World Book Day!

Literary Lodge Book Club Round-Up

We had a Christmas break in November and December, but we are back now each month with a range of interesting books for this coming year.

Some highlights over the last few months include:

A Very British Coup: Chris Mullin

A political thriller in which a left-wing politician, Harry Perkins, wins a landslide majority government and the establishment's underhand attempts to unseat him.

This was well received by the group, who found it a very engaging and credible thriller.  The characters were well drawn and the situations presented, although very much of their time, were still highly applicable to the current world.  Unlike many political thrillers, this did not seem far-fetched - we all felt this was all an entirely plausible response to the election of a radical left wing government.  Chris Mullin's career in politics and in government itself was clearly invaluable here in him being able to construct a highly credible narrative. 

However, while we felt that the book was very enjoyable, Mullin's lack of experience as a fiction writer did come through, as Mullin was not able to show Perkins himself to be a highly persuasive figure, and the ending, while brutally realistic was somewhat unsatisfying for the reader.

We also made comparisons to the Channel 4 dramatisation of the novel, which, unusually, we felt managed to iron out some of the narrative and characterisation difficulties that Mullin had.

Overall, we felt this to be a highly engaging, rewarding and illuminating read, though not without its drawbacks.

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

Washington Black is an adventure story detailing the incredible story of a former slave though his experiences on a slave plantation, as a companion and partner to a innovator, to fleeing his former owners and being the subject of a manhunt and finally as an innovator in his own right.

We all felt this to be a thoroughly engaging narrative, full of unexpected plot twists and excitement, as well as being a revealing and thoughtful discussion on slavery from the perspective of a former slave and an interesting insight into a particular period of American history.

We did feel the narrative to be a little uneven, and we all felt the narrative was at its strongest in first third detailing the protagonist's experiences as a slave and his escape and early experiences of living as a marked man.  The narrative did seem to lose its focus a little in the middle, and, while it was still entertaining, it was less engaging than the early sections.  The ending of the novel did recover the narrative somewhat, although ultimately proved slightly unsatisfying.

Overall though, this was a thoroughly entertaining read and we all felt it was something a little different to the usual adventure story, in that its concerns about slavery and of American society were insightful and probably even more interesting than the exciting narrative it presents.

Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman

An ideal book for escaping from the bleak January and February months, Call Me Your Name whisks us off to a dreamy Italian summer where 17 year old Elio begins his sexual and emotional awakening after a summer guest, Oliver, joins them for the summer months.  A coming of age drama, that is emotionally taut and beautifully written, Call Me By Your Name is a captivating read that gently deals with social issues surrounding a homosexual relationship and a meeting of two very different cultures.

We felt that the novel was beautifully written and was successful in creating the myriad of changeable emotions experienced by a teenager trying to discover himself and come to terms with that discover.  The novel is at times funny, nostalgic, emotionally taut and satisfying and contains some superb writing in places.  In particular, the discussion Elio has with his father towards the end of the novel is a moment of exceptional writing, both satisfying and highly emotionally realistic.  Characterisation is clearly a strong point of Aciman and his characters feel very well fleshed out and real.  The sex is never nauseatingly sentimental but handled with inventiveness and realism.

There were some weaknesses as well - the opening section, which largely focused on Elio's reflections rather than delivering much in the way of plot, while necessary, is overlong, and the trip to Rome towards the latter stages of the book, while entertaining and interesting in its own right, doesn't contribute much to the narrative and felt like a missed opportunity.  There were some difficulties with Elio as a character also.  Although the son of a professor, Elio's ability to speak four languages, his wide knowledge of literature, music, language and culture in general, made him a character who for many readers may feel somewhat difficult to identify with.  Also, his difficulties with his sexuality are mainly his own, he does not have the difficulties that Oliver has in not being accepted by his parents.  We wondered whether Oliver himself might make a more revealing narrator and that perhaps the sequel, rather than simply being a continuation which feels unnecessary for the book (perhaps less so than the film), might have provided Oliver's story instead.

Nevertheless, we fully enjoyed Call Me By Your Name, and it is a great read for escaping from the winter cold as well as being an ideal summer read for the beach (as long as you don't get too excited...).  Definitely recommended.

In the Etsy Shop:

The focus this month is Valentine's Day - which is less than a month away.  We have a range of Valentine's Day Gothic and Rude cards available:

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/literarylodge

 

 We also have a wide range of gifts for book lovers of all kinds: