Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter

This is a rollicking romp from London to Petersberg to Siberia at the turn of the 20th century. It follows Jack Walser, an American journalist, as he seeks a scoop on Sophie Fevvers, a trapeze artist and celebrity who is famous due to the fact that she is part swan and has wings. In the first part of the novel, Walser interviews Fevvers about her life in London, which began as a foundling on the steps of a brothel and culminates in giving dazzling performances to crowds at the Alhambra. In the second part, Walser is so intrigued by Fevvers that he joins the circus she is performing with as a clown. From hereon, the novel recounts the circus' stop in St Petersberg and subsequent journey across Siberia.

This is the third novel of Carter's I have read, and as ever, her writing is fantasmagorical, lyrical and bizarre. The characters and world of the circus are absolutely vivid. The writing is big, bawdy, epic in scale and bursts off the page. However, it has taken me until now - three novels into her works - to realise that although I think Carter is interesting as a writer, I don't actually enjoy the way she writes.

As with 'The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr. Hoffman' and 'The Passion of New Eve', 'Nights at the Circus' takes the form of an epic journey, in which the core characters encounter strange other characters and settings. This seems to be the scope of the plot. And while it is interesting, the fact that Carter whisks us from one encounter to the next means that the reader's feet hardly touch the ground enough to get to know the protagonist(s). The other two novels I have read of hers were told from the first person, and so this problem was somewhat sidestepped, however, 'Nights at the Circus', told mainly in the 3rd person, failed to engage me. I wasn't interested in Fevvers, and after the first section found that Walser hardly came into the narrative. For me, the characters weren't grounded enough to make the plot powerful; with such a surrealist bent, it was never going to be a 'believable' book, but even so, I found myself unconvinced by the protagonists.

As such, I found that the novel didn't really hold together. With no central characters to tie it all into a structurally satisfying read, the plot all became a bit haphazard, and, in places, I felt that there were loose ends. Far from being suspenseful, or technically interesting, they were just frustrating. Fevvers is about to be captured by a Grand Duke. With barely a full stop as explanation, she suddenly escapes onto a train platform and is off on her way across Siberia. Maybe I missed something, but there were gaps. While this is a novel with a huge scope, I felt that Carter didn't quite pull off her grand vision. The construction lacked finesse. In places it was sloppy.

Anyway, I have to study this at some point in the next few months, so I will read it again, although I probably wouldn't go back to it out of choice. I've discovered that, although her writing is vivid, Carter is just a bit too - well... - COMPLETELY LACKING IN SUBTLETY. And I find it irritating. And I'm not a great fan, unfortunately.

Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary

Full title 'Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes'. Really good book, I highly recommend and I think it would do the world a load of good if everybody read it, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.


First of all, let me say that I am a devout atheist, but that I have friends who are Christian and friends who are Muslim and friends who are Buddhists and Hindus and atheists and agnostics etc. etc. Basically, I look in a religious debates as an outsider and 99% of the time it sounds like everyone is spouting complete rubbish and not listening to each other. So it was nice to read a book as balanced and informative as Destiny Disrupted.


Ansary takes the reader from the birth of Islam and the life of the Prophet through to our post-9/11 world. All the major and many minor events in the history of the Arab peoples and Islam are covered, from the original khalifas (Mohammed's immediate successors and trusted followers) through the Crusades and the Mongol invasion, from the Abassids and Umayyads to the Turks and Persians, from Akbar the Great to Ahmadinejad, from the house of Ibn Saud to the Ottomans to the Secular Modernists, from Jamaluddin-i-Afghan to Osama bin Laden.


Not everything in this book sits comfortably; I'm British and a lot of the railing against European Colonialism touched a socially-conditioned nerve of mine, but every point that Ansary made about this was valid, and there was an equal amount of railing against Arab mistakes too. I didn't agree with everything in the book, and I wish that Ansary had touched a bit more on current conflicts, the rise of the Taliban and Muslim Brotherhood, etc, as well as the life of women in the Arab world. However, the book was balanced (between Arab and Western, and between 'moderate' and 'fundamentalist' Islamic sensibilities) and written wonderfully. Ansary has a real feel for the interconnectedness of events and a sensitivity to both the 'Middle World' and the 'West', having lived in both. Also, he's a pretty good story teller, making even the driest of religious doctrines readable and understandable to your average outsider. After reading this book, I understand so much better what the Islamic faith is about, what makes it different from and similar to Christianity, and how history has led our two civilisations to the conflicts that are now raging.

Ansary refrains from calling the current conflicts raging around the world and the events leading up to them as a 'clash of civilisations', instead making a convincing argument for calling them two mismatched world views. This isn't the only book to read on the subject of Islam, or the 'mismatch' of our two cultures, but it's a brilliant place to start, and I wish that more people would read it. Maybe that way we'd understand each other a little bit more.

The next book I want to see is a collaboration between both Western and Arabic/Islamic historians, comparing within the same book these two mismatched world views. If any historians read this....

The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter

The second book by Carter that I have read. The basic story is that Evelyn is an Englishman living in a crumbling America. He treats his lover Leilah badly, and so is captured by a fertility goddess and forced to have a sex change, in order that he a) gets a taste of his own medicine and b) repopulates the world by getting himself pregnant. And yes, it is as weird and grotesque as it sounds.

The basic premise of the story (chauvinist pig gets turned into a woman so he sees how he likes it) sounded promising - profound but with room for some dark humour. But this story went off at completely the opposite direction to what I expected. In fact I was a little disappointed - it isn't the story I expected, and it isn't the story I would have written.

This being Carter of course, the book is full of vivid description, poetic and grotesque language, and enough symbolism to sink a ship. In fact I've decided taht the way Carter writes is not so much in terms of a coherent plot, but more a string of vivid and symbolic scenes strung together by common characters. If you want a plot, don't read this book. However, Carter's vision is vividly painted and if you want a profound and challenging read then this is the book for you.

The depiction of a crumbling America was perhaps my favourite part of this book. It is horribly described, the first thing Evelyn sees when he arrives in America is a man who has just been stabbed, and it gets more and more horrible as the book continues. However Carter's vision of America was very interesting and imaginative. Surreal, but interesting, and not incomparable with the worlds of Fitzgerald and Steinbeck.

In all I was disappointed with this book. Hard to explain why. I think it's because there is no subtlety about Carter's message. Instead of allowing the message to develop through plot and characters, she thrusts it down the reader's throat with heavy-handed symbolism and gore. I found the fertility goddess's chant (something along the lines of Oedipus this, Oedipus that, Jocasta Jocasta Jocasta!) among other aspects ridiculous and actually laughable. There is no subtlety here, absolutely none, and boy did I miss it! The understated vividness of Austen and George Eliot, the poetry of the Brontes, the real-world believability of Iris Murdoch, the sharply-observed and humourously constructed messages of Jeanette Winterson's work...Carter stands out against the canon of great female writers for her surrealist and unflinchingly hideous descriptions, but she lacks, despite the scholarly references peppering The Passion of New Eve, the intelligence and wit of other female writers past and present. I found her writing interesting when I read The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr Hoffman, but found New Eve hard to swallow.

I know it's simplistic but I rate this 4.5 / 10, and would only read it again if I were studying it!

Not that I've consigned Carter to the back of the bookshelf, mind, but it will be a while before I read her again of my own free choice.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

This sci-fi novel is set in the future, when the US has become the state of Gilead, a religious dictatorship. The repressive regime is born out of the fact that only a small minority of women remain fertile. These women are the Handmaids, and are basically hired out to important men in order to procreate. If they fail to do this, or break the strict rules governing their lives, they can become Unwomen and be sent to the radioactive colonies, be hanged and displayed as an example, or maybe even be torn to pieces by fellow humans.

The novel is told from the point of view of the Handmaid Offred (literally, the woman Of Fred). She recounts details of her former life and family, which intertwine with the story of her present. Offred is manipulated by the wife of her Commander, the Commander himself, and finds herself drawn towards his chauffeur/butler/servant, Nick, all of which puts her life in danger. The structure of the book revolves between the past and present, and Offred's encounters with other characters, and there is a reflective section at the end of the book told from many years after the events of the book.

I enjoyed the book, although it's a disturbing story and one that describes certain events in grisly detail. Atwood writes in an unfussy, almost conversational tone, but paints her characters very persuasively and uses symbolism as if it were going out of fashion. I felt that some elements were rather anachronistic - the Compucheck, Compubank, etc. It was Compu-everything - and that some elements were quite obviously borrowed from 1984. Also the 'Historical Notes', the last and reflective part of the book, didn't, I feel, add anything to the story. In fact it detracted from it, in that the deliciously tantalising cliff-hanger at the end of Offred's story is explained away. I think this was added to explain how Offred's internal monologue could have been recorded, but to be honest this part was unnecessary and surperfluous.

In all, however, Atwood's characters and scenario were uniquely presented and uniquely uncomfortable to read. Definitely a book that makes the reader think, and one that, though disturbing, I thoroughly enjoyed. I will certainly return to this book. It has really freaked me out, but I couldn't put it down.

The Bone People by Keri Hulme

Just noticed an absolutely hideous split infinitive in the last post. Oh well.

I just finished The Bone People by Keri Hulme five minutes ago. It has been one heck of a read - took me ages, and is very hefty book, full of hefty ideas and hefty writing techniques...but I really enjoyed it, too. Keri Hulme is a New Zealand writer of mixed heritage - some Maori - and this is her first and only novel, although she writes poetry and short stories. The Bone People tells the story of how Kerewin, an asexual artist, finds herself getting more and more involved with Joe and his adopted son Simon. Simon is a difficult child who does not speak, and Joe is suffering from the loss of his wife and biological son. Their relationship is an abusive one, but at the same time absolutely loving. Their three lives become entwined.

I don't really know what it was that kept me going through this book. It's compelling from about 2/3 of the way through, but beforehand not an awful lot happens, except the presentation of the growing relationships between the characters. However, somehow it gripped me from the start, and my word, the end was worth the wait.

I loved several aspects of this book. The first is the inclusion of Maori myth and even language - subtle, at first, and then becoming more influential to the narrative towards the end. It was really fascinating to read about, but Hulme blended it perfectly into a picture of modern New Zealand. The second thing I loved was Hulme's use of language. In her introduction to my edition of the book, she talks about how words have 'shapes', and how the same word written with subtle differences (e.g. bluegreen, blue-green) creates entirely different meanings and feelings. She is a writer who is clearly aware of the infantessimal obscurities of language, and manipulates these beautifully. Her descriptions are spare and concise but conjure perfectly, and her prose, even dialogue, reads like poetry. The third aspect, and possibly the most moving aspect of the book, is the fact that it is a book about people. Despite the Maori myth and the plot and all the ins and outs it is a book about human relationships. All of the characters are flawed. They're all sympathetic. You can see a lot of the writer in this book, but it also reflects back to the reader. A very thought-provoking, caring and complexly simple story, and one that examines the beauty and horror of human relationships, very intelligently and very sympathetically.

I won't lie, there are parts of the book that are disturbing - the abuse scenes, in particular. But despite this it's the kind of book that gives you that bittersweet lift at the end. What they always call 'life-affirming' in film reviews - a term that I hate, but that I guess communicates the feeling.

It's also not easy going. Hulme weaves together third person, first person, past tense, present tense, narrative, dialogue, thought...and the structure puts the end at the beginning, loads of flashbacks in, things in consecutive chapters that are happening simultaneously or before what happened in the last chapter...Very unique, original style. I wouldn't call it avant-garde, because Hulme uses it deftly to mould the characters and narrative, and it is essential to the book rather than just being a pretentious add-on to a simple story. But it is different, and confusing, and tantalising. The complexity of the story requires the complexity of the way it's written. It was tough at times (especially when I had the much slimmer and more straight forward Great Gatsby at my side, watching me and begging to be read) but I really enjoyed Keri Hulme's unique style and tenderly-told story.

The Bone People is the kind of book that you can't rush through, and I won't be rushing to read it a second time. But I will read it again, not too far off. Three words to describe it? Eccentric, human, tender. Would I recommend other people read it? Yes. Not everyone will love it, and I was lucky that I read it at the right time for me, but I will definitely be recommending it to my more open-minded friends, as it is a book that teaches, without being preachy.

Waffle, the above. Basically, read it if you can set aside the time for it and if you like books that make you think hard. I loved it. I rescued it from a box going to the charity shop, and I'm glad I did, and it will be staying safely on my shelf waiting for me. ;)

The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman by Angela Carter

I finished this book a couple of weeks ago. Quick background: written in the 70's by Angela Carter, a famous British novelist whose other works include Wise Children. This is the first book of hers that I have read. I'd been wanting to read her for a while, as I kept seeing her mentioned in the literary magazines I read.

The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman is told by Desiderio, an old man looking back on the adventures of his youth, which he spent fighting against the fantastical unreality caused by evil Doctor Hoffman. These illusions kind of seeped into the real world and turned it upside down. People, objects and places that weren't real plagued the inhabitants of Desiderio's home city, somewhere in South America, wreaking absolute havoc and providing Doctor Hoffman with extraordinary power. At the same time Desiderio finds himself attracted to Doctor Hoffman's elusive daughter Albertina.

During his struggle to outwit the Doctor, Desiderio encounters a family of natives who take him in as one of their own, before revealing their sinister plans for him, a Lithuanian count with some weird sado-masochistic thing going on, and a clan of very religious centaurs who decide it would be a good idea to nail horse shoes to his feet.

The novel is very surrealist; lots of deep, meaningful stuff going on here. But I found it easy to immerse myself in the strangeness and fantasy through Carter's exceptional descriptions. She writes in a very lyrical way, rendering the magical landscapes she creates almost tangible. The simplistic storyline I've related here doesn't really do the story justice; it's as complex and varied as Jonathan Swift's Gullivers' Travels - quite a similar format, detailing an extraordinary journey through fantasy worlds.

Carter's style made my imagination run riot, but still allowed her to give little clues away at various points, which definitely helped to keep me hooked and broke up the vivid descriptions, which despite being beautiful may otherwise have overwhelmed the storyline. The beginning chapter in fact reveals the outcome of Desiderio and Albertina's affair, but I found these spoilers enthusing rather than irritating; they just made me want to keep reading.

The book is probably on the very edge of my intellectual understanding but I think perhaps its main theme is dominance over other (human?) beings. Doctor Hoffman, despite his disappointingly normal appearance as described at the end of the book, is something of a power hungry maniac; in every culture that Desiderio visits the women are the underdogs - either married off hideously young, forced to eat their first born children alive or tattooed from head to foot (or head to hoof?) because of course, women were created to suffer; the Count recounts in disgusting detail his enjoyment of torturing others; Desiderio's native tribe decide to assimilate his power of literacy by eating him; the story is punctuated by violent rapes; Albertina has her own plans for Desiderio that despite their being in love she refuses to reveal. It's a gory book full of suffering and pain, explored in all its many types, and revealing the underlying primitive violence of human nature and even supposedly civilised society. The novel shows how a desire to dominate can overtake us, even over the supposedly all-powerful emotion of love. It was definitely a book that made me think.

So, in short, highly delectable descriptive language that will have your tongue tingling as you read, but a fairly heavy going, complex, and thought-provoking read.