Review of 'The House of Special Purpose' by John Boyne

Historical fiction is my literary guilty pleasure. It's something that I always associate with older people reading, but I love it. John Boyne is the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and whilst I loved reading that, I honestly had no idea that he wrote adult fiction too. This is a book club read for the little club at work, and I'm so glad I joined it, because otherwise I never would have picked this up.

The House of Special Purpose is set during a period of history that I don't really know much about at all. It focuses on the infamous last Romanov family, and the deadly corruption spread through Russia by Rasputin. 

The story is told in parts that span decades. Georgy is an elderly Russian emigre living with his dying wife Zoya. Amidst caring for her in these tender moments, he tells the story of his youth. He was brought to Tsar Nicolas Romanov's winter palace in St Petersburg to act as a friendly bodyguard to his son.

Georgy thinks things are on the up for him, as he's taken out of his peasant town, but things in the palace are harder than he ever anticipated. With the stern Tsarina constantly looking over his shoulder, and political troubles making thinks tense throughout Russia, the family is on edge.

This tells the story of what *might* have happened to the Romanov family. It's a story of hope and fear and love and war and now I want to read everything else John Boyne has ever written.

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Review of "The Letter" by Kathryn Hughes

Domestic abuse is something that we're only just finding the right discourse to talk about. For too often "victim blaming" has been present here, by means of people suggesting that the victim somewhat brings it upon themselves because they stay with the perpetrator. However, in The Letter, Hughes shows the other side of this discussion: what do you do if the person you loved isn't who you thought they were, or want them to be? Tina, the protagonist of the story suffers greatly at the hands of her domineering husband, whose alcoholism sends him into fits of paranoid rage. What the reader begins to realise is that Tina isn't simply foolish for leaving him, but terrified too. When Tina and Rick marry he begins to hit her upon occasion, but convinces her that if she didn't provoke him it wouldn't happen. As well as this, he is so apologetic and seemingly filled with love after he does it that she believes in her hopes: that he's changed, and it won't happen again. I think this is an incredibly important text for anyone to read if they've ever considered why the victim of an abuser would stay in a relationship filled with pain.

Tina just wants Rick to love her like he did before they were married. But since their marriage night he's beaten her so badly that she's ended up in hospital. She wants to escape, but how can she? She needs the man she loves, especially is she's right, and there's a little one along the way. Surely he'll become the loving man he once was now, right?

Desperate to think about something else and needing an escape from everything, Tina is intrigued when she finds a letter in the jacket a man donated to the charity shop she works from. It's from a man named Billy, dedicated to his lover Chrissie, apologising for the mistakes he's made and swearing that he will do right for her. The only problem is it has no postmark: the letter was never sent. Tina feels the need to reunite the letter with its rightful owner. This search takes Tina to places she'd never imagined, and might just have the potential to turn her life upside down ....

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph x

Review of "The Man of Mode"

The above excerpt from this 17th century play sounds like it could have come out of the mouth of Lady Macbeth, however, writing over half a century later, the playwright Etherege had quite a number of different aims in his portrayal of the scorned women. The political climate of Etherege's writing was one of libertinism. Charles 1 had been killed and a spirit of puritanism had entertained the interregnum, but with the Restoration seeing Charles II put on the throne, a period of somewhat licentious behaviour ensued. Charles II was known for his many mistresses, and if you've ever read any of Rochester's poetry, you'll know how, let's say "saucy" Restoration literature can be! 

Dorimant, a man of wit, convinces the town that through the contraction of a venereal disease he has become impotent. In this way he can allow men to let him have access to their wives, believing that he can do them no harm (the rogue!). Mrs Loveitt is one of the first to fall under his wiles and realise that she desires him. After this, women seem to keep falling into his trap. Sir Fopling Flutter on the other hand, as his name suggests, is the foppish laughing stock of the play - misplaced attempts at wit, unfashionable clothing and outdated speech make him far less desirable to the women. The real question of the play is: will Dorimant's trickery be discovered? And by the men or the women of the play?

This play really made me think about how restrictive Victorian literature has been on the notion of sexuality, especially female sexuality. All of the women in this play display some level of sexual desire, even if it is misplaced in this man of supposed impotence. However, Mrs "Loveitt"s name in particularly gives a slightly negative outlook upon the notion of women chasing after men they desire. The complex natures of the women were also interesting as again, in later English literature this seems to have disappeared a tad. Here the women are at once devious, loving, skeptical, chaste and yet sexual creatures.

Rating:

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph

Book A Day catch Up Pt 2 | Days 13-17

Day 13 | Stocking Filler

So, once again I've fallen behind - this time for a better reason though. I've been up to my neck in hectic essay writing!

This is one of my favourite copies of a text - it's a second hand Twelfth Night I picked up in The Paperback Exchange in Bognor Regis. As my smallest book, this would be a brilliant stocking filler (you'd have to be seriously in my good books though!).

Day 14 | Read at School

This is probably the only school text that I actually own! But it is also one of my faves. Despite my housemate and fellow English Lit student abhorring its existence, I love Fitzgerald's writing.

Day 15 | Favourite Colour Cover

Okay, you might not be able to see a great deal of the colour of this cover, BUT it is my favourite. 

Day 16 | For Someone I Love

Cue a tonne of n'awwws, but I'd give this to my nan. Despite my best efforts, neither my boyfriend, nor my immediate family particularly enjoy reading, or at least see the point in it in a similar way to me. Apart from nan who loves historical fiction. As this is my nicest copy of a Philippa Gregory book, I think I'd give this to her.

Day 17 | Something Funny

Let's be real, is anyone surprised that I chose this? Check out my review of this hilarious novel here. It's got pretty much everything you need for a witty tale of love and loss.

What were your choices?

Steph

Trip to the Home of Shakespeare

(Shakespeare's last house)

I realised that, as a third year English Lit student at Warwick, it's pretty shameful that I haven't been to visit Shakespeare's home in Stratford-Upon-Avon (which is just a relatively quick train ride away). So, a group of us who studied Shakespeare last year set off full of excitement. As you would expect for October in England, it rained on us. All day. But the gaudy lights of the massive fair we stumbled across in the centre of the town cast away the damp blues and created a brilliant atmosphere.

The quote at the top of the page was one of the most interesting things I saw in the Shakespeare Centre. Hidden amongst innovative sculptures and paintings of the infamous playwright himself from all over the globe, this served as a reminder of the long-lasting cultural impact Shakespeare has had. Although I knew that some of these were down to him I had no idea that he'd formed this large a part of our vernacular. 

The houses themselves were beautiful. The detail and care in which the people who worked there spoke about and looked after the furnishings of the house was just astounding. Plus Stratford itself was just adorable. I'm always a fan of old houses. Even if we did end up lunching at Zizzi's, looking at all the little independent restaurants just added to the atmosphere. Our last stop was an old-fashioned sweetshop. Who isn't a fan of these? You walk in and the shelves are lined up to the ceiling with jars of a huge array of sweets. Heaven.

Anyway, if you're thinking of going, or are just a fan of Shakespeare I'd highly recommend it. They've got a whole host of little activities to keep the kids entertained as you explore the houses, Plus the giftshop has everything any self-respecting bookaholic who likes Shakespeare would love (I had to restrain myself from buying a Shakespeare advent calendar - where else would you find that?!)

Steph x

Review of Uncle Tom's Cabin

There were a vast number of incredibly poetic and astute quotations which I could have chosen from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, but I decided on the above one because it sums up the hypocrisy many slaveholders employed everyday. The idea of America being a "free" country during this time was laughable, but many masters truly believed that they were born with a right to purchase slaves and treat them in whatever way they saw fit. Obviously, the slaves themselves weren't privileged enough to enjoy this "freedom", but in the eyes of certain masters this did not make America any less free - slaves did not "count" as men in the states in which slavery was permissible.

My recent posts make it clear that at the moment I've been reading a number of slave narratives in preparation for one of my modules I'll be studying as a finalist. This is the only slave narrative out of the four that I've read recently which has not been written from a first hand point of view. I can now see why Uncle Tom's Cabin resulted in such immense popularity when it was published, and believe that it's a fundamental tool in understanding that a number of different approaches to slavery existed.

Unlike many other slave narratives, Uncle Tom's Cabin tracks the progression of the lives of a number of individuals, although Tom's is obviously covered with greater emphasis. Tom initially lived under a kind master and mistress who allowed him to marry a cook named Chloe and live with her and their children in a cottage (or cabin) on their property. Though Tom was technically a slave, he worked as a kind of manager for his master. He was renowned for being one of the most honest and hard working slaves a man could meet. Here, Uncle Tom became acquainted with the bible, and was given his own copy to read from and annotate. Unfortunately, Tom's master got into a great deal of debt. Although Tom and a mother and son called Eliza and Harry were the master and mistresses favourite slaves they were also worth the most. Tom's master was forced to sell the three to cover his debts. Now, I don't want to give too many spoilers about the rest of the novel because the beauty and tragedy of this piece of literature are simply breathtaking. However, I will simply state that Tom suffers and rejoices at the hands of both pleasant Christian masters as well as those who are not so wholesome.

As I've said, this is the first slave narrative I've read that looks at the stories of multiple slaves (it also lets you see where Eliza and Harry end up, and how they get there). It's also the first slave narrative I've read which gives some insight into the different temperaments and thoughts of slave owners. There are several key individuals in this category which are particularly striking. Tom and Eliza's mistress treats Eliza almost as if she is a daughter. She has been educated, clothed well, encouraged in marriage, and instructed in appropriate chores. When Eliza runs away to ensure that her and her son will not be separated, her mistress is glad. She vehemently condemns the sale of Eliza, and would much rather see her own finances plummet than have to give her up to being sold down south. This character alone shows far more empathy for the state of slaves than I've read about in any other slave narrative. Another character which stands out in this light is the foolish but kind-hearted St Clare. He treats his slaves as though they are part of the family, to the extent that the house is a place of (slightly chaotic) sanctuary for the slaves. His daughter Eva is almost the embodiment of Christ in a child. Many of the slaves which they own, especially Tom, see true Christianity in her, which completely contrasts the wild and incorrect notions of Christianity many slave owners used to support their mistreatment of many men, women and children. This idyllic view of the support some slaves receive from their masters is shattered by the tyranny of Marie St Clare and Simon Legree. These two expose the corruption and degradation which many slaveholders insisted upon executing in their household. The contrasting set of characters here highlights a different aspect of slavery which I have never read about in detail. Uncle Tom's Cabin indicates that Christianity is more fundamental to an individual's treatment of slavery than anything else. Although I've previously read about the hypocritical ways in which many masters use Christianity to their advantage, it has never been so clear that one's view of what God is or whether He is real greatly affected one's approach to slave holding.

What did you think?

Steph x

Review of The Life of Josiah Henson

I decided to shorten the title of this book in the title above because it's a bit of a mouthful: The Life of Josiah Henson, formerly a Slave, now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself. However, the entire title is incredibly important - it highlights the progress Henson made through his bravery and belief in the right of his freedom. Although he did not physically write the book itself (having had that privilege snatched from him by his "masters"), Henson is remembered as a powerful orator and narrated this book to be written word for word from his speech.

The novel begins with Josiah Henson as a child. He was born into slavery and at first sees no other way forward in his life. However, as he grows to reach a pre-pubescent age, he begins to realise that he is physically superior to many of his fellow bondsmen. This offers Henson, or "Siah" as he's known, to gain opportunities which he recognises that others around him do not have. Even though he is able to accomplish tasks with a great level of alacrity he still suffers at the hands of dominant white men. By the time he reaches adulthood he is physically impaired. The beating which did this irreparable damage to him really stuck out to me. He was set upon by a white man and a couple of his slaves. Although strong, Siah could not fight against four men, and was almost beaten to death. He received this because he was perceived to have done something wrong: if this fit and able, incredibly intelligent man was liable to such beatings, then one can only imagine the sufferings of those who couldn't fulfill their tasks as readily. Siah uses his wit and incredible physical abilities to earn money during his time as a slave. I'm NOT going to spoiler this one, as I think it's an incredibly important book to read, but I will just say that his attempts to buy himself freedom do not go exactly to plan ...

So if you've been keeping up with my recent posts, you'll know I reviewed Twelve Years A Slave (http://the-darkness-will-never-win.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/review-of-twelve-years-slave.html) and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (http://the-darkness-will-never-win.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/review-of-narrative-of-life-of.html). Although I felt the style and narrative of The Life of Josiah Henson reminded me a little of Twelve Years a Slave, they obviously still offer an incredibly different viewpoint on the topic of slavery. The biggest lesson which I feel Henson tried to express through his writing is that slaves are no less intelligent than their masters. Henson himself was stripped of all means of education as a child and all contact with the commercial world, however, by adulthood he had enough wit and sense to free himself from captivity successfully and build a safe haven for former slaves. He is largely the reason why the next generation of his family were schooled - he chose the correct way forward at every turn point so that the community had enough money to build a school. Moreover, Henson expresses more potently than the other writers just how great an affinity there was amongst the slaves owned by each master. They were not just holed up together like animals as the masters thought, but had genuine bonds and feelings for one another. 

The utter barbarity of white slave traders was (I think) expressed and felt by Henson more through their words and legal actions than their physical abuse. The tragedy of the plot lies in Henson's attempt to purchase his own freedom. He is thoroughly respected by his master and purchases his freedom, only to find that he has been betrayed in the worst way. The document which declares his freedom has been destroyed, to be replaced with another one which indicates that he owes an insurmountable sum of money in order to become free. At this point it really struck home for me that, no matter how well you performed as a slave, or how much you had done for a master personally, they would rarely (if ever) see an individual as more than a piece of property.

Have any of you read it? What did you think?

Steph

Review of "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

“At that time, the slightest manifestation of humanity toward a coloured person was denounced as abolitionism, and that name subjected its bearer to frightful liabilities”

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 1818. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is his attempt to reveal the injustices of slavery in order to work towards abolitionism. The very existence of this narrative is a testament to his bravery and hard-working spirit.

This text tracks the story of Douglass’ escape from his hellish treatment as a slave. It includes details of all of the various slaveholders who wrongfully imprisoned him in order to shame them. Initially Douglass accepted that he was going to spend his life as a slave, however, the help of a kind mistress sparked his interest in words and education. He soon began to seek help from free white boys in order to develop his understanding of the alphabet and later reading itself. This is eventually what paved his way to freedom. Without this intellectual hope Douglass himself admits that he would have been forced to the despair which many of his fellow men and women in bondage were consumed by. Alongside his attempts to learn however came many great risks: slaveholders feared that if their slaves learnt to read they would become empowered and thus liable to rebel and riot.

If any of you read last week’s review of Twelve Years A Slave (http://the-darkness-will-never-win.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/review-of-twelve-years-slave.html) then you’ll see that I thought that had a different emphasis on the traumatic effects of slavery. Solomon Northup heavily focused on the physical and emotional implications on himself and the people he was held with. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave however, Douglass’ work is more directed towards exposing the hypocrisy and corruption of American slaveholders who believed in their Christian vocation to slaveholding. Many of the slave holders in the South whom Douglass was unfortunate enough to have to call “master” insisted that they were good Christians. As a result of this, they often quoted scripture whilst whipping their slaves.

This hypocrisy really hit home when I read this text as the recent crises in the Middle East show that people have not yet learnt that religion is not an excuse for persecution. Religion should discourage hatred, prejudice and torture, rather than encourage people to commit it. Frederick Douglass realised that Christianity was often (although not exclusively) a front for this. Him and his fellow bondmen were prohibited from attending Church and learning how to read scripture, to the extent that the Sunday school they created was punishable by death.

What did you think of the text when you read it? 

Review of Twelve Years A Slave

"They are deceived who flatter themselves that the ignorant and debased slave has no conception of the magnitude of his wrongs"

Prewarn: i'm not talking about the film (and yes, the film was made from a book). Twelve Years A Slave is the true story of Solomon Northup's descent and recovery from slavery which he narrates himself. This is the most powerful piece of writing, literature or not, that I have ever come across concerning the issue of slavery. As I was reading the text, I began to wonder why we don't read literature as part of history courses which teach students about horrendous periods of history like this one. The emotion contained in this text taught me about the mental and physical trauma which slavery inflicted upon real people, which i had never really come across despite studying it at school.

So, back to the review (SPOILER ALERT). Twelve Years A Slave begins with a contented Solomon Northup living in an American state in which it was permissible to be a free black man. He knew very little about the practicalities of slavery, viewing it as something different to him. Unfortunately for him there are some truly evil people out there. Two such men trick Solomon into travelling with them. After a couple of days they drug him, chain him and proceed to force him to accept that he is a slave. From there Northup recounts his experiences as a slave, being sold like a piece of unworthy chattel, or an animal.

This text was incredibly well written, and as such is a testament to the bravery and intellect of this man. For me, the text reached a state of emotional poignancy when a slave that Northup was kept with was torn from her children. The master had no reason to tear this mother from her little girl, bar his own cruelty. So he sold the girl and kept the mother who weakened more and more out of grief, and because of this suffered more and more from the weight of his lash. This unprovoked spite was, according to Northup, the worst sight he witnessed during the entirety of his confinement. I believe that his incredible writing skill allowed him to express this, ensuring that readers too felt this was the most horrific scene of the book. However, this does not go to say that the other acts of cruelty Northup witnesses were any less inhumane. Northup was stripped of his name, clothes and right to life. He often survived being killed because of his monetary value. When capitalism reaches a crisis like this can we really see it in a positive light?

This text not only raises issues about the idea of race, but also gender. Women were expected to keep up with men, but sadly often mistreated by their mistresses and masters. the latter would frequently seduce them (they could hardly say no to him) and the mistress would punish the woman effectively for being raped or sexually assaulted. This appears to lead to depression in female slaves in the text.

In my opinion, everyone should read this in order to go some way into understand the emotional impact of slavery from someone who experienced themselves. What are your opinions on including literature like this when teaching young adults about the historical impact and implications of slavery?

A Review of Lady Chatterley's Lover

D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover is not only an important book in terms of its literary merit, but also its socio-historic impact upon England's publishing world. Although the novel was written in the 1920s, an uncensored version was not published here until 1960. Even then it caused a great deal of scandal: Penguin, the publishing house for the text, was forced to undergo an obscenity trial due to the explicit erotic language and themes the book contained. they fought for the literary merit of the book and the case was concluded with the verdict "not guilty". This makes Lady Chatterley's Lover a key implement in British authors' attempts to discuss erotic concepts in modern texts. 

The story commences with the tale of a sexually licentious girl who marries Sir Clifford briefly before World War I. He returns from the war paralyzed from the waist down. This allows Lawrence to broach the the uncomfortable and forbidden question at the back of everyone's minds: "does it work?". Unfortunately for Sir Clifford, the answer is no. 

Connie, or Lady Chatterley, becomes depressed as a result of their sexless, joyless marriage and begins to seek a lover to satisfy her maternal cravings for a child. This plot is ensconced in a Hardy-esque condemnation of the industrialization of England, as well as a self-conscious examination of class differences.

Despite hearing mixed reviews for the book, I don't regret picking it up (or rather downloading it to my kindle) at all. The book is a pastiche of genres, which I believe is a reason why it doesn't sit well with many readers. It has a great focus on man's connection with nature, which is emblematic of Romantic writing, whilst displaying the futility of human life, terse vocabulary, and lack of sentimentality of modern writing. 

The first portion of the novel seems rather dry and hard to digest. Yet, this appears to merely be a stylistic mirroring of Connie's sexually barren state: once she secures a lover the writing becomes more poetic and much more enjoyable. Though Connie is hardly a likeable figure, doesn't modern fiction often strive to teach us that people cannot be labelled as being good or bad, but rather are more complicated?

So if you want an easy to read, yet important piece of fiction to add to your "To Read" list this summer, pick up Lady Chatterley's Lover​ and give it a shot!

Love, Stephanie