The Man Who Fell To Earth (1963) by Walter Tevis

On 18 March 2021 we met on Zoom (inna lockdown stylee once again) to discuss Nigel’s “Loving The Alien” themed choices….

Loving The Alien

READ: The Man Who Fell To Earth (1963) by Walter Tevis

LISTEN: Loving The Alien playlist 

WATCH: Aliens (1986) dir by James Cameron

The Man Who Fell To Earth (1963) by Walter Tevis

Nigel explained how he was a teenage Bowie freak who had last read The Man Who Fell To Earth by Walter Tevis as a teen in late 1970s London suburbia following the 1976 Nic Roeg film adaptation.

Nigel has seen the Nic Roeg film numerous times over the years and recalls this far more clearly than the source novel. 

Generally we felt the film unfairly overshadows the film. The book is possibly now the better cultural experience. 

In 2020 Nigel read another Walter Tevis novel, The Queens Gambit (1983), which was recently turned into a very successful Netflix series. Nigel had not seen the adaptation. Reading The Queens Gambit prompted Nigel to look at other Tevis novels. Three of Walter Tevis's six novels were adapted into major films: The Hustler, The Color of Money and, of course, The Man Who Fell to Earth. This realisation inspired this choice.

Not only did The Man Who Fell to Earth inspire the Roeg film it also inspired Bowie’s Lazarus 2015 musical. 

Despite being a mere 209 pages and almost 60 years old the novel still packs a powerful punch and has stood the test of time. Thomas Jerome Newton, the eponymous man, is not a man but an alien from a far off planet hoping to rescue his own dying species. He is able to pass himself off as human and, using his advanced technological knowledge, creates a very profitable corporation. His mission, which always felt like a long shot, becomes ever more futile. 

As with most great Science Fiction, the story is a way of holding up a mirror up to own world. Hamish questioned whether it really is a sci fi novel given that it is all on Earth.

Themes we discerned…

The Cold War. The novel is a product of its era. Newton explains that it was atomic weapons which all but destroyed his planet and that Earth is heading for the same fate

Melancholy. Every character seems lost. Newton is of course literally lost far from home but Bryce and Betty Jo are also lost souls. Newton, the fragile alien, is in the grip of an existential crisis, sick of pop culture and suspicious of authority. It’s only Farnsworth who seems remotely satisfied but he’s only a bit part character who we never really get to know.

Our treatment of people/organisms who are different to us (immigrants, animals, different cultures etc). Usually with mistrust, aggression, suspicion and even abuse - and a distinct lack of any empathy

Our desire to fit in. Thomas Jerome Newton quickly starts to “go native” and soon feels his mission is futile. Indeed he’s relieved when he can abandon his mission. Roland felt Newton quickly becomes human and alcohol is just a symptom of humanity’s general malaise

Alcoholism. Newton and Betty Jo are reliant on alcohol to get through the day. The novel is permeated with booze. Write about what you know is the age old advice to authors, so it’s surely no coincidence that Walter Tevis had a serious alcohol problem? Keith wondered if this aspect was wholly successful. Robin felt people (and aliens) who are displaced are more prone to becoming alcoholics. 

The Man Who Fell To Earth is a top notch philosophical, provocative and contemplative sci-fi. An excellent story arc maintains the readers interest. Well written with surprising literary flourishes.

Nick 8.5 / Tristan 7.5 / Nigel 8 / Keith 8 / Roland 7.5 / Robin 7.5 / Hamish 8.5

Loving The Alien playlist 

The strong links between the book and David Bowie made a Bowie playlist all but inevitable. Bowie’s preoccupation with Aliens sealed the deal. Obviously Bowie didn’t really believe in Aliens but felt they were a useful metaphor for exploring issues of otherness and difference. Just like Walter Tevis. Plus Aliens and space are cool and fun, of course.

The playlist is a selection of some of Bowie’s alien or spaced themed tunes which also serves as the briefest of whistle stops through his wonderful and varied musical career. 

We open with Bowie’s first hit, the Apollo 11 inspired tune, which still sounds as timeless and perfect as it ever did, before jumping forward to Lazarus, one of the last songs he released. Lazarus was, according to Bowie's producer Tony Visconti, a self-epitaph and a commentary on his impending death. Listening to it still brings a lump to my throat…. Look up here, I'm in heaven, I’ve got scars that can't be seen

Tempting though it is to go through the playlists song by song we mainly agreed that this is a splendid selection of songs by one of the all time musical greats. 

That said, Hamish shocked HBG by suggesting that there were three average songs. Robin felt Bowie was the easy option but still found time to laud the playlist and specifically the drum sound on Moonage Dream. Roland lambasted Bowie as “a very uneven artist” with “a lot of dross including Lazarus”. The playlist was a journey of rediscovery for Tristan having been an obsessive listener for four years and then wandered off to listen to other things. The variability was all part of the charm. 

RIP Mr Bowie

Nick - / Tristan 7 / Nigel 10 / Keith - / Roland 5 / Robin 9 / Hamish 7

Aliens (1986) dir by James Cameron

Nigel explained how he’d managed never to see this film despite enjoying the original 1979 Alien film on multiple occasions. It was, of course, an obvious fit with our Loving The Alien theme. HBG is also very keen on a good old fashioned blockbuster of any vintage. 

The banter amongst the Marines has not aged too well but, that aside, Aliens stands up really well given its age. 

The cast are the usual mishmash of marines and technicians with solitary company man the slimy Burke obviously a wrong un from the off.

Plotwise Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley must surely have been able to relate to John McClane’s quip in Die Hard 2 “How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?” 

Once we’re back on the planet it really is same shit/different day however the tension never lets up and it’s incredible how the film maintains such a pitch of unremitting intensity for so long. The running time flies by but the viewer is totally drained by the conclusion. 

Hamish was less enthused and Keith even less so. However Tristan felt this is a masterpiece and he loves it.

Nick 12 / Tristan 9 / Nigel 8 / Keith - / Roland 3 / Robin - / Hamish 5

HBG endorse it: 12 February 2021 - 18 March 2021

Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan (2020) (dir by Julien Temple) (BBC iPlayer)

Beats (2019) dir by Brian Welsh

Informer (BBC series on Netflix)

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (Book)

Can’t Get You Out of My Head (Adam Curtis series on iPlayer)

Zero Zero Zero (Sky Atlantic)

Unforgotten (Netflix / ITV)

Ride Upon The Storm (Walter All4)

Mayflies by Andrew O’Hagan (Novel)

Beautiful Boy (BBC iPlayer)

Waves (Now TV)

The Forty Year Old Version (Netflix)

News of the World (Netflix)

The White Tiger (Netflix)

The Terror (BBC iPlayer)

Raging Bull (Film)

Call My Agent (Netflix)

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (Novel)

Next time out we will discuss Robin’s choices….

How to save the planet

READ: Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm (2018) by Isabel Tree
Blackfish
LISTEN: How to save the planet playlist
WATCH: Blackfish (2013) directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite

How to rule the world (2018) by Tibor Fischer

 On 11 February 2021 we met on Zoom (in a lockdown stylee) to discuss Keith’s choices….

*Theme: Power Corruption and Lies*

Reading: How To Rule The World (2018) by Tibor Fischer

Listening: Power Corruption and Lies by New Order

Watching: Deep Fakes: Can You Trust Your Eyes? - All 4

How to rule the world (2018) by Tibor Fischer

Keith had never heard of Tibor Fischer and felt there were plenty of cynical, bitter laughs via his satirical target Vizz, a multinational multimedia operation. 

Nigel was excited to reacquaint himself with Tibor’s work. How to Rule the World is an energetic, world weary, angry first person narration by Baxter, a disaffected TV documentary maker which makes for a surprisingly engrossing novel. A somewhat incoherent satirical novel is full of amusing one liners, interesting insights, colourful characters, and all against a global backdrop.

Nick was less impressed and felt this was a bit underwhelming, despite really enjoying Under the Frog (1993) and The Thought Gang (1994)

Roland dubbed it “a mid life crisis” novel and dismissed it as poor, superficial, boring and felt it was a waste of time

Hamish thought it was both readable and funny. Full of great ideas and also very funny. The book’s weakness was the lack of a decent story but did that really matter? Ultimately Hamish concluded probably not. Tibor Fischer has lost none of his insight, creativity and comedic abilities since his Booker-shortlisted debut Under the Frog (1992) broke through almost three decades ago.

Robin pondered the process by which writers get published given that How to Rule the World is a rant. Albeit a rant which is very funny and very enjoyable. 

Is this the most blokey book we’ve ever read? This, and the nicknames pissed Tristan off. He liked the expose of the documentary making industry and some of the jokes

Nick 3 / Tristan 5 / Nigel 8 / Keith 7 / Roland 3 / Robin 5 / Hamish 7

Listening: Power Corruption and Lies by New Order

Keith loves the first and last tracks. 

Tristan has never been a big New Order and feels this should have stayed in the 1980s where it belongs.

Robin feels it is what you’d expect from New Order. Hamish quite likes them and feels this is an interesting album as they evolve into New Order. Barney has nothing to say but says it in a very interesting way.

Nigel said this one of his favourite albums by one of his favourite groups 

Nick thinks this is one of the finest albums ever made and this is a nailed on ten out of ten

Roland feels it now sounds flimsy and throwaway pop with pathetic synthesisers. 

Nick 10 / Tristan 5 / Nigel 9 / Keith 8 / Roland 3.25 / Robin 7 / Hamish 7

Deep Fakes: Can You Trust Your Eyes? - All 4 / Wag The Dog

A solid Despatches with disturbing content. Roland described it as sinister. Tristan recognised how this will have serious ramifications for society. How do we trust anything in the digital world? We need some form of irrefutable validation and that might be the future. 

Not everyone managed to watch this one as it disappeared off All 4 before our meeting. Keith's other idea, Wag The Dog, was also briefly discussed.ds

Nick - / Tristan 6 / Nigel 5 / Keith 7 / Roland - / Robin - / Hamish -

HBG endorse it: 8 January - 11 February 2021

Spiral Series 8 (TV - BBC iPlayer)

Axios: How It Happened (Trump’s final weeks) (Podcast) 

King Rocker (dir by Michael Cummings) (Film about The Nightingales)

Black Country, New Road - For the first time (2021) (LP)

From The Oasthouse. The Alan Partridge Podcast (2020) (Audiobook)

Manchester By Sea dir by Kenneth Lonergan (2017) (Film)

Untouchable dir by Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano (2011) (French Film)

Kidding (TV - Sky Atlantic)

Lupin (TV - Netflix)

It’s a Sin (Channel 4)

Louis Theroux Grounded (Podcast)

The Dig (Netflix)

Lewes to Brighton walk

Fleet Foxes - Shore (2020)

Call My Agent (Netflix)

Lighthouse (2019) dir by Robert Eggers

White Tiger (2020) (Film)

Parasite (2020) (Film)

Days Without End (2016) by Sebastian Barry

Thumbs up to America

After our seasonal recess, and having been plunged back into lockdown for the third time, we assembled via Zoom for our first gathering of 2021 to discuss Hamish’s ‘Thumbs up to America’ themed selections

Reading: Days Without End (2016) by Sebastian Barry

Hamish's blatant attempt to scoop book of the year prize

Hamish made his choices after the US Election and wanted something that would chime with the sense of hope after Joe Biden’s success.

To varying degrees we all loved Days Without End which is a stunning, page turner of a book. Thomas McNulty’s simple, engrossing narration informs a convincing, beguiling, atmospheric and poignant tale of credible and sympathetic characters which takes place during key moments in 19th century American history.

It's a masterpiece which also has an unusual and interesting take on gender identity and sexuality during the 19th century.

With our first choice of the year Hamish has set the bar incredibly high in a blatant attempt to scoop the coveted and increasingly competitive HBG book of the year award. He’s red hot favourite already

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

More about Days Without End...

Twice Booker-shortlisted author Sebastian Barry returns with a sensational new novel set in mid-19th Century America, an intensely poignant story of two men and the lives they are dealt.

'Time was not something then we thought of as an item that possessed an ending, but something that would go on for ever, all rested and stopped in that moment. Hard to say what I mean by that. You look back at all the endless years when you never had that thought. I am doing that now as I write these words in Tennessee. I am thinking of the days without end of my life. And it is not like that now...'

Having signed up for the US army in the 1850s, aged barely seventeen, Thomas McNulty and his brother-in-arms, John Cole, go on to fight in the Indian wars and, ultimately, the Civil War.

Listening: Hamish’s Playlist - Is The Comma Important?

We love a cover version and most of these versions were both new and pleasing to many of us. Taylor Swift’s cover of September is gorgeous. The cover versions we knew (e.g. Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley) are superb examples of how to do a great cover version. Bravo Sir. 

But what connected the songs? Apparently Trump had used them at rallies and was asked to stop by the artists

Nick 6 / Tristan 5 / Nigel 8 / Keith 6 / Roland 8 / Robin 8 / Hamish -

Watching: Brooklyn (2015) dir by John Crowley 

Hamish had no preconceptions about the film and admitted it was a bit of a rush job based on Olga’s advice. He liked it and felt it was a good accompaniment with the book. 

Roland had already watched it and loved it. He watched it again, loved it again, and appreciated the many details. Perhaps this is Roland’s favourite film of all time, that was the suggestion from another HBGer. 

Saoirse Ronan is undeniably amazing in Brooklyn and only a complete curmudgeon would fail to be both touched and charmed by the story of Eilis. The contrast between buttoned up, small town Enniscorthy, County Wexford and Brooklyn, NYC could not be sharper. I genuinely didn’t know which way Eilis would jump when it came to answering the question, “Should I stay or should I go?”

Nick felt it was a bit light despite Saoirse Ronan’s electrifying performance. Keith felt the film lost its way when she fell for the second person in Ireland. 

Nick 6.5 / Tristan 7 / Nigel 7 / Keith 6 / Roland 9 / Robin 6 / Hamish 7

Endorse it

Carcassonne (Game)

French Exit by Patrick deWitt (Book) 

Bridgerton (Netflix)

The Serpent (iPlayer)

Amazing Grace - Aretha Franklin concert (iPlayer/Prime)

Industry (iPlayer)

Chubby Funny (Prime)

Staged (iPlayer)

The Spy (Netflix)

Sometimes Always Never (Prime)

1917 dir by Sam Mendes (Film) (Amazon Prime)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) (Film) (Netflix)

Cabaret Voltaire - Shadow of Fear (2020) (Music)

The Hijacker Who Vanished: The Mystery of DB Cooper (Documentary) (iPlayer) (BBC Four)

Adam Buxton podcast with Paul McCartney (Podcast)

Small Axe films (2020) directed by Steve McQueen (Film series on iPlayer):

- Mangrove

- Lover’s Rock

- Red, White and Blue

- Alex Wheatle

- Education

Parasite (2019) directed by Bong Joon-ho (Film - Amazon Prime)

Marvellous (2014) directed by Julian Farino (Film - Amazon Prime)

The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) directed by Armando Iannucci (Film - Amazon Prime)

Death to 2020 (Netflix)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) (Film)

Motherland Xmas Special (iPlayer)

Spiral (Season Eight) (TV Series) BBCFour iPlayer

Brian and Roger (Podcast)

Spiral - The Guardian’s Episode-by-Episode guide 

Next time out it’s Keith’s choices…

*Theme: Power Corruption and Lies*

Reading: How to rule the world by Tibor Fischer

Listening: Power Corruption and Lies (1983) by New Order

Watching: Deep Fakes: Can You Trust Your Eyes? - All 4

Thursday 11th February 2021

2020: The year in review

In lieu of our usual seasonal meal and visit to a pub, what with Covid 19 making meals and pubs all but impossible for those from different households, we decided to brave the chilly, damp evening of Thursday 10th December 2020 and stroll about sustained by exercise, conversation, occasional stop offs, and various beverages.

Sadly two members did not make the one and only tolerable photo to mark the occasion (sorry Nick and Keith) but here is evidence that this really did happen.

Here’s hoping 2021 is a bit more normal and we can enjoy our more traditional end of year celebration

Part of what we do every year is a poll to vote on each other’s choices. Here are the results….

Favourite read

1. Nineteen Eighty Four (1949) by George Orwell (Robin) - 15

2. Cal (1983) by Bernard MacLaverty (Nick) - 11

3. The Plague (1947) by Albert Camus (Keith) - 4

4. A Confederacy of Dunces (1980) by John Kennedy Toole (Tristan) - 3

5= Rings of Saturn (1995) by WG Sebald (Nigel) - 2

5= The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) by Muriel Spark (Nick) - 2

5= Light Years (1975) by James Salter (Roland) - 2

6= The Haunting of Hill House (1959) by Shirley Jackson (Robin) - 1

6= Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race (2017) by Reni Eddo-Lodge (Tristan) - 1

7= Notes From The Underground (1864) by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Roland) - 0

2. Favourite music

1. Astral Weeks (1968) by Van Morrison (Nick) - 7

2. Rastaman Vibration (1976) by Bob Marley and the Wailers (Robin) - 6

2. Achtung Baby (1991) by U2 (Nick) - 6

3. Made in the Manor (2016) by Kano - 5

4. What Did You Expect From The Vaccines (2011) by The Vaccines (Keith) - 4

5= Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go (12 inch version) (1981) by Soft Cell (Roland) - 3

5= Big Easy Spotify playlist (Tristan) - 3

5= Robin’s Ghost Playlist (Robin) - 3

6. Ambient 4: On Land(1982) by Brian Eno (Nigel) - 2

7. Gain The Axe EP (2019) by Bleep Bloop (Roland) - 0

3. Favourite watch

1. The Sting (1973) dir by George Roy Hill (Nick) - 10 

2. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) dir by Benh Zeitlin (Tristan) - 6

3= There Will Be Blood (2007) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Robin) - 5

3= Good Vibrations (2013) directed by Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn (Nick) - 5

3= The Goob (2014) dir by Guy Myhill (Nigel) - 5

4. Marriage Story (2019) directed by Noah Baumbach (Roland) - 3

5= Contagion (2011) dir by Steven Soderbergh (Keith) - 2

5= Unabomber: In His Own Words - Netflix (Roland) - 2

6= The Devil’s Backbone (2001) dir by Guillermo del Toro (Robin) - 0

6= Gone Too Far (2013) Dir by Destiny Ekaragha (Tristan) - 0

4. Favourite theme

1. Contagion (Keith) - 12 

2. Northern Ireland (Nick) - 9

3= The Kingdom of the East Angles (Nigel) - 5

3= Young, British and Black (Tristan) - 5

4. Prime (Nick) - 4

5. Tainted Love (Roland) - 3

6. Ghostly Goings On (Robin) - 1

7= The Big Easy?  (Tristan) - 0

7= Marginal (Roland) - 0

5. Best book you read in 2020 (could be a Book Group choice or something else)?

Gabriel Krauze 'Who They Was'

A Little Life

Chernobyl

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe 

Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Wilding by Isabella tree

1984

6. Memorable 2020 HBG moments

Beach encounters

Meeting on beach, Return of prodigal son Hamish

Not a lot of meeting - I enjoyed our outside meetings and our quizzes. 

The varied and unusual venues - the beach, Nick's front room, Keith's garden, even Zoom worked ok.

The beach drinks meeting

Meeting in a real pub!

Summer Special and my first dip in the sea for years. Sorry it could not be at a time we could all make. 

7. Best thing about Book Group in 2020

Keeping going despite C-19

Nigel without whom it would not exist

Hamish's return

The good humoured and intelligent way that HBG simply brushed aside everything 2020 threw at it!

Carrying on despite Covid

Through thick and thin it maintains 

See above. 

8. What defined 2020 for you (news item, something personal etc.)?

C-19

Covid, home living 24/7

This is a trick question. The first lockdown was pretty blissful in some ways - bird song, peace. Started making bread and beer again.

Utter incompetence of the British and American governments. Be funny if it wasn't so deadly.

Coronafuckingvirus

Not the f&£)king C word ! The end of trump 

Tbc - see how the world looks on 31 December. In the meantime, I have never been so invested in a US election. Goodbye orange man. 

9. How do we make Book Group even better?

Keep making interesting and provocative choices

All summer meetings on beach

Meeting up again.

Another weekend away. Focussed endorsing - just outstanding stuff, not absolutely everything. Nick's dog attending more often. #MHBGGA

Impossible

Perfection as always 

I would settle for the usual old s**t in the Westbourne. Remember those days?

10. What else do you want to say?

I love you

Nowt

2021 we will be back to normal - but how much will our lives have changed?

Far from our finest year of books in my view (but I suppose I didn't choose any!😄). Despite your decidedly average choices, it's been an absolute pleasure to be back though. 

How do you stop your glasses steaming up with a face mask on?

Thanks you guys. At least there is something to rely on in these grim times. 

See you next year

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race (2017) by Reni Eddo-Lodge

 Theme: Theme: Young, British and Black

On 12 November 2020 we gathered to discuss Tristan’s Young, British and Black themed selections. I say gathered, we were back on Zoom as we are now in the midst of a second national lockdown. 

Reading: Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race (2017) by Reni Eddo-Lodge

Not for the first or last times we were grateful to Tristan

Would we have read this without it being chosen? The answer was probably not for most of us and yet it is really interesting. 

The first few chapters cover black history in Britain and we were amazed at how much we learnt. This stuff really should be taught in schools.

The book also explores how racism, in all its forms, especially structural, stops our societies being as meritocratic as we would like, and to understand how and why established power structures are so resistant to change, and why change will, ultimately, benefit us all. 

Other chapters explore feminism and class.

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race is a book that all British people should probably read and brings the reader up to speed about all the issues surrounding race in Britain. It's illuminating and inspirational.

Nick 7.5 / Tristan 8 / Nigel 8 / Keith 7 / Roland 8 / Robin 7 / Hamish 7

Listening: Made in the Manor (2016) by Kano

Kano also stars in Top Boy which endeared us to him from the start.

Surprisingly good innit? At least that was the view of most of us. Roland was unimpressed.

Most of us were seduced by the variety, the light and shade, and the hooks

Reminded some us a bit of both Plan B and The Streets

Watching: Gone Too Far (2013) Dir by Destiny Ekaragha (Netflix)

Nick dissing the film 

We enjoyed it to varying degrees except who Nick who thought it was rubbish. Some of us also concluded it was a bit repetitive, implausible, and ridiculous. It was a good fit with the theme and we were particularly interested in the anti-African sentiment amongst some of the characters with West Indian heritage, along with themes around masculinity. It also struck us there was some fairly broad brush stereotypes. Overall, a fun film with likeable characters and universal themes of belonging and acceptance. 

Endorse It

Juliet, Naked (2018) - a film directed by Jesse Peretz (Netflix)

East West Street by Philippe Sands (Book)

Ivor Cutler by KT Tunstall (2020) (Documentary on Sky Arts)

The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

The Social Dilemma (2020) US docudrama dir by Jeff Orlowski (Netflix)

Mark Steele (BBC Radio 4)

Black AF (Netflix)

White Riot (2019) (documentary about Rock Against Racism) - Directed by Rubika Shah (Sky Arts)
I Wanna Be Yours (2020) by John Cooper Clarke (Book)

Carpurnium (Amazon Prime)

Intrigue (BBC Radio Four)

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe (Book)

Industry (BBC iPlayer)

Birthmarked (Netflix)

A United Kingdom (BBC iPlayer)

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) by Muriel Spark

Theme: Prime

On Thursday 8th October 2020 we used a hybrid Zoom/small group format to facilitate our discussion of Nick’s “Prime” themed choices and stay with the current Covid 19 rules. The selections under discussion….

Reading: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) by Muriel Spark

Listening: Achtung Baby (1991) by U2

Watching: The Sting (1973) directed by George Roy Hill

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) by Muriel Spark

Roland was, once again, the outlier, panning this novel and dismissing it with a cursory rating of 3. The previous month Roland lauded ‘Notes From The Underground' whilst the rest of the group were less than impressed.  This time out, all except Roland felt very positively about ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’.

Miss Brodie is a teacher at the Marcia Blaine School for Girls in the years between the wars. As she repeatedly tells anyone who will listen, she is in her prime. The people she confides in most are a group of girls who were once in her class and whom she singled out as her girls – the Brodie set.

Muriel Spark uses a non linear narrative, taking us back to the girls' first introduction to Miss Brodie as ten-year-olds, and then forwards to what feels like the present of the book - the late 1930s - when the girls are young adults; and then forward again, often telling us the girls' future. The time-shifting is cleverly done – the whole book sparkles with intelligence, in fact – giving layers of depth to what fundamentally is a rather slight little story of one of the many “surplus” women left single after the huge loss of young men in WW1.

In terms of style, Muriel Spark's non-sequential narrative and extensive use of prolepsis, is unusual, and yet works well as Muriel Spark repeats the same themes and phrases. The book is also very simple to read and well written. 

It was refreshing to read about such a free thinking, idiosyncratic and rebellious woman working in a deeply traditional environment in an era where great store was still placed on conduct in the bourgeois world of a girls' school in the 1930s. Miss Brodie is unconventional and daring. Instead of following the curriculum of the Marcia Blaine School for Girls, she treats her pupils as adults and discusses all manner of subjects which include her admiration for the emerging fascist leaders in Italy and Germany, her personal history, and her emotional life. Miss Brodie also invites her pupils to her home, and the home of other teachers, and takes them to the theatre and other outings. 

Whilst initially appearing to have the welfare of her special students at heart, Miss Brodie's motivation appears to be to control and manipulate her pupils, and ultimately this is a disturbing portrait of a self-obsessed and psychologically disturbed teacher. This is the brilliance of the book, behind the rebellious and unorthodox teaching style which is cloaked in the benign appearance of taking special care of a small coterie of hand picked pupils, lies a monster. The revelations which emerge throughout the book would create a tabloid newspaper feeding frenzy if they came to light in the modern era. Not only does Miss Brodie appear to want to force her special pupils to fulfil a destiny she has predetermined, she also has cast each girl into a tightly defined character. Muriel Spark constantly repeats these characteristics throughout the story, almost as if, like Miss Brodie, if she repeats them often enough they will become self-fulfilling. There are also other more amusing stylistic motifs that are frequently employed by Miss Brodie, for example, "you are the crème de la crème", and "I am in my prime". These help the reader to see through the Brodie character and hint at her self-delusion. 

Whilst the book's primary focus is Miss Brodie, we find out very little about her motivation. I think it's to Muriel Spark's credit that she leaves her readers to draw their own conclusions, and yet we wondered the extent to which Muriel Spark is sympathetic to her literary creation. Ultimately that is the most puzzling thing about the book - on one level it's just a quirky story about a slightly weird teacher, on another more profound level we thought Miss Brodie is meant to mirror her fascist leader heroes. Like Hitler, Miss Brodie employs slogans, charisma and mind control to subjugate a group and attempt to force them to comply with her own twisted agenda.

This is unusual, weird and very good. It's also very short and simple to read - it's well worth a couple of hours of your time.

Nick 8.5 / Tristan 8 / Nigel 7 / Keith 7 / Roland 3 / Robin 8 / Hamish 7.5

Achtung Baby (1991) by U2

Most were impressed by U2’s Achtung Baby. Some found Bono and his messiah complex irksome.

The Sting (1973) directed by George Roy Hill

A flipping marvellous story with real heart which has hardly dated at all despite being nearly 50 years old.

A great cast, most notably Robert Shaw, Robert Redford and Paul Newman just superb, along with all the supporting actors

Endorse It

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster Paperback by Adam Higginbotham (Book)

Ramblebook by Adam Buxton (Book)

Unorthodox (Netflix)

Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor (Book)

Corpus Christi (Amazon Prime)

Knives Out (Film)

North by North West (Film)

Camping (Now TV)

Adaptation (Film)

Breaking Bad (TV)

Social Dilemma (Netflix)

The Point (Netflix)

Notes From The Underground (1864) by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Reading: Notes From The Underground (1864) by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Roland’s summer selections were based around his theme of Marginal. The book under discussion was Fyodor Dostoevsky ’s Notes From The Underground 

With the “rule of six” being introduced prematurely by The Westbourne pub in Hove we had to relocate to Hove beach. Fortunately, the evening of Thursday 10th September 2020 was most clement

Roland was very enthusiastic about Notes From The Underground although he did pause to enquire, what does it all mean? Would others in the HBG be able to answer his question, or indeed share his enthusiasm?

Hamish branded it “turgid” and lambasted it as “heavy going”

Keith, who had recently read Crime and Punishment revealed that book was much better

Nigel stated it was not his cup of tea. The first half is rambling and tedious however things pick up a bit in the second half. His overwhelming emotion on finishing was relief

Robin said he felt more pain and suffering than the bitter, socially inept, thin skinned narrator Underground Man

Tristan observed that the only good thing about the book was that it was just 120 pages, that said it felt more like 300 pages

Nick was relieved it was not just he who had found the book boring and tedious, and added that any profound or illuminating insights into the human condition passed had passed him by

Nick 2.5 / Tristan 3 / Nigel 2 / Keith 5 / Roland 7 / Robin 2 / Hamish 1

Listening: Gain The Axe EP (2019) by Bleep Bloop

At the discussion Roland tried to withdraw the music however we were having none of it. Those who had listened to it were underwhelmed or indeed hostile

Watching: Unabomber: In His Own Words (2020) (Netflix)

We all agree Roland redeemed himself with this Unabomber four part documentary which threw up many interesting issues, a lot of which feel very contemporary. Keith saw parallels with Crime and Punishment and praised the theme song by Man

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