Book Review – Eliza Leslie and the Moral Rectitude of Young Girls

I recently stumble upon the short stories of Eliza Leslie (1787 – 1858) and found their content revealing and curious; but 'curious' not always in a good way. I'd been looking for American and other nineteenth century short stories on Project Gutenberg for download to my newly acquired kindle and stumbled across this name almost by accident.

Eliza Leslie was one of a remarkable number of nineteenth century women writers. Born in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) in 1787 and lived to be 70. She was certainly a gifted writer and her stories are worth reading even if their style and content is somewhat old fashioned. But then, almost by definition, she's bound to be old fashioned.

Today Eliza is best remembered for cookbooks and her etiquette books. The short biographies I have read concentrate on this arena of her writing. However she also seems to have been a prolific short story writer and to have had many stories published in the magazines of her time. The book I read was STORIES FOR HELEN (1845) and written such that “juvenile readers may derive from them a little instruction blended with a little amusement” and it seems typical of her work in this genre. Clearly from the title (and the titles of her other books mentioned therein: STORIES FOR EMMA and STORIES FOR ADELAIDE) the market Eliza aiming for was what we would today call teenage girls.

Book Review – Tony Cliff: A Marxist for His Time by Ian Birchall

I Joined the Socialist Workers Party in 1977. The first properly socialist book I read (as opposed to newspaper or journal article) was Ian Birchall's Workers Against the Monolith. This book, written in 1973, was a discussion of the Communist Parties, primarily European, since the Second World War. A couple of years ago I reread this work to see how well it stood up to the intervening years. Of course much has changed within the CPs over this period. Some have all but disappeared; for example the British CP where all that remains are a few squabbling fragments. All have seriously declined and what little remains is largely indistinguishable from labour or social democratic parties. So I was pleasantly surprised to find much of Birchall's thesis stood up reasonably well to the test of time; albeit on a vanishing issue for socialists.

In practical terms I drifted away from the SWP in the mid 1990s. There was no grand haemorrhage or bickering, simply inactivity. Though I still pretty much agree with these politics, read their publications, and contemplate getting involved again – in the near future but not right now. So it was of interest to read Birchall's latest book on the principle founder of this tradition.

Tony Cliff: A Marxist for His Time is so much more than a celebrity biography; the kind stacked high on supermarket shelves and disposed of alongside the remnants of that ready meal. It takes on many big issues. From the class nature of Stalinist Russia, Maoist China, through the post war boom and subsequent decline, along the sixties rising tide of rebellion and its subsequent downturn. In fact much of post war history is touched upon in some way.

During the early period Cliff and the International Socialists (later the Socialist Workers Party – IS/SWP) got three big questions, broadly speaking, right. Three questions that developed Marxism and updated its power in explaining the world. The first issue was the State Capitalist nature of Russia and the other so called 'communist' states. Most critics of the theory view it in ahistorical terms. But it only makes sense when you view capitalism as a world system, a system of interconnecting rivalries, and this system had developed to a certain point. The theory explained the how state could act as a unit of capitalist development. So a strangled revolution, as in Russia by Stalin, or a military takeover, as in Eastern Europe, could lead to state economies competing on the world stage. In turn this explained the internal workings of these systems. This understanding made sense of events like the 1956 Hungarian uprising, the Prague Spring, and later, the collapse of 'communism'.

Book Review – Some More Books on Writing

I've been wading recently through a quagmire of books on writing. Really I should give it up. I see it as extracting the best from the conventional wisdom; but then the problem with the conventional wisdom is it's… well… it's conventional… and… and it's not always wisdom. I should have known this all along. Having picked up a few useful tips along the way, I must admit the ratio of gold to dirt is painfully low; all but making you want to give up on the prospecting lifestyle. These are some of the books that have recently dulled my addled brain.

It's an odd thing: but books on writing stories and novels contain very little about the subject of plotting; those books aimed at screen writing contain more useful guidelines. This is odd because a novel, potentially at least, can do so much more than a film script. This does not pose too much of a problem as much that's written about script writing is easily translatable into novel writing. Linda J Cowgill's The Art of Plotting is a reasonable little book. However it's only superficially about plotting; the large scale sweep of plot twists and turns somehow gets forgotten. Instead we get scene sequences. Now if we accept the idea that scene sequences is not plotting but one level below plotting and above individual scenes then it's an interesting concept.

Scene sequences (I shall use my own terms rather than follow those of Cowgill) are plot events that follow a particular pattern; a plan-action-result sequence. Here the plan scene is where the characters decide what they intend to do, action scene(s) is where they attempt to carry out the plan, and the result scene is where you show your characters response to what actually happened. Cowgill's point in developing these sequences is to show the characters emotional response to events; to highlight detail that could have been missed; it's a tool to guide the writer in aiding the readers emotional engagement with the story.

Book Review – 1911: Art and Revolution in Liverpool by David Bingham

David Bingham's book covers much more than Liverpool in 1911. Primarily it is a biography of – as the subtitle suggests – the life and times of Albert Lipczinski.

Born just outside Danzig in 1876 Lipczinski's early years are a matter of speculation though he had begun his artistic studies. The twenty year old Lipczinski then made his way to Liverpool to continue these studies.

Much of the book is taken up with these Liverpool years; mostly because these years were the most eventful but also because they are the ones most documented. Here Lipczinski met the remarkable 16 year old Elizabeth Milne; a girl of Irish descent who became his muse and he eventually married. In many ways Elizabeth contributed as much to the limited success that Lipczinski had throughout his life.

With Elizabeth's help he was on the fringes of a number of social groups. He mixed with the early academicians in what was becoming Liverpool University. He dabbled in gypsy life. He was a student at the Sandon Studios, a rival, freer, more adventurous, artistic body to the official art institutions. And later he became more involved with exhibiting at these Studios.

International Socialism 132

I've not long finished reading the latest issue of the International Socialism Journal.

There highlight in this issue, for me at least, was the reviews of Ian Birchall's new bibliography of Tony Cliff; maybe it's just me reliving my youth. I heard Cliff speak a few times but never had the chance to speak to him. Christian Høgsbjerg's review is complementary but I found that of Nigel Harris most interesting. Curiously, in a footnote, Harris says he's refused permission for his book on China – Mandate of Heaven – to be republished; this is sad as I still think it's one of the best books on China ever written.

The paperback edition of Birchall's biography has just been issued and I already have my copy.

The fightback and rebellion against the cuts and crisis has taken a number of forms; some politicly focused and others chaotic. The exact trajectory has depended on a countries tradition of rebellion and also on the nature those groups who have been first drawn into protest. In this ISJ issue Andy Durgan and Joel Sans describe the events of the 15 May movement in the Spain. Then Jonny Jones describes the recent riots here in Britain. The real problem for socialists is how to provide these protests with the focus to win without stifling the creativity of those newly drawn into struggle. This must be a two way process where the old revolutionaries learn new forms; but also one where revolutionaries are able to point to past struggles and draw on lessons of history. Anti-capitalism, after all, has a long history; almost as long as the history of capitalism itself.

There's a solid chunk within this quarters ISJ discussing the current state world economy. Mike Haynes gives a largely factual account of global mega cities. Along the way he looks a population and class trends within the world poor. There is much interesting detail presented here. This is useful as the facts alone help dispel many of the cruder media myths about many areas of the world.

Guglielmo Carchedi looks at some of the key aspects of the world economy. The most important part of the essay is an examination of the trend of the Rate of Profit for the world economy since the late 1940s. A difficult thing to do as governments tend not to produce statistics that easily map onto Marxist economic categories. This measure is importance; the lower the Rate of Profit the more difficult it is for the capitalist system to extricate itself from or avoid cyclical crisis or other shocks to the system. Carchedi's data shows that trend for the Rate of Profit fell from the late 1940s through to the mid 1980s. It then fluctuated or even rose somewhat – but did not return to, say, 1950s levels. Interestingly Carchedi also shows that most of this later rise was a result of the increasing exploitation of workers. In other words even in this period the underlying Rate of Profit fell. And this is the root cause of the growing financialization the economy. This is an important, if necessarily technical, discussion.

The next piece on the economy is a somewhat petulant book review by Joseph Choonara. Not having read Tom McNally's book I cannot say if he is deserving of such petulance. If you look past Choonara's tone then there appears some valid points. Even if his accusations of exaggeration, while technically correct, do seem a little… well… exaggerated. In the final paragraph of the review Choonara seems to recognise his bad tempered tone and offer a few conciliatory words. But by then, of course, it's too late. In many ways the previous article by Carchedi is a better answer to Tom McNally.

Colin Wilson looks at Queer Theory. This is a current fad among some radical elements in the LGBT movement. Wilson seems to offer a somewhat inconclusive assessment of this theory; or maybe I should read the essay again – it could well be this. For a more general history of the LGBT movement see Wilson's earlier interesting essay. And Wilson provides some background to Foucault see here.

The long history of blacks in Britain is often undervalued. Even more so those, like Robert Wedderburn, who rebelled or had radical ideas. Wedderburn (1762-1835/6) grew up at a time when such radicalism was expressed through non-conformist religious ideas; though he took these seriously enough to be jailed for his actions. Michael Morris introduces us to this fascinating person and his essay is a useful debunking of many stupid myths about 'Britishness'.

You should order your copy of the ISJ now. But if you really want blurry eyes and are a cheapskate then you can read it all nailed to your computer; and all for free, you reckless cheapskate you: http://www.isj.org.uk/http://www.isj.org.uk/

Book Review – Dear God by Eamonn McCann

Eamonn McCann takes us through a wild romp describing the shear insanity of religion. Mostly he targets Catholicism in his home country of Ireland; but, along the way, he also manages a few detours to other parts of the world. What's described here, obviously, has its analogues for other religions and countries; there's nothing that special or original about Christianity or Catholicism. No religion has a monopoly on lunacy.

Dear God: the price of religion in Ireland is pieced together from snippets of journalism McCann has produced over the years. This does give the book a sense of immediacy and of dealing with hot political topics. However it also results in some deeper issues being overlooked. For a source for some of the articles see here where the story is continued and other, non religious topics, are also discussed.

So much of religion is bizarre. It almost appears the more weird the ideas espoused the more this demonstrates commitment to some lunatic faith. If you're totally wacko then you're a real believer and to be honoured. In itself this may not matter and could be dismissed as a few harmless cranks. But many of these cranks have quite offensive political ideas. Most of those lionised by the church recently have been extreme right wingers and some downright fascists. Quite how embracing former Nazi sympathisers and making them venerated saints enhances the church is hard to explain. It's not the kind of advice any reputable PR company would give to its corporate clients trying to make its way in the modern world.

Marxism is not just about poking fun at religion; entertaining as that can be. Equally, if not more, important is explaining why so many still believe. After all religion fails so many tests: logic, rationality, the remotest connection with the historical record. So poor is the connection with reality that some theologians suggest treating religious texts more as fables with a profound moral meaning. If that's true then why believe one set of fables over another. Alas, this book does not really go into this question of the persistence of religion. A useful starting point might be found here (and by someone with similar ideas to those of McCann).

All religions force feed their followers some form of family values. Some of the most moving sections here show how Catholicism has torn many families apart. The gamut runs from everyday oppression and subdued violence of religious run children's care homes through to the abuse, both physical and sexual of children. And along the way we find priests cohabiting or using their position to gain sexual favours. With all this immorality you wonder how many Christian types really believe in God or eternal punishment in the afterlife. In all of these cases little concern has been given to professed family values and indeed the real life families of the victims.

Have these relig-idiots no shame? The answer is a resounding: NO. Those who practice institutional religion never themselves act as if the religion they preach is supposed to be true; or is something they themselves should follow; it's always something to control the lower orders. And above all protecting the institution of the church counts above everything; there's a lot of power and prestige at stake, and often cold hard cash as well. Doctrine and humanity are well down the list.

This book is a great read with some wonderful descriptions. (And just the occasional klutzy sentence, every half dozen pages or so, where McCann seems to have become carried away by his bravura style. Or is it that, as the book is made up mostly of journalism, there has been little editing applied.) A book well worth digging out.

Book Review – Some Books on Writing

I've been reading a few books on the craft of writing recently. And if I've learnt one thing it is that mostly you're be better off spending the equivalent time reading and thinking about classic novels. Now don't get me wrong; most of these books contain reasonable advice. What they say is mostly true; and despite the claims on the cover to some unique insight they all contain pretty much the same advice; just each book gives it a minor twist in its presentation. However most this reading is a yawn; how come writing about writing is so boring? And mostly it somehow misses the point.

There seems to be a pattern to the kind of author who writes these books. (With only a few notable exceptions like Stephen King.) Obviously each author started out with a love of writing and wanting to earn their living from their craft. Each has achieved a modicum of success, enough to produce a CV that looks impressive, until you realise you've never heard of anything they've written. In order to expand their income they've taken to editing or acting as a writing consultant or taken on teaching. And then they spent most of their time running workshops on writing or trapped in some more or less formal classroom. From then on most of their time has been spent in such ancillary writing tasks. What has ground to a halt is their first love: any kind of original creative writing.

Book Review – The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

The first thing that catches the eye is what appears to be a sticker on the book's cover; the same sticker, in a variety of colours, appears on the cover of other books by Nesbo. On closer inspection, and to my disappointment, the 'sticker' is printed and could not be pealed off.

The 'sticker' makes a bold claim. It reads: 'THE NEXT STIEG LARSSON' INDEPENDENT. A claim that invites comparison; and such comparisons may not always be flattering.

By way of investigation lets take what, at first, seems a wild detour. Marco Aurelio Zani de Ferranti (1801 – 1878) was a nineteenth century classical guitarist and composed many likeable works for his instrument. (Simon Wynberg provides a useful biography of this musician.) Zani de Ferranti knew the great violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini and made use of this association. He was one of a number of guitarist – and other instrumentalist who did a similar thing – who labelled himself as a sort of Paganini of the guitar. Zani de Ferranti had more claim than many to this title having a testimonial from Paganini himself.

Zani de Ferranti was a good performer and composer; there's no doubt about this; his music deserves a place in the repertoire. And, in fact, it deserves to be performed more often than it is currently. But will his music ever replace more established classics? No; definitely not. The comparison with Paganini tells us something: Zani de Ferranti was good, even very good, he's well worth listening to. But he was never as good as Paganini. Given a choice Paganini wins every time. There never was a time when Paganini would have been called: the Zani de Ferranti of the violin.

Book Review – The Strange Death of Liberal England by George Dangerfield

George Dangerfield's The Strange Death of Liberal England (1935) is one of those books that has been on my 'must read' list for something like twenty years. It's a well known classic, at least on the left, though more 'well known' when I first heard about it than today. A book with a reputation like this can often disappoint. The myths created in your mind dissipate when you finally get round to opening the volume. That is, when the historical turmoil that made it essential reading have long since passed. Fortunately this book did not disappoint.

We are living in times when the subject of this book is very apt; more apt than when I purchased this volume; a whole £2.95. There seems to be a significant parallel between the events described and those of today. In both cases liberal values are threatened as society tumbles into crisis – both political and economic. Today's British ConDem coalition government only proves that when it comes to political practice, what politicians actually do when in office is nothing remotely like the values they espouse when trying to gain election.

The whole book is filled with a brilliant mixture of nostalgia and cynicism for an age that was dying. A more establishment historian would have concentrated on the nostalgia and produced a phony tomb detailing parliamentary debates and the exultant deeds of so called great men. He/she would have missed the social context and the real forces at work shaping those ideas. And above all missed the deep hypocrisy of the establishment figures involved. A more socialist writer then the liberal Dangerfield would have concentrated more on the cynicism. While this alternative may have been factually truer with Dangerfield the cynicism is all the more biting coming from a believer. (Just like some of the most vengeful critiques of religion come from those once hoodwinked into believing.)

Book Review – Vathek by William Beckford

I'm something of a lefty, a revolutionary socialist, a Marxist. Then there's William Beckford late Eighteenth Century elitist spendthrift; reputed the richest commoner of his age; and, for a time, a Conservative MP for a rotten borough. So what should someone like me make of a novel written by such a person? What would political correctness demand? In fact things are far more complex than crude political diatribes would allow; this is a far better novel than might be expected.

William Thomas Beckford was an extraordinary man. His money came from daddy, also confusingly called William Beckford. Along with eyewatering amounts of cash came land and several Jamaica sugar plantations. The few biographers I have read seem a little vague on details. But surely this is just another way of saying his money came from slave labour; from black bodies worked to death. Even today, it seems, biographers disgracefully want to cover up for the slave trade; literally to whitewash history.

And could William Thomas Beckford spend? He managed to fritter away his fortune in a way that makes modern celebrities look positively frugal. When you see the gaudy gold plated crap that passes for style these days at least Beckford had taste. He managed to buy up some of the greatest artworks from his age.

Just as extraordinary is Beckford's Gothic novel Vathek. First published, in French, in 1786 and influenced by The Arabian Nights it presented itself as a contemporary translation of an ancient text. I don't think modern scholars would have been fooled; though a non-expert, like myself, could have easily been taken in.

This is the part of a book review where I'm supposed to give a you a long winded précis of story. So when you finally get round to reading the book you get annoyed because I've given away the plot. So lets just pretend I've done my duty here and fake it. After all Vathek masquerades as something of a fake.

I read two other smiler works recently. These being the more well known Rasselas (1759) by Samuel Johnson and The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole. All three cover broadly similar themes of fantasy and the leadership role of kings. Also Rasselas is set roughly in the same region. Personally I think Vathek is a best of the three; there's more substance to the plot. Otherwise writing skills are about evenly matched; the rival works being well worth reading.

The edition I read contains copious footnotes and, be warned, not all editions appear to reproduce them. These footnotes, I assume, are by Beckford himself and an essential part of the text. As the work presents itself as an ancient text, having been translated, the footnotes apparently being added by an editor, they give the novel an air of being a scholarly work. I like them, they show the experimental nature of the late eighteenth century novel; it's something later novelists could learn from.

I could see this novel making a great film. It could become a blockbuster mainstream movie; something in the manner of Lord of the Rings, and if the produce/director was really creative something actually interesting. Beckford writing is very pictorial; many of the scenes would prove expensive to stage – but not more costly then many lesser works. However any movie would be one where you lamented: read the book it's better.

Book Review – The wings of Icarus by Laurence Alma-Tademe

This is a curious novel from the last years of nineteenth century by Laurence Alma-Tadema (1865–1940). She seems best remembered today for some fairly conventional poetry and while this short novel may not be the best ever written it is certainly worth reading.

The full title is the grandiose: THE WINGS OF ICARUS: BEING THE LIFE OF ONE EMILIA FLETCHER AS REVEALED BY HERSELF IN 1. Thirty-five letters, Written to Constance Norris between July 18th, 188-, and March 26th of the following year; 2. A Fragmentary Journal; 3. A Postscript. Gosh: such a long title for so short a work.

At first it seems a conventional love story. Though you wonder, at the start, who Emilia is in love with; at least when reading with a modern sensibility. Could it be the young, attractive and defiantly female Constance Norris herself? Could this be a lesbian novel that dare not state its intent? And did the author realise what she was writing? Alma-Tadema never married herself; but the little reading I have done from web based biographies reveal no other woman in her life. But who knows?

Then the novel's male love interest enters; dull convention restores itself. But only to a limited extent and the moral question arises of should a marriage be about love or duty? To say more would ruin the story.

The novels structure is unusual. Starting with a series of letters from Emilia to Constance. Incidentally these letters show an interesting use of the second person point of view and show this can have its uses. The novel then moves to a change of scene and a diary section. Finally there is a postscript which I first though was going to be a suicide note; but this turned out to be... well, you'll just have to find out for yourself. I think this structure is interesting and inventive.

There is a theme throughout the novel of the role of women within marriage. While this holds back from completely endorsing feminism you do get some notion of the swirl of ideas that resulted in the Suffragettes. Also there are doubts cast on the church and religion; again Alma-Tadema holds back from outright atheism but goes further than might be expected.

A novel that may not be top of your reading list but it's short and interesting enough to dig out when you have a little time to spare.

International Socialism 131

The latest issue of the International Socialism Journal is largely taken up with the current situation in the class struggle both in Britain and on the wider world arena.

Alex Callinicos, in his introduction, gives an overview of the state of the world economy and discusses some of its unresolved problems. He also examines the aftermath of the recent May local elections in Britain.

The balance of the class struggle in Britain today is looked at in detail by Martin Smith. He first sets the scene with a recap of how trade unionism was eroded with the defeats of the Thatcher government and subsequent downturn under the Tories and Labour administrations. He then goes on to look at how the rank and file movements can start being rebuilt during the current onslaught by Cameron and the coalition. One key aspect of this is how the working class can overcome the weakness of the trade union bureaucracy as well as take advantage those trade union leaders who suggest – but often fail to organise – some kind of fightback.

Knowing what your class enemy is thinking and planning is important in knowing how to respond to their attacks. Richard Seymour dissects the current state of the Tories and updates his book The Meaning of David Cameron written just before the election.

Book Review – Dubliners by James Joyce

The blurb for Dubliners describes these short stories as “candid, controversial and often disturbing.” Well maybe... that might have been true in Ireland before the First World War when these stories were written. But by modern standards this blurb is, shall we say, highly misleading.

In many ways these are not really stories at all. Not in the conventional sense of having anything as extravagant as a plot; you know, beginning, middle and end and all that paraphernalia. Really they are snapshots of life in Dublin. Though there is nothing necessarily wrong with that; why should every work of fiction follow that boring old convention?

The first group of stories are shorter and less satisfying. The later stories are longer and more interesting. Whether this is because they are in some kind of chronological order or Joyce was not so good at the very short short story form is unclear. There are no dates given for individual stories.

For me the most interesting story was Ivy Day in the Committee Room. A description of election canvassers returning at the end of the day and waiting to be paid. The cynicism was quite amusing.

Also of interest was A Mother. A story of someone protecting her daughter from being cheated by some concert promoters.

The story Grace somehow does not appear to end. You are just left there not knowing the outcome. As if one or more scenes for the story are missing or Joyce just could not be bothered to finish it off.

I can see why The Dead was made into a film. The fact that it is by far the longest story in the book is only a minor part of the explanation. More important is that it is the most conventional story in the collection. Also it inhabits the well-to-do world of balls and pretty dresses. It's not a bad story and can easily be turned into mush by any film producer. Ivy Day or A Mother would have made a better film.

The truth is, while these stories are of some interest, Joyce did not spring into the world as a fully formed or developed writer. If it was not for his later work I guess these stories would have been long forgotten. So: there might be hope for the rest of us.

Book Review – Leo Tolstoy Short Stories

I've read quite a few short stories recently by Leo Tolstoy along with those of quite a few other Russian authors of the same period. Partly this has been in preparation for the anticipated slog of reading Tolstoy's War and Peace. I must say Tolstoy is emerging as my favourite all time author and the one I have the most to learn from.

The first collection I read was The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories.

In the title story – The Kreutzer Sonata (1889) – the narrator takes a railway journey and overhears passengers discussing issues of love and marriage. A range of opinions are voiced and these range from arguments for forced marriage to an upper class woman saying couples should marry for love. Most of the views are sexist in some form and none really challenge sexist stereotypes. Even the marrying for love viewpoint still accepts the subservient role of women after marriage.

The first section is quite long and it is only when all but one of the passengers have departed that the main part of the story begins. Here Posdnicheff relates the story of how he came to kill his wife. It is meant to illustrate the pressures husbands come under and, bizarrely, advocates a sort of celibacy within marriage.

I wonder what Countess Sophia Andreyevna Tolstaya (Tolstoy's wife) thought of this story? It seems to draw on many aspects of the Tolstoy's relationship. For example when Posdnicheff shows his soon to be wife a diary which details his past affairs and visits to prostitutes. Tolstoy himself did a similar thing. Sophia, surely, cannot have been pleased with either that event or the fictional version.

Book Review – The Crisis: Social Contract or Socialism by Tony Cliff

This book brings back a certain nostalgia. Long, long ago in 1977 I had just joined the Socialist Workers Party and, while not the absolute first, this was among the first batch of socialist books I read. Even then it had been superseded by Paul Foot's Why You Should be a Socialist, this being more a popular introduction to the SWP's politics. However the Cliff work was a longer and more detailed explanation and I found it more interesting. Curiously, even for the few connoisseurs of this political brand, it still appears to be one of Cliff's less well known works. For example it does not appear on the main online listing of Tony Cliff's works.

I have been outside the SWP for a number of years now, though I did not leave due to any grand political dispute. Rather it was simply the juggling of pressures of work, education and more that meant something had to give. So it was the SWP that had to make space for the rest of my life and I drifted away, without, it must be said, any great acrimony. Having been outside that organisation for some time now it's curious to discover how well this book – which influenced me so much – has stood up to the intervening years.

Book Review – The Castle of Otranto by Horatio Walpole

I have always avoided Gothic horror. I have never quite been able to suspend disbelief enough to appreciated the story. And when Gothic horror is done badly suspending disbelief is the more difficult. I gave Horatio Walpole's novel The Castle of Otranto (1764) a try a largely because it was short and it was a well known eighteenth century work that had influenced the birth of genre – and, possibly, the British novel itself.

To my amazement I enjoyed it. The story is more like a Greek tragedy only with ghosts influencing the action rather then gods. In fact the fantastic element do not intrude as much as I expected or feared. The Gothic horror elements as just there to prod the characters in the direction of the rightful ruler. The King with the honourable blood line is the only one who can bring peace and prosperity to the land. Ghosts must never have heard of democracy! and getting rid of Kings and rulers altogether is never considered a possibility.

This book was an enjoyable and easy read. So it's well worth giving it a go.

Book Review – Love's Anvil by V. I. Dmitrieva

I picked up Love's Anvil by the Russian author Valentina Ionovna Dmitrieva in a secondhand bookshop recently. With a not very exhaustive search of the Internet I found out almost nothing about the author and have to rely on the sketchy introduction for any biographical details. This translation was published 1921 and the original must have been written before 1916 as an unnamed Russian friend of the author's says: “Is she alive? I don't know. I have not seen her, or heard of her since 1916.” Dmitrieva seems to have had some radical tendencies but the preface writer (J. A. T. Lloyd) is too coy to be explicit. The book is obscure enough to think that few modern readers even know of the tale.

The book is described as a “simple and charming story” and really this is not true. Proof is provided by Dmitrieva, like much Russian literature, having some vivid descriptions of poverty and the contrasts between classes.

The story is set in Woman's Medical Fatality a sort of girls school for chemists but we are far from a Russian St Trinian's. The author herself also studied in a smiler faculty. The hero is Gomotchka a student in her early twenties who's always trying to do good for others despite her poverty. Such a premiss could prove nauseating for a modern author of supermarket tripe. But Dmitrieva is better then that; she explores the philosophical issues and ultimately the tragedy Gomotchka.

Book Review – China Miéville: Kraken

I have been reading Kraken by China Miéville (Pan Nov 2010). A book about the hunt for a giant missing squid – the Kraken – that's worshipped like a god. Well, that's not the most appealing premiss for a book and it looked like it could easily fall in the 'must I continue reading' category. I fact I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable romp.

Some reviewers have claimed that Kraken not as good as some of Miéville's other books such as 'The City & The City' and as a result they have been disappointed. Now this may be true. But as this is the first China Miéville book I have read, I enjoyed it. In fact I enjoyed it sufficiently to order a copy of The City & The City.

In fact there is not really that much of a plot, it mostly consists of chasing around after the Kraken and not getting very far. So you can read a few hundred pages and find the plot at almost exactly the same point as before. However the real fun of the book is the weird characters you meet along the way. I don't want to say too much about these as it's best to discover these yourself. However I must mention Goss and Subby. A pair who are pure evil but who you can't wait for them to keep cropping up in the story.

I would recommend Kraken, even to those not interested in SiFi. Miéville has a reputation for being a good writer and maybe he would be much better know if he wrote more mainstream fiction.

International Socialism 130

The latest International Socialism Journal has just popped through my letter box. I've already read Renton on Eton, der Walt on the Black Flag, and the book reviews. I'm about the plunge into the the rest. This is mostly about the current Arab revolutions and debating the recent students demonstrations.

The book reviews mention Churchill's Secret War: The British Empire and the Forgotten Indian Famine of World War II by Madhusree Mukerjee; now this looks like a must read. It's on an important and overlooked aspect of British/Indian history: the Bengal famine of 1943-44. 3.5 to 5 million Bengali's die; best not mention it just in case it upsets some folk memory of Churchill. So mainstream historians just whitewash history (and whitewash is exactly the right word in all its possible meanings). If any historian tried to ignore the crimes of Stalin or Mao in the same manner they would become pictures of ridicule. But it's allright for their western equivalents to do exactly the same.

You can read the ISJ for free: http://www.isj.org.uk/

Dr. Rozakis on Grammar

It seems to be almost a truism about books on Grammar and English that they are not very inspiring reads. I guess that many of these books are churned out by failed novelists or essayists who can find no other outlet for their obvious love of language.

So what about this tome by Dr. Laurie E. Rozakis, Ph.d? Well, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar & Style, 2nd Ed (2003 – note that there is a newer edition) is better than many but it's safely ensconced within the above category. Still there are a couple of major faults.

Firstly there are the jokes, if you can call them jokes. The humour is childish and I was fed up with it after only a few pages. She could never be a comedian or write a comedy script. Embarrassing is the word that springs to mind. And I got fed up with the same joke being repeated over and over again. What is it with guides like this. Why do publishes think that adding some lame jokes to a text book makes it consumer friendly?

Secondly the writing is not wildly exciting. It's sort of OK, just a bit dull. It's not that good an example for the reader. Worst of all, every couple of pages, there are some klutzy sentences. Not terrible, just a bit off. And I'm not talking about those intended to demonstrate how you can get grammar all wrong. They are unintended examples of poor English style. I'm sure they are grammatically correct, they are just embarrassing – see, that word crops up again.

So what about the content? After all that is supposed to be what the book is about. Here we are on safer ground and it's this that kept me reading until the end. Most of the advice is reasonable if pretty conservative. There's little you can argue with here and all the usual stuff is included. What more can I say?

The weakest area was towards the end with the advice of writing style. Here I found the examples a little superficial. For example Rozakis often mentions the need for using non-sexist language. Of course I totally agree with this aim. It's just I didn't find much in the way of practical help in avoiding the problem – other than don't do it, obviously correct but ultimately unhelpful.

In the end this is a do-as-I-say and not a do-as-I-do book. It's worth reading for that reason and following the advise it contains. However, I'm still looking for a really inspiring book on grammar.