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Book
for January: Mothertime
by Gillian White
The opening line of this novel is 'They took Mother prisoner at half past two on Christmas Day
morning.' It's the story of the Townsend children and their mother, an
ex-beauty, failed actress, divorcée and almost-alcoholic. On Christmas
Eve, she staggers home, newly jilted and very drunk. She needs to be
taught a lesson....... I won't spoil it for you be telling you how her
children do this. I really enjoyed reading this. It's
incredibly descriptive and also very funny, despite the rather tragic
themes: eg. divorce, alcoholism, child neglect. It also shows how easy
it is to jump to conclusions about characters when only given one side of the
story.
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Book
for February: Blackberry Wine
by Joanne Harris
Following on from the gastronomic theme of chocolate in her
earlier novel, this is Joanne Harris's second book set in the French village of
Lansquenet. The blurb is as follows: "Jay Mackintosh is trapped by memory in the old familiar landscape of his
childhood, more enticing than the present, and to which he longs to return. A
bottle of home-brewed wine left to him by a long-vanished friend seems to
provide both the key to an old mystery and a doorway into another world. As the
unusual properties of the strange brew takes effect, Jay escapes to a derelict
farmhouse in the French village of Lansquenet, where a ghost from the past waits
to confront him, and the reclusive Marise - haunted, lovely and dangerous -
hides a terrible secret behind her closed shutters. Between them, a mysterious
chemistry. Or could it be magic?"
This novel drew more attention and was read by more of the
bookworms than any other we have read together. It proved to be extremely
popular and we enjoyed a couple of excellent chats about it and the issues
surrounding it. The blurb asks 'could be magic?' - well, the novel certainly was
a magical one in every sense of the word. It left us with a nice warm glow -
which had nothing whatsoever to do with any partaking of wine (blackberry or
otherwise) during our reading of it! This is an extremely well-written book that
evokes all the senses and leaves you with a strong sense of well-being when you
finish reading it, and maybe also a yearning to emulate Jay's new way of
life.
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Book
for March: Fahrenheit
451
by Ray Bradbury
The synopsis states: A not-too-distant future
where happiness is allocated on a TV screen, where individuals and
scholars are outcasts and where books are burned by a special task force
of firemen. Montag, trained by the state to be a destroyer, throws away
his can of kerosene and begins to read a book.
The book was written in the 1950s and examines a society in which firemen create
fires in which books are burnt, rather than putting them out. I was struck by
the vision of Bradbury as regards to personal life, in which people appear to be
pill-popping inadequate characters obsessed with interactive TV. For various
reasons, at the time of writing this, we 'd only managed one chat about the book
but it hadn't proved to be as popular as I was expecting. A number of people
felt the characterisation to be too basic, with the exception of Montag. They
would have preferred more about the young girl, Clarisse, who changes his
outlook on life - she appears only very briefly. I did think that perhaps that
was part of the point of the book but couldn't get anyone to agree with me! I
would loosely categorise this as science fiction and felt that to be another
reason for the basic characterisation - I don't generally enjoy science fiction
much for that very reason.
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Book
for April:
The
Mind Game
by Hector Macdonald
I hoped everyone would enjoy this one as it was my choice. I read it when it was first published and have
recently listened to it on unabridged audio (highly recommended) and had no problem with reading it again prior to our chat. It's the story of an Oxford
psychology student who agrees to become involved in an experiment to provide
data for the study of emotion science. Much of it takes place in Kenya and the
writer has the ability to take you there with him. Having spent my honeymoon
there, it did bring back some lovely memories, but fortunately my stay was
considerably less eventful than our hero's! There are lots of twists and turns
and it does raise many questions about human emotions. Those who read it did
indeed find it a very good read, although when we came to discuss it, we were
all slightly bemused by all the twists and had forgotten some of them. We had an
interesting discussion of the issues raised at the end of the book, relating to
emotions and freedom of thought - that's all I can say!
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Book
for May:
High
Rise
by J G Ballard
This is an excellent novel from one of my favourite writers.
Written in the 1970s, it explores what happens when 'normal' society breaks down
- themes that he takes up again in his recent books, Super Cannes and Cocaine
Nights. It's not everyone's cup of tea and might make some readers feel
uncomfortable - there is an element of violence, so common in Ballard's work.
But it's a fascinating study and the group had mixed views on it. Not everyone
wanted to finish it because of the content, and none of us felt we would have
remained in the high rise once trouble started. But that's easy to say when on
the outside looking in......
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Book
for June:
Wonder
Boys by
Michael
Chabon
I knew nothing about this book except what I have read in
reviews and on the blurb and the fact it was made into a film (which I haven't
seen). I think Q Magazine probably has the most intriguing comment: "Grady
Tripp is an over-sexed, pot-bellied, pot-smoking, aging wunderkind of a novelist
now teaching creative writing at a Pittsburgh college while working on his 2000
page masterpiece, Wonder Boys. When his rumbustious editor and friend
Terry Crabtree arrives in town, a chaotic weekend follows, involving a tuba, a
dead dog, Marilyn Monroe's ermine-lined jacket and a squashed boa
constrictor." That's a fair description but I confess the actual
book didn't enthrall me at all. I found it pretentious and pointless and
although it was an easy enough read and I was able to read it without too much
conscious effort, ultimately it was a waste of time for me. Most other bookworms
agreed although the one who wasn't expecting to like it, found it entertaining
and amusing. I won't be reading it again, nor am I tempted to try any of his
other books - which may well be my loss.
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Book
for July:
The
Vintner's Luck by
Elizabeth
Knox
This next book is by Elizabeth Knox and sounded
better than it was, at least, that was the general consensus although a couple
of people enjoyed it more. Set in 19th century France, a young vintner meets an
angel in his vineyard. They meet annually - in the meantime, village life
goes on - but life in general changes with the coming of the Napoleonic wars and
increased scientific knowledge which alters traditional viticulture. I
found it fascinating at first but it then seemed to drag - possibly because I
read it on holiday when I had little time to read, thus it took me almost 2
weeks of 'bitty' reading. I got confused with the characters and their
relationships - and I think wasn't really drawn to any of them so didn't much
care about what happened to them. This
is described by The Times as A beautifully
written exploration of the inexplicable, into which is woven an
all-too-human chronicle of burning desire, violence, murderousness, bitter
jealousy, curiosity, sexual deviation, shame and a fidelity of a sort.
I guess that's a fair assessment, just not really my cup of tea.
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Book
for August:
The
Siege by
Helen
Dunmore This is a novel of war-time Leningrad, the story of
the battle for survival of two pairs of lovers, described as A
Tolstoyan epic of love and war: life and death........... she writes
beautifully. (Sunday Telegraph). I found this book lived up to
expectations and despite the very grim subject matter - all the more harrowing
because it was based on fact - it was a joy to read. It's set during the siege
of Leningrad in which over a million civilians and hundreds of thousands of
soldiers died, mainly from starvation. The siege lasted for nearly 900 days, but
the novel only covers the first winter so we are left wondering if the survivors
from this winter would in fact survive the next. The characters are very
interesting and their resilience - and otherwise - is clearly depicted. I never
felt anyone was being glamourised or was an unrealistic portrayal. The
description is vivid and I felt cold and hungry in support of the characters
(well, OK, so I was on a diet and that helped!) But when you consider I
read this during a heatwave, you can see how persuasive a writer is Ms Dunmore.
Not all bookworms agreed with me - one or two declined to read it, preferring
their reading to give them some light relief from the pressures of everyday
life. And another wasn't happy with the ending - although I'm not quite sure
what would have made a better one. All in all though, highly recommended.
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Book
for September:
The
Eyre Affair by
Jasper
Fforde The book is about a literary detective, Thursday
Next, who is trying to track down a villain who has been kidnapping
characters from novels and holding them to ransom! Most bookworms really
enjoyed it but I found it rather irritating - too many laughs for me, so I've
concluded I really do prefer miserable novels, which is perhaps a little
disconcerting. What I found really odd is that the novel is set in Swindon, a
town in Wiltshire that I visit most weeks (business, not pleasure!) It was a
clever book, and a knowledge of some literature is an advantage, especially of
Jane Eyre, since much of the action takes place when Mr Rochester has been
kidnapped. It is an ingenious idea - and there are follow-ups - but I
won't be reading them.
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Book
for October:
Northangar
Abbey by
Jane
Austen I thought it time we had a classic and picked
this one as it's quite short and I haven't read it before. According
to Amazon, it's 'Portraying social life in fashionable Bath and centred around
Catherine Morland, this novel ridicules the popular tales of romance and terror
and contrasts with these the normal realities of life'. Not a bad description -
it's very much 'of its time' and yet I felt sure Ms Austen was sending up not
only the gothic horror genre, but also the people of the time and of the middle
class. I really don't know if it was intentional or not. Most of us enjoyed
reading it although we did deduce it was really a 'woman's book' - in fact it
did conquer one member's lifelong fear of reading Austen!
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Book
for November:
Embers by
Sandor
Marai
This is Amazon's synopsis:
A castle at the foot of the Carpathian mountains in the 1930s. Two men,
inseparable in their youth, meet for the first time in forty-one years.
They have spent their lives waiting for this moment. Four decades earlier
a murky, traumatic event - something to do with a betrayal, and a woman -
led to their sudden separation. Now, as their lives draw to a close, the
devastating truth about that moment will be revealed. EMBERS is a
masterpiece - an unforgettable story of passion, fidelity, truth and
deception.
Our reactions to it varied but I'm not
sure that anyone was as enthusiastic as the above. Personally I found it rather
dull and I wasn't the only one. I suppose it's quite a 'worthy' book but it
really did lack excitement, although it was well written. I think the kindest
thing I can say is that it was mercifully short!
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Book
for December:
The
Children of Men by
P
D James
I read this some years ago and enjoyed it very much - this is a
departure for PD James and she handles it well. We didn't get much chance to
discuss this properly due to Christmas commitments but those of us who read it
enjoyed it. However, I did post up some comments and a list of discussion points
in the forum so reproduce them here: The novel is set in 2021, no child having
been born for 25 years, so the human race is facing extinction with a population
growing old and with no hope for the future. Britain is ruled by Xan, Warden of
England, and the novel centres on his cousin Theo, an academic and erstwhile
member of the Council. A chance encounter with a young woman puts Theo into
conflict with his cousin and he becomes involved with a group of protesters. I
don't want to give anything away in case others haven't read it yet, but would
like to pose the following questions, which could be considered with or without
reading the novel:
1) Is it conceivable (no pun intended) that the human race could become
infertile? I think it possible but rather fanciful to imagine this would happen
at the same time all over the world. However, a final year of births is much
more convenient and dramatic for storytelling purposes.
2) Are we really so far from legalising voluntary euthanasia as in the quietus
(communal death by frowning)? I thought this is a particularly horrible way of
people ending their lives and it clearly wasn't as voluntary as imagined.
However, given the scenario of fewer and fewer resources to care for the elderly
and sick, is some sort of euthanasia a sensible solution to the problem? Is the
promise of financial reward ethically moral?
3) For readers only - how feasible is the relationship between Theo and Julian?
How important is the fact that Julian was accidentally given a boy's name? What
does it signify? Personally I'm not sure other than to wonder if ultimately the
continuation of the species is a male prerogative.
4) Religion is a feature of many of P D James books. How effective is its use in
the novel? Could it have been written without any mention of religion or is it
such a fundamental importance when the 'chips are down' that it was unavoidable?
5) The novel was written over 10 years ago - how far down this road have we
travelled in those 11 or so years? How prophetic was P D James when she wrote
this?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it does give much food for thought. With the
pension panics and statistics showing the larger proportion of older people in
future years, should we be thinking harder about population trends? Women are
leaving childbirth later and later, so much so that many leave it too late to
conceive. Should we heed the warnings given in this book?
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