Dear Reader I read it ‘Pure’ by Andrew Miller

The backdrop of the story is a Paris graveyard called Les Innocents. The time period is 1785, just before the French Revolution. Young engineer Jean-Baptiste Baratte has been commissioned by the French government to clear the ancient burial ground of its church and mouldering graveyard in the Les Halles area of Paris. The miners Baratte employs to excavate the bones are strange almost faceless creatures and tend to act collectively. But there is one who steps forward and stands out – the catalytic Lacoeur whom Baratte has employed as overseer. His relationship with the engineer both previously and consequentially ends in strange tragedy.

Miller‘s writing style is convincingly sensuous and whilst the narrative has enough historical detail to lend authenticity, is never dry and dull. Throughout the book the smell of the cemetery permeates. The people stink of it; it lingers on their breath, clothes and even their food as Miller’s masterly writing conveys. The author paints his words from shades of grey to blackness, his characters though realistically sketched, still manages to retain an air of mystery. A feeling of change underpins the novel though I feel that this is somewhat underplayed and the setting itself seems more of a small village – isolated from the real world rather than a throbbing pulsating city, vital angry and aggressive.

The clearing of the ancient bones, the demolition of the church and the political unrest which rumbles underneath the shifting stones all conspire to add intrigue to a rather simple story. Whilst the book holds the reader’s attention in atmosphere and authenticity, there are a lot of blind alleyways which the writer leads the reader up – and then abandons. For example, the graffiti on the wall is never properly explained, nor is the reason for Zigette’s sudden madness. Also the relationship with Heloise I feel, seems to work better when she is a creature of the night (and day) – before she becomes his mistress.

Though the prose is skilful, the characters wonderfully sketched, I had a slight feeling of disappointment upon finishing the novel, – a vague sense of being a bit let down by ‘Pure’. I suppose that I was looking for a conclusion, and there is a sense of the unfinished which frustrated me. However, this book is a good book though, beautifully written, with lots of atmosphere. I would certainly read another of this authors books and I think the book would translate wonderfully to the screen. All in all – an intriguing and interesting read.

Image from here

Dear Reader I read it ‘My Fault’ by Billy Childish’

I have recently  finished reading  ‘My Fault’ by artist/poet/writer and musician Billy Childish and I am now  half way through his second book Notebooks of a Naked Youth.   My Fault is about growing up – the hard way.  Childish writes forcibly and sometimes brutally as his alter ego Steven Hamperson.   There is so much honesty and at times bitterness (who can blame him) that I can only marvel at the sheer force of his personality and his survival instinct.  Molested by a family member, misunderstood and constantly put down by his mother, father and brother and prey to local bullies, Childish lives in a world of deprivation (his father drinks all the money) and seems to be  blamed and scapegoated for all that goes wrong in his dysfunctional family.

Theres no escape from the bullies even at school where dyslexic Childish takes many a bashing from the teachers with their lack of understanding and some real low lifes.  At times this is a tough book to read.  It’s tinged with sadness but there are some lighter moments which mostly come from Childish’s observations about the strange people he encounters. 

 Childish is known for his poetry, his minimal involvement with Stuckism, his many bands and his Sunday painting and printmaking.  He is actually famous in a non famous kind of way.  He is a chameleon who cannot be really pinned down.  He is all things to all people – yet remains apart, non conformist and highly individual.  His name was even emblazoned on a tent which disappeared into a puff of smoke (Tracey Emin’s)  Childish is relentless in the non pursuit of non fame.  For example, every time one of his bands becomes a bit too popular he disbands and forms another.

One of the most vibrantly drawn characters in the book is his father, who I imagine as a kind of Pat Mustard  (the wayward milkman in ‘Father Ted) with the  controlling grip of perhaps a Phil Spector/ Don Arden (though he has nothing to do with music). The relationship Childish has with his mother (Juney) is another interesting one as is the unfriendly sibling rivalry with his brother who always knows better , has the appearence of doing  better and never hesitates to tell him so.

All in all a jolly good read.  Not exactly light reading but not too heavy either.  Though I expect the pinch of salt you will need to take with regards to the characters will be either minute  – or non existent.

Book images here and here

Woodcut by Childish and website here

Dear Reader I read it Book Review: Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton

Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton

It was only the other week that I found a cache of Patrick Hamilton books in Borders book shop.  I had promised myself that I would read the rest of his books, having greatly enjoyed ‘20,000 Streets under the Sky‘.  I bought ‘Hangover Square’, ‘The Slaves of Solitude‘ and the ‘Gorse Trilogy‘.  Already I have read ‘Hangover Square’ and ‘The Slaves of Solitude‘!

the author Patrick Hamilton

‘Hangover Square’ has an atmosphere: a kind of ominous ‘abandon all hope all ye who enter here’atmosphere. Set in London in 1939 with war just around the corner, the ‘hero’ (well, kind of victim) George Harvey Bone wanders round the drinking bars of London doing absolutely nothing except drink and prostrate himself at the feet of one of the most cold, selfish madams I have read about for a long time.  The nastier and more manipulative Netta becomes, the more pathetic and dejected Bone becomes, until you feel sorry for him one minute and the next, want to give him a good shaking!

Love is the Devil, a study of artist Francis Bacon

It’s obvious to the reader exactly what Netta is, but Bone is the last to work her out.  His head is filled with romantic notions of taking her away from everything, marrying her and living happily ever after.  George Harvey Bone, though flawed has a few things going for him, his views of the world are simplistic, and you get the impression that he’s quite a decent sort of person underneath it all.  He’s just caught in a trap really, it’s not his fault, it’s the clicking in his head: he has no choice when this happens – he becomes psychotic…… but if only he could remember what he has to do?

You get glimpses into ‘what he has to do’ (if he could only remember…and he does).  So, as George makes excuses for Netta, the reader makes excuses for George.  I would love to see this made into  movie with modern actors.  I would cast  Daniel Craig as George.  He is a fine actor, and would bring the right amount of pathos to the character.  Forget Bond (this man can play anything) he was fabulous as George Dyer, boyfriend of David Jacobi’s Francis Bacon in ‘Love is the Devil’.  He plays an excellent drunk, has the right build and the right eyes!

Keelly Hawes as Netta perhaps?

I don’t know who could play Netta, who is dark haired, perhaps Keely Hawes with dark hair?  Netta is an extremely attractive, cold dismissive person but can be cringingly charming when she wants something.  In short – a user. She gets her reward, not in heaven but by the ending of the book.  It says a lot for the quality of of the writing, that by the end of this book, my sympathies lie with George, and Netta is dismissed, just as she dismissed George………  Reader Beware!  Hamilton has a way of changing you.

This post was transferred from my Art Blog Echostains

Dear Reader – I read them

 

what I’m reading at the moment

I really must catch up with reviews of all the books and films I have seen!  The list is long, and although I do find myself taking notes (on the films) there never seems to be enough time to write it all down.  So, in a nutshell here’s a pile of books which I have read this year alone and which I SHALL review!

The English Ghost by Peter Ackroyd

The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossman

Murderous Manchester by John J Eddieston

Shirley by Charlotte Bronte

The Hireling by L.P. Hartley

Grayson Perry – Portrait of the artist as a young girl by Wendy Jones

The Shrouded Wall by Susan Howatch

Lancashire – Where Women die of Love by Charles Nevin

My Fault by Billy Childish (reading at the moment)

Some of these books aren’t finished though and I can’t review them until they are.  Somewhere, I have acquired the habit of starting one book then after a few chapters, acquiring another book which I also start.  Depending on which book is the most interesting – well, that’s the book will get finished at the time. 

 

 When I am in between any new books being bought, then these unfinished books will come out.  The difficulty in the continuation of reading them lies in my memory of what they were about in the first place!  What I mean is that although I can remember what the book is about, to actually get engaged or immersed in the book means retracing my steps and starting yet again, at the beginning!  There are several books this has happened to (Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is one of them)  The list above shows  just a few of the books I have read lately and some of these are re reads.

Images from here and here and here

Dear Reader I read it ‘The Gorse trilogy’ by Patrick Hamilton

patrick hamilton

I have just finished reading The Gorse Trilogy by Patrick Hamilton. Though I enjoyed most of it, I felt the end  (the third part) was lacking in conclusion, though the promise was there. Yes, I was disappointed in the end. Hamilton seemed to be just filling the last couple of pages with words just for the sake of it: meaningless to me. I could almost hear the music of Coronation Street being played at high speed and the credits rolling up and myself booted out onto the street… that’s how rushed it was.

the slaves of solitude by patrick hamilton

The rest of the book was good though. The character of Gorse is a strange one. Under a (thin) veneer of charm lurks a nasty snake with cold eyes and a cold calculating heart. I am now mystified though. I really enjoyed the TV version of these books. The series was called ‘The Charmer’ made in 1987 and starred Nigel Havers as Gorse. Needless to say, the series bore only a vague resemblance of the book. I’m sure he kills Plumleigh – Bruce (a fabulously descriptive name), and I’m pretty sure Mr Stimpson does some detective work on Gorse.

Nigel Havers in The Charmer

 And where is the rich socialite Clarice Mannors in all this? Thrown in, to give the series a ‘love’ interest, a ‘reason’ for Gorse to do what he does, probably. Of course there’s no excuse for Gorse’s behaviour, in the book. He’s just naturally bad.

I did find it a bit incongruous that barmaid Ivy Barton would have such savings, and also her father (a dismissed Gamekeeper £200). Also, Mrs Plumleigh -Bruce wasn’t exactly loaded, perhaps her weakness was greed and elitism. Gorse plays on weaknesses. I think that if I hadn’t previously seen ‘The Charmer’ years ago, I wouldn’t have had pre conceived ideas about Gorse or the plot. Parts of this book are very funny  (though Gorse himself isn’t) and some of the characters ridiculously human. I especially enjoyed the writing in Plumleigh – Bruce’s diary – absolutely hilarious!

My posts about other Hamilton books;

‘The Slaves of Solitude’

‘Hangover Square’

Note: This review appeared originally on my art blog Echostains

Dear Reader I Read it Book Review ‘Branwell Bronte’s Barber’s tale’ by Chris Firth’

Well I have just finished ‘Branwell Bronte”s Barbers Tale by Chris Firth.  It has taken me ages too.  It’s not a particularly thick book but I have been reading it before I go to sleep and eking it out.  I really enjoyed this tale of intrigue, mystery and supposition.  The authors description of the barbers habitat and the area sets the period in context.  This was of particular interest to me because of an ancestor who was a Master barber. He born in that time period (but not in the place, which was abroad though he worked in Liverpool).  The detailed descriptions of the shop, the neighbourhood and the public houses are delightful – you can almost smell the place!

 

The story itself is very well researched and the character of MacCraw, well rounded –    pathetic and brave by turn.  Crippled by the sudden death (murder) of his young wife the fellow ‘Rhymer’ can not come to terms with his loss which  ages him rapidly as he spiralls downwards onto the slippery slope of the drinking dens of his youth.  Reliving his love and the comradeship of the Rhymers (which of course include Branwell), the barber becomes intent in proving to the world that Branwell was the true author of ‘Wuthering Heights‘.

In this book Branwell comes across as loud, garrulous and extremely talented (as he was, so it’s probably a good sketch of him).  He is a very boisterous character, highly strung and imaginative.  He is scared stiff of his sisters though - particularly Charlotte.  Whether this was true in real life we will never know – but it is indeed fun speculating.  And this is what this book does very well – speculates.  I have often speculated myself about the possibility of Branwell being the real author of ‘Wuthering Heights’.   I think that it would have to be chisseled into stone before it would be accepted even if true,  plus where would this leave Emily?  The lone mysterious mystic who roamed the moors….   Well, we would still have her beautiful poetry.

Perhaps inadvertently, Gaskell gave this theory strength by her condemnation of Branwell by his sisters.  By painting Branwell black to show, this served to show just how much his poor sisters had to put up with. Coupled with Charlotte’s impatience with her brother it may well have been advisable to leave him out of things.  But on the other hand – wouldn’t the sisters be pleased if Branwell was saved by success? wouldn’t it be just the thing he needed to drag him out of his apathy?  They obviously weren’t pleased to see his talents dissapated, so why not give him a lift?. Then again, perhaps they may have thought that fame may have gone to his head and made his vices worse….  So many questions and no easy answers. 

I recommend this well written book, authentic in style as a rip roaring tale of intrigue, speculation and detail of the world the Bronte’s inhabited.  A lovely extra is MacCraw’s recipes or remedies from his journal – which I found very interesting indeed and which again brought the story into it’s period context.

Please note: – This book was read last year, this review has only just been found amongst my drafts.

Book Review ‘London Belongs to Me’ by Norman Collins

Just finished ‘London belongs to me’ by Norman Collins, and it’s took me quite a while to read it (just saving it for bedtime reading).  I enjoyed it very much.  On the face of it looked like it may have mirrored Patrick Hamilton’s Hangover Square’, but apart from it being set in a shared house in Wartime London, there ends the comparison.

There are some interesting characters in the story of the house in Dulcimer Street, Kennington and all of them are brought vividly alive by Collins. The Josser family are more or less at the hub of the story.  It starts with Mr Josser’s retirement farewell, and ends with his re instatement.  In the middle, adjustments are made to all the residents lives and their life styles.  The lonely widowed land lady, her suitor and  lodger the enigmatic Mr Squales are amongst the characters that also share this house in London.

The Boons, consisting of mother and son Percy, a mechanic deals with the way the legal system works and how respectability can be lost very quickly.  Other characters include Connie, an old-time showgirl, a rather sad character, but a survivor (well for most of the book).  She is ‘old’, though we don’t find out how ancient she actually is.  Connie always seems to be there, in the wrong or right place when something exciting is happening – most of it, profitable in some way to the old girl.

There’s also a character who’d whole life revolves around making meals – a Mr Puddy.  He must have aneroid trouble, given the way he speaks – but the  writing makes it easy to  understand what he’s saying.  Meanwhile while all the large and small dramas are being played out: black out curtains are dutifully drawn and life goes on regardless.  A highly enjoyable and diverting read,  a jolly good book and very well written. I was very sorry to have finished it.

Note:  This post  has been transferred from my art blog Echostains.  I shall be transferring my book, DVD and film reviews to this space.

London in the Blitz HERE

Book Review ‘Wedlock, How Georgian Britain’s worse husband met his match’ by Wendy Moore

Just finished reading ‘Wedlock‘ by Wendy Moore.  The rest of the title says it all really: ‘How Georgian Britain’s worse husband met his match’.  The lady in question was Mary Eleanor Bowes,  daughter of a very wealthy coal magnate who died when she was only 11.  Intelligent, confident, wealthy and quite nice looking, the young Mary Eleanor soon fell into a unhappy marriage with her first husband  Lord Strathmore which lasted 8 years until he died.  Exceedingly wealthy in her own right, she was once more beseiged by fortune hunting suiters.  But it was Irish soldier Andrew Robinson Stoney that charmed her whilst fighting a duel with her regular suiter Grey.  On Stoney’s deathbed, she promises to marry him.  However he wasn’t in fact on his ‘last legs’ as she thought and soon  made a miraculous recovery!  Too late, she had married him.  No sooner was the wedding over when her new husband showed his true colours.

Mary Eleanor when married to Lord Strathmore

 

Then the payback!  But you will have to read the book to find out how Mary Eleanor escaped this monster.  Her character is flawed of course, her weaknesses if they be weaknesses was  to be too trusting and too impetuous.  Her main weakness though, I feel, is that she is a very poor judge of character, where men are concerned.  But she turns out to be a heroinne in the end, and also the Great great ancestor of Elizabeth Bowes Lyons (The Queen Mother).  A true story with extensive research, which pays off!  Yes, I enjoyed this, though it was only when I got to the middle before the pace really started to hot up.  The pace then turned into a exhillarating gallop – very exciting!

 

 

Note:  This post  has been transferred from my art blog Echostains.  I shall be transferring my book, DVD and film reviews to this space.

Book: The worst street by Fiona Rule

The Worst st in London by Fiona Rule

Where does the time fly to?  It is a couple of weeks or so since I last posted on here.  That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been busy reading though – or watching.  I have now finished ‘The worst street in London’ by Fiona Rule.  The street in question is Dorset Street, Spitalfields London.  I was inspired to read this book after our excursion to Denis Severs House in Spitalfields (read my post on echostains a collection of time-travel experiences and atmospheres)

The olden Dorset St

Though the book has an introduction by Peter Ackroyd it’s really  nothing like Ackroyds ’London’ or in his style. Neither is it a dry text-book nor really academic, but it is a good read, once it gets going.  Common lodging houses, Jack the Ripper and his victims, crime, vice and unsavoury characters – this was their stomping ground, where they earned their living and their bed for the night: where they drowned their sorrows and ultimately, where they died –  sometimes by violence, sometimes by dissipation and sometimes, I suspect – with blessed relief

Dorset St 1888

We have 17th century Huguenot silk weavers weaving their own strands on the loom of Dorset street and the Spitalfields area.  The immigrants, the opportunists, the lodging house proprietors.  When machinery replaced the silk workers they left the area.  The  1870′s  saw the tranformation brought about by the slum clearances which in turn made way for tenement blocks –  ruled by landlords like John McCarthy.  Jack the Ripper features strongly in this book.  Mary Kelly, the Ripper’s last victim was killed on Dorset street and Rule retells her sorry story, somehow made even more poignant  by placing Kelly in the context of her environment.

Millers court

The street was later renamed  Duvall Street, but the bricks were so well seeped with disrepute that the black marketeers, gangsters, spivs and the East End gangs are embedded in its fabric. The Kitty Ronan murder in 1909 has an eerie echo of Mary Kelly’s.  In fact the whole of the Dorset Street story relates like a cinema projection of a danse macabre – the dance never finishing and the film on continuous reel.  The book ends in a car park - but the crime continues.  A good researched and interesting read.  There’s an added bonus  at the back – a detailed walk of the Spitalfields area!

More about the book and it’s author here

image 1 Dorset st  2 Millers Court (Ripper Walks), 3 Dorset St 1888 and 4. Dorset St today (London walks)

book image here