In Pursuit of Spring (Edward Thomas)

In Pursuit of Spring
Edward Thomas

A cycling journey from near where I live in south London to where I was born in Bridgwater and on to the nearby Bristol Channel. Written in 1913 by a poet (among other literary roles) who unfortunately was killed at the Battle of Arras in 1918. There are a lot of references to where or my family have lived an visited especially at the start and ends of the journey. I won't list them all here. It's an interesting read with very detailed descriptions of where he cycles through. Indeed the descriptions are so detailed that he must have stopped frequently to note them all. Although there are a lot of similar descriptions and back then certain flowers and rookeries must have covered the countryside. Which is quite likely. The author is also a reviewer critic and does go off on multi page analysis of different authors and poets sometimes fairly critically. Maybe because of this I enjoyed the first half more than the second where I felt he was using the story to publish his views on others and was very dismissive of certain towns and people he meets which comes over to me as superior arrogance. Similarly condescending when writing about local characters. Descriptions of churches are interesting although he does go on about inscriptions of those who are buried in churchyards. The descriptions are bit strange as now he would have written about the WWI memorials in each village churchyard that lists so many of the local men (boys) killed in the war that also took Thomas. The only reference to soldiers is French ones who died locally. Despite my reservations towards the end I mostly enjoyed the book and maybe I'll follow the journey by bike some spring time...

The Wretched of the Earth Book (Frantz Fanon)

Frantz Fanon
The Wretched of the Earth Book

An essay on what colonies need to do to throw off the shackles of colonialism and imperialism. An interesting read but I did find it very heavy going and repetitive. The author worked in Algeria in the 1950s and became a supporter of the anti-colonial forces until expelled. The work is very pertinent to today in many ways and although I was interested in the content I found myself reading the words and not taking them in. I did persevere as this is a classic work (when I gave it to Oxfam Bookshop the guy said that he was glad to take it as it is THE classic work) on the subject but I put it down about half way through.

Prophet Song (Paul Lynch)

Paul Lynch
Prophet Song

A dark book about a family in Dublin in a time when Eire has been taken over by a totalitarian regime. It's brilliantly written from the mother's perspective with the raw violence of the regime interspersed with almost poetic descriptions of the mother's thoughts and stressful hallucinations. Especially dark as current events show that even seemingly stable regimes can turn very quickly. Some would say that the Troubles in the north were pretty close to this state of living for many. The ending switches the story to a very real challenge faced by many today. Very well written although I would only recommend if you are in a stable state of mind and not sinking into depression at the state of the world. It would only bring that alternative reality closer although it is one being lived by millions already. Excellent but extremely uncomfortable reading as it seems so real.

Thanks a lot Mr Kibblewhite (Roger Daltrey)

Roger Daltrey

Thanks a lot Mr Kibblewhite: My Story

Roger's story through childhood and the formation of The Who. Then the ups and downs and difficulties of making a living in a rock band even if one of the biggest on earth and the difficulties in working with the other members of the band. Very well written and doesn't seem to pull any punches. A fascinating insight into his life and of The Who's. Goes all the way up to 2018 so pretty recent. Got me listening to my Who albums as I read. Well worth a read.