Nineteen Eighty Four (1949) by George Orwell

Hove Book Group were back together again on Thursday 9th January 2020 to discuss Robin’s unthemed selections

Reading: Nineteen Eighty Four (1949) by George Orwell

Hove Book Group ponder dystopia

Robin revealed that his selection had not been the result of careful consideration or having carefully weighed a number of tempting possibilities. Not for Robin the tortured existential angst which torments so many of the HBG when it comes to making their selections. No Sir, he “just had it on the shelf”. 

Robin dubbed Nineteen Eighty Four prescient, sad and resonant, a view endorsed by Keith. 

Tristan recognised that it was in Catalonia that the stanchions of Big Brother’s nightmare world – the disregard for objective truth, the rewriting of the past and the routine suppression of dissent – slid inexorably into place.

Nineteen Eighty Four was every bit as good as Nigel had remembered from his first read back in the mid 1970s.

Nigel was interested to note how each of George Orwell's four 1930s novels features a central character ground down and oppressed by a vigilant authority that he or she has no way of resisting.

Nick noted the clever details: Winston’s co workers and colleagues, the old man in the pub, the neighbour’s suspicious children and her blocked kitchen sink, the lack of razor blades, the rewriting of the past etc. It all added up to a rich and convincing evocation of Winston Smith's world. 

Roland was ultimately depressed by Orwell’s world and by what was an astounding and disturbing picture of a totalitarian society. 

Nick 9 / Tristan 9 / Nigel 8 / Keith 10 / Roland 9 / Robin 10

Listening: Rastaman Vibration (1976) by Bob Marley and the Wailers

Keith was struck by the lyrical content

Tristan managed one track on the way to the pub

The rest of us were pleased to have a reason to listen to this beauty again and were amazed how Chris Blackwell saw the opportunity to take a black, niche singles-based genre to a white rock audience

Roland embraced it by a wood burning stove on a sofa in west Hove. "That's so beautiful man", we exclaimed as one.

Watching: There Will Be Blood (2007) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Nick and Robin ponder the scratched DVD

Robin loved it

Others struggled with a DVD that had lost out in a fight with a Brillo pad

Keith was reminded of Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” and told us all to read it pronto.

Endorse it

BlacKkKlansman dir by Spike Lee

Vic and Bob’s Big Night Out (iPlayer)

Chernobyl DVD

Radio 3 in the morning

No Country For Old Men dir by Coen brothers

Twice Upon a Time (Netflix)

Thunder Road (Netflix)

Good Time (Netflix)

Thailand (the Country)

Next time out it’s Roland’s picks….

Theme: Tainted Love

Reading: Light Years (1975) by James Salter
Watching: Marriage Story (2019) directed by Noah Baumbach (Netflix)
Listening: Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go (12 inch version) (1981) by Soft Cell

“Remains of the Day” (1989) by Kazuo Ishiguro

“Remains of the Day” (1989) by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Remains of the Day (1989) is Kazuo Ishiguro's third published novel. The work was awarded the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 1989. A film adaptation of the novel, made in 1993 and starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, was nominated for eight Academy Awards.

Nick, who chose this tome, thought it was wonderful and, to varying degrees, so did the rest of the group

It was like slipping into a warm bath - something at once very familiar but completely welcome. 

The Remains of the Day is about many things, but first and foremost it is about regret. Stevens the Butler, who narrates the tale, is obsessed with a sense of duty and commitment, and thus puts his complete trust, and all his professional energies, into serving Lord Darlington, a decent if gullible British aristocrat who, despite honourable intentions, is ultimately labelled a Nazi sympathiser.

Stevens’ professionalism and perfectionism result in him belatedly realising, in his autumn years, that he has missed the chance of a fulfilling and loving relationship with a woman who loved him. Stevens’ extreme formality and obsessive sense of duty ultimately made him incapable of intimacy, empathy and emotional attachments. 

The story is cleverly told through a series of atmospheric and powerful reminiscences whilst, back in the present day, Stevens makes a rare journey away from Darlington Hall, where he has spent the majority of his life. The Remains of the Day perfectly evokes the life of a butler in a Great English House between the wars whilst, simultaneously, revealing Stevens’ recognition of, and regret about, some of his decisions and behaviour. Every page is an absolute delight. A subtle, clever, powerful, beautifully written novel.

Hamish was the only slight naysayer... describing the book as a curious read.  On the one hand, Ishiguro’s writing is immaculate.  Beautifully worded, precise, and very very clever.  His characterisations are utterly believable and in real depth.  Despite learning next to nothing about Stevens’ personal life, he is a very finely drawn character.  As are Miss Kenton and Lord Darlington too.

However Hamish likes a bit of a story.  And there wasn’t really much of a story.  In that sense he found it a little unsatisfying.  It reflected the low pace of English upper class life perhaps.  He did enjoy Stevens’ reflections on what make a great butler and the German/French conference at Darlington Hall was a highlight. But little happened other than a car running out of petrol.

His other criticism was the almost perverse way that Stevens appeared incapable of recognising Miss Kenton’s feelings.  Stiff upper lip is one thing, but that all seemed a bit excessive. 

So he was not really sure what he took from the book at the end.  Yes, it commented on the state of the English upper classes and political changes between the wars, but he might have preferred a non-fiction account of that. 

Overall, a decent and very artistic read.  Not sure quite why it won the Booker though 

Nick - 10/10

Keith - 8/10

Tristan - 9/10

Robin 10/10

Nigel - 9/10

Hamish - 7.5/10

MUSIC: “Carrie & Lowell” (2015) by Sufjan Stevens

Carrie & Lowell is the seventh studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens, released through Asthmatic Kitty on March 31, 2015. Unlike Stevens's previous studio album, the electronic The Age of Adz,Carrie & Lowell is sparsely instrumental and marked a return to the performer's indie folk roots.

There was a mixed reaction to Surfjan's sounds - some loved the heartfelt emotion and soul baring others thought it was no One Direction and he needs to cheer up a bit

Hamish hadn’t really got Mr Stevens until this album, but he enjoyed this album immensely.  He saw him play at End of the Road last year, where he was a revelation.  He was supported by a full and fairly loud band.  I wasn’t quite sure how the songs on Carrie and Lowell would fare but they were quite brilliant.  In some ways the album sounded very different with so much backing, but it also made the whole thing far more intense.  Hamish recommends seeing him live if you get the chance.  And Carrie and Lowell is a hit.

FILM: “Punch-Drunk Love” (2002) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Punch-Drunk Love is a 2002 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzmán, and Mary Lynn Rajskub.

In "Punch-Drunk Love," Sandler plays Barry Egan, an executive in a company with a product line of novelty toiletries. Barry has seven sisters, who are all on his case at every moment, and he desperately wishes they would stop invading his privacy, ordering him around and putting him down. He tries at a family gathering to be congenial and friendly, but we can see the tension in his smiling lips and darting eyes, and suddenly he explodes, kicking out the glass patio doors.

"Punch-Drunk Love" is above all a portrait of a personality type. Barry Egan has been damaged, perhaps beyond repair, by what he sees as the depredations of his domineering sisters. It drives him crazy when people nose into his business. He cannot stand to be trifled with. His world is entered by alarming omens and situations that baffle him. The character is vividly seen and the film sympathizes with him in his extremity.