Memory can be so deceptive. At dinner parties all around town I’ve been declaiming that of course Hilary Mantel’s Bringing Up The Bodies was the stand out book of the year, with nothing else coming close. But looking at the full list of books I’ve read this year (set out below with links to my previous blogs on same) I see it’s only earlier this year I read Matthew Hollis’ wonderful All Roads Lead To France. On reflection I still think that Hilary wins out, but it’s closer than I thought. What a wonderful imagining of a life she has given us. I can’t wait for the third volume. And this from someone not inclined to historical fiction in any shape or form and who generally doesn’t like sequels. I still haven’t read Marilynne Robinson’s Home, despite loving it’s predecessor Gilead. Something in me resists a series. But I’ll be downloading the next instalment of Cromwell’s life the minute it’s available. It’s so modern in its portrayal of the exercise of power, the art of persuasion, in short – political life. The Leader, the Adviser, the Bit Players, the Led. But portrayed in an authentic way that is completely true to the circumstances of the age and mores of the period.
The Hollis biography of the tortured soul, Edward Thomas – wanderer, failed husband, struggling father, late flowering poet and ultimately doomed soldier – comes a close second. It’s a beautifully realised portrait of it’s subject who is treated generously and sympathetically. He has been well served by his biographer. In lesser hands the poet could have been reviled. At the same time the author spares us nothing in terms of his poor treatment of his wife and family. He also paints lively portraits of the contemporaries with whom Thomas interacted, in particular Robert Frost. And of his times. It builds slowly but inexorably to its tragic climax. A really good biography.
The next book that really captured my imagination was Stefan Zeig’s The World of Yesterday. His voice was so direct and clear I found his story quite compelling. And also modern, as though it was written now, not over half a century ago. The circumstances in which it was written make this all the more remarkable, written when he was disconnected from all that was dear to him. So much so that he committed suicide shortly thereafter.
My fourth big read of the year was the Lincoln biography, Team Of Rivals. A wonderful history describing how Abraham Lincoln won the Republican nomination for President over a number of better credentialled candidates. And how after he won the Presidency he brought these former rivals into his cabinet and managed the different constituencies each represented. A wealth of detail is wrestled into a compelling story that is remarkably easy to follow and understand. The inexorable path to civil war. Lincoln’s skillful management of contentious issues, huge egos, public sentiment. For a while I contemplated a twitter hashtag about contemporary issues #whatwouldabedo? I think it’s pretty clear on the evidence presented here that he wouldn’t adopt the same tactics and strategies as our current political leaders. Abe was a master tactician with his eyes on the longer term strategic goals. It also covers his personality – a humorous and gifted story teller. Who knew? And something of his home life. A really good read, clearly deserving of the Pulitzer and numerous other prizes it’s won. I’m now looking forward to the movie which is set in the period covered by the book.
I am not sure that the Leonard Cohen biography by Sylvie Simmons is my fifth favourite book of the year but it’s up there. Mostly because of the subject matter rather than the writing which is ordinary journalese. And I knew most of the story. But it was good to have it all collected in the one place and put in chronological order. It’s quite a story. Whilst not a hagiography it’s not overly critical. But Leonard’s fans aren’t looking for that. Reading it took me back to Leonard’s early records for which I’m grateful, having been distracted by his latest offerings.
Of the others on my list that I haven’t previously written about I loved the raw anger of Caitlin Moran’s How To Be A Woman. A must read for young women navigating their way through the patriarchy. The Hanging Garden is interesting for what it reveals about Patrick White’s method of working. Very much an unfinished draft but the bones of another great White novel for all to see. It’s a pity it wasn’t finished. I went to an interesting session on Patrick White at the Wheeler Centre during the year. Peter Craven talking about Voss. Now there’s a great novel, second only to Tree of Man in my opinion. I love all of Patrick White. I can’t see my children ever reading him. A shame.
I had an interesting time reading Georges Simenon. I recalled liking the novels – both those involving Inspector Maigret and those that didn’t and my re-reading didn’t disappoint. Brevity disguises real depth of character. Nothing much happens but the situations and the responses of the characters are psychologically compelling. It is the authenticity that makes them powerful. I especially loved Monsieur Monde Vanishes. It all seemed set for a very dispiriting conclusion which doesn’t eventuate and I was quite joyful that it hadn’t. Strange really. In a preface Simenon refers to the brevity saying he didn’t want to insult his readers by padding his books out, though he could easily have done so. Good approach not often followed.
I was interested in the other contenders for the Booker Prize given I thought Hilary Mantel had it in the bag. So I read a couple on the short list. I love Michael Frayn’s writing. Very beautiful. His memoir about his father, My Father’s Fortune, he trod lightly on this earth is poignant. His novel Skios was okay. A comic novel. Hard to do. Not really my thing. So just okay. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was quite lovely – and poignant. It turned a little fey at the end but had a real emotional depth. About relationships, grief and loss and how you might go about picking up the pieces after a shattering event and rebuild a marriage and a life.
I had a run of memoirs in the latter part of the year. I found Claude Lanzmann’s film Shoah devastating when I saw it shortly after it came out years ago at one of my first Melbourne Film Festivals. I remember scenes from it as clearly now as I did then. Amazing. That was at around the same time as my existentialist period – Sartre and Simone and all that crowd. So I was keen to read Lanzmann’s autobiography. Even to the extent of buying a paper version as it wasn’t (and I think still isn’t) available as an eBook. It was interesting but a bit of a disappointment. Claude for all his strengths is not much given to introspection! A blustering ego driven account of bits of his life. Reflects the way it was written with him talking into a tape recorder. So not great literature. Which is a pity because apparently he was a good writer in his day. Still, given my interest in his work and milieu I was pleased to have read it.
Edna O’Brien’s memoir, Country Girl on the other hand is a beautifully written work. She has a really interesting way of phrasing her sentences. A bit roundabout to make them more poetical – or something. Phrasing is not something I normally notice but I did with this book. Unpleasant aspects of her early life are treated gently. Paternal drunken violence is alluded to rather than described in detail. But you get the picture. The same approach is taken to her social life in London in the sixties. She takes certain events, relationships and incidents to illustrate the overall life. So not a linear account of a life, nor a comprehensive one. But interesting and – yes – poetic.
The Scientists by Marco Roth is another beautifully written memoir. Especially the first half. An account of a child growing up with a father with full blown AIDs. Early on there were lots of sentences and phrases that I wanted to copy out and share with people – briefly thought about tweeting them, but too deeply felt, not the right forum. Felt that it lost its way a bit towards the end, but a very rewarding read. About families, growing up, little and big deceptions and their impact on how we relate to one another.
Books Read (and their blogs) in 2012
# Maf The Dog, Andrew O’Hagan (blog)
# All Roads Lead To France, Matthew Hollis (blog)
# Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, John Le Carre (blog)
# Life Class: The Memoirs of Diana Athill, Diana Athill (blog)
# Bringing Up The Bodies, Hilary Mantel (blog)
# Missing Shades of Blue, Jennie Erdal (blog)
# Waiting For Sunrise, William Boyd (blog)
# How It All Began, Penelope Lively (blog)
# Passing On, Penelope Lively (blog)
# Istanbul: Memories of a City, Oran Pamuk (blog)
# The World of Yesterday, Stefan Zeig (blog)
# How To Be A Woman, Caitlin Moran
# The Hanging Garden, Patrick White
# The President, Monsieur Monde Vanishes, Maigret Hesitates, Maigret Takes The Water, Maigret Has Doubts, Georges Simenon
# Skios, Michael Frayn
# The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce
# The Patagonia Hare, Claude Lanzmann
# Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin
# I’m Your Man, Sylvie Simmons
# Country Girl, Edna O’Brien
# The Scientists, Marco Roth
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