Bewilderment

by Richard Powers

Having read, at various times, how important at an author Richard Powers is considered to be (the new Philip Roth, etc) I thought I should give his work a go.

This novel was shortlisted for the Booker in 2021.  It is short, and is one of those books that doesn’t feel significant while you are reading it, but somehow haunts you afterwards. This is the story of a widowed father and his unusual son. The child, who perhaps has some form of autism, is lined up for an experimental treatment.  Father and son, but particularly the son, are attuned to and passionately concerned about the natural environment.

The ending (no spoilers here) disappointed me somewhat.

I think I’ve given the book away, which is a bit of a shame as – writing this review a few months later – I feel I’d like to read it again!

V2

by Robert Harris

Proposed by a member of our book group.  I was fairly ambivalent about reading this although I have enjoyed most of Robert Harris’ work.  Perhaps it was because I had just read (a few chapters of) Munich, and hadn’t enjoyed it enough to keep reading.

A few months ago, I read the first few chapters of Munich and didn’t enjoy it enough to keep reading.  Perhaps this is why, although generally a fan of Robert Harris, I wasn’t too anxious to read his next WW2 book, V2.  The film version of Munich, Edge of War (on Netflix) is excellent, and so I think I would have come back to V2 even if it hadn’t been required reading for the book group.

I am not always a fan of novels with interleaved chapters which recount separate stories.  But this time I felt the device worked well, since the timelines of the two stories are parallel, and they tell the V2 story from both the British and German perspective.  I learned a lot, and there was perhaps a little too much technical detail – but it felt necessary to the story, so I persevered with it.

Whilst I found the factual information about the strategies of both sides and their implementation very interesting, the human stories interested me more.  They are the reason I read fiction.  And I felt that in Kay and Rudi Graf the author presented two well-rounded characters whose part I could take.  Kay’s relationships with her WAAF colleagues, in particular, were convincing.  The group of women from Stanmore have already gelled as a team and were initially stand-offish towards Kay, but she is able to establish friendships quickly – and this is something that I suspect happens in times of urgency such as wartime.  It is implied that this applies to sexual relationships as well – when people are in fear for their lives, they are inclined to drop their standards and throw caution to the wind.  Kay’s rejection by her lover Mike, and her casual affair soon afterwards with Arnaud, seem to illustrate two sides of the same coin.

For me, the most memorable parts of this book are actually given as facts in the Postscript:  the waste of money and resources on the V2 programme from the German perspective; the huge loss of life among the slave labourers; the inadequacy of the British programme to trace the launch sites (though founded on mathematical principles which seem as convincing to the reader as they must have been to the operatives doing the calculations); and the impact of the V2 bombings on the housing stock in London.

I would add to this, having spoken with my mum since reading the book, the terror factor that these weapons instilled in the British population.  The loss of life may not have been huge, but it was impossible to anticipate or prepare for.

 

The Fortnight in September

by R C Sherriff

Downloaded on Kindle on impulse after reading Booker Talk’s review of it in a list of her 2022 reads.  It’s a short book which I’ve enjoyed over a few short days – but really enjoyed.

The Stevens family lives in South London and takes their family holiday for two weeks every September in Bognor.  The course of their holiday in one particular summer – perhaps their last all together as a family? – is imagined in great detail in this charming book.  The details of their home environment described so that the reader can really imagine the house on Corunna Road, the neighbours, the garden with its tidy toolshed, even the cat and canary.  We observe the Stevens as they prepare for their two weeks away.  Will Ernie be allowed to bring his toy yacht?  Will the neighbour charged with feeding the cat actually feed the ‘bloaters’ to Puss, or consume them herself?  The pre-holiday tasks are checked off a list prepared for previous years by Mr Stevens.

By the time the family alights from the train in Bognor – complete with meticulously-packed luggage, transported to the station on foot by a porter booked in advance – the reader is already a third of the way into the book.  WE learn about their reactions to their fellow travellers.  Their relief when the baby who has been grabbing at Mr Stevens’ hat-brim finally alights with its mother. The conversation that eventually starts up with a fellow traveller, only when they are nearing their destination (and how often have I experienced this when travelling in close quarters such as on an aircraft?).

Each member of the family, with the possible exception of the youngest, Ernie, has his or her own individual pleasures in the holiday.  And each also has their own challenges, fears and concerns.

I could go on … but really, this was such a joy to read and I can imagine I may come back to it.  Thank you Karen of Booker Talk, for recommending this exquisite book!

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Postscript: Did British schools in the 1920s/30s really allow pupils two weeks off in early September?  Or are Mr and Mrs Stevens prepared to take Ernie out of school – which was allowed as late as the 1990s – at the crucial start of the autumn term?  I have tried researching this online, but haven’t yet found a satisfactory answer.