Reading the 20th Century discussion

That's a very illuminating article - thanks

I've finally finished Caledonian Road (2024), the insanely good new novel by Andrew O’Hagan (author of the wonderful Mayflies amongst others)


I loved it...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

5/5





A biting portrait of British class, politics, and money told through five interconnected families and their rising―and declining―fortunes.

Campbell Flynn, art historian and biographer of Vermeer, always knew that when his life came crashing down, it would happen in public―yet he never imagined that a single year in London would expose so much. Entangled with a brilliant student, he begins to see trouble brewing for his family and friends. All his worlds collide―the art scene and academia, fashion and the English aristocracy, journalism and the internet―as dangerous forces enter his life and Caledonian Road gives up its secrets.

Andrew O'Hagan has written a social novel in the Victorian style, drawing a whole cast of characters into company with each other and revealing the inner energies of the way we live now.

"Not only a peerless chronicler of our times, O'Hagan has generosity, humour and tenderness, which make this novel an utter joy to read."―Monica Ali, author of Love Marriage and Brick Lane

Thanks for posting Nigeyb, sounds like a Booker book already.

Good point. I would guess it will get the nod

I've finished Madame Bovary and loved every page: 5-stars from me.

www.goodreads.com/review/show/6194858022

Wow that was quick


Your points about the translation have really got me wondering

Apparently there's 19 different English translations - begs the question, are readers even reading the same book?

This fella has done another translation since Lydia Davis and makes more interesting points about choices the translator has to make...

https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

That's a great article by Adam Thorpe - I'd love to read his Bovary but realistically am unlikely to get to it. I've read his Ulverton and didn't think his own ornate style was a good match for Flaubert's deliberate plainness in this book whereas Lydia Davis' own style is unadorned.

Good material for you to discuss at your book group perhaps?

Yes indeed. Already shared the links on our WhatsApp group

I finished Sheila Heti's Alphabetical Diaries which proved to be an intriguing experience, it grew out of a reworking of her actual diaries, which she reordered and edited down.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Alwynne wrote: "I finished Sheila Heti's Alphabetical Diaries which proved to be an intriguing experience, it grew out of a reworking of her actual diaries, which she reordered and edited down."

I'm so intrigued by the concept of this but haven't always got on with Heti so haven't requested an ARC just in case I hate it! It's on my library list though.

I've just started another Netgalley book that I heard favourably described on a podcast....



The Kellerby Code (2024)

by

Jonny Sweet


I am very impressed so far


Edward is living in a world he can't afford and to which he doesn't belong. To camouflage himself, he has catered to his friends' needs: fetching drycleaning, sorting flowers for premieres. It's a noble effort, really - anything to keep his best pals Robert and Stanza happy. In return, his proximity to them might sponge the shame of his birth and violent past cleanly away.

But the chink in his armour is his painfully unrequited love for Stanza. When he realises Stanza and Robert are an item, Edward is pushed too far. His little acts of kindness take a sinister turn, giving way to the unspeakable brutality Edward fears is at his core.

Are there limits to what he will do for his friends? Are there limits to what he will do to them?

Roman Clodia wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "I finished Sheila Heti's Alphabetical Diaries which proved to be an intriguing experience, it grew out of a reworking of her actual diaries, which she reordered and..."

I avoided 'Pure Colour' but found aspects of 'Motherhood' really fascinating, I liked this one far more than I'd expected, it reminded me of reading things like 'A Lover's Discourse', I liked the elliptical, fragmentary aspect. I wondered if she'd been influenced by "cut-up" fiction, the technique she's using is very reminiscent of that kind of work.

Roman Clodia wrote: "I'm so intrigued by the concept of this but haven't always got on with Heti so haven't requested an ARC just in case I hate it! It's on my library list though."

Same here. I strongly disliked Pure Colour, but I've been seeing positive reactions to Alphabetical Diaries.

Ooh, you're tempting me, Alwynne, with cut-up fiction and A Lover's Discourse. Plus the source material being diaries which I know we both like. I'll see if it's still on Netgalley.

I finished a novel from the 1920s, the first of three based on the author's life, Cora Sandel's Alberta and Jacob. Very much the kind of novel that featured on Virago's original modern classics list, although they never actually published it. It's a coming-of-age story set in the far north of Norway.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've just finished....



The Kellerby Code (2024)

by

Jonny Sweet


...which I got from Netgalley having heard a recommendation


I loved it....

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

4/5


Edward is living in a world he can't afford and to which he doesn't belong. To camouflage himself, he has catered to his friends' needs: fetching drycleaning, sorting flowers for premieres. It's a noble effort, really - anything to keep his best pals Robert and Stanza happy. In return, his proximity to them might sponge the shame of his birth and violent past cleanly away.

But the chink in his armour is his painfully unrequited love for Stanza. When he realises Stanza and Robert are an item, Edward is pushed too far. His little acts of kindness take a sinister turn, giving way to the unspeakable brutality Edward fears is at his core.

Are there limits to what he will do for his friends? Are there limits to what he will do to them?

I've liked Johanna Hedva's essays particularly their work around sickness and ableism, but didn't respond as positively to their novel Your Love is Not Good there were some excellent observations and acutely-observed episodes but I didn't find the exploration of the commerical artworld particularly ground-breaking, and the satire was sometimes too heavy-handed for my taste.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Inspired by RC, I have just started...



Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll


Excellent so far


Killing Thatcher is the gripping account of how the IRA came astonishingly close to killing Margaret Thatcher and to wiping out the British Cabinet – an extraordinary assassination attempt linked to the Northern Ireland Troubles and the most daring conspiracy against the Crown since the Gunpowder Plot.

In this fascinating and compelling book, veteran journalist Rory Carroll retraces the road to the infamous Brighton bombing in 1984 – an incident that shaped the political landscape in the UK for decades to come. He begins with the infamous execution of Lord Mountbatten in 1979 – for which the IRA took full responsibility – before tracing the rise of Margaret Thatcher, her response to the ‘Troubles’ in Ireland and the chain of events that culminated in the hunger strikes of 1981 and the death of 10 republican prisoners, including Bobby Sands. From that moment on Thatcher became an enemy of the IRA – and the organisation swore revenge.

Opening with a brilliantly-paced prologue that introduces bomber Patrick Magee in the build up to the incident, Carroll sets out to deftly explore the intrigue before and after the assassination attempt – with the story spanning three continents, from pubs and palaces, safe houses and interrogation rooms, hotels and barracks. On one side, an elite IRA team aided by a renegade priest, US-raised funds and Libya’s Qaddafi and on the other, intelligence officers, police detectives, informers and bomb disposal officers. An exciting narrative that blends true crime with political history, this is the first major book to investigate the Brighton attack.

And I am also reading...


Life’s a Gamble: My life in Penetration & the Invisible Girls by Pauline Murray


The autobiography of Penetration and Invisible Girls frontwoman the wonderful Pauline Murray



Life’ s a Gamble is the autobiography of iconic singer-songwriter Pauline Murray. It recounts her journey from a small mining village in northeast England, through to gaining national recognition as the frontwoman of her band, Penetration, and how she became a key member of the punk movement. Emerging onto the punk scene at just 18 years old, inspired by an early encounter with the Sex Pistols, Pauline details how she played alongside the leading bands of the era, navigated the demands of the music industry, conquered the post-punk landscape with the Invisible Girls, opened her own music studios and reformed Penetration in 2001. Highly illustrated with unseen photographs and drawing upon Pauline’ s teenage diaries, interviews and archive material from her personal collection, this book chronicles the life and work of an authentic creative artist and punk rock legend.

Nigeyb wrote: "Inspired by RC, I have just started...

Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll
"

That's so good. I'm sure I've just seen it nominated for a book prize.

Nigeyb wrote: "And I am also reading...


Life’s a Gamble: My life in Penetration & the Invisible Girls by Pauline Murray


The autobiography of Penetration and Invisible Girls fr..."

I know someone who has a glow-in-the-dark vinyl copy of 'Moving Targets' it's a great album, but oddly poised between rock and punk.

Glow in the dark vinyl? I don't remember that but would love to see it in operation

Yes, Moving Targets was already pushing the boundaries. Her later work with the Invisible Girls is really interesting and different

Nigeyb wrote: "Glow in the dark vinyl? I don't remember that but would love to see it in operation

Yes, Moving Targets was already pushing the boundaries. Her later work with the Invisible Girls is really intere..."

It's a vomit/dayglo green colour.

I finished a new collection from graphic novelist/illustrator David Small The Werewolf at Dusk: And Other Stories I liked his restrained artwork and use of colour and the chosen pieces were unexpectedly moving, although I think I prefer the original of Jean Ferry's famous 'Le Tigre Mondain' to Small's less nuanced interpretation.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished the debut novel by rising Irish author Noel O'Regan Though the Bodies Fall, it's well-written and atmospheric, very much in the vein of writers like Annie Proulx and Claire Keegan. Unfortunately neither of those writers' fiction really works for me, and this was similar. Great sense of place, decent story just not for me.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished the final instalment in Eva Baltasar's trilogy Mammoth, like the others the connections are thematic, so it works as a standalone novel. It's an accomplished, intriguing piece but I didn't like it as much as earlier entries in the series mainly because I wasn't convinced by the conclusion or some of the underlying arguments.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Alwynne wrote: "I finished the final instalment in Eva Baltasar's trilogy Mammoth"

Thanks for the reminder that I still need to read her Permafrost.

Finished Pauline Murray....


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

4/5


*

Now on to....



What's She Like

by

Helen O'Hara



Helen O'Hara decided she was going to be a violinist at the age of nine. Her violin was her badge of honour. She was brought up on a mix of classical and pop music, but it was pop that ruled her heart. A prodigious talent, she rose through the ranks in youth orchestras, but at seventeen she rebelled, left school and joined a progressive rock band. At twenty-one, she was back in college studying classical violin, where she was headhunted by Dexys Midnight Runners. Declining an offer from the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, she joined Dexys instead. Weeks later 'Come On Eileen' was number one in the UK charts.

What's She Like provides a vivid account of the euphoric experience of recording and touring the album Too-Rye-Ay, and the tumultuous story of the making of Dexys' masterpiece album, Don’t Stand Me Down. After Dexys disbanded in 1986, Helen started a long working relationship with Tanita Tikaram and recorded two solo instrumental albums, featuring acclaimed pianist Nicky Hopkins, before taking a break from music to raise her family. The break extended for 23 years. Once her two sons had grown, driven by forces almost beyond her control, she dusted down her violin and began the hard journey to once again make music the centre of her life, honouring the commitment she had made to herself aged nine.

I've started a couple of biographies/memoirs - Leslie F*cking Jones and Alan Rickman's Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman. At the beginning of both.

Morning and help . I've just started A Buyer's Market but cant seem to find the discussion thread for this buddy read ? Can someone share the link? Thank you

Hester wrote: "Morning and help . I've just started A Buyer's Market but cant seem to find the discussion thread for this buddy read ? Can someone share the link? Thank you"

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Making a train journey the other day I felt I needed something 'pulp' so read I did enjoy it but felt it would be much better if I hadn't seen the film.

Currently still on pulp reading with some mid-century British sci-fi from the recent bunch of British Library reissues Unsurprisingly quite reminiscent of John Wyndham, nice people-quaint rural England-strange goings on.
It was filmed by Hammer so I will try to find a copy of that to watch.

I read the Psycho novel many moons ago Martin. As you suggest, overshadowed by the film now

Oh, I didn't know Psycho was a novel. *Even I* have seen that film! 😄

I finished The Secret History: a veritable page-turner and completely immersive:

www.goodreads.com/review/show/1645974287

My reaction to reading Verdigris by acclaimed Italian author Michele Mari can be summed up in three words: bored and annoyed. Although it may work for slug afficionados who can cope with numerous scenes of dead/dying slugs.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Absolutely gripped by RC's top tip as I close in on the ending of this beaut....




Killing Thatcher

by

Rory Carroll





Killing Thatcher is the gripping account of how the IRA came astonishingly close to killing Margaret Thatcher and to wiping out the British Cabinet – an extraordinary assassination attempt linked to the Northern Ireland Troubles and the most daring conspiracy against the Crown since the Gunpowder Plot.

In this fascinating and compelling book, veteran journalist Rory Carroll retraces the road to the infamous Brighton bombing in 1984 – an incident that shaped the political landscape in the UK for decades to come. He begins with the infamous execution of Lord Mountbatten in 1979 – for which the IRA took full responsibility – before tracing the rise of Margaret Thatcher, her response to the ‘Troubles’ in Ireland and the chain of events that culminated in the hunger strikes of 1981 and the death of 10 republican prisoners, including Bobby Sands. From that moment on Thatcher became an enemy of the IRA – and the organisation swore revenge.

Opening with a brilliantly-paced prologue that introduces bomber Patrick Magee in the build up to the incident, Carroll sets out to deftly explore the intrigue before and after the assassination attempt – with the story spanning three continents, from pubs and palaces, safe houses and interrogation rooms, hotels and barracks. On one side, an elite IRA team aided by a renegade priest, US-raised funds and Libya’s Qaddafi and on the other, intelligence officers, police detectives, informers and bomb disposal officers. An exciting narrative that blends true crime with political history, this is the first major book to investigate the Brighton attack.

I was gripped by Lisa Tuttle's uncanny novellla My Death a subtle, carefully-crafted exploration of forgotten women authors, the bonds between writers and readers, featuring eerie paintings, forgotten children's books and mysterious past events.

Link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Nigeyb wrote: "Absolutely gripped by RC's top tip as I close in on the ending of this beaut...."

It's so well written, isn't it, and really places the reader at the heart of all those scenes.

Alwynne wrote: "I was gripped by Lisa Tuttle's uncanny novellla My Death a subtle, carefully-crafted exploration of forgotten women authors, the bonds between writers and readers, featuring eerie ..."

Ooh, that sounds good - love the references in your review too.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "I was gripped by Lisa Tuttle's uncanny novellla My Death a subtle, carefully-crafted exploration of forgotten women authors, the bonds between writers and readers, ..."

The ending is quite abrupt and slightly vague which I think might be frustrating for some readers, very much an uncanny tale but the style is more realist, and I loved the framing of the story. It reminded me a little of Fremlin's uncanny fiction but explicitly invested in issues around women, writing and art.

Added to my ridiculously out of control TBR! 😊

Nigeyb wrote:


"What's She Like

by

Helen O'Hara"



I finished Helen's book last night and really enjoyed it

I saw her talk about it in a tiny venue in Worthing so can confirm she's every bit as lovely as she comes across in the book

So much great Dexys detail in there too - sent me back to so many of the great tunes

Plan to pen a review later


*


Next up for me is this new book....


Teddy Boys: Post-War Britain and the First Youth Revolution

by

Max Décharné


I read the first few pages last night and am confident it will be a complete winner



'Enormously enjoyable' Sunday Times

'Genial and entertaining' Daily Telegraph

'A joyous celebration of the founding fathers of British youth culture' Alwyn Turner, author of All in it Together and Little Englanders

With their draped suits, suede creepers and immaculately greased hair, the Teddy Boys defined a new era for a generation of teenagers raised on a diet of drab clothes, Blitz playgrounds and tinned dinners. From the Edwardian origins of their fashion to the tabloid fears of delinquency, drunkenness and disorder, the story of the Teds throws a fascinating light on a British society that was still reeling from the Second World War. In the 1950s, working-class teenagers found a way of asserting themselves in how they dressed, spoke and socialised on the street. When people saw Teds, they stepped aside.Musician and author Max Décharné traces the rise of the Teds and the shockwave they sent through post-war Britain, from the rise of rock 'n' roll to the Notting Hill race riots. Full of fascinating insight, deftly sketching the milieu of Elvis Presley and Derek Bentley, Billy Fury and Oswald Mosley, Teddy Boys is the story of Britain's first youth counterculture.

Nigeyb wrote: "Nigeyb wrote: "Next up for me is this new book....

Teddy Boys: Post-War Britain and the First Youth Revolution

by Max Décharné"

I've heard the term Teddy Boys often in my life, but being an American observing British culture, I've only touched the surface of having any knowledge, much like I have with British skiffle music. I have presumed the Teddy Boys bore a similarity to the "greasers' scene popular in the U.S. before the Beatles mop-heads led the "British Invasion" into U.S. music and youth culture and put a huge dent into Brylcream's profits.

My visuals of Teddy Boys largely comes from my memories of watching a British movie on TV in the mid-60s that made a huge impression on me. It's about a murder trial of four young youths I presumed were Teddy Boys and was called The Boys. Here's the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054697/

More Beatles connections follow. What was most memorable to me at the time was seeing Paul's uncle from A Hard Day's NIght, actor Wilfred Brambell, play a witness. It was probably a year or two after watching the Beatles movie. Brambell was a key component in making A Hard Day's Night so much fun to this then 11 year old boy. Also memorable was that I wanted to wear a sharkskin suit like my favorite character of the "boys."

Speaking of Beatles movies, a glance through the IMDb listing of 'The Boys' brought my attention to actor Roy Kinnear a very familiar face to me. I looked and found that yes, he is the father of current actor Rory Kinnear. I was surprised since ROY Kinnear is so memorable to me from his role in HELP! and as Veruca Salt's father in Willie Wonka. What we don't know in America about British actors. Its like my not being aware that Kate Beckinsale was an acting legacy not being privy to the TV popularity of her father Richard. Interestingly, I just looked at Wikipedia and it says that when Kate went to Oxford, she "became friends with Roy Kinnear's daughter Kirsty." Small world that British acting scene. Well, smaller than the U.S.

Roy Kinnear was a fixture on British TV in the 60s and 70s. Often playing losers and petty villans


I think the Teddy Boy book would be right up your street Brian


As wikipedia explains....

In post-war Britain, rationing continued to affect the fashion industry, and men's tailors in central London devised a style based on Edwardian clothing hoping to sell to young officers being demobilized from the services. However, the style—featuring tapered trousers, long jackets similar to post-war American zoot suits, and fancy waistcoats—was not popular with its target market, leaving tailors with piles of unsold clothing which, to recoup losses, were sold cheaply to menswear shops elsewhere in London. While there had been some affluent adoption—"an extravagant upper-class snub to the post-war Labour Government and its message of austerity"—it was predominantly suburban working-class youth who adopted and adapted the look ("spiv" and cosh boy associations also hastened its middle-class rejection) and, around 1952, what became the "Teddy Boy" style began to emerge, gradually spreading across Britain. The 1953 film Cosh Boy (US: The Slasher), written by Lewis Gilbert and Vernon Harris, makes an early reference to the style when the character, Roy (James Kenny), speaks the words "[it's a] drape...the latest cut".

I know there are other Rachel Cusk fans here so I'm delighted to say that her new book Parade is astonishingly good:

www.goodreads.com/review/show/6243092352

Hard to imagine this not one of my top books of the year!

I started 1963: The Year of the Revolution by Ariel Leve. It may be about music as it starts with long quotes from Keith Richards and Eric Clapton. I was 13 at the time. My brother graduated from high school the previous year and my sister was working, possibly in downtown Chicago. It does include Dylan and I know this was the year my brother started bringing his music into the house.

Interesting - 1963 is the year of the revolution and (per another book I have) 1964 is the last innocent year.

More Barbara Pym for me: I'm starting A Glass of Blessings

I have just started A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing
A collection of essays and articles written for newspapers, some of which I’ve read elsewhere but many new to me. It also includes her Reith lectures from 2017. Can’t beat Hilary Mantel’s wit. Fabulous cover image.

Such a loss. I remember her Reith lectures and enjoyed her thoughts about the validity of historical fiction as a genre.