A Confederacy of Dunces

I was intrigued to read A Confederacy of Dunces (CoD) as it was one of the few books on the list that I had never heard of. It's an interesting one.

For once, I read the foreword to get a bit of background. The author, John Kennedy Toole, wrote CoD in the early 60s and failed to get it published. He eventually committed suicide, and his mother took up the cause. The manuscript landed on the publisher's desk, in a messy, handwritten, smudged state. He hoped that it would be terrible, so that he didn't have to read much of it, but within a few pages was hooked and so took it forward for publication.

The novel is described as a comedy, and some reviewers describe it as the funniest thing they have ever read. I wouldn't go that far, but it is an entertaining read. It's set in New Orleans, and the central character, Ignatius J Reilly, is a 30 year old man, enormously obese, and with an entirely unique view of the world. At the start of the novel, Ignatius continues to live at home with his long-suffering mother, not working, and spending his days writing ranting treatises on various subjects, wallowing in the bath, and lying in his "yellowing sheets" (ugh!). Due to an incident that places financial pressure on his mother, she snaps and forces him out to get a job. It is only when Ignatius has to interact with the outside world that the extent of his insane world view becomes clear. The slightest incident causes him to unleash streams of abuse at the individual; he calls anything he disapproves of an "abortion" which makes for slightly uncomfortable reading. He is a comic character, due to the extent of his hideousness...it's difficult to explain this further without giving too much away, but the contrast of his puritanical world view (whilst not hesitating to lie, cheat and steal) with free and easy New Orleans demonstrates that he is almost a caricature with no redeeming features, rather than (you hope) a feasible individual.

It's an easy read. I didn't love it, because I find it really hard to love a book unless I can identify with at least one of the characters, and there is very little to like in any of the characters here. However, it is humorous. The characters are well defined, although one dimensional, and the events which play out are entertaining. If you like the style of Martin Amis, you may well like this!

War and Peace - peace at last!

I have finished War & Peace. Yes, that's right. I read it, all the way to the end. Here's proof:

I have to say that I'm not sure I could have finished this if I had read it in book rather than Kindle form. The book comes in two volumes and, as I didn't really get into this until about 50% of the way in, I would have had to read one enormous tome with no enthusiasm, and then motivate myself to start another - I think this is psychologically more difficult than watching the percentages grow at the bottom of the screen! Kindle...reading for cop-outs...!

After reading 25%, I gave myself a break and read Swallows and Amazons. I then promised myself a similar incentive for 50% and 75% but chose to plough on instead while the going was good. Having complained about reading this, I eventually got into it and, whilst I'm not sure I could say I enjoyed it, I found it a rewarding and more pleasurable than not pleasurable experience.

Now, to touch on all elements of W&P in a review would involve writing something the length of a normal book, so I won't attempt to do that, but a few observations:

- I really enjoyed Tolstoy's tone as he talked about war. He made it clear that he viewed the entire Russian army as incompetent and disorganised; the chaos was entertaining in that every plan for a battle went wrong, the majority of the officer class were incompetent gentry who had just joined the army, and the victory over the French was caused by the French themselves losing discipline and fleeing, rather than grand strategic plans coming to fruition.
- This tone also carried through to the way society was portrayed - I think I mentioned this in one of my interim reviews. Tolstoy's depiction is in the tone of a sardonic observer, who has a certain affection for what he is seeing, but believes it to be rather silly. And it is! As the war progresses, society breaks down, and he focuses more on a couple of families who then achieve a more wholesome (if that's the right word!) and worthwhile lifestyle. I particularly enjoyed the conflict of a society which aspired to all things French, spoke French as a mark of elegance and education, and was faced with invasion by an undesirable French force, suddenly having to change their views of speaking Russia and acting like Russians.
- There is a storyline, but this is very much secondary - W&P seems to me that it is more of a vehicle for Tolstoy to air his views on society, religion, war, free will, the interpretation that historians place on the past. On reaching the end of the book, there is an epilogue, which ties up all the loose ends in terms of the characters that have become the main focus of interest. There is then a second epilogue, forming about 5% of the whole work, where Tolstoy explores and explains, in depth, the nature of power, free will, whether activity in war is ever the result of commands or whether it is wholly coincidental...and so on. Having a historian's background, I found some of this quite interesting as it cropped up throughout the book - looking at what actually happened, and then the interpretations that French and Russian historians placed on events retrospectively, as this is something that comes up frequently as you do a history degree. However, I felt that he'd made his point and it probably didn't need a whole epilogue to repeat it.

I am very glad that I've read War and Peace - it definitely feels like one of the books everyone should at least attempt. Once you get into it, it's much more rewarding than Anna Karenina. Definitely deserves its place on this list. The only other book which has felt like as much of a commitment to read was A Suitable Boy - if you're only going to read one, read A Suitable Boy as that is much more rewarding in terms of character and storylines, but I would go for both!

Finishing this list actually now starts to feel like a possibility, although I do have to read Cloud Atlas, and I just find David Mitchell's style a bit pretentious and inaccessible. However - if I can read War and Peace, I think I should be able to read that!

War & Peace #2

I have read 50% of War and Peace! Yippee. I promised myself that, as a treat, I would allow myself to pause following each quarter of this massive tome, and read something else. However, at the moment, I'm making good progress through it and am quite absorbed so I will stick with it for now.

So, a couple of observations at this point.

Having got through the interminable descriptions of battle minutiae, and returned to Russian society, War and Peace becomes more readable. It still doesn't seem to be going anywhere purposeful, but I'm starting to settle into the different approach to reading that this kind of work demands. With most books, I am driven to read because I want to know what happens at the end. With War and Peace, and other looooong books (such as a Suitable Boy - definitely recommended), you have to read for the pleasure of the reading itself. There is no sense of a drive towards a resolution, at this point. For example, Natasha has had, so far, 3 intense love affairs which have been suddenly ended - in most other books based in this kind of period, by now you would expect to have an inkling of the character that she will actually end up marrying, but there is no such thing here. No predictability - this is probably a positive in terms of plotting skill, but deprives the reader of the satisfaction of divining what might happen next!

Secondly, Tolstoy is fairly subtly giving the impression that he views Russian society with disdain. He paints quite an affectionate portrait, but none of his characters are "good" - all of the young men are given to spending money they don't have, gambling, drinking, and general misbehaviour; the "respectable" older generation are either unreasonable, crotchety and mean, social climbers, or buried in a sea of debt - it's not really a surprise that the younger generation don't behave well! The interesting thing about the way Russian high society is portrayed is that it seems very modern - the young men seem very similar to the way some of the "evils" of today's society are portrayed by the media. Russian society also seems much free-er than English society at the same period.

There is, however, very little to like. I am trying to get over this, as I know that liking the characters shouldn't be the be-all and end-all of appreciating a work of fiction, but it is quite deeply engrained!

Onwards and upwards...

Swallows and Amazons and War & Peace #1

I have started reading War and Peace and, indeed, have read approximately a quarter of it (loving the Kindle's display of the % completion, it gives me hope!). However, it's the kind of book which is such a hard slog that it makes me forget I love reading.

So, as a treat to myself, I decided that I will pause after each quarter of W&P and read another list book before continuing.

Firstly, W&P - I'm not hating the reading experience; some of Tolstoy's characters are brilliant. I particularly enjoy the soldier with the lisp, and am intrigued as to how that would have been depicted in the original version. There is definitely a sense of comedy within the work, as Tolstoy very gently satirises Russian high society. Whilst it was set within Moscow, at society parties and following the exploits of the young and rich, it was shaping up to be an enjoyable read. Then...the war...and we became mired in interminable descriptions, in minute detail, of battles and interactions and success and failure. There are so many characters that I still don't quite know who everyone is (not helped by the way that many of them have a couple of names), and so it's difficult to connect what goes on on the battlefield to the previous events of the novel. This is probably my fault for only reading a few pages at a time before going to sleep. My mother-in-law is currently reading W&P "again". I don't think this is something I'll ever need to say for myself, but finishing it once does seem achievable.

Swallows and Amazons, on the other hand, is a really quick, easy read, which I have finished over 3 days. It is quite a good thing to read during never-ending rain, as it's proper escapism, and reminded me that one day, there may be sun again! I had only got a few pages in when I realised I'd read it before, but as I had no idea what happened, I felt I should persist with reading it again. S&A so deserves its place in this list. It's a children's book, it's not massively complex, but it is a beautifully written story of a summer adventure when kids were allowed to go and camp on an island for a week with no parents. This is something I feel nostalgic about, even though it wouldn't have been allowed within my lifetime either; it's a very idyllic picture where these children could go off and live in their fantasy sailor world, rowing back to the mainland every morning to pick up milk from a local farmer, fishing, and engaging in wars with the local pirates. Children, imaginations running free, and learning life skills too...what's not to like. In fact, one of my favourite bits in the book was where Captain Flint unfairly accuses John of being a liar, and this deeply hurts and offends John. It made me nostalgic (again) for the sense of "honour" and "playing the game" that children in novels of this era always have, which just doesn't seem to exist any more - being called a liar was the worst insult that John could imagine, and it's difficult to see a child of today taking it the same way. Maybe I'm wrong!

If you haven't read Swallows and Amazons, do read it. It's a lovely book.

And now back to War and Peace...

9 to go...

I've just done a count up and I have only 9 books left to read - the end is in sight!

I'm planning to tackle War and Peace next but keep putting off starting it. Must read...perhaps I'll start it now.

In actual fact, I have accepted that I'm not going to read the complete works of Shakespeare. I'm also boycotting the Wasp Factory as I've heard others say that it traumatised them - I have a really visual imagination and so don't want to read something that I know will give me nightmares. Yes, I'm a wuss, but sleep is very important at the moment. So, only 7 left which I'm actually going to read. Woohoo! I'm going to have to start reading whilst still up in the evenings, as any pre-bed reading inevitably results in dropping off after 2 pages.

I'll keep you posted on progress.

One hundred years of solitude

I've been looking forward to reading this one by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. But at the end I'm left with mixed feelings. This is an elaborate family saga through about 6 generations living all in the same house but each in solitude due to their obsessions, quirks, ghosts and fixations. As ever, Marquez creates a magic-realist world where ghosts and impossible events exist without apology; it is beyond the suspension of disbelief but so beautifully and poetically written that you can enjoy the language without caring if it's believable.
It is a cold reading experience, with characters who are not designed to be related to, but an enjoyable one all the same.

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!