This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson

-->

This Thing of Darkness – Harry Thompson

Venue: The Crown, Bathford

Date: Thursday 31st Jan 13.  We had a full turn out except for Richard, in India.

Ras's comments:

This was an easy and most enjoyable read that captured vividly the atmosphere of the early 19th century.  The story addressed some of the key issues about who we are, how we came about and our purpose on earth.  It also touches on the dilemma for the evolutionists about morality and social duties if it is just the survival of the fittest.  This developed in the minds of the supporters of eugenics/euthanasia – a terrifying prospect for the old or infirm and an everyday risk for the old natives in Tierra del Fuego.  The time jumps were not a problem as it was necessary to navigate through to the significant parts of the tale; these were numerous and colourful as well as following closely to the historical record.  There was much humour intermingled with the tragedy and cruelty.  A case in point is the comment after Darwin’s outburst when he denies the existence of God with the confusion of the less than effective butler who did not know whether to offer more cabbage or not.

Fitzroy was the most sympathetically treated and was clearly an outstanding leader, honest, straight, quick-witted, fair and farsighted.  His views on the rights of natives/indigenous people were 100 years ahead of his time and well ahead of the religious zealots and missionaries who stumbled their way across the world with bumbling ignorance and good, but wrong, intentions.  His hard line religious beliefs were not uncommon for the mid 19th century even if they seem strange today.  His treatment by Government, corporations, the establishment and the Royal Navy was appalling even by today’s standards.  This brings me to my key impression from the book; it was all so relevant today:

•          Decisions were taken for political reasons with spin and vested interest of greater import than the evidence available.  In this story it was nearly always to the detriment of Fitzroy.  It was sad that such a hard-working, honest and generous public servant should be treated so badly.  Jemmy Button's sad tale supports this theme. Even the French lauded Captain Maury USN above Fitzroy in the presentation to him of a cheap clock (compare this to Fitzroy furnishing the Beagle with extra very expensive chronometers to improve the accuracy of his surveying). It is surprising that he did not commit suicide sooner!  Maury’s contribution to oceanography was significant, but I believe it was Fitzroy who understood that weather could be forecast by using observations; a unique insight at the time.

•          The environment was one of austerity and limited Government resources.

•          There was a running dispute over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands with the then despotic Argentinian leader.

•          There was a fierce debate between enlightened scientists and the church over the evolution/transmutation argument, which abounds today even when the DNA and fossil evidence is so overwhelming.

Darwin on the other hand comes off far less well than Fitzroy in this account.  Clearly he had difficulty publishing his theory in the Origin of Species owing to the strength of his wife’s belief.  For a young man he was particularly staid always responding in accordance with convention rather than using his initiative; perhaps because, originally, he was destined for the church.  He only published because Alfred Russel Wallace had developed the same theory and he wanted his life’s work recognised.

•          Chris W started the round of comments and had to admit that he had only read about 200 pages.  In spite of his interest in history, he would have preferred to have read a history book on the subject as the narrative was brittle, the characters did not come alive; not a pager turn.  (Clearly not enough pages turned.) 

•          Neil was next.  He was daunted by the length of the book, but got stuck in and was hooked after about 100 pages with the landfall in a terrifying storm; a remarkable story and really good read. 

•          Mark Th did not enjoy it as much as he thought he would, but thought it a fascinating idea for a story.  However, it was entertaining with some good humour.  The prose though was too dry and needed more detail of life on board.  The result was that it was too simply told to build up adequately for the ultimate tragedy. (Not finished and at about page 580) 

•          Mark T found it hard going and turgid.  However, having met a young lady at a party recently and the conversation turning to books she has inspired him to weigh anchor and get reading as she was full of praise for the book. (At about page 110) 

•          Steve, felt it was the sort of book he should enjoy.  He finds this period of history fascinating.  A Man Booker prize nomination, it probably missed the shortlist because it was too long.  Of concern was the issue of whether it was a novel or a biography, which bits could we learn some history and which parts were fictional padding; for example the tale about Commodore Mason and the rescue of the Challenger’s crew.  That said he found it a thoroughly enjoyable and fascinating read. 

•          Rob’s problem was that he could not make out if it was a history book, fiction or a biography as it appeared to be none of the above.  He gave up after 100 pages.  The style was Biggles-esk and he lost the will to live; it was no competition for the other books on his bedside table. 

•          Finally, Chris B said that he loved it, even if it was a bit long.  He was intrigued by the differences between the two main characters and how their relationship developed through the story, particularly being thrown together in such cramped conditions for so long.  There were fascinating glimpses in the book of how the world was changing with industrialisation, railways, steamships and philosophical thinking etc.

Well, in conclusion it appears to have been a bit of a Marmite book; well maybe not as those who gave up after only a few pages were probably not qualified to comment.  It was disappointing that only four of the eight present had finished it, but those who had were particularly well rewarded with a good read.  Taking up on Mark T’s admonishment by his young school mistress there will be extra homework for those who fell short of the task.  Alternatively, the Coxswain will be asked to let the cat out of the bag and have the grating rigged for six of the best.

(Some did not have access to the maps at the front of the book and this impacted on their enjoyment of the book and understanding of the magnitude of the surveying task involved.  As a Midshipman I spent a short acquaint period in a Survey Ship, even then in the early 70’s it was a significant manpower intensive task recording each position relative to one another and then transcribing them to a master chart.  Inshore soundings were carried out from small launches by hand, with only the deeper/wider areas covered by the mother ship with an echo sounder.  The area of Tierra del Fuego being charted was over 400 miles long, covering and area similar to that of England and Wales.  There was no GPS in the 1800’s, all positions had to be verified by celestial sights (sun and star sights) and sextant angles between geographical features taken for subsequent reconstruction of their position and height/depth on a master chart.  The weather in the area is pretty wet and windy most of the time making the recording of all the data even more taxing.  Add to that the limited quality of their clothing, what they achieved was quite remarkable and their data still forms the backbone of the charts being produced for that area, even today.)

Richard sent the following comments from India:  “I thought that it was tremendously well written; I found it a gripping story and it was very much a 'page-turner' (except for a very short section about 500 pages into the book, where it focussed more on Darwin and his travels - I think he wrote much more sensitively and interestingly about FitzRoy than about Darwin); the characterisation was excellent - I really got to know the main characters in great depth, and yet I also felt that I knew quite well the huge host of other and more minor ones that populated this fascinating account; the science was gripping (and of course these debates are still being played out now both in the UK and across various parts of the world); the tragedy of many aspects of colonialism; how ill-treated poor FitzRoy was in so many ways; how amazing a man he was and how he was so far-sighted and creative.”

Chris B's own notes on finishing the book:Another book with mixed reactions from the Blokes. For me, a most enjoyable read, despite its length. It engages through its characters, especially Captain Fitzroy and Darwin, the excitement of many of the adventures and challenges faced on the voyages and the philosophical exploration of the challenges to the scriptural orthodoxy of the creation and flood. It is well researched, despite occasional lapses e.g. in some nautical descriptions. It makes the conservative god-fearing captain a sympathetic character wrestling with his demons, his principles of respect for the native people he meets on the way and his mental illness as well as the bureaucracy and politicking of his bosses, the venal buccaneers and misguided missionaries and the raging elements. Darwin is given the growing and inexorable logic of his position on the slow evolution of the earth's geology and fauna and flora, but an increasingly unattractive selfishness and careerist focus. 

The times of change towards an industrial and increasingly polluted and money focused age are provided as a convincing context for the adventures, discoveries and human tensions in the story. The sheer toughness of life whether on board ship or in coping with frequent child, partner and friend deaths from illness, accident and aggression is not avoided but again does not overshadow the human story or the sheer power of Darwin's emerging discoveries.

It is a book to make you think about the meaning of life itself and certainly challenges any notions of either a benign or a literal God of the Old Testament. 
The kitty stood at £21.35p - not sure who made off with it at the end of the night...

All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

The Devonshire Arms, Wellsway, Dec 28th 2012.

Mark Th enjoyed the book and felt it was as vivid as the Radio 4 programme ‘From Our Own Correspondent’ in detailing in very human terms what it is like for combatants to experience traumatic times – in this case, a war.  The alternation of scenes which foregrounded the stress of combat with the more relaxed scenes which illustrated the simple pleasures that had to be snatched in recreation between fighting (eating, smoking, resting) built through the book to create a picture of almost unbearable stress at the front.  He had chosen it with very little forethought but was pleased to have read it.

Steve was more positive still, and was surprised by this as he had read the book years ago and it had made little impression on him at the time.  This time round, however, the found the book a ‘stunning’ read – a simple ordinary soldier’s perspective that is, for Steve, the yardstick against which all other war books should be measured.

Rob, on the other hand, was less effusive and where Mark Th had seen a powerful accretion of vignettes, Rob felt that the episodic structure was fragmented so that overall the book was not particularly engrossing.  He was most drawn by the powerful points the book made about the politics of war and the sense of solidarity felt by the German protagonists with soldiers on the ‘other’ side.

Chris B also saw a journalistic quality in the writing: for him it read like detailed reportage.  His research had shown, however, that the author had comparatively little experience of active service at the front and there was some speculation on his motives for writing the book.  Chris also noted the use of a second narrator at the end of the book.  This had the effect of freeing the author, so allowing Paul to escape a return to civilian life.

Ras also enjoyed the book’s basic realism and saw the separation of soldiers and politicians as a key theme.  The book was very effective in bringing home the sense that this was the first large-scale industrial war, and at the same time a war that people at home just did not understand. Here he saw some parallels here with Blair and Iraq and the comparative lack of understanding on the part of politicians and public.

Neil too, was very impressed by the book and pointed up some scenes that were most convincing, such as the brutality of corporal Himmelstoss during the training of the new recruits, and the hospital scene in the church.  These and other scenes combined to create a powerful sense of waiting day in and day out to see the next action.

Mark T also saw the book as very powerful and was moved by the plight of the young recruit at the end, who shits his pants in his first taste of battle and soon after this, dies.  Mark also noted the battle scene in the cemetery when exposed corpses and fallen colleagues could not be distinguished. And some of us we weren’t surprised that Mark particularly enjoyed the account of the night spent with the three French girls they met by the canal.

Richard commented by email that he found it to be gripping, excellently written, and it did not feel at all dated. He especially liked: Remarque's descriptions of the depth of relationships between comrades in arms; the reasons for their gallows humour - similar to the reasons that surgeons and other hospital staff sometimes 'joke' about their patients); the sense of awfulness and distance between them and ‘real people’ at home (one of the major themes of the novel is the difficulty of soldiers to revert to civilian life after having experienced extreme combat situations); the way that although all the boys are young, their youth has left them; the section with Paul guarding prisoners of war and his comments on what makes enemies enemies (politicians deciding one way, and then maybe deciding the other way tomorrow).

He also found the  comments about the loss of youth and the responsibilities of the older generations very telling. Although the actual nature of the war is different, Richard, like others at the meeting, saw to be big overlaps between this and (say) Iraq.

There was later further discussion of the lack of hatred felt by the soldiers in the book and the popular drive to war when the full impact is not realised by the civilian population.

Alan Hollinghurst: The Stranger's Child.

The Stranger’s Child: Hollinghurst, 25^th October 2012; Flower & Firkin.

Apols: Rob

Present: Chris B, Chris W, Mark T, Mark Th, Neil, Ras,  Richard, Steve,

An excellent evening, and (or because of?) a real marmite book.  We had 2 people who absolutely loved the book (Mark Th, Steve); 3 people who absolutely hated it (Ras, Rob, Mark T); and a few who liked /disliked it at various levels. Richard and Chris had not yet finished the book (both had completed 3 out of the 5 sections) but both were enjoying the book and were committed to finishing it, for that reason.

There was £23 left in the kitty; in the absence of Rob (whose book we are discussing in November) Richard agreed to look after it and bring it to the next meeting.

The ‘positive group’ had many insights into the book, and many examples of how sublime it was (see below), seeing it as a rather brilliant examination, or reputation, celebrity, biographical reconstruction, and a fascinating exposition of cultural mores, sexual secrets, interesting characters, and detailed analyses of conversations.

The ‘negative group’ found it very difficult to get into and to sustain interest. 

Scores were:

Mark Th: 8.4

Steve: 8.0

Chris B: (undecided, as not yet complete – between 6.9 and 7.2)

Neil: 6.8

Chris W: 3.5

Mark T: 2.7

Rob: 2.5

Ras: 2.0

Richard will score when he has completed the book.

Mark Th really enjoyed the book.  He felt that there was no major plot; instead, a detailed examination of five slices of life at 20 year intervals was presented. The characters differ in depth and interest (as people do in real life), and those that re-appear differ over time, again as in real life; some become successful, some do not, some do and then lose their allure, etc.  Mark felt that a key theme of the book was how history gets distorted by people looking back and trying to understand, using only what is available to them – their subject’s diaries, photos, letters – even the buildings that they lived in; historians and biographers examine the past using only these clues about that past that are available to them (because that is all that is left) – as opposed to us, in this book, where we are actually seeing what happened at key moments). Hence we know more about the reality of these people’s lives than do the characters in the book – we know what ACTUALLY happened, versus what is reconstructed from these letters, interviews, diaries, etc.  Mark Th’s summary was that he really enjoyed it, finding it a very evocative and moving book; even better than Line of Beauty.

Steve said “I LOVED it: an appealing book, inviting to read” Agreeing with lots of what Mark Th had already said, Steve though it a well-woven story moving throughout the 20^th century, focusing on reputation, and on how we build reputations – and how they can collapse and change; and how books can change people’s reputations, even when the ‘evidence’ that they use to do this is simply build on hearsay. Steve delighted in how, time and again, little references and reflections showed how propel are in conversation, dialogue, gesture – his attention to detail and ability to demonstrate it was all fantastic.  Steve felt that the only negative for him was that there was no plot, and that the book slightly ran out of steam. But he revelled in the style of it, the skill, even the ability to write plausible 2^nd rate poetry.  He felt involved in the emotional ups and downs, and understood George’s teenage ambiguity and later denial of Cecil [NB – a Christ and his disciple-like interaction?]

At the other end of the spectrum, Rob said (by e-mail) that “I found it somewhat difficult to get into in the early stages. Despite the sleeve notes waxing lyrical on Hollinghurst's writing style, I found it somewhat stodgy - slow moving and failing to contain content that grabbed me in any significant way. My hopes for the book began to increase as I got towards the end of what I then found was part one of a multi-part book. I was beginning to get into the characters, I thought some of them were starting to show signs of interesting depth (e.g. Cecil and the young Daphne), and saw the beginnings of an interesting plot. Then Hollingsworth decided to scrap that slightly promising start and begin again with what was effectively a new set of characters. Those who were the same in name appeared to have changed significantly in personality (OK, they were several years older, but you'd expect some continuity. Daphne's mother for example had completely lost the spark that made her slightly interesting in the first part), and there were so many new ones (several superfluous to requirements as far as I could work out) that I had difficulty in following what was going on and each person's purpose in the (alleged) storyline. More detrimental than this was that the writing style became even worse. Laboured and pedestrian are two words that spring to mind. Far too much of "he said ........... she said ........", with tedious conversation. I suppose it could be argued that he was trying to use writing style to convey the stilted, formal atmosphere of the gathering. Well he certainly succeeded there. If I'd have been present I'd have wanted to flee the house party at the first available opportunity in order to find something interesting to do with my life. I'm now just towards the end of this second phase of the book and on being faced with the possibility of picking it up again last night found myself giving up the will to live - so didn't. I have better things to do with my life than read this turgid dross. It will not be finished. Trying to find things in its favour - well it did create a reasonably good picture of the surroundings and the period - but that was probably because he used so many repetitive descriptions of the same things. No, that's it - can't think of anything else positive. A 2.3 from me - which looking at my scores puts it almost on a par with "Lights Out'. Yes, it was that bad.”

Ras felt that he “agreed with Rob, word for word, except for his score, which was too generous.  It was boring and didn’t grab me. The only interesting thing was the mention of the Cambridge versus Oxford versions of gay sex, and I thought that something interesting might come out here – but he didn’t even do the gay sex justice.”  

[Neil then looked up these arcane sexual behaviours on the www, and found that there were indeed Oxford and Cambridge methods (which differed in whether or not penetration actually occurs – Oxford being thrusting in between one’s lover’s thighs without actual penetration, whereas Cambridge ‘went all the way’) and also that the shape of punts in Oxford and Cambridge bear some relation to the male and female sexual positions – hence “punting from the Cambridge end”!]

Mark T was also one of the ‘haters’ – stating that “I hated it – I only got through the 1^st section; I couldn’t get on with it – I didn’t like the people, I didn’t like the style – I didn’t like any of it!”

Chris W was an ‘in-betweener’. He said that he had managed to get through about 1/5 of the book, but suggested that one needed to read this book at a rate of at least 50 pages a time to get into it, and as he only had 10 minutes per night, it became too difficult – he had difficulties in recalling individuals’ names. Chis said: “I enjoyed (kind of) the first section: it was characteristic of life at that time; the language was great. But when I got to the second section, I didn’t want to find out all about a completely new set of characters – I found that I wasn’t enjoying it (although if I had had larger chunks of time ….). But I didn’t really get into it, didn’t really like it; if I had been gripped, I would have forced myself to read on; but I prefer events and plot, and there were few events and almost no plot in this book.”

Neil said that, overall, he quite enjoyed it, and certainly preferred it to the Line of Beauty, finding it more accessible. He also saw many similarities, seeing that Hollinghurst enjoys writing big ‘set pieces’ – in LoB, the big party in the south of France and the other one in the London home with Maggie Th attending; and here the 70 the birthday party.  Neil said that “at risk of sounding homophobic” he found “ the preoccupation with gay sex and being gay” a bit much.  On the other hand, he felt that there were many layers of interest –

·         at one level, it was a sociological study of attitudes towards homosexuality over the century, from Cecil and George in 1913, through the 1920s, through the 60s and the time of legalisation, up to the present day.

·         at another level, it was about the ebb and flow of people’s stars over time – not that THEY changed that much, but the times changed, and hence the person is seen differently.

·         The book contained vivid studies of people and situations, such as the old lady in the bungalow, all messy and cluttered; and the biographer wanting to ask detailed questions over very delicate subject matters.  

·         The book was not simply about how people change, but how iconic buildings change as well – Cecil’s house was also a character in the book. [This led to an interesting discussion on St Pancras and the debate in the 1960s about destroying it; and to how modernisation in the 1920s was about covering up these interesting features; and also how this reminded people of the Evelyn Waugh book where that house, too, was being modernised in a similar way.]

 Neil though that it was slow – but “I got to the stage where, after the first 2 sections, I was looking forward to sections 3-4-5, to figuring out who and how (ie who these people were – ‘Oh, that is who Mrs Jacobs is …’ and how people and events would fit together.”  Overall, Neil thought that it contained very interesting bits, without it being a ‘cracking yarn’. – “I liked it, but it was not a gripping book”.

Chris B said that he was getting towards the end of section 3, and that it had “really warmed up for me – the first section was hard to get going, but I am really enjoying it now”. He found the setting on gay relationships in different eras was especially interesting – “I liked that – it is so rare, and to see how difficult it was.” On the other hand, the book was rather one-dimensional about social status, and it was irritating how, every time someone speaks, Hollinghurst feels the need to comment –t here was a commentary on every bit of dialogue, which then became overdone and formulaic. However Chris said that was very much enjoying it, and a lot of it (the Oxbridge stuff, and ?dealing with celebrity? resonated with his own experience. However, on one dimension Chris rated the book down (and hence his possible 6.9 vs 7.2) – which was that he felt that the book was not telling us very much – what was its ‘take-away message’? Chris felt that the book was not telling us anything of social or philosophical importance.

Mark Th suggested 4 possible books for December:

·         Hare with the Amber Eyes

·         All Quiet on the Western Front

·         Woman in White

·         Will Self – Walking to Hollywood.

People gave their views whilst (of course!) impressing on Mark that the choice was completely his!

Richard Velleman

October 2012

Before I go to Sleep – SJ Watson

These are the notes from the meeting at the Devonshire Arms,

27^th September 2012.

Eight present

A good evening and lots of good discussion prompted by this book, on the themes of how important memory is to our lives. Some members have experience of friends and relatives with dementia, and this  prompted lots of moral and ethical questions, such as what makes a person, and what are we without memory? Also if people cannot remember who they are, are they still human?  The majority present liked the book, although some more than others. No one disliked the book (although the absent member did not like it at all).

Rob thought it was a pretty good book and very gripping, although he read this on his new kindle which was challenging to him. He thought the memory aspect was intriguing, although some bits did not hold together. He noted that it was a first novel and the quality of the writing was simple. Rob felt that the research carried out for the book was limited. For example, he felt that Christine could not have got out of the care home in the way she did.

Steve read the book really quickly, and thought the translation was quite acceptable. He found it an easy read in a straightforward way, and on reflection found this slightly disappointing. He liked the way that Christine’s day was gradually built up over the chapters, but felt that the characters were a bit colourless. 

Richard thought the book was written in two bits (first 2/3 and last 1/3). He really enjoyed the fist 2/3, and thought it a very interesting theme. He liked the memory aspect and talked at length how important this is, and felt this bit was written well.  But Richard realised straight away that Ben was bad, and he felt the ending was poor and totally implausible.  What really annoyed Richard immensely was the statement on the cover that this was the crime thriller of the year.

Neil  was less convinced, and was certain that the writer was female. He felt much happier, however,  when he was corrected that the writer was male. He thought too much was made of the writer’s first book, and lots of the writing annoyed him. He was not convinced about the practicalities of how Christine wrote her diary, and how she concealed this from her ‘husband’. But he felt that the writer drew out the tension well but like Richard thought the ending was implausible, and had many drawbacks.

Chris B had read the book a long while ago, and this was his second read (although he read it again 4 months ago, so had forgotten some of the detail).  He, with his added insight to the book, felt that Christine should not have remembered things she did, and how did she intuitively knew how everyday things worked?  He felt at the beginning that something was wrong with the husband. The class issues really annoyed him, but on balance a good story with a hopeful ending.

Chris W enjoyed it and could not put it down, and it was a great holiday read. He particularly liked the description of the really boring home. Raz thought it was a good idea for a story, and found it easy to read, but thought it was far too long, about 30% too long! He thought it was too predictable but admitted it had a little bit of tension. He thought it was Okish.

Mark T enjoyed the book very much, although it took him a while to get into it. What grabbed his attention was when Christine wrote in her diary “don’t trust Ben” .He felt the tension building from them on. He did not realise what was going on for a while, although realised something was not quite right early on. For example he could not accept that Ben had been doing this for years and years. He thought the ending was very tense and thrilling, and worried what was going to happen next. He was surprised that Ben (Mike) could suddenly be so violent after seemingly so patient in the first part of the book.

Although Mark Th was not present, he did read the book, and commented by email afterwards. He enjoyed the first 100 pages, but felt it had been done better on film before (Mnemonic) or non-fiction by Oliver Sacks. He became very frustrated by the narrow bounds the story required and very bored by the silliness of her re-reading every day so that by the time the plot twist came – a bit like the Apothecary’s Daughter.

Before I Go to Sleep by S J Watson

Sorry, I seem to be here before the official chronicler!

Having read this book twice, I really like it. It is not perfect. There are some inconsistencies. Christine seems to know things you would not expect her to if she cannot remember things from day to day, but they are mainly how life works rather than her personal history, so do not detract from the story. And it is slightly unbelievable that she has apparently never tried to write a journal before, had had no contact from husband and son for so long and had a doctor who did not talk to her husband.

I like the way you are drawn into her world and her experience of it. How she feels when she wakes up, how she makes sense of her relationship with her husband, her feelings for her doctor and he son and the emerging clashes with what you expect which gradually makes you think all is not right (though I did feel a bit uncomfortable that this was mainly highlighted by differences in taste that felt classist). That is what makes the book so compelling. Who are we without memory? Many of us are destined for this future and will not ever be able to hold the truth, even as long as Christine does. She wants to know who she is.  Someone with dementia probably does not.

The last part, even on second reading is full of tension, a thriller whose end you don't know until close to the finish. It makes a good and hopeful ending to a compelling read. 

Chris B

The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes

Meeting at: Forester & Flower, August 30th
Well, as a last-minute appearance by Chris W boosted the numbers for the evening from 4 to 5 and Mark Th has already read the book too, we felt the meeting deserved a write up, although Chris B clearly got impatient with me to do this and went ahead and put his notes up here anyway, so my unreliable re-telling of his comments won't be required at least.

Four of us chose the book by mutual consent having agreed that despite there being a small number of us available to meet in August we would meet up anyway. Sense of an Ending is a relatively short book at under 200 pages, but was nevertheless winner of the 2011 Man Booker prize, something a couple of people found surprising. Despite this most of us there seemed to have enjoyed it to a greater or lesser degree.

I found the easy style of the book engaging and it was a nice fluid read, although I hadn't found the back cover synopsis that appealing.  I found it to be an excellent example of storytelling even if, similar to Chris B, I did find the plot structure lacked some credibility at times and it seemed to me that certain elements were mere plot devices which were somewhat contrived, but were nevertheless extremely well used once established.  So I agreed with Chris B that the reasons for Adrian's suicide were questionable and for Veronica's obtusity, but I put them down to being essential for the plot to work.  I found some of the scenarios entertaining and so convincingly described that they became very vivid in my minds eye, and despite being somewhat the anti-hero, I found myself empathising with our protagonist.

Mark T loved the book and also liked the central character a good deal.  The book raised lots of questions for him, none more so than what relationship Adrian or Tony had with Veronica's mother. Overall he found it clever and enjoyable.

Richard found the book to be one of two halves to borrow a footballing pharse. He really enjoyed the first half with such a detailed account of someone's life but was then frustrated that given how well that had been done we were denied any detailed explanation of what had happened in the intervening 30-odd years.  It had echoes for Richard of Chesil Beach and even the Magus (which Mark T also related to) and he was impressed by Barnes' understanding of the way memory works and how memories change over time with sometimes startling impact.(Could this be a theme we come back to as memory plays such a key part in our next two books as well?).

Chris W had not long started reading the book and had some way to go, but was not put off by the fact that we had in effect told him the key elements of what was going to happen later on.  He found Barnes' style to be very perceptive of people and very evocative of the era described in the first part and which he was nearly old enough to remember himself.  He described the prose as "meaty" and often found himself re-reading passages because he took pleasure from how they had been written.

Chris B has added his own comments:

What a suitable book for me and perhaps all of us. The thoughts and adventures of a man in his early sixties  He looks back on his life as a schoolboy, student, worker, lover, husband, father, divorcee and pensioner.  And his student relationships come back to haunt him.

I liked the chatty style and the wry observations on life and relationships, on growing up and on coming to the other end of one's life. The detective story element is intriguing and Tony's differing interpretation of events as he discovers more about the past is very true to life. It is clever to make interesting a character who by his own admission is not the most exciting in the world. Things I didn't like were not being clear by the end on why Adrian (senior) had committed suicide: because he came to a logical conclusion that life wasn't worth living (not just for him but for anyone) or because he had made his girlfriend's mother pregnant? Or Tony's horrible letter? Or all three? Why should it have been so terrible for the latter to have happened? And why is Veronica so obtuse? We know she can behave unexpectedly and is a woman of more mystery than clarity, but why would she not have explained some of the history to Tony, even if she had done so with anger and grief? It makes an interesting personal detective story but seems a bit far fetched. Also, if the main character is 60, I find it odd he is already planning for his own death. But maybe that is just me denying the advance of age.

Though I really liked the reflections on life at and from the perspective of 60, in the end, I found this rather a slight book. So I am not sure why it won the prize. I give it a score of 6.2. 

We know that Mark TH has read the book so we would welcome his comments on it and indeed if others want to read this it is only a short affair so if time allows we can then give it a score reflective of the whole group.

The evening continued with a discussion that ranged from how the authorities are able to study patterns of drug use by analysing household waste water for entire geographical areas, or by analysing individual hairs for individual people, to whether or not the group should start meeting earlier to allow more time for such leisurely chat. Indeed other rather controversial suggestions were brought up as to whether or not meetings could not only start earlier in future, but might even include food and eating.  I shall leave the co-ordination of such radical ideas to our esteemed chairman once he returns from his holiday, but first step might be to see if we could bring forward the meeting time to 8pm or earlier? Finally the kitty was emptied on the evening so there is none to carry forward.

Happy Reading!  Neil