LITERATURE SEMINAR BOOK REVIEWS - by R.U.

Set in post-World War ­¶England, the story revolves around the Ayreses, an impoverished local gentry family living in a once grand but now crumbling manor house called Hundreds Hall. Faraday, the narrator, is their family doctor. His mother is a former housemaid in Hundreds and he has held a strange, covetous fascination to the house ever since he visited the place as a young boy. Although always aware of his lower social background, Faraday befriends the Ayreses – the widowed Mrs Ayres, her daughter Caroline, and her son Roderick – and the family isolated from a rapidly changing world becomes dependent on him while they maintain their upper class consciousness. As Faraday gets more and more involved with their lives, the family starts experiencing ghostly happenings. Faraday explains them away as a sort of hallucination caused by stress the family is under, with one result that Roderick is sent away to a mental hospital. The strange events continue as if the house is haunted by some evil spirit, but Faraday always manages to rationalize them from his scientific viewpoint. Meanwhile, he begins courting Caroline and she agrees to marry him. However, when Mrs Ayres falls victim to the so-called evil presence, Caroline breaks her engagement to Faraday, saying she has decided to leave Hundreds. Shortly after the cancellation of their wedding, Faraday learns of tragedy that has befallen Caroline.

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Michael Beard is a Nobel Prize winning physicist who has been resting on his laurels for decades.  He hasn¡Çt done any original work since. His fifth marriage is about to fall apart, as his wife is having an affair mainly with the intention of punishing him for his womanizing.  ( He has had eleven affairs in five years! ) When his wife¡Çs lover, a post-doc working under him dies in a bizarre accident, leaving a file of his research data, Beard decides to free himself from his marital mess and resurrect his career. Motivated by fame and money, he is now working on a solar energy project which is based on the ideas he has stolen from the dead post-doc. He is obese due to excessive gluttony, but has little concern for his rapidly deteriorating health. It¡Çs amazing that this short, balding, flabby geezer with a triple chin can still attract a string of women. However, it seems inevitable that his self-destructiveness and plagiarism will lead to his downfall.

Despite being entitled ¡ÆSolar¡Ç, the book is not so much about solar power or climate change as about a man who is involved in the issue of global warming and solar energy out of greed. If you expect some deep explorations into the global warming crisis, you will be disappointed, but if you read this novel as a character study of an ageing academic trying to restore his past glory in the laziest way possible, you might enjoy it. Although Beard is a hideous, self-centered, despicable character and is depicted more as a caricature than as a real human being, most of us, I believe, can relate to him to a certain extent. There is a bit of him in all of us. ( In fact, a lot of people who have earned fame in the early stages of their career are living off their reputation, aren¡Çt they? ) I personally liked his so called solipsism. ¡ÈHe no longer cared much what others thought of him. There were few benefits in growing older, and this was one ( p.169 ).¡É I suppose you need to be of a certain age to understand what it really means. The author, Beard, and I belong to the same generation – ¡Èthe arrogant, shameless, spoiled generation that turned its backs on the fathers who fought the war.¡É No doubt, there are some elements of the author himself in Beard¡Çs character. I also enjoyed the protagonist¡Çs satirical views of environmentalist artists, political people, and academics, as I am a cynical person myself ( ha ha ).  

The overall impression of the novel is that it is a bit messy. There is too much physics in the book, which can be annoying. How many readers, I wonder, understand what is written in the fictitious Nobel Prize presentation speech or how it fits into the main story. Some comical episodes, for example, the call of nature scene during the Arctic expedition can make us laugh out loud, but the humour is a bit heavy- handed. There are also some elements of farce and black comedy in the way the lover of Beard¡Çs fifth wife dies, the idiocy of another lover of his wife¡Çs whom Beard frames for murder, and Beard¡Çs relationship with his American girl friend, but they are simply ridiculous and not compelling enough to suspend disbelief.

To sum up, the book is worth reading if you find how human this grotesque protagonist is.

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The novel tells two stories in two different time frames. One story starts in the mid-1950s, centering around a free-spirited girl named Lexie. She comes to London from rural Devon and becomes a single mother while working as a successful journalist. Unfortunately, she dies when her son is three years old. The other story which is set in present day London is about Ted whose partner Elina has just given birth to their son. Strange to say, Ted remembers almost nothing about his childhood. After the arrival of his own son, he becomes disturbed by his childhood memories that do not match his parents¡Ç version. Trying so hard to recall his childhood events, he suffers from a mental breakdown. ¡ÈEveryone¡Çs been lying,¡É cries this man who is in his thirties (?) with a new born son. ( Grow up, Ted! Act your age! ) By now an astute reader ( - or just about any reader ) might have guessed how the two stories are connected or what the relationship between Lexie and Ted is. Anyway, Ted learns about the truth of his past, and I hope he resumes his normal life.

Apart from her not-so-moving-death, the story of Lexie isn¡Çt so bad. She is vividly depicted as a young woman struggling for independence and the novel captures literary and bohemian life in London at that time. ( According to the author, this part of the book was inspired by John Deakin¡Çs portraits of people in 1950s Soho. ) However, the present day story gets so tedious because of the dull couple that I couldn¡Çt care less about the characters or the plot. Ted¡Çs naivety is beyond belief and there is no character development in Elina who supposedly plays a major role.

The book is just too sentimental for my taste, but if you want to have a good cry, you might love it. Recommended to those who love melodramas.                

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When I read this book, Netherlandish Proverbs, one of Pieter Bruegel¡Çs paintings, sprang to mind. In this painting, proverbs, which were an important means of expression in Bruegel¡Çs day, are represented by people behaving in a humorous but ridiculous way. There is a man banging his head against a brick wall, or an opportunist warming himself before a burning house. Indeed ¡Èthe number of fools is infinite,¡É and the protagonist of this novel is, well, one of those fools.

In the dilapidated manor of a local squire, Martin, a philosopher with an interest in art history, has a brief glance at a neglected painting which he believes is a missing masterpiece by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. He becomes obsessed with saving the soot-covered painting from its boorish owner. ( His obsession seems to come from his quest for fame as the discoverer of the lost painting. ) While engaged on his research into Bruegel¡Çs works and the historical context in which they were produced in order to confirm the painting¡Çs authenticity, Martin concocts a reckless, convoluted scheme to get possession of the painting. However, this egghead knows nothing about the reality of the art dealing world and finds himself plunging headlong into an outlandish escapade which ends in a complete fiasco.

The book offers a nice mixture of farce and art history; the former is highly enjoyable and the latter intriguing. While laughing out loud at the protagonist¡Çs naïve attempts to restore the long-lost Bruegel to the world, the reader learns a great deal about the history of 16^th century Netherlands and how the horrifying political and social climate at the time is cryptically reflected in Bruegel¡Çs works. The art history part reads like a detective story, attempting to decipher the artist¡Çs hidden messages in his works, thus verifying the identity of the lost painting in question. Although this part gets overly detailed ( the author is a bit of a showoff ), it is worthwhile to persevere with its density.

Overall, the book is well crafted, but what puzzles me is Kate, Martin¡Çs iconographer wife. Apparently she is against Martin¡Çs project and yet she gives him her money to carry out his plan. There seem to be some inconsistencies and ambiguities in her characterization. With all that said, I find the book well worth reading. It is both entertaining and educational.

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The novel focuses on three male characters, Treslove, Finkler, and Libor. Finkler, a media celebrity philosopher, is Treslove¡Çs old school friend and Libor, an elderly Czech, is their former teacher. Both Finkler and Libor are Jews who have recently been widowed. Being a gentile, Treslove feels he is somewhat excluded from those two. He is jealous of their closeness, their social success, and even their bereavements. He believes that becoming a ¡ÈFinkler¡É ( synonymous with ¡ÈJew¡É in his terminology ) will make sense of his life. His search for belonging leads him into a romance with a Jewess, but their relationship becomes problematic due to his immature, self-centered personality. Meanwhile, Finkler joins  ASHamed Jews, an anti-Zionist group ashamed of Jews supporting Israeli policy, but has a change of heart when his son is attacked by anti-Semites. Libor who is tired of infighting among Jews tries to stay away from Jewish issues. Now that his beloved wife is gone, he can no longer find his raison d¡Çetre.

There is really not much of a plot in the novel, but a lot of ( way too much ) discussion on what Jewishness is, what it means to be Jewish in present day London, etc. etc. and it just goes on and on ( strange to say, there is no talk on Judaism here ). The characters in the book, Jews and non-Jews alike, spend all their waking hours, fanatically exploring, analyzing, philosophizing, and politicizing everything concerning Jews and Jewishness in a   repetitive, self-indulgent manner. They bore me to tears. None of them is fully realized as a believable human being; some are merely a mouthpiece for the author¡Çs self-preoccupation, others are lifeless cardboard figures. The most unappealing of all is Treslove with his unconvincing identity crisis. I find his obsession with Jewishness quite motiveless and contrived.

I tried to learn something about the people who have suffered so much prejudice over the past two thousand years, but the book failed me. I also wonder if this novel presents an accurate picture of Jews in contemporary London. I might be wrong, but I don¡Çt think that in present day London anti-Jewish sentiment is as prevalent as some of the book¡Çs characters sense.

If you are madly in love with all things Jewish, this is the book for you, but most readers, I¡Çm afraid, will find it a tedious piece of work.    

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This novel, which is based on true events, alternately recounts the stories of Arthur, an ambitious and energetic man who becomes a doctor, then a successful writer, and George, a vicar¡Çs son living an introverted life in a small Staffordshire village while working as a solicitor. I soon found out who Arthur was before it was revealed in the book, as I am a bit of a Holmesian and know the life story of Conan Doyle, but was surprised that George turned out to be a ¡Èhalf-caste¡É born to a Christian convert Indian father and a Scottish mother. Then I began to worry that being half-Indian with an odd, unsociable personality, George might suffer racial and social prejudices.

I was right! George is wrongfully convicted of and imprisoned for writing threatening letters and mutilating livestock in the village. The build-up of tension in the courtroom scenes where he is tried is extremely well done, reminding me of Kafka¡Çs ¡ÈThe Trial.¡É Absurdness is the word that comes into my mind. After serving some part of his sentence, George is released on parole and here intersects the life of Arthur with that of George. George¡Çs letter asking to help him clear his name and resume his career draws Arthur¡Çs attention. Out of indignation over the miscarriage of justice, Arthur takes up George¡Çs case. Arthur¡Çs investigation of the case which reads like a Sherlock Holmes story is enthralling, but unfortunately the evidence Arthur gets is not solid enough to identify the real perpetrator. Anyway, annoyed by the ¡Ènoise¡É made by this world-famous writer, the Home Office gives George a free pardon, but with no compensation.

Through the lives of the two men and their encounter, Barnes masterfully examines English society at the turn of the last century with racial prejudice, police corruption, and the flawed judicial system. His understated way of bringing up those social issues is all the more effective in making the point, and we at once feel indignant at the way George is wronged. We also learn about a significant change in English law to which George¡Çs case contributed. ( At first, I was frustrated with his utterly unfair trial and kept wondering why he doesn¡Çt appeal to a higher court, but now I know why. )

The book is engrossing all the way through, but what fascinates me most is the characterization of George. He has a firm belief in justice and his Englishness. For all his nerdiness ( or because of that ), he remains ¡Èstolid¡É throughout his ordeal with dignity and integrity. Arthur is also appealing; he is chivalrous and dashing, but less impressive than George. Although Barnes tries to depict him as a complex character, a man who is not always bubbling with enthusiasm but is sometimes tormented, for example, by guilt over his love affair, his characterization somewhat lacks depth. Also, the book seems to have too much redundant detail concerning Arthur¡Çs life.

All in all, this is a fabulous read. A real page-turner. I can¡Çt recommend it highly enough.          

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The story centers around a married couple Ralph and Anna Eldred who are devoting their lives to charity. Early in their marriage Ralph, in his rebellion against his domineering father, takes Anna to South Africa hoping to do good as a missionary, but the couple has to face the brutal facts of life there. The Eldreds are unjustly arrested, imprisoned, and eventually deported to Bechuanaland ( now Botswana ) where the most tragic event which they are to endure for the rest of their lives takes place.

Decades later back in Norfolk England, the Eldreds, although having long lost their Christian faith, are still doing good, helping ¡Èsad cases¡É as much as they can while concealing their African experiences from their children. As if to escape from the unforgettable past, Ralph occupies himself in working hard for the family charitable trust while Anna maintains peace in the family by leading a self-effacing life, but is locked in grief and rage, still unable to forgive those who were involved in the tragedy. Deep down inside, she blames Ralph, thinking his altruistic but careless behaviour is partially responsible for the event, but keeps her silence. It is not hard to believe their painful endurance has gradually undermined their seemingly admirable lives of do-gooders. When Ralph¡Çs love affair with the mother of their son¡Çs girlfriend is revealed to Anna ( a rather hackneyed plot development in my opinion ), the couple decides to live apart. Will their marriage come to an end?

The book is basically about the trials and tribulations of married life; how life with its complexities affects the closest human relationship. One of the striking features of the novel is its characters¡Ç bleak but very true outlook on life. ¡ÈLet me die¡Ä..dying is not too bad. It is too much trouble to stay alive ( p.238 ),¡É thinks Ralph when he is attacked by his former African servant. Ralph¡Çs uncle James says there is nothing worse, nothing so burdensome, nothing so appallingly hard as the business of being human. And yet life must go on as long as one is alive. Both Ralph and Anna are forced to make crucial decisions about resetting their lives once the walls that kept their repressed emotions have been pulled down. The ending implies that they might get back together, but now that Anna has experienced her husband¡Çs betrayal, their relationship will never be the same again. The climate of their lives will inevitably change whether for better or worse.

In addition to the above-mentioned themes, the book addresses the issues of the innate evil in mankind and of whether one can truly help ¡Èsad cases¡É by practicing charity which ¡Èbegins not at home but somewhere outside.¡É The author¡Çs unflinching honesty in dealing with these subjects makes the reader ponder on them long after reading the book. 

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This is historical fiction told in the form of a murder mystery. Set in 14^th century England, the story revolves around a runaway priest Nicholas Barber and a company of travelling players he joins. While heading for their destination the players come upon a town where a young boy has just been murdered and a young woman is to be hanged for the crime. Here in the town the players put on a Mystery Play, a typical performance of the period based on biblical stories, without much success. Seeking something new to perform and a better way to increase their takings, the players decide to enact the actual murder of the boy through a Morality Play, one of the medieval plays portraying good vs. evil. By doing so, they come close to the truth of the boy¡Çs death, but find that their own lives are at stake.

Unfortunately, the mystery itself is not particularly mysterious and the plot is somewhat predictable. The build-up of suspense and tension falls flat towards the ending with the appearance of the King¡Çs Justice who solves the case and settles the matter almost all by himself while the players are kept out of sight. ( The intervention of the Justice might be a plot device called deus ex machina used on purpose to draw attention to the artificial nature of the novel, but, in my opinion, it feels too contrived and disturbs the reader¡Çs enjoyment of the novel. )   

Perhaps the best part of the book is its vivid and detailed portrayal of the medieval world. Life in 14^th century England comes alive with corrupt monks and feudal lords, the threat of the Black Death, millenarians prophesying the Last Days and, above all, with travelling actors performing medieval plays. The book also gives an insight into the birth of modern drama – how plays based on heavily religious themes have evolved into reality-based drama. Martin, the leader of the players, foreseeing a new form of theatre says, ¡È¡Äwe can make plays from stories that happen in our lives. I believe this is the way that plays will be made in the times to come.¡É (p.69 ) Maybe this is the way drama has gradually developed into what we now know.

The book might be disappointing to those whose main concern lies in its whodunit aspect, but is entertaining and thought-provoking to those who are interested in medieval life and culture or in evolution of theatre.   

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I suppose many of you have heard about a novel called Lolita, but only a few have actually read it. Yes, this is a quite disturbing story about pedophilia, but believe it or not, the book is one of the greatest literary achievements written in the English language, ( which was Nabokov¡Çs second language and not his native tongue ).

As you probably know, a middle-aged pedophile Humbert Humbert becomes infatuated with his landlady¡Çs twelve-year-old daughter Lolita. To the reader Lo is a rather vulgar child but Humbert romanticizes her and calls her a ¡Ènymphet¡É – an attractive pre-pubescent girl. He even marries the landlady ( a widow ) in order to get close to Lo. When his newlywed wife dies, Humbert, being Lo¡Çs stepfather, tries to have total control of her. You might imagine a monstrous pervert abusing a helpless, innocent little girl. This view is partly true but their relationship is not what it appears to be. Lo seems to be precocious and tends to fall for older men. In fact, she is a sort of accomplice in her molestation. After leading a wandering life with Humbert for a while, she is induced to leave him for another pedophile, one she convinces herself she is crazy about.

Despite the discomforting subject matter, this is by no means pornography. There are no graphic descriptions; not a single obscene word can be found. The novel, in fact, is not so much about the perverted sexuality as about the dark side of human nature – its vulnerability, stupidity, and insanity - explored in depth through a man¡Çs obsession with a young girl. But it never gets too depressing, as Nabokov¡Çs writing is playful as well as poetic, full of humor, wit, word-play, sarcasm, and poignancy. He is also a master of storytelling. Some parts read like black comedy, others like a thriller.

Towards the end of the novel, Humbert realizes how selfishly he has treated Lolita and awakens to true love for her, but by this point it¡Çs just too late. After seeing Lo for the last time he pursues and kills the man who Lo turned to, not just out of jealousy but mainly out of fury. Humbert is furious because he is the loser and this even greater pervert is the winner in the Lo chasing game. He firmly believes the guy deserves punishment because he ruthlessly dumped Lo after snatching her from him. Humbert seems to have forgotten how cruel he was to Lo himself and that he and the guy are two of a kind. Poor Humbert Humbert, he knows nothing about himself ! And yet his ignorance and self-contradiction make the murder scene darkly comical and we even feel like rooting for this underdog when he clumsily pulls the trigger. It takes some skill by an author to achieve this.

All in all the book is highly entertaining and thought-provoking. This is definitely worth reading.

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Tom Ripley, a jobless young man living a day-to-day life in New York, is hired by a wealthy company owner Herbert Greenleaf to bring his son Dickie back from Italy to join the family business. But once Tom gets to Italy and meets Dickie, he is attracted by Dickie and his leisurely, hedonistic lifestyle. Leaving aside his mission, he gets closer and closer to Dickie. Dickie¡Çs female friend Marge, who is observant enough to sense Tom is a sponger and has homosexual tendencies, advises Dickie to stay away from him. When Tom notices that Dickie has also become annoyed by his intimacy which gets more and more intrusive, he ruthlessly kills Dickie. He then assumes Dickie¡Çs identity but a friend of Dickie¡Çs happens to find out Tom is switching between Dickie¡Çs identity and his own. So, Tom commits another murder but manages to get away with it as he does with his first murder. At the end, he succeeds in convincing Marge and H. Greenleaf that Dickie has either committed suicide or intentionally left his family and friends behind.

I understand that this is not a conventional crime novel, whose thrill usually lies in the crime itself. The book reads more like psychoanalysis of the mind of a sociopath and Highsmith does an excellent job in exploring how the sociopathic psyche works by getting deep down into Tom¡Çs inner life. Tom is a ¡Ènobody¡É; an amoral, asexual man with no identity of his own. The only way for him to establish any human relationship is to take on personalities of other people he idolizes. Killing might be best suited for that purpose, as, in a sense, you have to ¡Èlook after¡É your victim¡Çs lost life and can complete his/her story. Highsmith¡Çs depiction of Tom¡Çs twisted mind is so compelling that some readers might even feel like justifying his actions.

However, I cannot help but feel that more attention should have been given to the plot line and the story development. Some parts of the story are simply too ridiculous. It¡Çs not because Tom is more talented than others that things go favorably for him, but because everyone around him is so stupid. Tom¡Çs thin disguise makes the Italian police fail to identify him. Marge, who at first is so suspicious of Tom, later loses all her intelligence and swallows every word Tom says. When Tom sends a forged copy of Dickie¡Çs will to H. Greenleaf, he concedes Tom¡Çs claim to Dickie¡Çs fortune without even asking for the original. This is totally implausible. How come no one detects Tom¡Çs direct involvement in Dickie¡Çs disappearance while they know Tom is the last person to see Dickie? Everyone here is so irritatingly naïve that I wouldn¡Çt mind if Tom killed them all ( ! )

To sum up, this is an enjoyable read if you are a person who can easily suspend your disbelief or are interested in a sociopathic criminal¡Çs thought processes.    

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Set between the two World Wars, the story revolves around Charles Ryder¡Çs relationship with the Catholic aristocratic Flyte family. It is told in the form of recollection of lost love, of a beguiling world of British nobility and its gradual decline. The novel also raises the issue of the Catholic faith as an underlying theme.

In the first part of the novel Charles tells us about his arcadian student life at Oxford where he meets Sebastian, the Flytes¡Ç second son. Enchanted by Sebastian¡Çs charms and eccentricities, Charles forms a romantic friendship with Sebastian through which he becomes deeply involved with the Flytes, a dysfunctional family whose members¡Ç lives are ruled and affected by their family religion in various ways and degrees. With the passage of time, however, Charles¡Çs relationship with Sebastian loses its innocence. Sebastian becomes an alcoholic maybe because of his guilt about his sexual orientation which goes against the Church and his pious mother¡Çs expectations of him. He runs away to a foreign country and Charles also leaves Brideshead, the Flytes¡Ç stately home, in disillusionment. More than a decade later, Charles, now married with two children, unexpectedly meets on board ship Sebastian¡Çs sister Julia who is unhappily married to a Canadian politician and they start an affair. Charles divorces his wife. Julia also thinks of divorcing her husband but finally decides not to marry Charles. At the end of the novel we see how God brings back to Him those who have wandered away with ¡Èa twitch upon the thread.¡É Charles is told of Sebastian¡Çs spiritual salvation. Lord Marchmain, the father who has deserted his religion and family, comes back to Brideshead and undergoes conversion on his deathbed. Julia, being overwhelmed by her Catholic morality, gives up her intended marriage to Charles. There is an indication on the last page that even Charles, a formidable agnostic, has become a Catholic.

The first chapter is probably the most brilliant part of the novel. The book fascinatingly depicts the golden days of Charles and Sebastian – how they spend exciting though languid days together at Oxford and at Brideshead. However, as Sebastian withdraws from centre stage, the story loses some of its initial charm. Charles¡Çs romance with Julia is also beautifully written, but it is a bit melodramatic and not as impressive as the romance he has with Sebastian. The last part where the operation of Divine Grace is shown is, unfortunately, the least appealing. We have no idea why everyone abruptly experiences religious awakening – the most unconvincing of all is Lord Marchmain¡Çs deathbed conversion. It seems to come out of nowhere. The novel doesn¡Çt really explore this character¡Çs inner spiritual life deeply enough to convince us of his change of heart. Surely it¡Çs not God¡Çs grace but the author¡Çs decision that works on them. It seems ( to me at least ) that the author uses God¡Çs presence simply to tidy up the story. The book would be a marvelous read if the ending were more plausible.

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This is Spark¡Çs semi-autobiographical novel set in post WW­¶London. The narrator, Fleur Talbot is striving to complete her first novel while rejoicing again and again in being an artist and a woman in the twentieth century. To make ends meet, she takes a job as secretary to the Autobiographical Association run by a cranky baronet, Sir Quentin Oliver under whose supervision its members are to write their autobiographies. Fleur senses that Sir Quentin is up to no good and later learns that he is trying to have dominion over the lives of the members.

At first, Fleur is fascinated by the strangeness of the Autobiographical Association, the sinister Sir Quentin and the eccentric members belonging to the upper crust, whom Fleur calls ¡Èa band of fools.¡É It seems just the sort of place that an artist like Fleur would enjoy who loves loitering with intent to gather material for her writing. She doesn¡Çt for a moment think of reproducing those people photographically and literally, but she is ¡Èa magnet for experiences¡É that she needs. ¡ÈI was aware of a demon inside me that rejoiced in seeing people as they were, and not only that, but more than ever as they were, and more, and more (p.2).¡É However, when her novel is stolen by Sir Quentin she notices that life begins to imitate fiction. Sir Quentin and the members of the Association begin living out her novel as if they had no real lives of their own!

The plot that blurs the boundaries between fiction and life seems weird to us, but Fleur doesn¡Çt seem to mind this weirdness, so we just have to follow her who is going on her way rejoicing. Maybe this is Spark¡Çs playful way of examining the nature of art – how art creates reality more realistically than real life. In fact, one of the most interesting aspects of the book is Spark¡Çs insight into the mind of an artist in the process of creating art. ¡ÈThe process by which I created my characters was instinctive, the sum of my whole experience of others and of my own potential self. ¡ÄSometimes I don¡Çt actually meet a character I have created in a novel until some time after the novel has been written and published (p.15).¡É ¡È¡Äyou must understand that everything happens to an artist; time is always redeemed, nothing is lost and wonders never cease (p.87).¡É Also, Spark¡Çs interest in evil expressed through Fleur fascinates us. ¡ÈI have never known an artist who at some time in his life has not come into conflict with pure evil¡Ä..I think it true that no artist has lived who has not experienced and then recognized something, at first too incredibly evil to seem real, then so undoubtedly real as to be undoubtedly true (p.129).¡É No wonder we find a lot of evil in Spark¡Çs characters including her ¡Èbook within a book¡É characters.

To sum up, this is an entertaining book about art and an artist living on the intellectual fringe of mid 20^th century London with a lot of eccentric characters – some are fictional like the splendid Lady Edwina, Sir Quentin¡Çs ancient mother, and others are based on real life people – enlivening the story.

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One day in the cemetery at Larkwood Priory Father Anselm is approached by a middle-aged woman accompanying a tearful old man. They came to see Father Herbert Moore but are disappointed to find out that he has already died. The woman tells Anselm that Herbert was a former WW1 officer who served on the court martial of an Irish volunteer, Private Joseph Flanagan. Before leaving, she says to Anselm in the tone of allegation, ¡ÈThis was no ordinary trial¡Äit had a meaning, a special meaning among so much that was meaningless.¡É

Anselm is dismayed and perplexed by her words. Herbert was his spiritual mentor and was revered by the whole community as one of the founders of Larkwood. With the Prior¡Çs permission, Anselm starts investigating Herbert¡Çs wartime activities which he had kept silent about.

Then the story goes back to 1917 in Flanders during the battle of Passchendaele. Chosen as a member of the court martial, Herbert passes a death sentence on Flanagan on the charge of desertion. But is Flanagan really a deserter? He offers no defence apart from making the statement that he tried to come back to his unit but lost his way and got drunk. Moreover, he seems to be willing to face capital punishment saying that he wants to die a meaningful death.

Meanwhile, in the contemporary storyline Anselm is trying to find out what actually happened to Flanagan by examining the transcripts of WW1 courts martial. To his dismay, several crucial documents are missing from the Flanagan file – there is no record of his execution; no record of his burial. Apparently the file was weeded by someone in the army¡Ä

We are immediately drawn into Brodrick¡Çs suspenseful storytelling with a mystery element, but this is not a mere detective novel. As the truth is gradually revealed, we learn that the incident itself is not as complicated as it appears. In fact, it is a relatively simple story dealing with one soldier¡Çs trial and with those who are involved in it. But here lies most of the book¡Çs strength – in its simplicity; in its limited setting for the events depicted by Brodrick with his understated way of writing. The novel compellingly conveys the horrors of war and its futility without resorting to bloody, gruesome scenes that are often found in war fiction. It also explores in depth the soldiers¡Ç desperate struggle to remain human amidst the most dehumanizing circumstances. Flanagan¡Çs story of self-sacrifice is particularly moving, reminding us ( or at least me ) of a passage from the Bible.

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain ( John 12:24 ).

Transformed by Flanagan¡Çs deeds, Herbert enters religious life. ¡ÈYou are forgiven. But you have wounds that will never heal. They are part of your loving. Use the suffering, your immense suffering, to heal others,¡É says the Prior to Herbert. Anselm, after solving the mysteries of Herbert¡Çs past, understands that he was a tormented soul whose deep faith was based on his war experiences and severe trauma he had to suffer all his life.

The last few chapters on the Celtic ceremony attended by Anselm with Kate and Brendan ( the two visitors to Larkwood who are found to be related to Flanagan ) feel a bit too sentimental and somewhat gratuitous. ( We have already heard a lot about this nostalgia-evoking lost island in Flanagan¡Çs reminiscences. ) Also, there are some parts that are repetitive. It would have been better if they were shortened. Still, this is a brilliant novel that makes you ponder what it means to be truly human and how significant each individual¡Çs existence is.  

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Desmond, a sixty-something retired professor of linguistics living in a northern town in England is facing a ¡Èlate mid-life crisis¡É brought on by all the inconveniences his hearing impairment causes. His inability to have normal conversation with others leads to confusions, misunderstandings, embarrassments, and consequent isolation from social life. He says that blindness has pathos calling forth sympathy but deafness calls forth irritation rather than compassion. Even his wife Winifred gets irritated when she fails to communicate with him, which happens quite often. What¡Çs more, Winifred seems to be rejuvenating herself with her new entrepreneurial career while Desmond is spending his time having nothing really important to do apart from regularly visiting his aging father Harry who lives alone and has increasing difficulty taking care of himself properly. Desmond suggests that Harry move into a care home but he stubbornly rejects his son¡Çs idea. Fortunately or unfortunately, Desmond¡Çs sense of emptiness and uselessness is temporarily distracted by Alex, an attractive postgraduate who wants him to supervise her doctoral thesis on suicide notes. Although being bewildered but tempted by her bizarre behaviour, like stuffing her panties into his overcoat pocket, Desmond tries not to give in to her seduction and manages to maintain the status quo of his married life as a faithful husband. While away from home on a trip to Poland, he is informed that Harry has had a stroke. The story ends with Harry¡Çs death and the birth of Desmond¡Çs grandson.

In the early chapters the author comically relates Desmond¡Çs deafness, successfully handling the serious issues of bodily deterioration with humour and wit. The book¡Çs exploration of deafness from a linguistic viewpoint is also interesting. However, as the story proceeds, it becomes dark and melancholic ( and also somewhat disjointed ) with the underlying themes of aging and mortality as the punning title indicates. ¡ÈDeafness is a kind of pre-death, a drawn-out introduction to the long silence into which we will all eventually lapse.¡É (p.21)  And yet, as Wittgenstein says, death is not an event of life. You can behold it happening to others but cannot experience your own in your life time since you are still alive. In the course of his life Desmond has experienced the death of loved ones – his mother, his first wife, and now his father. But he realizes that thinking about his own death is useless and that it is better to dwell on life, accepting his plight and trying to value the passing time. The novel that turns depressing midway through ultimately proves to be life-affirming.

I suppose you need to be of a certain age to appreciate this novel. If you are in your fifties or above, there are a lot of topics you can identify with – retirement, social and familial isolation, aging parents, age-related physical decline, etc.

I recommend this book especially to wives whose husbands are retired like mine. Don¡Çt get too frustrated with their annoying existence and try to be more considerate towards them!!!

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The story follows the journey of Lev, an economic migrant from some Eastern European country who comes to London with a view to earning enough money to support his aging mother and young daughter back in his country and, as the title indicates, his eventual return to his homeland.

Although being a forty-two year old widower, Lev seems too naïve to survive in this seemingly unwelcoming capital city. However, through the kindness of strangers, he finds a job in a posh restaurant and a place to live where he forms a lasting friendship with his landlord. After experiencing some hardships and bitterness of the broken love affair with his co-worker, he learns that he loves to cook and decides to open a restaurant in his home town. ( Food and cooking play a great role in the novel making your mouth water! )

Basically, this novel is about a psychological journey of an unworldly man who becomes ambitious and determined to carry out his plans with the help of those who are extraordinarily generous to a person in need. No doubt life for most migrant workers must be much harder and fortune does not always smile on them as it does on Lev, so if you expect serious social issues concerning the economic migration to Britain, you might be disappointed.

I read this book as a modern day fairy tale for adults assuring the reader that nothing really tragic happens to the hero and everyone he encounters is nice to him. The only exception in this novel is Sophie who Lev has an affair with. While other supporting characters are more or less engaging and convincing in a fairytale-like manner, her inconsistent characterization comes across as rather contrived.

I am not sure if I could highly recommend this novel. This is a sort of feel-good book you might like to read when you are a bit tired of life. Or if you are a realistic type, you might enjoy the detailed observations of contemporary life in London seen and criticized by the author through Lev¡Çs eyes – its obese citizens and its instant gratification society as a result of material plenitude, its celebrity obsessed culture with ridiculous art and drama produced by celebrity artists, etc., etc.

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This is a sort of postcolonial novel interweaving Dominican history and culture with a family saga spanning three generations and two nations. Although the plot revolves around the title character Oscar de Leon and his short-lived life, more pages are spent on the episodes of his family – sister Lola, mother Beli, and grandfather Abelard – examining how an individual¡Çs life is affected by the history of a country he/she is from.

First, the novel starts with the story of Oscar, a second-generation Dominican American living in New Jersey. He is an overweight nerd who retreats into a world of fantasy and science fiction and a hopeless romantic who falls in love with every girl he meets on the street. He is desperate to lose his virginity but hasn¡Çt even kissed a girl yet. His story is followed by that of Lola who is in constant conflict with her mother, Beli who never says a positive thing about her daughter. Lola tries to run away from her family but learns that she can never do so. ¡ÈThe only way out is in.¡É After being brought back home, she is sent to Santo Domingo to stay with La Inca, Beli¡Çs foster mother. Then the book evolves into the family history unfolding Beli¡Çs desolate childhood, adolescence, and her exile to the US as a result of her disastrous love affair with a notorious criminal connected to Rafael Trujillo, an extremely brutal dictator of the Dominican Republic. The book goes on to explore the tragic fate of Beli¡Çs father Abelard under the horrifying Trujillo regime. Abelard is persecuted by Trujillo for trying to protect his beautiful daughter from being violated by him. Tortured and turned into a vegetable, Abelard spends his life in prison until he dies. How Oscar and Lola struggle with their own personal lives in the US while carrying their Dominican heritage is well depicted in the contemporary storyline. The vivid, dramatic stories of Beli and Abelard back in the DR are also fascinating.

Apart from the chapters on Lola, all the stories are narrated by Yunior who is a friend of the de Leon family and whose voice sounds very much like that of the author himself. Yunior is a somewhat unreliable and irresponsible narrator who sometimes takes liberties with ¡Èthe supposedly true account¡É of the lives of Oscar¡Çs family members. Or is he making up their stories on behalf of the author? Using such an unconventional narrator might be experimental, but I am not sure if I like this sort of literary device.

My other complaints about the book are:

The author ( or Yunior ) could have done a lot better with Oscar¡Çs last days in Santo Domingo. His unrequited love for a semiretired prostitute Ybon and his consequent death are unconvincing and even ridiculous.

There are Spanish or Spanglish words and phrases scattered throughout the book. Whatever the author¡Çs intention may be, this is frustrating if you are not well versed in the language. Also, a lot of fantasy/sci-fi references in the book might be a delight to the geeky insiders but not to the average reader.

On the other hand, I find Yunior¡Çs sarcastic and comical footnotes interesting. They provided me with some insightful background information on Trujillo and the DR under his dictatorship which I had no initial interest in.

To sum up, this is not exactly a masterpiece, but a well written book.

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Holly Golightly is perhaps one of the most fascinating characters of modern American fiction. At first glance, this Manhattan party girl leads a carefree life going against all social norms and is surrounded by her followers, most of whom are middle-aged men she picks up at bars. These men are her only source of income. She is a ¡Èlopsided romantic¡É forever dreaming of a more exciting, glamorous lifestyle. However, as the story proceeds, we learn that her flighty exterior conceals a complex character. Deep down inside, she is struggling to find a place she can truly belong to, like Tiffany¡Çs where she feels secure and where nothing very bad could happen. She is like a wounded wild animal that needs to be rescued but can never be caged and tamed. In fact, she is a runaway child bride from rural Texas. When her husband comes up to New York to get her back, she refuses to return. Later she plans to marry a Brazilian diplomat, but is mercilessly dumped when she is arrested for being unknowingly involved in drug smuggling. In spite of all these misfortunes, she tries to make the best of things and leaves New York for Brazil in search of a new life, but it is hard to imagine her ever finding her ¡ÈTiffany¡Çs¡É and settling down. 

Unlike the Audrey Hepburn movie which is a love romance, this novella is a character study of a wandering, enigmatic girl. The story is narrated in the first person by Holly¡Çs upstairs neighbor she befriends. He is a writer or a would-be writer with no name whom Holly calls ¡ÈFred¡É after her beloved brother. ¡ÈFred¡É is what is called the ¡ÈCapote narrator¡É who takes part in the storyline getting as close to his object as possible, but remains an observant outsider throughout the book. This makes the narrator¡Çs relationship with Holly unique. It never develops into love between man and woman but remains a close friendship based on sexual neutrality, which reflects Capote¡Çs sexual orientation – he was gay but had a strong nonsexual attachment to the opposite sex. Holly who sometimes seems naïve and vulnerable but other times experienced and vivacious is depicted so vividly that we can¡Çt help but wonder where she is and what she is doing now. A brilliant read. 

This edition also includes Capote¡Çs three short stories. House of Flowers tells a story of a girl who was once a prostitute but finds true love. A Diamond Guitar is about a life sentenced prisoner who becomes a friend of a young new inmate. Eventually he is betrayed by his young friend but cherishes bittersweet memories of the friend who brought him a longing for the outside world he will never go back to. I was deeply impressed by this poignant story when I first read it in college. A Christmas Memory is also an unforgettable story evoking pathos and childhood nostalgia. It is a young boy¡Çs recollection of his friendship with his much older cousin. A bit too sentimental for my taste but still very touching. 

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This book deals with racial issues in 1930s Alabama. In the fictional town of Maycomb, Tom Robinson, a black man who is falsely accused of raping a white woman is put on trial. Atticus Finch, a white lawyer assigned to the case heroically defends the accused, but Tom is declared guilty by the white jury, which was common in those days in the Deep South where blacks had hardly ever had a jury find in their favor.

The story is narrated from the perspective of a young girl, Scout, who is Atticus¡Çs daughter. Through her innocent, childlike eyes, which sometimes overlap with the eyes of an adult looking back on her childhood, the Maycomb community¡Çs racial and social prejudices are revealed. When Atticus is appointed to defend Tom, the whole town expresses hostility towards the Finch family. The townspeople discriminate not only blacks but also those who are different from themselves. The Radleys, for example, are treated as outcasts for not going to church like the others. Their son Boo, who seems to have a mental disorder, is regarded as the town¡Çs bogeyman. Burning with curiosity, Scout, her brother Jem, and their friend Dill try to take a peek at the spooky Boo, who is kept inside the house, without success. When Scout and Jem are attacked by Bob Ewell who incriminated Tom for raping his daughter, Boo comes to rescue the siblings.

The book¡Çs message is easy to understand but comes across as rather preachy. The novel lacks the subtlety and multidimensional characterization often associated with great literature. The characters are portrayed as being either stereotypically good or evil. Atticus is the perfect man with a strong sense of justice. Tom is a mockingbird – an innocent victim of a racist white society, and the Ewells are evil white trash. The complexity of human nature is never really explored in the novel. ( In my humble opinion, true evil lies in those who know what is right and wrong but are willing to let others do what they are too afraid to do themselves. )

Nonetheless, the book is well worth reading because of the powerful description of the world around the narrator. This incredibly precocious girl compellingly tells us about her family life, her neighbors, her summers spent with Jem and Dill, and the whole town affected by the trial, bringing Maycomb, Alabama to life. At the same time, she shows us how she is growing up while being confronted with injustice. Although the story is about what life in the South was like back then in the 30s, it does not feel dated because of its timeless, universal themes of childhood innocence and the harsh realities of life children must come to terms with. This is a book for everyone, both young and old.

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Set in early 1950s Vietnam during the decline of French colonial occupation, the story starts with Fowler, the narrator, telling us about the murder of Pyle, his young American friend. Fowler is a world-weary, middle-aged British war correspondent, content with his opium pipe and his young Vietnamese mistress Phuong. His stance as a journalist is neutral – just reporting the facts and not getting involved. Then comes Pyle, a naïve, patriotic ideologue who is supposedly on humanitarian mission to aid the war stricken citizens of Vietnam. Fowler¡Çs seemingly peaceful life is shattered when Pyle falls in love with Phuong and takes her away from him with a marriage proposal. His admiration for Pyle¡Çs youth and seriousness that he has lost long before turns into hatred. Later Fowler learns that Pyle is an undercover operative trying to establish a ¡ÈThird Force¡É that will fight against Communism. His hatred for Pyle grows stronger when innocent civilians are killed in a terrorist act Pyle is involved in. Fowler finally abandons his neutrality and takes deadly action.

On one level the book can be read as Greene¡Çs criticism of what cynical Fowler defines as ¡ÈAmerican innocence¡É epitomized in the person of Pyle. Pyle naively believes all his deeds are done with good intentions, never realizing their disastrous consequences. ¡ÈI never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused (p.52)," says Fowler. When many Vietnamese civilians including children are killed in a badly timed bombing, Pyle justifies himself with blind faith in his pureness of motive. ¡ÈIt was a pity, but you can¡Çt always hit your target. Anyway they died in the right cause¡Ä.they died for democracy (p.171)."  ¡ÈYou can¡Çt blame the innocent,¡É says Fowler, ¡Èthey are always guiltless. All you can do is control them or eliminate them. Innocence is a kind of insanity (p.155)."  So, Fowler eliminates this political fanatic. Considering the fact that the book was published in 1955, this is a prophetic work on America¡Çs further involvement in the country which ended in total disaster.

Greene¡Çs insight into human vulnerability and sinfulness is fascinating. The plot with twists and turns reads like an excellent thriller. Highly recommended.   

Published by the Penguin Group

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