Waterland (1983) by Graham Swift

On Thursday 15th November 2018 we met to discuss Roland's choices

BOOK: Waterland (1983) by Graham Swift

Murder, incest, guilt, insanity, Ale and Eels. Hard to imagine not loving a book with themes like that eh? Or is it?

Roland had chosen Waterland as part of his Rural Idylls theme

Roland was, to use the modern parlance, blown away.

Graham Swift's Fenland of the mind spans more than 200 years in the lives of its haunted narrator and his forebears. Just as Tom Crick, the passionate teacher, tried to inspire his pupils, so Roland, eyes gleaming, tried to persuade the Hove Book Group of its merits. It’s a fantastic book that is imbued with the atmosphere of its surroundings. It does for the Fens what Hardy does for Wessex, or Daphne Du Maurier does for Cornwall. Come lose yourself among the eels and reeds of eastern England, exalted Roland.

Some were less convinced by the books merit’s. All agreed it was undeniably an impressive and ambitious novel which ruminates upon the relentless tide of change and humanity’s subsequent shifting fortunes. It’s also firmly rooted in the watery world of the East Anglian Fens, the rich and fertile flood plains, in which its inhabitants are forever locked in an ongoing battle with water, and which can never be comprehensively won by either side and yet for all the book’s watery pleasures some were unable to stay immersed. Its charms never truly grabbed some: the non linear structure, multiple narratives, and contrasting styles, were just too jarring. Clever, ambitious and diverse, but for some it was a book we admired more than enjoyed. As dull as the River Ouse? Well, for some, perhaps yes….

Tristan 8/10 - Nick 6/10 - Keith 9/10 - Roland 10/10 - Nigel 6/10 - Robin 7/10

MUSIC: Max Cooper - One Hundred Billion Sparks (2018)

Roland recommends headphones and mind altering substances to truly appreciate One Hundred Billion Sparks. Hove Book Group, being a straight edge outfit, eschew chemical shortcuts when it comes to musical appreciation.

According to Max, every track on the LP is a score to a visual story stemming from this system of one hundred billion sparking neurones, which create us. Few picked that up from listening to it however it is all very pleasant. There’s a lot of this electronica knocking about. At one time some of us were quite taken with it. Four Tet and their ilk. We're slightly less enamoured of it now, having swung back towards hooks and lyrics and groove but, yeah, most were happy to have it playing whilst we went about our business.

Nick dubbed it “a poor man’s Boards of Canada” - take that Max

FILM: The Levelling (2017) directed by Hope Dickson Leach

Somerset, England. Trainee veterinarian Clover Catto returns to the farm where she grew up after hearing news that her brother Harry has died in what appears to be a suicide. Finding the family home in a state of horrendous disrepair following the 2014 floods that devastated the area, Clover is forced to confront her father Aubrey about the farm, the livestock and, crucially, the details surrounding Harry's death. Clover's discoveries send her on an emotional journey of reckoning with her family, her childhood and herself.

Most in the group concluded we’d far rather watch something like this than a blockbuster, or an action type film. Meditative, low-key, English, unusual, interesting context, enigmatic.

That said, not ideal content for a non meat eater

ENDORSE IT

They Shall Not Grow Old (Film)

Cider With Rose by Laurie Lee (Book)

Sons of Kemet (Jazz group)

Widows (Film)

Baloji (Pop group)

Killing Eve (TV show)

David Byrne (Live)

Go Go Penguin (Pop group)

Golem (BBC TV programme)

Oliver Burkeman podcast