The Wind in the Willows

I don't quite know how I hadn't read this before. I have seen the film and, I vaguely recall, played a bit-part in an am-dram production, so was familiar with the story.

It is a lovely children's book, worth reading as an adult. The loyalty of Mole, the bluff confidence of Badger, the generosity of Rat and of course the arrogance of Toad combine to create a compelling and, above all, nice tale. If you haven't read it, devote a few hours of your time to tales of the riverbank, Toad's trials and tribulations, and the battle of Toad Hall!

The Three Musketeers

For me, and perhaps anyone who was a child in the 80s, my expectations of Alexandre Dumas' Three Musketeers were entirely based on Dogtanian and the Three Muskahounds. It's not often that a cartoon dog offers an accurate interpretation of a literary classic, but bizarrely, it does.

D'Artagnan is impulsive, firey, proud, continually challenging people to duels. Athos, Aramis and Porthos are brave but vain and foolish. The cardinal is evil but somehow admirable. This much I knew from the cartoon.

However, to the book. It is a great read - pacey, intricately plotted, containing love interest, war, grudges, mysteries on both a national and personal level. It's difficult to describe without giving too much away, but I would thoroughly recommend reading it.

Things that bug me about London

I've passed through London twice this weekend on my way to the south coast. Last time I went on the tube I was 8 months pregnant and it was the height of summer. This time, I was relieved to note that I'm back up to full pace again, and transformed back into a londoner as I stepped off the train. Phew. However, it did lead me to thinking about the things that annoy me when passing through the capital.

- people who don't move at "london pace". I.e. the ones who step off tube trains and stand stock still, blocking the doors; those who meander through the corridors of the tube 4 abreast with no awareness of those around them; those who don't appear to realise they'll need their ticket until they're actually standing blocking the gate...you get the idea.

- people who don't organise their luggage, or who carry more than they can manage. We've all seen them - a suitcase, slightly too heavy to be able to carry it, a couple of other bags, clutching a book or magazine that doesn't seem to fit any of the bags. They look as though they're on the brink of dropping it all, and every staircase, escalator or ticket barrier requires a complete stop and redistribution of luggage. I appreciate that sometimes people will need to travel with a lot of luggage, but this type don't appear to have given any thought to how they're going to navigate the inevitable steps etc.

- people who invade your personal space. You've tucked yourself out if the way into a corner, perhaps awaiting the announcement of a platform number, and people come & stand practically on top of you, or pass by so close that you might be invisible.

So, yeah, people. I think I should become a recluse.

In other news, Rachel has survived her first weekend alone with Martin (with grand-parental assistance) and I am going to attempt to finish the 3 musketeers on the remainder of the journey. Bye for now, London.

Bleak House #2

Fanfare please! I have finished Bleak House!!

I think it's my favourite of the Dickens novels I've read, although as I've established on this blog, that's not necessarily a massive compliment.

It's a long book, and I would estimate that the first two thirds of the book is establishing characters and setting the scene for the dramatic ending. I found it quite confusing at times as there are so many different strands to the story, and seemingly unconnected characters, that it was difficult to keep track of them all. Naturally, they all get woven into the story, but I felt that it took far too long to get to that point. Esther, the main narrative voice, is quite a likeable character, although her uber-humility regarding others' opinion of her got a bit wearing at times.

The court case of Jarndyce v Jarndyce is a central theme of the book, with many of the main characters living their lives waiting for the outcome. I think that this was predominantly a way for Dickens to criticise the Victorian legal system and the court of chancery, and the various digs at the legal profession etc are mildly amusing.

There is also a comic character, Harold Skimpole, who is skilfully realised, and gradually exposed as a cynical manipulator - this is cleverly done.

Once Dickens actually gets to the point and starts telling a story, it gathers pace, is very readable, and very involving. It's just...why does it have to take him so long to get there?

Still, done and dusted, and I feel a sense of achievement at having finished it. I still won't be rushing to read any more though...

Bleak House #1

Don't get excited - I haven't finished this already.

I'm about a third of the way through and, as it may take me a while, thought an interim post may be in order. Also, writing a blog post means that I feel I'm making progress whilst not actually having to be reading the book.

At the moment, we still have Rachel sleeping in our room, and she seems to start waking up if I have the bedside light on, so my reading is mainly happening under the duvet with one of those little lights musicians clip onto their stands whilst playing in an orchestra. This isn't conducive to reading for long periods of time, though it does have the side benefit of making me feel like I'm about 8, reading after I'm supposed to have turned out the light and gone to sleep! It may be time to move her next door.

Anyway. Bleak House is interesting, so far. It has quite a light-hearted feel about it, despite the name. I think the characters are all intended to be lightly comical, and the names are predominantly ridiculous. It's not laugh out loud funny, but it may have been when written. It's fairly readable, and certainly easier going than other Dickens novels (Nicholas Nickleby, I'm looking at you). However, so far it seems to meander without particular intent, and is more like a loosely connected series of anecdotes than a novel. I do like to feel that there is narrative drive in a work of fiction and that the author is aiming for something...so far the reading experience is much like the last Harry Potter book where they wander around a forest for 600 pages. Apologies to Dickens fans for comparing this to JK Rowling! I'm sure it will go somewhere at some point but it does feel as though it could benefit from an editor's severe red pen.

Perhaps I'll go and read some more when Only Connect finishes...

1Q84

Now, this book isn't actually on the list but I thought I would talk about it anyway. Not least because my next read is Bleak House, and I suspect it may take some time. However, this is THE LAST DICKENS I WILL HAVE TO READ. Excuse the capitals, but I am excited. Bleak House may, in fact, be the last Dickens I ever read - I have improved on my previous record of struggling to finish anything but Oliver Twist, but have not been converted.

Anyway, I digress. 1Q84 is the new work from Haruki Murakami, a cult Japanese author and one of my all time favourites (I should thank my brother for introducing me to A Wild Sheep Chase, still my favourite, and giving me many happy hours of reading). Murakami writes in Japanese but works with two very good/sensitive translators and his novels are a joy to read. This one is broken into 3 volumes, volumes 1&2 published together, and 3 published slightly later - a week apart in the UK, but I think slightly longer in Japan.

I pre-ordered this on Amazon - one of the great joys of reading on a Kindle is that, as long as you leave the wireless connection switched on, a pre-ordered book is delivered automatically overnight, direct to the Kindle, allowing you to wake up in the morning and dive straight in. Or, wake up in the morning, see it's there, and spend all day desperately wanting to read it while you care for the baby...same difference!

The reviews of 1Q84 talked about this as having reference to Orwell's 1984 but I didn't really pick these up, other than the fact that it was set in 1984. Murakami is on his usual fine surreal form, exploring the story of Aomame, Tengo and Fuka-Eri who, through their contact with the world of the Air Chrysalis, find themselves in an alternate reality, which Aomame labels 1Q84 - Q standing for question. As ever with Murakami, there are recurring themes through the book - the preparation of food, ears, a lonely but attractive young man with an older married girlfriend, an unexpected role for sex in the drive of the narrative...

It's very difficult to describe this - if you haven't read any Murakami before, read Wild Sheep Chase or the Wind-up Bird Chronicle first, to get an idea of his style. Or Norwegian Wood or Sputnik Sweetheart which are still surreal but slightly easier to relate to. However, I would thoroughly recommend this as a very readable, intricate work. I couldn't put it down, and I'm sure I will go back to it more than once to appreciate the full intellectual achievement that it represents!

Next - Bleak House. < sigh >.

David Copperfield

It turns out that finding time to read is pretty tricky with a tiny baby. Having found a bit of time to read, it is even trickier to find time to update a blog about it!

Small child is currently being rocked by Martin but shortly to be handed back to me, so, very quickly, David Copperfield.

The more Dickens I read, the more it confirms that I don't enjoy Dickens! DC was relatively readable but immensely depressing - without spoiling anything, I can say that each time you think it can't get worse, it does - rather Hardy-esque. It gave the impression of having been written for serialisation, but I don't know if that was the case or not...

won't be reading it again. To the Dickens fans out there, apologies for just writing him off. I still have to read Bleak House - joy. I would probably have given slightly more time to explaining why I was less than enchanted with it, were it not for the screaming child demanding my attention!