Category: Off The Shelf

OFF THE SHELF

 

Hadji Murat by Leo Tolstoy
This is the last book that Tolstoy wrote before his death, and it was posthumously printed. It is well regarded as a truly classic read but for our reading group it proved to be a ‘Marmite book’. A few found it not to their reading taste.
Those loving the book felt it a sad, intense, and beautifully written account of man’s struggle to come to terms with the psychological feelings during a war. Tolstoy was himself enlisted into the Russian army in 1851 and left for Caucasus to fight the Chechens. He witnessed many events leading to the death of this charismatic leader Hadji Murat, so the book is a partially fictionalized story. Tolstoy wrote with painstaking accuracy so future generations can come to understand the horror, nobility and destruction which inherently comes with war.
Hadji Murat was a great chieftain who broke with the Chechen leader Shamil and fled to Russia for safety. The book shows his struggle of this uneasy alliance with the Russian leaders and the difficulty Hadji Murat faced in trying to rescue his family from Shamil’s prison. His continual pursuit by those he betrayed was nuanced through the work and the shadows of danger was subtlety woven through the book. Unfortunately, we were never clear why Hadji Murat had fallen out with the Chechen leader, but he commanded respect from those in Russia who tried to support his cause and use him to deliver peace.
For those of us who loved the book it was considered an unforgettable and artfully written story. For those who struggled on, they were pleased it was a slim read.
We gave it 8 out of 10.
Isobel Davies

 

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OFF THE SHELF

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“The Boy with Two Hearts” by Hamed Amirii

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There is so much press coverage around refugees and asylum seekers currently. It is interesting to read the perspective of a young boy and his family who have gone through the harrowing and often dangerous process to get to a safe country.

The narrator recalls his memories of himself as a 12-year-old schoolboy and his brothers, one of whom has a serious heart complaint (this had been treated in Iran previously, but now the Taliban were in power there was no way to legally leave the country). The three boys and the parents escaped a Taliban death threat from the small village in Herat, Afghanistan.

There were mixed feelings about the book and the discussion was lively. Most of the book club felt that the mother of the young boy put her family’s life in danger when she spoke to parents in their local school about not allowing their daughters to be denigrated by boys and men. It was this, thought by many of us, reckless speaking out that led to a death warrant being put on the parents. We have no idea why Hamid’s mother did this and it is not written about, we only have his recollections of events from Hamid himself, his parents refused to speak of it. What is clear from the book, is Hamid himself had huge respect for his mother and her actions.

The book does give the reader insight into the hazardous and often extremely dangerous undertaking to get to a safe country and the reliance on dangerous traffickers to deliver them to whatever country they could. In this case it was the UK, but it seemed to be on the whim and facilities of the traffickers and often, situational opportunities. It also gives insight into how ruthless the traffickers are with little or no thought of the vulnerable people who pay dearly (with everything they own and sometimes with their lives) to get them to their destination. It took this one family, everything they owned to pay for the trip and over a year to get to a safe country and new life.

The book was certainly thought provoking and insightful and made the reader think about how lucky we are to be in such a safe and, in the main, protected country where we will never need to make those decisions that Hamid’s parents made. We gave this book a score 7/8

Tina Alwyn

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OFF THE SHELF

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“Taste” by Stanley Tucci

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From award-winning actor and food obsessive, Stanley Tucci, comes an intimate and charming memoir of life in and out of the kitchen.

Before Stanley Tucci became a household name with The Devil Wears Prada, The Hunger Games, and the perfect Negroni, he grew up in an Italian American family that spent every night around the table. Taste is a reflection on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about growing up in Westchester, New York. Stanley Tucci writes about his treasured memories and stories in a very readable way. The impact his mother’s cooking had on him is very clear and his love for food is contagious.

Stanley writes in a very open and honest way and as a group we felt that sharing his experiences about his family during lockdown was refreshing, demonstrating that we all have the same challenges in life. His cancer diagnosis resonated greatly with some in the group because of the impact this had on his ability to eat and his great love of food; fortunately he has made a full recovery. There were some authentic Italian recipes in the book too which added something extra, and we felt that whether you are a foodie or not, this book had great appeal. We scored the book 8/10

 

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OFF THE SHELF

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“The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers

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Carson McCullers’ first novel is known as a modern-day classic. To an extent it mirrors her own background of growing up in a poor mill town in the Southern United States.

The story tells of the lives of some of the townspeople and how they all gravitate towards a deaf mute called John Singer. They each confide in him with their problems and aspirations. There is Biff Bannon the local café owner, a teenage girl Mick Kelly who dreams of making something of herself, Jake Blount a political activist and the town’s African-American doctor Benedict Copeland. This doctor, despite his efforts and position in the town, is unable to change the residents’ attitudes of racism.

John Singer is patient whilst they offload their problems; they are completely unaware that he has his own pain, mourning his friend Spiros Antonapoulos, who has been banished to an insane asylum. McCullers, writing beautifully, portrays a sad collection of hopeless characters; yet there is something haunting about this book which most of us found to be food for thought and a good read. We gave it a score of 7.5.

Tricia Coulthard

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OFF THE SHELF

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“Before the coffee gets cold” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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I think we all found the idea of this book interesting. Who would not like to go back in time, even for a few minutes. The book provided lots of discussion. The writing at times was a little underwhelming and the stories felt superficial. This could have been because some of the excitement/tension/emotion was lost in translation. Still frustrated that we didn’t find out what happened to the ‘ghost’. However, we all enjoyed the book and gave it an overall score of 8.

Tina Alwyn

 

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OFF THE SHELF

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A Little Life  – by Hanya Yanagihara

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This is a long read that is beautifully written. Set in New York, it follows the lives of Jude and his three male friends after university. Jude is the main character and as the novel progresses the effects of his disability and the horrors of his childhood slowly unfold. He is alone in the world, consequently his friends, especially Willem, are particularly important. It is not a book for the faint-hearted. The extent of emotional and sexual abuse can make it a difficult and upsetting read. Jude is highly successful in his business life and with the loving support of his partner Willem, he is able to tell his story. It is both sad and happy, clearly important to an understanding of the life-time effects of childhood abuse.

Some of us found this a very hard read. Others thought it was upsetting but gripping and quite a page-turner. This is reflected in a score of 7.

Tricia Coulthard

 

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OFF THE SHELF

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Shuggie Bain By Douglas Stuart- The 2020 Booker Prize Winner

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Douglas Stuart’s avowedly autobiographical first novel is a story about poverty, addiction and abuse and therefore was seen by members of the group as a grim experience. However, Stuart portrays such an understanding of the relationship between a child and a substance abusing parent that the book was held in esteem by most of the book club members. Stuart definitely has the ability to combine love and deep sadness, giving equal weight to both. The book is set in the 1980’s in Glasgow’s filthy tenements and progresses to the exploration of life in a mining village just outside the City.

Shuggie’s mother, Agnes descends through the degrading stages of alcoholism, ever more vulnerable to ever more predatory men. Her only constant relationships are with her children, whose knowledge of her disintegration is therefore intimate and private. The oldest, Catherine, marries in her late teens to get away from her mother and moves to South Africa. Alexander, “Leek”, is a gifted artist who carries around with him a two-year-old letter offering him a university place, stays to try to teach Shuggie how to “act normal” – i.e., appear to conform to the norms of working-class Glaswegian masculinity, which does not come naturally. Leek also stays in faltering hope of saving Agnes, until one day she throws him out, leaving the young teenage Shuggie as her sole carer.

Stuart’s depiction of women is very harsh and as one member said it is a book that is ‘heavy on lines, with colloquial dialect and language’. The work shares a picture of a roller- coaster life with immense highs and lows. As the book draws ever nearer to the ending, we are left reeling with many emotions but there was no doubt in our minds how wonderful Shuggie is and how we all shone the light for his future.

The group scored the book 8 out of 10

Isobel Davies

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OFF THE SHELF

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More Than A Woman. by Caitlin Moran

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The author of the international bestseller ‘How to Be a Woman’ Caitlin Moran returns with another hilarious feminist book. In ‘More Than A Woman’ Moran reflects on parenting, middle-age, marriage, existential crises and, of course, feminism.

A decade ago, Caitlin Moran burst onto the scene with her instant bestseller ‘How to Be a Woman,’ a hilarious and resonant take on feminism, the patriarchy, and all things womanhood.

As timely as it is hysterically funny, ‘More Than a Woman’ is brutally honest, scathingly funny, and a necessary take on the life of the modern woman – and one that only Caitlin Moran can provide.

However, our book club readers, apart from one reader, found the author opinionated and did not find the writing particularly insightful and generally found it an indulgent piece of writing. Having said this, it did generate a great deal of debate and discussion around feminism amongst many other things.

Chris Munro

 

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OFF THE SHELF

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Let’s not go to the dogs tonight. by Alexandra Fuller.

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Alexandra Fuller writes her memoirs of her life as a child in Rhodesia with her somewhat dysfunctional family. It is an amazing childhood, and she clearly evokes that life for the reader. I think we can all agree that we liked the book and it initiated lots of discussion especially around the author’s mother and father. They seemed a strong, resilient, and tenacious couple who strived to make a life in often dire circumstances. The impact on the lives of their children, both positive and negative comes out eloquently through her well written prose throughout the book. I think we all agreed that this book was an excellent read with an overall score of 10/10.

Tina Alwyn

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OFF THE SHELF

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  Pachinko By Min Jin Lee

Everyone in the group enjoyed this book. One member said it was one of the best books she had read.

A Korean woman, Sunja, is the thread that runs through this story of a Korean family from 1910 until 1989. Korea was occupied by Japan and many people went to Japan looking for a better life. However, they were met with hostility, poverty and discrimination. The characters are strong, well-written and believable. This is especially so of Sunja. Her dignity, respect, and love of family fuel her determination to succeed and survive in a culture that despises her and her minority origins. The descriptions of places and situations really made the story come alive. We had long discussions about the characters and why they did what they did. Ultimately, we thought that this story of immigrants trying to integrate into a foreign society is very pertinent to today’s world and attitudes to refugees.

We highly recommend Pachinko and scored it at 8.9 – which I would round up to 9!

Patricia Coulthard

 

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