july-august 2018 books...

Runaway (Peter May): Published in 2015, the story tells of five teenage friends who run away to London from Glasgow 50 years ago in search of a music career. Within a year, three have returned, damaged. Fifty years on, the three friends, now in their sixties, journey back to London to finally confront a dark truth from their past. May is a brilliant storyteller (apparently, he too ran away to London in his youth after being expelled from school) and has become a favourite novelist of mine over recent years. It’s a gripping story, but it was also a reminder of my own life in the ‘swinging sixties’ (although mine wasn’t quite as nerve-wracking or exciting  as theirs!) and the reflections of a grandfather about his regrets and missed opportunities… but also about the faint pride in some of the things he had achieved. I very much enjoyed the book.
The Handmaiden’s Tale (Margaret Atwood): Yes, I know I’ve come very late to read this (and, no, I haven’t watched any of the television episodes… so far). First published in 1985(!), it’s a quite brilliant, vivid and terrifying novel, set in a near-future New England, of a totalitarian state which has overthrown the US government. As you’re probably already aware, it explores themes of suppressed women in a patriarchal society and the various means by which these women attempt to gain individualism and independence. The Handmaids are forced to provide children by proxy for infertile women of a higher social status, the wives of ‘Commanders’. Not only is the book scary, but it’s also sobering to think that it’s already more than 30 years old. At the time of its publication, it must have been somewhat laughable to think that anything approaching such a regime might be considered possible – certainly in the western world. And yet, having been on the recent anti-Trump march (and hearing/reading his various knee-jerk comments/decisions) and seeing a number of women dressed in their Handmaid’s ‘uniform’, you begin to wonder. A stunning book with a very important message… by a brilliantly-gifted writer.
Iona Of My Heart (Neil Paynter): This is a book of four months’ daily readings which reflect the concerns of the Iona Community. Editor Paynter called for contributions and it was lovely to see that two volunteer friends (Noelia Mendoza and Lee Ann Monat) from my time on the island in 2012 contributed to the book (I now regret not getting round to submitting something myself!). ‘Iona of my Heart’ is an apt title (certainly for me anyway) and I found that the daily readings gave me a daily rhythm of reflection and contemplation in the same way that the daily liturgies did during my two months on the island. 
The House Of Mirth (Edith Wharton): This novel, published in 1905, tells the story of a beautiful, impoverished, 29 year-old woman in New York. She’s a socially adept, intelligent and attractive young woman but her dependence on high society is her Achilles heel. Fashioned for a life of luxury and ease, she conducts herself as if she is entitled to such a life, despite being unable to afford it, and she scorns those who lead alternative lifestyles. Her father loses his fortune and she becomes increasingly desperate to find herself a husband to support her - high society life and attending regular house parties at which she endeavours to retain the superficial endorsement of the ‘movers and the shapers’ of social taste. Alas, it was not to be and she becomes vulnerable to gossip and slander. She’d grown up in a world of high social status where it seems that her only purpose was to secure a ‘leisure-class marriage’…
Strangely, I found that reading it so soon after finishing ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, there were some haunting parallels between the two stories (well, for me anyway)… worlds dominated by male status and power – either reducing female roles to mere vehicles for reproduction or providing them with the means to enjoy a privileged existence (without status, power and wealth, a man no longer counted: “he had become extinct when he ceased to fulfil his purpose”). Wharton writes beautifully; she has a wonderful, frequently very humorous, ‘turn of phrase’. It’s a frank and poignant novel about New York society at the beginning of the 20^th century and I very much enjoyed it. 
Reservoir 13 (Jon McGregor): I love McGregor’s books… and I really loved this one. A teenage girl on holiday goes missing in the hills; villagers are called up to join the search; news reporters descend on normally quiet village in the heart of England. The search continues for days, months… and years, as does rural life. The novel takes us on a thirteen year, teasing journey as we follow the inhabitants and activities of ongoing village life – and, all the time, asking ourselves if so-and-so might be the guilty party? Somewhat predictably, given that there must be more than three dozen(?) people involved, I kept needing to . on the particular characters (who is she/he married to? who’s daughter/son is this? what’s the relationship between x and y? etc etc). But brilliant writing - capturing the year-round rhythm of life and individuals in a rural community… and a truly haunting, enthralling story.