Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks AND Therese Raquin by Emile Zola

I’ve chosen this time to write about two books for reasons I shall go into later. Firstly though the Emile Zola I read was a Penguin ‘Red’ classic, a series of books which supports AIDS charities around the world. Please look them up at http://www.penguinclassics.co.uk/static/minisites/red/index.html and buy some, it’s all in a good cause.

Now a quick synopsis of each book. 

Charlotte Gray is the story of the title character and her activities during the war. Charlotte becomes an agent dropped into ‘free’ France during World War Two. Initially she is just a courier but she stays and helps the embryonic French Resistance and encounters the horrors of the war. Like many of Faulks’ best novels Charlotte Gray combines deep and harrowing emotion with characters which seem to become 3D owing to how well they are crafted. It also poses the Faulksian question of ‘what is faithfulness in a relationship?’ The story moves along apace and never leaves you disappointed as a reader, unfolding with a narrative grace reminiscent of all of his best novels (although in my opinion lacking in some). An excellent book by an excellent author. I can highly recommend ‘Human Traces’, ‘Birdsong’ and ‘Engleby’ if you want to experience him at his best. His upcoming BBC2 programme “On Fiction” will almost certainly be as good!

Thérèse Raquin, at first glance, would appear to be a different kettle of fish. It is the story of the Raquin family and the boredom of Thérèse which leads her into the arms of her husband’s friend Laurent. Upon the unleashing of her passion she and her lover concoct an unspeakable crime and live with the consequences until the end of their lives. Zola writes in the preface to the 2^nd edition that the book has often been reviewed unfavourably, with critics of the time believing it to be immodest and gratuitous, characteristics it often seems to possess. It is indeed racy, aggressive and, for want of a better word, chilling. However he goes on to claim that he is merely documenting the ‘animalistic’ responses of human beings to their senses and pleasures and this gives the book a more philosophical tone, asking questions about morality and human consciousness with a French flair and some skill. Zola is not as skilled at narrative as Faulks and the book drags in places but is still well worth a read for the detail and the ‘noir’ depiction of Paris in the 19^th Century which is evoked.

Where the books merit comparison is in their treatment of passion and mental obsession. Charlotte Gray is led towards what would typically be called positive feelings in her passion for Peter Gregory, a British Airman. One of Faulks’ strongest points is the way he characterises passion and makes it human. Therese on the other hand is driven to negative actions and thoughts during the throes of her passion for Laurent. In both books the reader is transported into an inexplicable and previously misunderstood world. As I have said many times the ability to make a reader see points of view that would never have occurred to them without being written down is one of the greatest strengths of fiction. This, to me, is the power of books and what makes them so enduring and so important to society. A little bit of understanding can go a long way, just as with the issues surrounding the problems of AIDS.

Ship of Magic: Book One of the Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb

The first in the trilogy of Robin Hobb’s ‘Liveship Traders’ series was a wonderfully self indulgent read for me. Science Fiction and Fantasy have always been the bedrock of the books that I read and always make me feel good!

The story revolves around the key characters and the decisions they take in the world Hobb sets her books in. The traders of Bingtown have certain priveleges in trading across the territories of Jamaillia and can create ‘Liveships’ from Wizardwood, ships that come alive after the death of three captains from the owning family. Liveships can help sail themselves, can access areas regular ships can’t and can outrun the ever increasing pirate attacks. This is the basic premise of the book and to go into ANY more detail would require something the length of an essay. The story centres around the liveship Vivacia and the characters which surround/come into contact with her and unfolds with a rare narrative grace.

 Robin Hobb's Six Duchies (Farseer Books) and Cursed Shores (Liveship Traders)

Hobb’s stories revolve around the consequences of actions on characters and how they move on and develop from choices over which they had no control. If you’ve never read any of her stuff before it can seem very hard going and does take a little getting used to. However by the time you have adjusted yourself to her prose the books become almost impossible to put down. This style also delves into the inner workings of any character and you feel a strong connection with what happens to them. This has the effect of shifting your mood alongside that of the characters; one area which I think can define a brilliantly written book (such as Sebastian Faulk’s Engleby and Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief).

One of the key themes which runs through the book and which adds another layer of meaning and understanding to the experience is contradiction and resolution. The way in which the characters (underpinned by the dominant religion, the following of ‘Sa’) resolve conflicts is gone into in great depth and is a joy to read. The character of Wintrow best highlights this as an acolyte of ‘Sa’ and one who struggles to ‘choose’ between the surname of his father (Haven) and the surname of the trading family which ties him to the Liveship Vivacia (Vestrit).

Overall the book is hard work but more than worth it once the pace starts to pick up. I’m really looking forward to book 2 “The Mad Ship” once I can finally afford to buy books again!

22 Days in May: The Birth of the Lib Dem/Conservative Coalition by David Laws

This is a book review about a political book, by someone who is interested in politics and is a staunch Liberal Democrat. This will make me biased but doesn’t necessarily make me wrong. I shall at least endeavour to write about the book and not degenerate into political ranting. If you disagree then please feel free to comment.

The book tells the story of the British General Election of 2010 and its aftermath and consequences. It also makes an attempt to explain why a Lib Dem/Conservative, expected by almost nobody, came to fruition. The appendix contains documents that will be of interest to all students of politics with some of the key documents reproduced for the first time. 

David Laws was one of the 4 key Liberal Democrat negotiators and gives a clear and concise account of how he saw events and what he thought about them. The book starts by explaining some of the groundwork that the Liberal Democrats laid from 2009 to prepare for the possibility of a hung parliament. This included setting up the negotiating team and drawing up some basic documents based on the most likely hung parliament situations, a full coalition agreement with Labour and a ‘Confidence and Supply’ agreement with a minority Conservative administration. The book then moves through the disappointment of the election, the negotiations with the Conservatives and Labour and finally a sense of what life in government is like as Chief Secretary to the Treasury at a time of cuts.

The book can be a little long winded at times but that didn’t stop me from devouring it in a very short space of time. The passages regarding the negotiations give a fascinating insight into the process of negotiation and the people involved at a time when these details are seldom seen as interesting or in the interests of politicians to promote. It also serves as an excellent reminder that politicians are only human. Politics at its best when so often we see it at its worst.

However the most intriguing part of the book is Laws’ explanation of the state of British politics in which the coalition was born. This can teach anyone who is interested how British party politics might play out in the next few years. It documents the Conservatives’ moves into the centre ground, the ‘new’ (small n) Labour generation who have moved away from the Lib Dems and the apparent new trend within the Lib Dems themselves to toward a new ‘economic liberalism’ whilst maintaining their core social values. It is, whether you agree with it or not, a very interesting look at our political parties.

Very well worth a read and one of the first ebooks I’ve purchased because it was cheaper than the paperback!

The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Burglar by Maurice Leblanc

So, I bet you’re wondering what came next on the pile. You may also hazard a guess that it was the weird French think that I talked about last time. It’s a lot more light hearted than last time, I promise! This book is available FREE in eBook form from Project Gutenberg, a truly superb website that offers thousands upon thousands of free public domain eBooks, basically if the author has been dead for 80 years (I think) their work becomes public domain. If you have a moment then have a look, or even donate to them. If you don’t have an eBook reader then download the PDF and read it off the screen, it’s a series of short, fun stories so it won’t tax your eyes too much!

Arsène Lupin is, as the title suggests, a gentleman burglar par excellence. Written around the same time as the Sherlock Holmes stories he is, or I like to think of him as, the Sherlock that found himself dedicated to crime and burglary. Suave, sophisticated and always the gentleman he is a class above the rest, often advertising his crimes and adventures in the newspapers of France. Think a bit like Mickey from Hustle but, when not in one of his brilliant disguises, in immaculate frock coat and tails.

Our introduction to the man comes from a narrative of a steamer crossing the Atlantic Ocean to America. The wealthy passengers hear that the famed thief Lupin is actually posing as a passenger and begin to fear for their possessions. Fears that soon come to light with a series of mysterious thefts (think the sort of locked room mysteries which Jonathan Creek would be called to solve). From this first story we go through a series of 9 tales ranging from the very beginnings of Lupin’s life of crime to his more recent exploits. The chronology jumps around in much the same way as the more famous (at least in the English speaking world) works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and you come to inhabit the same world. The stories are told in the same exquisitely brief way and are fantastically cheeky and whimsical although they lack some of the focus and clarity you get from ‘Watson’s’ writing.

Sherlock Holmes even makes an appearance himself! In the final story the two characters finally meet, although in the original versions Sherlock Holmes had to be changed to Herlock Sholmes (I love the blatantness of it!), leading to the next set of stories “Arsène Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes.” If you have time to kill then investigate the relationship between these two colossal characters on the internet, it’s a very distracting way to spend 15 minutes and will whet your appetite nicely for the book.

Overall these stories are absolutely brilliant and I can’t do them justice in a review, you’ll just have to find out for yourself. If you love Sherlock Holmes then you really should read about his nefarious shadow, it’ll even make you feel all cultured, AND IT’S FREE! What more could a person want?

The First Casualty by Ben Elton

OK. This is a book by a comedian, about a very sombre subject but is not the first time that Elton has ventured into the world of the ‘Great War’. I’m sure that most people out there have enjoyed the goings ons of Captain Blackadder and Private Baldrick in the final series of the eponymous BBC comedy, co-written by none other than Elton. And it’s not surprising that Elton feels strongly about the subject as you find out on the dedications page that his grandfathers fought in the trenches of both sides so it’s clear from the outset that it’s going to be a very personal piece of work.

The basic outline of the story is a murder mystery, set amongst the violence and horror of trench warfare in Belgium during 1917 with the war rolling on industrially. Viscount Abercrombie, son of the Tory Chief Whip is mysteriously murdered whilst recuperating from shell shock after a heroic account at a previous battle. Enter inspector Kingsley, our main character, a man with very modern attitudes towards the futility of the war. The story starts with his trial and incarceration and progresses through to the solving of the murder with a healthy mix of spies, intrigue, horror and even a sprinkling of romance, before ending with an excellent plot twist that I really wasn’t expecting. The opening trial is for being a conscientious objector with no moral or religious grounds and begins the moral exploration of different attitudes towards the war. This exploration is challenging but fascinating and for me the highlight of the book, demonstrating a wide range of scholarship on the part of the author. How should we judge morality in the midst of a conflict that seems to redefine the accepted moral codes of Victorian and Edwardian England?

The book is excellent and incredibly readable. This is the second book of his that I’ve read (The other being inconceivable – also really good!) and they both keep you interested with a lightness of touch that makes a change from the heavier books that I often find myself reading. He manages to give a very moving and throat-catching depiction of the horror and humanity of World War One without becoming morbid or depressing, a very difficult thing to achieve, and something that resonates very poignantly with the current conflict in Afghanistan without being militaristic or jingoistic. There’s also no misty eyed view of the heroic British Tommy that it would probably have been all too easy to fall into.

This book is well worth reading and will inform, challenge and even entertain in equal measure. If you do read and enjoy it, try following it up with Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks (though be aware that this one IS harder going).

There, I have reviewed a book. Not sure what will come next, it’s a toss up between some in-depth theoretical Fantasy, another Faulks or the lighter French anti-hero to Sherlock Holmes.