The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Coraline – Neil Gaiman
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Chosen by Sophia
A children’s horror in which a girl called Coraline travels to another world through a mysterious locked door in the living room.
☁ “A young girl called Coraline fancies herself an explorer and spends the first weeks of the summer holidays investigating every inch of her family’s property. The spooky neighbours, Miss Spink and Miss Forcible tell her fortune and say she is grave danger. One rainy day, Coraline discovers a locked door which has been bricked up and leads nowhere.
However, she is drawn to it and one day when her parents are away, she unlocks the door and discovers the bricks are gone. Inside is an apartment just like hers, occupied by a woman and man who describe themselves as her other mother and other father. Though they treat her well they subversively attempt to make her stay in their parallel world. To do so, she would need buttons sewn over her eyes, as they have.
When Coraline returns to her world she finds that her parents are missing. Coraline realises she must draw on her own bravery to re-enter the other mother’s world in order to rescue her parents.
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” asked Coraline.
“I swear it,” said the other mother. “I swear it on my own mother’s grave.”
“Does she have a grave?” asked Coraline.
“Oh yes,” said the other mother. “I put her in there myself. And when I found her trying to crawl out, I put her back.”
Despite the horror genre, Coraline is a children’s book, marketed at a 8-12 year old audience. Yet all the freerangers admitted to being spooked by this book, some more than others, but we all agreed we thought it too scary for 8-12 year olds.
The structure with one main plot and little in the way of sub-plots, and the narrative styled on an adults voice gave the book strong direction which would hold a young person’s attention. However we just can’t get over the other parents with buttons sewn over their eyes !!
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Published 2002
Harper Collins
162 pages
Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
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Chosen by Jo
A dystopian novel set in Airstrip One, Oceania which is in a state of perpetual war and where free thought is considered a thought crime. The all-seeing Big Brother, rules with tyrannical power.
☁ “This is my second favourite book of all time. Its relatable characters living in an alternative reality of tyranny act as warnings about what is possible when free thought is no longer a basic human right. While it contains all the hallmarks of a great novel, it’s the potential for disaster and lost freedoms that make it also a personal story.
“I do love dystopian novels and it is interesting to see how Nineteen Eighty Four is the clear influence for many contemporary stories. I read this first as a teenager and since have re-read parts many times and found references to it in many facets of life. As such, I feel like I’ve grown up with this book. Every part of it, the locations, the characters, the emotional journey – the potential for what if – are etched on my mind.” – Rachel
☁ “It’s hard to know what to write about Nineteen Eighty Four that hasn’t already been written by people far more insightful than me! This was an unsettling read that has obviously resonated with readers over the years to the extent that concepts from the book are now part of our lingo – for example Big Brother.
Between this and Animal Farm George Orwell has contributed to far too much of my brain’s worrying. While I acknowledge the obviously amazing contribution these novels have made to society’s discourse I would have been better off having read neither of them – I think I will happily add “Ignorance is bliss” to the Ministry of Truth’s slogans.” – Suzy
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Published 1949
Secker & Warburg
267 pages
2010 Bookerthon
We may not have been doing Bookerthon for long enough to comment as such, nor have the relevant degrees or analytical background to offer such thoughts, but … we weren’t blown away by the shortlist this year.
Not to say we didn’t enjoy (some of) them and even love one or two, but as a whole the shortlist didn’t provide us that overwhelming sense of exhilaration like in years past.
The Man Booker shortlist is meant to be made up of the best six books of the year but we’d be to differ this year. What’s more, they are vastly different. They are like six fighters vying for the win, with their gloves up in very different corners of the ring, rather than a collection of works that sit harmoniously side by side and are indicative of the state of the world. Everyone would probably find one they were intrigued by, but we can’t imagine most bookies would read this list and be enthralled by them all.
Were the judges trying to be astute? Or transformational? Were they hoping their choices would come to be recognised as visionary in years to come? Sorry judges, we know you are highly qualified and we are not, but in our humble opinions we thought the list tries a little too hard.
For example the finalists ranged from a book so intellectual and literary (C) we failed to understand it, to a book so lacking in literary merit (Room) it felt like it was only shortlisted because its content was timely. How were these two books fairly judged by the same standards?
From the (admittedly only few) Bookerthons we have completed, this is our least favourite. Here’s our thoughts overall:
Rachel loved In A Strange Room for its readability, beautiful style, and sense of mystery and intrigue that encourages the reader to examine the book’s literary merit further. And she found The Long Song, the story of the girl enslaved on a Jamaican sugar plantation, to be heartfelt and well constructed.
“However, I could take or leave the rest. The Finkler Question and Parrot & Olivier are both good reads, but not stories I particularly connected with. C is very clever, but too clever for me. As for Room, I’m surprised it has even been shortlisted so that’s not a contender as far as I’m concerned.”
Suzy loved the journey and explorations detailed in Parrot & Olivier. A portrait of life as an American settler in the 1820s is full of drama and intrigue and she was enthralled throughout. She found The Long Song affecting and emotive and In A Strange Room clever and capable of winning. However she also struggled with C and The Finkler Question and concurred with Rachel that Room was a surprise addition to the shortlist, that, though topical, did not stand up against the literary merit of the other finalists.
Best book 1st-6th: Rachel:
In A Strange Room
The Long Song
The Finkler Question
Parrot & Olivier in America
C
Room
Best book 1st-6th: Suzy:
Parrot & Olivier in America
The Long Song
In A Strange Room
The Finkler Question
C
Room
The Long Song – Andrea Levy
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The story of July, a Jamaican slave who witnesses both the atrocities and abolition of slavery
You do not know me yet. My son Thomas, who is publishing this book, tells me, it is customary at this place in a novel to give the reader a little taste of the story that is held within these pages. As your storyteller, I am to convey that this tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom that followed. July is a slave girl who lives upon a sugar plantation named Amity and it is her life that is the subject of this tale. She was there when the Baptist War raged in 1831, and she was present when slavery was declared no more. My son says I must convey how the story tells also of July’s mama Kitty, of the negroes that worked the plantation land, of Caroline Mortimer the white woman who owned the plantation and many more persons besides – far too many for me to list here. But what befalls them all is carefully chronicled upon these pages for you to peruse. Perhaps, my son suggests, I might write that it is a thrilling journey through that time in the company of people who lived it. All this he wishes me to pen so the reader can decide if this is a novel they might care to consider. Cha, I tell my son, what fuss-fuss. Come, let them just read it for themselves.
☁ The above exert from The Long Song offers a good synopsis of what the book is about. And Andrea Levy is in a good position to tell the story, being the child of Caribbean immigrants. (Her parents sailed from Jamaica to England in the late 40s). Andrea was born in London in 1956, and growing up black in what was still a very white country provides her a unique perspective about living in both worlds.
The book’s main character July is a mulatto, the daughter of a Scottish overseer and her slave mother. Her life, and the lives of those around her are fraught with intensity: sexual assault, affairs and unexpected pregnancies. The book follows July’s experiences and reactions to these events, culminating in the Baptist war of 1831 and the uprisings that followed. All the main characters are given equal investment in this story meaning it’s it up to us, the reader, to make up our minds about what is right, wrong or merely survival. The narration style assists in ensuring the reader is heavily involved in the unveiling of the story.
The result is a work of literary merit that we both found highly moving. It covers a great deal of events and historical detail without too much misery or false hope, and the plot keeps the pages turning.
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Published 2010
Charnwood
416 pages
Parrot And Olivier in America – Peter Carey
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Olivier, a French aristocrat, sails for the New World with his servant Parrot
☁ “Olivier-Jean-Baptist de Clarel de Barfleur de Garmont is a young French nobleman who attends democratic lectures in his homeland and is suspected of being a spy. He is advised to move to away from the unwanted attention, as far away as America. He does so, taking with him John Larrit, aka Parrot as a secretaire, whose family printing business went up in flames.
On the ship the men lament the friends and lovers they have left behind, though there are a few surprise re-appearances, and also new turmoil and lustful adventures on the long voyage.
Once in the New World the men decide to investigate the penal system but struggle to agree upon their journeys and exploits, which more often than not turn out to be troublesome. The men quarrel and make up, collecting women and friends/enemies along their adventures.
The story is told in first person by Parrot and Olivier in alternating chapters, each portraying their unique perspective on events. Their narratives highlight one of the book’s main themes, the class difference between aristocrats and commoners. In the New World they agree to arrive as friends rather than master and servant however, the way in which the men treat others and view rules and laws demonstrates that behaviours related to class division are difficult to let go of.
I have traveled widely. I have seen this country in its infancy. I tell you what it will become. The public squares will be occupied by an uneducated class who will not be able to quote a line of Shakespeare.
Rachel and Suzy both agreed the book was full of fabulous characters, was well-paced and full of intrigue. However Rachel’s attention wavered and she didn’t pay as much attention as she should have to the details, affecting her overall view of the book. Suzy on the other hand was enthralled with the characterisation and the adventures and captivated throughout, noting it as a substantial literary and historical work.
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Published 2009
Hamish Hamilton
464 pages
In A Strange Room – Damon Galgut
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A South African writer named for the author goes backpacking abroad.
☁ A young man, named for the author, undertakes three journeys to different countries where he meets and enjoys the company of strangers, but seems to attract bad luck.
In Part I, titled The Follower, he travels to Greece and meets a fellow walker. They become friends and decide to tackle a walking trip together in South Africa. However, tensions arise in their contrasting personality types.
Part II is called The Lover and is set in Africa. In it, Damon, the protagonist, meets three European backpackers. Though he tries to avoid them he crosses paths with them several times before falling for one of them. He is then unable to decide whether he should continue to avoid them or attach himself to the group and follow the potential love interest.
In the final part, Damon accompanies a friend to India where he is entrusted with her care for her mental health is unsettled. In this section he is The Guardian, but struggles to live up to his caretaker role.
I don’t like leaving the road, my sense of vulnerability deepens, a sort of primal nervousness descends. But this is also one of the most compelling elements in travel, the feeling of dread underneath everything, it makes sensations heightened and acute, the world is charged with a power it doesn’t have in ordinary life.
The man’s actions are deliberate and thoughtful and detail his search for both meaning, for love and a place to call home. Adding to the mystery about whether the book is autobiographical or a unique type of fiction, is the dual point of views that sometimes change within a sentence.
In A Strange Room challenges genre stereotypes and we both felt we were being rewarded for reading the text more attentively than usual. It is an intellectual book that blurs the lines between fact and fiction that provided far more enjoyment than simply a moment of escapism.
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Published 2010
Atlanic
256 pages
The Finkler Question – Howard Jacobson
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A satirical novel where three British men reflect on what it means to be Jewish.
☁ “Julian Treslove is a professional lookalike, despite not looking like anyone in particular. His friend Sam Finkler is a philosopher, writer and television personality. Their former teacher, Libor Sevcik, is a Czechoslovakian concerned about the world.
One evening they dine at Libor’s central London apartment, reminiscing about their lives and discussing what it means to be Jewish. Julian is a recent convert and struggling with his new found identity. He considers Sam a total representation of Jewishness and uses his surname to stand in for the word Jew, hence the book’s title.
On his way home, Julian hesitates outside a shop window and is attacked. He becomes obsessed with the belief that his female attacker may have called him Jewish. This sets off a chain of events where the characters being to analyse their own Jewish identities but also how others interpret them, too.
That’s good, Julian. Getting touchy is a good sign. You can’t be Jewish if you can’t do touchy.
Suzy and Rachel agreed there was a nice level of humour and moral, a touch of reality and loveable characters in The Finkler Question. It was a satisfying read with outstanding prose and language. We enjoyed and respected it, but we didn’t find it overly exciting or stimulating. Perhaps because we are quite removed from the life which contemporary British Jews live, and therefore do not have the level of understanding that other readers may do about how Jewishness is integrated and regarded by the British population. There was a level of education here for us, for which we both were grateful, but as a read for a read’s sake, for enjoyment and to wile away a lazy Sunday afternoon in Aotearoa, it wouldn’t be our first pick.
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Published 2011
Bloomsbury
384 pages
Room – Emma Donoghue
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A boy and his mother are held captive in a single room which has become their world.
☁ Room is told from the perspective of a five-year-old boy who is being held captive with his mother. The boy was born in the room and has no understanding of the outside or real world. Only the games he must play and the places he must hide when Old Nick comes to visit his Ma.
Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and motherly love, Ma creates a life for Jack. But she knows it’s not enough and devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son’s bravery.
Room was inspired by the real life Fritzl case.
Outside has everything. Whenever I think of a thing now like skis or fireworks or islands or elevators or yo-yos, I have to remember they’re real, they’re actually happening in Outside all together. It makes my head tired. And people too, firefighters, teachers, burglars, babies, saints, soccer players and all sorts, they’re all really in Outside.
Though topical, we both found the plot in Room too convenient and sewn up. Even the young-child narration didn’t really work. Rather than a heartfelt innocence’s point of view, the book had a childish air. Too much was spelled out, over explaining what the boy was hearing but not understanding. The reader needed to be given more credit and the story could have been told through nuanced tidbits of information instead. It felt like the true horror of the Fritzl case was trivialised by this book. We were both surprised Room was shortlisted for the Booker.”
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Published 2010
Little, Brown & Co
336 pages
C – Tom McCarthy
READ FOR BOOKERTHON
C is a 1960s-, modernist-style anti-novel steeped in philosophy. It follows Serge, an encoder, through WWI.
☁ Opening in England at the turn of the 20th century, C is the story of a boy named Serge Carrefax whose father spends his time experimenting with wireless communication while running a school for deaf children. Serge grows up amid the noise and silence with his brilliant but troubled older sister, Sophie.
Serge heads off to the war as a wireless operator in spotter planes over the front, studies architecture; meets fraudulent spiritualists; and is sent to Egypt to help set up a communications network.
C is described an an anti novel, a book which avoids the usual character studies and dramatic plot twists in favour of pushing philosophical content, modernist literary techniques and metaphors concerning language, technology and transmission.
Whether readers will enjoy the book will depend on their fondness for something quite analytical or more readable. Suzy and Rachel both agreed this book was too clever for them. There was air of authority and mastery about it, but it was delivered with a sense that we, common readers, did not understand what was truly going on beneath the obvious story line. (It was true, we did not). Perhaps one to re-read in ten years time when our literary palates have developed further.
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Published 2010
Vintage
400 pages
She Came To Stay – Simone de Beauvoir
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Chosen by Rachel
☁ She Came To Stay is a novel written by French author Simone de Beauvoir, published in 1943. The novel is a fictional account of her and Jean-Paul Sartre’s open relationship with sisters Olga and Wanda Kosakiewicz. It was written as an act of revenge against the women, who nearly destroyed the author’s relationship with the celebrated philosopher.
Set in Paris on the eve of and during World War II, the novel revolves around Françoise, whose open relationship with her partner Pierre becomes strained when they form a ménage à trois with her younger friend Xaviere. The novel explores many existentialist concepts such as freedom, angst, and the other.
All she had to do was make the simplest of gestures — open her hands and let go her hold. She lifted one hand and moved the fingers of it; they responded, in surprise and obedience, and this obedience of a thousand little unsuspected muscles was in itself a miracle. Why ask for more?
It is a decadent story where everything is available and life is for living. The characters are the sole drivers of their lives and their futures, so there is a lot of dialogue and relationship building. This style divided the freerangers, with some relishing the true-to-life structure and others being driven to distraction by the intensity and the constant chatter. Whatever the case, it’s definitely a unique novel.
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Published 1949
Secker & Warburg
416 pages
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