by ELG Gray

Wolf Hall

Page turner: 5/10
Heart tugger: 7/10
Thought provoker: 10/10
Overall: 3 stars (I can’t officially bring myself to give it 3.5, but I unofficially can’t help it)

Wolf Hall, by Hillary Mantel has gotten a lot of press. I remember it getting the Booker prize 4 years ago and thinking, ‘I definitely should read that’. I do love historical fiction, so an award-winning, highly acclaimed work of historical fiction sounded brilliant. But, bizarrely, I tried, and failed. I couldn’t get into it, so after slogging through the first couple of chapters I gave up. A few years letter, Hillary Mantel’s second novel in the same series called Bringing up the Bodies also receives the Booker prize. ‘Right,’ I think, ‘if this author’s second book has ALSO won the durn prize, I must have been missing something. I must have.’ It took 2 more attempts, but I now admit that my first impressions were wrong. Patience is a virtue – one that I really must learn to cultivate.

The book itself is clearly a work of incredible brilliance. Hillary Mantel’s writing is just so well crafted. And clever. The word-play, particularly around some of the other characters names, is brilliant. Now, I know the character of Thomas Cromwell himself is meant to be clever (many historians have portrayed him as conniving) but the author has to be even more clever to create a being that embodies that oh so well. And somehow Mantel even makes him likeable, and intriguing.

In some ways the book actually is reminiscent of I, Claudius, which having also just read I can’t help but mention. But Mantel’s characterization of Cromwell is much deeper, I think, than Graves’ of Claudius. I related to Cromwell, and his surroundings, a great deal more. And though similar amounts of intrigue and nastiness is going on around them, Wolf Hall is much darker than I, Claudius. And as such, I like it much more.

The darkness of the book, the tone, is probably what made those first 30 pages so impenetrable for me. Which in retrospect I understand. But to have to try 3 times to start a book – I can’t quite forgive it. Admittedly once I got into it I was drawn so ever-deeper, but I never really felt like I had to keep going, that I had to know more. Now, perhaps the fault is more my own in that as I am more familiar with the Henry VIII time-period in which it is set, I did fundamentally know what was going to happen to the main characters in the story. Which, to be fair, makes the author’s task all the more difficult. But, I am not the type of person who likes knowing how things turn out from the beginning. I found the whole premise of the movie, Titanic, incredibly challenging. So, I admit to some bias.

I have to call out the fact that I’ve given it a 10 for ‘thought provoker’. I really struggle to give things perfect scores. Really. But I don’t know how a book could be better word-smithed, or from such an unusual perspective, or to be so enveloping. I did periodically think I was IN the book. And, as the book is quite complex and I had to re-read bits of I, I cannot fathom how a book could have more subtlety and creativity. Perhaps it was that enveloping feeling of being surrounded by the book that meant I didn’t feel hugely compelled to *keep* reading. Stagnant isn’t quite the right word, but you can, hopefully, see what i mean.

So, if you are considering reading this book, here is what I recommend:

Imagine everything you think of when you think about a ‘beach read’. Completely inverse it. That’s Wolf Hall. So read it, just don’t bring it anywhere near sand.

10.03.13

by ELG Gray

I, Claudius

Page turner: 5/10
Heart tugger: 6/10
Thought provoker: 9/10
Overall: 3 stars

I, Claudius is number 14 on the Modern Library’s top 100 books of the 20th Century. I can see why. This is a book I very much appreciate for its astuteness and unusual voice. I am pleased I read it and my brain was very much engaged (I even occasionally chuckled) but I’m not sure I Really Liked it.

As the title suggests, the book is an ‘autobiography’ of the Roman Emperor Claudius, of his life before he became emperor in AD 41. His full name is Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. The stories and intrigues of his life, as really the only surviving member of his family through an incredibly political period of Roman history, are fascinating. And the events (I discovered afterwards) are all true. His thoughts and personal opinions are of course fictional, but by all accounts, plausible, given that his personal papers were all burned just prior to his death. As such, the book does a fantastic job of presenting itself as a history (Claudius himself is a historian) and in the book the occasional indentation appears where the date is simply noted in the margins. I’ve never seen that before. But it is a useful metric of marking time, which flows in fits and starts in the book to coincide with the more interesting portions of his life – or this lives of those around him.

So the era, the presentation, and the stories themselves are fascinating. And Robert Graves does an amazing job of giving Claudius an intelligent, thoughtful, occasionally irreverent tone of voice that is very compelling. Claudius is believed by many of his family as an idiot – he stammers (which gets worse when he’s nervous) and has a few physical tics – but as a reader you cannot help but like Claudius. He has a heart.

And yet, despite these excellent elements, I didn’t find myself that eager to read more. I put the book down for a few days. There are a lot of people and names. Many of the names are very, very similar. It gets confusing and tangles. And whilst you feel for Claudius, and he describes some of the despicable deeds of others, I somehow didn’t connect. I never really got angry when the poisoners poisoned and the beheaders decapitated. Now, I can put this down to Claudius’ self-professed career as an unbiased historian, so it is very much in-keeping with his character. But that doesn’t make it a particularly enjoyable read, it just makes those who have read it appreciate the author’s skill.

So, would I recommend? If you want something a bit intellectual, and you like history – then yes. To read something that you will appreciate having read? Most certainly? But if you want to be entertained, moved, or empowered? Maybe skip it and come back when you’re feeling a bit more cerebral. Or want to catch up on your Roman history without having to actually read a history book.

09.29.13

by ELG Gray

The Color Purple

Page turner: 7/10
Heart tugger: 8/10
Thought provoker: 7/10
Overall: 4 stars

I finished reading The Color Purple just as I got to the train station at work on a Monday morning. It is a very good thing I didn’t finish 90 seconds later, or I would have ended up somewhere terribly unhelpful. I remember, as I finished, an overwhelming sense of relief. And also of peace.

Celie, the main character, is a black woman in the American South whose story mostly takes part in the early decades of the twentieth century. If you can think of the variety of horrible things that, stereotypically, might happen to a black woman during that time period – they do. Her life is not, objectively, a happy one. And yet, somehow, the author does a stupendous job of documenting the steady transformation of Celie’s life as she finds empowerment and happiness. It is a journey towards (and through?) grace.

The book itself is written in a series of diary entries (well, sort of – they are notes to a higher being) and letters. Mostly from Celie’s perspective. So as a reader, you quickly pick up the nuances of language, pronunciation, and vocab of the poor African Americans in the South. When done well (this is) it is easily to get steeped in the culture of the book without really realizing that the writing is ‘beautiful’ in the traditional sense.

I remember very little about my 10 minute walk from the station to the office that Monday, but I do recall getting to the office and discovering that my fingers were a bit stiff as I had been clenching my hand in a fist for the entire walk. Upon reflection it was very much a triumphant fist-clench. Not an over-the-top-wild-celebration, but more of a pursed lips, elbow-pump, ‘HA.’ The main characters all demonstrate quite a lot of personal strength, growth, and love. So for all of its rather depressing episodes, I will say that it has a relatively happy ending.

It is a relatively short book – so no need to be intimidated by its size. As mentioned, it isn’t all happy but once you know setting (which is pretty well outlined on the back of the book) none of the bad incidents are particularly surprising. As such, it isn’t a big page-turner: you aren’t so sucked in you can’t put it down – but the characters themselves are obviously (given my reaction to the ending) very real and very believable. If nothing else, I wanted to know what happened to them.

I had always meant to read The Color Purple – and I can definitively say I am very pleased I did. And now I can finally allow myself to watch the movie! (Which I’m told is quite good.) Overall it is a beautiful book, which I would recommend to pretty much anyone. There are lessons about love and life, but it is also just a good read, and an eye-opening window into a time in the not-so-distant past. Read it when you are a bit stressed, and you can’t help but think, “if they can overcome those things in life … what on Earth am I so worried about”?

09.24.13

by ELG Gray

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

Page turner: 9/10
Heart tugger: 8/10
Thought provoker: 7/10
Overall: 5 stars

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon is, to date, one of my most favorite books. As such, it seemed the perfect first entry to this endeavor. And it gave me an excuse to re-read it.

It is a wonderful book. The plot – it is about two Jewish men who decide to storm into the comic book industry in New York, starting just before World War II – fulfills the criteria of being easy to explain, but also taking you to places that you didn’t expect to go. Perhaps, sometimes, uncomfortably. But it is an adventure story. It has pizzazz. And it’s great.

The beginning is by far the best part of the book. In the first 100ish pages you get up-to-speed with Czech-born Joe, and Brooklyn-boy Sam, where you learn about becoming magician, comic books, and pre-War Euro-American relations and tensions. The language is vivid (to the point where I felt I could actually see the books they start creating, and by the way I am Not a particular fan of comic books), the characters believable, and totally overall it is unlike anything else I have ever read. It was refreshing. Heart-warming (if occasionally sad) and endearing as well as racy and vibrant.

I am sure if you were to read Spark Notes (or whatever) you would discover the books themes are escapism, loss, and love. I would agree. But I encourage you to think of escapism as an art-form. Think, “Acts of self-liberation” as one character calls his exploits, think fast-talking and lock-picking. And think about what you would do if you were to lose your entire family, or part of your identity; your main reasons for being.

As the book progresses and as the layers of things the characters (and their comic book characters) are trying to escape get to be a bit much, there are some peculiar plot twists. They ‘make sense’ if you think about it, but a few parts also left me with my head cocked to one side, with one eyebrow arched with increasing frequency. Time blurs. I am sure it is all very meaningful, but it gets to a point where it’s peculiarity becomes a bit much. Frankly, my feeling of disorientation was enough that I didn’t give the book straight 10s. But i wanted to.

The good news is that any moments of oddity get redeemed at the end. In fact, the last page is a bit of cleverness that I am still in awe of. So simple, so *obvious*, and yet I definitely didn’t see it coming. And no, that isn’t an excuse to flip to the last page at the beginning. Better to consider it a reward for getting through the slightly peculiar bit in the middle.

I will say again that this is a wonderful book. So if you are looking for a ‘great’ book – I don’t think starting here would be a bad choice.

09.09.13

by ELG Gray

A great book blog – the beginning

Whilst on vacation in the Pacific Northwest of the US, I visited Powell’s bookstore in Portland, Oregon. It’s the biggest independent bookstore in the world.

It was heaven.

Whilst browsing (and generally gushing) I came across a bookshelf that had little stacks of paper bookmarks, on which were printed all sorts of lists of prize-winning books. “How fun!” I thought. And as I continued to wander through the store, I also started noticing little stickers marked the shelves where such authors were found. “Clever” and “Hm. Quite helpful” also crossed my mind.

A few hours later at dinner, I announced that I was going to read as many of these ‘great’ books as I could. And blog about it.

The reception was tolerant amusement and supportive skepticism. I have (ahem) been known to make grand plans and then not Always finish them. But sometimes, I do. And this project seems like such a good challenge for me. A fun journey. And also, I hope, helpful.

I don’t for one minute believe my thoughts on books are any better or worse than any other’s. But, in that moment of inspiration, I was hopeful that it might be useful to people to have a reference guide, or at least a little reassurance, before they chose a great book to read. It can be awfully overwhelming. Great books have reputations for being heavy. Intense. And, as I start this crazy idea, I wonder if perhaps that is justified. But even if it is, I choose to trust that these books ARE valuable … and I choose to believe that some have been chosen for different reasons, and will appeal to different people.

But, for the record, let me say now that I do not believe that this *list* of great books is the sum total of the great books out there. It’s just a starting point. And I have every intention of diverting (occasionally) off this path every so often. Acclaimed books are all well and good, but great books are very much in the eye of the reader. And what mood I’m in. 🙂