Have you #Read My Two favorite #Books from 2015?

I haven't read as many books as I'd like this year, but there are two that clearly stand out for me as memorable reads of 2015. Fittingly for the 100th anniversary, they are both set in and around WWI.

#Book 1: Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain

This book is strictly speaking a memoir, but it is so engrossing it moves at the pace and in the narrative style of a novel. It's the story of Vera's experience both just before and during WWI, when she left her Oxford studies to become a nurse. What is particularly striking about the novel, is not just the heartbreak and loss she herself experiences throughout, but how much the war effects the English as a nation. The ongoing rationing, loss and horrific stories of life in the trenches, ground the people down to a collective depression. As is often the case, when the conflict started the consensus was it would be a fleeting event and the toll would be small. Of course the complete opposite was true.I think this passage captures the general mood of despair and lack of control over the characters lives. More importantly we see how central love is to the heart of the novel.

And then, all at once, the whistle sounded again and the train started. As the noisy group moved away from the door he sprang on to the footboard, clung to my hand and, drawing my face down to his, kissed my lips in a sudden vehemence of despair. And I kissed his, and just managed to whisper 'Good-bye!' The next moment he was walking rapidly down the platform, with his head bent and his face very pale. Although I had said that I would not, I stood by the door as the train left the station and watched him moving through the crowd. But he never turned again.”  ~ Vera Brittain, Testament of Youth

#Book 2: Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

This novel is a completely different book, but the effects of WWI are also key to the setting of the 1920s. After the death of the father and brother in the war, a young woman and her mother have fallen onto hard times. To make ends meet they are forced into taking lodgers in their formerly grand house. This quote gives a good sense of where Frances' life is starting from at the beginning of the novel.

“She rose from her bed full of new resolutions. ‘We must get out and about more,’ she told her startled mother. ‘We must try different things. We are getting groovy.’ She drew up a list of events and activities: concerts, day trips, public meetings. She went in a fit through her address book, writing letters to old friends. She borrowed novels from the library by authors who had never interested her before. She began to teach herself Esperanto, reciting phrases as she polished and swept.”~Sarah Waters, The Paying Guests

However, things do not go as planned. The first plot twist takes us by surprise:

“And that was all it took. They smiled at each other across the table, and some sort of shift occurred between them. There was a quickening, a livening- Frances could think of nothing to compare it to save some culinary process. It was like the white of an egg growing pearly in hot water, a milk sauce thickening in the pan. It was as subtle yet as tangible as that.” ~ Sarah Waters, The Paying Guests

Even when we think the novel has become a lesbian love story, the plot suddenly throws us against the wall and takes a dramatic turn. What has been a fairly slow moving pace speeds up to breakneck speed and the reader is in a full blown thriller, filled with nail biting suspense.

“Some things are so frightful that a bit of madness is the only sane response.”~Sarah Waters, The Paying Guests

This is by far the best Sarah Waters novel to date. She has matured as a writer and the characters are so well developed we feel both an affinity and a loathing for the protagonists as the story follows the plots twists. The turn of events challenges the morality of two ordinary women who find themselves in an untenable situation after a completely unplanned and dreadful occurrence.The novel also gives the reader an excellent look at the class differences of the day, as well as the gradually changing, but still very limited role offered to women in society.This is my final post for 2015. Thanks so much for all your support and wonderful comments throughout the year. Have a good holiday season and I'll see you back here in January!

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Why Was Evelyn Waugh “Apalled” By His Own Work?

This is a reblog of one of Robert Bruce's posts from his fantastic website 101Books.net which is the best book site on the web in my opinion.

Why Was Evelyn Waugh “Apalled” By His Own Work?

by Robert on May 7, 2015

The critics love Brideshead Revisited. As you know, it’s on the Time list–that’s why I’m reading it–but it’s also #80 on the Modern Library list of English-language novels in the 20th Century. Newsweek listed the novel as one of its 100 best books of world literature, and the BBC lists it at #45 on its literature list.

By all accounts, this is literature at its finest.However, the novel’s author, Evelyn Waugh, wasn’t a fan of his own work. In 1950, he wrote to Graham Greene saying “I re-read Brideshead Revisited and was appalled.”Waugh doesn’t even hold back criticizing the novel in the Brideshead Revisited preface:

“It was a bleak period of present privation and threatening disaster – the period of soya beans and Basic English — and in consequence the book is infused with a kind of gluttony, for food and wine, for the splendours of the recent past, and for rhetorical and ornamental language which now, with a full stomach, I find distasteful.”

Well, doesn’t that really just get you in the mood to read? The author himself trashing the novel in its very own preface.How should one interpret this?I think it’s pretty simple. We’re always our own worst critics. That’s just human nature.So when an author says something he wrote sucks, I believe you have to take that with a grain of salt. Too many authors expect perfection from themselves and feel like failures when they don’t achieve that impossible standard.Evelyn Waugh might not have been a fan of Brideshead Revisited, but most everyone else who read it is.And that’s good enough for me.Here is the original post on 101books.net

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10 Ways to Be Creative in the Summer

Does summertime make you feel creative and want to try new things? Or do you just like to have fun in the sun? I like both, so while I'll be posting all through the summer, I'm taking a break from blog commenting until after Labor Day. Some of you may remember this post from last year, but I felt it needed repurposing!What will You be Doing for Creative Fun this Summer?Summer is a great time to try things you might not normally do. Here are my suggestions for being creative this summer.

1.Build a Sandcastle or a Sand Painting

A.K.Andrew, http://akandrew.com

Building sandcastles are one of my favorite childhood memories as we always had beach holidays. Some of the ones you see are amazing, not just the fill a bucket and turn it upside down kind. I love making a moat with a sand castle too, all that foamy water rushing in. And then at the end of the day you can make it disappear with one sweep of your hand or wait for a wave to do the same thing. Creative things don't need to be permanent. Sand paintings are fun for that very reason. Do one on the beach with a stick or your finger, or buy a sand painting kit.

2.Write a Short Story

This is the time to let go, have some fun with it. And remember no-one but you will see it, unless you want them to. Write about an unexpected sexual encounter. Try out a different genre you don't usually use. Never written about vampires? Now's the time. Write in a different point of view, or from the point of view of a different gender, or sexual orientation. Hey, this is supposed to be fun right?

3.Go see a Film or Make a Movie

When was the last time you went to a cinema? No, not your home theatre, but a big screen-Dolby stereo-popcorn-selling cinema. Treat yourself. If you're a regular cinema goer then try a different kind of film. For me that would be a horror film. Of course, I'd have to take something to hold up in front of the screen though! Maybe you'll be inspired to make a short movie on your phone or camera. One of the best shorts I've ever seen was made by a guy who was stuck in his house in Minnesota one winter, and he used himself as the subject. It was so imaginative, and best of all, hilarious.

 4.Take a Photograph

A.K.Andrew, http://akandrew.com

We all spend so much time on our mobile phones these days, but do you use your phone camera for anything other than selfies or groups of friends laughing together? I love those photos, but it's great to capture even simple things you see that give you a memory of the place you've been and the good time you had.  Better still, take an actual camera!You remember those right? I must dust mine off. I happened to catch these cowboys with my phone while driving home last Sunday morning - I wasn't driving:-)

5.Try a Poem

Lots of people, myself included, sometimes find poetry intimidating. But if you think of poetry as being just the essential information you need, it's not so threatening. Of course, the arrangement and choice of words is what makes poetry beautiful, striking and memorable. Play around with words that come to mind, and put them together in a bizarre order. See what happens.

6. Watercolors and Painting

A.K.Andrew, http://akandrew

I used to think water colors had to be twee little scenes of cottages with roses round the door. They can be if that's what you want, but you can paint anything you want with watercolors including abstracts. Look at the beautiful watercolors from Leora Wenger she painted during a blackout. It's a brilliant medium to take on holiday. I have a little Winsor Newton box that is about 3"x  5 " with a telescopic paintbrush inside. The paints are little squares like a kids paint set. I've had so much fun with that little box. The key to both drawing and painting is really looking at your subject. And don't try and get the whole thing in the painting. Just pick a small section, like a doorway not the whole house, or a single plant, not the whole garden etc. If you really want to be adventurous, try acrylics or oil paints. The textures are delicious.

7.Drawing

A.K.Andrew,http://akandrew.com

Kids have so much fun with drawing , and there is no reason why adults can't either. If you want your drawings to look as if you were classically trained, good for you. But if like me, you don't have that skill, then draw whatever it is you see. If it's stick figures - fabulous.  You know who they are, and I can guarantee that if you forget about it having to look realistic, you will have fun with it. Think simple , but creative. Look at the work of Keith Haring. I used to think drawing was an innate skill. Some people have more of a natural talent, but it can basically be learned by anyone. So you might want to elaborate on your stick figures, and give it a shot. Drawing your own hands is a great way to practise. Or look in a mirror as I did above for this self portrait. Drawing images from photographs is much easier than from real life, so that's a good place to start too. Pencils are great, but charcoal or pastels are also really fun too. The important thing for me is the process.

8.Gardening

A.K.Andrew, http://akandrew.com

Gardening  is a fantastically creative pursuit and I'm often amazed the effects people can get from very simple things eg. putting a plant in an old metal jug, or combining flowers with herbs. It's hot and dry in the summer where I live, and I've seen some of the most amazing succulent gardens in our neighborhood. Years ago I thought they were a very boring plant, but once I saw them in the US, and particularly the ones that bloom, I've come to love them. They're great for needing little water too, which is always a good choice. Watch your back though - gardening is addictive, and it's easy to forget how much work you've done. If you find this is the case then try using raised beds. Here's one surprise I found in a neighbors garden....

 9. Music

How many times have you heard people say, I can't sing? Nonsense! Everyone who does not have vocal chord issues can sing. Some voices are more pleasant to listen to than others, but we're talking about having fun here. Sing at the top of your lungs, and who cares what it sounds like. Or pick up a musical instrument you haven't tried before. Harmonica's and tin whistles are inexpensive. Ukulele's can be very cheap these days. The chords are very simple,  - some only use one finger. It's all about having fun.

10. Cooking

A.K.Andrew,http://akandrew.com

Cooking does not have to be complicated, and in the summer, many of the dishes we eat are cold. Some people are so creative in what they make. Check out Susan Cooper's siteFindingourwaynow.com. She has lots of great recipes, and you can tell she has fun in her cooking. I like simple dishes in the summer. There's nothing more beautiful than a caprese salad - luscious heirloom tomatoes with fresh buffalo mozzarella, sprinkled with chopped basil and dribbled with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Talk about a treat for all the senses.

What else do you like to do creatively? Welding, sculpture, making jewellery, beading, rockhounding? Try something new this summer, and whatever it is, make sure you enjoy yourself.

Have a fantastic summer everyone and don't forget, comments have "Gone Fishing" until after Labor Day!

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Does Internet Dopamine Stop You from #Reading #Books?

Where do you get your nightly dose of dopamine? No, let me put that a different way... What is your preferred visual stimulation of choice before you go to sleep? Watching a movie, the TV, going online and catching up on email, tweeting, texting, Facebook etc... or reading a book?Come on, let's be honest. I guarantee at least half of you did not go for the book reading option. So why is that? What's happened to our bedtime story?This is from a Post published by Susan Weinschenk Ph.D. on Sep 11, 2012 in Brain Wise which says that "Dopamine makes you addicted to seeking information in an endless loop."  This is from Susan's post:

Pleasure vs. seeking 

— You may have heard that dopamine controls the "pleasure" systems of the brain: that dopamine makes you feel enjoyment, pleasure, and therefore motivates you to seek out certain behaviors, such as food, sex, and drugs. Recent research is changing this view. Instead of dopamine causing you to experience pleasure, the latest research shows that dopamine causes seeking behavior. Dopamine causes you to want, desire, seek out, and search.

Rewards of the Dopamine Loop

So what that's telling us is that one tweet is never enough. We are going to continuously reward ourselves by searching for more information, more connection however tenuous it might be online. Who wouldn't want to be rewarded each time we perform any of these tasks? And there is a sense of accomplishment that we have achieved something. What's not to like?This next part is from a more recent article published in the Guardian in January 2015, and is from a book by Daniel J. Levitin.

In a famous experiment, my McGill colleagues Peter Milner and James Olds, both neuroscientists, placed a small electrode in the brains of rats, in a small structure of the limbic system called the nucleus accumbens. This structure regulates dopamine production and is the region that “lights up” when gamblers win a bet, drug addicts take cocaine, or people have orgasms – Olds and Milner called it the pleasure centre. A lever in the cage allowed the rats to send a small electrical signal directly to their nucleus accumbens. Do you think they liked it? Boy how they did! They liked it so much that they did nothing else. They forgot all about eating and sleeping. Long after they were hungry, they ignored tasty food if they had a chance to press that little chrome bar; they even ignored the opportunity for sex. The rats just pressed the lever over and over again, until they died of starvation and exhaustion. Does that remind you of anything? A 30-year-old man died in Guangzhou (China) after playing video games continuously for three days. Another man died in Daegu (Korea) after playing video games almost continuously for 50 hours, stopped only by his going into cardiac arrest........ But remember, it is the dumb, novelty-seeking portion of the brain driving the limbic system that induces this feeling of pleasure, not the planning, scheduling, higher-level thought centres in the prefrontal cortex. Make no mistake: email-, Facebook- and Twitter-checking constitute a neural addiction.© Daniel J. Levitin. Extracted from The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload, published by Viking

Short attention Span

My concern is that all of this information that we constantly both receive and dispatch, essentially leads not to successful multitasking, but to a short attention span. And that is not something you can have if you want to read a book amongst other things.  What I've been in the habit of doing is to start reading and then feel compelled to look up the meaning of a word, or see exactly what part of the world is the author talking about, or when was that in relation to the first moon landing etc etc. Minutiae that I either dont need or could find out later, but have felt the need to immediately find out while I'm reading a novel!!!

Banished from the Bedside

So what I've been doing recently is banning all  electronic devices from my bedside table, as I was often 'just quickly checking my email, twitter, Facebook account, etc, and before you know it an hour or even two had gone by, my eyes were closing and gone was my reading time! So I've been focusing on books and felt more relaxed for doing so.

Bright Lights

I've also read that the bright light from any kind of display monitor also simulates day time which is obviously not very conducive to sleep. How that works for ebooks I'm not sure, but one does tend to have the screen a little darker at night.So I've just started reading The Gold Finch by Donna Tartt and at 700+ pages, I'm going to definitely need to focus on my reading time. And as a writer, as I mentioned in my last post on writing tips, that is essential.What is your opinion on visual stimulation before you go to bed in particular? And what about the Dopamine Loop-do you find it effects you in the ways described? If so what's the answer?

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How Many of These 12 Essential #Writing Tips Do You Use?

All writers - authors, bloggers, journalists, screenwriters - have writing tips that help them.  I feel these twelve are essential for all writers.

1. Write

It may seem obvious that writing is the best way to improve your craft,  but without deadlines, it’s easy to slip into the habit of not writing. I’ve recently picked up an old habit of handwriting something, however short,  in a notebook each day. Most days it’s not the only writing I do, but some days it is, and that very act keeps me in touch with who I am - a writer!

2. Read

Read anything and everything you can find the time to put your hands on. Listen to books or articles if it’s not possible to read. Reading is the second best thing you can do to learn how to write well. Check out my post on #Authors, an Infinite Resource. which shows how we have an endless resource from the world of books and authors in print.

3. Explore the World Around You

Inspiration can come in many forms, but most characters whether in fiction or non-fiction are based on real people, however larger than life we end up making them. So sit in a cafe and eavesdrop. Public transportation is a perfect way to overhear what people say, and if you’re lucky you might glean a few different accents too.

4. Embrace the First Shitty Draft

I love the phrase “First Shitty Draft” and first heard it from Catherine Smith , my tutor during my initial semester at my Creative Writing Certificate course at the University of Sussex, UK. It's such an appropriate phrase and an essential part of the process. Just write the thing down before you do more than a cursory edit, otherwise you’ll slow the process and potentially lose your train of thought & interrupt the creative flow.

5. DON’T Share Your Work in Progress with….

...friends and family. Generally speaking , and there are always exceptions, I think it’s a bad idea. They are not going to give you impartial advice and if you’re unlucky may even become a negative influence on your self confidence.

6. DO Share Your Work in Progress with ….

... other writers. There’s a point where we need to write alone, and not be interrupted by other peoples views of what we’ve written. But after a certain point, it is good to get feedback from other writers you trust, and who’s opinion you value. These impromptu editors will be more and less skilled in the ability to critique. Jeri Walker -Bickett wrote a great post about The Necessity of Critique Groups which I recommend you check out. You will find at the very least a camaraderie about the process you are going through, and most likely the fresh eye your work needs.

7. Be Passionate about Your Work

If you’re not passionate about your subject matter it will show in your work. And for a novelist, it will be an unbearable long slog to get the book finished. So choose your subjects carefully if it’s anything but a short article.

8. Exercise

Writing is a usually a sedentary practice, and makes it even more more important for writers to get physical exercise. Murakami wrote a great book called What I Talk about When I Talk about Running, which is mainly an insight into his writing habits. But exercise does a body good in many ways, not only your heart and lungs etc, but your brain, as well. Who knows what you might see on your morning walk? The other morning I saw a snake!

9. Don’t Give Up

It’s hard to finish projects sometimes - any projects actually. Garages across the world are a testament to unfinished projects. But it’s even easier with writing to say it’s not good enough or I’m bored, or it’s too hard, or whatever. Sound familiar? The world is full of people who have lots of great ideas, and lots of half finished manuscripts, short stories and articles stuck in a drawer or file gathering dust on their computer. Do you want to be one of them, or do you want to put your work out in the world? If so, don’t give up.

10. Write New Creative Work During the Revision Process

If you’re a writer, you’re going to spend a lot of time revising or editing. After all  "All writing is re-writing". But if you’re a novelist you may spend years in the revision process. I think it’s important to write new creative work even during your big edit. It's realistic if you stick with a short work - flash fiction, or a short story. It’s a very different skill set to edit than to write new work, so don’t get too out of practice with the latter.

11. Don’t Become an Isolated Writer

I feel it’s essential to seek out other writers, not only to help with critiques, but also to not feel isolated. Find other writers where you live if possible and talk about your work, or problems that might arise because of it. Social Media is also a great place to meet other writers and I’ve made good writer friends through a variety of online groups. It’s another way of being out in the world, and hearing new voices, opening yourself up to new information and experiences.

12. Learn to Accept Criticism

This is absolutely essential for any writer who wants to have their work published. Not only as I mentioned, will you get constructive criticism from your critique buddies, but you will also -hopefully - get feedback from your readers, and not all of it will be positive. So develop a thick skin early on in the process. I was surprised how unnerving I found blogging when I first started, as it puts your opinions out into the world. I’ve been lucky that I've had a lot of support from other bloggers. But I’ve made mistakes, and had a bunch of rejection letters from prospective agents for my novels too. You just do the best you can, change the work as necessary, and realise people will have different opinions to yours, which only makes life more interesting.

Believe in yourself. Isn’t that the most important thing of all that will help you continue your life as a writer?    ~   A.K. Andrew

What writing tips do you use?  What good one’s do you have that I’ve not listed? What have you found the best or most difficult aspect of being a writer? 

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How to Write like Chekhov

I recently came across this quote from Chekhov, and for me it summed up the key to writing. It's all in the words.  This may sound like a very obvious statement, but simplicity is not necessarily something you link with literary fiction.

One Word At a Time

For anyone starting a lengthy work, it's a marathon of words that lie ahead of you. But like Anne Lamott says in her iconic book, Bird By Bird, you are writing one word at a time. The word becomes a sentence, becomes a paragraph and pretty soon you have a chapter.

What Word do I Use Next?

This is where Chekhov comes in. The moon is shining is a perfectly fine phrase. We can see the moon, we know there will be a light cast on the ground or the field.  But you and every other writer this side of the Steppes could have written that phrase. But the glint of light on broken glass? Now there is a description that's worth writing.

How Else Can I write It?

Chekhov is throwing down the gauntlet and making us work for our writer’s crust. So let's see what we can do. If the glint of light is the moon, how else could we say that? The circle of light, the distant glow? No, it's neither, because it's just a glint. So fleeting glimpse might work - the fleeting glimpse of white, of light, or the fingernail moon, fingernail light. So we've given ourselves a few options.

On Broken Glass? What does that Mean?

We know the moon is not shining on a field. Unless it's a field of snow or ice. More likely it's a lake.

So the moon is shining on a lake.  What then is a different way to say a lake? A puddle? - not quite...

A shimmer or ripple of water. Ripple of water's not bad. What about the color?  At night, a body of water would look black, so the moon is changing the color from black to white.

So we could have the fleeting glimpse of white danced between the light and dark of the lake….Mmm… Bit wordy.

Let’s try again. The fingernail moon pierced the darkness of the lake.  Getting better. But still not the glint of light on broken glass.

Perseverance

Very occasionally you  find a phrase that falls off the end of your pen that’s the glint of light on broken glass. But more than likely, you will have to work your muse into helping you find the solution. As I've said before, all writing is rewriting, so if you start with the moon shone on the lake, and it sounds flat, just play with the words. One word at a time, as we've been doing.

 Showing is Experiencing

Show don't tell is the mantra of every writer, and the bane of every beginning writing. It is in essence what Chekhov is saying. Make me feel I am in the moonlight. And I do when I see the glint of light on broken glass. It's there in front of my eyes. I'm in the scene, not outside. And that’s crucial for your readers to experience the story for themselves, not second hand. To experience  the same thing as the character who can feel the hot breath of their pursuer on their neck as they come out of the woods and see the glint of light on broken glass. It stops them short, and makes them either pause and get caught,  or find enough light to see the one path that they can escape on.  It has in one fell swoop opened up the tension to be life or death in a way that “I ran toward the moonlight” would never have done.

 Simplicity

All of this is with the use of simple words. You don't need to be a walking thesaurus to create fantastic prose. Simple is usually better. While I like to learn new words, I hate reading a book where I need a dictionary by my bed stand.

So I'll leave you with the hot breath of the pursuer on my neck, as icicles of light dance on ripples kissing the boat.  I snatch the rope and disappear into the black night.

How would you have reworded the quote? What tricks do you use to try and find the right words for your writing?

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Is the Beginning of a Novel more important than the Ending?

The beginning of a novel is crucial. Without  a good beginning, you won’t have a reader. But if the ending is unsatisfactory, it's unlikely your reader will recommend your novel or read any more of your work. So which is more important?What links the two is the beginning and end of a circle. Yes - I know there is no beginning and end to a circle , and that of course is the whole point. Hold that thought OK?

A Journey

On a personal level I’ve recently been experiencing both endings and beginnings: I’ve left the UK, my country of birth, to return to Northern California, my adopted home where I spent more than 20 years of my adult life. It’s been a long journey, hence my absence from all things social media. Apologies for the gap in my blog, but it really has been a long 6,000 mile trip. I’d undertaken the same process, in reverse, ten years ago, so I thought I knew what to expect. And in some ways, similar to the way in which we develop the plot of a novel, I did. But like all good stories, there were unexpected, but necessary twists and turns. And like writing a novel, it took longer than I'd like.We have our furniture unpacked, but not arranged. Most of my paintings seem to have made it in one piece, though are sitting facing a wall waiting for me to hang them. Again, like writing, it’s been a lesson in patience. Rush it and you end up with a really shitty first draft.This blog is where life and writing collide. Endings and beginnings are significant stages in both. I was sad to say goodbye to my friends and family in the UK, but thrilled to be back in the USA  and see old friends in California. New beginnings are always exciting - the promise of new experiences, new people to meet, new characters to write and plot arcs to develop.

Endings

Aside from friends and family, I will miss living so close to the sea, watching the quirky English weather.And  of course I shall miss the English countryside. From twee to wild, almost always green.

England, green England, by A.K.Andrew

Beginnings

But  sights I welcome back with open arms: Northern California is an area of incredible natural beauty: the Pacific ocean at the Golden Gate spanned by the eponymous bridge, acres of vineyards, olive groves and stunning state parks, and centuries old redwoods as tall as the eye can see. Yes, things really are bigger in America!

Coming Full Circle

Let's go back to my original comment on the beginning and ending of a novel, and the continuous circle they can present. Life and literature really are all about the journey, and that journey continues ad infinitum. The real challenge is to create a piece of work where the beginning and ending are so closely linked they form a circle. Every writer strives to achieve a scenario where the reader carries the characters with them, wondering what happens after the last page has been turned, and if appropriate, looks forward to the sequel. Beginnings are fun and the first essential step, but the real challenge is the ability to follow through and satisfy your readers once they've reached the end.What do you think is the most important part of a novel? As a writer, do you struggle with the beginning more than the ending? As a reader, how does it color your impression of the book as a whole if it has an unsatisfactory ending?Come join the discussion, and please share this post on your favorite social media. 

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3 Memorable Reads of 2012

Happy New Year Everyone!

Over the past year, I've read more than thirty five books, but as you've doubtless read a plethora of  year end book lists, I'll keep mine simple.  Here are three of my Memorable Reads of 2012

 The Long Song   

by  Andrea Levy

                                                             

It was hard to know if Levy could match 'Small Island', winner of the 2004  Orange Award,  but The Long Song  is an incredible tour de force  and was short listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2010.Here is an excerpt from the beginning: You do not know me yet. My son Thomas, who is publishing this book, tells me, it is customary at this place in a novel to give the reader a little taste of the story that is held within these pages. As your storyteller, I am to convey that this tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom that followed.I was relieved to know right from the beginning that July, the main character, survives. The novel centers around July's own story on a Jamaican sugar cane plantation, as a house slave. She is there during the Baptist war of 1831 and she is still there when slavery is eventually declared illegal. So her journey through slavery's last turbulent years, as well as the upheaval that followed, as you can imagine, is fraught with difficulties.But Levy's rich prose is the heart of the book, and shows how much she's grown as a writer. While she manages to covey the horrors of slavery, she uses particularly awful occurrences sparingly, concentrating more on the characters and their relationships. We see the division of the house slaves and the plantation workers, as well as the derision in which the owners themselves are held by July and her fellow house slaves. They take what freedoms they can within their limited abilities. In showing this, Andrea Levy gives her readers a picture that  muddies the waters of  the preconception that slaves are all good, owners are all bad. They are individuals, and Levy's beautiful prose carries us through the story with such a range of emotion, including joy and humor, that we feel left with a balanced account of a truly terrible part of British Colonial history, despite the fact July is in truth an unreliable narrator.

Revolutionary Road  

by  Richard Yates

I saw the film of Revolutionary Road before I read the book, and as usual I preferred the book. Not only is the characterization more developed, but the events and sentiment that lead up to the ending are a little different.The novel encapsulates the hope of the 1950's in a young couple, Frank and April Wheeler, who move from Manhattan, with two young children, to a starter home in the suburbs. Suburban bliss is not something either expected, and very quickly it's not what either want; particularly April, who is artistic, and feels her husband has the potential to be anything he wants. The fact that Frank is unsure of what that is does not deter April. But claustophobia and boredom soon set in and the certainty of what they thought their life was going to be, starts to fall apart.Here's an excerpt : Intelligent, thinking people could take things like this in their stride, just as they took the larger absurdities of deadly dull jobs in the city and deadly dull homes in the suburbs. Economic circumstance might force you live in this environment, but the important thing was to keep from being contaminated. The important thing,always, was to remember who you were.Richard Yates style is very much of the era - straight forward, no flowery prose needed to convey the basics of the situation. But in being forthright, he subtly displays with compassion and no mistake, that  April and Frank have sacrificed their own potential in being seduced by the promise of the American Dream of the 1950's.

 Snake Ropes 

by  Jess Richards

Jess Richards Snake Ropes was short listed for the 2012 Costa First Novel Award and is also on the long list for the Green Carnation Prize.  Here is a short extract:

"No-one here goes to the main land, and no-one wants to. Our boats aren't strong enough, we dun know the way, them can't understand us, we're fine as we are. We have so many reasons; them stretch as wide as the distance to cross to take us there."

Snake Ropes takes place on an island that is "just off the edge of the map". The people who  live there trade with the Tall Men who come from the mainland in their boats and exchange supplies. After such a visit, Mary's young brother goes missing and she needs  to find him. The fact that it ostensibly starts as a relatively "simple tale of simple folk", and  then turns out to be anything but, makes the reveal of its brutal events have a particularly strong impact.

It's an exceptional novel, both in its stylistic uniqueness, but also in managing to successfully combine narrative and myth - real or imagined - while at the same time dealing with intense issues. I was impressed how the author managed to subtly, but consistently, maintain the tension throughout. It intensifies in the second half  of the novel which also gives the reader  lots of fantastic plot twists towards the end. Truly a stunning debut novel.

What were your memorable reads over the past year?

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Many Thanks!

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PEN - Do You Have the Freedom to Write?

English PEN is the founding centre of PEN International. This association of writers, campaigns for the promotion of free speech and literature around the world. It's slogan is "The freedom to write, the freedom to read." In the recent newsletter, the following caught my eye.Burmese poets perform in unique UK tourThis month English PEN supports the promotion of Bones Will Crow, the first anthology of contemporary Burmese poets published in the West. Edited and translated by ko ko thett and James Byrne. Published by Arc Publications.Bones Will Crow features the work of Burmese poets who have been in exile and in prison. The poems include global references from a culture in which foreign books and the Internet are regarded with suspicion and where censorship is an industry. The poets have been ingenious in their use of metaphor to escape surveillance and censorship, writing post-modern, avant-garde, performance and online poetries.I'm glad I don't have to rely on my brilliant use of metaphor to evade censorship! All joking aside, the fact is, many of us reading this blog take for granted the freedom we have in terms of what we write. Can you imagine what life would be like if you were afraid your writing posed a threat to your safety?  I don't always remember to value the freedom of being able to write whatever I want.Do You Have The Freedom To Write?That said, within the freedoms of western society, there are pitfalls. On a much lesser scale than fears of imprisonment or torture, individuals do not always feel free to express themselves. Homophobia, sexism, racial and religious intolerance all plays a part in people feeling threatened, unable to be who they are.Political oppression works on the same principles as bullying -  intimidation, fear, punishment and isolation. Bullying on on a grand scale you like.  But at a simpler level, bullying in the playground, while in a completely different league from national oppression,  is a horrible phenomenon, often with awful consequences. Most children don’t want to be seen as ‘other’. To avoid being associated with someone who is being picked on, some kids lower their tolerance levels and cave in to peer pressure. Which only increases the number of bullies, and makes the problem worse. This issue has been well highlighted in the TV musical comedy drama series  ‘Glee’.Being constantly pushed around  by a playground bully is a long way from being put in a Burmese prison. But it can have a devastating effect on the life of an individual. Victims of bullying often feel too scared to speak out, let alone put down their concerns in print.The Burmese poets whose work is in ‘Bones Will Crow', did what they could to avoid censorship.  I wonder if I'd have their courage to write, if I found myself living in a society actively preventing freedom of speech. Would I write about my oppression? Or would I want to write a simple story that might be an escape from the harshness of the situation.The issues in this post are separate, but related. What would you write if you found yourself living in an oppressive society? How important is it that people continue to write, no matter what? Do you know of any children who’ve been bullied and the effect it had on them? How well have they been able to write about what’s important to them? Connect with me on: -Twitter: @artyyahPinterest: http://pinterest.com/artyyah/Like my Facebook page : http://facebook.com/akandrewwriterFor regular updates of my blog: Subscribe Here  Related Information:http://www.englishpen.org/http://www.pen-international.org/http://www.englishpen.org/about-free-speech/PEN has published a free PEN Atlas e-book for PEN members and friends to enjoy! The e-book features ten literary dispatches from around the world, taken from their online series. Contributing authors include Yan Lianke, Diego Marani, Samar Yazbek & Dubravka Ugresic. You can download your free copy here.http://www.englishpen.org/poems-for-pussy-riot-ebook/ On October 10th one of the members of Pussy Riot had their sentence suspended. Leading up to the court case, PEN organized  Catechism: Poems for Pussy Riot, an ebook international anthology. Click the link to download. 

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