Book Slam: Will Self, Patrick Ness

  

There aren't many events that can get me to Clapham on a 'school night'. Sorry Claphamites.. I know you are many... I appreciate it's mostly irrational, I just don't really like Clapham. But I do like books, and I like books more than I don't like Clapham, so it all turned out ok on Thursday as I made my way to the delightful Clapham Grand for the latest Book Slam. Phew. Because it was such a good night!

Book Slam is "the brainchild of superstar musical maverick, Ben Watt, and author, Patrick Neate (of Twelve Bar Blues fame). The evening's format, I'm told, changes slightly each time but essentially Book Slam asks top writers to read from their work, with each segment separated by a generous interval so that you can get a refill and this is all topped off by a short set from a musician. We had the sickeningly talented George Ezra. Don't let his fresh-faced Bristolian adorableness throw you, though... "this boy got sooouuulll" and he can write a damn good song.

Anyway, back to books. "If you can think of a smarter literary pairing, we'll eat your comedy fez," was the challenge set by Book Slam this evening. And fair doos - our literary entertainers for the evening were American-born author and twice Carnegie Medal winner, Patrick Ness, and none other than Man Booker short-listee, Will Self.  And our host for the evening? Comedian and writer Dominic Frisby, kept things ticking over, making sure the evening didn't get too seriously intellectual and generally maintaining a chilled, fun and unpretentious tone, which I much appreciated. 

You couldn't help but like Ness, with his modesty and nervous humour. He read from his latest novel, The Crane Wife, which I did enjoy - this guy can write. Although Carnegie arguably already knew that... twice. As much as I liked Ness, I found myself more wanting to give him a congratulatory hug than buy his novel I'm afraid, although it was beautifully written and had an intriguing, original concept.

I don't know what you've heard about Will Self or if you've read any of his stuff? I hadn't read any but I know a number of, mostly men, who worship this dude... I also know a lot of people who think he is a complete and utter knob... For want of a more fitting, eloquent phrase worthy of such literary royalty. When he came out on stage, though, all I could think was - IT'S THE FOOD CRITIC FROM RATATOUILLE!

Look him up. You know I'm right. Anyway, that high-brow comparison aside, the two things I came away thinking from seeing Will Self at Book Slam: 1) I will most likely never buy his latest book, Umbrella, as my poor limited brain would probably see me age a hundred years trying to wade through its dense jungle of metaphors, while accumulating uncountable paper-cuts from franticly flicking through my much-needed dictionary... 2) Will Self is surely, first and foremost, a performer. His short-story reading from Liver was a masterclass in bringing a story to life - completely loved it.

That was a rather long rambling post and now I don't know how to finish it so I'm just going to leave it there but you should all keep an eye on the Book Slam website because it travels around and there's always something good coming up. Next time? The Birdcage in Bristol on 2nd May.

World Book Night 2013

Imagine walking round the block a few times at closing time, varying your pace while trying to look convincingly lost so as not to draw attention to your real aim - to dive into the free Pret a Manger/Starbucks/whatever sandwich... we would all feel just a little embarrassed if we were caught, right? I oddly feel the same about World Book Night when people start giving you free books. Books for free. Half a million good, bestselling novels that you don't have to pay for... it doesn't feel right! However, this does seem to be an exceptionally good year... with some of my favourite books being handed out all over the UK, Ireland at the USA this evening by 20,000 bookish keen beans standing on street corners, the underground, famous landmarks.

Books this year include The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevallier, Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, The Road Home by Rose Tremain and Jeanette Winterson's Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? which I reviewed here last year. Take a peak at the other books featuring in World Book Night 2013 here if your eyes just can't quite make out any more than tiny vague squares in the picture above...

Have a look on the WBN website for information on how you can be involved tonight and how to volunteer next year.

Rabbit, Run

It's 1959 and Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom, one time high school sports superstar, is going nowhere. At twenty-six he is trapped in a second-rate existence - stuck with a fragile, alcoholic wife, a house full of overflowing ashtrays and discarded glasses, a young son and a futile job.

With no way to fix things, he resolves to flee from his family and his home in Pennsylvania, beginning a thousand-mile journey that he hopes will free him from his mediocre life. Because, as he knows only too well, 'after you've been first-rate at something, no matter what, it kind of takes the kick out of being second-rate'.

One of the best ways to get me to read a book is to say "it's just like Richard Yates". Problem is that this method is not the best way for me to enjoy said book.I guess in my head, through a combination of the blurb, cover and the above comparison, I imagined a cross between Revolutionary Road and One Tree Hill... but I just didn't enjoy it as much. 

I know Rabbit, Run is a classic and I know John Updike is a talented guy, but somehow it didn't quite hit the spot for me.  It's odd because, on the surface, it has everything I would normally like - failed American Dream theme, touching domestic drama, relationships, good boy gone bad... Perhaps in the end there were just a few too many references to prostitutes and blokey nights out, which were all pretty grim, and an absence of any really likable characters (more specifically any messed-up yet hot-as-hell basketball players trying to make the State championship...).

Can't deny that the book is well-written though, and Updike is more than successful at creating atmosphere, tension, split-allegiances etc and I couldn't help but feel something at the novel's climax. The characters all feel very real, as do the predicaments they find themselves in, and I definitely 'got' the world he was going for. Unfortunately, I just didn't love the book.

It gets 5/10 from me. It's a shame as I was really excited to get stuck into a series (there are four sequels).

Daisy Buchanan does Vogue

Is there such thing as era envy?! If so, the twenties have got to be pretty high of anyone's envy list, if indeed anyone were to make such a list... Well, maybe not the whoooole of the twenties, none of the no money, no booze, no fun stuff, but the flappery decadent party part at least... Vogue's May edition has clearly had the same thought and is, conveniently for Baz Luhrmann, suffering some serious era envy in channeling Gatsby glamour this month.

Daisy Buchanan would surely have been a contender for Vogue - a poster-girl for the 20s flapper lifestyle if ever I saw read one - and now she finally has her chance as Carey Mulligan takes centre stage. Anyway, I will stop rabbiting on and let Mario Testino's shoot do the talking... I'm not jealous. At all. Nup.

Shakespeare's Birthday Whirligig

We know when he was baptised and we know when he died but no one knows exactly when Shakespeare was born. That said, we could hardly have let Shakespeare get away with no birthday... everyone needs a birthday... so we just swap them round and party on his deathday instead. Got to love our resourcefulness... even if it is, perhaps, a little morbid. But, with that logic, Tuesday 23rd April this year supposedly marks his 449th birthday and he's still looking pretty good, it has to be said. Sexy earring I think you will agree...

Anyway, to party in style, The Globe Theatre on London's Southbank is throwing some Birthday celebrations. Between noon and 5pm, it's family fun with all of Shakespeare's marvelous worlds coming to life with witches and fairies and spirits floating around. There are to hourly performances of Shakespeare's most famous supernatural scenes, children's masterclasses in Shakespearean magic (age 6+) as well as the chance to perform on-stage. 

Don't worry adults, no need to steal other people's children in order to celebrate. From 7pm there will be performances from Barry and Stuart running still with the same magical theme from the afternoon. There will be comedy from Piff the Magic Dragon and Chris Cox and this is all topped off with the fantastic sounding ‘Birthday Whirligig’ which will feature music from Johnny Flynn who himself acted in the West-end productions of ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘Richard III’ last year, and The Magic Numbers.

Surely unmissable?

Shakespeare's Globe21 New Globe Walk
Bankside
London
SE1 9DTwww.shakespearesglobe.com

The Great Gatsby

Everybody who is anybody is seen at the glittering parties held in millionaire Jay Gatsby's mansion in West Egg, east of New York. The riotous throng congregates in his sumptuous garden, coolly debating Gatsby's origins and mysterious past. None of the frivolous socialites understands him and among various rumours is the conviction that 'he killed a man'. A detached onlooker, Gatsby is oblivious to the speculation he creates, but always seems to be watching and waiting, though no one knows what for. 

As writer Nick Carraway is drawn into this decadent orbit, Gatsby's destructive dreams and passions are revealed, leading to disturbing and tragic consequences.

This week marked Mr Jay Gatsby's 88th birthday but from all the hype this year's Hollywood adaptation of Fitzgerald's novel, Gatsby is still going strong. Admittedly an 88th birthday is a touch random and doesn't regularly meet people's requirements for a milestone birthday but whatever. To celebrate I thought a review was in order.

So I'm lying on the sofa at my neighbour's house, praying that their particularly obnoxious child doesn't reappear at the bottom of the stairs to try and persuade me yet again that her parents normally let her have a packet of crisps before bed. I have *looks at watch* approximately 2 hours 43 minutes to read the entirety of The Great Gatsby or else face the wrath of my English lit teacher the next morning. I read it. All. But, and this is a big reveal for me, being such a blur, I really wasn't entirely sure how the story ended.

Anyway, I shrugged it off feeling that I had weeks and weeks ahead of me to understand the ending. Oh no. First exercise? 'Please write the main plot points in reverse order.' WHO ASKS A CLASS TO DO THAT? Cruelty, I tell you.

Anyway, that minor trauma out of the way, I quickly fell completely in love with this book, as generations have done before me. The writing was some of the best I'd ever read - beautiful without being flowery, easy to read without being simplistic. Gatsby is completely messed up and you know how much I love a troubled soul. Everything was so exciting, the prohibition parties, the glitzy dresses, the mysterious Gatsby, the romance, the decadence. Fitzgerald then subtly contrasts this addictive 1920s world with the frightening, depressing sub-culture - a modern Wasteland, the decline of the American Dream, dashed hopes and all with T J Eckleberg's famous eyes hauntingly watching on.

For an English literature student, The Great Gatsby is a playground full of symbolism, motifs that Fitzgerald actually created rather than ones English teachers around the world have persuaded us to interpret. Arguably, though, this is completely ironic if you believe that one of the things Fitzgerald wants his readers to realise is the futile value and meaning the modern world puts on objects... Woah, this post is becoming a little too thematic. But, the result of these motifs is that The Great Gatsby is incredibly visual - not surprising there have been so many adaptations. I have to say, though, and this is just from the trailer admittedly, Baz Luhrmann's film due out next month looks to have finally captured the dark side. Plus the Jay-Z soundtrack is surely inspired, drawing parallels between all these themes and our own modern world.

Ok, excuse the English Literature student coming out in this one. I tried not to but I slipped a little in places.. couldn't help it. I loved this book and it remains to this day one of the few that I have re-read. 9/10

I will leave you with the latest of Baz Luhrmann's trailers:

Other Gatsby posts:
Great Gatsby: The Game!

The Letters of F Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby on Stage...three times
The first Great Gatsby trailer

Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction 2013

    

   

The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize is, believe it or not, the only UK award for comic fiction. The Prize was founded in 2000 and has awarded the likes of Ian McEwan (Solar), Marina Lewycka (A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian) and Michael Frayn (Spies).

This year is set to be a tough battle with the five short-listed titles announced last week being made up of two previous winners (Howard Jacobson and Michael Frayn), a previous short-listee (Deborah Moggach) as well as critically acclaimed writers Joseph Connolly and Helen DeWitt.

Lovely to also see indie publisher, And Other Stories, with a nominee in this year's list following their unexpected presence in the Booker list, with author Deborah Levy missing out to HRH Hilary Mantel.

Margaret Thatcher: never too early for a book?

Everyone has those moments, don't they? When you wonder whether you've made a positive impact, whether you're doing anything worthwhile. Judging by Beyonce's last album, she's certainly had it... and if we've both had those moments, that basically means I am Beyonce, right? Now that would be an achievement: being Beyonce. Especially for a red head...

Don't worry, I'm moving on... my point is that, as much of an impact as I would love to have on the world in my lifetime, I'm not sure any impact feels quite right when the moment you die a plethora of books are published about you. There's just something distinctly creepy about knowing that television programmes, newspaper articles and whole autobiographies are there, being tweaked here and there, but ready and waiting for someone to die.

When it was announced that ex British Primeminister, Margaret Thatcher, died on Monday morning of a stroke, hardly a day went by before the publications started to surface. The 'big' Thatcher book, Not For Turning, written by ex editor of the Daily Telegraph newspaper, no doubt will be an instant bestseller when it is published following the funeral.

Thatcher is not the only one to cause a flurry of pre-meditated publishing, though. Worryingly a number of books on Amy Winehouse, who was just 27 at her death, were published almost instantly.

I'm not sure how I feel about it but I can't say I'm surprised by it. Well Thatcher certainly had impact: she was loved and hated by millions but everyone had an opinion on her. Plus Meryl Streep played her... surely that has to be up there in the top achievements that can be earned by anyone. Ever.

Twelve Bar Blues

Spanning three continents and two centuries, Twelve Bar Blues is an epic tale of fate, family, friendship and jazz. At its heart is Lick Holden, a young jazz musician, who sets New Orleans on fire with his cornet at the beginning of the last century. But Lick's passion is to find his lost step-sister and that's a journey that leads him to a place he can call 'home'. Meanwhile, at the other end of the century, we find Sylvia, an English prostitute, and Jim, a young drifter. They're in search of Sylvia's past, lost somewhere in the mists of the Louisiana bayou.

Last Christmas I asked my mum for the kind of book that spans quite a stretch of time, multiple generations. I appreciate that may seem an odd request but I just soak that stuff up... House of the Spirits, The Stranger's Child etc. Anyway, mum bought me this: Twelve Bar Blues by Patrick Neate.

Moving past the bizarre drawings on the front, I quickly got into the narrative of early twentieth century New Orleans. At first I was a little unsure about how successful Neate would be, being a white man, when it follows the lives of, almost entirely, black characters. As soon as you start reading, though, you forget about it entirely. It therefore doesn't surprise me at all that this book has had its praises sung by readers and critics alike; Neate must be doing something right. 

I completely fell for the world of 1920s New Orleans - its jazzy, dangerous, smoky 'ness'. By no means is New Orleans paradise with would-be Glee cast members and glitzy cocktails but Neate gives the city a vivacity and its characters a realness and ambition that is, oddly, enviable.

The tension created by constant threats simmering beneath the surface keeps everything moving but so does the music and the touching relationships that you can't help but root for, however unorthodox or controversial.

I definitely recommend this book, particularly if you're like to travel to lots of different places and times as you read.. Three continents, three different eras and several generations later and I'm satisfied that my mum fulfilled my Christmas wish!
8.5/10

Third Finger, Left Hand

Sisters Niamh and Grace haven't spoken in years, but now Niamh is dying and seeking forgiveness. In a final attempt of reconciliation the sisters meet, reliving the turbulence of their upbringing amid the exhilarating sounds of the 1970s Northern Soul scene, but can old wounds be healed before time runs out?

I don't know how many of you were/are CBBC kids - with the wonders that were Byker Grove, Animorphs, Fairly Odd Parents - but I was. So when my sister announces that Imogen Stubbs (RADA graduate, top RSC actress, ex-wife of Trevor Nunn and, most importantly, cast member of CBBC's Big Kids...) was to star in Third Finger, Left Hand, a play we had tickets for on Friday, we got all excited with nostalgia. Especially as the play was being performed in Trafalgar Studios' tiny three-row shoebox theatre.

And 'nostalgia' really is the right word to use I think as this play follows the highs and lows in the relationship of two sisters. Being very close with my own sister, I particularly enjoyed the play's exploration of that relationship - both the funny and the more touching side.

I've got to say it did take me half an hour or so to get into it. There are just two actresses, Stubbs and Amanda Daniels, in the entire play and yet there are three, four times as many characters, which they both drop in and out of when required. As a result, I felt at times it was necessary for the actresses to over-act, and with the elder sister already having a big personality, in that tiny room it became a little much.

Once I got into it, though, I was just astounded by how cleverly and seamlessly the actresses slipped in and out of characters without any costume or set change to aid the alternations. While I didn't find myself drying tears at the end, it was very touching and I really enjoyed it. You just can't go wrong at the Trafalgar Studios so do get yourself tickets for the next season!