Desert Island Books

In today's post, Eli Joseph and Rory McConnon choose the five books they'd take with them to a desert island. First of all, here's Eli's selection:  

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

A compelling story of four friends growing up from college, tracking their lives into adulthood. The central question of the novel is how does someone go from years of suffering and shame to live out the rest of a life?

The depth of the characters Yanagihara creates is what makes this book so brilliant yet also so difficult to read. I also really appreciated the grammar and narrative structure which mirrors the psychological state of Jude the protagonist. In nearly every section, a present-moment scene is interrupted for dozens of pages by elaborate flashbacks, mimicking the way Jude’s past erupts into his present. In the novel, we are watching Jude, not being Jude. For me, this reflected wise editing, because Jude is a spectator too. He cannot control his memories — they control him. A lengthy emotionally brutal read but one I would definitely recommend.

Book of the Week

In today's post, Edmund Ashworth Jones (4A) and Ru Marcroft (4C) tell us what they thought of Klara and the Sun, the novel that all the fourth form read over this summer:

Edmund:I think that this book was perfectly suited to my age although the surface themes and the main plot might appeal to slightly younger children. However, to understand the hidden meanings and storyline, it would ideally be read by teens/ young adults. Although the book fits into the science fiction and dystopian genres, it is not conventionally a dystopian book. All these features are subtle, yet present and apparent to more mature readers. I enjoyed reading Klara and the Sun, and I was drawn in by the evolving story. I liked the fact that Kazuo Ishiguro withheld some information from us by using Klara as the narrator. I found interesting the relationships between Josie and the mother, Klara and Rick. The questions raised by Klara were also raised by the reader.

The story is set in a futuristic and dystopian time, and although at first when reading the blurb, I thought that it may be difficult to imagine and picture the scenes, I was happily surprised. I found it very easy to connect with characters, especially Josie. I could picture the scenes easily, because this setting was not too unlike where I used to live. This dystopian world is, in many ways, similar to the present day, and almost seems plausible. For example, current conventions still apply like adults caring for children, and going to work all day, and family units are in line with the current times.

Antony and Cleopatra at Shakespeare's Globe

Reviewed by Max Swinnerton

Last Friday, the U8 English cohort went on a trip to watch the latest production at The Globe: Antony and Cleopatra. Having studied the text in the Lower Eighth we were excited to be able to finally see Shakespeare’s words delivered onstage, and gain some extra A03* marks that had been lacking throughout the previous year. However, as we made the pilgrimage into the city, the group learned that this would be no ordinary production: the play was bilingual. The Roman characters would perform the original English and the Egyptians would act in British Sign Language. Even after Ms McLaughlin told us that we had standing tickets, and after reading a review by Time Out magazine which described it as ‘cumbersome’, we were ready to go in with an open mind. However, having now watched it and having had a week to digest, it’s safe to say the message behind the production fell flat.

Book of the Week

Yesterday saw the publication of the shortlist for this year's Booker Prize. The winner will be announced just after half term, and as always, we're giving Pauline readers the chance to predict who it's going to be with our annual Predict the Booker evening on Thursday 16th October. Six Pauline readers each recommend one of the novels on the shortlist and lobby for the audience vote as we decide who'll be the winner. Our track record so far is dire: but could this be the year we finally get it right?  You can read our report on last year's Predict the Booker evening here, and if you'd like to be one of this year's readers, contact Mrs Cummings in the Kayton Library.  Meanwhile, here's our book of the week.  

Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh

Recommended by Tom Baughan

“I expect you'll be becoming a schoolmaster, sir. That's what most of the gentlemen does, sir, that gets sent down for indecent behaviour.”

So go the closing lines of the opening scene in Evelyn Waugh’s novel, Decline and Fall. Published in 1928, four years after he came down from Oxford, Decline and Fall was the first of Waugh’s successful novels. It was written as a satire of the British establishment and society in the 1920s, especially the type of society that Waugh became acquainted with through his time at Oxford, where he befriended both literary figures and aristocrats.

It follows the misadventures of Paul Pennyfeather as he traverses his way through teaching at a minor public school, a romance with a wealthy widow, and a brief stint in a prison, to name a few situations he finds himself in. Waugh uses the literary device of victim as hero, with Pennyfeather having seemingly no control over the events he found himself in. He is surrounded by grotesque caricatures, often based on Waugh’s friends or enemies. These characters are often dark, such as Captain Grimes, a deeply dubious schoolmaster. Their behaviour creates the comic effect in the novel, such as the characters’ indifference to the death of the schoolboy Lord Tangent, accidentally shot on sports day. Characters often recur as Paul progresses through the novel, in wildly different citations, adding to the comedy.

The world that Waugh creates is part real, part fantasy. It has autobiographical elements. Waugh taught at the Welsh prep school Arnold House, which becomes Llanabba Castle in the novel. He depicts a chaotic world, and with fantastical elements, such as Paul not knowing why he is put on trial. These elements are comic but also give an idea of a world out of control. It is Waugh’s satire of the contemporary culture that he found himself in, the post WW1 generation of The Bright Young Things and their chaotic behaviour. This was further satirised in his second novel Vile Bodies.

This was Evelyn Waugh’s debut novel and, alongside later works Scoop and Brideshead Revisited, helped make him one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

Book of the Week

Welcome back! We hope you've all had a fabulous summer, with plenty of time to relax (and read). It's the start of a new term, and here to kick off this year's posts is our first book of the week.  

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Recommended by Austin Burks

I recently finished reading Murakami's Kafka On The Shore, and it is certainly a journey. I did not know what to expect, and initially thought I was in for another tale of a slightly insufferable teenager running away from home. However, my perception of the novel was immediately warped by its unpredictable nature, directed by Murakami's style of blending the real with the surreal. 

The protagonist, Kafka Tamura, and his journey, seem to be 'normal', or at least his story could fit into our own world seamlessly, with geographical specifics even being pointed out. That is until Murakami brings in Nakata: a character who can talk to cats and make fish fall from the sky. We also meet a villain who plays the souls of cats in a flute, and a ghostly version of Colonel Sanders, who happens to be a hustler, deploying Hegel-spouting escorts. This list sounds ridiculous, which it is, and it does not even cover half of the strange events or characters.