Hats off to Hamish for some inspired choices that kick started our 2016 gatherings with a lively and interesting discussion.
“The Bottle Factory Outing” (1974) by Beryl Bainbridge
Hamish wanted to read a comedic short story so who better than Beryl Bainbridge? None of us had read anything by this legendary writer whose prolific output included 18 novels, three of which were filmed, two collections of short stories, several plays for stage and television, and many articles, essays, columns and reviews.
She won the Guardian fiction prize and two Whitbread awards, but although five of her novels reached the Booker prize shortlist – The Dressmaker (1973), The Bottle Factory Outing (1974), An Awfully Big Adventure (1989), Every Man for Himself (1996) and Master Georgie (1998) – none of them won it. A scandal?…
Freda and Breda spend their days working in an Italian-run wine-bottling factory. A work outing offers promise for Freda and terror from Brenda; passions run high on that chilly day of freedom, and life after the outing never returns to normal. The Bottle Factory Outing is an offbeat, haunting yet hilarious novel.
It put some of us in mind of hazy recollections of Play For Today (1970s BBC adult drama TV programme), or the more playful work of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach. It is quintessentially English, and also makes some very astute observations about culture, class, desire, difference, gender differences and human relationships.
Brenda and Freda, the two women at the heart of the book, share a dingy 1970s London bedsit (think Rising Damp) and together they redefine the term “the odd couple”. In addition to being flatmates, Brenda and Freda are also co-workers at the eponymous Bottle Factory which is an Italian-run north London wine bottling factory predominantly staffed by agricultural workers plucked, by the factory's Italian owner, from a life of subsistence farming in Bologna to London, the relative land of plenty. They are a tight knit bunch who do not know quite what to make of the two English women in their midst....
Freda is loud, large and domineering whilst Brenda is compliant, quiet, serious, educated and desperate not to give offence - despite a less than attractive description, and to Freda’s chagrin - Brenda also seems to attract numerous male admirers who try to possess her.
By the day of the bottle factory’s outing, sexual tensions are running high. Beyond that, the less you know about the plot the better, suffice it to say that a huge amount happens in a very short space of time (the book is about 200 pages long) and whilst implausible it is consistently inventive, entertaining, insightful, blackly comic and beguiling.
Ratings:
Hamish 7/10
Tristan 6/10
Nigel 7/10
Nick 9.5/10
Keith 6/10
“Christmas” (1999) by Low
As we get older Christmas is no longer solely about chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Magic is not always found in waiting up for Santa until 3am but perhaps more in stumbling home full of festive cheer after the Hove Book Group Xmas dinner. And, with that in mind, Low don’t subscribe to the traditional idea of a Merry Christmas but that didn’t stop us from loving the sound of their jingling, indie gems.
Low’s ‘Just Like Christmas’ underlines a heartbreakingly nostalgic sentiment and is part of perhaps the best record dedicated to the holiday season in recent years
“Smoke Signals” (1998) directed by Chris Eyre
Young Indian man Thomas is a nerd in his reservation, wearing oversize glasses and telling everyone stories no-one wants to hear. His parents died in a fire in 1976, and Thomas was saved by Arnold. Arnold soon left his family (and his tough son Victor), and Victor hasn't seen his father for 10 years. When Victor hears Arnold has died, Thomas offers him funding for the trip to get Arnold's remains, but only if Thomas will also go with him. Thomas and Victor hit the road.
The film was very well received by Hove Book Group except for Nick who, inexplicably, turned it off after 30 minutes
ENDORSE IT
Here’s what the HBG are currently endorsing…
Nigel: Podcasts - Serial season 1 followed by Undisclosed
Keith: Tracker (film)
More in about five weeks. Bring. It. On.
