The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid

About the Author: Mohsin Hamid spent his early life and schooling in the United States.  He returned to Pakistan with his family until the age of 18 when he came back to the USA to finish his studies.  He continues his studies and graduates from Princeton University having drafted his first novel.  After attempting to finalise his novel in Pakistan, he resumes his studies at Harvard Law School where he obtains a corporate law degree.  Finding law boring he resumes his novel writing and paying off his student loans by working as a management consultant and takes three months sabbatical a year to write.  He moves th London and stays for far longer than the initial intention of one year.  He starts his family here and now shares his time between London, Lahore, USA and the Mediterranean. He describes himself as a 'mongrel' and has dual nationality.

The Plot; Mohsin describes a novel as 'a mans conversation with himself'.  This novel is written in exactly that style.  It is suggested that it may be semi- autobiographical with some parallels regarding the main characters early life.  The character Changez is a somewhat troubled soul who falls in love with a girl Erica, who is mourning the death of her child hood sweetheart.  After several attempts to form this relationship he eventually persuades her to imagine him as her dead lover Chris.  Although Changez  has some satisfaction with this it has a catastrophic impact on the Ericas mental health. Changez returns to New York have built himself a successful career  to discover that the girl is listed as missing.  With this and the rising persecution of apparent Pakistanis in the US post 9/11 he grows a beard in solidarity and he fleas his job back to Lahore and works at the University. His experience and insight in world issues gains his admiration among students. As a result he becomes a mentor to large groups of students on various issues. He and his students actively participate in demonstrations against policies which were detrimental to the sovereignty of Pakistan. In spite of his nonviolent stance, a relatively unknown student gets apprehended for an assassination attempt on an American representative. This brings the spotlight on Changez where he criticizes the policies of USA. This act makes people surrounding him think that someone might be sent to intimidate him or worse.

The main body of the book is in the style of a dramatic monologue.  Both Deborah and Rolf enjoyed it although neither would recommend it.  The stranger referred to in the book, who was it? Was it an assassin, was it America as he had been known to criticise US policies? The ending was left open to the point where the violence developed in the mind of the reader.  What was the glint of metal that was referred to, was it a weapon?  How much was the continuation of the story after open ending of the book influenced by stereotypes and an individual's perspective of the situation? Steve suggested that as he had been living the American dream how much was he trying to understand Pakistan.   Do the circumstances date the book?   Cathrine said it was thought provoking, how much was the character secretly pleased about 9/11? Karen thought the writing was superb, was Erica  America?   It was considered a clever and well written book, subject is accurate,  is he a reluctant fundamentalist but actually is and what happened at the end? 

Thank you to Cathrine and Charles for hosting this group this evening. 

The book selections are:

Art of Fielding - Chad Harbach

The Yellow Birds - Kevin Powers

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce

Wonder - RJ Palacio

The Age of Miracles - Karen Thompson Walker

The selected book is: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce

A Meeting with a difference

There were few members available at the previous meeting. The books that were offered were themed and related to death and dying, mental health dementia and Alzheimer's.  It was decided that each book would be read by one or two members of the group who would then provide a view at the next meeting 

The books were: When I Die by Philip Gould; My left Foot by Christie Brown; Iris by John Bailey; Unquiet Mind Kay Redfield Jamison;  Still Alice by Lisa Genova. 

Philip Gould a friend of Tony Blair and lauded as being the brains behind New Labour was diagnosed with terminal cancer. It is a story about his death and dying and affirmation of his life. Charles described the book as stirring, annoying and self indulgent st times.  The book he felt ebbed and flowed depending on his own mood and the mood of the writer.  Charles felt that it was a bit of an eye opener where New labour politics had been considered as rough, tough and not ethical. However, the personalities involved in the movement came across as spiritual and soft. He was intrigued by the book and enjoyed it. He found it interesting from the beginning of the end. 

Christy Brown was born with cerebral palsy to a poor working class Irish family.  It was a family with much love and warmth but not money.  His mother ensured that he was included and provided with every opportunity.  He taught himself to paint by using his left foot which he could control. The story was moving and no more so when his mother used the money that she had been saving hidden in the chimney as intended, to purchase a wheel chair despite the fact that they were more impoverished due to the sudden death of their father.   This meant that his siblings took him out and he could join in with the other children playing football having races and just generally having fun. The Dr from whom the wheelchair was purchased gave him a place at her school where he continued with his painting and writing.  He was desperate for love and relationship and marries.  He became a celebrated Irish writer which includes this book, the autobiography of his life.  It was an excellent read which celebrates inclusivity and disability.  In 2014 are we any closer to an inclusive society? 

Iris Murdoch a celebrated author developed Alzheimer's .  Her husband dedicated himself to her welfare despite her decline. The members of the group who read this said they did not find that it was particularly well written but described the devastation that her illness had on their existing life style. Her condition did not seem typical.  She did not want anyone to know about her condition and she gradually wanted less and less contact with friends.  Their world closed in and they became very isolated. There were some tender moments when Iris wanted to go for a swim, and her husband took her for their last swim together in the river.  She did write beautifully and led at times a somewhat racey life, with a few affairs but her forgiving and adoring husband forgave and defended her reputation.  There were precious moments of lucidity which acted as a cruel reminder of what was lost.  Overall, it was viewed as a poignant love story of dedication and adoration and provided a sad and vivid account of the creeping isolation and squalor that this condition can create.

This book is an autobiographical account.  It explains using humour a prose the first hand experience of the roller coaster of manic depression. This condition as with most mental health conditions is little understood.  Kay's father had the condition and he was a successful meteorologist which meant that the family travelled around frequently during her childhood until they settled in Washington DC.  Her early experiences of the manic side of this condition occurred when she was in teens when she seemed to revel in them.  She was prescribed lithium, which was successful in managing her moods and making them more consistent, however she craved the highs.  She became a psychiatrist and progressed to a Doctorate .  The book was written sensitively and humorously described some of he manic experiences.  One of her big regrets is her concious decision not to have children due to the genetically derived mental health condition which she did not wish to transfer to any children. 

Lisa Genova self published this novel on the internet.  It describes the story of a Harvard PhD Professor of Neuroscience and her diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's.  This could not be more contrast to Iris as her husband is in denial and is not sympathetic.  The member of the group who read this found it a harrowing read.  Her first awareness of the disease was when she was out running on a route that she ran for many years she suddenly found that she had no idea where she was in what should have been a well known place. This was one of the symptoms and was diagnosed and sought a second opinion. She eventually tells her husband after a while and expects him to accept it. She goes into melt down when he doesn't . She needs to tell the children, and it is her daughter is whom she gets close to even though there is a view that she could do better.  This is a successful family who have a healthy lifestyle that has been lauded as preventing Alzheimer's  and challenges the advice given but also chillingly shows that we are no neare understanding or managing this condition effectively. It is a must read. 

The books on offer were:

The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid

Bring up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce

The Spirit Level - Richard Wilkinson and Kate Picket

The book that the group chose is the Reluctant Fundamentalist 

The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver

About the Author:Barbara Kingsolver is an American novelist, essayist and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the Congo in her early childhood. Her work often focuses on topics such as social justice, biodiversity and the interaction between humans and their communities and environments. The Lacuna is Barbara Kingsolvers first novel for fifteen years for which she won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2010. 

The plot takes us  us on a journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. "The Lacuna" is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities.  The story evolves from the letters which had been securely stored of Harrison Shepherd, a son of an American Business man and a Mexican good time girl.   Harrison spent most of his early childhood in Mexico and was educated in the US.  Indeed the novel is in two distinct books. He returned to Mexico and developed friendship with Frieda Kahlo and Diego Rivera.  His friendship with Frieda is lifelong. Harrison goes to work for Lev Trotsky and develops an interest in Aztec Art.  The artist Frieda smuggles her own paintings out of Mexico via Harrison when he leaves to settle in the mid west and becomes a successful novelist. The story focuses on the rise of McCarthyism and the routing out and persecution of those who were deemed to be a threat to US security by having Communist associations.

Most of the group enjoyed the subject of the first part of the book regarding life in Mexico and they extended their interest into watching the film Frieda as the artist.  Some of the group considered Harrison as a bit of a non character, his journals are descriptive as if observing from a distance but not taking part.   Frieda fantasises about him, and in later life his secretary, who recovers the journals and writes his story after his death, is in love with him and is truly besotted but this is not acknowledged or even recognised by Harrison Shepherd.  Only a few picked up on the fact that he was homosexual, it was skilfully and slowly revealed.  Most of the group enjoyed the book however it was felt generally long.  Some of the plot was considered a bit far fetched such as his relationship with Trotsky.   Some of the group commented on the apparent paranoia regarding Communist infiltration in Us at the time that was driving McCarthyism and how district ice and brutal that this regime was.   

Kingsolver herself describes a 'lacuna' as a gap, and a writer fills the gap that is created where there are some facts but the full picture is missing. A novelist will fill the ' lacuna' to complete the story, this is what Kingsolver has done in The Lacuna, using beautiful language, skillful story telling through the development of strong characters. She does just that.

The next read is: 

When I Die by Philip Gould 

 

The Strangest Man - Graham Farmelo

About the author:  Graham Paul Farmelo (born 18 May 1953) is a biographer and science writer, a By-Fellow at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, U.K., and an Adjunct Professor of Physics at North Eastern University, Boston, U.S.A. He is best known for his work on science communication and as the author of The Strangest Man, a prize-winning biography of the theoretical physicist Paul Dirac, He lives in London.

Dirac was a much lauded physicist, he had an extremely difficult child hood and became extremely introverted. He was treated differently and very severely by his father.  Dirac believed he was a failure.  Rob said that the story did not go too much into physics.   Many of his lectures on atoms  being attended by 1,000 s of people. There has to be beauty in equations to attract this level of attention.  Mary could not read beyond the first hundred pages.  Two other people thought that it was an incredibly boring read. Charles a physicist and talented engineer lauded the fact that electronics came from his theories, and the greatest and most recent is the Higgs Bosun.  

Dirac was on the autistic spectrum. He did not communicate freely and retained the belief that you do not start a sentence unless you know how to finish it.  Amongst his colleagues was Einstein. Dirac was known among his colleagues for his precise and taciturn nature. His colleagues in Cambridge jokingly defined a unit of a "dirac", which was one word per hour. His achievments are feted around the world but there is no recognition within GB that reflects the significance of his theories.

The choices that Gaynor and Tom presented are:

The Street Sweeper - Elliott Pierman

The Lacuna - Barabra Kingsolver

The Fifth Witness - Michael Connelly

A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon

The Continental Op - Dashiel Hamnett

About the Author : Dashiell Hammett was the author of detective novels based I the 1920 s and 30s. He created  'Sam Spade ' 'Nick and Nora Charles' and of 'the Continental Op'.  He wrote creelays as well as being a political activist.  He grew up in Philadelphia and Baltimore and held several jobs before starting work for the Pimkerton National Detective Agency, where he became an operative between 1915-22.  He had a short break when he was enlisted to serve in World War 1 in the Motor Ambulance Corps.  Due to contracting Spanish flu and later tuberculosis, he spent most of his Army career as a patient.  

He returned to the Agency and later became disilusioned by the agency's activities during the union strike breaking. 

The Continental Op is the dispassionate fat man working for the Continental Detective Agency, modelled on the Pinkerton Agency, whose only interest is in doing his job in a world of violence, passion, desperate action and great excitement.

Mike described the book as a book of short stories and found it a comfortable read.  Rob said that he felt the book was two dimensional, lacked depth. It pictured clearly the era and felt it similar to watching a Humphrey Bogart film and enjoyed the language.  He felt that a private detective working with police may have been a bit far fetched.  Mike said that he had never read any of his other work and the Americanisms had put him off reading any more.  Some people found the language sometimes difficult as it was dated, circa '20s-30s. Imagined Cagney or James Robinson Justice and expected to read about the 'hoods'!  Cathrine did not read it all but read the last story completely, there was some gender stereotyping in the characterisation of the secretary.  The writing was exciting of its time and she watched 'The Maltese Falcon' which was amazing.  All said that they could visualise being there, the darkness, the shadowy world, and an example  of the dated language was' San Diego was gay and packed as I got off the train. '  The stories have lasted the passage of time to and were of course the earliest detective novels.  He packed a lot into one chapter.   Karen said that it was one of the greatest detective stories of its time, she found it interesting and hugely entertaining, as a story, however society has moved and it could be compared with NCIS or CSI 50 years on. 

All remembers these stories as radio plays and thoroughly enjoyed them,. Good Choice a quick read.

The choices for this week are:-

Graham Farmelo - The Strangets Man

Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmair - Intellectual Imposterz

Tom Bingham - The Rule of Law

Mark Mazower - Inside Hitlers Greece

Charlotte Higgins - It's All Greek to Me

The Choice was the Strangets Man.

.

Edmund de Waal - The Hare with the Amber Eyes

About the Author:Edmund de Waal was born in 1964. He studied English at Cambridge University and ceramics in both England and Japan. He is best known for his large scale installations.  Edmund is also known as a writer. His recent book, The Hare with Amber Eyes, which traces his family history, has been an international bestseller and won many literary prizes

The Hare with the Amber Eyes follows the story of his family the Ephussis. a Jewish family who originally came from Odessa and were a wealthy European Banking dynasty. Story traces their migration from the fashionable Art culture of Paris through to Vienna Society. They build a considerable art collection of contemporary artists of the time, such as Manet and through the years the gather a large collection of Netsuke which they display in a glass cabinet.  

 The Ephussis lost almost everything in 1938 when the Nazis "Aryanized" their property.^[1] Even after the war, the family failed to recover most of its extensive property, including priceless artwork, but an easily hidden collection of 264 Japanese netsuke miniature sculptures was miraculously saved, tucked away inside a mattress by Anna, a loyal maid at Palais de  Ephussis  in Vienna during the war years. The collection has been passed down through five generations of the Ephussis family, providing a common thread for the story of its fortunes from 1871 to 2009.

Mary felt the book developed extremely slowly however enjoyed reading the contextualised historic events and connections that came out as the story progressed. There was a discussion as to why Viktor did not leave until the Nazis raided his house and the group believed that the family and the Jewish Society had integrated and assimilated and no longer saw themselves as Jewish or indeed the Jews that that the Nazis referred to.  This was certainly apparent in Viktor.  There appeared to be be a degree of arrogance within some of the community.  

Rolf knew Vienna well as his wife was Viennese.  He challenged some of the descriptions of the Ringstrasse.  He enjoyed the story but felt that this marred and detracted from its authenticity.

Rob really enjoyed the book and thought it was well written, however he felt that his positioning of himself in the book as a potter was perhaps a bit arrogant and it was irrelevant.   The Proust quote was a element of social commentary.   Karen disagreed that the reference to his being a potter as irrelevant, indeed it was very relevant and made connection and drew parallels when he described book shelves with pots lined up on them. Gaynor said that this was a link to the families love of art in this reference and a connection to his memory of the Netsukes. .

Debra did not finish the book but enjoyed what she read.  

Rolf was irritated by the fact that Edmund's visit to Odessa was not dated and he felt this was distracting and detracted from his enjoyment.

  Overall the group loved this book and were quite surprised by the extent to which Vienna was founded on Jewish wealth and their influence on the intellectual scene. In 1900 Vienna was the cultural centre.  

The books offered by Mike and Lorraine :

Jennifer Egan - A Visit from the Goon Squad

Peter Aughton - The Transit if Venus

David Wroblewsk - The story of Edgar Sawtell 

C S Lewis - That Hideous Strength

Dashiell Hamnett - The Continental Op

Peter James - Dead Tomorrow

William Boyd - Ordinary Thunderstorms

The book chosen is: 

Dashiell Hamnett - The Continental Op

Julian Barnes -Flaubert's Parrot

About the Author: Julian Barnes is the author of ten novels the most recent of which Nothing to be Frightened of was published in 2008.His work has been translated into more than thirty languages. In France he is the only writer to have won both the Prix Medicis for Flaubert's Parrot and the Prix Femina for Talking it over.  In 1993 he was awarded the Shakespeare by the FVS foundation of Hamburg. he lives in London.

The meeting was held at Mary's. There was a discussion as to what genre the book was and there was no conclusion.  Many found the book difficult to read there was no rhythm.  A large part of the book was chronology.  It was felt to be bitty with some moments of intelligence.  Did we want to know he author and who was writing the book? The answer overwhelmingly was 'no' and it was concluded thAt it sounded like to was the Doctor writing the book. The group also felt there were several ' parrots'. Rob in pRticukR felt the prose was horrendous and had to stop to read passages. Ore than once to get an understanding of it. There was a surrealism about the story, Mary enjoyed some of it and after hearing some of the discussions will dip into it again.   The summaries of the reviews on the back of the book referrs to emotions, the writing described looking at the fields of WW1 what emotions, there was no emotion on this section, the group was bemused.  Many if the group did not manage to finish this book, the character Gustav was not endearing and as the prose did not flow it did not engage the reader. 

The books for the next reads are: 

Lionel Shriver - We Need to Talk about Kevin

Rosie Thomas - The Kashmir Shawl

Edmund de Waal - The Hare with the Amber Eyes

The selected book is The Hare with the Amber Eyes

Stephen Kelman - Pigeon English

About the Author: This is a debut novel from Stephen Kelman was shor listed for the Mann Booker prize in 2011.  he was brought up on Marsh  Estate Luton similar to the one that is portrayed in this story. He attended University of Luton where he studied marketing and worked in a factory until he started writing.

Pigeon English is inspired by the death and the circumstances under which Damilola Taylor lived.  The book is written in a Patwa style of Pigeon English.  It portrays the life and innocence of Harri Okapu.  He is the son of an immigrant family from Ghana, an absent father and a mother who is doing her best to raise Harri in a hostile environment of a Peckham Estate.  Everyday Harri observes the activities of gangs and knife crime.  His innocence is overwhelming and at times painful.   He witnesses the murder of his friend and turns detective.  This places him at risk. He is murdered in the stairwell of the block of his flat, an uncomfortable similarity to Damilola Taylor.

One member of the book considered strange that it was written in the first person who was dead! Most of the group thought the book covered some difficult and real issues facing young people today. The book was written in 'street style' dialect which some of the group had difficulty understanding and interpreting the language used.  One member of the group particularly felt that this was an issue book and did not enjoy the read.   The story presented the challenges of young people being brought up in an environment where gangs were prevalent.  In particular the young age at which both girls and boys were groomed, especially the pressure they were under to conform in order to stay safe.  They then sank further and further into their control.  The story offered no answers but hi- lighted the issues and the hopelessness of trying to resist.  There was much discussion as to who was the perpetrator with a couple of suspects. 

Generally the book was well received, although considered to not that well written it covered real issues, whether some of the group believed it or not.

The next book is Julian Barnes Flaubert's Parrot

Katherine Mansfield - The Garden Party

About the Author: Born in New Zealand in1888 she came to England to finish her education. She was a regular contributor to The New Age and her first book In a German Pension was published in 1911, she married the editor of The Rhythm for which she was writing at the time.  She contracted turbuculosis in 1917 and much of her life from this time on was I pursuit of health.  This disease cut her life short and she died I 1923.  

The Garden Party was her final book.  The short stories represent her observations of human behaviours in ordinary circumstances,  especially that of fragile emotions, half understood feelings.  There is great Beauty in her language, no better expressed tha in two of the stories, Miss Brill, a lonely lady who likes nothing better than to go and sit in the Park at the Park Tea Room and imagine others lives from her observations.   On this particular occasions she hears a less than complementary account of herself by a young couple. She is devastated by this and returns heartbroken to her lonely room.  The Garden Party relates a story of privilege and the apparent absurd prioritisation within those echelons.  A young man dies at the gates of their Estate and the priority is to get the Garden Party underway.  Only one member of the family visits the house and is confused by the emotion that is apparent there. 

The group enjoyed the fact that they could dip in to the book and read a complete story.  Between us all the book was read in its entirety with each member taking something fome each of them. It was unanimously agreed that Katherine Mansfield's writing was beautifully descriptive expressing tangible emotion and observations.

The books on offer by Debra and Stepen were;

Jeffrey Eugeneides.   Middlesex

Elizabeth Haynes.  Into the Darkest Corner

Tea Obreht. The  Tigers Wife

Stephen Kelman Pigeon English 

Pigeon English was selected 

Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness

About the Author:  Joseph Conrad was born in the Ukraine in 1857 originally Jozef Teodor Konrad Nalecz Korzeniowski. His parents Polish patriots died when he was a child following their excise. He was brought up by his Uncle. Conrad developed a passion for the sea and he travelled to Marseille where he served on

French merchant vessels before joining a British ship on 1878 and served on these ships for eight years.  He then took up writing, he continued to write until his death in 1924.  Conrad today is regarded S one the greatest writers of English fiction.

The story describes Marlow's search for Mr Kurtz, the company agent and his dealings with the natives of the Belgian Congo.  

The quality of his writing belies the fact that Englilsh is not his birth language.  He has very descriptive style portraying the beauty , the ugliness and the passion of his experience within his prose.  The obsessive persuit by Marlowe of Mr Kurtz  is often merged with his own passion.  The 'Darkness' portrays the Congo and it's apparent savagery.  It must be noted that this writing reflects the time and there are many descriptions and expressions that are very much a reflection of its time, the overt racism ithat much of it is based on is hard to swallow in 2012

Marlow speaks much of the darkness and in some ways the group felt that this  implies that Kurtz's insanity was caused by the knowledge that the natives were naturally subservient or savages.  Because of their perceived lower state of their, Kurtz was led to enact his position of power and that is how he lost his humanity.   Some of the treatment of the natives was brutal and severe with many of the lucid descriptive passages difficult to read because of their vivid description.

The group felt that overall the language of the writing was beautiful, most of the group felt it was dark and depressing and was an example of greed and exploitation which was prevelant at this time.

The books on offer by Karen this month are short stories;

Guy de Maupassant:  The Best Short Stories

Hector Hugo Monro:  The Collected Short Stories of Saki

Jennifer Egan:  A visit from the Goon Squad 

Damon Runya:  Guys and Dolls and Other Stories

PG Wodehouse: What Ho!

Henry James: The Turn of the Screw

Katherine Mansfield:  The Garden Party

Tye book th taw selected was Katherine Mansfield:  The Garden Party