Park Avenue South Book Group

The group was established on 29th November 2006. All founding members are residents of Park Avenue South, Hornsey, London.

It's the oldest established permanent floating book group in N8 (There may be a degree of disagreement from certain dolls who live in the boro, but I figure that when dolls get together it is one thing and when guys get together it is another thing, so, notwithstanding protestations from Dave the Dude, I will continue to represent our club in this fashion).

Current members; Alan 59, Dave 58, Derek 7, Geoff 69,  John 72, Jonathan 15, Nick, Rob, Simon, Steve 54, Theo 36.  Meetings are hosted by each member in turn, monthly. Meetings start at 8.30pm, usually on the second Monday of the month. 

At each meeting, the host for the next meeting will present up to three books. From these, the group will reach a consensus on which book will be the subject of the next meeting. The books should be available in paperback and Kindle editions, and (ideally) the proposer will have read them. Non-fiction works should be the exception rather than the rule. 

Meetings will start at 8pm

Next meetings:  

Monday 15th April,  Geoff  -  When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
Monday 13th May  Rob, then Nick, Alan, Simon, Theo, Steve, John, Jonathan, Dave, Geoff

, Click on V for write-up Novels/authors in "top 100" in red

15/04/24 Geoff When We Were Birds Ayanna Lloyd Banwo Trinidadian     2022

11/03/24 Derek A Month in the Country J. L. Carr English 1980

JL Carr, unsurprisingly, chose ‘God’s Own Country’ (as Yorkshire folk describe it) as the place for his protagonist Tom Birkin to live heal the scars and trauma of his WW1 experiences and the activity to restore serenity, the painstaking restoration of Medieval wall painting depicting heaven and hell.

Birkin’s month in summer 1920, a comparative ‘heaven’ after the hell of the war, is recalled by Carr half a century later(published 1980)

Derek gave us a detailed account of the life and works of the enigmatic Carr. He was born in N. Yorkshire in 1912, so as a child experienced the aftermath of WW1. Much of his fiction is based on his life experiences, albeit recalled after many years have passed. Like the fictional Ellerbeck, Carr’s father was a Wesleyan preacher and a stationmaster. Carr stumbled through school and had a couple of false starts before making a successful career as a teacher. He had a couple of intervals of teaching in the USA and saw much travel in WW2 with RAF. He settled down in Kettering where he became an enlightened Headmaster of a junior school, ensuring all his charges mastered the skill of reading.

His first novel ‘ A Day in Summer’ was published in 1963 and shortly after this he took the risk of retiring from teaching to become a writer and also a publisher. It wasn’t long before, the independent minded and original thinker, Carr tired of the existing literary/publishing industry and decided to go it alone with his own, home-based publishing concern ‘Quince Tree press’. The output was idiosyncratic and included short collections of known poets, pictorial maps of English counties showing things noteworthy and historical but “not for navigation”, dictionaries of royalty and of cricketers, not to mention his later novels. It is also worth noting that he was secretary of the Northamptonshire Historic Churches Trust, brought up a Wesleyan he later converted to Anglican. 

‘A Month in the Country’ was shortlisted for the Booker prize and cemented Carr’s reputation. Nine of us gathered at Derek’s, Rob and Theo unable to make it. Unusually, without dissent, the book was enjoyed and praised by all, both present and absent. This was less due to the merciful brevity of the book and much more down to Carr’s scene-setting and storytelling finesse, both masterful and almost faultless. We felt that Carr had a sensitive and precise way of capturing the nuances of the characters, the peaceful, unchanging beauty of countryside, the different facets of the community and the church v. chapel personality. The sense of post-war fragility was reflected through the characters and captured in delicate scenes without becoming all pervading. The writer reveals this through scenes which arrive almost as asides such as tea shop encounter in which the revelation of Moon’s bravery and award of the MC sits alongside his brutal treatment when he is is discovered in an homosexual encounter.  

There was comment, not to say dismay, about the lost moment when the almost angelic Alice shows amorous intent towards our betrayed Tom, and his conscience stops him from responding to her initiative. Simon reflected that we must all have experience of such moments, his memory proving more intact than some of us.   

Moving on the conversation ambled lazily, we were in bucolic mood. Derek fed us fine cheeses, including a ‘to die for’ Red Leicester  alongside a selection of grapes. Alan, ever alert, informed us that the RPI (retail price index) was now to include Vinyl and Air-fryers. This led to a ‘confession’ from Nick,  he generously took on a bounty of 300 pristine albums, from friends of someone recently deceased, and through deft salesmanship turned a profit of £350+, the proceeds, he assured us, will go to a worthy cause. John, Simon and Alan were able to regale us with the benefits of Air-fryers over every other method of cooking, Alan assuring us that deep fried Mars bars never tasted better!

Steve was a bit keyed-up as he was to face an inquisition early in next morning, a driver re-education course, after being clocked at the dangerous speed of 36mph in a 30mph zone. Some of us sympathised, others wound him up about what to expect.

We meet again at 69 PAS on Monday 15th April. The three books presented were; ‘The Razors Edge’ by Somerset Maugham; ‘Undercurrent’ by Barney Norris and ‘When we were Birds’ by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo.  All had some support, voting went to a second round with a dead heat between ‘Undercurrent’ (4) and ‘When we were Birds’ (4)

Given the casting vote I went for the new author to us and the debut novel, Ayanna LLoyd Banwo, ‘When we were Birds’ ….Enjoy!

12/02/24 David Austerlitz W.G. Sebald German 2001

Monday eve and a stroll down to Daves for the chance to meet up and discuss 'Austerlitz' by W.G.Sebald

Its a good turn out with only John sending apologies having double booked himself.


After a few early thoughts on house prices, local eatery discounts and Park Rd roadworks we settle down to listen to Dave fill us in on the life of W.G.Sebald


We learn that he was born in Bavaria in 1944 - an only son - his father had served in the Wehrmacht during WW2 and became a POW released in 1947

His maternal grandfather was an important role model as his father remained a detached figure

Obviously a bright boy he first attended Freiburg Uni studying German and English Lit receiving a degree Fribourg University in Switzerland in1965

Moved to Manchester University in 1966 to take a role as an assistant lecturer and I imagine to be close to Old Trafford so he could watch the Holy Trinity of Best, Law and Charlton win the league in 1967 followed by the European Cup in 1968 

Having married in 1967 he moved back to Switzerland to teach in 1969 then back to England the following year to become a Professor of European Literature at the University of East Anglia  - he remained so until his death in a car crash in December  2001 - a crash his daughter survived

He wrote four main works of fiction as well as collections of poetry

Austerlitz was published in 2001 - his final book - in 2019 it was ranked no 5 in the 100 best books of the century by the Guardian and it seems he would have been nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature that year had he not been killed

Theres no real point in detailing exactly what happened in the book - we all read it

It was clear in the meeting that those who liked the book really liked it - others found its style - no paragraphs, chapters and seemingly endless sentences as well as being written in the form of a very long and detailed interview a bit wearying or even irritating - Alan thought the book would have been improved by a more usual format - more novel than hybrid

It is a powerful book that but given its subject matter it should be - the range of Sebalds knowledge  - his fluency when describing all manner of buildings - especially railway stations and military fortifications brings real life to the writing

The book has a wonderful sense of place, and history aided by the unusual addition of grainy photographs placed throughout the book which was thought by most to contribute to the atmosphere of the story

The very strong theme of personal memory - hazy or almost forgotten was discussed - Nick mentioned arriving as a child at Liverpool St station and the noise, steam and mayhem of a very busy station being quite frightening - how the young boy arriving on a Kindertransport must have felt we can only imagine

Steve talked about the poignancy of seeing old photographs and Johnathan told us of rediscovering letters he had written home from boarding school as a child - kept by his Mum - memories

For my part I wondered what it must have been like for the parents at the other end waving them off - again unimaginable


A book that provoked different responses - the best meetings are when there are these different views - for my part I enjoyed reading it but not quite as much as I did finishing it - an unusual mix of fact,fiction and travelogue - a book I'll remember but probably wont pick up again


Cheese was served - lovely - thank you Dave


Post discussion talk drifted on to an apparent local recruiting drive by the Jehovahs Witnesses , Zone of Interest ,Arsenals demolition of West Ham and the class shown by former Irons hero Rice as he slapped in the 5th goal - we were building a head of football steam by now with varying views of Angeball down the Lane - at this point Simon glazed over and seemingly lost the will to live - time to offer next months runners and riders


The choices for next month were 


Harlem Shuffle   Colson Whitehead - feel like I could have done a better job on trying to sell this one

A Spy Alone   Charles Beaumont - on reflection - I was glad this didn't get chosen - it wasn't very good

A Month in the Country    J.L.Carr


With the votes in the clear winner was J.L.Carr - a book that's shorter than an Austerlitz sentence - coming in a smidge over 100 pages


A good meeting and thanks to Dave for the book choice ,food and hospitality


I look forward to hearing your views on March11th @ 7PAS

08/01/24 Jonathan The Beginning of Spring Penelope Fitzgerald English 1988

It was the freezing night of 8th January that we travelled to the Dacha at the top of Park Avenue Southski. Snow had been falling and we were delighted that our host Jonathan had prepared a blazing log fire to warm our bones. We settled down, opened a pleasing beverage and prepared to discuss The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald. But before we began, there was talk about the Post Office scandal, its portrayal on ITV and the effect of this excellent drama was having on the Government, that was now forced to make noises that suggested it might at last be going to do something for the wronged and or jailed Postmasters. (It was with some shock that we heard that our Steve had, in times gone by, worked in the Legal Department of the Post Office. Steve pleaded that it wasn’t him who had hounded the Postmasters but a wastrel in that department who, instead of being fired, was moved to the Prosecution section where he organised the carnage.) There was talk about how well Fujistu had done from UKplc, despite the catastrophe.

Jonathan then gave us a brief history of the author, drawing on copious notes provided by Geoff who could not attend; Alan and Derek also sent apologies. Penelope Knox, as she was before her disastrous marriage, was born in 1916 into a renowned family, educated at private school and then at Oxford. She was the best candidate of her year and finished with a 1st. She worked for the BBC during the war. Desmond, her husband who she met at Oxford, saw service in the North Africa, won the MC but returned much traumatised with a major drink problem. They lived first in the family home in Hampstead, raising 3 children and jointly editing a magazine (World Review), but were unable to sustain their (spartan?) lifestyle. They fled to Southwold for 21 years where Penelope kept the family going by working in the bookshop. However, destitution was inevitable and they moved to a houseboat on the Thames. Desmond approached trying to  improve their situation by stealing from the Law Office at which he worked. He was disbarred. He died in 1976, aged 59 years. The family had been forced to move to a homeless shelter for 4 months then to public housing for 11 years. Yet remarkably, once her kids had left home Penelope began writing in earnest, about her life (The Golden Child 1977), working in a bookshop (The Bookshop, 1978), living on the houseboat (Offshore 1979, which we have all enjoyed) and more, including The Blue Flower (1995). She won the Booker Prize in 1979. Penelope died in 2000, aged 83 years. We spent a little time discussing her trials and her achievements and wondered why her family had not been able to help her more.

Jonathan then talked about The Beginning of Spring. He did not want to spend too much time as he was keen to hear our views. But it was clear he loved the book, the detail of description, high points were flawed Frank, the poor baby bear treated so cruelly, the character of Muriel Kinsman, Nellie getting ready for marriage, Lisa and Dolly in the forest and the Charles. He considers it to be a masterpiece (but acknowledged that some critics have rated higher The Blue Flower). There was broad agreement with these sentiments. John thought it really caught its Russian setting, surprisingly as she may have only been there once. Steve agreed with the high quality of the writing, but noted a flat dispassionate narrative.  He felt the book suffused with sadness. Jonathan also stated that he found the plot to be secondary to the vivid descriptions and characterisations. I agreed with this (if I understood correctly his meaning). While the writing was remarkable in setting the place, time, and characters, I thought the plot was too slow for much of the book. Theo was intrigued by the contrast between this book and Offshore. He loved them both. In this book he particularly liked Kuriatin. Nick liked the book, but felt Frank was a softie, a drifter. We all found the abrupt ending amusing. We discussed the portrayal of Russian bureaucracy, the student Volodya and his relationship with Lisa, Frank trying to get into Lisa, the comic Selwyn. We agreed with the comments of Jan Morris that it was told with a virtuoso storytellers technique ... illuminated by moments of comedy.

Geoff sent his comments by email, read out by Jonathan. He clearly greatly enjoyed the book ….

Simon was quiet for much of the discussion. He revealed that he had found the book much too slow moving and had given up around halfway.

 Jonathan then presented us with delicious Suffolk ham, together with cheeses. The conversation meandered…Jonathan Miller and his son, Opera, piano competitions, lockdown (mentioned once), Covid and seasonal infections, deafness and hearing aids.

I then presented 3 choices for the next meeting:

Austerlitz by WG Sebald
Oblivion by Robert Harris
The Secret Hours by Mick Herron

 Steve acted for absent Alan, but the voting was clear 5, 0, 2. Our next book is therefore Austerlitz by WG Sebald. We will meet at 58 Park Avenue South next month. I still have in my diary 12th February. Correct me if this is wrong.

Our collective thanks to Jonathan for a great evening.

Dave

11/12/23 John Black Echo Michael Connelly American 1992

Nighthawks on the wall, Sonny Rollins in the air, bog roll still supporting the light..and John was ready. Whilst waiting to be quorate we heard about syncopation and the superior musical education of jazz musicians.

Michael Connolly was born in Philadelphia in 1956 of Irish ancestry. Father a frustrated artist worked in construction, his mother a fan of crime fiction introduced her son to the genre. At 12 the family moved to Fort Lauderdale and at 16 Michael witnessed a man throwing an object in a hedge. He investigated and found a gun wrapped in a lumberjack shirt. He followed the man to a bar and later accompanied his father to the police station to report what he had seen. Impressed by the police procedures he retrospectively thought this event fuelled his interest further.

Off to the University of Florida he initially studied Construction but later, having seen Robert Altman’s film The Long Goodbye’ he switched to Journalism and creative writing. He read all of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe novels and became determined to be a crime fiction writer.

After graduation he worked as a journalist on a couple of  local papers for a few years and in 1986, he spent several months interviewing survivors of the 1985 Delta Flight 191 plane crash, which story earned Connelly a place as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The honour also brought Connelly a job as a crime reporter at the Los Angeles Times. He moved to California in 1987 with his wife Linda McCaleb, whom he met while in college and married in April 1984.

After three years at the Los Angeles Times, Connelly wrote his first published novel, The Black Echo (1992), after previously writing two unfinished novels.  The Black Echo won the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for best first novel. The book is partly based on a true crime and is the first one featuring Connelly's primary recurring character, Los Angeles Police Department Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. Connelly named Bosch after the Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch, known for his paintings full of sin and redemption, such as the painting Hell, a copy of which hangs on the office wall behind Connelly's computer. Connelly describes his own work as a big canvas with all the characters of his books floating across it as currents on a painting. Sometimes they are bound to collide, creating cross currents. This is something that Connelly creates by bringing back characters from previous books and letting them play a part in books written five or six years after first being introduced.

What followed was 31 years of writing, 38 novels, 24 of which feature Harry Bosch, 21 short stories, 9 series on Netflix and many national and international awards.

The Black Echo in discussion was generally enjoyed: a pacy page turner with an impressive plot for a first novel and well-crafted characters. The Vietnam and tunnel sequences were particularly appreciated. For Geoff it was sub-standard Raymond Chandler and lacked humour and style. Others had problems with vaults, jewels, elderly Vietnamese millionaires and Eleanor Wish. John enjoyed the chance for vicarious smoking, Nick thought that if the book was a cigarette on finishing it you might pick up another Bosch ‘fag’ pretty soon. It turned out that there were already Bosch addicts in the room, Nick and Alan can’t get enough of him.

Over a fine selection of John’s cheese and bics, the conversation swung from football to favourite current viewing habits, with or without subtitles then on to relatives in the Great War. Then anal sphincters, faggots and savoury ducks. Finally, to two early experiences in a slaughterhouse.

January Book choices were Bewilderment by Richard Powers (nil points); The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald (5 votes); Slaughterhouse 5 (game over); Lessons by Ian McEwan (did not run).


13/11/23 Steve Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver American 2022

Monday 13th November and we’re sat in Steve’s home cinema ready to discuss Demon Copperhead. Apologies from Nick, but everyone else is smiling, relaxed, and looking forward to a love fest of a critiquing session. That may be overstating it. There was one glum face, who, in his own words, felt that the many hours spent reading the book were hours he would never get back.

Steve presented Barbara Kingsolver, an author in her late 60’s, loving her Appalachian roots and in 2004 spending time off grid there, farming with her second husband, an ornithologist. Collecting prestigious awards with some regularity, she had started her writing career in the 1980’s at the University of Arizona, publishing her first novel “The Bean Trees” in 1988. All her books draw heavily on her own experiences. As they say, “write of what you know” and she does that with engaging authenticity and wit.

One snippet that wasn’t given an airing was that in the late 1990s she was a founding member of the Rock Bottom Remainders, a rock and roll band made up of published writers. Other band members included Amy Tan, Matt Groening, Dave Barry and Stephen King,

Demon Copperhead was named the recipient of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and she won the 2023 Women's Prize for Fiction for the novel, making her the first author to win the prize twice; she previously won in 2010 for The Lacuna.

Coming to our views of the book, there was general agreement that half way through the book there was an uncharacteristic dip in the grip the author had on her readers but this was accentuated because of the sureness of her sense of time, place, character, and Appalachian idiom throughout the work. Her ability to write (as advised by the ghost of Dickens) a first-person narrative “told from the perspective of the child” was extraordinary. It was felt that the prose was so delectable that it could not be rushed but insisted on being savoured. No-one claimed the extra points on offer for re-reading David Copperfield after Demon Copperhead, but there was some warm discussion comparing the characters  in both and the ingenuity of selecting names like U-Haul for Uriah Heap. If we'd had to award points out of 10 for how much we enjoyed the book it would have scored 80!

So, on to our next choice.

I told Steve that I was quite upset at having to attempt to follow Barbara Kingsolver’s magnum opus but he, quite rightly, eschewed remorse. I felt that I had to resort to something so different that it might reset our literary palates in time for our January meeting. I of course alighted on that old chestnut of a theme, the interplay between the attractive, demure, home-loving but recently dismembered young woman and the dysfunctional detective. What could go wrong? As it happens the first two, Tessa Gerritson “The Surgeon” and Ambrose Parry “The Way of All Flesh”, were dispatched in short order, leaving Michael Connelly’s “Black Echo” wherein Harry (Hieronymus ) Bosch, the said dysfunctional detective is introduced to the book buying world.

Cheese? Wonderful
Crackers? Ditto
Wine and beer? Plentiful and good
Company? Without peer in Park Avenue South.

Thank you, Steve, for a great choice and a lovely evening

Meet at 72 on December12th to discuss “The Black Echo”

AT 8 PM    (not 8.30)

09/10/23 Theo The Trees Percival Everett American 2021

Hi fellow readers 

We met on the 9th October courtesy of Theo to discuss Trees by Percival Everett. We had a full catalogue of members minus Derek who sent us his comments beforehand.

The author turns out to be an American academic with the impressive title of Distinguished Professor ( I guess a step above a mere humble Professor) with a substantial literary record of some 30 books and a rather disillusioned relationship with his former publisher- Faber and Faber. This book which was shortlisted for the Booker provided the author with a level of fame beyond that provided by his previous writings and propelled him into the arms of a  North London Grub Street publisher apparently to spite his previous publisher who he felt had been deficient in advertising his wares.

It also seems that our author is something of a renaissance figure including amongst his attributes talents as diverse as jazz guitarist, instrument repairer and tennis player.

Theo showed us a short interview with him in which he described the book, subject to certain provisos, as a satire or more accurately, irony ( I thought Americans didn’t do irony).

He placed the book in a tradition including Rape of the Lock ( Swift), Tristram Shandy Lawrence Sterne) and P G Woodhouse. The proviso being a desire on his part to include alternative genres in his writing ( mystery etc) rather than being shoehorned into one classification.

Theo prefaced his introduction by telling us that whilst he found the book interesting his reaction stopped short of actually liking the book and he had preferred his other two choices ( now he tells us).

This feeling of not especially liking the book was somewhat of a common denominator in our response. Several, if not most of us indicated that having initially had our interest sparked by the start of the novel, the level of interest diminished as the novel progressed. There was the initial intrigue and cleverness in the retribution storyline. The crack and bromance between the two detectives was also  an enjoyable feature as we entered the novel and the disappearing bodies gave the storyline a certain sharpness if not anarchy. The comic depiction of the confederate white trash community was certainly amusing. Not much subtlety there but as Everett suggested in his interview, by definition ( KKK fellow travellers) they can happily be described as comic figures. The later stages of the novel gave us more difficulty. More characters are introduced perhaps at the expense of our bantering detectives and the plot became more bizarre and fantastical. One imagines this was our writer playing around with different formats but in doing so, for some of us, this created a sense that he was simply being random in the direction in which the novel was heading. It seems there was a problem in sustaining interest in the book.

So the verdict seemed to be that although there were positive aspects to the writing, probably particularly the comic scenes, as a whole, it was not a great read.

The evening did however have a certain educational value. We learned that all zombies walk slowly. Of course. Thanks Nick.

We had are usual diverse chats embracing model villages, bike rides and their impact on Simon’s knees and of course football- a north London duo at the top of the table. The perennial favourite- property sale reared its head in particular in respect of Theos hopes for a sale (don’t go Theo).

The choices for the next meeting were as follows:

Trespass by Louise Kennedy

The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Tight between the last two but Demon Copperhead was the winner 

We meet at No 54 on 13th November.

Finally thanks to Theo for the hospitality and the marvellous array of cheeses.

Steve


Apologies fellas - I’m in the Lakes for a few days so can’t make tonight’s meeting 

I enjoyed reading the book - darkly comic -parts of it were laugh out loud  but got more and more OTT as it developed 

Really enjoyed the banter between the two main detectives as well as the grotesque families of the first few victims 

I enjoyed it less as it got more and more unbelievable but overall a decent read and I will go and see the film - seemed to be another book that was pretty much a film script 

Think it’ll make for an interesting meeting

All best

Derek

11/09/23 Simon Lessons in Chemistry Bonnie Garmus American 2022

A small group of keen readers assembled at Simon's house to discuss Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Apologies received from many.

Simon briefed us on Bonnie's pre-fame life - she was 64 when Lessons was published. She was born in California, raised in Seattle, married an Englishman who worked for Google, worked as a copywriter in USA, Colombia, Switzerland and in 2017 moved to London. She has two daughters and had a dog named Friday, who she thought had a large vocabulary. Her first attempt at a novel was rejected 98 times, but she persevered and got an agent (Emily Blunt's sister, Felicity) and became famous. She is working on another novel.

Our select group of Simon, Jonathan, Derek, Nick, and Geoff all enjoyed the book - some more than others. There was a concensus that the first 100 or so pages were a bit dull, but the introduction of neighbour Harriet and the TV show livened it up. The dog seemed to be the elephant in the room, no-one had anything to say about it, to me it was just an irritation. The author says it is the only character in the book based on real life, we felt that the treatment that Elizabeth got from the male characters was based on real life. We all thought the very happy ending was a bit naff, but expected, and fitted in with the mood of the book.

Theo's remote presentation didn't happen for family reasons. He gave us three books to choose from -

Lessons by Ian McKewen

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell

Trees by Percival Everett

Some jiggery-pokery during the voting (Voter Id next time please) left Trees by Percival Everett the clear winner.

9th October at Theo's  - Steve will be up next.

Here are some revues by absentees -

Apologies but I'm unable to come this evening. A shame because I enjoyed reading the book. I found it original, surprisingly amusing and very good at describing cranky, top achieving scientists such as Calvin. I used to have to interact with many who were quite exceptional at their work, but completely lacking in people skills.

I enjoyed the very direct Elizabeth and her struggles with the patriarchy. Of course, so believable. Also, the different phases of the book I found held my attention. Her cooking programmes were inventive and funny.

Ok, a lot of contrived plot lines, coincidences, and an oh so happy ending would normally have irritated. But no, I just rolled with it.

Dave


Apologies, gents, I won’t be able to make it tonight as off on holiday tomorrow morning and will be packing this evening. Hope you have a good meeting. I really enjoyed the book – a very easy read.

Alan


I enjoyed Lessons In Chemistry enormously. Highly original and clever, like a Ronald Dahl children’s book for grown ups but underpinned with more modern, wholesome values.

Theo


Hi mate, if you’re at book group can you let Simon know that I’ve emailed him to let him know that I’m not going. I’ve been in Gothenburg this weekend and the flight back was delayed so only just got home…I didn’t read much of the book, I couldn’t get on with the writing style…It felt like she’d written it with the intention of getting it made into a Netflix series…I feel that Simon is firmly in the 'life's too short to continue with a book that you're not enjoying.'

Cheers all Rob


As previously mentioned, I can’t make the book group - escaping from the heat of London in Turkey. Here are my thoughts on the book -

I thought it was a fun read. The literary equivalent of a Romcom ( film round the corner?). The rom part of it departed quite quickly but Calvin retained his presence throughout the book and I half expected that Elizabeth’s research would miraculously result in his resurrection. Not to worry, a happy ending of sorts was always guaranteed.

The book was well written I thought, sharp observation and pacy. Liked the setting of 50s male dominated values ( the setting not the values! ). Admittedly this world, certainly in the professions and academia has to a large extent disappeared (hopefully) and probably now seems somewhat distant but hard to say that the author was exaggerating too much. Even if she was, the narrative presented fertile ground for archetypal villains of the male variety.

Ok there were stereotypical characters and far fetched plot machinations but this was a comic story so, as they were handled well , who cares. The link between chemistry and cooking was of course clever and central to the story but it was the one area that created some unease in my reading of the book. We are asked to buy into the premise that the average American housewife would be enthused by and indeed be motivated by the chemistry behind cooking. I find this a step too far though I admit not to being a chemistry enthusiast ( physics far more sexy).

I also think it is worth considering the presentation of Elizabeth Zott as physically attractive.I appreciate that this feeds in to the feminist narrative to a degree - her intellectual attributes always minimised by the male attention being given to her looks. And of course there is a certain irony in her break into television being propelled by her “presence”. However, by way of contrast, I was reminded of the story behind Julia Childs. I don’t know if any of you saw the excellent series on Netflix starring Sarah Lancashire and David Hyde Pearce (Niles) - both excellent. She was a pioneer of tv cooking in the States and certain elements in this book with regard to the tv aspects are culled from her story. However, rather than being televisual, she was large and unattractive but with a warm disarming personality. In a sense a true feminist story although she did run foul of certain strands of feminist thinking exemplified by Betty Friedan. What would Betty Friedan have made of Elizabeth Zott - but that would be another story.

So a light and entertaining book. Coincidentally, I had only recently finished another “Lessons” book. This was Ian McEwans latest - Lessons. To use an Elizabeth Zott analogy, this provided the literary nourishment of homemade soup. Lessons in Chemistry was more of the tinned soup variety.

Have a good evening.

Steve 

10/07/23 Alan This Book Will Save Your Life A M Homes American 2006

Once we had negotiated the tortuous entry requirements to access Fort Nick’s, we were all able to admire his stunning new pied a terre. It has everything you need and more, including petrol/diesel price watch facilities, entertaining bus antics and silent bouncy yoga.

 Apologies had been received from Steve who was enjoying some Turkish delight but had still found time to provide his comments in advance.

 After the initial discussions on house rebuilds, dentistry and other topics of construction while we waited on John joining us, it was discovered that two of our group (who shall be nameless) had read the wrong book (with one enjoying and the other not).

 Deciding against splitting the group in two, we moved on to revelations about the author, Elizabeth Taylor and discussions on her book, Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont.

Nick said she appeared to be a very private person (this seems to be a theme of our recent selection of authors).  Born in 1912 in Reading. She was educated at The Abbey School, Reading, and then worked as a governess, tutor, and librarian. She married in 1936 John Taylor, owner of a confectionery company, after which they lived in Penn, Buckinghamshire for almost all their married life. She had 2 children. She was briefly a member of the British Communist Party, then a consistent Labour Party supporter.

 Her first novel was published in 1945 and she subsequently had eleven more published plus numerous short stories. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (1971) was her penultimate novel. It was included in Robert McCrum's 100 Best Novels in English and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. A TV adaptation was screened in Play for Today in 1973 starred Celia Johnson and a film adaptation, directed by Dan Ireland, was released in 2005 with British actress Joan Plowright in the title role.

 Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is a post-imperial novel with the lead character herself having spent most of her adult life in Burma, where her late husband had his job.

 She died in 1975. Her close friend, Elizabeth Jane Howard, was asked to write a biography following her death, but refused due to what she felt was a lack of incident in Taylor's life. This is strange given she allegedly posed nude for Eric Gill (a near neighbour) and had a 10-year affair which only stopped after the family moved to Yorkshire. 

 On to discussion of the book itself and the sentiments of the group were overwhelmingly positive. All the characters were well sketched out and it had a ‘classy’ writing style. It was remarked that it did seem like a precursor to Fawlty Towers in part (also referred to in Steve’s comments by email). Each character had their own idiosyncrasies and foibles, and they lived a world away from the ‘swinging 60’s’ going on in the world outside the hotel.

There was some debate about Ludo’s motives, were they selfish, did he have genuine feelings towards his ‘grandmother’ (as shown by his actions on her death) and there was no sympathy at all for Mrs Palfrey’s real grandson who got exactly what he deserved.

 The individual residents, the hierarchy of social standing, the little things which brought more status – trips out, visitors – all felt very realistic of the age.

 Too many little episodes in the book to mention here but all thoroughly enjoyed.

 After digesting the book, we enjoyed pork and veggie pies and cheeses and continued with eclectic conversations which seemed even more so than usual:

 •        Steve’s childhood in a Bournemouth hotel surrounded by women, similar to those in the Claremont
•        Geoff serving ‘Stan Ogden’ breakfast and John stepping on Violet Carson’s toes
•        Nick’s Gallic shorts
•        How the 91 bus negotiates the Tottenham Lane/ Ferme Park Road mini roundabout (or not)
•        Banner’s closure in September
•        Bob Dylan in Crouch End to see Dave
•        The Daily Twit
•        Amusing graffiti (Doris Archer is a Prude etc)
•        The resurrection of Boris and the death of Berlusconi
•        How many had hads and buffalos in one sentence and
•        Bats foxes and rats 

The choices for July were: 

Island – Aldous Huxley
This book will save your life – A M Homes
Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine – Gail Honeyman

The clear winner with no need for recounts, transferable votes or fake Scottish accents was:

This book will save your life – A M Holmes

Next meeting at 8.30pm, Monday 10 July at 59 Park Avenue South.

By consensus there will be no meeting in August.

Alan

My apologies but still in Turkey so will be missing the book group.

As for the book, I thought it was a delight.

A perfect evocation of time and place. The residents, a product of the embers of the empire, clinging on to their values as well as to their lives in a world which is being encroached by changing attitudes. Suez and it’s political significance is still comparatively fresh in the memories and Carnaby street and a youth culture which has no respect for traditional values is just round the corner.

I loved the way in which the writer created the little world created by the residents, the pecking order, the importance of appearance and the narratives consequently created. All of this against the background in which time was ticking and it would not be long before the niceties of their existence would be put into perspective by the final reckoning. God’s waiting room indeed.

The novel brought back memories for me. When I was young my parents used to go with me to a “nice” hotel in Bournemouth. There were a group of residents there ( mainly female) that had special status in the hotel. I vividly remember the women dressing up for dinner ( I could swear I can recall those little furs around the shoulders).

I enjoyed the pared down style of the writer. I just wonder if the book might have had an influence on  Faulty Towers? Maybe there was perhaps a bit too much sadness in the book - but a minor criticism.

Have a good evening 

Steve

15/05/23 Geoff Climbers M John Harrison English 1989

We ascended the steps to Dave's front door without encountering any problems. Being greeted by Gummy Delaney was a bit of a shock, had he slipped out of a hand-jam and tumbled to earth? It turned out that his four front teeth were in need of an upgrade, waiting for parts. Alan and Simon sent apologies,  I hope they are enjoying their holidays.

Geoff thanked Dave for use of his house, and then told his own climbing story. As a teenager, heading for a meeting with some girls, he decided to take the quick way down from the top of a quarry. He must have taken a bad step, because he woke up in hospital two days later with a variety of broken bones.

On to business, Geoff told us the little amount of personal information he had discovered about M John Harrison. Born in Rugby in 1945, his father, an engineer, was interested in military history, and died when M John was 13. Wasted teenage years, saved by the teacher who introduced him to GB Shaw.  He started writing himself, in the style of Saki, (H H Munro, died in the trenches in 1916, reputed last words "Put that bloody cigarette out"). He left school at 18, had a variety of jobs, including groom for a local hunt. His first story was published in 1966 by Kyril Bonfiglioli (author of All The Tea in China) in Science Fantasy magazine. This success persuaded him to move to London where he had various clerical jobs.

In London he met many of the "New Wave" science fiction authors, including Michael Moorcock, editor of the monthly New Worlds magazine. He became reviews editor of the magazine, he says he was perpetually angry, a fact easily spotted if you read some of his book reviews. He loved the new stuff by Ballard, Spinrad, Disch, but hated the old space opera stories. He wrote stories, reviews, and novels, but in his thirties he decided to put all that behind him, move back north, and devote himself to climbing. He hoped that being in the fresh air, with undependable people and the constant risk of a 70 foot fall would help concentrate his mind while writing. He was climbing most days of the week, and kept a journal, which would form the basis for "Climbers".  He has now written over 20 novels, and many short stories. He continues to write, a memoir is expected. His books have had much critical acclaim, China Mieville (The City and the City), Angela Carter (Nights at the Circus), Neil Gaiman and Iain Banks all rate him highly.

Steve opened the discussion by saying how much he enjoyed the writing, but how little he enjoyed the book. This seemed to be the general feeling in the room, only Jonathan (and perhaps me) being more fulsome in our praise. We all enjoyed the characters in the book, and recognised the feeling of camaraderie in the group. There were some dramatic events - deaths of Nina and Sankey, the affair with Normal's wife, but the fact that the book had been constructed from a set of journals about individual climbing expeditions meant that there was no strong narrative to tie it all together. We enjoyed the various car journeys, the unspoken rivalry among the climbers to find/achieve the hardest routes. The prospect of body full of injuries and hands almost stripped to the bone didn't encourage us to try climbing, and as for doing one finger press-ups ... The book won the Boardman-Tasker award for mountain literature in 1989, (Touching the Void had won it in 1988).

Further discussion revealed that our group is not keen on dangerous sports, although Geoff had tried hang-gliding in a field full of cow dung, and Steve had been a wind-surfer in his youth. Theo told us of his pal who seems determined to die under water/in the air/on a motorbike.

Alan let Geoff know that Climbers was not one of his favourite books.

I was disappointed that Simon was not there to tell us how he met Rostropovich - he has now revealed all -

I was commissioned to build a study for him in his apartment in Maida Vale.  I had just completed a big library for the emperessario Lilian Hockhouser, who managed Slava, as he was called. I built his study, which he really loved, of course, but I was pissed off with him because he had stuck drawing pins into the wood and hung fairy lights on it.  I told him off and he gave me two tickets to see him play a Hinderschmit concert at the Barbican.  I didn't like the music but it was brilliantly played of course.  Back stage he gave me an enormous bear hug and thanked me for everything.

That was the last I saw of him. Happy days.

Simon

My proposals for next month were -
The Owl Service by Alan Garner
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor - winner by a landslide
Western Wind by Samantha Harvey

Meeting will be 8.30pm, Monday 12th June, at 13 Berkeley House, 163 Tottenham Lane.

Nick

17/04/23 Rob Oscar and Lucinda Peter Carey Australian 1988

Fellow Readers

Without incident, our expedition set off from leafy P.A.S. into the wilds of N.17 heading for the appropriately named Church Rd, our mission to discuss the conception, construction and transportation of a visionary glass cathedral. We were subdued by our awareness that inhabitants of glass buildings should not cast stones, certainly not at pagan motifs; but we had all succumbed, some of our pitches had landed on a cockerel others on a cannon, our destinies were sealed by the football gods.

None of us dared the betrayal enacted by Oscar Hopkins shift from Baptist to Evangelist and more prosaically by Sol Campbell. Temptation awaited us at Rob’s door, the fruit of Satan this time a fine array of cheeses.

We started by acknowledging absences, Simon our hearts and condolences are with you, Alan we wish Alison a full recovery, Steve thanks for your reflections which were revealed later so as not to pre-empt our thoughts.

‘Oscar and Lucinda’ was a great read for all present. We praised(sic) the creative originality of fusing the obsessive and/ or compulsive nature of religion and gambling, the masterful art of storytelling resembling 19th Century greats, the vivid characterisation of the major and minor characters and the interplay of the latter across all 500+ pages. Oscar the ‘odd-bod’and Lucinda the ‘before her time’ feminist held our attention effortlessly, out of step with society and misunderstanding each other’s love, we were dismayed that their final wager didn’t lead to the outcome we so wanted. They were indeed burnt by their passions. Steve’ reflections were in line with our enthusiasm for the first half but seriously cooled for the journey of the second half, revealing of course the fate of those who pitched their stone on the pagan cannon.

Rob gave us a painstakingly researched insight to the life and character of Peter Carey. He grew up in a small town, west of Melbourne, with little culture or literature in his background. He mistakenly took  Science course at Uni but following a car crash changed direction, abandoned Uni and headed for mercurial world of advertising where colleagues immersed him into the works of great writers.He had a very successful career, and a series of loving and committed marriages, at least until the next one. He comes across as a man of great charm and humility, Theo’s sister-in- law (I think) worked for Faber and Faber and met him, she affirmed that Peter Carey was self-effacing, humorous and great company and bolstered her own self assurance as a young woman finding her way in her career. We felt this was as expected from the creator of Lucinda.

Thanks to Rob for leading us to this acclaimed read and for hosting a really enjoyable evening. 

Alan you were missed but Dave was press-ganged into adjudicating and was a convincing substitute, although his Scottish accent impersonation was the least polished part of it. After a second vote the winner was

‘Climbers’ by M John Harrison, despite my anxieties about its absence of most things that comprise a novel, like plot, narrative drive, action …. enjoy the read.

Runners-up were ‘ The History of Love’ by Nicole Krauss and ‘The Night Watchman’ by 

Louise Erdrich.

We meet again on Monday 15th May and 

Dave has kindly agreed to let me host from his house, to avoid disturbing a sleeping baby! 

Cheers 

Geoff

13/03/23 Derek The Other Americans Laila Lalami Moroccan/American 2019

Dear readers,

As I pulled up in my 17 plate Urano Grey, VW Golf I had the distinct feeling that something had changed about the neighbourhood…Was it the low street lighting? Was it the lack of plane trees? New paving? Or was it the ease with which I was able to find a parking space? Whatever it was it felt good to be back in the hood…We met at Derek's house, 7 Park Avenue South, to discuss The Other Americans by Laila Lalami

We discovered that Laila Lalami was born in Rabat, Morocco in 1968. Her family was a working-class one, where her mother and father both read widely in a variety of genres. According to Lalami, all the children’s books she read as a child were written in French, and as a child she began writing her own stories in French. Although her parents encouraged her writing she has stated that they thought she needed to study a profession other than writing.

In 1990, she received a British Council fellowship to study in (cold, wet) England, where she completed an MA in Linguistics at UCL. After graduating, she returned to Morocco and worked briefly as a journalist and commentator.

In 1992 she moved to Los Angeles, to attend the University of Southern California, from which she graduated with a PhD in Linguistics. 

Lalami began writing fiction and nonfiction in English in 1996. She is the author of five books, including The Moor’s Account, which won the American Book Award. Her most recent novel, The Other Americans, was a national bestseller and a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and the National Book Award in Fiction. She is professor of creative writing at the University of California.

Being a sensitive soul Derek found it difficult to find out too much detail about her life outside of writing. He decided not to follow her on Instagram, but he did discover that she is married to a Cuban-American man with a knack for fixing computers who was a fellow student at university. They live in California, and have one grown up daughter. 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/mar/22/laila-lalami-white-supremacists-target-muslims-threat-not-taken-as-seriously-as-other-forms-of-terror

Fortunately for Derek, The Other Americans was overwhelmingly well received. Whilst reading the book I had imagined what the group response would be, and, as we discovered later its lucky that I’m not a betting man, because I felt that there would have been a few dissenting voices. I wondered whether the short chapters, and re-telling of the same story from slightly different perspectives would prove distracting. However the feeling was almost the opposite with most of us enjoying this contemporary style of storytelling. My only criticism was that at the start of the book I wanted the narrative to progress at a quicker pace. However, I found that the pace picked up perfectly in the last third so perhaps this was a deliberate style. Nick had one major issue with the book, however it was something that would only be properly understood by someone who had read the books that he had! 

The consensus was that the book was extremely well crafted, all of the characters had authentic voices, which meant that all of their stories were credible. The only character that people seemed to struggle with for various reasons was A.J.

The post book review chat proved illuminating, but not very rewarding for those playing 'Park Avenue South 3 P’s Bingo’. There was disappointingly little talk of Politics, Parking, or Pétanque, instead this evening’s 3 P’s were, Pensions, Pundits, and (Tena) Pants!

Apologies were received from Theo and Simon. Theo rated the book in the ‘very good’ category.

Many thanks to Derek for providing some beautiful cheese and biscuits, super hospitality, and a great book choice.

Next meeting is in the wilds of N17 on Monday April 17th.

09/01/23 Jonathan A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles American 2016

We met yesterday at Jonathans to discuss A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

The authors background was intriguing- a degree in English followed by 20 years as an investment banker ( the money must have been tough). A successful first novel enabled him to jettison his banker credentials and become a full time novelist. This was his second book which took about 3 years to complete. Jonathan found it hard to extract much information as to his personal background describing him as “slippery”. It seems he playfully teases his audience by raising doubts as to his credibility- and I guess we can see this playfulness in his writing.

Everyone liked the book and some of us really, really liked the book. For a start, the construct was intriguing, a Russian aristocratic forced to spend his days as a non person living in various capacities in what had been and still aspired to be, an exclusive hotel. This was a life lived in a rarified atmosphere when in the outside world seismic political and social events were occurring. These events were impacting on the Counts  life but translated into the world of the hotel and potentially raising questions as to the Count’s life philosophy.

The events in the novel were not seen through the counts eyes in the first person but by a worldly narrator who was able to present the narrative in a way sympathetic to the Counts perspective. So there was always a distance between the reader and the Count but equally a sense of rapport with the Count.

The rapport developed through the Count’s charm but this was not merely a superficial layer of aristocratic charm but a charm that developed from a singular philosophy. Here was a man able live his life applying principles that were in no way rooted in any political ideals but sustained in concepts of duty, friendship and romance. So, whilst initially his dealings with the hotel staff reflected his aristocratic standing as a Count, these relationships were defined by a mutual respect that remained constant despite his slide down the social order as a head waiter. Indeed we almost had a sense that despite the apparent changes, little had changed certainly not in the Count’s sanguine philosophy.

His life approach was seemingly drawn from a variety of sources ranging from his grandmother to Montaigne but all leading to sense of cheerfulness that derived from small pleasures. Even when on the edge of suicide ( typically a very dispassionate  decision), he was drawn back from the brink by the joys of honey and vodka. Indeed the pleasure of food and drink, of course properly prepared, is a constant theme in the book representative both of pleasure and order.

The writing, which we all enjoyed, is laced with charm and a particular brand of humour often deriving from the Count’s wry observation of incidents within the hotel. Many of the humorous incidents ( they seem almost anecdotes) involve the children, Nina and Sofia and the reaction of the Count to the children reinforces his charm - a quizzical response, an involvement in their games and an acknowledgment that life lessons can be learnt from them. Jonathan referred to the fact that Amor has two young girls and this is no surprise ( it begs the question as to whether his presentation of the girls would have been the same had his children been teenagers!).

Whilst none of us had any adverse comments on the book, Jonathan did refer to some negative responses apparently derived from the criticism that it fails to address to human catastrophes of Stalinism. We do have a sense of what is happening outside the hotel but it is on the periphery. The repercussions  of the revolution, whilst it is the catalyst for the book, is not the driving force. Politics is not a subject dwelled on by the Count. For him, the weather is a more potent force than politics. Indeed, his non political utterances make us perplexed as to his authorship of the political pamphlet that saved his life only for us to discover towards the end of his book that they had been written by his friend. More playfulness on Towles part.

So a book that was universally enjoyed by us.

As for the rest of the evening, the usual suspects were rounded up (geddit). Parking and building renovation were discussed but soon overtaken by subdued talk of the Ukraine situation. Grand hotels that we have stayed at were discussed (not many). Who knows, one day there might be a book club outing to the Metropole. More likely would be a group outing to the Pétanque pitches in Priory Park ( thermal leg warmers optional). An attempt to introduce some good news about the recovery of the ozone layer was dampened by Johns reference to magnetic inversion ( don’t ask me!) which involves the switching of the poles. Simon no doubt enthused by the unusual failure to discuss football (a first?) regaled us with stories of photo destruction (awesome).

Jonathan had prepared some delightful delicacies to augment the occasion- salmon on blenis, quails eggs, gherkins (home soured - mega) as well as multitudinous cheeses. The Count would have approved.

Missing were Nick and Dave ( now both recovered), Geoff (we hope for your return shortly) and Rob (we look forward to being counselled).

Daves choices for the next meeting were:

Jorge Amado - Captain of the Sands

Joseph Roth - The Radetzky March

Patrick McGrath - Last Days in Cleaver Square

After considered thought, the choice was Last Days in Cleaver Square (clue - 223 pages)

Next meeting at Dave's on 13th February 

Steve

14/11/22 John The Fabulous Clipjoint Fredric Brown American 1948

Whatever happened to 7/11? It seems the chain was sold to Budgens in 1997, it seems like yesterday.... 

As we seven settled into John's front snug it was memory that was part of the chatter as we waited for Steve's arrival. A two month's gap took much of the freshness from our memories and the discussion, but more of that in a moment.

Firstly we heard about Dave's great news, Pascale had given him a third grandson ... Congratulations! But then we heard with sadness of Geoff's recent diagnosis with Covid as he and Mariana returned from Valencia. Then about Derek's concern for Rebecca's current illness and his wish to protect us all and finally we remembered that Rob was on his course but just what was the area of study?

Steve arrived and John then told us about Fredric Brown (1906-1972) a multitalented master of mysteries, fantasies and science fiction. Born in Cincinnati there is little personal information around but we heard he was married and that his wife claimed he hated to write and preferred to play with Siamese cat Ming Tah or play the flute or challenge friends to a game of chess. By the time Fredric Brown wrote Clipjoint, his first full novel, he had already been a prolific contributor to the pulp mags of the 1930 & 40s. The book won the Edgar first book award and the characters ED and Uncle Am went on to star in a number of subsequent books. Robert Heinlein, Philip K Dick and Stephen King are all fans of his writing and one of his short stories was used in Startrek in 1967.

Generally the book was given a thumbs up. Praise particularly for the sense of time and place and the well drawn characters such as Uncle Am. Brown managed to pack a lot into a limited space and kept the reader engaged. There was some disagreement, feeling this coming of age story was too stereotypical and predictable. The gangster's moll, an unnecessary distraction to some and a delicious addition to others. Other discussion points included the heavy alcohol use of the time, the predictability of the ending, the jazz and generally negative portrayal of women. On balance we felt he did well, he was a start of a style of writing that was improved in the decades that followed. John read absent book-grouper's reviews which scored 3-1 in favour.

Moving on we covered some serious issues:- can you be truly woke and gender aware in your 60s or 70s?; how to stop the 2am racket from the 91 bus?; How not to join a committee or social group; how sexist stereotyping is rife in our schools at Xmas. This carried on over John's delicious cheese board and home cooked Chorizo treats, and we squeezed in a World Cup chat as well. Thank you John, a great night. The idea of a joint male and female book swap meeting on 12 DEC was accepted, venue details to follow

Then to three survival and endurance offerings

1. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (2 votes)

2. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (3 votes)

3. Station 11 by Emily St. John Mandel (2 votes)

After a series of baffling subsequent votes and point of order, Alan told us we are off to Moscow for the next meeting.

WHICH WE BE ON JAN 9TH 8.30PM at 15 PAS.

12/09/22 Theo Mrs March Virginia Fieto Spanish/French/English 2021

Dear All

September's Book club was absent Steve (with apologies and a review) , but Simon,  Rob, Nick, Derek, Jonathan, Alan, Dave, Geoff, Theo and myself took part in the the discussion of Mrs March, Theo's offering.

There wasn't a great deal of sympathy shown for Mrs March, and there was puzzlement regarding the way other protagonists didn't spot her aberrant behaviour, didn't refer her to some form of treatment or therapy. Maybe Mr march was asking for it? Theo defended the book stoutly and it must say something that all read the book in its entirety. Personally, I felt that the book was a powerful exploration of the relationship between money, power, health and happiness. A life built on  a narrow base, with such a lack of self belief yet extended upwards to unsustainable heights by wealth and status, it was bound to topple eventually. Her downfall was charted in a curiously , well, monotonous style. That is harsh, but there was little light and shade and certainly no Sturm und Drang. This might be put down to English not being the author's mother tongue, but she had lived in english speaking countries for long enough to be able to write in technicolour rather than sepia. Perhaps it was meant to highlight the lack of dimensions to Mrs M's character?

The discussion was, as ever, fun and varied and Steve's email set the tone for the subsequent conversation.

Theo's choice of cheeses showed impeccable taste and we thank him for a splendid evening.

The books selected by me were all detective novels. One distinctively English (Agatha Christie, And then there were none) , Japanese (Seishi Yokomizo, The Honjin Murders) and finally American (Frederic Brown The Fabulous Clipjoint).

After some discussion of Agatha's Mousetrap (no spoilers given) the vote of Null Points left her out of the running.

Frederic triumphed in a close vote but given that the next meeting will be in November (mass absences in October.....) a number of people felt that they would try both first and second choices. Certainly Yokomizo paints a very interesting view of a land most people have not yet seen. And the names, though unfamiliar, don't get in the way of the narrative. Simon told us that he has a special interest in Japanese carpentry. I know that the japanese have sublime talents in the jointing of timbers ....watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KqIIOyuo1Q if you doubt me! And japanese architecture plays a part in the plot...

We'll meet at 72 in November, on the 14th. See you then.

Oh, and the work has started in Priory park on Hornsey's first purpose built Boulodrome!

John

11/07/22 Steve Summerwater Sarah Moss English 2020

Dear All,


We met on a balmy July evening in Steve’s garden to discuss Summer Rain by Sarah Moss, the story of a collection of households on holiday beside a Scottish Loch in the pouring rain.


The book opens with Justine out for a run in the early morning drizzle. Her inner monologue is authentic and engaging and sets the format for the novel. We are privy to the thoughts of a range of present day, post Brexit characters; their hopes, fears petty familial resentments and peccadillos. And just when you think that, despite an underlying sense of menace, the narrative isn’t going anywhere in particular, there is a tragic, cinematic ending.


Almost everyone enjoyed the the exceptional quality of the writing. The author certainly has the credentials of a skilled technician having spent ten years studying English at Oxford before a series of academic posts led to her present job as Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at University College Dublin's School of English.


But not everyone loved the book as a whole. Alan said he found it thoroughly boring and was forced to skim read the second half in an effort to get it over with quickly. Others, the absent Dave and the returning Geoff for example, loved it. (Welcome back Geoff). We had different favourite characters. Justine the runner was mine, the teenage girl was Nick’s.


Steve asked whether any of us had ever tried our hand at creative writing and Jonathan casually confessed to being a published author. A Bloomsbury one at that! He had written a book based on the funny stories that a lifetime’s work as a GP leave you with. For reasons related to medical ethics the book was published under a nom de plume which, as far as I remember, Jonathan did not reveal. He did say it was out of print though.


Somehow we got onto the health benefits of worms in faeces and Jonathan said that more than once he’d been brought earth worms by patients who were convinced that they had pushed them out when they had (almost certainly) wriggled up through the U-bend.


All the talk of worms in excreta inevitably led to exasperated comment on the Tory leadership battle. 


Then we rehearsed the old ‘natural talent versus hard work and application’ debate for a bit.


Nick’s move will have taken place by the time we all meet again and we wished him luck with that.


And so it was time to consider the three books nominated for this month. They were: ‘Mrs March’ by Virginia Feito, ‘Seesaw’ by Timothy Ogene and ‘The Whistleblower’ by Robert Peston. ‘Mrs March’ romped home in the first ballot.


When we meet again on August 8th, hopefully in the garden here at 36 PAS, the eleven Tory hopefuls will have been whittled down to two. As I write, my money’s on Mordant who may or may not be the lesser of many evils.


Theo Delaney

13/06/22 Simon The Smell of Apples Mark Behr Tanzanian/South African 1993

Hi all

We met last night to chat about The Smell of Apples by Mark Behr together with assorted other topics.

Absent were Derek, Alan and Theo.

Not too much about the author’s background. Seems to have been autobiographical ( no surprises there) but not the bit about the narrator being killed (obviously).

On balance the book was well received and scored high on the enjoyment scale.

The adult world being seen through the eyes of a child is hardly novel but seemed to work well here. The repugnantly racist views of the narrators parents being parroted as gospel (occasionally literally) was powerful. Some found the opening somewhat plodding- more Adrian Mole than a glimpse into a disturbingly racist world, but once the narrative perked up, they became more engaged. There was also a balance to the book in that the Boer perspective did seep through - a country offering tremendous bounty but which, because of the inadequacies of the non whites, could only be successfully harvested by the white

colonial rulers. There was also a sense of the extent to which the certainties of the Boer world were beginning to unravel obviously militarily but also intellectually in the different direction taken by the narrrators aunt and also one suspects by the emerging doubts of his sister. The storyline itself was a powerful one centred around the father/ son relationship and eventually the challenge to the unquestioning devotion of the son following his discovery of certain matters. Possibly the end of innocence. A parable? Apples will never smell the same again!

In structural terms, there was a feeling that the insertion at regular intervals of segments of the future military efforts of the narrator was somewhat gratuitous and added not much to the impact of the novel.

There was the usual esoteric chat on various topics. There was nostalgia expressed for 70s discos and an appreciation for the joys of the Woolwich ferry. Nick was also able to successfully raid his memory bank to recall a spitting image song expressing a dislike for South Africans.

On a somewhat deeper note, there was an acknowledgment of the liberating sensation of renouncing physical possessions and walking off into the sunset carrying just a suitcase containing essentials( the inner Buddhist in us). Although as Rob reminded us - beware possession rejection remorse. We were also pleased to share Simons babysitting duties with him. The presence on a screen of the sleeping baby added a different dimension to a collection of old fogies (not you Rob as you successfully reminded us) discussing books.

Particular congratulations to John for his now successful efforts to secure Pétanque pitches. Possibly Crouch End might become the centre of the U.K. pétanque playing world. Once the pitches are established, I suggest a book club outing.

The choices for next month were:

Trio by William Boyd

The Good Doctor by Damon Galgut

Summerwater by Sarah Moss

Summer Rain convincingly led the honours.

Till the 11th July at no 54.

Incidentally, if anyone can’t make it but wishes to make known his views, please circulate the comments directly to the group. Saves me reading them out.

Steve

PS Very remiss of me - I forgot to mention the highlight of the evening- Simons cherry pie. Delicious. Thank you Simon.

Also, I forgot to record Geoffs absence. Hopefully Geoff you will be able to rejoin us soon.



I enjoyed the read but also felt that the author could have developed it further.

Perhaps the authenticity of the perspective from a young boy prevented this. I was unhappy with the finale and the reveal of the father as a peadophile felt unnecessary.

I admired the way the  cultural assumptions and racism of the Afrikaner were portrayed.

The god fearing, morally uptight and vulnerable community besieged by communist inspired black revolt.

I felt that whilst the Mum and sister were well drawn characters the Mum’s sister as an educated liberal alternative could have been taken further and so could the sister Ilse sense of rebellion.

I didn’t see the ending coming and for me this sign of personal hypocrisy and immorality was at odds with the main tone and political attitude of the book, it took away from it.

Have a good evening and thanks for the read

Geoff

Dear Readers, 

A very jolly evening, of course, always a pleasure to meet up.  We missed you Geoff and Steve.  One bit of news is that this will be the last time we enjoy Nicks hospitality in his current abode as a new apartment in the thick of Crouch Ends downtown beckons.   I am looking forward to seeing the new home assuming we can all fit.  We wish you all the very best.  It will be a wrench after 40 odd years in PAS but a chance to sift through all the collected detritus of a life well lived in one place.

 As for that hospitality, in the spirit of New York, delicious Lox and cream cheese bagels were on offer, thank you Nick, for that treat. 

We discussed the question, what exactly does one do with that detritus, sometimes going back more than one generation, no conclusions were reached but in my case maybe the Royal Navy would like to see my fathers notes on his experience in the North Atlantic Convoys at the tender age of nineteen. 

On to the book – Laurence Block has written so any books and Nicks description was informative and very interesting.  The book was very well received and most really enjoyed the flavour of 70’s New York which was conjured up so well.  Some found the level of detail tiresome, Alan particularly so but personally I liked the detail, the street names, the cars, the booze of course, even his clothes.  John suggested perhaps a map of the city would have reinvigorated any sagging enthusiasm. 

There followed much discussion, the state of the road (terrible), the new house on the corner (are there two), the dangers of rugby (off the scale), the Hornsey Patanque Club (why are there no women?) and of course football (over my head).  I enjoy listening to the discussion but the injuries endured by players of sport generally and rugby in particular seem so appalling that the risk/benefit formula seems to be wrong.

 So, after a false start by my suggesting a book we have already read – Secret Scripture – great book suggested by Dave back in 2014 I think.  I suggested The smell of Apples by Mark Behr, Emma by Jane Austin and The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage.  After a convoluted vote conducted by our very own Alan we chose The smell of Apples by Mark Behr. 

We meet again on June 13th being the second Monday of the month.  I am off to Rhodes for ten days on Thursday so I wish you well, enjoy the book and we will meet again hopefully in a sunny suburban garden. 

Yours Simon

Hi Nick

There is a nice Shakespearean dimension to throw in to the discussion tonight. Enjoyed the read. Authentic voice of police training, all those mundane descriptions setting the sense of close surveillance, Scudder misses nothing! Appreciated the depiction and atmosphere of NY although don’t know it well enough to really relate to. 

Just when I Wes resolving to up my intake of spirits he lets me down by going on the wagon !!!

Not sure about the framing for murder at the end? Would he? How does this fit his moral code. Is he outraged by the others taking the rap or by the girlfriend’s suicide ?? Justice out scores mercy.. he had it coming!! 

Enjoy 

Geoff

Hi all

With the sun shining, we have decided to head off to Southwold for a few days, so I am afraid, no book group for me.

As for the book, I quite enjoyed it (a quantum leap for me by comparison to the last two choices). The lead character was reassuringly stereotypical, flawed but hard bitten, his macho exterior barely concealing a soft centre and with a chivalrous concern for the women ( of the damsel in distress variety). That said, I couldn’t understand his predilection for swelling the coffers of the Catholic Church. The writing was I felt pacy and the plot reasonably engaging.

Bottom line - it was a detective story!

Have a good evening 

Steve

11/04/22 Alan The Cut Chris Brookmyre Scottish 2021

Apologies from Geoff, Jonathan, Simon, and Rob meant that there was more cheese for the remaining seven of us - thanks Alan.
We went straight in with a discussion about the rumoured new CPZ plan - 8am to 6pm, with a charge of £400 per year for a parking permit. Our Leader (Peter Purdie) advised us to ignore the flyer from A. Nonymous that has been shoved through our letterboxes.
I had been spotted loading my car for a visit to the tip. The group went into a private reverie as we remembered our favourite tip visits. I believe there was a tear in Derek's eye as he said "I went twice today". Happy times.

Alan then gave us a brief biography of Chris Brookmyre, author of The Cut. He was born in Glasgow in 1968, gained in MA in English Literature and Theatre Studies at Glasgow University, worked as a journalist with The Scotsman, Edinburgh Evening News, and Screen International. His first novel, Quite Ugly One Morning, was published in 1996, to much acclaim.  He has since published 21 further novels, a couple of e-books, and three historical novels co-written with his wife, the anaesthetist Marisa Haetzman, under the name Ambrose Parry.  He is a member of the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers, a covers band that also features Mark Billingham and Val McDermid. Between 2008 and 2015, he was the President of the Humanist Society of Scotland. A busy boy.

Jack Parlabane, an investigative journalist, features in many of his books - inspired partly by the character of Ford Prefect in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; he’s someone who goes into situations and often makes them worse. Brookmyre likes to go out walking when working on a novel, he dictates into his phone, and writes it up when he gets home.

Alan told us that he particularly liked The Cut because of the Glasgow setting, he could visualize where the action was happening.

Not all the group completed the book, Theo was distraught to find that Millie's "post sex" line that he liked was only a set up for another "post sex" line later in the book. But he was relieved to find that Jerry was not "post sex" too. We were all surprised by the sudden change in tone following the unfortunate incident with the hammer. The story suddenly accelerated into caper movie territory. We enjoyed the switches between current day and Millie's life in the movies, and the story had a satisfactory end. Criticism  centred on the quality of the writing, I found the dialogue particularly grating. Perhaps knocking out a book every nine months or so means that attention to detail is a bit lax. We thought that better editing could have helped, but with sales of more than two million copies in the UK alone, and various crime writer awards, who are we to argue.

Brookmyre belongs to  the "Tartan Noir" school of Scottish crime writers; Laidlaw by William McIlvanney (brother of Hugh) is recognised as the first Tartan Noir novel.

My proposals for next month were -
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block
Harlem Shuffle by Bob and Earl (aka Colson Whitehead)

The three postal votes cancelled each other out. Kavalier and Clay was the first faller (almost certainly because of its 600+ pages). A second round ended in a tie, so I was called upon to give the casting vote. Lawrence Block won, probably his only chance in our book group, but Colson Whitehead should get another go.

Next meeting Monday 9th May at No. 73

Nick 


-------------------------------------------------------

Good morning Alan,I hope that you’re well.   

I’ve got a very anti-social cold which started yesterday, so probably best not to join the meeting this evening. At the moment I’m testing negative, but in these times it’s best to be on the safe side.

I’ve not quite finished the book, but have really enjoyed the dark humour and various twists and turns. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a film adaptation at some point. 

Anyhow, have a great evening and look forward t o seeing you all soon.

Cheers Rob
---------------------------------------------------------
Hi Alan

I will be in the middle of a 10 day break in Suffolk when the bookgroup next gets together.  So having just finished the book here's a short review for you to share or not.

Having taken a while get into the book the plot and pace got me hooked. I took to Jerry early on but struggled with Millie in the Italian film scene. The mix of horror and heavy metal a toxic brew for me. The book's unlikely chase of the snuff VHS reminded me of the South Sea Bubble ledger pursuit in Sea Change, and a long way from Maigret. The book's strength for me was the character development and pacy plot. I was even forgiving of the unlikely triumph of underdogs vs all powerful and the deliciously syrupy Roman sex in one's 70s. Why not?

Thanks a great read.

Jonathan
----------------------------------------------------------
Hi Alan 

I still have to shield as Rosie, Alfie and Mila are living with us for the time being. I will be with you in spirit but not in body. 

I am not sure how I feel about ‘The Cut’.. I haven’t finished it yet… about 3/4 through just arrived in Milan on the way to Rome. I found the first part quite searing to read, Millicent’s bewilderment and isolation and Jerry’s cynicism, envy and self destructiveness although astutely created, made them hard to relate to. I also found the horror video references arcane and maybe self congratulatory by the author. So I struggled to get into the book.

The plot then takes fantastical turns with the two taking on Special branch, especially the Paris/ Seine incident… at this point Millicent took on the image of Ma Clampit… and ‘Trainspotting’ turned into ‘ The Beverly Hillbillies’  😀 At least it is less painful and easier to read…I think I will persevere to the end but I remain unconvinced. 

Hope it is a lively evening. In terms of Nick’s selection which I got his preview of I will forward my vote soon. 

Cheers 

Geoff

14/03/22 Derek Pietr The Latvian Georges Simenon Belgian 1930

We met at Derek’s in person despite the rising Covid cases – again four down with apologies from Steve, Dave, Simon, and Geoff - to consider / debate George Simenon’s first Maigret novel – Pietr the Latvian. 

It all started off well with talk of magicians and stagecraft including what a nice man Paul Daniels was. Briefly diverged onto the strangely named Camouflage Club (did not see that one coming) before moving full pelt into the history of Georges Simenon who, all agreed including absentees, seemed to be quite an unsavoury character. 

Born in Liege in 1903, Simenon started in the newspaper industry at 15. He was close to his father, but he died in 1922 when Simenon was only nineteen. His mother did not like him, favouring his younger brother Christian/ His indoctrination into news reporting was obtained mainly in the seedier side of Liege which might explain the source of the dark side of his characters and, indeed his own dark side. He was a prolific writer, initially under a number of pseudonyms (17 covering 358 novels and short stories) before penning under his own name for the Maigret novels (75 in all the first of which was published in 1930). 

He was married twice but never faithful. Both wives knew of his multiple infidelities but seemed powerless to stop them. 

During WW2 he did well as a German film company made films of some of his books. Consequently, he was regarded by many as a Nazi collaborator. He was under investigation post war which resulted in a 5-year ban on publishing his work. 

Despite spending most of his life outside Belgium (France, Canada, Switzerland) he received honours and recognition in the country of his birth (but then how many famous Belgians do we know). 

He died in 1989. 

In terms of our review of the book there was a distinct downbeat trend to the critique, the tone having been set by Steve’s remote review calling out the clear antisemitism shown in the characterisation stereotypes. There was also a general feeling that none of the characters were remotely likeable and little empathy could be felt for any of them. There was no detective work – it seemed to be all brute force but that might have been typical police work of the time. On the plus side, the imagery was felt to be good, and a lot had been packed into a short volume. 

Overall, a broadly negative review. 

We moved on to the books presented for the April meeting, which were:  

The Dark Remains – Ian Rankin / William McIlvanney
Station 11 – Emily St John Mandell and
The Cut – Christopher Brookmyre

 In a short and almost unanimous decision the choice for April was The Cut.

 Post review chat included a discussion on detective characters (which was the best Maigret portrayal – consensus being the original with Rupert Davies); the history of the bookclub © February 2008 and the question of any duplicate author choices; local football (not Tier 1); and John’s petanque cap.

 See you at No 59 on 11 April.

Dear Readers, 

I am not going to make it I am afraid.  I have a dry cough and as soon as I say anything I start coughing.  So boring and not conducive to a discussion group. 

I didn’t really like the book much, but I did finish it.  I found it very dated and as Steve said, his poor wife!  “Who dunnit” is not my favourite genre although I do watch some on TV.  Death in Paradise is more my level but that is mainly because Josephine Jobert  has nice tits. 

Have a great meeting and see you next time. 

Yours Simon

Derek

 

I can’t be there this evening, as Covid shows no sign of leaving my body. I’m sorry to miss the meeting as I’m sure it will be an interesting occasion with much to discuss.

 

I read the book quite quickly and was initially surprised how much I enjoyed it. It was different to what imagined it would be, not having read Simenon before. The Maigret series on TV are of course familiar. The 4 episodes with Rowan Atkinson portray quite a different character. The Rupert Davies series in the 1960s might have had character closer to that in the book, but it is a distant memory. I was sucked in to the tale, not so much by the twisting and contrived plot but by the atmosphere and the dogged and unpleasant character of Maigret. I am ashamed to say that the racial and antisemitic references sailed past me until mentioned by Steve. Immediately on reading his message I recognised what I had missed.

 

I notice that Simenon’s defenders cite the times he was in, as other famous authors were racist in their writing (eg Agatha Christie). Some enthusiasts completely ignore the issue, see the link to article by David Hare in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/25/georges-simenon-david-hare-la-main-red-stage-national-theatre-maigret . Simenon does seem to have been a deeply unpleasant man. His boast of 10000 sexual conquests also illustrates a profound misogyny.

 

His mention of racial types reminded me of the spurious scientific literature on this topic. The “father” of this literature was Linnaeus who was an 18th Century pioneering classifier. He published on different skulls from different continents and mistakenly gave them a hierarchy, with African skulls bottom. I can remember seeing diagrams of this in ancient encyclopaedias. There is an article on this I found interesting by a member of the Linnean Society in the following link https://www.linnean.org/learning/who-was-linnaeus/linnaeus-and-race .

 

Have a fun evening!

 

Dave


Hi all

Sadly, I won’t be able to make Mondays meeting. Particularly sadly as I have some trenchant remarks to make about the book.

Let me preface my remarks by readily admitting that apart from a lingering affection for Raymond Chandler and the occasional reading of a Rebus, I am no aficionado of detective writing so I guess my remarks are not informed by any familiar sense of the genre.

However, it seems to me that there almost inevitably, given the nature of the plot, has to be some suspension of disbelief. I suppose that this can be derived from the intrinsic cleverness of the plot or one’s involvement in the characters or admiration for the writing or an evocation of place or a combination of all or some of these elements. Unfortunately,personally, I found none of these qualities in the book. I found the plot, for want of a better word, just silly. I found Maigret a stolid somewhat boring character to whom I responded with a sense of sympathy for his wife - endlessly cooking him meals only for him not to appear. Sure Simenon can write but any evocation of pre war Europe passed me by.

However, all that was the least of it. There seemed to be a continual tendency in his portrayal of characters to rely on “types” eg Slavic types. I found this initially a trifle uncomfortable, a feeling that intensified when we came to his description of the Jewish girlfriend and the Jewish landlord largely referenced as it was by apparent Jewish racial characteristics. I try not to leap into indignation at the merest hint of antisemitism but for me this was altogether too explicit.

I appreciate that one can be too quick in attributing the values of a fictional character to the prejudices of the writer but for me, in the context of the rest of the book, the connection seemed somewhat obvious. Sufficiently so to, at that stage, prompt me to further explore his background. No surprise then to learn that he had earlier written antisemitic articles and was strongly suspected of Nazi collaboration. I also came across an article in the Jewish chronicle criticising Penguin for republishing his books.

I readily appreciate that one’s approach has to a degree be tempered by the undoubted fact that antisemitic feelings were prevalent at the time throughout society and the literary world was no exception. In some cases we might simply shrug our shoulders and move on particularly if the literary merits of the writing might allow such sentiments to be pushed under the carpet (T. S. Elliot?).

However for me, this was altogether too explicit especially with the Holocaust being only a few years into the future. How can one disregard a sentiment that “every race has its own smell”. It is surely inconceivable that writing of such a nature would be tolerated if written today. If there where any smells in this book, it was the aroma of prejudice.

This book was not, I am afraid, for me.

Hope there is much interesting discussion!

Steve

07/02/22 Dave Sea Change Robert Goddard English 2000

Sea Change     Robert Goddard 


We assemble at Davids a depleted crew - apologies from Nick Simon Rob and Geoff - to mull over Febs choice 

Word sent from most  of the absentees is generally favourable to the book 

David sets what he’s gleamed about the author - seems he’s a fairly private person and there’s not much info out there other than he’s written some 29 novels and has apparently won the WH Smith ‘thumping good read ‘ award - surely a prize to cherish 

David has also researched the ‘ South Sea Bubble’ scandal around which the story is placed and has dug into the life of one of the main characters the remarkable Robert Walpole 

All very interesting and relevant background to an understanding of the times in which story is set 

Thank you David 


The book is enjoyed by all it seems - it’s a rollicking good yarn spread over a very different continent to todays - full of, at least for the first half of the book,surprise twists and turns 

It’s felt that this perhaps is overdone in the second half almost to the point there’s a plot twist for the sake of plot twist a few of which are 

Some memorable characters inhabit a well written book that is perhaps just a tad too unbelievable by it’s end but good fun nonetheless 

There were echoes in the story of some recent  highly dubious COVID get rich quick schemes - money funnelled through contacts and privilege  


We chatted about the book for a good while then went on to a more general chat about corruption. sleaze,incompetence, coverups over fine cheese and biscuits 

Conversation drifted on to parking, what’s going on at the new build,the wretched postal service with special mention to Charlie, milkman deliveries and finally Jimmy Carr

At this point John delivered a very funny joke about the leaving present given to a retiring milkman  - close your eyes and you could have been listening to  Bernard Manning in the Embassy Club … and it was funnier than anything I’ve heard Jimmy Carr come up with 

Nice one John


Next months books were offered 


Saturday Night Sunday Morning Alan Sillitoe

Night and the City Gerald Kirsh

Pietr  the Latvian Georges Simenon


It was tense - it came down to a coin toss

The winner and next months book - Pietr the Latvian


All being well - we meet @ 7 PAS on Monday March 14th

Till then comrades 

Derek

10/01/22 Geoff Minty Alley C. L. R. James Trinidadian 1927-9


Hi All,


We met on Monday by Zoom to discuss Minty Alley by CLS James. Apologies were received from Geoff and Steve, while Derek would be joining us late.


We began by expressing our thoughts and sympathy for Geoff and his family following the distressing news about his granddaughter. 


We were pleased to hear that Jenny was back home with Nick and making good progress moving around the house with a walking aid.


As Geoff could not be with us to host his book choice, Nick read out brief notes he had been provided with on the life of James and on the background to the book. James (1901-1989) was born in Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago and as a child lived in a house adjacent to a cricket ground. He could watch the games from house windows and he became obsessed with cricket. He lived with his grandmother and two aunts to the age of 8 in a very religious, puritan household. They were scandalised by the behaviour of neighbours, particularly the women who were shameless, dirty, used vile language and who had questionable relationships with men. His convent educated mother had a love of literature and disliked the calypso carnival style of the Island. She introduced James to British writers such as Thackery and he became an avid reader. He was a precocious kid and successfully passed an entrance exam to senior school aged 9. The school he went to on a scholarship was Queen's Royal College (QRC), the island's oldest non-Catholic secondary school, and was likened to an English public school. There, he worked hard, reading outside the curriculum, showed great self-belief and further developed his love of cricket.


When James left school he worked as a teacher, then for newspapers. He wrote short stories about the lives of ordinary people, culled from interviews. He was particularly fond of women and their lives.


Trinidad is different to some of the other Islands in having a high content of Indian and Asian people and was socially stratified on the basis of skin colour. James left Trinidad in 1932 for the small town of Nelson in Lancashire, England, at the invitation of his friend, West Indian cricketer Learie Constantine. He became a sportswriter, writing for the then Manchester Guardian and developed a good reputation for this. He was very active politically, and on moving to London in 1933 became an active Trotskyist. He is a writer of historical/political works, one play and this single novel published in 1936. James apparently said that he was sorry he did not write more novels, but did not regret it…..!


Nick began the discussion of the book by stating that he had really enjoyed it. He later in the discussion compared it favourably with the much more well known House of Mr Biswas by VS Naipaul (published in 1961 and heavily influenced by it).

I said that I had also enjoyed it a lot, the voice of the author, the vivid characterisation and inter relationships,  together with the development of Haynes from being spoilt and naïve, to becoming the main font of wisdom in the house. I felt it was a story that was quite universal in that it could have been set almost anywhere where poverty is rife.

Jonathan also enjoyed the book. He recounted a memorable 6 week visit to Trinidad with his family, where he made lasting friendships. He spoke of the ethnic mix in the Island. This two critical comments were that the author had not brought enough of the vibrancy of the Island into the narrative and he was not convinced of the sexual relationship between Haynes and Maisie.

John enjoyed the book, particularly the male character Benoit!

Rob, though did not enjoy the book. He used a cricket analogy: he had expected a Viv Richards but got a Chris Tavare! He did not like it at all and had not finished it.

Simon also felt it incredibly dull and did not connect with it. He also did not finish it. 

Theo enjoyed it, admired all the women and had a crush on Maisie.

Alan thoroughly enjoyed the book, was able to read it very quickly, loved the characters and the way it progressed.

Nick commented that it reminded him of the George Gissing book we read (The Nether World, published 1889), also describing the poor packed together with some racial conflicts.

Derek joined us midway through and stated that he did not hate it, quite enjoyed it in fact and had finished it.

As we rounded off the discussion, there was agreement that the description of the beating of the son by the Nurse was very unpleasant.


Our thanks to Geoff for an interesting read that received a mixed reception.


The conversation moved away from the book and several films were praised, including Liquorice Pizza, West Side Story and the Power of the Dog. Simon liked The Tourist, currently showing on BBC.

Rob drew our attention to the recently completed 25 foot mural of Ledley King, that he and fellow trustees the Spurs stadium/club (?) had commissioned.

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/tottenham-ledley-king-mural-b975882.html


Nick related how occupational therapy were trying to install a grab rail in his bathroom to assist Jenny. A guy came in to do the work and noted a picture on the wall. Ah, a Miro, he said. No, a Kandinsky replied Nick. Oh yes, was the reply, I haven’t got my glasses on! In the end, he couldn’t fit the rail because the wall was non supporting and required a specialist team. On follow up, Nick was told the job had been cancelled! This triggered a delightful conversation about butterfly rawl plugs and grab rails.


I then presented my selection for next time:


1. The Promise by Damon Galgut

2. Absolute Friends by John le Carre

3. So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell

4. Sea Change by Robert Goddard


I was astounded that the Booker winner, The Promise, received no votes. I was expecting it to be chosen. A split decision between So long, See You Tomorrow and Sea Change required a mental spin of a coin from me. 

The next book we will discuss will be Sea Change by Robert Goddard. Hopefully, we can meet at 58 PAS. At the time of writing, the date has yet to be finalised, either 14th or the 7th February. Derek will offer his choices at that meeting.


Dave


 

13/12/21 Jonathan The Fortune Men Nadifa Mohamed Somili/British 2021

Fellow Readers, our PR statement,

Let us be clear! It was a Gathering at Nos.15 PAS and not a party. Nobody called Allegra was present and in general the meeting was unsympathetic to any known person with this monicker. Rather, more violent emotions surfaced as Simon wrestled with moral question as whether it is more justified to strike an individual member of the Boris entourage when they are laughing or crying?

Yes! there was wine and cheese at this gathering, rather splendid mulled wine and sumptuous array of ‘X’Mas’ cheeses, supplied by our generous host Jonathon without any questionable contribution from the public purse. Neither was social distancing observed, although a limit of 2 burly gentleman per sofa was adhered to.

Rumour has it that 10 of us were present, I will not account for individuals, but I can state categorically the Derek was not there and we have email correspondence to corroborate this. His absence was greatly missed and certainly affected the outcome of the Gathering, more of this later.

Before moving on to Jonathon’s well researched, yet scanty, account of the elusive author Nadifa Mohamed, we discussed, courtesy of ‘Have I got news for You’, somewhat gleefully, the newspaper headlines on the day of Boris and Carrie’s latest arrival.  I also took the opportunity to pass on my learning from my recent Driver re-education course, namely that I will rarely venture beyond 2nd gear while driving in London from now on. Several present at the Gathering had themselves enjoyed the opportunity for Driver re-education, I will not reveal identities, except to say that Theo in particular admitted to more than one wild moment of Toad of Toad Hall inspiration behind the wheel, suggesting that re-education tended to fade in impact for him.

Jonathon informed us that Nadifa was born in Hargeisa, Somalia in 1981 and her family moved to London, in February 1986.  They were running from political extremism and oncoming civil war, Hargeisa was ‘flattened’ by fighting two years later. They rebuilt their lives in England but her family hung on to the idea that one day they would return. She describes how as a child she tried to recreate the memories of the place and life she had left behind... She says Somali’s are a secretive people and sleuthing her interviews for details of family, proves her true to her birthplace.

I found a revealing Granta interview where she refers to a sister and brother, who were 9 and 14 respectively when they arrived in England. They ended up in a terrace house in Tooting, the house watched over by a neighbour’s cat, such was its surveillance the children imagined the cat as a Somali secret policeman. She also mentions an older brother and a raid on their home in Somalia by secret police looking for him, but I am not sure what became of him? As a small girl learning English at school she responded to bullies by ‘a stern look and drawing her finger across her throat like a blade’.  Her sense of confused belonging and identity was eased by her father’s ability to feel at home ‘’everywhere and anywhere, as a sailor he had been to more than 100 countries and had an ‘amalgam of accents’. She assimilated sufficiently to get into Oxford to study History and Politics.

‘The Fortune Men’ (her third novel, Booker shortlisted) received strong approval from all, illuminating and authentic, a compelling story, soundly researched and beautifully told, expressing a personal immersion and commitment from Nadifa. Many of us read the book without realising that it was based upon a real miscarriage of justice and the hanging of an innocent man.

The idea for the book was nurtured by her over 17years.  Nadifa has explained how the complex and contradictory character she created for Mahmood was in part drawn from her own family and community experiences, especially her father.  Her father had met Mahmood Mattan in Hull, sometime before 1952. She explained how going to Cardiff and interviewing the surviving members of the 50’s immigrant Somali community, was like rediscovering generations of her own family’s experiences, ‘stepping back in time’.  We felt that her writing created a vivid picture of Tiger Bay in the 50’s, the bustling, cheek by jowl, multi- racial community, with its own ethnic tensions and rivalries, marginalised and mythologised by more respectable Cardiff citizens and suspiciously watched over by the police

Mahmood was an exasperating character, a blend of vices and virtues, not easy to approve of but portrayed with compassion and humanity. He was a chancer, an opportunist, a petty thief forever flouting normal conventions. He was also independent and intelligent, with a strong sense of pride to nurture his self-worth and dignity. He was obstinate to a degree that was ultimately harmful to his survival.

The story of the conviction painted an all too real picture of racism and corruption, Mahmood’s belief in comparative ‘British fairness’ in matters of law, contrasted sharply with the entrenched racism and the fixing-up of the suspect through questionable evidence and unreliable witnesses by the police and the Prosecution.

Within the overall appreciation of a great read, we had small differences of opinion regards the merits of Mahmood’s back story and the ‘court transcripts’.

Moving on to the vote for the next choice, we had a three-way tie, the three candidates each had three supporters. Derek we needed you! Returning officer Alan acted swiftly, a count of second choices and in this way a winner emerged; CLR James’s ‘Minty Alley’, his only novel set in 1920’s Trinidad. Pipped at the post were Nabokov’s ‘Laughter in the Dark’ and Balchin’s ‘Darkness falls from the Air’.  Social distancing permitting our next Gathering is on Mon. Jan 10th at 69 PAS

08/11/21 Rob The Pirhanas Roberto Saviano Italian 2016

Two Roberts awaited us as we ten youngsters made our second book group trip to N17. One Rob fresh from Marseille welcomed us into his snug smart home in the shadow of his beloved WHL with fine drinks and cheese, many thanks Rob for a cracking evening.

The other Rob welcomes no one.

Robert Saviano born 1979 into a Neapolitan home of a doctor father and Jewish mother. He studied Philosophy at university and by 23 embarked on a career as a journalist. Writing for magazines and papers and particularly on the Camorra monitoring unit of the Corriere del Mezzogiorno. His first novel Gomorrah was published 4 years later and caused a storm of attention. THe book inspired a play, film and TV series and was translated into 52 languages and with widespread plaudits it named and exposed the individuals behind the Neapolitan mafia.

The Casalesi clan declared that he was to be murdered and that the gun was loaded and the assailant assigned and it was just a matter of time and opportunity.

Rob described the details of his miserable life under police protection, endlessly moving from windowless hotel rooms to barracks or police stations.

From these settings he tries to continue to write. He contributes to American, German, Spanish, Swedish and British newspapers and two further novels have followed. Zero Zero Zero 2015 examines the cocaine trade and 2016 The Piranhas.

The Book. It was agreed that Dave's contribution from holiday was a good summary of how most of us felt. Theo thought the translator failed to enrich English with an essence of the rich dialect. Most felt the book failed to develop characters and the names and monikers were confusing. Nicholas the paranza boss was the exception. The author's journalistic style was evident as the story leaped from one storyboard to the next. Many scenes were remarkable or entertaining, particularly the rooftop target practice, celebratory boat cruise and unforgettable shitty start to the book. The author provided an effective parental warning of the effects of violent gaming and films on vulnerable young minds but inadvertently glorified the exploits of racist, psychopathic and amoral young thugs mimicking their Camorra elders. There was agreement that given a better society in which to grow these youngsters may well have developed into captains of industry and enterprise.

The evening then took on one or two other issues; Global warming and our chance of survival, the birth rate, London as a centre for money laundering, the legalisation of drugs, banning alcohol, Current and past political corruption, Musk and Bezos exploits, Trump's truth and Albanian barbers and finally some football banter and PAS gossip but as it was Rob's night I will not mention that.

Next time it could have been

Plot 29 by Allan Jenkins (2 votes)

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte (3 votes) or

The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed (4 votes)

The second round of voting was confused, much to the concern of the returning officer, but The Fortune Men emerged as the candidate for 15 PAS at 8.30pm on Dec 13th.

Cheers Jonathan

The Gen-Z Mafia Boss Who Leads
His Crew from Beyond the Grave

Emanuele Sibillo was killed in an ambush aged 19, and has since become a saint-like figure throughout Naples.

 

By Enrico Nocera 28.5.21

In late April, Italian anti-mafia police arrested 21 members of the so-called “Sibillo gang”. The rising Camorra clan has been asserting its control over a number of central districts in Naples over the last decade, dealing drugs, racketeering, extorting money from shop owners and punishing those who don’t submit. The clan is called “Paranza dei bambini” (“fishing trawler of children,” which refers to a criminal group led by youngsters), or Piranhas. It was founded by “baby boss” Emanuele Sibillo, who died in an ambush by rival gangs in 2015, aged 19.
 

After his death, Sibillo became a saint-like figure throughout Naples, and tributes were made in several neighbourhoods. During the police operation in April, an altar with his ashes was found in the courtyard of his family’s home in the Forcella district of Naples.

The plasterboard bust portrayed Sibillo in his signature look – footballer haircut, long beard and dark framed glasses – which helped to popularise him among Gen Z Camorra mobsters. According to witnesses, his clan even forced local shop owners to kneel in front of the bust after paying the “pizzo” (protection money), as a sign of submission and respect.

Although very young, Sibillo’s rise through the ranks of Neapolitan organised crime was rapid. In 2011, at 15 years old he was arrested for the first time on charges of illegal possession of a firearm. He was sent to a juvenile detention centre, where he joined a journalism course and developed a passion for video reporting. 

When he was released in 2012, he immediately started to recruit youngsters like him to form a new cartel. His plan was unprecedented and ambitious: rebelling against the old Camorra clans to take over the city. In just a few years they unleashed a “trade war” and managed to wrestle control of the centre of Naples.

Sibillo and his affiliates were notorious for their aggressive drug dealing, their public displays of violence, their “stese” (Neapolitan slang for random shootouts, performed while racing through the alleyways of Naples on scooters) and their intimidating visual style, partially inspired by ISIS jihadists. 

“Sibillo did not grow his beard that way because he wanted to join ISIS,” says Marcello Ravveduto, professor at Salerno University and scholar of Camorra’s history, “but because that look inspired awe and incited violence. Sibillo knew that every community, even Camorra clans, needs an identity – something that can form around the figure of a leader.”

The myth of Sibillo was born out of his lust for power and his rebellious stance. “He is considered an innovator – someone who had the guts to go against the ‘big ones’,” says Ravveduto. 

Between 2013 and 2015, his tag, “ES17” – “ES” for Sibillo’s initials, “17” for “S”, the 17th letter of the Italian alphabet – could be seen all over the walls of Naples’ centre. The graffiti was not only a celebration of the young mafia leader and his clan, but a way to claim the territory as their own. 

While Sibillo was a rising star in the Neapolitan crime scene, he was also still just a teenager. In the 2018 documentary ES17, made by journalist Conchita Sannino and screenwriter Diana Ligorio, Mariarca Savarese – Sibillo’s partner and the mother of his two children – says, “[Emanuele] came back home at around six in the morning and went to bed. He woke up at three or four in the afternoon and then had some milk and biscuits. Once a week we also saw Gomorrah together, and then we hit the clubs.”

 

The acclaimed TV series, based on author Roberto Saviano’s non-fiction book by the same name, has been the subject of a heated debate in Italy for some time. The mayor of Naples, for example, accused the series of “corroding the brains, souls and hearts of hundreds of very young people”. Others argue that the crude, gritty depiction of the Camorra mafia simply portrays a reality experienced by many.

Sibillo himself was the main inspiration behind the character “Sangue Blu” (“Blue blood”), who made his first appearance in the third season of the show. 

In a previous interview with VICE Italy, Ligorio said that while writing and shooting the documentary, “We found out that reality goes even further than Gomorrah. I indeed had the impression that the ‘paranza’ mobsters embraced Gomorrah’s moral code and took it even further.”

According to Ligorio, Sibillo was among the first young mafiosi to use social media as a powerful propaganda tool. He and his associates boasted of their lavish lifestyle on Facebook, posting pictures of expensive clothes, cars and exclusive restaurants. 

This cultivated a larger-than-life public persona, which was crucial in sustaining Sibillo’s power, within and outside his criminal circle. Sibillo and his “paranza” were able to arrange “a network of contacts where everyone performed the same actions, strengthening their group identity and building a sense of cultural hegemony”, according to Ravveduto. By “showing all the privileges of being a Camorra mobster”, they became mafia influencers and “role models” for younger generations of mafiosi

Eventually, rival clans grew tired of Sibillo and decided to take him out. A mafia war broke out in the centre of Naples, resulting in more than 40 deaths, including Sibillo’s. In July of 2015 he joined a botched raid against the Buonerba clan; trapped in the narrow Oronzio Costa street – known as “Baghdad” or “Street of Death” – he was shot in the back multiple times. He was taken to a local hospital but died a couple of hours later. 

Until his death, Sibillo was at the forefront of a paradigm shift in the Camorra, whose structure now more closely resembles South American gangs, rather than the traditional family-based Italian mob. The bond between affiliates no longer originates from family ties – like the Sicilian Cosa Nostra or the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta – but from “the street” or the neighbourhood. It is horizontal, rather than hierarchical.

“It is no coincidence that these people basically never leave their neighbourhood,” says Ravveduto. “Their life revolves around the neighbourhood. They also use Neapolitan dialect as the main language, to affirm – once again – their shared identity.”

As a young boss abruptly killed in his prime, Sibillo achieved a form of divinity. “He is the patron of his neighbourhood,” says Ravveduto. “The very act of making people kneel before his bust is a sign that, even today, this clan needs something to identify with. Sibillo’s bust is a call to unity, in a world where violent confrontations between battling factions happen almost daily.”

11/10/21 Steve Apeirogon Colum McCann Irish 2020

Readers,

 

1. We gathered at Steve’s house, on the second Monday in October 2021, to discuss the novel Apeirogon, by Colum McCann

 

2. As I backed my VW Golf into the last vacant space in Park Avenue South, my thoughts turned to discussions on parking, and whether I missed the West side of Haringey.

 

3. There were only a couple of absentees from our meeting. Derek and Alan had posted slightly differing views on the book. For Derek it was a solid 10. For Alan the feeling was probably closer to a 6 or 7. Never a group to disappoint, the pre-chat delivered on parking, and quickly took aim at local film crews, and the old/new house opposite the fire

station.

 

4. We learnt from Steve that Colum McCann was born in Dublin in 1965. He’s a young man. He has written 7 novels and 3 collections of short stories. McCann is originally from Ireland but has been living in New York City for many years. He along with his wife, Allison moved to NYC in 1994, the live on the Upper East Side of the city with their three kids,

Isabella, Jun Mikel and Christian. In addition to his writing, McCann lectures in Hunter College in Creative Writing.

 

5. In the early 1980’s he took a bicycle across North America and then worked as a wilderness guide in a program for juvenile delinquents in Texas.

 

6. The big breakthrough book for Colum McCann was ‘Let the Great World Spin’ which was published, to worldwide acclaim, in 2009.

 

7. McCann crafts Apeirogon out of a universe of fictional and nonfictional material. He crosses centuries and continents, stitching together time, art, history, nature, and politics in a tale both heartbreaking and hopeful. Musical, cinematic, muscular, delicate, and soaring, Apeirogon is a novel for our time. But is it fiction?

 

8. An aperiogon or infinite polygon is a generalised polygon with a countably infinite number of sides. 220 & 284 are amicable numbers. Nick liked this.

 

9. The overall consensus from the group was that this was a wonderful book, which somehow managed to convey so much information, and conjure up so many vivid images. How this book had only made the longlist for the 2020 Booker prize was a mystery to most of us. I wondered whether it might have been to far from the conventional notion of a novel. McCann has maybe created his own undefinable kaleidoscopic genre.

 

8.

 

7. Among his major influences are Michael Ondaatje, John Berger, Don DeLillo, E.L Doctorow, Toni Morrison, Edna O’Brien and the Irish novelist Benedict Kiely. McCann is known a “poetic realist” and a “literary risk-taker,” a writer who is known to tackle the dark in order to get through to the light – “any sort of light, however compromised” – on the far side.

 

6. Manchego, Brie, Stilton, and many other fine cheeses were available. Shuggie Bain won the 2020 Booker prize.

 

5. The room was split probably 80/20 as to whether the book offered any hope, or joy, at all. It was perhaps felt that there was some human joy, which was illustrated by the image of Bassam & Rami asleep on a train Germany. However, the consensus was that the ‘middle east problem’ is just getting worse.

 

4. In the 1970’s, whilst sleeping on a beach, Geoff had his copy of Ulysses stolen from right under his nose. Dave has just completed Ulysses. Widening circles.

 

3. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday 8th November in the east side of Haringey. Please make sure that you have the relevant paperwork. The books that we voted on were, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Aidichie, Mayflies by Andrew O’Hagan, and The Piranhas by Roberto Saviano. The young mafia boys in Piranhas were the unanimous winners.

 

2. It was so very reassuring that the evening should end with a discussion on petrol shortages. When I got home I was also struck by how fitting it was that we discussed the book in a sitting room surrounded by so many ornithological references. Francois Mitterand would have approved.

 

1.Writing in lists isn’t as easy as it looks.

 

Many thanks Steve, and I’m looking forward to welcoming you all on the 8th.

 

Keep well.

 

Rob





13/09/21 John The Five Hallie Rubenhold English/American 2019

Some of us came prepared for a night under the stairs ( a re - creation of 19th century discomfort?) whilst others for a night under the stars ( 19th century romanticism?). As it was, those of us who trusted in typos were correct and the stars (or at least the gazebo) it was. Thankfully, the evening was mild so shivering was not on the agenda although some physical discomfort might have been in keeping with the subject matter of the book


The book was The Five the untold Lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold. In terms of her writing background, she has written both fiction and non fiction and it seems that it is this work of non fiction that has attracted most interest and indeed plaudits.


It won a prestigious non fiction prize (complete with a prize of £50.000) and attracted considerable attention when first published. The central theme is an attempt to debunk the rather sensationalist conception of the rippers victims as prostitutes and instead to present them as victims of economic and social oppression (of which male oppression was a rather prominent element).


The reception of the group to this work was perhaps rather lukewarm. Some of us did not take to it at all, others sat on the fence whilst a couple were more keen on it. On the plus side, as a piece of social history, generally most of us did find it interesting and certainly there was much scholarship to admire. Having said that, in the world of ripperology, the conclusions of the book have been criticised as being the product of selective evidence.


Leaving aside the factual accuracy, the central theme of the book - the presentation of the women as victims became somewhat repetitive. In the light of this, some of us gave up the ghost before completing all five lives. This was perhaps a shame as the consensus of those who lasted the full course was that the last life was the most engaging.


Perhaps also in an effort to construct a deeper picture of each individual life beyond the forensic account, the author indulged at various points in speculation as to that individuals feelings and motivations. Such speculation often seemed charitable to the victims and it was hard to avoid the suspicion that this was to accommodate the authors own agenda. Occasionally one felt that there was no actual basis to support the speculation and this became a slightly tiresome strain within the book.


Of course had the factual framework been used as the basis for a work of fiction then any speculation could have been legitimately absorbed within the story. Some of us felt that an opportunity had been missed in that a work of fiction might have been more engaging.


Anyway, once discussion of the book had been dispensed with, we embarked on our usual flow of consciousness discussion. Who knew about a prolific but barely edible fish - shad (thanks John) and as for the merits and limitations of a certain type of manure, the less said the better. This piece of discussion did prompt Geoff to take a trip to the bottom of the garden from which he returned muttering something about a table tennis table.


Simon (yes Simon) was the first to bring the inevitable football topic to the table, a subject that was received with a certain amount of gloom (Arsenal supporters being the more gloomy). Then more talk of global warming- more gloom.

Finally yet another plug for John’s pétanque on Monday Wednesday and Friday at 10.00. Apparently the court is no:2 (or was that the manure?).


Next in line is Apeirogon by Colin McCann. 11th October at no 54.


Steve

09/08/21 Theo The Order of the Day Eric Vuillard English/American 2019

A memorable meeting at Theo's last night. The first indoor, face to face get together in ever such a long time agreed that Theo's offering (Vuillard's L'ordre du jour) was a compelling read, and - depressingly -  of timeless relevance to the way statecraft is conducted. The translator, Mark Polizzotti, did a fine job. Was it too short? Was it non fiction? who cares....it was a work of imagination, based on a historical skeleton but fleshed out with piercing insight. At this point I discovered the cheese.

Fan bloody tastic, having been left to breathe at room temperature for some hours. By the time I'd sated my turophilia it was time for the first round of the evenings selections for future books

The three were

1 MAUS, a graphic novel (Nick's grin at this went from ear to ear)  telling the tale of a holocaust survivor and documented by his son.

2 The Five The Untold Lives of the Women Killed By Jack The Ripper. Hallie Rubenhold A brilliant and necessary book

(Winner of the BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE for Non-fiction 2019,  HAY FESTIVAL Book of the Year 2019,  Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards for History 2019)

3 The Heart of Midlothian, Sir Walter Scott. Sadly over 470 pages

A potential 4th choice -Michael Ondattje's Warlight- was , as it turned out, not needed

Just as statecraft never seems to change, so the battle for book club selection hinges on font size and the number of pages. Who, I wonder, would have picked the eventual winner, The Five, if they had realised that it was 450 densely packed pages? Presentation, like politics, is all smoke and mirrors...

Steve circulated his offerings (the second selection) for the October meeting earlier today. Please make sure that Alan has your vote ASAP.

Next meeting at no 72

12/07/21 Simon Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro Japanese/English 2021

To Southgate for a flood-delayed conversation about Sir Kazuo Ishiguro’s latest Booker contender Klara And The Sun in the lovely setting of Simon’s garden. The book tells the story of Klara, a robot or ‘AF’ (artificial friend) and her relationship with teenager Josie, her mother and Josie’s friend Rick.


As so often the reception was mixed. At one end of the spectrum Jonathan and I loved it. Having read Never let Me Go we had sampled the Nobel laureate’s remarkable talents before and were just as enamoured with this latest offering. At the other end of the scale sat Sci Fi aficionado Nick who found Ishiguro’s ideas unoriginal - he’d read it all before. When it was suggested that it was an intriguing coincidence that ‘Ishi’ should have come up with similar ideas to those of the more hardened genre writers he scoffed. More plagiarism than coincidence felt Nick.


Stephen, Derek and Geoff were unable to attend but Geoff did email his own very positive review calling Klara And The Sun a potential classic and comparing it to the best of Orwell.


Everyone agreed it was a very unusual book packed with little subplots and ideas some of which were ‘weird’ and, at times, difficult to make sense of. But it was generally accepted that the writing was of high quality. Those of us who enjoyed it found it poignant with things to say about love and humanity. Those that didn’t thought it lacked emotional impact.


Then the talk meandered off to cricket, pétanque, floods, football and flans (Simon had made us a particularly good courgette one).


There were no new book nominations to vote on because we’d already done the job over email. In two weeks time we’ll be discussing Eric Vuillard's The Order of the Day which saw off The Last Taxi Driver by Lee Durkee and The Line Of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst. Weather permitting, we’ll be in my garden at 36 PAS. Otherwise we’ll be in the front room with the beanbags. Fingers crossed!


Here’s that Adam Buxton podcast interview with Ishiguro that I mentioned. 

Thanks Simon!


https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-153-kazuo-ishiguro/id1040481893?i=1000512969961


Theo

14/06/21 Nick The Last Werewolf Glen Duncan English/American 2019

Dear Readers

What a joy it was to see all those old faces again!  Thank you Nick for hosting the first face to face meeting in your lovely summer garden, in what was it, 15months?  Oddly I felt that we had met last month as it all seemed so familiar and it was a great joy. 

Familiar too, it that the meeting was bookended with talk of football.  Well of course it was, I gather there is some important thing going on it that world. 

Nick gave us an interesting resume of the book and shared the few facts know about the author who seems to hail from the Anglo Indian community who keep themselves to themselves.  It seems that shape shifting is a well-known culture going way back to the ancient Greeks.  The book was generally well received but some felt it too visceral notably when the central character consumed his wife and unborn child by the light of the full moon.  There were certainly some aspects of the lifestyle which could be seen as attractive. Great wealth, long life, lots of sex and plenty of fine Scotch whisky.  What’s not to like?  Especially with the arrival of the love interest Talulla. 

Discussion continued with favourite TV shows, films, books and the construction of the house on the corner.  We then went into our break-out rooms, sorry I should say smaller groups, for discussions on other matters such as bats, children, grandchildren, Suffolk people and houses.

 I proposed four books, one of which we had already read.  I did read it too but missed the meeting so I was a bit out of whack on that however Klara and the Sun by  Kazuo Ishiguro was voted by a landslide as our next book.  How much of these Hills is Gold  by C Pam Zhang and We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker were turned down. 

We will meet again in the boonies on the second Monday of July which is 12th.  I hope you enjoy the book, have a good month and I look forward to seeing you all next time. 

Simon x

10/05/21 Alan Shuggie Bain Douglas Stuart Scottish/American 2020

Another day, another Zoom session, as ten of us, (Simon away with the flautists), sat alone in front of our computer screens, or lounged on our chaises longues, enjoying Bad Manners playing "Special Brew".

 

Need some more, to restore all the feeling that I get from you

I want more, give me more, all I want is a barrel of you

 

Alan recounted the upbringing that Douglas Stuart had suffered in 1980's Glasgow. His creation, Shuggie Bain, seems to be autobiographical in the extreme. The group was astonished that such a childhood could produce a man with a BA and an MA in the field of textiles and design, who could have a successful career in the New York fashion trade, and still find time to write a Booker Prize winning novel. He has acknowledged the help he got from the Scottish school system, and two teachers in particular who introduced him to the world of books - starting with Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Theo posited that there are some people who are just destined to prosper.

 

The book was unanimously admired by the group, especially for the quality of the writing, and the depiction of a (quite large) cast of characters, all easy to remember, and each distinct. Agnes holds our sympathy throughout, despite her increasingly awful behaviour.

 

Although admired, the book was not loved by all, in particular Rob and Derek, who found the poverty-porn and bleakness of the tale difficult to take. Others thought that it was a bit over-long. I think that those who stuck it out to the end became more understanding of Agnes's plight. The final scene of Shuggie watching his friend Leanne trying to help her mother, a homeless alcoholic,  showed what Shuggie was now free of, and gave a bit of hope for his future.

 

My mother became seriously alcoholic when I was in my teens, so I sympathised with Catherine and Leek's desire to escape, and not having to deal with the daily trauma. When I was at university, I remember a flat-mate answering the phone and calling out - Nick, it's your mother, drunk again.

 

An enjoyable read? Maybe, but definitely a book that we will all remember for a long time.

 

Thanks Alan.

 

The group hoped that I would have some light comedic offerings to offset the last  two books, happy to oblige! The two rejects were -

 

Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist - a vampiric love story

The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch - an urban fantasy

 

So this month's choice is The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

It has an acompanying soundtrack  by The Real Tuesday Weld. The Last Werewolf (2011, Six Degrees Records / Crammed Discs) spotify:album:6efipVI638KjgHvqMwObN5

 

No parking talk, definitely no football talk, we retired to gaze at the night sky, eagerly anticipating the next full moon, which will be a Flower Moon on the 26th May.

 

Next meeting will either be on Zoom, or, weather permitting, in my garden, on 14th June.

 

Suspension of disbelief, sometimes called willing suspension of disbelief, is the intentional avoidance of critical thinking or logic in examining something surreal, such as a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe it for the sake of enjoyment.

 

Nick

‘The bodies in the library,’ Colonel Mustard said.’ ‘Come this way’


Afternoon all 

Seems we’ve been zooming a year now - far from ideal but better than nothing

We convene over the ether to discuss David’s choice 


Snow     John Banville 


David started off with a biog of this successful Irish writer

We learnt he was born in Wexford in 1945 and has both a brother and sister who are published authors

He took on a succession of different jobs before becoming a writer 

As well as writing short stories and screenplays he also publishes crime novels under the pseudonym

of Benjamin Black. A well respected wordsmith and apparently a candidate for the Nobel - although it

seems he’s had a ‘ You’ve been framed ‘moment being told he was nominated by phone only to find it

was some sort of joke/wind up or balls up - we’re not sure which 


The book started memorably with a body of a young Priest being found in the library of a faded grand

house in Ireland. So far so Cluedo - apart from the victims meat and two veg having been severed as a

grizzly add on not found on anyway Cluedo board I’ve seen. The book seemed to be going along its

‘who dunnit’ course but slowly transforms in to something else - about the time of the rather

memorable caravan scene the narrative shifts to include larger, wider themes - guilt,abuse corruption

and the stifling omnipresent power of the Catholic Church in mid 50’s Ireland. All bathed in a chilling

combination of menace,secrets,freezing cold under a blanket of thick snow. One or two set pieces really

shone - the caravan scene and the meeting between  the detective and the Archbishop for sure but there

was plenty to keep the plot moving along very pleasingly. The book was unanimously enjoyed - the

atmosphere generated and the authors supreme skill in the writing made for a great read. One or two

found holes in the plot and some were uncomfortable with the passages re Father Toms earlier life

being dropped in mid way but generally a well received 

book 

I for one thoroughly enjoyed it - good choice David  


A general chat followed - Ireland, Catholicism , Independence, Vaccine jabs and of course  Parking 


My nominations were

Night boat to Tangier  Kevin Barry

Strangers on a Train Patricia Highsmith

It couldn’t happen here Sinclair Lewis 


It was close but the casting vote went for Strangers on a Train 


Hope you enjoy the book and look forward to hearing your views next zoom

Till then

Derek


09/04/21 Derek Strangers on a Train Patricia Highsmith American 1951

Marmite sandwiches

And it all started so well…

Positive talk of the reduced effects of the second Covid vaccine and of Simon’s post lockdown priorities (pub or book club – no choice to be made then – but why not both?) Quickly moving on from football (too depressing).

Derek provided an insight into Patricia Highsmith which helped explain a lot of her writing influences. Her mother who attempted self-abortion, her father who divorced her mother immediately after the birth. A love/hate relationship with her parents. The sense of abandonment when she was sent to live with her grandmother at age 11. Suffered at various stages from depression, anorexia, anaemia, alcoholism and cancer. Short destructive relationships throughout her life. A guaranteed petri dish for her misanthropic and hostile outlook encompassing both racist (most nationalities) and misogynistic views (but she did like cats and snails).

A sure-fire way for someone who had been reading from an early age to move into light and fluffy literature. 

She started by writing short stories and funded her writing by providing story lines for comics in the 1940s. Strangers on a Train was published in 1950 when she was 29 and became the basis for the Hitchcock film of the same name in 1951. 

She died of lung cancer in Switzerland in 1995.

And then the marmite discussion…

Many found it too dark and implausible and some of the group found it too difficult and unpleasant a read – describing it as joyless, cruel and without humour (although towards the end of the discussion there was broad agreement that the interaction between Guy and Owen was a valued humorous interlude). 

There was some feeling that Hitchcock had altered the film as he considered it would be too bleak as it stood (so his changes with Guy became a tennis coach and Guy didn’t commit the second murder).

However, the bleakness appealed to some of the group who read into this, insights into manipulation, a descent into madness and irrationality, and that this was a possible reflection of the author’s own alcohol and sexual dependencies and depressive state.

Bruno appeared at all of Guy’s positive moments to put another mood dampener in place. Although not explicitly homosexual, was there something of this in the relationship between Bruno and Guy? Other questions were raised:

Why was Gerard so hell-bent on solving the murders?
Why did Guy jump into the water to save Bruno?
Did Guy murder Bruno’s father or fail in the attempt with Bruno following up to  carry out the second murder?
Why didn’t Guy just get on with it and divorce Miriam?

In conclusion, there was a severe division of opinion, but all agreed on the bleaknessof the narrative, would watch the film again, but probably not go back to the book. Nick had read some of the author’s other work and recommended the “Ripley” series where the murders committed all have a more balanced reason behind them.

We ended with a discussion on Hitchcock themed pubs in London, the influence the carouselin the Hitchcock film has had on our lives and a studious avoidance of any football talk.

The choices for our May meeting were:

Take it Back – Kia Abdullah – a legal thriller by a London based author exploring class, gender, religion and prejudice

Shuggie Bain – Douglas Stuart – a first novel and Booker prize winner 2020 set in 1980’s Glasgow and a portrayal of addiction, courage and love  (available in paperback from 15 April)

The Testaments – Margaret Atwood – long awaited sequel to the Handmaid’s tale and join winner of the 2019 Booker prize looking at the demise of Gilead from 3 different viewpoints.

And the winner (after using the transferable voting system and a casting vote) was Shuggie Bain. 

Looking forward to a good discussion (with Glaswegian translations) on 10 May.

08/03/21 Dave Snow John Banville Irish 2020


‘The bodies in the library,’ Colonel Mustard said.’ ‘Come this way’

Afternoon all.  Seems we’ve been zooming a year now - far from ideal but better than nothing. We convene over the ether to discuss David’s choice  - Snow by John Banville 

David started off with a biog of this successful Irish writer. We learnt he was born in Wexford in 1945 and has both a brother and sister who are published authors. He took on a succession of different jobs before becoming a writer. As well as writing short stories and screenplays he also publishes crime novels under the pseudonym of Benjamin Black. A well respected wordsmith and apparently a candidate for the Nobel - although it seems he’s had a ‘ You’ve been framed ‘moment being told he was nominated by phone only to find it was some sort of joke/wind up or balls up - we’re not sure which.

The book started memorably with a body of a young Priest being found in the library of a faded grand house in Ireland. So far so Cluedo - apart from the victims meat and two veg having been severed as a grizzly add on not found on anyway Cluedo board I’ve seen. The book seemed to be going along its ‘who dunnit’ course but slowly transforms in to something else - about the time of the rather memorable caravan scene the narrative shifts to include larger, wider themes - guilt,abuse corruption and the stifling omnipresent power of the Catholic Church in mid 50’s Ireland. All bathed in a chilling combination of menace,secrets,freezing cold under a blanket of thick snow. One or two set pieces really shone - the caravan scene and the meeting between  the detective and the Archbishop for sure but there was plenty to keep the plot moving along very pleasingly. The book was unanimously enjoyed - the atmosphere generated and the authors supreme skill in the writing made for a great read. One or two found holes in the plot and some were uncomfortable with the passages re Father Toms earlier life being dropped in mid way but generally a well received book.  

I for one thoroughly enjoyed it - good choice David  

A general chat followed - Ireland, Catholicism , Independence, Vaccine jabs and of course  Parking 

My nominations were
Night boat to Tangier  Kevin Barry
Strangers on a Train Patricia Highsmith
It couldn’t happen here Sinclair Lewis 

It was close but the casting vote went for Strangers on a Train. Hope you enjoy the book and look forward to hearing your views next zoom

Till then Derek

Geoff  began our meeting on Offshore with the rather bleak personal history of Penelope Fitzgerald. Born 1916 in Lincoln into high achieving, upper class, emotionally rigid Knox family, she went to Abbey School and then did very well at Oxford (Congratulatory 1st in 1938) but gradually lost her way, not helped by a disastrous marriage to alcohol dependent Desmond Fitzgerald, who was a distinguished soldier in WW2. She lead a pretty alternative lifestyle in Hampstead, editing, teaching and writing, increasingly marred by poverty arising from dissipation of Desy. Periods of homelessness, bookshop working and life on a house boat followed as she struggled to support her three children mostly  by teaching. She launched her literary career in 1975 at the age of 58, with "scholarly, accessible biographies". It was not until a late, improbable renaissance (according to biographer Hermione Lee) that she achieved success. She achieved a lot of attention following unsuccessful nomination and then award of the Booker prize (The Bookshop then Offshore in 1979, not least because she emerged as winner only because the Panel could not agree their first choice (by giants VS Naipaul vs William Golding). Although her autobiographically based short novels, The Bookshop (set in Southwold) and Offshore are widely liked, Geoff suggested that her later, longer historical novels were more influential in establishing her reputation ( in 2008 The Times listed her among "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945". The Observer in 2012 placed her final novel, The Blue Flower, among "the ten best historical novels"). She continued teaching until her 70s. She died in 2000.

Geoff loved this book, enjoying the” diverse characters needing emotional restlessness”. He liked the sparse writing style with interesting touches such as the naming of the boats. He thought the period setting was well captured, if not a few years out of sync with the sixties.

 

I agreed with Geoff. Nick stated emphatically and very briefly that he liked the book. Rob liked it but felt it could have been twice as long, as there were many omissions. Simon was reminded of depressive, awful characters to be found on the River Lee. He found the  exception was the German boy. But despite this, he loved the book.

 

John liked it (I think),  thought it had a great sense of place, it was naturally engrossing, but it was all about flotsam and jetsam. Alan was impressed by the way all the characters supported each other.

 

Theo found it quite enjoyable soap opera. He most enjoyed the search for the husband, interestingly enough not set on the boats. He also liked some other sections, such as those with the German boy. But the book lacked emotion and emotional engagement.

 

Jonathan was interested in the autobiographical hell it portrayed. While he engaged with it, he wondered “where the real pain was”. Who was it written for?

 

Steve did not enjoy it much at all. It was a nether world of its own, twee and dated, written from an upper class perspective. He could not engage with the characters.

 

Several of us found the two kids well described and interesting. Judging the mood of the Group overall, it would not have won the Booker if we had been on the Panel………

 

I presented my 3 choices of book:

 

The Forgiven by Lawrence Osbourne

Snow by John Banville

West by Carys Davies

 

You selected Snow by John Banville. Once again I must apologise that it is not available in paperback. I did check early on and it appeared to be listed at Amazon. However, as Rob found, it was listed but unavailable for several months if you clicked through. Exactly the same error was made initially by me for the supplementary choice, The Abstainer by Ian McGuire, but when I was copying the front page I saw it was unavailable until June.

 

 Dave

We gathered on Zoom, courtesy of Nick, with Jonathon as host for the evening. All were in attendance with the exception of Simon, recovering from co-vid, look forward to seeing you next time Simon.

 

Jonathon gave us a full description of Achebe’s incident packed life and described the background to the book’s publication.  All the while though I, for one, felt Jonathon’s demeanour to be that of a losing contestant on Masterchef, as his enthusiasm for describing Yam FooFoo, Alligator pepper, Cola nut and Palm wine was eclipsed by his disappointment in not being able to serve these to us in person.

 

‘Thing Fall Apart’ is acknowledged as a seminal work presenting African life and culture in its complexity and richness, in stark contrast to the colonial perspective of writers such as Conrad. We all felt a debt of gratitude to Jonathon for enabling this selection and agreed that it deserved its high regard.  It established Achebe as the father of contemporary African literature.

 

For many of us, it broadened our awareness of African tribal culture whilst at the same time we identified parallel concerns; comparisons were drawn between African rituals surrounding the after-life and our home grown mix of pagan and religious symbolism (including the extensive use of allegory from the natural world) as well as between the African and European history of patriarchy and the common adherence to attributes of masculinity. John remarked that their civilisation was based upon a respect for the Earth, sadly lacking in our own.

 

The genius of the story is to represent the African continent at the point of transformation from encroaching Christianity and the alien power of the ‘white man’ through the personal arc of one man’s trajectory, succinctly summed up by Steve as, ‘Pride before the fall’.

 

Okonkwo’s personal story, although distinct and powerful, deploys the familiar literary trope of a self-made hero who has to overcome the handicap of a wastrel father (albeit one with endearing musical talent and a life affirming conviviality) and through hard work and perseverance goes on to become a substantial community leader. He accomplishes high status with his prowess for wrestling and his diligence in growing yams.  After an initial leg-up from a ‘wealthy benefactor’ he becomes a formidable and forbidding ‘macho’ man, harsh on his family and alert to any signs of ‘feminine weakness’ in his son. His personal chi has served him well, but the spirits or fates are soon to alter his destiny, change his life and lead to his downfall and eventual suicide.

 

Christianity is the external threat that ultimately facilitates this, alongside the perfidious Colonial administrators; a striking contrast, whilst the African spiritual leaders rule by tradition, which in many instances is brutal, they do so with honour and integrity, whereas the Colonialists say one thing and do another.

 

We wondered why the Africans were so accommodating towards the white invaders (Achebe has a character remark ‘ Never kill a man who says nothing’)  to do otherwise invites punishment from the spirits. The first missionary Mr Brown is a benevolent presence and accommodation is possible, his successor Rev. James Smith the opposite and a showdown becomes inevitable.

 

We agreed that Achebe accomplished this classic story with great style and economy. The latter quality being greatly prized by our group was evident in in our next choice, a similarly brief 180 pages of large’ish print, ‘Offshore’ by Penelope Fitzgerald, and everyday story of 60’s river folk. This defeated, over 2 rounds, the runner up ‘The Western Wind’ by Samantha Harvey and ‘Restoration’ by Rose Tremain. We meet on Zoom once more on 8thFeb. at 8.30pm, courtesy of Nick.

09/12/20 Rob  Your House Will Pay Steph Cha American 2019

Geoff  began our meeting on Offshore with the rather bleak personal history of Penelope Fitzgerald. Born 1916 in Lincoln into high achieving, upper class, emotionally rigid Knox family, she went to Abbey School and then did very well at Oxford (Congratulatory 1st in 1938) but gradually lost her way, not helped by a disastrous marriage to alcohol dependent Desmond Fitzgerald, who was a distinguished soldier in WW2. She lead a pretty alternative lifestyle in Hampstead, editing, teaching and writing, increasingly marred by poverty arising from dissipation of Desy. Periods of homelessness, bookshop working and life on a house boat followed as she struggled to support her three children mostly  by teaching. She launched her literary career in 1975 at the age of 58, with "scholarly, accessible biographies". It was not until a late, improbable renaissance (according to biographer Hermione Lee) that she achieved success. She achieved a lot of attention following unsuccessful nomination and then award of the Booker prize (The Bookshop then Offshore in 1979, not least because she emerged as winner only because the Panel could not agree their first choice (by giants VS Naipaul vs William Golding). Although her autobiographically based short novels, The Bookshop (set in Southwold) and Offshore are widely liked, Geoff suggested that her later, longer historical novels were more influential in establishing her reputation ( in 2008 The Times listed her among "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945". The Observer in 2012 placed her final novel, The Blue Flower, among "the ten best historical novels"). She continued teaching until her 70s. She died in 2000.


Geoff loved this book, enjoying the” diverse characters needing emotional restlessness”. He liked the sparse writing style with interesting touches such as the naming of the boats. He thought the period setting was well captured, if not a few years out of sync with the sixties.

 

I agreed with Geoff. Nick stated emphatically and very briefly that he liked the book. Rob liked it but felt it could have been twice as long, as there were many omissions. Simon was reminded of depressive, awful characters to be found on the River Lee. He found the  exception was the German boy. But despite this, he loved the book.

 

John liked it (I think),  thought it had a great sense of place, it was naturally engrossing, but it was all about flotsam and jetsam. Alan was impressed by the way all the characters supported each other.

 

Theo found it quite enjoyable soap opera. He most enjoyed the search for the husband, interestingly enough not set on the boats. He also liked some other sections, such as those with the German boy. But the book lacked emotion and emotional engagement.

 

Jonathan was interested in the autobiographical hell it portrayed. While he engaged with it, he wondered “where the real pain was”. Who was it written for?

 

Steve did not enjoy it much at all. It was a nether world of its own, twee and dated, written from an upper class perspective. He could not engage with the characters.

 

Several of us found the two kids well described and interesting. Judging the mood of the Group overall, it would not have won the Booker if we had been on the Panel………

 

I presented my 3 choices of book:

 

The Forgiven by Lawrence Osbourne

Snow by John Banville

West by Carys Davies

 

You selected Snow by John Banville. Once again I must apologise that it is not available in paperback. I did check early on and it appeared to be listed at Amazon. However, as Rob found, it was listed but unavailable for several months if you clicked through. Exactly the same error was made initially by me for the supplementary choice, The Abstainer by Ian McGuire, but when I was copying the front page I saw it was unavailable until June.

 

 Dave

09/11/20 Steve  A Thousand Ships Natalie Haynes English 2019

Book group on a Tuesday?  At least I’m pretty sure that it was a Tuesday?


Welcome to 'new normal’.


My Zoom screen on gallery view, with a 3 X 3 grid, resembled a very surreal edition of Celebrity Squares, minus Bob Monkhouse. Also absent were Simon, (congratulations again) and Nick who would join us later, after his latest heroic bridge battle.


The young, and slightly less young ‘gods’, met once again, to discuss the latest offering. Steve had presented us with ‘A Thousand Ships’ by the (wonderful) Natalie Haynes. It quickly became apparent that Steve is quite a fan of this multi talented writer, broadcaster, classicist, and comedian. We discovered many facts about her glittering professional career, but not too much about her personal life. Maybe something to do with your firewall settings

Steve? For the record she’s 46, and married to the actor Dan Mersh. She’s also on Twitter as @officialnhaynes, and has her very own website, with lots of links to her previous work at www.nataliehaynes.com


And so to the book…On the whole ‘A Thousand Ships' was well received. It seemed to be that the majority felt the re-telling of the story of the Trojan War from the perspective of Helen, and other female characters, was an interesting viewpoint. A viewpoint that really did shed new light on to these tales. Some of us, myself included, felt slightly hampered by having a very basic prior knowledge of the Classics. I really enjoyed the vivid second

chapter, Creusa, but quickly got the feeling that the book seemed to be just a collection of short stories, linked together by Troy.  Somehow this wasn’t enough of a narrative for me, and the perspectives were sometimes

too brief for me to get a real feel of the characters behind them. That said, it was a book that many enjoyed, and I’m sure that some of our readers would definitely go to war for the (wonderful) Ms. Haynes.


In time the conversation turned to Achilles, Radio 4, Donald Trump, Nero (the emperor, not the caff), Bill Clinton, gun laws, Stephen Fry, fire-pits, building works, Jehovah, vaccines, and many, many other Echoes


Next month we are meeting, most likely virtually, on Monday the 14th December to discuss:


Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha (320 pages Published 2020) 


The other choices were:

Waterline by Ross Raisin (272 pages Published 2011)

City of Thieves by David Benioff (400 pages Published 2009)


Stay well, and hope to (literally) see you all soon


Rob x

12/10/20 John  The Three Body Problem   Liu Cixin   Chinese 2015

Courtesy of Zoom, we met on the 12th October to discuss the above book - a Chinese ci fi book by an author who certainly in China and indeed internationally is apparently well regarded. The only non attendees were Simon and Rob and the book prompted a lively if somewhat one sided response. If nothing else, the book was ambitious in its scope covering (and this list is not necessarily comprehensive):


1. The oppression of the scientific intelligentsia during the cultural revolution

2. The eventual rehabilitation of such of the scientists who  survived albeit suffering the emotional scars of their experiences

3. A game playing exercise involving the destruction and subsequent regeneration of extra terrestrial civilisations many times over millions of years.

4. An attempt to problem solve the chaotic effect of the seemingly random movement of three suns (the three bodies).

5. The dissatisfaction with contemporary society predominantly due to environmental issues.

6. A view of quantum physics that enabled the oh so clever extra terrestrials  to produce a super proton.


This list is not altogether exhaustive but gives an indication of the range of issues featuring in the book. Unfortunately, the overwhelming problem was not with the three bodies described in the book but with the human bodies that had to read or attempt to read this book! There was a strong consensus that this book was a turkey (sorry, Xmas in mind).


This view was not altogether unanimous. In the sci fi corner, Nick gave it somelukewarm response but the opposing corner was heavily crowded with “rejectionists”. Dave, Theo and Derek couldn’t come even close to finishing it and I ploughed on to the bitter end out of a sense of duty (perhaps also out of a sense of contrition for failing to present on the previous occasion). No punches were pulled by Derek who described it as one of the worst books he had ever read (luckily Derek was not a member when a previous Chinese offering was savaged by the group). Nick made a fair point by suggesting that the writing style had a certain Chinese flavouring that was not perhaps suited for the western palate but even allowing for this, the feeling was that this did not excuse the disjointed and rambling narrative. Jonathan suggested a need for some savage editing but when you have a book where the narrative and characters do not engage, there is not much left of value. Finally, I feel that Rob should be made to give a 5 minute discourse on the book at the next meeting having voted for it and despite suffering from voting remorse being unable to attend the meeting. Penance is required!


We finished with some social chit chat regarding members of the street. The unfortunate individual photographed as being a suspicious character was revealed as a neighbour of Jonathan’s and very nice. Jeff’s next door neighbour despite having a Range Rover and a Porsche and being a property developer and being a Jehovah’s Witness was revealed as being very nice. This led Theo to disclose his Jehovah Witness credentials- his brother in law is one. Of course the main difference between a Jehovah’s Witness and Theo is that Theo believes that the Messiah is with us right now under the name of Gareth Bale.

 

The choice of books for the next meeting were between:

Mrs Osmond by John Banville

Nickel boys by Colson Whitehead

A thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

A Thousand Ships was the winner perhaps somewhat surprisingly pipping the Nikel Boys.

We will have the chance to reveal our feminist sympathies at the next meeting

on the 9th November.

Don’t know who is next up for presenting. Consult the website!


Steve

14/09/20 Theo  The Last Picture Show Larry McMurtry American 1966

Apologies from Derek and Jonathan.

 

Unanimous enjoyment, spending most of the evening discussing the accuracy of Larry's portrayal of women.  Getting under Ruth's skin - every bit as much as Sonny was on top of  her skin - showed an insight that Alan felt was lacking in the portrayal of Jacy.  Lost and unable to conform to small town mores, Alan nonetheless managed to enjoy the rest of the novel. (Sorry Alan!)  The book was received well for the hauntingly authentic evocation of the hopeless, fin de siecle small town Thalia. The quality of the writing made the book of the "unputdownable " variety

 

The film on the other hand was excoriated....

 

Steve was due to present book choices but was caught unawares....."I'm in Southwold and all my books are at home..." We must assume that the books in Park Avenue South included his diary ! He will present at our October  meeting.

 

John gave us


A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole)

The Break (Marian Keyes)

The Three Body Problem (Cixin Liu)


This last book was chosen after a (not very tense but unusually tight) first round of voting. Running against "The Break" Cixin Liu romped home the winner. The first in a trilogy, unashamedly Science Fiction, and detailing Earth's response to a profound external threat, I advise you to write names down as you come across them with a brief CV for each...

10/08/20 Simon  A Place Called Winter Patrick Gale English 2015

We met once again in a virtual sense though the miracle of zoom. It was a full house but for Derek who sent apologies. I think I may be able to claim a new record for furthest away participant at a PAS Book Group meeting, speaking to you as I did from a dowdy B&B on the Isle of Wight with only a bottle of Jamesons for in-room company.

 

We discussed ‘A Place Called Winter’ by Patrick Gale, a prison officer’s son and former Winchester School chorister who now lives with his husband in Cornwall. The book tells an early 20th Century tale of a disgraced homosexual who is forced to give up a comfortable bourgeoise existence in England for the hard life of a pioneering farmer in the Canadian wilds.

 

Some misgivings were expressed but it was largely considered a good read thanks to its compelling, pacy plot. The main character, intriguingly named Harry Cane, wasn’t entirely convincing to everyone given his apparently seamless transition from a man who’d never done a day’s work in his life to a ditch-digging dynamo that could run farms single-handedly.

 

It was generally agreed that the book’s most compelling character was its villain, the charismatic, predatory bisexual Troels Munck. Less impressive was Harry’s prairie beau Paul who Steve, for one, considered wanting in depth and plausibility.

 

The book’s main plot was suspended occasionally in order to visit Harry in a kind of experimental asylum where we learned a bit more about his psyche. This device was not unanimously liked.

 

Modern themes such as homophobic discrimination and persecution, racism and abortion set the book apart from contemporaneous sagas written in past times.

 

New titles presented for consideration were Tom Wolfe’s ‘Bonfire of The Vanities’,

Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s ‘Fleishman Is In Trouble’

Larry McMurtry’s ‘The Last Picture Show’ which emerged triumphant without the need for a second vote.

 

We floated the idea of staging the next meeting for real in my garden, weather permitting, and agreed to come to a decision nearer the time taking into consideration the Covid state of play.

 

However we do it, I look forward to seeing you all on September 14.

13/07/20 Nick  Galactic Pot Healer Philip K Dick American 1969

Dear Readers

 

Sorry for the late summing up.  Fitting a kitchen last week, exhausting.  Weekend relaxing. 

 

I was really hoping that this last meeting would have been our last on Zoom but alas it seems we will be meeting virtually again next time.  I am comforted by the thought that “this too will pass” but sadly, not yet.

 

Nicks choice of book “Galactic Pot Healer” by Philip K Dick had a bit of a mixed response from dislike to mild amusement.  It was felt to be a bit like a comic and did have some funny parts.  Messages in toilets, how weird is that?  Maybe a 50/50 split.  I just thought it was rubbish.  However Nicks intro revealed an interesting but deeply troubled author verging on psychosis in his later years before dying of a stroke.  He must have had quite a large following to have written 121 short stories and 44 books.  I think his biography would have made an interesting read, more so than the book.  With the arrival of artificial intelligence we may find that his take on the nature of reality is closer than ours, now there is a thought!

 

I thought I was presenting a selection of interesting books to get your teeth into but was instead deafened by howls of protest of the “not a novel” variety.  I don’t actually read many novels so it was a bit of a last minute task to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat but, by complicated voting, which I don’t understand, (thank you Alan) you chose “A place called Winter” by Patrick Gale, which is a novel.

 

I do get that it would be a different and possibly less safe type of discussion if we were to go down the non-fiction route as Steve pointed out so I am happy that this has been made clear.  We have read many novels over the years which I have very much enjoyed so I will read a few more and hopefully avoid a similar debacle next year.

 

Have a lovely month guys, I hope you enjoy the book and I look forward to another head a shoulders encounter on the 10th August, second Monday right?  I guess Nick, you will be host and send out the appropriate email to herald the event?

 

Yours Simon

08/06/20 Alan  A Journal of the Plague Year   Daniel Defoe   English 1722

Firstly, thank you Zoom for another glitch free meeting.

 

A good turnout for the evening, sorry you couldn't make it Dave, we wish you well.

 

The Zoom format doesn't lend itself to idle chit-chat, so we were straight in to Alan's résumé of the life of Jermain, sorry, Daniel Defoe.

 

Daniel Foe was born in London in 1660, and died aged 71. His first novel, Robinson Crusoe was published when he was 59. Prior to that he had been a business man (going  bankrupt and spending time in a debtor's prison), and a religous and political pamphleteer. His non-conformist views led to him being pilloried and sent to Newgate prison. He was released from prison in a deal that allowed him to promote the Act of Union, and he was a spy for the Tories, having been accepted into the Church of Scotland as an English non-conformist.

 

Defoe published hundreds of pamphlets/journals/books, often under a pseudonym, before writing his first novel. It is said that Robinson Crusoe is second only to the bible in the number of translated editions. As with many of his novels, it was presented as a true story, written by the protaganist.

 

Journal of the Plague Year was another apparently true story, written by "HF". Defoe had an uncle (Henry Foe) who was a saddler and lived in Whitechapel, so he may have been a source for the tale. There has been much argument over the veracity of the events, the statistics of deaths are from parish records, and the measures taken by the government, church, and mayors are correct, but the characters stories are imaginary.

 

Opening the discussion to the group led to a broad consensus that we were glad to have read the book, but wouldn't want to read another like it. The main criticism was of repetition, and that the nature of a journal means that we are not following a particular character through the story. What is obvious is how our current pandemic has been dealt with in such a similar way to the 1665 plague, self isolation, social distancing, quarantines, travel restrictions, conspiracy theories, and concerns about a "second spike". But no overnight trips to Durham during the Plague. We were concerned about how Watchmen and Nurses had to endure proximity to Plague victims.

 

We enjoyed the details about specific streets and taverns, and especially the section about Tom, John and Thomas as they tried to escape the plague by travelling north through Hackney, Hornsey and Epping.

 

We moved straight on to next month's selection. I offered -

 

New Hope for the Dead by Charles Willeford

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

Galactic Pot Healer by Philip K Dick

 

I was surprised that the excellent Wonder Boys got a solitary vote, and even more surprised that Philip K Dick triumphed, even though it may have been purely on page count.

 

Enjoy the wonderful world of Dick, which is safe if used as directed.

 

There is a 1994 Arena documentary about PKD on YouTube, with a guest appearance by Elvis Costello.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cK2MPgAHRk

 

Nick

11/05/20 Derek  Ragtime    E L Doctorow    American 1975

Gentlemen – a good evening and discussion – summary below.

 

The book group convened again last night, reliant on Nick’s video conferencing arrangements, our manly technological expertise (thank you Fiona) and the power of Wi-Fi for the second month in a row. Minus Dave and Rob but still a lively bunch.

 

After the initial warm-up: Derek’s art collection gaining the best of background award; Theo’s interesting account of Lloyd Cole’s contribution to his podcast series; and Steve’s running skills (so Bolt-like he was renamed for the duration of the meeting) …we moved on to the discussion of the month’s selection – Ragtime, written by E L Doctorow.

 

Derek provided the background. He was born in January 1931 in the Bronx of Russian Jewish extraction. Writing was his ambition from an early age. After the draft in 1954/5 he returned from W Germany and started work in New York as a reader in the motion picture industry, most of the movies being Westerns. His first book, published in 1960, was a ‘brutal’ atypical Western novel.

 

 As a book editor he worked with Ian Fleming among others but left publishing to write full time and was visiting writer at various universities. Ragtime was published in 1975.

 

He died in 2015 (age 84) of lung cancer having smoked all his life.

 

Ragtime was universally acclaimed by the group. Comments included that it was beautifully written and structured; it hasn’t dated and the addition of real historical characters to the plot added to the narrative (Was Houdini a metaphor? Was he striving for the American dream but never achieving it to his satisfaction? Did J P Morgan really spend the night in a pyramid?). Women were generally perceived to be the stronger characters and the book ‘moved up a gear’ with the discovery of the baby and the subsequent events leading to the destructive escalation of events following the wrecking of the Model T.  

 

No-one was sure who the ‘narrator’ was or why the family were never named but this didn’t detract from the storyline.

 

We concluded noting that it had been made into both a film and a Broadway musical and then went on to discuss all manner of strange libido inspired mishaps. Men in wardrobes, climbing out of windows, naked running past a bus in Blackpool and naked sleepwalking. Clearly getting late and the drink was kicking in.

 

Before we totally ran out of steam the books were presented for reading for next month’s discussion:

 

Something Happened – Joseph Heller

Fallen Angel – Chris Brookmyre

A Journal of the Plague Year – Daniel Defoe

 

Theo kindly handled the voting process in a very laid-back manner. A close call between something happening and the plague but on Steve’s abandonment of the fallen angel the selection was A Journal of the Plague Year.

 

If our connections hold up until then our next Zoom meeting will be on Monday 8 June.

Look forward to seeing you all then.

Stay safe and well

 

Alan

14/04/20 Geoff  The Shepherd's Hut Tim Winton   Australian 2018

Greetings

 

Apologies for the delayed write up. As Simon said earlier an interesting meeting.

 

Thanks to Nicks efforts we convened via the wonders of Zoom wizardry.

 

Great to see that both Steve and Jonathan have recovered from their bouts of the dreaded virus - look after yourselves fellas.

 

Geoff filled us in with background on author Tim Winton - a man who has written 29 novels - 29! This seemed to be one of the book choices  enjoyed by all - everyone seemed to feel the characters and storyline worked well although they’re were one or two who wondered why Jaxie felt he had to leave town immediately when he hadn’t done anything and also, at the books climax, why he chose to do nothing when Fintan was being tortured. The almost Biblical nature of the story was discussed and it was felt Winton brought great sense of place to the Western Australian badlands.

 

A very atmospheric novel enjoyed by all - great choice Geoff

 

We more or less moved straight on to the draw for next months reading .  offered up

Absolute Beginners - Colin MacInnes

One flew over the Cuckoos Nest - Ken Kesey

Ragtime - EL Doctorow

 

Well - it was settled with one round of votes - the majority plumped for Ragtime

 

Certainly not as much fun or as comfortable as meeting up in the same room it was still better than not meeting at all. I hope you’ll all be at no 7 for our next soiree - I fear we will be sitting isolated discussing Ragtime and wondering still when life will get back to some sort of normality

 

Till then - look after yourselves

Best

Derek

09/03/20 Jonathan  The Tottenham Outrage M H Baylis     English 2014

Hi All

We have all become familiar with the Tottenham Outrage in recent weeks. I refer not to Jose, but to historic antecedents of misfortune and self -destruction, the 1909 anarchist gunfight and the Hasisidic ‘terrorist’ killings, chronicled by MH Bayliss. A full squad of 11 readers, all fit and eager, ‘turned up’ on the night and put on a display of finely honed skills of discussing, reminiscing and drinking. Jonathan’s game plan unfolded as a thing of beauty and  involved a ‘second to none’ cheese board.

 

Jonathan had sleuthed the bio details, although these are scant. Born in Nottingham in 1971, MH Bayliss (Matt) grew up in Southport. He was educated at Merchant Taylors’ School, Crosby, and Trinity College, Cambridge.  Matt has written a trilogy of Rex Tracey, Haringey-set crime thrillers, ‘Tottenham Outrage’ 2014  was his fourth novel, and the second in the series. Although the stories centre around the East of the borough he lives in Highgate. He is married to ‘the beautiful Emma’ (dedication in Tottenham Outrage) and they have one son who attends a local junior school where he is an involved parent (book group comment).

 

Matt works hard to make a living out of writing. As a journalist he has written for a number of newspapers, including the Guardian, Telegraph, Sunday Times, and the Mail. He writes a daily TV review column in the Daily Express. As a screen writer, he has worked on 'EastEnders', and been jointly involved in creating TV soap series as well as Romantic and Thriller films in Kenya and Cambodia. He says he has a lot in common with his fictional hero, Rex Tracey, we hoped this didn’t include an addiction to codeine and cheap Polish lager.

 

Most of us enjoyed the read and were engrossed in the many strands of the plot as the mystery deepened. The familiarity with the geography added to the engagement. Few of us had any insight into the Hasidic communities of Stamford Hill and admired the blend of fact and fiction that Bayliss weaved in his portrayal of this. Jonathan revealed that the Duckovchiner sect was an invention. We felt Bayliss captured authenticity in his observations of street scenes of Wood Green, with the Turkish and Muslim communities, his knowledge of local pubs and of the struggles to make local newspaper profitable. It was a good paced read with many humorous passages. The past anarchist chapters were successfully interweaved.  Rex Tracey was a vivid character who could easily translate from page to screen and this was also so for many of the characters representing the newspaper,

the police, the shopkeepers and the Jewish leaders.  Dave remarked that there were also astute authorial comments popping-up to give you pause for thought.

 

There was some dissent from this warm glow, mainly from myself and Rob. We were less taken with the ‘who dunnit genre’ and more critical of plot contrivances and ‘red herrings inevitably thrown in.

 

The conversation spring-boarded into a discussion of all things Hasidic as we shared our experiences and prejudices. We lamented the aggressive piloting of Volvo’s in local roads, the brand of choice because it featured no parts from Germany. We puzzled over practices such as ‘eruv’, the simple act of roping a discreet area which gives licence to orthodox Jews to ignore the strictures of the Sabbath and party like gentiles. Apparently within Hasidi gatherings much singing, dancing and drinking does take place, at least amongst the men. Steve revealed that he had been subjected to recruitment entreatments when he lived in the Suburb, on one occasion his neighbour serenading him with a ram’s horn, and on another a mobile unit appeared in the street inviting potential recruits into the wagons and plying them with whisky. Steve escaped the Suburb with no apparent harm.

 

The conversation moved seamlessly on to discuss Jehova’s and Jumpers, with Theo featuring principally in both, respectively, his Brother-in law’s abrupt conversion after 30 years of marital pressure and his sartorial style of holes in each armpit of his jumper, a grunge style most of us

couldn’t carry-off. We ended with a nicely rounded return to the theme of personal threat as John announced a council suggestion to shift Priory road parking into PAS !!

 

We were relieved that Alan had returned to fulfil duties of Chief Returning Officer, but this time the count was straightforward; Tim Winton’s  ‘The Shepherd’s Hut’ the clear winner. The also ran’s were Simon Mawer ‘Prague Spring’ and Kamila Shamsie ‘Home Fire’.

 

The next date has been subject to great uncertainty as we manoeuvred to avoid a Bank holiday and a potential football fixture.  I can now announce that we will follow the principle of avoiding Easter Monday and meet on Tuesday 14th April, with apologies to any who can’t make it.

 

Look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at 69 PAS. 


10/02/20 Rob  The Nether World George Gissing     English 1889

To be fair, let me share some of the pain.

 

Chapter one...after Clem had knocked Jane about and then eaten her sausages: I read...

 

‘Her fitness turned into possibly less sound than it regarded to be; one could have as compared to her, not now to some piece of exuberant ordinary flora, however instead to a rank, evilly smelling boom.’

 

But most of you read....‘Her health was probably less sound than it seemed to be; one would have compared her, not to some piece of exuberant normal vegetation, but rather to a rank, evilly-fostered growth.

 

I could go on...but shrugging that off...it was fine evening to be had at Rob’s new nest in Tottenham. A smart cottage down All Hallows Lane just where the beloved Hotspurs all began.

 

Rob introduced us to George Gissings,( 1857-1903) a Victorian novelist who packed a lot into his 46yrs. Born in Yorkshire eldest of five he schooled in Wakefield and Alderley Edge, a bright student he excelled and won a scholarship to the forerunner of Manchester University. Further academic prizes followed but his academic career ended in disgrace as he was found guilty of stealing from fellow students. His defence was that he needed to support a young prostitute and keep her off the streets. A month’s hard labour and a year in the USA followed. Returning home he self published his first novel and married Nell the prostitute. Married life was plagued by poverty and Nell’s alcoholism. During the 9 years of their marriage he wrote 4 novels and 11 short stories funded largely by teaching. 3 years after Nell died he married Edith another working class woman and together they had 2 children. The marriage was unhappy, they separated after 6 years.  A relationship with a young French woman developed during his separation from Edith and they moved to France, eventually Edith was committed to an asylum. Gissings died (probably of TB) near Biarritz attended by his friend H.G.Wells. He left 23 novels and 12 collections of short stories to his name.

 

Rob's research let him to suspect much of this history is suspect and Gissings may well have been privately funded.

 

Briefly moving to the book, (having put my detailed notes in the recycling). It was generally well received. Everyone enjoying the sense of place, his well drawn characters and a capacity to involve the reader in the realities of the lives of the Victorian nether world underclass. Arguments centred on his capacity to complete a linear story line. Some character led blind alleys seemed underdeveloped whilst others overblown. Motives in

relationships, the relentless poverty, the temptation of inheritance and the lack of a happy ending exercised some of us.

 

The power of the book was best shown by the passionate discussion that followed. The similar suffering of the underclass today, the state of housing and the lack of compassion in the ruling class. Rob reminded us of his 30 years studio work in Gissing’s described neighbourhood and others knew it well. We moved on to PAS building news, property prices and films watched.

 

Three Books were offered for our 9th March meeting at No 15. Alan back on duty but deprived of much fun as the voting was straightforward...

 

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 2 votes

The Tottenham Outrage by MH Baylis 5 votes

I Capture The Castle by Dodi Smith 2 votes

 

Many thanks to Rob for lavish victuals and beverages and our very best wishes to his new venture.

 

Cheers Jonathan

13/01/20 John Reading Allowed    Chris Paling       English 2017

Good morning all

 

On the evening of Monday 13th January 2020 we met, in hushed silence, at No.72 to discuss ‘Reading Allowed: True Stories & Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library’ by Chris Paling.

 

There were 3 absentees, Alan, who was on (another?) holiday. Theo, who was busy interviewing Clive Allen. And Steve, who was involved in a crucial, bridge (too far) match.

 

We learnt that Mr Paling was born in Derby in 1956, studied social sciences at the University of Sussex, and started working as a studio manager for BBC radio in 1981. He now lives in Brighton, is married with 2 kids, and works at the local communal library.

 

The book had come to John’s notice via the Radio 4 programme ‘A Good Read’, where the panel liked the whimsical nature of the opening chapter, and the distinctly political direction of travel in subsequent chapters.

 

I think that it would be fair to say that Theo summed up the general consensus perfectly in his email: 'I thought it was largely unremarkable, but enjoyable enough. It read like a feature from the weekend Guardian’. Others found it unreadable, although they were re-assured that the book had improved after page 80. A long, lively debate ensued as John was asked why he had picked this book. The honest answer was that he had wanted us to pick ‘Wilding’ by Isabella Tree, which is surely another example of how relying on tactical voting, or voters intelligence, is mis-placed faith.

 

There followed a nice reminiscence session on libraries, how we had all used them as kids, and whether they have become another out-dated institution viewed through rose tinted virtual reality headsets.

 

The first proper mention of parking was at 21:51

 

Many thanks to John for a hospitable evening, with much fine cheese, laughter, and lots of wine, beer & mocktails.

 

The next meeting is on Monday February 10th, with a trip to the east of the borough.

 

My 3 (novel) proposals were:

 

The House on the Strand: Daphne du Maurier

Nobber: Oisin Fagan

The Nether World: George Gissing

 

After a North Korean voting process, conducted by Geoff, which would have made Alan’s hair and toes curl, the eventual winner was The Nether World.

 

I look forward to seeing you all in February.

 

Cheers,  Rob (112 Church Road, N17 8AJ)

09/12/19 Steve Three Women    Lisa Taddeo        American 2019

Good morning all

 

On the evening of Monday 13th January 2020 we met, in hushed silence, at No.72 to discuss ‘Reading Allowed: True Stories & Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library’ by Chris Paling.

 

There were 3 absentees, Alan, who was on (another?) holiday. Theo, who was busy interviewing Clive Allen. And Steve, who was involved in a crucial, bridge (too far) match.

 

We learnt that Mr Paling was born in Derby in 1956, studied social sciences at the University of Sussex, and started working as a studio manager for BBC radio in 1981. He now lives in Brighton, is married with 2 kids, and works at the local communal library.

 

The book had come to John’s notice via the Radio 4 programme ‘A Good Read’, where the panel liked the whimsical nature of the opening chapter, and the distinctly political direction of travel in subsequent chapters.

 

I think that it would be fair to say that Theo summed up the general consensus perfectly in his email: 'I thought it was largely unremarkable, but enjoyable enough. It read like a feature from the weekend Guardian’. Others found it unreadable, although they were re-assured that the book had improved after page 80. A long, lively debate ensued as John was asked why he had picked this book. The honest answer was that he had wanted us to pick ‘Wilding’ by Isabella Tree, which is surely another example of how relying on tactical voting, or voters intelligence, is mis-placed faith.

 

There followed a nice reminiscence session on libraries, how we had all used them as kids, and whether they have become another out-dated institution viewed through rose tinted virtual reality headsets.

 

The first proper mention of parking was at 21:51

 

Many thanks to John for a hospitable evening, with much fine cheese, laughter, and lots of wine, beer & mocktails.

 

The next meeting is on Monday February 10th, with a trip to the east of the borough.

 

My 3 (novel) proposals were:

 

The House on the Strand: Daphne du Maurier

Nobber: Oisin Fagan

The Nether World: George Gissing

 

After a North Korean voting process, conducted by Geoff, which would have made Alan’s hair and toes curl, the eventual winner was The Nether World.

 

I look forward to seeing you all in February.

 

Cheers,  Rob (112 Church Road, N17 8AJ)

11/11/19 Theo My Sister, The Serial Killer     Oyinkan Braithwaite      Nigerian 2018

Good morning all

 

On the evening of Monday 13th January 2020 we met, in hushed silence, at No.72 to discuss ‘Reading Allowed: True Stories & Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library’ by Chris Paling.

 

There were 3 absentees, Alan, who was on (another?) holiday. Theo, who was busy interviewing Clive Allen. And Steve, who was involved in a crucial, bridge (too far) match.

 

We learnt that Mr Paling was born in Derby in 1956, studied social sciences at the University of Sussex, and started working as a studio manager for BBC radio in 1981. He now lives in Brighton, is married with 2 kids, and works at the local communal library.

 

The book had come to John’s notice via the Radio 4 programme ‘A Good Read’, where the panel liked the whimsical nature of the opening chapter, and the distinctly political direction of travel in subsequent chapters.

 

I think that it would be fair to say that Theo summed up the general consensus perfectly in his email: 'I thought it was largely unremarkable, but enjoyable enough. It read like a feature from the weekend Guardian’. Others found it unreadable, although they were re-assured that the book had improved after page 80. A long, lively debate ensued as John was asked why he had picked this book. The honest answer was that he had wanted us to pick ‘Wilding’ by Isabella Tree, which is surely another example of how relying on tactical voting, or voters intelligence, is mis-placed faith.

 

There followed a nice reminiscence session on libraries, how we had all used them as kids, and whether they have become another out-dated institution viewed through rose tinted virtual reality headsets.

 

The first proper mention of parking was at 21:51

 

Many thanks to John for a hospitable evening, with much fine cheese, laughter, and lots of wine, beer & mocktails.

 

The next meeting is on Monday February 10th, with a trip to the east of the borough.

 

My 3 (novel) proposals were:

 

The House on the Strand: Daphne du Maurier

Nobber: Oisin Fagan

The Nether World: George Gissing

 

After a North Korean voting process, conducted by Geoff, which would have made Alan’s hair and toes curl, the eventual winner was The Nether World.

 

I look forward to seeing you all in February.

 

Cheers,  Rob (112 Church Road, N17 8AJ)

14/10/19 Simon On The Beach      Nevil Shute        English 1957

Gentlemen,

 

A full turn out, apart from Alan, made the annual pilgrimage to Southgate for a highly convivial meeting chez Simon.

 

We discussed Nevil Shute’s ‘On The Beach’, another dystopian-future tale of sorts, albeit written in 1959 and set in 1963 (the year, of course, that in actuality Tottenham Hotspur became the first British side to win a European trophy).

 

Essentially it is the story of people waiting for the toxic fall out from a northern hemisphere nuclear war to  kill them in Australia.

 

Among the characters were a rather racy tart-with-a-heart type, a stoic American submarine captain and a nice Aussie couple with a little baby. All of them remained unhysterical as their doom loomed ever larger and some of our group found their collective imperturbability a bit wanting on the drama front. Overall the book got the full range of reviews from the effusive (Jonathan) to the dismissive (Rob).

 

Dave said he’d accidentally re-read Shute’s other big hit ‘A Town Called Alice’ and thought it a superior work. We also learned that ‘On The Beach’ was made into a film with the intriguing cast of Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire.

 

The conversation then meandered in all sorts of directions including the actual, imminent demise of the planet. The crazy traffic experiment being carried out in down town Crouch End  also came up as did the mystery of the phantom tyre slasher/poison pen letter writer. Are they one in the same?

 

Then we voted on a new book to read. The candidates were ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ by Celeste Ng (nil points), ‘The Wall’ by John Lanchester (trois points) and the winner ‘My Sister The Serial Killer’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite (six points).

 

So we will re convene at 36 PAS on November 11 to discuss, consume and imbibe. I look forward to welcoming you all then.

 

Theo

PS Thanks Dave and Jonathan for Driving.

 

PPS On the way back in the car my new podcast came up. You can find it here.

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/life-goals-with-theo-delaney/id1478646530 and most other podcast places.

14/10/19 Simon World Without Fish   Mark Kurlanksy        American 2011

09/09/19 Dave Love is Blind       William Boyd      Scottish 2018

Dear Readers,

A fine and jolly evening last night to discuss the book Love is Blind.  But first in at the deep end with a discussion about DNA prompted by a book which has captivated David – Who we are and where we came from by David Reich.  DNA buried in sediments around the world has left fascinating markers of our history and our spread from our early beginnings in the African savannah.  The question is does the 2% of Neanderthal DNA equip us to run sprints in 16 seconds when we reach 80 years old, I think not!

 

On to the book Love is Blind by William Boyd.  An extraordinarily prolific writer who spends two years researching a book before spending a further year writing it.  This did come across in the detail which was appreciated by all indeed the book was very well received, Theo seemed particularly taken with it.  I think many felt that the Andaman island end was a bit weird and rather unnecessary but there were also questions left unanswered – did Malachi die rescuing Likas hat or did she push him off the bridge, perhaps she wanted a change.  Is Lika able of love at all or is she just a tease and a chancer and devoid of real commitment.  Maybe Brodie, clearly a master of his trade, is just besotted by a thing he can’t truly have.  Is John Kilbarron a junkie?  Then there is Malachi, a minder or something more? 

 

This master story teller conjured up vivid pictures of the places he described,  St Petersburgh was a particular favourite.  The book went down very well and was thoughtfully discussed.  Followed by some football chat which, truth be told, I zoned out of.  Something about Scotland and England, I am sure it was important!

 

Talking of balls, I did throw a curved one in that I suggested, no insisted that we read a compulsory book, together with the usual choice from three.  This idea, to our credit was accepted and we will read A World Without Fish – by Mark Kulansky.  It is a short book actually written for children, which I have only just realised, but it is important stuff and I am pleased we will all be reading it together with our usual choice.

 

For our next read I proposed A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale, On The Beach by Neville Shute and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely  Fine by Gail Honeyman.  Of the three On The Beach has been chosen after a casting vote from Derek.

 

 I look forward to seeing you all on your annual pilgrimage to the outer suburbs on 14th October.  There is just one more thing - What is an aeroplane blond?  The answer is of course a lady who has dyed her hair blond but still has a black box.  It is so sexist I am embarrassed to write it down but it was very funny, thank you Nick.  For goodness sake don’t show this to our wives, there will be hell to pay.  It goes without saying that this is not our usual level!

 

Lastly, many thanks Dave for your hospitality, rather lovely smoked Salmon blinis with Vodka shots and much more besides.

 

Yours Simon

 

From Jonathan -

 

As I mentioned I am still in Suffolk and will toast you with a glass of Adnams at 8.30pm.

 

I have mixed feelings about the book so hope that my ambivalence, if shared by others, means you have a feisty evening.

 

The story rattled along with well drawn characters but as the title suggested he really was blind. My beef was that the ending seemed rushed and was packed with interesting and but less developed characters who I preferred to the unpleasant bunch of chain smoking narcissists in the preceding pages.

 

Have fun Jonathan

12/08/19 Nick All The Tea In China       Kyril Bonfiglioli      English 1978

Dear Readers

 

A depleted Book Group met at Nick's to consider All the Tea in China by Cyril (Kyril) Emmanuel George Bonfiglioli (29 May 1928-3 March 1985).

 

Nick provided us with a biography of this little known author. He was born in Eastbourne to an English mother and Italo-Slovene father (Emmanuel Bonfiglioli). An awful, influential event when aged 14, adversely affected his self-worth: during a German bombing raid his mother called for him to join her and his brother Chris in a shelter. He decided to stay outside to watch. A bomb fell on the shelter, killing them. His father said "if only it hadn’t been Chris"........ .

He joined the army in 1947, married and had two children, his wife dying during the second birth.

In 1954, he left the army and obtained a scholarship to study English at Balliol. A second wife provided 3 more children and he stayed in Oxford for 15 years. After working at the Ashmolean, he started an art dealership (Bonfiglioli Ltd) and scraped a living, not assisted by an increasing dissolute life.

In 1969 he abandoned Oxford and moved to Lancashire with Judith Todd, a former employee. He wrote his first Charlie Mortdecai novel "Don’t point that thing at me". Two more novels in the series followed, as well as All the Tea in China.

 

The Mortdecai books have been cult rather than commercial successes; they have attracted praise (including Fry/Laurie) for their satire, black humour and amusing and sharp snobbery. Nick liked the first two. Kyril died a pauper of Cirrhosis in 1985.

 

Nick found some funny quotes of his, including

 

 - The cold pork in the fridge was wilting at the edges; it and I exchanged looks of mutual contempt, like two women wearing the same hat in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot.

 

-You can't run a fine arts business these days without a thug and Jock is the best in the trade.

 

-Marrying a girl before you are established is like swimming the channel with a concrete block tied to your left testicle.

 

 Finally, Nick provided us with background on the inspiration for our book. The tale is based on the art dealing family, Duveen (Du Vesne), and Karli was drawn from Joseph Joel Duveen, born in the Netherlands 1843. He moved to England in 1866 and the family became very rick. So much so, he funded the Turner Wing at the Tate. He died Baron Duveen of Millbank in 1939.

 

Thanks to Nick for this interesting background.

 

What did we think of the book? We definitely agreed with Jonathan ( ...great romp away from our favoured dystopian staples. On a rare occasion the pages failed to turn at speed when life on board sagged or we were in the middle of another gargantuan meal. For the most part it was magnificent. ) and with Simon ("I won’t be able to make the next meeting I am afraid, which is a shame as I was looking forward to the certain Opium smoking, whoring and a feast of small animals in pastry. Not so much the coffee enema though. I thought the book was fantastic. I think I was born 150 years too late").

 

Indeed, we all purred with delight at the fun of Karli's riproaring journey. Some found it slow to get started but then when it got going, found it surprisingly inventive and increasingly funny, Pythonesque even. There were the detailed descriptions of life on board, the constant jokes at the English and Dutch, and the knowledge of the different Jewish traditions, expertise in porcelain which all gave it apparent authenticity. But the sheer pace of the tale, hilarious and inventive plot turns, constant feasting, the Doctor, the descriptions of Boers, slave ships, pirates, mutineers, brutality and particularly the depiction of whores in every port, held us captive. The delightful Blanche ( "get ready in 41/2 minutes!") has given a benchmark for the future treatment of our womenfolk (ahem!).........

 

The unexpected magnificence of the ending left some craving the next volume..... When pressed by Nick, even Rob said he had enjoyed the tale! Nick introduced us to the joys of feasting on game, with delicious pies, hand crafted ...... somewhere.... and purchased from Fortnum and Mason. Some muttered out loud whether this treat was an ominous escalation of catering needed by Book Group hosts!

 

Rob recounted his recent ship bound experience, a short Mediterranean cruise with a Norwegian ship line that specialises in pop/rock bands ( their names escape me, but were familiar to Theo and Alan) performing for much of the trip. His discounted ticket, supplemented by a generous daily drinks budget (£56??) meant a fun time at sea.

 

Talk drifted to street parking (yes, again) and Brexit (more of which below), before settling on the usual, that other team from North London!

 

And then, there was talk of an unusual or weird game – Kabbadi played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of a court, tag out as many of their defenders as possible, and return to their own half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders, and in a single breath. Points are scored for each player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider. Players are taken out of the game if they are tagged or tackled, but are brought back in for each point scored by their team from a tag or tackle.  Ice hockey (now played in the ice rink of the Palace!) and men's Netball, of all things.

 

The talk of Brexit reminded me to present my choices for the next meeting:

1. Middle England by Jonathon Coe, a gentle satire centred on the Brexit years, with members of the Rotter's club back again.

2. Love is blind by William Boyd, a Scottish piano tuner's journey across Europe and beyond at the end of the 1900's.

3. Firefly by Henry Porter, a John Buchanesque race to find a 13 year old Syrian asylum seeker before his is killed by ISIS.

 

Firefly was rejected in the first round voting and then, (surprisingly) the Brexit-based Middle England was eliminated. That left Love is Blind by William Boyd as the choice for the next meeting on Monday 9th September at 58 PAS.

 

It remains for me to thank Nick for an excellent book choice, the delicious pies and another great evening!

08/07/19 Alan Macbeth         Jo Nesbo       Norwegian 2018

We learnt a lot about Jo Nesbo last night. Alan treated us to a sickeningly long list of his achievements, footballer, soldier, musician, stockbroker, best selling author, philanthropist. He played professional football until damaging his knee ligaments, dashing his main ambition in life, which was to play for Spurs

He started his writing career when someone suggested he should pen an account of being a touring musician. Instead he wrote his first Harry Hole novel (12th novel due this month, over 30 million sold).

The Hogarth Press was founded by Virginia and Leonard Woolf in 1917 (first year profit £13 8s 8d). Now owned by Penguin/Random House, in 2012 it commissioned a series of novels based on Shakespeare plays. Seven have been published, a version of Hamlet by Gillian Flynn is due in 2021.

 

There was a general positive reception to Jo's go at Macbeth. We enjoyed working out how the various plot elements were to squeezed into the story. The supernatural elements were replaced with the highly addictive Brew (soon to be subject to a sin tax), and Birnam Wood became Bertha the tank engine. We thought the action scenes were particularly good, especially the battle with the Norse Riders and the car chases. Some of us questioned the wisdom of changing the medium of the tale from stage to written word. A book can include character analyses and back-stories that are not available in a visual production, where you just watch the story unfold. Setting the action in 1970s Scotland worked well, a bleak time when Irn-Bru was the drug of choice.

 

Jonathan admitted to having seen the play 14 times, starting with Nicol Williamson in 1974. His favourite was Ian McKellen and Judy Dench. Steve and I recalled an outdoor production on motorcycles in Polish, staged in a car park behind the National Theatre, neither of us was impressed. John  recommended the Kurosawa movie "Throne of Blood".


Alan set a new standard for refreshments - "these are some cheeses I made myself". Don't expect the same from me, but we were promised a selection of home made breads from Simon.

 

We avoided the B word, but couldn't resist a dig at VAR; Simon, John and Geoff were on the verge of proposing a book group choir, Steve would be exempt from this. There was a brief discussion about the Keto Diet (how to build the prefect body), and John made the best joke of the evening -

 

Arnold Schoenberg walks into a bar - "I'll have a gin please, but no tonic".

 

On a scale of 1 to 12, how funny is that?

 

A simple vote saw All The Tea In China by Kyril Bonfiglioli being next month's choice, receiving 5 votes.

 

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones got 3 votes, and Rumblefish by S E Hinton received a solitary vote from Rob

 

Next meeting 12th August at 73. September will be Dave.


Hi Alan

 

I am going to arrive later this eve most likely 9.15’ish. We are celebrating my daughter Rosie’s 32nd birthday with the ol’ folks.

About Macbeth for me the original still has it over the Norwegian. Even as the milk of human kindness flows through my veins, the provincial drug wars lack the resonance of the fight for ingship. For me the predestiny didn’t trigger the bloodshed with the same fatal inevitability There’s a sentence for you 🤔🤔😪Looking forward to catching up later

Geoff

 

Sorry, but we will be in France, on the way to Spain.

I enjoyed it overall, but found myself bemused at times by the suspension of belief needed.

I think you should have fun in the discussions on how successful he managed to adapt the story.

 

Dave

10/06/19 Derek Lean On Pete         Willy Vlautin        American 2016

Gentlemen

Sorry I haven’t sent this out as quickly as I intended – retirement hasn’t quite happened at 59 PAS yet!

 

This month we met at Derek’s to discuss our views on Willy Vlautin’s ‘road trip’ novel, ‘Lean on Pete’. However we had an opening conversation dominated by the eminently filmographic tale of Rob and Theo’s epic adventure - ‘From Stansted to Seville’. Of epic proportions and a monumental balancing act between frustration and amusement, it had:

 

Delays

Misinformation

Airport wave-throughs

Time lags on ‘live’ streamed TV coverage and

Benny Hillesque bus drivers

Thank goodness it wasn’t Baku!

 

No-one actually mentioned the result of either North London football club and I was personally disappointed that we didn’t discuss the magnificent achievement of Kilmarnock FC qualifying for European football for the first time since 2001.

 

Detour over we moved on to more serious matters - the book. Derek’s background research showed the author was also a musician with a reasonably well known rock band. He had also produced a spoken word comedy CD. He had taken on various menial jobs to support his musical and writing career much to the chagrin of his mother. There was no mention anywhere of his father or his thoughts on his son’s career path.

 

This was his 3rd novel. His first had been well received and his 2nd (with accompanying soundtrack CD) was critically acclaimed. From interview reports and for those who had seen him perform with his band it appeared he was an all-round ‘nice guy’.

 

The film of the book was appraised as ‘faithful to the book’.

 

The overall opinion of the book was that it was a good read, although rather bleak in content. The ending was to most a welcome relief from the apparently unending descent of the principal protagonist, Charley, into the depths of American society. Comparisons with Steinbeck were made and we digressed briefly into the number of recent choices where we had ‘road trips’ or journeys as the main theme. The tone was noted as very disciplined although there was a view that the 15 year old voice was annoying.

 

It was interesting that Pete was viewed as a friend and not as subservient to Charley and that on the ‘escape’ he was never ridden.

 

Apart from a few exceptions the characters along the way were gritty and stumbling blocks to achieving the good ending but all providing an insight into the dregs of American society, how survival is achieved and the failure to provide a ‘safety net’ to those least fortunate.

 

Once we had exhausted our discussion of the book we moved on to book choices for the next meeting. The following were offered  -

 

Jo Nesbo – ‘Macbeth’

Nick Clark Windo – ‘The Feed’

Jim Crace – ‘The Melody’


To avoid undue influence in the selection process, the voting process was passed to John who conducted it in his own inimitable style. It was a close run race with only Nick’s move away from the dystopian future of ‘The Feed’ breaking the deadlock between ‘Macbeth’ and ‘The Melody’. The final choice being Jo Nesbo’s ‘Macbeth’ by 5 votes to 4.

 

Voting over, conversation wound on its whimsical way covering, inter alia:

 

Stanley Kubrick’s involvement in Jonathan and Jenny’s partnership

John’s inspection of Watford FC’s football stadium

How the Pennines used to be at the South Pole

Referenda v dictatorship

The Tory Boris-ship contest

Seeing Rod Stewart’s current tour for £2

Eventually exhausted by the diversity of the subject matter we all stumbled home (apart from Derek) after a fine night.

 

Many thanks to Derek for his excellent hosting, great cheeses and his book choice.

 

See you all on 8 July at 59 PAS

 

 Alan

13/05/19 Geoff The Mandibles          Lionel Shriver         American 2016

Good morning. Apologies for the delay in getting this out

 

So we met at Geoffs to discuss The Mandibles by Lionel Shriver

 

Geoff had researched and gave a resume of her life and career - an interesting woman, bit of a globetrotter - obviously had great success with 'We need to talk about Kevin'

 

Seemed we all enjoyed the book - although there were parts that caused a few murmurs - the handing over of their home without much of a fight - unless you call being pricked with asparagus prongs a fight being one

 

Other parts seemed a bit tacked on - the discovery of the rich folks underground sanctum for example

 

It was mentioned that it might have been interesting to explore the time the family shared at the Citadel or indeed how they managed to get there

 

The book deals with lots of different issues - societal breakdown, famine, a global realignment of wealth and loss of all that's precious - weighty stuff - plenty to talk about - it was felt that the book being set in the near future seemed to make the story and characters more relevant. Interesting that ultimately the family saviour was the irrepressible writer Nollie along with the gold of course

 

Generally though - a fine choice and a good read

 

Aside from literary matter subjects  ranged from a very successful week for North London football teams - and who can begrudge that - to the idea we might form a male voice choir as the street seems to have a rich musical heritage - seems a shame not to contribute

 

Other matters discussed were the end of the world as well as a mention of the end of Danny Bakers world

 

We feasted on Geoff's nibbles, giant blueberries and cheese - a fine spread

 

I offered up

'The Things they Carried'  Tim O'Brien

'The Lonely Londoners'  Sam Selvon

'Lean on Pete'   Willy Vlautin

 

Tim O'Brien was first to go - then a tie with the casting vote going in favour of 'Lean on Pete'  Willy Vlautin being the book we will discuss at the next meet at 7PAS

08/04/19 Jonathan Felicia's Journey          WilliamTrevor          Irish 1994

A straggle of book groupers convened at Jonathon’s, fewer than usual but not less (you had to be there to get this reference). The genteel attractions of Suffolk had snared Derek, Theo and Steve while the impressive Simon sent apologies from Costa Rica. The remaining seven (magnificent in our way) were enthusiasts for the monthly Gathering; converts to the cause of literature maybe but none among us could hold a candle to the zealous piety of the fictional Miss Calligary.

 

The evening commenced with celebrating the opening of the new White Hart Lane Stadium, it’s expansive concourses, variety of eating opportunities, unique beer dispensing machinery. There was a keen anticipation of the forthcoming duels with Man City, although certain members of the group adopted a customary pessimism at this point. Such a lack of faith would have met with consternation from the aforementioned Miss Calligary. (I wrote this before the heroic 1-0 first leg, undoubtedly Hugo LLoris has been Calligarised)

 

 Jonathon gave us the low down on William Trevor. He grew up in Southern Ireland, the son of a Protestant family and took a history degree at Trinity, Dublin. After graduating he worked as a sculptor, then at the age of 24 yrs he married Jane Ryan. Soon after the couple made their way across to England, at first to the East Midlands, (Felicia’s journey) They started a family, moved to Devon and stayed. The Irish writer adopted England as his home although he returned frequently for holidays. He died at the age of 88 years in 2016.  His work was widely praised by fellow writers (Hilary Mantel, John Banville among them). He is held to be the wizard of the short story. He received many awards throughout his career, ‘Felicia’s Journey’ (he was 66yrs when it was first published) won the Whitbread award, an award he was to win on two more occasions and he was nominated five times for the Booker.

 

 To a man, both present and absent, we voiced unqualified admiration for the craft of William Trevor, the subtlety of his storytelling, the vividness of his characters, the laid back, economical style of his sentences yet the density of information conveyed. A master at work. Jonathon observed how the authors voice is dispassionate, surveying the protagonists from an overarching, detached perspective. We noted that the mundane and the menacing accompany each other, whilst horror is inferred violence is never enacted, our imaginations tautly manipulated. We were eerily fascinated by Mr Hilditch, a genial, well-mannered stanchion of middle England, respected by his colleagues, proud of his elevation to Catering manager, seemingly harmless and likeable. The only visible sign of his disturbance his gluttony and his food choices, the Fray Bentos pies, the sliced liver, the custard creams, so 60’s. Yet, he is a dangerous fantasist, a serial predator with a roll-call of female victims, which we concluded he had murdered (seems this may have included his mother?) The relief for us all when we realised that Felicia had escaped, in the fog.

 

Miss Calligary, another fascinating creation, the inadvertent interrogator, creating a wedge of insecurity and guilt, tilting Hilditch to his eventual demise. We also collectively breathed a sigh of relief that Felicia had avoided the fate of being her sidekick.

 

Given the choices, life on the streets had it upside and perhaps the freedom was a price worth paying for Felicia, compared to the suffocation and opprobrium that would await her back home.

 

The conversation drifted along.  Apparently, Trevor said this was a novel about ‘happiness’? Could this be what he meant? Jonathon intimated some deeper interpretations, Hilditch as England, Felicia as Ireland? Was it a coincidence that Thatcher hailed from the East Midlands?

 

We moved on from the Roberts family saga, taking in local theatre venues, racism in football as the tip of an iceberg of increasing racism in our society and gossip about neighbours’ intentions to move.

 

The moment of decision for the next book arrived, Alan primed his pencil, with only 6 votes tension was high. After the first round, ‘The Fall’ by Simon Mawer (a cross-generation mix of mountaineering and twisted relationships, a good read) fell by the wayside.

 

Round Two was between ‘The Mandibles’ by Lionel Shriver (a dystopian speculative imagining of a mid 21stcentury, bankrupt USA) and ‘Three Loves, One death’ by Evald Flisar (an ‘absurdist’ and very funny account of a family of eccentrics relocating in the Slovenian countryside). The scoring led to a 3-3  impasse.  After deliberation, hesitation and some small regret the casting vote was for ‘The ‘Mandibles’ by Lionel Shriver, a book that will suit the post-Brexit zeitgeist and scare the **** out of us.

 

It remains just to thank Jonathon for an inspiring evening, and for his great choice in books and cheeses

 

A word of warning, have at your elbow an FT guide to financial instruments and draw up a family tree as you progress through the book. With these caveats, I look forward to hearing about it at 69 PAS on Monday 13th May.

 

Geoff

11/03/19 John Under The Skin           Michael Faber           Dutch 2000

John thoughtfully moved us upstairs nearer the oxygen to tell us about Michael Faber. Born in The Hague the family headed for Australia when he was 7yrs old. Educated in Melbourne schools and then university he studied Dutch Philosophy Rhetoric and English. Graduating in 1980 and moving to Sydney he worked cleaning and then nursing for ten years.

 

By then on his second marriage in 1993 he and his wife emigrated to Scotland. He had always written since he was 14 but Under The Skin was his first novel. As with his previous short stories this brought widespread acclaim and he found himself claimed by Dutch Australian and Scots literary circles. Urged by his publishers to take up British citizenship for Booker Prize eligibility, he declined wanting no association with British political exploits in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

So to the meat of the evening...The majority (just) admired much of the writing and his capacity to takes us with him on this unlikely journey. We rooted for Isserly and her thrupenny bits as she suffered physically and emotionally bringing choice cuts of 'voedsel' (that's food in Dutch). What fun! The arrival of the rich hairy chested Amlis Vess, his release of 4 month-lings, Isserly's rape and the excruciating witnessing of castration and tongue surgery reminded us of the authors efforts to make the reader more aware of factory farming, animal cruelty and sexual politics. So, if able to suspend disbelief, a good read but one of the worst and the most premature of ejaculatory endings.

 

Gratefully it was not to everyone's taste. A explosion of disagreement; the ridiculous childish plot, the unnoticed alien space vehicles, unlikely subterranean engineering and all confirmation of why Sci-fi is rubbish. Some found the book unsettling, making the reader complicit  leaving a nasty taste in the mouth, better avoided.

 

As always we free associated... to hitchhiking and slaughter house memories, Scots unemployment and menfolk, Jonathan Glazer's film and Michael Jackson's documentary, Smokey Robinson and R Kelly, Palestinians in the street and plot sale and the parking and Gareth and Grenfell and Brexit and U3A and Geology and Crown Bowls and Chess and Petanque  and Highgate ponds and St Albans area and even a group outing. ENOUGH

 

Sustained by John's hospitality, fine cheese and beverages and big olives we were offered

 

1. Felicia's Journey- William Trevor

2. Everything Under-Daisy Johnson

3. Elmet- Fiona Mozley

 

After two rounds of voting No 1 was chosen. Next Meeting 8th April 8.30 No 15

 

Apologies for Simon, and from John -

Soz, Waitrose were right out of Vodissin.....some problem in the supply chain

11/02/19 Rob Vernon Subutex 1 Virginie Despentes        French 2015

Thank you Rob for a splendid evening, cheese well up to spec, top grapes and a very comfortable venue. Vernon Subutex One by Virginie Depentes was the  subject of the evening. After learning that Virginie decamped from Nancy to Lyon where she worked as a maid, a prostitute in massage parlours and peep shows, as a sales clerk in a record store, a freelance rock journalist and a pornographic film critic it was clear that the novel was based on hard experience. Moving to Paris in 2000 she directed her first film “Baise-moi”.  Her CV is crammed with Documentaries, song writing, directing and writing, including Vernon Subutex One which was written in 2015.

It was translated and published in the UK  in 2017. One of the first comments of the evening was in praise of the translation. In a book peppered with buzzwords relating to a French subculture it came through the

translation process  in what appeared (to us Crouch Enders of a certain age) to be absolutely authentic prose.

As is quite frequently the case the book was not universally lauded. There were five of us who had varying reservations but on the other hand Steve in particular was very enthusiastic in his praise. Most agreed that Virginie’s great  ability to describe the inner thought processes cast a stimulating and sometimes humorous light on the darker corners of the human condition. The confessional session between Vernon and Patrice was a great piece of writing. The book had great authenticity and even a Spotify playlist and I think in the end a large majority were glad to have read it.


A great discussion then, which led, via the normal pathways of Parking, Football, murders in the neighbourhood and addresses of local drug barons, to choosing the next book

 

The books suggested were - 

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton,

White Tears by Hari Kunzru and

Under The Skin by Michel Faber. 

The voting may, just may, have been influenced by Scarlett Johanssen starring in the film adaptation of the eventual winner.

After the first round of voting (Seven Deaths  1, Under The Skin 5, White Tears 4) Seven Deaths

was eliminated and Under The Skin emerged victorious.

 

See you next time at No72!

 

John

14/01/19 Steve A Horse Walks Into a Bar David Grossman Israeli 2014

Dear reader,

 

There was hardly an empty seat in the house at No.54, as the expectant audience quietened down to listen to the words of Steve M. We were brought together to discuss ‘A Horse Walks Into A Bar’ by David Grossman, translated from the Hebrew original by Jessica Cohen.

 

We were told the one about the ‘reading child', growing up in Jerusalem, who was obsessed with the stories of Sholem Aleichem, still considered by many to be one of the greatest writers in Yiddish. Indeed, at the age of 9, Grossman entered, and won a national competition based on the works of Sholem Aleichem, which then led to him becoming a child actor on national radio. He continued to work for Israel Broadcasting for nearly 25 years.

 

For those who want to know more about his thoughts, a long interview with Nicole Krauss. Not sure if this is the Berkeley interview that Steve was talking about, but it’s very informative.

 

I think that it’s safe to say that 'A Horse Walks Into A Bar’ was universally ‘enjoyed’ by the group. Some found it almost too excruciating in parts, and therefore had to be read in smaller chunks, but there was always a desire for more. Dave, quite rightly felt that it was technically brilliant, to be able to interweave so many stories and characters, and to maintain the pace throughout a relatively short work. Theo has by now, of course, secured the film rights, and optioned Michael Keaton for the role of Dovaleh G. I wonder who he’ll get to play the judge?

 

During a lively evening the set flowed this way, and that. We covered topics as diverse as ‘the death of democracy’, Laurel & Hardy, Roma, Irish passports, Polish passports, the Favourite, Woody Allen punchlines, Bagels, dodgy accents from Sherlock, Pinter, The French, Manhunt, the ‘C’ word, the ‘Y’ word, and of course that dreaded ‘B’ word…In fact, one of the few things that we didn’t get to talk about was futurology, which makes me wonder whether it’s a thing of the past? I’m here all week…

 

Many thanks Steve for an excellent evening, great bagels, and a fantastic book recommendation.

 

The 3 books looking for a majority vote were:

 

Tin Man by Sarah Winman

This Is Memorial Device by David Keenan:

Vernon Subutex 1 by Virginie Despentes

 

So we will meet next, on February 11th, at No.67 to discuss the filthy French Vernon Subutex.

 

Cheers all,

 

Rob


10/12/18 Theo Conversations with Friends   Sally Rooney   Irish 2017

Nearly a full house at Theos to discuss Conversations with friends. Just Geoff missing and who needs Geoff in person when we can have the benefit of his written thoughts (PhD paper?).

 

What with the perfectly formed Xmas tree in the corner and the dwarf father Xmas as we entered, there was a festive spirit in the air reflected in the jollity of the discussion with only a passing reference to the brexit gloom.

 

Opinion was nicely divided on the book. The Steve and Dave camp with albeit measured observations from Rob (the book providing more interest in its latter stages) found the characters lacking in interest. As against this,Nick and  Jonathan in particular found Frances both interesting and believable as a character lacking in self confidence and identity and as a consequence unable to relate to and accurately interpret situations around her. Whilst for Steve and Dave, the writing appeared flat others found the writing style to be powerful. Theo quoted critical heavyweight Adam Mar Jones as testimony to the critical acclaim the book has attracted and made the comparison both as to style and content with Catcher in the Rye.

There was some intrigue as to the autobiographical comparisons between the brilliant Frances and the undoubted precocious literary talent of the author (a European student champion debater as well!).

 

On balance, probably more positive responses to the book than negative.

 

The extensive cheese buffet provided by Theo served as a backdrop to the usual esoteric topics for subsequent discussion, featuring of course football (the spurs fans not as vocal as usual, or was this my imagination!), magicians, the Ally Pally theatre and on a more serious note, crime in the street. On this latter issue, John was very concerned  to make it clear that the flashy  BMW parked outside his house was not his (keys not to be found in his house).The meeting was however pleased to record the exponential growth in membership of the futurology group.

 

The group resisted the temptation a la our PM to delay the momentous vote as to next months book choosing  A horse walks into a bar by David Grossman in preference to Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie and A death in the family by Knausgaard. Could this be another Marmite choice (sorry, can’t resist it).

 

Finally, the prize for physical dexterity goes to Rob for his balletic escape from the clutches of the bean bag.

Next meeting at no 54 on the 14th January. Hope to see everyone plus partners at the book swap next Monday.

 

Hi Theo  and fellow readers

 

 Sorry I can’t make it this eve. as I have a clash, tickets for a Maz O’ Connor concert. I was encouraged by Nick to send reflections to everybody so here they are.

 

I really enjoyed reading the book despite some initial consternation. The style of writing took a little getting used to because it was so matter-of-fact, prosaic, yet the simplicity gave it authenticity. Mixed with this however was some striking observations and for me some impactful imagery and metaphors; the shoe/face in the fire, the river Liffy irritated, the cool breath of the wind on her arm etc

 

Also, at first, I felt discomfort… reading a young woman’s first-person account like discovering a diary. At the same time, I was fascinated by the characters of the girls and the insight into a young woman’s life and perspective (despite the patriarchy accusation against the male sex) Frances, cool, intelligent, yet lacking in self- confidence and prone to self-harm, overly sensitive to how others see her.

 

I’m a bit unsure about the dream of the tooth falling out (at the start of her holiday in France) is this clever use of psychology or clunky? That said the French holiday and the evening with Valerie were highlights.

 

Rooney captured the perspective of coming of age in today’s world of fractured families, sexual ambiguity and the conflict of desire for material comfort whilst condemning the economic order, the paradox across ideals and aspirations.

 

The premise of the story was also oddly intriguing, taking the cliché of younger woman, older man extra marital affair (the older man here is only 32yrs, maybe it’s too soon to write of his acting career) Again for me the way she treated and developed this felt anything but cliched. The interplay between the 4 main characters is described in ways that are subtle and implicit. How much are Frances and Melissa really alike? The characters and conversations go beyond stereotypes and come across with a sense of frailty and tangled dependencies (given that Nick’s perhaps too much of a sexual object). I also admired the way the mother and alcoholic father are portrayed.

 

Lastly, I am intrigued by the bit of ‘religion’ late in the novel, pp293. Her visit to the church is beautifully described as she switches from ‘big’ thoughts and focuses on the endeavours of workers who made the building. She surprises herself as she prays to ease her pain and for once she is able to place her own self obsession within a universal context. Rooney describes this as ‘God as a shared cultural practice like language or gender’. This leads to reflections on love and hurt and indirectly the story leads on to her asking Melissa and Bobbi for forgiveness. For me this worked, but the role of religion here is unexpected and perhaps out of character?

 

Sorry I’m missing it Enjoy the eve

 

Cheers

 

Geoff

 

Thanks Steve, thanks Theo,

 

There’s an interesting online interview with Ms Rooney from the New Yorker Magazine, which amongst other things sheds some light on the book title:

 

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/07/31/a-new-kind-of-adultery-novel

 

Never one to say I told you so, but there are indeed fleeting reference to both Keats & Yates, and I was surprised that Geoff did not make mention of the numerous references to ‘Middlemarch’.

 

Lastly, Steve did of course mean the 14th January, not Valentines day, for the meeting at no. 54. Not sure what Mr Freud would make of that?

 

Regards, Rob

12/11/18 Simon Dodgers   Bill Beverly   American 2016

Right. Let me see if I can remember anything…

 

We convened at Simon’s in Southgate to discuss ‘Dodgers’, the tale of 15-year-old East and his three partners in crime who set off from LA on a road trip across the bleak mid west. Their mission is to murder a judge. This, understandably enough, did not sit well with Steve.

 

Judicial uneasiness aside, the book was very warmly received. The vivid descriptions of grim little towns, distinctive and engaging characters and a compelling, pacy narrative - it had the lot! As we dissected the character of East, we seemed to discover new depths of admiration for Bill Beverley’s remarkable, prize-winning page-turner of a debut novel.

 

Excellent cheese and copious libations, including craft beers ranging between 0% - 6.2% in strength, fuelled the proceedings as we moved off on a range of tangents. We bemoaned the political state of the nation in unison before hearing wildly divergent opinions of Angela Carter’s ‘Wise Children’ at the Old Vic, tepid reviews for Mike Leigh’s ‘Peterloo’ and Steve McQueen’s ‘Widows’ and rave notices for Peter Jackson’s ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’. We also mourned the passing of marvellous Stan Lee.

 

Then we attempted to help John out with his nascent U3A ‘Futurology’ group. To date he has attracted precisely no interest whatsoever and wondered whether it might be the name that is putting people off. Generally, everyone thought it probably was. ‘The Future’ was one suggested alternative. Keep up to date with developments here: https://cedu3a.org.uk/futurology/

 

Steve struggled manfully to achieve a consensus regarding the choice of venue for the forthcoming Christmas Book Swap which was finally achieved after a thorough, misty-eyed  analysis of every last pub in Crouch End (plus Muswell Hill’s very popular Mossy Well). We’ll be going to the Alex on, I think,  December 17th…?

 

Then it was time to choose a new book. The runners and riders were ‘Conversations With Friends’ by Sally Rooney, Booker-winner ‘Milkman’ by Anna Burns and ‘Never Mind’ by Edward St Aubyn. Buoyed by the vin rouge I confidently boasted that I had foreseen the outcome of the vote and was persuaded to write down my prediction. Not for the first time my overconfident betting style was cruelly exposed as ‘Conversations’ romped home ahead of my short priced favourite ‘Milkman’.

 

We meet again at 36 PAS on December 10th.

 

I look forward to welcoming you all then.

 

Theo

15/10/18 Dave His Bloody Project   Graeme Macrae Burnet    Scottish 2016

Dear Readers,


Once again, a most enjoyable evening with our affable and generous host David and a full house too.  The book to succumb to our forensic scrutiny was “His Bloody Project” by  Graeme Macrae Burnet.  As it turns out it was very favourably received and enjoyed by all.  Several questions were left in the air such as how did our alleged murderer learn to write in such a mature style.  His rather mean and hostile background would hardly nurture his talent.  I say alleged murderer as there were a few alternative theories proposed.  Rob thought it could be the sister, Jetta, who then went on to kill herself.  Geoff came up with another theory which was too complicated for me to understand but seems well thought out.  I felt for poor Roddy, suffering grievously from Shit Life Syndrome, a misunderstood and sensitive boy.  But was he? He didn’t mention the genital mutilation of his erstwhile beau so maybe he was on the spectrum after all.  So many questions teased out in our discussion over the cheese board and with a surprisingly spurned bottle of Scotch generously supplied by our host.  Thanks Dave and all for a great evening.

 

In one of those silences which sometime befall a gathering I took my chance to promote the next ripping yarn for us to read, four in fact, but as always only one fits the bill.  On this occasion “Dodgers” by Bill Beverly which was chosen on a majority vote.  The book “Cod” by Mark Kurlansky didn’t float your boat.  “The things they carried” by Tim O’Brian didn’t excite and “Amateur” by Thomas Page MacBee was a bridge too far.

 

Conversation then dissolves into random subjects, restaurants – the Intrepid Fork has great cakes and buns.  Films – First Man and Still Alice.  Steve enjoyed the exhibition Oceania – I was talking to a client today and they loved the exhibition too so I will try to get to see that.  The Turner prize – should we make our own four hour movie of old codgers not doing much?  Anybody got a Go-Pro handy.  And of course football, the Tottenham toilet, and more football.

 

So it goes – I hope you all enjoy the book and I very much look forward to seeing you all in Southgate on 12th Nov when I may have some seasonal nibbles to encourage you to come all this way.

 

Theo will be presenting next for the meeting on 10th December and the book-swap is  scheduled for 17th December.

 

Have a good month – Simon x

10/09/18 Nick The Sympathizer    Viet Thanh Nguyen     Viet/USA 2015

The General (Nick) brought us to attention with a detailed biography of our author, Viet Thanh Nguyen. His family came originally from north Vietnam. His father was a "businessman" who saw opportunities in the south and who moved to Saigon. The rest of the family followed, walking 100s of miles. When the invasion came in 1975, our author was 4 years old. They all escaped by boat and were very luckily picked up by American marines and were sent to a settlement camp, Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. Our author and his elder brother were separated from their parents and were fostered locally. The parents moved to San Jose, California to set up a Vietnamese convenience store. It was 4 years before they were reunited. Our author, like his lead character, understandably has almost a split identity/personality, always seeing issues from both/all sides. The experience of being an immigrant/refugee has left a huge mark on him, left him bitter and unforgiving of his early years in the US. This is despite very successful academic careers for both brothers (Berkeley, University of Southern California; Havard) (apologies for any errors, General).

Our Pulitzer prize winning novel was a struggle to get published, with 12 /13 rejections before being accepted by a small publishing house.

 

What did we think of it? As might have been anticipated by the emails sent ahead of our meeting, everyone was gripped by the strong and ambitious narrative, the humour, the history, the alienated voice, the many different phases of the story. Okay, most of us felt the Coppola-esque film sequences an almost grotesque, obsessive and unnecessary intrusion, but discussing them did make us laugh. We were divided on the merits of the torture section at the end of the book, as with its unsettling conventional punctuation. It was suggested that the writing was at times annoyingly dense. But overall we were united in admiration for an absolutely terrific book.

 

Thank you, General (Nick), Sir, for a great book and evening!

 

Following General Nick's belated instruction, I presented 4 books for consideration (much to every ones irritation):

 

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

Pure by Andrew Miller

Pere Goriot by Honore Balzac

His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet

 

After two rounds of voting, the toss of a coin decided between the third and fourth books. Accordingly, for the next meeting in October at 58 PAS, we will discuss His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet.

 

Dave

 

Greetings Nick from the Cinque Terre.

 

I too will join the casualties tonight. Just finished Tomasi's The Leopard which followed many of the themes raised in the Sympathizer. Both seem to enjoy the politics of the extreme left of the far right. However the former's flowery prose hints at violence and indecency where the latter stuffs it in your mouth and forces you to swallow. Both were fine reads however and I hope cause lots of disagreement and debate

 

Ciao Jonathan

 

 Sorry folks (this time I nearly mean it), I am once more languishing on the Turkish med at Kalamar bay(the squid reference is delightfully apposite). My measured sadness reflects what would have been my enthusiasm for discussing with all of you what seems to me to be to be a remarkable novel.

It is a joy to feel after reading page one to anticipate a high level of enjoyment and on every subsequent page to have that anticipation confirmed (yes, I enjoyed it that much).

I was instantly engaged with the voice of the narrator. The memoir format clearly gave advance warning of his likely fate but in no way undermined the intensity of the narrative and of course dovetailed into the ultimate “confession “.

The mood generated by the narrator journeyed seamlessly through despair, happiness (though not a lot of that), the pleasure induced by acute social and cultural observation and thought provoking political comment. The writing was so good that the move between tones was never laboured and also sustained by an engrossing narrative that right from the start was instantly gripping and never wavered.

Though not reflective of the ultimate poignancy of the novel, it is worth highlighting the scenes presented through the sardonic humour of the narrator such as of course the filming of The Hamlet and the priceless Dr Hedd. It seems to me quite remarkable that there can be so much humour in a book with so much sadness.

Of the many themes in the book, the dominant threads for me were the issues of identity and belonging. So much to discuss.

I know Nick like myself saw the TV series on the Vietnam war and this gave an added resonance to the storyline. I hope that roast rat is not on the menu! Have a good evening

 

Steve

 

Dear Readers,

 

I won’t be able to make it on Monday,  sorry Guys but I get back from Berlin on that evening but too late to join you. I was looking forward to the demonstrations with the squid.  You will be doing that, right?

 

Good book Nick, bit odd at the end.

 

Yours Simon

 

Evening chaps Apologies - Im at a funeral on Monday and wont be back till Tuesday Sorry to miss the meeting - havent quite finished the book but am enjoying it so far - havent had squid for a little while mind

Best Derek


13/08/18 Alan Mystery Man     Bateman      Nothern Irish 2009

Greetings from Edinburgh. This festival stuff is hard work, should have come here when I was younger.

 

Thanks Alan, for an evening full of mystery. When did the dancing Jews become singing Jews? Can we believe the mononymous Bateman's explanation of the rewrite? I can only think of Sapper and Saki as other single name authors.

 

Alan explained that the dark humour in the novel is typically Northern Irish. Other group members asked - what humour? Bateman has been a journalist, written children's books, crime novels, thrillers and screenplays. A very busy boy.

 

Some of us were offended by the tone of a plot which, to no-one's surprise, was centered on the Holocaust. The pre-amble of minor stories irritated some of us who wanted to get going on a proper mystery, but I did like the "winning the Cup" joke.

 

The stream of references to other crime writers showed that B knows his stuff, but also reminded me of how he is not in the same class as the greats.

 

On offer for next month were The Black Sheep by Honore de Balzac, Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold, and The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

 

The Sympathizer won in a landslide.

 

Next meeting No 73, on 10th September.

 

Nick

 

(Poor old Arsenal)

09/07/18 Geoff Invisible      Paul Auster      American 2009

Gentleman

 

A beautiful summer’s evening in Geoff’s garden with great food and drink and much merry banter – what could go wrong? Geoff resplendent in his fashionable Gareth Southgate waistcoat and the table surrounds bedecked in flags of support. Anticipation was great and Alan was duly mocked for his celtic origins.

 

But it wasn’t just a football celebration. No, it was Dave’s birthday and that couldn’t pass by without a mention. There was also passing comment on Boris and Donald which, given subsequent events, becomes even more topical. And, of course, the mozzies, with Steve’s naked knees protected from the repellent insects by insect repellent.

 

A good animated discussion of the book of the month, Paul Auster’s Invisible, followed. Geoff outlined Paul’s background and literary career. This was his 13th book – appropriate as I’m writing this on Friday 13th – and he is now up to number 17. Born in 1947 in New Jersey with his father a lone solitary man, the theme of ‘invisibility’ was explored in an earlier novel. The book appeared to take much from his own life in terms of locations and timescales although we all hoped the passages on incest were completely fictional.

 

Most of the group enjoyed the read although there was a minority who thought the book was disjointed, lacked empathy and was merely a collection of short stories. Others felt that it needed a better ending to wrap things up and that there was a sense that, although the writer could write well, the book was indulgent. There was also a divergence of opinion on whether the random coincidences were too much to have any credibility. The Bourne character produced some concluding thoughts on how likeable or otherwise he was.

 

Overall a good choice, provoking a good challenging debate.

 

Choice for August was a close-run affair. The three books on offer covered different genres, time periods and countries and not a dystopian work among them.

 

First up - The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott - a classic tale published in 1818 and based around the Porteous riots of 1736. 1 vote.

 

Second – Mystery Man by Colin Bateman – a comedy ‘thriller’ set in early 21st century Belfast with a highly OCD ‘hero’. 4 votes.

 

Lastly – Something wicked this way comes by Ray Bradbury – set in middle America in the early 1960’s and a tale of the impression a carnival makes on two 14 year-old boys. 4 votes.

 

On the single transferable vote system, the single vote opted for Mystery Man.

 

Finally we had some more discussion on politics and the motivation of politicians and, much more interestingly, some details on ‘Rob’s movie’ – an award winning short film production about 10 year old Rob with Emilia Fox as his mum and based on Rob’s book.

 

I look forward to seeing you all at our next get together on 13 August at 59 Park Avenue South for more light hearted craik.

 

Alan

11/06/18 Jonathan Midwinter Break       Bernard MacLaverty Northern Irish 2017

Hi All

 

Twilight, under clear June skies, in the garden of Nos 15 to discuss Bernard McClaverty’s ‘Midwinter Break’. Jonathon kicked off proceedings by announcing that he was on stand-by as his daughter Georgia was about to produce another grandchild, a call may be the signal for his hasty departure. Any anxiety was on our part, Jonathon was the epitome of coolness befitting a serial grandfather and Medic.  Fine cheeses, wines and, fittingly, a bottle of Jameson were provided, not just a topical addition to the accustomed Book group lubricant but also and an early ‘wetting the head’ of the expectant arrival. The call finally came around 11.00ish, the contractions now 10 minutes apart, Jonathan remained unflustered, hours to go he counselled. As I write this I’m sure the joyful event has happened.

 

Midwinter Break stimulated a variety of viewpoints. Jonathan told how the protagonists journey from Belfast to Glasgow was also that of the author’s and his family. Busy with teaching, script writing, essays and radio and film projects, the novel had a long gestation, 16 years. There was general agreement around the quality of the writing, making for lucid and easy reading, storytelling without histrionics from the author: the intricate observation of the commonplace and the authenticity of the characters.

 

Six decades together gave Gerry and Stella an intimacy and an edginess with each other. They had their own banter and black humour, their shared rituals and also their own private and secret behaviours and aspirations. This blameworthy couple, going together like a hand in a glove were also adept at delivering treacherous kidney punches to each other. Our maleness to the fore, we felt sympathy for Gerry in this struggle more than for Stella. We found ourselves more forgiving of his alcoholism and wary of Stella’s piety. Whilst it was understandable that her tolerance of Gerry was near its limit, she was more the antagonist in seeking separation, her scheming around the trip and secret desire to join a retreat, unnerved us.

 

Discussing this narrative layer there was some dissonance, Dave and Rob led the critique; the premise of the retreat turned real -estate a bit flaky, (agreement with the comments from the absent Steve) She could have Googled ahead and been to the wise. Perhaps the collecting and re-writing over the years betrayed some desire by the author to squeeze in real holiday experiences, giving a travelogue feel.

 

As Jonathon said in his intro. this is also a deeply serious book, perhaps the easy read was a bit deceptive. Gerry and Stella’s present was shaped by past trauma, as personal victims of sectarian violence enacted on infrastructure and communities in Belfast. Even resettled in Glasgow they were tense every bedtime, fears of external threats never quite leaving them; like a character from cowboy films, Gerry always faced outwards in restaurants. Representing the divided city, they had to find a way forward to reconciliation, the unmovable ice block outside the hotel had to melt, escapism held no truck.

 

Was their hope in the ending, as the author intended ?  The snow clears, the planes fly, Stella  forgives (perhaps regrets throwing the eternity ear-ring in the canal) and Gerry breaks away from his Traveller’s Friend and reforms. Belfast heals. Most of us remained sceptical, it’s a long way back.

 

We turned to discuss some of our own drinking and pub experiences, Nick playing Father Confessor, ‘Tell me son have you ever been thrown out of a pub?’ … Theo took the rosette, with his description of breaking in to a fight with his outrageously drunken brother.  I for one had visions of the joyous confrontation of John Wayne and Victor McLaglen in John Ford’s classic ‘The Quiet Man’.  It totally eclipsed my own expulsion for complaining about burnt savoury croissants in what was the Horse and Groom in Hampstead. We welcomed the re-emergence of ‘Florian 2’ in Crouch End.  Jamesons kept flowing. Nick gave us a forewarning not to order steak next time we pop in to the restaurant on top of Niagara Falls, unless we like it rare, when his friend sent one back the waiter explained that well-done was not possible, they did not have any? Really useful stuff!

 

The next choices were presented; voted third was Helen Dunmore’s ‘Birdcage Walk’, a close second was Elif Shafak’s ‘Three Daughters of Eve’ and the winner by a length was Paul Auster’s ‘Invisible’.

 

Thanks to Jonathon for his unflappable hosting of a fine evening and his taste in cheeses. Looking forward to seeing you all at nos.69 on 9th July.

 

Geoff

 

Sorry folks but won’t be able to make the book club on Monday week. Well not altogether sorry as will be still sunning myself under the cloudless med skies (Turkish version). Just finished the book so before my goldfish memory removes the book from my memory bank, I thought I would pen my thoughts. Yes, I enjoyed it. He can certainly write, his writing I found insightful and nuanced. The book was I felt, well balanced between the two characters. In terms of time devoted, it was I guess skewed towards Stella and I think one felt that it was essentially Stella’s story but it was balanced in the sense that he seemed not to prefer writing about one character or the other. He was  comfortable with both and equally perceptive. He captured the self delusional behaviour of Gerry in the way in which he rationalised his drinking obsession (any personal experience?) and with Stella, there were the twin traits of desperation and resignation. Above all, he caught the rhythms of a relationship in which the cloak of familiarity masked a deep divide and unhappiness on Stella’s part.

Having said that, there was I felt a lack of energy in the narrative that prevented this from being a truly riveting read. The “story “ of the shooting in the way in which it was gradually revealed was not exactly tension inducing and in fact rather predictable. I was more engaged in the airport ending mainly because one thought that something might actually happen and certainly there was a poignancy in the ending. However the book will not linger especially in the goldfish memory.

Incidentally, how in the internet age would she have been unaware of the current nature of the “sisterhood “.

 

Come on!

 

Steve

14/05/18 Derek A Whole Life        Robert Seethaler   Austrian 2014

10 of us came southwest to Derek at No7. No Simon at this book group unfortunately. As we waited for Steve and then Rob we pulled out our comfort blankets of football (recent scores and geographical winners and losers) then IT whinging and finally musical erudition. Theo not only tried to spread his love of Elvis Costello but extolled his hits and named the first 10 album titles. Then came John's Rob Stewart fan club and Nick's new affair with Latin music and finally there was Ry Cooder's desert blues in E minor.

 

Derek introduced the monosyllabic Robert Seethaler born in Vienna and then in 1998 moved to Berlin. A successful author in Germany 'A Whole Life', his 5th novel, has also been a success in the UK. Much surprise to hear he acts as well as writes. His internet profile seems to say little about who he is and what he feels.

 

Now to the book. It was a rare evening with universal praise for the author's capacity to pack the 140 odd pages with a series of extraordinary events, cinematic scenes and a sense of wonder about the beauty of the mountains. We admired the quiet stoical man who feels deeply, seldom speaks and mourns his only love. There was new respect for the engineering achievement of cable cars. Some noted the similarities to 'Stoner', others felt the war was given an easy ride by RS despite the visual intensity of the Russian front. I thought the growing melancholy reflected the loss of the natural world as the skiers arrive. Rob thought it an existential book with hidden depths, no one disagreed. Strangely the book's pace is relaxed despite the intense packing - a literary Tardis and a gem.

 

We then snuggled down into Derek's snacks, fine cheeses and liquid fayre-Thank you.

The conversation flowed; elephants and Rhododendrons in rural Ireland; tunnels and sewers; personal movie pin ups; politics and the town hall; Gillian McKeith's poo song?? and back to football and the Championship.

 

Somewhere we squeezed in a vote on the next book choice. Thank you Alan

 

'Boneland' by Alan Garner. Third part of a trilogy started in 1960 and just completed after 50yr gap. The first two children's magic fiction adventure classics set in the Alderley Edge with now a third grown up Psycho drama. (3 votes)

 

'The Vegetarian' by Han Kang. A Korean tale of misogyny laced with rebellion, eroticism and psychosis. (1 vote)

 

'Midwinter Break' by Bernard MacLavery' A couples short break in Amsterdam where they take stock of their lives and re-examine their relationship. (5 votes)

 

We meet again at 15 PAS on 11/6/18 at 8.30

 

Jonathan

09/04/18 John Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain       Barney Norris   English 2016

Not for the first time a book that divided opinion. As John pointed out in his introduction this is a debut novel published in 2016 by an author born in 1987. Enough to make anyone feel old – he's since written another novel and a few plays – a very prolific young fella – apologies Geoff.

 

As for the book – some thought it well written and were swept along with the story – thought it an evocative read which allowed space for the reader to wander off and contemplate on events and relationships in their own past Others thought that it was a bit flimsy as a novel – more of a collection of little stories bound together in a collaboration between the author and his agent

The actual story device – that of all the main characters  bumping together at the car crash was seen by some as a rather clunky set of unlikely coincidences whereas those who enjoyed the book were more forgiving of the clunky-ness ( is that a word?) For a young man the author didn't shy away from big subjects – adolescence, death of a father, relationships, loneliness, grief and a sense of place

Most thought the chapter devoted to the Army wife to be the weakest section but even this with its portrayal of a desperately awkward visiting son was well accomplished – I thought anyway ! – although her transformation from a suicidal depressive to a happy home hunter in the space of a couple of pages raised a few hackles  Speaking for myself I thought it a good choice, an enjoyable read – one I wouldn't have picked up myself so would have missed – thanks John

 

So to next months read, The three nominees were

 

Welcome to Hard Times  EL Doctorow

A Whole Life        Robert Seethaler

Modern Baptists   James Wilcox

 

A very close vote – Welcome to Hard Times the winner

But what's this ? Geoff asked the question whether the book was still in print – an excellent question as it turned out and one I'd given no thought to at all – for which I apologize and will ensure doesn't happen again ! Another vote – this time between the other two books – a tie and the casting vote plumps for ...

 

A Whole Life by Robert Seethaller – surely the shortest book ever nominated

 

Many thanks to John for an excellent evening – topics discussed ranged from Bruges to Lionel Bart's musical flops via threatened trees and the sinister sounding Mr Anonymous – no mention of parking though – lets make sure that doesn't happen again. We meet again at no 7 on May 14th

Till then happy reading

 

Best Derek

12/03/18 Rob Legend of a Suicide      David Vann    American 2007

Another happy couple

 

Well done Rob. Thank you for a splendid repast , so reminiscent (NOT) of those fragrant evening meals we enjoyed that year in Alaska. Was the chorizo bear based? It's haunted me ever since....

 

Legend of a Suicide was admired primarily for the encased novella not so much for the "bookends" of shorter stories. Clearly an accomplished writer David Vann produced an uncomfortable but compelling read which gave rise to an evening of insights into the role of fathers and the rearing of sons. We were struck by what appeared to us to be a profound change in the nature of the father- son relationship, from the 50's (so much was unspoken, harsher attitudes, stereotypical male and female roles) to today's more open, more vocal and tactile approach. Or is that a Crouch End perspective, untroubled by memories of war, bombings, loss and penury? But enough about me ...

 

There were three books up for selection. Two were unconventional. The first was a Tour de Force by Robert Byron, the travel writer's travel writer. In a gathering of bibliophiles who treasure politics,  world history and  the genealogy of civilizations what better than a trip to Afghanistan in the 1930's?

 

Well not V for Vendetta, for a start. In a fascist state, one man "V" fights a fight to topple the ruling edifice. And in PICTURES fer gawd's sake! But no, not even this pricked the interests of the assembled masses.

 

Instead we chose "Five Rivers Met On A Wooded Plain" Barney Norris, which does have some casual and desultory references  to sex.

 

So there we are. Round to me 9th April at 72

 

Regards John

 

Hi Rob

Much as I enjoyed your reflections on the missing Mesut, I guess you will have noticed his resurrection. As for me I’m staying under the table a little longer! Actually I’m going skiing once more, this time with friends and flying to Turin, a city which, at the moment, has fond associations for me, and then on to the Italian slopes.

 

So I will be missing once again. I’d like to say I enjoyed the book, but enjoyed is certainly not the right word… but I’m glad I read it and thank you for the recommendation. I think it might require more than one read and the discussion should be fascinating. Not too sure what to make of it, it was a searing read, as the reviewers say unlike any other. I hadn’t grasped the idea of a collection of stories, so was a bit confused until I read a little around it, I appreciate what he was trying to do not too sure if it worked for me, especially the two after the central novella. The central novella was amazing, in some ways like a biblical story and in others like a video game? Biblical cos going into the wilds to purge your sins, pitching yourself against the elements and even sacrificing your son ( OK maybe sacrifice is a bit of a stretch) Video game cos it felt surreal almost stripped down to the raw physical and emotional of existence to a degree that as a reader I was weirdly disengaged, observing and in some ways incredulous. That said, the father -son dynamic and reversals were absorbing. I especially enjoyed the finale of the (rickety) boat trip with the ominous crew and the murder/drowning… very Conrad. For me it could have finished here.

 

Enjoy the eve, sorry to miss it. Geoff  

 

Greetings from a cloud forest lodge in Costa Rica.I finished  Legend of a Suicide just before we left and tried to take away the moments of beauty and not the melancholy. The story and writing was compelling and swept me along. The son's protective detachment felt so authentic. How difficult it is to avoid taking on the disturbance and experience  of our parents... Nearly stepped on a snake yesterday but so far no bears.


Have fun, Jonathan

12/02/18 Steve Reservoir 13       Jon McGregor     Bermudan/English 2007

 ‘The river is moving. The blackbird must be flying.'

 

A few hours before midnight when the week turned, there could be heard the voices from a gathering at No.54. The men had come together to discuss the novel, ‘Reservoir 13’. They had also come together to discuss the recent disappearance of an individual known simply as Mesut, Mes or just M. There had a also been the mystery of the hacking of the book group web page, and the posting of inflammatory images. Who could have done such a thing? Surely not the mild mannered gentleman, who lived at number 73?

 

There were a couple of apologies, firstly from Dave Lane, who had an unexpected family visitor, and secondly from Geoff at number 69, who had gone ski-ing with his wife and daughter. There was a suggestion that Geoff was still at home, hiding under the kitchen table, as he seemed to have been particularly badly hit by the disappearance of Mesut.

 

Most of the readers loved the repetitious and cyclical nature of the novel. It’s apparently mundane nature seemed to resonate with nearly everyone, although some were disappointed by the lack of real resolution. The Times Literary Supplement wrote that Reservoir 13 'is a work of intense forensic noticing’ which sums it up perfectly. I like to think of it more as 'a mash-up between Emmerdale and the Archers, directed by David Lynch, narrated by Alan Bennett and Mick McCarthy, which is probably why I’ll never be asked to review books for the Times.

 

Simon Stocker, the furniture maker, who had moved away from Park Avenue South some time ago, felt that it would be interesting to have a map of the village, which would help to bring even more life to Jon McGregor’s fictitious community. What was almost universally felt was that, although the novel contains an almost overwhelming cast of characters, at some point it was no longer that necessary to recall who was who. Maybe that’s just our age, but more likely a result of being comfortingly, fully immersed in the novel.

 

Many thanks to Steve at No.54 for a fantastic recommendation, and a great evening, although the mystery of exactly what happened to Mesut, Mes or just M may never be solved. However, police have been seen removing computers from No.73.

 

Our next meeting is set for Monday 12th March, at my house, No.67, when we shall be discussing the cheery ‘Legend of a Suicide’ by David Vann.

 

For those that were not there, this was the competition. All very good books.

 

http://www.matthaig.com/how-to-stop-time/

 

http://themanbookerprize.com/books/eileen-by-ottessa-moshfegh

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Legend-Suicide-David-Vann/dp/0141043784

 

Also, here’s a link to The Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green. A fantastic shop, which is neither green nor big. Go figure.

 

http://www.biggreenbookshop.com

 

Cheers all,

 

Rob

 

Hi Steve

 

For me a great recommendation and intriguing read. The narrator remains an alien Dr Spok, the account is like a lost notebook or diary, the characters spectres and the  tone so beautifully northern clipped and terse. The device, the Quarries and reservoirs bring a hint of a harder edged, potentially hazardous or threatening sense to what could be a Lark Rise or Under Milk Wood or is it Akenfield. Does the author pull it off ? Why the lost girl ? why the thriller title? In the end I marvelled at the skilled observation of both the  routine and the oddities of the private stories within this so close community Sure you will have a lively evening and sorry to miss it.

 

Cheers Geoff

 

Hi Book Lovers I am sorry but I cannot attend this evening due to unexpected family visit.

 

 I have read the book and found it interesting, particularly in structure and ambition. I had read the promotions on the Underground and was expecting a mystery thriller. I found the first part engaging, with its rural setting and the disappearance, every parents nightmare. As the book progressed, there was a drop in tension. The relegation of the disappearance to the back ground brought to the fore the everyday lives of country folk. The long paragraphs of the details of village life and descriptions of the changing seasons were okay to begin with, but I soon found them tedious. The periodic updates on the disappearance kept my hopes up that there would be an interesting ending. Unfortunately, it did not materialise.

 

 It did, though, confirm that country living is definitely not for me: hallelujah Crouch End!

 

 Have fun this evening

 

Dave

08/01/18 Theo The Circle       Dave Eggers      American 2013

 We had a full membership turnout (completing the circle?) at  Theo's to discuss David Eggers The Circle.

 

On balance the book was well received - a satisfaction rating of say 90 increasing to 93 when Theo promised to be our friend for life.

 

Eggers dystopian vision was cleverly constructed and readily formed the basis for the satire. I for one am now looking at lollipops with a fresh suspicion.

 

There were more mixed feelings as to whether the central character of Mae had sufficient depth to draw us into the narrative. Some felt she was convincing given that she needed to be presented as someone susceptible to the embracing ethos of The Circle. Others found her rather flat and one dimensional with the plotting rather ponderous.

 

Certainly the book was excellent in encouraging discussion to the exclusion of other random topics. As Rob remarked, it wasn’t until 10.00 that parking in the street was first mentioned and even then it was by reference to driverless cars and not till 10.15 that Gareth Malone's name was uttered.

 

Many thanks to Theo for his choice and hospitality.

 

Incidentally, any further queries as to hidden meanings and conspiracy theories to be addressed to our resident experts, Nick and Rob.

 

Our next meeting is at no 54 on the 12th February to discuss Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor. Don’t know who is after me.

Steve

11/12/17 Dave Days Without End       Sebastian Barry       Irish 2016

Dear Book friends,

 

The snow and bitter weather tried it’s hardest to reduce our numbers. Derek, Theo and Simon were sadly unable to attend due to a combination of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Glenn Hoddle and a nasty lingering virus. We had convened to pay homage to the 2016 Costa Book of the Year, Days Without End by Sebastian Barry. Dave, by his own admission had had better things to concern him recently, than to find out much info on our Irish scribe. What better excuse than a family wedding? Congratulations were in order. For those wanting to know more about Mr Barry, then here are a couple of links to a Guardian review, and a Guardian interview which explains many of the questions surrounding the book.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/28/days-without-end-by-sebastian-barry-review

 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/21/sebastian-barry-interview-days-without-end

 

Almost to a man the group found the book to be a fantastic accomplishment, a brilliant story, which was told over a long period of time, and involving many brilliant characters. I tried my hardest to play Devil’s Advocate, but really it was a pretty futile exercise. Some of us, well okay me, felt that if you spliced together every cliche, in every cowboy movie/Spaghetti Western that you’ve ever seen, then you could end up with a similar story. You might also need Matt Lucas and David Walliams, from their Little Britain days to play the ‘ladies’!

 

I liked Nick’s theory that any character, in any book, who has the initials JC, is of course a reference to Jesus Christ. Nick, also broke protocol by leading the discussion back to ‘Men Like Air’. Any excuse for bad sex?

 

Anyhow, another fantastic evening was had, and many thanks to Dave for not providing any corn bread rations.

 

Theo’s choices were:

 

Less Than Zero

 

When this came out in the mid 80s it was the hippest book in the world. The setting is Hollywood and the rich kids that live there. The excess, hedonism and shocking nihilism was totally compelling and it launched the glittering career of Brett Easton Ellis who went on to write American psycho among numerous other hits. This book is short.

 

We Need To Talk About Kevin

 

The ultimate cautionary tale for anyone considering whether to have children. The story of an affluent New York couple who start a family and move out of town with unexpected consequences. Beautifully written, it hooks you early and never lets you go. You do not forget it.

 

The Circle

 

David Eggers shot to fame with his memoir A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius. This novel is very different although it does have familial relationships

as one of its themes. What it’s mainly about is the intrusive effect of modern digital behemoths and how they increasingly control our lives. For The Circle read

Google. It’s a thriller.

 

And the winner was The Circle, which easily beat Less than Zero. Thankfully no one wanted to read about Kevin.

 

Next meeting is at Theo’s on January 8th 2018

 

This coming Monday, the 18th, is the Xmas Book Swap at The Alex, 6:30 pm, then continuing on to Dipti's (?) at number 13. Sadly, I don’t think that I can make it.

 

Once again many thanks to Dave for a great book choice, and a lovely evening.

 

Regards,

 

Rob

12/11/17 Simon Men Like Air        Tom Connolly        English 2016

Hi Simon

 

Once again I have to put in my apologies at missing our monthly meeting – this time yet another holiday. I promise not to make it 3 in a row and will be at the December meeting (in my diary as 11 December).

 

I have read this month’s book and found it an easy read. I do wonder – has the author not read about couples counselling as most of the inevitably paired up characters seemed to need it. It was an enjoyable read though – good choice. Hope you have a good evening.

 

Regards Alan

 

Good morning

 

So sorry - I’ve made a mistake with my dates - I can’t make the next meeting - having offered to drive a car there - apologies. As regards the book - almost finished and have enjoyed it a great deal. Good choice I’ll be at the December one

 

Cheers Derek

 

Simon, I’m afraid that next Monday might be starting to resemble Theresa May’s cabinet Christmas party. Sadly, I’ll also be unable to attend as I’ve just been reminded that I’ve got tickets to a gig on the same evening.  As the wisdom of Leo reminds us, ‘One could do many things in life, but one could not do everything…’(P.114)  With the exception of some bad sex scenes in the first 3 chapters, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, which I felt  contained some great insights into the male psyche and relationships.

 

Thanks for a great choice, and see you all next time.

 

Cheers Rob

 

My apologies - I’m expected at a gig with my daughter on Monday night.

 

I really liked the book, thought it got better and better. My enjoyment  was only partly spoiled when I discovered that the author is a contemporary of mine on the TV commercials directing scene. The bastard.

 

Cheers all. Theo

 

Yet another apology. Greetings from the ancient city of Hoi An in Vietnam, favoured conference destination of Putin and Trump. Great choice Simon, really enjoyed it. I liked how the characters were gradually introduced, and I was never sure which direction the various stories would take. Dilly's parents were a riot, William post truck was a tragedy. Loved all the New York stuff. I used to get the the number 7 line to work for a year or so.

Change at Grand Central for the 456 to South Ferry.

 

Have a tiny but perfectly formed meeting.

 

Nick

 

 A heavily depleted intrepid PAS Book Group headed on its annual foray out  to the wilds of Morton Road, N14, to be warmly greeted by Simon. Without preamble Simon served freshly cooked bagels and we dived into  he discussion of “Men like Air”. It became quickly clear that the diminished group, only 6 of us, was collectively at odds with those unable to attend, as we did not share the same passion for the book. We found it to be over written (yes!) and the characters largely unengaging. We found that this heavily descriptive homage to NY failed to move effectively from its promising introduction of the brothers Finn and Jack. While we enjoyed (envied?) the muscularity and sensuality of the young Finn, brother Jack was seen as a snot nosed bore. We missed lively but damaged Dilys when she went AWOL (why?) for most of the book. William and Joy were seen as too self-satisfied and uninteresting and William’s grand standing exit did not impress. We did like Leo’s character, but were unconvinced he would have given Finn an enormous wad of cash to buy the picture.  We found the middle of the book sagged alarmingly and the very funny episode with Dilys’ family towards the end only reminded us how little dramatic  tension there had been until then.

 

Despite the collective disappointment, the book nevertheless gave us plenty to chew on. The conversation ranged from our experiences of NY (too long ago for us to identify the streets described in the book), suspended glass sided swimming pools (as a must have flat accessory), basement excavations (always topical, of course), John’s singing in Handel’s Messiah at the Albert Hall (all comers were welcome), proposals for a new form of CPZ in PAS (most thought the new scheme of free range parking might have merit), to list a few topics that stuck.

 

Many thanks to Simon who hosted a very lively and enjoyable evening!

 

Despite the small group success, there was no call to split into two separate groups for future meetings.

 

I then presented my 3 selections for our next meeting:

 

 The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage

 The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Days without End by Sebastian Barry

 

Geoff acted for the absent Alan as recorder.  Days without End was chosen with a single round of voting. We meet next at 58 PAS on 11th Home December.

 

 Date for the diaries: 18th December at the Alex for the Bookswap.

 

Dave

09/10/17 Nick Twelve Bar Blues       Patrick Neate         English 2001

Dear Readers


 It was once again a huge pleasure to meet up with you all (absentees missed a good night, we missed you of course) and thank you Nick for your hospitality and your very fine cheese, of which I ate too much.  I will have to sit further away next time as I am too lazy to get up!  Thank you also for the choice of book “Twelve bar blues” which generally went down pretty well. The cast of characters was enjoyed by many but it was at times tricky to keep a grip on the time scale and the relationships.  Was it Sylvia or Sylvie, I was always a little unsure of which century we were in.  The African part most of us found puzzling as it seemed to have a different “voice”.  Was it the authors’ African girlfriend who may have played a part in that section.  I enjoyed the chief trying to be regal but he was “pussy whipped” by his wife.  This is probably the same the world over.

 

 The content of the book was in large part fuelled by slavery as many of the characters had their roots in this trade.  This lead on to a good discussion on the subject and how we have benefitted and how it still goes on.

 

 It would seem that my choice of “The world is blue” did not go down with great enthusiasm.  We all enjoy David Attenborough and the Blue Planet series on TV but when it comes to finding out how disturbing the state of the sea is, it was a bridge too far.  To be fair it is not an easy read and Men Like Air by Tom Connelly was closer to the mark  and was chosen for our next book.  I have attached an interview with John Cleese and the author which is quite interesting.

 

 Jonathan suggested we meet for the book-swap at the crossover Jazz Room.  I have attached both sides of the flyer which gives all the information.  Sounds like a good idea to me.

 

 We meet next on November 13th at my gaff up here in the badlands of Southgate.  Lox and bagels more likely on the menu, but prawns are off sorry!

 

Have fun and I look forward to seeing you all then. Simon x

11/09/17 Alan The Handmaid's Tale       Margaret Atwood Canadian 1985

Thanks to Alan for his Smorgasbord of Tottenham cheeses, Adnams Triple Knot (10%!), and Commander's whisky, and for his Scrabble board layout, which, I've just realised, contains the word "zygote", neatly summing up the plot of the Handmaids Tale. York Notes makes much of the words "valance" and "quince".

 

A favourable, if somewhat muted, approval for Margaret Attwood's piece of dystopian speculative fiction. The quality of the writing was greatly admired, but the slow development of the plot left many of us wishing for a stronger ending. Did Offred escape? We will have to wait for the sequel, or watch series two of the television adaptation.  Much remained unknown throughout the book. Who was "Nick"? What did the Commander do? The description of Gilead society seems particularly relevant at the moment, with an upsurge of authoritarian politicians around the world.

 

The strange epilogue annoyed some of us, but it left me feeling optimistic for the downtrodden Gileads. Their society would end up being ridiculed by academics.

 

She started writing the book while on a German Academic Exchange Service fellowship in West Berlin in 1984. What a good year for dystopian novels.

 

I offered Kindred by Octavia Butler, it might have got more votes if I had described it as an afro-futuristic dystopian tale, rather than use the sf words.

 

Neal Gaiman's American Gods 635 page epic also failed. Shame, I was looking forward to the 12,000 extra words in his revised edition.

 

This month's choice is the 2001 Whitbread Prize winning Twelve Bar Blues by Patrick Neate. Enjoy.

 

Reconvene 8.30pm, Monday 9th October at No. 73.

 

Nick

14/08/17 Geoff The Sorrows of an American        Siri Hustvedt         American 2008

No, not the general US population as a result of the tweetings of the current POTUS – the largely favourably received novel by Siri Hustvedt (pronunciation was discussed in detail and that was just Siri).

A somewhat depleted band of merry men met in the habitable portion of Geoff’s humble abode. Missing Dave, Derek and Steve the (not hateful) eight discussed a book with many facets.

 

Drawing on a personal perspective as a descendant of a Norwegian immigrant, Siri stirred together a fine concoction of modern and traditional, psychiatry and private investigation, honesty and deceit – all mixed together by a woman writing from a man’s perspective (which took some of us a little time to establish in our reading).

 

With a multitude of characters (multicultural tenants, photo man, cross dressing sweaty man, unpleasant ‘reporters’) and numerous plot lines (the letter, the war stories and background, the ‘faithless husband’, the creepy dolls, the psychiatry patients,…) it proved easier to read in large chunks rather than bite size portions when threads were easy to lose. For some this was a good mix with paths trodden not always ending up as expected and no grand denouements. For others although there was a certain empathy with main characters like Erik and Jeff there was an opinion that the rest of the characters were ‘boring’.

 

The general opinion was that this was a good read.

 

Fortified by Muddy Boots’ black pudding, excellent cheese selection and the usual alcoholic imbibement we then moved on to discuss our own individual descents from youthful radicalisation (squats, anarchy, left wing revolutionary ideals and well-known Crouch End anti-Establishment characters) to our current positions (Hurtigruten cruises, dog sledding (not to be confused with other dog activities which were also mentioned by Nick in passing), cross country skiing, the Perseid meteor shower).

 

Vote wise, a close run thing. The vote split 2:2:3 meaning a second month with a vote-off. This time it was between Marina Lewycka’s “Two Caravans” (Brexit topical – who is going to pick fruit and veg in 2019?) and Ian Banks’ “Complicity” (drug fuelled who-dun-it) with the drugs winning out (see earlier group lifestyle choices) but losing badly to next month’s selection which is Margaret Attwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” (where POTUS is currently taking the US).

 

Look forward to seeing those of you not off to sunnier climes at 59 PAS on Monday 11 September for dystopian Trump-fuelled discussion and much more!

 

Best Alan

 

Mondays meeting

I'm really sorry but I'm going to be away on Monday so will miss book club. I've really enjoyed the book though - good choice Jonathan. I will be at the September one.

Cheers

Derek


10/07/17 Jonathan The Blind Man's Garden         Nadeem Aslam         Pakistan/UK 2013

The shades of evening were falling fast as dusk settled over the majestic plane trees of P.A.S, standing witness to the enlightened vision of our Victorian forefathers. Maybe it was my imagination, but the joyful twilight song of blackbirds bidding farewell to a glorious summer day seemed to fill the air.  Inside the houses, on TV everywhere, the thwack of racket on ball, another year, another Wimbledon, as tradition blends with modernity creating a seamless continuity.


Arriving at nos 15, within this tranquil setting, the tension was palpable as the minutes turned beyond 8.30pm, our start time. Loyalties split, partnerships strained, families divided; some rooted for Nadal, the warrior of old with the biceps of a thunder god, others for Muller, the giant Luxembourger with the wicked serve. Our Jonathan, with a lifetimes experience of reading body language, switched the set on in time for us to see the finale of the epic 5th set of 28 games, Muller emerging victorious, like a warhorse bursting from the earth. The battle ended, the crowd loudly cheered, emotions spent they had a story to tell. And we had a story to discuss.

 

A tale of real battle from which the sporting metaphors of resourcefulness, courage and endurance are drawn, but in Nadeem Aslam’s’ The Blind Man’s Garden’ there are no simple heroic victors, only casualties. We agreed it was a remarkable story, at once a unique account of the random brutality inflicted upon hapless citizens caught up in the US’ pursuit of Osama bin Laden, and a portrait of ordinary lives in Pakistan, controlled and subjugated by Muslim zealotry and played out under the strings of home grown corruption and bribery.

 

It became clear that American rewards incentivised local Warlords, themselves victims of Taliban atrocities, to seek out and hand over a stream of innocent victims.

 

Aslam, with beautifully wrought descriptions of the natural backdrop, conjured up a vivid, multi-layered story, (capture, torture, siege, chase …several films worth) with strongly drawn characters representing the breadth of combatants. Here was both a tender love story and a gripping narrative, and in the hero, Mikal, a filmic adventure hero, an Asian Jason Bourne. We identified a change of gear in the final sequence of the novel, the capture of the American, for which we had to adapt and suspend some disbelief, but great to read, for all that.

 

Away from the battle, we struggled to come to grips in understanding lives lived under the influence of religion that constrains freedoms and fosters suspicion and hypocrisy; lives where individual and family destiny is subject to a community shame that controls behaviours. Many of us could find no sense of hope or resolution and the gap between us and them seemed unbridgeable.

 

We then turned to discuss that other misunderstood, distant territory, the North, whisky shops in Skipton, Clitheroe, home of the kid, the legendary Blackpool club, My Father’s Moustache… at some point we segued south to Brighton, my attention lapsing at this point. 

 

A massive thanks to Jonathan, who was, as always, an exemplary host, the Indian dishes truly excellent and a special treat.

 

Vote wise, Alan surpassed even his usual aplomb, presiding over a double tie-break. Walter Tevis’s ‘The Queens Gambit’ and Paul Kingsnorth’s ‘The Wake’ both suffered the fate of Nadal, while Siri Hustvedt’s ‘The Sorrows of an American’ claimed a Mulleresque victory.

 

We meet again Aug 14th at 69 PAS, if re-decorating becomes an issue I will be asking for alternative space.

 

Cheers, Geoff

 

Thanks for a lovely evening...and as I said last night, I fully intend to read the book. The discussion last night convinced me that it would be worth it!

 

I mentioned iron filings last night....this article explores the possibility of an endlessly renewable fuel, removing reliance on oil rich dodgy middle eastern potentates and gas rich repressive regimes. And at the same time eliminating CO2 emissions. And the particulates in our city centres

 

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18825221-100-powdered-metal-the-fuel-of-the-future/

 

I wonder why there has been little said about it......

 

To the danger of excessive reverence for the way things have always been done (we talked about religion, for example, and the way adherence to and extremist interpretation of religion can be cruel and foolish) I’d add a fear of doing things in a new way. But that way the future lies and as was also said last night we progress by experimentation and innovation.

 

all the best,  John

 

The article implied that this would be an external combustion engine. Sounds OK for stationary engines, but I'm not sure about transport users. It also has the feel of the cold fusion experimenters. Hybrids are a definite step forward, and look at the RV1 hydrogen bus that runs from Covent Garden to Tower Bridge. A big stumbling block is that in general, scientists don't become politicians. And notable exceptions are Maggie and Liam Fox. Blair was a technophobe who held back internet investment for years. Nick


I have heard of these but forgotten about it.  Thanks for the reminder.  I am sure it is the oil companies which have prevented this and the Stirling engine getting any traction.  It does beg the question where does the metal come from and how much energy does it take to produce a fuel.  It is still mined, processed, transported etc etc. In much the same way as oil. I go for an external burning of fuel preferably one which is some distance away.  92 million miles should do it!

 

I don’t hold out much hope for the human race but if we are to have any chance of survival we have to stop burning stuff.  Solar power is the way to go.  At night when there is no sun, just go to bed! Yours Simon.

12/06/17 Rob Nights at the Circus          Angela Carter         English 1984

 What a cracker of an evening at Rob’s last night. We had a little bit of everything almost the greatest show on earth, Rob even managed without paper on this occasion. Angela Carter born in 1940, kept most of her secrets from us. Poor at school and perhaps traumatised by wartime evacuation she darted from Eastbourne to Yorkshire then to Croydon Bristol Los Angeles and Japan. Sometimes she was ‘Tubs’ then she was anorexic. She was married then not. Mostly she was scratchy, awkward, difficult to like or employ. She had trouble with facts and not stories and loved a good fable or fairy story. She even studied Medieval English so that her own truth about literature wouldn’t be trampled by her lecturers. Described as a magic realist, picaresque and feminist writer she somehow held it all together to produce a huge body of work, poetry, drama, short stories and nine novels, before dying of lung cancer aged 51.

 

Nights at the Circus delighted most of us; the flights of imagination, willing suspension of disbelief and glorious cast of characters. The serious feminist theme developed and was handled with wit and verve. There were more literary allusions than we could count and Angela Carted played with time and often left us holding a fortune telling Sylvie or a Bombe Surprise. There were gentle quibbles about the nature of relationships, whether the middle of the book sagged and the best position for Sophie Fevvers to be penetrated. Fortunately there were stronger voices suggesting the whole thing was implausible and possibly silly. Clearly one would need a 4ft breast bone to support the necessary muscles for a 6ft2in broad shouldered woman to fly even if she had spindly legs.

 

The rational line did not hold force for long as the group endulged their own imaginings. To John she was Grayson Perry to others Victoria Wood. We moved seamlessly to post election Theresa Mayhem. What joy to be had from Amber Rudd’s ‘judge us’ to shagger Boris and toady Gove. It was a rare night for the grumpy old men to celebrate and congratulate young people.  We toasted the success of social media and the possible terminal decline of the Daily Mail and then reminisced about the Rainbow Theatre and marvelled at Nick and others well spent youth. There were several attempts to end the evening but Rob’s hospitality and fine spread egged us on past bedtime. A huge thank you Rob.

 

At some point we discussed the choices for July. John tried to emulate Alan’s summaries ..and failed. Eventually we got (i think)

 

Micheal Frayn’s farce ‘Skios’ 3 votes

 

Nadeem Aslams’s ‘Blind Man’s Garden’ 6 votes

 

Graham Swift’s ‘Mothering Sunday’ 1 vote.

 

Next Meeting 10th July at No 15 8:30pm please leave AK47s at home.

 

over and out.. Jonathan

 

A particularly good night - thanks Rob! I’m feeling a bit, er, delicate I must admit.

 

Here’s that piece about Dacre I mentioned written by Brian Cathcart who I met door-knocking in Enfield North.

https://www.byline.com/column/68/article/1721

 

And here is the promised Stuart Lee excerpt. I sent it to a Tory-voting friend of mine during the campaign who lives in Tunbridge Wells. He has not spoken to me since.         

https://www.facebook.com/185180654855189/videos/1571225826250658/?pnref=story

 

Theo

08/05/17 Derek Hangover Square          Patrick Hamilton         English 1941

I popped into a bar for a beer, and sometime later I awoke in Budapest with a bit of a head. Something clicked. I shouldn't be in Budapest, there's somewhere else I should be, something I should be doing ... Crouch End, that's it. I should be in Crouch End, there's something I have to do. In Crouch End. I should be at the book group, there's something important I need to say. I'll remember in a minute, just have a couple of large ones to steady the nerves. I remember now, it's about killing Netta and going to Maidenhead. Does anyone think that the juxtaposition of murder and Maidenhead feels like a necrophiliac fantasy? 

Great choice Derek, sorry to miss the meeting. 

Nick

 

Can't remember whether I mentioned  that I won't be able to make the meeting as we have tickets for the National tonight. As Jacqi got them about a year ago having spent at least half a day on the laptop, I suspect my marriage might not survive giving preference to the group. Have a good evening.

Steve

 

I’ll be a little delayed tonight, ETA 2045. No Netta or Maidenhead related goss – there’s a war on y’know 

 Apols 

 John

 

Click!…My knees again, as I rose for the long walk along the Avenue to number 7.

 

It was Derek’s first evening as host, and what a fine evening it was. It must be stressed that none of us were there merely for the Gin and Rose’s Lime cordial, and it had nothing to do with the rumour that he’d perhaps received a few quid from a kindly aunt. We were there for warmth and friendship, which was certainly what we got. As usual the conversation swayed too and fro, much like Netta Longdon, Peter and George, on their way back from the pub(s). All felt sympathy, and pity for the inevitable demise of ‘poor old Bone’, and all felt hatred for 'that bitch’ Netta.

 

For a book that was written in the early 1940’s the subject matter was dealt with in a very modern, and open way. Issues such as mental health, alcoholism, sex, and how to play a round in 68 shots were all tackled with great skill. Geoff, who managed to read the book at the second time of asking, wondered whether the book searched for a human metaphor to express the shadow of Germany and Nazism which was looming at that time. Or something like that? What is certain is that the tragedy of George Harvey Bone endures, as do the perils of the demon drink.

 

An extremely exciting ‘vote off’ ensued for the next book choice, with proportional representation, first past the post, and postal votes all being counted. Eventually after a lengthy re-count I am pleased to announce that ‘Nights At The Circus’ by Angela Carter won by a (long) neck….All round to my house 12th June No.67

 

Other options were:

 

A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

The Sheltering Sky - Paul Bowles

 

Yours faithfully

 

Rob 

 

Please remember my cat.

 

Ever since we chose Half Woman Half Swan, I haven’t been able to get the tunes of Half Man Half Biscuit out of my mind. True story.

 

Theo

10/04/17 Steve Amy and Isabelle           Elizabeth Strout           American 1999

What goes on in Book Club ...

 

Many thanks to Steve for hosting our latest instalment, during which we discussed Amy & Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout.

 

Steve had, as ever, extensively researched the life, and works of Elizabeth Strout. Amongst other things we discovered that Amy & Isabelle was her debut novel, which had taken her six or seven years to write. She was born in Portland, Maine and had grown up in small towns. In 1982, at the age of 26 she graduated with honours, and received a law degree, however she only practiced law for six months as she had always had the desire to become a writer. A lucky escape? She is married to the former Maine Attorney General, James Tierney.

 

I think that it is fair to say that the book was almost universally enjoyed by the group. The writing style is very dense, and the subject matter is very plausible. Jonathan, who sadly was not present, found the ending to be a little bit too neat. I for one, found the book to be gripping, but unremittingly bleak. To me, even the ending could not be described as uplifting and positive, more of an ending of a phase in the mother and daughter relationship. Geoff felt very strongly that all of the male characters were portrayed in a very poor light, and with very little sympathy. Elizabeth Strout revisits the fictional town of Shirley Falls in her 2013 novel, The Burgess Boys, which is apparently full of male characters, so maybe worth a read to see how she writes from a male perspective. Amy & Isabelle is a very rich book, full of great characters, with some brilliantly excruciating set pieces. It’s a story about loneliness, missed opportunities, envy, yearning and maybe even a little bit of hope. One thing that I meant to ask was whether any of the wives had read the book, and if so what they made of it from a female perspective?

 

The conversation flowed in many directions, which is always a good sign, and took some very strange turns until settling into a long debate into the transgender world. Not sure what our therapists will make of that? So much more that I could have reported were it not for the first rule of Book Club ...

 

Nice cheese board Steve…although I note that there was a lack of dessert, however this may well have have been just in case we failed to turn up for our date. Seriously though, thanks for a fantastic book choice, and a great evening.

 

So onwards to the next meeting which is on the 8th May at Derek’s (no.7), usual time.

 

The three books that were presented are:

 

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate

Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton

 

Hangover Square was the unanimous winner.

 

After Derek, then it’s at mine, which means that I will be presenting my choices, but cannot seem to find whether we had set a date for that. No doubt someone will confirm that information.

 

Cheers all,

 

Rob

13/03/17 John Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress        Dai Silje   Chinese/French 2000

Did we get Chinese inscrutable? Yes we did. Did we get an intense visceral account of the deprivations of the cultural revolution? Not really. What we certainly got was a light rather sweetly handled tripartite love story. There was some cleverness with the introduction of the European literary influence and some nicely crafted set scenes. The feel was of a couple of lads on an adventure encountering first love which was perhaps not what we anticipated from the rather edgy opening.

 

I have to say that the taste of John's Polish sausage lasted longer than the aftertaste of the book.

 

Next time up is Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout. My place on the 10th April.

 

Steve

13/02/17 Theo Number 11          Jonathan Coe     English 2015

Theo’s  transcendantly triumphant table of turophilic treasures transfixed us on Monday. Or put another way, nice cheese board Theo....

11’s author seems to have an extraordinary capacity for producing work, and work of great (and prize-winning) calibre. Monday seems an awfully long time ago and whilst my memory of the cheese is pristine, my recollection of the discussion is far less focused.  Perhaps it’s enough to say that we all very much appreciated Theo’s choice and his hospitality. Mention of the Canterbury scene is always gratifying and it set the stage for a discussion of the multi talented Mr Coe and his work.

 

I produced three books of which Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (Dai Silje) 175pp was selected. The remaindered books were

 

Extracted by RR Haywood 402pp

The Herbaceous Affair of Cocaine Claire by David Blake  316pp

I don’t think that I pushed very hard on Cocaine Claire but Extracted is worth a look...

 

Next meeting then is at 72 Park Avenue South on the 13th March.

 

Next person to present is Steve

16/01/17 Dave A Perfect Spy       John le Carré     English 1986

A very agreeable evening was spent at Dave’s deciphering John Le Carre’s A Perfect Spy. The book was favourably received on the whole, though the familiar cry of ‘it could have been shorter’ was heard once or twice. We were all fascinated by the autobiographical nature of the story and in particular the character of Pym’s Dad who, it seemed, was almost identical to Le Carre’s own fraudster-father.

 

Warming to the theme of espionage and the intelligence community on the whole it was generally agreed that much of what they did was pissing in the wind - a waste of their time and our money. But we were grateful for the fertile territory it provided for story tellers and there are few better spinners of the spy’s yarn than JLC.

 

After some discussion of the monstrous purple house (home to the sultry songstress of street parties past), allotments and men on the moon, we turned our attentions to picking the next book.

 

The candidate titles were Julian Barnes’s ‘The Noise Of Time’, ‘A Man Lies Dreaming’ by Lavie Tidhar and Jonathon Coe’s ‘Number 11’. The quirks of the voting system left Geoff with the decisive vote and he came down in favour of Coe.  So, on February 13th we’ll be discussing Number 11 at number 36.

 

Look forward to welcoming all you then.

12/12/16 Simon The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter        Carson McCullers     American 1940

Readers

 

Most of us were moved by its bleak portrayal of the pre-war American South in the 1930s, with its desperate poverty, racism and the essential loneliness of all the characters. We were impressed by the author’s mature writing of a book completed when she was only 23.  Although set in a small town, she managed to incorporate these potent themes that continue to preoccupy the US. The main character, Mick, was intriguing and sympathetic. Many of the other characters, though strongly written, were gradually crushed by the poverty, racism, mental illness and their inability to form and sustain relationships.

 

In Copeland and his family, we saw the plight of the black underclass, repressed and unable to advance. We all felt for Willy and his lost feet. With Copeland himself, we suffered with his decline. His dignity, fierce and undiminished pride in black people were either ignored by the other characters, or met with brutal violence. It was amazing that the young author could write such a sensitive account of this family and its struggles, given her age and the time of writing.

 

Another strong character, Blount, was less sympathetic, even though he was on a mission to change the face of the capitalistic system. How he survived his alcoholic excesses and why he escaped the town were puzzling.

 

But central to the story was the role of enigmatic Singer, the mute. He was felt to be the focus of the tale, acting some felt as a therapist to almost them all of them.  Indeed, Mick fell for him big time, having an intense love, not experienced previously with either family or boyfriend. Not all of us were convinced by the seemingly profound relationship he had with Antonapoulos, who was portrayed as gross, mentally ill and unsympathetic: it was almost certain, in the minds of some of us, that this was a sexual relationship, strange as this might seem.  As the narrative progressed, Singer appeared to offer a glimpse of hope to those of us foolish enough to care for this in a novel. But his mystical presence could not be sustained. His self-inflicted demise troubled a minority of us, who felt it implausible. Worse than this, the absence of any redemptive feature as the story progressed left some of us fast forwarding to the end.

 

So, while nearly all of us enjoyed the book, the room was divided between those who felt it was superb and those who found it failed to move beyond a moving but autobiographical and largely descriptive account of small town life.

 

Our thanks to Simon for hosting another great evening in his extensively refurbished grand mansion overlooking the Park.

 

I presented three books for next time:

 

House of Spirits by Isabelle Allende

The Sell Out by Paul Beatty

A Perfect Spy by John le Carre

 

In the second round of voting, A Perfect Spy was selected. Start reading early, as it is long. Don’t be put off by its slow start.

 

We will reconvene at 58 Park Avenue South on 16th January, 20.30. Then, its Theo’s turn to present 3 books!

 

Dave

14/11/16 Nick Watchmen        Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons     English 1986

Dear Readers,

Well what a hoot!  Thank you Nick for introducing us to the slightly arcane world of the graphic novel, which, I can’t lie, was a bit of a struggle for most of us.  Not to say that we didn’t like it but let’s just say it was an interesting experience.  For those of us, me included, who were reading it on a Kindle, therefore in black and white,  found the experience a bit colourless.  Had I known that Jon was blue I may have enjoyed it more.   Perhaps a master class in the genre before reading it may have helped us to understand the obscure references to this type of book which apparently gave it some of its intrigue.  A few of us never really understood the part the pirate on the raft supported by semi-deliquescing corpses who seemed to sail into the narrative at random moments.  That and other mysteries made it quite a hard read.  Generally we were pleased to have had the opportunity to read this, but can we please, not have another!

 

But we had a brilliant discussion and all points of view were heard and considered.  And the cheese was really rather good.  A great evening Nick and thank you for the choice of book and your hospitality.  

 

And thank you everybody for a great evening.  I enjoyed hearing of Theo’s spell in Washington and the subsequent talk of the Trump election which I am sure is a subject we will return to.  The world has become a scarier place with many areas of instability of the geographical kind as well as political.  It sometimes feels like a race between the people of the world  continuing to become better educated, richer, more democratic and more peaceful, and the likes of Trump/Putin  blowing us all to smithereens before we make it.  We will just carry on reading graphic novels and I am sure it will all be fine.

 

So three cheers for a proper book!  “The heart is a lonely hunter” by Carson McCullers has been chosen for our next read.  “Slow Horses” by Mick Herron and “All the light I cannot see” by Anthony Doerr didn’t make it through the voting system despite three attempts.

 

I look forward to seeing you all on a jolly outing to the wild badlands of Southgate on 12th December. I am sure I can rustle up some grits and pancakes or whatever it is they were eating in the southern states of America in the 40’s.  Road kill probably.

 

Yours Simon


Hi Nick

 

I’m torn and conflicted                                          “SIGH”

 

I want to hear the discussion on a work that i found fascinating and challenging (thanks for suggesting it!) but I do risk killing half the group if my severe chesty cough is contagious. Is this too big a price for world peace? I think maybe it is, so full of regret (and missing the comments about the merits of a novel based at least partly on unconventional sailing craft) I’ll leave my costume in the wardrobe tonight.

 

 PAS Men’s Book Club  Unite!

 

 John

 

Alan sends his apologies from Las Vegas, but he is still doing his homework

10/10/16 Alan Deaf Sentence          David Lodge     English 2008

Several "firsts" at the meeting on Monday - Alan's first hosting evening, and jolly good it was, especially the Tottenham cheese - thank you Alan.

 

It was also the first evening that Derek attended, welcome.  I hope you enjoyed it and will return for many more. The first meeting of the group was on 29th November 2006, when we read about Ukranian tractors.

 

We had a full house to discuss Deaf Sentence by David Lodge. Surprisingly, it was more than an hour before anyone cupped their ear and said "Pardon?".

 

The book was received very positively, a minority report was filed by Simon, who only started to enjoy it after the Auschwitz sequence. The conversational tone of the writing was appreciated, and we could all remember many of the set pieces, such the Christmas parties, the conversations with Alex, the visits to Desmond's father in Brickley. The fact that we had little sympathy for Desmond, despite his frustration with disability maybe reinforced the theory that blindness is a tragedy but deafness is a cue for a joke. There seemed to be some reluctance to share our feelings on the likelihood of a 70 year old man being groomed by a young post-grad woman, my own experiences with "Josephine" were treated with a degree of scepticism. Some of us had read earlier David Lodge novels, and felt that Deaf Sentence compared unfavourably because it lacked a strong narrative thread. The relationship between Desmond and Fred was enjoyed, especially the way it was developed from a pretty spiky start to real affection when Desmond had to deal with the death of his father.

 

Next month's offerings were Air, by Geoff Ryman, a doppel-ganger of Philip K Dick books, Ubik and The Man in the High Castle, and Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The Dicks were eliminated first, then Air lost out to the graphic novel, (our first),  Watchmen. You could have knocked me down with a speech bubble. This now means that we have selected 6 of Time Magazine's greatest 100 20th century novels. I see that Thomas Pynchon has two novels in the list - can't wait.

 

Avengers Assemble at no.73, 8.30pm on Monday 14th November.

Nick

12/09/16 Geoff Star of the Sea           Joseph O'Connor     Irish 2004

Our numbers were somewhat depleted in September. We were starved of numbers, with many joining the ranks of the unemployed or leaving the country. However at the final reckoning the ‘magnificent 7’ rode on into the wee small hours well-lubricated and fed despite much talk of famine. And to get us started we had an interesting discussion on the many and varied dishes that could be made from the humble spud and indeed festivals in praise of it.

 

 Initially boosted by our recently acquired book-club fame - Theo’s interview in the Ham and High where we were mentioned as a high point in his social calendar (methinks you ought to get out more) – we moved on to discuss Joseph O’Connor’s tale of desperate times in Ireland, the plight of emigrants and murder and intrigue on the high seas (with a hint of Miss Marple but slimmed down). All accompanied by music from Joseph’s well-known sister, Sinead, and steaming platefuls of potato, onion and bacon etc provided by Geoff and Mariana. Our lot was certainly not blighted.

 

 An interesting discussion with the balance really enjoying the read. We delved into the history and discussed where there may have been a few historical inaccuracies. We enjoyed the diversity of the cast of characters even if it did seem far-fetched that they all ended up in/on the same boat. Class distinctions showed up starkly both in Ireland and on the accommodations in the journey.  All in all it was agreed it was a good tale well told and let us appreciate a bit more about part of our history not well-known (at least not by the magnificent 7).

 

 As a fitting ending we discussed population challenges. We were all sad to bid farewell to Martin but hoped we could persuade Simon to repatriation. We also agreed to seek new blood from the nether ends of Park Avenue South and will be inviting Derek from number 7 to join us (must be something about the number 7 – there’s a whole theme going on). There was some debate that he might be a closet Spurs supporter but as the group already has a Kilmarnock supporter it was thought standards couldn’t get much lower.

 

 We had a tense consideration of the book choice for October. Immediately rejected with ‘nul points’ was a story of dysfunctional American family – the Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. Which meant a nail biting tie between Whit by Iain Banks - a tale of a remote Scottish sect and its exposure to the big bad world (London) (it’s better than it sounds – honest – and would have given me the opportunity to let you try haggis pakora) and Deaf Sentence by David Lodge, a book close to my own hearing.

 

 Looking forward to our meeting in October. 

 

 Kind regards

 

 Alan

 

Martin - Sorry to see you go. Try for the holy grail of retirement and the book group can be yours again!

 

Can't make this month as still sunning myself in Turkey. However, I dutifully read the book. I am partial to the occasional historical novel and for me this was a great example and a cracking read. The emotionally charged political and social background was seemlessly reflected in the intensity of the story. I thought him to be a powerful writer and enjoyed the narrative flow being driven by the various characters at different points in the story. Maybe a chapter from the perspective of the wife might have been interesting. However the change in the angle of the story being told by different characters gave the book an additional edge. The characters themselves were I felt often complex so the reader was not entirely sure what to expect and this created another level of interest. There was a bit of Agatha Christie in the coincidence of all the characters being on board together but this conceit to my mind worked well. I even enjoyed reading the footnotes.

 

Have a good evening.

 

Steve

10/08/16 Jonathan Coming Through Slaughter    Michael Ondaatje    Sri-Lanka/Canada 2004

At about the time the builders were putting the finishing touches to the houses of PAS, Buddy Bolden, the first virtuoso of the jazz trumpet, was assailing the ears of the denizens of Storyville, New Orleans, with his ground breaking loud clear tones and emotionally resonant wails. Storyville was hot and dirty, its dance halls full of drunks , prostitutes, gamblers and river men.  Down the levees, plying for trade, were the broken-ankled mattress girls, trying to avoid their brutal pimps.

 

Buddy, king of the cornet, the legendary originator of Jazz, comes to us word of mouth, no recordings, no written music,  just the accounts of fellow musicians and the tributes composed afterwards by jazz greats such as Jelly Roll Morton in his ‘Buddy Bolden’s Blues’  and Louis Armstrong, who was in the audience, barely out of short pants.

 

Could this dissolute, syncopated way of living be recaptured? Michael Ondaatje had a very good go in Coming through Slaughter, and our own Jonathon laid on all the ingredients for the PAS street life gathering; Cajun chicken , roasted corn and Jack Daniels for the wash down, with piano rag playing in the background. Something special… You had to be there !

 

We enjoyed the cast of characters, the free loving, easy living bunch of them; lovers, musicians, prostitutes, sleuths , perverted photographer and barber shop victim. We admired the way the writing imitated the free flowing improvisation of jazz, although we got a little lost with the narrative and authorial  jumps. We were caught up in the compulsive cornet of Buddy, loved him as a tender father, felt for him as an obsessive artist, marvelled  at his parade fandom, feared for his self-destructive alcoholism and expressed alarm at  the flimsy grounds for asylum incarceration at only 31 years old; while the jazz  he pioneered took the world by storm.

 

We recognised Ondaatje ( although we struggled to pronounce his name) later to become the writer of ‘ The English Patient’, crafting a young man’s brave, experimental piece of impressionistic prose and poetry,  if perhaps some of us would have liked more character development and plot, in its own terms it was a vivid read.  We learned much from Jonathon about his father in Sri Lanka, losing the family fortune through gambling, while Michael was at boarding school in Dulwich.  Michael’s  older brother redeemed the family , building as future in Canada and becoming a generous benefactor and perhaps easing Michaels path as a writer.

 

The trajectory of the evening nevertheless had unexpected twists, the mellow mood drifted from Storyville to frustrations about changed aisles in Tescos’, symbolising,  maybe, that PAS is a long way from, turn of the (last) century, New Orleans.

 

Onwards to the next gathering of bibliophiles. The choice was made with scant regard to the accompanying victuals.  Disregarded was the possibility of strudel with rejection of, the Austrian, Stefan Zweig’s hugely regarded Beware of Pity. Pancakes could have been the fare, but Kent Haruf’s  gentle paean to small town life in Holt, Colorado, ‘Plainsong’ was similarly overlooked. When we next gather , on Monday 12th September, at 69 PAS, we will discuss the privations of the Irish potato famine as brought to life in Joseph ‘O’ Connor’s gripping tale of ne’er do well’s,  ‘Star of the Sea’.  Catering to be appropriately meagre!!

 

Looking forward to seeing you all in the post-holiday balm of early September, when the Brexit storm maybe a distant memory, football destinies will be taking shape and the Labour party will be close to finding a leader!!

 

Cheers

 

Geoff

04/07/16 Rob Ventoux      Bert Wagendorp      Dutch 2014

Dear All

 

Ventoux not only stirred Rob's adolescent memories but most of ours. In case those were a little misty he arranged to have a house full of young people, slipping in and out the doors, music, laughter and energy. If that was not enough the hopeful Twitter contact with author Bert Wagendorp brought a reply not only about the book, the man and but his bombed relative. It was going to be another special evening. The wine was poured, the feast of fine food began.

 

So we started, most loved the book but fortunately not everyone. Steve certainly wasn't seduced by the cosy buddy-ism, nor the missing adolescent yearning for sex. We got to wonder about the translation, disagreed about the possibly glib ending and the music. Geoff felt the relationships ran true and deep and of course there was the suicide or possibly the accident; the clarity of the signals to Peter's dark side; the Night Porter; the floating brothel, blind long lost sons and annoying tall basket ball players. Then there was Laura. Theo joined us mid fray and we realised we hadn't mentioned the cycling. Half the group yearned to be back on their childhood paper round. It then morphed to visual images of Dave threatened with a bread knife, Alan's hairdryer defence and slipping seemlessly into Brexit horror and gossip.

 

Thanks Rob what a cracker..

 

Next meeting's offerings included:

 

Wartime magic realism of 'All The Light We Cannot See'  by Anthony Doerr (1 vote)

First novel Gothic masterpiece 'The Loney' by Andrew Michael Hurley (2 votes)

1976 Jazz first from Michael Ondaatje 'Coming Through Slaughter' (4 votes)

 

We meet at my house number 15 on 1/8/16 and then at Geoff's on 12/9/16

after Geoff one of Alan or Simon or Martin

 

Jonathan

 

The author's response to Rob's searching questions -

 

1. Can you tell me a bit about yourself? Age, place of birth, interests, first bike (a red Raleigh?), heroes.

 

I was born November 5th 1956, in a small town called Groenlo, in the eastern part of the Netherlands. From early on, reading was a passion, sometimes my parents insisted on going outside, and leave the books behind. What saved me, perhaps, was an interest in sports. I've played soccer from very young, until I became a sports journalist and had to work in the weekends. My first heroes were footballplayers (Cruijff, but also Brasilians like Gerson and Rivelinho), Dutch speedskaters, (Ard Schenk), and cyclists (Jan Janssen, Eddy Merckx). My first writing hero was, perhaps strange, Mark Twain, because I liked Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn so much. At the time I didn't know he was a nineteenth-century writer. It could be that something of the two friends (and de river) came back in Ventoux. 

 

2. How much of Ventoux is autobiographical? I was born in 1964, so the same age as the characters in the

book, and parts of it really remind me of being  a teenager. (Since drafting this question, I re-read the part

at the end where you acknowledge other people’s input. So maybe it was a collective set of memories?).

 

There's always an autobiographical element in every novel, I think. I am a journalist, as Bart Hoffman is. He is divorced and has one daughter, like me. His father is a schoolteacher, my grandfather was a head of school in Groenlo. I have very old friendships, like Bart's, dating back 45 years or more. It's true that some memories, the musical ones for instance, are more my girlfriends than mine. She's born in 1963, like the friends in Ventoux. First they listened to music that belonged to my generation, but I changed that a couple of weeks before publication, because it didn't match. 

 

3. There’s a lot of use of musical tracks in the book. Is this because music provides a really good means of

'time travel’? It’s great for reminding us where and when we were somewhere.

 

Yes, the function of music in the book is to define a certain period, and from loads of reactions I know that it works, at least for the generation that recognizes the songs from their own youth.

 

4. There’s a quote along the lines of ‘Writers don’t make great cyclists, and cyclists don’t make great writers.’

Would you rather be a great cyclist, although from my experience they are both pretty tough professions.

 

I sometimes dream that I'm taking part in the Tour de France. Somehow I always end up being fifth of sixth, I can't win. We have a pretty good writer here, who ended number three in the Tour and won the stage to Alpe d'Huez twice: Peter Winnen. So maybe in general the quote could be right, but there are exceptions. I prefer being a writer above being a cyclist, though. I miss the mental toughness to be a good rider, I think, and I don't care too much about winning. And you can continue to write until you die, which can't be said of riding.

 

5. Is it difficult, strange, satisfying seeing your work translated into English? do you feel that there anything

'lost in translation’?

 

It is very satisfying to see the book travel the World, in English, but also in French, German, Norwegian and Danish. In a strange way I think there is something won, in the English translation. English is a more compact language than Dutch, somehow it's often more to the point. That's of course a compliment to the translator.

 

6. I’ve not seen the film, but will watch it at some point. It sounds quite unusual to base a book on a screen play, was it difficult to do?

 

I followed both paths, the book and the film-scenario, together and from early on. It were almost two different projects. In the book I could do things that were impossible in the movie, and the other way round. At a certain point, other scenarists took over and I went on to finish the book. So it's not exactly a book based on the screen play, it's a book and a screen play coming from the same source. By the way: the book had been adapted to a theater play as well, which was pretty successful last winter.

 

7. In the end I wondered whether the book provided some sort of metaphor for the good, bad and 'all points in

between', in professional cycling. Do you see any truth in that?

 

No, I don't think so. Cycling and the Mont Ventoux are part of the décor of the book, and are a metaphor themselves: for friendship, for the passing of time, for life. I didn't intend to comment on the good and bad of professional cycling. I've never been very interested in that, even as a journalist I took the sport as it came, without being a moralist. In fact, I hate moralists, especially those in cycling.

 

8. Lastly, any more books in the pipe-line?

 

Yes. Last year I wrote a book with my daughter, on the relationship between fathers and daughters. Recently Een zaterdagmiddag (A Saturday afternoon) was published, based on a tragic event that took place in my family during WW II. (In fact, my mothers sisters died in a bombardment of English airplanes). And in January, my new novel Masser Brock will come out. It's about a journalist/columnist of a national newspaper, so it has some autobiographical elements as well. But the main theme is: news and how it reflects reality. There are no cyclists around.

 

Thank you very much for the compliments, Rob!

 

Kind regards, Bert

16/05/16 Steve Herzog       Saul Bellow       American 1964

Dear book fellows,

 

Many thanks must go to ‘recently retired’ Judge Morley for an excellent evening, and for a stimulating choice of book. It’s fair to say that the book taught us many things about the life of Moses E. Herzog, and perhaps even more about the mind of Saul Bellow. The consensus felt that Bellow’s novel picked up pace and structure as it developed,* which was probably due to the (tedious) letters becoming fewer and fewer.

 

Indeed, my feeling was that many of us had learnt to skip any of the longer italicised passages without fear that we were missing any vital plot developments. Enough, already.

 

Opinion was divided as to whether Herzog-Bellow was simply a misogynist schmuck, or a scheming misogynist ‘crumpeter'. Either way it was agreed that his stance on women would not have translated well in the present day. There was some debate as to whether the fact that Herzog had been duped and manipulated by Madeline and Valentine, which was based on an incident in Bellow’s personal life, had in some way contributed to his portrayal of the women characters. Steve assured some of us that there were lots of comical elements in the novel, and a similarity was drawn between the humour of Herzog-Bellow and Woody Allen.

 

On reflection, and quite strangely, one of the things that none of us talked about was the dramatic episode of the young Herzog’s sexual molestation by a stranger on a street in Chicago. I’m wondering now whether this was also taken from Bellow’s life?

 

All in all a fantastic evening, with a feast of bagels, smoked salmon, cream cheese (schmear?), chopped liver and many other goodies.

 

We were also treated to a fantastic gymnastic display by Geoff. You had to be there!

 

Next meeting is on July 4th (Le Tour Stage 3 Granville to Angers) at my house, No.67. Hopefully in the garden, bring fleeces.

 

The three excellent books on offer to the group were:

 

Ventoux (2013) by Bert Wagendorp 

If Nobody Speaks Of Remarkable Things (2002) by Jon McGregor 

The Sea, The Sea (1978) by Iris Murdoch

 

The winner, by a casting vote, was Ventoux, which ticks two boxes for this group, our first Dutch author, and our first cycling/sports novel. For anyone unfamiliar with the history and significance of Mount Ventoux, here’s a link to a short film which will give you some info: https://youtu.be/zD-CjcwwU_w

 

The date for the meeting after mine, at Jonathan’s (No.15), was set for August 1st.

 

See you all soon.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

 

*P.S.Having just been researching on Wikipedia for this email, the change in structure/development of the novel is described in the following way:

 

the psychological clarification that is taking place at the level of content is reflected stylistically in the movement from a predominantly epistolary mode towards a more linearly organized narrative…(Pseuds corner anyone?)

11/04/16 John Daniel Deronda      George Eliot       English 1876

Thanks John for an enjoyable evening. Most of us fell in love with the book or at least most of the 900 pages. Some of us even fell in love with Gwendolen and some with Mirah. Falling in love with George Elliot was not such a popular option though I am sure the portrait does not do her justice. We were, however bowled over with her writing skills and scholarship. Although from a modern perspective some rigorous editing would certainly have been called for, her descriptive passages were a delight and her insight into the society described  and the associated lifestyle was fascinating. Some elements of the storyline were of course somewhat melodramatic and contrived but that is the nature of the beast. Certainly we enjoyed dissecting the characters and I think most of us felt they were engrossed in the narrative.


The very strong feminist agenda was perhaps a bit of a surprise in that the female characters were in general presented as victims of a male dominant society and laws of inheritance that reinforced their oppression unless like Gwendolen, they were in possession of physical attributes that gave them a certain, albeit limited power.

 

Again, from a modern perspective, the absence of any journey into the physical side of the relationships was somewhat limiting but of course such an exploration would have gone beyond what was acceptable.

 

Next meeting at my place on the 23rd May. The book- Herzog by Saul Bellow.

22/02/16 Theo Trainspotting       Irvine Welsh        Scottish 1993

Thanks Theo for skankin’ oot aw providin’ skag and weed , ya Crouchendie c***.   Na, serious, likesay, yer a canny c***   fer  it wiz a grand even’n, ken.

 

Enough, enough. Trainspotting was (almost) universally held to be a vibrant engaging read, rich and decadent fare documenting pond life of many varieties.  Sadly, not all the scotch eggs disappeared but the intravenous camembert was popular, and the spread of food was of the finest quality......

 

Next book will be Daniel Deronda, George Elliot’s last novel and is to be discussed at John’s (no 72) on the 11 April.   700 or so pages so start now....

 

It’s available for nowt in digital form, as were the other two books proposed, Thackeray’s “Vanity Fare” and Elizabeth Gaskell’s “Cranford”. Otherwise, penguins  Classic series will oblige

 

Thereafter at Steve's on the 23rd May for a potential Austenfest

 

 Regards John

20/01/16 Dave A Brief History of Seven Killings        Marlon Jones        Jamaican 2015

Apologies for the lateness of this communication.

 

A most convivial Burns night/Rob’s birthday was spent at Dave’s picking the bones out of Booker winning A Brief History Of Seven Killings by Marlon James. And while the jerk chicken was universally lauded, the book was the subject of a more mixed reception. Long and decidedly unwieldy, many of us failed to finish it. Indeed Rob decided to bale about two thirds of the way through when he realised that, though he didn’t hate it, he wasn’t really enjoying it. The narrative was certainly fuzzy and there was a certain amount of confusion surrounding the clear identification of characters but the quality of the dialogue and the vivid, Tarantinoesque action was generally liked. Geoff suggested that the anarchic structure of the book might have been a conscious choice on James’s part to reflect the crazy and dangerous nature of world it depicted. We look forward to the HBO TV adaptation that is apparently in the offing.

 

Candidate books for our next read were Jonathon Franzen’s ‘Freedom’, Richard Price’s “Bloodbrothers’ and Irvine Welsh’s ‘Trainspotting’ which got the nod with a near unanimous vote. Danny Boyle is preparing to make the sequel of his seminal film so it seemed like a good time to revisit the skag-loving Edinburghites and their jolly japes. It is to be hoped that 'A Brief History' hasn’t put everyone off patois because there is plenty of that in trainspotting albeit of a Jockular kind.

 

Look forward to seeing you all at 36 PAS on Monday 22 February.

 

Theo

14/12/15 Nick Nothing To Envy         Barbara Demick         American 2009

Our thanks to Nick for hosting an enjoyable evening discussing "Nothing to envy: ordinary lives in North Korea" by Barbara Demick.


We began the meeting by raising a glass to Ian, wishing him well in his new life on the south coast.

 

 In order to get us into the mood, Nick had kindly provided examples of Korean cuisine, that was sampled with trepidation by the more adventurous. However, this did not prevent an initial spirited discussion of the nature of the book and the remit of the Group. Although the book has been described as a "part novelization", Steve felt strongly that not withstanding the interesting subject, it was mere reportage. Nick suggested that although we are a Group that is primarily interested in fiction, there have been many exceptions to the fiction only rule. After much discussion, it was decided that in future, if non fiction work is to be considered, it should be offered only as a single option along with two works of fiction.

 

 Most found the book to be an interesting read, but not everyone enjoyed it. The main characters the author interviewed were from Chongjin, an industrial city chosen because the capital Pyongyang is a show city where there is strict state control over expression. As the six narratives unfolded, the countries economic position declined dramatically as they were gripped in the great 1990s famine. Despite the increasing deprivation, there was only a slow realisation that the regime was responsible and that there could be a better way of life. Two of the interviewees, Mrs Song and Dr Kim found it hard to accept that their country was not the ideal place to live. It took a border crossing for one of them to realise that dogs in China were fed better than people in North Korea. Many of us admired the colourful and rebellious nature of Oak-hee, and wished her narrative had been given more prominence in the "novelization".

 

 I presented 3 books for the Group to consider, All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr (a war story with a difference), To rise again at a decent hour by Joshua Ferris (a dental theological thriller) and A brief history of seven killings by Marlon James (a post independence Jamaican Yardee CIA thriller). Fortunately, Alan was on hand to act as returning officer, as there was a recount once page counts were exposed. Nevertheless, the most popular choice remained that written by Marlon James. We meet to discuss all 704 pages at 58 PAS on 25th January (Rob's birthday and Burn's night!).

 

Theo agreed to host the following Group meeting. Because of electronic entry failure, I failed to successfully note the date. Could someone please circulate?

 

 Dave

09/11/15 Geoff Independence Day         Richard Ford          American 1995

Thanks for another great evening, Geoff. You have to feel sorry for the Americans, while they snack on popcorn, us Brits get to savour Stilton, the king of all cheese.

 

We all agreed that Richard Ford is a great writer, perhaps with a tendency to write Faulkner length sentences, but with a neat turn of phrase. Most people, led by Steve, enjoyed the Americana on show, the relationships, the strong characters, and the cramming of so much detail into the narrative. On the opposing side, Jonathan disliked the references to American culture and sport, while Alan got fed up with all the time Frank spent in his car. Rob was reminded of the Rabbit books. I would have preferred a book with a plot, but I am quite tempted to have a go at another Ford novel. Personal experience of retinal detachment made me critical of the medical treatment of Paul.

 

Frank provided plenty of ammunition for our discussion, a complex character who can analyse forever about where he is going wrong, but can't be bothered to do anything about it. He should come to the book group, we would sort him out.

 

The theme for our next meeting is "oppressive regimes". Three titles on offer -

 

Marching Powder, a Bolivian prison memoir by Rusty Young

Stasiland, Stories from behind the Berlin Wall by Anna Funder

Nothing To Envy, Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

 

Ian got out his paper and pen for the last time (which pub and when, Ian?), and the vote was taken.

 

Stasiland was quickly rejected, followed by that cracking tale, Marching Powder.

 

So, Nothing To Envy will be under interrogation at no. 73, 8.30pm, Monday 14th December.

28/09/15 Martin The Shipping News         E. Annie Prouix         American 1993

A seeker of small communities in austere landscapes and  a sore thumb among the London glitterati at the publishers bash, Ms Proulx, an unapproachable ice lady warmed and softened when, our very own ice breaker, the urbane and effortlessly charming  Martin engaged her on the subject of film rights  (or perhaps seeking a pillion companion on his Triumph Tiger 850 ) A brief encounter that ended in eventual disappointment, but still regarded as a significant notch in the belt by the PAS book group, which was bolstered by the welcome presence of our newest addition, Alan.

 

Martin described the strong minded and purposeful presence that shaped the much admired ‘The Shipping News’ and we agreed that she was a woman with an intuitive grip on the way hardships of climate, landscape and occupation shape character and community, her kinship with the physical having a masculine quality. We loved the sense of risk and precipice, the way the place names foretold of imminent disaster, how this gave rise to an understated and terse banter and solid camaraderie expressed in both the wit of the sub- editor headline summaries and the muscular prose style. We identified with the male craziness of the leaving party for Nutbeem, admired the craft skills of Alvin Yark and feared for the future of Dennis and Beety and for the disappearing life of communities like this. Whilst we admired the resilience of Newfoundlanders, to a man, we would choose to live on in the soft belly  and temperate clime of London, although a brief holiday in the warmer months would not go amiss. We despaired over Quoyle’s continued devotion to Petal and felt he was more and ready to move on;  we queried the ending with the resurrection of Jack Buggit, feeling that he had been served up an appropriate death, but these were minor quibbles to set against resounding approval for the choice. Thanks to Martin for a great evening and delicious nibbles... and I for one did see a white dog on leaving!

 

 Next up is another American author and Pulitzer prize winner, Richard Ford’s  ‘Independence Day’,  the second instalment in the life of sportswriter turned  estate agent , Frank Bascombe, his ‘existence’ period. This won by a clear majority over the provincial charms of  JL Carr’s 1950’s debut novel ’One day in summer’ and, in last position,  the considerable talent of Joseph Conrad and his tale of 19th century terrorism in London  ‘The Secret Agent’,  which received no backing. We next meet at nos. 69 at 8.30pm on the eve Monday Nov. 9th.  and then subsequently at Nick’s on either the 15th or 16th of December. The X’Mas book party has a been scheduled by our better half’s for Tues 22nd.

 

Cheers Geoff

31/08/15 Simon Smallcreep's Day          Peter Currell Brown          English 1965

Many thanks to Simon and Dave last night for a joint honours in hospitality, added and abetted by their two splendid daughters – the one producing delicious brownies, the other some extremely professional mojitos and margaritas.

 

The merits of Smallcreep’s Day were chewed over, and whilst the author’s original ambitions for the novel in terms of his quest were admired, most thought the structure of the book rather let him down. Most of us understood how the book had become a cult success during the era in which it was written, the late 60’s, but there was the inescapable feeling that time and the conditions of the factory floor had moved on since then, leaving Mr. Smallcreep’s quest rather quixotic, if not irrelevant  to modern times. We enjoyed the individual descriptions of the fantastic machinery and the many isolated surreal incidents, but felt that these in themselves were not enough to carry the day and produce the convincing satirical knock out punch which perhaps should have arrived when he was in a position to finally locate his own component but failed to do so.

 

So next month we swap the swarf of the factory floor for the squidburgers and peeling lino of the “ Heavy Weather “ in Newfoundland, in The Shipping News, by Annie Proulx, and I look forward to welcoming you all to No. 44 on Monday 28th September.

 

All best

Martin

31/07/15 Jonathan H is for Hawk          Helen MacDonald          English 2014

Dear Readers,

First of all let me say a big thank you to Jonathan for the delicious nibbles, cheese and raw meats which I am sure Mable would have enjoyed too.  It was a most friendly and enjoyable meeting in fact and we managed to slalom around the membership issue too.  All good stuff!

 

 The book, chosen by Jonathan “H for Hawk” proved  worthy of lengthy discussion.  Nobody seemed to warm to Helen.  Damaged possibly, depressed probably, bereaved certainly from her adored Dad.  Struggling to come to terms with the loss in the bleak windswept fields of Cambridgeshire.  I loved the description of the lands and countryside, this was shared by many of us but with Geoff particularly the three threads of the story didn’t quite work.  In fact it may well lead to some reading T.H. White’s book “Gos” which by all accounts is a cracking yarn.

 

The discussion led on to other areas prompted largely by the content of the book, hunting, shooting, eating meat, serving your friends road kill for dinner.  Depression, loneliness,  difficult women and not much football.

 

A great evening, thank you all.

 

 Onwards to our next meeting which I am hosting at Dave’s  gaff,  thank you David for your generous offer.  The book we have chosen is “Smallcreep’s Day” by Peter Currel Brown.  A small book at 192 pages but I think perfectly formed.  I do hope you enjoy it and we will meet chez Dave,  at 8.30 on August 31st for another lovely evening.

 

 Yours Simon


29/06/15 Rob Randall           Jonathan Gibbs          English 2014

Rob's garden, what a setting for a magical warm evening for the book group.....when out of the undergrowth a custard coloured Geoff emerges to announce this is our 80th meeting. A toast and congratulations all round. It turns out that Jonathan Gibbs was another graduate of the UEA MA course in creative writing. We heard he has declared his inspiration for writing Randall, his first book, from Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road', Thomas Mann's 'Dr Faustus', Geoff Dyer's 'The Colour of Memory' and Siri Hustvedt's 'What I Loved'. Whether he knew it of not it was clear to Nick that the empty swimming pool on...was it page 43?- signified a love of J G Ballard. Unfortunately Nick was unable to attend and elaborate and Kieran apparently read the book but could not come. Dave and the critics thought Vincent was drawn from Nick Carraway the narrator in Great Gatsby.

 

Universally we admired the first 50 pages, some clever ideas, the courage to tackle the subject and his writing skill. Warm praise from John as it lasted 3 days. Less warm praise from others, especially Theo who thought that this was two separate novels started with flare and finished with disappointment and Dave who felt that this, like Conceptual Art in general, was better not started in the first place and definitely not worth a sequel. We wondered about the end of the novel, was the huge copulating tableau hidden behind the Randall facing the Matisse or was it more subtle statement about art in general. We then moved on to discus character 'was Vincent a douche bag?' ; fellow artists 'was Anish Kapoor's installation a trumpet or a vagina?'; modern art's legacy  'what did they make of Picasso originally'; conceptual art 'who can name a conceptual artist from say Austria ..Hitler! from John on sparkling form who then produced a Sunshine for Rob.....the wine flowed, delicious cold meats and cheese followed..all wonderful.

 

Thank you Rob.

 

The next book group on the 27th July at Jonathan's No15 ...you preferred 'H for Hawk' by Helen Macdonald to the smells and bodies of pre revolutionary Paris in 'Pure' by Andrew Miller and to 'Artic Summer' Damon Galgut's tribute to E M Forster.


Rob


Very sorry not to be coming to the meeting tonight. I really enjoyed the book. It fitted in well with a couple of recent TV programmes, the documentary about Grayson Perry's (Greatest Living Englishman) Julie House, and Victoria Coren's series "How to be Bohemian". I thought the various themes of Randall's work were just on the edge of believable. He needed Vincent because what's the point of setting out to shock the world if the world isn't watching (cribbed from the VC programme).


I decided early on that Gibbs is a Ballard fan, putting the narrator into an unfamiliar world, referring to everyone by single names, so I was pleased to find a drained swimming pool (page 43).


I thought it started to waffle towards the end, but I liked he open-ended conclusion, even if the revelation about the large painting was a bit corny.


Nick

27/05/15 Steve Pereira Maintains           Antonio Tabucchi   Italian 1994

Morley maintains that everyone had been given sufficient notice of the time, place and date of the meeting. Some had escaped to the coast in order to escape the stifling heat of N8, whilst others were thought to be in hiding in safe houses, or perhaps even at the local thalassotherapeutic clinic.There was certainly no smell of frying in the air, although Piedade, or maybe Manuel, had been busy preparing a fine spread. Morley maintains that the apricots, olives and almonds were from Portugal (by way of Waitrose), and that custard tarts(pasties de nata) were hard to come by in these difficult times.

It seems that the group maintains (enough of that!) that Pereira Maintains was a thoroughly enjoyable read. The descriptive prose which painted a scene of the oppressive heat, and times in Lisbon, was likened to the writing of Albert Camus in The Stranger. One criticism of the book, which was made by Dave, was that most of the other characters were underdeveloped. All agreed that this was probably a very deliberate style which added to the very succinct nature of the writing. There was also a universal shared ignorance about the political and cultural situation in Portugal at this time. I think that most of us felt quite fond of Dr. Pereira, and could easily identify with some of his inner turmoils. The writing of Antonio Tabucchi painted an intriguing picture of pre war Portugal, and all present maintained that although small this was an (almost) perfectly formed novel.

 

The next book, which for the first time in living memory, was decided by a unanimous decision, is ‘Randall’ by Jonathan Gibbs (314 pages Published June 2014). Enjoy.

 

The date for that book to be discussed is 29th June, at no.67, where Jonathan will present his choices. Hopefully it’ll be warm enough to sit outside or at least in the conservatory.

26/04/15 John The Long Firm           Jake Arnott English 2000

The winning combination of charismatic psychopath and theories of social deviance proved irresistible to most of us. The style was pacey and the storyline strong. There were a few dissenting voices as to the credibility of some of the storyline in particular, the last segment, but this was balanced by others who felt that the tongue in cheek humour more than sustained the departure from a believable reality. All of us seemed to enjoy the evocation of time and place which was coupled with a nostalgia for a Soho that has since undergone a substantial facelift. Opportunity for a book group outing before it finally disappears?

The next book is an altogether gentler affair, Pereira Maintains by Antonio Tabucchi. Slightly surprised by the choice but he is a very highly regarded writer and the book has a compelling characteristic - it is SHORT!

See you all on the 27th May at no: 54. The date after will be the 29th June with Rob choosing.

Steve

16/03/15 Theo Alone In Berlin            Hans Fallada   German 1947

 Thank you Theo for a very hospitable evening. Having dealt very politely with guests commenting on the lighting conditions, age of lamps and so on, Theo took us on the kind of authorial  biographical trail that would leave producers fighting to sign up the film rights to Hans Fallada's improbable life

We barely commented on Ciaran (really!) and Geoff was unmasked as an internationally acknowledged "fixer" concentrating on world problems and hot spots whilst putting the bookgroup some distance behind world peace and fuel security and Martin needs his own wind up satellite communications centre (can't rely on anything else...)

 

The overwhelming impression was that the book was a good, even very good, choice -  the book had a great many virtues and was very well written but it was a very uncomfortable read for some, if  less so for others. How is one to react to a poisonous regime? Run? - he didn't. His motives appear confused by his mental illness and substance dependence so attributing courage or cowardice to his character would take several more evenings and I'm not sure that even Theo's copious supplies of Wurst would hold out that long. It was universally held that the book had substance and it provoked a wide ranging discussion - well done Theo.

 

On to the next choice, and the voting. The Buried Giant was indeed a faller at the first hurdle after a  reaffirmation of the rule that there should always be a paperback version available of any novel chosen by the group. But that title  can come again when a paperback version is available.  Tessa Gerritson's  "Vanish "  and Caleb Carr's "The Alienist" were passed over in favour of Jake Arnott's "The Long Firm".   Sixties soho themes will be the order of the day but no jellied eels I'm afraid. Maybe some warm watneys?

 

Next meeting then is 27th April at John's (72). Then Steve will present choices ready for the 10th June

 

See ya  dahn the shpieler.......

 

John

26/01/15 Ian She's Come Undone          Wally Lamb    American 1992

A very enjoyable evening at Ian’s - complete with lovely cheese, cold cuts and the kind of doughnuts Dolores would have died for - was spent picking the bones out of Wally Lamb’s ‘She’s Come Undone’. Everyone agreed with Ian when he said ‘Wally Lamb’ is a very good name, but the reception for his debut novel was more mixed.

 

Jonathan was better able than the rest of us to sympathise with Dolores and felt her anti social behaviour - and her heft - was the understandable consequence of her childhood misfortunes. More common was the view that that her obnoxiousness made her difficult for the reader to  root for. One highlight that went down well(!) was Dolores’s night of sapphic, roly-poly passion with Dotty, the obese university cleaner, and the subsequent brutal extermination of her goldfish. Another saw Delores flirting with total psychiatric relapse after viciously pushing her best mate, Rosemary, down the stairs.

 

But it was generally thought that, these episodes aside, Lamb pulled back too often from the edge, creating a memoir of middling misery; perfect for Oprah Winfrey who championed the book and made it a bestseller.

 

Perhaps the most stark reaction was Dave’s who more than once was heard to demand: ‘Why? Why write this book?’.

 

The group’s newest member Ciaran was unable to attend but will debut next time. He sent a written summary of his own views, diplomatically saying that he couldn't decide whether he liked the book or not. We look forward to meeting you Ciaran.

 

Which brings me to our next title: 'Alone In Berlin' by Hans Fallada. This World War Two thriller emerged triumphant from a field that included the Booker prize winning  ‘The Narrow Road to The Deep North’ by Richard Flanagan, ‘An Agent Of Deceit’ by Chris Morgan Jones and ‘American Psycho’ by Bret Easton Ellis.

 

Next meeting is scheduled for March 16th at my house (number 36). After that its April 27th at John’s.

 

Theo

 

I have my parents coming down tonight so I will be unable to join you. Apologies.   However, I did read the book.  I still can’t make up my mind whether I liked it or not.  It was well written, but the subject matter often made for unenjoyable reading – her life was just so relentlessly miserable – whether self-caused or not.  It did lighten up in the final third, which for me was the most natural [behaviourally] and believable part of the book – the prior awfulness seeming to be somewhat forced.

 Anyway, I am happy to join the drinking book club and please let me know what is agreed for the next choice.  Apologies for my absence at this gathering.

 

Rgds Ciaran

 

I thought the book livened up when she went off to college. I had high hopes of the two fattie-puffs behaving badly and ruining all the smug students'  lives, so I was disappointed when she got herself cured. I thought the end was really wimpish. My over-riding thought was "why would a 40 year old man write a first person tale as a young woman?". You should receive a write-up of our discussion. Rob has retitled the book "She's scum and dumb".

 

Nick

15/12/14 Dave An Officer and a Spy          Robert Harris     English 2013

Thanks to Dave for a fine evening, suitably French-themed with French wine, French cheeses and baguettes - even Charles Trenet warbling away in the background.

 

The book, 'An Officer and a Spy' by Robert Harris was universally well-received by all apart from a few anachronistic quibbles from Rob regarding the surveillance photography.

 

Robert Harris's storytelling was much lauded, in this book as well as his many others (all having been read by Theo). His drawing of the characters were very strong although the distinctions between some of the French generals seemed to blur a bit.

Picquart was admired for his tenacity in seeking the truth although we wondered about his devotion to the Army who tried, and nearly succeeded, in destroying him. Great theatrical set pieces such as the degradation of Dreyfuss and the courtroom scenes as well as  atmospheric passages in Tunisia and Devil's Island also drew approval.

 

The book was a result of Harris's screenplay discussions with Roman Polanski and I think we would all be very interested in the film when it emerges, particularly how they deal with such a mammoth book, even if the story had been 'filleted', according to Geoff who has read an eve longer version.

 

The choices for the next meeting were tabled:

 

'& Sons'                     David Gilbert

'The Art of Fielding'     Chad Harbach

'She's Come Undone'   Wally Lamb

 

& Sons was dealt short shrift and on a split decision the Wally Lamb won on points.

03/11/14 Geoff One Night In Winter           Simon Sebag Montefiore   English 2013

Our thanks to Geoff for hosting a most enjoyable meeting in which we discussed One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Geoff lead us into our discussions by giving us plenty of context, both relating to that black period of  Soviet history and to the social life of the author, which by contrast is Palmer-Tomkinesque. The author went to school at Harrow and then to Cambridge ("a terrible disappointment" academically and didn't get a First. "I didn't do a day's work the whole time I was there. I don't know what came over me. I spent a lot of time just chatting”). But there was always banking as a career, then!  Once he had failed at that, he then turned his hand with more success to history. His books on Stalin have been very well received, which augured well for us with this, his second attempt at fiction set in and around the court of Stalin.

Geoff’s extensive and illuminating research revealed just how the key events in the novel reflected actual events. There had been a “Childrens case” with a New Romantics Club formed by family members of the Politburo. This ended in tragedy, followed by prolonged investigation by the secret police, with incarceration of the youths in Lubyanka and subsequent exile for a year. The whole thing had been engineered by Stalin to unsettle his fawning Politburo members. The author had directly used this raw material as a basis to develop a love story, a genre much favoured, apparently,  by his wife.

 

Some of the group liked the book very much. They found it was a page turner, which convincingly brought to life romantic yearnings of the kids, the horror of the police state and the iron grip of Stalin.

 

Others found the books achievements more patchy. While the Lubyanka scenes intrigued most of us, we were less sure that the author has the skill to bring his characters to life in terms of their love affairs, played out in the knowledge that exposure would lead to certain death.

 

Nevertheless, all agreed that the book was a very valuable introduction to the Stalin era and stimulated much discussion.

 

Many thanks again to Geoff!

 

I presented 4 possible books with a French theme for our next meeting:

 

1.   An Officer and a spy, Robert Harris 

2.   Germinal, Emile Zola

 3.   Never mind, Edward St Aubyn 

4.   The search warrant, Patrick Modiano

 

My cautious recommendation (4) was again rejected by the group. Instead, the terrific read about the Dreyfus affair by Robert Harris was selected. We agreed to meet at 58 PAS on 15th December to discuss the book. The 12th December was suggested as a possible date for a  Bookswap.

 

Dave

29/09/14 Nick Freaky Deaky           Elmore Leonard    American 1988

Hello Fellow readers


High clouds drift lazily across the azure October skies and Indian summer sunshine wakes the amorous delusions of the ageing males of the PAS book group. We drink in the ten rules of writing set down by Elmore Leonard  ( 1. never start with the weather) and then ponder over our enduring appeal to ‘20’something’ females !

 

We enjoyed ‘Freaky Deaky’ as a diverting romp, we admired the skill of storytelling through dialogue that came across to us as authentic street talk. The twists in the plot and ingenuity of bomb making kept us turning pages . Simon displaying a fascination with the intricacies of building a bomb that had me, for one,  glad he no longer lives a only a couple of doors away.

 

We differed in our feelings about the mix of real tension or authorial tongue in cheekness, as the bombs missed their targets and the Donnel and Woody relationship, savvy and stooge, were comic more than threatening.  We questioned the library set up for  the demise of Robin and Skip, but this took nothing away from the neatness of having the bombers bombed to oblivion. And the parting of the ways for Chris and Ginger properly eschewed soppy togetherness. To a man we felt strong admiration for Chris’s Dad, an old school gentleman and still at it as well !

 

Thanks to Nick for a great evening and yummy chocolate brownies.  We forgot and then remembered that this was Nick’s birthday and all joined in a  heartfelt and tuneful rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’, bad backs and hernia’s ruling out ‘the bumps’ as a finale.

 

The question “ Why is Elmore called Dutch? ’ hung over us unanswered, eluding even Nick’s erudition  Wickipedia says it was a US navy nickname. Elmore was in the (real )South Pacific for three years  and called "Dutch after the pitcher Dutch Leonard ; however an Elmore  biography website claims it dates from school days, “Dutch” after the Washington Senators “knuckleballer”, Emil “Dutch” Leonard.

 

Next up at 69 PAS on Monday 3rd November .. the chosen book ‘ One Night in Winter’ by Simon Sebag Montefiore,  a near unanimous vote, Russia 1945, life among the families of the  elite politburo, under Stalin’s unpredictable scrutiny.  Runners-up were ‘Burial Rites by Hannah Kent  and ‘Love in the time of Cholera’  by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

 

The days will be shorter, the evenings chillier and the surveillance of neighbours more scrupulous. See you all there!

 

Cheers

 

Geoff

 

Well done Geoff.  Very nice summing up but I wish you had not mentioned the brownies. Shucks, I left before I knew they were there.

 

Don’t worry about the bombs.  I prefer arson, in fact,  but it wasn’t me that burnt down the job I was working on in January. Promise!

 

 Yours Simon

18/08/14 Martin Troubles           J, G, Farrell     English 1970

Top o' the morning to ya!


Thanks to Martin for a great evening. I was intending to try the Planter's Punch at some point, but I was a bit slow off the mark - I did enjoy an Old Speckled Hen.

 

Dave and Steve were absent on holiday duty, Simon eventually found his way back to PAS.

 

Theo kicked off proceedings, heaping high praise on the mixture of whimsy and darker moments, and the quality of the writing. Everyone enjoyed the escapades of Faith and Charity, and as for that Sarah - I bet she would have been a lot of fun. Simon said he found the book a hard read, as did I for the first 150 pages or so. We all sympathised with Edward who had to deal with a crumbling hotel, crumbling guests, and a crumbling family. Was "The Majestic" really the British Empire? Possibly, but the story was readable without completely understanding the political points that the author was (probably) making. The news-clips scattered around were considered irrelevant, and several people felt that the book could have been 50 pages shorter. We all agreed that the Major should have got out of Ireland long before the strange ending on the beach, which Rob felt belonged  to a different book. Martin talked about his long stays in Ireland, and believes that the resentment felt by the Irish to the English is still present. The memory of the Black and Tans lingers on, and if they were as unpleasant as Farrell depicted them, I'm not surprised.

 

Up the long ladder and down the short rope

To hell with King Billy and God bless the Pope

If that doesn't do, we'll tear 'em in two

And send 'em to hell with their red, white, and blue

 

I offered up a selection of crime novels, nothing too strenuous. Rejected were Ripley's Game by Patricia Highsmith and (on the transferable vote rule) Skinny Dip by Carl Hiassen. I was intending to offer Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon, but it is not yet available in paperback.

 

Next meeting 8.30 at number 73, on re-arranged date of  Monday 29th September - Freaky Deaky by Elmore Leonard will be ruthlessly dissected by the group.  Does Elmore follow his own rule - "If it sounds like writing - I re-write it".

 

Geoff is up next - he can offer Monday 3rd or 10th November. Any problems with 3rd November?

 

Nick

07/07/14 Simon Eyeless in Gaza             Aldous Huxley      English 1936

Our thanks to Simon for hosting the book club last night in the sun dappled heights of N11. Gardens were wandered in, conservatories admired, but alas the tranquility of this sylvan setting was not enough to prevent Eyeless in Gaza receiving a pretty savage kicking. Some of the main frustrations expressed were the confusion of multiple flashbacks (though Nick had cunningly solved this by finding out via the internet how to read it chronologically), the unsympathetic character of quite a few of the the main personae, and the frequent intellectual flights of fancy that felt rather dated and anachronistic. There were thumbs up for many individual well written episodes – in particular Mary Amberley clambering through a tiny window having locked herself out, and the exploding fox terrier. Overall however the impression seemed  to be of a book that was very much locked into a particular era in the past, and which struggled to find its voice in this day and age.  Only Geoff provided a brave and dissenting voice in its favour, a fact attested to by the profusion of closely written notes he'd assembled on the beach in Croatia having obviously tired of sparkling waves, cold beer, and girls in bikinis. Certainly a mention in dispatches Geoff, if not an award for gallantry !

 

So onwards and upwards, and we swap the manicured quads of Oxford and Cambridge for the crumbling charms of the Hotel Majestic in the south of Ireland, in " Troubles " by J.G. Farrell. Being holiday season, I know a couple of you won't be able to make it next month, but I look forward to welcoming those of you who can to my place on Monday 18th August at 8.30 p.m.

 

Until then, all best

 

Martin

 

"Walking in Treacle" - says it all really…However no mention of the exploding dog?

 

After a turgid innings I finally reached p.400 (not out) this morning, but fear I might get undone by Huxley’s googly before the end. Sadly I won’t be at Simon’s on Thursday as I have a Governors meeting, but may try to get along later.

 

Come on you Costa Rica! Cheers Rob

29/05/14 Jonathan Dominion              C. J. Sansom       Scottish 2012

Dear Readers,

First of all, many thanks Jonathan, for hosting the evening, for a full house too, with such aplomb. Delicious bagels, cheeses, sweets and good things to drink.  Yum Yum!

 

It was odd for a book that was ripped to pieces by just about everybody, Steve leading from the front, was found by almost all to be an interesting read.  Despite the central “secret” being rather weak and hardly worth the bother, that there were too many references to almond shaped eyes, sad smiles and blue eyes and that it was over long by about 400 pages, it was a page turner.  Would David get his leg over? Would Frank spill the beans? Would Ben get his leg over?  So many things to keep one going.  As Nick pointed out the “flesh wound” can go into room 101 with the “heavy breasts”

 

There was an undercurrent of fear, particularly having read the book when the European elections has put right wing groups centre stage and Scotland are looking at separation.  Where are we going on this rocky road to nationalism and disintegration.  A very lively discussion followed taking in these topics and the question of immigrants, the future of capitalism and inequality.  I think football was there somewhere but I wasn’t following that!

 

A very thoughtful and jolly evening, thank you one and all.

 

Did I hear a collective groan when my casting vote went to “Eyeless in Gaza” by Aldous Huxley rather than “The Harvest” by Jim Crace?  This is a great piece of writing and I do hope you enjoy it.

 

Now, I have a small problem, in that, surprise, surprise I have got my dates wrong.  I was thinking that we return from a holiday on 6th July but we actually get back late on the 7th the date we had agreed to meet next.  I am sorry for this and I am hoping that it will not be too difficult to shift our meeting to Tuesday 8th July.  Can I have a collective response to this so that we can rearrange.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours Simon

28/04/14 Rob Water Music             T. Coraghessan Boyle     American 1992

Thank you Rob for another great evening,...despite the distraction of concurrent football and charming room service with a magnificent spread we once again managed to agree it was a fine read.

 

Although at times wearisome to some group members, T C Boyle's addiction to words, gushing metaphors and hyperbolic Dickensian narrative were welcomed and bathed in like the Niger itself. Thanks Rob for the map and for reading the original account and for Nick's front cover picture of Fatima it all helped to put flesh on the story. I have a feeling that Mungo Park's ascent of the mountainous and moist lady herself, or the recipe for baked camel, or the stick twisting worm leg fishing, or the trick to get a croc to open it's mouth or even Ned's many escapes will be forgotten soon. Ned was our favourite to be picked for our team. It was good to know that class and privilege doesn't always pay and it was he who finished up naked with the clarinet and an appreciative backing group.

 

After a brief foray into political discussion on the merits of long term energy policy and influence of Mr Putin we settled down to vote on next meeting's menu of war choices.

 

Rejecting 1992 Ian McEwan Black Dogs 174 pages (2 Votes), 1992 Robert Harris Fatherland 386 pages (0 Votes), 2002 Michael Frayn Spies 234 pages (2 Votes) in favour of 2012 CJ Sampson Dominion 593 pages (4 Votes)

 

Happy reading!

 

Jonathan

 

Unfortunately, I will not be there this evening, as our flight back from Barcelona arrives too late this evening.

 

I have almost finished the book. It is a rollicking read and am disappointed to have to miss the discussion.  How did Mungo survive his encounter with the hideous jungle beast? He could have been swallowed alive? Fatima was indeed a magnificent creation.  I still have 80 pages left to read. I assume that Johnson will top Ned and emerge to save them at the end, with little more that a slight scar on his leg?

 

Dave

17/03/14 Steve Stoner             John Williams         American 1965

Many thanks to Steve for introducing us to the life of William Stoner, and the fine, yet simple writing style of John Williams.

 

I must admit that having seen it in so many best book lists in the past year, I'd assumed from the title that it would follow along the

lines of John Niven or Irving Welsh. How wrong I was, the only lines that Stoner needed to get him high were from ‘the musty odour

of leather, cloth and drying pages’ of books in the University library.

 

The novel was universally liked by the group, although opinions over the character of Stoner were divided. Some saw him as a ‘heroic' individual who had manged to elevate himself from a very humble background to the place, teaching, where he had probably always dreamt of being. Others of us were frustrated by his apparent lack of fight and (outside of literature) any human emotion. One reviewer describes it very well ‘his life becomes a passive fight to the draw against a phalanx of forces that seem maliciously preordained to derange his spirit.’ Stoner had parked the bus!

 

Opinion was also divided on the nature of the relationship between Dr Lomax and his assistant, Charles Walker, and why was it that for one of the very few times in his life Stoner decided to make a stand over Walker? There was also a great deal of speculation over what causes Edith to become quite so crazy. Was it something sinister with her ‘extraordinarily vain and self important' father Horace, or just the disappointment of not going to Europe with Aunt Emma? Whatever the cause we all agreed that any man who comes home to find the contents of his study relocated to a ‘glassed in sun porch’ probably needs a few lessons in self-assertion.

 

We were also treated to a reading of Sonnet 73 by Geoff, more detail and an explanation can found here: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/73detail.html

 

Next month sees us meeting on Monday 28th at my house No.67, where we be discussing Water Music (1982) by T. Coraghessan Boyle. The other two books on offer were The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach and Going to the Dogs by Erich Kastner.

 

Hope that you all have great Easter, and that those of you going enjoy the Last Testament and manage to find a kebab.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

 

P.S. Nearly forgot Steve, thanks for introducing us to the concept of dessert plates and forks. It’ll never catch on!

 

Tweet by John Niven - "Oh man. Just finished Stoner. Howling like a new born here. You really have to read it."

 

But Ian Rankin says - "It's fine, but it's no Straight White Male..."

10/02/14 John The Testament of Mary     Colm Tóibín  Irish 2012

Where are the believers when you need one! Clearly none present at our book group which resembled an atheist love in. On reflection, we should have imported a believer to give more bite to the evening. At least there was an affinity with the take on the New Testament as offered by Toibin .Some among us liked the cult framework to the Jesus movement as described by Mary but there was also a feeling that the book was a bit lightweight, more a long short story than a novel .I was convinced by the maternal voice of Mary but others less so.

Still a fun evening as always and ably hosted by John.

The next book is Stoker by John Williams to be discussed on the 17th March at No. 54

Steve

08/01/14 Theo Straight White Male              John Niven         Scottish 2013

What a great evening Theo!

An unputdownable book, splendid cheese selection, great and shared admiration for the lifestyle, the re-invention of Joie de Vivre, the sheer balls of the man (joie de boire,  joie de rire,  joie de fume et joie de branie), yes he certainly knows how to live, if not to love.

 

How clever of you to have put it before us, and how wise were we to pick it?

 

And then, by way of a change, The Testament of Mary, Colm Tóibín 8.30 at 72 Park Avenue South, Monday 10th February

 

Be there or be discussed!

 

John

27/11/13 Ian A Visit From The Goon Squad      Jennnifer Egan      American 2010

Many thanks to Ian for a most convivial evening last week featuring especially nice cheese.

 

Jennifer Egan's 'A Visit From The Goon Squad' went down very well on the whole. It was our third book in a row from a female writer and while Barbara Kingsolver's reception was tepid and Zadie Smith's was warmish, Egan almost achieved heat enthusiasm. The structure of the book, essentially a series of short stories that jumped around in time and were linked by a series of common characters, was much discussed. A couple of the group had read the book twice to enable them to be clearer on the various relationships which was testament to how enjoyable a read it was. No wonder it won a Pulitzer Prize!

 

For our next read I offered three books for consideration. To my embarrassment, one of them 'The Catcher In The Rye' had already had its turn so my apologies for that. That left us with the thriller 'Gone Girl' a recent publishing phenomenon in the USA and the satirical 'Straight White Male' by John Niven which got the nod. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did.

 

Hope to see you all next Thursday at the annual book swap. After that, I look forward to welcoming you all to number 36 on January 8th, hopefully in the aftermath of a famous victory for Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup.

 

Cheers

 

Theo

23/10/13 Dave NW        Zadie Smith       English 2012

Thanks to Dave for a very fine evening, no drugs in evidence in honour of the Willesden Massive but cheese and nibbles more than sufficed together with lashings of our drug of choice, alcohol. Dave's (unread) offering, Zadie's fourth novel, split the group's opinions; from hate (Simon) to love (Nick). All agreed it was a challenging read and seemed to be three books joined together.

 

Most readers struggled with the Joycean first section and breathed a collective sigh of relief when Felix came on the scene with more straightforward prose and the best characters, Annie and Tom. Natalie's section, short numbered pieces (excluding number 37) charting the rise in her career and the dissolution of her marriage, had mixed reviews from readers, some thought it a tad gimmicky but other welcomed the experimentation.

 

From an interview with Ms. Smith it was her intention to 'mix it up' in NW, "exercising different styles to create people in language" and the idea of the novel was germinated from her own experience of being scammed on her doorstep by a girl asking for money.

 

The book choice, by stimulating differing views, made for an enjoyable and animated evening, and I for one, will re-read the book based on some of your insights.

 

The books selected for the next meeting at mine were:

 

Gods Without Men - Hari Kunzru

A Visit from the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan

 Light Years - James Salter

 

The group chose the Jennifer Egan offering after Theo's casting vote.

 

 So, number 6 PAS on the 27th November to be followed by Theo on 8th January 2014 (already!)

18/09/13 Geoff Flight Behaviour Barbara Kingsolver      American 2012

Hi Booklovers

 

Our thanks to Geoff for hosting a lively and convivial evening in which we discussed Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver. As we entered Geoff’s living room, we were faced with a vivid, shimmering display of colour on and above his coffee table, almost as though there was a fire. It turned out to be a cluster of delicious savouries, carefully prepared by Geoff as homage to the Monarch butterfly (more of which below).

 

After introduction of our new member, Theo, Geoff began enthusiastically to set the scene for our discussions. A brief biography of the author revealed she was born in 1955, grew up a country girl in Kentucky, studied at DePauw (?) and Arizona Universities, has 2 daughters and husband, one Steve Hopp, teacher of environmental studies. They raise Icelandic sheep in the wilds of southern Appalachia. She rises at 4 each morning to write and sentences just spill out. Geoff has attended a meet the author session with her at which she was engaging and articulate: he felt her photos do not do justice to her. Several of us are familiar with her past writing, such as The Poisonwood Bible and The Lacuna.

 

Geoff then spoke with some passion about the book. He was fully taken with the portrayal of Dellarobbia in her mean surroundings, about to dump her family, but saved and transformed by the Monarch and its followers, particularly charismatic Ovid. Jonathan, too, found the book to be an absorbing and very enjoyable read. However, others in the group were less enthusiastic. A verbal assault was uncharacteristically led by Simon, who hated almost everything about the book. Others also found the book to be overwritten in parts. Most felt that the tale of potential environmental catastrophe might have been better told if the author had stayed in bed longer in the morning so that less sentences made the page. However, we all agreed that Dellarobbia and her clan had brought to our attention the magnificent phenomenon of Monarch butterfly migration, which is very nicely shown in the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqDwvuleRYc .

 

Our Bookgroup schedule had to be rearranged at short notice by a late, (some thought) potentially yellow card, timing conflict. Consequently, I offered 3 books to the group. My firm recommendation was Canada by Richard Ford (a great book!). A lower level recommendation was given to Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan (an interesting but ultimately disappointing overall read!). I included also a book I have not read, NW by Zadie Smith, but cautioned firmly against it (has she peaked?). Predictably, the group selected NW by Zadie Smith to be discussed at 20.30, Wednesday 23rd October at 58 PAS!

 

Happy reading

 

Dave

14/08/13 Nick The City And The City China Miéville       English/American 2009

Hello all

Thanks go to Nick for another convivial evening where, to his delighted surprise, we shared near unanimous enthusiasm for ‘The City and the City’ and China Mieville. We enjoyed the clever concept of two city states sharing the same geographical space, their citizens indoctrinated and cowed to ‘unsee’ each other, under the ever watchful eye of the mysterious and ruthless third force, ‘Breach’.  After some initial disquiet around the litany of unmemorable names, we grew to admire China’s fondness for neologisms and detailed cityscapes as they helped create a sense of the authentic within the fantasy. And we enjoyed the ace sleuthing of Detective Borlu, we readers trailing in his wake.

 

Simon spoke up as a dissenting voice; ’Why bother.. what’s the point ?’ easy to pose and not so easy to answer. China could not find it within him to write just a Detective genre novel, although he included the stock ingredients and the fast pace dialogue and descriptive prose. Nick explained China’s ‘mission’ is to eschew conventional ‘recognition’ stories and to deliver a sense of estrangement. Here we got both !  Nick again, ‘the idea is to suspend disbelief’ and go gladly into the author’s dystopia. Except we were all very aware of the novel as a metaphor for real divided cities where citizens actively unsee each other and back home of our own personal unseeing, for instance, of the local Big Issue sales person.

 

 About China, we learned he is active in socialist politics, he teaches creative writing at Warwick University;  that he never knew his father and he dedicated ‘The City and the City’  to his mother, a lover of the detective genre, who died of cancer in 2007.  China prefers to shun publicity about his personal life and remains a bit of an enigma, the source of the name’ China’ remained elusive even to Nick’s tracking prowess. I like to think it is from rhyming slang for ‘mate’...  china plate ...and the photographic evidence suggested , to Simon at least, that despite the biceps, tattoos, multi pierced ears (not to mention the shaven head!) he has a friendly smile.. this could be case of unseeing the resemblance of this son of Norwich to members of the Russian mafia. Not the average midland town academic!

 

 Next author and book is Barbara Kingsolver ‘Flight Behaviour’, a story of everyday Tennessee farming folk coming to terms with the implications of climate change, a much better read than my description of it. Up for consideration but failing to make it beyond the first round of voting were, ‘ What I loved’ by Siri Hustvedt,  a story of love and loss and modern life set in  the late 1970’s New York art world and regarded by many as a modern classic, and  ‘Come to the Edge’ by Joanna Kavenna, a short firework of a comic inventiveness that satirises second home ownership. With the latter, it was less a squeamishness about the content that went against it and more an awareness  that its red covers and red book edges could trigger a reaction from those members among us who are of a nervous disposition in the presence of red!

 

Next date is Wednesday 18th Sept. at 69 PAS, and this will be missed by Steve and Ian, our persistent vacationers, and so this will be followed by John on Wed 23rd of Oct. and then Ian on 27th Nov.

 

Happy reading Geoff

 

Sorry that I will also not be present. I enjoyed the book very much, once I past my initial difficulty with Eastern European names. It really developed pace and I was swept along. I thought the parallel city concept was an interesting take on divided cities such as Berlin and Jerusalem.

 

Enjoy the evening! Dave

 

Hi Nick

 

Off to the airport today and have just realised that I won't be able to make our next meeting.

 

I'm really enjoying China Mieville's offering, and it seems to be altering my opinion on fantasy.

A detective story with wierd names. I will however still be buying the latest Donna Leon novel

at Stanstead!

 

We're off down to Biarritz, and then on to San Sebastian, both of which I hope are Bale free zones!

I'm planning to go and watch Real Sociedad, which is on the day that we play Palace.

 

Anyhow, hope the book is well received, and apologies for being in BEACH.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

11/07/13 Simon How to get filthy rich in rising Asia  Mohsin Hamid   Pakistani/British 2013

Continuing our run of quirky books, Simon served up the self-help guide "How to get filthy rich in rising Asia" by Mohsin Hamid. The book was discussed while Simon was loading the BBQ with assorted goodies - a real treat for us - thank you Simon. This was our first opportunity for an outdoor meeting for a while.

 

The book was well received, everyone agreed that it was an easy read. The early chapters were felt to be better realised than those at the end where the subject's life was in decline. The book did have the feel of a synopsis for a novel rather than the finished article, and the structure of the novel as a 2nd person narrative may have added to a feeling of remoteness from the main character.

 

Most readers found the Senior Citizen sex scene unconvincing, and the description of the deaths a bit maudlin.

 

This all sounds as if we were very critical, but I recall the general attitude was positive.

 

It's just occurred to me that "Where do you go to my lovely?" is also a 2nd person narrative, definitely an influence.

 

For the next meeting, 4 books were proposed. The Player of Games by Ian M Banks and The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes were given short shrift, leaving Jack Vance's Suldrun's Garden and China Miéville's The City And The City to fight it out. The existentialist thriller The City And The City eventually won the day. I hope this choice has not put me in Breach.

 

Next meetings, 14 August at Nick's (73), then 18 September with Geoff at 69.

 

Happy reading. 

 

Nick

29/05/13 Jonathan The Song of Achilles    Madeline Miller     American 2011

Dear Readers,

Thank you Jonathan for your hospitality and regional delicacies provided for our small and perfectly formed meeting.  Glasses were raised for absent friends with special thoughts for Guy.  Of course we talked about him, wondered if he enjoyed the book, learned that he found it heavy going but of course he had other more weighty issues on his mind.  We laughed at the thought of him wearing a purple lined cape and carrying a silver topped cane in his halcyon days of playing the dandy.  We spoke of ashes, curtains and funerals.  Sombre stuff but good to talk about.

 

The book “The Song of Achilles” was generally well received as a good read although written in a somewhat comic book style.  We were a bit mystified as to why it has won prizes the consensus seems that it is geared toward younger readers in an effort to get them interested in ancient Greek literature rather than its artistic merit.  The description of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus it was agreed was quite well done (indeed the gay community liked it by all accounts) and I found it quite tender but we could not quite work out what Achilles saw in Patroclus as he seemed such a wimp.  The centaur Chiron and the sea Goddess Thetis were well drawn characters as were many of them.

 

The conversation meandered around many topics including half gods in society, the digestive system of a centaur, crossword puzzles, football (players as gods) briefly, influential books read when we were young, Nile water in the Ethiopian highlands, holidays and the meaning of dreams.  All good stuff.

 

I presented three books:  Instructions for a Heat wave Maggie O’Farrell, The Faithful Executioner Joel F. Harrington and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid,  with quite a heavy emphasis on the later which was chosen by a large majority.  I do hope you enjoy it.  I thought it was brilliant.

 

The next meeting  is out here in the badlands of north London so you had better get your pith helmets and machetes out.  We meet here 102 Blake Road N11 2AL on July 10th.  Can you make it a bit earlier at 8.00 and I will do you a supper which after beating through the jungle I am sure you will need.  Can I also ask that everybody can confirm their attendance so I can find enough chairs, otherwise you will be sitting on a pile of bricks.

 

Beyond that we have Nick on 14th August and Geoff on the 18th September.

 

Good luck and good reading and I look forward to meeting you all here.

 

Yours Simon

24/04/13 Rob The Notable Brain Of Max Ponder     JW Ironmonger    English 2012

Dear Readers,

Thank you Jonathan for your hospitality and regional delicacies provided for our small and perfectly formed meeting.  Glasses were raised for absent friends with special thoughts for Guy.  Of course we talked about him, wondered if he enjoyed the book, learned that he found it heavy going but of course he had other more weighty issues on his mind.  We laughed at the thought of him wearing a purple lined cape and carrying a silver topped cane in his halcyon days of playing the dandy.  We spoke of ashes, curtains and funerals.  Sombre stuff but good to talk about.

 

The book “The Song of Achilles” was generally well received as a good read although written in a somewhat comic book style.  We were a bit mystified as to why it has won prizes the consensus seems that it is geared toward younger readers in an effort to get them interested in ancient Greek literature rather than its artistic merit.  The description of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus it was agreed was quite well done (indeed the gay community liked it by all accounts) and I found it quite tender but we could not quite work out what Achilles saw in Patroclus as he seemed such a wimp.  The centaur Chiron and the sea Goddess Thetis were well drawn characters as were many of them.

 

The conversation meandered around many topics including half gods in society, the digestive system of a centaur, crossword puzzles, football (players as gods) briefly, influential books read when we were young, Nile water in the Ethiopian highlands, holidays and the meaning of dreams.  All good stuff.

 

I presented three books:  Instructions for a Heat wave Maggie O’Farrell, The Faithful Executioner Joel F. Harrington and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid,  with quite a heavy emphasis on the later which was chosen by a large majority.  I do hope you enjoy it.  I thought it was brilliant.

 

The next meeting  is out here in the badlands of north London so you had better get your pith helmets and machetes out.  We meet here 102 Blake Road N11 2AL on July 10th.  Can you make it a bit earlier at 8.00 and I will do you a supper which after beating through the jungle I am sure you will need.  Can I also ask that everybody can confirm their attendance so I can find enough chairs, otherwise you will be sitting on a pile of bricks.

 

Beyond that we have Nick on 14th August and Geoff on the 18th September.

 

Good luck and good reading and I look forward to meeting you all here.

 

Yours SimonThanks Rob for a great meeting, all the better for the homework with J.W.Iromonger, the personal links to the choice and Nick's questions that went digging for sources.The warm welcome of blueberries nuts and dried apricots (more anon) seemed to do the trick - at least for a while.

 

As in our best evenings there was plenty to disagree about.It turned out it wasn't a first novel but we thought he really could write. Not bad overall for expert leech zoologist who has found himself in an IT job in rural Shropshire. His autobiographical passages seemed to work best, as if they were sparkling short stories dotted though the obsessive drudge of filing and logging. Some of us longed for a better ending hoping for a twist rather than a saw through the sternomastoids. Most of us wondered if Adam really would give up real living to be a live in butler, dog burier and property speculator. Most of us did not care enough for Adam or Max anyway but we did prefer the Captain and other minor characters.

 

The theme seemed to be death and accurate memory - as the one gets closer the other slips away. Perhaps we all did spend those celibate nights with female friends but have logged it in an archived file.

 

So, having discarded the temptation of Lolita and the Maltese Falcon you chose to move from one pair of close childhood friends to another. Be reassured that the love story of  Achilles and Patroclus will soon descend into more blood and severed heads in this whistlestop tour of the ancient Greeks.

 

We meet at 15 PAS 8:30 on 29/5/13 to discuss The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller and then travel to Simon's (102 Blake Road Bounds Green N11) on 10/7/13

 

Cheers Jonathan

 

ps More on dried apricots:-

 

I went on a course this week the speaker who was a GP with terrible migraine decided as a final recourse to consult an alternative practitioner. After a long and detailed personal interview she gave him some acupuncture and said his migraine would go if he ate more dried apricots and had more ejaculations. He rushed home to tell his wife who was at the kitchen table working on her laptop. She seemed to hear his news without stopping typing and said 'I am going to the supermarket, put the apricots on the shopping list.'

He said he still had the migraine 

26/03/13 Dave All The Pretty Horses     Cormac McCarthy American 1992

Nightfall found them sitting on their blankets on the ground with the horses staked a few feet away. To the north a thin spire of smoke stood in the windless air.

Anyone fancy a'fixin some Nachos? said Laney

What is that? asked Bayley.

Don't know.

Me neither.

Just had me my supper, said the doctor.

Tenemos un problema.

Puedo encontrar las traducciones al espanol frustrante, said Dearman.

Where's Wilko? said Morley.

A'int comin.

Fine book? said Laney.

Mighty fine book, said Morley.

Mighty fine film, said Stocker.

Not convinced by Penelope Cruz or the direction, said the kid.

I liked Matt Damon though.

They all agreed that it was a fantastic book. One of the best. The lack of punctuation was not a problem. For most. Except, maybe Dearman. Some struggled keeping up with the longer passages, especially the action scenes where it became slightly difficult to work out who was doing what where, and to whom. Some maybe would have liked clearer equine knowledge. Rawlins spat.

 

By late evening all the sky to the north had darkened and the spare terrain they trod had turned a neuter gray as far as the

eye could see.They'd slumped bleary eyed in their arm chairs.They grouped in the road at the top of the rise and looked back

at one another.

 

Scared money can't win. Said Laney

And a worried man can't love.

Finally he said that among men there was no such communion as among horses and the notion that men can be understood at

all was probably an illusion.

Horses? Got any tips for the National, said Bayley.

What about poor old Blevins? said Dearman.

 

By the way Guy, according to RAC Routeplanner San Angelo, TX, United States to Cuatrociénegas de Carranza, Mexico is approx. 410.21 miles and should take 7 hours and 58 minutes (slightly longer by horse!).

 

Many thanks to Dave for his hospitality and (mighty) fine refreshments. As usual the evening descended into varied conversations which had very little to do with the book. From memory, and in no particular order, subjects covered were Find the Lady, PAS property prices, Ally Pally race course, that mysterious white van, those pesky Romanians, Dover, Ellie's hair salon in 'the Village', and of course Cyprus.

 

The three books that I proposed were, Standing in Another Man's Grave by Ian Rankin, The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out

of the Window and Ran Away by Jonas Jonasson, and The Notable Brain of Maximillian Ponder by J W Ironmonger. The group picked

The Notable Brain of Maximillian Ponder by J W Ironmonger, which was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2012. The next

morning I tweeted to J W Ironmonger (@jwironmonger), to tell him that his book had been chosen. He replied to say that he was delighted and that if his schedule fitted would be pleased to come and talk to us about the book. What do we think? I don't imagine that he would be at all put out if we declined, and I've got his email in order to ask him some questions that I've got about the book.

 

Anyhow, our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 24th April at 67 Park Avenue South at 8.30 p.m.

 

We also put in the date for the next two which are Jonathan 29-05-13 and Simon 10-07-13

 

Happy Easter

 

Rob

 

You all have the opportunity to tell the truth here. Here. In a few days it will be too late and you will no have this opportunity. It will be gone. You see. We can make truth here. Or we can lose it. But soon it will be too late. Too late for the truth. Who can say what the truth will be then? At that time? Then you will blame yourself. You will see.

Capitan Laney

 

I reckons as how young Rob done raise the bar considerable with his fancy-pants scribblin;.

 

Good luck Jonathan.

 

Nick

 

Hombres y Amigos

 

Rob, pastiche muy bien del estil de escritura de Cormack McCarthy...bravo !! Ole! Ole!

Nick, are you referring to the Nigerian president ?  shouldn’t it be.... Jonathon Buena Suerta

Rob,  para obtener Sr Ferretero..... fantastico

Dave, (mi tio abuelo) ...all I can say is .. nade mas que la integridad

 

Adios Geoff

27/02/13 John Rites of Passage     Willliam Golding      English 1980

Our thanks for John for hosting us last week and for suggesting Rites of Passage. This was generally very well enjoyed, much more so than the Patrick O’Brian (HMS Surprise) that we read in February 2008. William Golding was able to bring out the smells, tastes, intrigues and, ultimately, pressures of class/social/power conflicts in the confined space that was an ancient gunship. Some found the tale slow to unfold and writing style difficult to gauge. Precise meaning was sometimes obscure: “we wrestled for a minute…., I with mounting passion. My sword was in my hand and I boarded her!...I bent for the main course. …Ah, she did yield….rendered up the tender spoils of war.” No one was certain what had happened to Wheeler! But we all enjoyed the change of narrative pace on reading the demise of Robert James Colley. What beastliness he was subjected to by Rogers and his collaborators! The captain, Mr Anderson, though, managed to get to the bottom of the trouble, a low fever, that unfortunately took him.

You voted for our next book, Cormac McCarthy “All the pretty horses”, over Mo Yan “The garlic ballads” and, surprisingly, William Boyd “Waiting for sunrise”!

 

See you at 58 on Tuesday 26th March.

 

Dave

16/01/13 Steve Terrorist   John Updike American 2006

Our thanks for John for hosting us last week and for suggesting Rites of Passage. This was generally very well enjoyed, much more so than the Patrick O’Brian (HMS Surprise) that we read in February 2008. William Golding was able to bring out the smells, tastes, intrigues and, ultimately, pressures of class/social/power conflicts in the confined space that was an ancient gunship. Some found the tale slow to unfold and writing style difficult to gauge. Precise meaning was sometimes obscure: “we wrestled for a minute…., I with mounting passion. My sword was in my hand and I boarded her!...I bent for the main course. …Ah, she did yield….rendered up the tender spoils of war.” No one was certain what had happened to Wheeler! But we all enjoyed the change of narrative pace on reading the demise of Robert James Colley. What beastliness he was subjected to by Rogers and his collaborators! The captain, Mr Anderson, though, managed to get to the bottom of the trouble, a low fever, that unfortunately took him.

You voted for our next book, Cormac McCarthy “All the pretty horses”, over Mo Yan “The garlic ballads” and, surprisingly, William Boyd “Waiting for sunrise”!

 

See you at 58 on Tuesday 26th March.

 

Dave

03/12/12 Ian Ed King   David Guterson   American 20111

Dear fellow members

Thanks to Ian for an enjoyable evening. The usual divided opinions. Most of us were happy to describe the book as a page turner set against a cleverly constructed concept. Probably most of us enjoyed best the sharply observed accounts of the Long family but there was a significant minority who felt the characters to have been somewhat thinly presented. Good taste prevailed for a while until we eventually were drawn to the “sex scene”. There was a consensus that thereafter the narrative spun out of control but the reference spawned some personal revelations of lustful adolescent thoughts for friends mothers (Jonathan was exempt from this). Thankfully, Guy returned us to more placid waters by telling us tales about his grandma. As we say, Oedipus, smoedipus, who cares as long as he loves his mother!

 

The next book is Terrorist by John Updike. My place on the 16th Jan.

 

Nick has mentioned that we failed to fix a date for Feb. Probably it would be best to fix this at the Jan meeting but who is next in line after me?

 

Steve

23/10/12 Geoff Rumours of a Hurricane  Tim Lott    English 2002

Dear All

 

A relatively quiet meeting at Geoff's on Tuesday last. Forgetting my scribe duties I took no notes of the proceedings but I recall that everyone enjoyed 'Rumours of a Hurricane' in varying degrees. Geoff pointed out the humour in a number of the set pieces particularly the Xmas dinner, any scene involving Tommy (Ray Winstone, shoe-in) and, ahem, the boxing match where a boxer gets beaten to pulp to the sound of racist abuse.

 

A few thought the trajectory of the story a bit obvious, helped no doubt by the Prologue and some of the characters a little too close to caricature. Dave found himself drawn to Charlie by the end of the novel, his fall being mirrored by the rise of his missus whose kleptomania raised a few doubting eyebrows.

 

I found the litany of period references a bit tiring, only a few reminders would have done the trick. All in all a pleasant read, well received. Thanks Geoff for the period snacks, wheeled in on a post-modern Hostess Trolley, those chocolate Twiglets were yummy.

 

Next is my turn, and I proffered the usual three choices for consideration. All (reasonably) contemporary as I've been banging on about it:

 

Beautiful Children - Charles Bock (2008)

Ed King - David Guterson (2011)

The Marriage Plot - Jeffrey Eugenides (2011)

 

After an unusually brief vote the Guterson novel prevailed. Was it the Oedipus theme or the Bad Sex award that swung it? Or maybe the mention of Jane Austen or pole-dancers in the losers? Anyway bring your views, and maybe memories of your mother, to number 6 on the 3rd December. Next is Steve on the 16th January 2013.

 

Ian

19/09/12 Nick American Tabloid James Ellroy  American 1995

Dear fellow members

Thanks to Ian for an enjoyable evening. The usual divided opinions. Most of us were happy to describe the book as a page turner set against a cleverly constructed concept. Probably most of us enjoyed best the sharply observed accounts of the Long family but there was a significant minority who felt the characters to have been somewhat thinly presented. Good taste prevailed for a while until we eventually were drawn to the “sex scene”. There was a consensus that thereafter the narrative spun out of control but the reference spawned some personal revelations of lustful adolescent thoughts for friends mothers (Jonathan was exempt from this). Thankfully, Guy returned us to more placid waters by telling us tales about his grandma. As we say, Oedipus, smoedipus, who cares as long as he loves his mother!

 

The next book is Terrorist by John Updike. My place on the 16th Jan.

 

Nick has mentioned that we failed to fix a date for Feb. Probably it would be best to fix this at the Jan meeting but who is next in line after me?

 

Steve

31/07/12 Guy The Great Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald American 1926

Another triumphant evening for the book group at Guy’s mansion, with its stunning views of Park Avenue Sound.  Some disappointment was voiced at the lack of an orchestra in the ball-room, and I was hoping to meet at least one tipsy flapper drinking champagne out of her shoe. We did manage to sneak a few alcoholic beverages into the joint, despite the prohibition laws being enforced by the Safer Neighbourhoods Team.

 

Inviting criticism of The Great Gatsby is a bit like proposing that Bradley Wiggins should be stripped of the gold medal because of his facial hair.  This book is obviously one of the great novels of the 20th century, (a novella has up to 40,000 words, Gatsby is 47,094 words long),  and all of us enjoyed (re-)reading it. On the negative side, there are several instances of anti-Semitic writing, Martin would have liked the love story between Gatsby and Daisy to have been fleshed out a bit, and several people found the first half of the story was not very engaging. The plot came to life when Gatsby was introduced as a real person, rather than as a subject of reportage (thank you John).

 

Guy had researched the setting of the novel, interestingly the Valley of Ashes was a real place, an open air trash incinerator, on land now occupied by Flushing Meadow and Shea Stadium.  The Eggs are on the north coast of Long Island, about 15 miles from Manhattan. They are based on Great Neck, where Fitzgerald lived and Manhasset Neck, where the “old money” families hung out. The drive into New York would have taken them along Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights, where I lived many years ago.

 

We all appreciated the poetic quality of the writing, especially in the final few pages of the novel. We also liked the way in which there were no clear-cut heroes or villains in the tale, our sympathies are pulled in all directions. All the characters were flawed in some way, except (according to Geoff) Daisy, who seems to have had the same effect on him as Victoria Coren has on other men.

 

I then presented some long books to see us through our long summer. The group rejected J G Ballard’s deeply disturbing “Super-Cannes”, and were too manly to appreciate Margaret Atwood’s deeply moving “The Blind Assassin”. Thomas Pynchon’s deeply confusing “Mason & Dixon” was given short shrift, so we will be able to appreciate the unique prose style of James Ellroy and his deeply cynical history of the Kennedy era. “American Tabloid”.

 

David made a plea that we should include more contemporary novels in our reading list. Opinion was divided, with Ian supporting the idea, Geoff opposing the idea that we should choose books blind, and Rob suggesting that we could ask a book-seller to propose books for us. Personally, I don’t think we need to change any of our “rules”. They have always been flexible; most of our choices have been 20th century novels, but we have had non-fiction, short stories, and not all of the books have been read by the proposer.  I find it hard to believe that the group would reject every book someone proposes.

 

Next meeting at number 73 on 19th September, followed by Geoff on 23rd October.

 

Happy Holidays.

 

Nick (just back from seeing the GB gold/silver victory in the canoe slalom).

04/07/12 Simon Talking It Over   Julian Barnes English 1991

I must use my up to date list of recipients!  Peter out Rob and John corrected.

 

Despite the absence of Ian, Martin and Steve the rest of us talked over 'Talking It Over' by Julian Barnes at some length with the usual mix of views being expressed. The author's technique of allowing each protagonist to talk in turn to the reader met with reasonable approval but Oliver's verbal gymnastics quickly palled.

 

Did we align ourselves with the rather stolid Stuart, the offbeat Oliver (Nigel) or possibly the genteel Gillian or were they all pretty unappealing to varying degrees? Male stalking seemed de rigeur but the staged or otherwise fight at the end probably provoked most debate with those believing it was carried out to appease Stuart, and others seeing a parting of the ways for Oliver and Gillian. In the end though it was the minor characters Mme Wyatt and Mrs Dyer who were enjoyed without reservation and most concern was felt for Lagisquet's hapless dog.

 

Many thanks to Simon for hosting us with his usual charm and kindness. We will all miss him and Fiona in PAS; and so it was we made our crepuscular way home wondering whether 'steatopygous' would ever become part of our vocabulary.

 

Next meeting on 31st July at no 64 to muse over 'The Great Gatsby'. See you then.

 

Guy  

30/05/12 Jonathan Morvern Callar    Alan Warner Scottish 1995

Dear Readers,

 

the book Jonathan presented to us,  ‘Morvern Callar’ by Alan Warner produced some quite diverse reactions.  With Jonathans introduction I began to think I had read the wrong book as he waxed lyrical about colourful characters with fascinating names and close knit communities supporting themselves through tough times.  The other extreme being drunken wastes of space living scabby lives in blasted wastelands.  I could see a bit of what Jonathan was talking about but it certainly didn't do it for me.  There just seemed too many disjointed scenes and inconsequential events which seemed to have no part in the story.  What story was that then?

 

And the body, was it a suicide, a murder, we will never know or why it was even in the book.

 

As always, a spirited and intelligent evening swept along with jokes, thoughts, tasty piggy things to eat, lots to drink and a memorable and disgusting thing to drink too.

 

To top it all a lively discussion about the monarchy vs. the republic.  Give me the fine young men in shining breast plates and sleek black horses holding up the traffic in the best city in the world every time.

 

And so to the next book written by my erstwhile patron Julian Barnes - Talking it Over.  My gaff on the 4th July 8.30  Look forward to it.

 

Many thanks Jonathan for hosting a great evening. Simon

02/05/12 Rob The Plague     Albert Camus French 1947

Hello bookworms,

We started with an unprovoked attack on Geoff in the alley. Who was this psychopath, thug or uncared for in the community? Boys being boys we regressed to defensive banter and accusation, perhaps fearing we would not have turned to confront. I’m glad Geoff’s in my relay team when the plague comes. Usual team chat then followed, big games tonight for a few clubs, our new national manager and racist captains. Then house prices and what we are worth.

 

Then on with the meat of the evening. Rob did both biography and history. Was he depressed or uplifted? Either way the plague came, for some too slow, bogged in wartime inertia only to gather speed and feeling as boys died, priests doubted and madmen were dispatched. Was allegory obvious to the modern reader? Can we relate to these characters was it real or was it just a Livingstone socialist dream where we pull together and find a common purpose? The good doctor emerged both noble and predictable (not boring) as narrator but also preferring a swim with a friend rather than skyping the ailing wife. Where were the women and was this cultural, political or just misogyny? The final message seemed important to some reflecting whether a modern bubonic bacteria is lurking in the complacent nooks and crannies of Crouch End.

 

Then back to risk and threat, whiplash courts, corrupt professionals and  general delightful rant of grumpy old men.

 

So, all in all a great evening, good read, with tasty canapés, 50’s vandalised furniture and the usual wide range of opinion.

 

Thank you Rob!

 

We then voted to stay with the real pain rejecting JG Ballard’s predictive 1962 environmental disaster novel ‘The Drowned World’, also Jo Simpson’s disaster on a mountain ‘Facing the Void’, and even the suicide spooky ‘The Body Artist’ by Don DeLillo. Instead we venture bloodstained north of the border with the introduction of ‘Morvern Callar’ by Alan Warner. Guaranteed to bring nostalgic memories of the train set in the attic and a good night out with friends.

 

Dates for the diary Jonathan’s No 15 on 30/5/12 @8:30pm then Simon’s on 4/7/12

Greetings all.

 

Many thanks to Dave for hosting a great evening. There were several members 'presumed lost in action', but those left seemed to all be in agreement that BIIB,&BIIMH was a fine choice and made for some interesting discussion.

 

Many of us felt that BIIB,&BIIMH was a bit too long, and a few (mainly me) even felt that Part 3 managed to slip into some strange Jane Austin time warp, which felt out of sorts with the rest of the book. The initial feeling was that the Savages really added very little to the novel, although Steve seems to have become very attached to them as a family. There was a general agreement, and disappointment that the fantastic characterisation at the start of the novel was not continued all the way through. Indeed, Jonathan amongst others felt that the book suffered from blatant stereotyping.Whilst Ian was captivated by the many false trails laid by (the prolific) Ms.Oates, although at times I was wondering whether he had the unabridged version! I think that it's more

likely explained by a fantastic imagination.

 

To sum up BIIB,&BIIMH is a fantasic book, which made us question lots of topics ranging from the legitimacy of (hillbilly) manslaughter to ear nibbling via a possible lesbian Mother-in-law.

 

The next meeting is at my house on 02-05-2012 when we will be reading The Plague by Albert Camus. For those who were not present the choices were Rabbit, Run (John Updike), The Anthologist (Nicholson Baker), and The Sisters Brothers (Patrick deWitt).

 

In all the excitement of Iris, Jinx, Uncle Leslie, and Co I'm not 100% sure of when the following meeting is scheduled for although I think it might be the 29th May at Jonathan's, who assured us he has some thin novels to propose.

 

Bonne lecture!

 

Rob

21/02/12 John The Wallet Of Kai Lung  Ernest Bramah English 1900

Greetings

Yesterday evening we considered the merits of "The Wallet of Kai Lung" by Ernest Bramah. We must pay homage to our host, the wise and ornamental John, for the evening of our discussions. We shall certainly merit and receive a terrible fate if we permit so renowned and versatile person claiming that honoured name to continue without fitting thanks.  Under his elevating influence, we discovered, however, little common enthusiasm for the life and times of Kai Lung. It is unlikely that many will condescend to stop and read further the foolish words of such an insignificant and altogether deformed person such as him.

 

Ever since this dignified tome engaged our illustrious attention, this person has been weighed down, endeavouring to bring to mind other such literary possibilities to present to our group for their satisfaction. He was overwhelmed with confusion at the position he found himself but recalled the advice proffered by one Ting Fo, "When struck by a thunderbolt it is unnecessary to consult the Book of Dates as to the precise meaning of the omen".

 

Before that evening of prepossessing circumstances, when this wretched person floated in Middle Air, a benevolent spirit in the form of an elderly and toothless vampire appeared, and pointed him to the direction of three illustrious books. Without any feeling of unendurable conceit, he presented to the audience at 22 strokes of the gong, "Sanctuary" by William Faulkner, "Snowdrops" by AD Millar and "Because It Is Bitter, And Because It Is My Heart" by Joyce Carol Oates. By a notable margin, the latter ("Because It Is Bitter, And Because It Is My Heart" by Joyce Carol Oates ) was selected to be discussed at 58 Park Avenue South on Wednesday 28 March. This will be followed by a meeting at Rob's on Wednesday 2nd April.

 

Dave

17/01/12 Steve The Periodic Table    Primo Levi Italian 1975

14/12/11 Martin Naples ‘44     Norman Lewis English 1978

15/11/11 Geoff Old Filth      Jane Gardam   English 2004

10/10/11 Rob The Ghost of White Hart Lane    Rob White and Julie Welch   Scottish//English 2004

Dear All,

 

I should imagine that there are a few of you who do not want to think about football today, however I just need to check a couple of things regarding our meeting next week:

 

1. Would there be any objections to starting slightly earlier, at say 8.00 p.m., as Julie has to get back to Blackheath afterwards?

 

2. I think that it might be fun to learn from each of you about a hero that you've had at some point, so would appreciate it if you can give that some thought, and we can discuss further on monday evening.

 

3. If anyone missed out on a copy and is interested in reading a little background before next monday then there is now a copy of The Ghost Of White Hart Lane at Hornsey Library, Crouch End.

 

Regards,

 

Rob

 

Dear All

 

Many thanks for attending, and participating, in the long awaited Ghost of White Hart Lane evening.

 

Both myself and Julie really enjoyed the opportunity to talk about the whole experience, and for us it's great to see that the book resonates with different people in different ways.

 

I thought that our discussion on heroes was really insightful. It's certainly not every evening that Bob Dylan, Neils Bohr, Charles Darwin, John Updike, Derek Dougan and Jurgen Klinsmann enter the same conversation. Although, they might make an interesting dinner party!

 

There are a couple of links that might be of interest:

 

1. Sharpshooters(aka Pub guns video) http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=1019

 

2. SUM by David Eagleman, which is a really thought provoking short book. http://www.eagleman.com/sum

 

And finally the Steinbeck quote which sums the project up for me. It's taken from The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck, which regardless of what Nick thinks, is a really good book.

 

'A man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has as many versions as it has readers. Everyone takes what he wants or can from it and thus changes it to his measure. Some pick out parts and reject the rest, some strain the story through their mesh of prejudice, some paint it with their own delight.'

 

Cheers

27/09/11 Nick East of Eden     John Steinbeck   American 1952

Dear All

 Thanks to Nick hosting  our happy breed of appreciative East of Eden readers and Steinbeck admirers. Suitable indeed that it is  ‘ol’ Nick’ himself who has us debating the meaning of good and evil and the  issue of free will.  To a man, we cheered on Sam Hamilton, wrung our hands in dismay over Adam Trask and wondered over the market segmentation of whorehouses. Among the general high acclaim,  we also  commented critically on the length ( the probability of too timid editors); the absence of motive for the demonic character of Cathy (born evil) and the capacity of the common man for deep theological philosophy ( so clever these Chinese)

 

I leave the last word to Steinbeck himself commenting, after lengthy discussions with his publishers about the likely reception of the book, in the last page of ‘Journal of a novel’ he writes;  a new character has emerged he is called the reader,

 

He is so stupid you can’t trust him with an idea

He is so clever he will catch you in the least error

He will not buy short books

He will not buy long books

He is part moron, part genius and part ogre

There is some doubt as to whether he can read

‘Well by God Pat ( his publisher)) he is just like me, no stranger at all. He will take from my book what he can bring to it’

 

I guess therein lies the magic of the book group.

 

Geoff

18/07/11 Ian The Imposter     Damon Galgut     South African 2008

Greetings all.

 

Thanks to Ian for another great evening. Even though there were more no-shows than at the Police Commisioner's Ball, there was plenty to discusss. In the red corner were Jonathan, Nick, and Steve, who heaped praise on the novel. In the blue corner were Dave, John, and Rob, who were less impressed.

 

Dave thought the characters were unsympathetic, and the plot clunky, John thought that the overall misery factor inflicted on the reader stopped him from enjoying the story, Rob thought the writing style was littered with so many similes and metaphors that it interrupted the narrative flow. I remember a previous author we read, Robert Graves, being advised to remove all adjectives from his writing. Perhaps the less you have to say the more you blah, blah, blah.

 

Steve praised the writing, and enjoyed not knowing where the story was heading. Jonathan enjoyed the descriptions of South African landscape and society. We spent sometime trying to decipher the Creation references, Adam, Eve (Baby?), the garden of Eden, but came to no firm conclusion.

 

The next Book Group meeting will be at my house on 27th September, to discuss East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

 

Following that we have Rob and Julie Welch talking about "The Ghost of White Hart Lane" on 10th October at no. 67. I would like to invite a friend of mine to this event, and Rob is considering inviting Stuart from no. 66. Both are Spurs fans, of course. Any objections?

 

The following regular meeting will be at Geoff's. We provisionally booked either 25th October or 1st November, Geoff will need to confirm.

 

After we had voted in East of Eden using the single transferrable vote system, Ian voiced his unhappiness that we read too many "classics" rather than new novels, (he was hoping I would propose "Enders Game - The Revenge of the Buggers"). We discussed various proposals for dealing with this, such as selecting from the current Booker Prize list, or limiting classics to one per year. I think I have an abundance of books I would be keen to propose, and I would hope that we can from now on stick more closely to our rule which says the proposer should have read the book. No doubt there will be other opinions.

 

Happy reading.

 

Nick


 

Dear Ian

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to read Damon Galgut's book " The Impostor ". I am out of the country at present so won't be able to make it this evening, but I enjoyed reading the book, as much for its curiosity as anything else. Whilst I don't think you could call any of the main characters " simpatico " in the least, and I wasn't convinced about the assertion that the author is presenting the face of the new South Africa, nonetheless I found the book very readable. Thinking about it afterwards, I felt ultimately that this was a story of possession, and that much of Adam's contradictory and involuntary behaviour could be ascribed to a malign influence that was present in his brother's house in the Karoo.

With luck and a following wind, I should be able to make it to Nick's for the next meeting, so until then, have a very good summer one and all.

Best wishes

Martin

Enjoyed the read: my summary

Nappy carresses baby

Baby shits on nappy

Nappy disposable.... all but

 

I do worry about the anti golf propaganda

 

Geoff

Dear All,

 

As

 some of you will know, my brother is over from KL and as tonight is his last night we're having a family farewell party for him so regrettably I cannot make the Book Club get together tonight. Most disappointing, as I thoroughly enjoyed the rather sinister tale of life in the S. African Karoo as detailed by Adam aka Nappy. I thought the contrast of the unscrupulous younger brother Gavin with the older but naive Adam was well depicted as was the continuing conflict of the poetry writing and the weeds. Canning was a wonderfully opaque character strangely hero worshipping the unheroic Adam until the reasons were  finally explained, and as for Baby and Blom, both strong presences in their very different ways although the latter was always in trouble once the first pick up had taken place outside his property.

Novels set in post apartheid SA can be somewhat pretentious but this I felt was certainly not that. It was a good page turner but well written with plenty to provoke thought and disquiet. I'm glad that Ian offered it and that we chose it.

 

Enjoy tonight

 

Guy

Thanks to Guy for a fine evening to discuss the events in war-untorn Guernsey as depicted in 'The Potato Peel

Pie blah...' by Mary Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Sadly Guy couldn't source the recipe for said pie and we had to make do with smoked salmon.

Also a welcome to Rob who took part in our discussions as well as setting a date for us to explore his experience as a writer, possibly together with Julie Welch (steady Steve!)

The book received mixed reviews although most thought it a tad 'lightweight' even 'bantamweight'. The letter-written structure of the novel was deemed original and worked well although Geoff was worried about Sophie - she never writes, she never phones!

The characters were thought to be straight from central casting and provoked, unusually for the Group, little discussion about their motivation/inner turmoil etc. many only wanting to give Julie a good slap.

Naming the male lead Dawsey brought the work into range of Jane Austen although no serious comparison could be mustered, more readers thought the oeuvre of Messrs.

Mills&Boon closer to the mark, albeit that M&B at least has some sex in it.

Some were disappointed that the dark deeds of the occupying Germans were not fully brought to light in the novel but we concluded that the aim of the author(s) was to explore the 'life goes on' aspects of conflict - maybe aided by the passing of 60 years and a distance of 3,500 miles.

In summary, in the words of Dave, 'phut'.

 

The next meeting dates are:

 

18th July at number 6 to discuss "The Imposter" by Damon Galgut

27th September at number 73 to discuss Nick's choice

10th October at number 67 to talk about "The Ghost of White Hart Lane" with Rob.

 

Ian

10/05/11 Simon On The Black Hill   Bruce Chatwin      English 1982

Many thanks to Simon and his performing moths for a most entertaining evening.

 

'On The Black Hill' by Bruce Chatwin was generally perceived as being a gently crafted detailed depiction of life in the Welsh borders spanning a large part of the 20th century as experienced by the identical twins Lewis and Benjamin Jones.  The descriptive writing revealed hard times and many deaths but the dogged resilience of the twins and their need for each other plus the many other characters from Amos and Mary to Tom and Aggie Watkins and Rosie were much enjoyed. The description of the earlier years was preferred to the later. A book that was well received by all, so much so, that Bickerton's Knob was somewhat surprisingly allowed to rest in peace. It was left to John to subliminally refer back to the episode of 'The Dump' (p.40) by engaging us, prior to throwing out time, with his Tales from the Allotment which left some of us feeling a little queasy.

 

See you all on Tuesday 28th June at no. 64 when 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows will be chewed over. Copies available via Yianoulla apparently.

 

Guy

06/04/11 Jonathan God’s Own Country   Ross Raisin       English 2008

Dear Readers,

 

It is said that you can train pigeons to write books.  Peter thinks this was one of them.  What was the phrase "snot nosed little runt" or was it "cunt" poor Sam Marsdyke. 

 

The rest of us seemed to enjoy the book and found the main character plausible but not easy to categorise.  For me it worked quite well - an only child brought up in the wilds of the Yorkshire moors with a silent hitter for a dad and a cowed mother, he was bound to be a bit odd, sociopathic even.  It seemed plausible too that a sassy 15 year old from Muswell Hill could lead the poor lad astray to the point when she was frightened and wanted to go home.  Too late of course, she was in up to her neck.  What he needed of course was a can of the Lynx effect and he would have been away but that would spoil the story.

 

Contrary to Peters complaint - sitting on the fence again - that nothing happened I am not sure that much happens in lots of books.  They are just stories.

 

Brave men one and all, you chose from my blind tasting yet another book about weird country people, all over taxed gene pools and dark nights.  You know the one about East Anglian Virgins?  Okay I will tell you - what's the definition of an East Anglian Virgin? Answer - a 14 year old girl who can run faster than her brother.  This book On the Black Hill  by Bruce Chatwin - lots available on Amazon for 0.1p - is the story of twins growing up on an isolated farm, and just for a change of scenery, in Wales.  Seriously readers, it is a beautifully written book and I am sure you will enjoy it.  Just so you are prepared Peter, nothing happens.

 

Many thanks Jonathan for your hospitality.  For those who couldn't make it your company was sorely missed.   It was a fine and most enjoyable evening as always and one I look forward to.  Next time I look forward to seeing you all at 77 PAS on Tuesday 10th May where there will be lashings of lava bread, leeks (various) and high spirited ribaldry.  Can't wait.

 

Yours Simon

23/02/11 Peter About The Author    John Colapinto       Canadian 2001

Another great evening, thank you Peter for nibbles-wine cheese and cake what more could you want? Your reminded us all to remember it is only a book not real life itself. This was heard and some musings on this idea emerged later .

 

The book was a page turner;  that was agreed. Did it matter that John C was pitching for a screen rights deal? Or that his hero was without charm, morality or talent, or was the writing any good; this was not agreed. ‘About the Author’ engaged most of our attention and some of us had concern for the characters.  Some fancied Les or Blackie but most felt the ending too nice and neat for Park Ave Sth. Most valued this addition to the book club’s wide range of style and genre.

 

Then some serious discussion about is it better to bring some books you care about and risk feeling caught up in the harsh criticism of the group. We reflected on the ‘clubbing’ treatment of certain seafaring novel and we sent a telepathic apology to John in absentia. Then we wondered if it might be better to bring books more randomly, less connected to the personal and our past. Many felt it ain’t broke so don’t fix it.

 

Then some choices for next time, each with strong visual images and characterisation:-

 

Vanity Fair-Thackeray (William Makepeace NOT Jake) 699pages (2 votes)

Maps for Lost Lovers-Nadam Aslam 369pages (2 votes)

God’s Own Country-Ross Raisin 211pages (4 votes).

 

A health warning was ignored despite this book being described ‘as cross between the whimsy of Huckleberry Finn and the horror of The Butcher Boy’

 

We did agree some dates:-

 

Dates:- 6/4/11 @Jonathan; 10/5/11 @Simon; 28/6/11 @Guy

 

happy reading-Jonathan

05/01/11 Dave The Feast of the Goat     Mario Vargas Llosa       Peruvian 2000

Fellow readers – please accept apologies again for my late arrival – I can only use advancing age, illness and strong medication as a poor excuse for my confused state.

 

Our thanks to Dave for his hospitality and the Nobel winning “Happy New Year” book choice. Assassination, rape and torture spiced with a bit of total family breakdown, impotence and incontinence always start the year off on a high for me and, as usual, it was interesting to see such a diverse range of strong opinions voiced – life was so much quieter under the Trujillo regime.

 

The bloodletting resumes in my bear-pit at No 4 on Wednesday 23rd February to discuss the next book “About the Author” by John Colapinto – so sharpen up your tongues for another evening of verbal lashing.

 

Yours in S & M

 

Peter

25/11/11 Martin Great Expectations       Charles Dickens        English 1860

Fellow readers – please accept apologies again for my late arrival – I can only use advancing age, illness and strong medication as a poor excuse for my confused state.

 

Our thanks to Dave for his hospitality and the Nobel winning “Happy New Year” book choice. Assassination, rape and torture spiced with a bit of total family breakdown, impotence and incontinence always start the year off on a high for me and, as usual, it was interesting to see such a diverse range of strong opinions voiced – life was so much quieter under the Trujillo regime.

 

The bloodletting resumes in my bear-pit at No 4 on Wednesday 23rd February to discuss the next book “About the Author” by John Colapinto – so sharpen up your tongues for another evening of verbal lashing.

 

Yours in S & M

 

Peter

06/10/10 Steve Suite française     Irène Némirovsky        French (Ukranian)    1942

25/08/10 John The Big Sleep      Raymond Chandler         American/British    1939

Dear Readers,

 

I too must make my apologies for absence at the meeting this evening.  I could not even attempt to match Nicks wonderful apology which I enjoyed so much (how hard is Japanese arithmetic anyway?).

 

My mother died last week and I will be in Suffolk (leaving Thursday morning) to be with the family.  I can't think of anything funny to say about that.  I am just happy that she is in a much better place now that he suffering of the last couple of years is over.  Dust to dust and all that.

 

I loved the book, by the way, but I think Nick, you could do one better!

 

See you soon I hope.

 

Yours Simon

 

Apologies

 

The neighbourhood didn't compare to Mulholland Drive, but it was where I had to be that morning. I parked the car and checked out the street . Bill's Fine Diner would give me a good view of the joint I was casing. The gaff promised 24 hour breakfasts. I went in.

 

A broad with a Croydon Facelift looked at me, "Yeah?".  "Tea and the full English, miss, skip the beans, I'm going to be in polite company later".

 

"OK, wise-guy, that'll be four-fifty - you pay me now". I slapped a five pound note on the counter. "Keep the change".

 

I took a seat by the window where I could see the building opposite,  there was no sign of life yet.

The tea arrived, most of it still in the mug. I lit a cigarette, sipped the tea. and waited. I was just buttering my second slice of toast when a shadow moved in the window over the street. The sign in the door changed from "Closed to "Open". I stubbed the half-smoked cigarette into a yellow egg yolk

and left. I headed straight across the road and straight through the door I had been studying.

 

The dame minding the office was still arranging the paint on her face when I walked in. The rest of her was arranged just the way I like, and she could see that I was enjoying the view .

 

"What's it to be, big guy?”. "You got a package for me?".  "Who's asking?" "Bryant, Nick Bryant".

 

"Oh!". She fluttered her eyelids. "Harry saidyou would be calling by, but his description didn't do you justice". She bent down to search her bottom drawer, and came up holding an envelope. She slid it slowly across the desk towards me. I put my hand on hers. She colouredand looked away. I studied her assets. Her nipples were harder than Japanese arithmetic.

 

I took the envelope, tipped my hat to the lady and headed for the exit. "We close at five - but I'll be here till half-past" she called out as I shut the door.

 

I strolled to the roadster, got in, and studied the envelope for a moment before opening it. Inside was a white piece of card, with dark blue printing. "Tottenham Hotspur v BSC Young Boys, White Hart Lane, Wednesday 25th August, 7.45pm. Admit One". I locked it safely in the glove compartment. This would be one night that Big John's Mob would have to do without me. I had got myself a date - with destiny.

 

Nick

04/11/09 Dave The Secret Scripture       Sebastian Barry          Irish 2008

Firstly a big thank you to Dave for hosting another evening to remember. Some highlights for those members we missed who had even more important things to do:- We all AGREED it was a lovely read; rich prose, if at times dark (even bleak and painful as Simon found), with a strong set of characters. We thought there was poetry and art in so many of the scenes and learnt from Steve he is as seductive and lyrical in the flesh as he is on paper. The narrative drew, those members hoping for a quick re-read, right back into the plot. Some thought the ending disappointing as Nick had quipped (great poem-more please) . Peter did find the book came back to him vividly having read many other books since we last met. Guy may be rushing back to re-read as he missed some of the spicy bits first time. Ian and we all mused on whether there was a hopeful or uncertain message for Ireland after meeting the 100 year old Roseanne.

As the evening moved on we completed a review on Haringey Social Services and Britain's MPs, fortunately the earlier cosy agreement faded away back to the usual wide spectrum of views.

 

Simon then told us a little about his choice of Doris Lessing's 'The Grass is Singing' published in 1950 and set in Rhodesia however as he is leaving for Australia on the very day we are meeting next time we agreed to discuss his choice on 21st Jan 2010.

 

But after a quick resume of three Wilkie Collins Novels we chose 'The Woman in White' published 1860 perhaps the first ever mystery thriller. On getting home I noticed that The W-in-W is a little longer than some we have previously chosen but am certain that after witnessing the rescue of Professor Pesca in the first few pages you will race through breathless and entranced with days to spare.

 

So, we meet next at Jonathan's House 8:30 pm on Thursday December 10th, to raise a glass to Simon on his travels and to the third anniversary of our book group.

 

Hi Guys I'm sure you all enjoyed the subtly woven tales of Roseanne and Doctor Grene. However, for those who have not yet finished the book - SPOILER ALERT! I have prepared a poetic précis.

 

History -

Doctor Grene used to fret and mope,

That his wife would give him no hope

Of nookie or laughter,

Which was all 'cos of Martha,

With whom he had once shared a grope.

 

Herstory -

There was a young beauty, Roseanne,

Whose life never really began,

For, though recently married,

She foolishly tarried

With a dashing young IRA man.

 

Mystery - I thought the narrative was strong enough not to need the Agatha Christie style dénoument.

 

Sorry I won't be there, enjoy the evening! Até a vista.

 

Nick

23/09/09 Martin Lies Of Silence        Brian Moore Irish 1990

Set in Belfast, this is Moore's ( The Color of Blood ) most powerful, meaningful and timely novel, one that will generate strong emotions and diverse opinions. Michael Dillon's literary aspirations vanished when he became the manager of a small hotel; he thinks of himself as ''a failed poet in a business suit.'' Married to a shrewish, dependent woman, he has just decided to leave her and move to London with his lover, a young Canadian woman, when he is swept into Northern Ireland's daily violence. A group of IRA thugs invades his home and holds his wife hostage while Michael is directed to plant a bomb that will kill a Protestant minister. Seamlessly turning what begins as a drama of domestic unhappiness into a chilling thriller, Moore engages Michael in a moral dilemma: whether to risk his wife's safety but save countless other lives by informing the police of the bomb ticking in his car. Once made, Michael's decision leads to yet more excruciating choices, escalating the tension in a narrative that mirrors the conflict which neither camp can win. As he depicts the passions on both sides of the civil war, Moore excoriates both ''Protestant prejudice and Catholic cant,'' deploring the ceaseless conflict in ''this British Province founded on inequality and sectarian hate.'' If the novel seems, in retrospect, perhaps a little contrived, readers will remain riveted as it hurtles to an inevitable, cleverly plotted conclusion.

 

Look forward to hearing from you after the 4th !

 

Cheers Martin

25/08/09 Steve Patrimony: A True Story       Philip Roth          American 1991

Dear All

As I seem to now be the scribe (come back Simon!) here are the minutes:

 

Apologies for absence from Peter, Martin and Simon.

 

Another 'garden' meeting on Steve's impressive decking - Jewish/American themed - bagels, lox, salmon, fish-balls and even a fifth of Jim Beam. Thanks Steve for your hospitality.

 

A unanimous vote of approval for the book from all those present and some far-reaching discussions on, most notably, fatherhood, excrement, immigrants and cars in California. (Once Steve gave way to the floor)

 

The next book choice, from Martin, was discussed and after some voting, a combination of Tory Party leadership contest and the Eurovision Song contest, your next read is: Lies of Silence by Brian Moore

30/06/09 Geoff Death And The Penguin       Andrey Kurkov         Ukranian 1996

Fellow penguin lovers

Thanks to Geoff for a delightful evening in the fragrant surrounds of his garden (I am scratching my mosquito bite as we speak).There were some reservations about the book But it seemed that the consensus of opinion was that this was a engagedly quirky book with the bleakness of the relationships presented in the book mitigated by a certain ironic humour deriving from having to exist in a corrupt and seemingly random regime. And, of course, everyone loved the penguin!

 

My apologies at being caught unawares when it came to the presentation.

 

However our subsequent discussion as to the way in which the group functions I thought was valuable and I guess might be further explored when we consider our next book, Patrimony by Philip Roth. We meet at my house on the 5th August and Martin is the next in line to present a choice of books.

 

Regards

 

Steve

04/03/09 Martin The Rebel Angels         Robertson Davies Canadian 1981

Gentlemen Many thanks for coming round last night, and I’m glad there seemed to be a general concensus of approval for Robertson Davies.

As discussed, Guy is hosting the next evening on Wednesday 15th April at No. 64 and his chosen book is London Fields by Martin Amis. Following hot on his heels will be John on May 27th, who will no doubt reveal the title of his 600 page thunderer when we next meet.

 

Until then Best wishes Martin

14/01/09 Peter Fictions Jorge Luis Borges Argentinian 1944

03/12/08 Ian Stone Junction         Jim Dodge           American 1990

What a pleasure to have been among you all again after so long. I'm sure we all send our thanks to Ian for the excellent hospitality and spread - the standard of catering has been raised a bit since my last appearance - for the next one I might have to put in a bit more effort than I intended.

The read this time is Ficciones (Fictions) by Jorge Luis Borges (translated by Anthony Kerrigan), hopefully you'll find a few treats in it over Christmas - and a prize for anyone who reads (and can explain) the first three stories.

 

Next meeting at my place (no 4) on Wednesday 14th January 2009 at 8.30pm. Thanks to Martin for letting me take his place on this occasion and the next book to be presented in Martin's absence will be his choice of a Robertson Davies novel - title tbc.

 

Subsequent meeting will be Wednesday 25th February 2009 at 8.30pm when John will be presenting his choice of book -  I'm sorry I'm working that day in Birmingham and won't be there to see the look on all your faces when we get offered another chance to read HMS Surprise!

 

I'm not sure what the final date and details are of our joint book groups Secret Santa jolly are - maybe Jonathan could advise.

 

Best wishes and a Happy Christmas to all us readers.

 

Peter

15/11/08 Simon Something to Tell You Hanif Kureishi English 2008

Dear Readers,

 Sorry for the delay in getting this out to you.  But it took me a while to figure out how to use Chat GBT.  This is what it came up with.


Overview of "This Book Will Save Your Life": A brief overview of the book, "This Book Will Save Your Life" by A.M. Homes, was presented, highlighting the author's style, main characters, and central theme of personal transformation.

1. Discussion of Key Themes and Plot Points: The group engaged in a lively discussion about the key themes and plot points of the book. They explored the protagonist's journey towards self-discovery, the importance of human connection, and the impact of unexpected events on one's life.

2. Champagne Corks and Tennis: Symbolism and Metaphors: The participants delved into the symbolism and metaphors present in the book, particularly focusing on champagne corks and tennis. They explored how these elements represented moments of celebration, resilience, and the unpredictable nature of life.

3. Kidney Donation: Ethical Dilemmas and Personal Sacrifice: The book's exploration of kidney donation as a significant plot point sparked a thought-provoking discussion on ethical dilemmas and personal sacrifice. The group shared their opinions on the characters' choices and debated the moral implications involved.

4. Individual Perspectives and Emotional Impact: Participants took turns expressing their personal perspectives on the book and how it resonated with them. They discussed the emotional impact of the story, reflecting on moments of inspiration, empathy, and personal growth.

5. Conclusion and Final Thoughts: The book club meeting concluded with a collective reflection on the book. Participants shared their final thoughts, including favorite passages, memorable characters, and how the story had affected them personally. Recommendations for future book selections were also discussed.

Overall, the book club meeting centered around the novel "This Book Will Save Your Life" by A.M. Homes, exploring its themes of personal transformation, symbolism, and ethical dilemmas. The participants engaged in a passionate discussion, providing unique perspectives and deepening their understanding of the book.

Sounds like a good meeting if a little soulless, but it missed out the bit about the author being female which was a surprise to us.  And where did his seemingly limitless money come from?  The relationship with his son was deemed to be quite shocking but didn’t seem to go anywhere.  And why did he abandon his son in the first place to become a money making hermit who never went out.  There were lots of random events which took him away from his sterile life and all in all, for me, added up to a rather silly book.  We did enjoy talking about it though and I think my version of events made for a much more interesting meeting that the Chat GBT rubbish above.

Thank you Alan for your hospitality and the donuts of course!  And your marshalling of the votes for the books I presented which was pretty straightforward as “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus won by a landslide.  “When breath becomes air” by Paul Kalanithi rejected for not being a novel, an excellent read none the less..  “The island of missing trees” by Elif Shafack also spurned as was “The Ferryman” by Justin Cronin.

Conversation strayed into other territories such as York Paving, bats, birds of prey, scones (and all the regional variants) and donuts of course.  I mean can you imagine setting yourself the task of parking in every supermarket parking bay or sampling the scones from every National Trust Property, barking mad but given a choice I would go for the scone task.

Have a long summer break guys and we will meet again 11th September at my place where the character Elizabeth Zott (in the next book), may well be able to provide me with the inspiration to wiz up some confection for our mutual enjoyment.

Yours Simon