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 .