The Waterproof Bible, Andrew Kaufman

 

This is an odd one! It is a strange mix of sci-fi characters set in what looks alarmingly like the real world. It is very enjoyable, a bit of light relief but also a comment on coming to terms with family, relationships and emotions. I felt like I was not quite getting all the nuances and metaphors, but it is also one of those books where you can take from it as much as you like, only skimming the surface is fun too.

Next up - Dracula!

The Art of Being a Woman, Patricia Volk

The Art of Being a Woman is, not surprisingly, non-fiction and is much less preachy than its title suggests. In it Volk tells of the two formative influences in her life; her mother Audrey Volk and the Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli. They are polar opposites, her mother is 'the most beautiful woman in the world' and very conservative (she believed every woman should have a ring and a mink), Schiaparelli was seen as ugly and was hugely provocative, 'Shocking Life' was the title of her autoboigraphy.

 

The thing which makes this book compelling is not only the stories of the two women and how their personalitites shaped their lives, it is Volk's relationship with her mother. Reading Schiap's autoboigraphy at 10 meant she saw there 'was more than one way to be a woman' - it brought her out from her mother's shadow and seems to have given Volk a thicker skin when taking criticism. I think the reason I enjoyed this book most was the insight into someone else's relationship with their mum. The idolising weighed up against the irrepressable need to critique, the desire for approval against the desire to live how you need to. Surprisingly I found the Art of Being a Woman comforting above all else.

Next will be The Waterproof Bible, by Andrew Kaufman.

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

I was very pleasantly surprised by Brave New World. I find novels with such a high reputation rarely turn out to be entertaining, the ideas come before a readable story.  Brave New World is an exception though, it is compelling both because of the world Huxley has created - the ideas of happiness are fascinating and somehow repellant even though they certainly have a logic - and the characters are a good mix of outsiders and those perfectly 'conditioned' to this new world. 

The book is set in the future, when the 'world controllers' have created a world in which everyone is happy. Children are engineered in labs, born and brought up in a huge factory where they are conditioned for the lives they are to lead. Mothers and Fathers are repulsive concepts and citizens are taught to never develop real relationships but to never be alone, everyone is a perfect consumer. 

The novel follows Bernard Marx and Lenina Crowne. Bernard is dissatisfied with the society and is an outsider others are wary of, whereas Lenina is a model citizen and very likable. It is this duality which makes the book such a success I think - you see both sides. All in all well worth a read, it gets you thinking but is entertaining and very readable too. 

I am now reading The Art of Being a Woman by Patricia Volk, who is talking about the two main influences in her early life, her mother Audrey Volk and the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli.