A book blog by Books Do Furnish a Room 2011

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I've finished The Guide by R K Narayan;

The writing is quite spare and there is little description of the backdrop of the novel, apart from what is necessary.

The Guide is about Raju, who tells his story in the present and past. He has been in prison and has taken refuge in an empty temple by a river. The locals begin to believe he is a holy man. Interspersed is the story of Raju's past, his childhood, his time as a tourist guide. Then his affair with a married woman and its consequences. Raju is a rogue who is often self serving, but has some likeable qualities. The end is left open; has Raju really become a holy man as he fasts for rain.

There is a strong comedic element in the book, but it is also a fable. Human issues are addressed rather than politics directly and critics have pointed out that there is little to relate the book to a time or political background. Hence, I think the fable element.

It has been suggested that Narayan is easy to read and hard to understand. He is certainly easy to read, but the end of the novel is enigmatic; The Guide is certainly thought provoking. I suspect I will be thinking about it for some time.

7 and a half out of 10.

I am starting The Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda

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I've finished Can you Forgive Her? by Trollope

This is an excellent, if long, read. Trollope tells a good story and I think his female characters are stronger, better developed and more believeable than any other male Victorian novelist. He is still conventional (apart from the novel Marion Fay perhaps) but he has a strong empathy with his female characters and they tend to be better drawn and have more depth than his male characters.

The novel revolves around the romantic adventures of three women; Alice Vavasor, her cousin Kate and Lady Glencora Palliser. Alice has to chose between dull, reliable and loving in the form of John Grey and exciting, dangerous and unscrupulous in the form of George Vavasor. Her choices cause problems, hence the title. Lady Glencore, my favourite character, is torn between a seemingly loveless marraige and a handsome previous suitor who wants to run off with her. She is very tempted to do so. The minor characters are marvelous with some wonderful comic creations; the love triangle of Mr Cheeseacre, Captain Bellfield and Aunt Greenow. Trollope works it all out in the end.

Tolstoy rated Trollope very highly and the more I read of him the more I understand why. Incidentally, a clergyman wrote to trollope to complain that he had been forced to stop his daughters reading this novel; what better recommendation could you have!!

8 out of 10

Starting the next Palliser novel, Phineas Finn

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I've finished My Lives by Edmund White

This is an exceptionally well written book and is easy to read. I liked the way the chapters were arranged with a chapter on important groups and individuals. There is a chapter on mother and father, but the first chapter is entitled My Shrinks! There are other chapters on hustlers, women, blondes, Genet and so on. It is a remarkable chronicle of gay history pre and post AIDS.

However, there are a lot of very graphic sexual descriptions in this book and at times, as White says himself, there is Too Much Information. White is being brutally honest about his body, his obsessions, sexual practices and the men in his life. The S and M interludes are interesting, as the the power relationships in the chapter concerning a master relationship. However I wonder how honest it is possible to be when writing in this sort of way. Is there a small part of the mind on the potential audience. White is also a name dropper and he has plenty to drop; he seems to have met everyone!! I would have liked to know more about him in relation to those he met and more about ideas and arguments.

6 out of 10

I am starting a biography of Walter Sickert by Matthew Sturgis

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I've finished "In a Free State" by V S Naipaul

There are three novellas with a very short piece at the beginning and end. The focus is on being in a foreign/strange land. The longest novella deals with Africa at the end of empire; two white colonials travelling across an African state (possibly Uganda) at a time of change. It highlights their fears, prejudices and feelings about the future. There is a strong sense of threat (real or imagined; you decide) as they travel and a sense of something ending. The story about an Indian in Wshington DC and his adjustment to a new culture and a foreign land is moving. Tell Me Who To Kill with its brooding sense of alienation is also very good.I know Naipaul is not really in vogue at the moment, but I enjoyed this.

7 and a half out of 10

I am starting Victoria by Knut Hamsen

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Finished "A Visit from the Goon Squad"

Having read some of the hype I was not sure what to expect and was preparing not to like it, especially the chapter written in power point (I kid you not). The narrative jumps in time from the late 70s to 2020, not sequentially. It revolves around the lives of Bennie Salazar, a music executive and his PA Sasha. There are a lot of minor characters whose lives intersect at various and it is difficult to follow what happens to them. Egan also has a way of setting a scene and its characters and then telling us that teenage Joe Bloggs goes on to have brief fame and blow his brains out at 27! (Not a spoiler, by the way, but this sort of description is used for several characters).

Having said all that this is an excellent read. The power point chapter works well, especially as the narrator is a teenager. It is about how past and future inersect, about how we all get old, often without realising what happened. It is about the power of youth and its energy; it is also about lost youth and having to grow up (or not).

All aging punks and rockers should read this. Great fun, thought-provoking, if a little confusing.

8 out of 10

Starting The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey

[Books do furnish a room]

I've finished Victoria by Knut Hamsun.

A short simple and profound love story which captures the intensity, passion and hopelessness of love; especially young love. The two protagonists Johannes and Victoria fall in love in early teenage and the story develops over a period of years. They manage to hurt each other, be shy, clumsy and avoid sharing their feelings. The language of this book is poetic and lyrical. Reading this as an adult; it was moving, but I wonder how I would have felt about it as a teenager; it may have had a more profound effect. These days I prefer growing old with someone rather than because of someone. I believe this is one of the best love stories in literature and it can easily be read in one sitting.

eight and a half out of ten

I've started Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels

Edited May 8, 2011 by Books do furnish a room

[poppyshake]

Finished "A Visit from the Goon Squad"

Having read some of the hype I was not sure what to expect and was preparing not to like it, especially the chapter written in power point (I kid you not). The narrative jumps in time from the late 70s to 2020, not sequentially. It revolves around the lives of Bennie Salazar, a music executive and his PA Sasha. There are a lot of minor characters whose lives intersect at various and it is difficult to follow what happens to them. Egan also has a way of setting a scene and its characters and then telling us that teenage Joe Bloggs goes on to have brief fame and blow his brains out at 27! (Not a spoiler, by the way, but this sort of description is used for several characters).

Having said all that this is an excellent read. The power point chapter works well, especially as the narrator is a teenager. It is about how past and future inersect, about how we all get old, often without realising what happened. It is about the power of youth and its energy; it is also about lost youth and having to grow up (or not).

All aging punks and rockers should read this. Great fun, thought-provoking, if a little confusing.

8 out of 10

Starting The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey

 

Ooh thanks for the review I'm intrigued, it sounds interesting but a bit mind boggling. I'm still willing to give it a go even though it does sound a bit David Mitchell.

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I've finished Count Belisarius by Robert Graves

Late Roman historical fiction with a solid base in fact. Belisarius was a roman general who served Justinian in the sixth century. Graves uses Procopius as a base for his account and has the story told by of of Antonina's (Belisarius's wife) eunuchs. Justinian is well drawn as the monster he was and there are entertaining accounts of early Christian heresies. It's been a while since I've read about Monophysites and Arians. Belisarius is portrayed as impossibly good and honourable and both of the main female characters (Antonina and Theodora, Justinian's wife) spend much time scheming. There is glut of battle scenes, descriptions of campaigns, seiges and the deployment of soldiers. I suppose I am churlish to complain as it is a novel about a general! I enjoyed it and it reads easily. If you like noble soldiers, a general in the Russell Crowe mould, corrupt bishops and popes, a homicidal emperor, lots of intrigue, courtesans and numerous battles; you will love this.

 

For me, I was a little disappointed; not the same calibre as I Claudius.

6 and a half out of 10

Starting The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale; more historical fiction

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I've finished The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey

I have some trouble reviewing this because I meet people who have dementia most of the time in my work.

It is the story of Jake, an architect, who has Alzheimer's type dementia. The novel cuts between past and present and is very poignant. The story of Jake's family; his mother, wife and son unfolds. At the start of the book Jake has dementia at a fairly early stage; his wife died aged 53, his son is in a prison he designed. His history is not clear because as the book goes on it becomes clear that some of his memories are inaccurate because of his disease. The present gets increasingly blurred and Jake is living with an early love, Eleanor. It is never clear whether they have married.

The book is written from Jake's point of view and much of it takes place in Jake's mind. Unfortunately Jake is not a character that is easily liked and the reasons for this gradually unfold. There is an ongoing struggle for identity at the centre of the book, for all the characters (for Jake's wife Helen, his mother Sara, his son and the women he influences), while Jake's identity is being eroded.

I have some problems with the portrayal of dementia. In my experience people lose their memories and functionality; they don't gain new ones that didn't happen. The mental health professional is rather odd, and Jake is never seen in his own home (where functioning can be more accurately assessed).

The trajectory of the disease is not at all typical; those living alone with Alzheimer's usually do not accept a problem exists and are difficult to relate to, even for those closest.

Jake's walking and getting lost is typical, as is the teabag in the kettle, tins in the freezer, coffee cups in the bureau etc.

Forgetting the person you are living with is also quite common; I remember a couple who had been married over 60 years I visited as a newly qualified social worker (some years ago!). She had dementia and her memory was impaired. She felt her husband should be young so she daily attacked the old man she found in her house and bed, or ran out of the house to escape or fetch help. Her husband was devastated and described it as a living death; and I was there to provide a solution!!

There is no sense of Jake losing his physical abilities; using cutlery, the ability to use the toilet or turn a tap.

The end of the book is in the third person as Jake no longer has a sense of who he is. This is the most difficult area, as I think that even those with later stage dementia retain a sense of who they are. I just think they are unable to communicate it. This is an instinct from regular contact with the disease, I believe there is a sense of being locked in and not knowing the words, but being oneself. I can't prove this and I may be wrong.

This is an interesting book and a powerful one; unfortunately I didn't like Jake and the portrayal of the disease was a bit patchy.

6 out of 10

I am starting Everything is illuminated by Jonathon Foer

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I have finished The Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda

 

This is the story of Camagu who returns to South Africa from America. He becomes disillusioned with the new democracy and moves to the Eastern Cape where the Xhosa people live; he follows a woman he heard sing at a funeral. He does not find her but finds a people split between Believers and Unbelievers; two strands of the same family/ancestors. In the nineteenth century a young prophetess commanded the people to destroy their cattle and crops; if they did the ancestors would rise and drive the white people out of the land. The people are split in two groups as described above; a hundred years later their descendants are still at odds. They now argue about a plan to build a casino and tourist resort. Camagu walks into this and becomes embroiled in a love triangle with two women; one from each group.

 

This is a powerful, funny and tragic story, lovingly and tenderly told. There are shades of Conrad here; from Heart of Darkness; although the concept of Redness is much more complex. It also reminded me of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and there is a strong thread of magic realism. It is a political satire and an examination of South Africa's past and present. I had not read this author before and barely heard of him; a significant gap in my reading and I will make an effort to read more in the future.

 

This is a magical book; simple and complex and a parable for our times as well as the story of a people.

Nine out of ten

I am starting Mr Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt

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I've finished Mr Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt

This is a clever and funny book about a serious topic. Churchill named his depression a black dog and Rebecca Hunt personifies the dog. Mr Chartwell is a very large (human sized) black labrador who can speak and interact. His job is with those who have depression and he takes his job seriously. The story is set over 5 days in July 1964.

Mr Chartwell (or Black Pat as he is also known) divides his time between Winston Churchill, who is retiring from Parliament and Esther, a House of Commons librarian whose husband died 2 years ago. The use of the dog to explain the effect of depression and his persuasiveness and ability to get his own way works quite well. There are some tender and tragic moments mixed in with the comedy. Black Pat is marvelously over the top and repulsive, but there is also a touch of pathos about him. After all this is his job and he has to do it.

This is an easy book to read and could be read in one sitting, but it is thought provoking and gives an insight into the sheer hard work that depression is.

Seven out of ten

I am starting The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati

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Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels

This is a reflection on love and loss in the context of the holocaust and those who survived. Jakob is rescued when seven years old (his family has been arrested by the Nazis)by Athos, a Greek archealogist; who takes him home and brings him up. You are told about Jakob's death at the very beginning of the book, aged 60 with his young wife. The story begins in Poland, then to Greece, Canada and back to Greece where Jakob meets the love of his life.

Anne Michaels is a poet and the language and descriptions in the book are beautiful; almost too beautiful, becoming distracting. Jakob is haunted by the loss of his family, especially his sister Bella, throughout his life. His loss, and his coming to terms with life and love and survival are the centre of the book.

The last third of the book is told by Ben, a student of Jakob's who follows in his footsteps after Jakob's death and finds his own way back from his own demons. For me, this part of the book is the weakest and felt unnecessary; my own opinion and I'm sure others will disagree.

John Berger in his introduction reflects on Adorno's comment (in the 1950s)that "to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric" and feels that in this book that comment has become finally untrue. High praise; again not sure I agree, but it is a powerful and moving story and the language is sublime.

8 out of 10

Starting A Cofederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

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Human Traces by Sebastian Faulks

On the whole I enjoyed this; it was a wide scope, from the 1860s to the 1920s and ranges across Europe the US and Africa. It tells the story of two men, Thomas Midwinter and Jacques Rebiere and their dreams of working out how the human mind functions and solving the problem of madness. There are lengthy descriptions of nineteenth century psychiatry and the development of some modern ideas with the theory of evolution and the human condition thrown in.

The book is at its strongest when dealing with human relationships; friendship, love, loss, betrayal and family. The beginning and end of the novel are particularly strong. The middle plodded a little and there are some overlong passages about anatomy and psychiatry which are superfluous. There are also a couple of plot lines which are not followed through which were intriguing, but left open. Not as good as Birdsong, in my opinion, but an epic novel dealing with life's mysteries with great sadness at the heart. The last paragraph is heart rending.

8 out of 10

Starting A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irvine

[chaliepud]

I'm glad someone else has enjoyed Human Traces, it is in my top 5 books ever, in fact I recently downloaded the audiobook so I can hear it this time to see if I can get anything more from it. I particularly enjoyed the parts where he detailed psychiatric treatment but then it is a subject that has always interested me, likewise WWI in Birdsong. I just wish he was a little more consistent in his writing as I have not enjoyed his other books as much. Have you read any of his other works?

[Books do furnish a room]

Hi Chalipud; I've read Birdsong and it's one of my favourite books, as you I'm fascinated by WW1 and also general history of the early twentieth century. I've also read Engleby, which is an oddity and made me uncomfortable and I didn't like as much. I've got others on my ever growing to be read list!! Novels of this nature are not as popular at the moment (no vampires!), but to me they are fascinating.

[chaliepud]

I didn't get on with Engelby either and tried numerous times to read Charlotte Gray and failed...

Edited June 18, 2011 by chaliepud

[poppyshake]

Great review of 'The Cider House Rules' I've been wanting to read more by him since reading 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' (which was excellent) .. this looks as if it will be my next Irving

[Books do furnish a room]

The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati

A bleak and sparse book that reminded me of Kafka (especially The Castle)in terms of the feeling of pointlessness. It follows Giovanni Drogo who joins the army and goes to do a tour of duty at a remote fort at the age of 21. Here all the soldiers guard the northern frontier and their dearest wish is for something to happen, an attack to repulse. It never comes for Drogo. Intending to stay 4 months Drogo stays for the rest of his life, almost.

It is a parable about the way life is over before you know it and is so easily wasted. it is also a satire on military life and the banality of routine. There is none of the paranoia of Kafka, just boredom. It was written in the late 1930s and the military satire is especially apt.I think many of us will recognise something of ourselves in Giovanni Drogo; and if we do we may wonder if our lives share his path.

7 and a half out of 10

Starting some short stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman; The yellow wallpaper and other stories

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Everything is Illuminated by Jonathon Safran Foer

I have mixed feelings about this one; I loved the magic realism and the story about the history of the shtetl, the characters in it and the history up to the second world war. The modern story did not grab me. I found the use of language in the present briefly funny and then irritating (flaccid to utter for easy to say, rigid journey for hard journey). Hard work with a thesaurus I would think, but half the novel is like this. I'm not sure whether the Alex's were a nod to A Clockwork Orange, which also mangled the language at times. To me all this was a bit too smart and not engaging.

However, despite the strong comic element, I found the tragedy in it more convincing and the story of Yankel and Brod was excellent.

6 out of 10

Starting The Man from Beijing by Hening Mankel.

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The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale

A pleasant and fairly easygoing historical novel set in eighteenth London (briefly in Sussex). Agnes Trusel runs away from her Sussex home; she is young and pregnant and knows her family cannot cope with another mouth to feed. The novel is set during the period when enclosure was taking place and rural life was increasingly difficult. Agnes goes to London and becomes assistant to John Blacklock, who makes fireworks. She picks up the skill very quickly and becomes indispensible. However the other servants in the home are suspicious and she cannot hide her pregnancy for long.

The book is in the first person, which can be annoying. Apart from Agnes I felt the other characters were one dimensional and some of the historical details were a little thin. Nevertheless it was a heartwarming story and not too hard work; which when one of the other books you are reading is Ulysses is no bad thing.

6 out of 10

I'm starting The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

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Walter Sickert by Matthew Sturgis

Excellent and thoughtful biography of an artist now inextricably linked to Jack the Ripper as a result of Patricia Cornwell's attempt to pin the crime on him. The research is meticulous and Sturgis is very clear that Sickert wasn't the Ripper.

Sickert on the contrary, liked women and women clearly liked him. He was charming and certainly not faithful to his first wife. They nevertheless remained friends after their divorce and she continued to support him financially. During one of his many stays in France he became friendly with various members of the Hozier family. Clementine Hozier, at that time in her early teens was tremendously fond of him and stayed friends with him until his death. Sickert even gave her husband, Winston Churchill, painting lessons. I seem to recall that Clementine Churchill was generally a pretty good judge of character. Sickert knew and was friendly with many other significant figures; Augustus John, Virginia Woolf, Roger Fry, Whistler (although they fell out), Degas, Oscar Wilde, Cecil Beaton, to name but a few. Sickert could be tempramental and was certainly selfish, but not a mass murderer. Sturgis shows he was in France for the first two murders.

This is a good biography and covers a period that has always interested me. It's a shame that Sickert will always be remembered as someone linked to the Ripper crimes rather than an interesting English artist in the impressionist tradition; or at least an English version of it.

I wonder how many people know Cornwell's book compared to this one

8 out of 10

I am starting Rum, Sodomy and the Lash by Hans Turley (before anyone asks its an academic book about pirates!)

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Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope

Not my favourite Trollope novel; I found Mr Finn rather two dimensional, not a patch on the stonger female characters. Trollope has researched the parliamentary system as it was in the 1860s well. The descriptions of parliament and the thoughts and feelings of MPs are well drawn. Phineas Finn is honest and something of an idealist; but very easily led; a weak man. Trollope, I think wanted hime weak to contrats with the sronger women, who clearly should have been the ones doing the politics. They would all have been more competent.

Despite the fact I didn't really like Finn, this is a good read and Trollope is on strong form. On to the next Palliser novel.

7 and a half out of 10

Next one in the series is The Eustace Diamonds

[frankie]

Walter Sickert by Matthew Sturgis

Excellent and thoughtful biography of an artist now inextricably linked to Jack the Ripper as a result of Patricia Cornwell's attempt to pin the crime on him. The research is meticulous and Sturgis is very clear that Sickert wasn't the Ripper.

 

This is definitely going on my wishlist, thank you for the great review Have you read Cornwell's account of him as Jack the Ripper, by the way? I have and I found it very compelling, and even convincing. I am very keen on reading another point-of-view to the man

[Books do furnish a room]

Thanks Frankie; I have read Cornwell's book and found it compelling, but with a lack of depth. Sturgis's book is very well researched. After reading Cornwell's book I made a decision to read the best biography I could find about Sickert and this one fits the bill. I'll be interested to see what you think of it.

[Books do furnish a room]

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

Solid thriller laden with lawyer/detective cliches and containing characters straight out of cenral casting for the American detective genre. It was easy to read, enjoyable with some clever (if predictable} twists. The central figure, Mickey Haller, is a defence lawyer who knows his way around the system and works out of the back of his Lincoln (in case you were wondering about the title). He has two ex-wives and a daughter he doesn't see enough. This is the story of one particular case and is full of standard characters. If you like formulaic american detective stories, you'll love this. I found it a bit predictable towards the end and the ending came rather quickly.

six and a half out of ten

Starting The Night Ferry by Michael Robotham