Operation Sea Lion - An account of the German preparations and the British counter-measures
Picked this up from Oxfam Books the other day while in search of a Divine Advert Calendar - which btw they didn't have :(
This book had 2 layers of interest - first the raw subject matter and second, as it was first published 1957, the presentation of the events to a very different generation and audience then the contemporary reader. I do find that reading, what I call, 'historical histories' a particularly enjoyable way to access accounts of the past. How is the retelling of the events influenced by the time it was written within - for example the majority of those who must have read this account when first published would have lived through the summer of 1940 that it recalls and so would to greater or lesser extents have been involved.
Also it is no great 'myth buster' of a history - which seems to be the only way to get historical subject matter published today (if there isn't a scandal and a reputation to be trasted the contemporary reader is we must assume not interested) - and it gently builds the small details into a narrative that explains not just the outcome of that phase of the war but of the whole war.
I am sure that many of the details firmly asserted by Fleming will now be subject to question or outright rejection as greater access to documents that would have still be classified in the 1950s has been possible, and few writers today would give such a strong part to the differing national characters for fear of straying to racial stereotyping - but as long as you read it as one account rather than the account these thingss do no fatal harm to the integrity of a book that gives an accessible and entertaining insight to a period of time that deserves our attention given that it is so widely hailed as our finest hour.
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
The Long War by Laurie Lee
found in New Poems on the Underground
Less passionate the long war throws
its burning thorn about all men,
caught in one grief, we share one wonund,
and cry one dialect of pain.
We have forgot who fired the house,
whose easy mischief spilt first blood,
under one raging roof we lie
the fault no longer undrdstood.
But as our twisted arms embrace
the desert where our cities stood,
death's family likeness in each face
must show, at last, our brotherhood.
Less passionate the long war throws
its burning thorn about all men,
caught in one grief, we share one wonund,
and cry one dialect of pain.
We have forgot who fired the house,
whose easy mischief spilt first blood,
under one raging roof we lie
the fault no longer undrdstood.
But as our twisted arms embrace
the desert where our cities stood,
death's family likeness in each face
must show, at last, our brotherhood.
Saturday, 20 November 2010
Melog by Mihangel Morgan (Translated by Christophe Meredith)
Melog
Another book read following a review in Planet
The blurb on the back says the novel is about "political oppression, literature, loneliness and friendship" which makes it seem like a very grand project - however in my view it has very little to say about political oppression and not much more to say about literature (although I accept that read in the original Welsh these sub plos might have had greater resonance), this is a book almost entirely about the interplay of loneliness and friendship - but as that in itself is a massive theme to tackle it makes for a novel of substance.
While the book takes the character Melog as its namesake it is really Dr Jones who is the center of the story, it is the story of ripples and waves that are created by the entry of Melog into Dr Jones' life (and Melog's repeated departures and returns). Melog is on many levels a character that should prompt an almost instance dislike, he is selfish and lack any kind of self-awareness, yet you understand completely why Dr Jones is attracted to him and why despite being let down time and again by Melog he fails to wash his hands of the friendship - it is easy to identify similar characters in your own life (and if you can't then, I would suggest, that the likelihood is that you are Melog to all your friends!).
Melog is a character full of fantasy, and you are almost certain that somebody is suffering a major delusion, however you can not quite work out who. Is it Dr Jones? Is it Melog? Or is it the entirely of the human race except Melog? All of them are plausible, and for much of the time it is the latter that seems the most likely - and it is that puzzle that makes it a fanscinating read that draws you onward through the novel.
Another book read following a review in Planet
The blurb on the back says the novel is about "political oppression, literature, loneliness and friendship" which makes it seem like a very grand project - however in my view it has very little to say about political oppression and not much more to say about literature (although I accept that read in the original Welsh these sub plos might have had greater resonance), this is a book almost entirely about the interplay of loneliness and friendship - but as that in itself is a massive theme to tackle it makes for a novel of substance.
While the book takes the character Melog as its namesake it is really Dr Jones who is the center of the story, it is the story of ripples and waves that are created by the entry of Melog into Dr Jones' life (and Melog's repeated departures and returns). Melog is on many levels a character that should prompt an almost instance dislike, he is selfish and lack any kind of self-awareness, yet you understand completely why Dr Jones is attracted to him and why despite being let down time and again by Melog he fails to wash his hands of the friendship - it is easy to identify similar characters in your own life (and if you can't then, I would suggest, that the likelihood is that you are Melog to all your friends!).
Melog is a character full of fantasy, and you are almost certain that somebody is suffering a major delusion, however you can not quite work out who. Is it Dr Jones? Is it Melog? Or is it the entirely of the human race except Melog? All of them are plausible, and for much of the time it is the latter that seems the most likely - and it is that puzzle that makes it a fanscinating read that draws you onward through the novel.
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Empire Marketing Board Posters by Manchester Art Gallery
Empire Marketing Board Posters: Manchester Art Gallery (4-Fold Series)
This is a very interesting booklet about the work of the Empire Marketing Board (EMB) which produced posters in the 1920s and 1930s encouraging Britons to "buy British" or "buy Empire".
What is interesting is the long view the booklet is able to take on the EMB's work. There is a lot in common with the highly acclaimed posters produced in the same period for London Underground, with striking images created by leading artists. However the messages in the EMB's posters are more difficult to relate to than London Underground's fairly uncontroversial desire to see more people tavel by tube.
The booklet asks the questions about how we value the artistic merit of the posters when the messages they are trying to convey are often racist. The racism of the EMB is not a hate filled racism, but it is no less powerful or damaging. In a strange way the EMB's racism is based on a sort of idea of "love" - in the posters it paints a picture of the Empire as a family in which Britain as the parents and the Colonies as the children. While the parents are in charge, parents also have responsibilities to the childern, and the posters tell the British consumer that they can play the part of the good parent by buying goods from the Colonies and so help the children to grow. What in most troubling about the posters is in fact how successful they are, they are subtle and attractive and so it is hard to spot the powerful propaganda message they contain.
One of the posters in the booklet has been used for the cover of a collection of George Orwell's Essays and not knowing the origin of the image I assumed it came from some socialist background, it has the feel of a lot of Soviet art work, and that seemed to sort of fit - although not quite - with Orwell. Now finding it is a detail of an EMB poster it seem rather less appropriate and while the book cover does credit the image to the EMB as well as the artist I wonder how much the person who selected the image knew of the background of its creation?
This is a very interesting booklet about the work of the Empire Marketing Board (EMB) which produced posters in the 1920s and 1930s encouraging Britons to "buy British" or "buy Empire".
What is interesting is the long view the booklet is able to take on the EMB's work. There is a lot in common with the highly acclaimed posters produced in the same period for London Underground, with striking images created by leading artists. However the messages in the EMB's posters are more difficult to relate to than London Underground's fairly uncontroversial desire to see more people tavel by tube.
The booklet asks the questions about how we value the artistic merit of the posters when the messages they are trying to convey are often racist. The racism of the EMB is not a hate filled racism, but it is no less powerful or damaging. In a strange way the EMB's racism is based on a sort of idea of "love" - in the posters it paints a picture of the Empire as a family in which Britain as the parents and the Colonies as the children. While the parents are in charge, parents also have responsibilities to the childern, and the posters tell the British consumer that they can play the part of the good parent by buying goods from the Colonies and so help the children to grow. What in most troubling about the posters is in fact how successful they are, they are subtle and attractive and so it is hard to spot the powerful propaganda message they contain.
One of the posters in the booklet has been used for the cover of a collection of George Orwell's Essays and not knowing the origin of the image I assumed it came from some socialist background, it has the feel of a lot of Soviet art work, and that seemed to sort of fit - although not quite - with Orwell. Now finding it is a detail of an EMB poster it seem rather less appropriate and while the book cover does credit the image to the EMB as well as the artist I wonder how much the person who selected the image knew of the background of its creation?
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Venus as a Boy by Luke Sutherland
Venus as a Boy
I have been meaning to read this book for about 5 years having read a review in the Gay Times shortly after it was first published - and it has been lurching in a dark corner of my Amazon account until a few weeks ago when I finally brought it to take with me on holiday.
As after all that time the weight of expectation was heavy - and I am glad to report that the book did not disappoint.
It is a fable, a modern fairy tale, and in a complex way the ending is a happy one. Like that best fairy tales, through its fantasy and otherness the story manages to bring into sharp focus some truths about life and yourselves. There is a lot of darkness in the story but there is light too and the interplay between the two is the centre of how believable the story - these are extraordinary yet immensely authentic characters.
I loved this book but I also had a weird sense of de ja vu as though I knew the story even before it unfolded - since getting home I have googled it and while there was a play adapted from the book I am pretty sure I never saw it so I am at a lost to explain that feeling - maybe that is just a sign of brilliant writing.
I have been meaning to read this book for about 5 years having read a review in the Gay Times shortly after it was first published - and it has been lurching in a dark corner of my Amazon account until a few weeks ago when I finally brought it to take with me on holiday.
As after all that time the weight of expectation was heavy - and I am glad to report that the book did not disappoint.
It is a fable, a modern fairy tale, and in a complex way the ending is a happy one. Like that best fairy tales, through its fantasy and otherness the story manages to bring into sharp focus some truths about life and yourselves. There is a lot of darkness in the story but there is light too and the interplay between the two is the centre of how believable the story - these are extraordinary yet immensely authentic characters.
I loved this book but I also had a weird sense of de ja vu as though I knew the story even before it unfolded - since getting home I have googled it and while there was a play adapted from the book I am pretty sure I never saw it so I am at a lost to explain that feeling - maybe that is just a sign of brilliant writing.
To Babel and Back by Robert Minhinnick
To Babel and Back
Another book read following a review in Planet
I found this quiet a challenging book and I think that if I hadn't taken it on holiday with me I would have probably given up on it well before half way. However I am very glad to have carried on and overall I enjoyed reading it.
What was difficult about the book was working out exactly what you were reading, there seem to be an undercurrent of political comment and I spent a good deal of time trying to grasp what the big message of the book was. However about half way through I gave up on that and by letting go of that search and just allowing myself to wallow in the words I found the experience so much more enjoyable.
If you feel the need for a pigeon hole for the book that it fits best into the category of a collection of poems, as while the sections are connected and there are echos of theme from one to another the linkage is fairly loose. The writing has the quality of a dream and to quote the book "crossing sleep's border we would find ourselves in two places at once, because two places are what the god of sleep allows..." much of the book exists in two, three, four, or more places at once - and therein is the richness and the challenge.
As a bit of an aside to the main theme of the book I enjoyed the rant about Bill Bryson that occurs near the start of the book which centre on the contrast to another writer Kerouac "Whereas Kerouac didn't give a damn for his reader. If he had he might have been a better writer. But at least Kerouac has soul, even if that soul has shat its pants, is tormented, damned ... Meanwhile ... Bryson travels to Maine. He finds nothing of interest. So he tell us there is nothing of interest in Maine in prose that contains nothing of interest..."
Another book read following a review in Planet
I found this quiet a challenging book and I think that if I hadn't taken it on holiday with me I would have probably given up on it well before half way. However I am very glad to have carried on and overall I enjoyed reading it.
What was difficult about the book was working out exactly what you were reading, there seem to be an undercurrent of political comment and I spent a good deal of time trying to grasp what the big message of the book was. However about half way through I gave up on that and by letting go of that search and just allowing myself to wallow in the words I found the experience so much more enjoyable.
If you feel the need for a pigeon hole for the book that it fits best into the category of a collection of poems, as while the sections are connected and there are echos of theme from one to another the linkage is fairly loose. The writing has the quality of a dream and to quote the book "crossing sleep's border we would find ourselves in two places at once, because two places are what the god of sleep allows..." much of the book exists in two, three, four, or more places at once - and therein is the richness and the challenge.
As a bit of an aside to the main theme of the book I enjoyed the rant about Bill Bryson that occurs near the start of the book which centre on the contrast to another writer Kerouac "Whereas Kerouac didn't give a damn for his reader. If he had he might have been a better writer. But at least Kerouac has soul, even if that soul has shat its pants, is tormented, damned ... Meanwhile ... Bryson travels to Maine. He finds nothing of interest. So he tell us there is nothing of interest in Maine in prose that contains nothing of interest..."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)