Reading the 20th Century discussion
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Group Reads -> March 2023 -> Nomination thread (Hope) -> Won by The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay
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The Razor's Edge (1944)
by
W. Somerset Maugham
Maugham wrote The Razor's Edge during WW2 and set it just after WW1
The Razor's Edge is about the search for truth, beauty and meaning after the widespread death and destruction of the war
Many of the characters have lost something from their lives and are looking for something to provide a sense of hope
In my experience, all Maugham's novels are worth reading, and
The Razor's Edge is often cited as his very best
More info....
Larry Darrell is a young American in search of the absolute. The progress of this spiritual odyssey involves him with some of Maugham's most brillant characters - his fiancee Isabel, whose choice between love and wealth have lifelong repercussions, and Elliot Templeton, her uncle, a classic expatriate American snob. The most ambitious of Maugham's novels, this is also one in which Maugham himself plays a considerable part as he wanders in and out of the story, to observe his characters struggling with their fates.
The Razor's Edge is a book I've long heard about, but I've never read it or seen the film. I read Rose Macaulay's Crewe Train earlier this month and found a lot in the style and wit and portraits of 1920's London to recommend it.
At the time, I added her novel The World My Wilderness to my to-read list. It is about a young girl recovering from WW2, and shows both her desolation and also London's.
Worth a look.
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I'm thinking about Rebecca Solnit's non-fiction Hope in the Dark which was published in 2004 but which deals with events in the twentieth century.
Lessons in Chemistry - published recently but set in the 1960s with the hope of greater gender equality.
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto about hope and resilience after grief.
I've been meaning to read The Razor's Edge for a while.
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So who else is considering a nomination?
I will nominate The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay.The description on the book page is somewhat sketchy, so I've selected a few sentences from one of the top reviews.
The backdrop of the novel is post-war London and the ruins caused by the Blitz. ***. The central character is Barbary Deniston who is 17. Barbary spends much of her time with her step brother Raoul. During the latter part of the war she and Raoul have been helping the Maquis and pretty much running wild. *** The novel begins as Barbary and Raoul are being sent to London, Barbary to stay with her father and Raoul with his uncle. Barbary and Raoul discover the bombed out wilderness around St Pauls and spend time with its occupants, who are also often on the edges of society.
The actual Church in the novel where Barbary takes refuge is St Giles Cripplegate. Barbary finds the ruins comforting and creates her own space, a home there and there is a redemptive and healing theme; in the sense of coming to terms with the past.
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Great theme but it does need a little thought - my immediate thought was Scarlet O'Hara's 'tomorrow is another day'!
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Banana Yoshimoto's novels have made her a sensation in Japan and all over the world, and Kitchen, the dazzling English-language debut that is still her best-loved book, is an enchantingly original and deeply affecting book about mothers, love, tragedy, and the power of the kitchen and home in the lives of a pair of free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan. Mikage, the heroine of Kitchen, is an orphan raised by her grandmother, who has passed away. Grieving, she is taken in by her friend Yoichi and his mother (who was once his father), Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses, Yoshimoto spins a lovely, evocative tale about mothers, transsexuality, bereavement, kitchens, love and tragedy in contemporary Japan. It is a startlingly original first work by Japan's brightest young literary star and is now a cult film.
When Kitchen was first published in Japan in 1987 it won two of Japan's most prestigious literary prizes, climbed its way to the top of the bestseller lists, then remained there for over a year and sold millions of copies. Banana Yoshimoto was hailed as a young writer of great talent and great passion whose work has quickly earned a place among the best of modern literature, and has been described as 'the voice of young Japan' by the Independent on Sunday.
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Wake
Remembrance Day 1920: A wartime secret connects three women's lives:
Hettie whose wounded brother won't speak.
Evelyn who still grieves for her lost lover.
And Ada, who has never received an official letter about her son's death, and is still waiting for him to come home.
As the mystery that binds them begins to unravel, far away, in the fields of France, the Unknown Soldier embarks on his journey home. The mood of the nation is turning towards the future - but can these three women ever let go of the past?
Her name seemed a sign! She is an author I have meant to try for a long while but never seem to have got around to.
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"I will nominate The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay"
Thanks Ben - a splendid suggestion
Roman Clodia wrote:
"I'm going to nominate Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto"
Another super nomination - thanks
Susan wrote:
"I will nominate:
Wake"
Gets better and better - thanks Susan
Wake by Anna Hope - I see what you've done there 🤠 🫶🏻
And it's a hopeful sounding novel too
Genius
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The Razor's Edge (1944) by W. Somerset Maugham (Nigeyb)
The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay (Ben)
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Roman Clodia)
Wake by Anna Hope (Susan)
I am new to the group and still learning the reading tastes of those here, but I'll put forward At the Full and Change of the Moon by Dionne Brand if it may be of interest.EDIT to add: Hope can be interpreted in many ways. Brand is drawing on a tradition that includes Toni Morrison and Gayl Jones (among many others), but taking a subtly different view by focusing not only on generational trauma, but by outlining a Black futurity that emerges from that trauma.
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Dionne Brand is on my TBR so good to see this nomination - her writing is beautiful from the samples I've tried.
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"I am new to the group and still learning the reading tastes of those here, but I'll put forward At the Full and Change of the Moon by Dionne Brand if it may be of interest."
Welcome David - thanks for the nomination too
At the Full and Change of the Moon is set in the 19th century and published in 2000. Our usual criteria for Group Reads (but not Buddy Reads) is that you nominate a 20th century book (either written in the 20th century or set in it)
At the Full and Change of the Moon is fine, especially as it was only just published outside the 20th century, but I mention it for future reference
Thanks again
Nominations so far....
The Razor's Edge (1944) by W. Somerset Maugham (Nigeyb)
The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay (Ben)
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Roman Clodia)
Wake by Anna Hope (Susan)
At the Full and Change of the Moon by Dionne Brand (David)
It sounds like it also covers events in the 20th century. From the description, "Haunted by a legacy of passion and oppression, the children of Bola pass through two world wars and into the confusion, estrangement, and violence of the late twentieth century."Isn't that good enough?
Ben wrote: "It sounds like it also covers events in the 20th century. From the description, "Haunted by a legacy of passion and oppression, the children of Bola pass through two world wars and into the confusi..."I remember when the world was getting ready to celebrate the Millennium, there was a scholarly argument that the end of the second millennium (and thus, presumably, the 20th century) was on 31 December 2000, not 31 December 1999.
In those terms, books published in 2000 are 20th century books, especially as many will have been written in the preceding year.
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As he said, the book does fit the guidelines, but worthwhile mentioning them again, especially to a new, and very welcome, member.
Other than the'scholarly' dispute over the dates, it is probably that an epic novel published in 2000 would have been written in the 20th century.In fact, Amazon (and goodreads) show the date of first publication as January 1999 in the hardback edition. So it does meet the criteria.
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It's because the first numbered year was 1AD, not 0, so a hundred years (or a thousand) from then will end with a 0, not a 9. No one took any notice, because the change from 2000 to 2001 isn't that exciting!
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Roman Clodia wrote: "Worth saying that I thought the Rose Macaulay was out of print but there's now a Kindle edition for 3.99, though you might need to search for in under 'all formats'."The edition I have is a paperback Virago one published three or four years ago, The World My Wilderness - I'd been looking for a copy for a while so pounced on it as soon as it came out! Looks as if it's still available.
Susan wrote: "Rose Macaulay was in the Love Charms of Bombs and I've never read anything by her and I love anything by Maugham. Some great options already."I thought The Love-charm of Bombs: Restless Lives in the Second World War was completely fascinating, think that's what made me want to read the Macaulay.
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I thought [book:The Love-charm of Bombs... was completely fascinating"
Oh yes, I forgot Rose Macaulay was in that - I think I focused so much on Elizabeth Bowen and Graham Greene. Might have to re-read it.
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The only book I can get by Macaulay is The Towers of Trebizond. Has anyone read it? Should I read it? It will be my first by the author!
Chrissie wrote: "The only book I can get by Macaulay is The Towers of Trebizond. Has anyone read it? Should I read it? It will be my first by the author!"I haven't read The Towers of Trebizond, though naturally, I do own it.
Audible should have Dangerous Ages which I have read and really enjoyed and I think a couple of her earlier works are on librivox, The Making of a Bigot being one. These ones are very early works and not necessarily indicative of her later novels.
Quite a few of her books are available on Amazon UK
I love this theme! I have no suggestions, but I love this and hope to read along when the book is chosen.
Tania wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "The only book I can get by Macaulay is The Towers of Trebizond. Has anyone read it? Should I read it? It will be my first by the author!"I haven't read [book:The To..."
I found Dangerous Ages. So this one you recommend. I'll also check Librivox. Thanks.
Ben, I need audiobooks due to my poor vision. I am thankful for your bringing the author to my attention.
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Nominations so far....
The Razor's Edge (1944) by W. Somerset Maugham (Nigeyb)
The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay (Ben)
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Roman Clodia)
Wake by Anna Hope (Susan)
At the Full and Change of the Moon by Dionne Brand (David)
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I'll get the poll up tomorrow
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https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...
Nominations
The Razor's Edge (1944) by W. Somerset Maugham (Nigeyb)
The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay (Ben)
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Roman Clodia)
Wake by Anna Hope (Susan)
At the Full and Change of the Moon by Dionne Brand (David)
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Looks as though Rose Macaulay has got this in the bag with about 22 hours to go
The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay - 6 votes, 46.2%
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto - 3 votes, 23.1%
The Razor's Edge (1944) by W. Somerset Maugham - 2 votes, 15.4%
Wake by Anna Hope - 1 vote, 7.7%
At the Full and Change of the Moon by Dionne Brand - 1 vote, 7.7%
I voted for Banana, but if I could change my vote I would switch it to The World My Wilderness.
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It's The World My Wilderness
by
Rose Macaulay
Thanks to everyone who got involved
See you in March 2023
After 2 years in the group, my first successful nomination!Yippee!
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It's a pleasure to read your insightful comments
Reading the 20th Century
Books mentioned in this topic
The World My Wilderness (other topics)The World My Wilderness (other topics)
The Towers of Trebizond (other topics)
Dangerous Ages (other topics)
The Making of a Bigot (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Rose Macaulay (other topics)Rose Macaulay (other topics)
Banana Yoshimoto (other topics)
Banana Yoshimoto (other topics)
Banana Yoshimoto (other topics)
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Our March 2023 theme is...
Hope
Please nominate a 20th century book (either written in the 20th century or set in it) that is centred around hope, and that you would like to read and discuss. It could be fiction or non-fiction
Feel free to interpret the theme however you choose
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.