If we find a man of rare intellect,
we should ask him what books he reads.
Ralph Waldo Emerson



I am assuming the same goes for a woman of rare intellect!

Moon Tiger - Penelope Livley

Moon Tiger is haphazard journey backward and forwards through time, told from varying points of view about the life of Claudia Hampton... who and how she loved and lost and damaged along the way. She decides on her death bed to write the history of her life as a reflection/blueprint (vainly) of the history of the world. 

Should I be embarrassed to admit that I hadn't heard of this book/author before being introduced to it/her by my book club?  It won the 1987 Booker Prize, that's more than enough time for me to have heard about it!!!

 

I am really glad I read this book.  I loved (most of) it. I'm a sucker for beautifully sculpted language.  I just love when an author uses beautiful or interesting prose to create not just a story but an interesting or clever way of delivering a story. Penelope Lively is certainly one of those authors.  Like this:

“I’ve always thought a kaleidoscopic view might be an interesting heresy.  Shake the tube and see what comes out. Chronology irritates me.  There is no chronology inside my head. I am composed of a myriad Claudia’s who spin and mix and part like sparks of sunlight on water.”  

 

How beautiful!  That the rest of the novel was reflected in these few lines makes them even more beautiful, and clever.

 

 I really enjoyed the way Lively tells and retells parts of the story from the perspectives of the different characters.  It sort of reiterated the protagonist Claudia’s point that each one person’s “history of the world” is different from another’s.

I found the story... not really moving... but interesting and provocative.  I really enjoyed reading about all of the slightly warped relationships in Claudia’s life.  She’s one hell of a woman.  Clever and worldly, but not what I’d call likable. 

I did get a bit bored/bogged down in all the historical/factual references Tito, Napoleon, Darwin et al.  Perhaps if I were more of an intellectual I would have gotten some sort of symbolism out of it... I suppose it was relevant in that it tied in with Claudia’s “history of the world” idea.  Ha!  What a beautifully arrogant woman!  That she considers her own life history synonymous the history of the world – very apt!

Moon Tiger is a sort of character study of the people/relationships in Claudia’s inner circle.  Relevant to me? Well, it made me reflect on the relationships in my inner circle. I do have a brother who I just adore (certainly not to the extent that Claudia loved Gordon!!!)... and being the type of mum that I am, I just hated the way Claudia treated Lisa.  What a bitch!  I don’t think that in the end there was any redemption as such for Claudia... but I love the way the book ended.  The simple, empty nothingness of death.  So lonely those last few lines – so stark after the firecracker life that was Claudia Hampton.

** Adapted from my own submision to a book club to which I once belonged.

The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

I think this is the best book I’ve ever read.  Big call, but I just LOVE it. I loved it the first time I read it a few years ago and I loved it again this second time around. The story is filled with profoundly sad, painful and disturbing moments. But there are also funny and even laugh out loud moments. (The description of the twins’ English teacher who is run over by a reversing truck cracks me up! – page 60 – it is bloody hilarious!!!)  

It is a magical story woven with such beautiful language.  I am in absolute awe of the rare gem that is Arundhati Roy’s writing style.  Stunning.  The horrible scene where poor, lovely little Estha is made to do terrible things to the Orangedrink Lemondrink man at the movies is deeply disturbing but articulated with the skill of master artist. Roy uses such bizarre and unique prose.  I had to keep rereading sections just to savour her beautiful manipulation of the English language.  Oh I am so in love with this novel. 

Right from the first lines of the first chapter you are just plunged into the rich, tender and dangerous beauty of India and the lives of Roy’s eccentric cast of characters.   Those first few “hot, brooding” lines had me touching down in Mumbai airport all over again and dreaming of going back to India! 

This is a sticky sweet story about love in all it's different guises.  It's not a love story.  It's far more fierce than that.  It's a reminder of how, when it comes to loving another human (romantically or otherwise) people frequently muddy the fragile line between wrong and right.

** Adapted from my own submision to a book club to which I once belonged.

Amsterdam - Ian McEwan

Here's part of a book review for an old book club I was in... I started the review but obviously never finished... still worth adding it in here...to remind me not to be so lazy in the future and to remind me which Ian McEwan's I've read...this was my first and I've gone on to read others... one day I might get around to reviewing those too.

 

ONE: Did the book live up to your expectations? Why or why not? Are you sorry/glad that you read it?

As usual, I had no major expectations of the book.  I haven’t read any Ian McEwan but am glad for the introduction!  He’s interesting.  I am not fully in love with this book, but it was a quirky read with some really lovely language, funny dialogue and an interesting look at friendship, in particular male friendship... so yeah, I am glad I read it.

TWO: What were some of the major themes of the book, and were they effectively developed? Are they relevant to your life? Was there redemption in the book for any of the characters?

The two most obvious themes to me are Ethics and Friendship... with undercurrents of aging,

Read with your mind open...

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” 

Dr Seuss. 

A great little rhyme to kick off my collection of thoughts about what other people have written.