Love For Books

Hangover Square – war, alcohol and amateur philosophy

There are plenty of books out there that deal with the Second World War and its aftermath for Britain, but very few actually take a look at the attitudes involved in the run-up to this momentous event in European history.

Patrick Hamilton’s Hangover Square is perhaps the best example of a novel of this kind, but the great thing about it is that it is not just concerned with the sense of anxiety pervading late 1930s London – it also features a more central storyline that involves madness, sexual politics and a great deal of drinking.

Hamilton’s story concerns George Harvey Bone, who may or may not be schizophrenic. His days are spent among the shallower members of London society in the late and Hamilton uses his experience to satire the lifestyles and opinions of the age.

The result is a wonderful tale, full of artistic flair and blackly comic scenery that also deals with some more weighty issues.

Hamsun – modernising the black-comic psychological novel

I’ve just finished reading Knut Hamsun’s Hunger having been exposed to a little bit of his writing during my MA degree. Hamsun has an incredible talent for squalor and humiliation, the likes of which you sometimes find in the work of such literary greats as Nabokov and Beckett.

It is likely that Hunger actually influenced those authors in style as well as in terms of the psychological themes it portrays. Poverty, creative frustration, anxiety and madness are all touched upon with humour and vividness.

It’s amazing to think that the novel was actually written at the end of the nineteenth century, such is the modernity of its overriding style. Dostoevsky is the real king of this sort of literature by theme, but Hamsun clearly has a claim towards modernising the psychological novel and giving it a new kind of flair.

The vivid prose of Nathanael West

Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust is one of those books that is over a touch too soon. The book is incredibly short, but it feels incredibly important in its commentary of human responses to the American Dream as prescribed by Hollywood.

The vivid images in the novel represent West’s real strength – that of descriptive prose. Riot scenes and cockfights are brought ferociously to life, whilst the thought-processors of the chief characters are rendered much more subtly. These sections feel full of meaning, but West never spoon-feeds us anything, rather letting us decode his material for ourselves.

West’s career was cut short by his untimely death in a car accident, but his influence has continued into the 21st century. If you want a sample of his vivid prose, The Day of the Locust comes highly recommended.

What’s your nemesis of classic literature?

Even the most committed reader has a list of books they feel guilty for never having gotten around to. The back catalogue of classic pieces of literature is so extensive that it is hard to keep up, especially as you keep discovering hidden wonders along the way.

I consider myself to be well-read for my age, but there are still plenty of books that have escaped my attention for too long. For instance, I read Flaubert’s Madame Bovary for the first time just before Christmas – a sorry state of affairs for a 25-year-old English graduate.

Other notable books that have occupied my Amazon wishlist for an embarrassing length of time include the likes of Heart of Darkness, Anna Karenina and Ulysses. I can console myself with the fact that I’ve read other works by Conrad, Tolstoy and Joyce, but the fact remains that in a discussion of these classics, I’d be obliged to stay out of it.

Next time I’m in a bookshop and I notice on of my nemeses, I absolutely intend to transport it to the till. Best laid plans, though, right? Let me know the books that keep avoiding you, or vice versa.

Nabokov is the true master of style and voice

Vladimir Nabokov is most famous for ‘Lolita’ – the book that is widely considered his masterpiece. Other than ‘Lolita’, I’ve sampled two of Nabokov’s novels: ‘Despair’ and ‘Laughter in the Dark’ – both of which were a real pleasure to read.

Although it’s probably fair to say that Nabokov is an acquired taste, he is not terribly difficult to read once you’ve got to grips with his style. Very few authors can match the man for flare, which is incredible considering Nabokov wrote in two different languages – his earlier works being written in Russian and his later works, like ‘Lolita’, in English.

Nabokov is all about rhythm, style and voice. His narrators and protagonists often display very dominant characters that exude the kind of authority only a true master is capable of rendering.

Next for me will probably be ‘Invitation to a Beheading’ or ‘Ada or Ardor’ – two books I’ve been meaning to get around to for a long time now.