Categories
1980s

The Mosquito Coast – Paul Theroux

I have loved Marcel Theroux’s books, enjoyed watching Lois Theroux on television and so have always been curious about books written by their father, Paul. Paul Theroux is the most famous of the three, so it is strange that he is the last one I have discovered, but now that I have, I will be keeping an eye out for as many of his books as possible.

I have always been intrigued by Mosquito Coast, but for some reason assumed it would be a dark thriller involving machetes, cannibals and malarial fever. I have no idea why I thought that, because it turns out that none of those are present in the book. I was surprised at how literary it was, having more in common with The Poisonwood Bible than any action film.

Mosquito Coast tells the story of a family who move from America to the jungles of Honduras. The father is an eccentric inventor, who is convinced that his family would benefit from leaving civilisation and becoming self sufficient. He has a bizarre plan that involves trading ice with the Hondurans.

I loved the first half of the book; the descriptions of their move into the jungle were perfect – atmospheric, emotional and realistic.  I was convinced that the book was going to become one of my all time favourites, but unfortunately the second half of the book wasn’t as good. It lost the plot – literary! The father’s eccentricity became the focus of the story and I thought the book lost a lot of the magic. It was still a fantastically written book, but it was just a bit too weird for me.

There were many thought provoking observations about our society:

He said, ‘It’s savage and superstitious to accept the world as it is. Fiddle around and find a use for it!’ God has left the world incomplete, he said. It was man’s job to understand how it worked, to tinker with it and finish it. I think that was why he hated missionaries so much – because they taught people to put up with their earthly burdens. For Father, there were no burdens that couldn’t be fitted with a set of wheels, or runners, or a system of pullies.

It is amazing how relevant the book is to life today, considering that it was written almost 30 years ago. It must have been ground-breaking back then, but even now the messages about the fragility of society and our desire to conform to the norm are relevant.

Recommended to lovers of literary fiction.

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Have you read Mosquito Coast?

Which Paul Theroux book should I read next?

Categories
1980s Books in Translation Classics Film

I Served the King of England – Bohumil Hrabal (Book and DVD)

 Translated from the Czech by Paul Wilson

I Served the King of England was the Claire’s choice for Savidge Reads’ and Kimbofo’s book group, but we all agreed that it wasn’t anything special. We were surprised that it featured on the Guardian’s 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read list, as we felt that it failed to provide anything particularly special or unique.

The book follows the life of Ditie, a short man with big ambitions. Beginning in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s, we follow his career as makes his fortune working in hotels. His observations are both bizarre and mildly amusing, but I failed to see the point of them. Ditie’s life is then changed drastically when the communists come to power. I won’t spoil the last part of the book for you, but you can imagine that life during WWII will not be as light and amusing as the first half of the book. The weirdness continues, but it is shadowed with a darker, more threatening atmosphere.

The problem with the book was that it failed to engage me. I was laughing at it, rather than with it and scenes which should have been shocking, failed to affect me. The book just passed me by, without letting me become emotionally involved.  

The ending annoyed me a lot. It came over as very preachy, over explaining the moral message that the author hoped to teach us in writing the book. It was the only time that the book had managed to evoke an emotion in me and I felt patronised and used.

Confused at why this book was so highly regarded I did a little bit of research and discovered that the film had been well received, so decided to order a copy.

The film turned out to be a lot better than the book. The order of everything was changed, so that the shocking war scenes were placed next to the light humour of life in the hotel. This meant that the power of each scene was enhanced. I immediately saw what the author had been trying the achieve, but also why he had failed. Some of the story line was changed (no baby + different ending, for example), but I thought these were all improvements to the story. I would place this in my top 50 films of all time (the book won’t get close!)

I highly recommend the DVD to anyone who likes to watch foreign language films., but the book is nothing special.

Book: stars3h

DVD: stars4h

Categories
1980s Booker Prize

Hotel du Lac – Anita Brookner

 Winner of the Booker Prize 1984

In my quest to read all the Booker prize winners I was convinced that this tiny book would be one of the quickest, easiest reads. It is only 184 pages, long, but the type and size of the book make it appear even smaller. Unfortunately, the content of the book made it feel as though it would never end. I was bored from page one, and it took enormous effort and determination for me to complete it.

The central character, Edith Hope, is sent to recuperate in a quiet Swiss hotel after becoming involved in a scandal. Whilst staying in the hotel Edith works on her new romance novel and observes the people around her. There is no real plot – this is one of those quiet, reflective books that I don’t enjoy reading.

I found Edith’s character to be slightly odd and I didn’t seem to find the same things amusing as her. The humor was lost on me and I became increasingly irritated by her passive nature. There was far too much thought and hardly anything happened in the entire book.

The pianist, sitting down to play, gave her a brief nod. She nodded back, and thought how limited her means of expression had become: nodding to the pianist or to Mme de Bonneuil, listening to Mrs Pusey, using a disguised voice in the novel she was writing and, with all of this, waiting for a voice that remained silent, hearing very little that meant anything to her at all.

This book reminded me of Home by Marilynne Robinson and I am sure that if you like one, then you will enjoy the other.

I’m afraid this just wasn’t for me.

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I know that a lot of people love the quiet beauty of this book.

Did you enjoy reading it?

Do any of her other books have more plot?

Categories
1980s Historical Fiction

The Clan of the Cave Bear – Jean Auel

A few weeks ago I asked the Weekly Geeks to ask me some questions about The Clan of the Cave Bear, the response was amazing, so it has taken me a while to compile all the questions and come up with some answers. Here is everything you wanted to know about The Clan of the Cave Bear!

Gautami Tripathy What is it about and why do you like it so much?

The Clan of the Cave Bear is about a girl called Ayla. She is just five-years-old when she is orphaned by an earthquake and finds herself alone in the world. She is adopted by the Clan of the Cave Bear, a Neanderthal clan, who are very different from her physically modern Cro-Magnons family. The book sees her learning how to interact and bond with a culture completely alien to her, and gives us a great insight into what life was like for the Neanderthal people.

raidergirl3 Were you impressed by the history, or do you think Auel made Ayla a little too intelligent, inventing most everything that could be imagined?

I was very impressed with the research that went into the book. Historical detail was present throughout the book, giving you a real sense of the sights and sounds of their world. I have often read reviews from people who are annoyed by Ayla’s intelligence. So far she hasn’t invented an exceptional number of things, but I have heard that it starts to get too much in the third book, so I’ll let you know once I’ve finished that one!

Claire What makes this one of your favourite books?

The best thing about this book is the unique plot. It is so different from any other book I’ve read. The world of our ancestors is vividly described, and the problems they faced are very different from the ones we do today. Their survival was in the balance on a daily basis and so they clung to traditions to try to ward off evil and remain healthy.

I loved Ayla’s strong personality and the way she dealt with the problems thrown at her. If you are looking for a book with a strong female role model – this is it!

Gnoe After I read The Lord of the Rings trilogy in one flow when I had finished my studies I sort of had enough of fantasy. Anything you can say to change my mind?

I wouldn’t class The Clan of the Cave Bear as fantasy – it is much closer to historical fiction. I appreciate that we can never really know what happened so long ago, but this book gives a very convincing estimate. I have to admit that I’m not a big fan of Lord of the Rings, and this may be due to the fact that I didn’t really connect with any of the characters – they just didn’t seem realistic to me. All the characters in The Clan of the Cave Bear were believable, fully developed and interesting. Other than length there isn’t much similarity between the two books.

Gavin I read the first two years ago. Should I read them again?

I read The Clan of the Cave Bear about two years ago too! I’m not planning to re-read it anytime soon, but I probably will in 10 – 20 years time. Whether to re-read or not is a personal descision, but I think you should try book three soon. I’m planning to!

 Becky Do you have a favorite character (or two)?

Ayla is my favourite character. she is so strong and intelligent. I love the way she questions everything. I’d like to think I’d be like her if I was put in the same situations.

Becky How soon into the books did you know that you were going to love them? Is there anything off-putting about these books that you think might be difficult for readers?

I have to admit that I didn’t like them straight away. The book begins with long descriptions of the flora and fauna present in the world and while it is clearly meticulously researched it didn’t interest me that much. I think other people would find this off-putting too, but I urge them to keep going as by the time you are a few pages in you will discover the magic of the book.

Becky Who would you recommend them to?

I would recommend them to everyone. I think they will have a special appeal to teenagers and women of all ages, but I do think that men would enjoy the series too. Literary fiction fans may find them a bit light, but anyone who loves a plot driven novel should enjoy them.

J.T. Oldfield When I was in college I remember a prof saying that one of the characters was based on a real skeleton–a man with a limp? Anyone know what I’m talking about?

No idea! Sorry! Can anyone else help?

Jacqueline C. I wonder what the main character “sounds” like, since the story is set 35,000 years in the past.

The Clan of the Cave Bear do not really speak, but communicate through hand signals and tiny grunts. Ayla has the ability to speak, but doesn’t learn until she is older. When she does it sound quite modern, but that didn’t bother me.

Louise Raidergirl already mentions it in her comment above, where she calls the series “the prehistoric sex-books”. And yes, there is a lot of intercourse in the first book, and my question is, does this continue all though the series? If yes, do you think the sex is what has made this series famous?

I’ve only read the first two in the series, and yes the sex does continue into the second book. I can’t see it stopping in subsequent books, but please let me know if I’m wrong. I knew nothing about the sex when I picked it up. It was just recommended to me as a really good story. I think some of the sex is very important as it shows the difference in opinion between the two groups of people. They treat sex in very different ways and I found their differing attitudes thought-provoking. 

The Dark I remember being fascinated with all the details about how they lived, found food, and made medicine. Did you have a favorite detail like that? About how to survive in the stone age?

I loved all those details too. I like to think of myself as being quite in touch with nature and able to survive if I was left out in the wild by myself, but although I think I’d be able to find enough food and keep warm, I don’t think I’d be able to make the clothes and water carrying bags out of animal skin. I loved the detailed descriptions of how to make all these items.

pussreboots I can remember the boys in my 7th grade English class reading a tattered copy of the book and giggling. I’ve never been tempted to read it myself. What would you tell me in the review to convince me to read it?

The sex is only a minor aspect of the book. Boys giggle over all sorts of silly things, but this book has so much detail that when the sex scenes are read in the context of the book they are fascinating.

Dreamybee The Clan of the Cave Bear are very different from Ayla and her people-did you prefer hearing about one civilization more than the other?

I think I prefered learning about the Clan of the Cave Bear more. They are so different from our society so their superstitions and customs were all new to me.

Rebecca
If you were a bookseller (as I am), how would you pitch these books to customers?

A fascinating book about life in the Stone Age. Meticulously researched, fast paced and cleverly plotted. One of the best books ever written!

WOW! That must break the record for my longest ever post!

Did you enjoy The Clan of the Cave Bear?

Is there anything else you’d like to know about it?

Categories
1980s Chick Lit Recommended books

The Fifth Child – Doris Lessing

I loved We Need to Talk About Kevin, so when Dorte suggested that The Fifth Child sounded similar, I decided to find a copy. Dorte is right, the two books both deal with a mother who is struggling to deal with ‘an unlovable child’ and I think fans of We Need to Talk About Kevin will enjoy this one too.

The Fifth Child focuses on a loving couple, Harriet and David, who buy a big house and dream of filling it with happy children. Each year they have a new child, and their dream seems to be coming true, but then everything changes when their fifth child is born. Ben is different from the beginning. She feels his violence even during the pregnancy, and when he is born he is of a completely different temperament to his older brothers and sisters. Harriet struggles to cope with his aggressive behaviour, which seems to get worse as he grows. The older children become isolated and fearful of their younger brother, and the family begins to fall apart.

The book raises many important issues, including whether ‘bad’ children are born that way, and whether it is more important to look after the four ‘good’ children, or focus your attention on the one difficult child.

I found Ben’s character a lot less believable than Kevin’s. His violence seemed a bit extreme, for example I cannot imagine any one-year-old deliberately killing animals, and found it even more implausible that she had to chase an 18-month-old for more than a mile before catching him – surely any adult can catch any child under the age of five in less than 50 metres?  

I also found the writing style a little tedious – there were no breaks in the text at all – no chapters, not even a small break between paragraphs. So, although it was only a short book (130 pages) I found it difficult to find places to stop for a short break. These are minor issues though, as this book is well worth reading.

Overall, this was a very interesting book, which would be perfect for book clubs. Recommended to anyone interested in parenting issues.

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Have you read any books by Doris Lessing?

Can you recommend any other books which focus on similar parenting issues?

Categories
1980s Booker Prize

A Month in the Country – J. L. Carr

A Month in the Country was short listed for the Booker Prize in 1980.

My penguin modern classic copy is only 85 pages long, so this was a very quick read. The book is set just after the First World War, and describes the month Tom Birkin spent in rural Yorkshire one summer. Tom was traumatised by his experiences in the war, and so retreats to the country to enjoy the peace and quiet. He spends his time uncovering a medieval painting on the church wall, and making many friends in the village.

The writing was beautiful, and I enjoyed it initially, but after a while I need more than this in a book. I became bored of the quaintness – it was all too ordinary for me. Perhaps I’d feel differently if  I was 30 years older, but reminiscing about one perfect summer, in which not much happens was a bit too dull for me, so I’m off to read something a bit more exciting! 

I read this for Cornflower’s book group, and everyone else seemed to enjoy it much more than me. You can see their opinions here.

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