King Lear

King Lear by William Shakespeare

Introduced by Mr Anthony

King Lear begins and ends with a cautionary note on the dangers of speaking. Cordelia, realising that the currency of language has been debased by her sisters’ inflated rhetoric, refuses to extemporise on her love for Lear and instead explains that it is Goneril and Regan who have used language to say 'nothing'. At the play’s close, Edgar advises those still standing to 'speak what we feel, not what we ought to say', reminding us that language is always performative, that social context often strangles self-expression, and that the spoken word is, like Wilde’s truth, 'rarely pure and never simple'. 

And who would know this better than a community of aristocrats knelt anxiously at the feet of a king whose capriciousness precedes him? In this, Shakespeare was merely reflecting the mechanics of the Stewart court, an obsequious sequence of meta-events in which courtiers were repeatedly called upon to demonstrate their proficiency in what they 'ought to say', in exchange for patronage and influence. James I was notorious for promoting handsome male favourites, men such as Robert Carr and George Villiers, who publicly flattered the king; for his efforts the previously cash-strapped Carr was gifted Sherbourne Castle and the post of Lord Chamberlain, whilst Villiers (when Carr fell out of favour) was made Earl of Buckingham and referred to by the monarch as 'my sweet child and wife'. When Elizabeth I’s one-time favourite Sir Walter Raleigh married without telling her, he was banished from court and had to wait five years before the queen consented to see him again.

Book of the Week

The Go-Between by L P Hartley
Recommended by Adam Seydo

The Go-Between by L.P.Hartley is a delicate and sensitively written story about the premature revelation to an innocent child of the truths of adulthood. 

Set in a grand country manor called Brandham Hall during the turn of the 20th century, a time Hartley himself grew up in and was deeply familiar with, it is full of intricate and thought-provoking metaphors, and centres around a young boy, Leo, who becomes increasingly aware of the real world when he starts delivering letters between a young woman called Marian, who lives at Brandham Hall, and Ted the farmer.

I was provoked to get this book after reading the opening line somewhere: ‘The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.’ In many ways, this sums up the book well, for as well as being a novel about innocence, it also focuses on how people and their ideas change over time, and how actions that seemed right at the time can seem completely illogical when reflected upon. The entire novel is written from the point of view of Leo looking back many decades in the future, after finding the diary he wrote at the time, which adds another dimension to the story, and allows Hartley to go into detail and exaggerate the moments that Leo remembers most, and understate less significant details and those which Leo forgets.

Something else I gained from reading this that I didn't expect to was an insight into the life and thoughts of a schoolboy about my age in the early 1900s. This was particularly eye opening for me, as he is a character whose feelings I can relate to, though the world he lives in is so starkly different from ours, not least because of the time period, but also because of how privileged his lifestyle was while staying at Brandham Hall.

I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys reading books to gain a different viewpoint, especially on the subtleties and complexities of human relationships. While this book is not particularly action packed, it in no way ceases to be gripping. While it mostly explores a boy’s discovery of love and the adult world, he also learns more while at Brandham Hall, about the harsh nature of life itself, and there are several darker moments all, culminating in a dramatic and haunting ending.

I really cannot do this book justice in a review, for it is subtle, engaging and hugely rewarding, and a piece of literature you can only truly appreciate after reading it

Book of the Week

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Recommended by Kirin Bhatnagar 

‘Do you believe in the human heart? I don’t simply mean the organ, obviously. I’m speaking in the poetic sense. The human heart. Do you think that there is such a thing? Something that makes each of us special and individual?’. – The Father, Klara and the Sun

Kazuo Ishiguro is notable for being a recipient of the Nobel prize for literature: his latest book, Klara and the Sun, is set in a world not far in the future, where gene editing to improve the population is normal, and is told through the eyes of Klara, a so-called robotic ‘artificial friend (AF)’ that operates via solar power. The goal of these AFs is to fill the role of best friend for kids over the course of their childhood. Klara, unlike the other AFs, is extremely observant and sensitive to her surroundings, and longs to see the outside world. One day, a girl named Josie walks into the store and chooses Klara to be her AF. However, as Klara soon finds out, reality isn’t as sweet as stories make it out to be.

I found this book very interesting and enjoyable to read. Riddled with plot twists and a gripping plot line, this book was very thought-provoking, posing questions which, while not being the simplest to answer, were always very interesting to think about and relevant in today’s time. One of the things that shocked me was how human the Klara seemed, something which subsequently made me ponder on the true nature of being authentically human. Another factor which added to the overall effect was the fact that the world described in this book was very similar to our own present-day reality, and the technology described was also within the boundaries of our current scientific capability. Lastly, the ending of the book was also noteworthy as, contrasting as it sounds, it was both happy and sad at the same time.

Kazuo Ishiguro, accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature

In conclusion, Klara and the Sun was a very stimulating and enjoyable read, relevant in today’s society, and in my opinion, a very capable winner of the Nobel prize.

Book of the Week

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
Recommended by Archie Rowland 

The War of the Worlds is, by any measure, a classic. As the first book to ever describe an alien race and their invasion of Earth, how could it be otherwise? Nonetheless, one has to ask whether it still delivers as fiction in 2021. The answer is a resounding yes. 

It is in equal measure enthralling science fiction and horror with a wonderfully crafted atmosphere of fear and panic pervading its pages. Alien invasions juxtaposed with horse-drawn carts may seem incongruous but there is no reason why they should – there is, after all, no rule that a hostile alien species needs to wait until the twenty-first century to invade! It is also intimate and engaging, being told as a village-by-village and person-by-person account rather than as a narrative of global struggle.

One of the most striking aspects of the book is simply how human it is. The narrator’s journey from amazement to anger, fear and the verge of madness is an unsettling yet entirely believable one. Even in his intolerance it is difficult not to have sympathy for his plight and it is, of course, far more believable that his journey ends in breakdown than in a spirit of hope and optimism. There are no heroic presidents, generals or superheroes here, just ordinary people trying to survive and, as a story, the book is all the better for it. 

As a book it does, of course, also offer you a rare opportunity to create an image of the beautifully described Martians in your mind’s eye rather than having it rendered for you in stunning CGI. And, as a final enticement for a St Paul’s boy, it features skirmishes in locations as familiar as Richmond Park, Sheen and the River Thames itself. You don’t get that in Independence Day!

If you're interested in science-fiction, have a look at the blog's sci-fi reading list here, and if you'd like to find out more about the London locations that feature in The War of the Worlds, writer Rob Lordan has a fascinating post about them on his blog here.  

SPS Predict the Booker Prize 2021

Last night, SPS held its fourth annual ‘Predict the Booker’ event, streamed live from the Kayton Library to an online audience, and chaired by Mr Mahmoud. A panel of six Pauline students each selected one of the novels on this year’s shortlist and pitched the case for it as a possible Booker Prize winner. At the end of the evening, viewers cast their vote for the novel they’d been persuaded should win, and the novel they thought would win. Read on to find out what they decided …