Mark Reece's Blog, page 12

Review- Lolita

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I didn't enjoy this. The plot and themes are well enough known not to need repeating, but unpleasant though they are, the major problem for me was the shallowness of the narrator, Humbert. In many of the write ups, he is said to be romantic and intellectual, but I found him to be unbearably pretentious and dull. Given that the novel entirely revolves around him, his lack of depth soon became tedious.

It's not obvious the extent to which Humbert is intended to be an unreliable narrator. In some ways, it seems that he must be, as his impression of Lolita seems implausible. Also, his interpretation of events often feels fantastic. On the other hand, he seems to be honest sometimes, calling himself a monster and a rapist. Ultimately, however, I don't care much.



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Review- The Trial

The Trial by Franz Kafka

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A fantastic book, one of the outstanding novels of the twentieth century, The Trial is said to be unfinished, but feels in many ways as finished as it could ever be.

It begins with the protagonist, Josef K, being arrested on a mysterious charge that no one can explain, after which, he is permanently on trial for his life in a prosecution that appears to run parallel to the official justice system. It is a system that has all the hallmarks of a real court- officials, judges, courtrooms, but that has no rules amenable to outsiders, and from which no ultimate escape is possible. It is located in the attics of residential houses and has officials acting in numerous unofficial capacities, including lawyers, torturers, and even painters. The trial has often been said to anticipate totalitarian rule, but perhaps reflects a wider tendency towards authoritarianism in all modern societies.

K is often the only part of the narrative that feels definitively real, and he is passive and rebellious by turn, although his resistance, when it occurs, always has definitive limits. For example, he never considers violently resisting arrest or running away to start a new life. Whilst being investigated for his life, he is still concerned about maintaining the proprieties of his job as a senior clerk in a bank, even as he discovers that the secret court has torture chambers built into the building. He never tries to publicize his position, or seek help beyond the contacts of his family and business associates. In this, he is distinctively lower middle class, but his respectable outlook and reserved manner ultimately do not help him.

The novel contains long passage in which the lore and mythology of the secret court are given, including a parable of a man who waits his entire life to enter the court, only to die in the attempt. A series of explanations are given by the priest who tell K the story, each as dense of medieval theology. In the hands of a less skilled author, or a less accomplished book, this slowing of the pace might have been jarring. However, in The Trial, it feels entirely apposite, and as real as any of the action sequences.

For such a personal, and painful vision, The Trial feels so fresh and vibrant today. It is a great novel of tremendous influence that feels as if it could have been written either yesterday or transported here from five hundred years in the future.



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Review- The prime of miss Jean Brodie

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a very intriguing book that feels more mysterious than its plain language might at first suggest. The miss Jean Brodie of the title is a charismatic, whimsical, and eccentric school mistress, who picks a 'set'- a group of school girls she will confide in and single out for special attention. Brodie is also a rebel against the school hierarchy- abandoning the curriculum and teaching 'her girls' things of personal interest instead- including the story of how her past lover died in world war one (in circumstances that feel highly idealized).

Although the story is told through the perspective of various members of the Brodie set, Jean Brodie herself dominates the narrative in the same way that she dominates the lives of her favourites. At first, she is unmistakably likeable, in the way that charismatic, cultured people are, and the reader is on her side as she battles against Miss Mackay, the dour head teacher who schemes to dismiss her and encourages her to apply to a progressive school. However, as time goes on, this picture becomes complex, as Brody describes her admiration for fascism and Nazism, and her trivial nature becomes more apparent. She describes that one painter is better than another because 'they are my favourite'; after the second world war, she declares that 'Hitler was a bit naughty'.

Furthermore, in retrospect, the fact that she constantly invites selected young students out to dine at her home seems sinister. This becomes more pronounced as time passes, when Brody tries to manipulate one member of her set- Rose- to have an affair with Terry Lloyd, the art master. Brody's influence reaches a terrible peak when she persuades another girl who was excluded from her set to go to fight for Franco, where she dies. It is testament to the skill of the writing that Brody still seems so attractive, which perhaps also serves as a warning against charisma.

The book skips around in time, with the fate of several of the girls of the Brody set told in advance, briskly and off hand, such as Mary Macgregor, who dies young in a hotel fire. The definitive although vague descriptions are reminiscent of the way that Brody herself talks. They are also willful and very funny, which is what makes this book so fun to read. And also, perhaps, why Jean Brody is not a definitive villain, despite her terrible shortcomings.

I really enjoyed this short novel, which I read in two days and am destined to re-read. It is a wonderfully skillful and archly written book.



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Review- The nutcracker 2021

It was good to see The nutcracker back at the Hippodrome this year. The ballet had been slightly redesigned, notably, with lighting effects that covered the walls of the theatre at times. Also, the ballet starts at a scene in Drosselmeyer's shop, with Drosselmeyer giving a short narration at different points in the story. The orchestra was positioned above the stage, rather than in the well, giving them a more prominent position than in previous years.

That being said, the majority of the ballet remained the same, albeit with some new dancers in the main role. The quality of the performance has been maintained,

There was a short presentation at the end, in which it was indicated that the performance will be more comprehensively re-designed next year. An interesting, if risky proposition.

Review- Taking off Emily Dickinson's clothes

Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes by Billy Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book is comprised of four shorter poetry collections, and I very much preferred the first two; 'The apple that astonished Paris', and 'Questions about angels'. There is a simplicity and elegance to the poems in those sections that makes them feel light. In particular, my favourite poem of the collection, 'The dead', imagines dead people looking down at the living from heaven, and ends with these arresting lines:

which makes them lift their oars and fall silent
and wait, like parents, for us to close our eyes.

There is a self-conscious 'ordinariness' about many of the poems, and it seems as if the author has made a deliberate decision to avoid more complicated literary formulations in order to keep the work 'accessible'. This mostly works, largely because the affectation of simplicity is, of course, an affectation. However, there are occasions when such a presentation becomes excessive, for example, in 'American sonnet', which is an somewhat irritating paean to small town life:

We do not speak like Petrarch or wear a hat like Spenser

etc.

Despite this, re-reading this book after a considerable time has made me think that I would like to read Collins' other collections at some point. I certainly think that most of this work could be enjoyed by anyone who doesn't read a lot of poetry, which was no doubt the author's intention.



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Review- Scenes from the Grenfell inquiry

Scenes from the Grenfell inquiry apparently consists wholly of quotes from the public inquiry. Assuming that to be true, the play that was recently performed in the Birmingham REP was brilliantly edited. The performance consisted of questioning by Ron Cook, who played Richard Millett QC, who was counsel to the inquiry. Cook/Millett cross examined a series of witnesses, including fire brigade personnel, and a series of people from the complex web of contractors, sub-contractors, and Kensington and Chelsea local authority staff who had responsibility for the building prior to the fire.

The play is around two and a half hours long, which enables the material to be fitted around themes in a way that no doubt have been much harder to follow in the inquiry itself, which took place over a long period of time, and was subject to constant delays.

Although the play involved only questions and answers, the actors skillfully portrayed the different personalities of the witnesses. The fire fighter's answers were clipped, before he was forced to recall his abortive rescue of a child, when he became very distressed. The buildings control officer from the local authority was bumbling, until becoming tearful when forced to confront a mistake in the auditing of the building maintenance, which might have contributed to the fire. The parade of architects and managers from the various companies involved were slick but evasive, and all tried to blame other aspects of the supply chain for the failures that contributed to the deaths of 72 people.

Ron Cook was for me the stand out performer, cross examining the witnesses with a mixture of compassion, and, where necessary, icy contempt. In one memorable exchange, a witness remarks that he considered the bid for the Grenfell Tower refurbishment a success, given that it was completed on budget. After a pause, Cook/Millett comments that he did not consider that much help to the inquiry, given the fate of the building.

The portion of the evidence given during the play gave an impression as depressing as it is unsurprising. The businesses involved in the maintenance of tower were wholly focused on squeezing profit out of the work, with very little attention paid to the interests or safety of the residents, the representatives of whom were dismissed in internal e-mails as 'trouble makers' when they raised concerns. The answers of many of the witnesses indicated surprise that they would have any responsibility for fire safety, raising the question of what they were doing to earn their enormous fees. The banality of the corruption is shown in vacuous e-mail exchanges and in missing minutes.

It is testament to the editing that some of the key themes of the inquiry, coded in technical language such as 'value engineering' can be picked up by an audience without a specialist background. It would be wonderful if the play managed to add momentum to the tortuous progress of the various Grenfell investigations. But in any case, it serves as a skillful and sorrowful exploration of the class structure that allowed 72 people to die in such a shocking fashion.

Review- The bloody chamber and other stories

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a wonderful collection of stories, loosely based on fairy tales. The writing is sumptuous and extravagant throughout (in a good way), of the type that can make one loose the thread of the story, as some paragraphs demand to be instantly re-read. The predominant themes are transformations, particularly into animals, and sublimated or suppressed sexuality. A prime example is the fantastic 'The Tiger's Bride', in which a man loses his daughter to a 'beast' in a game of cards. The beast says that he will return the woman if she will only allow him to see her naked, setting off a passive aggressive, implicitly sexual game between them.

Most of the stories have a wild, violent tone, but others are fun and fast paced. Carter's version of puss-in-boots has the titular protagonist as a highly knowing, wily companion to a rakish man, who cynically schemes to fulfill his master's desire to be with a married woman (although even this story has its sinister moments, as when a murder is casually excused in a subordinate clause).

Several of the stories are told from a female perspective (including a female Dracula), and there is a feminist undertone throughout, although it is very subtle. Only the tone is apparent; this is a text that would undoubtedly repay a close literary analysis. The author's focus on and love of language is plainly apparent, and it makes the book a pleasure to read.

I would strongly recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys fairy tales, or just good writing.



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Review- Tim Minchin encore tour

Tim Minchin recently performed his encore tour at the Birmingham hippodrome, and he proved as entertaining and as high energy as ever. Playing before a sympathetic crowd, he performed a mixture of old and new material, including crowd favourite 'thank you god', which went down very well.

This was the first occasion I've seen him live, and one of the more notable aspects of the performance was the skill and versatility of his band, the members of whom played a variety of instruments, including the piano when Minchin was singing.

As always, Minchin delivered a dose of skepticism with his comedy; he's the only stand comedian I know who mentions empiricism. However, none of that gets in the way of the jokes, which were good and carried by Minchin's undoubted presence and charisma. His music is good, but I'm not sure I'd like to listen to it outside of his delivery. The Hippodrome felt like a great venue for him, large but also intimate enough for his visual jokes to work.

One can only hope that there will not be such a gap before his next tour.

Review- I, Robot

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I found this book to be readable, but I was disappointed, given the reputation of the author. The book consists of nine short stories, loosely connected by characters, events, and themes, and introduces the 'three laws of robotics', which underpins most of the plots.

The stories are short and well paced, but often feel lacking in depth. Most of the tales revolve around a robot acting in a strange way, which prompts an investigation from engineers working at 'US Robotics', involving lots of speculation about the nature of the three laws, followed by an implausible leap of logic, where one of the characters infers the robot's motivations from a small detail. They are fun jaunts, but the world building feels lacking, with the social mores of 1950s America replicated into a bland future. Some aspects of the robots make little sense, such as their description as 'nervous' on occasion, and their ability to be analyzed by a 'robophychologist'. It feels like a lack of imagination to suggest that sentient robots would be deficient humans, rather than having traits and ways of thinking of their own.

The characterization also feels flat in places. Continuing the 1950s theme, almost all the characters are men, and are largely indistinguishable. Dr Susan Calvin features in several of the stories, with a repeated focus on her 'plainness'. She is weirdly passive aggressive, speaking little during most of her conversations, before making a cutting remark, or mysteriously identifying the reason for the latest robotic malfunction. Her appearance often seems somewhat false and out of place; given how she acts, it seems remarkable that she has reached her high ranking post.

All in all, this book was too much of its time for me to enjoy it much. I'll be unlikely to try Asimov again.



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Review- The killer question (play)

Recently, Just Some Theatre (https://www.justsometheatre.net/) performed The Killer Question in the Arena theatre, Wolverhampton. With three characters in an intimate location, the play concerns an elderly man who is obsessed with winning a quiz show using his knowledge of murder, his passive wife, who has helped him prepare over a number of years, and a police inspector who investigates them.

The play got off to a somewhat odd start, in which the troupe ask the audience to vote for which actor should play which part. The fourth wall was not broken again during the performance, making the opening sequence in which the actors introduced themselves feel overly scripted.

The play itself felt 'theatrical' in a less than positive way, with the actors speaking like act-ors throughout, and many of the set-ups and plot points feeling contrived.

At almost two hours, the play felt too long for the material, although there were some jokes good enough to raise a smile, and enough ambiguity for one to wish to see how it would end, although I was not too unhappy when it did.

All in all, it was okay. It felt too close to student threatre to be truly entertaining, but... it was okay. Without repeating oneself a third time, there is little more to say.