The Enemy of the Good

A national newspaper review of 'The Enemy of the Good' by Michael Arditti, says that this is a story of faith in the 21st century. This is a simplification of the complex (and, at times, rather overworked) tale about a quietly disfunctional family. The story covers so many facets of religion, faith, homosexuality, sibling rivalries, bereavement, loyalty, relationships and society's ways of accepting or rejecting non-conformity, that it makes your head spin. And yet, while the reader is actually following the story, it seems entirely plausible that all these different issues and situations can, and do, occur within one family. A rather literate soap opera, in fact.

I enjoyed this book very much, even when I found it stretched my credulity to the limit. Probably because the devise of using 3 different voices to tell the story teases out levels of understanding the players much more fully than would using only one 1st or 3rd person narrator for the book's entirety. One of the central characters - homosexual artist Clement - explains his unconventional and, sometimes, challenging beliefs with such gentle and erudite conviction that one can't help but sympathise even when he talks of killing his father.  

Not the easiest of reads, especially for those of strong and narrow opinions based solely on the letter of Bible and the Torah, but well worth it.

This week's good read................

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Rose Tremain's 'Restoration' is the story of a small life touched and destroyed by the presence of greatness. Robert Merival falls under the spell of Charles II to the point of obsession. He allows himself to be used to facilitate the promiscuous King's love life, at the cost of his already fragile self esteem. Robert is a complex character, capable of great humour, loyalty and bravery but totally lacking in self respect. In a time when ostentatious lust for life substitutes for good taste and constancy, Robert believes himself to be a man of his time. He's wrong, and therein lies his tragedy.

I loved this story. Robert's gentle character is quite enchanting and I found myself willing him to recognise his own strengths and to stand up for himself right to the very end of the book. Brilliant!   

Jeremy Clarkson

Has Jeremy Clarkson finally, and totally, lost touch with reality?

As a sometime tutor of young people, I grew used to hearing all sorts of wild and inflamatory statements born out of naivity, inexperience or bravado. One expects this sort of thing from our young as they explore their world and come to terms with their responsibilities, stretch their metaphorical wings and learn about consequences. But to hear this sort of bombast from a grey haired wrinkly is unexpected, astonishing and outrageous. He's been around long enough to realise that his words were bound to generate an uncomfortable backlash. Whatever the context (and he's bound to say that his remarks should be seen in the light of context and that he's been misunterpreted), his words were inexcusable - he can't claim to be inexperienced or naive.

What about the right of free speech? Well, what about it? With rights come responsibilities. It's about time he grew up and recognised his!

So much for remorse...............

............was the headline on Page 27 of yesterday's Daily Mail. A young burgler wrote to his victim as part of the restorative justice programme only to admit, in graphic terms, that he felt no remorse or shame at all. On the contrary, he blamed his victims for allowing their home to be insecure and, by implication, encouraging his crime.

His reasoning showed intelligence, his words spoke his truth, as he saw it. His spelling is atrocious but he explained, with some care, why he was able to enter the house and steal. The points he raised were solid and valid. You could imagine that, in different circumstances, he might have been an asset to a employer, society and himself. Instead his potential has been twisted, wasted and lost. He has a jaundiced view of life which will, in all probability, see him lead a life of crime and destruction.

It's easy to blame his parents, society and everyone else for this sad boy but not all neglected children with poor educations turn out to be criminals. Better brains than mine have struggled with this problem for ages; it isn't exactly a new issue. Is there an answer? Not every society across the globe has this dilemma; maybe the answer is out there, somewhere, and we just need to keep looking with open eyes and minds.

I feel sorry for the victims in this situation but I feel sad for the boy, too. No-one has come out of this with grace.

Political language

I was listening to the radio this morning, with Jon Snow questioning Nick Clegg. (for those overseas readers, Jon Snow is a veteran political commentator on British radio and Nick Clegg is leader of the Liberal democrat party and deputy prime minister of the UK government). As usual, Jon wasn't listening to the answers and was asking the same question, in different ways, over and over again in an increasingly harrassing manner. In response, Nick was getting more and more hysterical in his answers.

Politicians and commentators are both human; no more and no less than the rest of us. However, wouldn't you expect that people such as these, who are constatntly in the public eye and ear, would work and train really hard to learn about public speaking? Wouldn't you think that public life would necessitate the learning of good communication skills so that we, the listeners, would be able to hear decent content and not what sounds like the squabbling of 8 year olds in the school yard?

Listening to lunch time politics show..............

..............on remuneration for large company directors. Whilst I rail against the unbelievable salaries some of these people are given, with all the perks of cars, first class travel, pension contributions and such, I find myself wondering if I would swop places with them. The answer has to be a resounding 'No'. Not because I couldn't do their jobs (I doubt if I could, not having their experience, education or training) I simply couldn't bear the thought that millions of people hated me. Sure, these people have their circles of friends and family, but how much further is it to fall when something goes wrong? In this group, when your spouse wants a divorce or your child is ill or your 'best friend' spills the beans to the Press, you don't have the protection of anonimity; your whole life is an open book to voyeurs. No thanks, leave me my modest income, my modest home and my privacy. I have far less to fear and much to bring me joy.    

This week's good read...............

...........is 'All the Hopeful Lovers' by William Nicholson. I can't remember when I last read a modern male author who wrote with such authority about women's inner thoughts and emotions. You'd expect a good author to be able to write about their own gender but for a man to see, understand and write about things which even some women struggle to articulate for themselves is truly great.

For an excellent story about relationships, both young and mature, in marriage and extra-marital affairs, about diasppointment and loss, optimism and joy, read this book! 

Hurrah!

This is my first blog. How exciting! The idea is to get the message out there that Christione (that's me) is getting out there in media world to talk about books, writing, people and anything else that takes my fancy, really. Like the book I've just finished, called 'Glass Tiger' by Joe Gores. Never read him before. Suspense thriller genre, not particularly literary (in the Booker sense of the word) but well researched with good characterisation. Got the feeling that the story unfolded rather inspite of the writer rather than because of him, if you know what I mean.

Meanwhile.........................my own novel 'Charity Begins' has just gone live on Kindle! Hence the 'Hurrah' of the title. Funny, pacey, quirky and cheap, just right for new Christmas Kindle gift givers and receivers! Go for it!