Three Stories by Alan Bennett

I failed to count how many of our members joined this meeting but there was a good turn out. Lively and enthusiastic conversation flowed, and the group opinion of Alan Bennett glowed!

Each of the three stories were cited as 'my favourite' by different members. 

The Laying on of Hands takes the reader into a memorial service, full of colourful and high profile 'mourners' observed by an undercover archdeacon who takes great delight in following the highs and lows of the service. This is a 'comic' story. 

The Clothes They Stood Up In is an hilarious, and quite insane, story of a couple who find themselves in extremely unusual circumstance, and later (much to our amusement) in Aylesbury!  This is a 'funny yet sad' story.

Father! Father! Burning Bright containing black humour surrounding illness and death. This is a 'very sad' story that, for some of our group 'touched a nerve'.

All three stories were meticulous observations of human nature and written so well that it is difficult not to love the writing, even if you don't like the stories themselves.

The conversation flitted between the three stories but generally came back to Mr and Mrs Ransome and their relationship (or lack of it). We debated the Aylesbury ring-road comment as only locals can, but agreed that he chose his 'bland' town exceptionally well.

It is hard to work out what the authors attitude is to his characters, but we all agreed that he is 'waspish' toward them. He leaves the reader feeling quite uncomfortable about these feeble people but, we believe, that is alright and probably how he intended us to feel. 

Some read with Alan Bennett's voice in their head, some are ardent fans and enjoyed reading this book for a second (or possibly more) time. 

Now, I make an admission - I struggled with the first story, thoroughly enjoyed the second and couldn't finish the third. I expected a downbeat meeting of our book group. By the end of our discussion I realised that what I had read was high quality, inspired literature written by an author worthy of the huge following he has. This is a brilliant choice for a book group read.

Would we recommended this book? Yes.

Our next read is My Name is Why by Lemm Sissay. We will meet on 17th December, at 8pm, by Zoom to discuss and to choose our Christmas book from a selection of what will aim to be ho, ho, ho novels!

Book Group Choices for 2020 LOCKDOWN TWO

How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division by Elif Shafak

A political theorist and Booker Prize-nominated novelist – observes that, with rising unemployment, economic inequality, environmental catastrophe and now a pandemic, a parent can no longer assume their children will have more than they did. Indeed, before telling us how best we might cope in the face of assorted crises, the author explains how, given the extent of misinformation, polarisation, corruption, injustice and inequality at the moment, we are justified in feeling utterly depressed.

It is important to state that this book – which is just 90 pages long and was written earlier this year during lockdown – offers no magic solutions. What Shafak does provide is a calmly rational response to extraordinary circumstances, and validates our feelings of discombobulation without stoking them. Part polemic, part therapeutic tool, How to Stay Sane asks us to consider the emotions we are experiencing, which may include anger, apathy and anxiety, and accept them without yielding to them.

She also puts current events into a broader context, looking at power, wealth, technology and mental health. She argues that narcissism is less a problem of the individual than a collective affliction, exacerbated by social media, which creates ideological echo chambers and discourages us from engaging with theories and arguments that are not in line with our own. “If wanting to be heard is one side of the coin, the other side is being willing to listen,” she explains. “The moment we stop listening to diverse opinions is also when we stop learning.”

Identity is a recurring theme, a result of Shafak’s own experiences of an increasingly loud “us and them” rhetoric. She was born in France and raised in Turkey, but has also spent time in Spain and the US. Home is now the UK. Among the most common questions she is asked is: “Where are you really from?” “Belonging,” she explains, “is not a once-and-for-all condition, a static identity tattooed to our skin; it is a constant self-examination and dynamic revision of where we are, who we are and where we want to be.”

Ultimately, Shafak asserts, stories are what matter – “Whether it’s 5,000 refugees who have died or 10,000, the difference doesn’t and won’t register unless we know the personal stories behind the statistics.” Understanding breeds empathy, and empathy can lead to a collective desire to help.

Shafak also shows that to get through dark times, we need to understand how we got here, which takes energy and commitment. To ask for a quick solution to the rolling calamity is to ask for the Moon on a stick. But there is comfort in having a voice like Shafak’s to guide us. “It is,” she notes, “totally fine not to feel fine.”

Truth to Power: 7 Ways to Call Time on B.S. by Jess Phillips

At a time when many of us feel the world isn’t listening, Jess Phillips offers inspiration to those of us who want to speak out and make a difference.

No stranger to speaking truth to power herself, she will help you dig deep and get organised, finding the courage and the tools you need to take action.

As well as bringing us hope through her own experiences Jess talks to the accidental heroes who have been brave enough to risk everything, become whistle-blowers and successfully fight back.

Entertaining, empowering and uncompromising, TRUTH TO POWER is the book we all need to help us call time on the seemingly unstoppable tide of bullshit in our lives.

My Name is Why by Lemn Sissay

At the age of seventeen, after a childhood in an adopted family followed by six years in care homes, Norman Greenwood was given his birth certificate. He learned that his real name was not Norman. It was Lemn Sissay. He was British and Ethiopian. And he learned that his mother had been pleading for his safe return to her since his birth. 

Here Sissay recounts his life story. It is a story of neglect and determination. Misfortune and hope. Cruelty and beauty. Sissay reflects on adoption, self-expression and Britishness, and in doing so explores the institutional care system, race, family and the meaning of home. Written with all the lyricism and power you would expect from one of the nation's best-loved voices, this moving, frank and timely memoir is the result of a life spent asking questions, and a celebration of the redemptive power of creativity.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

Kidd brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything.

Their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, and their mother, Mary. Ana’s pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to Rome’s occupation of Israel, partially led by her brother, Judas. She is sustained by her fearless aunt Yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret. When Ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to Alexandria, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she finds refuge in unexpected surroundings. Ana determines her fate during a stunning convergence of events considered among the most impactful in human history.

Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus’s life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman’s bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. It is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers.

Remember Remember: We will meet to discuss our current book: Three Stories by Alan Bennett at 8pm on 5th November by Zoom. Let me know if you haven't received the Zoom link .

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

10 of us Zoomed in to discuss Less by Andrew Sean Greer – with so many of us joining the conversation was lively and it took a little while to settle down and focus on our reading experiences.

The opening comment: “Is there a reason why we are holding off talking about this book?” was met with nods and chuckles of agreement. “Indeed” said another, “I’ll never get that time back!”.

This was followed by “it was boring” and “I was waiting for something to happen”.

But then: “It was better than I thought … my expectations were low.”

More laughter! None of us could understand the comments on the book cover: ‘You will sob with tears of joy’, ‘Marvellously, endearingly, unexpectedly funny.’ ‘A fast and rocketing read’. Really?  We just couldn’t agree with them. We can only think that it's funnier if you are American. 

In fact, she who selected this book as a prospective read said she had researched books to make you laugh out loud.  She (and we) wonder how on earth this book got onto such a list!

This is a very visual book, there are lots going on and the writing is quite good BUT there is no plot. Yes, we liked the writing but not the story.

It is not laugh out loud funny, it’s sad: an aging man feeling sorry for himself. It was nonsense but in the sense that it was not sensible.

Then. A flicker of light. “Don’t dismiss as complete crap – it’s a dodgy plot but interesting.”

OK, let’s consider that…

Was there meant to be a parallel between this book and the book that Less authors in the story?

We enjoyed the German language – that was funny (but not laugh out loud funny).

It took me a while to get into it (the book) and some bits were better than others. It was as if the author really enjoyed writing some parts but not others.

We did learn how to pronounce ‘Pew-litzer’ who knew?! This book won the prize – how?

None of us could say we would read another book by this author.

Would we recommend this book? No, but we wouldn’t say it is rubbish, just not what we expected.

We have read worse but we’ve read better – here our focus on Less was gone. We moved on to better books we have read and enjoyed. Oh, and Only Fools and Horses.

We then spent some quality time discussing other books we had enjoyed over the Summer:

Bagehot: The Life and Times of the Greatest Victorian – don’t buy it, it’s really boring!

A novel in Spanish (I can’t remember the title) – was ridiculously hard!

The 19^th Wife – I’m tempted to put it on our list for next read.

Snowdrops by AD Miller

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

The Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

The Standing Pool by Adam Thorpe.

Ordinary People by Diana Evans

I finished A Sting in the Tale (previous read)

The Rosie Project by Graham Simsion

Bill Bryson books!

A wonderful evening of books, that’s what book group is all about. See you all next time:

Our next book is Three Stories by Alan Bennett. We will chat about our reading at 8pm on 5^th November – probably, well almost certainly, by Zoom.

 

 

Book Choices For Autumn

We will meet by Zoom to discuss  Less by Andrew Sean Greer at 8pm on Thursday 24th September.

Here are the choices for our next book:

"

Three Stories by Alan Bennett

Three Stories: "Father! Father! Burning Bright", "The Clothes They Stood Up in", "The Laying on of Hands

Here are Alan Bennett's hugely admired, triumphantly reviewed and bestselling novellas, brought together in one book for the first time: 

Father! Father! Burning Bright, the savage satire on a dying man's family reaction as he still asserts control over them from the hospital bed. Over 60,000 sold in small format. 

The Clothes They Stood Up In, has sold over 200,000 copies as a small novella and was 14 weeks in the Bestseller lists. It is the painful story of what happens to an elderly couple when their flat is stripped completely bare. 

The Laying on of Hands, a memorial service for a masseur to the famous that goes horribly wrong. Over 100,000 copies sold as a novella. Like everything Alan Bennett does, these stories are playful, witty and painfully observant of ordinary people's foibles. And they all have a brilliant and surprising twist; are immensely funny and profoundly moral.

Pine by Francine Toon

They are driving home from the search party when they see her.

The trees are coarse and tall in the winter light, standing like men. 

Lauren and her father Niall live alone in the Highlands, in a small village surrounded by pine forest. When a woman stumbles out onto the road one Halloween night, Niall drives her back to their house in his pickup. In the morning, she's gone.

In a community where daughters rebel, men quietly rage, and drinking is a means of forgetting, mysteries like these are not out of the ordinary. The trapper found hanging with the dead animals for two weeks. Locked doors and stone circles. The disappearance of Lauren's mother a decade ago.

Lauren looks for answers in her tarot cards, hoping she might one day be able to read her father's turbulent mind. Neighbours know more than they let on, but when local teenager Ann-Marie goes missing it's no longer clear who she can trust.

In spare, haunting prose, Francine Toon creates an unshakeable atmosphere of desolation and dread. In a place that feels like the end of the world, she unites the gloom of the modern gothic with the pulse of a thriller. It is the perfect novel for our haunted times. 

The Thing About December by Donal Ryan

He heard Daddy one time saying he was a grand quiet boy to Mother when he thought Johnsey couldn’t hear them talking. Mother must have been giving out about him being a gom and Daddy was defending him. He heard the fondness in Daddy’s voice. But you’d have fondness for an auld eejit of a crossbred pup that should have been drowned at birth.’

While the Celtic Tiger rages, and greed becomes the norm, Johnsey Cunliffe desperately tries to hold on to the familiar, even as he loses those who all his life have protected him from a harsh world. Village bullies and scheming land-grabbers stand in his way, no matter where he turns.

Set over the course of one year of Johnsey’s life, The Thing About December breathes with his grief, bewilderment, humour and agonizing self-doubt. This is a heart-twisting tale of a lonely man struggling to make sense of a world moving faster than he is.

Donal Ryan’s award-winning debut, The Spinning Heart, garnered unprecedented acclaim, and The Thing About December confirms his status as one of the best writers of his generation.

A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson and The Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

The high days and holidays of Summer saw just four of our group Zoomed in to discuss our latest reads: A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson and The Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires.

We started with Dave’s ‘Bee Book’.

“I tried it – it was boring” was quickly countered by “I wasn’t planning on reading a book about bees but found I couldn’t put it down” and “I was excited about reading this and all my expectations were met – totally loved it and couldn’t put it down” and “me too”. Our three ‘apologies’ also relished this book with one admitting to bombarding her husband with bee facts! The other two had started reading and enjoying learning about bees though one found it a slow read, and the other was reading it slowly as she could only absorb so many bee facts.

So, from a bad kick off we quickly moved on to discuss a book that the majority had found an enjoyable and/or interesting read. The passion that exuded from those that had read and enjoyed this book led to our member who found it boring admitting that she “went in with low expectations” and will “give it another go!”

This is a non-fiction book written by a man who has spent many years studying Bumble Bees and has published over 250 scientific articles on their biology. The dissenters can be forgiven for their low expectations but those who ventured forth were rewarded with a story that is both entertaining and educational. Who knew there was so much to learn about the humble bumble bee?

Dave himself is equally as humble, his writing passes on his learning in a way that engages the reader and as if being shared by a very ordinary person.

For anyone who cares, even just little bit, about ecology and nature, this is essential reading.

“I no longer feel guilty about the ‘weeds’ in my garden”, “I will never look at a bee again without thinking of Dave!”

Do we recommend it – YES!

We moved on to talk about The Heads of the Colored People. Just 2 of our 4 had read it. Both enjoyed the read: “It was brilliant, I read it again” and “I think it’s really good, I need to read it again”. Seems this is a book that deserves a second read (vs. a second chance).

This series of short stories is written in a fascinating style, that one of our readers described as ‘obscure’. It is, they felt, no about Black people in the USA (although it is) but could relate to any sub-group of society. One of our apologies also felt the same way about the subject group. 

There are many twists and turns, with unexpected endings. The reader is lured into the story and then ‘BANG’!

The stories are so varied: office politics, parental competitiveness, best friends backstabbing and so on. The authors ideas are ‘off the wall’. We wanted to know more about the author who seemed young but knowing. (I Googled her - she is 36 years old - I no longer know if that is young or old!). 

(Since our meeting I have started reading this book and am also really enjoying it and its quirkiness.)

Do we recommend it – another YES.

Our next book is Less by Andrew Sean Greer and we will meet (most likely by Zoom) at 8pm on Thursday 24^th September.

Book Choices To Take Us Into Autumn

We will meet to discuss our current books: A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson and Heads of the Colored People by Narissa Thompson-Spires  at 8.15pm on Thursday 6th August, by ZOOM. 

Here are our next choices:

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

All it takes is a day trip past Georgetown and Chinatown. A slow saunter past The White House, Phoenix House, Blair House and the local crack house for the message to become abundantly clear. Be it ancient Rome or modern-day America, you’re either a citizen or a slave.

A biting satire about a young man's isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game.

Born in the 'agrarian ghetto' of Dickens on the outskirts of Los Angeles and raised by a single father, a controversial sociologist, the narrator of The Sellout spent his childhood as the subject in racially charged psychological studies. He was led to believe that his father's pioneering work will result in a memoir that will solve his family's financial woes. But when his father is killed in a police shoot-out, he realises there never was a memoir. All that's left is the bill for a drive-thru funeral.

Fuelled by this deceit and the general disrepair of his hometown, the narrator sets out to right another wrong: Dickens has literally been wiped off the map to save California from further embarrassment. Enlisting the help of the town's most famous resident - the last surviving Little Rascal, Hominy Jenkins - he initiates the most outrageous action conceivable: reinstating slavery and segregating the local high school, which lands him in the Supreme Court.

Beatty’s fast-paced, hard-hitting prose is as eloquent as it is laugh-aloud funny. He is a master of his craft, riffing on the chords of contemporary black culture with a speed and deftness that leaves his readers breathless.

The Sellout is an outrageous and outrageously entertaining indictment of our time.

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

Less is the story of a 49-year-old writer, Arthur Less. Caught in a cycle of bad reviews and reduced to interviewing blockbuster-writing hacks for no fee, Arthur’s life is in freefall. Then, to crown his descent, he learns that his former boyfriend is about to get married. Determined to avoid the wedding - and heartbreak – at all costs, he decides to embark on a trip around the world, accepting invitations to a series of half-baked lectures and literary events.

From almost falling in love in Paris, almost falling to death in Berlin, to booking himself as the (only) writer on a residency in India, and an encounter in a desert with the last person on earth he wishes to see, Less is a novel about missteps, misunderstanding and mistakes.

Counting John Updike, Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers and John Irving among his many admirers Andrew Sean Greer has been steadily making a name as a writer to watch. Less is a tour de force offering; a book that will have you aching with laughter one moment and cut to the core the next. Excellent fun and endlessly surprising, it’s a novel about life’s unexpected turns and the resilience of hope. As the New York Times puts it, ‘no less than bedazzling, bewitching and be-wonderful’; it’s a joy to read.

A Confederacy of Dunces by Josh Kennedy Toole

A monument to sloth, rant and contempt, a behemoth of fat, flatulence and furious suspicion of anything modern - this is Ignatius J. Reilly of New Orleans, noble crusader against a world of dunces. The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged. Ignatius ignores them, heaving his vast bulk through the city's fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity and ignorance. But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him: Ignatius must get a job. Undaunted, he uses his new-found employment to further his mission - and now he has a pirate costume and a hot-dog cart to do it with...

John Kennedy Toole (1937-1969) was born in New Orleans. He received a master's degree in English from Columbia University and taught at Hunter College and at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. He wrote A Confederacy of Dunces in the early sixties and tried unsuccessfully to get the novel published; depressed, at least in part by his failure to place the book, he committed suicide in 1969. It was only through the tenacity of his mother that her son's book was eventually published and found the audience it deserved, winning the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His long-suppressed novel The Neon Bible, written when he was only sixteen, was eventually published as well.

The Familiars by Stacey Halls

9 group members met, on Zoom, to discuss our latest read: The Familiars by Stacey Halls. After a short chat about life in lock down we dismissed the 'Reading Group Questions' provided at the end of the book, just before the advertisement (oh, exlusive extract) for The Foundling by Stacey Halls and got straight into lively conversation and debate. 

We kicked off with a classic Ashendon Book Group diversionary tactic: "I didn't want to read a book on the subject, so I read The Foundling instead! and really enjoyed it". So, let's reconsider dismissal of aforementioned ad. and give it a go sometime. 

The comment was met with the reassurance that the book was more about misogeny than witchcraft. We didn't get into deeper discussion on this obervation other than to log the fact that (male) doctors did not like losing business to midwives and that it was less about witchcraft than about relationships. Following the meeting I googled 'misogeny and witchcraft 1612' and up popped this: 

https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-67763).

Back to the book: the story is based in the year 1612 and is about a young woman (aged 17), married to Richard Shuttleworth since the age of 13. Richard is a wealthy and successful local man, with realistic aspirations to be in Parliament and who needs an heir! Fleetwood has had several miscarriages and is desparate to have a child with Richard whom she loves very much. The story does touch on how this situation impacts their relationship but the main focus is on Fleetwood's relationship with a local midwife.

Although based on a true story, Stacey Halls makes no secret that this book is fiction. So Fleetwood is presented as a feisty girl who gallops around the county on a horse, with a huge dog in tow, and makes day trips to Lancaster (about 40 miles away) - this in itself is improbable and Fleetwood was heavily pregnant at the time! It made the story interesting but some of our group found 'flying in the face of historical reality' frustrating. Those of the group who wanted more historical fact were disappointed. This is not an historical novel. It is almost as if the author wanted Fleetwood to be living in modern times. 

There were though 'nods' to history, such as references to travelling players performing Shakespeare (including the popular Macbeth) but overall the book failed to give insight or conclude the purpose of 'the nod'. It feels as if the author has a few bits of information from her visits to Gawthorpe Hall and Wikepedia and has dropped them into a story with no clear purpose.

Going back to this not being an historical novel, there was a feeling that more insight to the Pendle Witch Trials would not have gone amiss. Compared to Year of Wonders by Anna Frith, another 'not historical novel' based on historical fact that we have read as a group, we felt that The Familiars lacked depth. Even the concept of Familiars was inadequately explained or followed through in the story - we imagined they are similar to Phillip Pullmans Demons - luckily we had already read that!

Interesting fact from Sue: In 1652, George Fox (Founder of The Quakers) climbed Pendle Hill in Lancashire, where he had a vision of a “great people to be gathered” waiting for him. The beginning of the Society of Friends (Quakers) is usually dated from the day, soon afterwards, when Fox preached to large crowds on Firbank Fell, near Sedbergh, in Cumbria. We wonder what drew him to Pendle Hill?

Would we recommend this book? No, unless you don't want to know about the witch thing and are looking for an beach read. It is luke warm and there are better books to use your time on. 

The group did not agree on the book as a 'good read', one reader felt it was a 'page turner' and couldn't put it down (despite it not giving what she wanted), others felt it 'dragged on'; was 'longer than expected' and one member of our group even fell asleep while reading it. Then we had: 'I wouldn't choose to read another book by the same author', followed by 'Oh I would!' and 'The Foundlings is a good read'.

We couldn't choose between 2 of the 3 books proposed for our next read so we are going to read both and meet again in 6 weeks on Zoom (or possibly in small groups + Zoom). So our next reads are: Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires and A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson and we will meet to discuss these on 6th August.