I've fallen behind with my reviews after a busy couple of weeks at work, so here's a quick round up of my latest reads.
47. A Clergyman’s Daughter – George Orwell
It’s fairly obvious Orwell is using the story of middle class Dorothy’s memory loss and subsequent experiences as a hop picker, homeless person and teacher in a third rate public school as a vehicle for social reportage, but no less enjoyable for it.
I really enjoyed the way Orwell portrayed the stuffy, repressed British society of the 1930’s. I particularly liked his characterisation of Dorothy’s Father, a wonderfully narrow minded and bad tempered vicar and the greedy, villainous Mrs Creevy, the owner of Ringwood House Academy for Girls.
Fittingly, I read a second hand edition of the book which was published in 1964, priced in shillings and pence and about to fall apart. It was in such a fragile state that I was relieved when the glue held together until I’d finished it. The blurb on the book cover describes one of the characters as “an elderly free thinker” when he’s 48, the same age as me! That made me smile.
48. Nervous Conditions – Tsitsi Dangarembga
I read this after discovering that the Booker shortlisted The Mournable Body is the third in a trilogy. Nervous Conditions is the first book. This was a great coming of age story set in 1960’s Zimbabwe.
Adolescent Tambu lives with her parents and siblings in abject poverty in rural Zimbabwe. She sees her Uncle and his family living a very different life as his position as Head Teacher of the local Mission School provides him with money and status. He and his wife are educated and have even spent a number of years living in the UK. Tambu envies her cousins' sophistication and confidence; they speak English rather than the local language, and both go to school. As a girl from a poor family, Tambu is not considered valuable enough to receive an education and seems to destined to lead the same unfulfilling and difficult life as her Mother and all the other women in her family.
For me this really worked as a literary page turner. The story was interesting, the characters were well drawn and the language was precise and economical. The book tackles a number of weighty themes; colonisation, patriarchy, family relationships and female friendships to name but a few. If you are looking for a plot driven novel with depth and complexity, this definitely fits the bill. One of my favourite reads of the year so far.
49. The Accidental Tourist – Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler is my comfort author of choice and this book kept me company during a tough week at work.
The plot in a nutshell: Macon Leary struggles to find his place in the world following the death of his son and the breakdown of his marriage. This sounds rather bleak and depressing which is not the case at all; this was actually a funny and uplifting read.
I enjoyed Anne Tyler's acute observations on human beings, relationships and life in general. This was one of the best of hers I’ve read. I think she writes particularly well about animals and children, and this book has both. Reliably good.
50. Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency – Olivia Laing
A collection of essays on art, literature and life in general, mostly written around 2016/2017 when we all thought the world was falling apart because of Brexit and Trump. Oh, if only we had known then, what we know now.
Laing encourages us to read and enjoy art in a reparative rather than a paranoid way, arguing that art should inspire us when life is challenging or bewildering.
This was a good collection to dip into as it focused on some artists and writers already known to me and others who I haven't come across before. I feel interested enough to go and seek the latter out, which is testament to her passion and enthusiasm. I enjoyed her writing style, which was pithy and incisive.
On the subject of audiobooks, I listened to this on Audible and during the course of the book I began to like the narration less and less. At first it sounded fine, but after a few hours or so the tone of the narrator’s voice began to sounds relentlessly bright and upbeat, almost robotically so. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I’d read it rather than listened to it as the narration needed a bit more light and shade. Nevertheless, still good.