Set sometime in the 1960s this story is about two couples - Sally & Richard and, Jerry & Ruth. There are affairs, much conflict and insoluble problemsSet sometime in the 1960s this story is about two couples - Sally & Richard and, Jerry & Ruth. There are affairs, much conflict and insoluble problems. This satire, was okay to start with, but it wore on me after a while. It really did. My least favourite of my Updike reads.
Jerry and Sally have sex. Jerry says he loves Sally. Ruth and Richard have sex. Sally plays both sides (Richard and Jerry) Richard calls Sally names. Jerry acts appallingly to Ruth. Jerry can't decide who to be with. Richard threatens Jerry. Ruth puts up with heaps of crap from Jerry.
Rinse and repeat.
But what made this for me was The A Team - a wonderful buddy read with Lisa, Jennifer, Davey, Canders, Diane, Ebba, Laysee and Jeannie. The conversations are still going - and it's wonderful!!
As expected, Updike and this book, proved to be a polarising experience.
An eighty-four-year-old widower and Ukrainian expat (Papa) living in the UK, falls hopelessly in love with Valentina, a thirty-six-year-old , heavily An eighty-four-year-old widower and Ukrainian expat (Papa) living in the UK, falls hopelessly in love with Valentina, a thirty-six-year-old , heavily made up, elaborately coiffured, mega high heeled, skimpily dressed and let’s not deny it – massively breasted, tornado of a woman.
Papa has two middle-aged daughters – Nadia and Vera. This book would not have worked if it were two sons, I am sure, the casting of the two daughters was brilliant. The outrage expressed by Nadia and Vera, in particular, was explosive. Valentina, married to their Papa – has moved in, and Papa is spending money like a drunken sailor. Three cars, no less – including a £500 Rolls Royce, all for Valentina. The house is a mess, their mother’s garden is no more, and Valentina is suspected of ‘putting it about a bit’ – living with other men from time to time. Papa is also losing weight, and often calls Nadia – in a real state, usually when he is being berated by Valentina for being stingy, poor, or miserly.
Valentina is the star here. This vapid minx creates mayhem. A great deal of this is very funny, despite Valentina’s abusive behaviour towards Papa (and it is), she is funny, in a cringeworthy way.
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Octogenarian, Papa, is also funny. Mainly because he’s hopeless. Totally in love. “In love with Valentina’s breasts” according to his daughters. He’s also a blissfully happy obsessive when it comes to subjects like “Tractor making in the Ukraine”. He won’t stop talking about irrelevant matters – when his daughters are trying to extricate him from this terrible situation.
”What happened with and the cigarettes” asked Nadia. There is a long silence. “Can’t remember” Papa says. He looks sideways out of the window and starts to cough. “Did I tell you, Nadia, about the boilers of these ship and how gigantic they were?”
For me though, the laughs ran out at the two-thirds mark and it got a bit silly. It’s a tricky thing for a writer to maintain hilarity throughout an entire book I think. Particularly if it starts off well, perhaps it’s difficult to maintain the pace. Hance my relatively low rating.
The question is, will Papa escape the clutches of the nefarious Valentina?
Okay - it is with some relief I have stopped listening to this one. Every time I took the pups for a walk, I looked at my podcasts, and also this audiOkay - it is with some relief I have stopped listening to this one. Every time I took the pups for a walk, I looked at my podcasts, and also this audiobook (with some degree of dread and obligation to finish it).
Invariably, I'd choose a podcast.
Don't get me wrong David Mitchell is a very funny man, I like him. In this audiobook he rattles through each King from the beginning to Elizabeth I - and he really takes the piss out of them. Something, I love - being an antimonarchist. But it was too much funny!! Sounds stupid right?
Perhaps it's more amusing than 'laugh out loud Alan Partridge' hilarious. It's long and I got a bit tired of it. Besides, it impacted my valuable podcast time - which is hardly the book's fault at all really.
DNF at around 60% - but decent enough 3 Stars (3.5)...more
Bloody Women by Helen Fitzgerald was a perfect palette cleanser after wrestling with Johnny “Boy” Updike recently.
I rarely dive into suspense-thrilleBloody Women by Helen Fitzgerald was a perfect palette cleanser after wrestling with Johnny “Boy” Updike recently.
I rarely dive into suspense-thrillers and this one had the added bonus of wonderful black comedy. So, as well as sitting on the edge of my chair at times, being well and genuinely surprised, I also had a few chuckles. That can’t be a bad thing, hey?
Cat Marsden, a Scottish woman, living in Italy with her Fiancé, Joe – returns home to Glasgow for her wedding. Her mother advises her to ensure she’s tied up all of her ‘loose ends.’ Upon further enquiry, Mum meant – her ex-boyfriends (gulp!).
So, Cat decides to meet with her four ex-boyfriends on consecutive days, prior to the big day. Naturally, she has sex with them – however, they are later found dead. Cat is the prime suspect.
Johnny Marshall’s jacket washed up on Portobello beach on the afternoon of Cat Marsden’s wedding. He’d been thrown off the pier. Almost simultaneously. His penis was found in the bottom of a complementary bowl of peanuts at the Hammer Bar in Glasgow.
The writing here is simple and fast-paced and it was a quick read. It had twists and turns, and I certainly didn’t pick the ending. Good fun.
Think, the espionage version of Yes Minister, with a dash of Dad’s Army thrown in, and you’ll be somewhere near Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene. ThThink, the espionage version of Yes Minister, with a dash of Dad’s Army thrown in, and you’ll be somewhere near Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene. This is a satirical farce about the British Secret Service (MI6), and it’s very funny.
Our hapless protagonist is a vacuum cleaner salesman called Wormald. He was living in Havana during the terrible days of the oppressive Batista regime in the 1950s. This was just before the revolution led by Fidel Castro. Fertile ground for secret service agents of many nationalities.
I went into this one blind, and after a recent read of Greene’s (The Power and the Glory), which was way too Catholicky for me, this one surprised me. Immediately, one could detect this was going to be funny. Wormald was a quiet, unassuming sort – obsessed about his product and trying to sell the new model - The Atomic Pile. However, due to a turn of unexpected events, he was recruited by MI6 as an operative, and was expected to recruit a team of local agents to provide intelligence to London on the dangerous situation in Cuba.
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A Miele 1950s Vacuum Cleaner, looks a bit racy I reckon. Vacuum Cleaners make an appearance more than once in the plot of this story
Wormald (what a name hey?) was hopeless and easily pushed around, and his way of ‘doing things’ will surprise you. So surprising, in fact, his own situation, and the mess he created just seemed to get worse and worse. His handler, an upper-class twit called Hawthorne thought Wormald was an excellent operative, due to the reports he was sending back and the team he had assembled, this view was shared by the stuffy Chief of MI6.
There’s not only laughs here, there’s also suspense, menace, thrills, and a touch of romance.
There’s one particularly nasty actor here – Havana Police Captain Segura. He possesses a legendary wallet made of human skin – you know the sort. After explaining to our hero that there is a class distinction between who one can torture or not, Segura said:
”Dear Mr Wormald, surely you realise there are some people who expect to be tortured and others who would be outraged at the idea. One never tortures except by a kind of mutual agreement”.
If you chose this book, you won't regret it. It is fast-paced, easy to read and funny. Highly recommended.
4 Stars
Many thanks to my buddy reader Davey (Boy) Marsland – he was good fun throughout, provided one or two perspectives that passed me by, and was the ideal companion for this one.
This has been sitting on my table of TBRs for a while. I just wasn’t sure, murder mysteries sometimes disappoint.
This one didn’t. It’s funny, lively,This has been sitting on my table of TBRs for a while. I just wasn’t sure, murder mysteries sometimes disappoint.
This one didn’t. It’s funny, lively, and engaging. A bright adventure indeed. The Thursday Murder Club consists of four intrepid ‘oldies’ living in a well-to-do retirement village. Ron, Joyce, Ibrahim, and the fascinating and ever so mysterious Elizabeth.
They meet to ‘solve’ old/cold cases every week. Elizabeth has ‘contacts and sources’ able to provide information on crimes and criminals.
This story presents this quartet of sleuths with a cluster of real murders to solve in real time. This is when the fun starts.
This author has a knack of keeping the story moving at a nice pace, with interesting characters. Some despicable.
He also injects humour that had me laughing. Love it!
One other thing I liked was the politics involved in residential villages for retired people. It reminded me of the time my parents lived in one. I reckon managing such a facility with its residents would be no walk in the park!!!! The residents can be a tricky bunch.
So, if you’re after a murder, mystery with a few laughs, lots of interesting characters, and a number of dead bodies – this is one for you!
”Well, here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into” the quote made famous by Oliver Hardy, to me, illustrates the fact that most ‘messes’ we find o”Well, here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into” the quote made famous by Oliver Hardy, to me, illustrates the fact that most ‘messes’ we find ourselves in are human made. This is one major take away from this clever book - The Echo Chamber, by John Boyne.
The Cleverley family (great name), consist of:
George: A National Treasure…….(quote: George Cleverley), the father of the family has worked for the BBC for decades as a light entertainment presenter. He is a household name and much loved. He is having trouble with the new terminology, and etiquettes required in the modern world. There are millions ready to pounce on the likes of him when he errs, and err he does. Oh, he is having an affair.
Beverley: Has a nice ring doesn’t it…..Beverley Cleverley? Mum is also partaking in extra-marital activities. Her marriage to George lacks the passion of years gone by. She is quite frankly a snob and would shudder at the thought of catching a bus and mingling with the great unwashed masses of London.
Nelson: The oldest brother. Now this boy is an odd specimen. He feels more comfortable wearing costumes in his daily life, than not. He wears Scrubs, police uniforms and more. This invariably gets him into trouble as he goes about his daily business. He is a teacher – and is bullied by most. Nelson takes social awkwardness to World-class levels.
Elizabeth: The middle sibling, she is uber-active on social media. Elizabeth enjoys using anonymous handles on social media – such as @TruthIsASword, so she can abuse with gay abandon. Obtaining a Twitter blue tick is a life-time goal hers. Elizabeth’s boyfriend, Wilkes, is a social warrior who doesn’t wash – I found him revolting and hilarious. The family could smell him well before he entered a room, oh and his underpants…….don’t get me started!!
Achilles: Perhaps the most detestable of the family – even though they all seem to adore him. He will think nothing of extorting a few grand from middle aged men. He is charismatic and gorgeous – just ask him.
There is one other cast member who needs a mention, a tortoise called Ustym Karmaliuk. Beverley is babysitting her Ukrainian lover’s pet as he needs to go back home to well……..put it about a bit. Ustym made my heart melt – poor thing.
So back to my opening paragraph. This book and the grubby characters of the Cleverley family inflicted considerable pain on themselves, with consummate ease. But, on top of that – humankind, as a collective, with the creation of all consuming social media and easy to obtain cellular phones, has made it even easier for us to exact damage on each other and ourselves.
There are some salient messages in this book, all while providing the reader with a great laugh. It is a wonderful, witty, ultra-sharp, satire on contemporary life, the power of the masses and cancel culture. It is also a wee bit scathing of aspects of wokeness. I feel so lucky to have read this. Oh, and John Boyne has written heaps of books, and this is my first. Happy Days ahead.
5 Stars
Woke: Aware, especially of social problems such as racism and inequality.
Self-disclosure: I am happy to be woke, using this Cambridge Dictionary definition my value systems fit very snugly within these words. I suppose the question is – how far do ‘we’ go?...more
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin is big, bold, wicked, funny, and totally engaging.
Beagin’s offering is certainly in my top three reads of this year, I loved Big Swiss by Jen Beagin is big, bold, wicked, funny, and totally engaging.
Beagin’s offering is certainly in my top three reads of this year, I loved it.
Greta is a transcriber for a sex therapist in a small town. The audio files are sent to Greta, and she performs her work, usually in her underwear, at home. She takes a particular interest in one of the therapist’s clients – a woman Greta calls “Big Swiss”. Greta imagines Big Swiss (she is from Switzerland) as a stunning woman with a massive presence. Big Swiss is a 28-year-old gynaecologist, she loves dogs but has never had an orgasm, she is married to a wealthy man in town.
Greta is forty-five, she is also a dog lover and lives in a shared home which is a bit of a shambles. For example, there is a bee hive inside the house and the old place is falling apart. Her mother suicided when Greta was a girl. Greta has also shed as many responsibilities as possible – she yearns for a simple life.
Anyone can see that Greta was not a horse person. Her hair was not long enough, and neither were her teeth, and as a child, she had not been mistreated by other children
I found myself constantly surprised by the acerbic humour littered throughout this book, it made me laugh and often shocked me, not in a bad way – but in a guffawing, losing my nasal contents type of way.
People age horrible. They suffer strokes. Their bodies and brains fall apart. But the male ego? Firmly intact until the bitter end.
The transcripts of the sessions between the therapist and Big Swiss are fascinating, explicit, and often funny. I could not get enough of being a fly on the wall here – that is terrible isn’t it? But I loved it.
Big Swiss and Greta meet at a dog park – and things kick off. This is an ideal group or buddy read book – I can imagine pro-Big Swiss readers, throwing muffins at Greta fans, and vice versa. There is a lot to digest here, lots of sides to take.
Okay, this is important, this book is not all beer and skittles. It has some horrible violence and covers control and power in relationships.
This book really is the finished article, one of the best. I will hunt down other books from this author right now. Oh, HBO are making a movie based on this book – starring Jodie Comer as Big Swiss, I cannot wait.
If you want to spend a few days in the company of a handful of reprobates, this is for you.
Considered a modern classic of American literature Modern BIf you want to spend a few days in the company of a handful of reprobates, this is for you.
Considered a modern classic of American literature Modern Baptists is enjoyable enough.
Often disturbing, sometimes frustrating and occasionally funny. It’s a satire on life in a southern US town, a town where nothing much really happens, a depressing place of no ambition or joy.
Mr Bobby Pickens, a middle-aged dude living alone in the family home, has his world disrupted by his brother – a good looking, ‘aspiring actor’ with a six pack and a sometime crook. His brother, F.X., decides to set up shop at Mr Pickens’ (the author uses this title throughout) joint, following his release from prison. This is a shock to Mr Pickens as he thought the house was left to him, to him alone, by his parents. F.X. comes with a VERY LARGE footprint – causing no end of stress for Mr Pickens.
Mr Pickens works at a local store called Sonny Boy, managed by a tight-fisted, petty man, called Mr Randy. A salesgirl works there, and Mr Pickens has a crush on her – she is many years his junior, Antoinette is her name. But there’s also another woman in town called Burma, who seems to hold a flame in her heart for the hapless Mr Pickens. However, Burma has a fiancée called Emmet. Emmet would be the dullest tool in this toolbox – and that’s saying something!!!
Mr Pickens had a spot on his back, on the shape of New Jersey, diagnosed as malignant by the lab……….referred to as ‘back cancer’ later in the book.
There’s a smattering of other flat-lining small-town characters here, many religious (Baptists), who create drama in this story devoid of plot.
”Bobby, do you think you drink too much?” “I guess so.” “And we’re Baptists.” “Modern Baptists can drink. It’s only stuffed shirts like Dr McFlug who don’t.” “Well, I guess I’m a modern Baptist, then. Wanna get drunk?”
I haven’t visited a southern small town in the US, but this book does create a unique feel – it is relentless in creating an aura of hopelessness. I have visited many and lived in some, small towns in rural Australia – so I get the feeling. You, know – shops boarded up in the main street, no jobs, small town gossip.
There is fun to be had here – that’s if you like laughing at the misfortunes of others. This is something I can do – in the world of fiction of course. But this kind of hopelessness can also be funny in real life stories – providing no animals or small children are hurt.
This is good fun and will give your emotions (good and bad) a bit of a kick up the bum – worth a try.
Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark was a bit of a disappointment.
It’s post-war London and Fleur Talbot is writing a book called Warrender Chase. ShLoitering with Intent by Muriel Spark was a bit of a disappointment.
It’s post-war London and Fleur Talbot is writing a book called Warrender Chase. She also takes on a job for a dislikable high society Muppet called Sir Quentin Oliver. This man has created a group called the Autobiographical Association. This group consists of a bunch odd-bods who are writing their memoirs and Fleur has been brought in to assist with this process – enhance them if you like.
As this project develops we see an amalgam developing between the memoirs, Fleur’s book and real-life. I thought that bit was clever. So, it all becomes a bit strange.
The characters here are an interesting bunch, the most developed being Sir (sorry, as an Australian Republican– in the sense of ‘anti-monarchist’, even writing Royal titles makes me come out in hives) Quentin and Fleur, the latter being likable (and perhaps Edwina, Sir Quentin's mummy). But the other characters – who were interesting/odd could have been developed a little more, with one or two exceptions. For example, most members of the AA were like cardboard cut-outs. But who am I to criticise Spark?
There were some humorous moments, more smirk worthy, than laugh worthy, and the novel did start off with some promise. But it all got a bit too silly, farcical and Spark must’ve had the kettle on as it all ended in a hurry.
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“Hurry!!!!”
After reading this book and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, I am certainly missing Spark’s point. I need to read more of her because I hate missing out – if it's fun, funny, well-written – I WANT IN!!!! So, I’m currently outside the tent pissing in, rather than inside the tent pissing out.
Not where I want to be.
I’d like to thank my super buddy reader Lisa (and Violeta who watched over us and supplied some great comments at the end) – they made this ordinary experience a bit more fun. Lisa and I have committed to read another Spark novel in the near future, I think she enjoyed this a little more than I did, but we both have some work to do on this popular and obviously excellent author (I hope you don’t mind me saying that our Lisa?).
My favourite idiots, and I do consider myself an expert on this subject, are those that don’t consider themselves to be idiotic. They’re usually well-My favourite idiots, and I do consider myself an expert on this subject, are those that don’t consider themselves to be idiotic. They’re usually well-dressed, often qualified and inhabit that primordial swamp of senior/executive management of many, or even most organisations. We see them use jargon at meetings, tell staff how passionate they are about ‘employee well-being’ and they encourage us to ‘think outside the square’, ‘operate in that space’ and ‘reach out for one another’.
My favourite celebrity idiot is Alan Partridge. This is his third memoir. Unsurprisingly, he has considerable material. Alan is pompous, selfish, narcissistic, hopeless, misogynistic, racist, and self-aggrandising. But he does love Toblerone and his dog Seldom.
This memoir covers Alan’s attempts to breathe life back into his career as a presenter (TV or radio), but there’s more. There is a dual narrative here (described as ‘daring’ by Alan) as he also purchases and refurbishes a knackered lighthouse on the Kent coast.
There are so many laugh out loud moments here – I can’t get enough of this man. Steve Coogan the man behind the creation of Partridge, is very clever. He has developed this character for around 30 years. Partridge is a mature product, like an 18-month cheddar cheese.
I almost cried when Alan’s dog – “Seldom” – died at a fairground. Also, his denials of any romantic chemistry between Jennie and his co-host of TV’s “This Time” are unbelievably ridiculous. Allan treats his personal assistant appallingly and denigrates many other celebrities on British TV. Make no mistake, this bloke is bitter and pompous.
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Alan here pictured with co-host of “This Time”, Jennie. Alan was lucky enough to snag a guest gig on the show following the illness and consequent death of the previous male co-host. You can sense the sexual tension between the pair. You can right??
I particularly enjoyed Alan’s attempts to ingratiate himself with the locals in Kent. A community consultation session regarding the lighthouse is Alan at his cringeworthy best as things didn’t quite go as expected. Oh my, he really came across as a tosser.
This book MUST, MUST, MUST be listened to. The funny thing here is not only the content, which is very clever – but it’s Alan Partridge’s voice, his delivery. He stumbles from one disastrous statement to another.
What an amazing piss-take of Victorian England this work is. The more I read of the classics, the more I realise there were some very funny writers baWhat an amazing piss-take of Victorian England this work is. The more I read of the classics, the more I realise there were some very funny writers back in the day. Class acts like Gogol (obviously) Voltaire, Wharton (Xingu), Kafka – I understand the likes of Austen and Trollope can be funny too, but I am yet to read them – I am sure there are many others.
The Importance of Being Earnest - is a very funny take on some of the etiquettes and norms of the chattering classes in 19th century England. Imagine living in such suffocating politeness, a society with overwhelming social protocols. It would be terrible.
Many would be aware this is a farce involving two men who use other names/identities to escape their ordinary life and go elsewhere to…….misbehave. One of these characters – Jack Worthing – uses the name Earnest to escape life in the country, to chase a woman in London. Jack achieves this by saying he is going to visit his troublesome brother Earnest.
Jack’s acquaintance (I hesitate to use the word friend) is a mischief monger called Algernon Moncrieff this upper-class twit is a total tosser, overbearing, amoral, deceitful and self-indulgent (…..and these are his better qualities!).
Well, “Algy” uses an alias for nefarious activities, too. He is called Bunbury.
There are a couple of hapless young ladies involved with these gentlemen, and they are Gwendoline and Cecile. They become entangled in the confusion and the farcical situation created by Jack and Algy.
We also meet the ultra-stuffy Lady Bracknell – the type who readily turns her nose up to anything she deems to be below her high expectations. She’s too easy to dislike.
We end up with a total farce involving more than one Earnest, more than one engagement, and absolute confusion. There were times I was confused, too. Social norms of the day are turned on their head, the upper class are mocked, and the idea of engagement and marriage are trifled with. It’s magic.
This play is very funny and so easy to read. Wilde was obviously a genius; he would’ve been great company.
Highly recommend - 5 Stars.
Anyway, I’m obliged to go to Melbourne today to take care of my older and problematic cousin, Felix, as he’s leaving prison, and I will be helping him reintegrate into society. I’ll only be a couple of months, or so…….byeeee!!! (by the way, this is a play on this play)...more
This is my first novel by Voltaire, and it will not be my last. How lucky to have a trifecta of satirists and piss-takers on hand now, just waiting foThis is my first novel by Voltaire, and it will not be my last. How lucky to have a trifecta of satirists and piss-takers on hand now, just waiting for me to pluck out a story and have a ball. The other two being Gogol and Kafka, of course. This piece was written by Voltaire in 1759.
Candide was an impressionable young man, he was a very gullible, kind hearted young man. He was influenced by his tutor, a man called Pangloss. This man’s mantra was this world we live in is “the best of all possible worlds”. Or as is said down under “She’ll be right mate.” Everything will work out in the end, for the good. This had a massive impact in the impressionable Candide.
Pangloss was a professor of metaphysicotheologico-cosmolo-nigology. He and Candide were living in a castle in a place called Whestphalia owned by the Baron of Thunder-ten-Tronckh. You can imagine, as soon as I read these words, I knew I was in for one helluva ride.
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Candide caught in the act of trying to seduce the gorgeous Cunegonde
Candide falls for the scrumptious Cunegonde, the Baron’s daughter. As soon as the Baron discovers this – Candide is kicked out of the castle and what follows next is a journey across the globe whereby he encounters many dreadful people and situations. The horrors he experiences, sees, or hears from other people include, rape, murder, enslavement, thieving, whipping, the inquisition, earthquakes, monkeys chasing naked young maidens and biting their buttocks, burning at the stake – to name only a handful.
The villainy of mankind presented itself before his imagination in all its deformity, and his mind was filled with gloomy ideas
Candide started to have serious doubts about Pangloss’s overly optimistic philosophy of life. In fact, Voltaire spends considerable time dismantling the notion of supreme optimism here, and he does an incredibly good job. He also explores the idea of happiness, and fulfilment – and his view on how to achieve that.
This book is a lovely amalgam of philosophy, history and fun – my review has only scratched the surface.
Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald is a book of two halves for me.
We parachute into WWII London, Broadcasting House – the home of the BBC (my word I Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald is a book of two halves for me.
We parachute into WWII London, Broadcasting House – the home of the BBC (my word I love the BBC and Australia’s ABC. Vamos Public Broadcasting!!). Anyway, there are two departments involved here - The Department of Recorded Programmes – led by Sam Brooks, a man who liked to surround himself with young female assistants, a mercurial character, insecure and quite selfish – needy too. The other being The Department of Program Planning – the boss of which is Jeffrey Haggard who is super cool, unflappable, disinterested, and half-soaked. Sam and Jeff are friends, well kind of.
In typically British Public Service tradition – acronyms are rife and quirky characters come and go. If any of you have watched Yes Minister or Dad’s Army, you’ll get the vibe here. It’s a massive piss-take, but it’s oh so subtle. Almost accidentally funny.
Sam had disappeared at the time, with an engineer, an elderly German refugee, Dr Vogel – Dr Vogel, cruelly bent, deaf in one ear, but known to be the greatest expert in Europe on recorded atmosphere
Yes, Sam Brooks’ department was responsible for the BBC’s archives of sounds. Such as door hinges, footsteps, waterfalls etc. When I read the description of poor old Dr Vogel – I had to laugh. The laughs were quick-fire resulting in that bubble of latent laughter in my chest, ready to go, to be ignited by the merest touch of mirth. Even an exclamation mark could’ve set me off in this part of the story!
The BBC is a cross between a civil service, a powerful moral force and an amateur theatre company that wasn’t too sure where next week’s money was coming from.
The humour here is typically British, it’s very self-deprecating and whimsical. It’s all acted out in an environment of German Bombers dropping their ordnance on Britain at the time.
The author so, so cleverly weaves this light story amongst that horror. That’s clever.
I found the first half of the book hilarious; I was constantly laughing. However, the second half I didn’t find funny at all really – now I am not sure if that’s because I was in a different mood, or if it was the writing. So, this experience was a bit uneven, and the character development wasn’t such that without the laughs – I wasn’t left with much else.
Having said that – this read was worthwhile, and I will certainly read this author again.
This is a short, funny read from the irrepressible David Sedaris. He shares anecdotes from his book tours – as yThemes and Variations by David Sedaris
This is a short, funny read from the irrepressible David Sedaris. He shares anecdotes from his book tours – as you’d expect these are often hilarious and sometimes informative. A couple I found particularly interesting was how women put up with the inconvenience and discomfort due to wearing bras and also some stories involving hapless men inserting various objects up their bum.
You know, typical Sedaris.
He also shared funny jokes – these obtained from people he met on tour, usually during book signings – my favourite:
A man is getting ready for bed, when he hears a knock at the door. He opens it and looks down to see a snail. “Yes,” it says , “I’d like to talk to you about buying some magazine subscriptions”.
Beside himself with rage, the man rears back, kicks the snail as hard as he can and returns to bed.
Two years later there comes another knock on the door. The man answers, and again he finds the snail, who looks up at him and says, “What the f**k was that all about?”
That was one of many times I howled with laughter during this delightful read.
A Room with a View by E.M Forster what a delight! This is a Wharton-like comedic piece taking a cynical look at the chattering classes, it is also a lA Room with a View by E.M Forster what a delight! This is a Wharton-like comedic piece taking a cynical look at the chattering classes, it is also a love story – a magnificent love story!
We start in the beautiful city of Florence in the early 1900s – where a small group of English well-to-doers are sharing a guesthouse – nattering, bickering, gossiping and drinking tea. It seems most of this group were held captive by the suffocating requirements of high-society and all its associated social mores of the times. Our main character Lucy is a likeable but flighty young thing and is being chaperoned by her cousin, Miss Bartlett. Now I found this cousin of Lucy’s particularly unlikable, she is a bit of a ‘stick in the mud’ and sounds like dreadful company and not a good influence on lovely Lucy at all.
To provide some insight into how the English upper crust viewed locals when overseas, read these comments which were particularly discomforting:
”I quite agree with you, Miss Allen, The Italians are a most unpleasant people”
”An Italian’s ignorance is sometimes more remarkable than his knowledge”
There’s a couple of religious blokes along for the ride – Mr Beebe (a rector back home) a good natured and harmless fellow, and then there’s Mr Eager an ex-pat, living in Florence who is particularly detestable. Uuuuurrrgghh – but the most disagreeable of all for me was the poisonous Cecil Vyse. This man, who ensnares the delightful Lucy into engagement – is rich, upper-class, negative, snide, a smart arse, a know all and boorish (and they are his better qualities!).
Any story like this needs a hero – and this spot is capably filled by the old Mr Emerson wonderfully assisted by his son George. These guys are great, particularly Dad – he speaks his mind, is generous of spirit and a very open book. But he tends to offend those around him, which is hardly surprising.
Oh my, what a suffocatingly proper bunch.
So for those who haven’t read this classic, this is a love story – like any good love story, the progression to the desired outcome and be bloody agonising, there were times I felt like jumping into the page and giving those concerned a good shaking (dangerous I know!!!) and making them stop, listen and see – and just follow your feelings and your hearts!
Sometimes love stories are the most suspenseful of all.
This was truly sumptuous. Not only does Forster describe the place of Florence (and Rome – see Baths of Caracalla pic – sorry I tend to relate everything to Rome!) beautifully, but he also creates the scenes making the reader feel like we are there. However, some of the depictions of the Italians were not so flattering. He describes the intricate dynamics between the stuffy characters brilliantly. Very tongue in cheek at times – not quite as biting/funny as Wharton though in my view. Forster also describes the inner-workings of women so well, (Disclaimer – see I am a fella…..”Mark”, so I cannot be 100% sure) and all of their associated dramas.
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Lucy was lucky enought to visit the Baths of (that bastard) Caracalla - one of the nastiest Emperors of Ancient Rome, and a complete tool. But this complex was very impressive
This is a page-turner, it wasn’t unusual for me to go to bed at 1am, I read and enjoyed this slowly.
This afternoon I will shut the curtains and blinds, make a cup of tea (grab a couple of Oreos – not English I know), crank up the volume and enjoy. Oh boy the film had better do this story justice!
5 Stars
Movie comments to follow…..The Movie was excellent of course updated 22/05/2023...more
Late last night, I was scratching around for something quick to read before sleeping and I am so glad I stumbleXingu – A Short Story by Edith Wharton
Late last night, I was scratching around for something quick to read before sleeping and I am so glad I stumbled across this marvellous short story, it was already tucked away in my Kindle library. It seems I bought myself a present sometime ago and it turned out to be a wonderful surprise. The advantage of having a dull memory. Anyway, this is my first Wharton, and it won’t be my last, oh boy it was smart and funny.
It was only the fact of having a dull sister who thought her clever that saved her from a sense of hopeless inferiority
We go back to Edwardian times (not sure if it's set in England or America to be honest) and meet up with a bunch of ‘well to do’ ladies who regularly catch up to discuss topics of the day including discussions on any interesting books The Lunch Club. Well, we catch up with them in one of their homes and an invited author comes along to discuss a book she recently wrote.
What ensues is a quiet riot of sarcasm, stuffiness, snobbery, pretentiousness, and satire. But beware, it’s not the type of humour that smacks you between the eyes. The sniping is quite subtle, well mannered even. The invited author is a hoot too – she comes in with an attitude the size of a house.
There’s a total misunderstanding here about Xingu, which turns into a tangle of confusion, bluffing and uncertain groupthink, as everyone ducks for cover to try and make sure they don’t come across as the fool. This is a LOT OF FUN.
Her mind was a hotel where facts came and went like transient lodgers, without leaving their address behind, and frequently without paying for their board
Oh, there is a bonus in the edition I surprisingly purchased for myself, it’s one of Wharton’s essays titled The Vice of Reading, that was illuminating.
Hello Edith!! 4 Stars.
Oh BTW - If you haven’t read this wee gem, don’t try and find out what Xingu is :)
The wonderfully titled Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris was a real blast!
Sedaris at his best, small bites of la grecque cuisine delThe wonderfully titled Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris was a real blast!
Sedaris at his best, small bites of la grecque cuisine deliciously smothered in a sauce of wicked, acerbic, and at times intimate hilarity imbued with an occasional, and somewhat surprising, persillade of vulgarity and abject cruelty. All sprinkled with macerated characters from his life, both family and strangers. I laughed a lot.
Highlights for me included Sedaris harping on about his daggy Dad. I could really identify with his father’s underpant home get-up. As soon as Dad came home from work, all clothes were shed except his undies. He would then happily open the door to strangers, receive guests and sit at the dinner table like this. It is such a relief to have my own behaviour externally validated. Hey it’s comfy!
The story about his dad banging on about how good or great - one of David’s classmates was at swimming, was hilarity at its underpant-wetting best. Seriously funny. His Dad wouldn’t stop going on about this other kid’s Olympic prospects, his manner, his looks, everything. One day David beat him (amazingly) and all Sedaris’ dad could offer in the car on the way home was “Only Just”.
Sedaris’ visit to a taxidermist was uncomfortably funny. He went there to purchase a stuffed owl. Something he had been obsessed about for quite some time. He needed one. (Sedaris seems to have these obsessions – for example, towards the end of the book – he asked Hugh for a plastic model of a human throat for a Valentine’s Day gift – oh my, that induced a spontaneous guffaw.) Anyway, back to the taxidermy shop, the taxidermist immediately identified David as a certain type of individual and didn’t hesitate at showing him his special collection, such as a stuffed pygmy he dragged out of a secret cupboard. Apparently, this poor person was shot back in the day – David Sedaris, as you would expect, had a number of questions whirling around his mind – the main question being - ”how much?”.
This Sedaris offering was slightly different from my previous experience as there are several short stories (4-8 pages) presented which have nothing to do with his direct life experiences. For example, in one memorable piece – the narrator was an intolerant conservative who was angry about the Government allowing Gay Marriage. ”What next - marrying a pizza??”. There was also another great satirical piece where the narrator made a sign where she referred to the American President as an "Indonesian Muslim Welfare Thug Hands Off My Healthcare You Kenyan Socialist Baby Grandma Killer”. She asked her son for feedback, all he could say was “Well Mom…..it’s a little busy”.
After reading the Overcoat a while back, I just had to gobble up more Gogol. In the last couple of days, I’ve had the pleasure of reading two of his sAfter reading the Overcoat a while back, I just had to gobble up more Gogol. In the last couple of days, I’ve had the pleasure of reading two of his short stories – the first of which was Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and his Aunty. Isn’t that a title to wet one’s whistle?
Ivan Fyodorovich is a young man who was a well-behaved little boy at school, he was even a class monitor – (do you remember monitors at school?). He was diligent, nice enough, not brilliant. He served in the military and not long after ending his service he received a letter from his Aunty who was managing some land for him in a small Eastern Ukrainian Town called Gadyach, as both his parents were no longer alive.
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A terrific old photo of Gadyach - you can imagine sloshing through the mud, the earthy smell of pig dung and the whiff of woodfires as you toddle along to the Inn for a Mushroom-Cocktail and Beetroot Sandwiches
Aunt’s letter asked him to come home to manage his estate, as she is getting old. On the way he meets a bossy neighbour of his estate called Grigory Grigoriviech, this boorish man had to squeeze into the Inn Ivan was staying. Note: Many of Gogol’s more farcical characters have a high BMI, probably in the clinically obese range. This seems to be a theme. Grigory insists Ivan MUST visit him when he arrives – he insists!
Gogol’s descriptions of landscape and character is wonderful. He is mainly describing the ordinary, but he always exaggerates depictions of farcical characters, many of his descriptions border on the grotesque and are HILARIOUS.
Anyway, when Ivan arrives ‘home’ in Gadyach – he learns from his Auntie that Grigory Grigoriviech sits on a parcel of land that actually belongs to Ivan. Ivan eventually challenges Grigory about this at a dinner – and conflict and intrigue follows.
Gogal at this best, introducing some drama into an otherwise ordinary situation.
This wasn’t as good as The Overcoat, but good enough to be enjoyable and a bit funny. I’d give it 3.5 stars, but I’d raise it to 4.5 due to a trick I've never encountered before, at the conclusion of this story. It kind of blew me away. I felt I had been “had”. Clever stuff Comrade Gogol,
Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov is a little gem I will come back to again. Reasons being (a) it is so good and (b) I love the character Professor Timofey PniPnin by Vladimir Nabokov is a little gem I will come back to again. Reasons being (a) it is so good and (b) I love the character Professor Timofey Pnin. I did get lost in a couple of passages. I think this is due to the writing of Nabokov as it’s a bit too clever in parts for me, but I will make a point of understanding the whole thing one day. But I got 90% of it – I think.
Pnin must have been a sight to behold, he had a bronzed bald dome, was clean-shaven and his absence of eyebrows were partially concealed by tortoise-shell glasses. He had a thick neck and a solid apish torso – but his legs were disappointingly thin, and his feet were almost feminine.
Pnin is a hapless academic at the fictional Waindell College in America, he’s an émigré, having to leave his homeland due to the Russian Revolution. We catch up with him, mostly, when he is in his fifties – but Nabokov does move the reader around chronologically, these changes in timelines were sometimes difficult to spot for this reader – hence, my confusion at times.
He was essentially homeless. He spent his entire career renting rooms from various faculty members. My favourite ‘room-lords’ were the Clements family. The father being a scholar offering a course on The Philosophy of Gesture, this family maintained a warm, understanding affection for Pnin throughout this story. His reasons for changing his lodgings so frequently (about every semester) were mainly sonic. Ha – I love that! He was also quite a particular man. For example, every lunchtime he washed his hands and head. I also loved the way he extolled the virtues of having all his teeth removed, to anyone who’d listen, and the author’s description of his meaty tongue exploring his now cavernous fleshy mouth.
Like so many ageing college people, Pnin had long ceased to notice the existence of students on campus
This story has a persistent ribbon of sadness running between the laughs. Poor Timofey Pnin seems to maintain his love for his ex-wife, Liza. In fact, she asked Pnin to look after the son of her second marriage (to the guy she left Pnin for) while she galivanted around – no doubt seeking a new suitor. Yes, she did marry a third time, but Pnin sobbed uncontrollably when he realised, she didn’t want to return to him. How sad. The son, Victor, did seem to be a nice lad though – small blessings.
….in a heated exchange between Professor Bolotov, who taught the History of Philosophy, and Professor Chateau, who taught the Philosophy of history: “Reality is Duration”, Bolotov’s voice would boom. “It is not” the other would cry. “A soap bubble is as real as a fossil tooth”
You know when you read a passage in a book and it sends you into hysterics? Well the following was one for me, I LAUGHED OUT LOUD: re-read it and LAUGHED EVEN HARDER.
…..the housekeeper was married to a gloomy and stolid old Cossack whose main passion in life was amateur bookbinding. A self-taught pathological process
I’m still chuckling.
Be careful though, as we are presented with some stark reminders of the grim times of the Russian Revolution, their Civil War and WWII. Such as the time Pnin reminisces about Mira, a Jewish girl he loved when he was young. Poor Mira ended up dying in one of Hitler’s concentration camps, soon after she disembarked from a cattle truck. This made me put the book down and think, and ponder and imagine this horror happening not once, but over six million times. How can one not feel despair?
“Pnin-ian English” was always amusing. Such as his persistent interpretation of Mrs Thayer as “Mrs Fire”. There are many examples throughout to saviour. Pnin finally found a house he wanted to buy; a small affair full of all sorts of “Pnin-isms”. Anyway, he held a house-warming party. Many people he invited found reasons not to attend, but the small gathering who did were all people who liked Timofey Pnin. There was a certain warmth about this gathering which I felt in my chest. I was happy for Pnin, and he did have a nice time.
I found myself liking the characters who liked Pnin and despising the ones who didn’t. I was certainly on Team Pnin and I don’t think I could be friends with “Anti-Pninists”. I think they would have a very mean soul to say the least.
The housewarming gathering occurs towards the end of this book, there is an interesting conclusion to the story – I won’t say if it’s happy or sad, for those of you who haven’t read this work. The narrator stays anonymous throughout but more information regarding this phantom player are revealed in the last chapter, which to this reader, was an interesting reveal.
What an absolute delight. I am so glad to have met Timofey Pavlovich Pnin, he will stay with me for a long time.
5-stars
Now to savour the reviews of others and check out some professional analyses. The fun on this one has just commenced....more
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