I usually buy books for one of five reasons
- It’s by a favourite author (I’m a “completist”)
- It’s been recommended
- It’s been favourably reviewed
- It’s my Book Club turn
- It’s got a connection, however tenuous, to Philip K Dick
There’s never usually much overlap ( it shouldn’t come a too great a surprise that some of my Book Club choices may well have received less than flattering reviews ) but in order to rein in my spending I’ve decided to screen future purchases via reviews.
It was working rather well. I’d managed the volume down to 3 so far this year -
Eric Hobsbawm’s “How To Change The World”, Julian Barnes’ “Pulse” and Rebecca Skloots “The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks” - all justified by, for the most part, rave reviews. It’s axiomatic really - Your favourite authors are bound to get favourable reviews. So it’s not much of a restriction. It’s even less so when your definition of rave can be flexed so accommodatingly.
Then along came “Bird Cloud” by Annie Proulx and my quasi resolution is in tatters. A savaging in a New York Times didn’t stop me ordering. I’d like to offer up a “mistrial” in defence but, sadly, a few pages confirm the substance of the review.
The events of the last few weeks have opened my eyes though. Taking a lead from Hilary Clinton I’ve realised my statements don’t leave any wriggle room. They need to be sufficiently lithe to admit any interpretation whatsoever. So I’ve no need to feel down-hearted I just need to re-draft. In fact with the right set of words it might even be possible to pick up William P Young’s next one. Now there's a scary thought for you all
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Friday, 21 May 2010
On Evil
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Evil is something more than just wickedness after a workout.
Evil is purposeless, pointless, a non-rational “condition of being”. It’s aim is, accordingly anti-life, the void, nothingness. It’s like a passionless over-reaching Death-Drive. So while wickedness certainly abounds, Evil is, thankfully, very rare and “something we should not lose much sleep about”.
Unusually, this is one of Terry Eagleton’s conclusions that I could easily have arrived at independently although, obviously, not with the same rigour. Paradoxically this rigour may well be the problem - I’m not particularly patient. His meandering toward a final conclusion is never less than entertaining but I’m not entirely convinced it needed so many detours and 160 pages to get there.
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Our Last Heaven Beast
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In an inspired reversal Philip Hoare takes Moby Dick as the framework for an exploration of the history of mans relationship with whales. At times it makes for uncomfortable reading – there’s something almost unbearably poignant about the rendering of a whale by a furnace fuelled by its own blubber. Thankfully the catalogue of slaughter is punctuated by fascinating asides – “Leviathan” is as much a collection of facts and curiosities as it is a narrative of the parallel decline of the whaling industry and whales.
Whilst he’s clearly enamoured with whales he’s not some misty-eyed hippy. He’s careful to distance himself from some of the more outlandish claims of whale society and religion for instance. Although the Whales are not incidental, in common with Melville, he does have bigger fish to fry ( I know whales are mammals but bear with me ) - The conservationist argument bearing down is obviously meant to apply more widely.
So, finally, why the title? To save you googling - it’s a lyric from “Don’t Kill The Whale” - definitely not Yes’s finest moment. Although I bought the single I still used to think it was mawkish and the description a bit of a stretch. Now, having read Leviathan, I’m not so sure.
Antwerp
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At 76 pocket-sized pages and retailing at £11.43 on Amazon I feel a bit of A(n)twerp for buying it but it’s by Roberto Bolano so it was, for me, an unavoidable purchase. Bolano’s statement “It’s the only novel that doesn’t embarrass me” has, I think, more to do with the form than the content - Antwerp initially reads more like a highly fragmentary prose poem than a novel. Given it’s length it’s incredibly spacious – corpses, dwarves, detectives, prostitutes, poets and Bolano jockey for position in 56 loosely connected pieces. Gradually, however, a semi-coherent narrative unfolds - It’s a piece of DIY detective fiction where the sleuthing is about stitching together rather than unravelling plot lines.
Whether you’ll warm to Antwerp will probably depend on what you believe fiction to be. Saul Bellow, for whom Finnegan’s Wake was the indecipherable chatter of voices in a distant room, thought that fiction should be a conversation with the reader. Martin Amis finessed this. Fine writers like Bellow, he said, would also invite you into their home and give you the most comfortable chair by the fire. On the strength of Antwerp Bolano would leave you outside in the biting cold with nose pressed against the window straining to read his lips.
Whether you’ll warm to Antwerp will probably depend on what you believe fiction to be. Saul Bellow, for whom Finnegan’s Wake was the indecipherable chatter of voices in a distant room, thought that fiction should be a conversation with the reader. Martin Amis finessed this. Fine writers like Bellow, he said, would also invite you into their home and give you the most comfortable chair by the fire. On the strength of Antwerp Bolano would leave you outside in the biting cold with nose pressed against the window straining to read his lips.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
The Rotters' Club
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I’d also managed to get hold of a copy of “Hatfield And The North’s” The Rotters Club (The album provided not only the title but also the inspiration for the final section of the book.) so our drink was accompanied by some fairly eccentric prog rock. Well, it was until we turned the sound down - Along with flares and the far right some things are best left in the 70’s. Bringing the CD was not my only misdemeanour. Contrary to form I’d already started in on the discussion. As an unabashed “Yes” fan and child of the 70’s sections of “The Rotters Club” have particular resonance. However, blurting out that I’d almost choked, mostly in embarrassment, at the review of “Tales From Topographic Oceans” is not exactly critique. In fact it’s more of a confession so can probably be forgiven?
The Bo Ha had been booked for 9pm and since it was just around the corner we were able to cut the timing fairly fine. It was a fairly brisk meal so the discussion began in earnest around 45 minutes later. All in all this was a well received book so the discussion was even swifter. With some time on our hands we retired to the Blue Cat where Simon shelled out for some ferociously priced fruit beer. After Dom had berated the owner’s choice in music - it was a Beatle’s medley (but not “Stars On 45”) - we beat a strategic retreat and made our way back to where it all started.
Things are a little hazy from then on. (In my defence I claim the onset of man-flu - I spend the next few of days in bed) I think the discussion continued albeit tangentially until common sense and or age prevailed and we left for our own homes.
Come Tuesday ( I told you I was ill ) The Rotters' Club’s scores claimed the record for the most consistent rating and were enough to secure 13th place.
The Bo Ha had been booked for 9pm and since it was just around the corner we were able to cut the timing fairly fine. It was a fairly brisk meal so the discussion began in earnest around 45 minutes later. All in all this was a well received book so the discussion was even swifter. With some time on our hands we retired to the Blue Cat where Simon shelled out for some ferociously priced fruit beer. After Dom had berated the owner’s choice in music - it was a Beatle’s medley (but not “Stars On 45”) - we beat a strategic retreat and made our way back to where it all started.
Things are a little hazy from then on. (In my defence I claim the onset of man-flu - I spend the next few of days in bed) I think the discussion continued albeit tangentially until common sense and or age prevailed and we left for our own homes.
Come Tuesday ( I told you I was ill ) The Rotters' Club’s scores claimed the record for the most consistent rating and were enough to secure 13th place.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Pride & Prejudice
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I think I also might have said there‘s a limit to how much I need to know about the codes of conduct of early 19th century polite society. While I still think there’s some mileage in these opinions they’re most probably justifications after the fact. The real reason would have been political bias, that next to “The Jungle” or “Germinal”, “Pride And Prejudice” seemed slight, it’s concerns too narrow. At the risk of sounding joyless (too late), it wasn’t worthy.
Martin Amis recently said the J M Coetzee couldn’t write. (This obviously passed the Nobel committee by when they awarded him the prize for Literature). He’s retracted the comment and apologized. The original point, lost in the furore, was that literature should be fun. Whilst I’m dubious about anything Martin Amis says that isn’t solely an aesthetic call (and even then I reserve judgement) this makes absolute sense in the light of his reverence for Jane Austen. Martin Amis is unlikely to read Jane Austen novels for the insight into the inner workings of the middle class drawing rooms of the pseudo-gentry. He reads them because they’re fun. Twenty years later, but not too late, I will swallow my pride, admit my mistake, and agree.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Las Iguanas
Other than a list of our books there’s very little that identifies this site as much to do with our bookclub. I’m hoping this entry will go a little way to addressing this anomaly. It’s not going to be a blow by blow account of the discussion since that’s not really the point of the club - As has been said before it’s really just “an excuse to meet up under a very thin veneer of self-improvement”. But the book will at least get a mention!
There was a full turn out for Persepolis which, given it was a Liverpool outing, was particularly gratifying. It got underway a little later than planned thanks to my legendarily laid back approach to directions – by the time I’d mentioned the turn off to Dom we’d sailed past the exit. As a result we had to pass on the usual pre-dinner drinks. I think this goes some way to explaining the bar bill that wasn’t particularly offset by the “5 for a Tenner” special, or the presence of two abstemious drivers.
In line with tradition the discussion started after the main course with an introduction from the host. The reason for choosing the book can be as simple as “it’s the only one in the shop they had five of” but in this case was decidedly more elaborate, suggested, as it was, by a viewing of the French language film version voiced by Catherine Deneuve (I probably got that horribly wrong) Whatever the motivation it was a reasonably well received choice but I think it’s fair to say it didn’t particularly ignite any passions.
We always allow the dust to settle before scoring the book. Although it wasn’t intentional it does allow some “back-pedalling” - I think my score come Monday morning was more reflective of my overall opinion than my contributions that evening were.
That just leaves the “Stats” -
Persepolis ranked 50 / 79 with a Standard Deviation ranking of 4/79 ( Dom can correct me here but I think this measure suggests fairly convergent opinion? )
There was a full turn out for Persepolis which, given it was a Liverpool outing, was particularly gratifying. It got underway a little later than planned thanks to my legendarily laid back approach to directions – by the time I’d mentioned the turn off to Dom we’d sailed past the exit. As a result we had to pass on the usual pre-dinner drinks. I think this goes some way to explaining the bar bill that wasn’t particularly offset by the “5 for a Tenner” special, or the presence of two abstemious drivers.
In line with tradition the discussion started after the main course with an introduction from the host. The reason for choosing the book can be as simple as “it’s the only one in the shop they had five of” but in this case was decidedly more elaborate, suggested, as it was, by a viewing of the French language film version voiced by Catherine Deneuve (I probably got that horribly wrong) Whatever the motivation it was a reasonably well received choice but I think it’s fair to say it didn’t particularly ignite any passions.
We always allow the dust to settle before scoring the book. Although it wasn’t intentional it does allow some “back-pedalling” - I think my score come Monday morning was more reflective of my overall opinion than my contributions that evening were.
That just leaves the “Stats” -
Persepolis ranked 50 / 79 with a Standard Deviation ranking of 4/79 ( Dom can correct me here but I think this measure suggests fairly convergent opinion? )
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