Book Review: 'The Shepherd's Hut' by Tim Winton

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Book: The Shepherd's Hut, Tim Winton

Publication date: 2018

WCRG Meeting: 22 January 2020

Rating: 6.8

For years Jaxie Clackton has dreaded going home. His beloved mum is dead – and he wishes his dad was too, until one terrible moment leaves his life stripped to nothing. No one ever told Jaxie to be careful what he wishes for.

And so Jaxie runs. There’s just one person in the world who understands him, but to reach her he’ll have to cross the saltlands of Western Australia. It is a place that harbours criminals and threatens to kill those who haven’t reckoned with its hot, waterless vastness. This is a journey only a dreamer – or a fugitive – would attempt…

Overall, the book was praised as being very Australian and getting things right about the language, landscape and society it described. This was also confirmed by our guest attendee who lives in Australia. Incidentally, one of our Irish members mentioned how well Fintan’s character was done and that she almost instantly knew that he was Irish, well before this was confirmed in the book (however, others found his Irishness “twee”). 

One member was disappointed that the book wasn’t more about the landscape, as they expected from the description. However, this was questioned by other attendees who felt that the book did indeed describe and gave the reader a very good feeling of the landscape. Many of our readers liked the description of the ‘spiritual’ side of the landscape and were also impressed on the insight of life and survival in the outback.

Many appreciated the structure of the book with its three acts, and how we are first alone with Jaxie for half of the book. Having the story told by Jaxie himself we got to know him intimately and it was pointed out that otherwise we would just see him as a thug, but because we knew his inner thoughts and his grit, resolution, humour and ethics, we saw him completely differently.

The book felt more intense because it was narrated in the first person. We liked the relationship that developed between Jaxie and Fintan, it was strong without being sentimental. We also liked the relationship between Jaxie and Lee, which seemed sweet and innocent. However, it was also pointed out that we only get Jaxie’s view.

Overall the story was psychologically very convincing; in a situation like Jaxie’s you either retreat or become a ‘bruiser’ yourself.

Almost everyone commented on the amount of swearwords in the book. It also took a while to get used to the language, but it was generally felt that it was certainly worth persevering with the book. The voice and tone used was unique and “mesmerizing”, with some very beautiful expressions.

Many liked that we did not get all the answers, however, others did not (at all).

The book received a very respectable 6.8 points.

One of our members contributed the following: 

"Re our last book, here's some background which may help explain the priest character. The insert of the 'wild colonial boy' was significant by Winton and would be well recognized in Ireland and possibly Australia. 'He robbed the rich, he helped the poor, he shot James McAvoy. A terror to Australia was the wild colonial boy.'" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3QJPxiLOPo

October Review: 'The Wall'

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Book: The Wall, John Lanchester

Publication date: 2019

WCRG Meeting: 16 October 2019

Rating: 6.6



Thank you for a lively debate last week when we discussed John Lancaster's The Wall; described in one media review “as a taut dystopian novel that blends the most compelling issues of our time—rising waters, rising fear, rising political division—into a suspenseful story of love, trust, and survival”.

The emotional impact of patrolling the Wall, the boredom and the difference between two types of cold were well developed and described. The structure of the writing indicated this well with the sporadic use of poems about the cold/sky/sea throughout the novel.

Characters were developed in a patchy manner; Kavanagh, the storyteller’s dialogue was considered dull in parts, but his need to survive the tedium for the next two years, was reflected in this introspection. His relationship with his team started well when he was nicked named ‘Chewy’ by his teammates, after his experience of the snack bars. There was an easy rapport within this small team. The reading group felt it was a missed opportunity that the female interest, Hifa, was not given a fuller supporting role until the end of the book.

The Captain was considered by several of the group to be the best developed, with his back-story being drip-fed through the book until the betrayal (which I was not expecting)!

Events after this were felt to be a little unbelievable, however, the strangeness of their final destination of the oil rig for Kavanagh and Hifa was well written. His fear of heights was very believable and his need to overcome this to survive. Some of the group saw meeting the hermit and learning to share his resources as a convenience. There were flaws that the group struggled with, ‘who were the Others’, where had they come from, were there other walls restricting the flow of human movement?

Many felt it was a book for our times, relevant and in some respects plausible. The current world theme of walls, barriers, restrictions and controlled movements were also seen as themes in this book. The comparisons of our current generational gap of the young ‘blaming’ the older generations for the planet’s impeding demise was reflected in the novel, with the youngsters remote and blaming their elders for the catastrophic event known as the Change.

To quote one of the group: “ Lanchester’s Wall is whatever the reader wants it to be, without limitations as to allegory, analogy or other interpretation”.

The group’s final score was 6.6.

August review: 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'

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Book: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman

Publication date: 2017

WCRG Meeting: 28 August 2019

Rating: 7.5


Many people loved the book, and said it was wonderful and outstanding. It was an easy read and compelling in terms of what would happen next. However, for others it ‘did not click’.

The first part of the book seemed to be the most divisive, with some members sensing that something was not quite right but being curious and engaged to find out more. Others felt it was a painful read or felt embarrassed when reading about Eleanor, her disability, struggles and trauma in such a lighthearted manner. Did we laugh with her or at her?

The book explored the themes of loneliness, kindness and friendship. However, some questioned why a book which aims to explore the topic of loneliness needs to include such a traumatic childhood to do so.

The book had some profound takeaways: don’t judge people by their cover, be kind to each other, the importance of friends and a support network. However, it was a bit of an odd mix between serious and funny; very real descriptions of everyday struggles and hyperbole, literary devices.

Overall the booked seemed too lightweight for such a heavy topic. It was interesting however, that members who loved the book still could see it shortcomings, and most who did not like it could see why others might enjoy it. It seemed that the book tried to be too many things at once, and it very much depended on the reader on which parts they focused and therefore how they perceived the book.

The majority enjoyed the book, despite its flaws and the overall score the book achieved was 7.5 out of 10.

July Review: 'Circe' by Madeline Miller

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Book: Circe, Madeline Miller

Publication date: 2018

WCRG Meeting: 17 July 2019

Rating: 6.1


Miller’s Circe is a retelling of the story of Circe, Witch of Aiaia from Greek mythology. Circe only appears as a minor character in these original stories - the best known is The Odyssey - which gives Miller the freedom to freely re-imagine Circe and her story. 

The group was split on this book, many agreed that it was a fairy tale or fantasy book, however the split lines were along if people liked this or not. Another divide in the group was between readers finding the novel quite boring, whereas others really enjoyed the book. It was interesting to see that there wasn’t really a correlation on what members thought about The Song of Achilles, Miller's previous novel.

Many liked the character development of Circe throughout the book, but again, others did not see much development of the character.

A question asked was, where the myth stopped and Miller’s re-telling began. The book also inspired some members to go back to reading some classical myths again.

Many enjoyed the exploration on the theme of immortality; although it did put you off of wanting to be immortal! Another interesting theme was ‘divinity’ and what it means to be divine. Although unfortunately this was not much further explored in the book.

Many liked the use of language, although sometimes there was an overuse of new, odd words and also some very archaic sentences, which were trying to mirror the myths.

A discussion ensued on why the author picked Circe as a character. There are not many female main characters in the original Greek mythology, also the book used ‘motherhood’ as a main theme, something which is not much explored in classical mythology.

Two other important themes explored in the book was class and the different levels of gods, as well as ecological aspects, nature and the experience of nature/environment.

Below the review we got from one of our overseas members who, together with her friend, sums up the main issues discussed by our group in two paragraphs:

“I loved the book - I read it in two sittings over the course of just over 24 hours. It completely gripped me and I loved the fast pace, tripping from one event to the next.
I think that Miller did a very good job of drawing the disparate narrative strands of Greek myth and tragedy together into one cogent whole. I appreciated the jolts of familiarity as we encountered familiar figures from the myths through Circe.

A friend of mine criticised the book for a lack of depth and for its mere recitation of events, but I didn’t find this at all. I think there was character development and introspection and that any more interrogation of Circe’s mind and motivations would have been too much of a departure from the original stories. The myths are more like fairy tales in style and so prioritise story over character development.”

The book received a score of 6.1 with scores ranging from 3 to 10 (definitely a Marmite novel then!).

Reviews - Jan-May 2019

MAY 2019

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Book: Station Eleven, Emily St John Mandel

Publication date: 2014

WCRG meeting: 15 May 2019

Rating: 5.9

Station Eleven is a post-apocalypse novel in which most of the world was destroyed by a pandemic. “A virulent new strain of flu that "exploded like a neutron bomb over the surface of the earth", wiping out 99% of humanity; characters holed up in tower blocks while the world collapses around them; "unspeakable years" in which the unlucky survivors walk blasted roads in search of vestiges of civilisation; crazed prophets leading murderous cults and "ferals" leaping out from behind bushes.”.

The flu pandemic which was the catalyst for the story was viewed very differently across the group. For some this was felt to be very believable, whereas others felt that this was just a very easy and not very believable plot device and compared this to other dystopian novels, such as Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, which has a much more nuanced and worked out backstory to explain how we arrived at the world in which the book takes place. Other members again agreed that it was clearly a plot device, but still felt the use of the flu pandemic plot was needed and appropriate. 

It was pointed out that some kind of dictator/prophet always comes forward in times where structures fall apart. 

It was interesting to see the different ways people deal with extreme situations: from believe in something spiritual to people wanting to archive /preserve. 

To many the book felt disconnected between the two stories (‘aftermath of the flu pandemic’ and ‘the actor and his three ex-wives’). Many members felt that the links between different people didn’t work, that it was difficult to keep track of characters and especially that some chapters giving background to main characters (for example Arthur) came too late in the book.

What people liked about the book was that it was an interesting and different way to approach the topic. It was not purely a dystopian novel but also covered many other topics, such as what really matters, memory, regret, literature, adult/modern life etc. It also had some good metaphors, e.g. connectedness (through phones/internet, air & sea travel). Some also liked the use of the genre of graphic novel in the book. There was hope running through the book, with towns being established and Shakespeare still being played.

One criticism which repeatedly came up during our discussion was that some things didn’t ring true. It was interesting to see that different readers picked up on different points on this one (electricity, survivors, flu pandemic), and let other points go or were not bothered by it. Many liked the motto of the Travelling Symphony ‘Survival is insufficient’.

Overall, many found the book a bit too simplistic, and thought it needed a lot more work; more than one member of the group said, that it felt like a first book and that the author seemed a bit self-indulgent. However, others just enjoyed the read, and the way it made them think. The group’s average score was 5.9.

MARCH 2019

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Book: The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District, James Rebanks

Publication date: 2015

WCRG meeting: 13 March 2019

Rating: 

REVIEW TO FOLLOW

JANUARY 2019

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Book: Milkman, Anna Burns

Publication date: 2018

WCRG meeting: 23 January 2019

Rating: 7.3

Thank you to all who meet, or submitted their observations, to our meeting last Wednesday, where we discussed Milkman by Anna Burns.

Even though this is a novel about the Troubles in Northern Ireland and takes fear and division as its subject, the group was able to discuss it amicably. We were lucky to have one member who had lived there and was able to say that from her first-hand knowledge this gives a very good image of the life there.

We began with a discussion of the way the book is written and consequently read. Everyone agreed that the way it is put down on the page makes it difficult at first as the paragraphs are long and not broken up. One of us had listened to it on Audible rather than reading it on the page and had very much enjoyed the discursive, stream of consciousness nature of the telling.

We also considered the narrator’s habit of using titles rather than names which had caused some dismay in reviews but which most of us found funny and also sobering as a reminder of the dangers that were always present in the society where a false move could get you shot and betraying a friend or a relative was easily done. The titles were sometimes descriptive as in ‘Maybe Boyfriend’ and sometimes dismissive as in ‘Third Brother in Law’ and yet reminded us of the complexity and inter-relatedness of the society being described.

We went on to discuss the language and the way in which the writer is fascinated by language and invites us to understand something of the sensitivity where there were prescribed and proscribed names that could be given to babies and you could easily indicate that you were from the wrong religion or the relationship and put yourself beyond the Pale. Even though we heard about Nuns and St Teresa of Avila, we were not made to take sides.

The writer takes a subject where great delicacy of touch was needed and manages to stay sufficiently impartial so that no reader will feel alienated. Our Irish colleague said that to her there were enough signs to indicate one religion more than the other but we could still admire the skill with which we were left to see the stories of the individuals especially the narrator or ‘Middle Sister’.

We thought about the description of poisoning and what place it had in the story. Was it just an indication of a mad, sick society or was it about the way in which people damaged each other? It gave a role to the neighbours considering that no-one could go to hospital in case they got involved with the police or were seen as an informer. The neighbours took on a role almost as a Greek chorus foreboding trouble unless their advice was taken.

The question of the ending was raised. One person in particular thought it was weak and that it lowered the success of the whole book. The first sentence does link to the ending and perhaps makes some kind of structural unity, needed more when the subject is totally about disunity and fear.

We were glad to have written input from some absent members of the group. They had the same division of views as the rest of us- hard to read the long paragraphs, there being no names was disorientating but the overall effect was powerful , rewarding and worth the effort.

The general conclusion was that most of us really liked and appreciated this book and the average score was 7.3. One person suggested that if we took the mode instead of the mean it would have been 9.

December Review: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

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Book: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, Haruki Murakami

Publication date: 2013

WCRG meeting: 5 December 2018

Rating: 6.4


Thank you to all who meet, or submitted their observations, to our meeting last Wednesday, where we discussed Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami.

Initially, several readers found the start of the book to be sterile; ‘lost in translation’ was one observation, possibly because Murakami writes for an American audience, any translation is going to be challenging, and may compromise the integrity of the book or the message it conveys. Once we started to unpack the book, more subtle threads were uncovered. The use of colour has significant meaning in Japanese culture, and Tsukurs’s friends were identified as follows, white which means mourning (Shirane); black –mystery (Kurono); red-passion (Akamatsu) and blue fidelity (Oumi). Whereas his name had no colour in it. The air of melancholy running through the text reflected Tsukuru’s pilgrimage, through friendships as they came and went in his life. This was noted as being a theme of other books Murakami has written, but he does do ‘melancholy’ well. The use of elaborate similes for Tsukuru’s mental state pepper the novel.

The curious phrase in the title: “Years of Pilgrimage,” is a reference, to Franz Liszt’s celebrated piano works about his travels around Europe: his Années de pèlerinage (S.160, S.161, S.163). The specific part of the Années de pèlerinage, Tsukuru Tazaki, refers to throughout the novel is number 8 of the first year of pilgrimage: Le Mal de Pays (Homesickness), or as another character in the book, Haida (name means gray), translates it “a groundless sadness called forth in a person’s heart by a pastoral landscape.”

(Another book by Murkami is Norwegian Wood which begins with Toru Watanabe, a middle-aged man who feels overwhelmed by a sense of nostalgia as he listens to the song 'Norwegian Wood' by the Beatles. Hearing this song sends Toru tumbling eighteen years into the past to a time when he was still a college kid - sound familiar?!)

Generally, the group felt the book never reached it is potential, several story lines started but the themes drifted off and were never revisited. The storyline of a young man seeking answers to his abandonment by his friends as teenagers, with his subsequent visits to see them ‘back home’ sixteen years later, (why did he wait so long), led to some interesting but mainly unsatisfactory stories. Many in the group enjoyed the descriptions of Tsukuru’s trip to Finland, a complete adventure, the images of the silver birches was evocative. His relationship with Sara, the catalyst, to his pilgrimage was felt to be shallow and manipulative, what were her motives? 

The group awarded the book a score of 6.4 out of a potential 10.

October Review: Ines of My Soul

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Book: Ines of My Soul, Isabel Allende

Publication date: 2006

WCRG meeting: 31 October 2018

Rating: 7.3



Thank you to all who meet, or submitted their observations, to our meeting this Wednesday, where we discussed our latest choice, Isabel Allende's Ines of my soul.

Our regular member Olga, from Peru, had recommended this book to the group, and introduced it at our meeting. It was wonderful to have someone who knows the country and culture to give the book extra vitality and poignancy.

Historically correct the style is a good mix of real and imaginary characters. The group noted the development and growth of Ines through the book, as she leaves home and Spain, innocent and naïve, to travel to the New World accompanied by her niece, at the time, this was a hugely brave thing to do. She goes in search of her husband, but finds so much more…….adventure, war and love.

The descriptions of the battles between the Conquistadors’ and the Mapuche, the indigenous people, were graphic and some members found these passages difficult to get through. These was a sense of guilt by some of the group around these acts of European domination.

The romantic story that runs alongside these acts of aggression helped keep some readers attention. The everyday lives and the struggle to survive was evident in the natives needing to protect their land and animals, as this meant they were feed and had a level of freedom. Several other female characters played an important role in the story, including Catalina, a native servant with a great knowledge of herbs and their healing powers, and who became Ines best friend.

The structure of the language was sometimes confusing; written only from Ines' perspective/views, her speech would periodically shift to talking to Isabel, her daughter.

One reader summed the book up as: “Powerful. Gruesome. Compelling.”

The group gave this book a well deserved 7.3 out of 10

September Review: 'All the Light We Cannot See'

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Book: All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr

Publication date: 2014

WCRG meeting: 19 September 2018

Rating: 8.3



Thank you for those of you who turned up to our meeting in September, where there was a lively discussion on the novel All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr:

The book was very well received by our reading group. The beautiful, lyrical language was what many found most appealing and outstanding. Great imagery was created on the page. One member who sent in his review via e-mail, could hardly stop himself from just quoting passages from the book.

Some would have preferred a chronological narrative, and others found the short chapters to be tedious and making the book feel too long. Many were also disappointed by the ending, having preferred a shorter more poignant ending than the drawn out ending over decades.

We enjoyed how the different stories intertwined, however some found it a bit frustrating that we knew all along that Marie-Laure and Werner would meet, and we were just waiting for the when and how.

The title was a play on words, showing how much there is to see in life. The book was felt to be also very effective to show the effects war has on people caught up in it, showing the waste of life, skill etc., which made the book basically an anti-war book.

Interestingly, many members read the book previously after the book was recommended to them, a couple of our book club member even discussed the book at other bookclubs.

The book received an impressive score of 8.3 out of 10.

June Review: 'The Heart's Invisible Furies'

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Book: The Heart's Invisible Furies, John Boyne

Publication date: 2017

WCRG meeting: 27 June 2018

Rating: 7.8

It is a long novel encompassing the life of a homosexual man in Dublin from the 1930’s. It is very much an Irish story and conveys a great deal about the life of a gay man in a very restrictive society dominated by the Roman Catholic Church. Several members of the group had themselves experienced life in Dublin and one at least had considerable feeling for the experience of being gay in that environment.

The group thought that the main theme of the book was the sadness and frustration of the gay man who, for much of his life, could not acknowledge what he felt and what he wanted. As a result he had short sexual encounters in back alleys but found the experience of love for a man very difficult to fulfil. When he found some of the experience of being a father with Ignac, even that was full of violence and loss

The other main theme was Ireland itself and in particular the suffering caused by the Roman Catholic Church both to women and to gay men. The way in which girls were driven from their homes by the cruelty of priests, was echoed by the general population. Smoot in Amsterdam gives a very fierce condemnation of Ireland or at least of this aspect at this time and by that stage we know some of the reasons for it.

Several of us were critical of the coincidences in the plot although we also recognised that some of the very best writers eg Shakespeare have also made free use of coincidence. One person found the way in which the characters were revealed and the action developed slowly was satisfying because that enabled greater understanding. We thought that the characters were well drawn and were set into a believable context. Dublin was made vivid through Mary Margaret and the Avery couple but Amsterdam perhaps less so. The language was discussed and we liked the way in which Irish was suggested but not intrusive.

Overall, there was appreciation and no-one had a very negative response to the book. 

 The score given to it was 7.8 out of 10.

May Review: 'A Gentleman in Moscow'

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Book: A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles

Publication date: 2016

WCRG meeting: 16 May 2018

Rating: 7.4




The vast majority of our book club members loved this book. They especially liked the main character (‘a real gent’) and found it charming and whimsical. Members described the book as very elegant, humorous and a clever book, well written. A lot of what was mentioned during the book, and especially in the first chapter, was later picked up again and became meaningful, “the first chapter contained basically the whole book”. Readers also liked the many different characters and the description of them. We also liked the referencing of classic books and movies.

Some criticisms were that the book was a bit long and a slow read, however it still managed to keep the readers curious as to what would happen next. Although everyone liked the count and found him an endearing character, some felt that he did not really develop as a character during the book; especially considering for how long the book followed him.

All chapter titles began with an ‘A’, but because we couldn’t really find a reason for this, it felt more gimmicky than clever.

Some questions about the book remained. Did it give readers an insight into Russia and Russians, or was it a bit too detached from the real world outside the hotel? The awareness of the difficult times in the background was very subtly depicted - perhaps too subtly. Also, some episodes did feel quite unrealistic and left readers wondering.

Overall, the book was a very nice read, albeit some readers were left somewhat bored and wanting some darkness or tension to enter the narrative. However, these members were in the minority and most loved reading it.

The final score was 7.4 out of 10.

March Review: 'The Girls of Slender Means'

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Book: The Girls of Slender Means, by Muriel Spark

Publication date: 1963

WCRG meeting: 21 March 2018

Rating: 7



The novel is set in London in 1945 at the end of the war in a shabby/genteel boarding house for young ladies called the May of Teck Club. We meet the various girls of slender means and follow their lives and love affairs over a few weeks until a shocking event transforms the wry comedy of their existence into something suddenly tragic and baleful.

The book is just a small volume, and Spark’s writing style is very sparse, but very dense with lots of layers behind it. Her dry way of writing was acknowledged and compared to be “almost like a very crisp Chardonnay”. Members enjoyed the irony and fun with tongue-in-cheek humour and play on words, for example the many meanings of ‘slender’ which were touched upon in the novel.

One question raised a few times was if, and how, the quotes of poetry Spark selected were relevant to the story, and maybe even a foreshadowing. A special shout out here to anyone who did look them all up. One example was the ‘Wreck of the Deutschland’ that appeared numerous times.

Some criticism involved the slow pace of Spark’s writing, and some members said that it was difficult to connect with the book and some of the character, but they still appreciated the quality of the writing. Others said that they either struggled with Spark before or felt it was a hard slog to get into this book.

Many enjoyed the description of publishing and “the world of books”, and the description of the immediate post-war period. “Spot on” was the comment from members who lived through the time.

Another member, who did read several of Muriel Spark’s books, sensed something dark in her books. One member commented that he found it a thing of its time: “twee”.

There was much about the status between women, between their looks, size, men. As well as the role of women: two possible futures for women, either to become spinsters or to get married. Another recurring theme was that of religion.

One participant became rather impatient with the book, as there was also a lot of repetition of themes and topics. Although he seemed to be one of the major characters in the book, Nicholas didn’t quite get explained, nor how and when he gets killed.

Many found it interesting how the focus shifted from one character to another and there is no clear main character throughout the book.

Overall, the book was well received and book club members were impressed with how Muriel Spark created a whole world with very few words. A very simple novel on the surface, but very complex underneath.

It received a score of 7.

February Review: 'The Night Circus'

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Book: The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

Publication date: 2011

WCRG meeting: 21 February 2018

Rating: 4


Thank you to all who either attended in person, or submitted their reviews in advance of our meeting on 21 February where we discussed The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

I’m afraid the group could not find much to commend/recommend the book so most of our comments are rather bleak.

The group struggled to find out what the book was actually about, most had come along to find the answers, to which there were none! Several found it long and going nowhere. There was little development of the main characters and plot. It was suggested it was more targeted at the young adult audience, and would appeal to Harry Potter readers. Interestingly the 2016 edition of the book has an appendix with descriptions and more details of the characters.

The descriptions of the circus and the illusions (magic?) were more detailed but repetitive. The circus colours were black and white, names were unimportant – just labels. (all very confusing)! However, we all enjoyed the lavish meals and the food descriptions were good, if repetitive. Clothes were described in great detail and all the characters seemed to enjoy reading.

The story plot as described on the advertisements “a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors.” This was misleading as again this theme was not developed in any cohesive way. Celia’s father was cruel and remained a ‘ghost/shadow’ constantly criticizing her efforts; whilst Marco was much loved but his character was less developed, so the reader didn’t identify with either of them.

One reader noted that the author had entered a writing challenge which formed a basis for her novel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Novel_Writing_Month This is the National Novel Writing Month (often shortened to NaNoWriMo)), an annual, Internet-based creative writing project that takes place during the month of November. Participants attempt to write a 50,000 word manuscript between November 1 and November 30.

The group did enjoy the originality of the title of the book and the potential the novel presented but didn’t achieve. All felt it could be developed into a visually stunning film. The scoring definitely reflected the 'Marmite' analogy as we received votes of 9 and 1.

The final mark was a disappointing 4.

December Review: 'The Sympathiser'

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Book: The Sympathiser, by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Publication date: 2015

WCRG meeting: 13 December 2017

Rating: 7.5


Thank you to all who either attended in person, or submitted their reviews in advance of our meeting on 13 December 2017. We met to discuss this novel about the struggles of the divided mind to find a way of believing in something when the answer that he seems to find is ‘nothing’. As usual the group was divided too but not passionately. Most of us had found something worthwhile in the mixture of philosophy, humour and history and we had the patience to learn something about a country that only one of us had seen at first hand.

The discussion began by considering the way in which the first person narrator whom we know as the Captain described himself from the beginning as being divided, in two minds. He begins and ends with this division and the whole novel shows all sorts of divisions. We spoke about the problems of the expatriate as the narrator is one of the Vietnamese who leaves Saigon when the Americans abandon the country to its fate. He spends some of the narrative describing the ways in which he both wishes to be Vietnamese and yet finds himself needing to live in a foreign country which is alien to him. Doctors and lawyers are janitors and work in supermarkets.

The theme of homelessness and displacement plays out in many ways, and we noted the way in which sexuality is introduced but is not allowed to develop into satisfying love. He himself is illegitimate and blamed for this. In spite of the conclusion that it all comes to ‘Nothing’ this book was satisfying in a way to most of us. We noticed the alienation of the writer being a communist not long after the McCarthy era in the United States and the way in which history, in the form of his film is written so that he and his fellow /sympathizers’ are written out. He is not named, but nor is anyone else. All have nick-names given to them such as the ‘Crapulent Major’ but have no names of their own apart from Madame Mori.

One of our group asked us to consider how we would describe the kind of fiction that the book represents and we found that an illuminating question as it was difficult to answer. Is it history? Well not really and yet it makes us think about the way in which the west fights wars that it thinks are in its interest and then walks away leaving ‘nothing’ We were shown of course that there is a bleak wasteland of the places where the forest and the natural habitats of the land were flattened and destroyed. Yet it is not sentimental in any way. He even points out that they didn’t need the Americans to spoil the country, they were perfectly capable of doing that for themselves. Still, crammed into a boat his final thought is ‘We will live’. The revolution has still to be found but they will go on seeking it. We enjoyed the humour and the philosophy: ‘life is a suicide mission’ as well.

Overall score given was 7.5.

November review: 'The Essex Serpent'

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Book: The Essex Serpent, Sarah Perry

Publication date: 2016

WCRG meeting: 1 November 2017

Rating: 6.8


Thank you to all who either attended in person, or submitted their reviews in advance of our meeting on 1 November where we discussed ‘The Essex Serpent’ by Sarah Perry.
Set in Victorian times the novel follows a wide range of characters. Many members of the group commented on how very well drawn and interesting each character in the book was.. A stand out character was of course Cora Seaborne, a rich London society widow, who goes hunting for fossils and the mythical ‘Essex Serpent’ in the Essex countryside; and her son Francis inspired a wide discussion on how children who are ‘a bit different’ are treated then and now.

Some were disappointed by ‘the Imp’, after expecting a much more interesting character when he was first introduced. It was surprising how little conversation the Reverend Will Ransome generated, supposedly being a main character, but he was overshadowed by the characterisation of other characters such as Stella Ransome, Martha and Charles Amrose.

We discussed what the main themes of the book were and many saw it drawing on the theme of ‘What is sin?’ by touching on topics such as Adam & Eve, temptation and the Seven Deadly Sins. Another big theme of the book was the confrontation between Reason & Faith, or Religion & Science, during this time. Both Darwin and Mary Anning found numerous mentions as did several cutting-edge medical innovations, and also how the Reverend Will Ransome deals with them.

The novel seemed to aspire to be Dickensian with many subplots, but it was widely felt that it did not quite get there, a view also held by our resident Victorian expert; other critics felt this book was in part a gothic novel, however, overall the group disagreed.

Although almost everyone enjoyed reading the book, many were baffled why exactly it won so many prizes. The overall feeling was that the book was a bit too long and could have done with some tightening up, mainly in its middle part. Even a new subtitle was suggested: ‘The Essex Serpent: or Much Ado about Nothing’. The neat ending left many a bit disappointed.

Overall score: 6.8

September review: 'God of Small Things'

Book: The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy

Publication date: 1997

WCRG meeting: 13 September 2017

Rating: 7.7



Thank you for all who managed to attend our meeting last week, and to all who sent in reviews and kind regards to Christine attending her last ‘formal’ meeting with us. Our discussions, as always, were varied and interesting, exploring the issues and characters of The God of Small Things, (1997) by Arundhati Roy.

Several members of the group had started this novel some years ago and had given up; a couple of our readers also almost gave up this time, but they fortunately persevered and, in the end, were not disappointed.

It is a story about the childhood experiences of fraternal twins whose lives are destroyed by the "Love Laws" that lay down "who should be loved, and how. And how much." The book explores how the small things affect people's behaviour and their lives. 

Nearly all felt the use of language was wonderfully descriptive with a wealth of rich metaphors and similes. Several readers did not like the structure of the novel, the constant jumping around in time, but they kept going as they wanted to find out how the pieces of the seemingly individual stories fitted together. The characters were engaging and all had a part to play in the novel, from the lowly Velutha, an untouchable in the service of the wealthy Mammachi. (Paradise Pickles and Preserves). The language of the twins as children was delightful and fun to read, even their game of spelling words backwards.

The story starts with the funeral of Sophie Mol. The narrative then slowly unwinds with the twins’ story shaped by events that they do not understand, and they do not have anyone to ask. The relationships and romantic involvements of the characters show a consistency of what is deemed socially as the ‘wrong type’ of love and therefore doomed to failure and tragic endings.

The group discussed the sense of the village being claustrophobic and closed – even when characters escape to other characters they almost all returned; the colonial influence on the area was evident in the politics discussed in the novel. Seen as a fractured society, this still seems relevant today where many people in small communities are still imprisoned by their background and gender. The death of Velutha at the hands of the police was seen as an act of prejudice and was shocking in its violence. 

The final average score from thirteen readers was 7.7.

July Review: 'The Tobacconist'

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Book: The Tobacconist, Robert Seethaler

Publication date: 2012

WCRG meeting: 5 July 2017

Rating: 6.4

Thank you to all who either attended in person, or submitted their reviews in advance of our last meeting on 5 July where we discussed The Tobacconist, by Robert Seethaler. The views of the Wolfson Contemporary Reading Group on this slim novel were very mixed and curiously split between the age ranges, with our younger readers feeling a greater affinity for Franz than some of our older readers.

Franz, a young 17-year-old arriving in Vienna from a rural community, is initially upset by his mother’s decision to send him to be an apprentice to the elderly tobacconist (Uncle (sic!)) Otto Trsnyek, a man his mother says owes her a favour (“It was a hot summer that year, and we were young and foolish…”) 

However, he quickly settles to a life of reading the daily papers and greeting customers - the most famous being Professor Sigmund Freud. Several in the group felt the historical use of a real character has been manipulated to fit the novel.

Franz has fallen madly in love with Anezka, but finds that her erratic behaviour leaves him confused regarding his relationship with this bohemian young woman; he pursues Freud to ask for advice on his love life and generally on women!

Seethaler’s description of the tobacconist shop was felt to be well-drawn and several members reminisced with personal experiences of tobacconist’s of their youth. The group also commented that his use of descriptive language was incredibly beautiful especially in his descriptions of the natural world. Franz and his mother write regularly, starting with postcards and brief updates, these were humorous and the group identified with the changing relationship of son and mother. The change of relationship cleverly signified as they begin to exchange letters feeling that there was more to discuss than could be fitted on to a postcard size.

The book was an easy read with the story developing quickly, some felt it tried to too hard and as a historical story did not represent the suffering of the people under the Nazi regime as it should have done, although this is all conveyed through the eyes of a 17-year-old youth who is more concerned with his emerging sexual feelings.

Parallels were drawn between Franz’s mother and Anezka, both women finding pragmatic ways of surviving, in a world ruled by men. Franz’s naivety leads him to misread most of the events/relationships he experiences and his actions could be considered extreme/foolish.

The final score was a reputable 6.4 which signifies the extreme range of marks given.

May review: 'Burial Rites' and 'The Sea'

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Books
Burial Rites, Hannah Kent (2013)
The Sea, John Banville (2004)

WCRG meeting: 3 May 2017

Rating
Burial Rites: 8
The Sea: 7.5


Nine of us met to discuss two books and although at first we had thought this would be two separate discussions we found several points at which they connected with each other. We began with Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. Six of the nine of us preferred this novel when we began the discussion but one or two changed to preferring The Sea after we had talked. People liked the Icelandic setting of Burial Rites and the way in which the writer conveyed both period and setting with a profound feeling for the landscape and how the characters were dependent on the land in the mid-nineteenth century. The author spent time in Iceland as a graduate student and experienced the darkness and the cold of the place as well as the loneliness of the person who did not belong.

We were all involved in the feel of the place, the dark of winter creeping over the land and the vastness of the Atlantic which is described as ‘coiled’ and ‘ uneasy’ giving it a strange and sinister life. Kent conveyed the effect of the landscape on the people extremely well. Bones were like ‘knives beneath the skin.’ All the senses are invoked: sounds and smells are conveyed in blood of slaughter and the importance of the animals alive and dead.

No-one had found the Icelandic poetry helpful in reading but the novel itself was clearly experienced as poetic. The whole landscape is as someone pointed out, a character in the story. The people are powerfully conveyed and do change and develop as the novel unfolds. There was some disappointment in the group that the two daughters are brought sharply into focus at times but much is left unexplained. One person liked the structure and the way in which there are questions, most of which are answered. Everyone agreed that we hoped that something would intervene to prevent the inevitable ending but the bald description of the last scene is clean, cold and unforgiving. Although the ending is itself known from the beginning (it being based on a true story), the structure allows us to be fascinated by the characters and to want to find out more. No-one had problems with the way in which different narrative voices are used. In fact most people seemed to think that it enhanced the immediacy and claustrophobia of the families living in the farms in the winter.

When we voted we awarded it an average of 8

The Sea by John Banville, a Booker prize winning novel was much appreciated as an account of memory and the wish to revisit childhood and the dawning of sexuality. Nothing is entirely what it seems and nothing stays the same. We were all agreed that the seaside of childhood holidays is beautifully conveyed and the way in which the child witnesses but does not understand adults is reminiscent perhaps of The Go Between .

Not many of us had read this book but, among those who had, they agreed that the language was beautiful although the vocabulary was at times a bit abstruse. Perhaps this put us into the position of the child who is not sure what the adults are talking about? We considered the richly textured structure with the account of the death of the writer’s wife and his presence as an adult in that process in contrast with his presence as a child in the lives of the adults. The seaside in the 1950s or 60’s is evoked through memory and is more stable than the relationships or even identity of the people. One of our corresponding members pointed out the metaphor of the way the English seaside changes from the colour and life of the summer into cold and disillusion in the winter and we are invited by Banville to consider whether this is a metaphor for aging and the way the old man perceives the memories of his youth.

The score given to this novel was 7.5.

March review: 'Golden Hill', by Francis Spufford

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Book: Golden Hill, Francis Spufford

Publication date: 2016

WCRG meeting: 8 March 2017

Rating: 7.8


Thank you to all who either attended the meeting in person, or submitted their reviews in advance at our last meeting on 8 March where we discussed Golden Hill, by Francis Spufford. We had a lively evening discussing the book.

A young man, Richard Smith, arrives on the brig Henrietta in small-town, colonial New York in 1746 bearing a bill for the sum of £1000 expecting to exchange it for cash from a trader, Mr Lovell, who owes this amount to the London company that wrote the bill. He won't say how he will use this enormous sum of money and even the reader is not enlightened until the very end of the book. Mr Lovell is understandably nervous and awaits confirmation from the London company by ship.

So begins a rollicking, picaresque rom-com of a book with more than a nod towards Tristram Shandy and Tom Jones with characters straight out of a Hogarth engraving, helped, or possibly hindered, by being written in the style of an 18th century novel with its use of archaic words, period punctuation and turns of phrase. Even the chapters are numbered and dated with the accession date of George II. This is pre-revolutionary America and everyone, to a man, is proud of being British.

After twenty years of writing non-fiction, this is Francis Spufford's first novel and he has managed to create vivid scenes of 18th century street and salon life that draws the reader into a world of commerce in which money and mistrust underlie everything. Comparisons between New York (a town of 7,000) and London, (one hundred times bigger) help to set the scene. New York is conveyed from Smith’s point of view - he thought the populace healthier and it was a rarity to see three women not marked by smallpox.

The Reading Group were greatly energised by their discussion though not necessarily because it was universally liked. Some thought that just too much was happening, and though hugely enjoyable at times it wasn't always clear just how it all hung together. The initial MacGuffin, the promissory note, is largely forgotten until the very end. In between its initial appearance and its conversion into hard cash, we have Smith helping to produce and perform in a theatrical play; almost beaten to a pulp at an anti-Papist bonfire followed by the mob chasing him through the streets and then roof-tops; fighting a duel; imprisoned for debt and then for murder; and steamy sex in a bathhouse. It was felt that a second reading would help make events clearer and one member had done this (and consequently almost doubled his score by doing so) but even then some connecting elements of the story were missed and it was only in the group discussion that the riot of action could be slowed and unpicked. Some members were put off by the mannered style of writing, while for others this was the real joy of the book.

The characters were very finely drawn, none being especially sympathetic, and some in fact were downright malicious but all were believable. Septimus Oakeshott, Secretary to the Governor was probably the most decent but even he was known to be a spy and would find out what was going on by any means at his disposal. The attraction between Smith and Tabitha was compared by themselves to that of Beatrice and Benedict and in the final chapter headed August 1813 with Tabitha now an elderly spinster, she sets down the events of that tumultuous period 67 years ago when Smith arrived and left with his (WARNING: PLOT SPOILER) sledges of slaves bought at the market, to start a new life of freedom. Tabitha can't help reveling in the fact that her father was taken in by Smith and that he had (WARNING: ANOTHER PLOT SPOILER) “entertained a n....r unawares" and "pressed upon him the society of his daughters". And when the laughter of others had died away "that judge, lawyer and jury had excused a black man for the death of a white one......that the assembly had thought him worth wooing.......he had been treated as a person of consequence....That Terpie had---- Well; enough of that." Tabitha belatedly becomes more human and is now living in post-revolutionary America as she perceives that she has moved from living in one epoch to another, both mutually unintelligible. She admits she has grown no nicer but her contrariness has diminished into a more easily domesticated form - but she remembers how good it was to scream!

All in all the book provoked a great deal of debate. All our members were impressed by this novelistic debut but some more than others. The final score of 7.8 reflects that a few marks were low but many were high.

January review: 'Sweet Caress, by William Boyd

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Book: Sweet Caress, William Boyd


Publication date: 2015


WCRG Meeting: 12 January 2017


Rating: 7


Wolfson Contemporary Reading Group met on 12 January 2017 to discuss William Boyd’s novel Sweet Caress. There was, unusually, general consensus regarding the book with all readers gaining a certain level of enjoyment from reading the book and finding it a quick read.

The narrative moves swiftly along following the life of Amory Clay, born in 1908, and destined to become a photographer. Her life is not uneventful especially set against the tumultuous events of the
twentieth century. She is in Berlin in the early 1930s and is saved from an encounter with Nazi Brownshirts, but she is not so lucky in an encounter with Mosley’s fascists in the ‘Battle of Cable Street’ in 1936. 

There were some reservations among readers that Boyd’s coverage of such a wide number of eras and events meant that he did not achieve a fully rounded character in his narrator and that the supporting characters were also not fully fleshed out. We wanted to know more about her gay uncle, a photographer of socialites in the early part of the century who encourages her in her photography career, and more on both her daughters who follow such different paths, as well as other characters who litter the book in a cursory way. Boyd touches on important moral topics such as euthanasia, but these are also dealt with in a somewhat non-reflective manner. 

The narrator's contemplation of death later in her life is really a means to allow Amory Clay a chance to review her own life – the life the reader has also lived through the past 450pp. She sums up her life as complicated, but that it is these complications that make her feel alive. But she also sees herself as ‘a certain type of ape on a small planet circling an insignificant star in a solar system that’s part of an unimaginably vast expanding universe’. This seems a message for us all. 

In the end the view was that it was a perfectly enjoyable read; Boyd rarely writes a bad book, but it left one with a feeling that it covered too much ground at the expense of depth of characterisation. It is, as someone commented a ‘patchwork view of a human life’, but it is a patchwork that does not work as a whole. The photographs were generally thought to be an interesting addition to the book, adding to the idea that it is a memoir, but no one really felt that they showed her to be a good photographer. Another reader wrote ‘I suppose my four adjectives for the book and its characters/plot would be, like some photos themselves: distant, unpersuasive, flat, black-and-white.’ 

In the end the book gained a credible 7 out of 10.

December review: 'The Sellout', by Paul Beatty

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Book: The Sellout, Paul Beatty


Publication date: 2015


WCRG Meeting: 7 December 2016


Rating: 5.1

Thank you to all who either attended the meeting in person, or submitted their reviews in advance at our last meeting on December 7th, 2016 where we discussed, The Sellout by Paul Beatty.

This book evoked some strong views and a spirited debate. Most of us agreed that the satire on racism was addressing a subject that is still important in the world in spite of the major changes of the sixties in the United States. What we found difficult to accept was the concept of this novel. It won the Booker prize in 2016 so we would expect a structure that makes some sort of sense and characterisation that would arouse the readers’ interest. However, some felt that the characters were of no interest, others found some possibility of connection with the bus driver, Marpessa. The structure that seemed to be offered by the opening court scene, being also the last scene at the end of the novel, seemed not to be used to make any clear point and in fact the novel mocks the desire for closure. ‘Daddy’ the psychologist who gives the narrator occasion to mock psychobabble is against closure, but the book ends with a page entitled ‘Closure’ –‘I’d never understand and he’s right, I never will’.

The book has received great admiration in reviews and in the press commentary for its Swiftian satire and for its outrageous mockery of almost everything that the white middle classes hold dear. Even the residential area of Dickens had disappeared! The Wolfson group mostly found that it was so much directed to an American audience that they couldn’t understand the language or the cultural references and there was perhaps an undercurrent of annoyance with the Booker judges for opening up the prize to the rest of the English speaking world. Here we might have the reality of reverse discrimination where only one kind of whites was allowed before and we now suffer from the opening up to everyone. (We did also acknowledge that other Booker writers whom we had read before were not always easy to read).

Our corresponding members were equally divided and firm in their views with some very positive comments: ‘I love his extended riff on the whitewashing of literature’. Everyone had enjoyed that element but the idea that to understand segregation a black man needs to take a slave and re-segregate a hospital did not seem to most to be enough to fire a novel. One person wanted to switch it off. Another was ‘bored after twenty pages’ and ‘didn’t care enough to continue’. One consequence of the strength of views was that the Americans and one person who had lived in America in our group found the book very funny and really enjoyed the wit and saw value in the satire while the rest were perhaps experiencing being shut out or segregated. At least the novel and the discussion led us to think again and maybe consider whether in the UK we can feel the need to look at our comfortable assumptions.

When we voted, the book was awarded 5.1