Poor old Guy. He is all set to get the chance to parachute into Italy and fight for freedom but cracks his knee and then gets pushed to one side because of his age and dodgy track record.
Waiting as a consolation prize as he struggles to get better is he ex-wife Virginia who is pregnant, without any money or a willing abortionist and keen to sponge off her old lover. Guy has no idea of the hidden agenda but it doesn’t seem to be doing him any harm so far.
The final stages of the war begin with the Germans on the run in Russia and the Brits able to record successes in the desert.
Mind you even now, with just 100 odd pages left in the trilogy this still feels like a book that has passed me by. Do you ever get that feeling that you have somehow missed the point of it all and just seen the surface? For some reason it feels like that with unconditional surrender and it is not a pleasant sensation.
More tomorrow…
Monday, June 30, 2008
The Soldiers's Art - post I
This book picks up straight from where The Valley of Bones left off. There is a slight joke at the start with Jenkins being mistaken for an actor who is about to go off and appear in a play entitled War but after that it settles down into the rhythm dictated by Widmerpool and the petty jealousies of command.
Jenkins does not appreciate being under Widmerpool’s command and is conscious that as his old school friend goes up the greasy pole he will be left behind to rot in a desk job in the no man’s land that is the transit centre.
The last book and the opening of this are some of the most pessimistic in tone because although still a rather detached observer things are not going well for Jenkins. It must have been difficult for those that wanted so desperately to prove themselves in the war to get over the age barrier into the army only to face the prospect of getting nowhere other than playing at solders in military camps.
More tomorrow…
Jenkins does not appreciate being under Widmerpool’s command and is conscious that as his old school friend goes up the greasy pole he will be left behind to rot in a desk job in the no man’s land that is the transit centre.
The last book and the opening of this are some of the most pessimistic in tone because although still a rather detached observer things are not going well for Jenkins. It must have been difficult for those that wanted so desperately to prove themselves in the war to get over the age barrier into the army only to face the prospect of getting nowhere other than playing at solders in military camps.
More tomorrow…
Sunday, June 29, 2008
The Valley of Bones - post IV
Things start to go quickly in mainland continental Europe with Hitler marching the Brits out of France.
Jenkins hears that his brother-in-law has been killed but as far as he is concerned he is no closer to the action. If anything his time with the Welsh regiment looks like stumbling as the officer he was closely associated with, Gwatklin, fails after forgetting the passwords.
Age is used against him but Jenkins is sent for at headquarters and as he walks in to talk to the back of the commanding officer the chair spins round and there is the familiar face of Widmerpool. After all these years where Jenkins has watched from the sidelines as the but of the jokes at school rises up he is finally in a position where he feels the full force of the reversal with his fortune now wrapped up firmly with his old school friend’s.
A review will follow soon…
Jenkins hears that his brother-in-law has been killed but as far as he is concerned he is no closer to the action. If anything his time with the Welsh regiment looks like stumbling as the officer he was closely associated with, Gwatklin, fails after forgetting the passwords.
Age is used against him but Jenkins is sent for at headquarters and as he walks in to talk to the back of the commanding officer the chair spins round and there is the familiar face of Widmerpool. After all these years where Jenkins has watched from the sidelines as the but of the jokes at school rises up he is finally in a position where he feels the full force of the reversal with his fortune now wrapped up firmly with his old school friend’s.
A review will follow soon…
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Sign of a good bookshop
What are the signs of a good bookshop? Location I guess comes into it but it’s all about what is inside. Ambience, feeling an aura of mutual literary respect are great but the finishing must is the selection of books.
Having trawled round various bookshops in search of Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, which I have been told is bloody but good. It was only in Heffers on my day trip to Cambridge that I came across such a comprehensive collection of McCarthy that I was able to get my hands on the book.
A sign of a good bookshop has to be the range of choice, and not just mainstream titles, with that in mind Heffers came up trumps today.
Having trawled round various bookshops in search of Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, which I have been told is bloody but good. It was only in Heffers on my day trip to Cambridge that I came across such a comprehensive collection of McCarthy that I was able to get my hands on the book.
A sign of a good bookshop has to be the range of choice, and not just mainstream titles, with that in mind Heffers came up trumps today.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Unconditional Surrender - post I
Just as Powell sets his war years rolling the conclusion of the Sword of Honour trilogy see Guy Crouchback in much the same circumstances as he spends time in training waiting for a chance to get back to the action. His age is used against him and it looks like as he celebrates his 40th birthday he has been left behind. But his Italian saves him and he looks set to be sent into Italy to help in the final push to liberate that country.
Meanwhile his ex-wife is broke and pregnant by the hairdresser come hero Trimmer and looking for money for an abortion. Guy’s father dies after expressing fears about the morale of his son.
But back in London life in pockets seems to go on as normal and for those with connections the war can be played out on their own terms. For poor old Guy, and this is also the same to a degree for Nick Jenkins, age and lack of military contacts leaves them gathering dust in officers rather than on battlefields being covered in glory.
More tomorrow…
Meanwhile his ex-wife is broke and pregnant by the hairdresser come hero Trimmer and looking for money for an abortion. Guy’s father dies after expressing fears about the morale of his son.
But back in London life in pockets seems to go on as normal and for those with connections the war can be played out on their own terms. For poor old Guy, and this is also the same to a degree for Nick Jenkins, age and lack of military contacts leaves them gathering dust in officers rather than on battlefields being covered in glory.
More tomorrow…
Valley of Bones - post III
There is a moment when Jenkins gets leave and he steps back into the world that has become familiar in the past six volumes.
The link is the family he has married into with the Tolland clan and their hangers on but the weekend is short and Jenkins has to return to Aldershot before heading off to Northern Ireland for more training.
The book mainly concentrates on the relationship between Nick and the other officers, in particular the one that becomes the defacto head of the training camp, Gwatkin. This man aspires to be some sort of Kipling inspired hero but rubs people up and falls in love with the bar maid at the local village pub.
Nick seems to breeze about much as he did in his pre-war life but as the Germans advance across Europe the question of whether or not he will actively become involved in the war does become slightly more consuming.
More tomorrow…
The link is the family he has married into with the Tolland clan and their hangers on but the weekend is short and Jenkins has to return to Aldershot before heading off to Northern Ireland for more training.
The book mainly concentrates on the relationship between Nick and the other officers, in particular the one that becomes the defacto head of the training camp, Gwatkin. This man aspires to be some sort of Kipling inspired hero but rubs people up and falls in love with the bar maid at the local village pub.
Nick seems to breeze about much as he did in his pre-war life but as the Germans advance across Europe the question of whether or not he will actively become involved in the war does become slightly more consuming.
More tomorrow…
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Valley of Bones - post II
The training drags on but as you would expect with Powell sooner or later the figures from the past reappear and instead of anyone from the centre this book is used to deepen Jenkin’s relationship with some fringe characters.
One of the problems with the widening of the circle is that it might provide extra small pieces of the jigsaw but it makes you feel even further away from where the real action is. Mind you Jenkins himself has started to feel cut off from everything with the training having taken him away from his family and London.
This is a bit of an overload with people being introduced at a rate of knots that makes it hard to keep up and compared to the other books difficult to find the rhythm.
Still see if it changes tomorrow…
One of the problems with the widening of the circle is that it might provide extra small pieces of the jigsaw but it makes you feel even further away from where the real action is. Mind you Jenkins himself has started to feel cut off from everything with the training having taken him away from his family and London.
This is a bit of an overload with people being introduced at a rate of knots that makes it hard to keep up and compared to the other books difficult to find the rhythm.
Still see if it changes tomorrow…
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The Valley of Bones - post I
Despite the mauling Dance to the Music of Time received in the Sunday Times at the weekend I am determined to press on and finish the series.
Book 7, The Valley of Bones, starts with a refreshing difference because it includes none of the established characters. Jenkins is in barracks with a mixed bag of territorial army officers waiting to see what part they will play in the war.
Despite war being declared so far a great deal of the action has been of a clerical nature and Jenkins is stuck training up his platoon rather than actually anywhere dodging bullets.
Until an older officer arrives Jenkins is one of the oldest and is made to feel slightly isolated because of his university education and profession as an author and literary critic.
His desire along with everyone else is to do their bit fighting Hitler but the start of the book sees him no nearer to a battleground than the drill square.
There are so many echoes of the wartime world painted by Evelyn Waugh in Officers and Gentlemen and it is hard not to read this book without making comparisons that so far are even between the two.
More tomorrow…
Book 7, The Valley of Bones, starts with a refreshing difference because it includes none of the established characters. Jenkins is in barracks with a mixed bag of territorial army officers waiting to see what part they will play in the war.
Despite war being declared so far a great deal of the action has been of a clerical nature and Jenkins is stuck training up his platoon rather than actually anywhere dodging bullets.
Until an older officer arrives Jenkins is one of the oldest and is made to feel slightly isolated because of his university education and profession as an author and literary critic.
His desire along with everyone else is to do their bit fighting Hitler but the start of the book sees him no nearer to a battleground than the drill square.
There are so many echoes of the wartime world painted by Evelyn Waugh in Officers and Gentlemen and it is hard not to read this book without making comparisons that so far are even between the two.
More tomorrow…
Lunchtime read: The Cossacks
This is an interesting story for a couple of reasons. The first is that unlike most of the Tolstoy that I have come across the main character is a woman and a young one. The second notable feature of the tale is the way Tolstoy manages to draw out some very complex emotions.
He takes a young girl who is overwhelmed by love then seeks the glitter and attractions of the big city but then crushed by the jealously of her husband yearns for the relationships she has lost.
But then in a confrontation that could end with the husband and wife parting he manages to take her to the next level, which is to understand that a new love is blossoming that is a more mature and shared experience between her husband and her children.
A review of this story collection will appear soonish (bit of a queue to work through first)…
He takes a young girl who is overwhelmed by love then seeks the glitter and attractions of the big city but then crushed by the jealously of her husband yearns for the relationships she has lost.
But then in a confrontation that could end with the husband and wife parting he manages to take her to the next level, which is to understand that a new love is blossoming that is a more mature and shared experience between her husband and her children.
A review of this story collection will appear soonish (bit of a queue to work through first)…
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Outer Dark - post III
There is a scene towards the end of the book that turns out to be the climax of the hunt for the missing child. The three mysterious men who have been travelling the road that Holme and his sister have been wandering along are discovered in a glade having found the tinker and the infant.
The tinker is not in the land of the living anymore and the child has been rolled too close to the fire at some point and has half of his face burnt and is missing an eye.
Holme attempts to act with indifference but when he is told to hand over the child he does so without too much resistance and then watches as its throat is cut and one of the men then plunges his mouth into the fatal wound.
The sister arrives but too late to find anything other than charred bones and a scene of desolation. The tinker has become the fodder for the birds and the journey comes to an end.
But the book doesn’t come to an end until there is a literal metaphor about the end of the road and the dangers of being blind to the dangers of the road. In a sense it reminds you of The Road with the echoes of cannibalism and the road leading nowhere but to death.
A review will follow soon…
The tinker is not in the land of the living anymore and the child has been rolled too close to the fire at some point and has half of his face burnt and is missing an eye.
Holme attempts to act with indifference but when he is told to hand over the child he does so without too much resistance and then watches as its throat is cut and one of the men then plunges his mouth into the fatal wound.
The sister arrives but too late to find anything other than charred bones and a scene of desolation. The tinker has become the fodder for the birds and the journey comes to an end.
But the book doesn’t come to an end until there is a literal metaphor about the end of the road and the dangers of being blind to the dangers of the road. In a sense it reminds you of The Road with the echoes of cannibalism and the road leading nowhere but to death.
A review will follow soon…
Lunchtime read: The Cossacks
Just as the lovers come out and admit their love for each other and Masha manages to get her man to marry her the problems start.
They move in with the mother-in-law but it is the boredom and the way she is treated like a girl that drives Masha crazy and makes her demand a trip to the capital. But once in St Petersburg the boredom moves to her husband along with jealousy.
A relationship that was meant to be one of extreme happiness is on a knife edge and quite possibly on the brink of falling apart.
Last bit tomorrow...
They move in with the mother-in-law but it is the boredom and the way she is treated like a girl that drives Masha crazy and makes her demand a trip to the capital. But once in St Petersburg the boredom moves to her husband along with jealousy.
A relationship that was meant to be one of extreme happiness is on a knife edge and quite possibly on the brink of falling apart.
Last bit tomorrow...
Monday, June 23, 2008
Lunchtime read: The Cossacks
This volume contains not just The Cossacks but two other stories. I have read the Death of Ivan Ilyich before but not Happy Ever After.
There is something that bugs me about putting away a book unfinished so the lunchtime read for today and at least tomorrow is the first of the three stories Happy Ever After. Bearing in mind this is a Russian story the title presumably is going to be a wish rather than a reality.
Three sisters orphaned by the death of their mother are thrown into the hands of th4e executor of the will and the 36 year-old takes a shine to the 17 year old middle daughter Masha. He hides his feelings and tries to convince her that he sees nothing in her but she starts to become more aware of her feelings for him and love blossoms, at least in her heart if not in the open.
She prepares her self for her birthday and a proposal but is he thinking along the same lines? She thinks so but is tragedy lurking?
More tomorrow…
There is something that bugs me about putting away a book unfinished so the lunchtime read for today and at least tomorrow is the first of the three stories Happy Ever After. Bearing in mind this is a Russian story the title presumably is going to be a wish rather than a reality.
Three sisters orphaned by the death of their mother are thrown into the hands of th4e executor of the will and the 36 year-old takes a shine to the 17 year old middle daughter Masha. He hides his feelings and tries to convince her that he sees nothing in her but she starts to become more aware of her feelings for him and love blossoms, at least in her heart if not in the open.
She prepares her self for her birthday and a proposal but is he thinking along the same lines? She thinks so but is tragedy lurking?
More tomorrow…
Sunday, June 22, 2008
What spurs the red mist?
If you come up with a coherent argument, and that’s an if, then it is always going to get attention attacking great authors. So it is no doubt with getting a large reader response in mind that the Sunday Times runs a piece about authors that provoke the red mist.
Rod Liddle writes that Dance to the Music of Time irritates him but then admits that he didn’t get much further than half way through the first book. Bearing in mind it’s a 12 book series you could easily argue it’s not much a point to leave and base a judgement on.
Then a host of people add their two-penneth’s worth with Crime and Punishment coming in for some abuse along with Dickens and a few other classic writers.
For what it’s worth personally I like to hold that view that everyone has something worth saying and if reading is about learning not just stories but style then a badly written book can teach as much as a good one.
But in the spirit of the thing I would put in The Presidential Papers by Norman mailer which is no totally irrelevant and was no doubt at the time and am happy to chuck in Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks a romantic tale against the backdrop of the plague that just wasn’t for me.
Rod Liddle writes that Dance to the Music of Time irritates him but then admits that he didn’t get much further than half way through the first book. Bearing in mind it’s a 12 book series you could easily argue it’s not much a point to leave and base a judgement on.
Then a host of people add their two-penneth’s worth with Crime and Punishment coming in for some abuse along with Dickens and a few other classic writers.
For what it’s worth personally I like to hold that view that everyone has something worth saying and if reading is about learning not just stories but style then a badly written book can teach as much as a good one.
But in the spirit of the thing I would put in The Presidential Papers by Norman mailer which is no totally irrelevant and was no doubt at the time and am happy to chuck in Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks a romantic tale against the backdrop of the plague that just wasn’t for me.
bookmark of the week
One of the things you can do in cathedrals and churches is light candles. Walking round the crypt last weekend in Canterbury cathedral I noticed that as well as the candles and box for 20ps there was also this little slip, which adequately acts as a bookmark, with a graphic on one side (shown) and some words on the reverse explaining the significance of lighting a candle.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Outer Dark - post II
The brother is hunting the sister and she is hunting their child. Chapters alternate with their progress with both begging for food and work as they struggle along the road that they hope will carry them to a conclusion.
Around the brother in particular negative things start to happen. Having stolen the squire’s boots he has to roam wifely to escape justice but is tracked by men who seem intent on killing him.
For now they have gone and the focus is on the sister but the threat of them has not gone away and they might remerge. In this turn of the century world hospitality is forthcoming to both siblings but without a family or a wedding ring they spark suspicion in the God fearing folk who wonder what their motivation is to be wandering so far from home.
More tomorrow…
Around the brother in particular negative things start to happen. Having stolen the squire’s boots he has to roam wifely to escape justice but is tracked by men who seem intent on killing him.
For now they have gone and the focus is on the sister but the threat of them has not gone away and they might remerge. In this turn of the century world hospitality is forthcoming to both siblings but without a family or a wedding ring they spark suspicion in the God fearing folk who wonder what their motivation is to be wandering so far from home.
More tomorrow…
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