The King's Speech - Mark Logue and Peter Conradi

Well, it took me awhile, but I finally finished reading The King's Speech. It probably seems like an odd choice, especially after I said in my first post that I don't read a lot of non-fiction. That's generally true... but after watching the film again over Christmas I thought I would give it a try.

For those who haven't heard of either book or film (if there are any), it focuses on King George VI and his relationship with Australian immigrant Lionel Logue, who spent many years as the King's speech therapist, coaching him through the numerous speeches he was obligated to make, first as the Duke of York and later as King, despite a stammer which had plagued him since childhood.

Even before I started I was braced for the fact that the film would have changed certain things for dramatic effect, and that the book would be a little blander (for lack of a better word) by comparison. But having said that, there was plenty to interest me. The book is crammed full of extracts from letters exchanged between the King and Logue, which were fascinating to read. The authors also included plenty of newspaper articles, diary extracts, some photos and even transcripts of some of the speeches made by the King. In terms of story, apart from the details of how Logue helped the King to overcome his stammer, there is plenty of space given to the background of Logue and how he and his family came to live in the UK. We are given a history lesson on the royal family and I particularly enjoyed reading about the abdication of Edward VIII. The detail continues through to talking about World War II and the effect it had on the people of London. Finally, the authors talk about the declining health of the two men and ends on a note from Lionel's daughter-in-law and thoughts on how he was able to so successfully help the King to become the great orator he was known as.

I'd be lying, however, if I said I didn't find certain aspects of the book a little repetitive. Strangely, it was the parts involving the King's speeches which tended to drag the most for me. There are only so many times I can read how Logue was summoned to the palace, helped the King prepare and then congratulated the King on a job well done. It doesn't help that these parts usually contain very little detail, and so nothing makes them stand out. There were a few exceptions, however, such as the speech delivered at the beginning of WW2, which provided the climax of the film and stands out here partly because they include the entire speech.

It was also a shame not to have more detail on the sessions that took place between Logue and the King, although the reasons for this are given early in the book. It would have been interesting to read about some of the techniques used and perhaps gain more insight into the interaction between the two men. Perhaps this expectation is partly due to the film, which shows a montage of various speech therapy techniques and several times had Logue and the King interacting in a more personal way. Obviously most of what is seen is either speculation or outright fabrication, and what we are left with in the book is a more understated friendship which can only really be appreciated when you consider that Logue was a commoner, and therefore even exchanging letters with the King was testament to their closeness.

Apart from these problems, I did genuinely enjoy the book and I was surprised by how many historical tidbits ended up in the film, such as the sadistic nurse, who I expected to be a complete fabrication, and even a bit of dialogue about the King deliberately stammering during a speech so that people would know it was him. It was a glimpse of the warm humour and friendship that the film was able to capture for a more modern audience, and it is these moments, and the historical background given about the abdication and WW2, which are the highlights of the book for me.

W... W... W... Wednesdays

The first meme I've taken part in, hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

1. I'm currently reading The King's Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi - a little foray into non-fiction, which is unusual for me, but I'm about half-way through and it's fascinating, especially after watching the film over Christmas.

2. The last book I finished was The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. See my previous post for a full review.

3. Well, I'm a little torn on what to read next. I have The Help by Kathryn Stockett downloaded onto my Kindle, so that will probably be my next book. But I am starting to miss my horror and fantasy books too.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. All the book links should lead to the Amazon.co.uk Kindle editions (unless I've messed up the links by accident).

Julian Barnes - The Sense of an Ending

I'm always a little wary of books that have won awards, perhaps because of the danger that it will not live up to the particular accolade it has received. There is also the worry that there is something lacking in my own taste if I end up disliking the book. But I was eventually talked into buying Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending, the winner of the Man Booker Prize 2011, after a family friend recommended it to me, and said he wanted someone to discuss the book with.

And there is certainly much to discuss.

The plot revolves around the narrator, Tony Webster, and his reflections on his youth and the relationships that developed and then disintegrated during that period, in particular with his childhood friend Adrian, who committed suicide in the prime of his life, and Veronica, Tony's ex-girlfriend who was dating Adrian at the time of his death. Now in his sixties, Tony unexpectedly receives a letter telling him that he is to receive his former friend's diary. Curious as to the reasons for Adrian's suicide, which was never fully explained, Tony is eager to get his hands on the diary, but is prevented from doing so by a bitter Veronica. As he continues to dig into his own past, Tony is confronted with some painful truths about his actions and the effects they have had on those around him.

A key theme of the novel is how time erodes the memory, and you're never fully certain how much of what Tony Webster is telling you is accurate. That lends a certain ambiguity to many of the events of his youth, and Julian Barnes doesn't neglect to use this as a stark contrast to the cold, hard evidence Tony is presented with in his search for knowledge (the contents of Tony's final letter to Adrian, which resurfaces years later, made me wince).

In turn, this adds to the impact of the novel's other message - that the smallest of actions can have effects far beyond what we would expect or intend. This theme is somewhat heavy-handed and although it makes for interesting fiction, I did find myself asking whether Tony's ill-thought actions would really have led to such consequences. Perhaps it is just me, but by the time the final twist to the plot was revealed things were starting to feel forced, to the point where my suspension of disbelief was broken. This was disappointing, since up until that point the story had held together well, and I felt that if the ending had been handled differently then other weaknesses in the plot would not have been so obvious (in particular the never-explained reason for why Tony was to receive Adrian's diary in the first place).

Another slight problem I encountered with A Sense of an Ending was the writing style. At first I found Tony Webster's narration frustratingly pretentious, particularly as he reflects on his childhood, although I understand that this is partly because Tony is meant to represent an older generation and so, perhaps, I cannot relate as well to the character's childhood as I would have liked. There is also the possibility that Julian Barnes did this intentionally, since this is meant to be an unreliable narrator looking back on their childhood. There is a sense that Tony Webster is talking himself up a little for the sake of the reader, and since that is part of the character rather than the author's style, it is fair to say that this adds an extra element to our understanding of Tony Webster and is a credit to Barnes' skill as a writer. Still, I found some parts of the text (up until the appearance of Veronica) quite tedious, although it grew on me and eventually I was able to savour some really beautiful writing.

Did it deserve the Man Booker Prize? The general consensus seems to be that yes, it did. Since I haven't read any of the other contenders I can't say, but it certainly won't be going on my favourites list. While I did enjoy the book, it was not a completely satisfying read. Some contrived plot twists, unexplained events and a general feeling of being left in the dark detract from an otherwise interesting plot, complex characters and a well-executed writing style. Several times towards the end, Veronica tells the main character "you just don't get it", and I think the same could be said of me, although debate on the internet suggests that perhaps this may have been the point.

I would, however, recommend this for book clubs. As I said in the beginning of this review, there is plenty of material for discussion, from whether it was worthy of awards to the characters, themes and most of all the plot. It is one of those books that invites debate and for this reason, if no other, it has stayed in my mind long after I switched off my Kindle.

So it begins...

Hello fellow book-lovers!

Welcome to my book review blog. You'll have to excuse me, since I am just starting out here so updates may be infrequent to begin with (though not too infrequent, I hope). I will try to get reviews up as often as possible and I hope you find them useful/entertaining/thought-provoking.

Regarding the material I will be reviewing... I'm reasonably open about the kind of things I read and I'm happy to take recommendations from people, although please try to stick to fiction rather than non-fiction.

My first review will be Julian Barnes "The Sense of an Ending" (winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize). I'll try to have that up in the next few days.

All the best to everyone out there!