Painter of Silence – Georgina Harding
This was December’s book group read. Book group was early this month, with Christmas coming. I tried to get a wriggle on and finish this promptly, but two days before we were due to meet I realised I was fighting a losing battle; there was a lot going on with work and Christmas preparations. So I changed tack and downloaded the audiobook, so that I could listen to it as I did other jobs.
This was an odd experience, shifting to an audiobook about two-thirds of the way through, though I think the book actually benefitted from it. Prior to the switch, I had been struggling to motivate myself to read it. Although there were some beautiful descriptions, the pace was slow, and I was uninspired. Having switched to listening, I found I was much more engaged. It was read by Sian Thomas, who has a lovely, melancholy voice. She carried me through the rest of the book.
There was general consensus at book group. This was a reasonably good read, with particular interest arising from the fact that one of the main characters was deaf, something which was not well accommodated in 1930s Romania. He was never taught to read, write, sign or lip-read, so could only communicate through his art. He ended up having a strange and traumatic time in the war. But we all agreed that it was rather slow, and the ending was unconvincingly tied up with a neat bow.
My particular feeling was that it bore a lot of resemblance to my favourite book, Brideshead Revisited, in its setting of a grand country home before, during and after the Second World War. But it paled in comparison.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – Charlie Mackesy
I probably read this book in the “wrong” way. I picked it up as an e-reader daily deal, so I read it without colour pictures and without full page spreads. It was still beautiful, if a little trite (in an extremely pleasant way). I can see what all the fuss has been about.
I suspect that everyone finds one particular truism in this book which stands out to them. Mine was this, which I underlined several times with my stylus:
“To be honest, I often feel like I have nothing interesting to say,” said the fox.
“Being honest is always interesting,” said the horse.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – Charlie Mackesy
I have since watched the lovely BBC animation that aired over Christmas – which I think I actually preferred because it gave more of a sense of plot, whilst maintaining the gorgeous artwork. And it was accompanied by beautiful music.
Persuasion – Jane Austen
(Note: Since reading this book, I have listened to an excellent episode of In Our Time which takes Persuasion as its subject, which has informed my thoughts below.)
There was a lot that was appropriate about my decision to read Persuasion at this juncture. It is the last of Jane Austen’s novels, and the last that I have read. (Strangely, I read all the others in a short space of time about ten years ago, but somehow Persuasion escaped my attention.) I was inspired to read it now by having watched the dire Netflix adaptation for my sister’s birthday back in November. November is important to the setting of the book – the protagonist observes the signs of autumn as she reflects upon entering the autumn of her life. Finally, the protagonist is 27 years of age – not so very far from my (even more ancient) 29.
Written late in Austen’s life, Persuasion starts bittersweet and melancholy – perhaps a reflection of Austen’s awareness of her own ageing (although she would not have known how near to death she was). This nature is quite distinct from her other work. Her protagonist is full of regret; love seemingly irredeemably lost. The adaptation tries to capture this by making Anne Elliot (to borrow an incisive turn of phrase) a “manic pixie dream spinster” – but the Anne of the book is so much more refined and resigned. She submits knowingly, modestly, and with acknowledgement of her own fault, to her fate. She does so with fortitude, and as the novel progresses, she grows in self-confidence and self-possession, emerging from eight years of pondering the wisdom of being persuaded to break from the man she loves. Slowly but surely, as catalytic events unfold, the reader is guided from melancholy to hope.
The emotion runs deep in Persuasion. Austen employs radical techniques, like the dramatic use of Wentworth’s letter at the climax, allowing the character to have strange direct contact with the reader. Combined with Austen’s usual wit, charm and perception of character, I think this makes the novel perhaps her finest (even if my heart must always belong to Pride and Prejudice), and it is a great shame that she died before she could develop her writing prowess even further.
Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng
This was January’s book group read – but with nothing else urgent lined up I decided to get an early start on it. And what an excellent decision, as I ended 2022 with the best book I’ve read this year.
The book is set in a somewhat unusual town in Ohio called Shaker Heights. I have only just now discovered that it is a real place and where the author herself grew up. The town is a character in itself: a highly planned community with strict rules, committed to racial integration.
The story starts with a house fire. We don’t know who started it or why. The rest of the book uncovers a complicated backstory which involves the interactions between a born-and-bred Shaker Heights family, their newcomer tenants (a nomadic single mother and teenage daughter), a family who have adopted a Chinese-American baby found on the steps of a fire station, and a mother who abandoned her baby.
The book covers complex and nuanced themes of motherhood, race and privilege. I thought it was beautifully written and constructed, with mysteries gradually unravelling and neat parallels established between a diverse set of characters. What I admired most was the balance: hard issues were explored from both sides, without seeming to push the reader one way or the other.
A thought-provoking and compelling read – no wonder I snuck away from the chaos on Christmas Day to gobble up the final chapter in peace!
Cryptic Meg 
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