A Month in the Country: J.L. Carr - 1980 *****

 

Could there be a more beautiful and sumptuous story about rural life than 'A Month in the Country'?
For such a short book, this packs a fair punch almost from the start, and by the end you are left mournful and despressed that this magical and ethereal time could not last forever. It's all so real that you can almost feel the heat of the long summer days, taste the humid air and hear the laughter of a village unspoiled and unbroken by the horror of war. The fact it was written in 1980 seems almost unbelieveable because of it's vivid portrayal. It's even more poignant that the main character, having recently fought in WW1 and praying to heal from this atrocity finally believes he has found some tranquility and peace in this little village, little knowing that another war will rage upon him in just over a decade. I think having such idyllic peace shattered is just heartbreaking, and in many ways, we can all probably relate to this innocent and pure period of time in our lives where we could finally exhale after a horrible event has happened, without realising we will soon be privy to another bad, if not worse moment. I think in all sincerity that I have very rarely found a book that has touched and moved me so, and I think a part of it will stay with me forever.

Daisy Miller & The Turn of the Screw - Henry James: 1898 ***

Daisy Miller is an amusing, funny social commentary of what happens when a holidaymaker meets a young, beautifully tempestuous flirt. Whilst in Switzerland, a gentleman named Winterbourne becomes entranced by Daisy Miller, an all American girl who is holidaying with her mother and son. His obsession with her continues to Geneva despite the annoyance and disapproval of his aunt who thinks the whole thing is shameful. I really enjoyed this novella, and was well on the way to becoming a big fan of Henry James. Unfortunately, despite the worldwide acclaim of the second novella, I was thoroughly disinterested in it. 'Turn of the Screw' translates excellently onto the screen, but in my personal opinion wasn't as good a book as I had expected. It was slow and labourious and the 'shocks' were delivered weakly. Although I know the story nothing seemed to be happening. I feel I should be apologising to Henry James because I expect I'm in the minority of dislikers, but I have immensely enjoyed Daisy Miller and Washington Square.    

Sleeping with the Enemy - Nancy Price: 1986 **

I very rarely say this, but I found the book version of 'Sleeping with the Enemy' vastly inferior to the film. The film is really great, really exciting, but the book didn't appear to be in any way as heart-pounding, tearful or plain emotional. This was a shame because I did have high hopes for this, and was hoping the book would explain Sara's (Laura in the film) character in more depth. I just found myself increasingly frustrated with Sara, and didn't feel any sort of rapport with her at all. Whereas the film had a huge impact on me mentally and emotionally. I was glad to finish.

The Ballad of Peckham Rye: 1960 **

Such a shame to start on Muriel Spark with such a poorly written book. Peckham is the location of Dougal Douglas, a ruffian intent on causing havoc from every man and woman he meets. He explodes onto the scene, charming, insulting, fighting and ruining lives as he goes, all with a smile on his face. I was seriously bored by this book, but I might try another Muriel Spark to see if she improves.

Wake Up, Sir - Jonathan Ames: 2004 ****

 

'Wake Up, Sir' is an extemely odd book. I spied it in the library and thought how interesting it looked. What a good choice it was!!

Although it compares vastly with PG Wodehouse, it is also incredibly different. For one thing it's set in the 90s, for another it's a lot deeper than any Jeeves and Wooster stuff. It involves the main character Alan is a delusional, selfish but rather charming alcoholic who decides to drag his faithful manservant (coincidentally named Jeeves) to a wellness spa to cure his love of liquor, and then on to an artist's retreat after having severe writer's block that is affecting all areas of his life. The adventures he and Jeeves have along the way really are funny though, and it's been said he's like a 90s Woody Allen character who is trying his best but always ends up messing up badly. As someone who loves Woody Allen I find this rather a touching 'insult.' Alan is very much like this, whether it's being kicked out by his aunt and uncle for drunken behaviour, having his nose broken in a fight at a bar, or being accused of stealing a demented artist's slippers he somehow manages to always come off worse. But it's bloody funny to go along for the ride.

The Clocks - Agatha Christie: 1963 **

 

'The Clocks' is one of those Agatha Christie books that has so much potential. I started reading and KNEW it was going to be good, knew that Christie would have this almost impossible plot nailed and knew that I would be captivated throughout. Well this didn't happen. It was a rather excellent book right up until the end, when things came out, secrets were told and I was thoroughly disappointed. To make matters worse, Poirot doesn't appear until half way through the book, and was barely present until near the end. Considering this was a Poirot book, this was a bit of a mistake from Christie, who was obviously thoroughly sick of Poirot by now and probably would've happily got away with keeping him absent the whole way through. To be honest he didn't really lend anything to the story in particular, and it seemed he was a bit wasted here.
The plot is intriguing to say the least - a young typist named Sheila is called for personally to go to a house to do some work for a woman, but when she arrives it is to find a dead body on the floor. Added to which, the owner of the house is blind, was not present at the time, and there are 4 clocks on the mantlepiece that don't belong to her. What a fabulous, yet eerie start! It continues in this creepy, strange way, full of gossip and intrigue and then falls flat on it's face. Disappointed.