One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

meeting March 4th, 2016.

Solzhenitsyn wrote this book in 1957 after he returned from exile. It describes a camp in Karaganda, Northern Kazakhstan where he was actually interred for a period. It is set in 1951, the year before Stalin’s death and published in 1962.

Throughout the book we are only given access to Shukhov’s inner thoughts. He speaks to the reader in first person, and the narrator’s voice can also be heard as he tells the reader what Shukhov is thinking and feeling. It is in the style of stream of consciousness – so his thoughts jump around. we do not learn what any of the other characters are thinking.

The first time i read this book i was shocked by the conditions of the Gulag, the hardness of the life that the zeks were forced to live and the injustice of Shukhov’s sentence. Revisiting the book, over ten years later, I was struck by the positive aspects of the way Shukhov handles his situation, and by the mindfulness that it encourages. For example when he is working:

“Every other thought went clean out of his head. He had no memory, no concern for anything except how he was going to join the lengths of pip and fix them s that the stove would not smoke”.

When he eats he gives the food his total attention. At the end of the day the narrator comments: ‘Shukhov felt pleased with life as he went to sleep’. He has managed to fulfill his basic needs of food, warmth, rest and water. going further up the hierarchy of needs, he also has built a number of relationships within the Gulag. He also achieves a level of esteem through his pride in his work, and his practical abilities. Within the restrictions of the environment he achieves a degree of self-fulfillment through doing the best he can in the situation.

He lives mostly in the moment – anticipating the realms that are presently being written about the importance of living in the moment. Mindfulness!

themes that might be discussed

hierarchy of needs

lights – search lights in the camp, natural light of the sun and moon

snow, ice, cold

possessions

food

 

Have a good meeting. sorry i cannot be with you.

 

 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain

I have not read this yet but Wendy did summarize the meeting which i missed:

”

We had a really interesting and far ranging discussion about Huckleberry Finn. Catherine and Maura had done some Background reading which was very enlightens, including on Mark Twains views on slavery. Catherine also explained the North American sensibility about nature/  the outdoors being an important feature. Other wide ranging themes were also explored. We can see why it’s such an important book in American Literature, not an easy read but very well worth it.

literary works proposed for 2016

Maura: The Odyssey by Homer (Simon Armitage’s version) ,The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowen, Carson Mc Culler’s The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Ruth: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner.

Wendy: “Crime and Punishment was on my list too and I’ve always wanted to read some Edith Wharton”.

Denise: Huxley ‘s  Brave New World or Island, Shakespeare play

Catherine: The Gap of Time, Jeanette Winterson’s new book adapting Shakespeare’s The Winters Tale.

Sylvia Plath Poems selected by Ted Hughes Wendy Choice

Bringing It All Back Home by Ian Clayton Denise choice meeting 23 October 2015

Denise chose this book partly because of her personal friendship with the author. It was not widely enjoyed and we have decided as a book club to go for literary works of fiction in the future. The plan is to create a bucket-list for 2016 of literary works which have not necessarily been read before but are broadly agreed on as suitable reads.

The End of Your Life Bookclub by Will Schwalbe Denise’s choice

Denise has changed her mind about this book as it may be too similar to the last book discussed.

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi meeting 11 September Maura’s Choice

Account of a bookclub that focused on Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov. themes – the revolution of 1979 and its consequences for women (and for Men), why do we read books?

the following was written by Maura who was unable to make the meeting:

”

I’m not sure, on reflection, I would have chosen this book again (I had not actually finished it in Dorset when I learned it was my turn to choose a title) although I was definitely rather taken by a plot centred around a reading group in the heart of post–revolution Tehran, an event which, arguably, set the political tone for international affairs these recent decades and has reverberated worldwide in some of the most appalling war, abuse and aggression, not least against women. I was keen to see how the reading of literary fiction could explore the revolution, the flip of social and personal mores, history, migration, women and religion and so on; as well as place such works of literature at the centre of a process of expansion of mind and experience and deepening of understanding of shared human nature and difference. I believe the author tried hard to demonstrate how literature might have a fundamental role in our lives even when most challenged. What also attracted me was the promise of a focus on fiction as a catalyst to open dialog and development of insight into writing , writers, history and experience; reflection on experience of self and other in the contemporary sphere; concepts of freedom, choice and respect and self-determination. A grand  design indeed and one in which I believe the author ultimately set her sights way too high.

For what it’s worth I believe Nafisi failed in her project for this proved to be a flawed book in many ways. I’m not sure the fiction given literary consideration was altogether the most appropriate for this grand task (though I cant speak for all, having read only Lolita and Great Gatsby but some time ago). I couldn’t help feeling it just happened to be her area of expertise. Though I didn’t feel hampered by not reading a lot of the works, I did find the plot rather unsatisfactorily strung together and the fip-flop between the relevant eras of the revolution and Islamic state and USA confusing. As a consequence  there was no drive in the plot and I had to drive myself through pretty much the second half of the book! I think there were times when it really felt like she her memoir to critique literature in a way that was contrived, clunky and unforgivably superior at times and …. clicheed too. Frankly the treatment of Fitzgerald, its context and relevance, was almost risible. I found myself really not liking her at times, her voice rather shrill, critical and naive. The characters, too, were not so simpatico—so two dimensional and thinly drawn. And that was a shame because it felt so much more more could have been made of all her resources.

Nevertheless, fundamentally, I suppose I wanted to bring this book into the foreground to explore something that is important to me.  Ironically, though, this was at the same time both the wrong and the right book to do it with for it proved to be  another book that promised a great deal and didn’t deliver (for me at any rate). I have found much of what we have read as a group of late fairly average or disappointing. I was hoping this book might help to give more focus to the personal value in reading literary fiction rather than books driven by ratings and sales. I personally really hanker for discussion about all that good literature can create. But Nafisi did me no favours there, I think!!”

The Happy Life David Malouf Wendy’s choice

The question that Malouf seeks to answer is why so many of us who enjoy the ‘good life’ are not happy. Happiness is associated with a wide range of emotions – wellbeing, contentment, gladness, quiet satisfaction, delight – all conditions that belong to the inner world of feeling; a sense of being at home in our own skin, at home with the world, at one with ourselves. (p38) And of course with drinking coke ( I have been amazed how many ads I have seen promising happiness since I read this book!)

in the essay certain things are pointed to as being associated with happiness in contemporary society:

• sensual pleasure (illustrated by reference to the poetry of John Donne and paintings by Rubens and Rembrandt
• retail therapy
• extreme sports and endorphins

Malouf argues that advanced societies have removed barriers to happiness such as  large scale injustices, famine, plague and the near-certainty of death. Yet, at the same time, people have become aware of forces that shape their lives over which they have no control. Environmental concerns and global economic problems are, in his view, placing a feeling of safety out of reach for most people. He argues that only with what we can fully comprehend and feel at home in do we feel safe. To experience happiness we need to set boundaries, the boundaries that relate to a human scale, ‘In terms of space this means what is within sight, what is local and close; within reach, within touch’. p158

IS THIS ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING MINDFULNESS? I think this is very interesting and wonder what the rest of you think of this?

I was interested to observe what he did not mention. Chiefly although sensual pleasure is explored there is no mention of children and parenthood. Nor does he explore the importance of friendships and the pleasure that they bring. Intellectual stimulus.  Any others anyone can think of???

I have recently read Peter Kinderman The New Laws of Psychology and he believes that relationships may be the most important overall contributors to happiness (the other four pointers that he recommends for ‘mental health’ are : be active, keep learning, give to others and take notice – the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present. This comes with the codicil of accepting rather than judging what we are observing. Of course mental health and happiness are not synonymous.

In The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes observed that ‘we need to know the history of the historian in order to understand the version that is being put in front of us’. I think this applies here too. Malouf is (sorry this is from Wikipedia so please take that into account) ‘openly gay’ and enjoys his own privacy.

Happiness is subjective (as Malouf points out) and therefore very difficult to pin down!

Hope you have a good discussion! Love to hear how the discussion went if you have time.

Books We Have Read (to be completed…….)

Last Orders – Graham Swift

Bridget Jones Diary – Helen Fielding

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin-  Lousi de Bernieres

The Music of Chance Paul Auster

news of a Kidnapping – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Celestine Prophesies – James Redfield

Siddhartha – Herman Hesse

Intimacy – Hanif Kureishi

Madame Bovary – Gustav Falubert

Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy

Birthday Letters – Ted Hughes

Tales from Ovid – Ted Hughes

A History of the World – Julian Barnes

Metamorphosis – Ted Hughes

Reef – Romesh Gunesekera

Turtle Diary – Russell Hoban

A Wild Sheep Chase – Haruki Murukami

Mansfield Park – Jane Austin

Van Gogh’s Bad Cafe – Frederick Tuten

The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy

Theory of War – Joan Brady

Fugitive Pieces – Ann Michaels

The Miller’s Tale, The Knight’s Tale – Geoffrey Chaucer

Anita and Me – Meera Syal

The Knowledge of Angels – Jill Paton Walsh

The Snapper – Roddy Doyle

A Movable Feast – Ernest Hemingway

Wide Sargasso Sea – Jean Rhys

I know why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou

Cold Mountain – Charles Frasier

Perfume – Patrick Sussking

Tulip Fever – Deborah Moggach

Wuthering Heights – Charlotte Bronte

Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro

The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver

Mr Norris Changes Trains – Christopher Isherwood

Simple Stories – Ingo Schulze

If this is Man – Primo Levi

Love and War in the Apennines – Eric Newby

Germinal – Emile Zola

Notes on a Scandal – Zoe Heller

Headlong – Michael Frayn

We Need to Talk about Kevin – Lionel Shriver

The Diving Bell – Jean-Dominique Bouby

Persuasion – Jane Austen

French Lieutenant’s Wife – John Fowles

Brick Lane – Monica Ali

Da Vinchi Code – Dan Brown

The Elegance of the Hedgehog – Muriel Barbry

The Hare with the Amber Eyes – Edmund de Waal

Atonement – Ian McEwan

The  Children’s Act Ian McEwan

Amsterdam – Ian McEwan

The Glass Room – Simon Mawer

Mendel’s Dwarf – Simon Mawer

The Narrow Road to the Deep North – Richard Flanagan

Goldfinch – Donna Tart

The Silent Wife A.S.A Harrison Jola’s choice

The Art of Happiness David malouf Wendy choice

Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi meeting 11 September Maura’s Choice

The End of Your Life Bookclub by Will Schwalbe Meeting 23rd October Denise’s choice

Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy

This was Hardy’s last completed novel. Publication as a magazine serial started in December of 1884, and it was published as a book in 1895. As discussed last night, we are going to look at different themes:

Wendy and Catherine to look at architecture (Hardy was trained as an architect and it was his first career). He designed Max Gate, in Dorchester, where he lived, which is now a National Trust property.

Maura is going to consider Authorial voice.

I am looking at rural change as a backdrop to the novel.

I think Jola agreed to look at the representation of women in the novel.

Hope everyone enjoys the book!

27th June 2015

Wendy is now to look into references to Book of Job, Old Testament.

I was to look at rural change and was expecting to read about how agricultural methods were changing and that rural populations were moving away to towns. However, this was not discussed in the book. Hardy does look at social change but it is expressed through how the sense of belonging to a place is under threat and through observations about architectural change.

Hardy chooses to rename the areas of England in which his book is set. An area that is larger than Dorset is named Wessex. This name relates to a medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom that existed before the Norman Conquest. There is a sense of a romantic attachment to the past which is expressed very early on in the book. On p5 the authorial voice comments that the ‘Well’  is the only relic of local history that remained absolutely unchanged. He laments that thatched houses have been pulled down, and that the original church replaced by one of ‘modern Gothic design’ which is ‘unfamiliar to English eyes’. The dastardly architect is described as an ‘obliterator of historic records who had run down from London and back in a day’. p6 Hardy despairs that the site of the ancient temple to the Christian divinities was not even recorded on the green.

Sue and Richard Phillotson move to ‘Shaston’ which is based on Shaftsbury. Hardy bemoans the loss of the magnificent Abby – ‘the chief glory of South Wessex’ which has been ‘ruthlessly swept away’. p195 He is referring here to Shaftsbury Abbey which was dissolved in 1539 by the order of Thomas Cromwell. At the time it was the second wealthiest nunnery in England. As it housed the bones of King Edward the Martyr this had made it a resort for pilgrims from all over Europe. Hardy comments

‘..the martyr’s bones met with the same fate of the sacred pile that held them and not a stone is now left to tell where they lie’.

I followed up on this and discovered that Edward’s remains were rediscovered in 1931. He had been crowned king in Kingston upon Thames in 975 and killed in 978. Initially he was buried without honors at Wareham but due to the occurrence of miracles, he was reburied at Shaftsbury Abbey, and recognized as a saint although never officially canonized.Following his re-discovery, he spent many years in a bank vault and was finally reburied in Woking. I visited his reliquary which is in the Russian St Edward the Martyr Orthodox Church, Brookwood Cemetry, Woking. Daily prayers are carried out at the reliquary which is cared for by four orthodox monks.  I was graciously received by one of the monks who spoke about their work and St Edward. As I left the monk kindly gave me a compendium of Byzantine Art! An orthodox church, is appropriate for St Edward’s bones, as at the time of his reign the official split of the Catholic church had not taken place. (It was in 1054 that the ‘Great Schism’ took place splitting the church into Eastern Orthodox Catholics and Roman Catholics).

Further research into Shaftsbury Abbey was fascinating (to me!), and Hardy’s view of it may have been romanticized.  The Bishop of Salisbury had called upon the local Rector to enforce suitable penance for to the Abbess and nuns of Shaftsbury ‘for offences against God and by the creation of scandal’. This was not an isolated incident.

Again on p285, Hardy returns to the theme of modern versus ancient.  He describes the cemetery in Stoke Barehills as ‘standing among some picturesque medieval ruins’ and comments that the ‘..modern chapels, modern tombs and modern shrubs (have) a look of intrusiveness amid the crumbling and ivy-covered decay of the ancient walls.’

Sue and Jude represent the idea of change where people do not stay in their home town. They are continually on the move and suffer from not being accepted by the local community.Jude is born in Mellstock (Higher Brockhampton), but by the time we meet him he is living at Marytown, but with his hopes on moving to Christchurch.And so it goes on….. This brings to mind the last book we read where David Malouf, concluded that to experience happiness we need to set boundaries, the boundaries that relate to a human scale, ‘In terms of space this means what is within sight, what is local and close; within reach, within touch’. p158 However, Hardy’s observations are different, as it is within the local community, that stigma is attached to those persons in the community who do not conform to social expectations. Jude and Sue move in the hope of not being known and therefore being accepted as they appear without having to reveal their histories.

There is a dichotomy in the book about change. On the one hand Hardy laments the loss of buildings associated with the past, and on the other, he despairs of the need for change to social customs such as marriage and divorce.

The book ends depressingly. Jude’s son by his marriage to Arabella kills his two half-siblings and himself. Jude dies an early death isolated and unhappy. The last lines of the book conclude that Sue will find no peace until she too is dead. Arabella, ever the predator, already has her next partner lined up!

I wonder how autobiographical this novel is? Most of Hardy’s papers and notebooks were burnt by his executors. Maybe some of the answers lie in his poetry?

Looking forward to seeing you all in Dorset and discussing the book!