Monsieur le Commandant

As I have mentioned previously on this humble blog, I am a huge fan of the publisher Gallic Books. Their books are laced with a wry humour and I have particularly enjoyed The President’s Hat, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, the Pascal Garnier novels and the Hector series. It was with great delight and gratefulness then that I was offered an advance copy of their latest book Monsieur le Commandant by Romain Slocombe.

From the outset it was clear that this would not be similar to Gallic’s usual offerings in regards to tone and subject. Monsieur le Commandant is a bleak and at times horrific account of the Nazi occupation of France and the actions of Paul-Jean Husson, an author turned fascist sympathiser and collaborator.

The book is fantastically written and translated and, despite the grizzlier parts, it is a good read. The horror and sheer inhumanity of occupation is conveyed deftly. One of my favourite novels is Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada which, like Monsieur le Commandant, is not the cheeriest of reads, but which is a gripping account of wartime life. I think it is fair to favourably compare both of these novels as they are both stories which need to be shared so that we can hope the horrors of the past do not return.

I also found Monsieur le Commandant interesting from a cultural and historical point of view. Britain did not have the same wartime experience of occupation and collaboration as France. As such I did find it harder to place myself within the historical context of the novel, however, this is where the quality of the writing shines through, as you are engaged with the basic humanity (or lack of) of the characters as they try and survive both the occupation and their consciences.

So may I recommend Monsieur le Commandant to you. It isn’t the cheeriest of books but it is one which must be read as we forget the tragedies of the past at our peril. You may wish to read The Elegance of the Hedgehog afterwards just to remind you that, although we can be monsters unto each other, there is plenty about this crazy planet of ours which can warm the heart. 

Post-Holiday Roundup

Hi folks. Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I've been on my holidays and have been letting myself go! (Mainly to the seaside) It had been a long old time since my last decent chunk of time off so I just let everything drift and enjoyed moving to my own beat. Which as it turned out, was more of a gentle two-step than a wild Charleston. Except for one night it must be said, when the lethal combination of great company, a splash of alcohol and Dexy's Midnight Runners fused together to result in what can only be called 'Dad dancing'. Enough of that though, the mental scars are too much to bear for some of my chumrades. But I digress. 

Before launching back into library life and, what Harvey Pekar called one of his strips, 'Awaking to the Terror of the New Day', I thought I'd do a quick round up of some of the books I've been reading lately. Think of this as a literary detox, a release of the words that have been buzzing around my head since I wrote to you last. 

Joyland by Stephen King
Much to my shame, before this book, I had never read anything by Stephen King. That said I can only assume that Joyland isn't really a true reflection of King's horror stylings. Published by pulp fiction nostalgists (and I use that word in a very positive sense) Hard Case Crime, Joyland isn't a horror novel. To be honest it isn't really a crime novel either. What it is though is a classic coming of age novel set in an old fashioned theme park during the 1970s. It will make your heart ache with winsome nostalgia and I will be very surprised if Joyland isn't make into a film before too long.

The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins
This is a great graphic novel. Witty and beautifully drawn, The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil is a funny fable about the impact of a hairy disorder on the obsessively neat and ordered island of Here and their (our) inability to control the unexpected, and in this case, unkempt. Even if you don't read graphic novels, please give this book a try, it's worth it for the puns alone, they quite literally made me 'lol' as the hip kids say. 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Although this book is fictional, I'm convinced that there is some autobiographical details in here. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a modern fairytale in the fine traditions of Grimm. Charmingly fantastic and at times dark, this is classic Gaiman. Well worth a read.

The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermont
An ok read. Can best be summed up by the following words: preppy, confused, unbelievable, rah's, meh.

Double Indemnity by James M. Cain
Classic American noir. A femme fatal and a jaundiced insurance salesman plan to execute the perfect murder to pocket a hefty insurance payout. Written during those turbulent inter-war years, Double Indemnity reflects the uncertainty and cynicism of that time. I read this for my crime reading group and it proved to be a hit amongst us all. The film is a classic too, with the screenplay written by Raymond Chandler. 

Bonjour Tristesse & A Certain Smile by Françoise Sagan
I seem to have gotten into the habit of reading Bonjour Tristesse annually. My excuse for reading it this year is that it has been re-published by Penguin with a new translation by Heather Lloyd. Bonjour Tristesse is drenched in sunshine and is anchored in the changing world of the 1960s. Every time I read it previously it made me want to be at the beach, so this year I took it on my day out to the beautiful coastline at Weybourne. Perfect. If you like the chic stylings of the French new wave give Bonjour Tristesse a try. The other novel in the book A Certain Smile is also a great meditation on the emotional impact of love, desire and longing. It's almost enough to make you crave some Gitanes. 

The Stupid Footballer is Dead by Paul McVeigh
An unusual twist on the well travelled path of football autobiography, with former Spurs and Norwich midfielder Paul McVeigh sharing his thoughts on sports psychology and what it takes to be a professional footballer. In some ways this book has more in common with self-help books than sports writing. An interesting and well written read. 

Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claud Izner
A Gallic crime novel set in late nineteenth-century Paris. A pleasant enough read and the first novel of a series. Although not amazing, I'll definitely try the next book. 

One Step Too Far by Tina Seskis
Very disappointing. The blurb suggests that there is a unexpected twist but, sorry to spoil the book, there isn't one. Maybe that's the twist...

And there you have it. If I had to recommend one book on that list for you then it would probably be Bonjour Tristesse. It's very cool. Enjoy!

Heft

I have a thing about coming-of-age novels, particularly American ones. I love The Perks of Being a Wallflower and really enjoyed The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian and even the Tales of the City series has a strong coming-of-age theme. I'm not sure if it's the sentimentality of these novels or the inherent character development that comes with growing up which makes these books so attractive to me. Perhaps it's just nostalgia for youth. I dunno. The American setting of these novels can't be underrated either, they're always more glamorous than Cricklewood and help to suck me into another world, another lifetime, another youth.

Liz Moore's Heft shares many of the same qualities as the books I've mentioned above with the main thrust being, young characters, on the cusp of adulthood, trying to work out this whole life thing. Heft differs in one unusual respect from other coming-of-age novels as there are not one, but two characters growing up. Kel Keller is an eighteen year old boy trying to get to grasps with who he is and Arthur Opp is a 550lb recluse who hasn't left his home in over a decade. It is this contrast between a youngster and a emotionally sensitive older man which makes Heft an engaging read. 

At times heartbreaking, Heft moved me. As I said before, the sentimentality of novels such as Heft really do affect me (perhaps I'm having a mid-twenties crisis). It had a perfect blend of plot and characterisation which had me gripped, staying up 'til the early hours to finish the book, something which hasn't happen to me for a fair while now (I think James Oswald's Natural Causes was the last novel to come close to this sensation). Read it and feel winsome.

The Crossing Places

After finishing Uni, one of my greatest delights was being able to read non-study related books guilt free. At Uni whenever I started a fun book I always had a niggling voice at the back of my mind telling me that I should be working or reading something worthier. In my first post-Uni job at Waterstone's, the Stieg Larsson novels were absolutely everywhere so I thought I should give them a try. I had never been a huge fan of crime fiction (although I do remember reading a Point Crime book at school) so my expectations were low. Maybe being released from my pop-fiction exile had a lot to do with it, but I enjoyed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo greatly. Since then I've started reading a lot more crime novels and have even set up a crime reading group in Norwich (crimefictionnorwich@gmail.com) 

All of this is a rather tortuous (and perhaps irrelevant) set up to a review of Elly Griffiths' The Crossing Places. I had first heard of Elly Griffiths at work as all of her Ruth Galloway novels have been set in Norfolk. She had also visited the library recently for an event which went exceptionally well by all accounts. So, with the same sense of release that I found when reading the Stieg Larsson books and with every crime novel since, I looked forward to starting The Crossing Places. 

I wasn't disappointed either. By the end of the first chapter I had fallen in love with Griffiths' heroine Ruth Galloway. It is incredibly refreshing to have a lead character in a crime novel who is, well, normal. I will leave it to my friends to draw comparisons between myself and Ruth Galloway, so lets just say that I can relate to her rather a lot. Which is for the best really as the plot of the novel is a combination of fairly standard whodunit with lashings of pagan paraphernalia. It is the character of Ruth that keeps you interested throughout with her normal-ness keeping the plot rooted to some form of reality. I must say though that Griffiths' writing style is as down to earth as her lead character which makes the book a delight to read.

I look forward to reading Elly Griffiths' other novels to see how the character of Ruth evolves. I just hope that everything stays normal on the Western front (of Norfolk).

May We Be Forgiven

Like thousands of others, I picked up this book after A.M. Homes won the Women's Prize for Fiction - it beat the all conquering Hilary Mantel so it must be good, right? Right. 

I must admit that getting into this review has been a bit of a struggle (which doesn't bode well for the future wellbeing of the blog...) because May We Be Forgiven is so delightfully multi-layered that every time I grasped at a plot line or an overarching theme I just got carried away and thought of another one, or another, or how they are linked or...well you get the picture.  

MWBF has been inevitably (and endlessly) compared to The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen and it is easy to see why. Both authors aspire to writing quintessentially 'Great American' novels and both place dysfunctional families at the heart of the action. Where I think Homes differs from Franzen, and in my opinion why MWBF will stay in the memory longer, is that whereas Franzen likes to take his time developing his characters and delights in making you second guess their motives, Homes detonates an explosive plot device and develops characters around this major event. And blimey what an explosion...

Family relationships, modern life, technology, Judaism, growing up, growing old, madness, and even the legacy of Richard Nixon; all of these themes are intelligently crafted into a plot laced with dark humour. Even after finishing the book two days ago, I'm still thinking about the relevance of scenes or themes which is the mark of a terrific read.

So I hope you give May We Be Forgiven a try. If you do, let me know what you thought of it. If you can give me a theory as to why Richard Nixon may link all of the different themes of the novel together, then definitely let me know. I just can't put my finger on it. I suppose he'll always be tricky. And never forgiven?