‘Bookworms’ Review of the Year, 2009.

We read and discussed eight novels this year. Our first, in February, was Tracey Chevalier’s ‘ Burning Bright’. Inspired by her study and fondness of William Blake, the novel tries to illustrate the 18th century society in which he lived, his ideas and methods of writing, and the development of his radical thoughts through the eyes of two young female admirers. I missed this particular meeting but was told that the novel was mostly enjoyed by all, but for a range of different reasons. 

A very thought-provoking novel was ‘The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’ by John Boyne. About the young, sensitive, naïve, son of a Kommandant at Auschwitz Concentration camp, the novel follows the little boy’s incomprehending observations about the camp itself, its function, and his relationship with his father. He manages to befriend a young Jewish boy inside the camp and the novel follows this friendship to its inevitably sad end. Some see the novel as written to introduce today’s young  children (it’s considered appropriate reading for children from nine upwards!!) to the twentieth century history of Germany. But it can also be read, at a different level, by adults.  Several of us, including me, admitted to getting more from the novel as a result of the ‘Bookworms’ discussion than we did on initial reading. This, of course, is what book clubs are for!

Sebastian Barry’s ‘Secret Scripture’ was our third novel. Set in west Ireland it involves the reminiscences of Roseanne, a 100 year-old psychiatric hospital patient who writes her autobiography and hides it under the floorboards – hence the ‘Secret’ in the title. Consigned to the hospital by local authorities and the church because she refused to conform, as a young woman, to the conventions of Irish society, the novel reveals much of Irish 20th century history through the unravelling of her own story. Beautifully written, it might be thought from its subject matter to be a painful account of an unpleasant Irish childhood, like that which Frank McCourt described in ‘Angela’s Ashes’. In fact, it is nothing of the sort. Painful in part, it is also insightful and humorous. It also has a beautifully conceived plot with a dramatic conclusion. We all agreed it was a wonderful book. Not surprising really, since it won the 2008 Costa prize for best novel of the year.

In May we had our annual author’s visit. This year we invited Angela Locke, from Mungrisdale, to come and talk to us about her book ‘Dreams of the Blue Poppy’. Set in north Cumbria and the Himalayas, this is the story of a young man, partially invalid from birth, who goes to the Himalayas on a scientific expedition to search for a particular plant species of blue poppy. The story of how he comes to go on the expedition is intertwined with the development of his affection for a local Cumbrian girl who supports and encourages him to believe he can overcome his physical frailty. After discussing how she came to write the novel, Angela joined us for our annual lunch in the Crown Hotel, Wetheral, where we continued an interesting discussion with her about writing in general and her own love of literature, gardening and the Himalayas, where she has spent much of her time.

Melissa Benn is the daughter of Tony Benn, the former Labour MP, and her novel, ‘One of Us’, was our fifth novel of 2009. It’s a tragic novel about modern political family life and explores the links and tensions between principled morality, ambition, and conviction in politics. It focuses on the re-modelling of the ‘New Labour’ movement, on the origins of the Iraq War, and on the political rise of an ambitious young lawyer. So it’s very topical and thought-provoking. We enjoyed dissecting this novel and trying to identify which characters in the novel, if any, corresponded to which political figures of the last 40-odd years, the period of British political life over which the story unfolds.

Our sixth book of the year was Lorna Sage’s ‘Bad Blood’. It’s the story of a young girl who grows up in the mid 20th century in a small, isolated, rural family in Shropshire. She wants to read and to learn and is encouraged to do so by her grandfather, a country parson of unconventional clerical habits (he drinks secretly and has affairs, for example), but not by her own parents who see her own waywardness as a throwback to grandfather - the ‘bad blood’ in the family. Eventually, the young girl becomes a successful academic at a British University. Our views on this book were mixed but we all agreed that it captured many aspects of living through the period we ourselves have all lived through.

Our seventh novel, ‘The Ghost’ by Robert Harris, is similar in many ways to Melissa Benn’s novel. It concerns the fortunes of a former British Prime Minister – Adam Lang – who requires the services of a ghostwriter to present his memoirs. The two men get together in an isolated New England house and the story unravels at a furious pace. Tricky issues for the ghost-writer to explore are the former PM’s relationship with the US government, Britain’s foreign policy, and whether or not the former PM has handed over British citizens to the CIA. The Prime Minister’s wife is a key figure throughout as is the former British Foreign Secretary. This novel, which also involves ‘political’ murder, is a ‘page-turner’ by the author of ‘Enigma’, ‘Pompeii’ and most recently, two best-selling novels on Cicero. It prompted lively discussion at ‘Bookworms’ and seemed to be enjoyed by all. It has a wonderful ending.

Our last novel of the year was also our third by an Irish novelist, the previous two being John Boyne and Sebastian Barry. Colm Toibin’s ‘The Blackwater Lightship’ is the story of how a happily-married, successful, professional Irish woman with two young boys is re-united with her dying, younger, brother, two of his friends, and her own mother and grandmother. The novel explores the inter-relationships between the six main characters as they spend time together in the grandmother’s house. Slightly disturbing and dark, this beautifully written novel was well received by our group.

We didn’t vote this year on which book we felt was the best novel overall. This is something we’ve recently done in December. Unfortunately, our 2009 December meeting was due on Christmas Eve, and other matters seemed to have greater priority!

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