The Best of Birds

Book recommendations are a bit of a mine field.  On the one hand, I love to hear about the great books other people have discovered and hear them talk enthusiastically about how stories have changed their lives. But I'm also very aware that reading is subjective and it's not possible to like absolutely everything, no matter how much you may want to.  So many people I know love Dickens or Austen, but I have to make polite excuses worthy of a Regency heroine whenever they're mentioned because I just don't get on with them at all.

One book that has come up many, many times over the years is 'To Kill a Mocking-Bird' by the late Harper Lee.  So many friends had recommended it, including local legend Len Copland, that I was really apprehensive about reading it.  I finally picked it up last month and boy I needn't have worried.

'To Kill a Mocking-Bird'
by Harper Lee
(Arrow Books, 1997)

'To Kill a Mocking-Bird' is a modern classic.  Set in the Deep South of the 1930s, it is a story of innocence, justice and prejudice told from the perspective of a young girl, Scout.  Scout, her older brother Jem and summer time friend Dill watch the grown up world with wide-eyed fascination, trying to make sense of the apparently irrational adults around them.  When Scout and Jem's lawyer father Atticus Finch volunteers to represent a black man accused of raping a white woman, they are inadvertently caught up in a series of events that will crystallise the contradictions of the adult world and bring unexpected dangers.

Having read it, I now completely understand why 'To Kill a Mocking-Bird' was such a staple of English Literature classes in UK schools.  Scout's voice and worldview are perfectly portrayed, meaning children can identify with it immediately, while adults soon slip back in time and begin remembering how it felt to be her age in a big, bewildering world.

'To Kill a Mocking-Bird' is a book which will keep me thinking for a very long time.  It is also on a very elite list of books which I definitely want to read again.  Ms Lee has written something succinct rather than short, crafting a plot that diligently leaves a breadcrumb trail for us to follow until the bitter end.  The more I think about this book, the more I want to know and the more I want to return to its pages and check what I missed first time round.

Ms Lee herself is one of the book's most interesting features.  'To Kill a Mocking-Bird' draws very obviously from her own experiences, including life in a small town in the southern United States and being the daughter of a lawyer.  Ms Lee passed away while I was planning this post and the question on many people's lips seemed to be 'When she could write like this, why didn't she write more?'.  I suspect a lot of people are hoping something will be found, in a vault, under the bed, in a box of trinkets.  Regardless, by writing just one book (and such a well-loved one at that), she's left readers with no where to go once they've finished it and it's draft ('Go Set a Watchman').  I for one will be looking out for a biography of this enigmatic writer.

Overall, this is a book that grows with the reader.  Those who read it as children can return to it as adults and read it anew.  It's engaging and thought provoking on a range of themes and topics.  It cannot and should not be reduced to the story of a court case.  There is so much more going on, much like there is so much more happening outside of Scout's field of understanding.

Thoroughly recommended.

Princess Leia-ed to Death (Sort Of)

I've always liked Princess Leia.  Despite all that nonsense with gold bikinis and Chelsea bun hair styles, she still kicks ass.  A leader, a hero and no-nonsense defier of intergalactic dictators - and all in a terribly impractical white dress.  Hurrah!

I thought it might be interesting to find out more about the lady that brought the nearly queen to the screen, so I got myself a copy of 'Wishful Drinking', the autobiography of Leia-player Carrie Fisher.

'Wishful Drinking' by
Carrie Fisher
(Pocket Books, 2009)

Based on her one-woman stage show, 'Wishful Drinking' is a swift scamper through the life of actress and author Carrie Fisher (Duh!).  Born to Hollywood nobility Debbie Reynolds (best known for 'Singin' in the Rain') and Eddie Fisher ('50s crooner), Carrie Fisher's life was never going to be ordinary.  Getting her big break at 19 in 'Star Wars', possibly the biggest film (then franchise) of all time just made it even less so.  Alongside entertaining stories of sci fi strangeness, the complex connections between the celebrity classes and the highs and lows of her relationships with family, friends and lovers, Fisher also talks about her manic depression and drink and drug issues.  Following electroconvulsio therapy (ECT) to treat her illness, Fisher has forgotten much of her incredible past.  'Wishful Thinking' is how she's reacquainting herself with it, in her own funny, cheeky and irreverent way, and we're all invited along for the ride.

This is a book that feels like exactly what it is - a novelisation of a stand up show.  It's fast, loose and slap dash, but instead of leaving me disappointed, it left me wanting to know more.  (It also left me wanting to see the stage show, but since it's not available in a non-US format, I'll have to make do with wanting more and few clips on YouTube.)

It's a book with energy that sparks off every page, but aside from the great anecdotes, I felt that the most interesting bits were where Fisher talked candidly about what it feels like to be bipolar, including dealing with diagnosis and how it linked with her addictions.  On the one hand, I wanted more than just a few glimpses of this sort of insight into being a human being, but equally I knew it would take away from the overall bump and go of the narrative.

This is a short and highly readable book (though I'm not sure that the prim Princess would always approve), a woman's view of what often feels like a man's galaxy far, far away.  I definitely want to read more by Ms Fisher in the future.

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Hello folks!  After the Christmas break, New Year, a stomach bug and a stinking cold, here I am, back at the blog after what feels like far too long.  I have three books to talk about, so let's get cracking!

The first book I finished was a collection of short stories by one of my favourite authors; 'The Rendezvous and Other Stories' by Daphne Du Maurier.

'The Rendezvous and
Other Stories' by
Daphne Du Maurier
(Virago Press, 2006)

'The Rendezvous and Other Stories' includes fourteen tales of deep secrets, dark passions and dubious motives, exploring the flawed characters and gothic themes for which Du Maurier is most famous.  A bored husband plans his escape; a faithful wife see what she wants to see; an arrogant author believes his own hype; a theatre actress plays politics to preserve her career; a happily married woman kills herself for no apparent reason.  Du Maurier has cast her sharp eye over those around her and used their shades of grey to bring her characters to life.

I really enjoyed 'The Rendezvous and Other Stories' and feel it's the best collection of Du Maurier's work that I've read so far.  It begins with the most heart-wrenching story, 'No Motive', the tale of a happily married and pregnant woman who, for no obvious reason, shoots herself one morning.  This story goes for the jugular and will stay with me for a long time.

This collection includes a range of stories from throughout Du Maurier's writing career, so, while they're all excellent, some feel less confident and comfortable with the dark side of human nature and these are often the ones I liked the least.  For example, 'The Fairytale', the story of a gambler's wife and how he makes amends, showed an optimism that felt at odds with the hard-nosed pessimism of many of its companions.  This mix does give the book added appeal, however, as it should make it of interest to writers interested in exploring how Du Maurier's own style developed.

Overall, I was engrossed by 'The Rendezvous and Other Stories' and would thoroughly recommend it to fans of short fiction and the gothic genre.  I don't need to recommend it to Du Maurier fans as they've probably already read and enjoyed it!  I hope you do too.