The Justin de Quincy series

So long since I've written anything bookish!

So I was all sick and fluey over the weekend, which severely limited my activities, and so I took the opportunity to catch up on some reading.

It so happened that I'd picked up a lovely hardback copy of Sharon Kay Penman's "Cruel as the Grave" at Half Price Books during the the Bay Area Book Fest . I'd been sitting on it for a while, not sure if I really wanted to read an amateur mystery from an author I knew best as a great historical novelist.



But in this book, Sharon Kay Penman really plays to her strengths, bringing out the details of life in medieval Britain. Her protagonist, Justin de Quincy is very likable, the historical characters are believable, and the story makes its way to a satisfactory conclusion.

I love that the author is able to bring out the shades of gray in both the villains (such as Prince John) and the heroes of the story. John especially made a great anti-hero. Maybe it was the shades of Loki in the character that made him so sympathetic.

The book was inspiring enough for me to buy and read the rest of the series(The Queen's Man, Dragon's Lair, and Prince of Darkness in the next few days (even sneaking in a few pages on my iPhone at work), and now I'm itching for a fifth. Here's hoping for more.  

Now that I've joined a book club...

My enthusiasm for reading has returned. A lot of it, granted, has been cheap YA reads, easy on the wallet and not very taxing on the mind either. But a few really good suggestions have come my way. One was Hugh Howey's 'Wool' series, which takes me back to my time with Asimov, or the Battlestar Galactica marathon that I did not so long ago. Books like that remind me that the best sci-fi, is not about technology, but about people. It's about how people react to change, or to lack of change; what would they do if ... something... was made possible - mind control, space flight, robots, immortality. These are not simply academic questions. Some of them could become real. And in some of the best sci-fi you can see things that have happened- history in a different context, stripped of your own preconceptions of it, allowing you to see it in a new light.

Teen reads

I was surprised by how good Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay series is. I started out with the 'Hunger Games' last month on a trip to a cabin in the woods in Ohio, and then have been reading the others as and when I found the time. 'Catching Fire', I bought from a second hand book shop in the Bay Area and read on the flight. 'Mockingjay' I read this weekend, having been ordered to take a break and destress for a bit.

I loved the first book. I really liked the post-apocalyptic world. How people have obviously moved past, but not better - still very much as people are now. I loved the sort of history repeating itself feeling. Of course, the author herself says so at the end, but it did feel very much like the old Roman circuses, people being made to fight to death in a modern arena.

While the last book wasn't as enjoyable from a story perspective, I thought it brought out very well that being on the side of 'the good' does not make you a good person.

In other news, I have been taking full advantage of my Amazon Prime membership to rewatch the entire 'Yes, Minister' series, getting the entire value for money.

Oh Ironies

The Gods must have been laughing as I read E.M. Forster's 'Passage to India' on the way back - from India to Michigan', on the flight. The book was considered enlightened in its time - it presents a case when a British lady wrongly accuses an Indian man of assault, and while a daring proposition in its time, the broad generalizations, stereotyping of race, religion and sex indicate that while the author may have broken down one barrier significant other remain.

What makes the book beautiful (in my eyes) is the incredible detail in characterization, analysis of people's motivations, their reactions, their understanding as coloured by their experiences. These things remain true regardless of how far in the future you go. The rose coloured shades that tint Aziz's meetings with Mrs. Moore, as though a couple of meetings made them close friends; the changing friendship between Fielding and Aziz; the miguided protection of Mahmoud Ali...

An event that particular caught me was when Adela asked Aziz about having multiple wives - what she thought was culturally sensitive, which he took as an insult - little events when the same thing has different meanings in different people's minds. Also, the jostling of servants, of doctors, the Anglo-Indians - each one trying to be a step above the rest - inequality not only in the broad sense, but each individual looking for ways to make themselves seem - or feel - a little superior.

Its a better book in the details, rather that the broad narrative that gives a glimpse into some of the ideas and emotions that could have led to the independence movement.

Politics from an economist

Which is really nothing new. I don't read Friedman or Krugman anymore with the expectation of academic analysis. But I expected better of Amartya Sen. Is it the natural course of things that once a person becomes famous they promptly pretend to be experts in every other field? For Amartya Sen, these fields include history, philosophy, theology and naturally, politics. Though everyone is an expert political commentator in their own heads.
When I started off with "The Argumentative Indian" I expected something a little more academic. I don't want to read the same commentary I can read in "The Hindu" every day! I expected some incredible insight into poverty alleviation or microfinance or base of pyramid. Instead, I got a "India has so much misrepresented history. A zillion years of civilization. A culture of tolerance" spiel. There was the occasional interesting point. What annoys me is that this is a book written primarily for the non-Indian. Maybe because that's where the money is (was).

India, A Different perspective - Shantaram

I'm still unsure as to whether this was a biography or a work of fiction... Its an amazing look into the underworld of Bombay (when it was still Bombay), the network of people that penetrate every aspect of the city - the ones who can put a man in jail and pull him out, who arrange for fake identities, smuggle jewels and drugs and guns, fund politicians, freedom fighters and terrorists, own mansions and slums and everything in between.

The story is a man discovering his love for India - not 'Incredible India' that is presented in glossy fliers, with its 'spirituality', 'history' and Bollywood song and dance - but very likely one that most respectable Indians themselves would rarely ever see.

There were parts of the book that I absolutely loved - the life in the slums, the description of the unwritten rules that keep life going there. The description of gang life and the power that the gangs wielded. And then there was the climax - which was sadly lacking. It was tragic - but also painfully unnecessary, and something of a plot device, I felt, a nice way to close all loops and leave the hero still alive. And how convenient that it ties up so nicely with everything going on in Afghanistan today. So an ending that could have been better.

Lionheart

I've been waiting for this book to come out for almost two years now, and I was jiggling with impatience - and juggling with the usual routine of exams and recruiting right when it was out, so it was Fall break before I got a chance to actually read it. So in a (not so) little cabin in Ohio, under the red and gold leaves (appropriate somehow for the Angevins), I read about the King who'd captured my imagination when I was really, really young, when I first read my mother's school-days history book -'The March of Time', and got all caught up in the idea of the medieval romance. Not so much in the current sense of 'falling in love' romance - but more the romantic sense of adventure and knights and kings and queens.

Sadly, it seems Penman has fallen in love with the concept too. I loved her books before, for joining the realism - the grit and violence, the moral ambiguity of the times. But this time around, her heroes and villians are in black and white, there's none of the blood and gore you'd expect of a war - the women are strong - which is great - but they also seem to be a little too modern - or is it my prejudice that they should be more reflective of their times?

What was good though (as always), was her understanding of the political machinations of that time. The changing loyalties - the understanding of the many things that may make or break an army at war - allies, strategy, politics, supply chain (something my prof would love to know about). But I did find Penman's political correctness a little annoying. Yes, she's writing it now, but I find it hard to believe that there were people who existed then, who were as open minded, of other cultures and ideas as she describes.

What was amazing to see was how much of what - if it had been pure fiction - I would have considered to be a plot device - was actually based on real events! A case of reality being stranger than fiction.

Altogether, a fairly good book. Unlike Penman's earlier ones, it wasn't a really heavy read - more like light literature - but I'm still looking forward to continuing Richard's story, his capture and ransom, and ending in King John.

The latest sensation

GRR Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series - which has become an enormous hit due to the HBO show. I tried it some years ago, but between the attempted murder of children (and it looked like a successful attempt to begin with), and the incest, some of the unpleasant characters, and the annoyingly switching character viewpoints, I decided to give it a miss. But when it had become so popular, I couldn't be seen to be the only one who hadn't read it, so there I was, starting all over again.

With a renewed determination to get past the gratuitous sex and violence, I sat down with the first book, 'A Game of Thrones'. It moves pretty fast, with something happening in almost every chapter, which may be hard to believe, given that its such an enormous book. But it's fast paced, well written, thoroughly plotted, and with an enormous cast of characters. It's somewhat based off the War of the Roses and other real historical events. And for someone used to the happy endings we usually see in fantasy novels, there are a couple of shockers. Martin explained it as wanting it to be like a 'real' war, where people you love die, not just several thousand extras, while the heroes are all safe.

For all that, while I became fond of a couple of characters, I didn't come to love them, as I have in other books. For one thing, with the different viewpoints, you see relatively little of each person, even in a 1000 page book. For another, part of the (dis)advantage of seeing the world entirely through one person's eyes is that you tend to agree with their opinions - because as far as the book goes, you have the same experiences; whereas with multiple viewpoints, its all too clear when people are being foolish, or venal, or just downright evil (though again, there are shockers - because you don't get to see everyone's viewpoint after all).

The second book in the series, ' A Clash of Kings' is when the battle actually breaks out. And more sides of the story begin to emerge - it began with the politics, now it extends to religion, by book 3 ('A Storm of Swords'), we have the banks being drawn into the picture as well. In that sense, the books are very realistic - they show how military might alone is hardly sufficient to win a war, how kings are beholden (as anyone in power), to the different powers that give them legitimacy. They also show how very believable, how delicately negotiations have to be made to gain allies, how grudges can be long held, and how quickly military might can disintegrate.

And where's the fantasy? The world is an interesting one; there are or were dragons once owned by the kings of the country, and now (at least to begin with), they are no more. There are legends, some true, some not so true, of the creatures who originally peopled the continent, and there is the Wall - behind which are real human enemies, as well as more dangerous and mysterious creatures. The world is one where the seasons may last for years at a time, and summer is fading and a long winter is coming - a bad time, in general, for a war. It starts off looking like a reasonably normal world, and people seem to avoid magic as far as possible, but as it goes on, magic comes further in, perhaps as peoples' desperation grows.

Once past the first three books, the pace of the books generally slow down- there are an increasing number of viewpoints, and plot points to keep track of, the war is done, and there is a reason the fourth is called 'A Feast of Crows' - its all about crows picking at the carrion left on the battlefield.

'A Dance with Dragons', the fifth and latest may sound as though it gets things moving again, but its more like the slow start of a steam engine- I hope that the next one really does get moving.

One of the things that annoys me, generally, is that it seems that as authors get more famous, their editors do less and less. The first book, as I'd said, was tight and well-written. By the time we got to the fifth, while the slow pace could be forgiven, there was so much unnecessary padding, so many pages of words that could have been just done away with altogether. Either the authors develop too much clout for their own good, or editors think that readers will simply swallow whatever swill they turn out (which is mostly true).

Specifically for GRRM, I have to say, that while his plotting is excellent, his writing is mediocre. A lot of what he says, the turns of phrase that he uses, are all very repetitive. His descriptions don't stick in your head, the way a really good authors' would - perhaps he intended that, but for many books, I have a picture of the places, of the people, in my head, long before the TV shows or movies come out. For GRRM, not so much. 

One of the disadvantages of overcomplicating the plot is also that people might forget what was going on before the next book comes out. If I have to wait 6 years for the next book, as people waited for the last, I don't think I'm going to remember a thing. And with the size of these books, I don't expect to re-read them either. And quite honestly, I have better things to do with my time than re-reading these books.

Fantastic Indian Historical

- which is Amitav Ghosh's 'Sea of Poppies'. This one book makes worthwhile all the terrible pieces of pseudo literature I've wasted so many hours on this summer. The characters are beautifully drawn, so that you can see them in your head, their mannerisms, their accents, their colloquialisms, each a product of their particular society, each breaking out of their particular confines. The settings are unbelievably well imagined - its hard to believe that this is set so many years ago - it seems as though the author has been there, seen it, heard them talk - its all made very immediate, very present.

The story is incredibly global in scope - far more so than so many stories set in the present day. It passes through rural and urban India, China, the Mauritius, all through the opium supply chain - the fields where it was grown, the factories where it was processed, the ports where it was loaded, the ships that carried it, and to China where it was finally sold. And all along the way, the people who were enslaved by it - some who had given up their food crops to serve the empires growth - and others who had simply fallen prey to the drug, and given up everything else. The book recognizes how much of a person's identity was caught up in the enormous class, caste, religion, and racial differences that divided people - with each person having to cross their own particular barrier simply in order to survive.

A Different kind of Magic

was what it felt like when I read Lev Grossman's 'The Magicians'. It's this incredible, set-in-the-real-world Harry Potter + Narnia story. It makes its borrowings fairly obvious - in fact, if you're not familiar with the originals, it probably won't make any sense to you. But all the questions that it asks are the ones that you may have asked while reading those books - or as you got older, at least. Its magic without the hero's journey, as would probably be done by a normal person -a rather depressed person- a slow disintegration from family, the withdrawal from the rest of the world, as everything becomes too easy - magic is a little like too much money, no?

The lazy period of trying to figure out what to do with your life, now that you can do anything. The fear of going on alone - the greed over a discovery made - desire not to share. And the things that you can't solve with magic - relationships, death, bad judgement, past mistakes.

I guess that's the best analogy I can make - those who stand around waiting for something that will change their lives for them - make everything better - magic, money, miracles - will always be wishing for something to make their lives better - and those who do something with what they've got - well, those are the Muggles, and they'll go on - happily or otherwise - regardless of the magic

Summer Bookshelf

Its been so long since I've written. Honestly, its been painful everytime I've opened my blog, and seen my memories of Nuggy in words. But I've created a new page for him now, where I can remember him always - and this blog returns to what it used to be - essentially my thoughts, experiences and mostly - book reviews.

Speaking of which - this year has been the year of non-fiction for me - primarily business related it seems. Which is inevitable I suppose, considering that I am in business school now. One of the best books I read was recommended by my World Econ prof - Minyuan Zhao - 'Travels of a T-shirt in a Global Economy' which describes the cotton trade. The most interesting part of it, by far, was the description of the combination of factors that have given the US the lead in cotton production - technology, working with farmers and economic incentives. Almost as interesting was the description of the labyrinthine 'free-trade' agreements, which are almost not worth the paper they're signed on.

Very relevant to the current -ongoing - economic crises are Michael Lewis' books, 'Liar's Poker' and 'The Big Short'. They were both incredibly interesting - one describing how the whole parallel economy of credit default swaps got set up, and the other describing how they took over, and eventually, took down the financial world. I think I learnt more about modern finance from these books than I did from my finance classes - and its mostly shown me how much I don't know.

I'll tackle the fiction I've been reading recently, Harry Potter withdrawal etc another day...

The Diving Pool -by Yoko Ogawa

is a set of three short stories. The first is about a girl whose parents take in orphans, the second about a woman whose sister is pregnant, and the third, a wonderfully creepy story about a man without arms and only one leg, who keeps a boarding house.

The writing is wonderfully spare, and yet detailed. Each story focuses focuses on physical appearances and the emotions that they evoke within. Her descriptions of the human body, especially, are like a pencil drawing, sharp lines and curves, gently shaded. She deals with the dark thoughts, the fears and suspicions of everyday life, the ends that may or may not be reached. The first story is the cruelty of children and the shame and loss of discovery; the second is an unusual perpsective of pregnancy, the disgust of a woman of the changes in her sister's body- her half hope that the pregnancy should fail, the third seems to narrate a horror story, but leaves more questions behind than it answers.

Intricate Fantasy

The first book of Robin Hobb's liveship series- 'Ship of Magic' introduces you to a detailed fantasy world with highly developed characters and a twisting, intricate plot. While the take off is slow, once in flow, the book moves smoothly, alternating a number of points of view that come together slowly to reveal the plot.

The story is set in Bingtown, where the old Trader families own ships that come alive. One such family is the Vestrits, and the plot takes off with the death of the patriarch and the passing of the legacy to the son-in-law Kyle Haven, instead of the younger daughter Althea. Althea must prove that being female is no impediment to becoming an effective trader. In the meantime, Kyle is faced with his recalcitrant elder son, who was forced to join his father aboard the ship, while he wishes to join the priesthood. Althea's mother must find a way to keep the family from losing their lands to debtors until they are able to raise money to pay them back, and also keep her young granddaughter out of trouble. In the meantime, the pirate Kennit is determined to win himself a liveship and become King of the Pirates, and finally there are the serpents who are looking for some destiny of their own. All these lives and stories come together to form the plot of this book.

The most interesting thing is that Robin Hobb is able to separate means and ends and keep the characters, their actions and the results separate- Kennit who's only looking for power ends up the unlikely savior of slaves, Wintrow, once a non-violent priest ends up enslaved by his own father, then leads to the capture of his own ship, and death of his ex-coworkers. Vivacia is torn between her needs as a young liveship and her growing knowledge of the world.

And in the meantime Althea must fight society's disapproval of women on ships which has deprived her of her inheritance. Its nice to see a fantasy book with an out and out feminist heroine- in most fantasies the heroine simply sits and waits to be rescued, or is effectively a prize for the hero at the end of his travails. Althea and her mother are both in their own way, action characters.

It says a good deal for the book that after finishing its 700+ pages, I feel the need to read the rest of the series- not tired of reading at all.

Safety only in Death

.... is the conclusion of Hilary Mantel's 'A Place of Greater Safety', , a novel of the French Revolution, focusing on three of its initiators- Camille Desmoulins, Danton and Robespierre. With rapidly moving events, multiple points of view and a vast cast of characters that enter and leave the story at various points, Mantel makes no compromises. Everything is meticulously researched, every person given their due.

Her story focusses on the growth and change in these three men, and the relationships between them - Danton- to whom the Revolution was the means to greater fortune, Robespierre- Tyrant or Incorruptible, depending on how you perceived him- to him the Revolution was the end in itself, and the man caught between the two- charming, passionate Camille.

It was Camille whose reckless enthusiasm led to the storming of the Bastille; his newspapers that incited the people to revolt; he who encouraged the use of violence to further the aims of the revolution- and it was he who looked into the abyss and recoiled to see it staring back at him. And then not even his friendship with Robespierre could save him from the heirs of the Revolution- the men to whom dissent was equal to treachery- who replaced the tyranny of monarchy with the mechanical mercilessness of the Committee.

Robespierre himself- who started off hating violence, but would in fact, do anything for his principles- except his principles vacillated between the end and the means, his friends and his ethics. He changes from a man who deplores violence to one who condones it- in the supposed interest of the state.

And Danton- who seems initially to be only an opportunist- no idealist like Camille or Robespierre- who finds in himself a core of idealism - to protect his friends and the Revolution he set off.

And there are the supporting characters, many of whom could have books based on themselves- Marat, Lafayette, the King and Queen of France, Lucile, Saint-Just, and on and on, and even a brief mention of Bonaparte.

For all the size of the book, its the last pages that help you realize just how much you've been drawn in to the lives of these characters- as Camille protests the depths the Revolution has sunk to, as Danton finds himself facing off against his enemies, and Robespierre reaches the limits of his personal power. As they each find that the avalanche they set off is going to bury them in it- then you come to sympathise- to see that they had each dreamed of a Utopia, but had only succeeded in creating a hell.

Pride and Prejudice and Losing Sense and Sensilibility

Have you had that feeling where its like waking up and realising that this book that changed your life, yuor point of view, just about everything about you, is about as real as a Disney movie? It happened to me once before with Ayn Rand, and now, I'm afraid its happened with Pride and Prejudice.

With "Atlas Shrugged", it was a slow awakening, as I shrugged off bits and pieces of the philisophy that had taken hold of so much of my imagination. With Pride and Prejudice, it happened in a flash. Suddenly, Elizabeth and Darcy were no longer who I wanted to be (or meet), and the last(?) of my illusions.

I blame it on Shannon Hale's "Austenland". Now, virtually every woman I know, has a favorite Austen, one to read and re-read, over and over again- i've vacillated, myself, between Persuasion and P&P. So I picked up Austenland- Shannon Hale's young adult stories are cute and funny, and I expected this one to be too.

And it was cute, and funny, and utterly disillusioning. Not because Elizabeth didn't get her Darcy, but because she did. And I wish she hadn't. Not because he wasn't a perfectly nice guy with a veneer of gruffness, that only that special woman could see through- actually, that's precisely why.

So it is a truth now, universally acknowledged that a woman -any woman- must be on the look out for a husband- why is it that Austen two centuries ago was so much more modern than we are now- all of us stuck in the 18th century?

In the time of chivalry...

I'm continuing with Sharon Kay Penman's books Time and Chance - about Henry II and Thomas Becket and Devil's Brood- going on with her narration of the rebellion and civil wars that tore King Henry II and his sons apart. Although, to start with, they don't seem to have been all that close.

As always, what comes out is the absolute fairness with which Penman treats her characters. Though she concedes, on her blog that Henry II is one of her favorite kings, she remains open to his flaws- his need for absolute control, his botched manipulations (what's worse? that he manipulated people or that he did it so badly?), his blindness to his own weaknesses.

In "Time and Chance" we see Thomas Becket- he's the only main character whose thoughts Penman makes no attempt to read- his motives unclear to both those who knew him then, and those who see him now, with the perspective of several hundred years. He's described as a chameleon- changing to meet the needs of his present master, owing nothing to those who helped him before- though I would (charitably) say that he was more loyal to his position than to those who placed him there. And the things he endured show that he was a man of some faith, certainly.

Eleanor remains enigmatic and magnetic. In these books, it becomes clear how she survived so much- two failed marriages, a husband who kept her imprisoned for sixteen years, the deaths of so many children - ever changing- not like Thomas the chameleon- but as one who learns from her experiences, not to make the same mistakes over and over again- a lesson which Henry is doomed never to learn.

Of the sons, I became unwillingly fond of Geoffrey- who I was prepared to dislike at the outset- from vague memories of The Lion in Winter"- his death seemed so unnecessary- and yet changed everything- leaving Richard virtually undisputed- except potentially, by John.

Richard, again is drawn very fairly- even though Penman admits an initial bias against him- as a competant soldier, but not much else. Though he has been famously described as a bad son- he was so only to his father- to his mother, he was incredibly loyal- I think of the lot of their sons, he was the only one to show this particular quality towards anyone.

I'm now reading Elizabeth Chadwick's "The Greatest Knight" which describes the life of William Marshall- who also appears in Penman's books. Its interesting to see how many events are corroborated by both authors- like Henry, the Young King joking that it was no great thing for the son of a count (his father Henry II) to serve the son of a king (himself). Its interesting that they see the same events differently though- Penman's Henry (the father) is amused, while Chadwick's is angered. I think though, that Penman has the clearer (less romanticized) sight, and though her books are far larger, her writing is more crisp and not as flowery. Chadwick's unnecessary flourishes make the story seem artificial, not authentic.

I don't think I'll be reading Chadwick's other books- except maybe, the sequel to this one - "The Scarlet Lion"- which should hopefully keep me satisfied as I wait for Penman's next work on Richard the Lionheart.
What shocked me most though, was when I realized that Penman was an American author... so weird!

The other book I read recently was Markus Zuzak's "The Book Thief", the story of a girl in Nazi Germany, learning to read. This is a young teens sort of book, and I've occasionally wondered that people consider books like these- set in times of war, with themes of torture, death and hard choices, to be suitable children's books. But I remember reading Anne Frank's diary when I was about eleven, and it made such an impression on me at the time. And I realise that children are exposed to more violence everyday- and besides which, if they cannot read the books that will push them to adulthood, how else will they grow?

Back home!

So I left on a jet plane on the 23rd and got in Christmas morning around midnight... In flight movies were a sorry lot- a truly terrible piece 'Cheri' whose only saving grace was the presence of Michelle Pfieffer. Then I watched HP6 twice - the first time because there was nothing else- the second time because I was looking for the Snape teaching Dark Arts scene... only to discover that they had indeed cut that from the movie... and that's another 5 hours of my life wasted. The thing is like an addiction.

I liked '500 days of Summer' a lot though. Zooey Daschanel usually annoys me... and she did annoy me a bit in this movie too... with her almost 1950's type feminity. It was primarily her dresses and hairstyle and whole aesthetic through the movie, I think... don't get me wrong- I loved the old-fashioned gingham and the pretty skirts and tops and what not... and frankly they were very 'me'... but hallo? Who dresses like that on a daily basis any more? What happened to jeans and a T anyway? And don't get me started on the annoyingly perfect hair- half the time she looked like a school girl.

Still, I totallysympathized with her character. And at the same time with the poor guy she dumped (eventually). It was a lovely telling of how a relationship grows, stagnates and breaks down. And sometimes there are no really good reasons why things work out with some people and not with others. So, yeah, for a change- not a love story.

Now in Madras is the music season. Attended an amazing concert of Ranjini-Gayathri today- sort of tottered there half asleep thanks to jet-lag, but was wide awake and spell bound through out. They had a lot of really good accompanists, I must say... will probably see a couple of other concerts before this thing is done...

Sigh... not getting through with Bill Bryson... I think, like my cousin says, the problem with this travel-book type of thing is the lack of plot- much as I enjoy his writing, its not really going anywhere... it just sort of meanders like the author's journey. Gone through Norway, Amsterdam and Germany (more or less). Was much amused by Bryson's comment on how the Danes once ruled all of Scandinavia and now have no monuments to show for it- only a little mermaid...

In other news... Schumi's back ! I have to go to Montreal this year at least...

Wolf Hall- yet another historical

At this rate, I may well become an expert on the history of Britain as written in fiction. Wolf Hall as a novel is somewhat disappointing. As an almost blog like account of the day to day politics of the court of Henry VIII, it is absolutely brilliant. Though, I admit for someone who had litterally nothing to do for over three days but sit and read, the book was still pretty slow going.

While reading the book, I wasn't terribly impressed. It is only now, looking back on it, thinking how much it reads, like say, a newspaper or biographical account, almost as though it was writting with the views of the people of that time in mind- their priorities - their politics. So many names, so many who must have been famous or infamous in their time, who are now all but forgotten.

Cromwell himself, feels terribly modern- his attitude- on the one had he seems terribly ,unbelievably modern (but then so do Shakespeare's plays sometimes- and then you are reminded that people do not really change through the centuries- only the names and the faces do)- his politics-his live and let live attitude- his attitude towards women. And on the other hand there in Thomas More, the man he was set up as a foil to- unflinching, unchanging- the whole story reminds me of Asimov's story "In a Good Cause-" where a man who bends his principles may achieve so much more -towards the same end- than one who sticks to his principles. More comes off pretty sadly in this version of the story- an unhappy man, a bad husband, a torturer, one who could not see that he could be wrong, merciless, and ultimately a failure.

Whereas Cromwell's greatest successes and his failures are yet ahead of him. His loyalty to Wolsey does not prevent him from serving the king who destroyed his master. Names that will gain greater meaning edge through- Jane Seymour, for now merits only a paragraph or two. The book, it has to be said, requires a good deal of prior knowledge of the story of the life and times of Henry VIII. Wolf Hall, that refrain that beats through the book, a repetition of licentiousness and promise of corruption- "Wolf Hall" reads like a prologue- an introduction to a man who's greatest successes and failures are still ahead of him.

In the end though, as a Booker Prize winner, I thought it was overrrated. It was obviously incredibly well researched, but I found the writing occasionally sloppy and confused (and confusing).

Falls the Shadow

I've just finished "Falls the Shadow" by Sharon Kay Penham. I admit, at the beginning I was more than a little impatient. The characters were all confusing, same names, innumerable titles, shifting alliances.

The tale spans the life of Simon de Montfort, a man I'd never heard of before this book, but now am not likely to forget, and Henry III and the last Prince Llewelyn of Wales.

In the vase of Simon, I can't imagine a man so full of contradictions. On the one side a man of principle, but utterly obstinate, a man of courage and honor, unable to compromise, with no diplomacy, entirely a man of war. And yet this man would have limited his own powers and the power of his king, his loyalty to the crown was absolute, but not to the man who wore it.

And his foil, Henry- wek-willed, easily swayed, surrounded by sycophants. If it had been Henry alone, Simon would probably have won, but he was faced by Edward, Henry's son, who had learnt the art of war from Simon himself, and Richard, Henry's brother and Simon's own temper and pride that cost him valuable allies.

For all Henry's weakness I cannot hate him- he simply was a weak man, who took bad advice. The power hungry Marshall Lords, the Gloucester who abandoned his principles, and Edward who freely broke promises- they invite hatred.

And poor Bran- who was too late- who saw his father's head on a pike, who, by all accounts later participated in a heinous murder of his own. History makes all men heroes and villains in their own time... Simon was all hero- and maybe that's why he didn't win.

(I have to take back what I said about the author drawing him too one dimensionally- the more I read, the more his entire character- warts and all, comes out)

A deep dark confession of the soul

What intellectually stimulating literary masterpiece have I been so involved in, you may ask, that I haven't blogged in such a long time. At which I must look sheepish and look at the floor and mutter under my breath and hope that you don't quite catch that.

Because an alarming number of my evenings have been spent with... E harlequin.... Yes, free romance novels have become my staple pastime. In my defence, at least they're free.

Sadly, poorly written formulaic romance novels have ruined me for good literature. I read a book of short stories by Evelyn Waugh , and was utterly bored throughout. Though I have to wonder, did he create the stereotype of British boys' boarding schools or merely perpetuate it? Or were boarding schools really like that? Anyway (edited when not half asleep), the reason I didn't like this so much, was that the snark and the witty repartee weren't really going anywhere. It made me smile but not laugh, or feel a faint sadness, but not grief. They were all clever stories- not clever plots, but interesting insights into the characters of people. But in the end it felt vaguely without purpose.

Then I plodded though "The Devil Wears Prada" . Yes, plodded. The movie was breezy and fun. The book was whiny and annoying. At no point, do I get the impression that the main character is not a self absorbed, entitled, sanctimonious, holier-than-thou brat. Oddly (or not so oddly), my sympathies are with the bitchy boss, the alcoholic best friend and the really annoying boyfriend rather than the lead... which is really sad.

Also made my way through "Wicked" which I'd gone and seen on Broadway some months back. The play, with all its song and dance was lovely. But it left things somewhat unresolved. So, I went to the book, hoping for resolution. Alas, it was not to be. In fact, the book is even vaguer, leaves even more unresolved questions, makes even larger jumps in narrative, and to top it off, doesn't even have song and dance sequences. At least the play tied in some of the things together nicely- the origins of the Tin Woodman, scarecrow and lion. The book makes only vague allusions. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I like it when books leave us to figure things out ourselves. But there was no sense to this book without those ironies, so why hide them? I have to wonder how the playwrights saw that this book would make a great musical. If I had not already seen the play, I would have never guessed that any thing Broadway like could be distilled from such a meandering book with so many plotlines and confusing characters.... guess that's why I'm not producing Broadway shows.

Anyway, next on the horizon in Wolf Hall... the Booker prize winner... should make it the year of the Tudors for me. Have also picked up a book on the War of the Roses... make that the year of the historical

Edited on 10/22/2009- a reminder that I should not blog when half asleep and practically unable to find the letters on the keyboard.