Books and words
Current Reads
All quiet on the western front by Erich Maria Remarque
I find when I tell people about this book I get one of a couple of answers.
First, many have “read” it at school. When they could scarcely begin to comprehend the tragedy unfolding in it’s pages. They remember the details of dreadful injuries and gore which young people focus on. Some enjoyed it even at that age. It is incredibly powerful.
Others recoil at the thought of a book written from the German perspective from the First World War trenches. They have stilted, sepia views of this moment in history and cannot imagine anything derived from that era and subject as being worthy of reading. Their greatest exposure to the tragedies of that time being history classes and possibly Blackadder on tv.
I cannot recommend it enough. I also cannot think of a book which I have had to lay down so often, to recover, after being deeply upset or moved from the imagery confronting me. Incredibly moving and emotional
One Man Caravan by Robert Edison Fulton
From a romantic notion blurted out at a dinner-party to a remarkable and enjoyable journey around the World. Set between the wars, starting in 1932, Robert decides to take an early motorbike and travel around the Globe recording and documenting his experiences and observations on the way. He must have been some guy and it is a fantastic view on a World which has changed beyond recognition over the last 75 years.
Recommended to anyone - not just the usual Motorbike enthusiast. This really is an extraordinary journey - it just so happens he does it on a motorcycle!
Previously Read
Prime Obsession by John Derbyshire
An account of one of the most famous mathematical hypotheses, named after Bernard Riemann. One of those curiosities where an author takes what appears an intrinsically specialised and “dull” book and invigorates it.
He has the clever mix of semi-mathematical discussion in odd chapters and biography inside of the even chapters. It works well. Enjoying it - I shall finish this one.
Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
Arthur and George is a fictitious book completely based on a factual, real-life and fascinating story.
I do not intend to say more than that. This very successful and award-winning book is possibly well known to most people, however I stumbled upon it - completely unaware of it’s subject. I am pleased I did. The plot has you despairing for the character, George. In fact it is George who is the real central character in spite of Arthur’s obvious fame.
Incredibly, this story really did happen - I imagine much as the story recites, roughly 100 years ago. It is period but it does not seem old fashioned or dusty, not in the least.
An interesting and eye-opening book about themes still much debated. Justice, race, bigotry and individuality. Bad enough his predicament then, in modern, terror-obsessed Britain who knows what might have become of George! 
South from Granada by Gerald Brenan
I decided to re-visit the Alpujarra and southern Andalucia by returning to this classic from Gerald Brenan. After WW1 the author was close to breakdown, desperate to experience poetry and literature and the recipient of a small war pension. His solution was to travel to a remote village in the South of Spain, take 2000 books and soak in the atmosphere and learn how to love once again. His journey is understated, educated, intelligent and human.
It is no picture book. It is a true snapshot taken through the eyes of a would-be Bloomsbury boy who had experienced the Empire, the Somme and physical illness and who then decided to actually pay attention to the world sarrounding him.
Recently, Chris Stewart has penned 3 novels and countless engaging articles about life very close to the same part of Spain. Much as I enjoyed “Driving over Lemons” it is the Brenan book which I always return to. His description of the personalities, geography, love affairs and society he encounters are glorious to me. There is no vanity or laziness in the writing. As his lifestyle is stripped to necessities so is his writing. Yet it is free and beautiful and evocative in many places. So many modern travel writers try to recreate life as a gaudy, filter-enhanced, postcard picture of the places they are subsidised to visit. Gerald Brenan captures a clear, gentle, colour snap of his life spent in Yegen during a period of time when black and white was all the camera could capture. Perhaps that is the reason it seems to have been so important for him to record it faithfully.
Leo the African by Amin Maalouf
A book documenting the life of “Leo” - originally introduced as Hassan Al-Wazzan. Hassan is a Spanish-born muslim surviving during the tumultuous years of the inquisition and the fall of Granada from the Moors. It is romantic yet, I felt, not overtly sentimental book. He travels widely and tirelessly, meeting influential people, making and losing money and always surviving. He is emotional, educated and seems like a version of the Woody Allen character “Zelig”!
He travels through the huge, mystical landscapes of North Africa, the Ottoman empire, Rome and the Meditteranean. Throughout it all he is falling in love, evading danger and always watching and remembering with his intention of recording his life story. Hassan is a legendary character believed to be based on a real traveller who lived in the 16th Century. Probably much more myth than reality - his World is in constant flux. He crosses religious boundaries, national boundaries and seems to bound through them all. I found myself wishing he would be angry or take a political stance. He never does. Instead he learns and watches without ever simply becoming a spectator.
The prose is beautiful in places and a real pleasure for those with a romantic head and easily stirred heart! I recommend it to anyone and hope they can smell the heat of the African sands and picture the beauty of the palaces and the lovers.
