Reading the 20th Century discussion
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Group Reads -> October 2021 -> Nomination Thread (A book set in, or about, the 1930s won by Tender is the Night (1934) by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
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What about you?
Any initial thoughts? Or are you ready to dive straight in with a nomination?
Here's a few thought starters....
https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/20...
https://www.listchallenges.com/20-boo...
https://fivebooks.com/best-books/juli...
Funnily enough The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff came up recently on Backlisted. Mentioned in passing not done as the main book and I instantly made a note of it as it sounds flipping wonderful. Hmmm. That might just be my nomination....
The Fortnight in September is the story of a south London family’s annual holiday to Bognor Regis
Juliet Gardiner says...
It’s about a lower-middle-class family who go every year to Bognor Regis. They go to the same guesthouse, they stay with the same woman. And that’s the point of it. They just absolutely love it. It’s the story of repetition and ritual and absolutely nothing happens apart from the debate about whether they should hire a deck chair on the promenade and whether they should go to the concert on the pier or the grandstand and this sort of thing. It was a wild success. RC Sherriff was very reluctant to submit it to his publisher Victor Gollancz. He said it was like feeding a fruit drop to a lion. He thought it was trivial, and it is trivial, but he is the poet of the ordinary. It is deeply, deeply ordinary but gives a cunning, clever portrait of what mattered to people. It’s hugely about class, which is wonderful for social historians because it’s non-judgmental and is just a straight story.
Why was it such a success?
I think because it was a reflection of so many people’s lives.
Did people think it was funny or ironic?
I don’t think it was because it was funny or ironic, though it is gently amusing. We all think that we want to read things that are different, but the newspaper columnists that you like are the ones that affirm what you already think. I think that in many ways this book affirmed an awful lot of people’s lives. What’s quite significant is that after this RC Sherriff would go on – like much grander people such as PG Wodehouse and Aldous Huxley – to Hollywood, because it was realised what a close observer’s eye he had and how he held English society in the palm of his hand. He went on to write the scripts for Goodbye, Mr Chips and other films. Then he came back and lived out his life in the town of Esher in Surrey.
I enjoyed the Sherriff immensely, also liked The Hopkins Manuscript, very conventional novels, but solidly plotted and very well observed characters.
I loved The Fortnight in September too, just wonderfully human, I'd happily re-read if it gets nominated (and chosen).
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I also love this period but know that not everyone here is a fan of some of my favourites: Elizabeth Bowen, Virginia Woolf, Jean Rhys so I won't suggest any of them :)
I had been thinking about something on Happy Valley in Kenya but can't find something that doesn't span a longer period (The Bolter: Edwardian Heartbreak and High Society Scandal in Kenya) or which doesn't focus on the Erroll murder which is 1941 (though I'd like to read both).
I'm wondering about South Riding by Winifred Holtby?
I love this decade too. So excited to get recommendations, and am adding The Fortnight in September.I'm thinking of Ironweed by William Kennedy.
Set in late 1930's New York, about a baseball player-turned-hobo, the ghosts that haunt him, and his attempts to fit back into society.
I saw the film for the first time last year--Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. Apparently it didn't do well when it came out, though Streep and Nicholson received award nominations. I thought it was great, and have been wanting to read the book ever since!
Roman Clodia wrote: "There's also this list: www.goodreads.com/list/show/85.Best_B...I also love this period but know that not everyone here is a fan of some of my favourites: Elizabeth Bowen, Vi..."
I'd be very happy with Bowen, Rhys or Woolf, I read the Holtby a while ago, it's quite melodramatic but pretty absorbing.
Kathleen wrote: "I love this decade too. So excited to get recommendations, and am adding The Fortnight in September.I'm thinking of Ironweed by William Kennedy.
[book..."
I've heard of this one but don't know anything about it, although for some reason I associate it with novels like Horace McCoy's [book:They Shoot Horses, Don't They?|19076609]. I was wondering about Love on the Dole? One of those books I've been meaning to get around to, but might be too downbeat.
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Other possibilities which I haven't read are After Midnight by Irmgard Keun and Jezebel by Irène Némirovsky
There's also F. Scott and Zelda, and Nabokov who I don't think we've read?
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Given the enthusiasm for....
The Fortnight in September (1931) by R.C. Sherriff
....that's my nomination
The Fortnight in September is the story of a south London family’s annual holiday to Bognor Regis
The Fortnight in September embodies the kind of mundane normality the men in the dug-out longed for – domestic life at 22 Corunna Road in Dulwich, the train journey via Clapham Junction to the south coast, the two weeks living in lodgings and going to the beach every day. The family’s only regret is leaving their garden where, we can imagine, because it is September the dahlias are at their fiery best: as they flash past in the train they get a glimpse of their back garden, where ‘a shaft of sunlight fell through the side passage and lit up the clump of white asters by the apple tree.’ This was what the First World War soldiers longed for; this, he imagined, was what he was fighting for and would return to (as in fact Sherriff did).
Juliet Gardiner says...
It’s about a lower-middle-class family who go every year to Bognor Regis. They go to the same guesthouse, they stay with the same woman. And that’s the point of it. They just absolutely love it. It’s the story of repetition and ritual and absolutely nothing happens apart from the debate about whether they should hire a deck chair on the promenade and whether they should go to the concert on the pier or the grandstand and this sort of thing. It was a wild success. RC Sherriff was very reluctant to submit it to his publisher Victor Gollancz. He said it was like feeding a fruit drop to a lion. He thought it was trivial, and it is trivial, but he is the poet of the ordinary. It is deeply, deeply ordinary but gives a cunning, clever portrait of what mattered to people. It’s hugely about class, which is wonderful for social historians because it’s non-judgmental and is just a straight story.
Why was it such a success?
I think because it was a reflection of so many people’s lives.
Did people think it was funny or ironic?
I don’t think it was because it was funny or ironic, though it is gently amusing. We all think that we want to read things that are different, but the newspaper columnists that you like are the ones that affirm what you already think. I think that in many ways this book affirmed an awful lot of people’s lives. What’s quite significant is that after this RC Sherriff would go on – like much grander people such as PG Wodehouse and Aldous Huxley – to Hollywood, because it was realised what a close observer’s eye he had and how he held English society in the palm of his hand. He went on to write the scripts for Goodbye, Mr Chips and other films. Then he came back and lived out his life in the town of Esher in Surrey.
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So, I will nominate:
Summer Before the Dark
A dazzling portrait of Zweig and Roth, and a community of intellectual exiles, during the extraordinary summer of 1936.
It's as if they're made for each other. Two men, both falling, but holding each other up for a time.
Ostend, 1936: the Belgian seaside town is playing host to a coterie of artists, intellectuals and madmen, who find themselves in limbo while Europe gazes into an abyss of fascism and war. Among them is Stefan Zweig, a man in crisis: his German publisher has shunned him, his marriage is collapsing, his house in Austria no longer feels like home. Along with his lover Lotte, he seeks refuge in this paradise of promenades and parasols, where he reunites with his estranged friend Joseph Roth. For a moment, they create a fragile haven; but as Europe begins to crumble around them, they find themselves trapped on an uncanny kind of holiday, watching the world burn.
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Just had a look at that. Looks interesting Kathleen.
Roman Clodia wrote: "I'm trying to think of Spanish Civil War novels but apart from For Whom the Bell Tolls can't come up with any."
Yes. An era I love to read about but all the great books are non-fiction with the exception of Bells
Roman Clodia wrote: "I read Love on the Dole when I was about 18 and all ready to be indignant about social inequalities and loved it :)"
Yes. Firm favourite here at Nigeyb Towers
Alwynne wrote: "I'd be very happy with Bowen, Rhys or Woolf, I read the Holtby a while ago, it's quite melodramatic but pretty absorbing."
I'd be interested in reading more Rhys
Roman Clodia wrote: "There's also F. Scott and Zelda, and Nabokov who I don't think we've read?"
We read them all in another group - Bright Young Things - which is where some of us first met. It was a proto-RTTC which ran aground due to moderator disinterest. Hence RTTC. There's yer backstory right there.
I'm sure even those who have read them would be up for a reread or reappraisal.
Nominations so far...
The Fortnight in September (1931) by R.C. Sherriff (Nigeyb)
Summer Before the Dark (2014) by Volker Weidermann (Susan)
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Isn't that weird about Spanish Civil War fiction? I found In Diamond Square but it looks a bit romance-y...
Susan's not keen on Jean Rhys, I recall, so I'd rather avoid for a group nomination - always happy to buddy read Rhys, though.
Alwynne, thanks for the comment about South Riding - melodrama is one of my pet hates, so maybe not :)
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Between the First World War and the Wall Street Crash the French Riviera was the stylish place for wealthy Americans to visit. Among the most fashionable are psychoanalyst Dick Diver and his wife Nicole, who hold court at their villa. Into their circle comes Rosemary Hoyt, a film star, who is instantly attracted to them, but understands little of the dark secrets and hidden corruption that hold them together. As Dick draws closer to Rosemary, he fractures the delicate structure of his marriage and sets both Nicole and himself on to a dangerous path where only the strongest can survive. In this exquisite, lyrical novel, Fitzgerald has poured much of the essence of his own life; he has also depicted the age of materialism, shattered idealism and broken dreams.
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Nominations so far...
The Fortnight in September (1931) by R.C. Sherriff (Nigeyb)
Summer Before the Dark (2014) by Volker Weidermann (Susan)
Tender is the Night (1934) by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Roman Clodia)
Summer Before the Dark is also published under the title: Ostend: Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth, and the Summer Before the Dark. It's excellent.
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I do! I think Gatsby is the more complete novel, the one where FSF pulled off what he wanted, whereas Tender is messy and, to some extent, unfinished in that FSF was still fiddling around with the chronology right up to the end of his life. But despite (or because of?) that, it feels so raw and emotive to me, I just love it.
If anyone hasn't read it, I suggest staying away from the reviews, many of which give away far more than I'd want to know.
Oh and worth saying that Zelda used some of the same material in her Save Me the Waltz which FSF was angry about - he felt he 'owned' their marriage as source of fiction.
Roman Clodia wrote: "I'm trying to think of Spanish Civil War novels but apart from For Whom the Bell Tolls can't come up with any."Muriel Rukseyer's Savage Coast is an interesting Spanish Civil War novel but not always easy to get hold of. The first two-thirds are gripping but it trails off towards the end.
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Thanks Margaret
Roman Clodia wrote: "I think Gatsby is the more complete novel"
Yeah. Me too. Though also a big fan of Tender.
Alwynne wrote: "Muriel Rukseyer's Savage Coast is an interesting Spanish Civil War novel but not always easy to get hold of. The first two-thirds are gripping but it trails off towards the end."
Thanks Alwynne. A new one on me. Will investigate.
Nigeyb wrote: "Margaret wrote: "Summer Before the Dark is also published under the title: Ostend: Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth, and the Summer Before the Dark. It's excellent."Thanks Margaret
Roma..."
It's from 1937 but wasn't published until much later but think it might be up your alley!
Margaret wrote: "Summer Before the Dark is also published under the title: Ostend: Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth, and the Summer Before the Dark. It's excellent."I've got a copy of this but never got round to reading it, will have to dig it out.
BTW are you all receiving notifications for this thread? I only found it because Nigey posts his comments.
I'm not getting notifications for a lot of threads, or very delayed ones.I have heard Days of Hope by André Malraux called one of the best novels about the Spanish Civil War. I suspect it is also hard to get hold of though.
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I check the site with this link....
https://www.goodreads.com/topic?discu...
...which allows me to see any discussions that have been updated in my groups
Sadly no use if you're checking on a phone with the app
Tania wrote: "I'm not getting notifications for a lot of threads, or very delayed ones.I have heard Days of Hope by André Malraux called one of the best novels about the Spanish ..."
I haven't come across that one, sounds promising. Paul Preston's histories of the Spanish Civil War are worth reading, and I enjoyed Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War which looks at journalists and writers covering the war inc. Gellhorn, Hemingway, it's a lighter, more general read than Preston's works but a reasonable overview and a useful way in to the period.
Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War sounds good! I added that one too.I'm also thinking of Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, about the opposite end of New York society from Ironweed, and I haven't read any Towles yet ...
I tried the Towles, Kathleen and couldn't get past the first couple of chapters, but I know a lot of other people enjoyed it so probably me!
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Oh, interesting! Maybe I can put him off a bit longer. :-)
Roman Clodia wrote: "I'm trying to think of Spanish Civil War novels but apart from For Whom the Bell Tolls can't come up with any."I believe A Long Petal of the Sea is about the Spanish Civil War, but maybe more afterwards, so probably not quite fitting this theme.
Nigeyb wrote: "I was a little underwhelmed by his Russian hotel book which most people seemed to love."Checked out your review Nigey and 'a bit of a chore' describes my feelings about 'Rules of Civility' too, the writing's decent enough but it felt very forced and just not that engaging.
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Kathleen, other people really love it. Our very own Susan lavished it with five stars. 4.33 avg rating here on GR so chances are you'll be smitten.
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It does, and I'd love to read more about Gellhorn/Hemingway in Spain.
I wonder why there are so few books set in the Spanish Civil War? I've read e.g. Nada where the back history of the war is crucial but the book is set just after WW2. I wonder if it's something to do with Franco's dictatorship lasting until well into the 1970s? All of Javier Marías' books that I've read hark back to this difficult period of Spanish history.
Roman Clodia wrote: "Oh lordie, don't get me started on Amor Towles - Rules of Civility was ok-ish but I absolutely loathed Gentleman of Moscow! Not that that should put you off, Kathleen - other people have loved him ..."I couldn't finish it, but I'm willing to except that I might have liked it if I'd read it another time; I read it during the first lockdown and I don't think that was the best time to read about someone trapped in one place.
Roman Clodia wrote: "Kathleen wrote: "Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War sounds good!"It does, and I'd love to read more about Gellhorn/Hemingway in Spain.
I wonder why th..."
I think there are probably quite a number but some written during Franco's rule would have been leaning towards propaganda, then a lot were written in exile - Mexico, Buenos Aires etc - so probably not translated here. Then the post-Franco Pact of Forgetting probably discouraged a lot of contemporary writers and possibly a lot of publishers from issuing novels from the period? I think Giles Tremlett talked about it in Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and its Silent Past - which is really fascinating btw.
Also there doesn't seem that much classic Spanish literature translated in general, I came across this which looks good but out of print already Stone in a Landslide, Max Aub's series sounds amazing but only one in English Field of Honour and that costs a fortune!
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"I think Giles Tremlett talked about it in Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and its Silent Past - which is really fascinating btw"
Yes. I wholeheartedly agree. One of the best books about the Spanish Civil War and how it impinges into the present day.
Beevor's book is predictably brilliant.
Orwell's has an immediacy that is hard to beat - as do Laurie Lee's memoirs
Another one, only tangentially linked to the war, but which is wonderful is Granny Made Me an Anarchist: General Franco, The Angry Brigade and Me. Stuart’s an interesting character as he wasn’t even born during the Civil War, but nonetheless was inspired to try and assassinate General Franco in 1964 when he was still only 18. Far from his home in Glasgow and unable to speak Spanish he was arrested meeting his Spanish contact. In 1971 he was arrested again, this time in Britain, suspected of being a member of the Angry Brigade.
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Thanks for the recommendations. I was thinking the same about Spanish lit in translation - there's a lot now coming through from Latin America but less from Spain itself.
Just looked up Ghosts of Spain and found Tremlett has a new book, published autumn 2020: The International Brigades: Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War that looks very good. It's a bit expensive at the moment as in hardback but might be an interesting buddy read when in paperback?
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... and this thread can get back to the business of 1930s nominations :)
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"....this thread can get back to the business of 1930s nominations :)"
Nominations so far...
The Fortnight in September (1931) by R.C. Sherriff (Nigeyb)
Summer Before the Dark (2014) by Volker Weidermann (Susan)
Tender is the Night (1934) by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Roman Clodia)
I would be very interested in reading a novel about the 1930's covering an area outside Europe and North America, particularly Japan, but I haven't yet found anything appropriate.Any thoughts?
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Any thoughts?"
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki perhaps?
The Makioka Sisters (1948) is set mainly in the 1930s
In Praise of Shadows (1933)
A Cat, a Man, and Two Women (1936)
Thanks Nigeyb. The second looks perfect, and perhaps more digestible than The Makioka Sisters, which is 500+ pages. The Makioka Sisters is described as follows:
"Tanizaki’s magisterial evocation of a proud Osaka family in decline during the years immediately before World War II is arguably the greatest Japanese novel of the twentieth century and a classic of international literature."
Perhaps another time.
I'll nominate A Cat, a Man and Two Women.
Description added. "A small masterpiece, A Cat, a Man, and Two Women is a novel about loneliness, love, and companionship of the most unexpected kind. In this story of Japanese society and manners, Tanizaki gives us a perfectly-formed oddball comedy, and a love triangle in which the only real rival is feline."
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Nominations so far...
The Fortnight in September (1931) by R.C. Sherriff (Nigeyb)
Summer Before the Dark (2014) by Volker Weidermann (Susan)
Tender is the Night (1934) by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Roman Clodia)
A Cat, a Man, and Two Women (1936) by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (Ben)
Ben wrote: "Thanks Nigeyb. The second looks perfect, and perhaps more digestible than The Makioka Sisters, which is 500+ pages. The Makioka Sisters is described as follows:
"Tanizaki’s magister..."
I've been wanting to read some more Tanizaki, but also haven't read any Fitzgerald in a while and interested in Roth, and loved the Sherriff so a bit spoilt for choice now. Ben the Makioka Sisters looks dauntingly long but I found it very straightforward and went through it fairly speedily, definitely worth reading. There's also a companion novel The Maids from the point of view of their servants
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Susan wrote: "I thought of Alec Waugh's excellent portrait of 1931, A Year to Remember, but it is expensive and difficult to get, so doubt it would be popular. So, I will nominate:
Summer Before the Dar..."</i>
I read this as [book:Ostend: Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth, and the Summer Before the Dark. Nice little book.
I have Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War and would be interested in that.I'll check out what else I may have.
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Reading the 20th Century
Books mentioned in this topic
The Fortnight in September (other topics)Tender Is the Night (other topics)
Journey to the End of the Night (other topics)
Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War (other topics)
Ostend: Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth, and the Summer Before the Dark (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Pearl S. Buck (other topics)Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (other topics)
Javier Marías (other topics)
Amor Towles (other topics)
André Malraux (other topics)
More...
Our October 2021 theme is the 1930s
If you feel inspired, please nominate a book set in, or about, the 1930s (1930-1939) that you would like to read and discuss.
It can be either fiction or non-fiction.
Please supply the title, author, a brief synopsis, and anything else you'd like to mention about the book, and why you think it might make a good book to discuss.
Happy nominating.