Mark Reece's Blog, page 14

Review- Zuleika Dobson

Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A very curious book. Zuleika Dobson is so stunningly beautiful and charming that any man she meets falls in love with her. After getting into an all male Oxford college because her uncle is a warden there, she soon has a devoted following amongst the undergraduates, most notably the Duke of Dorset, a snobbish and highly reserved man, who is also the sole member of an ancient society. The Duke has hitherto been resistant to any kind of relationship with women, but instantly falls in love with Zuleika, which makes her reject him, as she cannot love anyone who loves her. The Duke then pledges to commit suicide, and when the other undergraduates discovers his promise, they all do the same, including boys who have never met her.

In outline, the plot sounds as if it has a misogynistic tinge, but the satire is so pronounced and silly that this isn't really so. The only character who is anything other than a caricature is the Duke, and there are some very funny lines sending up his pretension. For example, he worries for a long time that his ancient society would die out with him, so he often considers suitable people for membership in his role as president (seconding himself in his other role as vice-president). However, until the fateful term, he feels that he has to reject the candidates as never quite living up to his standards. He reads the result of the vote of one to himself.

Part way through the novel is a bizarre chapter, where the author reveals that they are acting under the auspices of the classical Greek gods, who intended the events to occur, although they are (of course) above organizing the more vulgar details, such as the Duke tripping over and hunting his ankle one day. This perhaps indicates a parallel with The Illiad, making a mockery of the pretensions of the undergraduates.

Meanwhile, Zuleika's uncle, the warden of the college, believes that the students are playing a prank on him when they do not turn up to an after boat race dinner (having all drowned themselves), so does not deign to make any comment on events. He does not seem particularly concerned even after learning the truth- perhaps similar things happen every year? There may well be many in-jokes that are only known to people who have attended Oxford.

This is a book where everything is sacrificed to farce; it will appeal to people who enjoy the anarchic humour of novels such as A confederacy of dunces, or Tristan Shandy. That crowd includes me.



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Birmingham royal ballet- curated by Carlos

I recently saw Curated by Carlos, which is the first performance put on by the Birmingham Royal Ballet since the lock down. With the Hippodrome still shut, this took place in the REP, which probably isn't ideal for the purpose; there wasn't enough space for all the orchestra to be together, although the company improvised well, and it felt great to have a live performance again.

The first performance, 'city of a thousand trades' was in my view the weakest of the three. There was a contemporary feel, with voice overs and props that the dancers regularly moved around the stage. The messages about inclusion and migrant's journey into Birmingham felt a little forced, particularly the voice overs.

The second performance, Imminent, had a more classical feel, and had an interesting backdrop, with a door in the back of the stage gradually opening throughout the performance, ending with the dancers walking through. The link between the events on stage and climate change (mentioned in the programme), wasn't immediately obvious (without having read the programme beforehand, I thought the ballet had a fantasy theme). Nevertheless, there was some wonderful dancing and the set was very evocative.

The final performance was split into three parts, as a violinist, then a guitarist, followed by a pianist, performed Bach. The dancing was rigorous, based on a highly synchronized sequence where the dancers moved between four lines.

All in all, the performance was well worth waiting for. Carlos Acosta's start as the Birmingham Royal Ballet's director has been long delayed by Covid; here's hoping that this is the first of many premiers.

Review- Mrs Dolloway

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I didn't get very far with this, as I found the writing style turgid, with too much work required for what was being said.

Given the status of the book, perhaps it's one that I'll try again in a few years.



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Story published

My short story 'stockpilling' has been published in the latest edition of Orbis magazine- http://www.orbisjournal.com/

Orbis is always worth reading, it's a smartly edited magazine, with some great stories and poetry.

Review- The good soldier

The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I found The Good Soldier to be hard to read in the first thirty pages or so, as the writing is very slow paced, and the main characters are all laconic. The novel tell the story of two couples- John and Florence Dowell, and Edward and Leonora Ashburnham. Both couples are wealthy enough to spend their time doing not very much, and they all have a strong sense of their own dignity, which they display by a lack of outward interest in anything they do, and a repetitive sense of decorum.

Edward is the 'good soldier' of the title, being known for his bravery in battle, in which he has saved the lives of several of his men. Outside his military service, his life is filled with social commitments, many of which involve the army. The marriages of both couples are outwardly happy and content, but as the narrator, John, describes their lives in more detail, a series of power struggles becomes apparent between them, including over infidelities and their differing religious views.

John is strangely passive for a man so intimately involved in the events he describes, raising the possibility that his indifference reflects either a cynical disregard of his wife and purported friends, or other sinister motives.

The novel is a character study of the four characters and the many passive aggressive interactions between them. When the nature of some of their infidelities comes to light, I found the book to be more engaging; the writing has an elusive tone that some readers may find too slow and abstract, however, I thought that it worked well in its context. As such, I found the book to be original and interesting, and I would recommend it. It is a novel that would likely benefit from re-reading, as I lost the meaning of some of the opening pages on my first time through.



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Review- Bear

Bear by Marian Engel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a book that will induce either flat like or dislike; on reading only a few pages, I knew I was going to be in the former category.

The curious thing about the novel is that its most startling plot twist (which I won't detail here, on the off chance that someone might read the book without foreknowledge) is stated off-hand, with little dramatic focus. The novel is laconically, almost dreamily paced, with the protagonist, Lou, being very much the centre of the book, with all other events and characters orbiting around her.

Lou works for 'the institute', which is little described, but seems to have the goal of recording Canadian heritage by saving documents and acquiring buildings of historical interest. Lou enjoys her work, spending long hours amongst old books and papers, but cannot resolve a overwhelming sense of drift in her life. She seems unable to take control of her destiny, as if she is controlled not by events, but by the pace of the world she finds herself in. The characterization reminded me of the tone of Alessandro Baricco's novel Silk, and even, in some ways, of the works of Kafka. The unsatisfactory nature of Lou's life is encapsulated by her lackluster sexual encounters, of which she seems to partake out of a sense of compulsion, and do not bring her any pleasure.

The main plot of the novel begins when Lou is sent to a grand house in an isolated wilderness, which has been bequeathed to the institute by an eccentric military man. In one way, this move seems unlikely to help her, as she lives alone, spending much of her time cataloguing the house's extensive library and collection of papers. However, as time goes on, and she is forced to look after herself and the semi-domesticated bear that lives tied up in the grounds of the house, some of the wildness of the area seeps into her, and she becomes more free.

The extent of Lou's change at the end of the novel isn't obvious, as she retains some of her old attitudes. However, the glimpses of another life she experiences appears to have at least opened up new possibilities for her. That gives the extraordinary events that she experiences something of a magical tone, and the novel the air of a fairy tale.

I would strongly recommend the book to all except easily offended types.



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Review- The diary of a nobody

The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"I fail to see- because I do not happen to be a 'somebody'- why my diary should not be interesting".

The diary of a nobody is a funny book, although the humour is highly restrained and dry. The (fictional) author, Mr Charles Pooter, is a clerk in a respectable financial institution, living in late Victorian England, and is constantly beset by a series of minor challenges to his desire for a quiet life in the suburbs. He explains that himself and his wife don't like to 'go into society', as they have all they need in their comfortable home, where Pooter spends his time playing dominoes with his friends, cracking puns, and eating mutton. He has an exaggerated respect for social rank, becoming aghast whenever finding himself sharing a social situation with people he considers his inferiors, such as his butcher.

Most of the humour plays on Pooter's tawdry petty mindedness, which is why the book works as a diary- Pooter would be too unsympathetic a character if he spoke his silly prejudices aloud. He repeats his puns several times when people don't find then funny, then writes them down. He is delighted when his manager invites him to a social event. It is his life's dream that his wayward son, Lupin, joins his firm, so they can catch the bus to work together. However, there is some great situational humour too, particularly a moment with a gentleman called Mr Padge, that I won't spoil by writing in this review, but that I remembered from a decade ago, when I last read the book.

In some ways, the book is also poignant. Pooter lives in a nightmarishly closed domesticated world, filled with constant tiny struggles over his status involving uppity servants, a wife and friends who don't quite respect him, replying to passive aggressive letters from merchants, and the need to constantly paint his house. His relationship with his spiv son is also disheartening and disturbing to Pooter, as Lupin is often able to earn a better living than his father by a variety of get rich quick schemes, throwing an absurdity over Pooter's narrow minded loyalty to the firm he has worked for for over twenty years.

The book also expertly satirizes some social crazes of the time, such as spiritualism and cycling. The scenes in which Pooter's wife convinces him to allow her friend to carry out a seance in their home is both hilarious and memorable.

The humour may be too indirect for some, but I love this book, both as a comedy and a social satire.



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Review- Samurai the last warrior

Samurai: The True Story of the Last Warrior by John Man

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In this book, the author gives a brief history of the samurai, before moving on to a potted biography/history of the times of Saigō Takamori, a samurai who played an important part in the Meiji Restoration, which led to the rapid modernization of Japan in the nineteenth century.

The book doesn't really seem like a serious history. In several chapters, the author describes visiting many of the important scenes in Saigo's life and talking to a local, who gives an apocryphal story or quote. On the face of it, that seems about the extent of the original research. Neither is there any particularly sophisticated analysis of events, which tend to be described as 'he said, she said'.

On the other hand, the book is eminently readable, written in a largely engaging way. As an introduction to Japanese history following the forced contact with foreigners in the nineteenth century, it's okay.



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Review- Eva Luna

Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Eva Luna is set, like many of Allende's book, in an unidentified south American country. The titular protagonist is an orphan, whose mother worked for an eccentric amateur scientist who was obsessed with preserving and experimenting on corpses. After her mother's death, Luna lives with various, vividly described patrons, working as a maid or a servant. These include La Señora, a brothel keeper, Riad Hilabi, a Turkish shopkeeper, then Melecio/Mimí, a transgender woman, who becomes a famous socialite and actor. Eva has many love affairs, including with Huberto Naranjo, who she meets at different points throughout her life, first on the street, and latterly when he joins a guerilla movement aiming to overthrow the repressive government that is hinted at throughout the novel.

The book has a curious tone. On the one hand, the early years of Eva's life are marked by harsh drudgery and abuse, which she first accepts fatalistically, but that in time, she resists. There is a strong sense of realism in these passages. On the other hand, there is a florid drama to Eva's life that sometimes seems like one of the overblown soap operas that she often watches, were not the writing of such high quality. She partakes in an action to free guerilla prisoners, has a love affair with a leading military officer who is directing much of the repression, lives with a famous actress, and is looked after by a woman who lives with a coffin in her room, as she is terrified of having a pauper's funeral.

It is this mixture of realism and drama that gives the novel its dreamy tone, and creates the sense that every aspect of one's life is significant in some way, even if, sometimes, years can be reduced to a paragraph. The story is told from Eva's first person perspective, and as she grows up, she becomes a story teller, firstly in an informal way, telling tales to friends and strangers as a way to survive, and later, as a way of making a living, as she writes her own soap opera. This creates the interesting possibility, although never stated directly, that Eva could be a unreliable narrator, fashioning events in a way more pleasing to her.

Eva Luna is a great book- very stylistic, with a memorable cast of characters. An art work that one would not object if it was double the length, as life, or more than life, sparkles on every page.



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Review- Carnivorous Plants

Carnivorous Plants by Dan Torre

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is an interesting introductory book that describes the different ways that carnivorous plants capture their prey, and also gives an overview of how the function of these plants were discovered.

The book's main strength is its photographs and illustrations, many of which are stunning. Pitcher plants are naturally photogenic, but the collections of images beautifully illustrate the flora described.

The latter half of the book describes how carnivorous plants have been described in popular culture, and feels shallow. It might have been interesting to have a sociological study; as it is, I'm not really interested in reading descriptions of B-movies and Batman.

It would also have been good to have more on the evolution of carnivorous plants, and more about how they fit into their environment. Nevertheless, this is a book that encourages further study, and that I will read again.



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