#186 Richard III (1591)

Author: William Shakespeare
Title: Richard III
Genre: Historical Play
Year: 1591
Pages: 180
Origin: read on a Kindle during September 2012
Nod Rating: 5 nods out of 5

‘A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!’

These are the enduring words from Shakespeare’s Richard III; the desperate, villainous king searching in vain for his salvation. As all viewers and readers know fully well, Richard’s plan to take the throne by wicked and corrupt deeds is foiled by the triumph of the Earl of Richmond. The young earl ends the division and begins healing the scars between the houses of York and Lancaster and their Wars of the Roses. Richmond brought forth a new dynasty: the Tudors. The very same Tudor family who a hundred years later – in the guise of Elizabeth, Richmond’s granddaughter - would influence Shakespeare to write this tale in a particularly favourable light. Richard, the last of the Plantagenets is painted the villain, and the new king is seen as virtuous and defending poor old England from wrong.

Of course, fiction and fact can – at times – be wildly contrasting forces. Yet throughout history we have seen the art of fiction overcome fact: the tale of Richard III, is perhaps one such example. The naked seizure of power is truth, but the motive and the outcomes have become overshadowed. In this manner, it has been played out again and again, from the Jacobin globe theatre, through the Victorian era, to the cinematic interpretations of Laurence Oliver (pictured above) and – perhaps most intriguingly – a fascist England in which the masterful Ian McKellan plays the doomed character.

For those readers out there who tuned into this blog during 2011, the background to Richard’s rise is portrayed in Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy: his father, the Duke of York, makes a claim – perceived as a rightful claim – to the throne of England, intending to overthrow the weak king, Henry VI. The Duke is killed in battle, with the throne eventually becoming the property of Richard’s older brother, Edward IV. The wars between rival houses appear to be at an end, when Edward’s IV unexpected death provides the cause for a tumultuous period in history. Edward’s sons vanish (with the mystery of their fate continuing to this day), with Richard taking the throne; only to isolate all of those around him. His defeat to Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth ends his two year reign.

Shakespeare deals with Richard’s bloody rise to the top and the climax finish of the battle. Richard is portrayed as a scheming plotter, marrying those who might advance his position; killing his brother (the Duke of Clarence) who might stand in his way; offing rivals – once former friends - who might oppose him (such Lord Hastings and the Duke of Buckingham). The murder of the nephews – the ill-fated princes in the tower – are described by Richard’s henchman: ‘The most arch deed a piteous massacre that ever yet this land was guilty of.’ Queen Margaret describes the rising body count to those around her:

‘I had an Edward, till a Richard kill’d him; I had a Henry, till a Richard kill’d him: Thou hadst an Edward, till a Richard kill’d him; Thou hadst a Richard, till a Richard kill’d him.’

It is the females of the play who see Richard for who is really is, with Queen Margaret playing the role of Cassandra in predicting future discontent. Anne deems him a ‘villain, thou knowest nor law of God nor man: No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity’; with the former queen (wife of the killed Henry VI) calls him ‘a murderous villain’; and his very own mother calls out:

‘Thou elvish-mark’d, abortive, rooting hog! Thou that wast seal’d in thy nativity the slave of nature and the son of hell! Thou slander of thy heavy mother’s womb! Thou loathed issue of thy father’s loins! Thou rag of honour!’

Later in the play, his mother continues with her description of her son:

‘From forth the kennel of thy womb hath crept a hell-hound that doth hunt us all to death: That dog, that had his teeth before his eyes, To worry lambs and lap their gentle blood’.

In such a manner, Richard truly plays the role of ‘hell’s black intelligencer’. But in contrast to everyone else, Richard sees it as his right to claim the throne and lead England back to prosperous days: ‘the world is grown so bad that wrens make pretty where eagles dare not perch’. More interestingly, is Shakespeare’s depiction of Richard as a man capable of comic flourishes, especially so in his – somewhat – endearing asides as he allows the viewer/reader into his schemes. Having met the young princes, he tells the audience: ‘So wise so young, they say, do never long live’; and having flattered and wooed Queen Elizabeth and kissed her before she leaves the stage, he curses out: ‘Relenting fool, and shallow, changing woman!’ It is the part set out in Richard’s opening, famous soliloquy: ‘And seem a saint when most I play the devil.’

However, not even his ambition and thirst for power can guide Richard to ultimate success. His actions of lies and deceit force his followers to flee, one by one; the victims of growing paranoia and insanity. Shakespearian convention is followed (alongside predictions and ominous dreams) in the shape of ghosts who return to haunt Richard on the night before the Battle of Bosworth. The young princes return to call upon Richard: ‘Dream on thy cousins smothered in the Tower. Let us be lead within they bosom, Richard. And weigh thee down to ruin, shame, and death! Thy nephews’ souls bid thee despair and die!’ Whilst they point to their potential saviour, the Earl of Richmond, to ‘beget a happy race of kings! Edward’s unhappy sons do bid thee flourish.’

Alone and without hope, Richard descends to schizophrenic ranting – again, another blessed stable of Shakespeare’s titular characters. It further showcases Richard’s complex role:

‘The lights burn blue. It is now dead midnight. Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh. What, do I fear myself? There’s none else by. Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I. Is there a murderer here? No; yes, I am. Then fly. What, from myself? Great reason why. Lest I revenge. What, myself upon myself! Alack, I love myself. Wherefore? For any good that I myself have done unto myself? O, no! Alas, I rather hate myself for hateful deeds committed by myself! I am a villain: yet I lie, I am not.'

Continuing with his lonesome conclusion:

‘My conscience hath a thousand several tongues. And every tongue brings in a several tale. And every tale condemns me for a villain. Perjury, perjury, in the high’st degree. Murder, stern murder, in the dir’st degree. All several sins, all us’d in each degree. Throng to the bar, crying all “Guilty! Guilty!” I shall despair. There is no creature loves me; And if I die no soul will pity me.’

The victory of the Earl of Richmond at the play’s finale (the same man formerly dismissed by Richard as ‘a little peevish boy’) puts right the wrongs of Richard’s reign. The defeat of Richard, and indeed the entire play, has been labelled as through and through case of Tudor propaganda. Perhaps Shakespeare – bankrolled by Tudor blood – was aware of such an accusation. There are hints throughout the play, but none more so than in Queen Margaret’s words to Elizabeth about her position to Richard: ‘Think that thy babes were sweeter than they were, And he that slew them fouler than he is’.

‘Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this son of York’ are the immortal words of the play’s opening. A play that confirms all of the powers of Shakespeare’s ability to write dialogue, to plot out action, and to thrill and entertain his audience. It is amongst the most popular of his canon; and the Worm makes the case that it is amongst the strongest of his catalogue. If you have not seen or read it during the past four hundred twenty-one years, then you have much to catch up on.


Read it here:
http://www.william-shakespeare.info/script-text-richard-iii.htm

Read the reviews for Henry VI: Parts One, Two & Three here:
http://4eyedbookworm.blogspot.com/2011/08/hnery-iv-part-one-william-shakespeare.html
http://4eyedbookworm.blogspot.com/2011/11/henry-vi-part-two-william-shakespeare.html
http://4eyedbookworm.blogspot.com/2011/12/henry-vi-part-three-william-shakespeare.html

#185 T.S. Eliot's Selected Poems (1954)

Author: T.S. Eliot
Title: Selected Poems
Genre: Poetry
Year: 1954
Pages: 120
Origin: a present from Mrs. W
Nod Rating: 5 nods out of 5

‘What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.’

The above quote – from the hand of T.S. Eliot himself – is fitting of this paradoxical, puzzling and enigmatic poet. His work is synonymous with the twentieth century, from musings on the passing of time, to the chaos and disorder of a post-war world, and then onwards to his own religious conversion.

This collection was originally selected by Eliot himself and published in the 1950s; it has remained in publication, culminating in the Worm’s particular addition, printed as part of Faber’s eightieth anniversary celebrations (along with other poetic heavyweights such as Betjeman and Auden). It covers the most renowned and feted of Eliot’s catalogue, including poems from Prufrock and Other Observations (1917), Poems (1920), The Waste Land (1922), The Hollow Men (1925), Ash-Wednesday (1930), Ariel Poems, as well as selected choruses from his play The Rock (1934).

‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ featured in an earlier book review this year (see below for the link); the Worm then highlighted the polarising opinions that Eliot’s work seems to evoke in readers: from prophet to pretentious poet, from ground-breaking to bore inducing. But yet this is a poet who continues to enjoy popular appeal, from undergraduate reading lists to even being referenced in an episode of The Simpsons. Prufrock contains the forever entertaining lines: ‘For I have known them all already, known them all / Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons / I have measured out of my life with coffee spoons.’ Eliot writing as a man (still of comparative youth) lamenting the passing of years, his own naivety and innocence.

Other early highlights include ‘Portrait of a Lady’, ‘Rhapsody on a Windy Night’, and the celebrated ‘Gerontion’. The last, on first glance, continues with the Prufrock theme: ‘Here I am, an old man in a dry month / Being read to be a boy, waiting for rain.’ But deeper analysis offers different interpretations, possibly that of a man whose values have been destroyed by the advent of the Great War. Eliot writes of the areas of destruction: ‘Blistered in Brussels, patched and peeled in London’; but concerning the individual on a personal level: ‘The word within a word, unable to speak a word.’ Meaning has shattered in pieces, with a loss remaining; the poem itself ending with the harrowing lines ‘Thoughts of a dry brain in a dry season.’

It is a theme returned to in greater detail in The Waste Land, perhaps the pinnacle of Eliot’s work. It is a poem of great sadness and bewildered ambition; the inclusion of an extensive notes section gives readers hope that sense can be found within its rambling words and pages. But perhaps sense is the one thing that can no longer be found in a world in which has changed beyond all recognition by war and revolution. As Eliot states in the first section (The Burial of the Dead):

A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock

The narrator (or should that be narrators?) attempts to continue onwards with life, but within the ‘Unreal city’ of London (now a falling tower), it is a hard to step forward into the darkness:

‘My nerves are bad tonight. Yes, bad. Stay with me.
Speak to me. Why do you never speak? Speak.
What are you thinking of? What thinking? What?
I never know what you are thinking. Think.’

Confusion is central to the poem, with Eliot writing (in numerous voices) the pointlessness of life: ‘Do you know nothing Do you see nothing? Do you remember / Nothing?’ and ‘What shall we do tomorrow? What shall we ever do?’ The narrator, standing on Margate Sands, is unable to connect the old world with the new, ‘Nothing with nothing.’

This monumental poem concludes with Part V (‘What the Thunder Said’), in which Eliot writes: ‘He who was living is now dead / We who were living are now dying.’ The reader searches – in vain – for a resolution as to a full understanding; Eliot himself appears to hint at such fulfilment by listing a large list of references alluded to in the course of poem, both literary and historic (ranging from those of ancient Greece, to that of Queen Elizabeth and the Earl of Leicester sailing on the Thames). But perhaps such understanding is, as the voices in the poem show, impossible to find. Eliot himself is hinting that the modern world has no use for an older language of references, and that a new lexicon is needed in order for fresh problems to be surmounted. The ending words of Sanskrit ‘Shantih Shantih Shantih’ allude to the death of the old world, rather than the key to unlocking the future.

Interestingly, Eliot himself appears to solve such problems by seeking truth and enlightenment internally, through religion. This development can be traced from The Hollow Men, again dealing with themes of alienation and confusion: ‘This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper’; and more crucially Ash Wednesday in 1930. Hailed as Eliot’s “conversion poem”, Ash Wednesday finds the poet in turmoil over which direction to proceed, as found in its opening lines:

Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn.

The inclusion of sections of The Rock (first performed in 1934), is perhaps most intriguing. As expected, a narrative is hard to find, the beginning starting in typical Eliot-ian fashion:

The Eagle soars in the summit of Heaven,
The Hunter with his dogs pursues his circuit.
O perpetual revolution of configured stars,
O perpetual recurrence of determined seasons,
O world of spring and autumn, birth and dying!

Eliot himself wrote an apparent disclaimer to The Rock: ‘I cannot consider myself the author of the “play”, but only of the words which are printed here.’ It is the type of paradoxical language that infuriates the legions of Eliot detractors in the world; but perhaps that which embraces many more.

Such a collection – of the fantastic, puzzling and enjoyable – marks out T.S. Eliot has a supreme poet; not just one of high stature in the twentieth century, but of all time. As noted in the previous review, it is all too easy to dismiss him as a snob; it is far better - for the reading eyes and the soul – to embrace him as he is. The poems are a delight to read aloud, as well as to muse over. What is clear, having read the selection, is the interesting direction in which Eliot’s own choice of career took: from the outside who is up against the grain, to voicing concerns and the mood of a generation, to religious convert and the worthwhile works that resulted from this, to become an accepted part of the literary establishment. Selected Poems is the collection gathered on his own terms; its contents make for a fantastic addition to any bookshelf.


Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Selected-Poems-Eliot-Anniversary-Edition/dp/0571247059/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351541480&sr=8-1

Hear The Waste Land performed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP9taUtLlYQ 

Read the review for Eliot’s Prufrock and Other Observations (1917) from July 2012:
http://4eyedbookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/prufrock-and-other-observations-ts.html

#184 The Dark Knight Returns (1986)

Author: Frank Miller

Title: The Dark Knight Returns

Genre: Graphic Novel

Year: 1986

Pages: 220

Origin: read online during September 2012

Nod Rating: 4 nods out of 5

2012 was to be the year of the Bat. Christopher Nolan’s climactic ending to his Dark Knight trilogy was released to screams of… well, perhaps indifference. Accusations of plot holes and long bouts of tedium were thrown at the director, all of which detracts from the material that Nolan gleamed from the atmospheric and emotionally charged comics from the 1980s. Key among these was Frank Miller’s visualisation of a particular dark and violent tale of the Batman; and it is interesting to trace the origins of the recent hype and hysteria back to the 1980s, and in Miller’s work, in particular.

The Worm has previously taken the time to read and review one of Miller’s previous works on the Dark Knight legend, Batman: Year One (see below for a link to that review). Of greater importance was his setting of an older Bruce Wayne in a bleak and troublesome world, far away from the camp of previous incarnations of Batman from the 1960s and 1970s. Issued in four parts during 1986, Miller assumes the creative force and direction of this series: writing and doing the principal pencilling, it was later left to other talents to complete the visual art; including Klaus Janson (Inker), John Costanza (Letterer) and Lynn Varley (Colourist). The series’ renowned title – The Dark Knight Returns – in fact, alludes to the first issued comic; the remaining titles including The Dark Knight Triumphant, Hunt the Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Falls.

Having retired his cape for the past decade, Wayne returns as Batman after a realisation that he cannot escape from the mountain that are his scarred memories (the old chestnut of the death of his parents, as well as the haunting memory of a long, lost former Robin employee). Donning the outfit once more, he takes to the streets in what has become a city that has lost all hope of progress and success; old foes are taken down, including Harvey Two Face (who despite surgery, cannot escape the dual personality of his nature: both good and evil), as well as new ones in the form of a vicious gang called the Mutants. Such actions provide the causation of other events, including the birth of a vigilante group called the Sons of Batman, as well as the reawakening of a previously catatonic Joker (the trading of escalation between the forces of good and evil well used by Nolan in the blockbuster The Dark Knight in 2008). Such is the mayhem of the city during these issues, with Superman called in to pacify the situation, ending in a climatic fist-fight between the two legends.

Superman himself is never seemingly far away from a large DC comic book involving Batman, much to the chagrin of the Worm; however, Miller uses his presence here to contrast the two roles and personalities of the two heroes. Superman is welded to authority, the good boy who never does wrong; whilst Batman is the dark, lurking presence who deals in the shadow of night in the underworld. The ending is a perfect way to the end the series, with Miller fittingly commenting on society and the possibilities of dealing with the wrongs in the world at that time.

Thematically, The Dark Knight Returns is a triumph in including issues of great importance to the eighties (such as the threat of the Cold War and the power of the media). Television plays a massive role – in moving the story forward as well as in highlighting the negative effects it can play in society. There is constant cutting away from the action to read an interview and comments from “experts” and leaders in Gotham society: criticising the efforts of the Batman to bring justice to the city’s criminals. Undoubtedly, Miller would have rich pickings for today’s role and power of social media and how this may influence how a vigilante such as Batman could operate. Such thematic links are aided by the great illustration and interesting dialogue that Miller provides.

However, there are inclusions that disrupt these positives, including that of a new Robin. In a teenage female form, it is perhaps the ending result of the character’s transformation that makes most sense to readers (the former male Robin having played a subservient role to the forceful tutoring of the older Batman); however, it is none the less annoying because of it. More concerning is the direction of the comics, from issue one to issue four: from a seeming desire to position Batman in a real world with real limitations, to the involvement of supernatural powers such as Superman and Kryptonite.

Miller later returned to this version of Wayne-Batman, writing and illustrating a sequel in the twenty-first century, The Dark Knight Strikes Again. The Worm will continue reading and delving into Miller’s twisted, cynical – but yet strikingly familiar – world.

Buy it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Batman-Knight-Returns-Frank-Miller/dp/1852867981/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349517100&sr=8-1

Read the Worm’s Batman: Year One review right here:

http://4eyedbookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/batman-year-one-frank-miller-david.html

#183 Traitors of the Tower (2010)

Author: Alison Weir
Title: Traitors of the Tower
Genre: History
Year: 2010
Pages: 80
Origin: Bought for 99p from an Oxfam Bookshop
Nod Rating: 2 nods out of 5

Is there anything that Alison Weir does not know about the Tudor age? The Worm had the pleasure of recently reading one of her larger works – Elizabeth the Queen (see the link for the review below) – earlier this year. Another addition to the Worm’s book shelf places her in competition with another popular Tudor historian: the smug and inflammatory David Starkey. But where Starkey appears convinced that he must shout as loud as possible, Weir takes a different approach: an aim to simply tell a good story.

As such, Weir’s books have grown in popularity in the past decade. This particular book – Traitors of the Tower – is no more than a taster of her bigger, meatier works or research. Published as part of the ongoing series Quick Reads, it hopes to add to the growing catalogue of books that will hook in new and uninitiated readers across the land. As the Quick Reads website (see below for a link) promote, they are ‘bite sized books by big name authors and celebrities. They are perfect to engage people with reading as they are short and use clear language but still have fast-paced, brilliant storylines.’

Weir – a true big name in historical reading circles – has chosen to focus on short chapters on those who succumbed to the scaffold during the reign of various Tudor kings (and the last Plantagenet), extending from unfortunate Lord Hastings in 1483 to the bold and foolish Earl of Essex under Queen Elizabeth in 1601. In a fast paced tour, Weir brings in the back story and the downfall of the seven protagonists. Many have been told – and in greater detail and space – many times before, including the likes of Anne Boleyn and her ‘little neck’ as well as the intriguing case of England’s nine day queen Lady Jane Grey (Paul Delaroche’s 1833 painting The Execution of Lady Jane Grey adorning the cover of the book). Of greater interest is Weir’s focus on Margaret Pole, whose death strikes a chord with the still lingering influence of the Wars of the Roses a century earlier.

The book – like most in the Quick Reads catalogue – is one of style over substance. Little analysis can be added in ten pages per chapter, besides that of a nuts and bolts narrative that is more akin to a Wikipedia article than a book. More annoyingly is Weir’s choice of language throughout: simplicity is the conscious method here, as if Weir is writing for children readers rather than those who are less inclined to pick up a book.

The Quick Reads agenda is a commendable one; but as can be expected, eighty “bite sized” pages are hardly enough of a meal when a reader is ravenous to find out more. For those who wish to read a book by Weir, her other involving reads are available and strongly recommended. Traitors of the Tower is one to leave to hook the uninitiated book worms that walk among us.


Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Traitors-Tower-Quick-Read-ebook/dp/B0038AUYEQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350069963&sr=8-1

Read the review of Elizabeth the Queen here:
http://4eyedbookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/elizabeth-queen-alison-weir.html

Find out more about Quick Reads here:
http://www.quickreads.org.uk/what-are-quick-reads/introduction

#182 David Copperfield (1850)

Author: Charles Dickens
Title: David Copperfield
Genre: Novel
Year: 1850
Pages: 980
Origin: read on the Kindle during August-September 2012
Nod Rating: 4 nods out of 5

‘Of all my books, I like this the best. It will be easily believed that I am a fond parent to every child of my fancy, and that no one can ever love that family as dearly as I love them. But, like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.’
(Charles Dickens, 1869)

Such is the beatification of David Copperfield: Charles Dickens has blessed it as his favourite, whilst other writers – of the high ilk of Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky and Woolf – appear to be in unison on the greatness of the novel. Woolf, in particular, was read the book on several occasions, assessing it ‘magnificent’. These are massive endorsements, especially when considering the bulk and expanse of Dickens’ canon of fictional creations.

David Copperfield (or, to give its wondrously large original title: The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account)’) was initially published in serial form across two years – similarly to many other Dickens novels. It follows the life of its title character, from childhood to manhood, in what is hailed an example of a bildungsroman novel.

For the Worm, this was to be the second attempt at reading the novel whole. The first began many moons ago, having bought a cheap copy in a second hand book shop and spending days not going to class but rather read dusty volumes in a nearby park. Pretentious? Yes. And far too long for the attention span of a sixteen year-old. The moons have continued to pass, and now it was time to return to the novel, to continue beyond page two-hundred and finally attain closure on this story. Of course, the old dusty volume is no longer with us and is long gone; in its place is the robust and ever-ready (dependent on battery life) Kindle, that now homes many of Dickens’ famous novel. David Copperfield is one of the first in a journey through the mind of one of the world’s greatest writers.

Although the storyline is not – arguably - as well known as the other novels in Dickens’ catalogue (principally those of Oliver and Great Expectations), the colourful character descriptions find the author on the top of his game. Here are a few examples, including that of his nurse Peggotty, with ‘eyes so dark that they seemed to darken their whole neighbourhood in her face, and cheeks and arms so hard and red that I wondered the birds didn’t peck her in preference to apples’; the ominous arrival of the Murdstone’s: ‘the gloomy taint that was in the Murdstone blood, darkened the Murdstone religion, which was austere and wrathful’; the hilarious and bumbling Mr Micawber ‘who was a thoroughly good-natured man, and as active a creature about everything but his own affairs as ever existed, and never so happy when he was busy about something that could never be of any profit to him’; the villainous Uriah Heep: ‘All this time he was squeezing my hand with his damp fishy fingers, while I made every effort I decently could to get it away’; and the rather more cheerful names for his wife, Dora: ‘Child-wife’ and ‘Little Blossom’.

Furthermore, the description of thoughts, feelings and surroundings find a writer who has improved from earlier “fancies”; a writer who is stepping into a second, in-depth and all the more creative period of his life. The Worm delighted in reading the young Copperfield’s earliest memories of his dead father:

‘the remembrance that I have my first childish associations with his white grave-stone in the churchyard, and of the indefinable compassion I used to feel for it lying out alone there in the dark night, when our little parlour was warm and bright with fire and candle, and the doors of our house were – almost cruelly, it seemed to me sometimes – bolted and locked against it’.

And the recalling of his wedding day to his ‘Child-wife’:

‘Of her waving her little hand, and our going away once more. Of her once more stopping, and looking back, and hurrying to Agnes, and giving Agnes, above all the others, her last kisses and farewells. We drive away together, and I awake from the dream. I believe it at last. It is my dear, dear, little wife beside me, whom I love so well! “Are you happy now, you foolish boy?” says Dora, “and sure you don’t repent?” I have stood aside to see the phantoms of those days go by me. They are gone, and I resume the journey of my story.’

The novel – the plots and subplots of which are far too vast to fully cover in this review – enrapture characters of the good (Traddles, Peggotty and her brother, Mr Peggotty, as well as Dr Strong), the bad (Uriah Heep and the Murdstones), the confused (the Micawbers), the mistreated (Mr Mell), the complex (Rosa Dartle) and the bold (Betsey Trotwood and James Steerforth); and unfortunately, the dull (chiefly, the angelic and dutiful Agnes). As in every Dickens novel, we have the battle between good and evil, the peculiar and comedic elements that surround us, as well as that classic Dickensian theme: the differences between class in Victorian society.

The Worm’s three largest gripes with this novel are the following: the first, is the weakness of Copperfield as a character. The book is filled with colourful people, memorably the likes of Steerforth, his aunt Betsey Trotwood and Peggotty. However, Copperfield himself appears devoid of doing evil or harm (bar, perhaps, the incident with Dora’s father); he is left to play the straight-man to the incidents of others around him, something of a blank canvas to be impressed upon. The book’s first quarter – that of Copperfield’s youth – hints upon the boy having been an unreliable narrator; an element not followed up by Dickens. The Worm’s evidence for this is, admittedly scant, and may have been an invention of his mind in the hope of a greater pay-off as Copperfield entered manhood. But there are a few remarks, including: ‘When my thoughts go back, now, to that slow agony of my youth, I wonder how much of the histories I invented for such people hangs like a mist of fancy over well-remembered facts!’

The second gripe focuses on the supposed villainy of Heep. Undoubtedly, Heep plays the part of the “bad guy” in illicitly stealing the funds of those around him; but he has a long way to go to repeat the wickedness and complexity of other Victorian creations, principally that of Bronte’s Heathcliff. Furthermore, Copperfield’s instant dislike to this character is at odds with his transaction with every other person in this novel: after all, instant affection and warmth is one of Copperfield’s few saving graces.

But the gripe that eclipses all others is the rambling structure of the plot. This is a common complaint held against Dickens, who didn’t write succinct novels, but rather a series of chapters to be published week after week. This feature has a modern equivalent in the never-ending soap operas on television; or more exactly in the Worm’s reading material, that of an extended comic book run, with prints issued each month. It is clear that Dickens introduces characters, such as the legendary Micawber, to await a pay-off further down the road; what is not clear is the author’s actual intention in the finish line when commencing this story. It is this sense of chaos, of continuing to write until the story had worn thin, that demotes David Copperfield from the possible starry heights of a 5 nodder commendation.

But, dear reader, these gripes cannot wholly detract from what is a fantastic novel. Dickens’ love is clearly shown on these pages, and as becomes clear during Copperfield’s journey, the two – author and character – are undisputedly linked. As noted above, David Copperfield was Dickens’ ‘favourite child’; the Worm, however, will continue to plough through his back catalogue, to continue forwards to the exploits of Pip, of the deeds of Darnay and Carton from A Tale of Two Cities, as well as the adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.

Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Copperfield-Vintage-Classics-Charles-Dickens/dp/0099511460/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349517253&sr=1-1

Read it here:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/766

#181 The Spanish Civil War (1965)

Author: Hughes Thomas
Title: The Spanish Civil War (1965)
Genre: History
Pages: 1,000
Origin: Bought in a second-hand bookshop in St Ives, Cornwall
Nod Rating: 4 out of 5

The Spanish Civil War is one that has long held fascination, as well as mystery, for decades of history and political readers. The befuddlement has come in the positioning of the war: a Second World War in miniature (as the author speculates), or one of unique internal friction special only to the Iberian peninsula. In truth, it is both.

Fought between 1936-1939, this confusion can be explained in the diverse political, religious, and nationalist groups taking part. These include the politicians and supporters of the republic, socialists, communists, anarchists loosely uniting to defeat reactionary, conservative forces including the bulk of the army, monarchists, Carlists, and fascists (Falangists). Each of these sides was not solidified in its support and union, with each grouping fearing the other, eager to make more gains, eager to destroy anyone against their own brand of ideology. Each side had a brutal atmosphere of infighting, whilst each smaller grouping had its own bickering and discord.

This inferno was further enraged with the introduction of the other superpowers (including fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and an ill and failing republican France). This complex situation reaches the realms of bafflement for non-Spanish readers with the understanding of the regional differences, including Basque and Catalan nationalism. The mistrust and intrigue of two hundred years of Spanish decline ignite in these years, leading to one particular winner (Franco) and the promotion of an arch-conservative and Catholic Spain that endured until the fourth-quarter of the twentieth century.

Could such a history – one that gives due attention to each of these groups and situations - be satisfactorily written? The Worm himself has attempted a read of a previous book on this war, but admitted defeat once confusion set in and the words on the page appeared as strange as random numbers and exclamation points. No small book could hope to avoid such defeat; and the author of this volume – Hugh Thomas – spreads the action and analysis across one thousand pages. Much attention is devoted to the run-up to the war, including the years of the doomed second republic of the 1930s, as well as concentrating on running threads – religion, politics, society – from the past two centuries. The book is split into three sections: the rising and revolution, the fighting of the war, followed by the defeat of the republic and victory for Franco. The typical exchange of one side against the other is narrated; as well as the internal intricacies of this war: including the hopes of the revolutionaries within Spain (anarchists, communists, socialists, and falangists), and the charting of their decline and extinction.

As can be expected from such a mammoth task, there are a few bugbears throughout these pages. One is the imbalance of attention devoted to the first year of the war; in comparison, the second half of the war is visited in fly-by motion. Is this a reflection of the war itself, or rather the author’s own power to attention failing as the light of the end is sighted? More annoyingly is the attention given to the nations of the world, principally the main European powers as well as the USA. Of course, this war had numerous connections to foreign aid (that of Italy and Germany on the side of Francoist Spain, and the USSR on the side of republican Spain); however, this does not account for the willingness of Thomas to return to the apparent safety confines of Westminster and the endless commentary on the communications of ministers of Parliament. The agreements and non-agreements of the Non-Intervention Committee takes on a larger role than is needed within this history, and is evidence of a typical Anglo-bias from a British historian.

Yet for an attempt of making sense of a particularly wild piece of history, Thomas’ The Spanish Civil War succeeds in many ways where other lesser historians have failed. Since its first publication in the 1960s – at a time when the wounds of the war remained sore – it has survived in print and reprint throughout the past fifty years. The Worm thoroughly enjoyed the plots, the battles, the characters, and the fight that each participant – no matter how divergent their beliefs and ideals – believed was right. Such a significant war deserves a writer fitting to analyse and narrate; luckily, Thomas was, and continues to be, the man for this job.


Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Spanish-Civil-Hugh-Thomas/dp/0141011610 

#180 Superman & Batman Versus Aliens & Predator (2007)

Authors: Mark Schultz (writer) & Ariel Olivetti (artist)
Title: Superman & Batman Versus Aliens & Predator
Genre: Graphic Novel
Pages: 110 pages
Origin: read on during August 2012
Nod Rating: 2 nods out of 5

Only comics can bring about such bizarre and incongruous titles. When first flicking through a catalogue of graphic novels, the Worm was immediately caught to this particular one. A self-proclaimed Batman fan (as will be seen in a few weeks time with a forthcoming book review related to the Dark Knight), the addition of other characters only offers two possible conclusions: the most fantastic comic book ever created, or another failure based on trying to cash in on various markets. Let’s be straight: this is not the most fantastic comic ever created. But for a comic printed to make a quick buck, it is not all so bad. And allow the Worm to explain why.

Originally a two part comic series released in 2007, the story is set in the Andes and finds Clark Kent (and the ever, unfortunately, inseparable Lois Lane) on location for a report. Soon enough Kent is transformed into Superman and is buddied up with Batman, who are attempting to solve a riddle of dead bodies and “unusual activity” near a volcano. This “unusual activity” is soon found to be a group of Predators and various Aliens who have been stranded on the Earth for many years, ever since crash landing at some point during the last ice age. Our two heroes squabble over how to deal with this threat: Superman wants to save them before the nations of the world unite to nuke the area; whilst Batman believes annihilation is only way to safeguard the planet.

Such a plot outline might possess enough power to send many of you to sleep. But there is enough action within the series to keep the reader on their toes, including Batman grappling with a group of Predators who wish to cook him, and a weakened Superman (as per usual) going fisticuffs with an Alien. The very cheek and confusion of putting these characters together is enough to sustain interest. However, the element that keeps this particular book from falling into the pit of the 1 nodder damned is the art-work. Beautifully drawn, it is in bold contrast to the actual storyline. Olivetti shows a great talent, and one that would be better served beyond the confines of this cash-in idea.

This particular mini-series follows in a line of other titles (including Aliens versus Predator, Batman vs. Predator, Superman vs. Aliens, and pretty much any other superhero you can imagination coming up against bizarre aliens created in 1980s action movies starring the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger). It would be naïve to think that comic book publishers would stop printing such weak titles; however, with some tweaking of the storyline and the continuing employment of such artists, perhaps the worst abuses of these titles can be eradicated.

Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Superman-Batman-Aliens-Predator-Graphic/dp/1401213286/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347721335&sr=8-1

Plymouth's Very Own Book Festival

Plymouth – the Worm’s hometown – has long been known for its naval dockyard and love of concrete cancerous buildings. But this week its cultural status has gone up a rank or two with the celebration of its very first International Book Festival.

The Festival kicked off over the weekend and will run until 23rd September. It promises to bring ‘the very best writers, poets, illustrators, musicians and spoken word performers from the UK and around the world’ to this city. A click on the link will confirm whether such a statement is fact, or perhaps fiction (depending on your own opinion and reading standards).

Whatever the verdict, such an event is a welcome arrival to Plymouth; if it is here to stay, the city can only thrive. The Worm urges all Plymothians to take advantage of this somewhat aberration on the normal “cultural” calendar.


Find out more here:
http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=38529

#179: My Ancestor Was An Agricultural Labourer

Author: Ian H Waller
Title: My Ancestor Was An Agricultural Labourer
Genre: Genealogy
Pages: 130
Origin: Purchased from Amazon during August 2012
Nod Rating: 2 nods out of 5

Family tree enthusiasts proudly boast of genealogy’s popularity on the internet, second only to that much supported viewing habit: pornography. Recent years have seen a massive boost to this past-time, of which many factors – improved resources on the internet, as well as popularity of programmes such as Who Do You Think You Are? – have seen a true renaissance in genealogical studies.

The Worm himself is currently in the midst of researching his family tree, and can attest to its addictive nature. Hence the purchase of this particular book, the rather mundanely named My Ancestor Was An Agricultural Labourer. Yes, we’d all like to trace our connection to royalty or people of importance in history; but as the book’s author, Ian H Waller, points out, nearly all of us have links to the English countryside in one form or another.

It is more than a simple guide to tracing sources; Waller takes a historical approach in the hope of generating more interest and educating the reader on conditions in the past. Most focus is on the Victorian period, including events such as the Swing Riots, the formation of agricultural trade unions, and the later agricultural depression. Of more interest is the description of the day in a life of an agricultural labourer, all of which thoroughly shamed the Worm in the contrasted decadent luxury of his own life (and shame you must feel, also, fellow readers!).

As a person who has studied and lectured on this topic, it is safe to say that Waller never runs out of something to add on this particular profession. In great and un-exhausting detail, he sets out possible routes of research: from basic records and newspapers to apprenticeship records and vaccination records. Such a breadth of activity suggests more than an interest – perhaps a love – with this area of study. However, Waller himself fails to bring much of these events alive for the reader. And as such, the book remains a read best served for those die hard family tree enthusiasts; a book needed to complete a section of research, rather than to be enjoyed on its own merits.

Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ancestor-Was-Agricultural-Labourer-was/dp/1903462983

#178: The History of England. Volume I: Foundation (2011)

Author: Peter Ackroyd
Title: The History of England Volume I: Foundation
Genre: History
Pages: 450
Origin: bought from The Works for the bargain sum of £3.99
Nod Rating: 3 out of 5

A historian may be talented and have researched many nooks and crannies of the past that have delighted readers, but without that large focus on the broad reach of a nation’s history – the quest of the magnum opus – they seem to remain a figure not cut of heavyweight cloth. Peter Ackroyd has established a name for himself as one of London’s chief story-tellers – in both fiction and non-fiction – as well as publishing a list of books long and varied. Areas have been dealt with ranging from journalism to Edgar Allen Poe, from Oscar Wilde to Venice. But what of this work, his apparent ambition of the much desired and elusive opus?

The big theme has been concentrated on: a whole history of one particular nation and people. It follows in the footsteps of other popular historians, most notably that of Simon Schama and his three volumed work on Britain. But rather than deal with the whole of Britannia, in this devolved and politically fragmented times Ackroyd unashamedly deals with the largest nation of these isles: England.

The book begins in a land not so far away some 900,000 years ago, ending with the death of Henry VII in 1509. A large scan of history, even for a book of some five-hundred pages. For those readers who are accustomed to a “biography” of a nation, the start of such a book in the midst of time is no real surprise. The nation may change, but the pattern is usually the same: pre-history and the stone age, followed by the coming of the Romans, the vacating of the Romans, the feuding tribes of the Dark Stages, and then viola, we have the arrival of William the Conqueror. All of this is dealt with within 70 or so pages, leaving the bulk of this book to deal with the Norman and subsequent Plantagenet kings. Of histories on England, normal service is resumed: that is to say, a political narrative history based on the kings of England and their dealings with their back-stabbing off spring and their feuds with other kings of France.

This is undoubtedly a shame, and a routine that Ackroyd appears conscious of due to his parachuting of small chapters discussing life in a certain decade or century. These small chapters – some no more than two pages – appear to dig up some interesting local sources and stories. It is unfortunate that Ackroyd was unable to make more of these chapters, thereby side-stepping the usual political procession. Other disappointed points include the lack of proper time committed to the land of pre-1066, whilst the insistence of naming those in pre-history as “English” is annoying (especially given that there is no preface to explain the reasoning for this). Obviously such nitpicking – a forte of the Worm’s – detracts from what is a readable book, albeit one that lacks in full force of imagination.

Volume I completed, there is more to come. However, the Worm will be blunt to the point: if the usual story is written and printed, the future volumes will be avoided. There is enough already weighing down good bookshelves containing this plotline. Magnus opus, it is not. The quest, then, must go on.

Buy it here:http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0230706398/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0230706401&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=04W7ADTWF2VA7T1DVE8H