Books do furnish a room

thanks Kylie! A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess I’m not sure how I’ve got through over 50 years without reading this and this year I have one or two books on my list which could be titled “books I should have read as a teenager and probably shouldn’t read now”. This is one of them. The history surrounding it is also interesting. Burgess was returning home with his wife from working abroad for six years in 1960, He was at this point diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour (mistakenly as it happens). He set to writing and wrote five and a half novels in a year. This one is the half, the first draft written in three weeks. Burgess’s plan was to enable his wife to live on the royalties when he was gone (he was a man confident in his abilities). The novel is written with a first person narrator, Alex, and is very violent. It is set 10 years ahead of when it was written. One of the striking features is the language and the slang that Burgess invents; known as Nadsat. Burgess had visited Russia and based some of the words on Russian, others on cockney rhyming slang. He was a great fan of Finnegan’s Wake and liked his readers to do a bit of work and liked the idea of layers. Actually you can access a crib sheet on the internet fairly easily these days. The violence is sickening and Burgess said he hated writing it. It is notable that in 1944 Burgess’s first wife was brutally attacked by 4 army deserters and suffered a miscarriage as a result. Burgess puts this incident into the book; but from the point of view of the attackers, as an attempt to explain/understand. Again the controversy about the film, which is more nihilistic than the book rests on a mistake as originally the last chapter was omitted from the first US edition. This makes for a much more negative ending and explains the difference between the film and the book. For Burgess the last chapter is crucial and is where the morality of the book rests. In part one we have Alex and his gang running free and committing violence without compunction (it was a stroke of genius to call the police millicents!). In part two Alex is incarcerated and given a sort of aversion therapy so he is physically sick when confronted with any violence. In the third part Alex is released into society; he is now in his late teens. He finds he cannot recapture the past. Eventually his treatment is reversed. Alex tries to set up a new gang, but finds he is now beginning to be bored by what previously excited him and eventually decides that he would rather settle down with a milky drink and listen to music than beat people up. That is the point of the book; the excesses of youth are ephemeral and will pass. However there is another set of youth to replace him and the cycle never ends. There is a morality, but also a deep underlying pessimism. Some of the victims from part one and reintroduced in part three and all are deeply scarred by their experiences; all want revenge and society isn’t mended by Alex being punished. In later life Burgess did wonder whether he should have written the novel and felt the film had fundamentally misunderstood his purpose. However, for me, there is no clarity in that purpose. Burgess raises interesting points about violence, which in A Clockwork Orange is always by men, and its effects. He tries to understand and explain rather than solve or preach. The “liberal” cure of making Alex “good” fails miserably and takes away his ability to choose. What cures him is time and the process or ageing or growing up. However the next generation has taken over and the process continues. Incidentally the use of language and the writing are brilliant; but the message is gloomy. 8 out of 10 Starting Juggling by Barbara Trapido

The Birds on the Trees by Nina Bawden I generally associate Nina Bawden with children’s books and with the Potter’s Bar train crash, which she survived but her husband did not. However she also wrote some novels. This one was written in 1970; the year of the “lost Booker” and so several decades later this was nominated for the Booker of that year. It is a surgical analysis of a middle class family under pressure as their eldest son Toby is expelled from school for drug taking, decides he does not want to go to Oxbridge after all and has a breakdown. As the blurb on the back of my penguin edition says Toby’s parents have emerged from the war into parenthood with Freud in one hand and Spock in the other. They mean well, but are pretty clueless. The novel uses several narrative voices; both parents, Maggie and Charlie, Toby’s younger sister Lucy, Maggie’s mother Sara; this can make for a little confusion at times and the novel feels a little clumsy at times. Frustratingly we do not hear Toby and he is seen through the lens of others. Lucy’s voice is the most interesting (she is 12) as she struggles to understand what the adults are hiding and begins to feel left out and decides she must be adopted. Maggie and Charlie haven’t a clue what to do and stumble around, usually doing more harm than good. Maggie’s mother Sara appears the most sensible and Bawden charts the problems and physical decline of old age very perceptively. Maggie’s father is a wonderful comic and eccentrically monstrous creation and we see too little of him. Although it is a serious novel there are some lovely comic touches; “Maggie: At least Iris always knows what she thinks! In my present state, I find that an enviable achievement. Charlie: If her mind is ordered, it's only because it contains so little.” There are flaws; the ending doesn’t really convince and the prologue is a little too disconnected from the main body of the novel. Toby’s character is also a little two-dimensional, but that may be part of the structure of the novel as everything is about reactions to Toby and his behaviour. It is now described as a “Hampstead” novel because of the setting. Bawden was writing about what she knew and the character of Maggie is also a novelist. There are some striking similarities to Bawden’s own tragic life. I’m making an effort to read more female novelists this year and despite a few flaws I did enjoy this. 7 out of 10 Starting A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood

Julie; it's just coincidence, but with a little planning; as I get older I realise how much is left to read! Pontalba; thanks, I hope you enjoy the ones you've picked out! I am sure Andrew Motion hasn't written about Nabakov; he writes mainly poetry and has done bios of Keats and Larkin and a few novels. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass This is a very brief first volume of a three volume autobiography. It is moving, powerful and horrific portrait of slavery in one of the so-called more humane slave states in the 1820s and 1830s. It is an important historical document, but is also much more than that; published in 1845 it opened a window for the general public in the north who knew little about the inner workings of slavery. Douglass does not know his birthday, who his father was and was separated from his mother very early in life (this was usual). He describes the brutality, whippings, the deaths of other slaves and the attitudes of various owners. Some are crueller than others; in general the most pious and religious were the worst, especially when it came to whipping. Douglass does not describe how he escaped as this was written before slavery was abolished and he did not want to give slave holders information which might prejudice the escape of others. This is a book that demands to be read; it is passionate and eloquent. It really should be better known here in the UK and ought to be mandatory reading in any serious study of slavery and racism. It is interesting to look at the history of the time and the reactions of slave-owners to Douglass’s book. The rest of Douglass’s life is fascinating as is his political career; he was also a noteworthy supporter of women’s rights; “In this denial of the right to participate in government, not merely the degradation of woman and the perpetuation of a great injustice happens, but the maiming and repudiation of one-half of the moral and intellectual power of the government of the world” Highly recommended. 9 out of 10 Starting I should have been a Hrnby train by Pat Arrowsmith

The Last Day of a Condemned Man by Victor Hugo Brief novella by Victor Hugo designed to show the futility of the death penalty. It is a polemic and Hugo was a lifelong opponent; unusual in his day. France, at the time, used the guillotine and Hugo had witnessed several executions. The edition I read (one world classics), has the 1832 preface by Hugo, which is a closely argued appeal for abolition. The novella itself is, as the title suggests, a description of the last day of a man about to be executed, from the point of view of the man himself. It is a masterly piece of writing as Hugo builds the tension as the hour approaches. We know little of the man himself or his crime; it is implied he may have killed someone. We know he has a daughter (who is about 4) as she makes a brief appearance towards the end to say goodbye to her father. There are two other pieces of writing in this edition. A very brief satirical play set in a Paris salon of the time, where the denizens discuss the book; and a short story (Claude Gueux) which is an examination of the nature of prison life and its brutality. It is powerfully written and Hugo makes his case well; his continual campaigning on this issue led to several countries abolishing the death penalty. He takes a number of pot shots at French society at the time; pointing out that the death penalty is not the mark of a civilised (or Christian) society. The descriptive passages are outstanding as is the gradual development of the tension and fear of the prisoner; who is not reconciled to his death. Dostoevsky said this was; “Absolutely the most real and truthful of everything that Hugo wrote” It’s a timeless plea for compassion and humanity (it’s also a lot shorter than Les Mis!!) 8 out of 10 Starting Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco Eco likes to show off his knowledge and the depth of his reading and he does so with a great flourish in this novel. It’s a difficult one to classify as it crosses genres and throws all sorts of references into the pot. It is really part thriller, part detective with a good dose of conspiracy theory and meandering down the byways of historical obscurity. Of course the whole thing may just be a postmodern joke! There are lots of nods, winks and jokes throughout. Eco was good friends with the French philosopher Foucault and the literary and historical references are numerous. Ten years before Dan Brown, Eco throws in the Templars, the Masons, the Kabbalah, Gnosticism, the Elders of Zion, the Jesuits, the Cathars and the Rosicrucian Enlightenment to name but a few. Obviously the grail is at the centre of it all; as is a device called Foucault’s pendulum. The plot revolves around three friends who work for a rather esoteric and dubious publishing company. There is a great deal of fun with coded and secret manuscripts and secret organisations and the friends after much research and following clues construct their own grand conspiracy theory called The Plan (completely made up). Throughout their researches and travels they have come across various members of secret societies, (most of them based on the Templars) and once they are told about the plan the trouble really starts. A grand over-arching plan is what most conspiracy theorists dream about and they fall for it and having been told there is a secret map and word are determined to get it. This puts the friends in danger. The whole thing is narrated in flashback by Casuabon. Another element is the thought that Casuabon may not be an entirely reliable narrator. Casuabon, as his name indicates (Middlemarch and there was an actual scholar called Casuabon) represents knowledge. Another friend, Belbo, seems to seems to represent the search for inner fulfilment (possibly) and Diotallevi seems to represent a more religious certainty. There are so many references and lines of inquiry to follow that the reader has to decide whether to take the time to do so. I decided to drift through the whole thing with a limited follow up as the book could have taken all year! It’s great fun and much better than Dan Brown. I thought the ending was a bit of a letdown, but I must admit I wouldn’t have known how to end it! 7 and a half out of 10 Starting A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Mountolive by Lawrence Durrell Third in the Quartet and according to Durrell the “nail” that held the rest together. It centres on the diplomat David Mountolive and approaches the events of the first two books from a different angle with a longer timeline. This is probably the most autobiographical of the novels and Mountolive has many elements taken form Durrell himself. At this point you realise who little Darley knew in the first novel and how much more complex were the ebbs and floes going on around him. Mountolive has been little in evidence in the first two novels, but here we chart his relationship with Nessim’s mother and move to the timeline of the other novels with a fascinating look at the character of Pursewarden. The prose is as lush and tangled as ever and the descriptions have their usual power. With a diplomat at the centre it is more political; with European powers (especially the British) messing about in Middle Eastern politics. However as a counterpoint there is the relationship between Mountolive and Leila. I think the genius of these novels is the growing sense of looking at the same view from different perspectives; which adds depth and subtlety and there is now a 3D feel to the whole thing. Probably my favourite so far. 9 out of 10 Starting the last in the Quartet, Clea

I would still recommend you read The White Tiger Athena as opinions do vary! The Woolf biography is worth spending time on Frankie; at some point I'll try and find Reading in Bed! Good morning Midnight by Jean Rhys This is one of Rhys’s earlier works and is popularly described as modernist; its title comes from an Emily Dickinson poem; Good morning, Midnight! I'm coming home, Day got tired of me – How could I of him? Sunshine was a sweet place, I liked to stay – But Morn didn't want me – now – So good night, Day! It is the story of Sasha Jensen who in her mid age goes back to the haunts of her youth in Paris. She has been living in London on a small inherited income trying to drink herself to death. Having miserably failed at this she goes to Paris for holiday and reminiscence about her feckless ex-husband, dead child and lost youth. Rhys combines flashbacks and the present in a seamless way. The descriptions of the seedy hotel and its denizens are brilliantly drawn as are the gigolos who mistake Sasha for a wealthy woman. The novel is about loneliness; but, of course we are all alone, even surrounded by people and Rhys knew that. However there is here also a sense of the injustice society does to women and Sasha’s experiences illustrate this. Its powerful stuff and I got a sense of the anger that one finds in later feminist writers like Marilyn French. Most of all though there is a “whiff of existentialism” about this novel. It reminded me of “Nausea” by Sartre and there is a strong sense of alienation running through it. I’m making this sound very depressing and of course it isn’t a light comedy, but there is no wallowing in self pity. It is though a masterly study of the human condition and Rhys is a sharp and perceptive observer of relationships between men and women and is very good at setting mood. Her everyday descriptions are beautifully observed. This was my first Rhys (I know, I need to read more) and it’s a good place to start. 8 and a half out of 10 Starting The Birds on the Trees by Nina Bawden

Thanks bobblybear Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie A novel with great scope ranging over a vast sweep of modern history, written with great warmth and understanding. The characters are well drawn and believable. Characters with flaws, who make mistakes which have consequences, but who are understandable and feel like real people. The novel is broken up into three sections. The first is in the 1940s; in 1945 Hiroko Tanaka has become engaged to Konrad Weiss, a German living, like her in Nagasaki. He is killed by the atomic bomb and she is injured. Following her recovery she goes (in 1947) to India to see Konrad’s sister Ilse (Elizabeth), who is married to an Englishman, James Burton who is a lawyer and rather upper middle class. This coincides with the end of English rule and partition. Hiroko meets one of James Burton’s employees Sajjad Ashraf. They fall in love and marry; partition taking them from Dehli to Karachi. The second part moves to Pakistan in the early 1980s and the backdrop is the struggle against the Soviets in Afghanistan. The story here revolves around Sajjad and Hiroko again, their teenage son Raza and James and Ilse’s son Harry, who is working for the CIA (Ilse has left James and is now American). The final section is set just after 9/11. Harry and Raza are working together in Afghanistan for a private security company, whilst Ilse and Hioko are in New York. Harry’s daughter Kim plays a central role. A novel which seeks to encompass the dropping of the atomic bomb, the end of empire, partition, class, the cold war, the CIA supporting the mujahedeen, 9/11, the Taliban, Guantanamo Bay, terrorism, the fear of terrorism and the war in Afghanistan sets its sights high. The themes are no less impressive love, family, trust and betrayal, friendship, religion and a clash of cultures. On the whole it works rather well; intelligently written, compassionate, gripping Shamsie attempts to explain some of recent history’s more complex issues through a family saga. A couple of grumbles; the ending is flagged up too early and obviously and it really is too short. Many hefty books would benefit from being shorter. I felt this one would have stood being longer to develop the issues and some of the characters. Those are minor points; this is a competent and compassionate examination of many of the issues the modern world has to grapple with and I would recommend it. 8 out of 10 Starting Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones

Thanks Athena. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga It’s taken me a while to decide how I feel about this one, which is probably an indication that I didn’t really engage with the book. The novel is written in the first person and is essentially epistolary (written to the Chinese leader; I found this way of presentation quite clumsy). It concerns Balram Halwai who is brought up in poverty in a small village, son of a rickshaw driver who dies from TB. Balram’s journey takes him from the village and menial jobs, to the job of driver-cum-servant for a rich master in Dehli and finally to running his own thieving company. There is a strong comic element in the book and also a vein of satire about India as it is today. The satire as ever satirises the rich and powerful and there is a touch of the Robin Hoods about it (just). The rich entrepreneurs and politicians are, of course greedy, corrupt and conniving; but there is an amorality about the book which I found slightly concerning. The poor are actually pretty much as bad as the rich; just lacking opportunity. As a view of human nature it is amusing, but ultimately depressing. The satirical element is generally great fun with digs at the caste system, globalisation, political corruption, family ties and relationships between the sexes. Adiga himself has said this is about the quest for freedom; but for me it illustrates one of the curses of modern life, the rise of individualism and decline of community. Balram’s focus is on himself, not his family or the community around him. That being said parts are very funny. However for me there was something missing; I didn’t really find the characters convincing and the whole thing was a little insubstantial and the language slightly odd. On reflection I think the main character is the problem, for me as he just doesn’t ring true (in my opinion). It is funny though, 6 out of 10 Starting The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee This is an excellent, erudite and extremely detailed biography weighing in at well over 700 pages (without footnotes). It is a literary biography and so there is much emphasis on Woolf’s writing. Lee knows her subject and her subject’s works and is able to separate the myth from the reality. This is very much not a casual read easy biography as it is so steeped in Woolf’s work, her life, Bloomsbury and her ideas about writing and women. It is one of the best biographies I’ve read and is a must for any fan of Woolf. As Lee herself points out Woolf’s voluminous writings and correspondence is still being published; but those who knew her are mostly gone. She has been reinterpreted by feminism, Marxism, modernism and most everyone else since. It would be so easy to get lost amidst all the mass of studies and writings about Woolf; but Lee’s book is an excellent start for those wishing to study Woolf in depth. For those of us who want a comprehensive literary study of Woolf; this is ideal. Lee has written biographies of Willa Cather, Edith Wharton, Elizabeth Bowen and Penelope Fitzgerald and I have a sudden desire to read them all! She has also written about biography and about Philip Roth (that one I really must read!). She has also written a book called Reading in Bed, which is a history of women’s reading habits, which looks fascinating. I could at this point go on about how much I learnt about Woolf (a lot) and about what a wonderful writer she was (but you already know that). What Lee does do well though is analyse the historical context and look at the lives and work of those around her. There are lots of interesting leads to follow and I noted down several references to books which I will follow and read (if time allows). If you are a fan of Woolf this is a must read. 9 out of 10 Starting The Last days of a condemned man by Victor Hugo

The Invention of Dr Cake by Andrew Motion A brief and very clever novella that occupies that interesting space between fact and fiction. Andrew Motion is better known as a poet, poet laureate and writer of biographies (especially Keats and Larkin; both on my tbr list), rather than a novelist. But this foray into the novel form is interesting and is set in the mid to late 1840s. Motion draws on his knowledge of English Romantic poetry to weave an interesting tale about the afterlife of poets by posing a conundrum and musing out loud in a “what if?” sort of way. The two main protagonists of the novella are two doctors. Dr William Tabor is a physician in London who studies the conditions of the rural poor and their diseases and lifestyle. In his studies he comes across the work of Dr John Cake, a physician living in rural obscurity in Essex. Tabor was a minor poet in the Wordsworth style in his youth. He travels to Essex to meet with Dr Cake and discuss his work only to discover he is dying of consumption. Cake is in his late 40s at the time (born 1795). They only meet twice and the bulk of the novel is the record of those two meetings. They discuss poetry in depth and the afterlife of poets; Motion suggest as they grow older they lose something of their power and initially uses Wordsworth as an example. It is well written and as you would expect very poetic. The descriptions of the Essex countryside are straight out of Constable with the blurred edges of Turner and are luscious and brilliant. At some point in the proceedings the reader realises what Motion is suggesting and the sheer outrageousness of it is breathtaking. The clues are there. At Dr Cake’s funeral Tabor notices that the nameplate on the coffin is blank. Who was Dr Cake? It’s almost like through the keyhole; who lives in a house like this? There is the study, its furnishings and the books in it, the bird in the cage, the garden and flowers, the housekeeper (especially the housekeeper) and then there is the conversation between the two men. The clues are there and laid out at the end. The descriptions of how the disease takes hold are very effective and work well in the context of the conversation about the nature of poetry. The pace is gentle, there is a touch of gothic about it and it is well written. There are flaws and a few bumpy bits of phrasing; but its well worth the effort and the clues along the way are great fun and should take you back to the originals. If you like a bit of mystery and speculation, but don’t want a traditional detective novel, this may be for you. It’s clever and inventive and great fun. 8 out of 10 Starting Good Morning Midnight by Jean Rhys

The Woman of Andros by Thornton Wilder A brief novella set on an out of the way Greek island about 300BC. It is based on a comedy by the Roman playwright Terence; although this isn’t a comedy (despite having some comedic elements). The topics are weighty ones; as one of the characters asks: “How does one live? What does one do first?” It is an examination of being an outsider, class, the nature of love and the very nature of human existence. The writing is beautifully descriptive; “The earth sighed as it turned in its course; the shadow of night crept gradually along the Mediterranean, and Asia was left in darkness. The great cliff that would one day be called Gibraltar held for a long time a gleam of red and orange” Wilder can say a great deal with an economy of words. Chrysis (a courtesan) arrives on the island of Brynos with her unconventional household ; including her sister Glycerium, an innocent who has seen little of the world. Chrysis is an outcast, partly because of her profession and partly because she is not Greek. She holds soirees that the young unmarried men of the island attend. Hostility from the women of the island and the older men is inevitable. Pamphilus, son of one of the leading citizens, is the centre of the tale. Chrysis falls in love with him. Her sister Glycerium is kept away from all this; she is still young. One day Glycerium is walking in the hills and meets Pamphilus (he does not know she is the sister of Chrysis). They fall in love and Glycerium becomes pregnant. The stage is now set for tragedy. What will Pamphilus do? Will he stand up to his family and stand by his love? How will Chrysis react? What will island society think? Pamphilus is a bit of a thinker (and male) and so doesn’t know what to do! It’s a good tale about the importance of grasping life’s opportunities. The last sentence lets it down a little and is unnecessary; but it can be read at a sitting and I would recommend it. 7 and a half out of 10 Starting The Invention of Dr Cake by Andrew Motion

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski I know many people adore this book and it had lots of hype some years ago via Oprah, but I'm afraid I didn't love it. It reads easily enough and flows well. The story is straight forward as well. Edgar Sawtelle is born mute and is the only child of Edgar and Trudy Sawtelle. They own a farm and breed dogs, very special dogs (known as Sawtelle dogs), which they then sell. It's all very idyllic until Edgar's uncle turns up from abroad bringing family tensions and history. The problem is that all the hype and the info on the back and in the quotes in the front tell you it's based on Hamlet; and it is as you realise from quite early on in the book, even without being told. You know then that it isn't going to end well and Wroblewski sticks fairly closely into the plot (despite a very brief foray into King Lear), even if some of the characters from the original are played by some of the dogs. This doesn't work well, particularly with the Ophelia character (a dog called Almondine). The reasons for the tensions between the brothers is just not clear and very unconvincing. The villain (Claude) is very two-dimensional, underworked and there is too little there to make him believeable. He just appears to be psychopathic and it is never clear why or how; too little nuance. I learnt more than I ever wanted or needed to know about dog training and it's way too long and rambling. It's also over sentimental; if you're going to rewrite a tragedy and keep it a tragedy, don't add loveable dogs into the mix! And as for the main female character (Trudy), she must be onr of the most unlucky characters in literature. Portraying Hamlet as mute is interesting, but the idea doesn't go anywhere as Edgar spends most of his time relating to the dogs and as a result the dogs (I think) are given over complex thoughts and reactions. The Hamlet angle was a mistake; there was the germ of a good (if sentimental) story here, but throw in the plot of the play and you have a recipe for disaster. 5 out of 10 Starting The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Thanks Frankie; all the best to you too. The Stain by Rikki Ducornet This was my first Rikki Ducornet and it was well worth the effort. It is set in rural late nineteenth century France in the area in which Ducornet lived. She has spoken about where the story came from; she spoke to a very old local woman who could remember the 1880s. She talked about the importance of birthmarks and encounters with the local wildlife led to the hare. Hammer House of Horror meets Thomas Hardy meets rural superstitious Catholicism with a fair smattering of coming of age and lots of sexual shenanigans (well I did mention Catholicism – it goes with the territory). I mention Hardy because the rural characters who populate the book are so well drawn and reminded me of Hardy at his comic best in Under the Greenwood Tree. Another book this reminded me of was Precious Bane by Mary Webb (much underrated), which also deals with a facial birth defect and is set in the nineteenth century. You can also see Angela carter’s influence and there is a magical fairy tale quality about it all. It is the story of Charlotte, who is brought up by her very “religious” aunt. Charlotte has a birth mark on her face in the shape of a hare. This is taken to be a sign of Satan. There’s a touch of the surreal about it with the wicked aunt, the uncle who talks to vegetables, the nuns (in turn, evil, sex starved/crazed and morbidly religious), colourful villagers, travelling salesmen (don’t ask about the wares) and not forgetting the Exorcist who can’t make up his mind whether to worship God or Satan. It is a coming of age tale and a handbook on how not to bring up a child. Comic, over the top, scatological, but it has a strong sense of place (again reminiscent of Hardy); it is chaotic and extravagant and suffused with a warped religiosity. It’s shocking but great fun and I can just see Oliver Reed playing the Exorcist. 8 out of 10 Starting The Woman of Andros by Thornton Wilder

Balthazar by Lawrence Durrell The second book in the Alexandria Quartet, still seen through the central character the writer Darley. He is now living on a remote Greek island a few years after the events of the first novel. Durrell’s narrative and descriptive powers create an atmosphere you can almost touch and smell. Balthazar arrives with some notes/descriptions/ information about the events of Justine which sort of fill in gaps, create new perspectives, answer some puzzles and create new puzzles. The bulk of the novel is taken up with these notes. We learn more about Pursewarden (loosely based on Wyndham Lewis). There is also a long section about the annual carnival and masque at which a murder takes place. The novel ends with a brief interlude relating to Clea, who is as enigmatic as ever. Things are never quite what they seem is also part of the message and the added nuance makes the reader question their perceptions of the first novel. Different versions of the same story; it feels almost as though Durrell is mimicking the story of Jesus in New Testament. Durrell said the whole Quartet was about modern love. The language is luscious and feels venerable, but the themes are indeed modern, but they are age old themes and there is nothing new under the sun. The mingling of the sacred and profane in the city of Alexandria is modern, but could just as easily be a tale set in the age of the pharaohs. This was published in 1958, but is set in the 1930s, so Durrell is looking back through the prism of time and perhaps recapturing something of his past as well. Durrell was in Alexandria during the war; the model for the character of Justine was Durrell’s second wife. Of course, a great deal of the sexual complexity in the novels reflects Durrell’s own life; although the theme is modern love Durrell wasn’t himself “modern” in his attitudes. I also have the edition of Granta in which his daughter Sappho’s diary extracts are published (not long after his death and about five years after her suicide). Real life themes mirror fiction. Nevertheless it is a great novel, beautifully written and I’m looking forward to the next novel, Mountolive. 8 out of 10 Starting the third novel in the series; Mountolive Apart from Mountolive I am currently reaing The Recognitions by William Gaddis Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee The Stain by Rikki Ducornett Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shansie The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by Dave Wroblewski

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

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

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

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

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

Orlando by Virginia Woolf I first read this many years ago; before I knew very much about Virginia Woolf and her relationship with Vita Sackville-West, to whom this is dedicated. The background is vital because it adds so much and because it helps the reader to reach an understanding of Woolf’s generosity. It is as ever, beautifully written and drifts splendidly through the centuries and the key is Vita and their circle. As Woolf was writing this her affair with Vita was beginning to wane as Vita was moving on to other lovers. The two women were very different and Vita was much more sexually active and interested in a variety of people. For Vita the thrill of the new was important. Woolf recognised this. One of the keys to the book is Vita’s ancestral home, Knole. It is faithfully represented as Orlando’s home estate in the book, down to the heraldic leopards and the visit of Queen Elizabeth the First. Vita had lost Knole because a woman could not inherit; here Woolf gives her it back. Many of the characters represent people both knew. The Russian princess Sasha is Violet Trefusis, Nicholas Greene is Gosse, Archduchess Harriet/Archduke Henry was Lord Lascelles (one of Vita’s many admirers), Shelmerdine is Vita’s husband Harold Nicholson. Orlando’s poetic work The Oak Tree is equivalent to Vita’s poetic work The Land. There is a great deal of imagery here; some of it in the form of private jokes/codes. The “porpoise in a fishmonger’s shop” is one such (no idea what that one means). The imagery around the goose that crops up a couple of times even confused Vita (Vita was much more literal than Woolf)! It is interesting to consider that originally Woolf had conceived it as an illustrated book with photographs and pictures. Woolf’s portrayal was an accurate one. Harold Nicholson found it difficult to conceive that anyone else could know the private Vita that he knew and thought it was a lucky accident (it wasn’t, Woolf was very perceptive). Mary Campbell (another of Vita’s lovers) was also surprised how accurately the private Vita was portrayed. On top of this being a love letter to Vita, it is so much more besides. The nature of gender and biography are explored. It is also interesting to note that Woolf was also writing the lectures that became A Room of One’s Own. Orlando is part of the train of thought Woolf had about the revolutionary potential of women’s friendship. A new world opens when like each other and are no longer seen as rival’s for men’s affection/approval. It is a tender and humorous love story/letter, almost a faitytale, not meant to be taken in the same vein as more serious work (To The Lighthouse), but it captures the imagination and sold much more than anything Woolf had written previously. It is a work of brilliance with a lightness of touch. 9 out of 10 Starting Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco

Journey to the End of the Night This is undoubtedly one of the great novels. It is misanthropic in the extreme; the author really doesn’t like anyone, including himself. Often written in the vernacular, brutal, comic and ranging over three continents and a World War. There is a strong element of the autobiographical in it. It has also influenced more great writers than you can shake a sock at. The list is a remarkable one; Beckett, Sartre (briefly). Genet, Barthes, Miller, Bukowski, Heller, Vonnegut, Ken Kesey, Kerouac, Gunter Grass, Burroughs to name a few. Burroughs and Ginsberg both visited him towards the end of his life. Journey was published in 1932 and was his first novel; it is undoubtedly a remarkable achievement. Those of you who know me may be sensing a but! Well, mostly the foibles of writers are forgivable; we all have them. Celine had his fair share. In 1937 Celine wrote a tract called Trifles for a Massacre; the first of three tracts. They were rabidly anti-Semitic and racist. Celine threw his lot in with the Nazis and argued for an alliance between France and Germany. “Who is the true friend of the people? Fascism is.” “We do not think enough about the protection of the white Aryan race. Now is the time to act, because tomorrow will be too late.” Once France had fallen Celine supported the Nazis. The head of propaganda for the Nazis in France, Payr, was of the opinion that Celine was too extreme to be helpful. After the war Celine had to leave France as he was wanted as a collaborator. His opinions did not really change; he became what we would now term a Holocaust denier and in 1957 said that white Aryan Christian civilization ended with the battle of Stalingrad. John Banville called this the best novel ever written by a far-right sympathizer and I think he may be right. It is also pertinent to bear in mind that many of Celine’s fellow writers fell for the Soviet system rather than fascism. Coincidentally I am reading The Gulag Archipelago at the moment and Stalin also murdered many millions of his fellow countrymen in the name of peace and an ideal society. The difference with those who followed the Soviet path is that most of them abandoned it when it became clear what Marxist-Leninist practice actually involved. Celine stuck to his beliefs. Celine is in the tradition of Balzac, Zola and many of the great French writers. There is also a touch of the Don Quixote about it with the character of Robinson (who crops up fairly regularly) acting as a sort of Sancho Panza. There is a sort of picaresque nihilism about the narrator, Ferdinand Bardamu. The malarial hallucinatory passages in French colonial Africa are pure Heart of Darkness and the industrial passages in America have a touch of Upton Sinclair. It is ultimately a pessimistic reflection on life. Some may look at ordinary life and people and see nobility, beauty and struggle; Celine sees ugliness, bestiality and pointlessness. I was reminded of the end of a poem by Larkin to sum the whole thing up Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, And don't have any kids yourself. 5 and a half out of 10 Starting Triple Fugue by Osbert Sitwell

The Rector's Daughter is worth reading; Memories of the Ford Administration by John Updike This is an odd book. John Updike was something of an expert on the President before Lincoln; James Buchanan. He wrote a play about him and had intended to write a historical novel about him. Instead he shoved most of what he knew into this book. It is ostensibly about Alf Clayton a history lecturer. When the Northern New England Association of American Historians (NNEAAH) ask for memories and recollections of the Ford administration Clayton puts together all his notes about Buchanan, about whom he had been writing at the time and this takes up about half the book. Interspersed are Alf’s recollections about what he was doing at the time. Essentially this comprises of a series of sexual escapades. Alf is unfaithful to his wife (whom he dubs The Queen of Disorder) with his mistress Genevieve (whom he dubs The Perfect Wife), the wife of a colleague. He moves out and is then unfaithful (several times) to his mistress. His mistress finally sees sense and gives him the elbow and he returns to his wife. The historical part of the book has been criticized as being rather boring, but actually I found it the most interesting; mainly because I knew very little about Buchanan. This being Updike, there is a lot more going on! One of the Elephants in the room is Nabakov and more specifically Pale Fire. The structure is similar where a particular subject is an excuse for a more personal tour-de-force. However there is a joke at the centre in the form of the pay off; “the more I think about the Ford Administration, the more it seems I remember nothing” There are also several amusing pokes at deconstructionists and Derrida. However there is one thing you cannot get away from; and that is Updike’s extensive and somewhat detailed descriptions of Alf’s sexual exploits. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised given Updike’s past history. Several points occur; 1) Some of the descriptions of sexual relationships would undoubtedly be contenders for the bad sex award 2) Some of Alf’s attitudes towards women felt to be to be very unpleasant and demeaning. Describing someone you are making love to as a “witchy incubus” even in your head strikes me as maladjusted. Sentences like “Her wetness had become so extreme I kept slipping, like a man in smooth-soled boots on a mudbank” suggest to me that there is a total disconnection with the woman involved and almost an alienness and I feel there is an unspoken loathing there which I find disturbing. The question I then ask is whether this is Updike observing and satirising men, or is it what he really thinks. I am not sure, but I tend towards the latter. All the women in the book are sexual foils, not intellectual ones. There is no meeting of minds, just a meeting of bodies, which alienated this reader because the meeting of minds for me is primary and is inseparable and an integral part of the physical incarnation. 3) This is sex as a burden, almost like one of Marley’s chains, something inescapable because that’s what men have to do. It is a gloomy view of sexual relations with no sense or understanding of femininity. It felt to me deeply misogynistic. The whole contrivance doesn’t work, but the bits about Buchanan were at least informative. 3 and a half out of 10 Starting Restoration by Rose Tremain

Thanks Frankie and Marie; I really enjoyed A Fraction of the Whole! The Rector's Daughter by F M Major Another unexpected surprise by a relatively unknown female writer. I read the penguin modern classics edition; it is also published by virago. Flora Mayor was a remarkable woman; she read history at Cambridge in the early 1890s; a great achievement. She then became an actress before turning to literature. She wrote short stories and several novels, which were well regarded. She was a writer of ghost stories which were greatly admired by M R James (the greatest writer of ghost stories ever!). Again I wonder why she is so little known. There is no individual biography of her. There is a joint biography of Mayor and her friend Mary Sheepshanks published in the 1980s by virago, called Spinsters of This Parish: The Life and Times of F.M.Mayor and Mary Sheepshanks. This is again one of those novels where not a great deal actually happens, but it is a sharp and perceptive analysis of the human heart, human relationships; loss, love, friendship and loneliness. The story is a simple one. Mary Jocelyn lives with her father a clergyman in a small isolated village in East Anglia in the early twentieth century. It is a quiet life; she nurses her sister Ruth until her death, visits locals and manages the household. Mary is in her 30s and there is no thought of marriage. Mary reads, writes occasional poetry and is thoughtful and Mayor portrays her as quiet, introverted with strong passions beneath the surface, but most of all as the intellectual equal of any man. Into her life comes another clergyman, just moved into the area, Robert Herbert. Herbert’s father was a close friend of Mary’s father and he begins to visit regularly. They begin to spend time together and a friendship based on mutual intellectual interests, a love of nature and general steadiness develops. They fall in love in a slow steady sort of way and become to all intents and purposes engaged. Then Mr Herbert goes to visit relatives and suddenly he is engaged to a much younger and prettier woman (Kathy). Mary is heartbroken, but tells no one. She continues to be isolated and awkward in company, whilst Robert and Kathy marry. After some happy months they both become disillusioned and Kathy goes to stay on the Riviera with a “fast set” of whom Mr Herbert does not approve. Mary and Robert begin to see a little more of each other and it is clear they do have strong feelings for each other. One day Robert suddenly kisses her (her one and only kiss); they are both shocked and Mary leaves very quickly. She is tortured by this for the rest of her life and turns to writing poetry and caring for her aging father. At this time Kathy has to return home as she becomes partially disfigured as the result of a medical issue. This brings Robert and Kathy closer together and Robert soon forgets Mary. Kathy is mow isolated, lonely and bitter and turns to Mary for support, which Mary provides. When Kathy recovers she no longer needs Mary. The rest of the book follows Mary and her inner life over the next few years as she nurses her father and has to move out of the Rectory after his death. It is all beautifully written and the characterisation is superb. None of the characters are one-dimensional. It would have been easy to make Robert Herbert unsympathetic, but he isn’t. It would also have been easy to make Kathy empty headed and entirely frivolous, but she is not. The minor characters are also strong. Mary herself is a tremendously complex and interesting character; there is a lot of repressed feelings and emotions between her and her father, which are barely spoken of. But Mary is so very believable and one does feel great sympathy for her; this is what makes the novel so devastating. Susan Hill is a strong advocate of this book, calling it one of the best of the neglected classics. She is right; it is a masterpiece. There are few laughs (but there is a light ironic humour), no action, it is rather sad; but it is an exceptional novel about human relationships which should be on everyone’s reading list. 9 out of 10 Strating Orlando by Virginia Woolf

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz Thoroughly enjoyable and difficult to categorise. This debut novel is 700 pages long and bowls along at a very rapid pace. It is a very funny generational saga about brothers Martin and Terry Dean and Martin’s son Jasper. It’s pretty much totally unbelievable and there is extraordinary level of cynicism about life and the human condition; something which should delight even the most misanthropic. It is set in Australia and ranges across France and Thailand as well. There are philosophical elements and the whole thing reminded me of an Arabian Nights type tale (or tales as we rotate voices between Martin and Jasper). There is an interesting childhood illness sequence which one critic has compared to Vonnegut and Marquez; a stretch too far, but the same critic also compares it to an intelligent stand up routine and this is much nearer the mark. A couple of quote will illustrate; “There were no two ways about it: I was in a crisis. But recent shifts in the behaviour of different age groups made it hard to know what type - How could it be a midlife crisis when the forties were the new twenties, the fifties the new thirties . . . I had to read the lifestyle supplement to make sure I wasn't going through puberty." “You never hear about a sportsman losing his sense of smell in a tragic accident, and for good reason; in order for the universe to teach excruciating lessons that we are unable to apply in later life, the sportsman must lose his legs, the philosopher his mind, the painter his eyes, the musician his ears, the chef his tongue.” There are plenty of one-liners; “To this day the memory of that look still visits me like a Jehovah's witness, uninvited and tireless” "Paris-perfect city to be lonely & miserable in.” I’ve been struggling to find the right words to describe this and I think nihilistic about sums it up. It feels like something that one ought not to enjoy, a forbidden pleasure and at times it gets way to preachy in its cynical sort of way and there I think Toltz yields to the temptation of speaking through his characters. The female characters are secondary and mainly foils for the men; the Rupert Murdoch character is fun and there are several rather amusing criminal thugs, one neat twist and lots of mayhem. Toltz makes serious points along the way about parenting, bullying and sometimes the meaning of life. It is very funny and remarkable for a first novel. The flaws are many, but mostly forgiveable and I would certainly read another novel by Toltz 7 and a half out of 10 Starting Stone's Fall by Iain Pears