A Woman in Berlin by Anonymous

Written in diary form our author simply describes the events as Berlin falls to the Russians nearing the end of the war.  The impact on the civilian population left in the city (mainly women, children and older people).  In this harsh environment where food is a scarce resource, one must do what is necessary to survive.  The Russians arrive and rape and pillage, those two pillars  of a marauding army on a civilian population, becomes the norm. You do what you have to - if by finding a 'protector' you get an extra ration of food, is that so wrong?  You survive however you must.  To categorize the horrors that people survived and went through is not the purpose of this review, but as an eyewitness account of the degradation of a city and the inhumanity of man it is a profound and dispassionate book.

A number hadn't read the book in time for the meeting, I do urge you to do so.  Also Cindy mentioned that another book closely related to this that should be read:  The Past is Myself by Cristabel Bielenberg (obit)

Words used to describe it:
crisp, dispassionate, must read, 

Marks out of 10 -   8 - 10

Next Book

Rabbit Run by John Updike

Next Meeting

Wed 1 February at 115 Harbord St

Dissolution by CJ Samson

A medieval who dun'it.  Set during the dissolution of the monasteries, after Henry VIII split the English Church from Rome.  The historical detail is fascinating and in the light of Brexit shows that nothing is forever and everything can be broken down and changed, even those institutions that had stood for 100's of years.  Part of the Shadlake series of books, this is the first one, introducing the hunchback lawyer to us, his analytical thought process the political intrigue and how even then, the fingers of power stretched far and wide.  One of Cromwell's Commissioners has been murdered at a monastery set for dissolution - it looks like witchcraft but is it really?  The cold, wet, fetid atmosphere of medieval England is well described and a lot of historical detail is carefully inserted into the story - like a lot of crime fiction, the story is interesting but some of the characters lack depth.

Words used to describe it:
exploding myth (Anne Boleyn), Shadlake doesn't ask enough questions, long winded, chilling, atmospheric

Marks out of 10:  between 5 - 7

Next Book

A Woman in Berlin by Anonymous

Next Meeting

Wed 30th November

117 Harbord St

Christmas Party

3 December 2016

208 Munster Road then onto The Southern Bell

The Chevalier by Mike Hobbs

We were lucky enough to have the author of this book, Mike Hobbs at our meeting, who answered our questions about this character and the book:   Le Chevalier (Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont (5 October 1728 – 21 May 1810) was a real person, a transvestite or perhaps an hermaphrodite who was co opted to spy for Louis XV.  The charming and feminine Chevalier d'Eon de Beaumont has popped up in history and historical fiction before, but this book lays down a family and reason that he did what he did.  

Below a few of the questions we asked: 

Q Where did you get your inspiration from?
A While browsing the book shops of Hay on Wye I came across an old biography called Royal Spy, which outlined her fascinating story.   I became intrigued and wanted to write about her.

Q How many drafts/outlines do you do of the story?
A This was the 3 or 4th draft, I always had a good idea of what the story was going to be in my mind, so it was just a matter of writing it!

Q What happened to Le Chavalier?
A He died in Lambeth, London, having lived the last 16 years of his life as a woman, although when his body was inspected she was found to have full male genitalia as well as the rounded limbs of a woman including breasts.The real Chevalier died in abject poverty  at the age of 81.

Q How much research did you do for the historical detail?
A I try to do enough to make the details accurate, but not so much that it impedes the story.  You can get bogged down in detail if you aren't careful.

Q Which part did you agonize over most?
A The Introduction and the second journey.  The intro lays down the foundation of the story and is the most important chapter, the second journey as it links so many details together. 

Words used to describe the book:
wonderful, imaginative, pleasurably detailed, enthralling, excellent for reading about France, informative, amusing

Marks out of 10 between 6 - 9

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

A detailed novel set initially in the 1950, which focuses on two girls in a deprived, claustrophobic, over populated suburb of Naples.  The two girls meet at school where the tough and bright Lila bullies and befriends the writer Elena.  Lila taught herself to read at the age of three and despite her family continues to shine at school and yet, financial hardship and the lack of understanding of what an advantage an education could be to a girl of that time, her family fail to push her toward or into further education.  Elena, works at her education, seeing it as a way out of her life, she has the tentative support of her family and that makes all the difference.   The novel follows their lives as they change and move in different directions.

This book has been lauded, praised and adored on TV, paper and radio........So what did we think?  We couldn't see what all the fuss is about, yes it was detailed and the characters deeply drawn, but the story line failed to interest many of us in the group and a number found it dull, having said that a few loved it!  It did generate an interestingly wide discussion about womanhood, expectations and translations. 

Words used to describe it:  boring, compelling, interesting womanhood, febrile, poverty, underwhelming, over rated, puzzling popular, bland

Marks out of 10:  between 4 - 7

Next Book

The Chevalier by Mike Hobbs

The author of this book will be at the next meeting

I have a few hardback copies of the book at my house.  

Mike will sign them when he comes. Price £15.00 

Or download a digital copy.

Venue

Date: to be confirmed either 21 or 22 September.

Venue:  126 Harbord St

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

I haven't time this week to write the review on the book but I thought I'd publish details of the next two books.  Yes two books:

The book for August is 

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante translated by Ann Goldstein  

Next Meeting

3rd August

Venue TBC

and the book for September is 

The Chevalier by Mike Hobbs, 

the author will come to our meeting in September.

The book is published by World's End Bookshop.  

Collect opies of the book here at 126 Harbord St, price £TBC

Do No Harm by Henry Marsh

"What could be finer, I thought, than to be a neurosurgeon?" writes Henry Marsh after seeing his first brain surgery. "The operation involved the brain, the mysterious substrate of all thought and feeling, of all that was important in human life – a mystery, it seemed to me, as great as the stars at night and the universe around us."  

In this clinical and terse memoir Mr Marsh writes about the single mindedness required to be an excellent technician/brain surgeon - his obvious entrancement with the brain, its beautiful construction, the mystery of many of its functions and its inherent softness and fragility, with only the cocoon of the skull to keep safe.  He brilliant describes the craft and beauty of the brain, the surgery and the implications of various treatments.   Mr Marsh takes us through his career, from the heady early days,  various operations, his dilemmas with and sometimes not treating people, his failures and the guilt he still bears and his recent issues with the various restructuring that has gone on in the NHS and the consequences for those doing the 'work'.  

For those of us with an interest in medical matters we loved this side of the book.  What many of us took issue with was the more 'me' side, the personal, the man which we felt could have done with some good editing - less of the person came through or maybe too much of the clinician? 
Very mixed reviews for this book. some liked it but on the whole, many found it too dry and un-engaging.

Words used to describe it:
enlightening, fascinating, clinical, instructive (twice), dry memoir

Marks out of 10:  between 4 and 8

Next Book

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

Next Meeting

Thursday 2 June at 72 Kingwood Road

The other books we briefly discussed that Cindy had recommended - not all of us had read them were:

Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift

Comment from Carolyn - Not enough sex

and 

The Body Keeps Score

 

Fat Chance by Simon Gray

I know you shouldn't copy and paste whole reviews, but I saw this one from 'Ian' on Goodreads and I thought this is the best review - I won't expand on his:

"'What the fuck is he doing in Bruges`"

In 1995 Simon Gray wrote and directed "Cell Mates". The play is essentially a two hander and he seemed to have landed the dream team of Rik Mayall and Stephen Fry for the main parts. Alas, after reading the first reviews (to the consternation of colleagues, friends and family who feared the worst) Stephen Fry left the production (and indeed the country) without warning. The play closed soon after.

Fans of Simon Grays play diaries (and there should be many) will know that Gray worked on the verge of a nervous breakdown at the best of times and so his anguish, so perfectly expressed here, is hardly surprising. Fortunately for us all, for expiation and (I assume) revenge Gray dipped his pen in acid and wrote this account.

This particular dish is not always served cold (see quote above) but it is delicious (did someone say "schadenfreude"?) and there is some wonderfully cool writing; in answer to his own question set out above Gray writes;

"a beautiful city, fine restaurants. And a lot of Belgians who share Stephen's appetites, which would make him feel that he was in congenial company, I suppose. Dining in his gastric peer group. I made an enraged peroration along these lines......possibly unfair to Stephen, who might, for all I knew, have gone to Bruge for its spiritual sustenance - its cathedral, say, its small religious sanctuaries."

Ouch.

Simon Gray died earlier this year. As Stephen Fry might say "Bless you. God Bless you."
 
Link to Goodreads review

Words used to describe the book:  
revenge, self absorbed rant, vituperative, intense, excruciating, bitter 

Marks out of 10 - between 6 - 9

Next Book

Do No Harm by Henry Marsh

Next Meeting

115 Harbord St

5th May

Old Filth by Jane Graham

Old Filth, Master of the Inner Temple, skilled exponent? of the law, Sir Edward Feathers a child of 'The Raj' or the British institution of sending your child back to be educated.  The brutalizing effect of separation of child from family for years at a time.  This disconnect from family makes a child self-reliant, self contained and reserved - all characteristics of Sir Edward and other protagonists in this engrossing story.  The story slowly revealed what made these characters tick.  The 'murder' of an abusive foster parent, the resignation and acceptance of his lack of emotional life, little pieces of his wife, her character and her alternate life that he barely comprehended.  
A different age and different sensibilities, this treatment of a child would certainly constitute abandonment and child abuse now-a-days.  A study in the aging process.  A quiet novel of perception and or lack of it!  The story is slowly revealed with tragicomic timing.

Another book that created a good discussion on the character of begin British - was it the schools, or the lack of family.  Is a stiff upper lip a result of neglect.  Boarding school - friends for life or a hell to be endured.  

Words used to describe it:   damaged, stiff-upper-lipped, want more, thought provoking, lots of loose ends.

Marks out of 10:   all 8 except 1 who marked it 7!

Next book 

Fat Chance by Simon Gray

Next Meeting

Thursday April 7th

at 130 Harbord St

The Door by Magda Szabo

A busy writer and her academic husband, neither of whom is interested in house work, look for a housekeeper to help them out.  Emerence is recommended to them - with the cryptic warning 'She doesn't just take anyone on'.  After being duly interviewed by the formidable Emerence the author and her husband are taken on.  In this slowly eeked out story, small crumbs of information are carefully woven into the fabric of the story.  Emerence, her strange attitudes to people, why no-one can enter her home, animals and the way she dresses are all intertwined with her life.  A difficult book to precis and review.  
This book  generated an interesting discussion on war, PTS, spinsterhood and life in a Communist state, we did wonder if it actually was more of a political allegory than story?. 

Words used:  mystical, symbolic, dispassionate, dry, engrossing, intriguing, difficult, challenging
Marks out of 10 - between 6 - 8

Next Book

Old Filth by Jane Gardam

Next Meeting

10 March at hosted by Maire at 117 Harbord St

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

This iconic book deserves reading.  Knowing that it was written by the then youthful author in the space of 9 days on a rented typewriter makes the prose and construction of the novel much more impressive.  As a commentary on the 'Macarthy era' of the early 1950's where what you wrote could land you in prison if it was considered to be 'unAmerican'.  The premise of the novel that books are dangerous and must now be burnt.  Firemen now burn houses that have books.  The ideas in books are deemed to be dangerous - to distract   people there is wall to wall interactive entertainment TV's, music entertainment direct to the ears, fast cars and dumbed down culture, keeping the population happy.  The on going war in the back ground carries on, with little or no interest by the population for whom it is supposedly being carried out in the name of.  

Guy Montag the 'hero' of the novel starts to think about things, books, life and ideas after meeting a young girl Clarisse who talks about everything. Montag meets an old English teacher Faber who encourages him to read some of the books he burns.  This of course leads to detection and the burning of his home.  Montag goes on the run, encouraged by Faber to reach a group of people who live outside the city where they memorize books waiting for the time when they can be printed again.  The end of the city with nuclear bombs where all that Montag knew is gone, and society has to start again - hopefully learning from it's own mistakes.  But do we?

We had a great discussion around this book and the interesting concepts that it illustrates.  Are books that important - are ideas that important, does society need to keep a record of its events and thoughts so that we don't make the same mistakes. Having said that if you look at history - it doesn't seem to be working! What about societies, cultures and religions that don't encourage independent thought, how should we consider those.

Words used to describe it: incendiary, inflammatory, prophetic, depressing, disruptive, thought provoking.
Marks out of 10:  between 8 - 9 so well liked.

Next Book

The Door by Magda Szabo

Next Meeting

Thursday 4th February

Ground Floor, 55 Harbord St