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Tony

@ynott59

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Mainly books, a bit of art appreciation and gardening, along with anything else that takes my fancy.

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‘He wasn’t whole, he never would be whole, but, like the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of men before him who had returned from a war, he was getting on with his life by treating the past as if it barely existed.’

‘The Festival, with its nursery colours and bright lights… was the beginning of a cure’.

‘Was redemption possible? That was the question, wasn’t it? For any of them.’

Our Noble Selves by Kate Atkinson. #bookthoughts

It’s Spring 1951 and Britain is beginning to recover from WW2. A symbol of this is the Festival of Britain, scheduled to take place in the summer. We are taken into an office on the Festival site where a group of people are working behind the scenes to get it off the ground. Everyone in the office has a story about their involvement in the war, but equally they want to forget it.

The main focus is Harry Flynn. Prior to the war he was a journalist, but by an unlucky chain of events ended up a prisoner of war in horrific conditions. In 1951 he is rootless, self medicating with alcohol and sex, and suddenly finds himself a person of interest in the disappearance of a mysterious French woman. The narrative shifts from what had the potential to be an interesting study of early post war Britain to a cosy crime story. The transition took some getting used to.

There was much interesting material here which was worthy of development. Britain is presented as a society dealing collectively and individually with the trauma of war, and the Festival, rather than being an optimistic focus on the future becomes a collective exercise in amnesia. As we become acquainted with the main characters we see the long shadows of the past making their presence felt. The cosy crime theme seems out of place in this sombre world.

This was a buddy read with @barbaras.book.obsession and we had similar reactions to the book (see her excellent review for her take on it). I think we both wanted more on the quiet tragedies of the main characters’ lives, rather than a slightly labyrinthine crime plot. It felt to me like wasted potential .

#ournobleselves #kateatkinson #cosycrime #booksbooksbooks taken in South Bank, London by @ynott59

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5 days ago

Autumn thoughts

I came across these quotes in a post called ‘Autumn’s Mellow Wisdom’ on the blog A Listening Heart (found on Wordpress). I think they capture something of the beautiful early autumn we have been experiencing here in Southern England.

‘Extraordinary satisfaction….. Autumn seems stationery within this lovely weather, an end reached, that is more calmly enjoyable than restless changing Spring & summer too splendid to last, whereas this seems to be what autumn led to & we aim – consciously refusing to consider Winter as an end.’

Edward Thomas writing in 1915 in his notebook.

And…

‘I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer, but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because its tone is mellow, its colours are richer and it is tinged with a little sorrow. Its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor the power of summer, but of the mellowness and kindly wisdom of approaching age. It knows the limitations of life and is content.’
.

Lin Yutang, 20th Century Chinese writer.

I’ll say no more; I think the words above are so rich and speak for themselves

#autumnmood #turningseasons #journeyintoautumn #simplewisdom #autumnquotations by @ynott59

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5

5 days ago

St Mary Abchurch - no. 12 in my occasional series on Wren Churches in the City of London

This is a church full of surprises. Outside, the building itself is unassuming, though Abchurch Yard where it is situated is buzzing with outdoor tables connected to The Vintry pub, and has a lovely atmosphere.

On entering the church you are struck by the incredible domed ceiling and a sense of calm beauty, enhanced by simple plain windows. The contrast between the outside and inside is striking. Swipe to see details.

John Betjeman described the building as being both uplifting and intimate, and it is almost as Wren left it (unlike many of the other City churches he designed which have been extensively modernised or rebuilt in the intervening years). Herein lies the problem: the church is facing a massive repair bill and has launched an appeal to raise funds. However, as the home of the Friends of City Churches organisation I guess it is well placed to raise the significant money required.

The word Abchurch probably refers to an early Vicar of the church, though this appears to be lost in the mists of time.

#cityoflondonchurches #christopherwren #wrenchurches #travelswithmyiphone #friendsofcitychurches taken in Candlewick by @ynott59

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7 days ago

‘Politics was the thing that people couldn’t do. In the end they would opt for massacre’

‘How could you fulfil your longing for the peace of God when the compacted echo of killing drowned out all prayer?’

‘Philip found his own limits breaking down. He surrendered to the chaos, the lack of shape or meaning in his human life. He acknowledged the weight of unknowing’

Farewell to Eden by Sebastian Faulks

Faulks is often interested in the impact of historical events on the lives of ordinary people. This novel’s main focus is Palestine in 1947, when the British are preparing to leave. The various religious groups carefully coexist, but everyone knows that conflict is coming with the departure of the peace keepers.

Into this volatile mix steps Philip Deval, a Philosophy graduate and survivor of the Normandy landings. Rather than being demobbed at the end of the war he chose to stay on, not least as he had little to go back to. Through his eyes we see the competing interests of the native population, Jewish settlers and those arriving on crowded ships after surviving the Holocaust.

The story plays out across much of the twentieth century, moving between WW2 and the postwar period, each section opening up and shedding light on the narrative. In a less competent novelist this could be confusing, but Faulks manages it well.

A major preoccupation of the book is an examination of religious belief. At a macro level this plays out in the main religions in the Middle East, but it’s most interesting on the human level. The characters express their views on this in different ways: the fundamentalist Headteacher, the Anglican chaplain comfortable living with doubt and mystery, the Ravensbruck concentration camp survivor who is now an atheist, and Philip himself who struggles to embrace any system of belief. It’s all carefully observed and examined.

This is a very thoughtful book, saturated with historical and period detail. Faulks doesn’t provide us with answers, but helps us to view his characters with compassion and insight. A quietly satisfying read.

#farewelltoeden #sebastianfaulks #myreadinglife #bookthoughts #favouriteauthor by @ynott59

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9 days ago

‘Was something colder and harder growing in him - a less happy reflection, this. Were unsuspected transformations in his nature occurring?’

‘What kind of person was he becoming?’

‘He saw the price he had paid for becoming drawn into this secret world - there was no one story, there were many, conflicting stories, myriad, but which one did you believe?’

Cold Sunset by William Boyd. #bookthoughts

This is the third volume in the Gabriel Dax spy series. In the first book we see Dax, a young travel writer, skilfully drawn into the world of espionage by his handler, the beautiful and enigmatic Faith Green. He’s not a natural spy, which makes him interesting. By book two he’s become embroiled in Cold War double agent activity, working for the Russians but reporting back to Faith.

In this book it’s 1964 and he’s tracking down a fourth Cambridge spy in California. A sequence of events then takes him to Moscow, where inevitably the tension mounts.

Dax is deeply involved in the world of espionage, but is never fully part of it. His detachment makes him fascinating. In this book we see the ongoing compromises he has to make and the effects they have on him. He stands alone, trusting no one yet yearning for intimacy. It’s compelling reading.

Whilst I loved the first book in this series I felt slightly indifferent to the second, and approached Cold Sunset with a degree of trepidation. However, I was pleasantly surprised as William Boyd is really on form. Some people in the #spybrary community consider the spy craft inauthentic in this book. My own view is that Dax is self consciously an amateur, and Boyd is most concerned with his development as an individual. That’s what made Dax so interesting a character.

There is much unfinished business in this book, but I understand this is the end of the series. I’m left wanting more.

#bookreview #myreadinglife #spynovel by @ynott59

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15 days ago

‘I’m sorry I’m late, Mr Ramsden’ he said, putting the mug and plate on the desk.
‘I always have my cup of tea at three-thirty,’ said Ramsden.

Image of a Society by Roy Fuller

Welcome to the rather predicable, staid world of a Building Society as depicted in Roy Fuller’s 1956 novel, which Mike @mrp_bk and I have been reading this week. It takes you back to a world of tea ladies, Directors’ dining rooms and civic buildings blackened by coal smoke. Mike’s excellent review captures the essence of this very readable and enjoyable novel.

Although it is 70 years old, as the title implies, this is a universal story about office politics - the careful plotting and positioning over the years, assiduous cultivation of senior managers, and ambition undone when mistakes that are decades old come back to haunt you, ruining your professional reputation. Sounds familiar?

The novel focuses on the lives of two long term employees: Witt (and it’s all surnames here) the Society’s Solicitor, and Blackledge, the Mortgage Manager. Witt, though an able lawyer has missed his vocation as a man of letters and his life appears stuck. Blackledge on the other hand is charismatic and ambitious. The two men, though very different become entangled in events they had not foreseen.

In Pink Floyd’s much later album Dark Side of the Moon there is a line which is so relevant here: ‘hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way. The time is gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say’. There’s a quiet desperation to some of the lives recounted in this book which is very touching (and very English). Powerful emotions are hinted at, half said. Fuller is an incisive writer, often with a very precise turn of phrase.

Like the world it depicts, this novel is quietly moving. It doesn’t set the world alight, but holds up a mirror in which we see power, ambition and disappointment well portrayed. A satisfying read.

#royfuller #midcenturyfiction #myreadinglife #booksbooksbooks #bookworm by @ynott59

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20 days ago

‘I rely on structure these days. It helps me to avoid thinking about the future, but sometimes my plans collapse on me, like a badly designed roof… Anything’s better than sitting at home alone, remembering…’

The Mermaid’s Cry by Kate Rhodes

So begins the ninth book in Rhodes’ series about DI Ben Kitto, a native of the Scilly Isles who came back to work in the local police force after a demanding few year in the Metropolitan Police. However, this book is very different to the previous ones.

After a trauma in his personal life Kitto has been given a year’s leave of absence from the Police and is working as a carpenter in Penzance. His move to the mainland gives the novel a very different feel.

Kitto is trying to immerse himself in his carpentry in order to numb the impact of his recent past, but when a baby is thrown into the sea his police instincts kick in. He successfully rescues the child and can’t help but get involved in solving the crimes which unfold.

Rhodes is always very interested in the nature of community and how those who are troubled live within it. In the Scilly Isles stories this centres on a very cohesive group of people whose numbers are swelled by the annual influx of tourists. In moving this novel to Penzance she’s able to paint on a much broader canvas. The community she describes, and the context for the crimes committed is much more diverse.

A key theme of this book is the need for humans to be nurtured and loved in their early years, and the effects which accrue when this is withheld or conditional. We also meet characters who grieve for adult children who have moved far away, while others live with the heartbreak of infertility or loss. Rhodes centres the crimes which take place in this context: she is understanding of their roots in emotional trauma, but never excuses the actions of individuals.

This is a very rich and thoughtful book. After eight previous stories I wondered if the series would remain fresh. I’d say that this is one of the best so far.

#themermaidscry #katerhodes #crimenovel #myreadinglife #bookstagrammer taken in Penzance, Cornwall by @ynott59

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23 days ago

A recent visit to The Garden Museum to see their exhibition ‘Benton End: A Paradise of Pollen and Paint’.

This is a cleverly curated exhibition, combining a wide range of paintings with a recreation of the home at Benton End shared by the artist Cedric Morris and his partner Arthur Lett-Haines.

Of the two, Morris was primarily the artist while Haines was the plantsmen. Together they created an art school in the Suffolk countryside, and drew around them 1950s luminaries such as Lucien Freud, the gardener Beth Chatto and the cookery writer Elizabeth David.

Cedric Morris’s work was shaped by a lifelong dedication to the natural world, and he was both a naturalist and a modernist painter; a rare combination. He is best known for his flower paintings, but his work extends well beyond this.

Apparently the garden at Benton End is now open to the public, though I don’t know any details. The current exhibition continues until 20 September.

#gardenmuseum #bentonend #suffolk #artexhibition #midcenturyart taken in Garden Museum by @ynott59

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a month ago

‘Only men without power do not desire it; those who have felt its touch crave ever more of its embrace.’

‘Two men, it seems, can see the same event, yet both remember it falsely. How, he went on, will we ever reach certainty on anything, even when of good will?’

‘We all die frustrated; it is the greatest lesson we have to learn.’

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears

I’ve been absent from here over the last few weeks, due partly because of the preoccupations of building work in my house, but also because I’ve been ploughing through this historical crime novel stretching to over 700 pages. It’s been a challenging read.

It’s set in Oxford in 1663. The Restoration is fragile with many factions vying for influence. The scars of civil war are not healed. These factors provide a background of mistrust and suspicion.

A murder in the city is described from four different points of view, all of them unreliable narrators. Each account is written in the form of a memoir, many years after the murder took place. The four authors have experienced varying degrees of success, each having made moral compromises along the way. Their narration of the story says as much about them as the facts of the murder itself.

The unfolding story provides a meditation on issues such as power, ambition, truth and reliability. Facts are disputed or understood in a range of ways, and alongside this Pears gives us an insight into a fascinating time when science and superstition vied with each in medical treatment, and shows us their competing world views.

As I write this review I think how rich and interesting this book sounds. The reality, for me, was that it was extremely hard work and I struggled to keep up with the cast of characters and their various actions. It’s a well plotted, very erudite book with many layers, and a surprising twist at the end. That said, there was just too much of it, and it felt overwhelming.

Why did I persevere? Well, it was a book club read and I felt a collective responsibility to complete it. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

#aninstanceofthefingerpost #myreadinglife #booksbooksbooks #bookstagrammer #justfinishedreading taken in Oxford, Oxfordshire by @ynott59

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a month ago

The Burning Tide by William Shaw #bookthoughts

This is the second of @william1shaw ‘s Eden Driscoll crime series set in the West Country. If the first book The Red Shore, set the scene, this novel really opens out the characters. Yes, it’s primarily a crime story, but in Shaw’s hand becomes multi dimensional, reflecting on issues such as loss, identity, family and moving forward in challenging times. I loved it.

In The Red Shore we were introduced to Eden, a single thirty something London detective with a troubled past. Estranged from his sister for many years at a time of crisis he is called upon to look after his 9 year old nephew (who he didn’t even know existed) in rural South Devon. His sister has embraced a rather alternative life on the coast, and suddenly Eden is plunged into a caring role that nothing has prepared him for. Tantalisingly, the first novel ends at this point.

In The Burning Tide we see Eden relocated to the coast on a temporary basis while he grapples with what to do about his nephew. He’s on a temporary leave of absence from the Met, but of course he stumbles across a crime which he can’t help getting involved in solving - I’ll say no more for fear of spoilers.

The crime element of the story is carefully plotted and engaging, set against the backdrop of the beautiful Devon coast. What really drew me in was the sense of personal growth that Eden experiences in his relationship with his nephew and the women who come into his life. As well as a good crime story this becomes a meditation on fatherhood, family and the power of the past to shape present actions.

This is a very thoughtful crime story, and sits well with Shaw’s two earlier series set in the 1960s and the present day Dungeness coast. All his books have a strong sense of place along with characters you quickly engage with. I hope there’s a third book in the pipeline.

#williamshawauthor #bookstagrammer #myreadinglife #crimefictionbooks taken in Teignmouth, Devon by @ynott59

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2 months ago

Whistler by Ann Patchett. #bookthoughts

I’m new to Ann Patchett’s work but she’s been on my radar for some time, not least for the positive comments she gets on here. This means that I approached Whistler with a high degree of anticipation. What did I ultimately think of this book? I’m not sure.

Whilst visiting an art gallery with her husband, middle aged Daphne comes across Eddie, her ex stepfather who she has not seen since she was nine. The two were very close but their relationship ended abruptly when Daphne’s mother decided to divorce her second husband.

Since that time so many years ago both Daphne and Eddie have separately realised that they had a special father/daughter bond, and have mourned the loss of this. This loss has haunted each of them in different ways.

The chance meeting marks the opportunity to reconnect, but how to do this after a lifetime? This is a story about the power of family relationships, the role of fathers, and the part memory plays in both helping us to understand our lives, but also at times clouding our judgment.

Patchett documents middle and later life so well, and with a lightness of touch which belies complexity. This is a very wise, very honest novel and is at times both tender and moving.

And yet… there’s something which holds me back from offering fulsome praise. At some level I couldn’t engage deeply with the characters, and liked few of them: they simply left me unmoved. In more cynical moments I found the milieu of middle class, professional and affluent characters slightly self absorbed. However that’s a bit unfair because this thoughtful book is a welcome meditation on fatherhood, growing up and growing old, and the importance of family. In this sense there was much to like. I’m a bit on the fence with this book.

Does that sentiment resonate with anyone else, or am I missing something?

#annpatchett #whistler #modernfiction #myreadinglife by @ynott59

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3 months ago

‘Propaganda must appeal to emotions, not to intelligence: it must capture opinion with oft-repeated catchwords so that all react in the same way. Propaganda must teach the people to deceive themselves.’

‘But some had to ask. In the silence of their homes, they asked how they could remain human beings and yet German.’

‘No one said anything important. There was less news in the newspapers than ever: people were seen quietly poring over foreign newspapers.’

The Prisoner by Sally Carson, first published in 1936

This is the second volume of Sally Carson’s fictional trilogy on the rise of Nazi Germany. All three books were written before the beginning of WW2 and represented her response to the dramatic changes she saw on her visits to a country she loved.

The first volume, Crooked Cross was a @persephonebooks bestseller, and is a remarkable story about how the rise of Hitler affected not only a country but a family. We saw the Klugers responding to the pressures placed upon them to embrace Nazism, their varied reactions, compromises, and ultimately tragedy.

The Prisoner focuses on the two Kluger brothers, Erich, who enthusiastically embraces the Party, and his older brother Helmy who is more nuanced and ambivalent. Both are Storm Troopers. Helmy’s struggles dominate the narrative. Carson paints a picture of both a Society which is rapidly becoming embedded in totalitarianism and how the Klugers respond to this in the light of the personal tragedies recounted in the first volume.

This is an ambitious book. Whereas Crooked Cross had an energy and drama to it, this one is more downbeat and introspective. Carson writes well and with insight but frankly there is too much material; it’s too ambitious, too long and as a result lacks a sharpness of focus. I struggled with it for this reason, and was disappointed.

To be fair, the chronicling of a society descending into totalitarianism is both chilling and prescient. This book bears witness to the small steps which cumulatively result in oppression and the shutting down of democracy. For this reason it feels important for all its flaws.

#theprisoner #sallycarson #myreadinglife #bookreviewer #book taken in Munich, Germany by @ynott59

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3 months ago