Brisbane Book Club Newsletter, November 2016

Our November MeetingTheme: Russian Adventures

General Comments:

The November meeting was all about Russia. 2016 marks 100 years since the completion of the Trans-Siberian from St Petersburg to Vladivostok and 150 years since the publication of Crime and Punishment. From spies to travels to folklore, our meeting covered a wide range of topics, highlighting the long and varied history of both Russian literature and the country itself. With the November meeting though, comes the realisation that 2016 is nearly over! The 2017 themes are now available on the meetup website, and with December and the festive season upon us all I’d like to wish you a safe and happy holiday and all the very best for the New Year. May the summer holidays bring you the opportunity to catch up on a good book!

Janette E.

The Reviews:

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (first published as serial 1873-1877)Genre: Literary Realism “What is it about Anna Karenina that gives it special status among the great novels? How is it that a sensational romantic tragedy of tsarist high society, interspersed with digressions into 19th-century Russian agricultural policy, written in a seemingly plain, straightforward style across 900 pages, still provokes both excitement and respect from readers as diverse as JM Coetzee, Jonathan Franken and Oprah Winfrey, and lures Tom Stoppard to write the script for the latest of a dozen film adaptations? The book floats in some charmed section of the lake of literary opinion where the ripples from modernism and the ripples from Hollywood overlap without merging. It is more admired than learned from. Anna Karenina couldn't be less like a conventional modern novel. Instead of a barrage of metaphors describing things in terms of other things that they resemble, Lev Tolstoy seeks the precise word for the thing itself. Instead of the solipsistic modern mode of events being experienced from the point of view of a single character, Tolstoy slips in and out of the consciousness of dozens of characters, major and minor. At one point he tells us what a character's dog is thinking.” – James Meek for The Guardian

Read by Jocelyn:” A very interesting study of Russian society in the 19th century, especially the status of women, who were powerless. The story of Anna how her mental health slowly deteriorates due to the actions of the men her life is very compelling. There’s a lot of detail on Russian life, especially of the upper classes. Also, the story is an interesting study of life in the country and the agricultural economy.” 8/10

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A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Novy Mir, 1962)Genre: Historical, Realism “Solzhenitsyn has written no mere propagandistic expose. He has created a small, almost flawless classic employing the eloquence of reticence and understatement in a manner which even the fumbling of hurried translation cannot obscure. Ivan Denisovich Shukov, his central figure, is a simple peasant. His "crime" was to escape from the Germans who took him prisoner in 1943 and return to his own lines. Had he not said he had been in German hands he would have gotten a medal. By telling the truth he was sentenced to a concentration camp as a "spy." Had he not confessed being a "spy" he would have been shot. Neither he nor his NKVD interrogator had ingenuity enough to figure out what kind of "spying" he was supposed to do.Now in a prison camp resembling one of the Karanga camps where Solzhenitsyn himself was confined, Ivan strives to keep alive in a milieu-ruled, as an old inmate says, "by the law of the taiga," or as we would put it, the law of the jungle…..Everyone cheats. Everyone steals. But there are rules of the game. Only by observing the rules with skill can a man hope to survive. If he fights back like the Naval captain he'll be thrown into the sub-zero guardhouse for 10 days. If he survives his health is ruined. Not more than a year or two of life will remain.’’- The New York Times

Read by Diane: “An amazing story based on a single day in the life of Ivan, who is in a prison camp. It is an engaging read, with very detailed descriptions of the camp atmosphere. The oppression is evident and the dehumanizing treatment of the prisoners is shocking. The prisoners are referred to by the guards as number, and are punished severely for the smallest things – using the word ‘comrade’ for example. The story provides some positive evidence of the prisoners helping each other and survival of the human spirit in otherwise devastating circumstances.”

8/10

Ural Mountains Tales by Pavel Bazjov (first published 1936)Genre: Folklore, Children’s literature“Our story today is set in the wild wastes of the Ural Mountains: one of the most ancient mountain ranges in the world which runs from North to South across Western Russia. A vast band of stone, it has both a polar region and a southern region, coniferous forests and deciduous, underground streams and rivers which freeze for large parts of the year….. It was here, in the city of Sysert, that revolutionary and writer Pavel Bazhov collected tales from the miners of the Ural Mountains.” – Kate Shrewsday

Read by Anna: “This is a fairytale book of the people of Ural Mountains of the 19th century. Beautifully described and illustrated, the book tells stories magical creatures who were believed to live in the mountains and how they treated people who lived there.” 10/10

Journey to Russia by Theopile Gautier (also titled A Winter in Russia) (first published 1867)Genre: Historical, Autobiographical, Travel“Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier (August 30, 1811 – October 23, 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and literary critic whose life spans two major phases in the development of French literature. Gautier was born in the height of French Romanticism; he was a friend of Victor Hugo, and in his early years he wrote poems that effused the highly sentimental and overwrought style of the Romantics. In mid-life, however, Gautier made a dramatic about-face; he became one of Romanticism's fiercest critics, spending most of his time

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in the middle-period of his career satirizing Romantic poets. By the time he had come into his own as a poet and completely outgrown his youthful Romantic tendencies, Gautier had evolved into an entirely unique voice in French literature.” – New World Encyclopedia

Read by Anna: “This book is a travel diary written by a French poet in the 19th century. He was brave enough to take this journey to Russia in winter. He describes parties, people, architecture, everything he has seen as well as his adventures on the way.” 10/10

Lonely Planet Guide to The Trans-Siberian Railway by Simon Richmond et al.(2006, Lonely Planet Publishing,)

“Now, several months after completing my second trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway and after a combined 2 months of traveling through Russia, China, and Mongolia, many of those questions have been answered. Yet the Railway remains as intriguing a journey as ever for me because each trip is unique, from the people you’ll meet on the train cars, to the cities in which you choose to stop, to the way you handle the inevitable challenges as you make your way across Europe and Asia…Russia is home to some of the friendliest and most hospitable people I’ve ever met. The key is breaking through their seemingly tough, weathered exteriors and getting to know them as individual people. This is easy to do on the train as you’ll be sharing the car with locals. Bring food and drinks for them (although they likely won’t accept), accept what is offered to you, and make whatever conversation you can. It’s likely you’ll make fast friends, and you’ll have a far more entertaining journey than if you just keep to yourself.” – Ed Graham

Read by Therese: “I hadn’t read a book for this month’s theme, but pulled out my Lonely Planet guide from when I travelled the Trans-Siberian railroad 7 years ago and revisited some of the history. The completion of the line after construction it in different sections was monumental and the tripe passes through varied cultures and sites with interesting histories. Travelling by train is a great way to experience local cultures and get to feel the hearts of the people.

From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming (1957, Jonathon Cape)Genre: Classic, Thriller, Spy“In Moscow, a group of uniformed yes men, Soviet counterintelligence officials, meet to determine how to strike a fatal blow at the enemy. They decide to kill MI6's agent, James Bond, in circumstances so compromising that the reputation of MI6 will be destroyed for good. It is perhaps not surprising that in 1956, when Fleming wrote the book, he could imagine only two roles for women in the intelligence services: torturer or seductress. But it is a testament to his abiding influence that even in the '90s, his was still the popular image. The idea that women like me might be leading investigations, running sources or even running entire intelligence services was unimaginable. But this book isn't about reality. With its exotic scenes in Istanbul, its struggle to the death with a psychopathic killer on the Orient Express, it is sheer escapism. And reading it again, even now, when I know so much more about how things really are, I'm with JFK in thinking this is one of the best of the Bond books.” – Stella Rimington for NPR Read by Glen: “Fleming’s fifth book in the Bod series published in 1957 commences with the SMERSH, an evil Russian organization that is plotting to assassinate James Bond. A British

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solider psychopath Donovan Grant, has detected to Russia and is chosen as the assassin. A beautiful Russian woman is used as the bait. The book is largely set in Istanbul, presumably as this somewhat halfway between the East and the West. Bond foils the assassination attempt blocking the assassins bullet with his cigarette case. Opposed to his protagonist, Bond is cultured and sexual. The book contains many clichés, however when written were not clichés. Overall a very easy and engaging read.” 8/10

Agent in Place by Helen MacInnes (1976, Harcourt Brace)Genre: Thriller, Spy” Agent in Place is set in the US and in France. Chuck Kelso is an idealist working for a policy unit called Shandon House which has been given charge of a NATO memorandum: Kelso steals the memo, copies the first part, which he considers the American public need to know, and returns the original the next day. However, he has made friends with a man called Rick Nealey, a Soviet mole, an agent in place, who photographs the second and third parts of the memo, which are a good deal more damaging to US interests (and in which Kelso has no interest), and which he forwards on to his contact at the KGB. Kelso’s actions inadvertently implicate his elder brother Tom, a well-regarded reporter, in the leakage, though Tom’s friends Brad Gillon and British agent Tony Lawton are sure that the leakage came from Chuck. ... Because the novel’s seen from several different points of view, the characterisation tends to be thin, quite apart from the problems with the women I’ve mentioned. The settings are excellently written, though, with the sense of place which MacInnes conveys very well. The plot really heats up in the second part of the book, once in Menton – the stealing of the memo almost a McGuffin to get the real plot started. So, not one of MacInnes’s best, but still an interesting slice of espionage, Cold War style.”- Ela’s Book Blog

Read by Sarah: “A Cold War-era spy novel, with typical East/West spy games. The story follows the fallout after an American leaks a top-secret document and accidentally passes it on to a KGB agent. It has some historical interest but overall is quite predictable, slow and poorly characterised. 4/10

Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev (first published 1862)Genre: Historical, Family Saga“It was Fathers and Sons that introduced me to the power of specificity. The moment the servant on the first page is pinned as a “man of the advanced modern generation” because of his “single turquoise ear-ring … dyed pomaded hair and … mincing gait,” I knew that details, rather than drama, would move the narrative forward. This wouldn’t be a story with sweeping generalizations or rambling asides. They’d be replaced by a “large speckled hen who strutted gravely about” and the “smell of warm rye bread.” The way Turgenev achieved this effect in descriptions from nature, or in the portrayal of minor characters, seemed obvious enough, but the way he did it in the creation of major characters mystified me.” – The American Scholar

Read by Kerry: “Set in Russia at the time of the emancipation of the serfs – around 1861-62. The story concerns two friends, Bazarov (a nihilist/proto-anarchist) and his admirer, Arkady. Both men are young, and at different points in the novel visit their families together (hence the title). Bazarov is critical of the ideals of the older generation and lets everybody know it. The friends gradually grow apart, particularly as Arkady falls in love a with a young country woman. Bazarov claims that love is just one more delusion of the older generation, while falling in love

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himself, with the older sister to Arkady’s love, but he continues to deny it and avoid emotional entanglements, or at least emotional commitment. Arkady becomes a farmer, Barazov dies of typhus. The writing moves along smartly and it is a relatively short novel. I found it easier to consume than, say, Dickens, of whom Turgeneve was a contemporary, writing in the 1860-70s. The complete gulf between serfs and masters (the middle and upper class) comes through clearly, but more through brief asides and quick sketches, rather than being labored. Turgenev is more interested in character than politics and philosophy. His admiration for Western Europe (especially France) is obvious. Russia had been defeated a short time before by a British/French alliance in the Crimean War. Turgenev apparently upset just about everybody in Russia with this novel and went to live in France. 8/10

Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (written 1928-40, published 1966, YMCA Press)Genre: Social commentary, fantasy, farce“Reading Bulgakov’s satire of 1930s Stalinist Moscow helped me to see just how easy it is to mess up a nation psychologically. In the novel the devil and his retinue (which includes a wall-eyed loon and a talking cat) manipulate “the Master”, a writer, and Margarita, his muse. Simultaneously – because the narrative flits between two stories – Pontius Pilate condemns Christ to death in Jerusalem. I read it as a book about how to go on living when your spirit is broken. The controversial and much-analysed conclusion to the novel is about the Master and Margarita being granted “peace” but not “light”. I also read it as representing the mental state necessary for surviving in the Soviet Union: you can have some kind of inner peace in your internal life but you’re never quite off the hook.” – Viv Grisop for The Guardian

Read by Alex: “Master and Margarita is an excellent book. The central plot is that the Devil, and his retinue, come to Moscow and cause chaos. The book has an absurd style, mixed with fantasy, which Is used extremely well at presenting the central themes.” 8/10

Envy by Yuri Olesha (1927, Hogarth Press)Genre: Short story, satire, psychological“In Olesha’s novel, Andre envy’s Nicolai. One night, Nicolai finds Andre lying drunk his walk home. He takes Andrei back to his apartment and gives him the couch. Andre basically moves in, sponging off of the much more successful Nicolai. In spite of Nicolai’s generosity, Andrei dislikes the man, despising him more and more as he comes to know him. Nicolai is a very successful mogul of a sort. He is a model Soviet citizen, the head of food production and distribution for Moscow. Nicolai is developing a mass produced sausage that will revolutionize food production bettering the lives of all people. He is also building an enormous dining hall, one that will accommodate huge numbers of people at once, called Two Bits. Andrei cannot understand how a sausage king can achieve the fame and glory Nicolai has. The back and forth between the two makes up the novels comedy. Andrei eventually forms an alliance with Nicolai’s less successful brother ‘who encourages him to kill Nicolai. Andrei’s brother sees himself and Nicolai as part of an older generation, one that is losing out to the coming man represented by Andrei, a man who finds glory in developing a new kind of sausage.” – James Reads Book s

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Read by Janette: “Envy is a story that is true to its title. Olesha explores the full spectrum of the emotion in a two-part story – the first half told in the first person, and the second part told from the third person. This jump between parts really makes the story interesting, and completely shifts the tone and style. The story centres around Nikolai Kavalerov, a loser who is taken in by an enthusiastic businessman name Babichev with a larger-than-life attitude. Rather than be grateful for being taken in, or finding inspiration in this man, Kavalerov becomes enraged and jealous, eventually convincing himself that Babichev (like everyone else) are awful and trying to ruin his life. The book is excellent, the prose is poetic and the many of Babichev’s business inventions are great – including an automatic peeler for potatoes, salami that doesn’t go bad and a robot. 9/10

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Upcoming Events

GOMA turns 10: Dec 3 2016 – 17 April 2017

Lord Mayor’s Christmas Carols: 10 Dec

Wonderland Festival at the Powerhouse: Until 11 Dec

KOOZA by Cirque du Soleil: Until Jan 8 2017

Hadron Collider at the QLD Museum: 9 Dec – 25 April 2017

ThinkInc 2017 featuring Julian Assange, Jane Goodall, Briane Greene and more: various dates

Our January Meeting will be on Monday 9th January. Please note different day due to the public holiday. The theme is: International Persons (and stories) of Mystery. More details on our home page soon.

News New York Times list of 100 most notable books of 2016

Literary inspired food: Salted Caramel Brownies from “A Confederacy of Dunces”

Did you know about these? Films that you didn’t know were from adapted books

A journey through some unusual libraries

An added bonus to the joy of reading: Science shows readers might live longer

Future reading themesDon't forget, you can check out future monthly Book Club themes. A document among the files under the 'More' tab on our website (here) outlines our monthly programme for 2017. This allows you to plan your reading and find those library books in time for our meetings. If you have a suggestion please don’t hesitate to get in touch – whether it be your favourite author or genre, a theme around an anniversary or a great event that’s worthy of literary exploration, I’d love to hear it!

Happy reading,Janette E

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