Fools and their Money

It's funny how you can end up finding a great book.  For example, I found out about 'God Bless You, Mr Rosewater' thanks to a throwaway remark by Robin Ince at a gig a few weeks ago.  Boy am I glad he went off script!

'God Bless You, Mr Rosewater'
by Kurt Vonnegut
(Vintage Classics, 1992)

'God Bless You, Mr Rosewater' by Kurt Vonnegut is a satire about inheritance, class, philanthropy, greed and American society's obsession with the rich.  The Rosewater Foundation seems like the perfect tax dodge, a way to enable the Rosewater family to inherit and protect its incredible fortune and hand it, intact, to the next generation.  But there's a problem.  The current foundation president, Eliot Rosewater - alcoholic, obsessed with volunteer firemen and (worst of all) determined to help the poor - is showing signs of mental breakdown.  If declared insane, control of the Foundation's vast wealth goes to the next heir, a distant cousin eking out a living as an insurance salesman on the coast.  Led by the devious lawyer Mushari, the vultures begin to circle, and, Eliot's father, Senator Rosewater, is forced to step in to try to prevent catastrophe...

I absolutely loved this book and wanted to start reading it again almost as soon as I turned the last page.  I found the themes really interesting, but also enjoyed the vivid patchwork of characters Vonnegut created.  They tumbled forth from the narrative like coins from a piggy bank, some shiny, some dull, but all saying something about attitudes to money, class and entrepreneurship in 1960s America.

The writing style was snappy and short, which made it a great book to dip into, but I never felt short changed as it belied the depth and complexity of the themes explored.

Although Vonnegut is a name I'm aware of, I'd not read any of his works before 'God Bless You, Mr Rosewater'.  Now we've been introduced, I certainly can't wait to read more of his work.

If you're someone who likes thought-provoking satire, I think you'll find much to enjoy here.  It's a slightly unusual narrative style, more in common with a single-shot film that allows you to explore the human landscape, with characters coming and going as required, rather than a story that sticks like glue to single character's side, but it works perfectly.  Like I say, I can't wait to explore it's riches once more.

Now, what next...?

Free for All

I suppose it's about time that I told you about 'Free: Adventures on the Margins of a Wasteful Society' by Katherine Hibbert.

When journalist Katherine Hibbert is made redundant following the 2008 financial crash, she decides to turn it into an opportunity and find out if it really is possible to live for free on the cast offs of our wasteful culture.  Can she really squat, scavenge and hitchhike her way through life with little money and no job, or, as the media says and her family fears, is she joining an underclass of junkies and criminals?  What better way to find out than to try?

It's taken me a while to get around to writing about 'Free' simply because I have such mixed feelings about it.  On the one hand it's a nicely written and easy-to-read book, but there doesn't appear to be a core argument to give the work structure.  The author proves her point - that it is possible to live on society's waste (in cities at least) and that's a bad thing - but having done that, I didn't get the sense that there was any fire in her belly to use what she'd learnt to change anything.  As such, narratively, it felt like it had a beginning and a middle, but no end.

Since then, I've googled the author and she's used her experience to found a 'property guardian' company, where people live at a cheaper rate in disused buildings to protect them until they are redeveloped, helping those looking for homes, establishing better relationships with owners and keeping communities alive.  Perhaps there's a second edition of this book that does include this enterprise, which would make it a more complete story.

'Free' did get me thinking.  The sections on the history of squatting and it's use by poor families during housing crises of the 20th century were really interesting, as was the information about the related law in the UK and beyond.  I couldn't help but be struck by the apparent contrast between the modern squatters she described (for whom it often seemed to be a lifestyle choice) though and those of previous years (who sought unused buildings out of poverty and necessity, e.g. after the Blitz).  It's hard to ignore that this comes across as a very London-centric and middle class book.

Also, what counts as 'being wasteful'?  For example, Ms Hibbert has a Philosophy degree from Cambridge, so couldn't it be argued she was wasting her education by not using it?  Seems an awful shame to not get full advantage of such an opportunity and achievement.

Overall, I felt that this book was interesting, but repetitive and somehow unfinished.  Being an easy read, however, I would say it's worth a look if it's themes are of interest to you.  Perhaps, in the spirit of the subject, though, you should borrow it from the library.

Now, what next...

Shop 'til you Drop

I'm afraid I've done it again. I borrowed a book from the library to see if it sounded interesting and ended up reading it all the way through instead of something from my list. I'm sorry.

On the plus side, it was a very interesting book.  I've just finished reading 'Consumed: How Shopping Fed the Class System', the first book by Telegraph journalist Harry Wallop.

Mr Wallop has noticed, like many, that the old definitions of class don't work in the UK any more. The decline of manufacturing and the growth of white collar industries means what we would think of as working class has rapidly shrunk, while the stereotypical layabout lords and ladies have morphed into farm shop managers and tourist attraction owners. Over the past 60 years, disposable income has increased and more and more people have started to consider themselves 'middle class'. Effectively all three labels have been rendered completely meaningless.

Wallop, however, has identified a number of new, more relevant classes.  Whereas the old system was based factors people often have little control over, such as where you went to school, who your family were and how you spoke , Wallop suggests that the biggest identifier of class today is what we buy and where we shop.

In the introduction to 'Consumed', he identifies several new classes; the Portland Privateers, the Wood Burning Stovers, the Hyphen-Leighs, the Sun Skittlers, Middleton Classes and the Asda Mums. Although his list feels incomplete, enough of what he said later in the book rang true to make me think he's actually onto something. And, no, I'm not going to admit which category I fall into, although his analysis was scarily accurate at times!

When someone writes a book on class, it's always a worry that it can become disdainful or judgemental about certain socio-cultural books. Although 'Consumed' did feel a bit so to start off with, possibly because the author comes straight out with his 'upper class' family history, it didn't really last long and by the end the book was at worst tongue in cheek and at best simply fascinating.

In reality, this is a book about marketing and segmentation.  It's a bit chicken and egg - are people slotting into particular consumer groups because of what they're sold or are they sold it because they're in a particular group?  I suppose we'll never know, but it was interesting to read about how shops decide where to open and what ranges to offer. Although I'd noticed that not every supermarket stocks the same lines, I had no idea that some places will never see certain shops because of the socio-cultural groups who live there. I suppose it makes good business sense, but it's still a little scary.

Is class based on shopping better than the old system? On the whole, I think it probably is a step in the right direction. So long as no one starts preventing people from buying items aimed at other 'classes'. But it would be nice to see Wallop's ideas developed further. For example, where does borrowing books from the library fit?

Overall, this is a very interesting, well written book. The author does a great job of balancing readability with raw data, but it does give the book the feel of an extended comment article.  Then again, Wallop is only mooting an idea and doesn't claim to be an anthropologist. I would be very interested to see these ideas picked up and analysed further by academia.  But, in the meantime, I think it's going to be a while before I stop thinking of people in terms of Portland Privateers, Wood Burning Stovers, Hyphen-Leighs, Sun Skittlers, Middleton Classes and Asda Mums!

I look forward to your next book, Mr Wallop. I might even buy that one!

Now, back to Georgette Heyer.