Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it -

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The quote is P.J. O'Rourke.

It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it. ~Oscar Wilde

A book must be an ice-axe to break the seas frozen inside our soul. ~Franz Kafka

Medicine for the soul. ~Inscription over the door of the Library at Thebes

It's a long time since I've had time to read a big batch of books so I have some classics to get out of the way....

1. The man who mistook his wife for a hat - Oliver Sacks
2. The man in the high castle - Philip K. Dick
3. One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenitsyn
4. Cry the beloved country - Alan Paton
5. The Plague - Albert Camus

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I was sick recently so I deviated from my list and picked up 'When we were Orphans' By Kazuo Ishiguro as it looked like an easy read.A year ago I read 'Never let me go' and liked it so I expected orphans to be in a similar vein. It was un-enthralling and I couldn't wait to fling it down. The crux of the book was the narrators childhood memories and how he fitted small incidents together to form a picture of what happened to lost loved ones. The big reveal at the ending is disappointing, minor incidents and characters are pushed to the fore-front ad nauseum.

One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenitsyn

I cannot recommend this book more especially the vintage classic translation as it provides a comprehensive introduction and notes. It is an easy read and a simple story yet it reveals the machinations of the Stalinist regime : the various departments that approve documents, the 'crimes' that the prisoners have supposedly committed and the punishing reality of life in a Gulag.

Follow up reading : If this is a man / The Truce -Primo Levi

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'The man in the high castle' -Philip K. Dick

I've read 'A scanner darkly', ' Do androids dream of electric sheep?' and volume four of his collected stories. I also attempted to read 'valis' - "Early in 1974 Dick felt a "pink beam" flashing through his head, a religious experience--or mild stroke--which inspired him to write his vast theological "Exegesis". In Valis the pink beam illuminates Dick's mentally unstable friend Horselover Fat; Philip is Greek for lover of horses and Dick is German for fat"

'The man in the high castle' - I prefer his stories that are more far flung into the realm of science fiction. There is a nod to Philip's love of zen buddhism as the characters are constantly consulting the i -ching. I can only assume that the i-ching is symbolizing the unstable period of time after the war was over. The fantastic premise of the victory of the 'axis of evil' over the allies carries the book although the plot is somewhat disappointing. The man in the high castle is a reclusive author of a book detailing a reality of world war II similar to our own creating some clever dialogue as to whether a book like Philip K. Dicks is science- fiction or just fiction. I'd recommend this to a Philip K. Dick fan.

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As a little pre-amble I've just finished number 6. 'Junky' by S. Burroughs. It reads like a movie script, describing the lifestyle of a heroin addict and the lowlife characters he meets on his journey which takes the reader from New York to Texas to New Orleans, a farm in the Rio Grande Valley and finally to Mexico inorder to escape an upcoming court case and a to enjoy a more liberal lifestyle away from the feds. This is a book for beat-generation fans. Having read James Frey "A million little pieces" (although I enjoyed it) Oprah Winfrey would never pick up "Junky" as the narrator has no redemptive qualities. There's a glossary at the back that explains the junky lingo and jive talk such as 'croaker'- doctor and 'pigeon'- police informer. If you're looking for a more light hearted glance at addiction read "Dry" by Augusten Burroughs one of the funniest books I've ever read.

He asked the question they all ask. "Why do you feel that you need narcotics , Mr. Lee?"

When you hear this question you can be sure that the man who asks it knows nothing about junk.

"I need it to get out of bed in the morning, to shave and eat breakfast".

"I mean psychically".

I shrugged. Might as well give him his diagnosis so he will go. "It's a good kick".

Junk is not a "good kick". The point of junk to a user is that it forms the habit. No one knows what junk is until he is junk sick.

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Two short pieces of literature for whiling away a few hours in a cafe...

7. Bonjour Tritesse -Francoise Sagan.

This is a short book concerning causation, youth and its folly.Cecile a teenage French girl is holidaying on the French Riviera with her over indulgent playboy father. Her character is initially unconscionable, manipulative and spoilt. When faced with the possibility of having to give up a lassez-faire existence for a more concrete stable one she concocts an unwittingly terrible plan. Bonjour Tritesse was published in 1954, at the time Francoise was only 18. It's strange to think she failed her exams at the Sorbonne and thus never graduated. It should be some comfort to anyone whose ever failed an exam (I have!) that Jean Paul Sartre also failed a first year exam, although he retook it and was first in his class (he said that his first paper was far too original).

8. No Exit - Jean Paul Sartre

'No Exit' is an essential existentialist play. If you ever wanted to understand truly what Sartre meant when he penned the words "HELL IS--OTHER PEOPLE!" then all will be revealed. What makes this play great is that the characters are horrified to be defined by their past actions and really get into each others heads.

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Cry, The Beloved Country - Alan Paton

I'm not sure I would recommend this book for the simple fact that I've read a lot of books in a similar vein i.e 'deep south' struggles of black against white in America and although I understand the importance of books such as 'Uncle Toms Cabin' I think I've read enough in this genre. "To kill a Mockingbird " would be a better choice.

This is a somewhat simple story set in South Africa of a pastor who travels to Johannesburg in search of his lost son. I did think it would be a kind of Odyssey of the shanty towns of Johannesburg and along the way he would meet colorful characters but it didn't turn out that way. The search drives the narrative but it is framed by such incidents of the bus strike and the mine strikes of the 1950's.

"I have one great fear in my heart, that one day when they turn to loving they will find we are turned to hating."

It's a very slow going read and the style is simple yet it is a poignant and moving Christian tale.

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9. Botchan (Master Darling) by Natsume Soseki

I couldn't be bothered waiting for the library to get it, you can find it here, Project Gutenberg- http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/8868

The translation was revised in 1919 so there are certain antiquated terms such as "mollycoddler", "old man" etc but there aren't many of these phrases and I found it didn't detract from the humour or sarcastic bite of the tale.

Botchan is one of Soseki's lighter books and appears to be his most popular in Japan. Although it was written in 1904 it's still has a very modern feel, reminiscent of the disaffected office worker blogger who comes home after a hard days slog and nails us with his biting wit and interesting co-worker nicknames such as "Daysleeper" or "Mr. Combover" etc....


The story appears to be slightly semi-autobiographical (Soseki is a pen name meaning 'stubborn' in idiomatic chinese) which is interesting as our protagonist is quite set in his ways and morals. Sōseki began teaching at Matsuyama Middle School in Shikoku, in 1895, which is the setting of the book. The protagonist who is described as 'Straight like a bamboo stick' and 'obstinate' is an impulsive, cynical young man from Tokyo who moves to the provinces to teach mathematics in a school of colourful co-workers some of whom are schemers.

I really enjoyed Botchan, I'll be reading alot more Japanese literature in the future.

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10. 'The Master and Margarita' Mikhail Bulgakov

It's a political allegory and satire in which biblical story is inter-mixed with Stalinist bureaucracy and corruption . (For example characters have foreign currency planted on them and property unceremoniously removed which was probably common practice at the time.) The devil arrives in Moscow with a small retinue of misfits and proceeds to wreak havoc. The character of the 'Master' is a flailing author who is struggling to write a book about Pontius Pilate - this thread of the story is the sub-plot and we are transported to Jerusalem throughout the book.

I was keen to read this as it was recommended to me by a work colleague who's opinion on literature I respect, another bookish friend of mine didn't bother finishing it.:o 'The Master and Margarita' is a fantastical flight of fancy and uniquely wondrous, and although I enjoyed parts especially the 'grand ball' and the character of Behemoth the black cat, I just couldn't get into it. There are so many different strands that it's difficult to maintain an overall picture of where the plot is leading the characters. It is lauded as a classic, just not to my taste.

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11. "Snow Country" - Yasunari Kawabata

"Snow Country" is a subtle, poetic, love story set in the remote northern mountains of Honshu. A rich aimless dilettante called Shimamura arrives in the village from Tokyo, he procures the services of Komako a reluctant geisha who is seeking a better life.

Kawabata's style is demonstrative of classical Japanese prose writing. This style places emphasis on lyricism, mood and reflection rather than on plot and character development. The snow country landscape is intense, shadowy, bleak, enclosed, creates other worldliness and mirrors the characters unfulfilled passions. There are probably greater parallels between the landscape and the characters than can ever be picked up in one reading. There are some amazing lines of poetic prose-

"As he caught his footing, his head fell back, and the Milky Way flowed down inside him with a roar".

The way to read this novel is to savour each line, mood is more important than verbal communication. The way the main characters are related to the villagers is not important. Abandon expectations of plot.

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12. "Kokoro" - Natsume Soseki

'Botchan' is very different to Sosekis' body of work so I wanted to read something more indicative of what he more commonly wrote.

The 18th century politician Edmund Burke commented -
"Guilt was never a rational thing; it distorts all the faculties of the human mind, it perverts them, it leaves a man no longer in the free use of his reason, it puts him into confusion".

The subject of "Kokoro" is guilt and how a mans life was changed due to his failure to reconcile the type of person that he ought to have been at a certain time in his life and the course of his actions at that time.

A young impressionable student is drawn to an old man known to us in the narrative as 'sensei' (master/teacher). The student is intrigued by the mans past, aloofness and his way of life (one of solitude and reflection). Sensei carries the weight of an event that changed his life. The truth of which neither his wife or the student can coax from him. In time the old man grows to trust the young student and in the final part of the book reveals his past.The book is broken into three sections, "Sensei and I," "My Parents and I," and "Sensei and His Testament."

The reader is wound on a spring for most of the book and that is what makes the ending so effecting. We are also given some insight into the japanese nature of honor and self examination.

I would recommend 'Botchan' or 'Kokoro'.

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13. "We" Yevgeny Zamyatin

'We' inspired Aldous Huxleys' "A Brave New World" and George Orwells' "1984". The version I read was an English translation published in Russia.

The story is related through the diary entries of a man known by the number D-503. We are introduced to an intensely regulated society where everyone dresses the same, attends political rallies and sex is scheduled by the police state. D-503 is a mathematician and also the director of the building of a vessel called "integral" which is of great importance to the city state as it will allow them to expand their empire. (Zamyatin worked for a period in the ship building industry). D-503 relates the world to us in mathematical terms and it is this perspective that is broken down when he becomes infatuated with the beautiful revolutionary I-330 who smokes drinks and enjoys sex.

The mathematical style means that sometimes the text is convoluted and events don't follow. However there are some very poetic lines. The citizens live in see through glass flats and D-503 while standing on a hill, the light fading describes them as ice cubes bobbing up and down.

If you have read "1984" should you read this? The answer is no. However if you are a completest, yes.

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14. 'A month in the country' J.L.Carr

Another great book for whiling away a few hours in a cafe or airport. Our narrator Tom Birkin, a war survivor, has arrived in the northern village of Oxgodby having been commissioned to uncover a medieval mural on the wall of the chapel. As he reveals the hidden painting so too are the lives of the people of Oxgodby revealed. (That's not to say that it is a sinister tale). The painting is a visual metaphor of sorts. The changing seasons, landscape, villagers restore a lost faith in Birkin removed by the war.

In the next field lives Moon also a war veteran who has been commissioned to find a grave. He and Tom build a friendship. There's a touching passage where Moon affords the respect that has been taken from him.

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15. 'Cash : The Autobiography of Johnny Cash' -Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr

It's an understatement to say that Johnny Cash had a well lived in life. He was a mad dog, music star, sun of a gun but also a down to earth, spiritual, deep thinker.

The first part of the book gives us a brief introduction, Cash is in Jamaica writing the start of the book, he then starts the story proper, detailing his early life growing up on his fathers farm picking cotton in the fields, a bereavement that changed his life and his time in Germany with the U.S airforce intercepting Russian communications. His return to America, his marriage to Vivian the beginnings of his career, signing to sun records.

Cry Cry Cry- Johnny Cashs' first single http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGTh-m21jKo

Get a Rhythm- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl0shYecWAc

The next part details his friendships, June Carter Cash, life on the road, his tear away existence, drug abuse. The final part- his recovery, family matters, spiritual life.

San Quentin Prison live Folsom Prison Blues -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Ts4M3irWM

There are many many interesting anecdotes and stories. He cheated death more times than I could count. He knew and met some of the rockabilly, folk, rock and roll, country leading lights- Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Kris Kristoffersen, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Elvis, Carl Perkins to name but a few. One of my favourite stories is about the genesis of the song 'Blue Suede Shoes' written by Carl Perkins not! Elvis.

Blue Suede Shoes -Carl Perkins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is4lWYGM6rM The king of rockabilly.

My favourite passage is about what country music truly is, so many people nowadays write off country music and think its about rodeos, line dancing, silly hats the Dixie Chicks, Garth Brooks... it's so much more and it spawned alot of genres that people who profess to hate country music love- Folk, blue grass, rockabilly, rock and roll, indie rock, pop. It's relevant.

"when music people today, performers and fans alike, talk about being 'country', they don't mean they know or even care about the land and the life it sustains and regulates. They're talking more about choices - a way to look, a group to belong to, a kind of music to call their own. Which begs the question: Is there anything behind the symbols of modern 'country', or are the symbols themselves the whole story? Are the hats, the boots, the pickup trucks, and the honky-tonking poses all that's left of a disintegrating culture? Back in Arkansas, a way of life produced a certain kind of music. Does a certain kind of music now produce a way of life? Maybe that's okay. I don't know."

The only criticism I have read is that he doesn't settle old scores, why should he? He has a lot to be grateful for, and states that the book is a way of complimenting people he hasn't really had the chance to compliment over the years.The only criticism I can give is that there is no index so I had to note down all the musicians, songs he mentioned for further listening purposes.

Johnny Cash and U2 The Wanderer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3YFmpSFJ40

How many musicians do you know produce great songs in old age and remain relevant?

Johnny Cash- Empire of Dirt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNt6hHYlmR0

The movie is really just the tip of the iceberg. Recommended to all music fans.

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'The man who mistook his wife for a hat' - Oliver Sacks

Top tip for anyone starting a reading log, don't make a list of books to read at the start of your log because you will get distracted by the shiny covers in the book shop.

I wanted to do a cognitive science module at university but I didn't have enough credits left over however I noticed that this was the main course text so I bought it.

'The man who mistook his wife for a hat' is a series of unusual case studies detailing Dr. Sacks interaction with patients who have different types of neurological diseases. What makes these case studies very readable is that Dr. Sacks is also a 'naturalist' and treats the patients as individuals, he employs a lot of words his patients use to describe their situations and he also uses a lot of literary quotes so the medical jargon does not stifle the reader, in any case a lot of terms used are in the dictionary. He admits where the medical system and the unbending hospital environments have let the patients down sometimes there is only so much he can do. What makes these patients so fascinating is the way they adapt to a disease that becomes part of their identity, it's a true testament to the strength of humans to evolve and endure.

My favourite section is the section entitled 'Excesses' it's strange to think that tics is a behaviour that we all carry out but not necessarily to the extent that we are described as 'tourettic'. Recommended.

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16. 'The Library at Night'- Alberto Manguel

What we have here is a number of essays largely un-systematically presented. Albertos' starting point is his home in the Poitou-Charentes region of France where he has had a library constructed to house his 30,000 strong book collection. He sits alone at night reading while the world sleeps outside and the books 'talk to each other' making literary connections.

Just some of the topics that are presented- The library of Alexandria its formation and destruction, a short history of book classification methods (you can't help but think about your own collection, in my case my paultry 3 shelves), Library architecture- the construction of Michaelangelos Laurentian library outside Florence, the founding of our public library system by the Scottish millionaire Andrew Carnegie (My local library is a Carnegie, there are also Carnegie libraries as far away as the Seychelles and Fiji!), the destruction of books the most interesting story concerning the destruction of the Aztec libraries. Some brief anecdotes on the personal libraries of Charles Dickens, Jorge Luis Borges, Adolf Hitler, Rudyard Kipling to name a few, libraries of the mind (this topic I was a little dubious about). There are many more wonderful illustrations included both pictoral and literary.

This is a superb 'book about books', writen by a scholar who has rare knowledge and a gift for making connections. This is one book that I will definitely be revisiting.

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17. 'Embers' - Sandor Marai

Published in 1942 in Hungary 'Embers' has only been translated into English in the last few years. Two old men who once shared a strong friendship meet after 41 years in an old castle near Vienna to discuss the dark incident that parted them.

The first part briefly details the history of their meeting in childhood their path into early adulthood and an exposition of their characters. The second part is the carefully planned meeting in the castle. The general takes on the role of the interlocutor but what enfolds is more a monologue on the nature of friendship, betrayal and the need for confirmation of certain facts.

On the back cover Sandor Marai has been stylistically likened to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I can see why this comparison has been made but honestly Gabriel Garcia Marquez' prose is by far the more superior.

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18. 'The Merchant of Venice'- William Shakespeare-

The is deemed to be a 'problem' play, an anti-semitic work. Many historians hold that the play is not historically correct, (from the introduction "Venetian Jews were confined to a ghetto and subjected to many humiliating restrictions. Numerous occupations were denied them, as they were prevented from infringing the Christian guild's monopoly of manufactue." "Behind these regulations... there probably lay the desire to deny the Jews the satisfaction of creative work, and to thrust them into a position in which they appeared to be social parasites- dealers, middle men and moneylenders, never producers. Anti - semitism itself foists upon the Jews the characteristics it later ascribes to their innate depravity". So was Shakespeare attempting to cast Jews in an unflattering light? I don't think so, as all works of lasting value are reproduced, re-edited and re-read, they take on different forms and meanings, the principle plot of the "The Merchant of Venice' is derived from folk tales, for example the story of the suitors and the three caskets is a tale that has been worked into the play.

Shylock is a vile, avaricious, plotting, vengeful character but he does evoke some sympathy. He is continually taunted by the Christians. He is a widower and his only child his daughter has abandoned him. There is inherent sympathy for his plight when he responds to one of Antonios' friends who is querying his reasons for demanding the gruesome pound of flesh-

"I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes; hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer that a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that"

There is comedy in the form of Shylock's servant Lancelet Gobbo and there is plenty of cross dressing. The women in the play have a central role (a great feminist study).

The Wordsworth edition is cheap and cheerful and has an informative introduction.

Portia- "This night methinks is but the daylight sick".

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19. 'Some Prefer Nettles' - Junichiro Tanizaki

This story concerns a timeless theme- the cold, slow dissolution of an empty marriage. The story is told by (the husband) Kaname who has accepted the state of affairs and pushed his wife into the arms of a lover via an informal arrangement that he is considering making formal. The story is a at once about marital conflict but also a cultural conflict between the Osakan tradition and the emerging modern Tokyo. There are obvious parallels with the authors own life, written two years before Junchiros' own divorce, his wife became the wife of a Japanese novelist Sato Haruo by a prior arrangement. The description of the traditional Japanese puppet theatre is interesting but ultimately there wasn't enough descriptive luminessence to make me want to turn the pages.

Maybe it's my way of thinking that has hampered my full appreciation of this novella? " The modern writer seems to me to be too kind to his reader". " We Japanese scorn bold fact, and we consider it good form to keep a thin sheet of paper between the fact or the object and the words that give expression to it". - Junichiro Tanizaki. The same can be said of the other Japanese literature that I have read.

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20. 'Ubik'- Philip K. Dick

After a bomb blast the main characters in Ubik find that they inhabit a reality which is disintegrating with the dispersal of their life-forces. As always there are elements of P.K.D's novels that are informed by his own biography namely his fondness for amphetamines, his psychosomatic conditions and his belief in the Gnostic religion.

Gnosticism teaches that our world exists as an illusion, and contends that it was created by a lesser diety. In Ubik there is a fundamental split between the mundane world and the spiritual world. The challenge for the characters is to find a means to bridge the two. On a deeper level PKD is exploring concepts of reality, memory, identity and ‘what it is to be human?’

Dick is not regurgitating ancient ideas but interpreting these ideas and applying them to modern situations and anxieties. Ubik is not as enjoyable as ‘A Scanner Darkly’ or ‘Do androids dream of electric sheep?’ but it is highly readable and there are some amusing exchanges between Joe Chip his house hold appliances (!) If you enjoy abstract thought, then Philip K. Dick is worth a look.

This is a good article examining the significance of ‘The Man in the High Castle’. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/feb/05/philip-k-dick-high-castle-hugo

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21. The Picture of Dorian Gray -Oscar Wilde

I read this for the 'one city, one book' initiative. Wilde settled in London in 1878 and published Dorian Gray in 1891. In short it's a dark parable of a corrupt young narcissist. Wilde is as ever the master of paradox and witty epigrams. Lord Henry Wotton with his quick silver intellect delivers many of the witty, impressive speeches. One of my favourite parts is the sparring between Lord Henry and the Duchess of Monmouth. He adapted some of the lines from this tete a tete for 'A Woman of No Importance' (I think). It's a book of many themes; art reflecting life, the stranger within, moral duty versus love of pleasure, the nature of the soul. Wilde is also poking fun at the Victorian novel and it's black and white moralising. Excellent, essential reading.


22. The Book of Evidence- John Banville

Freddie Montgomery has stolen a Dutch master painting and killed the maid who witnessed the robbery. Freddie admits his crimes and realises that he had the will to commit them and seems to hope that by recounting the events he will discover why. I warmed towards Freddie and his prevaricating ways (the vivid and grim murder event turning me off briefly). The Book of Evidence contains one of the best descriptions of a hangover that I have ever read. Banville is a foremost English prose stylist and a real writers' writer. An excellent page turning read!

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23. 'A Sentimental Education' - Gustave Flaubert

While on his way to Paris to study law Frederic Moreau becomes infatuated with the enigmatic Madame Arnoux. Thus begins the greatest unrequited love affair of 19th century literature.

Flaubert like Frederic lived in Paris for many years, intermittently pretending to be a law student and like Fred he found himself being drawn into bohemian Parisian culture. The novel is informed by Flauberts first hand experiences of salon living, he acquired social connections at the court of the Emperor Napoleon III, attended receptions and dined with princes and princesses.

The pages are peppered with historical references but don't be put off the Penguin edition has a very helpful appendix. Frederic is an anti hero, a side line witness who Flaubert uses to cast a cynical eye over the turbulent political times, ('the novel initially didn’t sell as it was too strange and discouraging for a nation of readers who had just endured military defeat and occupation at the hands of Bismark’s Prussia'- from the intro.)

I now know what critics mean when they write about the Flaubertian ‘mot juste’. The writing is so generous and masterful I was transported to 19th century Paris. It’s one of Franz Kafkas favourite books and now one of mine.

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24. 'South of the Border, West of the Sun' - Haruki Murakami.

This reads like the outline notes for 'Norwegian Wood'. Like N.W. the main character is engaged in an existential search, also there is an underlying anti-capitalism theme. The antidote to capitalism seems to be renunciation and retreating to nature (preferably spartan glacial landscapes). Individuals are connected and then isolated to gain new or enhance old perspectives.

There is a partial dream world reality which is more pronounced towards the end. The ending could be interpreted in a few different ways and gave me plenty to think about when I put it down. Compelling and cinematic. Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' is apparently in part informed by one of Murakamis' books 'Hard-boiled Wonderland and the end of the World'.

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25. 'A Single Man' Christopher Isherwood.

George a British English lit professor is adjusting to life after the loss of his partner Jim. We follow him throughout one day as he gets up for work (the opening paragraph is genial) and goes about his day attending the college where he works, meeting friends and acquaintances around L.A. You ache for George and his loss but the book isn't overly sentimental, memories of Jim pop up throughout the day but these memories are underlying and not all encompassing. Sometimes the character addresses himself in the third person, this furthers the idea of the 'chauffeur' the idea that George is on automatic pilot.

This is a thoughtful novella it has a lot of great elements- keen observations, dry english wit. The nature of hate/ fear of the foreigner of difference, is touched on, also the importance of the past. Young people only want to live in the present. I liked the character of George, he is a bit of an old rogue really, fatalistic, principled, warm, self deprecating, resigned to the ebb and flow of life. Short but good.

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26. 'Fahrenheit 451'- Ray Bradbury

It took me around 40 pages to get into it but it was worth it. Parts of the book seemed a little rushed, but there are some great passages. The central character Guy Montag (what a great name!) is a fireman whos job is to burn hidden stashes of books, like Zamyatins' 'We' he meets an 'Eve' character who gives him the forbidden knowledge so to speak and he starts to question his occupation. A few elements reminded me of Philip K. Dicks' writing, the unmitigated nature of advertising in public and private spaces, the momentum reminded me of 'Minority Report'. A few thoughts on theme- In Fahrenheit the purpose of the media is to keep people distracted and docile so they don't rebel, TV rots your brains kids. As well as condemning censorship, media control, Bradbury seems to be saying that the loss of freedom is as much the fault of the private individual as the interfering government. Interesting, I think this would be a good addition to the department of educations leaving certificate book list.

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27. Père Goriot(Old Goriot) - Honore de Balzac

A young student, Eugene, arrives in Paris from the provinces to take up a place in law school. Given that he is strapped for cash he settles in Madame Vauquer's boarding house populated by colourful Parisians with checkered back stories. It's not long before he is beguiled by Parisien societe and seizes the opportunity to remake the acquaintance of a wealthy distant cousin Madame de Beauseant. He also be-friends a fellow border lonely Old Goriot a man who made his fortune as a vermicelli maker and dotes unhappily on his two ungrateful daughters. Eugene finds it increasingly difficult to reconcile the two worlds, glamorous high society and the dingy degradation of the boarding house. This is a satirical study of high society, ambition, love, greed, and sacrifice. There are many plot threads but it is a wholly uncomplicated story.

Balzac is known as the father of the French realist novel. He started writing novels to pay off his debtors. He had some strange writing habits- he slept for about four hours at night, he would get up at midnight,don a monk's robe of white cashmere and work ceaselessly into the night while drinking copious amounts of coffee. When dawn came he stopped writing and imitating Napoleon he lay in a hot bath for an hour, at nine messengers arrived from the printers and he would begin editing his script.

Even though Balzacs' plots are superior I much prefer Flauberts' writing.

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28. 'Out Stealing Horses'- Per Petterson

'Out Stealing Horses' won a lot of literary prizes including the Dublin Impac literary award. John Banville wrote a review of the novel describing it as "A subtle, richly wrought, and tough-minded novel, one that Knut Hamsun himself would not have spurned." Trond a 60 year old man has pensioned off and has found a sanctuary of sorts in a somewhat isolated wood cabin in Norway. The narrator switches between the present and the past his starting point age 15 the time at which he stayed in a log cabin in the wilderness with his father. His father is a big hero in his life for reasons that become obvious. It is also about the people who live in the surrounding areas notably his friend Jon and his family and the tragedy that touches their lives. The prose is very natural, clear, pointed. There are some beautiful descriptions of nature. There are a few things which are left unsaid, Petterson leaves room for the reader to fill in the gaps. A satisfying, good, quick read.

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29. 'Down and out in Paris and London'- George Orwell

This is a semi autobiographical account of Orwells' time spent living in homeless shelters in London and working almost below the poverty line as a plongeur in Paris. The highlights were the characters Boris, Bozo and the descriptions of his time as a plongeur (dish washer, general dogs-body), there are some really horrible descriptions of what goes on in the bowels of hotels. Waiters and waitresses must read this. It seems to be accepted that this is not Orwells best work, the story was acceptable, the writing didn't excite me.

Orwell wrote about what he knew, he spent a few days with homeless people in London on a journalistic exercise, he lived hand to mouth in Paris, he fought with Spanish anarchists and served in the Burmese police instead of going to Oxford or Cambridge. He's an honest writer.

"My starting point is always a feeling of partisanship, a sense of injustice. When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, "I am going to produce a work of art." I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose... But I could not do the work of writing a book, or even a long magazine article, if it were not also an aesthetic experience'.- "Why I write"- George Orwell

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30. 'Amongst Women' - John McGahern

This is a solid story, very small in scope, sparse prose writing. Simply put it is about the life of an irish family living in rural Ireland, Leitrim to be exact, during the 50's 60's. The main character is the head of the family Moran a difficult man who finds it hard to let go of the past. You don't have to distill this book, it is 100% Irish. I can see why it is on the leaving certificate English reading list, however with few defining themes I think it would be very difficult for an 18 year old to write about, it's a slow burner. I thought it was good but given the dynamics of the story if it was any longer I may have given up.

This year I want to try to read more Irish literature and more historical texts in general.

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31. 'On the Road: The original scroll'- Jack Kerouac

Two friends Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady (Sal and Dean) zig zag across America stopping off in New York, Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans, L.A. Mexico, whilst indulging- drinking, partying, taking drugs.There is a lot of manic rushing around and 'digging' things, at times I thought that the book was more about a 'feeling' than a commentary of any sort. Beat generation leading lights Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs are featured.

Kerouac is not the best writer, Truman Capote commented sulkily that it 'isn't writing at all - it's typing'. Catty comments aside his writing method is interesting. Using several journals of notes 'On The Road' was written in a three week burst of typing. The finished product consisted of a typescript, a scroll of paper three inches thick, a single spaced unbroken 120 feet long paragraph. It was heavily edited censured and cut by one third. (I read the uncensored version, I didn't think the omissions changed the sense of the book but of course it's better to read something in its entirety). Kerouac called his style 'spontaneous prose', a stream of consciousness. The rhythm is a sort of bee-bop jazz poetry. Jack Kerouac reading on the Steve Allen show- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMEacD_4VdI

This book is perfect for young men starting college or going off on gap years, J1s. My favorite part of the book is when Jack is hitch hiking on his own sitting on the back of trucks, passing small farms in the middle of nowhere eating in small diners. Reading on the road peaked my interest in jazz a hither to uncharted musical landscape for me. There is one scene when Neal and Jack are in a bar listening to a jazz musician and it describes perfectly the feverish rapture of watching a great musician. For a real sense of what the beat generation was about Allen Ginsberg's poem 'Howl' is a good place to start.

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32. 'Chronicles: Volume One' by Bob Dylan

Since Dylan is turning 70 it seemed like an opportune time to finally read ‘Chronicles‘. Born in 1941 in Duluth, Robert Zimmerman is the eldest son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He doesn’t go into his family origins and early life, instead the book starts off with Dylan’s arrival in New York in 1961 and the account of his time there working his way around the coffee shops, bars. It’s very cinematic and almost dream like, a young boy from the country arriving in the city with a pocket full of dreams yet his rise from an unknown to established folk hero, at least the way he describes it, is seamless. There are some very interesting parts for fans namely how he adopted certain styles, some of his approaches to song writing and clues to his inspirations. Dylan is timeless, obsessed with the past he submerged his identity in the vastness of tradition. His songs are peppered with historical figures from American history Robert E. lee., boxer Davy Moore, civil rights campaigner Medgar Evers and other ordinary people discovered through plumbing the archives of American music (blues, folk, country). He discovered -
‘debauched bootleggers, mothers that drowned their own children, cadillacs that only got five miles to the gallon, floods, union hall fires, darkness and cadavers at the bottom of rivers.. They weren’t friendly or ripe with mellowness. They didn’t come gently to the shore… They were my preceptor and guide into some altered consciousness of reality, some different republic, some liberated republic.’

He mentions some of the books he loved to read, he especially liked Balzac novels inhabited by young protagonists arriving in cities hoping to make their fortune. His opinion of Joyce surprised me as I thought that Dylan would appreciate his subversive commentary on the state of a subsided nation, Dylan is after all singing songs about the wrong done in a society that believes itself to be just and great -‘James Joyce seemed like the most arrogant man who ever lived, had both his eyes wide open and great faculty for speech, but what he say, I knew not what' - Other characters of Irish interest are mentioned. He drinks Guinness with Bono and spends time with the Clancy brothers.

The book charts times in Dylans' life when he was at cross roads, such as after his motorcycle accident in 1966 Dylan tried to retreat from the lime light only to find that his silence made his fans seek him out more ardently.

If you aren‘t a fan of his music it may be a bit laborious as ‘The Chronicles’ isn’t chronological. The first half of the book held my interest, the second half was more sketchy. According to fans there are some inconsistencies with dates. Where do you put a memoir like this fiction/non-fiction Dylan is irreducible, complex, mercurial. Jokerman- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpk4Hg-Rwfs

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33. 'The Prince' - Niccolo Machiavelli

Machiavelli was born in 1469 into turbulent times. The Florentine republic governed by Lorenzo Medici was somewhat of a sham. In 1494 the king of France destabilizes the 'republic' the Medici family are expelled and another Florentine family maneuvers into place. Machiavelli's fathers good contacts and a power vacuum help Machiavelli to get a job in the civil service. During his 14 years in the job, he probably gleaned a lot of information for 'the prince' from letters he received and committees he chaired in Rome. Implicated in an attempt to return to the status quo he was imprisoned and tortured. 'The Prince' advocates violence in a lot/ most of cases, so it is interesting that violence is not just something he recommends, he has experienced it first hand.

The Prince is full of references to classical authorities in the art of war and politics such as Alexander the Great, Livy (Aeneas), the Spartans and more contemporary examples.. His main message seems to be it's not rational to be moral.

Today's political sphere moves from the political to the domestic whereas in Machiavelli's time the idea was to look after your friends and family and hence move from the domestic to the political. 'The Prince' is by all intents and purposes a job application, it would have been circulated privately, Machiavelli was after all unemployed after he came out of prison. It only became a hand book and was widely circulated after his death. Some of the examples were interesting but ultimately I found 'the Prince' to be very dry. I shudder when I think of book lists that include the Prince as a business book?!