There are moments when you start to think this is going to resemble Madame Bovary in the sense that she seemed out of control and doomed to follow a destructive course of action. But just as it looks like Frederic will destroy himself for the dream of loving Madame Arnoux he steps back from the brink and that leaves you wondering where he will go next.
Bullet points between pages 44 – 120
* Frederic starts hanging out at the gallery and with the friends of Arnoux in an attempt to get access to his wife and after discovering where she lives he attempts to invite himself round to get to know her better
* Meanwhile as he ploughs all of his energy and finances into chasing her he fails his law exams and starts to run into financial problems, which leads to him borrowing from his flatmate who has been sponging off him
* He comes across Arnoux with one of his mistresses and later on a planned trip to the country she hands Frederic a note to give to her lover but he mistakenly uses this to wrap some roses he hands to his wife and although nothing is said the reader understands what has happened even if Frederic doesn’t
* Frederic suddenly becomes determined to be worthy of her love and buckles down and passes his law exam and is dreaming of a bright future when he sets off home for a break with his mother – where he befriends a young girl who is a neighbour who you sense will reappear in the story because she clearly falls in love with Frederic
* But once home he is told that their income has gone and he ends up being trapped in the country and the months go by before he is told that he has become heir to his uncle’s fortune, which provides him with the chance to return to Paris and seek out Madame Arnoux
* But he discovers that she has had a second child and their fortunes have changed and he sees her as a middle class housewife and that love obsession appears to have ended
Has it or will it reignite? What next for the richer Frederic now he is back in Paris? More tomorrow…
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Lunchtime read: Selected Stories
Only one story today because it is quite long and maybe it is tiredness but it seems more difficult than usual to follow names and get a feel for the environment. Still there is enough going on with a discussion about what it is to be Russian, comments about the benefits and limitations of education and a man who has realised the nature of women and believes he can learn from them.
On The Way
A group of travellers meets in an in on a stormy night and one man decides to use it as a venue to open his soul to a female traveller and tell her how he has lost everything as a result of being a dreamer. The woman reacts with friendliness but is disturbed to find the traveller is heading for a job running a mine for her Uncle, who she says is a depot. He says he does not care but as she leaves she exchanges a glance with him that is meant to make him think again.
More tomorrow…
On The Way
A group of travellers meets in an in on a stormy night and one man decides to use it as a venue to open his soul to a female traveller and tell her how he has lost everything as a result of being a dreamer. The woman reacts with friendliness but is disturbed to find the traveller is heading for a job running a mine for her Uncle, who she says is a depot. He says he does not care but as she leaves she exchanges a glance with him that is meant to make him think again.
More tomorrow…
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
A Sentimental Education - post I
The great thing about reading is that it can be a great conversation starter. Recently after a business meeting as I was walked out of the building the subject of Gustave Flaubert came up and A Sentimental Education was recommended as possibly a better example of his ability as a writer than Madame Bovary. As a result, it’s hard not to get caught up in someone else’s passion for a book, it seemed like a good idea to pick it up and give it a go.
Bullet points between pages 1 – 44
* The introduction of Frederic Moreau, a student who is bright and heading home on a paddle steamer from Paris, opens the novel and very soon after he comes across Madame Arnoux who is on the boat with her husband
* Frederic is smitten by her and vows to make it his mission once back in Paris studying to find out all he can about her and get closer to her
* He starts to put his plan into action and starts hanging around the art gallery and magazine production house that is used by Monsieur Arnoux and gradually Frederic starts to become part of the furniture but he has no sign of the beauty that transfixed him on the paddle steamer
Will he get to meet her and try to wrestle her away from her adulterous husband? More tomorrow…
Bullet points between pages 1 – 44
* The introduction of Frederic Moreau, a student who is bright and heading home on a paddle steamer from Paris, opens the novel and very soon after he comes across Madame Arnoux who is on the boat with her husband
* Frederic is smitten by her and vows to make it his mission once back in Paris studying to find out all he can about her and get closer to her
* He starts to put his plan into action and starts hanging around the art gallery and magazine production house that is used by Monsieur Arnoux and gradually Frederic starts to become part of the furniture but he has no sign of the beauty that transfixed him on the paddle steamer
Will he get to meet her and try to wrestle her away from her adulterous husband? More tomorrow…
Lunchtime read: Selected Stories
Another couple of good stories from this collection with one long and another told over two pages but both have depth.
The Robbers
A doctor is caught in a snow storm and seeks refuge in a den of thieves and not only has his horse stolen but all of his medicines and he has a run in with the girl living in the inn for his trouble. A year and a half later he is out of work and starts to ponder the freedom of the thieves and ends up wondering why he didn’t become one himself and as he gets closer to desperation reveals he has stolen already and plans to do so again.
Of all the stories so far this one best typifies the Chekhov distance from his characters with him being able to present the story in the round with the reader being quite able to either condemn the thieves and the doctor or sympathise with them.
Lean and Fat
Two old school friends meet up after many years one lean and the other fat. The reunion seems to be going well until the fat one tells his other friend that he has achieved a prominent position and after that the relationship becomes master and servant and there is a big gap and the friendship is lost forever.
More tomorrow…
The Robbers
A doctor is caught in a snow storm and seeks refuge in a den of thieves and not only has his horse stolen but all of his medicines and he has a run in with the girl living in the inn for his trouble. A year and a half later he is out of work and starts to ponder the freedom of the thieves and ends up wondering why he didn’t become one himself and as he gets closer to desperation reveals he has stolen already and plans to do so again.
Of all the stories so far this one best typifies the Chekhov distance from his characters with him being able to present the story in the round with the reader being quite able to either condemn the thieves and the doctor or sympathise with them.
Lean and Fat
Two old school friends meet up after many years one lean and the other fat. The reunion seems to be going well until the fat one tells his other friend that he has achieved a prominent position and after that the relationship becomes master and servant and there is a big gap and the friendship is lost forever.
More tomorrow…
Monday, April 09, 2007
Lunchtime read: Selected Stories
Today has been full on with castles, sword fights and a barbeque so getting any reading done has been almost impossible. Running around after two kids is exhausting and my reward after doing it for four days is to go back into a very heavy week at work. Still at least the reading should get back towards normal.
Here are some more highlights from the Chekhov short story collection
The Troublesome Guest
A forester and a hunter a talking when all of a sudden they hear the cries of a woman in distress in the woods. Instead of wanting to go and help the Forester’s firs reaction is to bolt the door to make sure the robbers don’t come for him. The hunter strides out into the storm and helps her and is on the brink of shooting the cowardly forester when he returns but instead strides off into the night.
Not Wanted
A man heads for the country to spend some time with his family but clearly is in the way when he arrives and only useful because of his wallet and is annoyed all day by persistent questions from his son about mosquito’s and why they suck blood – something that the family seem to be doing to the man both in terms of money and mental destruction.
More tomorrow and for the rest of the week…
Here are some more highlights from the Chekhov short story collection
The Troublesome Guest
A forester and a hunter a talking when all of a sudden they hear the cries of a woman in distress in the woods. Instead of wanting to go and help the Forester’s firs reaction is to bolt the door to make sure the robbers don’t come for him. The hunter strides out into the storm and helps her and is on the brink of shooting the cowardly forester when he returns but instead strides off into the night.
Not Wanted
A man heads for the country to spend some time with his family but clearly is in the way when he arrives and only useful because of his wallet and is annoyed all day by persistent questions from his son about mosquito’s and why they suck blood – something that the family seem to be doing to the man both in terms of money and mental destruction.
More tomorrow and for the rest of the week…
Sunday, April 08, 2007
book of books - Titus Alone
The plan was to post this earlier but anyway here is the review of the final part of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy.
The first two books - Titus Groan and Gormenghast - work together but the only thing this book has in common with those two is Titus. The slight problem with that is that Titus is not really fully formed as an adult character in either of the first two books or particularly worthy of a reader's emotional attachment. Having said that he is of course meant to be a physical embodiment of the world of Gormenghast and has to be seen more in that light in this book.
For those people who enjoyed the first two books Titus Alone comes as a disapointment and there is a constant hope that the world you enjoyed will reappear at some point but it never really does.
Plot summary
Titus has left his ancestral home and heads off into the wilderness and is spotted by some police buts makes his getaway but falls asleep in his boat and is finally washed ashore and rescued by a larger than life animal lover called Muzzlehatch. The man helps Titus but is repaid with the boy again walking off and stumbling across a factory complex where planes are being flown and there are numerous people, some of which start to chase him. Hiding up on a roof Titus observes a party and then falls through the roof and despite the efforts of Muzzlehatch and a former lover called Juno to save him Titus would prefer to stay and face the music. At his trial Juno asks that he be given over to her care. Again though after a few months Titus grows restless and leaves and on his way to Muzzlehatch's destroys a spy globe that the scientists in the factory have made. To protect him Muzzlehatch tells him of the under-river world where he can hide but once there Titus is caught up in a fight and only the reappearance of Muzzlehatch can save him. He again makes for freedom once back in the normal world but is picked up by the scientist's daughter Cheeta who plots his downfall after Titus rejects her. In a stage managed scene in a remote ruin she tries to make Titus go mad but Muzzlehatch reappears and saves him for the last time blowing up the factory, reducing the scientist to a babbling wreck and Cheeta runs off madly into the forest. Titus then wanders for months finally finding Gormenghast castle, proving to himself he is not mad, but turns his back on it and keeps wandering.
Is it well written?
On the positive side the depth of characterisation is phenomenal and the ability to keep coming up with fully formed worlds like the City inhabited by Juno and Muzzlehatch as well as the Under-River world is imagination working overtime. There is a sense of rhythm and the plot climaxes not so much with the rediscovery of Gormenghast but the scene in the Black House before that because the consequences for the world Titus has entered will be dramatic with the scientist and his daughter mentally damaged and Muzzlehatch killed by the police. The negative is the constant restlessness of Titus, which forces you to constantly be on your guard against investing too much effort picturing a location. One of the best scenes of the book is when ironically Titus is cornered and not allowed to move at the Black House. There is also a problem going from the medieval world of Gormenghast into something scientific with cars, planes and spying globes. It is a step too far to believe that Titus would just adapt without more disruption and although there is a constant theme of madness it is based around his memories not his reaction to the modern city, which would be more understandable.
Should it be read?
Unlike other trilogy's it would be quite easy to read the first two books and skip this one. That statement alone shows how much out of kilter this is with the first two volumes. The completeness of the world described in the first two volumes is not as complete here and while there is still depth there are also parts where it feels sketched out and as a result hard to relate to. Finally the lead character is not someone that inspires emotional investment, as he cannot do that himself. It is not my nature to tell people not to read a book but you could easily get through life without reading this one.
Plot summary
Wandering earl discovers his past is in himself as he wanders through a city dominated by a scientist and his creations
Version read - Vintage paperback
bookmark of the week
The charity Scope recently did a door-to-door collection and in return for taking away some old CDs, books and clothes thy kindly left this bookmark - a very fair exchange.
The Return of Philip Lationowicz - post IV
The book comes to an end and Philip luckily isn't the one under the train or the one clawing at the windows to escape while their throat is being bitten into. Still if he learns anything it should be that he is weak, nervous and suspectible to the influence of influential women.
Bullet points between pages 196 - 231
* Philip has been caught under the spell of Bobocka but at the same time knows that she is no good for him and is having affairs with other men under his nose and of course she lives with her old lover, a respectable man who ruined himself for her
* The Greek philosopher who plagued Philip is found dead after throwing himself under a train and following the discovery Bobocka tells Philip she is going away to Hamburg and wants to borrow as much money as she can
* Her lover comes to visit Philip and begs him not to allow him to be abandoned and there is a scene when Bobocka comes for the money but all it does is postpone the moment when she will come for the money and then leave
* Just as his nerves start to crank up as he waits Philip has an almighty row with his mother and asks who his real father was and she tells him but before you can find out the impact they are disturbed by Bobocka's lover
* He tells Philip that she won't be coming after all but Philip senses that he is lying, notices he is covered in blood and rushes after him and then disovers Bobacka dead after her lover had bitten through her throat
Not the ending you might have expected but easily enough material there to fuel Philip's artistic passions...a full review will follow in the next couple of days.
Bullet points between pages 196 - 231
* Philip has been caught under the spell of Bobocka but at the same time knows that she is no good for him and is having affairs with other men under his nose and of course she lives with her old lover, a respectable man who ruined himself for her
* The Greek philosopher who plagued Philip is found dead after throwing himself under a train and following the discovery Bobocka tells Philip she is going away to Hamburg and wants to borrow as much money as she can
* Her lover comes to visit Philip and begs him not to allow him to be abandoned and there is a scene when Bobocka comes for the money but all it does is postpone the moment when she will come for the money and then leave
* Just as his nerves start to crank up as he waits Philip has an almighty row with his mother and asks who his real father was and she tells him but before you can find out the impact they are disturbed by Bobocka's lover
* He tells Philip that she won't be coming after all but Philip senses that he is lying, notices he is covered in blood and rushes after him and then disovers Bobacka dead after her lover had bitten through her throat
Not the ending you might have expected but easily enough material there to fuel Philip's artistic passions...a full review will follow in the next couple of days.
weekend paper round up
Not too much bookish or reading related in the papers today. With it being Easter weekend there is more emphasis being out on spring, flowers, gardens and places to go and spend some time and money over the Easter holiday. But there were a couple of things that stood out and here they are:
One feature immediately caught the eye in The Guardian with a big piece on the future of reading and the technology that is mounting a challenge to traditional methods of finding books. I have to confess I haven’t finished reading it yet and might do another post on the contents because this is a long running debate but it so far does make you wonder just how far Google will go in revolutionising the book world and what it all means for libraries as well as bookshops.
Simon Hoggart, writing in the same paper, expresses his guilt at not supporting the last local second-hand bookstore, which has just closed down. He remarks that the Internet has overcome the difficulty it used to take finding a book and sidestepped the stuffy and often quirkily intimidating atmosphere.
One feature immediately caught the eye in The Guardian with a big piece on the future of reading and the technology that is mounting a challenge to traditional methods of finding books. I have to confess I haven’t finished reading it yet and might do another post on the contents because this is a long running debate but it so far does make you wonder just how far Google will go in revolutionising the book world and what it all means for libraries as well as bookshops.
Simon Hoggart, writing in the same paper, expresses his guilt at not supporting the last local second-hand bookstore, which has just closed down. He remarks that the Internet has overcome the difficulty it used to take finding a book and sidestepped the stuffy and often quirkily intimidating atmosphere.
The Return of Philip Latinowicz - post III
Things start to unravel for Philip and you start to sense that the book is starting to build towards some moment. It is hard to predict what that climax will be with Philip seemingly disintegrating it might well be into violence or it could be a reaction against the mediocrity of life and an explosion into brilliance. That will have to come in the final forty pages.
Bullet points between pages 154 – 196
* Philip is on the brink you feel of a relationship with Bobocka, the woman he has been seen with at the party and on an almost daily basis where she works, and as they walk through the woods he gets incredibly passionate about painting
* He sketches out mentally a composition that is centred on a Jesus Christ that is powerful, angry and taking the fight to the bar lizards and market traders that scorn his name and to add to the dramatic picture a summer thunder storm starts
* But the passion is never recaptured and instead a mysterious figure from Bobocka’s past turns up and as an expert in philosophy the stranger, Kiralyes, is able to mentally strip Philip down to a stammering fool and undermine everything he believes in
* Even his love of painting is attacked and despite the negative impact on his mental stats Philip continues to seek out Bobocka and as a consequence Kiralyes even though he knows it will do him harm
The question is how long will Philips stomach the insults and will it really undermine his belief in painting?
Bullet points between pages 154 – 196
* Philip is on the brink you feel of a relationship with Bobocka, the woman he has been seen with at the party and on an almost daily basis where she works, and as they walk through the woods he gets incredibly passionate about painting
* He sketches out mentally a composition that is centred on a Jesus Christ that is powerful, angry and taking the fight to the bar lizards and market traders that scorn his name and to add to the dramatic picture a summer thunder storm starts
* But the passion is never recaptured and instead a mysterious figure from Bobocka’s past turns up and as an expert in philosophy the stranger, Kiralyes, is able to mentally strip Philip down to a stammering fool and undermine everything he believes in
* Even his love of painting is attacked and despite the negative impact on his mental stats Philip continues to seek out Bobocka and as a consequence Kiralyes even though he knows it will do him harm
The question is how long will Philips stomach the insults and will it really undermine his belief in painting?
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Lunchtime read: Selected Stories
Another mixture of stories with some hidden depths. The favourite of the day has to be The Beggar with its ending that comes out of nowhere but it makes you think long and hard about the idea of good deeds and just who is benefiting by them – the person giving or the person receiving?
Agatha
A lazy man in the village is the target of infatuation by women keen to help him and become lovers. Fishing by the river one night with the narrator Agatha, who is married to a railywayman comes and misses he husband’s return train and stays the night. The narrator falls asleep in a tree and is woken to watch her with his adulterous companion as she crosses the ford back into the village to face her husband. Those without ties of love and family find it easy to break those for the people that do.
The Beggar
A man takes pity on a beggar and tells him that if he is prepared to work then he will give him a chance. After cutting wood for months the man is given the chance to get an office job, which he seizes. Months pass and he is spotted at the theatre but he says to his saviour that the cook is the real hero because she cut all the wood but it was watching her that made him reform his ways. A powerful little twist that makes you think about charity and what the motivation really is behind giving it.
Children
A mixture of children of different ages and different backgrounds are playing a bingo type game for money and during the race to win the money they fight, make up and then finally run out of steam and fall asleep. In a way it acts as a mirror for adult behaviour, which often ends up in fights and wars rather than smiles and snores.
Agatha
A lazy man in the village is the target of infatuation by women keen to help him and become lovers. Fishing by the river one night with the narrator Agatha, who is married to a railywayman comes and misses he husband’s return train and stays the night. The narrator falls asleep in a tree and is woken to watch her with his adulterous companion as she crosses the ford back into the village to face her husband. Those without ties of love and family find it easy to break those for the people that do.
The Beggar
A man takes pity on a beggar and tells him that if he is prepared to work then he will give him a chance. After cutting wood for months the man is given the chance to get an office job, which he seizes. Months pass and he is spotted at the theatre but he says to his saviour that the cook is the real hero because she cut all the wood but it was watching her that made him reform his ways. A powerful little twist that makes you think about charity and what the motivation really is behind giving it.
Children
A mixture of children of different ages and different backgrounds are playing a bingo type game for money and during the race to win the money they fight, make up and then finally run out of steam and fall asleep. In a way it acts as a mirror for adult behaviour, which often ends up in fights and wars rather than smiles and snores.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Perfect poetry
The Independent produced a selection of prose and poetry to celebrate the arrival of spring and along with some well known passages by Wordsworth, ee cummings and William Blake there were some choices that are not so well known. One that really seemed right for the blue-skied sun-shined day it has been today was by Nick Drake:
'Blossom Friend'
Black Days of winter all were through
The blossoms came and they brought you
Clouds left the sky
And I knew the reason why
They made way for you and the blossom.
Lunchtime read: Selected Stories
Again not really lunchtime but it has been a busy day with the family because it is Good Friday and as s result a chance not to go into work. There has also been glorious sunshine in London, which made staying in with a book impossible. But when finally I cam inside and grabbed Chekhov it was definitely worth it.
The Man in a Case
A very reserved Greek teacher who carries his life round with him in his case is encouraged to believe that it might be possible to marry a new teacher’s sister but he becomes upset at the thought people are laughing at him and after falling down the stairs in front of the woman in question and with her laughter in her ears he goes home takes to bed and dies within a month. But as the teacher who is telling the story about him reveals even without the diligent stickler of the rules things continued to be oppressive.
Little Jack
The hard world of an orphan is illustrated with a boy writing at Christmas to his only living relative his grand father asking him to take him away from his position working for a shoemaker who beats him and lets him lead a lonely and hard life. The boy posts the letter and then falls asleep dreaming of his grandfather reading it.
Dreams
Two soldiers come are escorting a vagrant who refuses to give them his name but he reveals that he is the illegitimate son of a nobleman and escaped from hard labour in Siberia where he was serving along with his mother for being an accomplice to his master’s death. He dreams of being sent to Eastern Siberia where he would be given land, a home and freedom to stay in exile. The soldiers jealous of the picture he paints tell him he would never get there because of is frailty and drag him back into town.
The Death of an Official
An official goes to the opera and sneezes on a general in front of him and tries to apologise but the more he tries the more he gets the general, who is trying to brush off the incident annoyed, but after the third attempt the general loses his temper and tells the official to get out, which he does and heads home lies down and promptly dies.
More of that sort of stuff tomorrow…
The Man in a Case
A very reserved Greek teacher who carries his life round with him in his case is encouraged to believe that it might be possible to marry a new teacher’s sister but he becomes upset at the thought people are laughing at him and after falling down the stairs in front of the woman in question and with her laughter in her ears he goes home takes to bed and dies within a month. But as the teacher who is telling the story about him reveals even without the diligent stickler of the rules things continued to be oppressive.
Little Jack
The hard world of an orphan is illustrated with a boy writing at Christmas to his only living relative his grand father asking him to take him away from his position working for a shoemaker who beats him and lets him lead a lonely and hard life. The boy posts the letter and then falls asleep dreaming of his grandfather reading it.
Dreams
Two soldiers come are escorting a vagrant who refuses to give them his name but he reveals that he is the illegitimate son of a nobleman and escaped from hard labour in Siberia where he was serving along with his mother for being an accomplice to his master’s death. He dreams of being sent to Eastern Siberia where he would be given land, a home and freedom to stay in exile. The soldiers jealous of the picture he paints tell him he would never get there because of is frailty and drag him back into town.
The Death of an Official
An official goes to the opera and sneezes on a general in front of him and tries to apologise but the more he tries the more he gets the general, who is trying to brush off the incident annoyed, but after the third attempt the general loses his temper and tells the official to get out, which he does and heads home lies down and promptly dies.
More of that sort of stuff tomorrow…
Thursday, April 05, 2007
The Return of Philip Latinowicz - post II
Didn't get the chance tp catch up on the lunchtime read but here is more Krleza.
There is something that reminds you a bit of Proust here with the main characters in both Remembrance of Things Past and this book being artists and quite prepared to attend social functions and find the people at them disagreeable and not the sort they want to hang around with.
Philip’s problem comes from the relationships his mother has formed with an ageing ex official and those in his circle.
Bullet points between pages 80 – 150
* Philip’s mother has become involved with an old official who lives in a chateaux and wants to try and get her son on side but there is resistance by Philip and when he does finally visit him he is rude and leaves the house in mid conversation
* But the positive is that he is rediscovering his interest in art and paints a deaf mute that grabs his attention and is relieved to start to think in pictures again
* You sense there is the start of a potential relationship with a woman who is renowned for destroying men and marriages in the past and Philip has a very limited experience of women and that could be his undoing
* In a series of chapters the story of how the woman entranced and then destroyed a family man is told from his perspective and hers in a very clever way that leaves them both blameless in a sense because it was infatuation
* Philip attends a get together where the woman is also in attendance and wanders off into the woods and suddenly she appears and they sit silently together as if it is meant to be
More tomorrow…
There is something that reminds you a bit of Proust here with the main characters in both Remembrance of Things Past and this book being artists and quite prepared to attend social functions and find the people at them disagreeable and not the sort they want to hang around with.
Philip’s problem comes from the relationships his mother has formed with an ageing ex official and those in his circle.
Bullet points between pages 80 – 150
* Philip’s mother has become involved with an old official who lives in a chateaux and wants to try and get her son on side but there is resistance by Philip and when he does finally visit him he is rude and leaves the house in mid conversation
* But the positive is that he is rediscovering his interest in art and paints a deaf mute that grabs his attention and is relieved to start to think in pictures again
* You sense there is the start of a potential relationship with a woman who is renowned for destroying men and marriages in the past and Philip has a very limited experience of women and that could be his undoing
* In a series of chapters the story of how the woman entranced and then destroyed a family man is told from his perspective and hers in a very clever way that leaves them both blameless in a sense because it was infatuation
* Philip attends a get together where the woman is also in attendance and wanders off into the woods and suddenly she appears and they sit silently together as if it is meant to be
More tomorrow…
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