‘The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ’ by Philip Pullman
30 September 2011
With the ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy of
children’s books Philip Pullman clearly decided to cock-a-snook at organised
religion. In ‘The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ’ he goes a step
further in attempting to retell the life of Christ. It’s an odd book: it seems
to be an attempt to present a believable account of ordinary events that could
have created myths that became the Gospels. Pullman suggests that Jesus had a
brother (how would we know what happened to Jesus in the wilderness or in the
Garden of Gethsemane unless there had been someone else there?) and even uses
this device to explain the resurrection. But the tone often veers from rational
explanation into the cheeky or facetious – which can be quite funny, depending
on your beliefs. Though his prose is modern (and often quite forthright) the book
is structured like a Gospel. It’s an interesting read but I found Pullman’s
lengthy Afterword, which discusses the narrative structure of the Gospels, much
more interesting. Here you realise that his real interest in writing the book
was not in exactly what happened two thousand years ago but in the way the
story was told.
Labels: Books
‘Trumpet’ by Jackie Kay
30 September 2011
‘Trumpet’ is the first novel by the poet
Jackie Kay. It was published in 1998 and is an intriguing and moving work. The
death of a famous jazz trumpeter reveals a long-hidden secret which shocks those
who knew the musician. The novel shows us the reactions of a range of people
including family members, friends and those involved in the aftermath of the
death such as the undertaker, the registrar and the journalist who wants to
write an exposing biography. With each chapter allowing us to see things
through the eyes of a particular individual, the novel inhabits a variety of
voices, each believable and sympathetic. Their varying testimonies help to
piece together the jigsaw of a life but Jackie Kay impressively keeps the reader
hooked and eager for more without the assistance of any real forward narrative.
Even the memories of the trumpeter’s life don’t really build into a linear
story. It’s hard to describe but ‘Trumpet’ is a clever, beautifully written
portrait of a life that is both sad and uplifting.
Labels: Books
Northumberland
30 September 2011
We had a lovely time in Northumberland last
week. We were staying in the tiny hamlet of Thorngrafton, just South of
Hadrian’s Wall – no far from the town of Haltwhistle, which claims to be the
Centre of Britain. We did some great walks along the Wall, in Allendale and on
the banks of Keilder Water. We visited the Housesteads and Vindolanda Roman
forts. Vindolanda was particularly interesting – lots to see and new
discoveries being made all the time. The collection of wooden tablets with
messages inscribed on them in Latin was fascinating – the banality of many of
the messages (an invitation to a party, a request to borrow something etc)
reminding us that people in Roman Britain were not that different to ourselves
(these tablets being the emails of their day!). I was also reminded that most
of the ‘Romans’ building and protecting Hadrian’s Wall were not from Rome: they
were mostly soldiers from conquered territories in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Young men from Britain were similarly pressed into service as Roman soldiers in
other corners of the Empire.
Labels: Heritage, Holidays
'Atonement' by Ian McEwan
16 September 2011
For some years I have felt like I was the
only person in the world who hadn’t read Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel ‘Atonement’. I’ve
just finished the unabridged audio version of the book (wonderfully read by
Carole Boyd) and I can now see what all the fuss was about. ‘Atonement’ starts
in 1935 and appears to be firmly in the tradition of the great country house
novel: it reminded me at times of ‘Brideshead Revisted’ and 'The Moonstone' by
Wilkie Collins (reviewed here in June 2009). The third-person narration alternates,
with each chapter, between the viewpoints of the main characters, slipping back
a little in time with each change of perspective to fill in more details on some
of the same events. This iterative approach to the narrative creates a jigsaw
image of what happened that only gradually reveals itself. Later in the book,
the passages dealing with the Second World War, play the same game more slowly
as we spend longer in the company of each of three principal protagonists. This
process of gradual revelation allows the reader to spot most of the main plot
twists in advance – only for the author to undermine our smug satisfaction by
casually confirming the predicted surprise as if it was assumed that everyone
would already know. ‘Atonement’ deals with the end of childhood, both literally
and in relation to the onset of the horrors of war. It also focuses on the
changing nature of the English class system before and after the Second World
War, much like 'The Little Stranger’ by Sarah Waters (reviewed here in June 2010).
In both books an outsider from a lower social class has become attached to the
family of the country house and this allows for reflections on the momentous
changes happening in society at this time. But ‘Atonement’ is really about
writing, the nature of fiction and the development of the novel. McEwan plays a
dazzling game of meta-fiction, presenting an apparently conventional novel,
then introducing self-reflective literary criticism of that novel within the
same plot and finally pulling back to reveal the truth behind the construction
of the story we have been immersed in. As you approach the final pages you
realise that you should have been thinking about who was writing the words you
have been reading and why. It’s an impressive work, beautifully written and
heart-breakingly sad. I’m glad I finally got around to reading it.
Labels: Books
‘The Hare With Amber Eyes’ by Edmund de Waal
9 September 2011
Netsuke are the tiny carved fasteners that
were used to secure cords to traditional robes in 17th century
Japan. These intricately carved pieces of ivory, boxwood or metal are miniature
sculptures that became highly valued as works of art. ‘The Hare With Amber Eyes’
by Edmund de Waal is an unusual and enthralling family history which focuses on
a collection of netsuke bought in the late 19th century and handed
down through generations of the author’s family. The wealthy Jewish Ephrussi family,
originally from Russia, settled across Europe in the second half of the 19th
century and, much like their contemporaries the Rothschilds, established a
network of banks. The collection of netsuke are bought by Charles Ephrussi in
Paris in the 1870s. Charles was a patron of the arts who commissioned works by
many of the most famous impressionists – and appears as a figure in the
background of some well-known paintings. Indeed the whole Ephrussi family has a
Zelig-like ability to appear in the background of major historical events. Charles
passed the netsuke, as a wedding present, to his nephew Victor in turn of the
century Vienna where they go on to witness the trauma of two world wars. From
here the netsuke end up returning to Japan, with Edmund de Waal’s great uncle
Iggie, illuminating a fascinating account of post-war Japan. The book is like
an extended episode of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ and the story of the
Ephrussi family provides a compelling insight into European and Jewish history.
Edmund de Waal is a potter and the netsuke are more than a mere device for him:
he writes enthusiastically about the objects themselves and the artistry
involved in their creation. Throughout the book he focuses on works of art,
furniture and architecture as well as the personal and political history of his
family. For me, the early chapters on Paris in the 1870s felt a little slow because
of this fascination with the objects his ancestor commissioned and collected.
But once we reached Vienna and the First World War the narrative became truly
gripping. ‘The Hare with Amber Eyes’ is an amazing true story told in an
interesting and artistic way.
Labels: Books
'The Hour' by Abi Morgan
2 September 2011
I wrote here in April 2006 that I think the
TV serial is the most satisfying of drama formats, allowing much greater
character development than a play or film. It’s indicative of the decline of
the format that it’s taken more than 5 years for me to discover a new drama to
challenge for a place in my ‘Desert Island TV serials’, but finally along came Abi
Morgan’s ‘The Hour’ on BBC2. ‘The Hour’ felt like an old-fashioned serial (I
mean that as a compliment), not just because of its 1956 setting. It’s an
exploration of the development of TV news, the political saga of Suez, a spy
thriller and a murder mystery. Over 6 hour-long episodes ‘The Hour’ creates a
cast of believable and rounded characters you really care about. The dialogue
is carefully crafted and often very funny. It repeatedly made me think of the
work of Dennis Potter – with mysterious spooks in raincoats loitering in the
background as in ‘The Singing Detective’ as well as showing the changing nature
of the British establishment through the Suez crisis as in ‘Lipstick on Your Collar’.
‘The Hour’ was excellently cast, with great performances particularly from Romala
Garai, Dominic West, Anton Lesser and Tim Pigott-Smith, but the star of the
show was undoubtedly the fascinating Ben Wishaw as Freddie Lyon. ‘The Hour’ was
a perfect example of the TV drama serial – long enough to explore the characters
in depth, but with a rounded plot which built to a climax with a final twist. I
just hope they are not tempted to make a sequel.
Labels: Drama, TV
'Super 8'
1 September 2011
If ‘Attack the Block’ (reviewed here in May
2011) was reminiscent of an old Children’s Film Foundation production (albeit
with considerably more swearing and violence), J J Abrams’ new film ‘Super 8’
is Children’s Film Foundation with swearing, violence and big production
values. The two films have plenty in common with a group of teenage boys (and
one female interloper) battling aliens and the human authorities in each case. ‘Super
8’ clearly had a much bigger budget at its disposal – it was produced by Steven
Spielberg and Abrams seems to have tried to create a homage to Spielberg with
clear references to ‘ET’, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ etc. ‘Super 8’
is set in 1979: a group of teenagers are shooting their own zombie movie using
a handheld Super 8 camera when they witness a spectacular train crash and
discover secrets they cannot reveal to anyone. As with ‘Attack the Block’, ‘Super
8’ has a very witty script with great interaction between the children. Both
films succeed because they manage to make the incredible (encounters with
extraterrestrial lifeforms) amazingly believable and realistic. ‘Super 8’ is
not quite as brutal as the British film – though there are some violent deaths,
you can mostly predict who is going to be safe. And the American kids are bit
more polite and wholesome than their British counterparts (who begin ‘Attack
the Block’ by mugging a nurse at knifepoint) but then this is rural small-town
America, not urban South London. ‘Super 8’ is funny and enjoyable but also
thrilling and genuinely scary. As it approaches its climax the film does become
a little predictable and somewhat sentimental but it’s lots of fun with some
wonderful performances, particularly from Joel Courtney as Joe and Elle Fanning
as Alice.
Labels: Film
Paris
1 September 2011
We had a lovely few days in Paris last
week: I worked out that I hadn’t been there for 25 years so it felt like
visiting for the first time. We had glorious weather and made very good use of
open-top bus tours and boat trips on the Seine to explore all the main tourist
attractions. We went to Notre Dame, visited
the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa, travelled down the Champs-Élysées from the
Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe and ended up at the Eiffel Tower,
though we opted not to join the massive queues to climb the tower. Instead we
travelled South to Montparnasse for the views from the top of the Tour
Montparnasse – an ugly skyscraper which has the advantage that its views
include the Eiffel Tower (and don’t include the Tour Montparnasse!). Paris is a
very beautiful city: unusually most of the architecture dates from the same
period – the 1860s when the whole central area was substantially rebuilt by
Baron Haussmann. This gives Paris a very uniform look and the skyline is very
flat, without the usual collection of skyscrapers, the highest of which tend to
signify the main ‘downtown’ area of most big cities. Although he was
responsible for the quintessential Parisian tree-lined boulevards, Haussmann
didn’t create many green open spaces. There are a few parks: we particularly
liked the Jardins du Luxembourg. We also travelled North to Montmartre and saw
the Moulin Rouge and Sacre Coeur. We loved the art deco Metro signs and the
masses of wrought iron railings lining each floor of buildings along the main
boulevards. We had a great time discovering Paris and certainly plan to return
well before another 25 years have elapsed.
Labels: Holidays
'Sense and Sensibility' by Jane Austen, adapted by Laura Turner
1 September 2011
The summer doesn’t seem complete without
some open-air theatre, so it was a pleasure to return to the gardens of Woburn
Abbey to see Chapterhouse Theatre Company’s production of ‘Sense and
Sensibility’. We had very much enjoyed their ‘Pride and Prejudice’ last summer
(reviewed here in July 2010) and this was equally impressive. It was a
beautiful setting on a lovely evening and the acting was universally strong (we
could hear every word!) with Heather Mason as Marianne Dashwood and Nicky Diss
as her younger sister Margaret the stand-out performances.
Labels: Drama, Theatre
