Pamela Aidan - Abandoned reading . . .

An Assembly such as This by Pamela Aidan

4 out of 10


A very good friend lent me 3 volumes and this was the first.
It is a great idea for a novel, based on Fitzwilliam Darcy's story, as it runs parallel to the events recounted in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
It is well-written, mimicking Austen's style.
But, ooooh, nooo, it can't be pulled off - for lots of reasons. No-one can replicate a writing style from the late 18th century in a way that is convincing enough, and no-one can replicate the finesse and subtlety of Austen's writing.
I found that I didn't want to know what Darcy was thinking - he was obsessing about Elizabeth Bennet all the time from the beginning according to this book, but that's not how I imagined it.

I suddenly realise how much I appreciate the bits in a novel that aren't told by the author. Now there is something to make me think.

I gave it to 50 pages, then stopped.

Sorry.

Salman Rushdie - Just finished reading . . .

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

not for me to give this a score out of ten


Oh, I have struggled to read the 647 pages of this book, but I made myself do it, because it has won such acclaim. And, of course, I'm glad that I worked hard on it. Not all books should be light and breezy, easy peasy.

Like mountains, the harder one has to work, the greater the achievement and one's perspective is changed by it.

Midnight's Children has more detail and to-ing and fro-ing backwards and forwards through time than I felt comfortable with. My poor brain wouldn't hold it all, so I know that I didn't get as much from it as I should. Living, as I do, in the North-West of England, I live alongside a lot of people who have migrated (or their parents, or grandparents did) from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and so I am glad to read books that teach me more about these countries and their people. I suspect that my lack of knowledge of history, though, stopped me from really understanding a lot of what Salman Rushdie was trying to tell me. I knew a bit about the history of Partition, and the divisions and issues around it.
I think he probably used allegory and metaphor that I didn't see, though I had some wonderful moments of enlightenment. His idea of capturing history and its flavours in pickle jars, at the end, was a bit spine-tingling.
What I learned; that this is a master craftsman in writing, that I wasn't bright / knowledgable enough to fully appreciate the book, that things went on in India in the 1970s that I was completely oblivious to, that Midnight's Children needs to be read again.

I need to read something easier for a while, I think.

Anne Tyler - Just finished reading . . .

'Digging to America' by Anne Tyler (audio-book)

8 out of 10


This is a short book. I bought it secondhand at an Oxfam shop, delighted to find some audio-books. It is set in Baltimore, and is about two families, one American, and one Iranian, that both adopt Korean babies.
It tells of their parallel contrasting stories, as they get used to parentdom, and as the families get to know each other. I think this is a book about migration and culture. It is also a lovely honest account of family life. I suppose it is about interactions between cultures and between generations.
I didn't fully understand the title until the day I had finished listening to the book.

I'm currently 'really' reading (in paper / book form) Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. What these two books have in common is that they are both about children being brought up by parents not their own, and about migration.

A matter of alarm

I am alarmed to find that someone else has a blog called 'World of Jackie'. So I'm wondering if I can change the name of my blog? Or maybe I should just brave it out.

Just finished reading . . .

'The Crimson Cavalier' (audio book)
by Mary Andrea Clarke

5 out of 10


As you may recall I listen to audio books in my car as I travel up and down the motorways of the North-West, and beyond. In order to avoid accidents I have to listen to light-weight, not-too-exciting, not-too-complex stories, preferably with a happy ending. With these books I positively look forward to facing the rush hour traffic.
Also, you may recall that the choice at my local library is fairly limited - they are mostly thrillers and detectives, and these do not fit my criteria, listed above. So, I am making myself work through the library's collection in alphabetical order. This time I had to choose an author beginning with 'C'.
Mary Andrea Clarke's 'Crimson Cavalier' is a Regency romp and it turned out also to be a who-dunnit. It is about an aristocratic young woman who gets her kicks by dressing up as a highwayman and holding up carriages. Then she has to solve a murder. Then she seems to be falling in love with a tall dark handsome man who we can see will take her in hand and tame her.
I have given it 5 out of 10 because it served its purpose, but I won't especially seek Mary's books out again.

In sharp contrast, I am still reading Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children (hard copy). I have read 2/3 of it. But where is it going?

The good news is that I found 2 good audio-books in an Oxfam shop, so I am now listening to one of them. The author doesn't begin with 'D', so that just shows that I am not ruled by my obsessions. (But I have nipped into the library, so I have a 'D' lined up.)

My secret diary 1972 January (ii)

Jan 21 - Jan 31st*
On Jan 21st went to Barry Aron's** in Manchester. He fitted a small brace on my bottom teeth. By the way I've finally had my 'fangs' out. I'm glad. Only the jabs hurt, not the actual extraction. Poor old J, she always gets dragged along to the dentist and optician's with me. What a friend to have though, she's great. I hate this brace thing really though, it's ugly and it makes my teeth ache.***
Jan 24th '72 - Put £1 in bank, towards holiday - thrills. I'll try my hardest to pay for my own holiday. It wouldn't be fair for mum and dad to have to pay.# I hope we have nice weather on holiday. I'm making lots of summery clothes. I think I'll take both pairs of jeans, smock & shorts****, brown smock, red skirt and jumper etc
I went to the optician's sometime in January to see if I could have contact lenses. He said I could which was nice, and about 6 weeks later I got them. I guess they suit me more than Norma, she couldn't wear them. I have had to work up - starting from two hours and adding 1 hour every Wednesday. I'm quite used to them now. I don;t really like wearing glasses now. (Would you believe it after 7 or 8 years?)

*Commentary
This is written as a continuous stream over all the pages during this period. I obviously went through a sloppy diary-keeping time. I made a note that I was writing all of this in April 1972, so it is really just an overview, lacking the detail and mundane bits that you get when writing an entry conscientiously every day. AND Dear Reader, I have to confess that entries become very sparse indeed through February, March, to mid-April, when they start again in very small writing, cramming a lot in.
What shall I do to keep you entertained during the gaps? I'll think of something.
** an orthodontist. Mum used to take me on the bus - it was quite a long way, and I remember being very scared. I wonder if there was no-one nearer, or if I needed some special skills that Barry Aron could offer.
*** My mouth was too small to accommodate all my teeth, so I went through a lengthy process of extractions and new braces which gently shifted my teeth into new positions. Is the normal number of teeth 32? I think I ended up with 22.
# It hasn't escaped my notice that last entry I left something out that would put me in a bad light, but here I leave something in that makes me look like a lovely devoted daughter.
****I drew a little arrow here, at a later time, and wrote 'They've got memories!!' I think I can recall why, but we will have to wait and see.

My secret diary 1972 January (i)

Jan 1 (Sun) Lady's birthday*
Guess I'd sort of better do a general thing up to April 23rd. Nothing dead spectacular though. You know how we (me
Jan 2 - 10
and J) planned to go to France this year? Well that's off because Lorette couldn't find someone for J to exchange with. Difficult to tell anyone at school though, because we made such a big splash about it. The best idea was to try and find some other kind of holiday before we told anyone. So . . we sent up for some Youth Hostelling brochures but the life seemed a bit too energetic for us. (You know us!) My dad suggested going to Butlins so we decided that we'd try and go on a self-catering Butlins holiday. However you can't go if you're single so J's mum is coming, and her sister and brother and we've invited Carol too. It should be fun. We've arranged it all (I'm speaking from May at the moment) and we've worked it out that it'll cost £9 each, not including spending money, food etc. I'll take about £16 / £17 I think. I'm a bit worried about Carol though. She's more energetic than J and me. Starting to collect my clothes and deciding what I'm taking. It's fun talking about it with J and Carol.
Jan 11 - 21
(in this section I embark on a long story about rifts between friends, making stories up, fictitious boys, real boys and jealousy. I'm not going to reproduce it perhaps because it is not just my story, and perhaps because it doesn't show me in a very good light! Sorry, dear reader)

*Commentary
I am 15 at this point in time. My entries for 1971, should you be looking for them, were sparse, and have already been featured.
Jan 1 - Lady was the family dog, black, half cocker spaniel and beautiful. I loved her very much. We had her since I was about 4 or 5. Dad got her to help cure my fear of dogs. He went to Manchester (Tib St pet shops) to get her with Norma. They went on the train and he carried Lady back under his coat so he didn't have to pay the fare. Or at least this is my version of the family version of the story. I'd better check it with my big sister.