The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell

Read as part M of the “Along the Library Shelf” reading journey

Chosen because

I am a bit of a sucker for such a hardback with an interesting retro cover. The Japanese woodcut effect sets the scene as the Dutch trading station off Nagasaki, the only point of contact permitted between 18th century Japan and the western world. History and a clash of cultures beckon, and the blurb promises duplicity, love, guilt, faith and murder, so what’s not to like?

The Review

Jacob De Zoet is clerk to the new Chief Resident of the Nagasaki outpost of the Dutch East Indies Company, come to clean up the ledgers and clear out the corruption and private profiteering. On a tiny island, joined to Japan by a gated bridge, the small colony lives in a morass of intrigue, shifting loyalties and eggshell treading protocol revealed by interpreters of variable quality and uncertain motive.

Jacob meets the unusual Miss Aibagawa, but before his constancy to his betrothed in Holland is tested, she is spirited away to a ‘House of Sisters’ on the mainland. What fate awaits her there and how can Jacob rescue her when he cannot even cross the bridge to the mainland.

To complicate matters, Europe is at war and the English are coming to contest the Dutch monopoly.  Will captain Penhaligan’s Royal Navy frigate be a threat or an opportunity for Jacob?

The book moves effortlessly between the main characters, portraying their motivations and machinations with a light but deft touch. Always atmospheric, occasionally touching, and tense and exciting during climactic incidents, it is a rewarding account of a (by me) rarely visited setting –eighteenth century Japan – the Land of a Thousand Autumns.

Read another?

I have been warned off Cloud Atlas, but having enjoyed Thousand Autumns I think I probably will look at Ghostwritten or number9dream.

Room by Emma Donoghue

Read as part of the World Book Night 2012 reading journey

Room is where Jack and Ma live; live as in exist. It is their whole world, and for Jack it is the one he was born into and the only one he has known.  His windows on the universe are a skylight and a television.  One shows only the time of day and the weather; the other, his Ma purports, shows happenings on other planets.  In this way she seeks to protect him from the reality of his confinement’

They are imprisoned by “Old Nick” during whose visits Jack retires to the wardrobe, out of sight, but unfortunately not out of hearing.  However Jack is turning 5 and, benefitting from Ma’s 24/7 attention, is becoming harder to keep both literally and metaphorically in the dark. And with Old Nick under external pressures something will have to be done.

Narrated by Jack with the clarity of his uncluttered perspective, we move from their physically constrained daily routine, through a period of revelation for Jack, to the question of possible escape.  But will escape simply exchange one set of known dangers for a whole new set of unknown ones.  Is Jack safer closeted in Room than exposed to crime, drugs, traffic, bullies, deep water and all the other suburban parental fears that surface when a child innocently asks “can I play out”.

The Room concept is wholly believable and without resorting to explicit detail is emotionally harrowing.  Real tension builds as escape is considered, planned and rehearsed.  Do they go through with it, can it succeed, or would they just swap the frying pan for the fire?

It’s a good read finding out.

Can You Forgive Her? – Anthony Trollope

Reputably re-titled by Stephen King as “Can You Possibly Finish It?” due to its length (he’s one to talk), but for me it wears its 800 pages lightly.

Originally published in instalments in 1864-65 it’s a soap opera of its day around a cast including the aristocratic Plantagenet Palliser and Lady Glencora, the merely well to do Vivasor cousins – flighty Alice, stirrer Kate & villainous George – and the smooth but onomatopoeic Mr Grey.

I’m afraid that Alice’s romantic ditherings cause shock waves in society, evidenced by severely raised eyebrows. As she digs herself deeper into dis-renown, others in her social circle have their own relationship issues to deal with, related by Trollope with relish, wisdom, sly humour and humanity.

In this, the first of his “political” novels, the parliamentary setting is very much in the background, mainly occupying the men while the women get on with the real intrigue of love, life and society. There is much hand wringing and soul searching, attempts at honourable behaviour, some skulduggery and a little violence before the titular question can be answered.

I like Trollope’s easy style and enjoy his asides to the reader, which may not be to everyone’s taste. Having meandered through his Barchester Chronicles over a twelve year period will I have the inclination, stamina or indeed longevity to get through the Palliser books?

We have the technology - with all six books loaded onto the Kindle for just £1.29 - but to paraphrase Stephen King, can I possibly finish it?

WBN 2012 Books 1 to 9

At the start the World Book Night 2012 reading journey I have read 9 of the 25 choices and these are my brief comments based on my recollections. As some go back a few years no responsibility is accepted for any inaccuracies of plot, character or spelling.

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

A classic that easily justifies its status. Although the sentences seem long to the modern reader, they are perfectly formed and if read at a leisurely pace transport the reader to the outwardly genteel 19^th century, only to reveal, with legendary wit, the same human foibles that abound in the 21^st.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Not his best in my view, but one of his shorter works – and a popular re-introduction to Dickens for those scarred for life by enforced school helpings of David Copperfield that rarely got beyond “Chapter 1 - I Am Born”. It is quicker moving than most, but at the expense of the usual extensive cast of peripheral characters.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

A pleasant enough read. I recall it being mystical and allegorical in nature but not sufficiently memorable to me to enable more to be said.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Beautifully written, evocative novel that intertwines inter-war politics and social history with personal conflicts of loyalties as upper class Britain, and their retainers, slide into war, dabble with fascism and face up to the decline of the world as they know it.

Misery by Stephen King

Nothing supernatural here, just old fashioned psychological thriller as Annie Wilkes rescues her favourite author from a car crash and “nurses” him according to her own agenda. Genuinely nerve jangling and an all round good read.

Small Island by Andrea Levy

I found this an eye-opening and moving account of West Indian immigration in the 1940s. The culture shock of the “Windrush” generation arriving in post war London, and their ignorant reception by most of the indigenous citizens is related without rancour and is all the more effective for that.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Bleak, post apocalyptical, tale written in McCarthy’s economical style that dispenses with superfluous punctuation such as inverted comma for speech. I read the journey by man and boy along the eponymous thoroughfare, confronting hidden dangers in search of a safe haven, as a powerful allegory. A father’s purpose to navigate the perils of raising his son and deliver him safely and soundly to adulthood.

The Damned Utd by David Peace

As a football person, of an age to remember the Brian Clough 44 days as Leeds United manager, I enjoyed this thoroughly. If I was neither of those I’m not sure what I would have made of it. Peace’s style is direct and pays no heed to readers sensitivities as far as language is concerned so be warned and be careful who you pass this one on to.

The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak

A great book, especially for bibliophiles. Set in Nazi Germany, the gripping story unfolds, told by the young narrator as an adjunct to her career as a stealer (out of penniless necessity) of books (out of compulsion). We have all been there (the compulsion for books that is, not the stealing)!

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt

The journey

Part of the America 1850 reading journey

How it got on the shelf

My sister and I have this unspoken 20 year tradition whereby when December comes the question is not what to buy him/her for Christmas, but which book should I buy him/her.  The difficulty is choosing one unlikely to have been read previously, and so one way to go is for a recently published paperback and hope you are one step ahead of your sibling.  The minor miracle is that we have so far avoided in any year swapping the very same book.

The 2011 arrival was The Sisters Brothers.  Intriguingly titled with an eye catching cover (two gunmen silhouetted against a rising moon - but symbolic to me of a skull) I had fondled it once or twice in Waterstones, so was very pleased to unwrap it on Christmas morning.

The Review

Starting in Oregon City in 1851, two hired gunslingers Eli and Charlie Sisters, set off on their latest assignment, requiring a journey to California in pursuit of their mark.

Their mission is narrated by Eli, in language that has a period feel and displays a sensitivity that belies his profession.  In truth it is his brother who is the natural born killer, and Eli is constantly torn between his own sensibilities and his loyalty to the hard as nails Charlie.

The brothers’ complex relationship is splendidly explored and the pioneer west is vividly depicted showing a bizarre mixture of brutality, comedy and humanity. Episodes along the way are described with cinematic clarity, whether in a saloon cum whorehouse, in gold crazy San Francisco, or at the final showdown.

The setting is fascinating, and the story is engaging, but it is the contrasting characters of Eli & Charlie and their complex, changing relationship that gives the book its tremendous appeal.  You have to feel for Eli and through him you grow to care for his brother, so that eventually you find yourself rooting happily for what is, at the end of the day, a murderous gang.

A must read.

The Hartlepool Monkey by Sean Longley

The journey

Along the library shelf: L

Chosen because

The fate of the French monkey mascot shipwrecked off Hartlepool and hung as a spy is a regional cause celebre, related to all newcomers as some sort of dire warning not to mess with the insular and fiercely independent locals. This book may shed some light on the incident, and separate fact from myth.

The Review

This is an imaginative tale that creates a complex and bizarre back story for the unfortunate eponymous ape, told through the narrative of three characters coming into close contact with him.

First we hear from Dr Simon Legris on how he came to go to Africa and return to France with a monkey. This section is a bit Carry-on up the Jungle, and the booker prize jury was definitely unimpressed. The second section is related by a madame in revolutionary Paris and becomes more like Carry-on Don’t Lose Your Head; the jury were ready to pack in at this point. However perseverance paid off as the final narration from Warrens, the “one guinea brief”, is a class above. He has the thankless task of representing the simian spy at the trial and his dry delivery, self-deprecating wit, and subtle insults disguised as deference are a joy (think of Rowan Atkinson in Blackadder the Third).

The various threads of the story are neatly and unexpectedly brought together; the angle taken on the story is clever and lifts the book to an excellent climax. For separating myth from reality it is of no use at all, particularly when account is taken of Admiral Nelson’s cameo where he loses more than an eye. But as a read it is more than the regency romp it initially seems and certainly leaves you with food for thought and a new perspective on the old tale.

Read another?

Based on the final third of the book, the author’s first, I would give it a go.

K: Bowl of Cherries by Millard KAUFMAN

Chosen because

I like quirky looking books and this one, published in San Francisco (price $22), seems to qualify with its distinctive illustration on the cover and a ¾ dust jacket. It’s another first novel, but from a nonagenarian with a screenwriting background; based on the blurb and the extract on the front flap it promises some dark humour of the grumpy old man variety.

The Review

The book opens as the narrator is awaiting execution in an Arabian prison. As he muses how it came to this we alternate between his unfolding life story and the unpleasant details of his present day predicament.

Written in an expansive style and use of vocabulary that may send you scurrying for the dictionary, it needs to be read at a leisurely pace. Nevertheless it moves rapidly enough through a rather bizarre set of episodes in which we are introduced to an eccentric cast of characters. It is witty and humorous, more chuckle than laugh out loud, and some of the satire is a bit heavy handed.

Quicker than expected, while the imprisoned narrator is still a very young man, the book arrives at the business end of the story in the Middle East. The past catches up with the present and the story moves to its potentially sticky end.

Read another?

I did like his writing style - apparently he is writing his second novel so it’s possible.