The Lighthouse, Alison Moore

 

I absolutely didn't enjoy this book, it is populated by irritating and mostly pathetic, tepid characters. Futh, the protagonist, is a deeply pathetic and irritating man, he has just split up from his wife and is going on a walking holiday in Germany, in the hope that it will help him 'recover'. He is neurotic and has no ideas or thoughts of his own (his father went on a walking holiday when Futh's mother left him, so that's what Futh decides to do) and is terrifically needy. Moore does give reasons for his personality flaws - his mother left him and his dad is an alcoholic. But the upshot of having such a dislikable charachter is that I couldn't give a monkeys what happens to him, or doesn't happen to him. There is not one likeable character in this book. It is obviously a purposeful decision on the author's part, but the result is a complete disengagement on my part. The novel is also full of repetition, forced symbolism and unartful coincidences. Not for me.

Next I'm reading Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe, which has to be better! 

Under the Net, Iris Murdoch

This one was a surprise, for some reason I expected it to be much more serious than it is. It is a very enjoyable, haphazard story, the kind which seemingly has no beginning, middle or end but is a series of connected events.

The whole is glued together by the personality of Jake Donaghue. He is a young, philosophical writer with a wry sense of humour. We meet him as he has been kicked out of his flat and he jumbles his way from one situation and encounter to another, involving a famous actress, the woman he loves, a canine filmstar an old friend (who may be an enemy) and Mrs Tinckham's shop. It is funny and light hearted, but also has an underlying seriousness which stops the story ever becoming too silly. Dry and highly enjoyable I would recommend it.

The Old Ways, Robert Macfarlane

I bought this book when I left Waterstone's over a year ago. I had been looking forward to reading it so much that I have been saving it. 

The thing which struck me most was how generous Macfarlane is, the corner of my copy is swollen with the amount of pages I have turned over, of things I want to read again or look up later. He is incredibly interesting, and the whole book has the feel of the author chatting in your ear. He talks to you as if you are beside him, in the landscape seeing the same things he is.

The Old Ways is about following ancient pathways - paths and routes on land and sea which have been followed for generations. One of the triggers of the book is Edward Thomas, and he features heavily in the book, in terms of poetry and his life story and thought processes. It is interesting, refreshing and brilliant that when trying to explain and investigate these old routes Macfarlane turns, not to historians and archeologists, but artists, writers and poets. It is a book with a lot of integrity and is fascinating. It makes you want to be in the wild and to be more attune to the past and present around you in those wild, old landscapes.

A Passage to India, E. M Forster

This as an odd one. It is set in India at the height of colonialism and mostly follows an Indian doctor, Dr Aziz; an English woman who is visiting the man she may or may not marry, Miss Quested; and an English headmaster of the local college, Mr Fielding. The book starts and ends with the question of weather or not, in a colonial context, English and Indians can be friends. Forster explores this thoughout the novel, looking at and satirising the behaviour of both nationalities.

It was an interesting read, but wasn't particularly compelling, and seemed quite cold. Although maybe this was in contrast to The Well of Loneliness, which was incredibly heartfelt. It is made more interesting however by the dedication: To Sayed Ross Masood and to the seventeen years of our friendship.

I am now on The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot by Robert Macfarlane, who is following ancient pathways. It's fascinating so far.

The Well of Loneliness, Radclyffe Hall

What struck me most about The Well of Loneliness was it's depth of feeling. It is a deep, heartbroken, guttural scream from Radclyffe Hall for understanding and acceptance. The book was written in 1923 by Hall who was an 'invert' as she puts it, she was gay, as is the protagonist, and the book was banned. 

We follow a girl who is named Stephen (her parents were sure they were having a boy) from birth until she is around 40, through her childhood, first affair, leaving the home she adores, a war and then life in Paris. There are enough similarities between the author and Stephen that I assume she is, at least partly, a self-portrait.

 

Throughout Hall is trying to reconcile the natural and joyful feeling of being in love with another woman, with the view of a world who finds her and 'her kind' abhorrent, and doesn't allow any kind of expression or acknowledgement of that relationship or feeling. The book gets darker and darker as Stephen sees what the world does to those around her.

The Well of Loneliness is not particularly well written, but it is powerful in its desperation, and hugely moving. It leaves you with a vast amount of love and sympathy for Raycliffe Hall, for trying to reconcile a world which was against her.

Just started reading A Passage to India by E.M Forster, so far so good though maybe it's a little dated.

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, Angela Carter

Carter has re-imagined familiar fairy stories to create the tales in The Bloody Chamber. In some the starting points are very recognisable and/or are pointed out in the title and for some I didn't recognise the original tale. There are a few stories which are similar; a couple take Little Red Riding Hood as a starting point, and it is interesting the way these have been curated, invariably the similar ones sit next to each other, which definitely affects your reading of them.

The stories are fascinating, some are graphic, dark and deep, others are lighter and funnier, but still with a dark undercurrent. All are compelling and beautifully written. Puss-in-Boots was my favourite, one of the lighter ones and a vibrant fairy-tale. Puss is imagined as a crude street cat who is valet to a young man, all is well until the man falls in love and adventure ensues. The title story is very dark and quite haunting and this is the story in which the language is most noticable. Carter's prose is visceral and she seems to have a huge passion for the crafting of scentences which are more than the sum of their parts.

I'm reading The Well of Loneliess by Radclyffe Hall now, the quality of prose is alot different to Carter's, but after reading short stories and collecting only fragments of a whole it's good to read this, which is following Stephen as she grows up and discovers life.

Her Brilliant Career, Rachel Cooke

This was super-interesting, it is factual, an account of 'ten extraordinary women of the fifties'. The women are; Patience Gray, cookery writer; Nancy Spain, writer and personality; Joan Werner Laurie, magazine editor; Sheila Van Damm, rally-car driver and theatre manager; Alison Smithson, architect; Margery Fish, gardener; Muriel Box, director and Betty Box, producer; Jaquetta Hawkes, archaeologist and Rose Helibron, QC. 

 

The occupations, personalities and personal lives of these women are hugely varied. It is obviously interesting figuring out who these people were but the main fascination I found was in 'how things worked out'. My mum likes reading obituaries because she likes to know what people did with their lives,  and that is what is compelling about this book. It is mostly quite sad, the chapter on Nancy Spain, Joan Werner and Sheila Van Damm is heartbreaking but the chapter on Margery Fish I found life affirming. 

There is a book by Daniel Miller called The Comfort of Things which is incredible (I urge you to read it if you have any interest in people). I think it is in the foreword to this where he, or someone else, says that the book reveals 'the sadness of lives and the comfort of things' which is a quote that has stuck with me. Her Brilliant Career reveals the sadness of lives and the comfort of work.