing along the way .. mostly unsuccessfully as usual ). We spend some of the chapters with Maureen as she tries to come to terms with the fact that her husband has gone on a pilgrimage to save another woman. They have a next door neighbour Rex, who can't help but be concerned .. he saw Harold go out to the postbox but didn't see him return. At first Maureen tries to convince him that Harold is unwell and in bed but how long can she keep that up for? .. Rex is the sort of person who gets alarmed if the binmen are running late. It's not a highbrow story obviously but it does have more strength and depth than is immediately apparent. It's quite harrowing in places and also moving .. you'll definitely need your tissues. The key to the story is Harold, you will definitely love him by the end of it (the first chapter that is ) and share in all his worries, blisters, sad phonecalls and regrets etc. There was a part towards the end which I didn't enjoy where Harold's quest is sort of hi-jacked (because by this time he has become moderately famous) by some others who, in the main, are seeking fame themselves .. but it was only a temporary niggle. I listened to it rather than read it and the added joy of that was the narration of Jim Broadbent .. anyone who intends reading it should keep Jim in mind cos he's absolutely perfect as Harold. If there's not a film/drama made of it I'll eat my hat. 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Great review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. It sounds like an interesting read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 However, a very wise man (well actually it was Karsa on one of his good days .. I didn't even know he had any ) Oi I didn't know I had any, either . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 every time there's a step forward there's a huge step back and part of the interest is in seeing how he deals with it and moves on because it's not just about escape .. it's about destroying the Klau empire .. and then of course there's Ellen .. do they have a future together?.[/font][/font] Rather like The Blue World, the whole plot builds to a point where it becomes virtually unputdownable. It was a challenge to begin with and I can't say I fully understood everything but I overcame it so thank you James for believing I could I had far more trouble with the last two (reviewed) books and enjoyed them a lot less .. and they had fully pronounceable titles 8/10 Hi Poppyshake, I only just saw you have reviewed this, I am glad that you enjoyed it and were not at all flummoxed by it. Your review was a hoot as always. I think you are quite ready for any Jack Vance book anybody could throw at you now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 Great review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. It sounds like an interesting read. Thanks bobbly .. it was great. I'm appreciating it more and more because I'm struggling with my recent reads. There's a lot to be said for books that are both easy to read and interesting. Oi I didn't know I had any, either . . . You do .. you just keep them well hidden Hi Poppyshake, I only just saw you have reviewed this, I am glad that you enjoyed it and were not at all flummoxed by it. Your review was a hoot as always. I think you are quite ready for any Jack Vance book anybody could throw at you now. Thanks James .. I take that as a compliment though I'm not sure it's true. Still, I have a foot on the ladder .. that's a good start. I wouldn't even get on it before Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 Alan and I went out for coffee yesterday with lovely Claire in Bath Had a great time catching up, then she showed us her fave Bath bookshop .. Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights ... oh man!! It's heaven in there. I wasn't going to buy a book .. there was no way .. I'd bought two books last week in Paris and that was naughty because I wasn't going to buy ANY more books EVER (well .. for the rest of this year anyway). But oh .. what's this I spy in Mr B's? .. a book .. a book on my wishlist .. an obscure book on my wishlist .. a Bloomsbury obscure book on my wishlist. I have to have it I bought a piece of literary wrapping paper too .. just black & white with famous books on .. but who am I going to give it to? I'm going to buy my niece a book next week but, although she likes reading, the wrapping paper would be (I shrink from putting the word 'wasted' here .. but that's what I'm thinking ) lost on her. I really want to wrap my own books in it .. but that would be silly because I'd have to tear it off again .. still, she's only going to tear it off. Perhaps I can divide it into two? .. that's the glory of books. If I'd bought her a kettle I wouldn't be able to do that. Now what half of the paper do I like best? What a treat to look around Bath again .. I'd forgotten how beautiful it is. It's all Austeny as you would expect .. saw several people actually walking about in Regency gear .. though they were ruining it by carrying handbags or talking on their phones etc. I guess they came from the museum or whatnot. The shops are fabulous .. I needed another day (though my purse says that actually it thinks I did it thoroughly ) Alan and I stayed until later and had dinner at Cafe Rouge ... it's a bit faux French in there (I'm thinking now that the faux part is probably their friendliness .. though I used to think it was the cuisine) but very relaxing and enjoyable. I forgot to tell you what the book was .. it's Lady Into Fox by David Garnett (aka Bunny Garnett .. Bloomsbury group member ... husband of Virginia Woolf's niece Angelica Garnett and author of Aspects of Love which Lloyd Webber's musical was based on). You can see now why I had to buy it .. I'm not going to come across that every day .. so you see it WASN'T my fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 (edited) My purchases from Shakespeare & Co - Paris. No, I tell a lie .. two of them are mine and Alan bought the third and largest one. Alan's book is called How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive by Christopher Boucher .. I was a bit severe on him about this but he tells me it's not a manual (which is a relief really because it's a bit much to buy a book from one of the most famous bookshops in the world that you could have bought in Halfords ) .. it is in fact a work of fiction and very funny. Hmmmmm .. I'm not entirely convinced but it's his choice and all that (I didn't actually know he HAD choice as far as reading was concerned .. I thought he just had to read my recommendations for the rest of his life. This is branching out indeed .. who knows where it'll lead). I bought two Virginia Woolf books which is entirely predictable I know .. one I even already have (A Room Of One's Own) .. although this is a much more exquisite version and it's not joined together with Three Guineas which my other is. The other is Hyde Park Gate News which I'm excited about. As a child, Virginia, along with her sister Vanessa and brother Thoby, wrote her own newspaper which recorded the daily goings on at their home in Hyde Park Gate as well as tales of London life in general and also St Ives where they spent their holidays. Should be interesting to see the sort of stuff Virginia was writing as a child (well I think so anyway ) Really I should have bought a French book and I did look for one but found it more difficult (because they're in a foreign language .. did you know that? ). The bouquinistes on the Seine did have a good choice and I saw some by Colette that I now wish I'd snatched up but I was too hesitant and the chance passed me by. Next time perhaps. Every book you buy from Shakespeare & Co gets this stamped in the front .. 'Kilometer Zero Paris' .. that is to say if you wish it .. they do ask first. I'll attach a pic of the wrapping paper .. I know you must be dying to see it Edited September 21, 2012 by poppyshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 My purchases from Shakespeare & Co - Paris. No, I tell a lie .. two of them are mine and Alan bought the third and largest one. Alan's book is called How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive by Christopher Boucher .. I was a bit severe on him about this but he tells me it's not a manual (which is a relief really because it's a bit much to buy a book from one of the most famous bookshops in the world that you could have bought in Halfords ) .. it is in fact a work of fiction and very funny. Hmmmmm .. I'm not entirely convinced but it's his choice and all that (I didn't actually know he HAD choice as far as reading was concerned .. I thought he just had to read my recommendations for the rest of his life. This is branching out indeed .. who knows where it'll lead). I bought two Virginia Woolf books which is entirely predictable I know .. one I even already have (A Room Of One's Own) .. although this is a much more exquisite version and it's not joined together with Three Guineas which my other is. The other is Hyde Park Gate News which I'm excited about. As a child, Virginia, along with her sister Vanessa and brother Thoby, wrote her own newspaper which recorded the daily goings on at their home in Hyde Park Gate as well as tales of London life in general and also St Ives where they spent their holidays. Should be interesting to see the sort of stuff Virginia was writing as a child (well I think so anyway ) Really I should have bought a French book and I did look for one but found it more difficult (because they're in a foreign language .. did you know that? ). The bouquinistes on the Seine did have a good choice and I saw some by Colette that I now wish I'd snatched up but I was too hesitant and the chance passed me by. Next time perhaps. Every book you buy from Shakespeare & Co gets this stamped in the front .. 'Kilometer Zero Paris' .. that is to say if you wish it .. they do ask first. I'll attach a pic of the wrapping paper .. I know you must be dying to see it Is the bottom picture the wrapping paper? If so, that's so cool! I would frame it, it's that nice. Also the title 'How To Keep Your Volkswagon Alive' makes me smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 Is the bottom picture the wrapping paper? If so, that's so cool! I would frame it, it's that nice. Also the title 'How To Keep Your Volkswagon Alive' makes me smile. Yes .. it is quite lovely and would look good framed I think. The book title is funny and I think it's supposed to be a comedy .. I'll see how much he laughs before I decide whether to read it or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 Night - Elie Wiesel Amazon Synopsis: Born into a Jewish ghetto in Hungary, as a child, Elie Wiesel was sent to the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald. This is his account of that atrocity: the ever-increasing horrors he endured, the loss of his family and his struggle to survive in a world that stripped him of humanity, dignity and faith. Describing in simple terms the tragic murder of a people from a survivor’s perspective, Night is among the most personal, intimate and poignant of all accounts of the Holocaust. A compelling consideration of the darkest side of human nature and the enduring power of hope, it remains one of the most important works of the twentieth century. Review: Firstly a big thank you to frankie for recommending Elie's book it's a truly outstanding read. It stopped me in my tracks and stayed with me in a way that most books don't. When I visited the Paris cemeteries and saw the many holocaust memorials there, I thought of Elie and what he went through at Auschwitz and Buchenwald. It's not the first story I've read about the holocaust and it won't be the last but it was the most affecting. You can never fully grasp the horror of what the victims went through however much you read about it. Some of what Elie recounts was already familiar but he shed new light on it for me. Something I had never heard about before, or thought about, was the effect such treatment had on each individual psyche, how every day was like a battle. How, such could become your state of mind, that even though in your former life you had been the most caring and thoughtful person, you might now find yourself being resentful and wary of any unwanted attention bought to bear on you by others .. even loved ones .. you may stand by and watch them being beaten without protesting, you may even shun them .. and all to give yourself a better chance of survival. For all the indignities that were thrust upon Elie, the physical and mental abuse, the squalor and disease, the excruciating hunger and thirst, the horror of witnessing scenes worse than any nightmare and, after a shorter time than you ever thought possible, accepting these as commonplace ... the one that most broke my heart was the one where he denied answering the voice of his own father as he lay dying. His father had been with him throughout and Elie had tried to look out for him and keep him from harm, but it had eventually become burdensome and too much for his broken self to endure. For all of the physical and mental scars that he was left with, for all the loss of faith, this was the one that I was most sorrowful about .. that all he could feel upon the death of his father was relief. For him to be left with any trace of guilt was abhorrent to me .. it made me want to howl with rage. It's obviously a very upsetting and book, he writes very matter of factly and to the point, he doesn't load it with emotion but that doesn't make it any less emotional. You won't be able to read it without tears .. you cry almost as much for the monsters who carried out these atrocities as you do for their victims because it's so absolutely terrifying to think that humans were/are capable of this. I do think it's required reading, as far as I'm concerned we should never forget it. 10/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I've immediately put 'Night' on my wish list poppy, it's not that I want to read it, more that I feel I should after your review.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Alan bought the third and largest one. Alan's book is called How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive by Christopher Boucher .. I was a bit severe on him about this but he tells me it's not a manual (which is a relief really because it's a bit much to buy a book from one of the most famous bookshops in the world that you could have bought in Halfords ) .. it is in fact a work of fiction and very funny. Hmmmmm .. I'm not entirely convinced but it's his choice and all that (I didn't actually know he HAD choice as far as reading was concerned .. I thought he just had to read my recommendations for the rest of his life. This is branching out indeed .. who knows where it'll lead). You go Alan!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 23, 2012 Author Share Posted September 23, 2012 I've immediately put 'Night' on my wish list poppy, it's not that I want to read it, more that I feel I should after your review.. Well I'm very glad chalie and so will frankie be [/font] You go Alan!! Yes go Alan ... and stop spending money at the bookshop on books for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share Posted September 24, 2012 Virginia Woolf - Hermione Lee Amazon Synopsis: Hermione Lee sees Virginia Woolf afresh, in her historical setting and as a vital figure for our times. Her book moves freely between a richly detailed life-story and new attempts to understand crucial questions - the impact of her childhood, the cause and nature of her madness and suicide, the truth about her marriage, her feelings for women, her prejudices and obsessions. This is a vivid, close-up portrait, returning to primary sources, and showing Woolf as occupying a distinct, even uneasy position with 'Bloomsbury'. It is a writer's life, illustrating how the concerns of her work arise and develop, and a political life, which establishes Woolf as a radically skeptical, subversive, courageous feminist. Incorporating newly discovered sources and illustrated with photos and drawings never used before, this biography is a revelation -informed, intelligent and moving. Review: Goodness, I'm exhausted I seem to have been doing battle with this book for ages (though it is a whopper at 767 pages long). Sometimes I found it just a little too involved and also complicated, it felt uncannily like reading one of Virginia's own stories .. I had to do quite a bit of brain work to make it out (no mean feat as you know ) and while I'm on the niggles I may as well say that I wasn't keen on the copious footnotes (is that the right word? .. no, it can't be because they're all at the end of the book .. well, endnotes then) I don't like foot/end notes much .. it always makes me feel like someone is jabbing me with a pen. On average there were about seven or eight to a page but if you looked them up they rarely enlightened you .. they were just citing the source. Anyhow there were too many I thought, making some pages seem more like a linking together of previously published facts. That's doing the book a disservice though because it is an amazing account of Virginia .. most probably THE account of Virginia. I can't imagine they'll ever be a more thorough one. It's possible that you need to come to it with some sort of previous knowledge of the Bloomsbury group though (or else a pen and paper) .. it is quite involved and at the beginning there's a lot of info to take on board. It's always difficult to read about your heroes/heroines .. they almost always disappoint or are a lot more unlikeable than you would wish (when they're not ... AKA Audrey Hepburn .. you fall in love with them forever ) Virginia was no different, she was very contradictory .. she had a social conscience but could be a terrible snob. She could be helpful to fellow writers but also crushingly honest (as in dismissive or critical about their latest efforts). She seemed to ooze confidence but could be incredibly shy, she had great self belief in her writing ability but could be felled by one indifferent review. She was kind but also cruel. She liked people coming to visit but couldn't wait for them to go away again. However, even though she often sounded like the sort of person I couldn't stick at any price .... I couldn't help liking her enormously (admiration of her work probably went a long way towards softening the blow). I found her relationships absolutely fascinating .. especially that of her friendships with fellow writers. Her friendship with Katherine Mansfield was so full of ups and downs as to be almost like a love affair. They greatly admired each other as writers but there was a good deal of jealousy. You can imagine them anxiously awaiting the reviews of each other's books and hoping they might not be too glowing. Katherine wrote a very lukewarm review of Virginia's 'Night and Day' and Virginia was a bit sniffy about Katherine's short story 'Bliss' .. and yet Virginia felt that there was no-one else (with the exception of husband Leonard) that she could properly talk work with. Because of their indifferent health they didn't see each other often and sadly Katherine died before the friendship really got off the ground. It was odd though .. there was so much for them to bond over .. but they couldn't quite bring themselves to. Virginia regretted the loss of her often .. she said that Katherine's writing was 'the only writing I have ever been jealous of.' When Katherine died, Virginia wrote in her diary 'no point in writing any more ... Katherine won’t read it.’ and yet the rivalry still lived on because later, after writing Mrs Dalloway, Virginia said 'yes, if she'd lived, she'd have written on and people would have seen that I was the more gifted (I did blush for her at this point ) Virginia's novels were often born out of her illnesses, the plots for them would come during fevers and sleepless nights (that explains a lot ). Once she was well she would set about writing them and then when finished she would give them to Leonard to read. Everything seemed to pin on this, if he had once shaken his head then I think she may very well have crumbled to dust .. so much did she depend on his opinion. Most of the time he didn't have to lie, he truly thought them marvellous but towards the end of her life he wasn't so keen but hid the truth for the sake of her well being. Waiting for the reviews was torture for her .. as was waiting to hear what her friends/family etc thought .. she would wind herself up into a state of anxiety which sometimes threw her back into illness. Often though the reviews were glowing and she was herself again. Just reading about the whole experience wore me out but I enjoyed the insights it gave me into her work, I felt I understood more what she was striving towards with each book. Though almost always prone to illness, before her death she had really only had one serious breakdown .. though it had lasted for several years (1913-1915). In 1941 she felt the return of madness .. she was hearing voices again and was sure she wouldn't recover. The connection between the illnesses and the two world wars can't be ignored (not that the illnesses were caused by the wars .. just that they were exacerbated by them). Certainly the second world war put her under tremendous strain, she had lost a lot of friends already, her life blood was her books, but she couldn't settle to writing and in any case books weren't selling. She suffered seeing London bombed .. she wasn't patriotic except about London. Their home there was bombed and they took as much as they could salvage to the house in Rodmell ('Oh the huddle and hideousness of untidiness - oh that Hitler had obliterated all our books and tables, carpets and pictures -oh that we were empty and bare and unpossessed'). Everyone in Britain at that point thought invasion was imminent, Leonard was a Jew and so they knew they faced probable internment (they were later found to be on the Nazi blacklist) .. they obtained the means for joint suicide. Hardly surprisingly she wasn't eating or sleeping well, Leonard was concerned, her sister wrote her a letter which was meant to be consoling but may have been catastrophic ... 'what shall we do when we're invaded if you are a helpless invalid'. On the morning of Friday 28th March she told Leonard she was going out for a walk, she was seen walking towards the river by a local farmer, at some point she stopped to pick up a large stone to put in her pocket and the rest is history as they say. I've heard it before a thousand times .. I've read it lots .. I still sobbed my way through her suicide notes and the subsequent search etc. There is something incredibly moving about the image of the 61 year old Leonard running down to the river after he found the notes, finding her stick on the bank and poking about in the water for her I do want to read the second part of the biography her nephew Quentin wrote about her but I don't think I need to look much further than that as far as books about Virginia's life are concerned. I really think this book covers everything (or everything that is known for now anyway). 9/10 (just 1 off for the niggles which is a testament to how marvellous the rest was) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Great review Poppy of what I would probably rate as my favourite biography to date - I gave it 6/6 when I read it last year, and promised myself to read it again in the not too distant future - there was almost too much to absorb in the one reading. I can't agree with you over the endnotes though: this is not only meant to be a book to be read, it is an academic historical work. As such, it needs to be properly referenced. It's not a case of just linking facts, it's one of providing the evidence for one's assertions. It can all be a bit distracting, but what I do in these circumstances is go down through the endnotes at the end of each chapter to see if there is anything to read beyond the citation. Thus those where there is a bit more are still sufficiently fresh in my mind to appreciate the extra information, without interrupting the flow of reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 26, 2012 Author Share Posted September 26, 2012 I know willoyd .. it's just me. I don't like notes at the best of times .. they distract me which I know is their point but when it's mostly just a case of providing the evidence for the source then I'm not much bothered (because .. couldn't that just have been done with acknowledgments? .. Peter Ackroyd didn't give me any notes to read in his Dickens biog .. and I was none the worse for it ). I guess there will be certain facts or assertions that people would want to know the basis of but then would they be any the wiser if they looked them up in the source? Wouldn't they just see there repeated what they had already read? Your approach is very wise and one I should have adopted perhaps (I gave up looking them up after a few chapters .. but then glanced through at the end) .. but I don't like all those little numbers appearing on the page, nudging me so to speak .. and all to tell me about a book I will never read. You see, I think all books should be adapted to suit me .. and “selfishness must always be forgiven, you know, because there is no hope of a cure.” [1] There have been footnotes I've loved .. Terry Pratchett's, Jonathan Stroud's and Susanna Clarke's in particular but they are entertaining and anyway footnotes are the less evil cousin of the endnote [1] Mansfield Park - Jane Austen - Chapter 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 26, 2012 Author Share Posted September 26, 2012 I meant to add that it is indeed an absorbing read and so detailed .. I've already used it twice as a sort of encyclopedia. It's definitely my 'go to' source for Virginia facts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Actually, I do agree: I find them very distracting, and it is somewhat irritating when you find that they are simply citations. But it seems to be pretty much de rigeur if one wants to be taken seriously in the world of academe, and Ackroyd's biography of Dickens has no aspirations to that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 I do like Bill Bryson, his kind of humour is right up my alley. Julie very kindly sent me The Lost Continent and I picked it up when I found myself in need of cheering up. I really do find myself laughing out loud at him ... I never do it normally but with him you can't help snorting and chortling and spraying tea all over the place. I particularly like him in Mr Angry mode, he says the most outrageous things and is extremely intolerant but I take it all with a pinch of salt .. it's like cartoon violence .. it's not real. You know that underneath it all he's a bit of a cuddly old bear really (it helps that I've seen his progs on TV). Anyway it started me off on a bit of a Bryson fest. After reading The Lost Continent I bought The Life & Times of the Thunderbolt kid at my Mum's fete and then decided to re-read Notes From a Small Island (especially as it was September's Reading Circle book) and naturally follow it with a re-read of Notes From a Big Country. I do feel like I know exactly what's wrong with the world now and that's the thing, nearly all the things that niggle Bill, niggle me. I have heard tales that his info isn't always 100% accurate which stopped me in my tracks a bit because I took it as gospel before but even so ... it's not actually Bill that's inaccurate it's his source material and in any case I read him in order to laugh and he never fails me in that. The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America - Bill Bryson Synopsis: 'I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to'. And, as soon as Bill Bryson was old enough, he left. Des Moines couldn't hold him, but it did lure him back. After ten years in England, he returned to the land of his youth, and drove almost 14,000 miles in search of a mythical small town called Amalgam, the kind of trim and sunny place where the films of his youth were set. Instead, his search led him to Anywhere, USA; a lookalike strip of gas stations, motels and hamburger outlets populated by lookalike people with a penchant for synthetic fibres. Travelling around thirty-eight of the lower states - united only in their mind-numbingly dreary uniformity - he discovered a continent that was doubly lost; lost to itself because blighted by greed, pollution, mobile homes and television; lost to him because he had become a stranger in his own land. Review: This is probably the one that made me laugh the most, it was an absolute pain to be anywhere near me when I read it (let alone be reading your own book) because I read bits out continually and made all the snorty splurty noises mentioned above. It's part travelogue and part memoir because Bill does a lot of reminiscing on this trip. Many of the places he passes through are the very same places he went through, or stopped at, on vacation as a child. My favourite passages are too numerous to mention but the following is an example of the stuff that made my shoulders go up and down (in the style of Mutley ) I can remember many a childhood car trip with my sister and me continually whining (when we weren't fighting) for Dad to take us to the nearest tourist attraction. As soon as we set foot on the Isle of Wight we'd be pleading for Blackgang Chine. In Britain we don't really do the billboard attraction thing (for one thing .. nothing is that far away from anything else.) I did once go to a terribly disappointing 'Christmasland' though so I know all about signs that don't live up to their promises 'By the last two or three miles, the signs for Spook Caverns would be every couple of hundred yards, bringing us to a fever pitch of excitement. Finally there would be a billboard the size of a battleship with a huge arrow telling us to turn right here and drive eighteen miles . "Eighteen miles!" Dad would cry shrilly, his forehead veins stirring to life in preparation for the inevitable discovery that after eighteen miles of bouncing down a dirt road with knee-deep ruts there would be no sign of Spook Caverns, that indeed after nineteen miles the road would end in a desolate junction without any clue of which way to turn, and that Dad would turn the wrong way. When eventually found, Spook Caverns would prove to be rather less than advertised - in fact, would give every appearance of being in the last stages of solvency The caverns, damp and ill lit and smelling like a long-dead horse, would be about the size of a garage and the stalactites and stalagmites wouldn't look the least bit like witches' houses and Casper the Ghost. They would look like - well, like stalactites and stalagmites It would all be a huge letdown. The only possible way of assuaging our disappointment, we would discover, would be if Dad bought us each a rubber Bowie knife and bag of toy dinosaurs in the adjoining gift shop. My sister and I would drop to the ground and emit mournful noises to remind him what a fearful thing unassuaged grief can be in a child.' :D 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Orlando - Virginia Woolf Synopsis: As his tale begins, Orlando is a passionate young nobleman whose days are spent in rowdy revelry, filled with the colourful delights of Queen Elizabeth's court. By the close, he will have transformed into a modern, thirty-six-year-old woman and three centuries will have passed. Orlando will not only witness the making of history from its edge, but will find that his unique position as a woman who knows what it is to be a man will give him insight into matters of the heart. Review: Deep breath Virginia had a great deal of fun in writing this. She called it a holiday from writing so you know you're not in for anything too experimental, then again the blurb says that during the story's three hundred year span, Orlando begins as a man and ends .. still aged only thirty-six .. as a woman so obviously you have to prepare yourself for anything. It's a historical biography but a biography of Orlando who, of course, doesn't exist in actuality. He/she is based on Vita Sackville West .. Virginia's great friend and lover (though how much loving was done is still up for debate) though I think Orlando is a blend of many of Virginia's acquaintances .. herself included. It explores themes of difference .. race difference, class difference and gender difference .. one of Virginia's fave topics but it's not at all preachy or stuffy. It has to be said (well it doesn't but I'm going to anyway) that the beginning is the best part. I loved Virginia's description of 'The Great Frost' every bit as much as I loved Dickens depiction of the London fogs in Bleak House ...'Birds froze in mid-air and fell like stones to the ground. At Norwich a young countrywoman started to cross the road in her usual robust health and was seen by the onlookers to turn visibly to powder and be blown in a puff of dust over the roofs as the icy blast struck her at the street corner'. I loved it most of all when Orlando was a man (which I'm not sure doesn't make me some sort of traitor ) .. and that may be because it occasionally lost it's way afterwards and some drifting occurred (as in my mind wandered off to the cake shop once or twice) but not for long because admirable prose was always just around the corner. This is Orlando on first seeing Sasha, the first real love of his life .. 'He laughed, but the laugh on his face froze in wonder. Whom had he loved, what had he loved, he asked himself in a tumult of emotion, until now? An old woman, he answered, all skin and bone. Red-cheeked trulls too many to mention. A puling nun. A hard-bitten cruel-mouthed adventuress. A nodding mass of lace and ceremony. Love had meant to him nothing but sawdust and cinders. The joys he had had of it tasted insipid in the extreme. He marvelled how he could have gone through with it without yawning. For as he looked the thickness of his blood melted; the ice turned to wine in his veins; he heard the waters flowing and the birds singing; spring broke over the hard wintry landscape; his manhood woke; he grasped a sword in his hand; he charged a more daring foe than Pole or Moor; he dived in deep water; he saw the flower of danger growing in a crevice; he stretched his hand - in fact he was rattling off one of his most impassioned sonnets when the Princess addressed him, "Would you have the goodness to pass the salt?" Her tongue is firmly in her cheek throughout, she makes much of being the biographer and the difficulties of recording the life of such a variable, not to say indolent, character. 'It was now November. After November, comes December. Then January, February, March and April. After April comes May. June, July, August follow. Next is September. Then October, and so, behold, here we are back at November again, with a whole year accomplished. This method of writing biography, though it has its merits, is a little bare, perhaps, and the reader, if we go on with it, may complain that he could recite the calendar for himself and so save his pocket whatever sum the Hogarth Press may think proper to charge for this book. But what can the biographer do when his subject has put him in the predicament into which Orlando has now put us? Life, it has been agreed by everyone whose opinion is worth consulting, is the only fit subject for novelist or biographer; life, the same authorities have decided, has nothing whatever to do with sitting still in a chair and thinking. Thought and life are as poles assunder. Therefore - since sitting in a chair and thinking is precisely what Orlando is doing now - there is nothing for it but to recite the calendar, tell one's beads, blow one's nose, stir the fire, look out of the window, until she has done. Orlando sat so still that you could have heard a pin drop. Would indeed, that a pin had dropped! That would have been life of a kind. Or if a butterfly had fluttered through the window and settled on her chair, one could write about that. Or suppose she had got up and killed a wasp. Then, at once, we could out with our pens and write. For there would be blood shed, if only the blood of a wasp. Where there is blood there is life. And if killing a wasp is the merest trifle compared with killing a man, still it is a fitter subject for novelist or biographer than this mere woolgathering; this thinking; this sitting in a chair day in, day out, with a cigarette and a sheet of paper and a pen and an ink pot. If only subjects, we might complain (for our patience is wearing thin), had more consideration for their biographers! What is more irritating than to see one's subject, on whom one has lavished so much time and trouble, slipping out of one's grasp altogether and indulging - witness her sighs and gasps, her flushing, her palings, her eyes now bright as lamps, now haggard as dawns - what is more humiliating than to see all this dumb show of emotion and excitement gone through before our eyes when we know that what causes it - thought and imagination - are of no importance whatsoever! .. This of course is a delicious bit of irony because Virginia's novels were increasingly all about thought and observation with action taking a deliberate back seat. Easy to read .. nobody need be afraid of Virginia in this form. She's kicking up her heels and having fun with it and it's a lot of fun to read as a result. I do believe there is a film and that the excellent Tilda Swinton plays Orlando and this did help me with the visuals though there are photographs throughout .. mostly of Vita (Virginia took them herself and had great fun in doing it) but some also of her ancestors etc. However, Vita is a rather alarming prospect, I preferred to think of Tilda It is wildly fantastical at times so you do have to cling on a bit but it's a much warmer and wittier read than one is used to with Virginia .. what a pleasure to be sitting smiling over one of her stories rather than puzzling and fretting in the normal way. I do like it when she lets me off the hook 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Just to say I love the wrapping paper...too good to use....framing it sounds like a plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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