The Family Reunion

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Yesterday evening I was in London, possibly the first time I’ve gone up ‘for the evening’ in a cosmopolitan sort of way, to see ‘The Family Reunion‘ by T. S. Eliot. It’s being performed at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, which is in a very nice little area of London called Seven Dials. Agatha Christie aficianadoes – I’m looking at you, Colin – might be able to tell me if there’s any connection with The Seven Dials Mystery? If I ever had to live in London, that’s where I’d like to live. I imagine a day’s rent is more than I could earn in a year.

Why did I want to see the play? No literary reasons at all, I’m afraid – it was the cast. Does that make me strange? Mel suggests it does. But no matter – it was quite an exceptional line-up: Penelope Wilton, Sam West, Gemma Jones, Una Stubbs. I daresay the others deserve their names in lights, but it was for these four (in that order) that I was excited. Most especially Penelope Wilton – in fact, I found the play by Googling her name. She’s wonderful in Iris and Calendar Girls and Pride and Prejudice and everything, probably, but the main reason I wanted to see her was because of The Borrowers. This was one of the programmes we grew up watching, and it felt surreal to have one of the stars mere feet away from me. Even more surreal when Homily Clock (aka Penelope Wilton) started having a conversation with Prince Caspian (aka Sam West).

I should probably mention the play itself… a mother and aunts and uncles are gathered for the homecoming of Harry, who hasn’t been to their grand house for eight years. In the interrim Something Has Happened to him, involving his much disliked wife, and it’s had all sorts of effects on Harry. That’s about as much concrete plot as I could grasp – much of the play focuses on the relations between relatives and mindsets, and leads into a curious philosophical staging which might be summed up as ‘there’s more to life than there seems’. I don’t know if T.S. Eliot was a Christian when he wrote ‘The Family Reunion’, but it seems very much the work of someone who is starting on the path – realises there is more to life than meets the eye, and wants to explore it. Occasional bursts of humour, mostly provided by Una Stubbs, and some rather creepy boy apparitions (who at one point appear behind a door in an instant; no idea how they did that), and another effect which I found wonderful. Quite often four members of the cast would suddenly move together and speak in unison, Greek Chorus-like, revealing their shared psychologies. Could have been affected, but instead worked very well.

This might all have been a bit of a babble: difficult to make plain what I thought about such a complex play. I must read it. I’ll finish, instead, with some more celebrity-spotting – we were followed into the theatre by Celia Imrie! (Maybe there to see Calendar Girls co-star Penelope Wilton?)

Must-Read-Very-Soon pile

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As promised, the Must-Read-Very-Soon pile in its entirety – brace yourself, there are quite a few (hence yes, Mel, I did mean 2009!) but they’re all books which elevate themselves out of the ‘to be read’ pile into a state of reading urgency. Having said that, most of them have been there for four months already… I’ll read this post in December 2009 and let you know how many have been read.

Let’s look at the big shelf in closer detail, left to right… if anything sparks your interest or – even better – if you’ve read them, do comment.

The Paris Review Interviews vol.1 and vol.2
– these have been mentioned on Stuck-in-a-Book before, and I’ve read bits and pieces. Interviews with the Great and the Good of literature – in depth, insightful, invaluable. And the third volume is out…

Beyond Sing The Woods by Trygve Gulbranssen
– in my sporadic, but heartfelt, interest in Scandinavian literature, I bought this novel after seeing it mentioned in the comments on Danielle’s blog.

Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner and When We Were Very Young by AA Milne
– I haven’t read these for six or seven years, and that must be rectified soon. Plus, the rather beautiful copy of WWWVY was given to me by my dear friend Mel.

London 1945: Life in the Debris of War by Maureen Waller
– I’ve not read much about *just* postwar, either fact or fiction, and this came recommended by several Persephone Books lovers – so can’t go far wrong.

The Haunted Bookshop and Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
– These came from Danielle in exchange for Miss Hargreaves… and they’re still not read by me. BUT they’re on the priority shelf, so watch this space…

A House of Air by Penelope Fitzgerald
As championed by Lynne ‘dovegreyreader’ Hatwell, a collection of Fitzgerald’s reviews and introductions and essays etc. etc. Started a while ago, but it’s been sidelined to this shelf until I’m in a Fitzgerald mood.

The Feminine Middlebrow Novel by Nicola Humble
– This invaluable guide to everything middlebrow I have read, but think I should re-read before I start my dissertation. More on it here.

They Came Like Swallows by William Maxwell
– Cornflower Book Group choice ages ago, sounded brilliant, Karen very sweetly sent me a copy… I will read it soon! Pop over to the Cornflower Book Group and see what was said about it then.

A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft
– I started this after reading Janet Todd’s rather wonderful biography of Mary’s daughter Fanny, and the whole Wollstonecraft/Shelley clan… found Vindication a little dry, but intend to persevere.

The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton
– The aforementioned Mel lent this to me in September…

A Man Like Any Other by Mary Cavanagh
– I reviewed Mary’s debut novel The Crowded Bed, and she subsequently became a friend whom I’ve seen quite a few times, as she’s an Oxfordshire writer. This one is definitely a must read, and is probably no.1 priority on the Must Read shelf.

Oxford by Jan Morris
– Our Vicar gave me this when I went to university… I will read it soon, I will! Now that I’m not an undergraduate, I’m starting to get tourists’-curiosity…

Can Any Mother Help Me? by Jenna Bailey
-In 1935 a lonely young mother wrote to Nursery World asking for advice on how to occupy her literate and lively mind without costing money. She struck a chord; a group started a private magazine. This non-fiction book is all about that – utterly irresistible.

Slave of Christ by Murray J. Harris
-Always a theological book or twelve waiting in the offing, and the idea of being a slave of Christ is one I want to explore and investigate.
The next one is my dovegreybooks postal book, so don’t look too closely if you’re in that group…. in fact, I won’t even mention it. Squint, and move onto the next one.

The Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield
-Yes, of course I’ve read these four books – it’s in the 50 Books… – but they’re always due a re-read.

The Haunted Woman by David Lindsay
-Same applies…

I Follow But Myself by Frank Baker
-the autobiography of the man behind Miss Hargreaves – more precisely, a book of character sketches of important people in his life. Includes Edward Garnett – Virginia Woolf’s sister’s daughter’s husband’s father!

Mhudi by Sol T. Plaatje
-Just read this South African novel, actually, for my Empire & Nation class; I’ll be posting it back to Nichola soon, who kindly lent it to me.

Mrs. Woolf and the Servants by Alison Light
-My friend Clare gave me this as a leaving present from the Bodleian, and it’s absolutely perfect for me, of course. Soon, soon…

Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
-I’d never heard of this, but my book group friend Louie was absolutely certain that I’d love the novel, and it all looks very promising!
Gosh. See the challenge I have ahead of me? Certainly not put off my books – just writing this has made me want to read every single one of them. But I must write my extended essay… I must. Oh dear, I’m slipping already…

Crunchy Books

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Julie, in the dovegreybooks Yahoo Group so many of my bookish suggestions come from, emailed a link to this article today, about tbr (to-be-read) piles, and the Credit Crunch Beating tactic of reading books already on the shelves, rather than buying new ones. Or rather, his article was all about the difficulty of doing this. The article has a veritable plethora of links to other relevant blogs and articles, and I’m adding another link to the chain – but do go and read what Sam Jordison wrote; it might strike a chord.

This has come up recently. I know some regular Stuck-in-a-Book readers are noble folk who don’t buy in haste, use libraries, read books on the bookcase before heading to the local bookshop. More of us, perhaps, are inveterate book buyers.

Now, (Ooo, semi-political tone alert) I don’t really think the Credit Crunch is *quite* as world-shaking as the newspapers would have us believe. The very rich are getting slightly less rich; the rest of us have to pay more for petrol and pasta, apparently, but it’s not 1929 and I’m still going to buy books. What Jordison, and Bookninja who inspired the article, have trouble with is not wanting to read the books on their bookshelf. Sometimes not with the best of reasons… I quote:

As I scanned my shelves, I found I had convincing arguments why I shouldn’t read each one of the orphans — or convincing to me anyway. I rejected a book called “English, August,” by Upamanyu Chatterjee because it is, after all, November. No to “The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists” by Robert Tressell because the book jacket says it’s about “the desperate lives of working people.” No to “The Unconsoled” by Kazuo Ishiguro because I heard it wasn’t nearly as good as “Remains of the Day” or “Never Let Me Go.”

Not the problem, here. I really, really want to read so many of my books. Time is the thing. And having to read books for Book Groups or university or… or…

Shall we take a little look at my Must Read Very Soon shelf? It’s a step above the To Be Read pile, which currently stands at about 500 books or so. I think I’ll talk you through it tomorrow… the books I should have read before the end of 2009, we’ll call it, for that is as urgent as things can get in the book-filled mania of my reading life.

Oddities

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It’s been a little while since I finished a book, after quite a run of reviews and whatnot, so I’m going to have to satisfy myself (and, I’m afraid, my readers) with little puzzles instead.

Here’s a tricky one. Can you get from Bertrand Russell to DH Lawrence in three steps? Fill in the gaps… and explain why. What japes.

B[ertrand Russell]
E
K
D[H Lawrence]

Oh, and all advent head over to www.dovegreyreader.typepad.com for lots and lots of book giveaways, 21 copies of The Reader in the latest draw!

Victors to their spoils

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Congratulations… Jane Eyre!
To be honest, I had a suspicion that the vote would swing that way. Jane Eyre received 23 votes, Wuthering Heights only 10, with a couple abstentions. This time my vote isn’t the deciding one, as it was to put Dickens over Hardy, but I still can’t come to a quick decision…

I suppose I should have phrased it differently. If I was asked which novel I favoured, it would be Jane Eyre. If I had to choose which novel I thought was better, it is unquestionably Wuthering Heights. In terms of writing ability, especially the way in which passion is presented, I think WH is one of the best novels I’ve ever read. But I hated it. Or, rather, I hated Heathcliff so much that I was unable to enjoy the novel – the book is filled with hatred and the powerful, passionate force it can have.

JE on the other hand… I confess I don’t know why it’s so popular. Good, yes, but… I couldn’t see anything more than good. Mr. Rochester is a man who (erm, spoiler ahead, for those who don’t know) tries to lie to marry illegally, keeps a wife imprisoned in the attic, dresses up as a gypsy to fool Jane… but at least he doesn’t go around hanging dogs. I know these novels have merits far and above their romantic aspects, but they are still renowned for those – will someone please explain to me what is remotely appealing about Heathcliff or Mr. Rochester?! Perhaps I’m destined not to understand…

I’m going to vote for secret option no.3 – Agnes Grey. If I’m forced to choose one of the other novels, I’ll pick Wuthering Heights – out of admiration rather than adoration.

Seasonal

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Here’s an odd question… is there a month or time of year in which you read more books than the rest of the year? And what reasons are there for that, if it’s true?

Looking back over the year, I’ve compiled this little league table of the number of books read per month…

17 – November
15 – July
14 – January
13 – August
13 – October
12 – March
11- April
11 – September
10 – February
10 – May
8 – June

Hmm… of course, book length comes into play – but I don’t think any month has been taken up with excessively long or excessively short books. And I have no explanation why I read twice as much in November as I did in June, so nothing interesting to add… except that May was my time of Reader’s Block, which accounts for it being near the bottom. Hmm… I’d be intrigued to hear if anyone has anything more valuable to contribute to this little question!

I’m in love.

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Yes, I’m in love. With a DVD. With, to be precise, Lost in Austen. I know, I know, I went on and on about how good this programme is back here, but that was when I’d only seen one episode… The Carbon Copy bought me the DVD for my birthday, I’ve watched it all again, and am having to be very stern with myself to restrain from watching it all over again straight away.


What’s not to love? Amanda Price, Pride and Prejudice addict, accidentally swaps places with Elizabeth Bennett. She has to try to keep the novel on course, coping with the differences caused by her presence, Lizzie’s absence, and some rather unexpected undercurrents to Jane Austen’s novel… and at the same time, of course, gets rather smitten with Mr. Darcy. It’s messing with Austen so I should hate it. But obviously I don’t. My utter delight in this TV series has dislodged prose-writing ability from my brain, and so I’ll give you some bullet points as to why Lost in Austen ought to be bought by you IMMEDIATELY. If it’s not available in the US and elsewhere, start a petition today.

It’s Jane Austen – which is an exceptionally good starting pointWith 21st Century life – so no forgetting-to-entertain-the-audience-because-we’re-fastening-our-bonnetsAnd Jemima Rooper – the lass playing Amanda Price is quite astonishingly likable, and not just because she was in the Famous FiveShe’s also a very funny actressA Real Person (just like you and me) gets to go to Longbourn. And Rosings. And Pemberley. It could happen to us…I would just say ‘Downtown’, but the clip wasn’t on the DVD, for copyright reasons… thankfully YouTube has it, so click here.There are so many treats for Austen fans. Look out for Amanda quoting Emma, and probably lots of others, and…… yes, there is *that* lake scene. The women reading will be wondering, I’m sure… and Amanda uses the word ‘postmodern’ to describe it, so you can all feel worthy and intellectual while pressing ‘rewind’ and ‘pause’ a lot.
Hugh Bonneville as Mr. Bennett. And his wonderful lines: “I must beg to be excused. Large gatherings of society make me break out in hives. As do small gatherings.”; “Mrs. Bennett and Lydia are currently in society. Society has enough to be getting on with.” And so many more.The best insult ever: “Damn you, Darcy, and damn every man who doesn’t stay up all night with a candle in his window daming you!”What happens if Mr. Bingley gets a crush on Amanda, instead of Jane? Think about it… think about it… who comes to visit and is put off marrying Jane because her mother suspects she will soon be, as it were, otherwise engaged?And wait ’til you hear Caroline Bingley’s secretThe adorable Perdita Weeks as Lydia – sister of equally adorable Honeysuckle Weeks. Yes, those are their real names.A genuinely moving romance. Should Darcy end up with Lizzie (as we’ve all been brought up to want) or new girl Amanda (whom we also now adore)? I lost sleep over this one.
The DVD has an excellent ‘Making of…’ feature, a whole hour of interesting interviews and soundbites from actors, producers, designers, cameramen, makeup artists… no writer interview, oddly… my favourite being the man painting the fence: “I don’t even know who’s in it. One of the other lads might be able to tell you that.”Oh, it’s all just delicious, silly, wonderful, delightful, intelligent fun – a hundred times better if you, like Amanda, like me, adore Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice. So perfect I want to have it on loop for the rest of the month, pausing only to watch Pride and Prejudice itself.

Miss Buncle’s Book

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One of the books I got for my birthday was a new Persephone – Miss Buncle’s Book by D. E. Stevenson. My lovely friend Lucy, who knows more about modern fiction than anyone else I know, gave it to me – so thank you Lucy! D. E. Stevenson is one of those authors whose name has been at the back of my mind, and on my shelves, for years – but never made it to actual reading. I have two or three already, but have been on the lookout for Miss Buncle’s Book for quite a while, as it is reportedly Stevenson’s best. The folks at Persephone Books obviously agree, and have made this hard-to-find title a lot easier to find. The premise is difficult to dislike – Barbara Buncle, a quiet, amiable lady in a quiet, amiable village decides to write a novel, and features all her neighbours in it under thinly disguised names. Luckily for her all the villagers seem to have surnames which are adjectives or nouns (Bold, King, Pretty) or with obvious associations (Fortnum/Mason; Dick/Turpin) and this all adds to the fun. The village all read the novel, and are scandalised at the accurate (and thus not always flattering) depiction of themselves – and are determined to root out the identity of ‘John Smith’, the alias Miss Buncle chose for herself.

A rather wonderful idea for a novel, which somehow doesn’t get too complicated, Miss Buncle’s Book would have been even better in the hands of Angela Thirkell, and a literary classic if E. M. Delafield had penned it. As it is, D. E. Stevenson’s writing isn’t quite as good as her ideas – a lot of cliches and unoriginal turns of phrase which prevent the novel from being in a higher league. Don’t misunderstand me, this is better than a lot of writing out there, but Persephone so often publish those whose writing is exceptional (perhaps my recent immersing in Katherine Mansfield has spoilt me for lesser writers, which is most of ’em) that I didn’t expect to have to be on cliche-watch.

Having said all that, Miss Buncle’s Book is still a delight. The characters are fun and the situation very amusing. She handles it all with liveliness and a healthy dollop of whimsy, and I would certainly recommend the novel wholeheartedly – it just doesn’t quite become the classic it could have been.

Putting bread and butter on the table

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You know that, even when you have hundreds of unread books, not a lot of spare cash, and no spare reading time – sometimes, even with these limitations, a book will make you buy it? Impossible-to-resist, head-straight-to-Amazon-to-buy sort of book? Well, my e-friend Lyn (from dovegreybooks Yahoo group, a source of many such books) mentioned one the other day, and, mere days later, it is in front of me.

It’s The Bread and Butter Stories by Mary Norton. For those who recognise the name but can’t think where, it’s probably because she is the author of The Borrowers, a back I’m shamefully never read, but indeed to do so soon. We grew up loving the TV series. I’ll tell you what Lyn wrote about it, not sure where it’s quoted from, perhaps the Virago website…

Reminiscent of Elizabeth von Arnim and Elizabeth Taylor, these 15 recently discovered short stories by the author of The Borrowers are wonderful period pieces about being an upper-middle class woman in the 1940s and early 50s. Many are reminiscent of Brief Encounter with their longings for adventure or romance to break the stifling constraints on their lives. Here are respectable conventional women settled into dull marriages finding themselves entertaining the notion of an affair while on holiday; a dowdy woman who suddenly decides to have her face done and take the £1.00 post-office savings and blow it on a fine hat. Then there are funny, satirical pieces: useful knowledge like how to cure cold feet at bedtime, a sideways look at acting for a television drama and a very entertaining and fascinating piece on writing for children which includes dialogue with an editor who wants short words and happy stories. Written with a wry and gentle humour, the collection makes for fascinating reading.

Doesn’t it sound wonderful? I’ve yet to read them, but it will only be a matter of time… Lyn did only mention the book four days ago, after all. I have read the Introduction by Mary Norton’s daughter – apparently Mary Norton called these stories ‘bread and butter stories’ because they put bread and butter on the table – written for magazines, but not published together until the 1990s when found in the attic… I’ll report back when I’m done, but I’m willing to bet at least one person will already be scrambling to Amazon or abebooks to get their hands on a copy!