Poppy's Paperbacks 2011

[frankie]

4.The one book you would have with you if stranded on a desert island:

 

Ok, well the smart answer is to have some sort of survival guide but let's face it, even if I had full instructions, the chances of me ever becoming self sufficient and being able to gut a fish, harvest the eggs from a turtle, or erect some sort of bivouac are nil so there is no point in me choosing it .. I'd just have to hide under a tree and hope for the best. Now I'm left with two schools of thought, one is that I'd want a nice comfy cosy read that would make me feel comforted and the other is that I'd want something challenging to keep the brain ticking over and to stop my mind from running around like a headless chicken until insanity arrived. I'm tempted to say 'Lord of the Rings' but there are too many evils lurking around in it, I'd be a nervous wreck.

For the comfy cosy option I'd choose the complete works of Jane Austen (in one book) and for the challenge I'd choose Marcel Prousts 'Remembrance of Things Past' (in it's entirety) .. that'd give me something to chew over. I would either become engrossed and not notice the time fly or be so flummoxed by it that, in contrast, building a raft would now seem to be a doddle

 

Great thinking, all around! I would probably also consider choosing Lord of the Rings, for the fact that it's massive and would take some time to read, and because it seems to be a book that I'm never going to get to reading, by this rate: the fatty is too intimidating!!

 

Jane Austen is always a good choice (and I loved it that you were clever enough to choose a 'complete works' edition ) and Remembrance of Things Past is a great choice as well, what a clever idea! You get top marks for this answer!

 

Review: Firstly I must say a big thank you to Frankie for sending me this book. I loved reading it with all your additions, I was sure there was a subtext amongst your underlinings (but, just as I can never fathom out a whodunnit, I couldn't work it out )

 

You're very welcome, I'm really happy to hear you enjoyed the novel! I'm sure there was subtext, too, just don't ask me about it

 

(and I loved the first line .. 'Dora Greenfield left her husband because she was afraid of him. She decided six months later to return to him for the same reason.' )

 

It's a great first line, isn't it? Definitely one that makes you want to keep reading.

 

The other characters in the community are a mixed bunch .. most of them have secrets to hide and there is a lot of moral deliberation and soul searching. Apart from Dora, one of the main characters is Michael, the leader of the community who has all sorts of demons perched on his shoulder, the main one being a disgraced past involving a homosexual encounter with a teenage pupil at a public school where Michael taught. He felt he had put most of this behind him but that young teenager is now a dissolute young man and he has found his way to Imber seeking refuge. There is also young Toby, a newcomer to Imber, who has rekindled some of those old memories. Michael finds he is back in the struggle between the spiritual side of his nature and his sexual inclinations, it's a struggle that has never really gone away.

 

Michael was one of my favorite characters, I really felt for him. And for some reason, I pictured my English professor as Michael. The English prof was the one who made us read the book for a lit course, and at the time I really liked him and his stoic Englishness, and somehow all this made me picture him as Michael. And only in a good way.

 

Did you notice how two different chapters started in the same way, the exact same paragraph or two? I didn't but our professor was of course very keen to point it out and make us thing of the meaning of it.

6.Worst book you were made to read in school:

 

I think that was probably 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' I found everyone in it either obnoxious or terribly drippy. I guess I wasn't much of a romantic at the time so didn't really engage with the whole Tess/Angel love affair and just thought the pair of them were pig headed, obtuse and weak.

 

When Tess tells Angel, at the end of the book, that he should marry her sister Liza-Lu once she is dead

.. I just thought

 

Wohoo! I couldn't agree with you more. I didn't find anything romantic about the relationship, I just wanted to turn into Thursday Next and go into the novel and put all the people out of their misery, with my bare hands, thus putting myself out of my misery of having to read the stupid book. I know which book I'm going to choose when it's time to answer the questionnaire about the worst book I've ever read!

 

 

 

 

You've gone and done it again... *scribbling this down to my wishlist*

 

7.Book that everyone should be made to read in school:

 

I'd choose two books that probably are read quite a lot in schools, though I sadly never read them there. 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee and 'A Tale of Two Cities' by Charles Dickens both beautifully written books with strong messages.

 

Excellent choices. You should teach literature in school!!

 

 

[Kylie]

I am enjoying your reviews as always, Poppyshake. Unfortunately I can never think of anything more creative to say than 'Excellent review' or similar, so I don't always reply because I get sick of hearing myself say the same thing over and over.

 

 

I haven't read Mr Chartwell yet (I've been putting it aside because I've been meaning to ask Kylie if she'd like to read it at the same time with me)

 

Kylie would like that.

 

I don't want to throw Kylie under the bus, but … when she saw us raving about David Mitchell, she image googled him and thought he was rather average, nothing like she'd imagined after reading our comments.

 

Hey! Dobber! But I'm afraid it's true. I was very unimpressed. Sorry, Poppyshake.

I haven't seen QI, to my utter dismay. I know the concept, to a point, but I don't know if this show has been aired in Finland

 

You would love QI, Frankie. Fry is brilliant!

 

Poppyshake, I'm thrilled that you've finally read A Tale of Two Cities. I can't wait to read your review of it.

[frankie]

Kylie would like that.

 

So would frankie! But frankie hasn't yet asked Kylie about it because is afraid Kylie would feel pressured, apparently she has difficulties reading books these days as it is

 

Hey! Dobber! But I'm afraid it's true. I was very unimpressed. Sorry, Poppyshake.

 

What's a dobber? It sounds like Dobby, whom I loved in Harry Potter, so I don't mind In your defense I told poppyshake that I didn't fancy the look of Mitchell either, before I started watching the show

You would love QI, Frankie. Fry is brilliant!

 

Fry and Mitchell, it might just prove to be too much excitement for me and I'll end up in a hospital with a cardiac arrest Didn't we catch a glimpse of QI at some point, Kylie?

[Kylie]

So would frankie! But frankie hasn't yet asked Kylie about it because is afraid Kylie would feel pressured, apparently she has difficulties reading books these days as it is

 

I'll manage.

 

What's a dobber? It sounds like Dobby, whom I loved in Harry Potter, so I don't mind

 

A dobber is someone who tells on someone else. Do you know that phrase: to 'tell on' someone?

 

Fry and Mitchell, it might just prove to be too much excitement for me and I'll end up in a hospital with a cardiac arrest Didn't we catch a glimpse of QI at some point, Kylie?

 

We might have done. I'm surprised we wouldn't have watched it all the time if it was on.

[poppyshake]

Oooh, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, I've borrowed it from the library like 5 times but never really had a chance to get into it, there were always other books to read first. I'm glad you're liking it so far, maybe this'll push me into reading it myself. I'm very much waiting for your final say on the book! I haven't read Mr Chartwell yet (I've been putting it aside because I've been meaning to ask Kylie if she'd like to read it at the same time with me) but it's one of those books I just know I'll love, so I feel secure enough to say that Alan has good taste

I've read 'the Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas' now, it was very interesting but a bit of a mind boggle. I need to write a review but I'm behind with others so by the time I get around to it, it'll be lost in the mist .. it's definitely worth reading, that much I can say, but it does take concentration.

That's a great idea to read 'Mr Chartwell' with Kylie .. I can't wait to see what you both think of it.

 

You're right, BF might not be too thrilled! While we're on the subject, there's one thing I've been meaning to tell you. I don't want to throw Kylie under the bus, but … when she saw us raving about David Mitchell, she image googled him and thought he was rather average, nothing like she'd imagined after reading our comments. Eventhough I'm upset on David's behalf, I have to say that before I knew about him myself, or saw The Peep Show, I noticed his picture as someone's avatar on some random forum and thought 'he's one of the weirdest looking people I've seen'. (he had a very quirky expression, I have to say to my defense!) Then I heard about the show, started watching it and fell in love. So I can't be disappointed in Kylie, but I did recommend she watch the show if she's able. I did good, didn't I?

You have to know David to love him, I don't think I'd be impressed with just his photo, it's his whole persona that's attractive (I do like a man who rants )

I find him very funny and very clever and while not perhaps conventionally attractive, he has a nice face, so all in all ... mmmmmmm

I haven't seen QI, to my utter dismay. I know the concept, to a point, but I don't know if this show has been aired in Finland I haven't seen Jam & Jerusalem either. Finland sucks!! I'd definitely love to see David Mitchell being his clever witty self on TV sometime.

Haven't seen that one either!!

You must see 'QI' and 'Would I Lie to You?' .. and 'Jam & Jerusalem' ... we need to demand that Finnish TV puts them on immediately

[poppyshake]

Great thinking, all around! I would probably also consider choosing Lord of the Rings, for the fact that it's massive and would take some time to read, and because it seems to be a book that I'm never going to get to reading, by this rate: the fatty is too intimidating!!

Jane Austen is always a good choice (and I loved it that you were clever enough to choose a 'complete works' edition ) and Remembrance of Things Past is a great choice as well, what a clever idea! You get top marks for this answer!

I have read 'Lord of the Rings' and thought it was just fantastic but I do need to read it again, there's so much to absorb. I read them when the films were out and was just amazed at how much more detailed they were and loved all the bits that weren't in the film (which was a lot) because they were new to me and exciting.

Michael was one of my favorite characters, I really felt for him. And for some reason, I pictured my English professor as Michael. The English prof was the one who made us read the book for a lit course, and at the time I really liked him and his stoic Englishness, and somehow all this made me picture him as Michael. And only in a good way.

I liked Michael too and felt sad for him.

Did you notice how two different chapters started in the same way, the exact same paragraph or two? I didn't but our professor was of course very keen to point it out and make us thing of the meaning of it.

Oh bother .. no I didn't. I'll have to go back now and read it again.

Wohoo! I couldn't agree with you more. I didn't find anything romantic about the relationship, I just wanted to turn into Thursday Next and go into the novel and put all the people out of their misery, with my bare hands, thus putting myself out of my misery of having to read the stupid book. I know which book I'm going to choose when it's time to answer the questionnaire about the worst book I've ever read!

Genius! I've always wanted to be Thursday but never really thought of putting her to such good use. I can see you now .. stomping around Wessex with the largest most heavily bound hardback version of 'Tess' you could find and battering them all to death with it, if you need back up give me a shout .. then we'll head off to France and biff Madame Bovary

[poppyshake]

I am enjoying your reviews as always, Poppyshake. Unfortunately I can never think of anything more creative to say than 'Excellent review' or similar, so I don't always reply because I get sick of hearing myself say the same thing over and over.

Bless you as I said before, I'm just glad you read them at all.

Hey! Dobber! But I'm afraid it's true. I was very unimpressed. Sorry, Poppyshake.

As I said to Frankie, it's not his looks its the whole package .. and he has lost a tremendous amount of weight and a lot of his google pics haven't caught up with that but I can understand you not being impressed .. going on his photo's.

I'll try and put a link in to him chatting (or ranting .. which he does a lot) it might give you an inkling or a slightly better understanding of the attraction of Mr Mitchell. He's like an intelligent but naughty schoolboy.

You would love QI, Frankie. Fry is brilliant!

She would wouldn't she?, Stephen is always fantastic and more often than not his guests are brilliant too.

Poppyshake, I'm thrilled that you've finally read A Tale of Two Cities. I can't wait to read your review of it.

How I will do it justice I will never know and it doesn't help when you're behind with your reviews to have absolute gems like this waiting in the pipeline. I think I'll just say it's marvellous .. read it

[poppyshake]

 

Mr Vertigo - Paul Auster

 

Waterstones Synopsis: The story of Walt, an irrepressible orphan from the Mid-West. Under the tutelage of the mesmerising Master Yehudi, Walt is taken back to the mysterious house on the plains to prepare not only for the ability to fly, but also for the stardom that will accompany it.

 

Review: I got a bit annoyed with this book, it was well on it's way to a 10/10 but halfway through it went off the boil a bit and lost a lot of it's early impetus. It did pick up again but I just felt frustrated that a book with so much spark and imagination could wander off like that.

 

It has a great cast of characters, especially early on. Walt is a bit of a rascal, a Huck Finn character, he's been sold by his uncle to Master Yehudi, he doesn't know why, all he knows is that Master Yehudi says he has 'the gift'. Master Yehudi takes Walt to Kansas .. 'and a flatter more desolate place you've never seen in your life ... there's nothing to tell you where you are. No mountains, no trees, no bumps in the road. It's flat as death out here, and once you've been around for a while, you'll understand there's nowhere to go but up.' Walt finds it all very strange 'if someone had told me I'd just entered the Land of Oz, I don't think I would have known the difference.' The other inmates of the house are Mother Sue (the Queen of the Gypsies with no more than three teeth jutting from her gums) and Aesop (a frail, scrawny black boy who is learning to be a scholar.) Though the conditions aren't bad and he isn't being treated cruelly, Walt is a city boy at heart and his first thought is to run away, he tries it several times but however far he goes and however secretly, Master Yehudi is always waiting for him at the other end to bring him home again.

 

Master Yehudi's plan is to teach Walt to fly like a bird and what's more he promises Walt that if he can't fly by his next birthday, then he can chop off Mr Yehudi's head with an axe. But first he must learn the technique and the technique doesn't involve any of the things you might imagine, no jumping from great heights, no flapping of arms, no trampolining, but sheer physical endurance of a terrifying nature (or an 'unremitting avalanche of wrongs' as Walt puts it) almost as if Walt's spirit needs to be broken before change can happen (a theory inspired by Master Yehudi's love of Spinoza,) the fact that we're taught to think a thing impossible means that we will never achieve it, hence why Walt is chosen because intellectually he's a bit of a blank page. He is flogged with a bullwhip, thrown from a galloping horse, lashed to the roof of a barn for two days without food or water, he has his skin smeared with honey in the midst of a swarm of flies and wasps, he sits in a circle of fire, is dunked for six hours in a vat of vinegar, drinks cow p*ss, eats horse sh*t, is buried alive, cuts the tip off of his own finger (you're getting the picture right? ... life isn't a bowl of cherries) and eventually, after some time has passed, Walt finds himself levitating - only a few inches at first but gradually more and more.

 

To say what happens next would be giving too much of the plot away, suffice it to say that though fame and fortune are awaiting them, tragedy and disappointment are too and Walt has a very bumpy ride ahead of him. On the whole I thoroughly enjoyed it, of course the whole thing requires an awful lot of suspended disbelief but that wasn't a problem at all, my only gripe with it was that it didn't sustain it's absolutely electric beginning but I still thought it was a fantastic piece of storytelling.

 

9/10

[poppyshake]

8.Book that everyone should read, period:

 

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

[ladymacbeth]

8.Book that everyone should read, period:

 

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

 

Agree with that Poppy!

[Kylie]

As I said to Frankie, it's not his looks its the whole package .. and he has lost a tremendous amount of weight and a lot of his google pics haven't caught up with that but I can understand you not being impressed .. going on his photo's.

I saw him on QI so I saw his slim self and I do agree that he's quite funny and intelligent. Please don't think me shallow (that would be rather hypocritical); I just had thought you were both raving mainly about his looks, so I mostly wanted to 'check him out'.

How I will do it justice I will never know and it doesn't help when you're behind with your reviews to have absolute gems like this waiting in the pipeline. I think I'll just say it's marvellous .. read it

 

I've already read it; it's one of my favourite ever books. But I still can't wait to read your review to see your exact thoughts.

 

8.Book that everyone should read, period:

 

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

 

Well put. Nothing else even needs to be said, does it?

[poppyshake]

 

The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison

 

Waterstones Synopsis: The chronicle of the tragic lives of a poor black family in 1940s America. Every night Pecola, unlovely and unloved, prays for blue eyes like those of her white schoolfellows. She becomes the focus of the mingled love and hatred engendered by her family's frailty and the world's cruelty

 

Review: This book was slightly easier to read than 'Beloved', easier in writing style (though still beautifully poetical and mystical) but not easier in subject matter because it's every bit as harrowing.

 

Central to the story is 11 year old Pecola Breedlove and her family ... a family beset by poverty and hardship.

 

'You looked at them and wondered why they were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that it came from conviction, their conviction. It was as though some mysterious all-knowing master had given each one a cloak of ugliness to wear, and they had each accepted it without question ... And they took the ugliness in their hands, threw it as a mantle over them, and went about the world with it.'

 

The story is narrated partly by an unknown third person and partly by Claudia (now looking back as an adult,) a girl living in the same town as the Breedloves and observing events as they unfold.

 

Pecola leads what can only be described as a dogs life, she is spat at, ridiculed, ignored, wrongly accused of crimes, she's not loved or admired, she's deemed ugly and worthless. Her home is a home of poverty, violence and hostility and her parents, who have themselves been similarly knocked about by life, don't seem to care about her. If that wasn't bad enough, her father has raped her whilst drunk and she is carrying his child. She prays every day for beauty, and in her mind, that means a pair of blue eyes.

 

To read about her was one of the hardest things, her spirit was absolutely crushed and everytime I thought a ray of light had appeared, it was snuffed out.

 

At the beginning of the book there's a paragraph taken from a child's reading book ‘Here is the house. It is green and white. It has a red door. It is very pretty. Here is the family. Mother, Father, Dick and Jane live in the green and white house. They are very happy. See Jane. She has a red dress. She wants to play. Who will play with Jane? See the cat. It goes meow-meow. Come and play. Come play with Jane. The kitten will not play. See Mother. Mother is very nice. Mother, will you play with Jane? Mother laughs. Laugh, Mother, laugh. See Father. He is big and strong. Father, will you play with Jane? Father is smiling. Smile, Father, smile. See the dog. Bowwow goes the dog. Do you want to play with Jane? See the dog run. Run, dog, run. Look, look. Here comes a friend. The friend will play with Jane. They will play a good game. Play, Jane, play.’ and this passage is repeated randomly throughout the book but fractured now, without spaces or punctuation. It's a safe and cosy world this Shirley Temple world, one of innocence and comfort but what if it's not your experience of the world? what then? it's just a world that you don't fit into, a world of reproaches and taunts.

 

There's little hope in this book, what hope there is lies with Claudia and her sister Frieda, but not with Pecola. It's brutal and harsh and it contains scenes that will repulse you and make your heart sink but it's a really powerful piece of writing, you can feel Toni Morrison's anger and sorrow pulsing through the pages.

 

8/10

[poppyshake]

Agree with that Poppy!

Thank you Lady M

 

I saw him on QI so I saw his slim self and I do agree that he's quite funny and intelligent. Please don't think me shallow (that would be rather hypocritical); I just had thought you were both raving mainly about his looks, so I mostly wanted to 'check him out'.

Of course, I don't think you're shallow it's the first thing I do if someone is going on about some man or the other .. look him up and see what I think David probably wouldn't score highly on the 'phwoar barometer' but there's something about him that's incredibly attractive. I do like men that make me laugh.

The Tale of Two Cities : I've already read it; it's one of my favourite ever books. But I still can't wait to read your review to see your exact thoughts.

Oh, no pressure then I've only got to do justice to one of Kylie's favourite books .. well I'll add 'Kylie loves it' to my 'it's marvellous, read it' .. that should do it.

 

To Kill a Mockingbird : Well put. Nothing else even needs to be said, does it?

That's what I thought, but I'm amazed I managed to shut up .. a seven word answer .. must be a record

[poppyshake]

9.Favorite character:

I've answered this one before I think. Thursday Next is my favourite female and therefore (females ruling and all that ) my favourite character.

10.Best villain:

 

Ooh, this one's interesting, there's a lot of good villains out there but I am rather limited as to choice because I don't read a lot of thriller/horror books so I probably don't know any hardcore villains. Mrs Danvers (Rebecca) always gives me the chills, as does Sauron (Lord of the Rings) but the villain that has given me the most spine tingles and frightened the stuffing out of me is *whispers* Voldemort He absolutely terrifies me, he's just sooooooo evil. The scene in the graveyard in 'Goblet of Fire' petrified me (poor Robert Pattinson ) and that was just the beginning really, once he was back to full strength there was no end to the amount of evil he created, it was like a hobby to him. The fact that he has those snakelike features as well, really creepy and I love the way that even his faithful followers are scared witless of him. And he has a giant snake as a sidekick!! I love what Ralph Fiennes has done with him too, perfect .. that unearthly way he has of moving ... I'm terrified of him as well.

 

I must just add that Heffalumps and Woozles are pretty terrifying too .. they steal honey fgs

[Easy Reader]

9.Favorite character:

I've answered this one before I think. Thursday Next is my favourite female and therefore (females ruling and all that ) my favourite character.

 

Yeah, Girl Power

I love a good strong female lead character. Its even better if you know a man chose to think out of the box when writing it.

[poppyshake]

Yeah, Girl Power

I love a good strong female lead character. Its even better if you know a man chose to think out of the box when writing it.

Yes, you're right I've never thought male authors could write convincing female characters before, Jasper didn't just write a convincing one he wrote one of the best female characters ever. Though actually I think that Thursday just jumped into Jasper's books and wrote the part for herself

[Easy Reader]

Though actually I think that Thursday just jumped into Jasper's books and wrote the part for herself

of course why didn't I realise that myself

 

I did have a bit of trouble with the first few pages as I didn't realise Thursday was female to start with I just thought male writer so obviously a male character.

[frankie]

A dobber is someone who tells on someone else. Do you know that phrase: to 'tell on' someone?

 

Yes I know the phrase, I should've figured out the word from the context

 

We might have done. I'm surprised we wouldn't have watched it all the time if it was on.

 

Me too. Maybe it was the end of the season episode, or something similar to the show and not the real deal.

 

You must see 'QI' and 'Would I Lie to You?' .. and 'Jam & Jerusalem' ... we need to demand that Finnish TV puts them on immediately

 

Should we start writing letters to the Finnish TV moguls?

Oh bother .. no I didn't. I'll have to go back now and read it again.

 

Well you can just search for the chapters, you don't need to re-read the whole thing! Unless you want to, of course.

Genius! I've always wanted to be Thursday but never really thought of putting her to such good use. I can see you now .. stomping around Wessex with the largest most heavily bound hardback version of 'Tess' you could find and battering them all to death with it, if you need back up give me a shout .. then we'll head off to France and biff Madame Bovary

 

Haha there's an image I like! I don't think I'll need back up, I'll be in such a crazy fit that the adrenalin will help me to finish the job, but I would love the company! Can we do Hardy himself as well? Madame Bovary, and maybe a few whacks on Paulo Coelho, and of course D. H. Lawrence! We also need to find an Australian author to hate, so we can go and visit Kylie at the same time!

 

As I said to Frankie, it's not his looks its the whole package .. and he has lost a tremendous amount of weight and a lot of his google pics haven't caught up with that but I can understand you not being impressed .. going on his photo's.

I'll try and put a link in to him chatting (or ranting .. which he does a lot) it might give you an inkling or a slightly better understanding of the attraction of Mr Mitchell. He's like an intelligent but naughty schoolboy.

 

I didn't know his lost weight, does he look odd now? I fear he's not the same anymore I remember reading somewhere that he said he's already given up hope of finding the right woman, and I felt so bad for him because he is a real catch and the British gals should know that!! Thanks for the links, can't wait to check them out after typing this post!

 

I saw him on QI so I saw his slim self and I do agree that he's quite funny and intelligent. Please don't think me shallow (that would be rather hypocritical); I just had thought you were both raving mainly about his looks, so I mostly wanted to 'check him out'.

 

Don't worry, we know you too well, shallowness is definitely not a trait you possess!

 

It's a very sad and hard book to read, isn't it

 

Edit: poppyshake, would you mind telling me who is that lady on the first clip, sitting next to the British actor I know and admire but whose name I can't remember? Oh my David looks good, I love his smile! And what a smashing blouse he has on... (frankie is turning into Rik Mayall!) And who is that funny guy sitting next to David?

Edited June 15, 2011 by frankie

[chaliepud]

Hi Frankie, sorry to butt in, Jo Brand is the comedienne sitting next to Alan Davies. Jo is a British institution, so so funny, she was in a comedy show recently wwhere she was an over stretched nurse where she was absolutely brilliant, acerbic wit I think they call it! She's definitely worth a you tube search.

 

I can't remember the name of the guy sitting next to David, only that he is a stand up comedian..

[poppyshake]

You're not butting in Chaliepud .. you're welcome Yes the lady is Jo Brand, the actor is Alan Davies (who is always on the show .. he's like the stooge) and the stand up comedian is the very funny Sean Lock.

David hasn't lost any more weight than in those clips .. and he looks mighty fine (I like his blouse too ) I did hear a rumour that he was going out with Victoria Coren (a writer/TV presenter) ... but how much truth is in it I know not.

[poppyshake]

 

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

 

Synopsis: Lucie Manette has been separated from her father for eighteen years while he languished in Paris' most feared prison, the Bastille. Finally reunited, the Manettes' fortunes become inextricably intertwined with those of two men, the heroic aristocrat Darnay and the dissolute lawyer Carton. Their story, which encompasses violence, revenge, love and redemption, is grippingly played out against the backdrop of the terrifying brutality of the French Revolution.

 

Review: I've been wanting to read this book for ages, my own copy (a Puffin) turned out to be abridged which made me so there was absolutely no point in reading it. I wanted to get the full experience and drink in every word ... luckily the library came to my rescue.

 

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.'

 

As Frankie warned me it does start slowly (despite it's great first paragraph), which is the case with nearly every Dickens story, he doesn't often do explosive starts, he always does a huge amount of scene setting and character introduction which can make you go wandering a bit but what it lacks at the start it makes up for tenfold with a fantastic plotline and an absolutely thrilling ending .. probably one of THE best endings ever.

 

I loved the contrast between the gentle love story being played out on this side of the channel and the shockingly bloody and vengeful revolution going on in France. In London we have the lovely Lucie Manette and her father Dr Manette now back at home after being incarcerated in the Bastille for eighteen years. We have the handsome Charles Darnay, and the equally handsome (and in fact astonishingly alike) but dissolute lawyer Sydney Carton. Both men are in love with Lucie. But Sydney sees that it will never do, (this is in contrast to what the female reader sees .. the female reader, or this female reader anyway, immediately sees that Sydney has all the charisma, who cares if he's dissipated and disreputable? he's by far the most interesting man in the book and if Lucie had any sense she'd be begging to rehabilitate him,) he sees that Lucie loves Charles (fool) and in any case he is glad of it, because he knows that if she did love him, he would only cause her misery and disgrace (no! no! no!) He confesses all to her and pledges (in a speech to make you melt) that he will do anything for her, or anyone dear to her and goes on to say ... "The time will come, the time will not be long in coming, when new ties will be formed about you- ties that will bind you yet more tenderly and strongly to the home you so adorn- the dearest ties that will ever grace and gladden you. O Miss Manette, when the little picture of a happy father's face looks up in yours, when you see your own bright beauty springing up anew at your feet, think now and then that there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you!" - of course this pledge turns out to be prophetic.

 

In Paris, we have the revolutionaries Madame and Monsieur Defarge. Madame Defarge (and actually, though I forgot her, she's another one of literatures great villains) has vengeance in mind, she has a hatred of the French aristocracy, particularly as she has suffered personally at their hands. She is intent on revenge and sits knitting a secret register of the accused. There's a quiet menace about her that's chilling, she seems to watch nobody but see's everything. Her husband, though equally committed to the cause, is a more just and honest revolutionary, he was once servant to Dr Manette and was instrumental in his care after he was liberated from the Bastille.

 

Charles has French ancestry and has adopted his mother's surname in order to disassociate himself with his barbaric ancestors. On the morning of his wedding to Lucie, Charles tells Dr Manette his real surname, this confidence shocks Dr Manette, his worst fears are confirmed and he spirals down into madness once more, obsessively making shoes, just like in his former days in the Bastille. The knowledge is kept from Lucy and when she returns from honeymoon things are back to normal. With an aristocratic French heritage the last thing Charles Darnay should do is return to France but he is appealed to by a former servant, now imprisoned and, being a man of honour and integrity, he secretly decides to make the journey (with the reader shaking their heads in disgust at his folly.) This sets in motion a chain of events which brings practically all of the characters to Paris.

 

There is less comedy in this book than is usual with Dickens which is not surprising given the subject matter, his two main comic creations being the bank porter, Jerry Cruncher - who has an aversion to his wife floppin' (praying) and the fantastic Miss Pross, Lucie's governess and companion, who is an absolute gem of a character. There is also a lot of morbid humour being enjoyed by the revolutionaries.

 

His descriptive writing is just delicious - wine flowing like blood and blood flowing like wine - the rumble of the death carts - the constant clicking of the knitting needles - the headache curer (La Guillotine of course) and he is a vivid conjurer of images (some of which you'd rather he would not.)

Just reading about this particular time in history was both fascinating and appalling.

 

The ending as I said earlier is phenomenal, and it's hard to say anything here without giving the plot away. What I liked about it so much was the build up which was nail bitingly thrilling. When you come to the final chapter with all it's poignancy and beauty, all you can do is sob quietly and think that there never was a literary hero as heroic as Sydney. Dickens considers it to be one of his best and it is.

 

9/10 .. for the slow start and for Lucie and Charles who aren't perhaps as well fleshed out as they could be, I could see Lucie was a dear sweet loyal girl who loved her father but beyond that I couldn't see. She didn't have a lot of oomph. Charles just suffered by comparison to Sydney, he disappeared from my mind the moment he wasn't on the page and, if it's not giving too much away, I would have been as disappointed as anything to find him in my coach, wrapped in his Sydney Carton giftwrap, as my 'bon voyage' present.

[frankie]

 

What a superbly written review, poppyshake! You made me all goosebumpey! And now I want to re-read the book.

"But Sydney sees that it will never do, (this is in contrast to what the female reader sees .. the female reader, or this female reader anyway, immediately sees that Sydney has all the charisma, who cares if he's dissipated and disreputable? he's by far the most interesting man in the book and if Lucie had any sense she'd be begging to rehabilitate him,A) he sees that Lucie loves Charles (fool B ) and in any case he is glad of it, because he knows that if she did love him, he would only cause her misery and disgrace (no! no! no! C ) He confesses all to her and pledges (in a speech to make you melt) that he will do anything for her, or anyone dear to her and goes on to say ... "The time will come, the time will not be long in coming, when new ties will be formed about you- ties that will bind you yet more tenderly and strongly to the home you so adorn- the dearest ties that will ever grace and gladden you. O Miss Manette, when the little picture of a happy father's face looks up in yours, when you see your own bright beauty springing up anew at your feet, think now and then that there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you!" - of course this pledge turns out to be prophetic. "

 

A)

B)

C)

 

People need to learn and know their ABC's !!!

 

"The ending as I said earlier is phenomenal, and it's hard to say anything here without giving the plot away. What I liked about it so much was the build up which was nail bitingly thrilling. When you come to the final chapter with all it's poignancy and beauty, all you can do is sob quietly and think that there never was a literary hero as heroic as Sydney. Dickens considers it to be one of his best and it is. "

It is one of the most brilliantly written and shocking ends to a novel I've ever read. However, I couldn't sob quietly, I was shaking my head and kept saying 'no! no! no!' while I kept reading the lines. It was horrid.

[poppyshake]

Our Spoons Came From Woolworths - Barbara Comyns

Waterstones Synopsis: Marry in haste, repent at leisure. Sophia is twenty-one years old, carries a newt -- Great Warty -- around in her pocket and marries -- in haste -- a young artist called Charles. Swept into bohemian London of the thirties, Sophia is ill-equipped to cope. Poverty, babies (however much loved) and her husband conspire to torment her. Hoping to add some spice to her life, Sophia takes up with the dismal, ageing art critic, Peregrine, and learns to repent her marriage -- and her affair -- at leisure. But in this case virtue is more than its own reward, for repentance brings an abrupt end to a life of unpaid bills, unsold pictures and unwashed crockery.

Review: This is the sort of book I love relaxing with, it's not challenging but it's quirky. In a lot of ways it reminded me of 'A Diary of a Nobody' as though not strictly written in journal style it is a day to day account of the life of Sophia Fairclough and she has an innocent 'Charles Pooterish' way of looking at life and hoping things will turn out alright. She gets herself into similar scrapes too. Written in 1950, it's the sort of book that Persephone or Bloomsbury would publish if it wasn't already in print.

'The next free afternoon we had, we went to the address in Haverstock Hill she had given us. A woman with very fuzzy black hair came to the door. She had a huge silver belt round her waist, and arty, messy clothes. She kept saying "ger-ger" after every few words, rather like a giant cat purring. She showed us the flat, which consisted of a large basement room with an old fashioned dresser, and a small kitchen and use of bath and lav. When we had seen it she said we had better meet her sister "ger-ger", so we went upstairs and met the sister who had even more fuzzy hair, but it was fair, and her eyes were round and blue and her face like a melting strawberry ice cream, rather a cheap one, and I expect her body was like that, too, only it was mostly covered in mauve velvet. She spoke to us a little and said we were little love-birds looking for a nest. She made us feel all awful inside. Then she suddenly went into a trance. We thought she was dying, but her sister explained she was a medium and governed by a Chinese spirit called Mr Hi Wu. Then Mr Hi Wu spoke to us in very broken English and told us we were so lucky to be offered such a beautiful flat for only twenty-five shillings a week; it was worth at least thirty-five. So when she had recovered we said we would have the flat, and left the first week's rent as a deposit.'

I liked Sophia enormously, she's very funny and naive. She has a nice bright chatty way of telling you things even though sometimes the things are heartbreakingly sad (the first line reads ' I told Helen my story and she went home and cried') she's baffled by circumstances but seems to think that this is all she can expect. Later on she finds ways to spice up her life a bit but makes the same foolish decisions there too and things end badly. Sophia's husband Charles is a totally self absorbed, puffed up idiot who thinks, even though he isn't that good, that he will become a famous painter one day and practically leaves Sophia and the babies to starve whilst he dabbles with his paintings. He has a mother who puts him on a pedestal - she thinks Sophia is unworthy of him and believes she has trapped him into marriage. Charles doesn't want to have children, he's quite put out when Sophia becomes pregnant and suggests all sorts of hideous 'remedies.' You do want to shake Sophia at times but then you realise that this was set in the 1930's and not all women were wordly wise (Sophia originally believed that birth control was a matter of telling yourself 'I won't have babies' ... ahhh bless.) The narrative is a mix of ordinary life blended with the absolutely bizarre and madcap.

'I asked Charles what he wanted the baby to be called, and after a little thought, he said "Pablo" after Picasso, would be a good name, I thought "Pablo" sounded rather impressive, but could imagine how tired one would get hearing people say "Why do you call you baby Pablo? Is it a boy or a girl?" The other babies in the ward were all called Maureen, if they were girls, and Peter and John for the boys. They called mine "Ginger", which I did not like very much. Next time Charles came he suggested Sandro and Augustus. I was so happy he was taking an interest in the baby, I did not want to hurt his feelings, although I didn't like any of these names much. I felt you couldn't call a tiny thing that grew smaller every day Augustus, so I said it had better be Sandro. the next day a registrar visited the hospital and the mothers who had chosen their children's names had them registered, so I had mine registered Sandro Thomas Hardy Fairclough. I added Thomas Hardy because he was my favourite author at the time. I was not sure if Charles expected Botticelli after Sandro or not, but left it out because of spelling difficulties.'

It is said to be semi autobiographical ... Barbara says 'the only things that are true in this story are the wedding, Chapters 10,11 and 12 and the poverty' .. and it does read like a series of very unfortunate events. You hope for a happy outcome for Sophia - and in fact you know there will be one because it's written at the start - but oddly when it came it seemed too pat for me and I couldn't quite believe in it. However, taken as a whole I enjoyed it, Sophia's not your ordinary heroine, she's quite foolish and childlike and probably left to her womens lib would never have happened .. but she has a loving heart and a Mitfordesque spirit (newts in her pocket and a penchant for painting everything sea green) which made me warm to her.

8/10

Edited January 10, 2014 by poppyshake

[poppyshake]

What a superbly written review, poppyshake! You made me all goosebumpey! And now I want to re-read the book.

Awww

A)

B)

C)

 

People need to learn and know their ABC's !!!

Indeed they do, if they don't want to find themselves sitting by the fire opposite Mr dull and boring

It is one of the most brilliantly written and shocking ends to a novel I've ever read. However, I couldn't sob quietly, I was shaking my head and kept saying 'no! no! no!' while I kept reading the lines. It was horrid.

Ahh, poor Frankie Yes, although it was the perfect ending, and one which showed us (though we'd worked it out already ) that Sydney wasn't the worthless young man he thought he was. I think it would have been much better if he could have shown that he was willing to do such a thing but been thwarted in some way and then, if she had any sense, which I'm very far from allowing, Lucie would have just melted and thrown herself upon him (actually I'm kidding because the impact of the ending elevated the book into something special and gave us a true, true, hero *sighs and for five minutes wishes she could have been the young girl on the tumbril with him ... then realises she doesn't like the sound of the headache curer and she hasn't read all of her 1001 yet* )

[poppyshake]

 

The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas - Gertrude Stein

 

Waterstones Synopsis: For Gertrude Stein and her companion Alice B. Toklas, life in Paris was based upon the rue de Fleurus and the Saturday evenings and 'it was like a kaleidoscope slowly turning'. Picasso was there with 'his high whinnying spanish giggle', as were Cezanne and Matisse, Hemingway and Fitzgerald. As Toklas put it - 'The geniuses came and talked to Gertrude Stein and the wives sat with me'. A light-hearted entertainment, this is in fact Gertrude Stein's own autobiography and a roll-call of all the extraordinary painters and writers she met between 1903 and 1932. Audacious, sardonic and characteristically self-confident, this is a definitive account by the American in Paris.

 

Review: This one made my head ache, despite the blurb explaining all to me I really couldn't get the concept for ages. Eventually the penny dropped and I understood (eureka .. what's next .. Proust??) The books title is 'The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas' but it's not about Alice, it's told from the viewpoint of Alice, but it's not by her either. It's a biography about Gertrude Stein written by her as if it's Alice (her friend and companion) talking .. oh my, my head hurts again thinking about it. This is a clever concept because of course you can get away with saying all sorts about how amazingly brilliant you are (as in 'The three geniuses of whom I wish to speak are Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso and Alfred Whitehead') and it looks for all the world as if someone else is saying it about you (though Gertrude does come clean in the last sentence.) Anybody who was anybody in Paris (or abroad) always wanted to be introduced to Gertrude, she drew artistic people to her like moths to flames.

 

The book went through phases for me of being really entertaining and a little dull, I like her style of writing (very spare with only essential detail) but sometimes there wasn't quite enough detail. Often a sentence you thought was leading somewhere ended up dead ended ... stuff like .. 'we thought she would go there but she didn't' .. 'we thought she'd like him but she never' ... Gertrude bought a lot of paintings, she also sat for a lot of painters and sculptors and was mixing constantly in their society especially Picasso, Apollonaire & Matisse, later it was writers such as Hemingway, Fitzgerald and some of the Bloomsbury Group writers but a lot of this was more or less just listed with little snippets that mischievously made you want to know more. There are times when she elaborates a little more and it's always very entertaining and funny. She's someone who speaks her mind so if she doesn't like a painting/sculpture/piece of writing then she'll say so, she'd see no point in flattery. Having said that I don't think she was fond of criticism when it was directed at her, but then who is? 'She reads anything and everything and even now hates to be disturbed and above all however often she has read a book and however foolish the book may be no-one must make fun of it or tell her how it goes on. It is still as it always was real to her.

 

One of the paragraphs that I loved was (and the above sentence may give you a clue) ...'Haweis had been fascinated with what he had read in the manuscript of The Making of Americans. He did however plead for commas. Gertrude Stein said commas were unnecessary, the sense should be intrinsic and not have to be explained by commas and otherwise commas were only a sign that one should pause and take breath but one should know of oneself when one wanted to pause and take breath. However, as she liked Haweis very much and he had given her a delightful painting, she gave him two commas. It must however be added that on re-reading the manuscript she took the commas out.' .. I think I will use that forever more as an excuse for my atrocious punctuation. You should have known to put it in yourself I can't do all the work for you.

 

An insight into life in Montmartre, during the dawning of the Cubism/Surrealism art movement and the first world war and rather endearing in it's way, Gertrude has an uncanny way of getting straight to the point of every topic and furnishing it with her dry wit. She and Alice lived simple lives but moved in extraordinary circles. As you would expect it's comma-lite.

 

8/10