The Mayor of Casterbridge

I loved this rags to riches to rags story so much that it will definitely feature in my all time top ten favourite books.

The Mayor of Casterbridge, Michael Henchard, is a proud, stubborn and hot tempered man.  He reacts without proper thought to future consequences, and when he reaps the rewards of his actions he his quick to blame everyone but himself.  It is only towards the end of the novel that he realises he alone brought his fate down upon himself.

Henchard was not always the man that the people of Casterbridge knew him to be.  When he was 21, and in a drunken state, he sold his wife and child by auction at a county fair.  Devastated by his actions he swears off alcohol for the next 21 years and builds a new and productive life.  But, this is a story of secrets, and the biggest secret of all is that which is held by Michael Henchard’s wife, who returns to her husband 18 years after he sold her.

This novel highlights the status of women in society and what is considered to be proper and moral conduct.  A young woman who has had a love affair with Michael Henchard falls into disgrace when she moves to Casterbridge to demand that he marry her and restore her good name.  The lower class in this small community – who seem to have the highest morals of all - conspire to bring her down.

The idea of Henchard’s wife having lived with her ‘purchaser’ out of wedlock for 18 years would probably have scandalised 19^th Century readers, and there are other far reaching effects on another character in the novel which I can’t mention without introducing a plot spoiler, and so will remain un-named.

There were no wasted elements here, it is so well plotted - every action has a negative reaction.  – you find yourself running through each cause and effect, tutting along the way and thinking ‘if only he hadn’t done this in chapter so and so, then that wouldn’t have happened in this chapter…..etc’

I read Hardy’s Tess a couple of years ago and found it very sad, although beautifully written.  The Mayor of Casterbridge is told in a more straight forward manner, but he still managed to make me cry at the end!

Maxine

Niedermayer & Hart ~ M J Johnson

There’s something rotten in the basement of Niedermayer & Hart Fine Porcelain, which photographer Jim Latimer discovers to his peril.  Jim has been commissioned by the company to photograph their collection for an upcoming catalogue, but he soon realises that there is something very wrong with his employers, and it isn’t long before he finds himself fighting to save his very soul.

Hugh Apsley, once a Knight Templar, has a very strange tale to relate to Brother Anselm of the Abbey of Valle Crucis in a letter dated 1202. It is a disturbing story which shakes the very foundation of their religion and transcends the boundaries of death.

The lives of Jim and Hugh are inextricably linked together and via their individual narratives the story begins to unfold and converge. 

This independent novel was very enjoyable to read.  The quality of the writing is very good, and the structure of the story intriguing.  On one hand we read about the young Hugh Apsley and the horrors he tries to make sense of in a superstitious world, and on the other hand we are transported to the 20th Century involved in a detective story that tries to make sense of what the modern world cannot explain away.

If you like a touch of horror with some solid foundation then you won’t go far wrong with this novel.

Maxine

Nicholas Nickleby ~ Charles Dickens

Yet another great read from Dickens, but I did have a few problems with it.  Although apparently a good example of 19th Century comedy, I didn't really find it very funny.  Mrs Nickleby was to provide the comic relief, and undoubtably back in 1838 this type of humour was appreciated, but I found her awfully annoying.

Nicholas is not immediately likeable; he's not as selfish as Philip 'Pip' Pirrip but he's not the true gentleman that David Copperfield grew up to be.  Nicholas has a good heart; however he is very hot headed and, when it comes to defending someone's honour, he does it with violence and unable to leave it with just one blow he must pummel that person to within an inch of his life!

There are a whole host of characters and towards the end I did get a bit forgetful of who one or two of them were. I guess Wackford Squeers, the beastly conniving school master was one of my favourites and the tragic Smike.

There are plenty of cartoonish names, and the ever present benevolent gentleman, although in this case there are two (twins!), but you tend to expect this from Dickens.

The novel pretty much follows the Nickleby family after the death of Nicholas's father. The family are left destitute and so they travel to the big smoke to appeal to their wealthy relative Ralph Nickleby for assistance. Ralph is extremely unlikeable and he and Nicholas soon become sworn enemies which is the underlying theme of the whole novel. I loved the revelation of who Ralph Nickleby's son was, and the outcome of that revelation.

A very satisfying read all in all.

Maxine

Time's Long Ruin ~ Stephen Orr

I read this book as a selection from the ‘National Year of Reading’ list – maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but I did, the cover picture is super cute.

In any case, I did not regret my choice: this was the South Australian entry, and it is a beauty. Told in retrospect by the main character Henry Page, still living in his childhood home, (where the floorboards ‘creak in exactly the same spot every time I go to make a cup of tea or take a pee’) it is the story of an outer-suburban community in the 1950’s, tragically to be torn apart by the disappearance of the three Riley children who were Henry’s best friends ‘…my only friends, really’.

It is in fact the story of the real-life Beaumont children who disappeared from Glenelg Beach in the 1960’s, a horrible mystery which remains unsolved; the drawn-out agony of that story, along with the kidnap and murder of 9-year-old Graeme Thorn after his parents won the lottery, are two traumatic events that are burned into my childhood memories.

Stephen Orr writes with deceptive simplicity, but within the easy-read style he builds characters of real depth, imperfect but likable, recognisably Australian. I just wanted to keep turning pages to follow the lives of Henry with his socially-limiting club foot, his loving policeman father and bitter, cruel-tongued mother, and those of their quirky neighbours.

By the time of the children’s disappearance, I found myself totally involved in the life of the Croydon community. The children had been allowed to take the tram to the beach without adult supervision, not at all unusual in Australia’s relatively innocent, crime-free 1950’s and early ‘60’s.

The tension of the mother, her anger at their lateness dissolving into disbelief, fear and guilt, made my neck ache.

The fact that the real-life mystery has never been solved does not detract from the overall quality of the story; the use of a fictional environment adds human context to the bare bones of police and coroner’s reports of one of Australia’s saddest crime mysteries.

Helen

The Iliad ~ Homer, translated by George Chapman

I cannot describe the sense of achievement that I feel at having completed The Iliad today after several studious months.

The title The Iliad actually means ‘What Happened at Ilion’, Ilion being the capital of Troy.  The Greeks and the Trojans have been battling it out for the past ten years, and The Iliad is set in the final year.

 

 

There are plenty of boring references to who is fighting, who is killed and who they are the son of and various family histories, but the story itself is quite amazing.  I loved the references to the gods, and how they interfere. I enjoyed Nestor who is a legend in his own lunch box, and the overall tale of the doomed Achilles and how his pride results in the death of his friend Patroclus. 

I could not have read this and enjoyed it as much as I did if it hadn't been for the Shmoop Study Guide.  It takes you point by point, book by book (there are 24 books to The Iliad) so that you have a full understanding of the meaning being portrayed in the poem, but it does so in a light hearted manner which makes it a great fun read on it’s own.

I read the translation by George Chapman, and whilst it was hard going once I found the rhythm of the poem and got to know the characters and the gods I found it hugely enjoyable.

Next year I’m going to tackle The Odyssey.

Maxine

Steve Jobs Biography ~ Walter Isaacson

When Steve Jobs died earlier this year. I really felt the loss in terms of the amazing products he had been a part of producing at Apple. I was also aware of his time at Pixar which produced movies that I have enjoyed since my Dad took my brother and I to see Toy Story.

iPods, iPhones, iPads and iTunes have changed the way that we do many things. I am constantly thankful to the technology that makes it possible for me to photograph my children and email them to my Mum in Queensland 5 seconds later. I use FaceTime to share moments with family such as Taj’s first bath with his big brother or Jayden reading Green Eggs and Ham in bed.

I’m not saying that these products were Jobs’ innovations alone but he had a clarity of design, amazing marketing skills and an intuitive knowledge of a product that we can’t live without that last week we never knew we needed.

This book was a great insight into what made Jobs’ tick. It wasn’t particularly well written and was in need of some editing but the detailed look at the people in Jobs’ worlds at both Apple and Pixar was just so interesting.

Everyone new that Jobs’ and Wazniak started Apple in a garage in the Silicone Valley but there were so many incredible feats of ingenuity in their rise to the top that it takes your breath away.

I felt the author let a few things slide that would have been very interesting to know about. For example much of the book detailed Apple’s “end to end” concepts – producing the iPod, iTunes store to work together and the fact that most of his late products are “closed” you can’t even change a battery, and no other developers can change your hardware etc. considering how often this was mentioned I was looking forward to hearing Jobs’ opinion on “jailbreaking” and “firmware” where Hackers open the closed software making it possible to put illegally downloaded content onto an iPod or iPhone for free. It is also possible to costomise icons, and access content that iTunes does not allow. Based on Jobs’ desire to control every aspect of the customer experience and also based on Apple’s hacker heritage I thought this was a big topic to leave untouched.

The chapters centre around different themes, mostly chronologically. I think that the editing may have been missing is some cases where a point has been covered earlier and is then echoed later on in the book, perhaps some people like the reminder … To me it makes a book feel clunky.

The best part about this biography is that although much of it is based on interviews with Steve himself, the biographer doesn’t fail to show the flip side of an argument and the way that Steve has a terrible way with people. In fact his wife apparently asked Isaacson to ensure that Steve was shown as true to life as possible. He was not a very nice person by most accounts. Tyrannical and pigheaded. He was a vegan and had strong opinions on his Zen lifestyle. It is amazing to read about his reaction to his cancer diagnosis and his dogmatic desire to pretend it would go away.

If you own an Apple product then this book is well worth a read. It will give you a much better appreciation of the minimalist design and the teasoning behind them that you have taken for granted.

Tanya

Rebecca ~ Daphne Du Maurier

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again”

Well if she did I’m surprised it wasn’t a nightmare. Honestly, the unnamed Narrator who becomes the second Mrs de Winter didn’t have a very good run at Manderley did she?

I started listening to the audiobook of Rebecca with no preconceived ideas which is always lovely. I was expecting a Bronte-esque style of novel similar to Jane Eyre, although to be honest I’m not sure why I thought that much. Perhaps that was how Mum recommended it to me?

Our narrator, travels back in time and retells of her time at Manderley. How she met Mr de Winter abroad as a young woman and marries him, how she returns to Manderley as Mrs de Winter within a year of Rebecca’s death. It seems almost as though Rebecca is a main character though she is dead throughout the story. The second Mrs de Winter can feel that shadow over her shoulder. She is convinced that when her husband is looking at her, he is thinking about how much he misses the first Mrs de Winter, that the staff when attending her are wishing they were attending Rebecca. Mrs de Winter is a shy creature, socially awkward, young, and from a different class than is usually seen at Manderley. She tries to keep things run as they have always been run, she eats of a menu chosen by Rebecca, amongst furniture chosen by Rebecca, with a husband who had chosen Rebecca.

This, up until this point is pretty much the novel I was expecting to read. Enter Mrs Danvers. Mrs Danvers is the nastiest piece of work in any piece of literature I’ve read for quite some time… Keeping in mind I just finished reading DRACULA!

Honestly when she started talking to Mrs de Winter and explaining how devoted she had been to Rebecca and how Mrs de Winter will never live up to Rebecca in anyone’s mind, especially her husbands. I wanted to push Mrs Danvers out the window myself! What a horrid creature.

The main thing I love about this story is the way that Daphne du Maurier talks about things that may have been. For example one night when Mrs de Winter has been upset and is considering not attending her own ball, she looks ahead to what would be said about her. The way the guests would talk, how the staff would sit around drinking coffee and discuss why their mistress hadn’t come downstairs, what Mrs Danvers would think. This technique was brilliant. I think it showed a great awareness from Mrs de Winter, she was no fool and as she grew up, her thoughts more accurately depicted her social standing. Rebecca takes quite a lot of twists and turns and things are not as they seem in the beginning at all. Rebecca does in a sense return, to complicate the newlywed’s marriage, and there is an inquest to get through, and some detective work on the part of our main characters. I won’t go into detail because sometimes it’s quite nice to not know what to expect. Although after reading some reviews it seems like a lot of people are made to read this in school? I wasn’t, but I’m glad to have read it now.

I have since learned that there is a Hitchcock movie adaption so I will try to get my hands on that and see how it measures up. My Mum tells me that Mrs Danvers is miscast so if that is the case, it won’t stand up at all.

If you haven’t read Rebecca already, pop off to the local second hand bookshop and give it a go. Or even better, get a copy of the BBC audiobook. You won’t be disappointed.

Tanya