Next up -: A Farewell To Arms

Apparently the bleakest of Ernesto's works.
We shall see.

Euclid wrote:That is interesting: I re-read Dracula a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed what I took for a gripping adventure story. I am hopeless at allegory, metaphor and so on, and only see the blatantly obvious. I often need 10-foot signposts for things – there’s an entire industry in providing these, given the numbers of ‘companions’ and ‘guides’ to various authors’ works – but I spotted this one largely, I think, because I was already familiar with some of the history of the era in terms of sexual attitudes and issues. However, I did a spot of research after and found that I wasn’t alone in reaching these conclusions. I posted something about it elsewhere some years ago, but I've fished it out, tidied it up, made a few additions and republished it if you fancy reading more here.

Euclid wrote:That is interesting: I re-read Dracula a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed what I took for a gripping adventure story. I am hopeless at allegory, metaphor and so on, and only see the blatantly obvious. I often need 10-foot signposts for things – there’s an entire industry in providing these, given the numbers of ‘companions’ and ‘guides’ to various authors’ works – but I spotted this one largely, I think, because I was already familiar with some of the history of the era in terms of sexual attitudes and issues. However, I did a spot of research after and found that I wasn’t alone in reaching these conclusions. I posted something about it elsewhere some years ago, but I've fished it out, tidied it up, made a few additions and republished it if you fancy reading more here.

It's a great read, with some moments of farce among the horror of war. Personally found For Whom the Bell Tolls darker.

Just downloaded "The Auschwitz Violin" by Maria Angels Anglada (Catalan author) which is a very short book, in fact would qualify as a short story at 80 pages, but fascinating anyway about an apparently true story of a Jewish violin maker who was held in various concentration camps by the Nazis but survived by being useful to them in his trade as a joiner until one day at one camp commandants house he mentioned that a violin that he (the commandant) was playing sounded wrong and suggested that he could probably fix it by gluing a fracture in the faceplate with some cheap glue thus disclosing the fact that actually his trade was not just a carpenter but a violin maker.

After the repair was successfully done the commandant had a bet with one of his officers that the violin maker could make a violin within 24 hours from scraps of wood within the camp with the inevitable consequence of losing his preferred status within the camp if he failed.

I'll read on and let you know what happens

Currently reading "1968" by Mark Kurlanksy.
Bought it years ago and never got round to reading it until now.

1968 was a remarkable year when, across the globe, people protested.
Whether it was for civil rights or against totalitarian governments or against wars ... people protested.

I reckon we need more of that these days, attended by people from across the board not just those dismissed as "the usual suspects"(*).
Governments are getting away with murder.


(*) "The usual suspects" .... quote from Casablanca.

When I was on holiday a couple of weeks ago I read a couple of Sue Townsend books that were in the cottage where we stayed. Not the sort of thing I'd usually read but they looked light holiday reading and something to do whilst Mrs D cooked and washed up during the holiday (I like to make it home from home for her). Back to the books. They were "Number Ten" and "The Queen and I". Must admit, I did find some bits of Number 10 funny. I didn't find The Queen and I as good. If you are not familiar number 10 is a p**s take of the Blair years and The Queen and I involves the royal family going to live on a council estate (via the queen's dream). Both books were a good commentary of changed Britain.

Kurlanksy's book on Cod is a decent read.

Currently reading 'One lie leads to........' by Steve Smith.

I saw "the Queen and I" as a play in the West End back in the 90's.
As a slightly-lefty republican, I loved it ... and even warmed to some of the fictionalised Royals.

The spouse and I went to see it too .

I was in Paris in1968 and right up to his death, my old man always reckoned I kicked it all off