Venue: Medusa Bar in Horsforth
Date: Wednesday 11th January 2012
Time: 7:00pm
Discussing: Ragnarok by A.S. Byatt
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Our first ever meeting at Medusa Bar in Horsforth. The bar was kind enough to offer us HUGE platters of delicious food, so massive thanks for that!
Ragnarok retells the finale of Norse mythology. A story of the destruction of life on this planet and the end of the gods themselves: what more relevant myth could any modern writer choose? Just as Wagner used this dramatic and catastrophic struggle for the climax of his Ring Cycle, so AS Byatt now reinvents it in all its intensity and glory. Ragnarok is the story of the end of the world. It is a tale of destruction of life on this planet and the end of the gods themselves. What more relevant myth could any modern writer find? As the bombs rain down in the Second World War, one young girl is evacuated to the English countryside. She is struggling to make sense of her new wartime life. Then she is given a copy of Asgard and the Gods – a book of ancient Norse myths – and her inner and outer worlds are transformed. War, natural disaster, reckless gods and the recognition of impermanence in the world are just some of the threads that A.S. Byatt weaves into this most timely of books.
This was not only our first Medusa LBC book; it was also one of the Canongate Myth series (ongoing challenge for those who aren't regular blog readers - here). As a result, I'm going to structure this a little differently than my usual book club write ups.
This was also a slightly shorter discussion that usual. A few of us hadn't had a chance to complete the book. On top of that, as our first meeting we were all getting to know each other.
Background to the Myth
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| Battle of the Doomed Gods - F. W. Heine 1882 |
More that that; it reflects on how the gods were in fact the architects of their own doom. Their conviction that there actions had no consequences blinded them to the conflict originating within their own ranks, making it feel increasingly relevant to the world today.
The Book Club Reviews
Unfortunately, a few people found reading this book similar to wading through treacle. Though the majority of us found the language to be beautiful; the lack of narrative flow (the story only seemed to kick in during the second half of the book) meant that it was difficult to form a link with any of the characters. Additionally; they were all gods, with a unique view of the world that we couldn't relate to. With all their superpowers; the reader was utterly excluded from their thought processes. The most important contextual information for the reader wasn't provided until the end of the book - for some of us it felt like the conclusion actually read like the introduction.
Personally, I LOVED this book. Having never read an A.S. Byatt book before; I feel in love with her style, the language used, even the backwards structuring. I'm really looking forward to reading EVERYTHING else that shes EVER written.
A few of the book clubber did find that although they might not have enjoyed this book so much; they would be inspired to look up the myths and legends that inspired it. From that perspective alone another Canongate winner!
Score
5/10
5/10
Soundtrack
Listened to a lot of Loreena McKennitt while I was reading this book. There is a passion and power behind the songs that really seemed to resonate with the plot.
Read it? What music would you pick?
The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch
Date: Wednesday 8th February 2012
Time: 7:00pm
Address: 8-10 Town Street, Horsforth, Leeds
For further details, please email me at leedsbookclub@gmail.com or tweet me @LeedsBookClub!
Contact the bar on @MedusaBar
Contact the bar on @MedusaBar
And feel free to let us know your thoughts using #MedusaLBC!
Book 08 - Weight - Jeanette Winterson
Book 07 - Ragnarok - AS Byatt
Book 06 - Where Three Roads Meet
Book 05 - Dream Angus - Alexander McCall-Smith
14 - Mar - Started Early, Took My Dog - Kate Atkinson
13 - Feb - The Black House - Peter May - Postphoned
12 - Jan - The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald - GUEST
11 - Nov - Empire of the Sun - JG Ballard
10 - Oct - Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell (not *that* one)
09 - Sep - Before I go to sleep - S.J. Watson
08 - Aug - 9 Lives - Clive Rusher
07 - Jul - Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes
06 - Jun - A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving - GUEST
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Canongate
Book 08 - Weight - Jeanette Winterson
Book 07 - Ragnarok - AS Byatt
Book 06 - Where Three Roads Meet
Book 05 - Dream Angus - Alexander McCall-Smith
Book 04 - The Helmet of Horror - Victor Pelevin
Book 03 - Binu and the Great Wall - Su Tong
Book 02 - Girl Meets Boy - Ali Smith
Book 01 - The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood
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2012 - MedusaLBC
14 - Mar - Started Early, Took My Dog - Kate Atkinson
13 - Feb - The Black House - Peter May - Postphoned
12 - Jan - The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald - GUEST
11 - Nov - Empire of the Sun - JG Ballard
10 - Oct - Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell (not *that* one)
09 - Sep - Before I go to sleep - S.J. Watson
08 - Aug - 9 Lives - Clive Rusher
07 - Jul - Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes
06 - Jun - A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving - GUEST
05 - May - The Life of Pi - Yann Martel
04 - Apr - Diary of a Nobody - George Grossmith
03 - Mar - We need to talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver
01 - Jan - Ragnarok - AS Byatt
An exciting new project! - Medusa LeedsBookClub
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Book Club - Table of Contents
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Full Table of Contents
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