Family stories

Other people's lives, fictional or biographical, are fascinating. Memoirs, it seems, blur the boundaries between fiction and biography and although not always completely truthful are still insightful.

This is certainly the case with Hidden lives by Margaret Forster, a writer whom I greatly admire. Knowing very little about the early life of her mother and grandmother, Forster researched, imagined and embellished their social and family circumstances. It is a compelling story. I remember when I read her earlier book The diary of an ordinary woman I was unsure whether it was fact or fiction - but that didn't really matter. It was true to time and place and was an excellent story.

Another prolific writer, Joyce Carol Oates, whose novels I have enjoyed, has recently written a memoir called A widow's story. The book is about becoming a widow and all the heartache and difficulties that come with the new status but it also explores, the unknown to her, parts of her husband's life by poignantly analysing the content of a novel that he had been writing for most of his life.

I found the combination of reality and imagination in these two memoirs perceptive and revealing.

Fantasy v reality?

or perhaps somewhere in between; let's call it allegory.

Reflecting on why I enjoyed The night circus by Erin Morgenstern when I am usually averse to out-of-this world experiences I examined the notion of allegory as a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. Usually the underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, but in this case meanings are related to the general social condition and the universal aspects of love, relationships, friendship, courage, perseverance and hope. And these are all readability factors for me.

The night circus has been created and exists by magic but the people who inhabit it are real and complex. Descriptions of circus decorations, activities, acts and food are vivid and inventive. The Edwardian setting gives an atmosphere of romance and possibility and the characterisation, especially of Celia and Poppet, is enchanting and credible.

There are some clever twists and elements of surprise and they all add up to a mesmerising read.

Books about books (and libraries)

I want to write about two recent books, one a novel and the other a reading memoir, that are book centric but I must begin with Book book by Fiona Farrell which is a novel framed by and immersed in books but is also a reading memoir describing the significance of books from Milly Molly Mandy to Owls do cry. If you missed this one (it was published in 2004) you are in for a treat!

A first novel, The Borrower, by a new young witer Rebecca Makkai, is all about books and reading and also includes amusing glances at libraries and librarians. The library borrower is ten year old Ian but then Lucy the Librarian turns borrower when she embarks on a road trip with Ian. Along the way are references to many well known children's books and even some rather clever paraphrasing of stories. The author admits to borrowing ideas from Lolita and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to move the plot along but she has created a unique character in Ian which makes for lively if not credible reading. There have been mixed reviews about this book but I think it is worth a try.

The memoir The Reading promise by another debut writer, Alice Ozma, is an exortation for reading aloud and comes complete with an appendix of good read-aloud titles. Alice's bedtime reading with her father lasted all through her childhood and continued until she left home for college at 18 years old. There are references in the text to many books and characters and also some links to the Library profession, but the main subject is parenting and the real content is the personal story of Alice and her father. Nearing sentimentality at times, it is nevertheless an interesting look at solo-parenting and an endorsement of the importance and significance of books and reading to the human condition. Oh yes, and libraries as well!

Art houses

I have surprised myself by not only reading but really enjoying a non-fiction book. My average is two non-fiction titles a year and I've reached that number already with a quarter of the year still to go.

At the top of my non-fiction list is this prize winning biography/history/social commentary The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal.

This book caused quite a stir in the UK earlier this year, winning the Galaxy new writer's award, the Costa Biography Award and the Ondaajte Prize for a work that "best evokes the spirit of a place". de Waal though is not writing about one place, his narrative, subtitled a family's century of art and loss, moves from Paris to Vienna to Tunbridge Wells to Tokyo to Odessa and finally to London. The story follows the family heirloom collection of Japanese netsuke as it moves from place to place with the tide of history.

A combination of family history, art history and social history and including the tragedy of war, the dehumanisation of the Jewish people and the horror of the Holocaust this book is perfectly pitched to be page-turningly readable. In the words of judge Ali Smith it is a work "whose lightness, when it comes to dealing with the weight of history, is almost miraculous" and poet Don Paterson said that the book "never slips into sentimantalism; it is as smooth and perfect as his own ceramic works".

Yes, de Waal is an artist, a potter, and describes the netsuke, the paintings and other aspects of art, design and architecture with understanding and love.

I found myself revisiting the Impressionists and the works of Klimt, searching for more images of the netsuke, reading more about Odessa and Vienna and finding out about de Waal's celadon cylinders.

Reading this book is an all-round experience; it is personal but universal, sad yet happy, interesting and enlightening. A perfect read!

State of wonder

It's hard not to compare Ann Patchett's latest book to her prize-winning novel Bel Canto but it's not really helpful. State of wonder is another unique book from a good storyteller with a positive approach to her characters. Most of the people in this book want to make the world a better place but they also want to preserve what is good about the current world. The setting, deep in the Amazon jungle, and the more than difficult way of getting there, gives the book an exotic flavour but the struggles of each character with their own feelings, memories and desires provides a more urbane contemporary feel. Aspects of science, medicine, anthropology and tourism inform this novel but it is the way the characters blend and resolve their situations that is so enjoyable.
Ann Patchett says State of wonder is like all her other books in that it is about "a pocket of the world just before that pocket disappears". I really enjoyed discovering this particular pocket and thinking about its disappearance.
Hope you find it satisfying and thought-provoking too.

Caleb's crossing

Geraldine Brooks provided readings, discussion and interviews about Caleb's crossing during her visit to New Zealand in June. She was very forthcoming about the historical background to her latest book, the research that she had done and the reasons for creating a female fictional narrator. Kim Hill's interview was revealing and local reviews were mostly favourable.

I found the book well-paced, full of interesting characters and fascinating details. Bethia was portrayed as a child of her time but with such spirit and intellect and humanity that she became a vital part of the story and made me want to keep on reading.

Geraldine Brooks is certainly able to take a historical idea and create a novel experience for readers, always leaving us with something new to think about. Try also People of the Book and March.

Commonplace

A word usually understood to mean general or ordinary but in association with the word book, as in commonplace book, it turns into meaning noticeable or perhaps even special. Elizabeth Smither's latest book The Commonplace Book is out-of-the ordinary and very interesting.


Elizabeth Smither has always kept notes of what she reads and hears; extracts from poems, overheard conversations, headlines from newspapers and intersperses these in her notebooks with her own thoughts and memories. In the preface she calls this "a miscellany of profound or light or provocative items...form the linkages of a life as it is lived. Particularly the life of a writer as it is affected by the writings of others". This commonplace book is not a diary but it does give insight into the thoughts and creative processes of a writer.

Charming, interesting, motivating - I have started my own commonplace book!