"The Lowlife" by Alexander Baron

Nigel: Celebrates London

The movers and the shakers that make up Hove Book Group assembled in The Poets Corner pub on Thursday 24th April 2014 to pore over Nigel's "Celebrate London" choices.

Nigel explained how he is attracted to literature written about London and so was inspired to put curate a London-centric set of choices...

"The Lowlife" (1963) by Alexander Baron

Nigel explained how Alexander Baron was a renowned London author and very popular in his day.  The Lowlife (1963) is the third book that Nigel had read by Alexander Baron (1917-1999) and follows King Dido (1969) and The Human Kind (1953). Nigel announced how he is now resolved to read all his work.  

Baron's first novel, From the City, from the Plough (1948), was a best seller. It was based on Alexander Baron's own war service, fighting across France from the Normandy D-Day beaches. From the City, from the Plough was the first of a WW2 trilogy. Baron also went on to write many London novels which were similarly based largely on personal experience and observation and which includes The Lowlife. 

The Lowlife tells the story of Harryboy Boas, a Jewish veteran of WW2, a gambler, a womaniser, a philosopher, and a man of integrity and compassion. All Harry wants is to be left alone to enjoy his solitary life: either - and when his winnings from the dog track allow him the time and space - to eat, read, and meet women, or - when he needs cash - to work in short-term jobs to build up more stake money. 

Harryboy is afflicted by guilt. Guilt about his own dead child who may never have existed and who, despite this uncertainty, Harry believes may been killed during the holocaust. Harryboy consciously tries to get away from his family, his religion, and the expectations of others. His sister Debbie, who has moved out to the the respectable suburbs, worries about him and wants to see him settled down and financially secure. 

Although Harryboy is a confirmed loner he gets sucked into the life of his neighbours at his boarding house, and in particular Vic and Evelyn along with their young son Gregory. Evelyn, with her middle class aspirations, is the antithesis of Harry, and she cannot bear Hackney or the boarding house she is forced to live in. Harry's involvement with Vic, Evelyn and Gregory is the catalyst for Harry's life to unravel spectacularly.

Nigel concluded that this is an extraordinary novel that explores East London, tradition, guilt, snobbery, social history, families, loyalty, sacrifice, immigration, property, desire, racism, pride and all within the framework of an original and exciting tale about gambling, debt, and gangsters. Another splendid book byAlexander Baron who is deservedly getting republished and rediscovered by a new generation of readers.   9/10

Tristan "a vanished society"

Tristan enjoyed the evocation of a vanished society and also enjoyed the Jewish elements in the novel.  Tristan felt it was "a very Jewish novel" - 'I should have such luck', Tristan exclaimed.  Harryboy's sister, Debbie, who has married well and lives with her bookmaker husband in 'the smart part' of Finchley, is persistently trying to get Harry settled down.

Tristan warmed to Harryboy who, despite being something of a loser, has style.  However, where the novel really scored for Tristan was the powerful evocation of a place and a time.  6.5/10

Robin declared "The Lowlife" to be "quite brilliant".  A book that despite some complex themes was simply told.

Harryboy embraces fate as a way of separating himself from family, faith and the expectations of others.  He is cheered by the surviving traditions of the East End whilst acknowledging how the area constantly changes.  Like Hackney, Robin was permanently changed by this book.  8.5/10

Keith kept the love for the book, and indeed for literature, flowing like molten lava, and declared it "a compelling and moving narrative of flawed humanity".  An engaging style quickly won Keith over, the fine structure delighted him.  The hopes and tragedies of the metropolis are simply evoked by Baron and the ups and downs of our Hackney hero.  Harryboy is a complex individual: intelligent, stylish and charming, and yet listless and driven by a hidden guilt to avoid emotional attachments and responsibility.  His personality giving Baron an opportunity to bring to life the dogs, the bookies, the brasses, the gourmet food, and long literary reading sessions.  All of this is thrown into chaos by a new family and even whilst almost achieving redemption Harryboy is on the verge of destruction.  There ain't half been some clever bastards.  7/10

Nick was moved by the book, moved by both the dignity and the suffering that Baron described.  "A cracking read" and a rock solid 8/10.  Baron's accessible writing has both clarity and a punch, and is by turns funny, poignant and moving.   Nick really enjoyed opening a window on the forgotten world of early-1960s London.  

Don - absent

Don was present only in spirit, however through the medium of email, we were able to share his inner most thoughts.  Don warmed to Harryboy and really enjoyed the contrast between him idling his days away reading Zola…….and blowing money on the dogs.  Harryboy's tolerance for Gregory was moving in a non emotional sort of way, however Evelyn and her loser of a husband were wonderfully crafted characters.  The end completely surprised Don but not the ingratitude of the family who had leached off Harryboy’s better nature.  A fine book club choice.   8/10

FILM: "London - The Modern Babylon" (2102) dir by Julien Temple

London - The Modern Babylon is legendary director Julien Temple's epic time-travelling voyage to the heart of his hometown.

From musicians, writers and artists to dangerous thinkers, political radicals and above all ordinary people, this is the story of London's immigrants, its bohemians and how together they changed the city forever. Reaching back to London at the start of the 20th century, the story unfolds through film archive and the voices of Londoners past and present, powered by the popular music across the century. It ends now, as London prepares to welcome the world to the 2012 Olympics.

Everyone loved this film.

MUSIC: "Reasons To Be Cheerful: The Very Best Of Ian Dury & The Blockheads" (1999)

The late Ian Dury's work ethic and never-give-up attitude left the world with some memorable music. We discussed 18 tracks that are amongst the very best of the great man's work. including "Sex and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll," "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick," and "Sweet Gene Vincent". 

There is humour in bushels in this music . All of it backed by a band that never got credit for how tight and versatile it was, how it drove Dury onto ever greater lyrical achievements.  

The perfect musical accompaniment to our celebration of London.

"The Railway Man" (1995) by Eric Lomax

The Hove Book Group rode again on the evening of Thursday 13 March 2014 to discuss Don's choice:  "The Railway Man" by Eric Lomax. The book is an autobiographical account that includes Eric Lomax's experiences as a Japanese Prisoner of War during World War Two.

Don revealed that he is an ex-soldier.  Who knew?  Don described his passion for war books and how he has read billions of words about World War Two and, with this in mind, stated there is no account of the conflict that is more worth reading than "The Railway Man".  Haunting, historically important, horrifying... a fabulous book.  10/10

High praise indeed.  How would Nick view "The Railway Man"?  All eyes turned Nick-ward.  Nick made a distinction between the quality of the writing and the book's content.  Nick felt that some of the book "dragged" whilst other sections were harrowing and moving.  6/10

Keith: Scorpions are arthropod animals

The reference to a scorpion as "an insect" took the gloss off the book for Keith.  Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida, as any fule kno.  Keith felt the book was not well written, and had heard some unflattering comments about the recent film adaptation.  5/10  

Nigel stated that the Japanese treatment of their Prisoners Of War during World War Two is about as monstrous as it's possible to imagine, and yet, despite some horrific personal experiences at the hands of his captors, Eric Lomax's account is most memorable as an inspiring, humbling and remarkable reminder of much that is good about humanity.  Nigel mentioned some of the highlights of the book: early Scottish childhood memories; Eric's lifelong obsession with railways; joining a Christian sect as a teenager; travelling to India as a Royal Signals soldier; the disastrous fall of Singapore in 1942; torture and beatings by the Kempetai (the Japanese secret police); Changi, the notorious labour camp in Singapore in 1945; survival against the odds; liberation; Eric's undiagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Eric's eventually rehabilitation; an unlikely love story; and finally, acceptance, forgiveness, and friendship and reconciliation with one of his captors. Nigel praised the simple and accessible writing and the profound and memorable contents, before declaring it "an exceptional memoir".  10/10

Tristan and Robin

Tristan described the book as powerful and moving, and then took the opportunity to recommend "If This Is a Man" by Primo Levi, and "Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall" by Spike Milligan, before evoking the spirit of Caitlin Moran and how women were far less inclined to wage war.  Tristan also riffed on the arbitrary nature of survival and the banality of evil, before musing on the forgiving, the friendship, the sudden draining of hate and the overwhelming liberation.  6/10

Robin found it impossible not to yearn for the bleak romance of Lomax's stern Scottish youth, where he fell in love, first with steam engines and then with a young woman.  After leaving Scotland, with the Royal Signals on a steamship for Singapore in 1940, Eric would never experience such innocence again.  Despite the horror Eric describes, for Robin the book is a memoir on the power of forgiveness and, as such, is indispensable, by reminding us that a bottomless capacity for forgiveness lurks in all of us, and cannot be extinguished, even if we want it to be.  8/10

Another great discussion, another great evening.

"White Noise" by Don DeLillo

Keith invited us to go on a drug-induced voyage of discovery with him and his "higher than the sun" themed-choices.  

Keith is a very empathetic man, and he noted the dismay that greeted the discovery that "Stoner" by John Williams, a recent HBG choice, was not about a Jeff Lebowski-type stoner character but rather a college lecturer.  "Note to self" he thought, "the HBG wants a drug-themed selection".  And so Keith made it happen.

Keith (topless) takes the HBG on a voyage of discovery

We met on Thursday 6th February 2014 in a metaphorical haze of marijuana smoke and discarded "works" to discuss Keith's choices.  Having deemed "Naked Lunch" by William Boroughs as "too out there", even for the free spirited souls who populate the HBG, he discerned some drug references in "White Noise" by Don DeLillo, and so we all got ourselves comfortable for a classic Keith deconstruction... 

BOOK: "White Noise" (1985) by Don DeLillo

Keith, like DeLillo, finds popular culture highly compelling, and so enjoyed the appearance of various celebrities, cult figures, and pop icons in White Noise.  A kind of information overload, for protagonist, Jack Gladney, who moves through a world increasingly submerged in marketing imagery and media stimuli was enough for Keith to lavish this book with 8/10.

Tristan felt that, despite being over thirty years old, the book still felt fresh and contemporary.  Like Jack Gladney, Tristan explained he is constantly connecting seemingly random events, dates, and facts in an attempt to form a cohesive understanding of the world around him to meet his deep-seated need to find meaning in a media-obsessed age driven by images, appearances, and rampant material consumption. This book was like looking in a mirror.  8/10

Don, a man less in thrall to post-modernism, perceived some initial parallels with "Stoner" but all too soon his late night reading sessions resulted in premature sleep.  To gasps of disbelief, he revealed he hadn't actually managed to finish the book.  Indeed, based on the position of his bookmark, it looked as though Don had managed about 30 pages. Sensing the collective dismay, Don bandied about words like bland, weak, thin gruel, boring, vapid, dull, spiritless, anaemic, wishy-washy, and insipid, before assuring the HBG that he intended to finish this book if he could stay awake long enough.  5/10

Had Robin managed to read the book?  Or, as is his wont, had he read something completely different?  Sadly, the answers were "No" and "Yes".  Oh dear.

Nigel found plenty to enjoy, however his initial enthusiasm gave way to slight boredom with the meandering nature of the book. The book's characters were an interesting bunch and he was intrigued by the playful exploration of death and mortality, consumerism, technology, and authenticity. A clever and digressive satirical novel with various levels of meaning to ponder for those who know where to look. 6/10

FILM: "Requiem for a Dream" (2000) dir by Darren Aronofsky

Robin: Insisted "Trainspotting" is a better film

The energy, consistency and mastery of technique that Darren Aronofsky showed in his adaptation of "Requiem for a Dream" blew Keith away.  The descent into addiction was grimly compelling as the on-screen lives unravel.  8/10

Tristan continued with the praise, despite relying on memories of a viewing some years ago.  A film both repulsive and elegantly considered as the characters slide into self-destruction, powerless to stop their appalling fates. 8/10

Robin found the film annoying and asserted that "Trainspotting" was his drug film of choice. 4/10

Nigel queried the cautionary nature of the film, citing the many functioning addicts who avoid this kind of fate, however celebrated the bravura style, the amazing performances, and the stunning Clint Mansell soundtrack. 7/10

MUSIC: "Screamadelica" (1991) by Primal Scream

Hove Book Group: Waiting for their man

Autumn 1991 saw much excitement for Keith and his indie chums. He had "Nevermind" quietly munching its way across his bathroom carpet, Teenage Fanclub's defining "Bandwagonesque", Saint Etienne launching "Foxbase Alpha" and My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless". Amongst all these musical delights, Primal Scream released "Screamadelica" and altered Keith's musical landscape for ever.

Robin reminded us how Andy Weatherall took "I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have" from the Scream's previous album, slipped it a couple of pharmaceuticals, threw on a Peter Fonda sample, and so transformed it into the era's masterpiece. 

Don prefers "Higher Than The Sun" describing it as "one of the most 'out there' singles to have graced the Top 40".

Tristan referred to "Screamadelica" as "a solid gold classic".

Nigel concluded matters with an almost imperceptible nod towards its "quintessential timelessness". 

On that note of complete harmony we bade our farewells and closed the door behind us.

"The Rehearsal" by Eleanor Catton

The Rehearsal is the debut novel by 2013 Booker Prize winner, Eleanor Catton and was was chosen by Tristan as part of his "Hot Teens" theme.

Why Tristan why?  Tristan explained he was looking for a female writer to dampen down the rampant testosterone that is such a feature of the Hove Book Group.  He was also looking for the antithesis of a group of middle aged men and identified teenage girls as the polar opposite.  He may have a point.

So how was it for you?  Tristan really enjoyed this non linear, coming-of-age story, and Catton's keen insights into high school's herd mentality and the remarkable set pieces in which the young actors are put through their paces by their tutors. 8/10

Keith - confusion reigned

All eyes now turned to Keith, a man who can never be second guessed.  "What's going on?" asked Keith, after he had speed read through a third of the book.  Confusion reigned in Keith's world.  

"Identity, youth, sexuality, desire...all very disturbing. Where am I?"  

"Why does Catton lapse into preciousness and have a drama-killing tendency to interpolate herself?" murmured Keith, looking around with a concerned expression.  Alas, none were able to do more than offer supportive smiles.  5/10

Nigel's initial impression was that the book was intriguing. Here's the saxophone teacher addressing a mother: "I require of all my students, that they are downy and pubescent, pimpled with sullen mistrust, and boiling away with private fury and ardour and uncertainty and gloom ... If I am to teach your daughter, you darling hopeless and inadequate mother, she must be moody and bewildered and awkward and dissatisfied and wrong."

Intrigue soon gave way to frustration. Nigel lacks the patience and the inclination to ponder the improbable, non-linear plot. Nigel also lacks the patience to work out what is real, what is imagined, and what it might all mean. The insurmountable hurdle was that Nigel just could not care less about any of the characters. About halfway through he resorted to reading the plot summary on Wikipedia. Never a good sign. At that point, he started to skip ahead. Whilst he was invariably struck by the simple and accessible quality of the writing, he also could not escape how this was married to a tedious "plot" and dull characters.  4/10

Hamish - demands more

Hamish thought the plot was conventionally provocative however, he added crypically, "the plot was not the point".  Catton obscures the line between reality and fantasy. A group of drama students decide to use the recent sex scandal as fodder for their end-of-year production and for Hamish it resembled a literary hall of mirrors.  The characters in The Rehearsal are soulless, their speech is overwrought and scripted, and the heart of the novel is elusive. Frequently frustrating and flickeringly fascinating, Hamish demands more. Much more.  4/10

Nick felt there was "a lot" to "recommend" this book labelling it an experimental, theory-driven novel which "speaks the unspeakable".  The Rehearsal deals with social roles, especially those foisted onto teenage girls.  Fragmentary scenes shuffled together like a pack of playing cards juxtaposing the aftershocks of an affair between a high-school student and her music teacher.  Nick is already keenly anticipating a second reading and revisiting the charged emotional landscape of Catton's world. 8/10

So The Rehearsal polarised Hove Book Group opinion and stimulated a very enjoyable discussion - what more can a book group wish for?

Next up we discussed Tristan's musical selection...

"Pure Heroine" (2013) by Lorde

"Pure Heroine" is the debut studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde (Ella Yelich-O'Connor).  

Tristan claimed it was alright, but "nothing special".  Keith just growled "move on".  Nigel was more effusive - his kids say "Yes!" to Lorde, luxuriating in the reverbed synths and electronic pulses aligned to pleasing words.  That's all that it takes for Nigel's household.  Hamish's family, who insist on calling her "Lordy" were similarly in thrall to Lorde's frank analysis of pop culture.  Nick felt the lack of twerking keenly but, once he'd put this to one side, was able to admire her sharp satire and sentimental brevity.  "You can call me Queen Bee" he smiled.  Quite so.

"The Virgin Suicides" (1999) dir by Sofia Coppola

Finally, and with Nick having slipped away as he was yet to view it, we discussed The Virgin Suicides.

The Virgin Suicides is a 1999 American drama written and directed by Sofia Coppola, produced by her father Francis Ford Coppola, starring James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, and A. J. Cook.  Based on the novel of the same name by Jeffrey Eugenides, the film tells of the events surrounding the suicides of five sisters in an upper-middle class suburb of Detroit during the 1970s. After the youngest sister makes an initial attempt at suicide, the sisters are put under close scrutiny by their parents, eventually being put into near-confinement, which leads to increasingly depressive and isolated behaviour.

Tristan declared himself ambivalent about the film.  All of us were unclear about the reasons for the suicides.  Was there a sickness in the town?  In society?  Meanwhile the boys in the Lisbons’ neighbourhood, who feature as the narrators, try and reach out to the girls however were all rebuffed. Questions, questions, give us no answers.  With furrowed brows and ambiguity hanging heavy in the atmosphere, we said goodnight.

Hove Book Group Christmas Meal

Hove's hardest working book group gather for another Christmas special 

Thursday 12th December 2013 saw Hove Book Group gather for our the annual Christmas meal.  Five of a possible seven, from the hardest working book group in Hove, enjoyed a wide ranging discussion over a splendid Italian meal at Franco's Pizza & Pasta, 4 Victoria Terrace, Hove BN3 2WB.  The meal was over by 10:30 pm and, in the spirit of goodwill to all, four of us continued with the celebration in The Neptune pub before bringing a supremely pleasing night to a close at around midnight.  

As is customary on these occasions we cast a wistful glance over the previous 12 months and in particular which of our selections we most enjoyed.  All the group members were polled before the meal, and once the contents of the three gold envelopes were revealed to gasps of surprise and appreciation, the outcome was...

Favourite book of 2013

1. "Stoner" by John Williams
2. "A Month In The Country" by J.L. Carr
3. "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Favourite music of 2013

1. "Diamond Dogs" by David Bowie
2. "Murmur" by R.E.M.

Favourite film/DVD of 2013 

1. Jaws
2. The Proposition
3. The Conversation 

Hove Book Group keeping it real at Xmas

Would that John Williams were still alive to bask in even more acclaim for his remarkable book "Stoner".  Congratulations Mr Williams, yours was the finest book we read in 2013.

Here's to another year of top flight cultural discourse throughout 2014.

"Stoner" (1965) by John Williams

BOOK: "Stoner" (1965) by John Williams

Nick was so keen to discuss "Stoner" that he arrived at The Poets Corner pub one week early.  On discovering that there was no one else there, Nick had to cool his heels for another seven days, and until 14th November 2013.  

Needless to say his smooth patter was well rehearsed and he launched into a persuasive and beguiling eulogy about this celebrated example of "Lazarus literature".  Nick extolled John Williams' masterly portrait of a truly virtuous and dedicated man.  More than its perfect prose, tone, characterisation, and narrative momentum, what impressed Nick most about Stoner was the subtlety of its self-awareness. Ultimately, for Nick, this was a story of hope.  9/10

Tristan "Tender"

Tristan's initial irritation, in response to what he perceived as a bleak novel, soon gave way to more tender and sympathetic emotions.  The opening lines set the book's tone...

William Stoner entered the University of Missouri as a freshman in the year 1910. … Eight years later, during the height of World War I, he received his Doctor of Philosophy degree and accepted an instructorship at the same University, where he taught until his death in 1956. He did not rise above the rank of assistant professor, and few students remembered him with any sharpness after they had taken his courses. When he died his colleagues made a memorial contribution of a medieval manuscript to the University library. This manuscript may still be found in the Rare Books Collection, bearing the inscription: “Presented to the Library of the University of Missouri, in memory of William Stoner, Department of English. By his colleagues.”

An occasional student who comes upon the name may wonder idly who William Stoner was, but he seldom pursues his curiosity beyond a casual question. Stoner’s colleagues, who held him in no particular esteem when he was alive, speak of him rarely now; to the older ones, his name is a reminder of the end that awaits them all, and to the younger ones it is merely a sound which evokes no sense of the past and no identity with which they can associate themselves or their careers.

How could a book about a man held "in no particular esteem" make Tristan feel so tenderly towards him?  Perhaps Don held the answer.  7.5/10

Don was unable to attend in person, however he had sent through a review.  Don could feel the passion flow through him when he thought of William Stoner.  Don praised the way the tale was told before noting that he too had known an Edith or two.  As we paused to digest this bombshell, Don also mentioned he had known a Lomax (who he compared with his favourite politician Chris Mullins).  Don revelled in the detailed description of Stoner’s final days.  Whilst only finding the Literature angle of personal interest, Don was joyous at the "pure descriptive prose": every subtle gesture and nuance was "captured to perfection".  9/10

Keith agreed with much of what had already been discussed.  Keith queried the assertion in the introduction that William Stoner was a "hero".  Keith also lauded the romance: Stoner is well into his 40s, and mired in an unhappy marriage, when he meets Katherine, another shy professor of literature.  Keith stated that the affair was described with a beauty so fierce that it took his breath away each time he read it.  9/10

Robin "Riveting"

Robin also enjoyed Williams' "remarkable 1965 novel".  Robin enjoyed the "window on early 20th century American higher education".   Robin found the book "utterly riveting".  Why?  One simple reason: because the characters were treated with simple tender and ruthless honesty.  Robin loved them all.  8/10

Nigel feels that good books are absorbing, and the best books allow the reader to completely inhabit that book's world.  "Stoner" shares this quality with JL Carr's "A Month In The Country".  A beautiful, compelling, sometimes horrific, haunting, powerful, quietly profound novel that has something to teach us all.  The simple, elegant prose takes us to the heart William Stoner's life.  A very ordinary life: a dirt-poor farm boy from Missouri, born at the end of the nineteenth century, goes to college to study agriculture, and, instead of returning home stays to teach.  How can such a simple premise result in such perfect literature?  Stoner is an everyman, quietly doing his best whilst enduring the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune: a wife at war with him, a boss who despises him, a daughter driven from him, a lover forced to move away.  Very little goes right for Stoner and yet, and yet...  Stoner's story is in turns depressing, uplifting, appalling, tragic, insightful, wise and funny.  A remarkable book.   9/10

FILM: "The Conversation" (1974) dir by Francis Ford Coppola

"He'd kill us if he got the chance"

Nick once managed to watch half of the film, before his recording stopped.  He knew he had to see the whole thing.  Nick, whilst acknowledging the film's indebtedness to Michelangelo Antonioni’s brilliant Blowup (1966), passionately argued that "The Conversation" does not merely ape that film’s existential dilemma.  No.  Coppola's film probes far more deeply into the mind of Harry Caul.  The Conversation opens with Caul and his entourage listening in to the conversation of two lovers as they stroll in downtown San Francisco’s Union Square. The opening sniper's view is augmented by the fragmented bits of conversation Caul eventually pieces together. 

Nigel first watched this film as a teenager in the 1970s.  He loved it then.  He loves it now.  If anything, he thinks it is even better now than he did when he first saw it.  From the opening shot of the initial surveillance with the shadows and the mime artist, it just gets better and better, as Harry Caul (played superbly by the always great Gene Hackman) starts to come to terms with the consequences of his surveillance work.  The palpable sense of paranoia is a wonderful reflection of the time, and the film is one of the earliest to address the post-Watergate mood, as well as the surveillance culture that is ingrained in the modern world.

The supporting cast is also amazing, the late, great John Cazale in particular.  That said, it's Gene Hackman's film, he's in every scene and he conveys so much through nuanced facial expressions.  The direction is amazing, Francis Ford Coppola being allowed to make the film, between the two Godfather films (in much the same way that Christopher Nolan got to make Inception off the back of his success with the Dark Knight films).  

The final scene is cinematic perfection - the hunter becomes the hunted as Harry Caul frantically dismantles his apartment to find the bug he knows to be there.  

Robin "Categorical"

Robin also highlighted the "Blow Up" comparison: there are some works of art that are both obviously derivative and just as obviously inferior to the originals. These simply ape the earlier work, tweak a few minor things, and try to pass off their theft as an "homage."  The Conversation (1974) categorically does not fall into category.  Eh?  Like some members of the Hove Book Group, Caul is a lonely man who plays saxophone and jazz records in his apartment. Caul’s professional expertise and paranoia about his own privacy, make him a perfect cipher for the film's themes.

Tristan - loved the pac-a-mac

Tristan was in thrall to Harry Caul's "pac-a-mac".  More pac-a-macs in movies please.  For Tristan, this is a film about seeing and listening without being detected whilst exploring deeper issues such as guilt, paranoia, responsibility, absolution and redemption, themes that were common to American cinema in the 1970's following the Watergate scandal.

MUSIC: "Murmur" (1983) by R.E.M.

Nick is smitten by Murmur's strangely subdued sound that heighten the band's enigmatic tendencies.  Is this R.E.M.'s finest moment?  Murmur sound as if it's existed forever.  The unpredictable twists and turns enchant Nick every time: from the mysterious photograph of a kudzu-covered train station on the jacket to the intriguingly off-kilter music.

Nigel was given this album when it was released by a friend who was then working for the IRS record label who original released Murmur in the UK.  As a consequence he went to see one of the band's first UK gigs at the Carioca Club, Worthing on 29th April 1984.  This album soundtracked Nigel's student years and still sounds wonderful.  The album has a very distinctive, and timeless sound, unlike a lot of music produced in the mid-1980s.  This timeless sound is used to great effect on a wonderful collection of songs: Pilgrimage, Radio Free Europe, Talk About The Passion, West Of The Fields and so on.  The next album "Reckoning" continued the excellence, but that's another story for another day. R.E.M. might have stuck around for far too long but for during the eighties and early 1990s they were untouchable.

Robin felt that Murmur quietly broke with the status quo and mapped out an enigmatic but rewarding new musical agenda. There is nothing obvious or superficial about R.E.M.'s songs or the way the band chose to play them. Meanings are hidden in a thicket of nonlinear imagery, with mumbled or distant vocals from Michael Stipe. 

Keith continued with the theme, praising Murmur's "elliptical language", and celebrated the way the album inspired "a state of altered awareness" not unlike the rapid-eye-movement stage of dreaming from which the band took its name.

Tristan praised the band's "melodic, evocative territory", highlighting the measured riffs of "Pilgrimage," the melancholic thrust of "Talk About the Passion," or the winding guitars and pianos of "Perfect Circle".

An otherwise absent Hamish, managed to convey how Murmur is "one of the finest albums ever made". Probably the finest debut. If he had a top ten of albums, it would be in there. Cryptic lyrics, amazingly confident guitars and backing vocals of a kind he doesn't think any other band has ever touched.

And on that bombshell we adjourned the meeting.  A wonderful discussion with a lovely bunch of people.

"Complicity" by Iain Banks

And so on 10th October 2013, the Hove Book Group gathered to discuss Hamish's choice "Complicity" (1993) by the late, great Iain Banks.

Hamish kicked things off by heralding the book's big issues: morality, complicity, politics and poetic justice.  Like Cameron, Hamish might well enjoy light drug use, mild S&M, and computer games, unlike Cameron he is less inclined to check out bizarre deaths about which he might, or might not, know more than he cares to admit.  What Hamish could, and did, say, with confidence, is that this book was a total masterpiece and deserved at least 9.5 out of 10.  Wow.

Nigel was similarly enthusiastic, but not quite in agreement with the masterpiece assessment.  Nigel lavished the book with a respectable 7/10, explaining that "Complicity" was an atmospheric, compelling, intelligent Scottish crime thriller that - like the best genre fiction - also has plenty to say on our messed up world and the human condition. Nigel raced through this satisfying story of how dysfunctional local journalist Cameron Colley may have triggered a series of horrific revenge incidents (murder, torture etc.).  The two narrative voices kept this tale tense.  Andy and Cameron are flip sides of the same coin: Cameron talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk, the withdrawn Andy on the other hand... 

Nigel also wondered why the dysfunctional central character was such a common trope in crime writing: an efficient, organised, relatively sober, family man, perhaps even a member of a local book group, never seems to feature at the heart of these books.

Nick had read "Complicity" before and his enthusiasm levels were less pronounced second time around.  With a weary sigh, Nick discussed how sex was a device, how the book was a bit on the long side, and how he felt a bit disappointed.  The bleakness left Nick feeling that he had not been sufficiently challenged.  Are you nihilist enough? An unheroic 5.5/10

For the Don, and sadly via email, Cameron Colley was one of the most loathsome heroes ever to grace a crime novel.  The first criminal act was writing the book. the second was choosing it, and the third was reading it.  Ouch.  No one gets left behind ever on Don's watch.  Except Chris Mullins.  Ripped up and left for dead in the compost bin.  Don did like Andy and this was the book's saving grace.  5/10

Tristan, in stark contrast, is a hard core Banksophile.  The man could do no wrong.  Tristan noted there were actually two Iain Banks: the straight author, and Iain M. Banks the science fiction writer.  Complicity" is vintage Banks, and second only to Crow Road.  Convincing violence, playful, imaginative well written, and - despite being twenty years old - still resonates.  9/10

Keith, again via email, was unconvinced and awarded the book an uncertain 6/10. The larger than life seedy hack who thinks he’s on the trail of something big, is actually a saddo computer gamer.  Keith did not care about him.  The second person narration of Andy’s handiwork is bold but distracting. Pace, intrigue, shock, social commentary, and despite the kinky sex, life-in-the-fast-lane, moral ambiguity and gruesome deaths, Keith demands more.  Much more.

Robin described the book as cliched.  How many more times are we going to have to read about boys wanking each other off in the woods?, he asked a somewhat surprised Hove Book Group.  An inferior anti-Thatcherite fantasy.  Perhaps, and yet, there was a glint in Robin's eyes.    Banks got Robin into the mind of the murderer.  Cameron has to solve all the puzzles via memory.  Robin, like Cameron, got slowly sucked into a world of intrigue, with the stakes rising with each scene. 7/10.

So a mixed reception for "Complicity" and perhaps a bit out of kilter with the broader acclaim for this writer.

We then turned our attention to Hamish's musical selection "In The Heart Of The Moon" (2005) by Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté

Hamish observed that "In the Heart of the Moon" was a 2005 record by Malian musicians Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté, the kora king. The music flows effortlessly and beguiles with every listen.

Nigel is unconvinced by much of this type of thing however agreed that is a thing of beauty and a lovely listen.

Robin praised the minimal accompaniment of percussion, bass, guitar and keyboard.  His life is enhanced with each listen of the flowing meditations.

Tristan was seduced by the kora and found his spirits lifted when he focussed on it.

Nick described the album as divine.  

On that moment of harmony and consensus Nick unveiled his ORDINARY => EXTRAORDINARY selections for our next gathering.  

Excited?  I should coco.