Book #39 1984 by George Orwell

1984

Length Of Time In Possession : 6 yrs minimum

1984 is the incredibly famous final work from George Orwell. Despite not having read it, I came to it feeling like I knew "too much" about it, simply because it has seeped into popular culture so much. Particularly for me, I'd had the novel completely spoilered by the BBC series done by Sebastian Faulks 'On Fiction' so I always knew the end and several aspects of the storyline which in a way was frustrating.

Somehow knowing what was coming added pathos to the novel for me in many areas. Winston Smith lives in a totalitarian regime which constantly reminded me of what is known of modern day North Korea, in many ways the novel, published in 1949, proves prophetic not just for societies like North Korea but also for our own.

In particular I wondered what Orwell would have made of the TV series that bears the name of omniscient overseer 'Big Brother' - basically a series which regularly exhibits the worst of society.
Again the series 'Room 101' a jocular take on a place which was, truly, the stuff of nightmares.

Winston Smith is a subversive living in Oceania : a conglomerate of the English speaking Western States perpetually at war with the others. Winston Smith seeks to be part of the revolution, and join 'The Brotherhood' those working against 'Big Brother'

There were parts of 1984 in terms of the prose that I really enjoyed. I particularly liked these quotes :

 "Why should it be intolerable unless one had some kind of ancestral memory that things had once been different?"

"Perhaps a lunatic was simply a minority of one. At one time it had been a sign of madness to believe that the Earth goes round the sun : today that the past is unalterable. He might be alone in holding that belief, and if alone, then a lunatic. But the thought of being a lunatic did not greatly trouble him : the horror was that he might also be wrong"

That last quote particularly I thought was sheer brilliance.

Where the experience of the novel faltered for me was the lengthy 25 page inclusion of the treatise of Emmanuel Goldstein which struck me as a polemic and a sociology lesson. At this point, I felt not that I was reading a novel for enjoyment but that I was back in Sixth Form studying for my A Levels.

All in all for me, this book is a permanent must read for the human race as a whole, not just for its content but for the prose of itself. Though I did know many of the things that came to pass, it did not stop me marvelling at how good this book is and how pertinent it remains today.

Verdict : 9/10

Destination : Pass on or charity shop 
 

Book #38 The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss

The Vesuvius Club

Length Of Time In Possession : 6 yrs minimum

The Vesuvius Club begins a trilogy of tales about one Lucifer Box, he lives in Downing Street (someone has to) and works for King and Country behind the scenes in the earliest form of national espionage.

Devilish Lucifer becomes embroiled in a mystery surrounding a group of connected men and their mysterious references to the "V.C" as well as helping out friends in trouble and courting a very attractive lady.

Written in 19th Century style but with the ability to include things unmentionable in that era, The Vesuvius Club from the celebrated contributor to both Sherlock and Doctor Who is very witty and incredibly good fun, some of the turns of phrase he uses really made me laugh, and I instantly thought of certain friends who would definitely enjoy this.

Amazon reviews (an average of 3.5 stars) seem to rate this quite low, which confuses me. It's a really great old fashioned romp, and detective story, with original characters. Yes the ending is rather over the top and silly, but it's a fun piece not taking itself seriously. I could clearly see this as a successful TV series and will definitely read its sequels.

Verdict : 9/10

Destination : Passing on to friends  

Book #37 No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

No Country For Old Men

Length Of Time In Possession : 3 weeks

No Country For Old Men is the novel from which the fantastic Academy Award Winning Coen Brothers film starring Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin came. I urge you to watch the film.

Does the novel measure up? By and large, yes, the Coen Brothers did a faithful adaptation and though for me, the film has a slight edge, the book is a worthwhile read.

Llewellyn Moss stumbles upon a crime scene, everyone is dead but there is a substantial amount of money and seizes the opportunity unwittingly sealing his fate. Because recovering that money is tasked to Anton Chigurh, a man who doesn't forgive, doesn't forget and shows no mercy.

My favourite sections belonged to the musings of Sheriff Bell, an aging law man who has seen too much and sees what he believes as terrible social decay, the USA is No Country For Old Men. His philosophical outlooks and ultimate choices are the best written aspects of the book, several parts of which are eminently quotable, but I do not have the book to hand.

Fast moving but yet still at times with a sense of slow reflection, the novel is highly enjoyable and well worth reading.

Verdict : 8/10  

Destination : Charity Shop

 

Book #36 The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie

Length Of Time In Possession : 6 years

What an odd thing this book is. It is the story of one Jean Brodie who teaches 10 year old girls, she elects to turn a group of 6 of them : Sandy, Jenny, Rose, Mary, Monica and Eunice into her "set" a group of petted favourites to whom she extends her influence, and becomes involved with on a personal level turning them into friends and confidantes at an impressionable age, winning both their minds and their hearts. As they age into the Senior School, the headmistress, wary of Brodie attempts to break the girls bond and uncover a reason to dismiss the eccentric schoolteacher.

Certain stylistic approaches irritate, we are repetitively told that Jean Brodie was in her prime or at least considered herself to be, we are repetitively told that Rose became "famous for sex"  etc, and in what is quite a short book it proves annoying.

As far as the plot itself goes I found Jean Brodie to be an alarming even sociopathic character : I was thoroughly unsurprised that the Headmistress wanted to oust her. Whilst every parent hopes that their child will find a inspirational teacher who is willing to light up their child's mind and deviate from the "rules"; Brodie is more like a spider to whom the girls are flies, that she manipulates, controls, and puppeteers at her own whim. Mary, as an example, seems to have only been included in the "set" to serve as its whipping boy, an example for Brodie to criticise for the benefit of the other girls.

As the girls age, Brodie manipulates their burgeoning sexual blooming to her own ends and in one instance is indirectly responsible for a child's death. Finally seeing through her, one of her own set betrays her, but which one, and why?    

This is a really strong if very strange book about the alarming power to influence children adults hold because even in old age the girl who finally turned on her cites her as her greatest influence. Interesting and thought provoking if not always excellently written.

Verdict : 7.5/10

Destination : Charity Shop

Book #35 Bright Young Things by Scarlett Thomas

Bright Young Things

Length Of Time in Possession : 3 weeks

Ah, Bright Young Things, I don't know what I make of you. You are no "The End Of Mr Y" and you don't match up to "PopCo" (both by the same author) despite its flaws either; but yet there is something to say for you.

At the beginning of the novel we are introduced to the eponymous Bright Young Things : Anne, Thea, Emily, Jamie, Paul and Bryn all of whom have their own back story - most of whom are recent graduates, and what leads them all to apply for a small job advertisement in The Guardian about which little details are given. Just that it's an "exciting project" for "Bright Young Things"

After arriving to their interview, they all suddenly wake up on a remote island with no idea how they got there and no way off, and no clue as to the 'project' they are supposed to be involved in.

So they end up living a Big Brother/Castaway type hybrid in which they must entertain themselves and to read it is almost like reading a novelisation of one of those reality shows, like a Geordie Marcus voice over set to the page.

In some ways this proves quite dull, as it basically consists of popular culture discussions revolving around the late Eighties into the 90s, basically what people my age (31) were into as teens. I found myself thinking "Wow, had I read this at 42, it would have been an amazing nostalgia trip, but right now it just feels dated"

Certain parts did make me smile, the ZX Spectrum gets referenced and my family had one, on top of this Anne goes on a pretty lengthy diatribe about early Home And Away, something my sisters and I watched religiously, discussing at length a storyline about Bobby and her half brother Alan Fisher with whom she almost entered a relationship both entirely unaware they had the same father, Alan's death and the subsequent publication of his novel On The Crest Of A Wave, that, I did wax nostalgic about, one of my favourite all time storylines.  My Home And Away/Neighbours days are long over and I'm now more of a Breaking Bad girl but I do find it sweet and amusing that Alf Stewart of the catchphrase "flaming gallah" is still in it more than twenty years later.

There is a decent if rather preposterous twist at the midway point, yet the ending is a bit empty and feels unfinished. The ending of PopCo is similarly rushed and disappointing and though personally I loved the ending of "Mr Y", other readers have made the same complaint of it, giving rise to the accusation that Thomas gets off to good starts and has difficulty carrying them through to the novels conclusion.

I gave Mr Y a 10/10 and I believe I gave PopCo a 7, Bright Young Things for me is a 6/10 which means somewhat disappointingly Thomas's other novels have failed to live up to what I felt was utter genius in Mr Y, I still have two of her other novels : Our Tragic Universe and Going Out unread but from her output thus far, it is clear to me that there is genuine, if slightly flawed, talent at work and I will continue to keep her on my watchlist.

Destination : Charity Shop    

A Note

I have only one book listed as read in May but in fact read 4 - but was away from a computer at the time, about to review the other 3 now but in my final round up they will be classed as May not June. Painfully behind this year, pretty sure there is no way I'll make 100 this time, but it remains to be seen!

Book #34 Perfume by Patrick Suskind

Perfume

Length of Time in Possession : 6 years at least

I've been having a problem with the number of books I've read thus far this year. Not only am I much busier now but the books that I am reading are books that I have possessed for years and haven't got through, Perfume being an example of this. More and more I am realising that the reason I've had certain books for so long is because my desire to read them was so low, and usually there's a reason for that. It's been so long since I read an amazing book I'm getting pretty frustrated.

Perfume is a case in point, though it was a book club choice, I've also had it for years. I will probably get negative feedback from people who disagree, but I thought this was one of the worst books I've read in a long time, potentially ever.

The story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, an illegitimate orphan with a superhuman sense of smell, he becomes a murderer in order to keep scents of women he enjoys.

The books ultimate strength is in its descriptive prose of smells of all kinds, these areas are well written, but, in terms of the plot the book is simply bizarre.

Though it is labelled Perfume : Story Of A Murderer, a murder barely described, occurs early then not much happens murder wise for a very long time in an essentially short plot until Grenouille goes on a spree near the end, but when this does happen they are referred to like news 'and then another girl died' and are barely described. For a vast section of the books 269 pages he goes on a long walk and then lives in a cave.

There are two endings if you like an end to his killings and then the ultimate end of the book, and both these events are among the most bizarre, ludicrous, laughable and stupid plot points I've ever read in any book.

I hated this book as did my book club. Did not really enjoy it on any level though I respected the quality of prose at times.

Verdict : I would literally only give this book a 2/10

Destination : Charity Shop