At our meeting on March 29 2007, we discussed the need to have some guidelines for group discussion. This should help to keep discussions on track. We could also give this to new members, so they know how we operate.
Those who weren't at the meeting can email me your comments, thanks Julia
These are the Guidelines for the Group of ‘97 Bookgroup
The format of our meetings is pretty informal, but we try to follow some guidelines for discussion:
The person who has chosen the book “chairs” the meeting and introduces the book prior to any wider discussion.
Points for the chair to cover in book group discussion can be:
§ Background: eg why you chose the book
§ Author’s biography
§ What are the main theme(s)?
§ What style is used?
§ Characters and their development
§ Plot and narrative
§ Setting and related historical data
§ The book’s conclusion. Does it work?
§ Summing up. Overall impression
To assist discussion, the chair may introduce some reviews or pose some questions to group. Members should refrain from interrupting until the chair has finished.
The book group size of between 6 and 8 seems to work best. Suggested names for new members are discussed and agreed by the group. We keep a list of members’ addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.
At the end of the year we rate the books and come up with a best books 1-3 rating. We could also rate them after each meeting.
Meetings are usually held at 5 or 6 weekly intervals on a Thursday night starting at 7.30pm
Sunday 25 March 2007
Saturday 24 March 2007
A Fringe of Leaves
Background Why I chose the book?
I read David Marr’s excellent biography of White when it came out. Having only read Voss and The Aunt's Story, both of which I enjoyed, I have intended to re-visit White for some time. Then recently in conversation with a friend and colleague who is writing a book about White, we got to discussing White and why Australia’s greatest writer and the only one to win a Nobel prize, has fallen out of favour. My friend recommended A Fringe of Leaves as White’s most accessible and satisfying novel. Is White being re-discovered? Just recently there has been a few articles about White in the press. The ABC’s First Tuesday Book Club recently chose The Solid Mandala. Some claim this to be his finest work and this was White’s own favourite. I thought it was interesting in the First Tuesday Book Club that opinions were evenly divided between the younger and older panelists, with the 2 younger having no patience with the wordiness of White.
Author’s biography
I think there is plenty on the web about this and David Marr’s biography is the one to read.
A Fringe of Leaves
As in Voss, Patrick White has taken a well known Australian historical story as the basis for his narrative. But this is not an historical novel and he has changed the original story significantly. The real Eliza Fraser was on board a ship that was wrecked of Queensland in 1836. She survived and lived among the aborigines and was eventually brought back to civilization of Moreton Bay. So this is a “first contact” story. In the early 1960s, Sidney Nolan, a friend of Patrick White’s, produced a series of paintings based on the Eliza Fraser story. In turn White was influenced by the Nolan paintings, but it took him several years to complete the story.
White’s language and style
White’s style, according to a recent article by David Malouf, published in The Age is described as high modernism. As such it can be hard to get into. White’s wordiness is something no longer familiar in most contemporary literature. But if we look back not too far, to great writers such as Faulkner and Conrad we realise that styles have changed, and even Dickens can be “difficult” for modern readers. The glory of the language of White is something to savour, but it does require some effort on the reader’s part.
Themes of the book
Humanity
This has been called White’s most humane novel. The Ellen character is not idealised she just is. She doesn’t aspire to soar among the birds as Miss Scrimshaw does, but stays firmly planted on the earth. According to Veronica Brady, A Fringe of Leaves represents in White a return to humanity.
Civilisation
Ellen survives the shipwreck and is taken hostage by local Aborigines. She comes to leave the Aborigines and she eventually returns to "civilisation” with the aid of an escaped convict. The title of the novel A Fringe of Leaves, comes from the clothing Ellen takes on when among the Aborigines. This symbolises the civilisation she clings to. Clothing assumes significance in other scenes in the novel: the widow’s clothing she dons after re-entering European society in Moreton Bay, the garnet coloured gown as she assumes a confident new position in European society.
Landscape
Like many Australian writers and artists, White explores Landscape in A Fringe of Leaves Is this the big theme in Australian art? What are we doing here in this “alien” Landscape. In 1973 Patrick White won the Nobel Prize for Literature for bringing this continent to international attention.
Class
Class in 19th century European/Australian society was obviously strong. Ellen moves between classes and adapts as she goes along.
Character of Ellen
Atypical for White the character of Ellen is a sympathetic female character with active sexuality. While in the action she in some sense more above it and is able to adapt to surrounding. She is very practical and the chief carer of her invalid husband.
Aborigines
There is no sentimentality or idealism in White’s portrayal of the Aborigines. He avoids the “noble savage” cliché and they are not seen as victims. This seems to be more of a realistic and historically accurate portrayal.
Plot and Narrative:
The novel has a strong narrative line. The importance of the opening chapter comes later. We can then see it as prophetic. It introduced the characters as it were “off-stage” and later the Miss Scrimshaw character reappears in Moreton Bay. There are forewarnings of the impending doom and challenges the Ellen character will face.
Summing up. Overall impression
The plan and layout of the novel is masterful and the writer is in full control. This is not a melodrama, but the story has elements of the melodramatic. He handles some scenes with humour, eg the early scenes with getting to know Austin R. In some ways the novel’s style reminded me of Jane Austen. There was irony, some humour suhc as the scene towards the end where Ellen’s future partner, Mr Jevons, spills tea all over her dress. This could be straight from a Mr Collins scene in Austen.
References: Veronica Brady’s article in Southerly A Fringe of Leaves Civilisation by the Skin of Our Own Teeth
I read David Marr’s excellent biography of White when it came out. Having only read Voss and The Aunt's Story, both of which I enjoyed, I have intended to re-visit White for some time. Then recently in conversation with a friend and colleague who is writing a book about White, we got to discussing White and why Australia’s greatest writer and the only one to win a Nobel prize, has fallen out of favour. My friend recommended A Fringe of Leaves as White’s most accessible and satisfying novel. Is White being re-discovered? Just recently there has been a few articles about White in the press. The ABC’s First Tuesday Book Club recently chose The Solid Mandala. Some claim this to be his finest work and this was White’s own favourite. I thought it was interesting in the First Tuesday Book Club that opinions were evenly divided between the younger and older panelists, with the 2 younger having no patience with the wordiness of White.
Author’s biography
I think there is plenty on the web about this and David Marr’s biography is the one to read.
A Fringe of Leaves
As in Voss, Patrick White has taken a well known Australian historical story as the basis for his narrative. But this is not an historical novel and he has changed the original story significantly. The real Eliza Fraser was on board a ship that was wrecked of Queensland in 1836. She survived and lived among the aborigines and was eventually brought back to civilization of Moreton Bay. So this is a “first contact” story. In the early 1960s, Sidney Nolan, a friend of Patrick White’s, produced a series of paintings based on the Eliza Fraser story. In turn White was influenced by the Nolan paintings, but it took him several years to complete the story.
White’s language and style
White’s style, according to a recent article by David Malouf, published in The Age is described as high modernism. As such it can be hard to get into. White’s wordiness is something no longer familiar in most contemporary literature. But if we look back not too far, to great writers such as Faulkner and Conrad we realise that styles have changed, and even Dickens can be “difficult” for modern readers. The glory of the language of White is something to savour, but it does require some effort on the reader’s part.
Themes of the book
Humanity
This has been called White’s most humane novel. The Ellen character is not idealised she just is. She doesn’t aspire to soar among the birds as Miss Scrimshaw does, but stays firmly planted on the earth. According to Veronica Brady, A Fringe of Leaves represents in White a return to humanity.
Civilisation
Ellen survives the shipwreck and is taken hostage by local Aborigines. She comes to leave the Aborigines and she eventually returns to "civilisation” with the aid of an escaped convict. The title of the novel A Fringe of Leaves, comes from the clothing Ellen takes on when among the Aborigines. This symbolises the civilisation she clings to. Clothing assumes significance in other scenes in the novel: the widow’s clothing she dons after re-entering European society in Moreton Bay, the garnet coloured gown as she assumes a confident new position in European society.
Landscape
Like many Australian writers and artists, White explores Landscape in A Fringe of Leaves Is this the big theme in Australian art? What are we doing here in this “alien” Landscape. In 1973 Patrick White won the Nobel Prize for Literature for bringing this continent to international attention.
Class
Class in 19th century European/Australian society was obviously strong. Ellen moves between classes and adapts as she goes along.
Character of Ellen
Atypical for White the character of Ellen is a sympathetic female character with active sexuality. While in the action she in some sense more above it and is able to adapt to surrounding. She is very practical and the chief carer of her invalid husband.
Aborigines
There is no sentimentality or idealism in White’s portrayal of the Aborigines. He avoids the “noble savage” cliché and they are not seen as victims. This seems to be more of a realistic and historically accurate portrayal.
Plot and Narrative:
The novel has a strong narrative line. The importance of the opening chapter comes later. We can then see it as prophetic. It introduced the characters as it were “off-stage” and later the Miss Scrimshaw character reappears in Moreton Bay. There are forewarnings of the impending doom and challenges the Ellen character will face.
Summing up. Overall impression
The plan and layout of the novel is masterful and the writer is in full control. This is not a melodrama, but the story has elements of the melodramatic. He handles some scenes with humour, eg the early scenes with getting to know Austin R. In some ways the novel’s style reminded me of Jane Austen. There was irony, some humour suhc as the scene towards the end where Ellen’s future partner, Mr Jevons, spills tea all over her dress. This could be straight from a Mr Collins scene in Austen.
References: Veronica Brady’s article in Southerly A Fringe of Leaves Civilisation by the Skin of Our Own Teeth
Friday 16 March 2007
Book Group's List 1997-2006
Group of 97 Book Blog
Our group guidelines are here
Complete List 1997-2006
2006
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
What I Loved, Siri Hustvedt
The Secret River, Kate Grenville
Old Filth, Jane Gardam
The Invisible Woman, Claire. Tomalin
Journey to the Stone Country, Alex Miller
Digging to America, Anne Tyler
Votes for best book of 2006: 1. Old Filth 2. The Book Thief 3. The Secret River
2005
Broken Book, Susan Johnson
The Turning, Tim Winton
The Good Doctor, Damon Galgut
For the Love of a Good Woman, Alice Munro
Joe Cinque's Consolation, Helen Garner
Small Island, Andrea Levy
Saturday, Ian McEwan
Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Best books of 2005: 1. Saturday . 2. The Turning . 3. For the Love of a Good Woman
2004
The Life of Pi, Yann Martel
The Light of Day, Graham Swift
The Solace of Leaving Early, Havel Kimmel
Old School, Tobias Wolff
Tom Keneally. Tyrant’s Novel
The Great Fire, Shirley Hazzard
The Amateur Marriage, Anne Tyler
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Mark Haddon
Best books of 2004: 1. The Life of Pi, 2. Old School, 3. The Solace of Leaving Early.
2003
Dirt Music, Tim Winton
Truth about My Fathers, Gaby Naher
The Underpainter, Jane Urquhart
Atomised, Michel Houellebecq
Gilgamesh, Joan London
Skins, Sarah Hay
Family Matters, Rohinton Mistry
Oscar and Lucinda, Peter Carey
Best books of 2003: 1. Dirt Music, 2. Family Matters, 3. The Underpainter
2002
White Teeth, Zadie Smith
No Great Mischief, Alistair McLeod
The Idea of Perfection, Kate Grenville
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
The Age of Kali, William Dalrymple
Atonement, Ian McEwan
Unless, Carol Shields
Spies, Michael Frayn
The God of Small Things, Arundati Roy
Best books of 2002: 1. No Great Mischief, 2. Atonement, 3. The Idea of Perfection
2001
Thursday’s Child, Sonya Hartnett
Chocolat, Joanne Harris
On the Hills of God, Ibrahim Fawal
When I Lived in Modern Times, Linda Grant
The Twelfth Of Never, Louis Nowra
Intimacy, Hanif Kureishi
The Floating Brothel, Sian Rees
The Samurai’s Garden, Gail Tsukiyama
The Australian Fiance, Simone Lazaroo
Best books of 2001: 1. The Samurai’s Garden , 2. The Australian Fiance, 3. The Twelfth Of Never
2000
The Surgeon of Crowthorne, Simon Winchester
The Hours, Michael Cunningham Anne
Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier
Drawn from Life, Stella Bowen
Disgrace, J.M. Coetzee
The Quiet American, Graham Greene
The Singing Line, Alice Thomson
Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
About a Boy, Nick Hornby
Best books of 2000: 1. Disgrace, 2. About a Boy, 3. Surgeon of Crowthorne
1999
The Reader, Bernard Schlink
Fugitive Pieces, Anne Michaels
Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes
Tasting Salt, Stephanie Dowrick
Armadillo, William Boyd
Lambs of God, Marele Day
Cod, Mark Kurlansky
The Travelling Hornplayer, Barbara Trapido
The Weight of Water, Anita Schrieve
Best book of 1999: 1. The Reader
1998
Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood
The 100 Secret Senses, Amy Tan
Dear Sun, Janine Burke
Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden
Snake Cradle, Roberta Sykes
Night Letters, Robert Dessaix
The Volcano Lover, Susan Sontag
Floating Life (film)
Best book of 1998: 1. Alias Grace, 2. Snake Cradle
1997
Morality Play, Barry Unsworth
Masons Retreat, Christopher Tilghman
Moo, Jane Smiley
Camille’s Bread, Amanda Lohrey
None To Accompany, Nadine Gordimer
Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, Peter Hoeg
Best book of 1997: 1. Camille’s Bread
Our group guidelines are here
Complete List 1997-2006
2006
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
What I Loved, Siri Hustvedt
The Secret River, Kate Grenville
Old Filth, Jane Gardam
The Invisible Woman, Claire. Tomalin
Journey to the Stone Country, Alex Miller
Digging to America, Anne Tyler
Votes for best book of 2006: 1. Old Filth 2. The Book Thief 3. The Secret River
2005
Broken Book, Susan Johnson
The Turning, Tim Winton
The Good Doctor, Damon Galgut
For the Love of a Good Woman, Alice Munro
Joe Cinque's Consolation, Helen Garner
Small Island, Andrea Levy
Saturday, Ian McEwan
Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Best books of 2005: 1. Saturday . 2. The Turning . 3. For the Love of a Good Woman
2004
The Life of Pi, Yann Martel
The Light of Day, Graham Swift
The Solace of Leaving Early, Havel Kimmel
Old School, Tobias Wolff
Tom Keneally. Tyrant’s Novel
The Great Fire, Shirley Hazzard
The Amateur Marriage, Anne Tyler
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Mark Haddon
Best books of 2004: 1. The Life of Pi, 2. Old School, 3. The Solace of Leaving Early.
2003
Dirt Music, Tim Winton
Truth about My Fathers, Gaby Naher
The Underpainter, Jane Urquhart
Atomised, Michel Houellebecq
Gilgamesh, Joan London
Skins, Sarah Hay
Family Matters, Rohinton Mistry
Oscar and Lucinda, Peter Carey
Best books of 2003: 1. Dirt Music, 2. Family Matters, 3. The Underpainter
2002
White Teeth, Zadie Smith
No Great Mischief, Alistair McLeod
The Idea of Perfection, Kate Grenville
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
The Age of Kali, William Dalrymple
Atonement, Ian McEwan
Unless, Carol Shields
Spies, Michael Frayn
The God of Small Things, Arundati Roy
Best books of 2002: 1. No Great Mischief, 2. Atonement, 3. The Idea of Perfection
2001
Thursday’s Child, Sonya Hartnett
Chocolat, Joanne Harris
On the Hills of God, Ibrahim Fawal
When I Lived in Modern Times, Linda Grant
The Twelfth Of Never, Louis Nowra
Intimacy, Hanif Kureishi
The Floating Brothel, Sian Rees
The Samurai’s Garden, Gail Tsukiyama
The Australian Fiance, Simone Lazaroo
Best books of 2001: 1. The Samurai’s Garden , 2. The Australian Fiance, 3. The Twelfth Of Never
2000
The Surgeon of Crowthorne, Simon Winchester
The Hours, Michael Cunningham Anne
Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier
Drawn from Life, Stella Bowen
Disgrace, J.M. Coetzee
The Quiet American, Graham Greene
The Singing Line, Alice Thomson
Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
About a Boy, Nick Hornby
Best books of 2000: 1. Disgrace, 2. About a Boy, 3. Surgeon of Crowthorne
1999
The Reader, Bernard Schlink
Fugitive Pieces, Anne Michaels
Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes
Tasting Salt, Stephanie Dowrick
Armadillo, William Boyd
Lambs of God, Marele Day
Cod, Mark Kurlansky
The Travelling Hornplayer, Barbara Trapido
The Weight of Water, Anita Schrieve
Best book of 1999: 1. The Reader
1998
Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood
The 100 Secret Senses, Amy Tan
Dear Sun, Janine Burke
Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden
Snake Cradle, Roberta Sykes
Night Letters, Robert Dessaix
The Volcano Lover, Susan Sontag
Floating Life (film)
Best book of 1998: 1. Alias Grace, 2. Snake Cradle
1997
Morality Play, Barry Unsworth
Masons Retreat, Christopher Tilghman
Moo, Jane Smiley
Camille’s Bread, Amanda Lohrey
None To Accompany, Nadine Gordimer
Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, Peter Hoeg
Best book of 1997: 1. Camille’s Bread
Jane Gardam Old Filth
May 14, 2006
Jane Gardam's Old Filth
By schnucki
Jane Gardam Old Filth.
Old Filth is a story about a "Raj orphan", Edward Feathers, who was born in Malaya in the 1930s. After a blissfully happy childhood in the company of his much loved Malay amah, Ada, he was suddenly ripped away by his WW1 psychologically damaged father, and sent home to the old country. Later Feathers became a successful Silk and was known in the Inner Temple as "Old Filth" ("Failed in London Try Hong Kong").
There are many reviews and summaries of the book on the Web, but the best I found was the printed TLS review from the library: "The comforts of a stiff upper lip" 12 November 2004 p 21-22. This give some detail on the Rudyard Kipling connection.
The Raj orphans were in their way a Stolen Generation of children, who although they lived a life of wealth and privilege, their lives could often have been a very loveless and unhappy. All through the novel The Feathers charactert connects with other Raj orphans, who have each reacted to their unusual upbringing in different ways. In fact I think many British upper class children may have suffered a similar fate and scenes of Old Filth’s aunts and the father figure himself reminded me of Brideshead Revisited. John Gielgud gave a memorable performance in the BBC TV series, where he played Charles Ryder’s stiff and remote father.
The Feathers character is based on Rudyard Kipling. Kipling’s short story "Baa Baa Black Sheep" (1888) drew from his experience as an abandoned five year left with foster parents in England. Hi autobiography "Something of Myself" (1935) further explores this.
I thought the structure of the book, like a staged drama, with scenes created from different time periods, worked well. It added to the drama of Feathers’ life and helped to create anticipation and to move to story forward. The Feathers’ character wears a mask his whole life and there’s mention of him choosing an "actor’s life" in becoming a judge. It is not until finally, with the death of his wife, when the "days of terror" start and his persona start unraveling.
Old Filth is a type of mystery and we wait for the dark secret to be revealed at the end. Gardam cleverly introduces the names of Cumberledge, (Isobel scene page 74), but we never know who he is.
As a Raj orphan, Feathers’ life certainly could have been worse. He finds kindness and friends along the way, (Aunt May, Sir, the Ingoldby family, Albert Loss, his beloved wife Betty). Even his unsympathetic father is working behind the scenes, sending him money and books. Bit many friends desert him
Gardam creates wonderful word pictures. The early scene in Kota Kinakulu is evocative and poetic and the final portrait of Filth in declining old age is authentic.
The novel could have been quite a soppy maudlin story, but humour and irony shines though and some of the characters are particularly quirky: Babs, Isobel, the confessional priest, and the mysterious Albert Loss.
Of secondary interest to Gardam is plot and she’s quite happy to have coincidences such as Feathers’ arch enemy turned up next door, and other characters popping across his path.
Finally I would say a great book and I look forward to discovering more of Gardam.
Jane Gardam's Old Filth
By schnucki
Jane Gardam Old Filth.
Old Filth is a story about a "Raj orphan", Edward Feathers, who was born in Malaya in the 1930s. After a blissfully happy childhood in the company of his much loved Malay amah, Ada, he was suddenly ripped away by his WW1 psychologically damaged father, and sent home to the old country. Later Feathers became a successful Silk and was known in the Inner Temple as "Old Filth" ("Failed in London Try Hong Kong").
There are many reviews and summaries of the book on the Web, but the best I found was the printed TLS review from the library: "The comforts of a stiff upper lip" 12 November 2004 p 21-22. This give some detail on the Rudyard Kipling connection.
The Raj orphans were in their way a Stolen Generation of children, who although they lived a life of wealth and privilege, their lives could often have been a very loveless and unhappy. All through the novel The Feathers charactert connects with other Raj orphans, who have each reacted to their unusual upbringing in different ways. In fact I think many British upper class children may have suffered a similar fate and scenes of Old Filth’s aunts and the father figure himself reminded me of Brideshead Revisited. John Gielgud gave a memorable performance in the BBC TV series, where he played Charles Ryder’s stiff and remote father.
The Feathers character is based on Rudyard Kipling. Kipling’s short story "Baa Baa Black Sheep" (1888) drew from his experience as an abandoned five year left with foster parents in England. Hi autobiography "Something of Myself" (1935) further explores this.
I thought the structure of the book, like a staged drama, with scenes created from different time periods, worked well. It added to the drama of Feathers’ life and helped to create anticipation and to move to story forward. The Feathers’ character wears a mask his whole life and there’s mention of him choosing an "actor’s life" in becoming a judge. It is not until finally, with the death of his wife, when the "days of terror" start and his persona start unraveling.
Old Filth is a type of mystery and we wait for the dark secret to be revealed at the end. Gardam cleverly introduces the names of Cumberledge, (Isobel scene page 74), but we never know who he is.
As a Raj orphan, Feathers’ life certainly could have been worse. He finds kindness and friends along the way, (Aunt May, Sir, the Ingoldby family, Albert Loss, his beloved wife Betty). Even his unsympathetic father is working behind the scenes, sending him money and books. Bit many friends desert him
Gardam creates wonderful word pictures. The early scene in Kota Kinakulu is evocative and poetic and the final portrait of Filth in declining old age is authentic.
The novel could have been quite a soppy maudlin story, but humour and irony shines though and some of the characters are particularly quirky: Babs, Isobel, the confessional priest, and the mysterious Albert Loss.
Of secondary interest to Gardam is plot and she’s quite happy to have coincidences such as Feathers’ arch enemy turned up next door, and other characters popping across his path.
Finally I would say a great book and I look forward to discovering more of Gardam.
Thursday 8 March 2007
Group of 97 First blog
Yesterday Perth recorded its hottest march day on record with the mercury hitting 43 degrees at 4pm. Today our lovely Trigg Beach looked like this at 8am, with the temperature headed for a cooler 38 degrees. Phew!
So it’s a great day to start a blog, working indoors in air-conditioned comfort. Tonight I hope to finish Patrick White’s A Fringe of Leaves and will post some initial thoughts to get the blog focussed on BOOKS.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
