Image: Mollie Cook (AS photography student 2013)
PAUL DAVIES Head of English Literature
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
Kevin Powers wanted to be a poet, but then came 9/11 and he became a
soldier in Iraq, serving in Mosul and Tal Afar. The Yellow Birds is his much
hyped debut novel and, for once, the book lives up to the hype. A semiautobiographical novel, it documents his experiences and presents them as a
fictional narrative about a young American soldier who loses his best friend in
the war. I found the book very moving and had tears in my eyes at one point.
Like most war novels, it is brutally honest. Unlike most, it is written by a poet.
This appeals to my poetic sensibilities as it elevates the narrative above other
Iraq war texts and communicates the surreal, hallucinatory aspects of being in
the war. The opening chapter is a tour de force in setting a scene. It evokes
the chaos in Iraq and the protagonist’s mind and also sets a biblical tone for
the novel as Powers personifies the war as a predator devouring the lives and
souls of all involved. I read the novel in one evening and wanted to start again
when I’d finished. Addictive stuff.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Before The Road there was Blood Meridian. Set in mid-nineteenth century on
the US / Mexico border, this novel does what McCarthy does best: shatter all
the myths of the wild west like a bullet through a brain pan. The dust jacket
reviews compare the novel to Moby Dick crossed with Paradise Lost and I
personally couldn’t describe the novel any better except to add Mad Max into
the mix. The plot is picaresque and follows a character named the kid as he
falls in with a band of brigands who have been sanctioned by the US
government to ethnically cleanse the borderlands of indigenous populations.
It is a harrowing novel but also beautifully written. The character of The Judge
stands out as one of McCarthy’s great creations. The scene in which he
destroys Pueblo Indian cave paintings perfectly captures the way America was
recreated and mythologised by the European invaders.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
I first read Hamlet as an A Level student and, just like all my male students,
thought I was Hamlet: moody, bad, wears too much black, likes darkened
rooms. But then I read it again as an undergraduate and realised, like T.S.
Eliot, that I was not Prince Hamlet, thank goodness. I then saw many Hamlet’s
on stage and on screen, including Toby Stephens’ stonkingly brilliant
performance in 2005 and David Tennant’s riotous 2009 RSC outing. Now I am
teaching it to our English Literature A2 students and starting to worry that I
am becoming Polonius. Not only that, but I was alarmed to note that in the
eighteen years since I last read it, Shakespeare has rewritten the play. That’s
the genius of Shakespeare. He may have been dead four hundred years but
he can still surprise you.
BERNADETTE HEATON Teacher of English Literature
Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier and In the Company of the Courtesan by
Sarah Dunant
These 2 novels complement the English Literature OCR A2 examination that
we have been delivering for the first time this summer and may be of interest
to students and staff wishing to pursue contextual ideas relating to the poetry
of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience and Ben
Jonson’s Volpone. However they are also quite fascinating novels even if you
are not involved in the delights of teaching or want to learn comparative
examination techniques.
Sarah Dunant excels in the historical novel genre; this story is narrated by the
dwarf Bucino who is the business partner, friend and protector of Fiammetta
Bianchini a sixteenth century Venetian courtesan. The depiction of the
gorgeous, glittering city is brilliantly evoked and juxtaposed with the cruelty,
poverty and ruthlessness of its inhabitants. At times the narrative loses pace
and the ending is predictable, but it is a memorable and entertaining read. We
can see why Lady Pol in Volpone wanted to learn from the courtesans. The real
life character of Pietro Aretino also appears in the novel and the beautiful
Fiammetta becomes the fictional model for Titian’s painting Venus of Urbino.
Burning Bright is set in another city: riotous eighteenth century London. It
follows the fortunes of the Kellaway family from rural Dorset, making the
move to the metropolis. The main characters are children who become friends
with a rather eccentric, poet, engraver and artist by the name of William
Blake. At times the interaction between them is quite contrived as Chevalier is
determined to include as many key points about the visionary radical as
possible. I groaned when the children spotted their neighbour naked in his
garden reading Milton’s Paradise Lost to his wife, but the exploration of the
states of innocence and experience become far more subtle and interesting as
the novel progresses. The life of the city is vividly recreated and the novel does
provide an interesting and well-researched insight into Blake’s life and times. I
particularly liked the details about the rural craft of button making practised
by the Kellaway women and would like to visit the rural hamlet of
Piddletrenthide myself one day.
***
CATHERINE HAMILTON Teacher of English Language and Literature
A History of England in 100 Places by John Julius Norwich
John Julius Norwich’s A History of England in 100 Places provides the reader
with a glimpse of the background and historical figures associated with key
landmarks in England. The 100 places are organised into historical periods,
but there is also a map and a list by county, useful as you may well be inspired
to visit the sites for yourself. Inevitably, the book begins in the prehistoric
period with Stonehenge, but ultimately brings the reader up-to-date with
place number 100, the Gherkin. An informative read, with a useful
introduction to each historical period, this is much more than a list of stately
homes or historic sites.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
It’s Swindon, 1985, the Crimean War is still being fought, a dodo is the musthave pet, and fans of the novel Jane Eyre are slightly disappointed by the
ending, where Jane marries the rather uninspiring St John Rivers. Thursday
Next is a literary detective, focusing mainly on investigating forgeries of
famous literature (books are big business in this 1985). However, her job
becomes much more important when dastardly villain Acheron Styx starts
kidnapping characters from within the books themselves. Yes, you have to be
willing to suspend all notion of reality when reading this novel, but it’s well
worth the effort. This entertaining read is the first in the Thursday Next series
– I would have recommended the seventh novel, The Woman Who Died A Lot,
which was released last year, but this is definitely a series where you need to
start at the beginning in order to understand fully the alternate worlds that
Fforde has created.
***
NICK ALLEN Quality Manager
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
I remember, in no particular order:
 A narrative that leaves the reader with more questions than answers
 A book that plays with our sense of narrative, of time, of linearity, of
memory
 The internal dynamics of a sixth form clique, torn apart by a girl
 A splendidly disastrous weekend ‘meeting the parents’ in Chiselhurst
 A thriller, that, replaces what we know with a deep sense of unease
Barnes’ central point is that what you end up remembering isn’t always the
same as what you have witnessed.
Against Nature (A Rebours) by Joris-Karl Huysmans, as recommended by
Dorian Gray.
Any self-respecting student of literature will know the value of the arcane.
There are books that, if mentioned, immediately let those listening know they
are in the presence of a higher mind. For the true lover of the obscure, it is
not good enough to have merely read the Picture of Dorian Gray; you need to
have read what Dorian reads.
And the book that Dorian reads is ‘A Rebours’. A friend has sent him a book
with a yellow cover, and one afternoon, Dorian becomes absorbed in it. Wilde
describes it as “a poisonous book”. It the novel, it is a book that at is at once
compelling and suffocating, rendering Dorian “unconscious of the falling day
and creeping shadows”.
For years, Dorian could not free himself of the influence of this book. He
bought nine copies, which he had bound in various colours and he selected
according to his disposition.
In many ways it is a strange work, and perhaps is unlikely to grip the modern
reader in quite the way it gripped Dorian. One might settle with buying just
the seven or eight copies. It only has one character (Jean Des Essientes), and
tells the story of his retreat from a somewhat debauched life in Paris.
And if being the book that Dorian reads is not enough to inspire you to want
to read it, how about this: at the end of the film ‘Withnail and I’, Marwood
places two books in his suitcase. One of those books is A Rebours.
DAGMAR BURNETT-GODFREE Careers Adviser
Theodora by Stella Duffy
I am not usually a fan of historical novels but was drawn to this book for two
reasons. Firstly I am interested in the classical age and secondly I was
fascinated to find out more about the woman at the centre of this story.....
Theodora was born in Constantinople in 500AD. She is the daughter of a
bearkeeper and so has few choices in life but, as a result of gruelling hard
work, determination and quick wits, becomes a popular entertainer to the rich
and famous. By the age of 15 she is the star of the hippodrome. This meteoric
rise to fame is impressive enough in itself, but incredibly by 527AD she
becomes Empress of the Roman Empire after marrying Justinian – the famous
law maker. He even changes the law to allow him to marry her.
Stella Duffy tells this amazing story with great pace and skill. She provides us
with interesting detail about Roman society and the position of women,
against the exciting backdrop of political and religious upheaval. Fantastic
array of female characters, in particular, bringing an alternative perspective to
the official male history of this era.
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and
Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
Hilarious black comedy about the life of Allan Karlsson. We first meet Allan as
he escapes from an old people’s home on his 100th birthday. (He has no wish
to stay for the party arranged for him because they won’t allow him to
celebrate with vodka.) As the story of his escape develops he gets involved
with criminal gangs and a woman with an elephant. In a series of flashbacks
we discover that this is not the first time that Allan has had a crazy adventure.
He has, in fact, been involved in quite a few world changing incidents over the
years and made friends in high places.
The character of Karlsson is an interesting vehicle for playing around with the
notion of ‘Swedishness’ & Sweden’s neutral stance in many of the world’s
conflicts. Karlsson describes himself as ‘apolitical’ but, as an explosives expert
(!), his actions have great influence on many political situations of the 20 th
Century.
The main enjoyment of the story, however, comes from the hilarious
situations and characters along the way. Also, I think we can all empathise
with that feeling of wanting to climb out the window and disappear at some
point in our lives.
RUTH KELLETT Teacher of English Language and Literature
How to Read Literature byTerry Eagleton
Perhaps this is not the first book you would grab as your holiday reading when
passing through Waterstones but I urge you to take a look. This book is clearly
a useful text for students studying one of the English courses currently on
offer at Symonds but it deserves a wider audience than this. The book covers
similar ground to David Lodge and John Sutherland in that it takes you through
the key areas of focus in Literature but it does so in such an engaging and
informed way that you actually enjoy reading it rather than feeling that you
should read it. Love him or hate him (and I have to confess a weakness for the
black jumpered old marxist) his ability to make clear the process you are
involved in when you discuss literature is always refreshing.
I particularly like the way he uses etymology to aid the reader in their
understanding of literary criticism. The word 'character' for example is derived
from the Ancient Greek meaning a stamping tool which makes a distinctive
mark. This then came to mean 'the perculiar mark of an individual'. Reminding
us of the root of the word reminds us of what we are doing when we look at
character; not treating the people described in the text as real people (in spite
of the modern trend for fanfiction where Hermione Grainger might pitch up in
a sado/masochistic relationship with Sherlock Holmes!) but discussing the
given attributes or 'marks' that a writer has described. The Ancient Greek
word 'drama' means 'something done' - it is what happens that is important,
character is secondary.
His other trait is to throw in amusing anecdotes about writers; one example is
of W B Yeats failing to get an academic post in Dublin because he misspelt the
word 'professor' on his application form. The only problem with this is that
you tend to come away remembering the amusing trivial details rather than
the more complex concepts.
An accessible and rewarding read whether you study English or just enjoy
reading.
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick De Witt
The lack of an apostrophe is enough to put most pedantic teachers and
students off this book but they would be wrong. Sisters is in fact the family
name of two brothers hired to kill a prospector in 1850s America. It is a great
holiday read if you enjoy dark, funny and sometimes gruesome stories.
Although bizarre, almost surreal at times the book is also very down to earth
and surprisingly sad. If you like the American TV series 'Breaking Bad' you will
like this as it presents you with the same dilemmas about morality.
Effi Briest byTheodor Fontane
Read this after 'The Sisters Brothers' and it will be like taking a long cool bath
after a hot and dusty day. Although set at similar times that is the only
likeness. Effi Briest is not action packed and in fact one of the key events of
the novel, Effi's affair with Krampas, is possible to miss if you aren't reading
closely. This is a novel that requires the reader to fill in the gaps and is all the
more rewarding for it. Effie at 17 is told she is to marry a man of 38. She is
happy to be guided by her parents but that is really the last time she is happy.
Again like 'The Sisters Brothers' themes of love, death, sex and morality are
prominent but unlike that book Effi Briest explores the consequences of trying
to conform to society’s expectations and interestingly exposes how the
civilised world is perhaps exactly the opposite.
JULIAN FOSTER Teacher of Biology
Nexus by Mike Baron and Steve Rude
This is a comic series published on-and-off since the 1980s. Set in the far
future, Nexus is a man with super powers who wears a cool, skin tight
uniform. At this point, you may be imagining Superman or a similar superhero.
But Nexus is something very different – he uses his powers to execute mass
murderers, whose identities are revealed to him in dreams.
Sounds rather grim and depressing? Not at all. Writer Mike Baron makes full
use of the moral ambiguity intrinsic in this situation and the consequences
generated by Nexus’ actions. For example, the death of a tyrant creates
political turmoil and a flood of refugees constantly stream into Nexus’ home
planet. The cold-blooded destruction of anyone – even a torturer or serial
killer - is treated in such a way that the reader almost always feels uneasy,
even sympathetic.
Furthermore, what of the executioner himself? Nexus is a man who has not
chosen the life he leads, (he would rather be an archaeologist). He has
relationship problems, he becomes addicted to stimulants, he has a very
difficult time with his twin daughters. What does his ‘job’ do to his soul?
(Nexus is, interestingly, a devout Christian)?
If this all sounds rather too cerebral, let me assure you that Nexus, as a comic,
is also a lot of fun – full of great characters like Judah Macabee, a cheerful
alien bounty hunter and Ursula XX Imada, political manipulator and mother of
Nexus’ children. Nexus’ home eventually needs a government, religious groups
clash, pirates prey on the vulnerable, rock bands form!
I must also mention the artwork of Steve Rude, which is absolutely exquisite –
full of drama, emotion and imagination, perfectly capturing the science fiction
settings and also the humanity of the characters, even the ones who are
aliens!
(The best way to read Nexus is by means of the ‘Nexus Omnibus’ reprints –
reasonably priced paperback collections. Beware of typing ‘Nexus’ into search
engines, as it appears to be the name of an ‘adult’ publisher as well!)
High Society by Dave Sim
Cerebus is an aardvark, but in the same way that Donald Duck is a duck – he
wears clothes, talks, uses cutlery etc. The difference is that Cerebus is not a
character who would appeal to children, he is self-centred, manipulative, rude
and greedy. High Society is an acerbic political satire in which Cerebus turns up
in Iest – a city mired in 21st century economic turmoil and medieval religious
schism.
Cerebus very quickly realizes that he can make plenty of money in the short
time before the city tumbles into chaos and sets about exploiting the
aristocratic fops and bureaucratic dunderheads who comprise the moneyed
classes. Somehow, you can’t help admiring his gambler’s nerve and straight
talking delivery amongst all the cronyism and decadence of Iest. Eventually, of
course, he makes a wrong move and is only saved from prison and disgrace by
becoming prime minister – the perfect position for the biggest crook in town!
Sim’s dialogue is simply drenched in sarcasm and he has a superb ear for the
euphemisms, double-talk and flat contradictions of political and economic
discourse (a speech by a particularly dull conference speaker is rescheduled to
‘yesterday’, a troublemaker from Cerebus’ past is knocked unconscious and
Cerebus explains to a cab driver that ‘just before he fell asleep, he asked to be
put on the next boat going anywhere far away.’). Imagine the Watergate
scandal with more jokes and you have a flavour of the story.
Cerebus was a 1980s comic, and High Society is actually the second volume of
an enormously long series of reprints. Sim is both writer and artist, his art style
is crisp and minimal, each page is an art deco composition in black, white and
grey. The next volume (Church and State) is even more ambitious and has
Cerebus as Pope!
(As this is actually not the beginning of the Cerebus story, you might initially
be confused by some of the references or the ‘reappearance’ of characters
you’ve not seen before. If this bothers you, buy the first volume, entitled
‘Cerebus’ first, but it’s not absolutely necessary to do so).
***
JACKIE WRIGHT Teacher of English Literature
The Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry
Dubbed by The Observer as the ‘Delia Smith of poetry’, Fry is able to
communicate the complexities of poetic form and metre in a readable,
amusing, yet erudite fashion. His footnotes and asides are particularly
entertaining. For example, I learnt that the word ‘diarrhoea’ has the same
etymological root as ‘rhythm.’ Fascinating. Even if you don’t participate in the
exercises and activities aimed at teaching you how to write poetry in a variety
of forms (Fry even leaves some blank spaces to encourage you to do so), this is
an illuminating and clearly written explanation of a topic that can be difficult
to navigate.
Anna Karenina by Tolstoy
It’s true that I haven’t quite finished this weighty tome: I started it when I had
a little more time on my hands. But it is a great read – one of those books that
you think, by the time you reach a Certain Age, you really should have read.
From the first page, the reader is drawn into the worlds of the diverse
characters as the omniscient narrator moves skilfully through their lives,
weaving a web of intricate connections. The scope of the novel is breathtaking but Tolstoy never lose sight of the human emotions involved; it’s a
realistic look at human nature in all its different contexts.
The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater
This is much more than a cookery book – as the title suggests. Slater’s
personal style and intimate approach to food preparation makes this an
enjoyable journey through the months, the seasons, the types of food that are
good to eat. The narrative is almost poetic, filled with descriptions of Slater’s
garden, the plants, the weather, the shops that he frequents and the produce
that he so loves. His recipes are often informal and ad hoc – a combination of
ingredients he fancies putting together depending on his mood and what is in
the store cupboard.
KALPANA SHENOI Teacher of English Literature and Oxbridge tutor
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Fifteen year old Michael Berg falls in love with a mysterious older woman,
Hanna Schmitz. Having made the reader feel somewhat uneasy from the
beginning, Schlink proceeds to make this disturbing, erotic and strange story
even more complex by using it to depict one individual’s betrayal and guilt and
then that of an entire generation. Even in translation, the prose is elegant,
spare and beautiful. I can only imagine what a pleasure it must be to read it in
the original German. As the reviewer in The Independent says, The Reader is “a
tender, horrifying novel that shows blazingly well how the Holocaust should be
dealt with in fiction. [This is] a thriller, a love story and a deeply moving
examination of a German conscience.”
Maurice by E. M. Forster
Forster originally wrote this semi-autobiographical novella in 1914, but it was
not published until 1970, by which time its theme seemed somewhat dated.
Homosexuality was no longer a crime, and the Edwardian era story of secret
and forbidden love between upper middle class Maurice Hall and the
gamekeeper Alec Scudder belonged almost to another society altogether. It is
a remarkably moving novel, however, owing to Forster’s sympathetic
depiction of the isolation of an individual who has done nothing wrong but
feels like a pariah because his natural sexual orientation is seen as depraved
by his society.
Having learnt how such feelings must be hidden through his unfulfilled love
affair with fellow student Clive Durham, Maurice even undergoes psychiatric
treatment to “cure” his homosexuality. His affair with Alec is liberating not just
because he finally accepts his own sexuality, but because he also learns to rise
above the snobbish values instilled into him by his upbringing. I think we could
call this novella a gay and socialist Bildungsroman or coming of age story.
Forster’s humanity is, as ever, evident here, but I also like his one-liners that
are worthy of Oscar Wilde, another great gay writer. Here are two examples:
“England has always been disinclined to accept human nature” and “You
confuse what’s important with what’s impressive.”
JO HARRISON Head of English Language and Literature
Wigan Pier Revisited by Beatrix Campbell
In 1937 George Orwell published The Road to Wigan Pier, his account of his
famous urban ride among the people and the places of the Great Depression .
Fifty years later , in the 1980s , we were living through a second Great
Depression. In 1984 , Bea Campbell made the journey north again. Like Orwell
she is a journalist , and a socialist , but, unlike him, working class and a
feminist. Wigan Pier Revisited is a devastating account of what she saw and
heard in towns and cities ravaged by poverty and unemployment. If you have
any glamorous perceptions of what it was like to live through the 80s this book
will set you straight. Excellent wider reading for Lang/Lit students who will be
studying Orwell next year!
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
An unnamed first-person narrator is plucked from her humdrum middle class
life by Maxim de Winter, a moody widower millionaire who owns a beloved
coastal estate called Manderley. The narrator tries to adjust to being lady of
the house, but she runs into trouble as she realizes that the household staff
and friends are all still enthralled with Maxim's late wife, Rebecca. The story is
told retrospectively as the circumstances surrounding Rebecca’s death are
revealed . A really good Gothic yarn! Those of you who have read Jane Eyre
will see similar parallels between the two texts. If you like Rebecca you could
give Margaret Attwood’s Robber Bride a go too.
***
BEN FARNDON Head of English Language
Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
On his 13th birthday, Ben is confronted with an unusual gift: his professorial
parents have decided to house a chimpanzee in the family’s Canadian home.
Relations with the new ‘half brother’ are initially strained; Ben’s jealousy is
established at his parents’ devotion to their academic work, at the expense of
regular family life. The process of humanising the chimp begins, but Ben’s
close attachment to his new brother emerges: christening him Zan, clothing
him, sharing a bedroom and starting the acquisition American Sign Language
(the crux of the project). There is much academic and media interest in the
project, but when the initial promise in learning signing slows, the experiment
(and its funding) is stopped and Zan sold to another scientist in a rather less
domestic, caged setting. Most of the second half of book follows the
subsequent conflict that arises between the cold, scientific outlook of Dad to
get rid of the now unwanted specimen, and the humanity of Ben and Mum to
ensure the responsibility to preserve Zan’s future safety and re-integration to
the chimp world. I encountered it as a book targeted more at teenage
readers, but it certainly provides interest on human-animal interaction and the
more everyday workings of family personalities. There are some loose
parallels to a real 1930s experiment of the Kellogg family, which Oppel may
well have drawn on: linguistic interaction of child and chimp was also the
focus, although age of the child and the outcome deviates from this.
SHELLEY LEE Teacher of English Literature
The ‘Jack Reacher’ series by Lee Childs
With twenty one to choose from, here we have an intriguing American
protagonist written by an ex BBC camera man who must have an ‘in’. Having
read the entire series I can highly recommend them to anyone who likes
thrillers with a human touch and a curiosity about American institutions don’t be put off by Tom Cruise. Childs constructs a remarkably believable
protagonist and group of characters that span the series making it seem like
one long book, although they also stand well alone.
The Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub
A dark and gothic novel that returns to a character first introduced in The
Talisman, this is not a book for the squeamish opening with the cannibalism of
small children. And that is all I will say on the matter, except it is well written
and difficult to put down.
The Lost Land by Evean Boland
The poetry in this collection is both personal and political. It synthesises the
myth and history of Ireland with very personal experience in a powerful
collection by a world famous poet. As is often the case with Irish writers,
whether poets or dramatists, Boland conveys the integration of the Irish
psyche and their land in poems that are moving and thought provoking - it is
also surprising in the connections it makes with the reader.
The Painted Man by Peter V Brett
This is the first in a trilogy; typical of fantasy, while it appears to be set in an
unknown world with characters that are clearly affiliated to no recognisable
creed or culture, it does interrogate sensitive issues that are quite
contemporary. A Bildungsroman for the 21st century, Brett creates a complex
plot and characters of both genders that still, sadly, somehow manage to
conform to gender stereotypes while trying hard to buck them. The hoped-for
escapism of fantasy is often rudely interrupted by recognition of the
narrative’s relevance to contemporary reality whilst undermining many widely
perceived notions on culture. The story becomes more complex in the second
book The Desert Spear.
ELIZABETH WOODGATE Teacher of English Literature
Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler
I have always been a big Tyler fan since reading 'Saint Maybe' about twenty
years ago. I love her humour and understanding of characters' 'ordinary' lives
which she sieves through with loving care. She doesn't attempt to give them
any exciting changes (or if she does they somehow slip back into a different
kind of ordinariness) but she does allow them to grow in understanding and
acceptance of what it is to be human. There is always a point in a Tyler novel
where I feel incredibly moved as though I, like the characters, have undergone
a powerful shift even though nothing particularly dramatic has happened.
'Noah's Compass' is about a man who has moved into a retirement flat where
he expects to sink into neutral old age. But family and new friends keep poking
him back to life and in the process we learn more about Noah's past life and
how he has arrived in his present. Tyler does not try to transform him in any
romantic way but she allows him to grow so that by the end of the novel he
seems to have assumed more colour - more life. Even though this doesn't
sound the most exciting of novels, it was the one that I haven't stopped
thinking about since I read it earlier this year.
At Last by Edward St Aubyn
I have also enjoyed the last of the five Patrick Melrose novels, 'At Last' by
Edward St Aubyn. The subject-matter is unbearably painful at times, the
writing honest and bitingly funny by turns (the description of his father in the
jungle for example). The end of the novel, when Patrick is home from his
mother's funeral and bravely facing the solitude of his flat, is a profound
exploration of the human capacity for survival.
***
GRAEME HODGSON Teacher of English
Stag's Leap by Sharon Olds
This is a 2012 poetry collection. If you're not in the habit of reading
contemporary poetry get your chops round this very accessible, lucid, grown
up writing which documents the break up of the poet's 30 odd year marriage.
This is usually territory covered by the novel but Olds brilliantly shows that
poetry is an ideal medium for observing the particularness of it all. Honest,
clever, moving, uplifting. Oh and it won the Pulizer and TS Eliot prizes.
GRAHAM HOOPER Teacher of Photography
“The Microscripts” by Robert Walser
On Christmas day 1956, aged 78, Robert Walser was found dead, face down in
the snow.
By day, and for most his life, Walser led a meagre and understated working life
as an office clerk (‘serving’ is recurring theme in his writing), though
employment was as erratic and irregular and his lodgings. By night Walser
became increasingly keen on taking long walks, usually alone and at night. In
his early 50’s, after having suffered from anxiety and hallucinations for quite a
time (his medical records cite a confession that he “heard voices”), he
admitted himself voluntarily into a mental hospital at the request of his sister.
Mental illness had been a family affliction - it had led to the suicide of one of
his brothers. A prolific writer from a young age, by the late 1920’s he had
adopted what he referred to as his ‘pencil method’: using an archaic German
handwritten style and diminutive lettering measuring only one or two
millimetres in height, and writing on torn or cut sections of paper ephemera
(ticket stubs or receipts). Kept secret and hidden away for many years,
assumed to be coded psychotic mutterings by his executor at the time of his
death, these ‘microscripts’ have recently been unearthed and scrupulously
translated. Admired by Kafka, Hesse and Sebald, Walser is only now taking up
his rightful position in the European modernist literary canon. He is at his best
in the short story form: playful, serene, charming, mixing pulp and serious
literary reference, personal observation and insightful reflection. They are
stories that any reader will remember for years to come: ordinary people
struggling futilely against vast machines, with many instances of greed and
selfishness as well as of bravery and altruism. http://tinyurl.com/pl8qjve
http://tinyurl.com/pdho56m
“How It Is” by Samuel Beckett
as he hears it originally published originally french 1961 france comment c’est
pun the French verb commencer begin english 1964 england how it is novel
three parts three three three written short paragraphs tell abruptly cajolingly
bleakly
narrator lying in the dark in the mud repeating his life as he hears it uttered or
remembered another voice told from within from the dark the story tirelessly
intimately explicit the feelings that pervade his world but fragmentary vague
about all else therein or beyond together his trilogy Malloy Malone Dies The
Unnammable how it is many readers his greatest accomplishment novel form
most challenging narrative style pessimism vision
continues themes reduced circumstance of another life before the present the
self-appraising search an essential self a story any reader remember for years
to come ordinary people struggling futilely a vast machine many instances
greed selfishness bravery altruism as he hears it how it is begin
http://tinyurl.com/pyoeaqc
Maverick!: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace
by Ricardo Semier
* According to an extensive recent survey 49% of the UK working population
would take a pay-cut to have a different manager.
* When asked what made a good manager, employers rated 'vision' 7th out of
10. 'Good communication skills' (listening) came 8th. But simply 'showing
interest' was rated 3rd, with 'empowering and trusting their staff' 2nd and
finally 'nurturing, supporting and challenging' as the most important quality.
* People work best when they feel good about themselves.
* 2 in 5 managers would rather not be.
At Semco, one of Latin America's fastest-growing companies, acknowledged to
be the best in Brazil to work for, and with a waiting list of thousands of
applicants waiting to join it:
* Workers make decisions previously made by their bosses.
* Everyone has access to the company books.
* There is no formality - a minimum of meetings, memos and approvals.
* Internal walls have been torn down.
* Shopfloor workers set their own productivity targets and schedules.
It is a story that any reader will remember for years to come: ordinary people
struggling futilely against a vast machine, with many instances of greed and
selfishness as well as of bravery and altruism. http://tinyurl.com/qjt3uu7
DEAN WYLES Head of Mathematics & Science Faculty
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
This is the first of the Tudor novels by Hilary Mantel. She has since followed it
up with Bring Up the Bodies, a critically acclaimed sequel, and we are told
there will soon be a third to complete the trilogy; so it's a must-read. It is
based on the life and times of Thomas Cromwell.
It may come as a surprise to some but I've had absolutely no historical
education at all - unless you count my early Seventies boyhood trips around
old London town with my Transit-driving grandfather (which made reading of
Rutherford's novel London all the more interesting by the way). Mr Baker, my
personal tutor at school who was head of history, insisted I did geography,
simply because he didn't want me in his class - can you imagine!
Consequently, my history diet was solely provided by TV. I actually thought
Robin Hood was a real-life hero and, as for Raquel Welch, in One Million Years
BC, that was accurate, right?
Wolf Hall can be a bit heavy going, partly because there are so many
Thomases in the story; you always have to wonder which one is being referred
to, and when no name is given she means Cromwell. Mantel depicts Cromwell
in rather a heroic way; coming from a modest background he climbs the
greasy political and diplomatic pole to play a crucial part in English history. I
was prepared to take Mantel's stance readily and really wanted to gun for
Cromwell throughout. Apparently many historians think Cromwell was a
sinister, corrupt and an extremely ambitious man; but surely many powerful
high-fliers of such distinction are all that too? Cromwell was, to put it mildly,
involved in the demise of Henry's marriage to Katherine, and the subsequent
marriage to Anne. Two prevalent themes in the novel are the catholicprotestant tension and the dissolution of the monasteries, both of which I was
surprised to find fascinating. Strangely, in Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn
Girl, Cromwell is not mentioned at all and the emphasis is purely on the Dallasstyle rise of the Boleyn's and their ultimate downfall (sorry for the TV
reference). Although an interesting read it packs none of the punches of Wolf
Hall and is far less insightful, it seems to me.
The main reason I'd recommend this book is the strength of the story and its
characters. It's well-crafted but, because it's a historical novel, without many
of the traps or plot devices inherent in most novels - you pretty much know
what's going to happen, so you can focus on the how and why which I imagine
is what history is about - isn't that right Mr Baker?
JANE OWEN Head of Communications & Performing Arts Faculty
Two broken hearts……
The Chemistry of Tears by Peter Carey
I have always wanted to read whatever Peter Carey writes, ever since he
captivated me with the Fat Man in History in 1974. I’ve liked everything he has
written since, especially Oscar and Lucinda, of course. (Although I had to give
up on Parratt and Olivier in America).
Just like an old friend, I don’t like everything about him (oddly formal dialogue,
some deeply troubling male characters) but I’m always glad to have him
around, as it were. This new novel has a 21st century museum curator whose
lover has died and a 19th century father with a dying child. These unlikely coprotagonists are brought together by a mechanical duck, an 18th-century
automaton. I suspect this novel has greater intellectual reach than I can have
been able to encompass in its treatment of ideas about grief and loss. But I
know a broken heart when I read about one, and he has that here.
Stag’s Leap by Sharon Olds
You might think that a collection of poems by a wife whose husband leaves
her, abruptly, after 32 years of marriage for a colleague, would be marked by
homicidal rage and bitter invective. Not so for Sharon Olds, however, in this
collection where she charts the progress of her thoughts and feelings over the
course of her first year as a newly abandoned middle aged woman. The poems
are wonderful and, most remarkably, the tone throughout is loving, accepting
and generous. Olds allows herself the occasional waspish remark, ( I suppose
the tittle is one such) but only slightly and just enough to let us know she’s
human.
This book won the T S Eliot prize, so evidently goodness and kindness pays off
sometimes.
EMMA KELLY Teacher of English Language
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard, was published some years ago and
republished recently. It tells the story of two Australian sisters who have come
to post-war England to seek their fortunes. Caro is courted long and hopelessly
by a young scientist, Ted Tice, and the milder Grace seeks fulfilment in an
apparently happy marriage. The decades pass and the characters weave in and
out of each other's lives, but love, death and two slow-burning secrets wait in
ambush for them. I found this profound and deeply moving. One of the best
novels I have read.
Pereira Maintains by Antonio Tabucchi
I read this last summer and loved it. Set in Lisbon at the time of Franco’s
republic in neighbouring Spain, the narrative is structured almost as a third
person court record, with each episode beginning ‘Pereira maintains…’ or
‘Pereira insists that…’ This gives a hint that, after the books closes, the central
character, the benign and soft-hearted widower Pereira, has been ensnared
by the increasingly oppressive and suspicious Portugese political system. This
adds poignancy to what is, anyway, a touching portrait of a sweet and
unassuming man trying to stand up for what is right and being wrong-footed
at every turn of the plot. Very slightly Kafka-ish, with added heart-string
pulling.
One on One by Craig Brown
Great deckchair reading and a must-read if you go to a lot of dinner parties as
it will provide you with conversation topics for ever, in the vein of ‘did you
know that…’. It is a chain of 101 extraordinary but true encounters, from
Tolstoy rumbling Tchaikovsky in 1876 to George Galloway baiting Michael
Barrymore in 2006. The Royal Family giggle at T.S. Eliot, Walter Sickert draws
the curtains on the carol-singing Edward Heath, Youssoupoff assassinates
Rasputin and Marilyn Monroe commissions Frank Lloyd Wright. A really
original book from an acclaimed comic writer.
CHARLES PARISH Director of IT
To The River by Olivia Laing
Many years ago I took my PGCE teaching course at Sussex University and
during that year I lived in an attic flat in the delightful East Sussex county town
of Lewes. The river that flows through the town is the Ouse in which Virginia
Woolf drowned over seventy years ago. This book is Oliver Laing’s story of her
gentle walk down the length of the Ouse from source to the sea in the port of
Newhaven.
The narrative of the journey links botany (she is a trained herbalist), the
landscape and human history. There are discussions of the birth of fossil
dinosaur collecting (many of the first fossils were discovered in this area) and
the great Victorian missing link hoax of the Piltdown Man. She discusses Simon
de Montfort’s victory over Henry III in 1264 at the Battle of Lewes and
Kenneth Graham’s Wind in the Willows. But the story that hangs over the
journey is that of Virginia Woolf and her suicide in 1941 in a fur coat in the
cold waters of the river.
This book with its beautiful and uplifting prose has inspired me to return to
Lewes and explore the river and the history of the area further than I did when
I lived there.
Almost Like A Whale by Steve Jones
A book that everyone has heard of and very few have read is Darwin’s The
Origin of Species. It is a wonderful read but of course the science is very dated,
for example it makes no reference to the genetic mechanism of evolution.
Steve Jones is Professor of Genetics at University College London and an
eloquent communicator and advocate of Humanism and opponent of
Creationism.
I first came across this book when I saw it in the bookshop at Down House, the
home of Charles Darwin, near Biggin Hill. I bought a copy and read it in a very
few days. It brings Darwin’s theory up to date, fills in many missing elements,
such as the role of DNA, and puts the theory into a modern context in a much
more readable style. The theory of evolution and natural selection is so
important to society and the future of our planet that everybody should have
a solid understanding of it.
The title comes from Darwin’s assertion that whales evolved from bear-like
animals that took to living in the sea. He was almost right; they are, of course,
mammals and have evolved from land-based creatures (which in turn had
evolved from marine ones long before). But the bear was a mistake as whales
in fact evolved from extinct ancient relatives of cows and pigs.
Read this book if you want to enjoy a very readable introduction to modern
evolutionary biology without having to plough through a pile of dry text books.
GILL GARDINER Bookshop Manager
The Gladiator by Simon Scarrow
This is one book from a series of novels set in the time of the Roman Empire.
The two main characters are centurions Marco and Cata who get pulled into a
variety of political/military situations and have to come out alive and one step
ahead of all the different factions in Roman society.
Their journey back to Rome, following a previous assignment, is interrupted
when an earthquake strikes off the coast of Crete. They are cast ashore
following a tsunami where the slave population revolt and Roman men and
weaponry fall to the enemy. The rebellion could ignite an uprising across the
Empire.
The historical background to this novel is fascinating and the accuracy
impressive. An enjoyable holiday read as is the rest of the series.
God Collar by Marcus Brigstocke
This is a book that really gives you something to think about. It makes you
laugh but also makes you seethe with the injustice of what is done in the
name of faith and religion. It’s Marcus trying to understand what is missing
from his life as he gets older, He’s happy with the life he’s got but feels there is
something more somewhere out there.
He thinks he is an atheist but isn’t really happy with that and although his
research into many different faiths ends up with him coming out with some
pretty vicious stuff, he acknowledges the good side of religion too.
He is not trying to say that a world without religion is the answer. Perhaps all
we need to know is ‘God is Love’ and leave it at that?
NEIL HOPKINS Principal
Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks
I would not be surprised to see several recommendations for books by Banks
this year, following his recent untimely death from cancer. I have tried before
to promote his science fiction books (credited with the ‘M’ middle initial, as
opposed to his mainstream novels without the ‘M’). All his books, in any
genre, are worth reading, but he himself clearly had a particular soft spot for
his sci–fi works. “Surface Detail” is the most recent of those, and sadly
therefore the last. If you have never read any of his ‘Culture’ novels before,
this may not be the best place to start, although they are all discrete works.
(Perhaps try “Consider Phlebas” as a starting point.)
“Surface Detail” leaves one breathless at the scope of his imagination. Never
mind previous authors’ descriptions of virtual reality; imagine societies which
maintain electronic virtual hells into which they upload sinners’ personalities
for eternity.
And that’s just for starters.
The Expats by Chris Pavone
I think what I liked about this book was the way it started as a low-key
domestic story about a wife moving abroad with her family because of her
husband’s work, but then gradually ratcheted itself up into a full-blown
thriller. The wife concerned is no shrinking violet, and there is much more
than just physical baggage following the family to their new home.
Gripping, especially after the first few chapters.
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
No, not that one! At first I wondered why Fforde didn’t sue over the later use
of such a similar title by another author, but then it occurred to me that it may
have boosted his sales! I suspect also that any confusion will have appealed to
his sense of humour.
Jasper Fforde may have one of the worst combinations of first and sur- names
of any contemporary author, but his books are witty and imaginative. I’m
recommending this one because it is a stand-alone, whereas most his books
belong to one of two main series: the ‘Thursday Next’ series and the ‘Nursery
Crimes’ series. This is, I suppose, another sci–fi book, but is very far from the
shoot ‘em up arcade game type of sci–fi. It is set many years in the future,
after some unclear apocalyptic event, in a society that has very strict
hierarchical rules based on the ability to perceive colours. Think ‘Fahrenheit
451’ as if it had been written by Douglas Adams.
The hero is a ‘Red’ who wants to marry slightly up the social scale – an
‘Oxblood’! – but then falls for a lowly ‘Grey’.
‘Twas ever thus.
The Sister Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
A book that in turns amuses, shocks and irritates. The irritatingly odd title is
explained simply by this being about a pair of brothers with the surname
“Sister”. It’s a Western and they are a pair of ‘heavies’ …killers in fact.
I can’t recall ever reading a Western before, but I’m pretty sure this is not a
typical example of the genre. I believe the technical term for a story of this
nature is ‘picaresque’. We follow the pair as they hunt an intended victim on a
journey into gold rush California, meeting odd characters along the way, some
of whom they treat with kindness and some of whom they treat with casual
cruelty.
One of the brothers seems to be developing a conscience of sorts.
It has many flaws as a novel, but it is, nonetheless, one of those books you will
remember for a long time.
***
JEFF ENTWISTLE Web Manager
The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer
In 1938, Heinrich Harrer, along with fellow climbers Fritz Kasparek, Andreas
Heckmair and Ludwig Vorg, completed the first successful ascent of the North
face of the Eiger. In The White Spider, he describes this ascent along with all
significant attempts from the first disastrous attempt in 1932 to those of the
1960s. His style is matter of fact but gripping as he describes the challenges
faced by successive teams as they battle the brutal weather conditions and
physical demands of the Hinterstoisser Traverse, the Traverse of the Gods and
the White Spider.
ED BRAGG Teacher of Classics
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie King
After a long day at the chalk-face in late April, I was looking to escape into a
dramatized version of a good story on the BBC Iplayer. The gods were smiling
on me during my search as I soon came across the Beekeeper’s Apprentice by
Laurie King. It is a detective story set in First World War Britain and based
around two main characters: Miss Mary Russell a spiky English-American
Oxford undergraduate, who has lost her family in a car accident, and her
mentor and amateur beekeeper, Mr Sherlock Holmes. As the story progresses,
the pair deal with a number of cases, during which Holmes encourages and
trains Russell (as he of course calls her) in the craft of scientific detection.
Laurie King has created a gripping narrative that covers all manner of topics:
Oxford tutorials, female emancipation, and apiculture (the science of honey
bees). At the end of the radio series I had ordered the book itself and
devoured it in three days. By late June I had read eleven of the twelve books in
the Mary Russell series and I am currently saving the twelfth novel for the
summer holidays.
http://www.laurierking.com/books/mary-russell/the-beekeepers-apprentice1994
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Ready Player One, a science fiction novel by Ernest Cline, was recommended
to me by my middle brother who knows and shares my love for the games,
music, films and television that occurred in the 1980s. The story is set in 2044
dystopian America following a lengthy economic recession, which has left the
world scarce in essential resources. To escape their ugly reality, people all
round the world plug themselves into an multi-layer internet and gaming
utopia called OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive
Simulation). OASIS encompasses 10,000 planets each of which possess
adventures, games, discothèques and even schools for its gamers, all of which
are culturally based on the 1980s. The story involves the struggles and
successes of Wade Watts, an OASIS gamer who is trying to find three keys
(copper, jade and crystal) within this internet utopia, as the gamer who
uncovers these hidden keys will be rewarded by great wealth and power over
OASIS. During his quest Wade has to deal with various puzzles, allies, enemies
and even the murder of one of his fellow gamers. Cline has created a vivid
contrast between a credible dystopia and an addictive internet utopia which
plays on the sentimentality many have for the 1980s. The mention of Atari,
Dungeons and Dragons, Ladyhawke, The A-Team and Duran Duran will set the
hearts of 1980s lovers aflutter. Since its publication in 2011 Ready Player One
has become a cult classic and spawned a number of fan websites. It is little
wonder that its film rights have been scooped up by Warner Brothers.
NIGEL FOX Teacher of English
Sightlines and The Overhaul by Kathleen Jamie
Kathleen Jamie is a contemporary Scottish poet who recently published her
second book of essays - ‘Sightlines’ - as well as a book of verse - ‘The Overhaul’
- she calls a “mid-life” book. Both provide reflections on the natural world and
both subtly ask what is meant by “nature”. At present there are a lot of good
prose nature and topographical writers with finely honed writing styles (I
particularly enjoy Robert Macfarlane, Richard Mabey and Tim Robinson) who
bring a poetic dimension to their prose. Kathleen Jamie shows how clear
observations judiciously arranged are all you need for the most suggestive of
poetic effects.
Stag’s Leap by Sharon Olds
It might raise the wrong assumptions if you hear that this latest collection
from the American poet Sharon Olds – often bracketed with an earlier
generation of “confessional” poets such as Sylvia Plath – documents the
ending of a 30 year marriage. While undoubtedly forensic in its examination
of a torn relationship, there’s no morbidity. An elegiac mood prevails but
blessings are also counted. As a poet Sharon Olds shows how the most
stunning imagery can be fashioned out of the everyday. It wasn’t a surprise
that this collection won last year’s TS Eliot prize for poetry book of the year.
Horse Music by Matthew Sweeney
Matthew Sweeney is a contemporary Irish poet one of whose collections I
always seem to choose as holiday reading. There’s something about the
formal accessibility, the sliding lines of verse and the insinuation of
strangeness that suit being read in an unfamiliar landscape. In his latest
collection there’s a curious fascination with crows – “spirit creatures” – which
appear in any number of different circumstances. Other creatures also
populate the poems, including a memorable appearance of spectral horses
right out of the paintings of Jack B Yeats (WB’s brother), “that seem to exist in
the space between two worlds”.
Image: Mollie Cook (AS photography student 2013)