Brother of the More Famous Jack

Back in the mists of time, Bloomsbury very kindly sent me a set of Barbara Trapido's novels - which featured in a Stuck-in-a-Book's Weekend Miscellany back here - but somehow I've only just got around to reading the first: Brother of the More Famous Jack (1982). I'm afraid the title remained a mystery to me to the end - they do mention that it is in reference to W.B. Yeats, but I'd never heard of Jack Yeats (is that the point?) and I couldn't see why the title had been chosen... anybody able to enlighten me, do pop your answer in the comments, please.

But that's by-the-by, really, because I was very impressed by Brother of the More Famous Jack. It is, although I hate the expression and usually hate the genre, a coming-of-age novel. That phrase always makes me shudder and think of ghastly books like The Catcher in the Rye (which we didn't much like as a whole, remember?) but Trapido's novel is much better than that. We see Katherine start off as an ingenuous eighteen year old, thrown into the maelstrom of the Goldman household. And since the novel is in the first person, we feel thrown into it as well. Eccentric, forthright Professor Jacob - a 'creative and inspired grumbler' - his kind but sharp wife Jane, and their six children (especially Roger and Jonathan, competing at various points throughout the novel for her affection) provide a world of which Katherine has no experience. They are in turns enchanting, frustrating, and bewildering - for the reader as much as Katherine. Katherine herself it is difficult not to like, if only for this: 'I reverted, as I do in moments of crisis, to rereading Emma, with cotton wool in my ears.' A sound course of action for anyone, I think you'll agree. At the same time, Katherine is not a wholly endearing character - more an empathetic one. Watching her grow wiser, we understand rather than adore Katherine.

And aside from the characters, Oxford is often a star of the novel. Although a country bumpkin like me is captured more by the descriptions of the Goldmans' rural estate, I must admit to being won over by this depiction of Oxford, as experienced by Roger Goldman:

Oxford was a place of magical cobbled lanes which led to the sweet-shop. It was a place where tea came with strawberries before the peal of bells for Evensong, where Grandmother, in a Pringle sweater and thick stockings, took one to watch punters from the bridge over the High Street, and where one went through doors into secret gardens with high stone walls. He never came to see it as a place afflicted with too much trad and old stones. He was not, as I was, embarrassed by the idea of privilege. He described to me with an almost hol joy the journey he would make from the railway station, past the litter and grot beside the slime-green canal, past the jail and on into St. Ebbes towards the ample splendour of Christ Church.

The middle section of the novel, where Katherine heads off to Rome and a volatile relationship with a jealous Italian, is less successful and at times a little wearing. Trapido is much more successful when back amongst the Goldmans - my only quibble about them is that all their names begin with J. With Jane, Jacob, Jonathan, John and all the various appellations therefrom, it did get a bit confusing... I suppose it was deliberate, and with 'Jack' from the title being conspicuously absent... I don't know. Another potentially interesting angle about which I require enlightening.

Like many of the novels I enjoy, Brother of the More Famous Jack is more about character and style than it is about plot - which makes it difficult to describe or recommend successfully. So I suggest you just pick up a copy and give it a go. It's not my favourite novel this year and it isn't cosily enchanting or anything like that, but I might just be inclined to agree with the blurb which claims that, with this novel, Trapido redefined the coming-of-age novel.


Books to get Stuck into:

Dodie Smith - I Capture the Castle: I've never actually blogged about it, but this is THE quintessential coming-of-age novel - and the only one before Trapido's that I'd ever enjoyed. Funny, wise, and I'm even prepared to use the word 'enchanting'.

Angelica Garnett - The Unspoken Truth: fiction, but heavily influenced by her own life, these four stories evoke the same ingenuousness amongst wry bohemia.

Review: Alison's Wonderland by Alison Tyler

Title: Alison's Wonderland
Author: Tyler, Alison
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 07/01/2010
Age: Adult

Over the past fifteen years, Alison Tyler has curated some of the genre's most sizzling collections of erotic fiction, proving herself to be the ultimate naughty librarian. With Alison's Wonderland, she has compiled a treasury of naughty tales based on fable and fairy tale, myth and legend: some ubiquitous, some obscure - all of them delightfully dirty.

From a perverse prince to a vampire-esque Sleeping Beauty, the stars of these re-imagined tales are - like the original protagonists - chafing at desire unfulfilled. From Cinderella to Sisyphus, mermaids to werewolves, this realm of fantasy is limitless and so very satisfying.

Penned by such erotica luminaries as Shanna Germain, Rachel Kramer Bussel, N.T. Morley, Elspeth Potter, T.C. Calligari, D.L. King, Portia Da Costa and Tsaurah Litzsky, these bawdy bedtime stories are sure to bring you (and a friend) to your own happily-ever-after.

A collection of erotic stories, mixed with hints of classic fantasy and paranormal stories so familiar to us as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Vampires, Mermaids, Faeries ... etc.

What attracted me to this book was the title "Alison's Wonderland." By the title I had no idea what kind of book it was, but obviously by the cover I knew it would be an erotic book.

I'm not used to read this kind of books, but If one word could explain how is was reading it would be:  WOW!. Yeah, this book left me shocked.

But that didn't made me want to put it down at all. When I started it was impossible to stop.

In almost every story I laughed, and others were so intense that I could only read and gasp. Some were more like my favorite stories, others less, but in general, I liked them all.

Recommended if you like to read erotic stories, and if you are familiar with fairy tales.

More about this book at www.alisontyler.com, Goodreads, Amazon, The Book Depository.

Hello! & Welcome!

Hello everyone, and welcome to Oh My Books! my new blog, yay!

I'm so excited about this new "project". Please, let me tell you a little bit about it. Its a blog (duh!), where you will find reviews (my honest opinions) about books and everything that I think it's interesting about them. :)

Maybe you already know me from my other blog Historias Imaginarias, where I post my reviews in Spanish. And I'm pretty sure you are thinking "Why another blog?...". Believe it or not, I read more in English, and sometimes its difficult (and useless) to share reviews about books that aren't going to be publish in Spanish. Besides, I think its a great way to practice my English, and make new friends. Also, it's a personal desire, hehe, but don't tell anyone!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my new blog, and please come here anytime you want!

PS: Help is always welcome. :)

Ssshhhh...

Let's start the week as we mean to go on - with a review of a rather good book. The book in question is Secret Lives (1932) by Mr. E.F. Benson. Thanks to Nancy for bringing this to my attention absolutely AGES ago, I was finally able to get around to it just before I was struck down with illness.

It's no secret that I love, love, and love the Mapp and Lucia series, as do many of you, but I hadn't read any other EFB novels - despite having quite a few on my shelves. Secret Lives is reportedly the closest to that series and, although it isn't as good as them, it certainly has the same spirit.

Think Lucia in London for the setting - i.e., we're not in a Tillingesque village, we're instead on the exclusive Durham Square in London. Exclusive, indeed, because Mrs. Mantrip's father had systematically whittled his tenants down to the respectable and well-to-do, making sure Durham Square became the residency of choice for the highest society in London. And, for all that, it is incredibly provincial in its in-fighting, and the fact that everybody knows everybody else's business. For a start, there is the matter of dogs in the garden. Mrs. Mantrip's father (whom she reveres, and whose Life she is gradually writing - or, indeed, thinking about writing) expressly forbade it. But Elizabeth Conklin and her ten Pekinese - all circling her on leads - are keen to oppose. Cue all the wonderful cattiness and polite venom which fans of Mapp and Lucia have come to expect.

But then the title comes into play. 'Below the seeming tranquillity of the Square surprising passions and secret lives were seething in unsuspected cauldrons.' Margaret Mantrip's secret passion, despite her outward literary pretensions, is for the novels of Rudolf da Vinci. Think Marie Corelli - i.e. atrociously written, probably addictive, lots of swooning heroines and dashing heroes.

The only distinguished thing about it, from a literary point of view, was its unique lack of distinction. It was preposterous to the last degree, but there was a sumptuousness about it, and, though nauseatingly moral in its conclusion, there was also fierceness, a sadism running like a scarlet thread through its portentous pages.

Margaret keeps these titles on a bottom shelf, hidden by a curtain and surrounded by her father's collection of theological titles... And then there is mysterious Susan Leg who has recently moved into the Square - very wealthy, but says 'Pardon?' and 'serviette' and serves caviar spread on scones. What's going on?

It doesn't take an overly-perceptive reader to realise quite quickly that Rudolph da Vinci and Susan Leg are one and the same. And, indeed, E.F. Benson doesn't leave us in the dark for long. In the hands of a lesser novelist, Leg's unveiling might have been the denouement - but Benson is more interested in the intrigue and humour to be found in deception and social superficiality. Throw in an anonymous society columnist and a scathing reviewer, and there is enough confusion and hypocrisy all round to make the most ardent Tillingite happy.

As I said at the beginning, Secret Lives doesn't match the brilliance of the Mapp and Lucia series, where every character (even when a bit two-dimensional) is a delight - but, once you've exhausted that series, this is a wonderful place to look. And a middlebrow novelist being biting about lesser novelists - and, especially, about critics - is always good fun. Thank you, Nancy, for recommending this novel - I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I forgot about the Books to get Stuck into feature on my Persephone reviews (N.B. the poll results, with all 163 votes, are up now - thanks for voting!) but here they are, back again. Obviously the best companion novels, if Secret Lives sounds intriguing, are the Mapp and Lucia series, and Tom Holt's or Guy Fraser-Sampson's sequels, but here are some other suggestions:

Books to get Stuck into:

Elizabeth Taylor: Angel - although not very similar in tone, the wonderfully awful and self-unaware Angel is also modelled on the Marie Corelli type.

Rose Macaulay: Keeping Up Appearances - funny and arch, this 1920s novel has a mediocre novelist, but also all sorts of secrets and secret lives tangled up together, and is definitely worth seeking out.

Stuck-in-a-Book's Weekend Miscellany

Well, after promising my return yesterday, I was out late last night at my church small group, and somehow slumping in front of a soap opera took precedence over writing a proper book review. Apologies... And for those keeping tabs on the state of all things technological chez Stuck-in-a-Book, the current score is Laptop: 1, iPod: 0. Yes, in a fit of pique, my iPod won't turn on, and none of the usual methods of fixing it seem to work. It did this a while ago and just started working again after a while, so fingers crossed... or I might have to go without new shoes for a while.

For those who know things about computers, unlike me, I opted for a Compaq CQ61-427SA. Goodness knows what that means, but it's nice and shiny.

Right. Enough of that - as we all know, computers are just a means to an end, and that end is books. So let's get on with the book, the blog post, the link...

1.) The book - is Stephen Benatar's Wish Her Safe At Home, which my friend's family gave me (yes, I did *choose* it, but that doesn't count as me *buying* it). I read an article about this novel in The Week magazine, which was reprinting this article from The Times, I believe. As well as sounding irresistible from this description -

'a gripping and haunting story about a middle-aged, genteel woman called Rachel Waring who inherits a Georgian house in Bristol and slowly goes mad'

- I was also impressed by Benatar's tireless and heartfelt promotion of the novel. And, let's face it, I was won over by the ever-beautiful NYRB Classics editions. I'm not on their payroll, but I should be...

2.) The blog post - isn't especially new now, but I was sans laptop for over a week, and in the blogosphere a week is a long time. So cast your minds back to the 5th May, those heady days before the election, and wander over to Polly (aka Novel Insights) and this post on forgotten authors. More specifically - and even more up my street - Polly has collected suggestions of novels by authors more famous for their work for children. That's a bit of a mouthful, but I hope you know what I mean. Novels by authors known for their children's writing. Not writing by their children, but... oh, I'm sure we're on the same page now. It's no secret that I love non-children's work by A.A. Milne and Richmal Crompton, but there are plenty of others. In fact, I wrote A Level coursework on the topic, now I think of it... ahh, memories.

3.) The link - is the one for which I can never think of anything... but this YouTube video is quite funny. Oh, they seem to have removed the import-videos-into-Blogger function, but you can see it if you click here. It's David Mitchell (the comedian, not the novelist) on the topic of Punctuation. Thanks Mel for showing it to me!

New laptop!

Just to let you know that I am the proud owner of a new laptop, so hopefully will be back to regular posting soon. Hurrah! They said it would come between 9-5, and of course it came about 3.45pm, after I'd been anxiously waiting all day...

Lots and lots of books waiting for me to write about them, so hopefully there will be a lot of reviews going up soon (before, as usual, I forget every last thing about them).

Off to play with my new toy...

Come on, Comyns

Very few authors mentioned here elicit such an enthused response as Barbara Comyns. Usually posts attract comments in the 48 hours after they're posted, and that's that - but posts about Comyns continue to get fans popping up for months and years afterwards, waving the flag for Bidford-on-Avon's finest.

I've read five novels by Comyns now, and have a few waiting - on Saturday, both Polly and Claire got hold of copies of The Vet's Daughter (Polly got it in the book exchange, from me!) and we thought it would be fun to do a read-along. Quite short notice, but we'll be kicking off at the beginning of June. If you can get yourself a copy before then, do join us. It's nice and short, and I've yet to read a dud Comyns! Start posting reviews around the second week of June, although it's all quite relaxed.

There should be quite a few copies around, both sides of the Atlantic. It was a Virago back in the 1980s, and has recently been reprinted in a beautiful NYRB Classics edition - which is the one I'll be reading. Do let us know if you're planning on reading along...