30 Days of Books - Day 02

Enraged by the comment in one of Lesley's recent blog posts (that I'm only pretending to do this meme because I never update my own blog) I'm setting out to prove her wrong ... so here's an update. HA.

Day 02 - A book you've read more than three times.

I thought a lot about which book to choose for this one, because I've read many books more than three times, although that's usually because I've quite clearly missed the entire point of the book, or I've had to read it for a module, gotten bored and skimmed it, and then realised that I have an essay/exam on said book, and would probably benefit from actually reading it to minimise the chance of failure. So I picked a book that ticks all these categories, and is actually a book that I genuinely love (now that I've read it properly.)

Spies by Michael Frayn was a book that I had to read for my A-Levels. At that time, I found it dreadfully dull, (a sentiment shared by most, if not all, of my classmates) and so I didn't really try to absorb myself in the story, or indeed, like it. The narrative seemed to plod along at a lazy pace, and for a long time, nothing much happened. Gradually though, Shaun (our teacher) manage to impress upon us the seriousness of the imminent exam, and that we all really must try to make more of an effort with it. In fact, he warned us that this book was so incredibly complex, it was very difficult to get a good mark - the average grade for students up and down the country (taking the exam for the first time) was a D. English literature was one subject I'd always felt an affinity with, and the lowest mark I'd ever received (on a really, really bad day) was a C. I could not, and would not get a D. No, absolutely not. And so, I started to try a little harder, listen a little closer and consequently, my copy of the book is now littered with annotations. I discovered that the book wasn't really that bad, and was in fact actually rather good. By the time the exam rolled around, I wasn't feeling especially confident, but figured I'd give it my best shot.

I'm aware that I'm rambling a little bit here, and have gone off on quite a major tangent, so I might try and reign it back in a little, and  focus a bit more on the book. If anyone's interested, I got an A on that exam and was one of only two people (I think...) in my entire college who didn't need to re-sit it. Hooray for me!!

ANYWAY. The book. Spies is a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of Britain in WW2. The story is told from two viewpoints, which are at once very different and yet completely the same. The main character, Stephen Wheatley, returns to his childhood street an old man, reflecting on the events that occurred there one summer, and so the story is told from the perspective of Present-Day-Stephen and WW2-Stephen. The (very basic) premise to the plot is two boys, Stephen and Keith, bored in the heat of the summer, suspect Keith's mum of being a German spy, and so make it their buisness to spy on her, and discover exactly where it is she goes and who she's posting the mysterious letters to. Unfortunately for the boys, they find themselves mixed up in a dangerous mystery neither of them could have bargained for - but before you go guessing, it's not at all what you think it is. Frayn weaves his story in a mesmerising fashion, and the true scale of their childish games isn't revealed until the final pages, which is both compelling and infuriating.

It is a book primarily about memory and imagination, and the effortless way in which a child can blur the lines between reality and fantasy, and ultimately live their own make-believe creation of life - until they realise the detrimental effect their games have on the realities of those around them.

When I first read this book, the pace seemed to me to really bog the narrative down, and the lack of any action meant I found it exceedingly dull. But now, having read the book a few years later, I finally understand the point to Frayn's writing techniques. What he doesn't say is equally as important as what he does say, and the meandering narrative I now see as a reflection of the main character's lack of understanding of what's really happening. It is as much a work of suspense as it is a saddened reflection, and the surprises and plot twists towards the novel's end are revealed so casually that the effect is somewhat jarring - but in a good way. I only wish I'd tried harder to absorb myself in the book when I read it for the first time. But the good news is, this book has since become one of my all time favourites. Hurrah!!

30 Days of Books - Day 01

Righto. Lesley (or rather, Lesley's mum) found this marvellous meme on the internet, and I've decided to take a whack at it. I've seen this sort of thing floating around on various social networking sites, but had no idea they were called meme's. I do now. If anyone's interested in this particular meme, I can direct you to Lesley's blog, where you'll find not only her list, but also details for the full thread. (I don't know how to do the linky thing she has on the side ... sorry.)
I should also point out, I have every intention of seeing this through to Day 30, however I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of blogging about a book every day for 30 days, so knowing me, it might very well take me until Christmas to complete. Just so you know.

Day 01 - The Best Book You Read Last Year

I thought long and hard about which book would be a good'un to kick this off. To be honest, I haven't really had very much time for personal reading over the last year, because the reading lists for university take up a great chunk of my time. However, there was one book I had to read for a module that really stuck with me for a pretty long time after I'd finished it.

Junk by Melvin Burgess is a compelling, complicated and disturbing look at the effects of drug addiction and the drug culture in the UK. The general premise for the book is kids with some pretty serious parental issues who run away from home and end up living with squatters, ultimately ending up getting heavily involved with hard drugs. The story is told from various viewpoints, and Burgess lets each and every one have their own say. The characters are immensely rich and believeable, and I found myself from the very first chapter willing this story to have a happy ending. I find it easy to get sucked into a good book, to attach myself to the characters, and for pages upon pages I hoped and hoped that they'd be saved from their circumstances, their addiction, and ultimately themselves.

It's quite clear from very early on, however, that these characters are well beyond any help or intervention, and there is a lingering, inescapable sense of the inevitable as the narrative evolves.

 I don't want to go too deeply into the plot for fear of spoilers, but I'll just say this. When this book was first published in 1996, it was met with howls of protest from various journalists, parents, teachers, etc etc, with many fearing the content was too hard-hitting for it's target audience. But once they'd taken the time to read the book, to fully understand the point Burgess was trying to make, they realised that this book is empowering, encouraging  kids and adults alike to think for themselves rather than encouraging the use of hard drugs.

I found this book haunting - addictive and repulsive in equal measure. But more than that, I think this book is important. Kids need to know about the truth behind drug use, they need to know about the the good, the bad and the ugly in order for them to make up their own, informed decision about the topic. It's no good preaching about the dangers of drugs if they don't know all the facts. There will always be arguments about what is deemed 'appropriate' content for children and young adults in literature, but I whole-heartedly believe every teen should read this book, for the simple fact that it might one day save their life.