More memoirs

I just read A Grief Observed by C S Lewis. It is a famous book, of course, but I didn't get much out of it. Now I'm reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I'm enjoying it so much. It's a memoir of an American childhood and it is really a very interesting book. What makes it so fascinating is that the reader doesn't know how to judge, or where to place their sympathies. In essence, Jeannette Walls parents (particularly her mother) were people of very high principles who had many inspiring ideas about how life should be lived. And yet because they carried those principles to extremes they were the world's most terrible parents. A great read. I thoroughly recommend it.

Memoirs

I'm still reading memoirs. I would thoroughly recommend 'Antigona and Me' by Kate Clanchy. (I actually teach with her but have never met her). I suppose that I really liked the book because Kate Clanchy is dealing with many issues I've dealt with myself so it felt like reading about a friend. But also the book is lively, touching and thoughtful. I also read a very good book called 'Relative Strangers' by Mary Loudon which is about a woman who has a schizophrenic sister. The writing is clear and intelligent and the book really bought home to me what a nightmare schizophrenia is. Am currently reading 'When Did You Last See Your Father?' by Blake Morrison which deserves all the praise heaped upon it. What is extra-ordinary about the book is that Blake Morrison's father is a really tricky and annoying character and yet the book is so full of love. Also it's a book which makes a very small story into an epic. Wonderful.

Memoirs

I am reading memoirs at the moment. I bought five of them - The Mistresss' Daughter by A.M. Homes, Somewhere Near The End by Diana Athill, The Diving Bell And The Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby, Antigona and Me by Kate Clanchy and A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. I haven't read Joan Didion's book yet but I've read the other four. I think the one that I've enjoyed most is Kate Clanchy's book, closely followed by A.M.Homes. I was very disappointed by Diana Athill. The book is really very slight and doesn't have much depth to it. There are some interesting thoughts in it but altogether I find it strange that it should have won a major award. The Diving Bell is perhaps the most tragic of the books and there is some wonderful writing in it. And yet some how I didn't feel that I had come away understanding what that experience is really like - perhaps he couldn't find words to describe such hell and perhaps I should be grateful that he didn't try.

A book to read

Quick book recommendation here. You must read 'Out Stealing Horses' by Per Petterson. It is about an elderly man living in a remote part of Norway who remembers events which happened in the same area after the second World War. It is wonderfully quiet and spare and thoughtful. The sort of book which it is hard to find at the moment. The sort of book which reminds you why reading and writing are important. After I read it I immediately went out and bought copies for a couple of friends.

Things going on

For me, there are many things going on right now. I've been commissioned to write a play for the Everyman theatre, I've got an article published in You Magazine, I'm having vague conversations with someone about writing something for television (not something I've ever thought of doing before) and also vague conversations about travel articles. Unfortunately the novel isn't really happening right now but I'm about to get back to it.