Giraffe LBC - The Miracle Inspector Review - GUEST

#Giraffe LBC

Venue:   Giraffe Bar and Grill

Date:    Tuesday 30th of July 2013

Time:    6pm - 8pm

Address: 6 Greek Street, Leeds, LS1 5RW

Tel:     (0113) 244 1500

THE MIRACLE INSPECTOR

HELEN SMITH

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Huge thanks as ever to our wonderful Superstar Guest star @AlisonNeale for providing us with this terrific write up. She has become the de facto leader of Giraffe LBC (whether she knows it or not) and an truly great person to know! 

From the Author (from Amazon)

My favorite dystopian novels are Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and The Children of Men by P D James (which was made into one of my favorite dystopian films, Children of Men, by Alfonso Cuarón).

The Miracle Inspector is a blackly comic dystopian novel inspired by my time spent volunteering as a mentor for exiled writers in London through British charity Freedom from Torture.

Rather than try to tell the stories of the people I met, I wondered what it would be like if I had to flee from London without money or possessions. How would I escape? What kind of reception would I get if I arrived somewhere without money or possessions, with little understanding of the culture? How would I know who to trust? That was my starting point. I hope people will finish the book asking some of the questions I started with.

About the characters

As I sat down to write, I had this image of a man and a woman sitting in their kitchen at breakfast time, unable to communicate--as if this was the 1950s and they had been locked into a stifling marriage for thirty years. But then it would become clear that they were very young --in their early twenties--and that the setting was a nightmarish future in which women have been stripped of many of the rights and benefits that we take for granted in modern society, and they have to be cautious about what they say, even in their own homes.

The young couple are called Lucas and Angela. I wanted the first half of the book to be Lucas's story and for Angela to emerge more strongly in the second half as she takes responsibility for her life and starts to find her voice. I had a good idea of how the story would unfold before I sat down to plot it. I wanted this young couple to try to flee London and for everything to go wrong.

If that sounds a bit heavy, I ought to say that although it's not as frivolous as my two earlier books, Alison Wonderland and Being Light, there's plenty of humor in The Miracle Inspector. I hope readers will enjoy it, despite the moments of sadness.

The Miracle Inspector by Helen Smith caused something of a split in opinion. In an issue that has arisen before when discussing dystopian novels, some readers wanted a feeling for the world but concentration on characters and plot, while others wanted detail, detail and more detail. This novel satisfied the former group: plotlines went unexplained and the causes of the strangely isolated London of the story were never fleshed out. Some book clubbers felt that what was known of the situation, while possible in our tabloid-obsessed society, could not have happened quite as rapidly as suggested. It was perhaps a little too ‘convenient’ to appear realistic.

However, there was some discussion of how scarily close the circumstances of women in the novel matched those of some countries today, and recent events in Egypt show how quickly existing freedoms can be lost. Book clubbers pointed out that, as we have seen in the UK, freedoms are lost bit by bit, in an almost inconsequential manner.

The fear of relationships and human interaction was certainly an interesting, rather modern theme, and the reactions of the escapees to life in Slough, with its nail varnish and online dating were quite insightful, although some readers felt they were a little simplistic: the point was delivered with a sledgehammer, someone said.

Perhaps our biggest problem with the book was that the characters were unsympathetic and the relationships unconvincing. It is possible that some further dystopian detail might have made up for this. What detail did appear was enjoyable, such as the havoc that UN peacekeepers were causing in the countryside, and the utopian ideal of Cornwall - not entirely unknown today!

The lack of detail was lauded in the torture scenes, and yet an oddly brutal murder scene earlier made us query the dual approach to portrayal of violence. Everyone, I think, liked the ending with its lack of resolution, which we felt worked well with the odd, varied pacing of the latter half of the book.

One particular complaint made here, but more generally applicable to dystopian fiction we’ve read so far, was (and I quote) that ‘no one gets to enjoy a nice bit of sex’. Sex is often shorthand for a Bad Thing, be that an opiate or comfort blanket to avoid facing the bigger questions, or simply used to make a point of hypocrisy.

In conclusion, then, everyone agreed that the shining reviews in various newspapers and online seemed thoroughly at odds with what they had read and, sadly, the scores reflect this. This was not a satisfying dystopian novel but we all felt that there were some really good ideas that with a little more thought and work could have made a much better story.

LBC Note
So gutted that I wasn't able to attend the meet up - I really enjoyed this book and would have loved a good debate about it!

Score:

5/10

Find fellow members on twitter by searching for #GiraffeLBC.

Follow @GiraffeTweet for details on the deliciousables and their projects nationwide (which this month include an awesome #GiraffesCantDance giveaway!).

Let me know your thoughts by either tweeting me @LeedsBookClub, commenting below or emailing me at leedsbookclub@gmail.com

* * * * * Giraffe LBC * * * * *

10 - FEB - Divergent - Veronica Roth 
09 - JAN - Children of Men - P.D. James - GUEST

08 - OCT - High Rise - J.G. Ballard - GUEST
07 - JUL - The Miracle Inspector - Helen Smith - GUEST 
06 - APR - Logan's Run - Book and Film - GUEST
05 - FEB - Watchmen - Comic and Film

04 - NOV - Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - GUEST
03 - OCT - The Iron Heel - Jack London - GUEST
02 - AUG - The Running Man - Stephen King
01 - JUL - Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury - GUEST

How I learned to continue worrying and love the dystopian - GUEST

The List of Potentials

A Dystopian Book Club

How I learned to continue worrying and love the dystopian - GUEST

The List of Potentials

A Dystopian Book Club

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Book Club - Table of Contents

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Guest - Table of Contents

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Full Table of Contents

Sharing Stories - Tender is the Night - GUEST

Leeds Book Club will be participating in the Arts and Minds Network's new project on raising awareness of mental health issues. 

This cracking review is provided to us by regular book clubber, blogger and all round fabulous human being - @Becca_Lou18

TENDER IS THE NIGHT

F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

BLURB (from Amazon)

In the wake of World War I, a community of expatriate American writers established itself in the salons and cafes of 1920s Paris. They congregated at Gertrude Stein's select soirees, drank too much, married none too wisely, and wrote volumes--about the war, about the Jazz Age, and often about each other. F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, were part of this gang of literary Young Turks, and it was while living in France that Fitzgerald began writing Tender Is the Night. Begun in 1925, the novel was not actually published until 1934. By then, Fitzgerald was back in the States and his marriage was on the rocks, destroyed by Zelda's mental illness and alcoholism. Despite the modernist mandate to keep authors and their creations strictly segregated, it's difficult not to look for parallels between Fitzgerald's private life and the lives of his characters, psychiatrist Dick Diver and his former patient turned wife, Nicole. Certainly the hospital in Switzerland where Zelda was committed in 1929 provided the inspiration for the clinic where Diver meets, treats, and then marries the wealthy Nicole Warren. And Fitzgerald drew both the European locale and many of the characters from places and people he knew from abroad.In the novel, Dick is eventually ruined--professionally, emotionally, and spiritually--by his union with Nicole. Fitzgerald's fate was not quite so novelistically neat: after Zelda was diagnosed as a schizophrenic and committed, Fitzgerald went to work as a Hollywood screenwriter in 1937 to pay her hospital bills. He died three years later - not melodramatically, like poor Jay Gatsby in his swimming pool, but prosaically, while eating a chocolate bar and reading a newspaper. Of all his novels,Tender Is the Night is arguably the one closest to his heart. As he himself wrote, "Gatsby was a tour de force, but this is a confession of faith." 

The first time I tried to read Tender is the Night I gave up. I’d previously read The Great Gatsby and I loved Fitzgerald’s writing style but found the characters slightly lacking (perhaps this is intentional by Fitzgerald to reflect the glamorous but ultimately shallow society they embodied). Knowing that Tender is the Night has semi-autobiographical elements I had high hopes that it would have much more depth in its characters. Despite me desperately wanting to enjoy it, I struggled to make any progress. When LeedsBookClub mentioned that it was one of the books on the mental health reading list I asked if I could review it – possibly the motivation of reviewing the book would help me power through and get it read.

So it was with slightly mixed feelings that I picked up Tender is the Night for a second time (this time on Kindle) back in June (giving myself plenty of time in case it was a slog). This time I didn’t struggle quite so much. Although I vaguely recollected the main plot points, oddly it felt like reading the story from fresh and I was pleasantly surprised by how much easier I found it to get into.

Tender is the Night is centred on the relationship of Dick and Nicole Diver, a beautiful young couple who everyone wants to be around. We are first introduced to the Divers through Rosemary, a stunning young actress fresh from her first film who is visiting the French Riviera with her mother. 

Straight away it is clear that anyone who is anyone wants to be friends with the Divers, who hold their court on the beach by day and by invitation to their villa by night. They are what make the Riviera a place worth being. Rosemary soon finds herself brought into the fold, becoming fast friends with Nicole and completely in love with Dick. Although the Divers’ lives appear perfect it is clear there are cracks in their relationship and one night at a party at the Divers’ villa, a guest witnesses an  “incident” in the bathroom, suggesting that things aren’t quite how the Divers make out. 

The book is split into three parts with the second part detailing the background of the Divers and how they met (there is also a version of the book with events in chronological order). We discover that Nicole, abused by her father, was admitted to a clinic in Switzerland as a teenager. There she meets Dick, a poor but talented psychiatrist visiting the clinic, and quickly forms an attachment. 

Seeing this as an opportunity to assist her recovery, Nicole is encouraged to write letters to Dick after he leaves. When Dick eventually returns he realises that he has fallen in love with Nicole, becoming both her carer and husband. When Nicole’s father dies, she and her sister, Baby, inherit his fortune and it is this which allows the Divers to fund their lavish lifestyle. Despite their luxurious life on the Riviera, Dick is keen to return to his research and Nicole and Baby agree to fund setting up his own clinic. For a time all seems well with the family living at the clinic but it soon becomes apparent that Nicole’s mental health is deteriorating and Dick is drinking far more than he used to. 

This comes to a head when Nicole attempts to crash the family’s car on the way back from a family outing. Dick’s business partner convinces him to take a sabbatical and he returns to America for his father’s funeral. On his return to Europe Dick crosses paths with Rosemary. Although she is now older and wiser, no longer holding Dick in the high regard she once did, they quickly start an affair. 

Dick continues to spiral into alcoholism, resenting Nicole and her family for making him feel like a kept man. Nicole, no longer able to see Dick as anything other than her doctor is seduced by Tommy, part of the Riviera set, who has always had a thing for her. Eventually Nicole is faced with an ultimatum – her husband or her lover. 

I felt that there was much more depth to the characters in this than in Gatsby. Fitzgerald very much focuses on the dynamic between Dick and Nicole. Their romance was born out of Nicole’s illness and at times she struggles to separate her husband and lover from her doctor and carer. Eventually this leads to the demise of their marriage as Nicole feels she no longer needs the support that Dick has always represented. Nicole is central to the story yet a complete enigma to the reader. We never really know her motivations, seeing her only through the eyes of others (namely Dick and Rosemary). Everyone treats her as fragile, not least her overbearing sister Baby (I imagine her as Katharine Hepburn-esque), who cannot accept that any man, let alone a poor doctor, could be good enough for her little sister. Nicole’s eventual decision between Dick and Tommy signifies how much she has grown as a person. It is not clear whether she has really recovered from her schizophrenia but her decision marks her own belief in herself and her ability to conduct a relationship that is not, in part, based on her mental frailty.

Dick could be viewed as a romantic hero who saves Nicole from a clinic, giving her the opportunity to love and live in the real world; or an unscrupulous doctor who marries his patient for her money then succumbs to alcoholism. To me, Dick is a little bit of both but on the whole I found myself rooting for him. I desperately wanted things to work out between him and Nicole (though I admit that I am a complete romantic) and I found that I resented Rosemary for the part she might have played in the disintegration of the Divers’ relationship. However, this is perhaps unfair on Rosemary whose affair with Dick, despite her best efforts, only really starts when his relationship with Nicole has already passed the point of no return. I think at times Fitzgerald’s characters are difficult to grasp and can be somewhat lost in his grandiose prose. Yet I found I felt far more strongly about these characters than in Gatsby. Dick and Nicole present themselves to the world as a perfect power couple and yet both are battling their demons but do so alone. Although Dick’s alcoholism appears very much polite to the modern reader (though possibly more shocking at the time of publication) it is clear that it alienates him from his former friends. 

Despite being published in 1934 I felt that overall the writing had aged well and had a contemporary feel. There were some references that reflected its time – for example references to “negros” and Dick’s patients including a homosexual man (homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness in 1973). I found the prose beautifully descriptive, sometimes completely absorbing but at others it completely washed over me like a wave and I struggled to grasp the story. I found it easy to picture the setting of the French coastline and Swiss clinic. Fitzgerald is brilliant at capturing the essence of his settings and I found myself longing to visit the south of France. However, I found that I had to really concentrate at times to keep with the thread of the story and this made reading in busy places such as my train to work difficult. It’s not easy to pick the book straight back up – I often had to refresh where I was in order to get back into it.

It goes without saying that mental health features strongly in this book, with a good proportion of the story set in mental health clinics. This was a very different era of mental health. Psychology was still a reasonably new field. Nicole is said to be schizophrenic, brought on by the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. Mental illness is complex and not well understood even now but I can’t help but wonder if modern doctors would view this as a cause of Nicole’s condition. In some cases Dick and his colleagues are simply exploiting the rich, treating their children but taking a dim view of whether there is actually anything wrong with them. Of all his patients, the one Dick takes a personal interest in is the “woman with the scabs” who is not just a rich kid but has a genuine illness. 

This exploitation on the part of the clinics is probably a reflection of Fitzgerald’s own experiences with clinics through the treatment of his wife, Zelda. Fitzgerald often struggled to pay for his wife’s treatment, borrowing money from friends as well as writing short stories as a means of paying clinic fees. It is likely that Tender is the Night is a fairly accurate picture of treatment in the 1920s. 

Zelda, like Nicole, was schizophrenic and it is very easy to draw comparisons between the Divers and the Fitzgeralds. Fitzgerald was not financially secure enough to be accepted by Zelda’s family as an appropriate suitor for their daughter, possibly captured in the novel by Baby’s dislike of Dick. Fitzgerald was also an alcoholic and as with Dick, spiralled into alcoholism before reaching his full potential. 

Whilst in Tender is the Night Dick fades away and Nicole finds happiness with her new life, the fate of the Fitzgeralds was an altogether darker affair. Scott died aged 44 from a heart attack, no doubt in part caused by his heavy drinking. Zelda tragically died in a fire at the hospital she was being treated at – she was locked in her room awaiting electroshock therapy for her mental illness.

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Chat with Peter Bullimore
Mental Health Reading Challenge
Blurbs for the books!

Podcast with Tom at Arts and Minds Leeds

Write Up's
Dec - Jane Eyre - GUEST
Nov - A life too short - GUEST
Oct - Notes from an exhibition - GUEST
Sep - Day - GUEST
Aug - Tender is the Night - GUEST
Jul - Ariel - GUEST
Jul - Birthday Letters - GUEST
Jun - Poppy Shakespeare - GUEST
May - Why be happy when you can be normal - GUEST
Apr - I had a black dog - GUEST
Mar - The Psychopath Test - GUEST
Feb - The Silver Linings Play Book - GUEST

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Table of Contents - Guest Stars

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Full Table of Contents

Sharing Stories Book Club/ Meet up!

 Venue:   Giraffe Bar and Grill

Date:    Tuesday 15th of October 2012

Time:    6pm - 8pm

Address: 6 Greek Street, Leeds, LS1 5RW

Tel:     (0113) 244 1500

As the man himself (that's you Tom) puts it, our meeting in October is:

A chance to discuss books in a friendly group. 

For the last few months Arts & Minds have been promoting a book every month that has some link to mental health. 

In this special partnership with Leeds Book Club (that's us!) we are encouraging everyone to come along and talk about the books. 

The book we are particularly focusing on is ‘Notes from an Exhibition’ by Patrick Gale. This novel tells the story of an artist with mental health issues and the family she leaves behind.

“By the end I had laughed and cried and put all his other books on my wish list. This is dense, thought-provoking, sensitive, satisfying, humorous, humane – a real treat.”
Daily Telegraph. 

So get reading and see you there!

If you're interested in finding out what we've made of our previous #SharingStories, check out the links below! 

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Chat with Peter Bullimore
Mental Health Reading Challenge
Blurbs for the books!

Podcast with Tom at Arts and Minds Leeds

Write Up's
Dec - Jane Eyre - GUEST
Nov - A life too short - GUEST
Oct - Notes from an exhibition - GUEST
Sep - Day - GUEST
Aug - Tender is the Night - GUEST
Jul - Ariel - GUEST
Jul - Birthday Letters - GUEST
Jun - Poppy Shakespeare - GUEST
May - Why be happy when you can be normal - GUEST
Apr - I had a black dog - GUEST
Mar - The Psychopath Test - GUEST
Feb - The Silver Linings Play Book - GUEST

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Table of Contents - Guest Stars

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Full Table of Contents

Sharing Stories Podcast

Leeds Book Club will be participating in the Arts and Minds Network's new project on raising awareness of mental health issues. 

LBC is joined this week by Tom of @ArtsMindsLeeds to discuss #SharingStories.

 

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Chat with Peter Bullimore
Mental Health Reading Challenge
Blurbs for the books!

Podcast with Tom at Arts and Minds Leeds

Write Up's
Dec - Jane Eyre - GUEST
Nov - A life too short - GUEST
Oct - Notes from an exhibition - GUEST
Sep - Day - GUEST
Aug - Tender is the Night - GUEST
Jul - Ariel - GUEST
Jul - Birthday Letters - GUEST
Jun - Poppy Shakespeare - GUEST
May - Why be happy when you can be normal - GUEST
Apr - I had a black dog - GUEST
Mar - The Psychopath Test - GUEST
Feb - The Silver Linings Play Book - GUEST

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Table of Contents - Guest Stars

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Full Table of Contents

Man Booker Shortlist - Book 01 - The Testament of Mary - Colm Toibin

WoodsieGirl's 

Man Booker
Challenge

Our good friend WoodsieGirl has read all the books on the shortlist for the Man Booker Prize for the last few years. This is not because she is an avid reader, with varied interests and is constantly on the lookout for new great fiction. She does this purely to mock my inability to organize my book list. Honestly. It's evil. 

Anyhoo, once again, she has kindly written up reviews of each book for us.  

THE TESTAMENT OF MARY

COLM TOIBIN

THE BLURB (Amazon)

Colm Tóibín's The Testament of Mary is the moving story of the Virgin Mary, told by a novelist famous for writing brilliantly about the family.

From the author of Brooklyn, in a voice that is both tender and filled with rage, The Testament of Mary tells the story of a cataclysmic event which led to an overpowering grief. For Mary, her son has been lost to the world, and now, living in exile and in fear, she tries to piece together the memories of the events that led to her son's brutal death. To her he was a vulnerable figure, surrounded by men who could not be trusted, living in a time of turmoil and change.

As her life and her suffering begin to acquire the resonance of myth, Mary struggles to break the silence surrounding what she knows to have happened. In her effort to tell the truth in all its gnarled complexity, she slowly emerges as a figure of immense moral stature as well as a woman from history rendered now as fully human.

THE REVIEW

 This is author Colm Toibin's third time on the Booker prize shortlist - he was nominated in 1999 for The Blackwater Lightship, and in 2004 for The Master (neither of which I've read!). The Testament of Mary is a novella (only 104 pages), telling the story of Jesus' last days and crucifixion from the point of view of his mother, Mary. It's written as a monologue - it actually started life as a one-woman play, which shows in the writing. Now elderly and living in exile, Mary is visited by two men (never named, but we can presume they are two of the writers of the Gospels) who want her to recount the story of her son's life in a way that fits in with the legend that is already growing around him.

Mary, however, is not so co-operative. She is sceptical of her son's claims to have been the son of god, and distrusts his disciples and their motives. Mostly though, she is filled with grief and anger over her son's death. She recounts her sense of dread during the tumultuous times that led to his death, and her shame at how it all ended.

This is an incredibly powerful account, and one that feels much weightier than such a slim novella should allow. Mary's anger and moral strength shine throughout. I particularly liked an early scene where Mary tries to stop the gospel writers from sitting in a chair in her house, a chair that no one sits in because it is "left for someone who will not return". The two men assume she is referring to her son, and assure her that he will return - but in fact, she means her deceased husband. On learning this, the men dismiss her and one goes to sit in the chair, at which point this happens:

"I was waiting. Quickly, I found the sharp knife and I held it and touched the blade... 'I have another one hidden,' I said, 'and if either of you touch the chair again, if you so much as touch it, I will wait, I am waiting now, and I will come in the night, I will move as silently as the air itself moves, and you will not have time to make a sound. Do not think for a moment that I will not do this.'"

The sense of unrest and social upheaval Jesus and his disciples have caused is vividly drawn, as is Mary's fear at the inevitability of what is rushing towards them. She knows early on that her son is doomed, and tries to save him, but matters are out of her control.

"I sensed a thirst for blood among the crowd... There was a dark vacancy in the faces of some, and they wanted this vacancy filled with cruelty, with pain and with the sound of someone crying out."

The crucifixion, when it comes, is starkly and graphically described. Toibin gives a real sense of the brutality of it, and of the suffering inflicted. Mary's account takes in not only the pain and suffering of her son, but also strange details of the crowd around him: such as a man with a bird of prey in a cage, feeding it live rabbits from a sack. Details like this give an impression of what a strange, violent and bewildering time it must have been.

Ultimately, Mary's story is a simple one: that of a mother, grieving the loss of her son. But it is implied that she lost him much sooner than his actual death: when she meets him at the wedding at Cana, he does not recognise her as his mother. She herself does not recognise the man her son has become: she struggles to reconcile this confident preacher who gathers followers around him and says he is the son of god, with her memory of the boy who "was beautiful then and delicate and awash with needs". She also resents the intrusion of the gospel writers, and what she sees as a dishonest attempt to rewrite the events of her son's life and death in a way that fits their goals.

"'I was there,' I said. 'I fled before it was over but if you want witnesses then I am one and I can tell you now, when you say that he redeemed the world, I will say that it was not worth it. It was not worth it.'"

The book doesn't really attempt the question of whether or not Jesus actually was the son of god, and whether he really performed the miracles described. Mary considers these points irrelevant, and so apparently does Toibin. The Testament of Mary is not an attempt to argue the religious or the secular side: just the human side, the story of a mother who couldn't protect her son.

I'd say this book is near-perfect. The writing is flawless, powerful in its simplicity. I haven't read any other of Colm Toibin's books, but I certainly would on the strength of this. It's hard to judge without having read any of the rest of the shortlist yet, but I would tentatively say that this could be a winner.

The @WoodsieGirl Challenge 2013

Shortlist 06 - The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton

Shortlist 05 - The Lowland - Jhumpa Lahiri

Shortlist 04 - We need new names - NoViolet Bulawayo

Shortlist 03 - A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki

Shortlist 02 - Harvest - Jim Crace

Shortlist 01 - The Testament of Mary - Colm Toibin

The @WoodsieGirl Challenge 2012

Shortlist 06 - Umbrella - Will Self

Shortlist 05 - Bring up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel

Shortlist 04 - The Lighthouse - Alison Moore

Shortlist 03 - Swimming Home - Deborah Levy

Shortlist 02 - Narcopolis - Jeet Thayil

Shortlist 01 - The Garden of Evening Mists - Tan Twan Eng

Visit her blog HERE

Visit her other blog HERE

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Guest Stars - Table of Contents

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Full - Table of Contents
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