Ctrl Alt Delete: Back to Nineteen Eighty-Four

'Nineteen Eighty-Four' by George Orwell (Penguin Modern Classic edition, 2000)

One of the few fun features of lockdown has been getting a look inside people's homes during video calls.  After a short while, it became obvious that people were curating the rooms they broadcast from.  "I'm a family man!" cried the wall of kids photos and crayon drawings.  "I've got incredible taste!" boasted a minimalist display of just one, large, abstract artwork.  "I'm an intellectual!" crowed bookcases of leather-bound classics.  The only problem is that bookshelves cannot be trusted.  As many well publicised surveys have proven over the past decade, not only are shelves littered with unread volumes, but people happily lie about reading some of the world's most prestigious works.  George Orwell's infamous novel 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' is often listed among them - ironic for a book themed around truth.

One Man and His Ape

One of my favourite days out is to a very special animal sanctuary nestled in the gorgeous Dorset countryside.  Monkey World is an internationally respected haven for unwanted apes and monkeys, a place where the abused, neglected and abandoned can find refuge and receive care from experts in their field.  It was founded by two extraordinary men, Jim Cronin and Jeremy Keeling, and I recently read Mr Keeling's excellent autobiography.

'Jeremy and Amy' is the story of Mr Keeling and his foster 'daughter' Amy.  She's stubborn and

'Jeremy and Amy'
by Jeremy Keeling
(Short Books, 2011)

grumpy and has plenty of attitude.  Oh, and she's also an orang-utan.  Keeling first meets the newborn Amy in 1983 while pursuing a career caring for a variety of exotic animals in both public and private collections, The two pound two ounce baby orang-utan is so frail her survival seems impossible.  But, with Keeling's help, survive she does and Jeremy and Amy develop an incredible bond.  Through amazing highs and heartbreaking lows, she remains a constant companion and an inspiration to Keeling and his work rescuing monkeys and apes from countries around the world.

This book could very easily have slipped into a cutesy, anthropomorphic, semi-biographical story about how caring for a characterful orang-utan helps a human find peace with themselves and the world.  Fortunately, it didn't and I think anyone picking it up and expecting some sort of light read about how funny and almost human animals are would, initially at least, be very disappointed.

In reality, it's the human at the centre of this story and the book includes some very upsetting sections which don't sit at all with the 'aren't animals funny?' sort of narrative.  Delivered in Keeling's characteristic matter-of-fact style, it's impossible not to be affected by some of his terrible experiences, particularly in childhood.  To call his early family life 'dysfunctional' seems the ultimate understatement.  Equally, I ended this book with so much respect for him as someone who could easily have slipped into self-destruction, but instead decided to work hard to make a future for himself and, as a result, found a way to make a real difference.

I found 'Jeremy and Amy' a real page turner, but to say I enjoyed it would be crass and insensitive.  I cried, I laughed and, as with 'We Bought a Zoo', had my respect for the people who care for the planet's animals reinforced.

It must've taken some bravery for Mr Keeling to publish this book, so I would like to thank him for sharing his story.  (Let's hope I never bump into him at Monkey World, I'm bound to make a complete 'nana of myself.)

Overall, 'Jeremy and Amy' is a story of hope and courage and I would thoroughly recommend it.

Now, back to the books!

People's History

Lots of people think that history doesn't matter. But it really does, very much indeed.  None of us can be entirely sure where we're going, but we can be absolutely certain, whether we knew them or not, that we had parents, who also had parents, who also had parents, going back to the very dawn of time.  So something of each of us has lived through every era, as empires rose and fell, rulers lived and died and wars were won and lost.

I've just finished 'My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me', the story of how a black, German woman came to terms with the shock discovery that she was descended from Nazi concentration camp commandant Amon Goeth. Although raised in an orphanage, Jennifer Teege did have some contact with her mother and grandmother as a child, but neither woman ever gave any hint as to Teege's dark family history.  It wasn't until she was in her late 30s, a happily married mother of two, that she found out by chance when she picked up an unknown book by her mother in Hamburg's central library. Suddenly she finds herself plunged into the shadow of one of World War II's most notorious psychopathic killers, the Butcher of Plaszow in Poland, slaughterer of thousands of Jews - and her grandfather.  As Teege struggles to comprehend what this means for her, her family and her many Jewish-Israeli friends, she summons the courage to face this family skeleton head on.  But is it possible to come to terms with such a chilling discovery?

This book is gripping, uplifting and thought-provoking from beginning to end.  Written from Mrs Teege's perspective, interspersed with supporting sections by journalist Nikola Sellmair, it explores how both a person and a people have had to deal with a past they would rather forget.  Some deny it, some ignore it, but I have great respect for Mrs Teege as she decided to tackle it head on and not give the past power over the present.

I think that this would make an excellent reading group book.  There is much to discuss and think about here.  It's not really a book about World War II, it's a book about family, national guilt and coming to terms with a shameful past.

I found it gripping from beginning to end and would thoroughly recommend it.

Now, what next...

Related Links

'My Nazi Grandfather, Amon Goeth, Would Have Shot Me' (BBC News Magazine, 03/10/2013)

Book Details

'My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me' by Jennifer Teege and Nikola Sellmair.  Translated by Carolin Sommer.  Hodder & Stoughton, 2015. Originally published in Germany as 'Amon: Mein Grossvater hätte mich erschossen', 2013.

Night of the Loving Dead

Until relatively recently, I'd always wanted to write a story from a monster's perspective, like a vampire or a mummy or something like that.  Having read Isaac Marion's 'Warm Bodies', I think that the idea's been done very well already.

'Warm Bodies' is the story of R, a zombie with a difference.  While he can't remember his name, how long he's been dead or how the world ended, he's still has human curiosity.  He longs to be able to know these things and more, although he's not entirely sure why.  Trapped in his own head, he chases the same thoughts every day while instinctively following the same mindless routines.  Then while on a feeding expedition in the nearby city, he meets Julie and everything changes.  Rather than eating her, R brings Julie back to his airport home.  All he wants to do is keep her safe and this sudden and perplexing change marks the beginning of something quite extraordinary.

'Warm Bodies'
by Isaac Marion
(Vintage, 2013)

I saw a review of the film based on this novel and thought it sounded like an interesting story.  Being a bit squeamish, I decided to read the book first rather than plunging right in with the movie and I'm really glad I did.  I was a bit worried that it would be squarely aimed at the teen market and a bit twee, but it isn't that simple.  R is after all a monster, something that hunts and eats humans while bits of him gradually rot and fall off. Not the most obvious of romantic heroes!  But then neither are the manipulative and obsessive Heathcliff and bullying wife-jailer Mr Rochester.

Marion sucks the reader into R's mind from the very first line and from the moment I read it I was hooked.  This is not a book about romantic love per se, rather a story themed around the things the writer loves about humanity, the characteristics that take us beyond our animal instincts and basic desires for shelter, food and flesh. As such, it's themes are more universal and thought provoking and the fragile first love that develops between R and Julie is one of just a number of human-esque features that set you thinking about what it means to be alive.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, particularly because it doesn't answer all the questions it raises.  Although it's hinted at, we never firmly find out how the zombie plague came about or when it happened, for example.  But I think that's what sets it apart from other apocalyptic stories.  This isn't a tale about how the old world ended but how a new one began.  And surely that's far more interesting and optimistic, don't you think?

Treasure Trove

Considering I'm trying to read so many books, I think I've been pretty lucky so far.  I've only found a handful so unbearable that I've not finished them and have unearthed so many hidden gems that the project has often been a delight.

One such brilliant discovery is the latest book sent to me by Waterstones, 'Love and Treasure' by American author Ayelet Waldman.

'Love and Treasure' is the story of a stunning peacock-shaped pendant, three remarkable women and

'Love and Treasure'
by Ayelet Waldman
(Two Roads, 2014)

the men who loved them.  Interwoven with key political and social shifts in the last 100 years, this excellent book is set in three eras.  In 1945, the jewel is found by American soldier Captain Jack Wiseman among the vast contents of the Hungarian Gold Train, stolen from the Jews during World War II and now under his care.  As he falls in love with the determined concentration camp survivor Ilona, Jack finds himself torn between his personal sense of justice, the demands of his distant superiors and how unlikely the property can be returned to its rightful owners.  More than 60 years later, Wiseman's granddaughter, Natalie, has joined forces with Amitai Shasho, a specialist dealer in items seized by the Nazis, to return the unique jewel.  Amitai has recognised the piece from a lost painting he has spent a lifetime tracing. Together, they hope to find both the owner's descendants and the elusive artwork.  Finally, in 1913, a strong-minded young woman in Budapest is sent to a pioneering psychoanalyst after defying her family and pursuing her dream of a medical career.  A campaigner for women's suffrage, her passion and politics lead her into danger.  But how is she connected with the peacock pendant?

I found 'Love and Treasure' a fascinating page turner and incredibly hard to put down.  I was very sad to finish it.  I knew nothing about the Hungarian Gold Train before I started reading the novel and would now very much like to know more about it and this time period.  I always enjoy a book which lets me learn something new.

I felt that the part set in post-war Salzburg was the strongest, but moving between different times helped remind the reader that the dramatic events of one era often have their origins many years before and will cause ripples long into the future.  That is why history is important; it helps us understand why things are as they are and where they could lead.

The author has successfully written people not just characters, each with complex motivations and beliefs that felt authentic to their time period, no matter how ridiculous they look through 21st century eyes.  No-one could be classed wholly as a hero or villain, but all are conflicted and often naive and confused, trying to make good moral choices and judgements is a less than honourable world.  They were often torn between the just and the practical and it was easy to find yourself wondering what you'd do in the same situation.

My only criticism of 'Love and Treasure' is that I felt it needed some minor adaptation for the UK market, perhaps in the form of an added glossary.  Aspects of Jewish culture are not so well known here and I regularly had to reach for the dictionary to look things up, which obviously interrupted the narrative's flow.  Basically, a certain level of prior knowledge was presumed and, while US readers must be better informed on the subject, I think ordinary UK readers may struggle.

Overall, I thoroughly recommend this book and I hope to read more by this author in the future.  It is indeed a novel to love and treasure.

Now for something completely different!