Category: Off The Shelf

Off the shelf

This month’s book was The Children Act by Ian McEwan.

Fiona Maye is a leading High Court judge. Decidedly intelligent, talented and highly regarded in her profession. She now regrets her decision to sacrifice motherhood and a marriage which is failing for a profession she loves.

When seventeen-year-old Adam’s urgent case comes before her in family law, her professional involvement with him becomes personal as Adam battles with a decision based on his and his parents’ religious conviction whether or not to refuse treatment that would save his life. Fiona has to decide whether the secular court should intervene.

This was a tale of morality and McEwan had put his usual research into the professional life of the main character. A few years ago the book was dramatized on television; brilliantly acted by Emma Thompson playing Fiona. Although we all thought it was a good read, some found the storyline of Fiona’s personal involvement unconvincing. We gave the book an overall score of 7.

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Off the Shelf

The Belly of Paris

In our Zoom meeting this month we discussed Emile Zola’s ‘The Belly of Paris’. Les Halles (the belly of Paris) was the huge central market of the capital and the centre of this mid 19th century novel. Florent was wrongly imprisoned on Devil’s Island for murder in the coup of 1851. Florent manages to escape and return to his native Paris where he lives under a false identity with his half-brother Quenu and his wife Lisa, above their charcutier shop. He is found a position in the market as a fish inspector.

This is a story of intrigue, petty jealousy and rival social positioning amongst the working class of Les Halles and depicts the widening gap between the rich and poor of Paris. Florent is an ineffectual character who, after being tested to his limits by the stall holders, finally gains the respect of the market traders. However, his true identity is discovered by his sister-in-law’s jealous neighbours. Florent who has involved himself with a group of socialist activists, is turned in, is arrested and deported again.

We felt that although there was not much of a story to the plot, Zola perfectly described the market, and the lives and social conditions of those who worked there. He depicts the poverty, and the constant striving for social standing and respect by the working class. In his vivid description of the market halls, the stalls and the characters, he takes us into the homes of the traders, describes their clothes, food, habits, and language. His portrayal of the produce and the sights and smells of the market provided such an atmosphere that we felt we could be taking a live tour of Les Halles. We gave the book a score of 8/10.

Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore

Not to be beaten by the lockdown we held our meeting via Zoom. This month’s book Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore was set in Bristol during the time of the French Revolution. Lizzie Fawkes was brought up by her idealistic widowed mother with whom she is very close. Her mother has remarried but is in poor health. Lizzie is recently married to widower John Diner Tredevant whose first wife is understood to have died in Paris. Diner is an entrepreneur who has overstretched himself in building a grand crescent in Clifton. In different times he would have sold the grand houses, but the war has made potential buyers reluctant to invest. After his workmen walk out, he has to abandon his venture. Diner is a complex character, demanding and emotionally needy. The novel becomes very

dark following the death of Lizzie’s mother in childbirth. Diner’s financial problems begin to affect his personality and Lizzie has suspicions regarding the death of his first wife. This was a novel about mortality, and it was Helen Dunmore’s last novel, written during her terminal illness in 2017 when she died aged 64. We thought the relationship between mother and daughter was wonderfully described and the love between them was palpable. Her description of the walks on Clifton downs made us feel that we were walking beside her on her journeys. Overall, we gave the book a score of 7/10

‘Tombland’ by C.J. Sansom

This month, our book was ‘Tombland’ by C.J. Sansom. This was the seventh in the series of Matthew Shardlake, the hunchbacked lawyer detective.

In this case Shardlake is directed by Lady Elizabeth (the future queen) to investigate the murder involving a distant relative. In so doing, Shardlake, aided by his assistant Nicholas Overton, finds himself embroiled in the peasant rebellions of 1549 and in particular Kett’s Rebellion in Norfolk. Sansom crammed a huge amount of historical information in the book’s 800 pages but contrary to it being a tedious read, it transported us into the 16th century and we all felt that we were alongside Shardlake in his quest.

Sansom’s books were new to most of us and as we enjoyed the book so much, we felt that we would have liked to start with the first book of the series. We gave ‘Tombland’ an overall score of 8/10.