Caitlin Moran "How To Be A Woman"

Caitlin Moran on hearing Don's comments

On Tuesday 19th March 2013 Hove Book Group met up for another evening of top flight cultural discourse.  Here is an eye witness account of what went down.

Nick implored the group to explore their female sides with three selections that took us down Equality Avenue.  We came to the event having all read Caitlin Moran's best selling book "How To Be A Woman".  Nick felt the book was mis-sold and was more about Caitlin than a generic book about women.  Nick likes to think of himself as someone sympathetic to feminism, as long as it doesn't involve too much shouting at men that is. Despite this modern and enlightened approach Nick felt the book did not offer much more than some great one-liners and sporadic wisdom - specifically the sections on abortion and child birth.  A good read.  6/10

To Nigel, a renowned 50 something liberal male, Caitlin Moran is preaching to the converted.  There's very little in her book for him to disagree with.  He will encourage his daughter to read it once she is 15 or 16.  Nigel felt there were some parts of the book where Caitlin could have been far more succinct without diluting the message.  Nigel ran through the notes he had made at the end of each chapter.  Some chapters were far more successful than others.  The ones that Nigel thought were most effective included "I Start Bleeding", "I Become Furry" ,"I am Fat", "I Encounter Some Sexism", "I Am In Love", "I Get Married", "I Get Into Fashion", and "Abortion".  Nigel took issue with Caitlin's support of celebrity gossip magazines, "Buying them only encourages them and their agenda to undermine women Caitlin".  Her style is fairly strident and opinionated which might not be to everyone's taste, and some sections are a little overlong, but fundamentally it's a wise and funny book with some helpful and thoughtful insights.  7/10  

Before the meeting there had been some speculation about Don's reaction to this book.  Previous books that Don disliked having been shredded, thrown on a compost bin etc. Don confessed that this was a new genre for him and that he really liked Caitlin's column in The Times newspaper.  So far, so encouraging, alas he then stated that a lot of the content had already appeared in her newspaper columns, that she was "fine in small doses" before a parting shot that this book was "witless, turgid and unfunny".  Don stopped reading on page 161.  Ouch.  Take that Caitlin Moran.

Don said what?!

Jason's wife had read him some funny sections of the book a few months before this gathering, and so inspired Jason to read the whole thing.  Once Jason sat down and started reading "How to Be a Woman" properly he felt he'd already heard the best bits.  That said, by the time Caitlin Moran stated "in many ways, there is no crueller or more inappropriate present to give a child than oestrogen and a big pair of tits. Had anyone asked me I think I would have requested a book token or maybe a voucher for C&A instead", Jason realised he was reading a helpful book and as Caitlin states, "I'm neither 'pro-women' nor 'anti-men'. I'm just 'Thumbs up for the six billion."  "Right on", murmured Jason. 6.5/10

Robin lost his kindle on a plane and, with it, his copy of this book.  Nigel's copy arrived too late for him to finish it.  Doh!  Robin then digressed, and described how none of his girlfriends had ever engaged in masturbation.  Whilst the group digested this sensational news, Robin then questioned the extent to which Caitlin had masturbated.  Robin felt this was a book that might as well have been subtitled "common sense, with some jokes and improbably high levels of masturbation". 5/10

Caitlin hears Robin's remarks about female masturbation

Hamish felt this was not a book about feminism, rather a book about Caitlin and modern life.  His wife had found it hilarious, Hamish less so.  Was it more funny to female readers?  The jokes are integral to the book. Hamish thought her account of the birth of her first child was absolutely brilliant; and her husband's tears at her suffering is beautifully and memorably described. She can also squeeze in a gag on how the whole experience has given her perspective: "I doubt that I will get angry about Norwich Union changing its name to 'Aviva' ever again." 5/10

Keith stated that this was his kind of feminism and Caitlin was his kind of woman.  Great news.  Persuasive, honest, passionate, inclusive.  Keith was impressed by Caitlin and her book. The book's achievement is to make feminism seem unthreatening and simple. Caitlin is not anti-men and believes that we're all just "The Guys", that sexism is just a form of bad manners, and that one thing that would help is more imaginative porn.  Keith says a hearty "Yes" to all of the above.  9/10

Tristan heartily enjoyed it.  A funny, liberal book.  Tristan then distributed an eye opening photo of Germaine Greer to illustrate a point about female-centric pornography.  Tristan stated that it is really important that we talk about this stuff and understand it.  That Caitlin Moran's book is also engaging, brave, clever, and funny is a bonus.  Everybody should read it.  8.5/10 

An interesting debate with a variety of views - with most participants from Hove's number one book group feeling that this was a well written book with humour, insight and power.  Thank you Caitlin Moran.


The Pixies' legendary female bassist informed Nick's musical choice "Doolittle" by The Pixies....

Sadly at this point the notes became a series of illegible scrawls and crude and childish drawings.

The Allmusic review concludes with "A fun, freaky alternative to most other late-'80s college rock, it's easy to see why the album made the Pixies into underground rock stars."  Broadly speaking: 

Nick and Nigel are fans and very positive about the band and this album.

Jason and Robin don't like it.

Keith, Hamish and Tristan were only partly convinced by it.

Thelma and Louise

Finally the group discussed the film "Thelma and Louise".

Despite some dreadful music, Nick really enjoyed this film.

Nigel loved it when it first came out, however felt it had dated badly and was struck by the almost universal overacting.  Still watchable but not as good as it seemed all those years ago.

Once again, at this point the meeting notes degenerate into stream of consciousness mumbo jumbo and arcane symbols that not even the experts at the British Museum could interpret.  

The end.

"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

A Bengal Tiger yesterday

On Tuesday 12th February 2013, the beautiful (Hamish, Jason and Keith), the wild (Nick and Tristan), and the damned (Robin and Nigel) gathered at The Poets Corner pub in Hove to discuss Hamish's selections.

Hamish's book choice was the acclaimed "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel.  Hamish had recently seen the Ang Lee film version and that inspired his choice.  Richard Parker, the Bengal Tiger, was a brilliant character, and Hamish enjoyed this thought provoking book, before lavishing it with a fulsome 9.5/10.

Nigel read this book a couple of years ago and chose not to re-read it for the Book Group.  He also saw Ang Lee's film version in January 2013 which remains pretty faithful to the story as described in the book.  Nigel wondered how much of his perceptions where now informed by the film version which he thought was magnificent.  

Although many critics emphasise the story's allegorical qualities, for Nigel the book worked best as an adventure story.  The scenes of the boat sinking, and Pi on the lifeboat with Richard Parker, are so well written that, despite being fanciful, somehow remain convincing and exciting.  Usually Nigel finds his patience tested by anything that smacks of magic realism, however he thought this book managed to incorporate those elements into the narrative and yet still be pleasing (although the carnivorous island was the least enjoyable aspect of the story).

The alternative version, as relayed to the sceptical officials investigating the ship's sinking, is a masterstroke that turns the whole tale on its head.  Which version is true?  Does it matter?  Either way it's a great yarn, brilliantly told, and improbably it made for an even better film.  8/10

Don - a mini-existential crisis?

Sadly Don could not join us for this meeting.  Why?  No one was sure.  Perhaps he was having a mini-existential crisis?  He was last seen muttering something about religion, India, a zoo and a shipwreck.  So, after we'd all gazed at the empty chair for a few moments, it was over to Tristan for some more sagely thoughts about "Life of Pi".

Like Nigel, Tristan had already read the book and chosen not to reread it.  A decision he had come to regret having read parts of it again just before the gathering.  Martel's storyline is already well-known: a fifteen-year-old boy, the son of a zookeeper in Pondicherry, India survives a shipwreck several days out of Manila. He is the lone human survivor, but his lifeboat is occupied by a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, an injured zebra, a hyena, and an Orang-utan. In relatively short order and in true Darwinian fashion, their numbers are reduced to just two: the boy Pi Patel, and the tiger, Richard Parker. Tristan felt that the first 100 pages were less satisfactory than the rest of the book, however this was but small beer to an otherwise marvellous novel that was worthy of 8/10.

Robin - detected a spiritual element

Robin, as a renowned monkey and ape lover and tireless animal aid worker, was disappointed by the Orang-utan's short lived appearance and swift demise, however this did not impinge too much on his enjoyment of the book.  Robin dwelt upon the allegorical elements of the tale, before describing the symbolic expression of a deeper meaning through a tale acted out by humans, animals, and even plant life. Martel has crafted a magnificently unlikely tale involving zoology and botany, religious experience, and ocean survival skills to explore the meaning of stories in our lives, whether they are inspired by religion to explain the purpose of life or generated by our own eggshell psyches as a cipher to understanding and interpreting our own world. 8.5/10

Keith wondered if the author's note was suggesting that "Life of Pi" was actually a true tale.  This notion was swiftly poo-pooed by the rest of the group, however Keith warmed to his theme.... Martel employs a number of 

Keith - truth is stranger than fiction

religious themes and devices to introduce religion as one of mankind's primary filters for interpreting reality. Pi's active adoption and participation in Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity establish him as a character able to relate his story through the lens of the world's three major religions. Prayer and religious references abound, and his adventures bring to mind such Old Testament scenes as the Garden of Eden, Daniel and the lion's den, the trials of Job, and even Jonah and the whale. Accepting Pi's survival story as true, without supporting evidence, is little different than accepting New Testament stories about Jesus. They are matters of faith.  From his biologist's perspective, Keith awarded the book a score of 7/10.

Nick - anti-Japanese?

Nick felt the book was a bit unfair on the Japanese.  When Pi retells the entire story to two representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Transport searching for the cause of the sinking, they express disbelief, so he offers them a second, far more mundane but believable story that parallels the first one. They can choose to believe the more fantastical first one despite its seeming irrationality and its necessary leap of faith, or they can accept the second, far more rational version, more heavily grounded in our everyday experiences.  Despite the blatant anti-Japanese bias, Nick relished the old testament elements, and the fantastical story, before describing it as a rollicking good read and well worth 7/10.

Jason announced that we are all storytellers, who cast our experiences and even our own lives in story form. Martel's message is that all humans use stories to process the reality around them, from the stories that comprise history to those that explain the actions and behaviours of our families and friends. We could never process the chaotic stream of events from everyday life without stories to help us categorise and compartmentalise them. Jason felt we all choose our own stories to accomplish meaning and comprehension - for some this is based on faith and religion, for others this is based on empiricism and science.  The approach we choose dictates our interpretation of the world around us.  A brilliantly written book that is somehow believable.  The island though?  WTF?! 8/10

A very respectable average score of 8 for Mr Martel and his allegorical tale of a tiger and a boy.

Japan "Tin Drum"

Hamish's musical choice was inspired by Nigel's birthday celebration at top Brighton 1980s disco-nightclub "Spellbound". He asked the group to enjoy "Tin Drum" by Japan...

Hamish heralded the ambient production and oriental flavas. His wife was a big fan of the group and, despite not being in on the whole thing from the beginning, he enjoyed the odd, ambiguous, fascinating eighties style that felt mystical and exotic. 7/10

Nigel thought 'Tin Drum' stood up remarkably well.  It was not an album he ever owned or had listened to.  He recalled when Japan were around but never really warmed to them at the time.  Listening now, his feelings haven't changed much.  Although the album still sounds remarkably fresh, Nigel regards it as an album to admire rather than to love - unlike, say, the contemporaneous "New Gold Dream" by Simple Minds which works on both an emotional and a cerebral level.  The big exception to this is the single "Ghosts" which is a classic.  The pared down arrangement, David Sylvain's fragile, uncertain vocals, and a haunting melody elevate this tale of lost love to a timeless avant garde pop masterpiece - right up there with Good Vibrations, You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling, Summer Breeze, Death Disco, and Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes.  6/10

Jason felt Tin Drum was the album where Japan hit their stride.  The two strongest forces in the band had found their own voices: David Sylvian's compositions combined influences like Roxy Music, Erik Satie, and Eastern Asian traditional music, all augmented by Mick Karn's unique, rubbery fretless bass playing. Even at this early point in his career, no one sounded like Karn. 8/10

Tristan was less enthused describing the music as unremitting twaddle and the songs as self indulgent.  Ouch.  0/10.

Keith.  Not then.  Not now.  Double ouch. 6/10


Nick Despite the lack of anti-Japanese bias here, and Nick's love of similar stuff, this is just shit.  -8/10 (yes minus eight). Treble ouch. 

Robin exclaimed that the album was a clear progression from Japan's earlier work, containing unique song constructions and arrangements. Years on from Robin's favourite decade, Japan remain one of those unique groups that still remain unclassifiable.  Better than many 80's new romantic hairstyle bands - and Robin should know. Robin also reminded us that Tin Drum was a richly deserved commercial success and although somedays he might argue that Gentlemen Take Polaroids had stronger songs he dug the exotic tunes that embrace soul, techno, electronica and Asian influences.  6/10

And so ended another memorable evening that embraced culture, Bengal tigers, life boats, eyeliner, synthpop, and convivial discourse.  See ya next month.

"Ashenden" by W Somerset Maugham

Nigel: wanted to read W Somerset Maugham

Nigel explained how he had wanted to read something by W. Somerset Maugham for sometime despite knowing very little about him.  
He was very impressed by this book.  In addition to being beautifully written it has the ring of authenticity - Nigel felt that a lot of what Maugham relates is rooted in truth, and the vast majority in his own experience.

Nigel is intrigued by spying and World War 1.  A while back Robin chose the film adaptation of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", and like this book that film seemed to depict real spies (as opposed to the James Bond depiction) who lead unusual, solitary and interesting lives.  Never sure who they can trust and relying on their wits and intelligence to survive.

All the stories are good, and four of them really pack a punch (The Hairless Mexican, The Traitor, His Excellency, and Mr Harrington's Washing).  People die, people get hurt.  The story that has stayed with Nigel the longest is The Traitor - in particular the anguish of the Grantley Caypor's widow.

In His Excellency, Maugham uses a literary sleight of hand, Maugham - who was gay but in the closet during the events he is describing - is almost certainly speaking of himself.  Society in those days had clear expectations of sexual conduct - and that would have been an end to the matter.  Whilst I enjoyed this tale, it also dragged just a bit and is perhaps too conventional when compared with the other stories but the sentimentality also feels undeniably real.  

Keith: felt cheated

A minor masterpiece.  9/10.

Our Royal correspondent, Keith felt cheated by this book.  The preface promised a spy novel and yet the book is a collection of interrelated short stories rooted in Maugham’s own experiences as an agent, that reflect the ruthlessness and brutality of espionage, its intrigue and treachery, as well as its absurdity.  What a swizz.  

Keith wanted more, stating, "this is not a spy novel but a novel about spying".  4/10

Hamish was also "thrown by the preface" before going on to describe how the book was well written with well developed characters and great endings to each story.  

Ashenden is recruited by a Colonel known to him only as R., and sent on a variety of missions that include playing escort to an eccentric Mexican assassin, arranging for a traveling dancer to betray her revolutionary Indian lover, ascertaining whether an Englishman spying for Germany might be recruited as a double agent, attempting to prevent the Bolshevik revolution, and more. Sometimes he succeeds, frequently with bittersweet results, and sometimes he fails. Occasionally his objective or the outcome is not known to the reader, since Maugham is more interested in describing the people Ashenden meets than in the specifics of his efforts.  

Ultimately Hamish thought the book felt slight.  6/10

Nick: loves WW1 war poets

Nick explained how World War 1 is the era he likes best in fiction and evoked the splendour of the war poets with a faraway look in his eye.  He also took time out to recommend "The Secret Agent" by Joseph Conrad.  

Nick "loved it".  Travel, romance, grubbiness - this book has it all.  Maugham’s writing is wonderful and the stories in Ashenden are excellent. Nick thought it was impossible to pick a favourite story, as each has indelible moments: “The Traitor” and “Giulia Lazzari” being unforgettable.

Maugham has a knack for creating vivid portraits of his characters while wasting not a single word.  Here’s an example from “A Chance Acquaintance”: 

Mr. Harrington was devoted to his wife and he told Ashenden at unbelievable length how cultivated and what a perfect mother she was. She had delicate health and had undergone a great number of operations, all of which he described in detail. He had had two operations himself, one of his tonsils and one to remove his appendix, and he took Ashenden day by day through his experiences. All his friends had had operations and his knowledge of surgery was encyclopedic. He had two sons, both at school, and he was seriously considering whether he would not be well-advised to have them operated on.

Nick concluded by picking up on Nigel's point about how Ashenden is the antithesis of James Bond by stating that the latest James Bond film "Skyfall" has quite a bit in common with Ashenden, and he wondered if Sam Mendes, the film's director, had read "Ashenden".  8/10

Tristan: witty, urbane and delightfully detached

Tristan enjoyed it.  It felt modern and evoked the era beautifully.  Tristan enjoyed the ferries, steam trains, numerous baths, and the wonderful characters. It seems, on the whole, espionage work a century ago was both, bureaucratic and boring, and then thrilling, macabre and absurd, with the emphasis being on the former, although the book emphasises the latter: Ashenden encounters a hairless Mexican, a dying English nanny to two Egyptian Princesses, any number of French farmer's wives carrying secret messages in their bosoms and an endlessly chattering American on the train to Petrograd with an interest in his own laundry bordering on the hysterical. 

Ashenden is witty, urbane and delightfully detached as he encounters unique, strange people with a wry, disinterested eye.  Tristan thought it amusing and dark, for example the grim tableau of an owner's dog howling as his widow realises why her husband hasn't been writing recently, whilst Ashenden strolls off impassively despite having got to know both of them and having contributed to his death. 

Was this the first spy novel?  It's certainly one of the best. 7/10.

Don: an impressive understanding of humanity

This was Don's first foray into the world of Maugham and it was a fine journey.  Don does not enjoy Spy novels and yet was won over by the beautifully crafted Ashenden character. Don immersed himself in the story and visualised the characters and the environment. One minute he was on a ferry journey, the next collecting flowers in the Alps., and then eating scrambled eggs with a Russian woman called Anastacia Alexandrovna. Marvellous, lucid, elegant, and it displayed an impressive understanding of humanity. Don was also fascinated to get an idea of what Maugham's experiences as an intelligence offer entailed.

Mr Harrington was remarkable. An amalgam of several real life characters, and a man who met his his demise in an entirley believable way. 

8/10 (and not to be consigned to the compost heap).

If Robin was a spy he'd be Ashenden. Forget James Bond with his car chases, dolly birds, gadgets, Martinis, and explosions, and instead embrace the romance of Edwardian travel, exotic encounters with Russian ‘foxes’ and a stiff upper lip measured with enviable tolerance and old school values. 

The book conjures up sufficient intrigue to keep it compelling and evocative.  Robin especially enjoyed the train journey from Vladivostock to Petrograd and the threats from revolutionaries.  Would the British Government ever think they could halt the Russian revolution with one man and a sack for of cash?  The book was romantic without being sentimental.
One of the best sections was the ambassador recounting his flight of fancy with the woman from the circus.

An excellent choice and I will read more Maugham. 8/10

Hove Book Group awards this book an average score of 7/10.  

"Diamond Dogs" by David Bowie

With supreme serendipity we also discussed the merits of David Bowie's "Diamond Dogs" album.  

The discussion took place on 8th January 2012, not only was this Mr Bowie's 66th birthday, he also chose to surprise the world with the release of a new single and the announcement of a new album.

Thanks David Bowie - and Happy Birthday.

Nigel explained how this was one of the first albums he ever owned.  An old friend and an old friend that even today never fails to remind him of the excitement he felt when he first heard it as a 14 year old who had very little else to compare it with.  The opening howl of 'Future Legend' before the monologue is probably the greatest opening of any album he can think of...

And in the death, as the last few corpses lay rotting on the slimy thoroughfare, the shutters lifted in inches in Temperance Building high on Poacher's Hill, and red, mutant eyes gaze down on Hunger City. No more big wheels....fleas the size of rats sucked on rats the size of cats, and ten thousand peoploids split into small tribes, coveting the highest of the sterile skyscrapers, like packs of dogs assaulting the glass fronts of Love-Me Avenue, ripping and rewrapping mink and shiny silver fox, now legwarmers, family badge of sapphire and cracked emerald, any day now...the Year of the Diamond Dogs...."This ain't Rock'n'Roll....This is Genocide!" .....before that glorious riff.  

Just as the listener is settling in for the superior glam musical presaged by the title track, then comes Sweet Thing/Candidate which ups the ante even higher.  Nigel was entranced by this this song as a teenager. An ambitious, epic pop tune - music and lyrics coming together to create something magnificent.  Nigel could wax lyrical about every lyric, perhaps "I'm glad that you're older than me, Makes me feel important and free" or maybe "there's a shop on the corner that's selling papier mache, Making bullet-proof faces; Charlie Manson, Cassius Clay", it's all wonderful - one of his best songs, and the album's key track.

Just one year after Diamond Dogs was released came the "plastic soul" of 'Young Americans. Both "Rock 'n' Roll With Me" and the Shaft-inspired wah-wah guitar style of "1984" signpost this new direction.  This further extends the musical variety and adds to the album's splendour.  And of course Diamond Dogs also anticipates punk rock - Bowie himself describing the Diamond Dogs of the title song as "little Johnny Rottens and Sid Viciouses".

Nick also "loved it".  Hamish found it hard to go back and evaluate whole albums having been that bit too young to have embraced it first time round.  Tristan felt it was not quite up there with the other stuff.  Keith put the whole thing into context by detailing the top albums of 1974.  Fascinating stuff.

Basically it's got the lot.  Keep cool Diamond Dogs rule.  

And so ended another wonderful gathering of the Hove Book Group - we'll be back next month for cultural discourse, beer and crisps.  Happy New Year.

Hove Book Group - 2012 End Of Year Review

On the evening of 12 December 2012 Hove Book Group celebrated another wonderful year of bonhomie and cultural discourse with a meal at Leonardo restaurant.

The hardest working book group in Hove kick back for a well deserved celebration and a review of all things 2012.

In amongst the back slapping, red wine and Peroni, was the HBG review of 2012....

This is what we read this year:

• "Room" by Emma Donoghue
• "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" by James Joyce
• "The Kingdom Of God Is Within You" by Leo Tolstoy
• "The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories" by Leo Tolstoy
• "Snowdrops" by AD Miller
• "Hangover Square" by Patrick Hamilton
• "Blindness" by José Saramago
• "Sum" by David Eagleman
• "Planet of the Apes" by Pierre Boulle
• "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain
• "Remainder" by Tom McCarthy

We commissioned Gallup to run a rigorous poll, and once the golden envelope was opened, our special guest Ian Lavender revealed that - collectively - our most loved book of 2012 was "Blindness" by José Saramago. Congratulations to José Saramago (who sadly could not be present to receive the accolade).  The full results were:

1. Blindness
2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
3. Hangover Square
4. Room
5. Sum
6. Remainder
7. Planet of the Apes
8. Ivan Ilyich
9. Snowdrops
10. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Our favourite film was:

• "The Guard"

Our favourite music was :

• Simple Minds "Early Gold", and nigeyb's imagined soundtrack to Hangover Square

Favourite book group moments included the debate about "Room" which almost resulted in a fight; Robin's scathing dismissal of Seven Samurai; Robin choosing to read and review a different book; this blog; and, most recently, Pannier-gate (see below).

We also enjoyed a more general review of 2012 that variously embraced the following landmark public and personal events:

• Pannier-gate - the mystery of who dumped their copy of "Remainder" into Robin's pannier was solved
• The Olympics - very enjoyable
• The extent to which Operation Yewtree is just a police officer throwing darts at a 1978 Look In annual
• Keith's memorable rant about the royal family
• The End Of The Road festival
• This blog
• Jimmy Savile (boo)
• The lack of a public uprising against the Government
• New schools
• The Three Peaks - and the possibility of a 24 hour walk on the Downs

And so ends another year of Hove Book Group camaraderie.  

Merry Xmas and a happy new year.

"Remainder" by Tom McCarthy

The Hove Book Group gathered together on Thursday 22nd November 2012 to discuss Keith's choices.

First up was "Remainder" by Tom McCarthy.

"Why Keith?  Why?"

Keith replied that he wanted something modern, new and unknown, and that's what he got from this book.  Original, intriguing, intense, and humorous.

Tom McCarthy couldn’t get Remainder published in the UK at first. He eventually sold it to a French house who marketed it through art galleries rather than bookstores. It proved a critical hit and so was then picked up for a more traditional UK release.

Keith thought it was "an excellent book" and lavished it with an excellent 9/10.

As Keith is a fan of alternative scoring systems, Hamish emailed through a different approach for his review.  Using Kurt Vonnegut's eight rules for story writing he had this to say:

Hamish: alternative scoring system 

Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted: Was Hamish's time wasted?  The novel was certainly readable enough, dramatic action took place, the story progressed and Hamish kept turning pages.  It wasn’t hard work.  Sadly Hamish felt little emotional attachment to the novel though. Half a Vonnegut

Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for: The narrator totally dominated the book.  None of the other characters were developed enough.  The narrator suffered some mental illness or was just self obsessed and didn’t care.  Either way, Hamish found him vaguely irritating and difficult to relate to.  No Vonneguts 

Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water:  The narrator wanted to be real.  Naz initially wanted money but, as the book went on, wanted to feed his addiction to making things run like clockwork.  The other characters presumably just wanted money.  So they did all want something.  But Hamish gave no points because both the narrator and Naz’s desires seemed contrived and plain daft.  No Vonneguts

Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action: Hamish felt that no sentences revealed character.  The action was regularly and dramatically advanced however, although to what end?  Half a Vonnegut

Start as close to the end as possible: The narrator started with the accident and ended with the last re-enactment.  We learned nothing superfluous about his earlier life.  There were no offshoots from the plot, cameo appearances or flowery Rushdiesque descriptions of nearby vegetation.  It was succinct and to the point.  Whatever the point might have been.  One Vonnegut

A sadist

Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of:  Sadly nothing awful happened to the narrator.  No Vonneguts

Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia: Mr McCarthy cannot possibly have written this hoping to make love to the world surely?  The self obsession suggests he wrote it just for himself.  Which is of course how it should be and Hamish scored it  One Vonnegut

Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages: The opening page telling us of some awful accident, but the book then actively refuses to give further details.  Early hopes were that things would be explained, it became increasingly evident that they would not.  The narrator/McCarthy actually took some pleasure in not explaining things.  Tom McCarthy utterly failed to make his story similarly believable.  No Vonneguts

So overall, Hamish awarded a grand total of 3 Vonneguts out of a potential 8.  In summary, "a fairly readable pile of complete old tosh".  Tristan converted the "Vonneguts" into the traditional HBG scoring system to reveal a dismissive 4/10.

Nick - used to live in Brixton

Nick, as an ex-Brixton resident, enjoyed the book's Brixton setting.  It was a way in for him.  Alas, after getting in the book never took off.  Too many reconstructions and re-enactments.  Remainder is a novel of ideas. It was clear to Nick that to have any chance of understanding what this book might be about he'd have to pay attention more to the themes than to the events: repetition; the barrier of consciousness from direct experience; the intransigency of matter.  Alas, this approach merely resulted in Nick concluding that this book was Iain Banks-lite.  5/10

Don, quickly got into the book, so much so that he was buoyed.  It was a page turner.  Akin to Blindness.  Don loved the cats...part of the re-enactment of the building and old apartment includes the view from it of a sloping tiled roof on which cats would lie in the sun. This part doesn’t work out so well as the cats placed on the roof keep falling off it and dying. The cats were not enough for Don though.  He demands more than dead cats from his reading, and - as he read on - the book's lack of characters started to annoy, and - at the conclusion of the book - he felt it was only worthy of 6/10.

A cat

Nigel, whilst a fan of Kurt Vonnegut, was not convinced by all of his rules (See Hamish's review above).  Nigel enjoyed the way the book allowed the reader to fill in the blanks.  Nigel was not really sure what it was all about, however he found it beguiling and it sparked off many thoughts and ideas around memory, feelings, experience, time, and life.  

As the book's mysterious councillor reminds the reader towards the book's conclusion: "No less than one hundred and twenty actors have been used. Five hundred and eleven props — tyres, signs, tins, tools, all in working condition — have been assembled and deployed. And that’s just for the tyre shop scene. The number of people who have been employed in some capacity or other over the course of all five re-enactments is closer to one thousand.” He paused again and let the figure sink in, then continued: "All these actions, into which so much energy has been invested, so many man-hours, so much money — all, taken as a whole, confront us with the question: for what purpose?"  For what purpose indeed?  8/10

Tristan

Tristan found the book irritating.  Was it meant to be irritating?  Where was the cleverness?  Tristan felt that the only cleverness was in the madness of the narrator.  Where was the humour?  To what extent is the narrator trustworthy? Is he awake? Was the book a dream? At one dizzying juncture the narrator admits that a conversation he just described didn’t actually happen. Later the narrator is dogged by a smell of cordite. Nobody else can smell it except for one man.  We can’t trust the narrator.  Who can we trust?  4/10

Robin explained he didn't like the book.  Robin recently went to an exhibition in London. By chance he got talking to one of the curators of the exhibition - a sculptor. Robin mentioned that he was reading Remainder. Was sculpture a theme?  The cutting away of stuff until what remains is revealed? Michelangelo spoke of the statue being inside the block of marble already. Cut away the excess material and the statue will be revealed. 3/10

Robin - chance encounter with a sculptor

So, in summary, a book that inspired a mixed set of reactions, and a great discussion.  The average score from Hove's finest - 6/10.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Keith & Nick

With his second choice, Keith wanted to push his own boundaries, and having obsessively perused numerous obituaries he was inspired to find out more about Chris Marker (RIP), and specifically La Jetée (The Pier, 1962).  It's a c30-minute post-third world war story, made up entirely of stills, except for one brief moving shot of a woman opening her eyes. This futuristic photo-novel film was semi-remade by Terry Gilliam as 12 Monkeys in 1995.

Keith felt that La Jetée abstracts cinema almost to its essence in bringing to life the story of a post-apocalyptic man obsessed with an image from his past.  "A little wonder" with fantastic style and excellent images.  Those images endured for Keith.  8/10

Hamish thought that for a short slideshow of photos backed by sounds and narration, this was highly effective.  It reminded him of Godspeed You Black Emperor for some reason.  Hamish enjoyed it.  Five Godspeeds out of a possible seven.  Tristan converted this into a score of 7/10.

Good news for Don

Nick watched the film in French, despite not speaking the language.  When questioned, he was a bit vague on the plot.  He still loved it though.  8/10

Don watched a different film by Chris Marker - San Soleil.  The good news for Don was that the film featured some cats.  Cats and owls were Marker's favourite animals and were a central theme of Sans Soleil.  Don explained that San Soleil also focuses on the weird and the titillating (taxidermied animals in sex poses, an animatronic JFK in a shopping mall).  Marker explains what he sees with the curiosity and empathy of an anthropologist.  San Soleil also has an uneasy relationship with truth.  Don explained that it undermines itself at every opportunity. What is stock footage and what is original? Are scenes separated by geography also separated by years?  Don was unsure.
7/10.

Robin - shocked

Nigel explained the reasons for his high tolerance for art cinema.  These included a woman called Lemmy, carrot cake, coffee in polystyrene cups, and The Electric Cinema in Notting Hill Gate.  Nigel liked the photography and the film's dream-like quality.  7/10

Tristan marvelled at how the still images traced one man's attempt to reclaim an image from his past, and in particular, the poetic, provocative meld of global catastrophe and human frailty.  Why isn't there more of this stuff?  8/10

Robin was also enthused, so much so that he watched both the French version and the English version.  Robin was shocked by the moment the woman blinked - the only moving image in the film. 7/10.

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain

Don - master of accents

The Hove Book Group met on Tuesday 16th October at The Poets Corner pub in Hove.  We discussed Don's choices, the first of which was "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain.

Don explained that he had chosen the book due to "The Twain Factor".  Lest we forget it was Mark Twain who said, "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter".  A quote dear to Don's heart.

Don admitted that he struggled with the accents.  Despite this he managed to uncannily evoke Jim, the slave character, as he read out one of Jim's early quotes.

Don described the book as tortuous however added that it improved as he progressed.

Ultimately he awarded the book 7/10 and stated he was glad to have read it.

Nick "came to resent the book"

Nick read the book on his iPhone.  For Nick, reading on an iPhone is sometimes a fluid and unconscious experience, on other occasions (e.g. whilst reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), he was tempted to skip chunks of the book's 1,200 pages.

Nick, as a self-confessed early 21st century English liberal, struggled with the repeated use of the word "nigger".

Just as Huckleberry Finn resented his father, so Nick came to resent this book.  Nick finally awarded it a reluctant and resentful 5/10.

Nigel was unsure how he'd managed to have lived on the planet for fifty years without reading anything by Mark Twain.  He thanked Don, before explaining that he didn't even know what it was about - all he knew was that it is regarded by many as an American classic.

Nigel - he's 50

It took Nigel a while to get into the vernacular style.  The writing style grated in parts and was especially hard to follow when Jim, the slave, was talking, that said Nigel also thought that the style made the book feel very contemporary - far more than any other 19th century novel he'd read.  Ultimately Huckleberry Finn's world was made wonderfully vivid through his seemingly authentic first person voice.

Nigel concluded that it's an enjoyable, if rather long, adventure with as many twists and turns as the Mississippi River that features so extensively.  The plot appeared to be a vehicle for Twain to highlight issues around freedom and slavery.  Huckleberry Finn is held captive by his abusive father and, quite understandably, wants to escape to freedom.  Jim the slave faces far more serious issues when he tries to escape.  Nigel doesn't fully understand its status as a classic. Perhaps, the long journey is part of the appeal, perhaps it has greater resonance for Americans who are closer to the Civil Rights struggles of their country? 6/10

Keith had low expectations.  He liked Tom's alternate take on reality.  Twain complicates Tom’s position on the border between childhood and adulthood by ridiculing and criticising the values and practices of the adult world toward which Tom is heading. Twain’s harshest satire exposes the hypocrisy - and often the essential childishness - of social institutions such as school, church, and the law, as well as public opinion. 

Keith discussed how the tale is told from the first person point of view of an only-partly-educated thirteen-year-old southern boy in the 1830s. As narrator, Huck describes the story in his natural, everyday voice, and he addresses his readers directly during his storytelling with a friendly, trusting attitude. Taking that into consideration – along with Huck’s age, education level, and social background – Twain’s choice of a colloquial style made sense to Keith.  Despite this, he felt the book was only worthy of 5/10. 

Robin - read a different book

Robin didn't finish the book as he was reading Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Museum.  Consequently Robin was only halfway through "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".  Robin explained that it is hardly surprising that Ruby Lennox, the narrator of Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Museum, should, aged 17, fantasise about her own funeral - the open coffin strewn with flowers, a church filled not just with friends and family but also "an admiring Leonard Cohen and a soulful Terence Stamp", and with Maria Callas singing. It is 1968. For the novel, which is her story of her family, has more deaths than even Dickens would have dared include. "As a family, we are genetically disposed towards having accidents"  stated Ruby the all-seeing narrator. 

Robin gave the book 7/10.

Hamish wondered how, given Don's penchant for classic adventure yarns, he hadn't chosen this book earlier. Hamish, reading it for the second time, described the book as a great action story that captures the excitement of childhood.  The language is great.  Huck is a brilliant character, who we see wrestling with his conscience.  The book is about complete freedom.  Despite a rushed ending, Hamish was unapologetic for his 9.5/10 rating.

Tristan confessed he was swayed by Hamish's articulate enthusiasm for the book and despite "quite liking it" he upped his score from 5 to 6/10.  Tristan also described how the book evoked a period of US history where steamboats, rafts, settlements, river transportation, slavery, lawlessness, and abuse were everyday occurrences.  That said, Tristan felt the racism and slavery marred the book - even though Twain was clearly a progressive thinker who helped abolish slavery.

Average rating of 6.5/10

And on that note, we moved on to Don's second choice, the film "Seven Samurai" directed by Akira Kurosawa.

Don - Gangnam style

Don described it as a classic, and a great film.  Don wondered if it was completely true to notions of Bushido -  literally "the way of the warrior" - a Japanese word for the way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. The Japanese understanding of the word is predicated on the samurai moral code stressing frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and honour unto death. Born from Neo-Confucianism during times of peace in Tokugawa Japan and following Confucian texts, Bushido was also influenced by Shinto and Zen Buddhism, allowing the violent existence of the samurai to be tempered by wisdom and serenity. Despite these concerns Don still felt comfortable to lavish the film with a score of 7/10.

Hove Book Group ponder the merits of Seven Samurai

Nick praised the film and described how he was transfixed and shell-shocked by the way the finale's images had catapulted him into the rain-drenched violence.  He described the film as "remarkable" and awarded it with a 8/10.

Nigel stated that, as with the book, it was wonderful to finally watch a film that is often cited as one of the greatest films of all time.  Whilst it is a good film, Nigel didn't think the years had been that kind.  He could think of plenty of films from the same era, that he regards as better films, for example, from the same year, On The Waterfront is a better film, and other films from the same decade that he prefers include Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard, A Touch Of Evil, and The Wild One.  Nigel reflected on how some of the action sequences, which are the best part of the film, are now staples of mainstream action filmmaking and this probably accounts for the film's stellar reputation.  The Seven Samurai inspired The Magnificent Seven which ultimately led to the “spaghetti Westerns” of Sergio Leone and others - which Nigel adores. And whilst Seven Samurai is clearly a lot more than just an action film - Nigel found too much of it a bit slow moving.  The themes of sacrifice, friendship, and camaraderie were not enough.  Nigel concluded that he was glad to have seen it but it's more about the great films it's influenced.  Nigel acknowledged that perhaps the cinema is the place to watch it, before rating it 6/10.

Keith was surprised by how much he liked Seven Samurai - a blockbuster in every sense, and a period film conceived on an epic scale, pitting the wise, zen-like leader against the wildcat intensity of the son-of-a-farmer samurai. Along with the five other swords-for-hire what follows is pure cinematic dynamite. Keith had no hesitation in awarding it 7 out of 7.  Magnificent.

Robin stopped the Seven Samurai love-in right in its tracks.  "An abomination" he declared, and a film that "looked like it was made in 1910".  The Magnificent Seven is a much better film as far as Robin is concerned. 2/10.

Hamish said he agreed with Robin and "switched off after an hour".  3/10.

Tristan thought there was some good cinematography, a lot of over acting and some below par sword fighting.  5/10

Average rating of 5.5/10

And so, with Hove Book Group coming to some very disparate conclusions about Seven Samurai, we bade each other farewell and wandered into the cool night air.  

See you again next time.