bookrblog

The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow

Sunday, June 28th, 2009 | American Literature | No Comments

This diary by Opal Whiteley has to be the most unusual book I’ve come across. This edition has been put together by Benjamin Hoff, who has added a biography and afterword which are just as strange as the diary itself. I had never heard of Opal Whiteley, who was born in 1897 in Oregon. She was fascinated by nature from an early age and knew more about the local flora and fauna than most people twice her age. She ended up having little groups where she taught children about nature and spirituality, was given a scholarship to study natural science despite being from a very poor background, wrote a book which was honoured by people from Roosevelt to Conan Doyle, travelled to Europe and India, and was eventually institutionalised in England for the last 50 years of her life. Pretty astounding.

Her diary is controversial, because a year after it was published in 1920 it was discredited as a fake - ie, that Opal wrote it as an adult rather than as a child. However, I don’t think it really matters, because it’s good writing either way. It’s all about nature and about the people in her small world. It has an entirely unique voice and literary style. It is a very unusual view and whether that’s because she was suffering a mental illness or because she was incredibly gifted, it doesn’t really matter. An intriguing read.

Hard Times

Sunday, June 28th, 2009 | British Literature | No Comments

This is later Charles Dickens, and it shows; it’s got his trademark unusual characters and strong opinions about social themes of the day, but the story isn’t as well thought out or executed as some of his classics. Louisa Gradgrind is brought up by her utilitarian father to only honour practical things, a way of life which ends up destroying a number of lives, and nearly her own. In the end it is the entirely impractical woman of the heart, Sissy, who shows them a way to live by the heart as well as the head. At the same time Dickens explores some of the early industrial towns and their fascination with the science and technology of the day, including statistics, which is more than relevant to what is happening in our world with its emphasis on studies and research over individual experience. An interesting if not brilliant read.

Siddhartha

Sunday, June 28th, 2009 | German Literature | No Comments

This strange little story by Hermann Hesse is like a fable or fairytale, a sort of imagining about Buddha if things had been slightly different. The Siddhartha of this story experiences a number of different lives, from the ascetic to the worldly man to the father, and finally to the man whose experiences lead him to identify with every creature in the world. Hermann Hesse is evidently exploring several eastern ideas about spiritual enlightenment, most of all that really experiencing life is essential. It’s certainly not up there with his other writings, but it’s an interesting read.

A Story Like the Wind

Sunday, June 28th, 2009 | African Literature | No Comments

This beautiful novel by Laurens Van Der Post is my find of the year, I think. Set in Africa post WW2, it’s a coming of age story about a young European boy whose family has lived in Africa for generations. They live on a property in the bush among local people, and the boy Francois is raised as much by the locals as by his parents. It is an unique and engaging picture of a boy growing up. It’s also a wistful tale, written by a man in his old age about a place and time that no longer exists. I’m still unsure about the ending, even though everything leads up to it; mostly because I don’t want it to happen, even though it must. This is written in utterly beautiful prose; it is enticing, magical, and entirely believable. A classic that I am so glad I have discovered.

The Moonspinners/The Ivy Tree/Wildfire at Midnight

Sunday, June 28th, 2009 | British Literature | No Comments

I first read Mary Stewart years ago, with My Brother Michael, a wonderful story mixing up 1950’s Greece with WW2 and ancient history, mixed in with adventure-romance. Since then I’ve come across quite a few of her stories, all of which are set in interesting beautiful places, where the setting is as much a character as the people, and where a strong, independent female is always the hero. These three are no different, set in Crete, Northumberland and Skye, respectively. They’re great adventure stories with interesting twists that I didn’t see coming, and a sense of eerie foreboding which kept me reading. They also all had a happy ending, thank goodness! They’re an interesting read for a picture of women in their time, as well. They may

be seen as romances, but I think they’re historical fiction, and most of all very good reads.

The Consolations of Philosophy

Sunday, June 21st, 2009 | British Literature | No Comments

This small book by Alain de Botton covers the lives and ideas of six philosophers - Socrates, Seneca, Epicurus, de Montaigne, Schopenhaur, and Nietzche. The purpose of the book is not to cover a history of philosophy per se, but to explore how philosophers have thought about the problems of everyday life, including love, pleasure, and misery.

My favourite book on philosophy is definitely Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World, but this was a good read, covering some less well known (to me) philosophers and covering them in more depth. It’s definitely a basic overview, but still a thought-provoking read.

The Green Child

Saturday, June 20th, 2009 | British Literature | No Comments

This very unusual story by Herbert Read is dreamlike, utopian, strange and beautiful. A man returns to his village after years away; his life intersects with a Green woman - literally green, a woman who had appeared in the village as a child, who had been taken as a fairy. You hear about both their stories, both fascinating and odd. The writing is lyrical and lovely, and the story moves along quickly. It is a book of ideas, and it’s reminiscent to me of Flatland, of Borges’ work, of anything where the story is in a world of its own.

The Story of My Life/The World I Live In

Saturday, June 20th, 2009 | American Literature | No Comments

These two books are by Helen Keller, who lived an amazing life. After becoming deaf and blind as a toddler, she ended up not only learning to communicate in several forms of sign language and braille, but also to speak, and then learned French, German and Latin! She got her degree at Radcliffe and became an outspoken supporter of socialism, supporting the republicans during the Spanish Civil War. Obviously an incredibly gifted woman, with a lot of passion and even rage, she was also a good writer.

The Story of My Life, written at 20, covers her early experiences and her studies. She certainly travelled a lot and met  lot of famous people. The World I Live In consists of some writings, including thoughts on language, on the senses, on dreams. I think her writings on the hand are the best - lyrical and fascinating. An amazing, gifted person, and we’re very fortunate to have her writings.