Through The Withering Storm by Leif Gregersen

I was drawn to read this personal account of life dealing with mental illness, because I live with a man who is also diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

The brain is an amazing organ and the mind is a powerful thing, so to find yourself losing touch with reality and having compulsions that you cannot control must be very frightening indeed.

Whilst reading Through the Withering Storm I could see many similarities to stories that my partner has told me – excessive speeding around local streets in a flash car (motorbike in my partner’s case), excessive drinking and smoking, late nights and overworking, being academic but not putting the work in or, if doing the work, not doing assignments until the eleventh hour leaving no time to finish it. In fact my partner is doing this just now with a certificate in safety course he is involved in.  10pm on a Sunday night he brings out his assignment that is due in on Monday morning!

Whilst I laugh at my partner’s stories about his past ‘antics’, reading them as written by Leif has sobered me up somewhat.  The behaviour pattern is weird, off kilter and sometimes frightening, and it is definitely not funny.  The fact that Leif was unable to get the help he so desperately needed at such a difficult age, and the lack of effective parental support, is heartbreaking.

After reading the book I spoke to my partner about it, and was a bit worried that he may be annoyed that I had read it, or he may see it as me picking on him, but instead he was very interested and even opened up a little more about his own battles with his parents, his drinking (he has been sober since I have known him), run ins with the local authorities and the medical staff where he was briefly institutionalised.

I think, therefore, that this book is a brave effort at showing those who do not suffer from mental illness that beneath the bizarre behaviour a human being is desperate for help.  They want to live a stable life, hold down a job and be loved.  But, this book can also be read by those that are suffering so they can see that they are not alone, that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that if they have been prescribed medication - KEEP ON TAKING IT!

I’d like to think that with current awareness of mental health issues treatment is not too far away once the illness has been recognised, and that patients are dealt with a bit more sympathetically than they were in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

I think Leif has done a good job in setting things down, although I feel a lot was also left unsaid.  I won’t go into language and grammar, as this is not what this book is about.  It is a personal account, end of story.  Sometimes Leif’s illness does creep into the writing which serves to illustrate that although he has taken charge of it, he will never be free from it.

I wish Leif all the best for his future, and good luck with this book.

Maxine

PS I forgot to mention that this book is also very heart warming in places.  The kindnesses that Leif was shown by total strangers brought tears to my eyes.

The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson

When I first picked up this book I was a bit wary of reading it.  I was worried that it would read a little like Bram Stoker’s The Lair of the White Worm, an awful piece of work that I am definitely not a fan of.  Stuck for something to read the other day I decided to give The House on the Borderland a go – and I couldn't put it down!

Published in 1908 it has obviously served as inspiration to H P Lovecraft and the like and if I had read this horror/sci-fi at the time of its publication I would have been terrified; as it was I was excited by it although the long sci-fi passages midway did serve to bore me a little.

The story is told by way of a manuscript which is found by two young men who are out camping and exploring in the English countryside.  They come upon a strange garden and ruins of an isolated house, and are unnerved by the unusual sounds in the area.  When they return to their camp they begin to read through the manuscript …… and as I was reading it, two images came to mind – the ending to the Italian horror movie The Beyond:

and scenes from the original movie The Time Machine:

It turns out that the original house was inextricably linked to another house beyond known space and time, located on an unending plain, and watched over by ancient evil beings.  The attacks on this house by swine like humanoids are also experienced on the earthbound house, which would have been a very original idea at the time.  During a respite from the attacks the despairing writer of the manuscript, along with his trusty dog Pepper, investigates a large pit in the garden and a cavernous cellar under the house, from which strange chuckling noises are heard......

Many of H P Lovecraft’s stories are written in the same vein as this one, with the story being told by the protagonist who is, in the last pages of the novel, frantically scratching away pen to paper telling us the story whilst the monster is at the door trying to break in!  But despite this device it really is quite a gripping tale - if just a little dated now.

Maxine

Nobody’s Slave ~ Tim Vicary

I really enjoyed this fictional account of survival and friendship between Tom (a young English sailor) and Madu (a young black slave) set amidst the back drop of Francis Drake’s third voyage to obtain slaves from Africa to sell to the Spaniards.

I feel that I have an affinity with Francis Drake as I originally hail from Plymouth in South Devon and, before his retirement from the Royal Navy, my late father was based at HMS Drake in Devonport and my wedding reception was held there too.  However, after reading this novel and Tim’s blog post Queen Elizabeth's Slave Trader my illusions about Francis Drake have been slightly shattered, though Tim does remind us that Drake was a man of his time and should not be judged too harshly.

Many of the events depicted in Nobody’s Slave actually happened, and I liked the way that we were shown the aspirations of Madu before his captivity, the manhood test required by his tribe and his desire to be accepted by his stern step father.  We see Madu as a human being with hopes and dreams and not as a commodity to be bought and sold.

Madu and Tom’s destinies become intertwined and their friendship, which begins on rocky ground, strengthens as fate reverses their fortunes.  This is a coming of age story for Madu and Tom, as well as a nautical adventure story, and a bit of a history lesson too.

The narration is straight forward and easy to read though (my only criticism) there were some scenes which would have benefitted from more descriptive writing to portray the intensity of the action taking place instead of keeping all the narration on an even keel.  But, overall, it was an enjoyable read.

Maxine

That Feeling I Love to Hate

Just lately I have been working my way through Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead graphic novels, and I mean they really are graphic!  Lots of blood, guts, gore, zombies and the merciless slaying of key characters.  It’s all hugely enjoyable (I often wonder if I need help) and, despite all the graphic images, it is currently my staple bed-time diet before sweet dreams.

But, enter one little factual book titled Zombies, A Field Guide to the Walking Dead by Dr Bob Curran and my bed time equilibrium has definitely been disturbed.  I barely read the first chapter last night when I felt that creeping feeling in the pit of my stomach that developed into a metallic prickling chill that ran up my spine to the back of my neck and down through my arms.  I love that feeling, but I hate that feeling!  I almost (but not quite) needed to sleep with the light on, however I retrieved my cat Tenshi from the lounge and placed her on my bed for security instead!  It was just a few paragraphs really, a story related by an Irishman about an event in his childhood, but it did the trick.

Quote: "As a boy, almost 80 years prior, he remembered his grandfather, who had been dead for less than a year, coming back to the house to sit at the fire and enjoy a pipe of tobacco, just as he had done in life.  This had occurred at Halloween, when the dead were traditionally expected to return".  

The old man further related that although his grandfather didn't (or couldn't) speak, he ate heartily with the family, and he remembered that he climbed onto the cadaver's knee and that the skin felt 'very cold'.  The cadaver was left to enjoy his pipe whilst the family went to bed and in the morning he had 'gone back to the tomb'.

Zombies, A Field Guide to the Walking Dead explores the origins of the zombie myth/legend/lore, whatever you like to call it, through the ages from Babylonian times to modern day Haiti, and whilst I don’t believe the Irishman’s tale (or perhaps I am afraid to), it certainly gave me that thrill which I have been searching for.

So, bring it on!

Maxine

Well Written Characters & The Walking Dead

I love a well written character, don’t you?  One that you continue to think about long after you have finished the novel. For me a few of those characters have been Nick Andros from The Stand (Stephen King), Roland Deschain from the Dark Tower Series (Stephen King), John Egan from Carry Me Down (M J Hyland), Tom Ripley from The Talented Mr Ripley (Patricia Highsmith) and Owen Meany from A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving) amongst a few others.

Just lately, though, it has been a TV character that has captured my imagination. I don’t watch much TV as I prefer to read, but occasionally I will borrow a TV series from the library and this month I borrowed The Walking Dead Season 2.  I enjoyed Season 1 a while back, I thought the zombies were great and overall it was a breath of fresh air compared to the banal rubbish we generally have to put up with on the box.  In Season 1 we were just getting acquainted with the start of the ‘zombie apocalypse’, but one character stood out for me: the ‘redneck’ Daryl Dixon.  Season 2 has brought Daryl to the fore, he is the best written character in the series and he is portrayed to perfection by Norman Reedus. Daryl is a hunter and tracker, he’s an angry and emotionally damaged man, but he is true and honourable and has the skills required to survive.  He’s also damned attractive when he's covered in blood and sweat, carrying that crossbow and just getting the job of zombie killing done; and I know that I’m not the only one who’s currently drooling over him judging by his fan base!

But you can’t talk about Daryl without mentioning his delightful older brother Merle.  A nasty piece of racist shit, Merle is a character you will love to hate because he is played so well by the brilliant Michael Rooker.  I’ve enjoyed Rooker’s work for quite some time and you can see that he revels in playing this charmer and the fans definitely love watching the rivalry between the two brothers.  Merle is a character from the graphic novels, yet Daryl is not, and I find it interesting that Daryl is the most rounded of the characters in the TV series to date.

I haven’t read the graphic novels yet nor watched Season 3, though I intend to, and  I admit it's not always the best writing, plotting or dialogue -  you do find yourself yelling at the characters for some of the dumb things they do and the bad decisions they make.  But it is compulsive viewing - the zombie make up is fantastic, and I have found that there are some really haunting images that actually touch me.  Season 1, Episode 1, when Rick (played by Andrew Lincoln) comes across a female zombie head and torso dragging itself across a park, he watches it for a while and with great sorrow he says something like “I’m so sorry this happened to you”, and that for me was a really poignant moment.  Season 2, Episode 10 (“18 Miles Out”), when Shane (played by Jon Bernthal) and Rick take a minor character away from the farm where they have holed up we are given the image of a lone zombie in a suit slowly making its way through a golden field.  After the guys have had their punch up over Rick’s wife and killed a few zombies they drive back to the farm and we are shown the image of Shane, battered and bruised and lost in thought, watching that same zombie still making its way through the field.  The feeling I got was of utter loneliness – for Shane, for the zombie and for the future of mankind – it really was very well done. 

 It’s strange to feel passionate about zombie fiction, when I embrace 19^th Century Literature, but I hope that the Walking Dead continues to fire my imagination.  The writers are merciless when it comes to axing a character I've noticed, so I hope that Daryl Dixon’s character continues in the series because he’s the reason why I will continue to watch it.

Maxine

Harbour ~ John Ajvide Lindqvist

I don’t even know how to begin to review this novel because, for me, it was a complete mess of a story.

Set in Sweden, the basic premise is that the protagonist Anders and his wife take their daughter Maja out across the ice to visit a lighthouse where she inexplicably disappears.  After a period of mourning Anders returns to the family home on the island of Domarö to find some answers, and a series of bizarre and deadly events occur. 

One of the sub stories relates to Ander’s Grandmother Anna-Greta and her long term partner Simon.  I quite liked the character of Simon, an elderly magician, and his bizarre pact with an insect known as ‘Spiritus’ that enables him to manipulate water.  Anna-Greta and a few other islanders hide a centuries old secret which relates to the disappearance of Maja and over time all is revealed.  However, Lindqvist spends too much time on the story of Anna-Greta’s relationship with Simon to the point that it just draws the novel out to be much longer than it needs to be.

The theme of the evil sea, and the ancient steps leading down into the ocean brought to mind Lovecraft’s ‘Old Ones’, but really in the end I couldn’t make sense of the ‘why’ of what was happening to the islanders.  The novel just jumped all over the place and half the time I didn’t know if I was reading about Anders or about Simon, or if it was the past or the present, because there were too many back stories. 

There were some horror elements that did work, Björn and Henrik were two creepy characters and the writing was ok (although it is a translated novel) and whilst I understood that Anders was mourning the loss of his child, I found his voice to be too whining, and I wanted him to pull himself together rather than hitting the bottle all the time; I couldn’t find the sympathy for him that I found for some of the characters in Handling the Undead.

This is my second Lindqvist novel and I think Handling the Undead is much better although I was disappointed with that one too.  I obviously need to read Let the Right One In for which the author is really well known.

Maxine

The Bell ~ Iris Murdoch

This is my third Iris Murdoch read.  I thoroughly enjoyed the satirical A Severed Head and the hilarious The Sea, The Sea, so when I picked up The Bell and read the blurb I was expecting a comedy of sorts set in a religious community.  What I got, however, was a totally different kind of read with The Bell being more about dysfunctional people, flawed relationships and torn emotions. 

The novel is set in Gloucestershire at Imber Abbey, where a small lay Anglican community live and work simply.  The story opens with Dora Greenfield, a wayward mischievous woman who is returning to her marriage after an affair.  Dora’s husband Paul, an older man, loves her but no longer respects her and though she is frightened of him and his bullying ways she is more afraid of him when they are apart.  Paul is conducting research at Imber Abbey and when Dora arrives she feels like a fish out of water as whatever she does seems to contradict with what the community is about.

The novel then switches focus to the head of the community, and owner of the Imber Community house, Michael Meade.  Originally a teacher, he once had dreams of becoming a priest but these were destroyed by his affection for a boy called Nick Fawley a student at the school where he taught, and who told all to the head of the school to Michael’s shame.

The boy becomes a troubled man; a raging alcoholic who constantly threatens suicide, and who comes to stay at the lodge located across the lake from the Imber Community house.  Nick’s twin sister Catherine is a revered member of the community as she is preparing to enter the Abby as a nun (though this appears to be against her will) and it is only for this reason that Nick and his dog Murphy are tolerated – at a distance.  A situation that is torturous for Michael.

Another main character in the novel is a student called Toby Gashe who has come for a stay at Imber before going to Oxford. Michael, during a lapse of self control, kisses Toby briefly on the lips.  The story then follows Michael’s mental torment as he questions whether he has damaged Toby in the same way that he believes he has damaged Nick.  Toby is confused and upset at first but he holds no animosity towards Michael as he genuinely likes him, but to prove to himself that he is not ‘that way inclined’ he pursues Dora.

All of this takes place during an important time at Imber – the community is awaiting the delivery of a new bell.  The old bell had a legend associated with it, and the telling of it captivates Dora’s imagination so when Toby informs Dora that whilst diving in the lake he believes he has found a large bell Dora hatches a plan.  She and Toby will raise the old bell from the lake and exchange it for the new bell thereby creating a ‘miracle’ at the unveiling.  This is a major task, but with Toby’s engineering knowledge and the help of a tractor they almost succeed……..

Dora’s character was at first charming and fun, but as the novel reaches its climax you realise that yes, one of the characters was correct when they called her a ‘bitch’.  She is very self centred, using her charms only to her own advantage, and has no regard whatsoever on how the ‘miracle’ may effect those of the community.

My favourite characterisation was that of Michael Meade and the sensitive way that Murdoch dealt with his homosexuality. Consider, this novel was written in 1958 when homosexuals were whispered about, and called ‘pansies’ or ‘queers’.  Murdoch does not write of Michaels feelings towards Nick or Toby as dirty or twisted but just as a different kind of love.  It was beautifully handled.

There is something mystical about the whole novel; it has a certain haunting atmosphere about it, the dysfunctional community members, Michael’s recurring nightmare, and the legend of that ominous bell lurking in the background.  A great read indeed.

Maxine