Legs Eleven

'Eleven' by Patricia Highsmith

2021 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of my favourite authors, Patricia Highsmith.  Best known for 'Strangers on a Train' and the five Tom Ripley books, her work has often been introduced to new generations through film adaptations.  I discovered her via the 1999 Antony Minghella film 'The Talented Mister Ripley', and was hooked from that moment on - an atypical instance of a film doing justice to a novel.  While too many of her works are currently out of print, I did manage to get hold of an ebook version of her short story collection 'Eleven'.  But was is worth the effort?

Polite, Silly, Pointing

Two weeks and one cold ago, I finished reading 'Moranthology' by Caitlin Moran and it's taken me until now to get posting about it.  It turns out sometimes you just have to take paracetamol, go to bed and stay warm to get over mild winter diseases rather than just keep going.  Who knew?!

'Moranthology' by
Caitlin Moran
(Ebury, 2012)

'Moranthology' is a collection of columns and interviews written by everywoman, journalist, author and reviewer Caitlin Moran.  They are as wild, hilarious and eclectic as I imagine the Times columnist to be, saying "boo!" to the Zeitgeist before scampering off with an informative snapshot taken at an interesting angle.  Moran's subjects are wide ranging and varied, including everything from couple's pet names to hair copyright, 'Sherlock' to Aberystwyth, 'Ghostbusters' to Lady Gaga.  But she also uses her unique life experience to offer readers a new perspective on socio-political issues too, such as drugs, poverty, tax evasion, library closures, benefit cuts and mental illness.  We laugh, but we also learn.

Overall, this is a great 'dip into' sort of book, perfect for a short daily commute (on public transport, obviously) or anyone who 'doesn't have time to read'.  I stopped buying newspapers regularly when a) they started costing £1 a day and b) I realised I didn't really have time to read them anyway, so being able to get a book like this collecting some brilliant opinion pieces offered me a middle way.  Publish one once a year and I'm sorted.

My one criticism, I suppose, would be that this book starts on such a high that it was only ever going to go down.  The opening piece is a (possibly imagined) conversation between Moran and her husband about their pet names for each other.  I won't say any more, but Prince Charming also read this piece and laughed as much as I did.  It's almost unfair on the other columns!

'Moranthology' is a cool, funny, interesting, thought-provoking, sassy, proud book and when I reached the end I felt like I'd just finished the most interesting conversation I'd ever had.  So here's everything crossed for a 'Moranthology II'.

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Missing the Marx

Can't believe it's been nearly two weeks since I finished 'The Essential Groucho' edited by Stefan Kanfer.  Obviously wore myself out reading so many books in June!

'The Essential Groucho'
edited by Stefan Kanfer
(Penguin Modern Classics, 2000)

'The Essential Groucho' is a collection of work spanning the long and varied career of Groucho Marx.  Most people will know Groucho and his siblings from their classic films, several scenes from which are quoted at length in this book, which also includes extracts from stage shows, radio programmes, letters, original articles by and about Groucho and a list of one liners from 'You Bet Your Life'.

One of the great things about the dawn of the DVD age is that my generation has been able to watch and enjoy films like those of the Marx Brothers films despite living around 70 years after their original cinema releases.  It's testament to the cultural impact of their work that these films are available and that people are still interested enough in them for books like this to be in print.

The first few chapters of 'The Essential Groucho' draw from their early stage shows and movies and it quickly becomes clear that something vital is missing.  I think I've got a pretty good imagination, but with the best will in the world, no one can play the Marx Brothers like the Marx Brothers.  It's much like listening to 'Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel' on BBC Radio Four.  It sounds like Groucho, but something of the personality, ease and spontaneity is missing.  Just reading the scripts doesn't convey the madcap energy that was their trademark, which almost left me wondering why so many were included in this book.  Certainly where the movies were concerned, perhaps it would've been better to just provide a filmography suggesting people watch them if they haven't done so already.  Being quite familiar with them myself, I found these early chapters just made me want to watch them as the written word couldn't do them justice.

It wasn't all bad, however, and there were two chapters in particular that I found very interesting.  Both included Groucho's writing - a selection of his letters and some of his articles.  The latter in particular suggested a different side to the man, showing him to be unexpectedly analytical and thoughtful about life and his relationships.  The distinctive wordplay and clever juxtaposition of apparently disparate ideas was still there, but underneath there are some serious ideas that make you think.  I particularly liked the article about why Harpo wasn't allowed to speak and 'Bad Days are Good Memories'. 

Overall, if you're a student of this Marx, you may find this collection a useful resource, but if you're a fan, you're probably best sticking with the films that made the Brothers famous.  I might be interested in seeing a bigger collection of Groucho's articles, but I think his strength lay on stage and screen and I'd probably end that book the same way I did 'The Essential Groucho', with a sense of loss and a feeling that something was missing.