Plot Like Hardy, Write Like Maugham

2012 was to be the year that I dedicated my reading to independent authors, and whilst I tried (I really did), by the end of August I was feeling such a ‘lack of literature’ in my reading diet that I switched back to my ‘1001’ list.

I will keep those E-books that I have received on my reading list and will try to give them a fair go at some point.  The books that I did read made me realise what I enjoy about reading – it’s the plotting, language and characterisations.  With the exception of one or two indie books, these elements just did not figure.

If you could plot like Thomas Hardy, characterise like Stephen King and write like W. Somerset Maugham then you would be on to a winner.

I’m still undecided with regards to independent publishing, because of the two books I did enjoy.  Even a traditionally published author can write a dud, but generally they are well written duds.  It’s the quality of the writing that I am struggling with and this is why I have gone back to my original reading list.

A few years ago I used to be a member of a book club whose reading I felt to be a little too ‘high-brow’ for my humble tastes which didn’t venture much beyond Stephen King and Clive Barker.  But five years on I now feel that this is the level I am currently at.  I need to aim high to get the satisfaction I need – there’s still more Dickens, Dostoesvky, Tolstoy and Hardy novels out there I’ve yet to read and they will be my goals next year.

In the meantime I am really enjoying my current audio book the magnificent Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.  I have had to do a little background reading about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More, as well as events during the King's reign, to understand the character motivations and the period, but it is so worth it.  My physical read is All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.  The emotion evoked in this novel is so brutal that I can’t read it at night for fear it will pray on my mind whilst I am asleep. 

Now that’s what I call writing.

Until next time.

Maxine

Little Dorrit ~ Charles Dickens

Little Dorrit is rather overshadowed by the more popular of Dickens' novels, but it really is worth reading.  Broken up into two parts, the first being Poverty and the second being Riches, the whole premise centres on the theme of imprisonment (both physical and mental).

When Dickens was a young boy his father was sent to the Marshalsea debtor’s prison whilst the young Dickens went out to work in a blacking warehouse.  This very negative experience served as inspiration for this novel.  The character ‘Little Dorrit’ is Amy Dorrit, a slight young woman, who is born into the Marshalsea and has lived there all her life up to the point where the story first commences.  She looks after her father, an impoverished gentleman, and finds work sewing for people outside of the Marshalsea, whilst her siblings enjoy a better life living with their uncle.

When the Dorrit's receive a change of fortune Amy finds it very hard to live on the other side of the prison walls having known nothing else.  Mr Dorrit, known as the ‘Father of the Marshalsea’, in respect of the many years he has endured there, is a very arrogant and selfish man. He soon rejects all those who have helped him and befriended him in the past and takes his family abroad.  However, even distance does not give him piece of mind, for he lives in fear that his children might let something slip in society or that he will meet someone who is familiar with his previous circumstance.

There is another storyline which centres on the House of Clennam and a suspicious foreign criminal, but I found it rather messy and hard to follow.  The main character from this storyline is Arthur Clennam and he links the two stories having befriended the Dorrits during their imprisonment (Amy had done some sewing for his ailing but iron-willed mother).  Arthur also has dealings with the wonderfully named ‘Circumlocution Office’, which is a government department and a prime example of how things should not be done.  Dickens shows his satirical prowess to great advantage when writing about this office.

Flora Finching - BBC Adaptation

There are many other characters, some relevant and some just filler, but by far my favourite was the kind hearted Flora Finching.  Flora and Arthur had been sweethearts and when they meet again on Arthur's return from overseas she is much changed ie rather rotund and older for her age.  What I loved about her were the references she made about herself, and her weight, and the long dialogues which she delivers at a rate of knots whilst drifting off subject in a big way before finding her way back again. She had me laughing every time, I thought she was brilliant.

John Chivery - BBC Adaptation

Another good character was John Chivery who works at the Marshalsea.  He loves Amy Dorrit, his childhood friend, but is usurped by Arthur Clennam.  He comes up with various epitaphs for his own headstone relevant to whatever event has taken place in each of his scenes. Ie Here lie the mortal remains of John Chivery, never anything worth mentionin', who died of a broken heart, requested with his last breath that the word "Amy" be inscribed over his ashes which was accordingly directed to be done by his afflicted father.   I thought him very adorable and heartbreaking! 

The BBC have a wonderful adaptation available, you can see the trailer here:  Little Dorrit

I just can't get enough of Dickens at the moment, I was only going to read three this year but I've just lined up another two (Hard Times and Our Mutual Friend), but before I delve into them I'm going to read Jane Austen's Persuasion.

So, until we meet again, Happy Reading!

Maxine

Which Literary Character are You in Love With?

Sergeant George (Hugo Speer)

Are you like me? Do you find yourself attracted to a character in a book and then fantasise about them?  I've done it for years since having a crush on Julian in Enid Blyton's Famous Five story books.  You'd think I'd have grown out of it by now but, alas, I seem to be getting worse as I get older.

My latest 'crush' is Sergeant George from Dickens’ Bleak House.  Now, I really liked the character when I read the novel but I've just watched the BBC's mini series and, for me, Hugo Speer as Sergeant George - well what can I say? He's the one!! I'm absolutely besotted.

There have been others in the past like Nick Andros from Stephen King's The Stand (purely the fictional character not a re-imagined version for the screen), and Roland Deschain from King's Dark Tower Series (I can't even begin to imagine who could play him and do him justice).  When Nick died in The Stand I could barely read any more, I actually went into mourning for him. 

Murray Jacob (Richard Roxburgh)

There was Murray Jacob from Tim Winton's In The Winter Dark - a very moody character with a secret (though all the characters had a secret in that novel) – and the screen version played by Richard Roxburgh was not a bad choice at all. 

George Eliot's strong and dependable Adam Bede had me going there for a while and so did John Thornton from Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South. I did dabble with David Copperfield but he was too nice, and Heathcliffe but he was way too much Catherine's to ever hope that he could be mine; it got too hard so I had to let him go LOL!  On the whole I prefer the gallant 19^th Century character, a gentleman or a working man, they must be noble and kind, but not prissy (like Nicholas Nickley).

Sergeant George is perfect.  He is a strong and true friend, he may have crippling money problems but he is a good man with a big .. um .. heart, and those whiskers just set my heart fluttering!

So, who is your literary fantasy?

Maxine

Nicholas Nickleby ~ Charles Dickens

Yet another great read from Dickens, but I did have a few problems with it.  Although apparently a good example of 19th Century comedy, I didn't really find it very funny.  Mrs Nickleby was to provide the comic relief, and undoubtably back in 1838 this type of humour was appreciated, but I found her awfully annoying.

Nicholas is not immediately likeable; he's not as selfish as Philip 'Pip' Pirrip but he's not the true gentleman that David Copperfield grew up to be.  Nicholas has a good heart; however he is very hot headed and, when it comes to defending someone's honour, he does it with violence and unable to leave it with just one blow he must pummel that person to within an inch of his life!

There are a whole host of characters and towards the end I did get a bit forgetful of who one or two of them were. I guess Wackford Squeers, the beastly conniving school master was one of my favourites and the tragic Smike. 

There are plenty of cartoonish names, and the ever present benevolent gentleman, although in this case there are two (twins!), but you tend to expect this from Dickens.

The novel pretty much follows the Nickleby family after the death of Nicholas's father. The family are left destitute and so they travel to the big smoke to appeal to their wealthy relative Ralph Nickleby for assistance. Ralph is extremely unlikeable and he and Nicholas soon become sworn enemies which is the underlying theme of the whole novel. I loved the revelation of who Ralph Nickleby's son was, and the outcome of that revelation.

A very satisfying read all in all.

Maxine

Great Expectations ~ Charles Dickens

I felt the need to do another Dickens, which is how it should be considering it is Dickens’ 200th Birthday year.

Great Expectations is more of a plot driven novel compared to some of his other work, and not as long as David Copperfield or Bleak House.

I did the audio book (narrated by Simon Vance) and although I enjoyed it very much I found that I kept drawing comparisons to David Copperfield and I found that I didn’t like Pip half as much as David.  Pip is a blacksmith’s boy who is told he is to come into Great Expectations.  He immediately believes it to be from the dotty but wealthy Miss Haversham whom he visits.

As soon as Pip receives his good news he basically doesn’t take a second glance back at his home, his village or his friends.  I did not like that in his character at all, expecially when it means forgetting the lovely Joe Gargery his brother-in-law and father figure.  When Pip finally receives the news of his benefactor, it comes as a bit of a shock, and worse still it looks like he’s not going to come into his money after all, it is then that he finds out who his real friends are.

It’s a moral tale, and for a quick Dickens read it’s a good one.  But, for my money give me David Copperfield every time.

Maxine

2011 That Was the Year That Was

Well, we have another year just about done and dusted, and I'm sure a lot of people are with me in saying that this is a year we'd be happy to say goodbye to.  As I was packing my suitcase today in preparation for my Christmas holidays I was thinking about some of the books that I have read this year.  I can't count 2011 as my best year of reading as I didn't make my challenge of 75 novels, but if you consider that my list included Melmoth The Wanderer, Anna Karenina (nearly finished), several Charles Dickens novels and The Iliad (halfway through it), I'm pretty happy with my effort overall!

2011 was the year that I discovered Haruki Murakami, firstly with the strange Wind Up Bird Chronicle and then the beautiful Kafka on the Shore.  Dance, Dance, Dance was a little disappointing but I'm waiting in anticipation to next year when I'll be reading IQ84.  It's kind of funny but when I first joined a Book Club the genre I disliked the most was Magic Realism yet I find that the more I read, the more I enjoy it.  Murakami's novels are certainly unusual, but there's something about the characters that intrigue you; especially characters like Mr Nakata in Kafka on the Shore.  

2011 was the year that Earth Abides by George R Stewart was recommended to me by a fellow blogger after they read my review of Children of Men.  Isherwood Williams is a wonderful character, his love of the written word and his care of one of the last remaining libraries in his post apocalyptic world is very poignant in relation to today's e-book revolution.  The final chapter contains imagery that I don't think I will ever forget.  It's quite a novel, and probably one of the best in the genre.

2011 was the year that I became disillusioned with Michael Crawford after reading his autobiography Parcel Arrived Safely - Tied with String.  It taught me a lesson - if you admire someone then don't read about them!  He's way too full of himself and the fact that he had cheated on his wife totally finished me - I can't even watch him on TV now.  The realm of the autobiography is a dodgy one, in a way the author is re-inventing his own past for entertainment and that's not always such a good thing. There's something to be said for a little mystery when it comes to celebrities.

The highlight of 2011, for me, was meeting one of the best literary characters ever and his name was Owen Meany.  This diminutive little guy with the weasley face, big ears and high pitched voice was an unlikely hero.  But, hero he became and I just loved his outlook on life - he could not be put down, he had something to say and he said it loud and proud.  A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving is both funny, sad and a wonderfully put together novel. The ending is so unexpected, but the storyline had been building to just this the whole way through.  It's fantastic story telling and I totally recommend it.

So now I'm debating do I take a real book on my holiday or do I take my Kindle? I generally don't read much when I am away but I did recently pick up Cold Hand in Mine by the master of eerie stories Robert Aickman so that may make it's way into my hand luggage.

In 2012 I hope to be dabbling into a lot of Indie Horror, and have five more spots left on my list if anyone would like me to read and review their novel.  Details can be found here:

http://caffeineandchapters.blogspot.com/2011/11/are-you-on-my-2012-reading-list.html

I'll be off the air for around three weeks, so have a safe and happy Christmas everyone and I hope you find your next favourite novel in your Christmas stockings :)

All the best

Maxine