Eating People Is Wrong
Another book I got from the free bookshop in Stratford shopping centre by an author I'd not read before. The story's centred on a red brick university professor who seems to be very comfortable in his job and life style. It starts off at a fairly lazy pace introducing the various characters most of whom are in some way disconnected from the real world living in, or trying to enter, an academic bubble. The resulting relationships, formed and unformed, and misunderstandings, often unwittingly engineered by the very ones who are misunderstood, make for awkward yet absurd situations that at times are laugh out loud. Maybe it's the setting but it's a bit like a softer, yet no less enjoyable, Tom Sharpe without the crudity and without being led into unbelievable outcomes. That's partly the beauty of this book in that the outcomes are very real and ones that we have all felt to some degree. Although to be honest my time at a redbrick university was in no way alienating. If I had been a little more alienated instead of spending all my time socialising maybe I would've got a better degree.
As the story goes on the plot moves from gentle ha ha into a darker phase whereby the amusing situations have a harder edge and stronger effect on our heroes and those who live comfortably in the world counterpoint the feelings and actions of those who don't. The inevitable outcomes of the initial situations come home to roost bringing with them a pathos reminding me of Orwell (Coming Up for Air) or Hardy (virtually everything). Like both these authors Bradbury links the personal upsets and challenges of the characters to the wider societal changes both within their immediate environment (a college in this book) and in society. Along the way there are comments on the young angry brigade of writers and artists (this was written in the late 50s) which remind me of more recent attitudes to striking young artists. By the end of the book the transformation from comedy to alienation is complete and we leave our main man in a situation much further from any distance that he felt within the college. Indeed in a situation where thought is replaced by bodily function. Contrary to this another of the characters seems to have gone the other way whereby his mind has informed his body's condition. Either way the outcome seems similar. And inconclusive.
The book title comes from a sketch by Flanders and Swann that ends by likening eating people to fighting people. I guess the point of the title is that where you draw your line in relationships and society is a moving point and inevitably different from others. And also heavily informed by society at large. This chimes with my recent conversion to veganism (bar the odd cheesecake that I thought was made of tofu instead of ricotta) which has made me think deeper about how far I am willing to travel down the road of ethically and environmentally friendly food sourcing. Figuratively travelling personally but in actual miles too. Not eating honey (which was a surprise to me when I turned vegan but thought in for a penny in for a pound and gave it up) is one step down the road but now one of my greatest dilemmas is drinking almond milk as most almonds are grown in California and rely on the transport of millions of bees back and forth across the USA with resultant death and stress on those poor defenceless creatures. OK, not so defenceless if a swarm attacks you but I guess you know what I mean. Not sure how I got to this when reviewing a book about academic life but I'm sure that some sociologist out there (Matt?) will explain and add in the Comments section...
As the story goes on the plot moves from gentle ha ha into a darker phase whereby the amusing situations have a harder edge and stronger effect on our heroes and those who live comfortably in the world counterpoint the feelings and actions of those who don't. The inevitable outcomes of the initial situations come home to roost bringing with them a pathos reminding me of Orwell (Coming Up for Air) or Hardy (virtually everything). Like both these authors Bradbury links the personal upsets and challenges of the characters to the wider societal changes both within their immediate environment (a college in this book) and in society. Along the way there are comments on the young angry brigade of writers and artists (this was written in the late 50s) which remind me of more recent attitudes to striking young artists. By the end of the book the transformation from comedy to alienation is complete and we leave our main man in a situation much further from any distance that he felt within the college. Indeed in a situation where thought is replaced by bodily function. Contrary to this another of the characters seems to have gone the other way whereby his mind has informed his body's condition. Either way the outcome seems similar. And inconclusive.
The book title comes from a sketch by Flanders and Swann that ends by likening eating people to fighting people. I guess the point of the title is that where you draw your line in relationships and society is a moving point and inevitably different from others. And also heavily informed by society at large. This chimes with my recent conversion to veganism (bar the odd cheesecake that I thought was made of tofu instead of ricotta) which has made me think deeper about how far I am willing to travel down the road of ethically and environmentally friendly food sourcing. Figuratively travelling personally but in actual miles too. Not eating honey (which was a surprise to me when I turned vegan but thought in for a penny in for a pound and gave it up) is one step down the road but now one of my greatest dilemmas is drinking almond milk as most almonds are grown in California and rely on the transport of millions of bees back and forth across the USA with resultant death and stress on those poor defenceless creatures. OK, not so defenceless if a swarm attacks you but I guess you know what I mean. Not sure how I got to this when reviewing a book about academic life but I'm sure that some sociologist out there (Matt?) will explain and add in the Comments section...
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