The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

A SHOCK TOO FAR FOR SOME!

....   The Shock of the Fall was s step too far for a few of the Hussies.  Whether it was the

controversial content of the book or the fact that we all have teenage sons, this book certainly threw
up mixed reviews and mixed emotions.  One thing we were unanimous about was the fact that it was a page turner, but not for the usual reasons.  We weren't rushing to see what happened next because most of the story was obvious and predictable, but because it was so well written and the lead character became so endearing.  You actually wanted to know that something positive could come out of such a devastating condition.

....   Another thing we were all unanimous about was the 'odd' comments from the critics on the reverse of the book.  Jo Brand must have been quoted out of context or has maybe not even read the book, because to say it was 'funny' seemed bizarre or maybe she just has a distorted sense of humour!

....   On the surface this book is cleverly written,  giving a very honest and sympathetic account of the diagnosis of schizophrenia and how this devastating condition affects the patient, the family and the
support workers.  Even the Medical contingent of our group was impressed by its accuracy.  Although the exact causes of schizophrenia aren't fully understood, the story touched on the various factors which seem to play a role.   There seems to be some sort of genetic predisposition and childhood stressors can also contribute. Boys often become unwell at a younger age than girls and can have more extreme symptoms.  It is undoubtedly one of the worst mental illnesses, but there are effective treatments.  As the saying goes - keep taking the tablets.    Ultimately, we were all saddened by, and some found it hard to witness,  the hopelessness of the situation.  



(The County Hotel. If they could do up the food the way they have done up the hotel they would be on to a winner!!)



....   The Hussies gathered at The County Hotel for a lunchtime discussion of the book and also to check out this newly refurbished hotel in Hexham.  We were all very impressed with the new 'boutique style' decor which was very comfortable, albeit a little chilly for some.  It is a little confusing because it's a hotel but doesn't offer full 'at your table' service.  Unfortunately, that's were the positive comments end.  The food presented to us was not representative of the decor and the menu description.  Soup of the Day was the unimaginative 'Vegetable Soup'.   The starters seemed very basis and the salads, although, sounded good on paper, were disappointingly average for the price.  Maybe we should give the evening menu a try before we write this venue off for future meetings!!

....   The next book of choice is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

 

....   Please join us and let us know what you think of this book.  Most of you will have seen the recently released film which, I have to say, was very good.  This time we are reading the book after seeing the film rather than the other way round!


....   Next Meeting Wednesday 30th April 2014

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

Enjoyable, but a little confused 

Tonight we are dining at  The Feathers at Hedley on the Hill which is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars on Trip Adviser, and demonstrates why not to judge a book by its cover.   This apparently simple village pub serves culinary delights created by owner and chef, Rhian Cradock.  Sourcing local produce, Rhian focuses on a small menu which changes regularly and repeatedly feature in local and national dining awards.  

During our meal, served by a friendly, and helpful waitress and washed down by a smooth Shiraz, we review The Husband’s Secret.

For a pleasant change, all the Hussies are happy with this easy read and its page turning plot.  But lurking between these pages is some controversy.  Unlike The Feathers, this book is a relatively superficial delight.   

Set in Australia, one of the central characters is a successful Tupperware Consultant.  Yes, Tupperware.  There must be few less glamourous roles. Although the story required something suitable for a mother mixing work with parenting,  other direct sales products could have fit the bill without the drudgery evoked by  equipment concerned with storing wilting lettuce.  Jewellery, clothes,  make-up, stationery, any of these would have sufficed and avoided conjuring up the negative images we associated with Tupperware.  

The story ends with an unexpected surprise which confuses its central theme.  Delight in this shock ending was undermined by sincere frustration at the failure to fully develop this story line.

On one level its a book about secrets and the consequences of opening Pandora’s Box.  But it also explores the nature of love and relationships between lovers, between spouses, and between parents and their children.  Both topics are common themes and this book treats them well but offers little originality.  

However, Liane Moriarty has also created an original and exciting theme which is revealed late and is sadly under developed.  

This is the shameful and tragic secret of this book - it is confused, dealing with too many issues and ultimately failing to fully develop the potential of its unique plot line. 

Perhaps the author should have taken a leaf out of Rhian’s recipe book at The Feathers?  Focus on providing something different from the usual, and do it to the best of your ability.  Don't be distracted by offering too much and let the quality win over quantity.  Unfortunately Liane Moriarty's menu is less polished. 

The Hussies have taken their own culinary skills to a new level, offering book themed cake decorations to celebrate one members' achievement.  A big Hussy thank you with a nod to Mary Berry  -  she would be so proud!

Anyone got a Tupperware container to keep this fresh?
Oh dear - a definite spoiler for The Hussie's Secret 

This is our book for March, it won the 2013 Costa book award and we will be reviewing it at the end of the month. Give us a whirl!

Mad About The Boy by Helen Fielding

Mad About The Boy! by Helen Fielding

 
  NOT ... Mad About the Boy!

....    Sighs of disappointment all round this month as we met at The Angel of  Corbridge to discuss Helen Fielding's 'Mad About The Boy'. Having waded through 'Silas Marner' last month, this selection was supposed to provide light relief in the shape of an easy read, following a character that we all know and love and can empathise with. Sharing in Bridget's ups and downs as she faces life as a widow with two young children. It would seem that Helen Fielding's idea of the life of a single parent is widely different to that of most people. She seems to inhabit an indulgent London bubble where work is an optional extra and the school run can be delegated to the hired help whenever the hangover is too vicious.  Bridget is now 51, but clearly her advancing years and life experiences have had no effect on her attitude and behaviour, she remains self obsessed, disorganised and, quite honestly, throughly irritating!

....   Fielding fails to make the reader care about any of the characters, all of whom are shallow, glib and self indulgent. Bridget's circle of friends are one dimensional and immature. The return of Daniel Cleaver as the children's God Father is implausible, given his role as arch villain in the last two novels. It seems at best odd and, at worst, an attempt by the author to secure a role for Hugh Grant when the book becomes a movie. Lets hope Bridget doesn't get the job as screen writer or we could have a long wait! 

....    The style in which the book is written doesn't quite work as it jumps between a diary, tweets and narrative. It seems disjointed and repetitive and prevents the reader being drawn into the story which doesn't really get going until the last third of the book. Some of the exchanges on Twitter are unintelligible, but, on a positive note, its good to see an author embrace new technology. Helen Fielding raises some interesting points regarding the effect of the internet on everyday life, both for children and adults, but fails to pursue them, instead returning to the same old problems faced by an ageing woman determined never to grow up.

....    'Mad About The Boy' goes on the unfinished pile, three Hussies couldn't get past the halfway mark. Most people, if they are lucky meet  ' Mr Right ' once in a lifetime. Bridget seems to think it her right to meet him again and again and it would seem that Helen Fielding's concept of 'Mr Right' is mysterious, stern, aloof , muscular and handsome with the obligatory country pile ( no new-build owners need apply!)  It's easy to guess from early on in the story who Bridget will end  up with.

....    Only one Hussie finished the book and that's a shame as the last third is much more like Helen Fielding's earlier work. As the story shifts its focus away from toy boys, back to the school gates it becomes far more engaging. Fielding offers some insightful observations about different types of parents. Bridget's life as a mother is far more interesting, readers who are of a similar age and stage to the protagonist can empathise with her plight. We've all seen the over dressed mothers at school pick up time with ridiculously big handbags and sunglasses, vying for position as top dog. Desperate to show how in control and successful they are, when in fact, as Fielding points out, things are not quite as rosy as they seem! Would you rather have a faithful husband or a big handbag? If the whole book had focused on life at the school gates, without a detour into the murky world of internet dating, it would have been an excellent addition to the Bridget trilogy. It would also have benefitted from more interactions with the mysterious Mr Wallaker. We await the movie, bets are on for who will play
Mr Wallaker, Colin Firth perhaps?

Can you spot the difference in the picture?  Look carefully!! 

....    On a more positive note, a last minute change of venue found us back at The Angel of Corbridge.  On previous visits we had been disappointed, but this time it was an all round thumbs up. Good food, good service and a warm and cosy atmosphere, although a touch over-priced for pub grub.

....    Our next book is the very popular unputdownable novel ....

THE HUSBAND'S SECRET by LIANE MORIARTY

....    We have planned to review this book next month in The Feathers Inn, Hedley on the Hill, Stocksfield.  An award winning Gastro Pub!  Join us soon to digest our thoughts!!  

                                                                                                                                             January 2014

Silas Marner by George Eliot

Silas Marner by George Eliot

21st Century Ladies, who Lunch,  discuss 19th Century Ladies who did everything but lunch!



....   Continuing on the serious theme, the next book chosen was "Silas Marner" by George Eliott. The Hussie who suggested this book did so because her son is studying it for GCSE. The story sounded good and, in her opinion, it WAS good, and not just out of loyalty to her son, who didn't even like it. Not all of the group liked it either. One Hussie thought the book had a good story but was too slow to engage deeper thought about what were, undoubtedly, profound themes about rights, wrongs and the true value of money.  The book was set against the background of 19th century society with powerful influences of church (not necessarily religion) and community. A possible consequence of women's financial dependence on men was a theme with particularly poignant results in the book. The group was fairly evenly split between those who thought the book was slow and those who thought that it was a gentle book redolent of a gentle age. Whilst Silas Marner cared passionately for his young female charge (Eppie),  there was no question of her getting the education a boy would get. This was a typical fate for girls at the time. George Eliot herself left school early, upon the death of her mother,  to run her father's household. It was after his death that she began living with a man outside marriage.  She was shunned by society.  Maybe that's why Silas Marner was so glad that Eppie married a good man, of her own choosing.

....   It was lunch,  not dinner, this time, that oiled the wheels of the Hussies' deep and penetrating literary analysis!!  Lunch was at The Lion and Lamb Pub in Horsely, Northumberland.  The food was good without being either excellent or pretentious.  It was good pub food for a good pub.  Sadly, a lunch meeting did not allow as much time as a dinner meeting for discussion and chat.  We'll have to catch up next time!  Join us then!

....  The next book is a very timely choice.  The continuing Bridget Jones Saga. A light-hearted Christmas Read.

MAD ABOUT THE BOY  by  HELEN FIELDING

....   The Hussies will, very aptly, be starting their 'New Diaries'  and the first date of 2014 will be to meet up at the very popular Queen's Head in Great Whittington, now under New Management for the Hussies to check out!  Follow us on Twitter to see what we think!

An Afternoon with David Nobbs

An afternoon with David Nobbs 

We want more!   

A chilly Autumn Sunday afternoon and the hussies join a packed audience in Hexham library  to hear David Nobbs recount tales from his writing life.  David has already featured in this blog -  we read his Complete Pratt  and Sex and other Changes  - and today we are not quite sure who we will see or what we will hear.

According to the Hull Daily Mail, David Nobbs is 78 but he looks younger and this afternoon he demonstrates tremendous stamina without any evidence of any cognitive decline. Indeed, he is a  charming and engaging speaker with countless amusing anecdotes and the time whizzes by.

He recalls his National Service, his early days as a journalist and his tenacity as a writer in the face of rebuttals.   His surname was an ideal launch pad for his comedy writing career and today, many of his stories describe experiences of script writing for comedians like the Two Ronnies,  Ken Dodd, and Stephen Fry.  Others, deal with the practical and political challenges of writing for a living.

Unsurprisingly, we hear more about The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin than his other works.  During the summer of 1976  (see blog archive)  he joined the shoot for the first TV series and his  fondness for Leonard Rossiter is evident.

As he talks, we learn that much of David's inspiration comes from his close observations of people, things he hears them say, and the manner in which they are said.  He is a natural mimic with a broad repertoire of local dialects.

As the afternoon comes to a close, the audience is still hungry for more and there is insufficient time for Hadrians Hussies'  questions.  Why are his stories so often concerned with identity? What did he think of Martin Clunes as  Reggie?  Whose writing does he admire ?

Thrilled with my signed copy!  I grew up watching this with my dad. 

I was delighted to leave the Queens Hall with a signed copy of the Reginald Perrin Omnibus and even more thrilled that, when he has some free time, David agreed to answer more questions by email.

Watch this space for those answers -  we will be blogging Hadrians Hussies first literary interview!

Book Club Top Ten

Book Club Top 10 

We recommend.............

Do you need some reading inspiration?   Why not try our top 10?  

WIth some heated debate,  we considered all the Hussy books to date to identify our BEST READS.  

Reaching any concensus in our group is always tricky and this was almost impossible, but we did it, and here are the results.  Just for you!

The Hadrians Hussies Best Books to read (so far) are.............

Joint 1st place 

• The boy in the striped pyjamas  - John Boyne
• Endurance  - Alfred Lansing

3rd place

• The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

Joint 4th place

• Into the darkest corner  - Elizabeth Haynes
• A thousand splendid suns - Khaled Hosseini

Joint 6th place 

• Engleby  - Sebastian Faulks
• The Officer's Ward - Marc Dugain
• One Day - David Nicholls

9th place

• Far from the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

 Joint 10th Place

• Of Human Bondage - Somerset W. Maugham
• The Miller's Tale - Geoffrey Chaucer
• Madame Bovary  - Gustave Flaubert

Keen readers will note that this is actually a top 12  - I told you Hussy concensus was difficult! 

About Love and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov

ABOUT LOVE & OTHER STORIES - ANTON CHEKHOV

DID THE MASTER LIVE UP TO OUR EXPECTATIONS ?

....    The Hussies turned to something a little more serious after all the lighthearted Summer reads.

Love and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov.  Sensing Chekhov may be a bit more intense, our hussie chose short stories to give everyone the opportunity to dip in and out and compare stories and characters.   After all, the lead up to Christmas is always very busy and there is very little time to concentrate on sophisticated and complicated storylines.

....    The Hussies were not enthused by the master of short stories.  They felt his stories quite repetitive often following the same formula - a full and comprehensive description of the countryside, the characters be they gentry or peasants, religious or  political.  However when he highlights the equalities of Russian Society and questions its values. he does so with very few words.  You have to dig deep to identify and understand his interpretations of love, or our interpretations of love. We were probably naively thinking the short stories would be powerful accounts of undying love, crime and passion, brief encounters and such like.  Maybe it was a case of wrong age, wrong time.  If we were 30+ years younger studying for A level we may have been more passionate about searching out and identifying Chekhov's inner feelings. Feelings which came across as dark, deathly and angry, maybe,  reflecting his own short, ill-stricken life which appeared to lack in various aspects of love.  Chekhov also married late in life and lived apart from his wife.  He did not seem to hold women in good esteem.   This, again, is a very prominent factor in his stories.

....   No one read the whole book, but, between us I think most of the stories were covered.  The Hussies particularly enjoyed  'The Lady with the Little Dog', a 'timeless' short story leaving you guessing as to what will happen next.  Another Hussie enjoyed 'The Bishop',  a story written at the peak of his career showing how love between a mother and son, differs according to a mothers perception.  'About Love' was another firm favourite as was the absurdly named 'Fish Love'.   

....    Only three Hussies managed to join in the book discussion as Flu bugs caused us to be one Hussie down!  A return visit to Il Piccolo was booked and we have to say this restuarant is fastly becoming a firm favourite with the Hussies.  This small, friendly Italian Resturant in Corbridge offers exceptionally tasty food at very reasonable prices.  The 'House Lasagne' was especially good as were the pizzas, and, half portions are also available for the smaller appetites - nothing was too much trouble!

 

(friendly atmosphere at Il Piccolo)

....    Staying in the same century we are back to a full book, a GCSE  classic by a female writer with a male pseudo name, a sign of the times in the 19th century!  

SILAS MARNER by GEORGE ELIOT



....    Join us for a pre-Christmas Lunch to find out what our Christmas read will be .....

                                                                                                                                20 November 2013.