Absolutely and Forever, Black Faces White Faces and Orbital

 

I was not sure this was really a Rose Tremain novel at the beginning. It is narrated at first by fifteen year old Marianne when she is looking back to an affair with the much older Simon. But of course, the relationship was doomed from the very start. Although it does haunt the narrator for all her life. Her expensive education is wasted as a result.

Forward to 1963 and she's nineteen. (I was also born in 1944 - more later). She's at secretarial college in London. (did our paths cross?) But she's a poor student and it's only when she works in a department store over Christmas, expert at wrapping presents, doe she find a kind of fulfillment. She meets Hugo, their friendship is warm and funny.

They marry despite her first love always at the back of her mind. But the marriage is hurt by a reckless act by Marianne, but on they go. Despite most reviews talking about the setting in the 1950's and 60's, they forget the last part in the 70's. So after that strange introduction, the novel becomes a powerful story about how someone's life can be dominated by what looks like a teenage crush. Well, perhaps it was more than that. But the author places us right inside the mind of Marianne, which is not always a happy place to be.

It was early on that I did wonder if the story was partly auto biographical? The author is a year older than Marianne (who is the same age as me). Her character attends an all girls boarding school, at the same time that I have left an all boys grammar in London and starting at a mixed grammar in Essex. In my class seven boys and twenty one girls. Don't ask. Then we were both in London in the 1960's, although I don't actually recognise it as the same place in the book. But at least I had a job. Maybe that is the main difference.

Ten short stories published in 1975 all have one thing in common. Jamaica.

BABE JUDE
Mrs Filling looking for her husband somewhere down the beach of Pineapple Bay. Originally from Barnes in London (that I would have called Surrey in my youth), she comes across the notorious local Babe Jude.
MISSUS MOON
Ned is eight and Missus Moon nearly a hundred. A passing friendship after Ned has seen a funeral.
THE BEST DAY OF MY EASTER HOLIDAYS
Ned is older but we are back again in Jamaica where his parents plump for an excursion led by driver Jolly Jackson. It becomes pretty hairy but they survive. But Ned's essay is only given a B by his teacher: "Egerton. Rubbish. See me."
THE POOL BOY
I guess that if, like Lady Fletcher (in Jamaica on doctor's advice but without her husband) sitting by the pool all day at a luxury hotel, you are bound to be accosted at times by its residents. But it's only after her husband arrives and they move to a bungalow by the pool that her sleep is interrupted.
THE WEEPING CHILD
A bi-annual visit to her daughter in Kingston, Jamaica for the elderly Mrs Kingston. At a party she tells a ghost story.
THE HOUSE ABOVE NEWCASTLE
Two startlingly good looking young people honeymoon at the Pineapple Bay Hotel in Jamaica. Catriona (Pussy to her friends) Fox-Coutts and her husband Boofy Fielding. Who do they see on the beach but Ned. Taking a car out into the wilderness after the rain has stopped, only to have another deluge. But at the top of the mountain they find shelter, and themselves at last.
SAUL ALONE
Narrated by Saul, nearly eighty, but he cannot speak due to a stroke. But he hears everything as his wife Ruthie holds forth beside the hotel pool, immaculate in appearance, forthright in manner. "He's been a wonderful man. (Seems like I'm dead)". They are visited by characters from other stories.
THE FIRST DECLENSION
"A suitable marriage. Really quite a remarkable marriage". Both tall, both rich. An appropriate wedding. Many years later, in middle age, Anne Shaw stays at home while her husband goes off the Barbados. No, it's actually our hotel in Kingston, Jamaica. The exchange of letters makes Anne extremely uncomfortable. "But marmalade (why she cannot go too), Latin (her daughter needs her help -no), Harrods's socks and local politics had always seemed her boundaries". But a strange unpredictable ending (see the title) when she is invited by a friend into his white Rolls Royce, jumps out and heads up Kensington Church Street (I know it so well).
SOMETHING TO TELL THE GIRLS
Miss Dee-Dee and Miss Gongers are ancient teachers at an all girls school. Both met at Cambridge before women were awarded degrees, Yes, that old. An interlude in Jamaica, stopping at Newcastle before, in-advisably, hiring an unreliable car to take them into the interior. (Gongers never drives at home). A kind of adventure.
MONIQUE
We are back in Pineapple Bay with young Ned and his parents. Also there are Lady Fletcher and her husband the judge, and that stunning Bolivian lady Mrs Santamarina. Is it she stiff as a board on the beach at night? Has Robert Shaw anything to do with it. (See above). But it's Lady Fletcher who is dispatched to see what is wrong. We never really know.

I should have known that the winner of the Booker Prize would be like this. A meditation rather than a story. Let's just take a few words from the start of the three paragraphs of a typical chapter. "Making lists is what Chie would do when she was a child ......", "When Anton was a child ......", "In her dreams Nell is .....".

Four astronauts and two cosmonauts in a space station. That's it. The best bit, for me, was when Shaun talks about a lesson at school when a teacher explains a Velazquez painting "The Ladies in Waiting" ("Les Meninas"). But there is too much introspection for me "Examine ourselves in endless bouts of fascinated distraction", so much what they see from the windows, and dreams.

Two thirds through I thought there might be some drama when Anton finds a lump on his neck. But no. He avoids saying anything to save the mission. I should have known.

I posted about I'm Alright Jack when it was the subject of one of Sky Arts Classic Movies. See post 23rd November.2023. This was an early film role for Peter Sellers and he makes the most of his time on screen. This is a post war state of the nation film produced by Roy Boulting and directed by his brother John. Ian Carmichael appears in a type of role for which he became famous, as the upper class buffoon. It was supposed to be funny, and maybe it was in 1959. It is more of a satire on the clash of the workers and management.

I remembered the Doris Day song of the title, but never before seen the movie. She appears with James Garner ( famous in our house when I was young for starring in Maverick). But I preferred his mother played by Thelma Ritter. Some witty lines that made us laugh, great sets and clothes all in sparkling colour. 

From Ealing Studios came this 1949 comedy based on the novel by Compton Mackenzie. Produced by Michael Balcon  and directed by Alexander Mackendrick, the Scottish island of Barra stands in for the fictional Todday. During the second world war he inhabitants have run out of their most important commodity, whisky. The war has left them abandoned, until the SS Cabinet Minister runs aground with 50,000 cases of the stuff on board. In fog, their captain had spoken the immortal words "We're nowhere near an island ...... (crash!)". The crew come ashore and are quickly removed to the mainland. 

It' s the pompous Mr Waggett (captain of the home guard) who organises the guard of the ship, but the islanders have other ideas. Here are some wonderful characters including two romantic sub-plots. And why does James Robertson Justice always plays the doctor? The film was explored in detail in Sky Arts Classic Movies that I reviewed here on 18th September 2024. 

The Art of Fiction by David Lodge - Parts 1 - 10

 

This is the book I chose following the recent death of David Lodge. I had read most of his novels so it had to be non fiction. If the preface is anything to go by, I'm in for a treat over these fifty chapters. Each starts with a short extract from a novel or two, and the author goes on to explain it's particular features.

1 Beginning

Emma by Jane Austen (1816)  and The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford (1915).

So when does a novel begin? How long is the beginning? David Lodge says it should "draw us in". ("Not an easy task"). Both extracts show how we are "hooked" from the start. After dissecting each in turn, Lodge gives us examples of the many ways of starting a novel such as Brighton Rock ("Hale knew before he had been in Brighton for three hours that they meant to murder him")  and James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake that starts in the middle of a sentence.

2 The Intrusive Author

Adam Beade by George Eliot (1859) and Howard's End by E M Forster (1910).

Not so prevalent today (when the novel directly addresses the reader) as around the turn of the century "the intrusive authorial voice fell into disfavour". Personally, I don't mind it.

3 Suspense

A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy (1873).

It was only when I read Lodge's explanation of the extract did I fully understand what was happening. So you really need context when reading such a short extract. But the book sounds great, set as it is in North Cornwall.

4 Teenage Skaz

The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger (1951).

Here Lodge is talking about the main character. "The feature's of Holden's narrative style in the first person (Skaz) is that it makes it sound like speech, and a teenager's speech at that". I love that type of prose. "You should have seen the way they said Hello". And lots more examples. "The informality of Holden's discourse is the guarantee of his spontaneity and authenticity". It is only "this style that makes the book interesting" and so a "pleasure to read and re-read".  

5  The Epistolary Novel.

The Trick of It by Michael Frayn (1989).

Yes, there are a lot of clever words in this book, many of which I have had to look up as I did here. "Novels in the form of letters". If like in this book you are addressing one particular person, you know who they are and what that reaction might be, so colouring your thoughts. "The narrator must vividly convey the comedy of his plight, but he cannot be allowed true eloquence, for that would contradict his inability to master "the trick of it" (i.e. writing fiction). that has already been mastered by the heroine in the book. 

6 Point of View

What Masie Knew by Henry James (1897).

Maisie is a child and although the book is written from her point of view, it needs "a naïve viewpoint articulated in a mature style: elegant, complex, subtle". It "makes reading James a strenuous but rewarding experience. Lodge breaks down that long first sentence to demonstrate how it restricts the narrative to one point of view. (Again Lodge uses words like parallelism and antithesis that he would never use in one of his books). 

7 Mystery

Mrs Bathurst by Rudyard Kipling (1904). 

Mystery or enigma ("how did she do it") is different to the previous piece on Suspense ("what will happen"). Those novels of Charles Dickens and Willkie Collins led eventually to the classic detective stories. In Mrs Bathurst the disappearance of a British sailor is the whole basis of the story.

Two books by this author on my shelves. Just So Stories, a present from my father's mother (Gran) for Christmas 1950 when I'm six, and Thy Servant a Dog from my parents for my seventh birthday in 1951.

8 Names

How Far Can You Go by David Lodge (1980).

Nice Work by David Lodge (1988).

City of Glass by Paul Auster (1985).

I was not impressed with the first book even though it won the Whitbread Prize. I was bored by it's "dissertation on the relevance of Catholicism". Lodge quotes Shakespeare with "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet", but what was Henry James doing to call one of his characters Fanny Assingham? But Lodge Tells us "novel names are never neutral ...... they always signify even if just ordinariness". he goes on to talk about the difficulty in sorting out the names for the first of those two books. Auster's piece comes from one of three novellas that make up New York Trilogy of which Ghosts has characters just with names of colours. 

9 The Stream of Consciousness

 Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Wolfe (1925). 

Not a fan of Ms Wolfe. Although Lodge tells us she gives "imaginative access to the inner lives of other human beings, even if they are fiction". He quotes a phrase by William James "to characterize the continuous flow of thought and sensation in the human mind" and that "it renders thought as reported speech". Such as "Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself". But this is not explained. 

10 Interior Monologue

Ulysses by James Joyce (1922).

Is this book still on every school curriculum? I hope not. Only different to the previous part by use of the first person. Lodge says "We become acquainted with the principle characters  not by being told about them, but by sharing their most intimate thoughts". Apparently very difficult to use successfully. An example of when the main character leaves his house: "All right till I come back any hour". 

Inside Cinema Shorts - Episodes 71 to 80

"Look at the phenomenon of of techno-orientalism" says Zing Tsjeng as he introduces Episode 71 Hollywood's Eastern Futures. This is where sci fi movies are influenced by Japan, China and Korea. From  downtown Tokyo in Blade Runner (1982) to Serenity (2005), Ghost in the Shell (2017) that caused major controversy in Asia, and Ex-Machina (2014). I should have known we would see The Matrix (1999) (groan).

Jan Asante shows us how Boss Ladies in Episode 72 are the "defiant, complex women of the work-place comedy drama". From Working Girl (1988) to The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and Late Night (2019). We even see Judy Dench as M in Golden Eye (1995). And lots of others I didn't know.

From high school movies to rom coms, Episode 73 is The Gay Best Friend narrated by James Victoria Luxford. We see clips from films such as My Best Friend's Wedding (1997 and the superior Crazy Rich Asians (2018). But there are a lot of terrible movies, only to be saved by the brilliant actors Simon Callow and John Hannah in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). 

Winona Rider gets her very own piece by Rachel Pronger in Episode 74's Winona, Interrupted. This is about how the 1980's and 90's were good for her before " a fall from grace and a captivating comeback. A fairly predictable run through of those films when she was young. From Heathers (1988) to Little Women (1994) and then that jump forward to films like Black Swan (2010).

Episode 75 is Welcome to Jackass by Charles Bramesco. Oh dear no.

I wanted to know what Episode 76 The B Word was about. Catherine Bray explains it's B for Bisexual. But is the B word ever mentioned in a movie or do we have to work it out for ourselves? From Stanley Kubrick's 1960 Spartacus (???) to Blue Velvet (1986) and lots more. Including The Wizard of Oz (1939) ????? 

Thank goodness I'm on more familiar ground with Jasper Sharp's Episode 77 Akira 

Kurosawa. Jasper tells us that he is "the one Japanese director who is a household name internationally". We start with Rashomon (1950) to Seven Samurai (1954) : how many future Hollywood movies did this inspire. Lots were shot totally on location. We see excerpts where there is an amazing use of the weather, especially heavy downpours and wind. Two other films: Throne of Blood (1957) and Ran (1985) were both inspired by Shakespeare plays, the first Macbeth and the other King Lear. Jasper is in awe of one scene in Ran and the burning castle where Hidetora makes his exit. All on YouTube.

What is Michael J Fox doing in a photograph that introduces Episode 78 Dinner Tables? Well, do you remember that scene when he has gone back in time and there is a family dinner? Jacob Stolworthy says these are "delicious movie moments". We see so many. We even get Hannibal Lector, and 1979's Alien. Not to mention The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Citizen Kane (1941). Funnily enough the scene at the dinner table in Boyhood (2014) was surprisingly excellent. From Shadow of a Doubt (1943) to Get Out (2017) and lots more.

Who can forget Alice Lowe in Prevenge (2016). Leila Latif gives her pride of place with extended clips in Episode 79 Pregnant Cinema. Of course we see Rosemary's Baby (1968), Juno (2007) (hurrah), Fargo (1996) (double hurrah for the extended clips), A Quiet Place (2018) and Tully (2018) both excellent.

No guesses for who we see in Episode 80 Cary Grant. Charlotte Crofts tells us he was born Archibald Leach. We see clips from some of his early films: Blonde Venus (1932), Sylvia Scarlett (1935), The Awful Truth (1937), Bringing up Baby and Holiday (both 1938) and Only Angels have Wings (1939). Before those more famous modern films which are all so familiar.

Cold but no snow

I found these photos of the snow that arrived in January 2010. 

This is what I posted at the time.

There are some people comparing the big freeze that started before Christmas with the winter of 1963. They cannot have been there. It started snowing on Boxing Day, and London ended up with two feet of snow. Temperatures stayed below freezing until March! I had just turned eighteen and can remember the roads and pavements being snowbound through January and February.

I did a paper round in those days, every day from Monday to Saturday, and I bore everybody to death with my story that I never missed a delivery. How I managed to get around on my bike on the icy roads, I have no idea, but I never came off once. At that age you must never feel the cold .

It was an article in the Stroud Times (with some great photos) that reminded me that January 1963 was the coldest month since 1814. Chris Packham presents Winter Watch - The Big Freeze that is on iPlayer and on BBC 4 next Thursday. 

10th January 2025

No snow here so far today, but last night temperatures were down to -7C. At 2pm still at -3C and our cars are still covered in ice. As they were over two hours later in the photo below. It was very cold out there.

11th January 2025

Freezing fog this morning as temperatures dipped to -6C.

The frost of yesterday never cleared and this morning's freeze has added another layer.

Conclave, We Live in Time and Nosferatu

 

Conclave is a superb adaptation of the book by Robert Harris. Ralph Fiennes dominates the film as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence who is responsible for organising the selection of the next Pope. His patient and (mostly) dignified presiding over the conclave is a wonder to behold. All in the face of disturbing factions pressing forward their own candidate. All except Lawrence's friend played by Stanley Tucci whose own candidacy is doomed to failure. Even better, in my opinion, was Isabella Rossellini (starred in Blue Velvet in 1986 and Wild at Heart in 1990) as the elderly Sister Agnes. Neil Young in December's Sight and Sound  says she "has a big impact despite limited screen time". But ignored in Tom Shone's five star review in the Sunday Times.

Neil also notes the film being shot in "handsome widescreen" and calls it "an engrossing ecclesiastical hoot". I was slightly disappointed by the ending, I guess the final choice of Pope was supposed to be a surprise and one to match the tongue in cheek feel of the movie. 

Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield put on a very decent show in We Live in Time. Written by Nick Payne and directed by John Crowley, we follow the pair in their relationship at mixed up points in time. These are a little confusing at first, and keep you on your toes to guess where we actually are. But these type of romantic dramas can be a little stale, and at least this way it keeps you guessing and interrupts it's otherwise distinct theatricality. And just maybe, it's better to see how they met half way through the film and later on when they got together. 

But then there are moments when you have to suspend belief, or just despair. How can you have in one person a top class skating champion and then an world class chef? But towering above it all is an award worthy performance from Florence Pugh. The critic Peter Bradshaw describes it as her "muscular, sensual, charismatic presence" and the film was worth it just for that. One very small role for a terrific Kerry Godliman as a petrol station manager and cameos for other British acting talent.

Leigh Singer in the Winter Edition of Sight and Sound tells us that "the film remains eminently watchable" and that the "mutual chemistry is there from the beginning". Tom Shone in the Sunday Times pointed out the "terrific script" and John Crowley's "funny, wise, deeply touching film". I could not agree more.

Again it's Tom Shone in the Sunday Times who came up with a line with which I completely agree. "If great cinematography could a great film make, Robert Egger's Nosferatu would be a masterpiece". Every frame is a delight to the eye, many in a washed out colour it's almost black and white. 

Eggers has not only gone back to the source material of the 1922 film, but has paid tribute to Bram Stoker's Dracula, the 1897 book that inspired that movie. Indeed, the 1922 Nosferatu was an unauthorised adaptation of Dracula that mainly changed the names of the characters. So much so that Stoker's widow sued and the court ordered all copies of Nosferatu be destroyed. Except at least a few survived. So for me, I now realise why the plot seemed so familiar. 

Now I have to admit to seeing many, many adaptations of the classic vampire story. This one sticks to original except in a small number of instances. Here we have Thomas Hutter (a hesitant Nicholas Hault) sent to the castle of the scary Count Orlok. How he managed to escape left me bewildered. But it's his wife Ellen who takes centre stage. Wonderfully played by Lily-Rose Depp, we not only fear for her troubled state of mind, but why the Count is only interested in her. The film itself is over two hours and for me, the story is not up to this length of running time. 

The movie has not had a review in the Reviews section of Sight and Sound magazine, but it is the subject of a feature in the Winter edition. Roger Luckhurst talks to the director. Eggers it is who says "one of the things I like about Nosferatu more than Dracula is that it does distil it into a simpler fairy tale: the story of the demon-lover". Well we certainly saw that in the film, but I thought that this might have been it's only failing.

I was on the lookout for actors who had worked before with the director. Willem Dafoe is here playing vampire hunter Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz, and Ralph Ineson. It was he that I described in my review of Eggers' The Northman as the worlds worst actor. Just to put me straight, here he was excellent. 

Wood Pigeons in the Pseudoacacia

 

Looking out of the lounge window this morning, I spotted at least sixteen wood pigeons in the tree opposite. These two photos were taken through the glass on a bright, sunny, cold morning. I love the tree that stands in a tiny vacant piece of land, just over the fence at the far end of the garden. 

Two days later and they have all disappeared.