John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men
I've not read this before and it's probably been on my list of must reads for longer than anything. Probably since I read the Grapes of Wrath at school. Brilliant characterisations with parallel tracks of hopelessness whether it's people working on farms, itinerant labourers forever hoping to get enough money for land, those who own the farms in their isolation and also the place of blacks in society. The big man personifies these dreams and hopelessness despite physical strength. There are many parallels to be made with the human nature and society here, more than I could write up I'm sure, but at it's basic level this is a beautiful story of two men who are joined at the hip and the care that the one takes of the other. The ending is a bit rough though. I suspect it will be one I'll read again and again like Cannery Row. Now where is my copy of that...
William Morris
News from Nowhere and Other Writings
After a few interesting tasters we get into the main novel which is basically a view of an anarchist utopia in which we are treated to how it is to live in such a society and how such a society works. There are descriptions of the environment, people and their livelihoods and alongside are mini lessons on how people can live together in utopia. It's Morris' own version of utopia with some digs at things he doesn't like including architecture the houses of parliament coming out particularly badly. He doesn't shy away from the obvious questions such as why would people do hard jobs, what if someone kills someone else, how does produce get to where it's needed and how is it traded, or not in this case. It's very well written to and as a story is quite compelling. There is a love interest, possibly too much, which is ultimately when utopia falls apart but not because of it. I won't spoil the read. My only criticism of Morris' utopian vision is that women still seem to enjoy waiting on men and doing the cleaning. I know that times have changed since this was written but Morris was a pretty enlightened bloke and it's odd that he carries on with gender stereotypes. Well worth reading for the entertainment and to provoke thought.
Whilst this edition has quirky stories before the main meal the afters are a dreary let down. There are lectures which although the content is fascinating they are bloody hard work to get through and although I hate putting a book down without reading from cover to cover I just couldn't get through the essays. For instance the Useful Work versus Useless Toil lecture starts off really well questioning whether someone who does unrelenting and unsatisfying work should be seen as worse if they don't work at all. This resonates with current political thinking which is that if you don't work at anything, however depressing, you are not a worthy member of society and shouldn't be allowed benefits. Great start but gets bogged down in interminable and complex arguments that maybe shows a lack of concentration on my part. At times he seems a bit, well, pompous but maybe that's just the language that was used which after all was getting on for 200 years ago. The Occasional Prose I couldn't face but I did skim through the few Letters. I guess what could I expect from a book with 50 pages of introduction.
Carson McCullers
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
Having loved The Heart is a Lonely Hunter I was really looking forward to reading this. It didn't disappoint. Seems a bit harsher and harder on the characters than The Heart but the main ones are very well developed and believable. Descriptions of people place and weather are brilliant making you feel you know the folk and where they live. The people have the same sort of flaws as Steinbeck describes both naive and chancers picking up what they can out of life. And with a healthy dose of violent undertones. I'm not sure it's quite as good as Cannery Row but it comes close. It's great that the main character is a strong woman although that strength seems to flow from an odd male character who you feel is an analogy. I'm sure someone's written a thesis on it but I like to think that the guy did exist and isn't simply a literary tool to make a point. Anyways it's a great story and the fact that sometimes you have to suspend your belief in the story whilst still empathising with the various characters is testament to how strong and captivating a story teller that Carson is. After all did we believe everything that befell Don Quixote? It's a strange old ending that you sort of know was coming although there's a definite twist in the tail that I won't spoil. Fantastic. There are the added bonus of a number of other short stories in this edition all very much concentrating on a couple of characters building their back stories up letting us know why they're behaving as they are. Great character building that makes you want to read their whole story. The chronology of Carson's life at the back is more than enough material for a story too. Must read more!
