"A Month In The Country" by J.L. Carr

"We can ask and ask but we can't have again what once seemed ours for ever..."

Tom Birkin, a damaged World War One veteran, is employed to a find and restore a mural in a village church, whilst another veteran is employed to look for a grave beyond the churchyard walls. The writer looks back 58 years later, and as an old man, on his idyllic Summer of 1920.

Nigel explained that as he gets older he is increasingly drawn to nostalgia and memory.  With over fifty years of life already lived he has more to look back on than, in all probability, to anticipate.  There is a beguiling quality to the way the mind recalls events that happened long ago.  Tom Birkin writes his account of the "cloudless, golden, incomparable summer of 1920" from the perspective of September 1978 and concludes his tale with one of the finest endings Nigel can remember reading:

"We can ask and ask but we can't have again what once seemed ours for ever - the way things looked, that church alone in the fields, a bed on a belfry floor, a remembered voice, the touch of a hand, a loved face. They've gone and you can only wait for the pain to pass. 

All this happened so long ago. And I never returned, never wrote, never met anyone who might have given me news of Oxgodby. So, in memory, it stays as I left it, a sealed room furnished by the past, airless, still, ink long dry on a put-down pen. 

But this was something I knew nothing of as I closed the gate and set off across the meadow."

Nigel first read the book in April 2013 and he knew then that this was his next Hove Book Group choice.  When he realised that his choices would coincide with the summer of 2013 it felt even more appropriate.  

Nigel was so taken with the book that he went on to read another book by J.L. Carr (The Harpole Report) and a biography of J.L. Carr (The Last Englishman by Byron Rogers).  He discovered that there was a strong biographical element to A Month In The Country. Almost everything concerning the Ellerbecks actually happened to J.L. Carr: the visit to the dying girl, the Sunday meal, the preaching, even the organ buying. The Carrs were the Ellerbecks.

Since first reading the book in April the book has stayed with Nigel.  Things Nigel liked about the book:

• Brevity: a mere 85 pages - and yet it packs so much in
• The characters: a small but diverse group of characters all of whom are credible and interesting (e.g. Birkin, Moon, Rev Keach, Alice Keach, & the Ellerbecks)
• Language: simply written, accessible and still so powerfully evoking Oxgodby and Yorkshire, and the long hot summer of 1920. The book is full of passages so well written that Nigel was frequently compelled to re-read and contemplate them.  Nigel could smell the hay, imagine the church, and share Birkin's excitement as the painting was revealed.
• The powerful themes: the power of art, healing & restoration, love, duty, religion & spirituality, World War 1, trauma, sexuality, intolerance, social history, and, of course, appreciation of life and the good times

The bitter-sweet happiness described by Berkin feels fragile and ephemeral, which makes the story all the more beautiful, powerful and haunting. Nigel thinks it's a masterpiece and everyone should read it.  10/10

Robin and Nigel: In complete harmony

Robin stated that this was the first time in Hove Book Group history that he agreed with Nigel's every word.  Unbelievable.  Robin loved the flow and the catharsis inherent in the novel.  Like Birkin, Robin discovered the gifts of compassion and acceptance, friendship and respect.  For Robin, and like the Summer, the ending came too soon. A magical masterpiece.  9.5/10

Tristan thought the novel was eloquent and immersive and an exemplary study in subtlety.  One of the most beautiful books Tristan has ever read. In an all too brief 85 pages Carr gifts a story that flows like a lazy Yorkshire brook, with stunning characterisation, an indictment of war,  and a celebration of peace, harmony and spirituality.  Understated and subtle genius. 9/10

Keith: No overanalysis here

Keith didn't want to overanalyse the book.  Keith glided through this exquisite recreation of a bittersweet summer which he perceived as a perfect historical novel, and then as an analysis of love and art, before finally settling on a realisation that it embraced the whole human condition: love, pain, healing and rediscovery. A book of restrained beauty that filled Keith's heart with joy.  8/10

Hamish realised, as he read the first few pages, he had read this book before, and JL Carr's "How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the FA Cup".  Whilst not being a fan of novellas, Hamish appreciated how this novella just got on with the job.  Like Birkin, Hamish learnt something about the nature of art, and the healing power of both art and love.  Like Birkin, Hamish became absorbed in the life of the village and its inhabitants.  The book's interweaving narrative threads tied up Hamish in a world of hope and the redemptive power of simple human interaction, of innocence (as personified by Kathy), and of the beauty of nature.  9/10

Nick: Like churches

Nick heralded a remarkable book, before mentioning his love of churches.  If there's a church nearby then that's where you'll find Nick, poking around the knave or up the bell tower.  Nick also felt this was a perfect book to read during Summer, and he had the pleasure of reading it on a beach in northern France.  Nick described it as a hymn to a disappeared rural Britain. 13/10 (yes 13 out of ten - and better than "The Road)

Don, via email, was a little out of step with the acclaim of the rest of the group.  He felt the book modestly ploughed on in an unpretentious way. The unremarkable story had a certain something. Don meandered through the book not knowing if he was enjoying it or merely meeting his obligation as a member of the book club. He did enjoy the description of summer, and the book had him reminscing for his lost youth. 7/10

Overall, an almost unanimous double Macca-style thumbs up from the Hove Book Group who then moved on to discuss  "The Very Best Of The Beach Boys" (2001) by The Beach Boys...

There was a lot of love for The Beach Boys with Nick describing them as his favourite pop group of all time, and universally acclaimed as the sound of summer.  

Hove Book Group agreed how The Beach Boys were a ground breaking, iconic group who came to define the California surfing lifestyle. With a unique sound of close harmony vocals mixed with rock n roll and a huge dollop of boundary pushing studio experimentation, they crafted single after single of poptastic songs about women, cars, having fun, yearning, being in love.  Everyone loves The Beach Boys.  Right?  No actually...

...there was one dissenting voice however, and that voice came from Hamish who texted, having had to leave the gathering early.  Hamish absolutely detests The Beach Boys. He wasn't certain before but now he is. Lightweight meaningless pap he never wants to hear again. Yikes.  What would Brian Wilson say about that?

"This shark, swallow you whole"

_________/)_______\o/_________­_________

And finally, we discussed the last of Nigel's summer themed choices by revisiting the original summer blockbuster, its release regarded as a watershed moment in motion picture history. Yep, we talked about the 1975 American shark film "Jaws" directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel.  

There was much discussion about the film's initial impact and how we agreed that it still held up remarkably well.  Nick recommended everyone read "Easy Riders and Raging Bulls" to fully appreciate the significance of this landmark film.  All of us agreed it retains its ominous feel and sly humour and we enjoyed seeing it again.  Keith took time out to highlight the impact of the film's score.

And, with that, the sun set on a memorable summer, and an appropriate set of choices.