On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan

Well, if you fancied reading something lighthearted, then this is not the book for you. I like Ian McEwan very much and always find his books very perceptive and thought-provoking and this is no exception. However, one of the reasons I chose to read this was because it's a fairly thin book (only about 150 pages or so) and so rather naively I assumed it would be a happy story. Daft, I know. Silly Charlie.

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When the story opens we are introduced to Edward and Florance and the year is 1962. They have been married that day and are both inwardly contemplating the night of wedding nuptials ahead of them - something which they are far from united in. Edward is looking forward to the occasion whilst Florance is filled with dread, mostly because her head is filled all the things she has been told. It is in this situation that the era the story is set in becomes important. The early 60's where a strange and difficult period for a certain generation. Caught in between the the periods of sexual repression and sexual revolution, Edward and Florence find themselves at the mercy of different upbringings from opposite sides. Edward is well mannered and more forward thinking than sheltered, Florence whose only real love to-date is her classical violin playing. McEwan's choice of location reflects brilliantly the situation of the characters; Chesil beach being a stretch of land sandwiched between the English Channel and the Fleet lagoon. I felt that the water on either side of the beach reflected the two very different era's isolating Florence and Edward as they prepare for their wedding night.

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Ultimately the story has no happy ending. But it is a very elegantly written novel and again McEwan manages to pick up on the small details of his characters which give us clues as to their disposition and future actions. It was a very sad story but one which does really well in capturing the difficulties facing characters in a time of social flux, where past rules are no longer as relevant but where future rules are still evolving. It is beautifully written and I would definitely recommend reading it if you get a chance - just make sure that all others areas of your life are good when you do because the ending is so sad it will bring you down even if you're sky-high happy :)

The Last Time They Met - Anita Shreve

This is the incredibly sad and moving story of a poet named Thomas, who falls in love with a girl named Linda when they are both 17 years old. Years later when Thomas is much older he will win a prize for a book of poems he has written called 'Magdalene'...

"But not before he has known the unforgiving light of the equator, a love that exists only in his imagination, and the enduring struggle to capture in words the infinite possibilities of a life not lived"

I don't think I can put into words yet how sad and full of the loss of love this book has made me feel. The unexpected twist at the end after reading about the life of Thomas and Linda is as shockingly unexpected and quick as the devastating circumstances it describes. In fact it takes only a page for the world to come crashing down and for the realisation to dawn - so much so that as hard as you try you can't understand it at first. It is a strange thing to read a story, to believe in what the writer is leading you to be true; where the actual story being told is of no real relevance to the characters or their circumstances. There is only the sadness of realisation that nothing is real, and that the story being told is simply one possibility imagined by a man who has loved and lost, created using the only tools he has: his words.

I have read a couple of reviews about this book since reading it and none have I found which I feel conveys the message of human frailty that I think Shreve might be trying to demonstrate. They focus on structure, time-line, the 'plot', mechanics, what happens to the characters etc. But for me, the inherent sense of sadness I feel for Thomas, for the life he wanted, the life he could have had but which was denied to him is overwhelming, and remains long after I have turned the final cover, and replaced the story back onto the bookshelf.

For S, x

Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

Well, this was a big book! 950 pages to be exact which is quite a lot for a story that doesn't really go anywhere. It's so long that to be honest, by the time I got to the end I couldn't really remember what happened at the beginning!

Vanity Fair is mostly about the rise of a spirited black-hearted opportunist named Becky Sharp, and the demise of a good, kind if somewhat gullible Amelia Sedley. And that's it in a nutshell. We follow their lives, trials, tribulations, good and bad moments, but nothing particularly notable that I would choose to pick out and share with you.

Don't get me wrong - if you have nothing else to read then by all means give it a go. It is a good book and fairly enjoyable to read... it's just really really long! It's definitely worth reading for Thackeray's comedic writing than for the actual story within the pages. Some paragraphs and names he gives minor characters made me smile a lot. The purpose of the story seems to be to show the era in which it was written to be highly superficial and fickle, with little morals or scruples; where friends in high society are only friends for the duration that your fortune lasts, and people with no money are seemingly just as happy as those who have it. Hence the title! You could describe it as a black comedy, with the characters falling over themselves trying to climb the social ladder. Thackeray gets his point across well although some of the descriptive paragraphs are a bit long-winded, but I'm guessing they're supposed to be since some of the characters are full of hot air.

It's official title is Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero but I wouldn't necessary agree with this. William Dobbin is lovely and is a true gentleman and friend. The only lies he tells are told to protect those he holds dear. Plus he distinguishes himself at the battle of Waterloo too. I think he's definitely the hero in this epic. You have to admire Becky's resilience and resourcefulness, however immoral and corrupt she may be (she's very much like Janine from Eastenders), and at times you'll want to give Amelia a good slap since she insists on giving her love to womanising, selfish, unworthy George rather than lovely Dobbin who follows her around like a lost puppy. I'd definitely recommend it if you have a few weeks to spare and like this sort of thing.

Who's That Girl - Alexandra Potter

Hi all. Sorry it's taken me so long to get around to writing this entry. There's not much to say about it though really as it's your standard chick-lit book with a bit of time-travel thrown in for different twist. The story is pretty standard: Charlotte Merryweather seemingly has everything. Her own PR company, lots of money, a (somewhat boring) boyfriend who wants to marry her and the world at her feet... oh, and she's gorgeous too of course.

But is she happy? No, she is not. Even more so since she keeps travelling back in time and meeting her former hippyfied, happy-go-lucky, unplucked eye-browed self. This is when she starts to question her life, where she's heading and what she wants out of life... thus we have about 300 pages of your typical main character neurosis etc etc etc... yawn.

It was better than your average chick-lit book, but only marginally. This is definite read-on-the-beach material and if that's the kind of stuff you like then that's great. I don't mean to sound snobby, but there's so much of this kind of stuff out there it doesn't really do a lot for me. It's like Haribo Tangfastic - it's tasty for a while, but then you get sick of all the sugar. It's just standard chick-lit and to be honest it's a bit boring. Having said that, it was better than Lolita! But give me Collins any day :)

Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

I've had this book on my bookshelf for years now, and it's one of those books that you're not sure whether you should actually have or want to read - in a moral sense especially considering all the negative press that Lolita has had over the years. The one day I was discussing it with a (male) friend of mine who had been wanting to read it for years so lent it to him, which ultimately made me want to read it too so that we could discuss both male and female points of view.

And so we both read it...

And I can honestly say it's one of the worst books I've ever read - in all manner of ways. It left me feeling drained, dirty, deflated and most of all, lonely. It's one of those books like Waiting for Godot that seems to have become a classic for reasons other than what books should become classics for i.e. because they are enjoyable to read. Lolita is in no way enjoyable to read. It's one of those books that you feel like you need to read because a) it's a classic and b) it was originally banned after publishing so you feel a need to find out why.

Well, c) I don't care! It's a horrible book with horrible characters and a horrible, disjointed meandering story-line. At first I thought that this was a book about obsession. 37-year old Humbert Humbert (yes, he is a lecherous as his name suggests) is "in love" (i use that word loosely) with his 12-year old step-daughter Dolores Haze whom he nicknames Lolita. His obsession with her leads them on a journey driving aimlessly and without purpose across the United States, living a nomadic lifestyle in hotels and motels along the way.

At first I thought that Humbert was actually in love with Lolita, and this I could probably have coped with. I'm a 21st century kind of girl - age gaps don't bother me. Okay, granted 12 is definitely in paedophilia territory, but if she'd have been older and had grown up and got married and they were madly in love with each other... well okay... I can deal with that. But no, Humbert is not in love with Lolita, he is simply obsessed with her "nymph" like qualities. In fact there is a particularly horribly disgusting part of the book where he talks of marrying her, getting her pregnant and then lusting after his mini-Lolita daughters and even his grand-daughters. It makes shudder think of it...

But then I can't even bring myself to feel sorry for Lolita either to be honest. You get the impression that she knows what she's doing when she meets him. She's enticing him on too. Not that it's an excuse for what Humbert does but you get the feeling that Lolita is aware of the power her feminine charms have over men and she is not adverse to using them to her advantage. She can hold her own and will do what she needs to to get what she wants as well. To be honest, she comes across as a bit slutty. You are glad when she manages to escape Humbert's clutches though and ends up marrying a redneck and getting pregnant. But then you feel sad too that her life doesn't ever amount to very much. It's all very depressing really.

It's not an easy book to read either and not just because of the distasteful subject. There are whole paragraphs (especially in the beginning) were I found I was just glossing over the words as the prose is so flowery and meandering and... well, boring really as Humbert narrates parts of his life and ideas to the reader. And the parts where he rambles off in french... very pompous and pointless (unless you speak french of course).

So in short, it's a horrible book so do yourself a favour and don't bother. Read Fortunes Rocks instead. Much much nicer :)

Enduring Love - Ian McEwan

I couldn't actually put this down and read the remaining entire second half of it today - even missing the first game of the Six Nations to do so! Very intriguing and thought-provoking with lots and lots going on.

God, I am now so behind on my book log I can't actually remember what happened! I know it was good... and that I enjoyed it. This is a book about obsession and the effect that it has on people. I've seen the film a couple of times and really enjoyed that, but that primarily focuses on the obsession that Jed has for Joe. However in the book Joe becomes equally obsessed with the situation but in a very different way and ironically I think is the most prominent factor in his break-up with Clarissa.

McEwan paints Joe as a very intelligent character. In fact you might find yourself skimming over parts of this story as Joe narrates fairly lengthy monologues relating to the topics his character writes about. Sometimes they are interesting, sometimes not. But the impression you do get is that Joe is just as much of an obsessive character as Jed is although about very different things. Jed suffers from De Clerambaults Syndrome which causes the sufferer to believe that someone is in love with then - in this case Jed becomes convinced that Joe is in love with him after they both witness a ballooning accident one afternoon. Jed's obsession with Joe quickly accelerates and begins to encroach on his life, causing rifts with Clarissa as each struggles to understand the situation. Ultimately the story comes to a head when Jed visits Clarissa to tell her that he and Joe are in love...

Ian McEwan writes a very good book here, with an intriguing insight into human nature and explores different areas of emotional reasoning. The night Clarissa and Joe return home after the ballooning accident Jed calls Joe very early in the morning, but when questioned by Clarissa, Joe tells her it was a wrong number. Why does he do this? This is the early turning point for Joe. In lying to Clarissa, albeit for very innocent reasons, he begins down a path where he becomes just as obsessed with Jed's obsession with him. You could call Joe a control-freak in some ways. Joe's whole being is based around logic and rationalism, whereas Jed's character is based on emotion and blind faith. Joe can not understand Jed's obsession when as far as he is concerned he has given him no reason to base it on. Jed on the other hand sees Joe as a kind of wounded-spirit in need of his love in order to feel at peace with himself.

It's a very clever book and McEwan manages to evoke sympathy for both characters. You can't help but feel sorry for Jed, and you can also understand how Joe becomes so obsessed with ridding himself of something his rationalism will not allow him to understand. It's not a very long book but the exploration of human nature and the power of emotion (rational or otherwise) makes for very interesting reading.

Strange Fits of Passion - Anita Shreve

Human nature is a very strange thing isn't it? I was always aware of this; it's by no means a new concept. But I think I only really became aware of it while reading this book. I picked this up off my mother shelf whilst I was visiting at Christmas, read the blurb on the back and obviously thought it would be worth a read because I brought it home with me. Now, that in itself is odd in the first place...

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The blurb on the back quite distinctly says that this story is about a marriage in which the husband has "a tendency towards alcohol and violent abuse". In other words, he's an uncontrollable bully who beats his wife to a pulp. What makes us pick up these kinds of stories and think they're something we'd want to read? Curiosity? Intrigue? To raise awareness? Arrogance that we could work out what was really going on and form the correct judgement on those who are the subject? Or is it simply that, like the towns-people within the story, we want to know what happened? Wanting to see what the story was about with the same sense of morbid fascination we get when passing a car accident on the motorway? It's very odd. We are all very odd. And it kind of makes me feel ashamed that I even picked it up in the first place.

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Obviously, we all want to read this kind of stuff otherwise books like this wouldn't be published. But they are. And not just this one either. Hoards of them. Similar stories from all other the place but all with the same morbid curiosity at the heart of the reason for being read. What do the women who have actually been in this kind of situation feel when they read stories like this? Relief that there are other out there who have suffered too? Vindicated in knowing that these books at the very least get the subject out into the open thus reducing the stigma? Anger at having their pain and suffering mass-marketed for profit? Do they even read them?

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Who knows. Maybe none, or all, of the above. All I know is that reading this book did not sit well with me at all. I read it relatively quickly - not because it was so gripping and I couldn't put it down, but because I wanted to get it over with. Or maybe it was gripping? Shreve does a good job of telling the story and laying it out in the format of a series of interviews, but I can't say that this story brought anything new to the violence in marriage debate. In the end it was the wife who suffered most even after she finally rid herself of her abusive husband after her story is publicly told through the eyes of an ambitious fellow journalist. It was all very depressing although I'm sure, a perfectly accurate description of how things were in the 70's. Are things better for women in today's society where abusive relationships are concerned? I truly hope so. In reality perhaps only the women who have been through this can ever offer a true opinion on that question. Shreve has chosen a very clever setting for the plot - amidst the ambiguity and poetic licence employed by journalists when reporting a story. Maureen and Harrold (the wife and husband) are journalists themselves. This all adds to the indistinct nature of the events and in fact, at the end you are left with the tiniest idea that Maureen herself may not have been as truthful as you thought she was.

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I wouldn't recommend it as a read. It's dark and suffocating and depressive, which I understand is probably the whole point of it. I just can't bring myself to feel comfortable knowing that I'm reading this kind of story for "pleasure" when it's about such a horrifying subject. Knowing that there are women (and men) out there going through this for real while I'm holed up in a comfy armchair in my living room leaves a bad taste in my mouth. At least when I read Alice Sebold's Lucky I felt good for her. It was her own story and she wanted to tell it. She was able to take control and there was hope at the end for her. After reading Strange Fits of Passion all I feel is helpless and powerless to do anything to help any of them. I can't help but wonder if any of the money made from the sale of this story went to any women's refuge centre's? I know it's not my right to pass judgement on whether that was the case or not - I'm just thinking out loud is all. I would like to think that it's what I would have done had I have written or published a story like this.