2018- July Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of Pilgrimage by Murakami

My Notes:
Japanese story about one of five teenagers, who after going to college in a different town, is rejected by the other four. Sixteen years later in another relationship, he needs to delve into why he was rejected, so contacts the otehr four, even travels to Finland to see one. When your life is repetitive and monotonous, it can seem colourless. The only colour in his life is his design work, of which he is proud.

2018-May The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota

Shortlisted for Man Booker Prize 2015

He describes the experiences of 3 Punjabi men who move to the UK from their home area of India.

Two are illegal immigrants and the third has entered legally having married a British born Sikh. As the book unfolds we follow the back stories of each of the men.

Tochi – Tarlochan Kumar is an ‘untouchable’. Living in extreme poverty, he managed to save enough to get a rickshaw taxi and was beginning to build up a clientele when his family were killed in a massacre and he was badly burned.

P15 - He was dark, much darker than Randeep, and shorter but he looked strong. The tendons in his neck stood out.

A number of Biharis try to hide their caste identity either by not mentioning the surname or by using the surname "Kumar",. The surname "Kumar" hardly denotes any caste in Bihar.

He flees the memories of his life in India

Randeep came from a well off family.. His father had suffered depression which caused him to lose his job and pension and then committed suicide leaving the family in straitened circumstances. Randeep had tried to support them having abandoned his studies at an expensive private school. He had met a girl whom he loved – Jaytha – but following an incident of near rape he had to leave the college.

He eventually marries Narinder whom he has met whilst she visited the Punjab for religious charitable reasons. (She too is a runaway from the oppressive rules that govern her life with her strictly religious father and brother following the death of her mother) It is agreed that they will divorce after 12 months once he is in UK.

Avtar came to England on a student visa and although he enrolled in a course he had no means of financial support and was not legally allowed to work so like the other two ended up working on slave time conditions below the radar of the English system.

They work for some ‘employers who are relatively kind and fair and for others who are exploitative. Mainly they are with other Punjabis and look out for each other but each is alert to chances for himself alone and this leads to some disharmony and violence. In addition Ranjeep and his wife are is subject to periodic immigration checks.

We found this a very complex book – made difficult by the frequent use of unexplained Punjabi words and phrases. As well as many references to aspects of Sikhism. A glossary would have been welcomed. Added to this was the constant movement between the present and the past of the 4 main characters. There is added complexity in that Ranjeep’s former girlfriend turns out to be Avtar’s sister.

Nevertheless the characters are well drawn and there are clear stories running through once you disentangle them. The situations too, though outside our own experiences and sometimes understanding also seem to be realistic and much of the book is beautifully written ( aside from the Punjabi vocab!)

There were some very shocking and emotive scenes – the massacre of Tochi’s family; and Randeep finding his father hanging. We also found the oppressive treatment of Narinder especially by her brother contrary to our own cultural norms.

Some of the scenes relating to their working conditions in UK were also shocking – virtual slavery. And certainly little better than the dire poverty which Tochi has run away from.

We also found the epilogue to be something of a dislocated add on.

The group’s opinions ranged widely scoring 4 to 8 with an average of 6

2018-April - Mistresses of Cliveden by Natalie Livingstone

Mistresses of Cliveden by Natalie Livingstone

The author is the current owner of Cliveden House, now a hotel. The grounds have been sold to the National Trust. The Duchess of Sussex spent the night there before her marriage in 2018.

Amount of text per person gets fatter as you progress but I thought it was a knowledge dump at the beginning then more... Many books are this way, but of course if you are researching a topic you find out everything that you can and make notes and then put them into context. Then when you have finished you can you edit the story into a reasonable tale, which didn't happen in this case. It was commented that we seem to know a great deal about the life and times of some of these people considering that it was 300 years ago. The story of each woman would make a book by itself.

Some of us were only able to read it in bits. MM said that when she realised that she had a week to read 500 pages, she had to sit down and make sure that she read 70 pages a day. Both MM and LS ended up 'skim' reading it. PM didn't finish it, and LW didn't have time to read it with the current complexities of her life. Of those that did finish it, they marked it as an 8.

It was not an easy read, but we learnt a lot.  The book flowed well and gave a good picture of the times and people.The making of connections between generations was done very well. Using George Bernard Shaw was a good example of this.

Here are some comments from the discussion:

Love the descriptions of Buckingham

Cliveden burnt down twice, but the first mistress never dot to see it or live there. 

Elisabeth (Mistress of William of Orange) didn't stick in memory

Mothers kept getting pregnant, then children looked after by wet nurses until time to send them to boarding school, so mothers didn't see much of their children.

Augusta (1792) wrote to american women about slavery. There was a recent television program about slavery where this was mentioned(?)

The Sutherland family was terrible to crofters. Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland also featured in the TV series 'Victoria' as Albert's brother fancied her.

Nancy Astor had five children. Her quotations were quite fascinating. She had a kind and tolerant husband.

- idea of labour push for social care, but the wealthy had an obligation to do it at will: ref Sunlight, Saltaire, quakers(Clarks)

Nancy Astors servant Rose also wrote a memoir.

There was a bit of discussion about Nancy Astor and the Christian Science cult.

A key role noted in the book was Mistress of the Robes. It must have been very hard work. (Which Mistress was this?)

MS and MM liked Lady Astor the least of the women.

A good review is at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mistresses-of-cliveden-natalie-livingstone/1122678878#/

2018-March At the Edge of the Orchard

At The Edge of The Orchard  - Tracy Chevalier

It cetainly kept me reading. From a family trying to settle in the mud swamps of Ohio and grow apple trees, The son Robert falls out and leaves, heading west. After a few adventures he gets involved collecting tree specimens for Engllish collectors, and this becomes his living, until his pregnant sister finds him, and his occasional lover turns up pregnant, and his boss is unwell. He ends up taking his family exploring even further as they embark for England to protect and plant the trees that he has collected. I see an allegory of going beyond the edge of the orchard as he has done this once when he left home and went west into the unknown, and now he is venturing into his unknown again. Robert is a caring man, even if he doesn't know it. I liked  how it showed the passing of time in the letters from Robert to his family, and how he learned to write and improve his english, because of course in the swamps with his family he wasn't ediucated at all. Mark - 9

This tale is initially set in the US state of Ohio and features the dysfunctional Goodenough family who have migrated from New England when the family farm is unable to support all of its sons and their families.

James - the father is a grower of apples and especially wants to grow eating apples. His wife Sadie prefers cider apples and their product. They bicker constantly over this as James strives to cultivate his land allocation (50 trees in the first 3 years) She is an unpleasant character and uncaring mother to her surviving children Sal, Caleb, Nathan, Robert, Martha . We learn that she has borne 10 children but many have died of swamp fever – Patty, Mary Ann, Jimmy, Tom.

Most of the new apples are supplied by John Chapman who travels the area in a canoe laden with trees. Sadie a drunk and woman of easy virtue sets her cap at him but he is more interested in selling his trees.

During one of their violent arguments James and Sadie kill each other and Robert runs away westward taking a variety of jobs until eventually he meets and hooks up with a tree collector in California who makes a living sending sequoias and giant redwoods back to estates in the UK.

After many years and a failed correspondence with his family Robert is found by his sister who is pregnant following an incestuous rape by her brother Caleb. (She had already miscarried a child fathered by an abusive neighbour Mr Day after his wife’s death.

Sadly Martha dies following the birth of her baby boy just days after finding Robert. He meanwhile is being pursued by a pregnant former prostitute Molly who implies that he has fathered the baby girl she bears. Robert and Molly end up together with the 2 babies Jimmy and Sarah and we leave them sailing off to England with a load of trees

I enjoyed reading this story and found the descriptions of the Ohio farm and the family characters very convincing. The additional characters were also well described – John Chapman, Mrs Day, Nancy and Billie Lapham, William Lobb and Mrs Bienenstock the landlady. The author draws a compelling picture of the hard lives of the pioneers both in Ohio and further west in Texas and California. Less an American dream for many and more a day to day nightmare.

It is possible to have some sympathy for Sadie living in the conditions she does and watching her children die one by one. And her husband is a bit obsessed by his trees – I couldn’t help thinking it might have been a good idea to diversify a bit more.

It was also interesting to learn about the grafting of the apple trees ( although I was ready to leave the edge of the orchard by the time Robert did!) and to find out about the trade in Californian trees back to the UK. (I lived near the Veitch nurseries in Devon)

I felt sad that Martha died after all that had happened to her – but I wonder what would have happened between Robert and Molly had she lived? Did Robert settle for Molly as a matter of convenience to provide for Martha’s son?

My score: 8

In the documentation at the end of the book it explains that John Chapman was teh Johnny Appleseed of American legend. 

2018-February The Trumpet Major by Thomas Hardy

The Trumpet Major

The Miller has two sons, One a Trumpet Major and one a Sailor. The local Landowner has one son Festus a bit of a ne'er do well. All fancy their chances with Anne Loveday who rents part of the Millers house. She falls for Bob the sailor from a young age, and then seems to vary between John the Trumpet-Major and Bob. She doesn't like Festus. Bob meantime nearly marries an actress in Portsmouth. John is a placewarmer back home trying to keep Anne keen on Bob but meanwhile their relationship is developing. Eventually the landowner dies and leaves her his land, except for a bit that goes to Festus. In the last chapter Festus marries the Actress, as much to spite John as anything, Anne has put Bob on 6 months notice, and the Trumpet Major goes off to the Peninsular wars and is killed. 

The book is slow but gets faster as it develops, then comes to a surge and an end. There are some lovely humorous sections.    Mark -9

2017- December- The Harry Quebert Affair, and November - White Tiger

The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair  - Joel Dicker

Originally written in French. Interesting that the chapters are numbered backwards in line with how Harry taught his pupil, Marcus Goldman (who story this is) the rules of writing. It is about who did kill Nola Kerrigan, a disturbed girl who had a thing for Harry (34) when she was 15 in the small town of Somerset, Maine. Harry is in prison 30 years later, the body of Nola discovered buried in his back garden. Marcus is living in his house while he tries to work on a second novel. Harry releases his story of Nola and him to Marcus piecemeal as Marcus visits him, and Marcus and a policeman discover who really did kill Nola. 

After about 280 pages I jumped to the endgame chapters and got the wrap-up. Margaret had persevered through the whole book. It made sense at the time. The story is very complex, and rambled on a bit. 

It was very well written and constructed. there are good visualisations of places, and the tips on how to write were interesting. 

There is a wonderful portrayal of a Jewish  mother in Mrs. Goldman, only interested in finding a nice girl for her son.  
Average Mark = 7

--------------

White Tiger  - Aravind Adiga

Does Liz know about this?  It would upset her I think.
The protagonist is a thief and a murderer who justifies  these things as he is an 'entrepreneur'.  There was grudging admiration for the way that he pulled himself up in the world. 
The book is written as a series of letters to a chinaman. 
The Caste system held him back. The book caused a storm in India about the corruption, but our readers who have visited India thought it was a true portrayal

We have read it but not enjoyed it. Linda just finished it before we all arrived and couldn't remember it.  Mary couldn't remember anything about it. 

Marks: 7 6 5 7 = 6

2018- January - Life Class - Pat Barker

In April 2014 we read 'Toby's Room' by the same author. The same people feature here. This is what I wrote about that book:

A grim book about injuries to soldiers in WW1. I will remember it. The best part is the descriptions of the scenery. It should just be called 'Toby'. Toby and Elinor are siblings. Toby was a twin and Elinor in some respects replaces the twin that died. She is an artist and the people in the story are artists - Paul, Catherine and Neville. Elinor ends up working in a hospital drawing the mutilated faces of soldiers along with Professor Tonks. The whole book is about Elinor's search to find the truth about Toby's death. She discovers that Toby was queer and died to avoid humiliation. I didn't like the slipping from one scene to another within a paragraph - clever perhaps, but disconcerting. Marks - 7? downgrade due to unnecessary homosexuality.

Life Class precedes Toby's Room.

Now that I have finished it I don't know what to think of it. For the first half I was thinking that I had already read it as it was so much like Toby's room with the artists and Tonks.  Then It is about Paul working as a nurse in France and his life there, and his relationship with Elinor. Is it supposed to be investigating what love is? It ends somewhat abruptly with nothing decided about Paul's future. 
It was well written and flowed well. The descriptions were very vivid.
Mark: 5



Maggies Review:

Life Class - Pat Barker

Feb 2018

This novel revisits the period of WW1 and centres around 3 students, who at the outbreak of war are studying (or have recently studied) at the Slade School of Art. One of the married life models – Teresa- also features in an intense but short lived affair with Paul, (who eventually recognises his feelings for Elinor just as he leaves for the front as a ward orderly - having been rejected for military service on health grounds).

Elinor is from a well-to- do family, as is Kit Neville a talented war artist, who declares his unrequited love for her. Paul is from a more humble background pursuing his artistic ‘dream’ in an attempt to escape his working class northern coal-mining background.

The other significant relationships are between Elinor and her friend Catherine who is of German Jewish descent. As soon as the war begins her father is interned. Through this we learn of the plight of both Jews and Germans at this time.

Through Paul’s work as a ward orderly and ambulance driver we learn much of the conditions at Ypres with some graphic description of death and horrific injuries inflicted on the young men involved. We also see this through the eyes of the ill fated Quaker lad Lewis who works with Paul at Ypres.

I very much enjoyed reading this – it made me want to revisit Toby’s Room by the same author which describes the same period with a focus on Elinor’s brother Toby.

There are some beautifully evocative descriptions :

Challenged, Paul let himself fall backwards into the murky depths. All around him now were white struggling legs. Neville swam towards him, arms sheathed in silver bubbles, hair floating from side to side as he twisted and turned. P45

As well as those which really shock - particularly the description of the shelling of the supply chain and ambulance convey as they move to the front and the subsequent journey of the injure including Lewis back to the hospital.

At no point did I feel that Elinor really cared deeply for Paul. She is portrayed as having only one real love in her life which is her Art – persisting in enquiring about Paul’s ‘work’ meaning his painting when in fact he is worked into the ground tending the awful injuries of the fallen. Not even the shelling of the Belgian town when she is visiting Paul really seems to give her any true understanding of what is happening.

The letters between Paul and Elinor provide a useful device to convey the horrors of the trenches and the Front at Ypres. But we also see from these how little Elinor allows the situation to impinge on her. She doesn’t even respond to Paul’s epistles in a timely manner. Let alone knit socks or wind bandages! As a result I found myself rather annoyed by her self- centredness. It made me wonder how many other people at that time would have tried to ignore the war in this way.

All in all I found this a compelling read – descriptions that brought people and places alive and some believable characters struggling with the events of the time.

My score : 9