TITLE: TREE SURGERY FOR BEGINNERS

AUTHOR: Patrick Gale

DATE PUBLISHED: 1998

DATE READ: April 2008

NOTES: The story moves at a fast pace and is a very easy read. Lawrence’s wife leaves him, taking their young child, Lucy, following a violent quarrel. He is suspected of her murder and much is made of the case in the newspapers. But he is exonerated when she appears a few weeks later having been with an American she has befriended. After an intriguing beginning the book went downhill for me after that with too many wild coincidences and strange secrets. For instance he meets an American woman when he is working at a holiday complex in California and they are drawn to each other in a platonic way – surprise, surprise, it turns out that when Lawrence’s mother gave birth to him (illegitimately) he was a twin and the girl was given up for adoption.

And his father-in-law turned out to be a murderer….

All a bit of a disappointment after the previous two books I read by Patrick Gale.

TITLE: HOWARDS END

AUTHOR: E M Forster

DATE PUBLISHED: 1910

DATE READ: April 2008
NOTES: A stunning read brimful with ideas and wonderful characters. Forster is very perceptive about class issues of the day and the place of money in society. Margaret says “few of us ……admit that independent thoughts are in nine cases out of ten the result of independent means”. The three families in the book represent different strata of society in Edwardian England. The Schlegels are intellectual, altruistic and middle-class, and interested in the arts and politics. The Wilcoxes are rich and money and property all important to their well-being. The Basts are working class and struggle financially and emotionally.
At the heart of the book is Howards End – the house that Mrs Wilcox inherited and wishes to bequeath to Margaret Schlegel. It plays an important symbolic role in the story – contrasting the idea of “home” and “house” (or prose and poetry).
Forster makes some interesting social comments that are still relevant a century later – the polluting role of the motor car in society, urban sprawl and the place of women.
A wonderful book that remains a classic.

TITLE: THE HISTORIAN

AUTHOR: Elizabeth Kostova

DATE PUBLISHED: 2005

DATE READ: April 2008

NOTES: A re-working of the Dracula myth in a 20th century setting. Told through three narrators: Professor Rossi, Paul, his student and an unnamed sixteen year old girl who is Paul’s daughter. It is very intriguing at the beginning of the book but I soon got bogged down with all the detail that was included in this huge book. The author obviously did lots of research but was unable to discard any of it as being superfluous. We were also given lots in information that we really didn’t need to know – such as a description of every interior and of every meal eaten. This all slowed down the narrative and made the book very unwieldy.

The three narrators were not differentiated – all had a similar “voice”. But we do lots of travelling in the course of the 700 pages: USA, Oxford, Istanbul, Bulgaria, Hungary, France….. For gothic novel it lacked any real feelings of horror or evil. She attempted to link the powers of Dracula with Stalin and other East European leaders but this was all a bit feeble. Found I was turning the pages because I wanted to get to the end, not because I was desperate to find out what happened.

TITLE: A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY

AUTHOR: J L Carr

DATE PUBLISHED: 1980

DATE READ: March 2008 (re-reading)

NOTES: Tom Birkin arrives in the Yorkshire village of Oxgodby to work on restoring a mural in the church. He meets and befriends Charles Moon who is doing archaeological work nearby. Both are damaged as a result of the war and quickly find solace in each other’s company. As Birkin uncovers the wall painting of The Judgement he is intrigued by the figures being consigned to hell – and one in particular. Moon meanwhile is finding the remains of a Saxon village while ostensibly looking for the grave of an ancestor of the local landowner.

At one level not very much happens – no sex, no violence, no cataclysmic revelations. But at another level this little book (only 100 odd pages) overflows with small incidents, ideas and some fantastic characters. Who could fail to admire the feisty Kathy Ellerbeck? Or fail to despair at the sad, cold Reverend Keach?

A lovely book about the healing power of friendship, love and the English countryside.

TITLE: THE WELSH GIRL

AUTHOR: Peter Ho Davies

DATE PUBLISHED: 2007

DATE READ: March 2008

NOTES: The story is set in the final month of WW2. There are three main threads to the story. Rotheram, a German refugee, assists British Intelligence by interviewing POWs, a young patriotic German soldier, Karsten, who surrenders in Northern France and Esther, the teenage daughter of a shepherd. All the threads come together in a small North Wales community.

At its heart is Esther, whose mother has died. She has few females to identify with or to be friends with and finds herself confused by the males that she comes into contact with. Rhys, a school friend, is attracted to her but she has rejected him and as a result he joined the army. She is attracted to Colin, a soldier based locally, but he only has a short term relationship in mind. She is intrigued by Karsten and becomes attracted to him.

The book is well researched and beautifully written and the story flows well. Many themes are explored – patriotism, nationalism, racism, identity – but none are laboured. Another recurring theme is the sense of belonging - “cynefin” – passed down through the maternal line of sheep.

The introduction of Rudolf Hess as a character worked well. He is portrayed as clever, cunning and manipulative.

As well as being very atmospheric The Welsh Girl is a riveting page-turning story.

TITLE: QUARANTINE

AUTHOR: Jim Crace

DATE PUBLISHED: 1997

DATE READ: March 2008

NOTES: Four people enter the wilderness in Judea to take part in time of fasting and prayer – Aphas, an old Jew with a cancerous growth, Marta, an infertile woman, Shim, a Greek seeking enlightenment and a primitive wild man from a far-off tribe. Hardly noticed by them is a young Galilean – Jesus.

Already nearby are the despicable merchant Musa and his gentle wife Miri. Musa has been left to die from the fever by the rest of his family and Miri is secretly glad that she will be rid of such a cruel husband. But Musa has a half waking dream that the Galilean enters his tent and touches him and when he awakes he realises that he will not die and is well enough to get up. Jesus has nothing more to do with the others but his presence is felt by all of them.

Crace evokes an amazing picture of this disparate group of people surviving in the desert two thousand years ago. He doesn’t attempt to offer us any rational explanations as to how Jesus survived (or not) in the desert. But through the other character we are able to see how the cult of Jesus was able to arise through story-telling.

Musa was such a brute that he deserved a long and suffering end (whoops, a very un-Christian thought!) Although this doesn’t happen the ending us positive and uplifting.

A beautifully crafted book.

TITLE: JACK MAGGS

AUTHOR: Peter Carey

DATE PUBLISHED: 1997

DATE READ: February 2008

NOTES: The story is set in 19th century London. Jack Maggs is told with great verve and has echoes throughout of Dickensian writing. There are obviously some deliberate parallels – Jack Maggs = Magwitch Tobias Oates = Dickens Henry Phipps = Philip Pirrip and Silas = Fagin.

Tobias the writer comes over as egocentric and self-serving – in no way a heroic figure. This is a refreshing change as writers in novels are so often portrayed as noble and sensitive beings.

Jack is desperate to find his “son” who helped him when he was a prisoner in chains. The “son” Phipps fears being found as he thinks he will lose his house (owned by Maggs) and wants nothing to do with his benefactor.

As a felon Maggs should not be in England but it is not in the interests of the main characters to have him arrested as they could be accused of harbouring him. Phipps would lose the house if Maggs is arrested – but not if he is dead…… It all moves at a cracking pace with superb descriptions of London at the time. I would have liked more of the relationship (i.e. a conversation) between Maggs and Phipps – a minor quibble.