Book Review of A Man Called Ove by Fredrik BackmanA Man Called Ove was recommended to me by readers who enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I understand why the parallels are made as both are quirky books, which at the centre of them have a protagonist who doesn't fit in or conform to the expectations placed on them by society. Both books are asking the reader to be open-minded and take a moment to explore why people behave in the ways that they do. Both Eleanor and Ove are presented to us sympathetically and both have 'outsiders' who are prepared to take a chance on them. As such the books have a heart-warming feel good factor.  It is intereesting to see how A Man Called Ove is marketed towards men. A Man Called Ove, in essence, is about a grumpy curmudgeon who refuses to change with the times. He is judgemental of anyone who doesn't share his own narrow view of the world, and has a hatred for 'men in white shirts', whilst ironically vigorously upholding pointless red-tape and beaureacratic rules. On the surface he is not very likeable. Dig a little deeper and we learn where Ove's hatred of 'men in white shirts' and world cynicism stems from. We learn about his relationship with his disabled wife, his neigbours, his grief and his own emotional fragility. A Man Called Ove is a book full of social comment. In its exploration of loneliness; perhaps, what makes it stand out from the crowd is that the protagonist is a man. Book Discussion Questions for A Man Called Ove Ove is 59 years old. Do you think he seems like an older man? If so why? Ove's grief is so overwhelming that he tries and fails to kill himself several times? Explore why he ultimately chooses life over death? What does this say about what we as humans need in life? As a young man Ove was tricked and cheated out of his home and job? He has been overlooked and treated badly by 'men in white shirts' his whole life. How convincing do you find this as a reason for him developing a 'glass-half-empty' approach to life? Ove and Rune have a friendship that has gone 'sour' and seems beyond rescuing once Rune buys a two seater BMW instead of a Volvo. Explore why this is so signficant. When Ove dies there is a huge turnout at his funeral. Did you find this realistic? Why or why not? Think of three adjectives to best sum up Ove. In turn discuss your adjective choices with the group. Ove is probably mathematically gifted and quite obsessive about certain rites and habits. Is the writer suggesting that he has an undiagnosed condition such as autism or aspergers? If so does this affect how you view Ove? Which other character/s in the book does Ove share similar personality traits with? What is the signficance of this? Social and welfare care is presented as lacking in this story. Could Ove's story realistically occur in your own home country today? Bookclub Questions for A Man Called Ove (If you haven't read the book!)The narrator says in the book it is difficult to admit being wrong. Do you find it difficult to admit you are wrong or find it difficult to say sorry? Look around your bookclub. Who is most like Ove and who is most like Parvaneh? Why? Ove won over his wife Sonja by pretending to be training to be a soldier so that he might travel on the train with her day after day? She was wooed by this commitment and adoration. Ove didn't frequently show his love through 'romantic gestures' but was devoted to making Sonja's life as comfortable as possible. In many ways Sonja and Ove were opposites. Do you think opposites attract? Woul you prefer a partner who is traditionally romantic or one who shows their love in more practical ways? Whilst love at first sight isn't actually mentioned by Ove, he does seem to fall in love with Sonja as soon as he set his eyes on her. Do you believe in or have you experienced love at first sight? Ove uses politically incorrect language such as 'bender' and 'queer' yet demonstrates compassion towards Mirsad. Is it acceptable for older people to not be politically correct, or should they be corrected like anyone else? The friendship beween Ove and Parvaneh is an unlikely one? Do you have stories of unlikely 'feel good' friendships that have occured in the lives of you or your friends? If a seemingly grumpy old man was one of your neighbours would you take the time to get to know him? Has reading A Man Called Ove made you reconsider how you behave within your own community? If so how?  I couldn't find an image of Fredrik Backman smiling. I'd smile if I'd sold over 1 million copies of a book! Summing up of A Man Called OveI did find some aspects of the book a little unrealistic. I found it hard to believe that Sonja would have married Ove and I found it quite hard to believe that Parvaneh would rescue him. Perhaps that is more a statement about my own level of cynicism than it is about the book. Putting that aside it is an enjoyable and emotional read. It creates meaning from seemingly insignificant acts, such as choosing to drive one car rather than another. In it's humour, perhaps exaggeration, and exploration of the ability the most flawed humans have to show compassion, it is infinitely readable. If you enjoyed Old Baggage by Lissa Evans then I think you would also enjoy A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.
Book Review of Old Baggage by Lissa EvansThis is an utter treat of a read that should not just be dismissed as ''yet another suffragette book' or 'a quick beach read.' There is no doubt that is incredibly accessible and a quick read, but the content, of Old Baggage, whilst on the surface whimsical, is moving, insightful and serious.  Old Baggage is whimsical and fun, but ultimately serious and absorbing. The protagonist of Old Baggage is Matilda Simpkin (Mattie), whoo in her youth was a militant suffragette. We meet her in late middle-age where she is searching for purpose in life and is determined to keep society moving forward progressively. She is appalled by the lack of political knowledge and interest the younger generation of women seem to have. The issues in Old Baggage are contemporary; the text explores gender expectations, loyalty, the signficance of social class, It is a novel I would definitely recommend to my girls or myself when I was younger. the rise of facism and much more. In fact,, there is little linked to womanhood that isn't considered. It is fascinating to observe how society has and hasn't moved on and a treat to gain insight into the suffragette movement from an insider (abeit a fictonal one!). Mattie is a flawed character, who makes many mistakes during the telling of the story, but she is impossible not to love. Somehwere between a PE mistress, and a philosopher she refuses to be pigeon-holed and owns her errors; she is a go-getter and full of boundless enenrgy. My own favour charater is the Flea (Flossie Lee) who tempers Mattie's exuberance perfectly and is wise and profound. The humour in some of the exchanges between Mattie and Lee had me laughing out loud, and the humility in the apology letters from Mattie to Lee was hugely moving. Book Discussion Questions for Old BaggageExplore the signficanceof the title Od Baggage? Who was your favourite character in the book and why? Did you find the book realistic? If so why, if not why not? Had Mattie not cheated what do you think would have happened to the Amazons? ow signficant is 'social class' in the novel? Ida feels that everything comes easy to those from the upper classes with wealth. Do you agree? Look around your bookclub members? Who do you think is most like Mattie and why? Don't say anything you might regret! Ida's journey to becoming a nurse, arguably has an element of Eliza Doolittle about it? Did you find her story believable. If not which parts specifically were you not convinced by? What do you think would happen to Mattie and the child next? How much sympathy did you have for Ida leaving the Amazons and instead joining the Empire Youth League? Do you think that Lissa Evan's rather gung ho retelling of Mattie's arrests and the hunger strikes undermined the seriousness of what the suffragetes and suffragists went through? Or is she reflecting, perhaps a coping strategy that Mattie might have used to manage the trauma of her time imprisoned? What is your opinion of Mattie's neice Inez? Bookclub Questions for Old Baggage (if you haven't read the book!)Do you think you would have been part of the suffragette movement? Mattie was blind to the flaws in her brother's personality, especially his lechery. In your experience do you think family members are far more forgiving of the weaknesses of the male members of the family than tehy are the female members? Mattie uses letter writing as a means of expressing herself calmly and rationally, for example she writes three letters to Florrie. Which do you prefer, written communication or face to face chat when communicating something difficult. Mattie was able to easily walk into a role teaching languages, despite having no experience and, I think, no qualifications. Presumably once in the classroom she was left to teach in whatever style suited her. Do you think teaching is too prescriptive these days? The book begins in 1928, How have things changed and stayed the same for women since then? Emmeline Pankhurst was seen, by some, including Mattie as betrating the Suffragette course by moving to France and running a tea shop.. Considering everything she had been through do you think this is fair? After Mattie realises that she has treated Florrie badly she says to her, something along the lines of the 'do quite well together' (I can't remember the exact quote? Explore what the ingredients of a good relationship are? Do you think you could live and rub along with a platonic partner as well as you could with someone with whom you were in a romantic relationship?  I hadn't realised that Lisa Evans also wrote Wed Wabbit. That's also a great read, but if I had to choose I'd say this is better. Summing up Old Baggage by Lissa EvansThis is an absolute gem of a book. The whimsical writing style is joyful. The only danger of it is that it may distract readers into not taking seriously enough the issues explored. I have had this book on my shelf a long time; I even thought I had probably read it and it had failed to make a lasting impression. How wrong I was. As a bookclub read it will likely provoke peels of laughter, anecdotes about grannies and great grannies own involvement in the sufragette movement, along with plenty of brandy (actually probably replace brandy with wine or gin) drinking as the bookclub members raise a glass to Mattie and the Flea!
Book Review of Cilka's Journey - sequel of the Tattooist of Auschwitz In Cilka’s Journey, the sequel of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Helen Morris explains how Lale, that tattooist survivor of the first story, revealed to her that Cilka was the bravest person he knew in the camp. This left Morris with a whole new life-story that needed telling. As many of Morris’s readers also wanted to know what had happened to Cilka, she researched and wrote about what happened to Cilka after the end of the war. Morris had a limited amount of factual information to draw upon, but used what she and researchers found to weave a historical memoir/historical account of Cilka’s life story. Some parts Morris changed in order to preserve the anonymity of some of the survivors so the finished novel is a hybrid of historical fact and fiction.  Do you think Cilka's Journey is a good as The Tattooist of Auschwitz? When we meet Cilka, introduced to us, in the Tattooist of Auschwitz Cilka is repeatedly raped by two senior SS officers. Cilka had entered the camp when she was only 16 an, in her own words, did what she needed to do in order to survive. She had accepted the advances of the SS officers as a life saving strategy and consequently received favours and some privileges in the camp. Ultimately Cilka hadn’t any choice in having been singled out by the officers, but nevertheless felt great shame about how she had survived. From what I recall from reading the Tattooist of Auschwitz (it was a while ago now) she had the additional role of hut leader and worked with the guards in loading the women onto the trucks that would take them to the gas chambers. In this role she feigned toughness -speaking and acting harshly towards her fellow Jewish inmates as a cover up, so that they would actually be spared from receiving far worse barbaric treatment from the male guards than that she administered. How a reader feels about Cilka’s actions, I guess, determines how they will feel about the sequel novel, which traces Cilka’s life, post Auschwitz during the ten years she spent sentenced to hard labour in the Gulag Camp. She had been sentenced as a traitor to Slovakia for sleeping with the Nazis and served time amongst political prisoners, desperate women stealing to feed their families and political dissidents. On the one hand as a novel Cilka’s Journey is frequently moving, powerful and heart-breaking. We learn of further gang rapes, cruel conditions, mothers separated from their children and in-fighting between the inmates leading to solitary confinement in inhumane conditions. We follow Cilka’s life as she was once again singled out and trained to become a nurse to the other prisoners. Rather like Kristin Hanna’s The Nightingale the writing is very accessible and is a page-turner. I defy any reader to no not care what happens to Cilka at the end of the novel. On the other hand the character portrayal is, and perhaps it has to be, quite one-dimensional. The question of ‘right and wrong’ in the novel is clear and obvious, but I feel that opportunities are missed to really develop the protagonist’s personality and those she has contact with. The bullies’ behaviour is excused and explained away as inevitably being part and parcel of having to endure such hardship and quickly forgiven, as shown through the portrayal of Hannah. To be fair to the author, the characters are presented as ‘closed up’, for all kinds of reasons, Cilka, can’t talk about her own past, so perhaps it is the reader who is at fault for wanting more. It is difficult to pinpoint how this ‘closed up’ feeling manifests itself, but, perhaps through the considerable use of the telling of how the characters feel and how the reader should feel towards them comes across as stifling. As the story traces Cilka’s life, where she served two thirds of her sentence before being released during Khrushchev’s regime, the reader is left in no doubt of the author’s own sympathy towards Cilka. This is fair but in some respects this lack of ambiguity presented makes the story seem flatter than it might otherwise. As a style of writing this is fine for a historical account, but less grabbing for a memoir The text can come over across as didactic and almost seems to discourage the reader from thinking independently about the issues explored. Book Discussion Questions for Cilka's JourneyCilka finds herself unable to avoid being singled out in both Auschwitz and The Gulag. Why do you think this is? Explore the portrayal of Cilka’s character. What are her strengths and weaknesses? How realistic is the portrayal of her? Cilka falls in love, without ever really speaking to Alexandre. This part of the account is complete fiction. Do you find the ending realistic? How was your knowledge and understanding of the post war Russian regime developed through reading the text? Did you learn anything that surprised you? Would you have sacrificed your chance of freedom, as Cilka did, so that Josie wasn’t separated from her child? How successful a sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz did you find Cilka’s Journey? What questions would you ask Cilka if she was in the room with us today? Cilka was responsible for putting her mother onto the truck that would go on to take her to the gas chamber? Do you think this was the correct decision to make? The book is part historical fiction and part memoir. The author is clearly very sympathetic towards Cilka. What is your own attitude towards Cilka and why? Which of the women in Cilka’s hut do you have the least sympathy for and why? Which book do you prefer – the Tattooist of Auchwitz or Cilka’s journey. Discuss the reasons for your preferences. Book Club Questions for Cilka's Journey (if you haven't read the book.)Cilka is portrayed as having had to be extremely cruel to be kind. Are there any other literary figures or real people who have had to take on the persona of ‘monster’ to actually protect the weak. Would you be able to take on this role? How effective a tool do you find memoir or historical fiction as a means of gaining insight into historical eras or movements? Discuss the reasons for your opinion. Reading stories of war and suffering is inevitably upsetting and disturbing. Why are we drawn to books like this? What other books and TV shows do you think successfully explore the hardship of war, confinement and prison? Sometimes in Cilka’s Journey it is the tiniest act of kindness that make life bearable for the prisoners. Do you have a personal story about a ‘small kindness’ that you’ve either received or given? Cilka’s Journey is a straightforward linear narrative pulling out highlights (or lowlights) of her life, which quite factually shows what happens to her. Explore as a reading group what you feel a book’s primary purpose is and how this influences your group’s book choice preferences.  It would be great fun to have Heather Morris at a bookclub meeting! Summing up of Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris.I resisted reading Cilka’s Journey, the sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz for quite a while, as I was afraid it wouldn’t be as good as the original story. Now I’m finished with the reading I am unsure about whether it did match up. Cilka’s Journey is a page-turner, and we do get some insight into her life. I'd definitely recommend it and it is a great read. I'd put it on par with other books I've reviewed for sure. Overall I’m not completely convinced, though, by Morris’ portrayal of Cilka as selfless and giving person whose main purpose, during the time in the Gulag, was to make life more bearable for others. Cilka’s shame never leaves her and the writer is at pains to repeatedly remind the reader that Cilka is blameless for her earlier life choices. I think the key message being portrayed is that for the vast majority survival is everything. Morris does clearly show that people have great ability to be both monsters and angels. but in doing so it does feel like the reader is being presented with selected highlights, which they are encouraged to unquestionably accept as ‘the truth’.
What kind of Shakespeare Lover are you? What kind of Shakespeare Lover are you? Everyone who knows me is aware that I am a lover of all things Shakespeare related. In the last few months I’ve been lucky enough to see a few Shakespeare productions. This has been a real bonus of my having spent time in the UK. Swooning at Shakespeare’s sonnets, and having had a huge crush on Hamlet since I was about 16 (when it started Hamlet wasn’t too young for me to have a crush on, but I guess he is now. Gosh that’s sad!) I can’t get enough of the old bard. Such is my desire to share the ‘Shakespeare love’ I have actually recently written a guest post for Nosweatshakespeare.com suggesting strategies to students and teachers about how to approach Shakespeare, so that it is both accessible and enjoyable.  Infectious comedy … Bottom (Jocelyn Jee Esien) embraces Titania (Victoria Elliott) in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian Shakespeare’s Comedy PlaysIn actual fact the real magic of Shakespeare is that he has something for everyone. For example it takes a lot to beat a great rom-com. Earlier in the year I was fortunate enough to enjoy just that, when, with my friend Jen, I went to watch A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Globe in London. I’ve seen and taught this particular play so often that I really wasn’t expecting it to offer too much new, but it was simply brilliant with wonderful, outlandish visuals and the magnificent Hackney Colliery band opening the action. I, like many others, enjoy a laugh so this excellent use of costume and set along with all the nonsense, farce, innuendo and fun that you’d expect from a rom-com made for a wonderful evening’s entertainment. If you meet the following criteria I think you would be a lover of Shakespeare’s comedies.
 Image of King John from the RSC Stratford - are history plays your thing? Shakespeare’s History PlaysI guess because I have been a Secondary English teacher for so many years and because Shakespeare has been my bread and butter, it is easy for me to know what particular type of Shakespeare lover I am! History plays are, perhaps with the exception of Henry IV Part 1 (which is arguably a comedy anyway) my least favourite genre. Not so my old Saint Mick of Thana. As a historian these plays are right up his street, so it came as no surprise to learn that he had booked us a surprise a visit to Stratford, over New Year, for us to watch King John. If you know the plot of King John you’ll understand why it is so seldom produced. The storyline is only really of interest if you give two hoots about who owned what land during the reign of the Plantagenet’s. Despite this the production we saw was very clever and there was plenty to enjoy. This production was the first I’ve seen when a woman (Rosie Sheehy) played the male protagonist role. This provided lots to think about in terms of modern gender actor choices. In actual fact the whole play was an unexpected and insightful exploration of the family dynamic and how a complex mother and son relationship might have affected King John. So whilst the plot is a bit tedious the themes explored were exactly the type of thing I find fascinating. This means that, along with a lovely visit to Ann Hathaway’s cottage (admittedly mainly to restock on a brand of Shakespeare mug which I particularly like) on New Year’s Day we had a lovely trip. If you meet the following criteria I think you would qualify as a Lover of Shakespeare’s History plays.
 Image of Paapa Essiedu reflecting on the meaning of life with Yorick! I love the angst of Hamlet. Shakespeare’s TragediesTaking a trip back to Stratford reminded me of watching Hamlet at the RSC with Mick and the girls back in 2016. It is such a special play to me that I really wanted them to love it too and it was BRILLIANT. Hamlet was played magnificently by Paapa Essiedu. He captured exactly Hamlet’s despair, which demonstrates itself repeatedly in an outpouring of angst and grief that is simply irresistible! The character Hamlet is a mass of contradictory personality traits from hot-headedness to passive helplessness, to rage, to envy, to plain meanness, to utter desperation and despair. He is indeed a lost soul, but, oh how he expresses himself! It is impossible not to forgive his moodiness, and reflect why this is so. If, like me, you fit the following criteria you are likely to be a lover of Shakespeare’s tragedies.
 Richard III played by Sophie Russell The Best Shakespeare PlaysShakespeare’s tragedies are definitely my go to ‘comfort Shakespeare’, but I guess I will always be a universal lover of Shakespeare. Having had a bit of a Shakespeare Love Fest of late I’m feeling I want to see more and more productions. Last week, having not recently just survived but having actually enjoyed King John, I was enthusiastic about watching Richard III. This time we were back in the Globe, but at one of the side theatres. It was an intimate and extremely successful production, which Mick and I loved. This particular play, is of course so famous that much of the fun is simply waiting to see how the oft-quoted lines will be interpreted and delivered.
Richard, also, like King John was played by a woman, (Sophie Russell) which raised all kinds of gender questions, especially those surrounding gender expectations and violence. It has always been quite easy to argue the case for Richard III being both a tragedy and a history play, but this production was, at times simply hilarious. The presentation of violence and the exploration of what perhaps makes a psychopath or sociopath were actually presented as comedy. The cast were superb in their self-deprecating presentation of less believable parts of Shakespeare, such as the fashion for lengthy death speeches. In addition feminist outrage was displayed with humour and the numerous murders executed with side-slitting aplomb. It was quite simply brilliant. The truth is that Shakespeare doesn’t date and rather like a good pair of jeans is never out of fashion. Sadly some people’s only experience of Shakespeare has been a very dry reading of text from the page of a cruddy old text in an out-dated English Literature lesson. This is a crying shame and those people are understandably likely to be resistant to revisiting his plays. Shakespeare is how I imagine smoking might be (though unlike smoking is very good for your health) … perhaps not fun to start with, but truly addictive. I wonder, what kind of Shakespeare lover you are? Book Review of Between the Stops: The View of My Life from the Top of the Number 12 BusThis is a great memoir by Sandi Toksvig, but so much of it seemed familiar, that I spent a great deal of my reading time perplexed about whether this is a re-write of an earlier memoir. Is it? The part where Sandi expresses how hurt she was at being hounded by the press, when her and her then partner were new mothers, seemed exactly like something I had already read about. Perhaps it was just an article I'd previously seen. Sandi Toksvig’s 'Between the Stops is both simple and complex. Simple in its transparency and compex in the depth of personality it portrays. Sandi's exuberance, Her desire for activity and enthusiasm jump off the pages, yet she is clearly also capable of deep thought. calmness (a little anyway) and reflection. Her warmth and fun-loving nature are always apparent,, but so is her sensitivity and ability to be hurt. This open humanity plays a large part in the book's appeal. As both the title and the preface suggest Between the Stops is quite a random and unsual memoir. The structure is irreigular and deliberately challenges the conventions of an autobiography portrating a birth, childhood, middle-age and old-age. Instead it jumps around randomly using bus-stops and sightings along the route covered, almost as a cue for 'memory association memoir writing'. I have to admit that I didn't love all the hilstorical information about London, (though it was well reseached). as It felt to somewhat tagged on to the wonderful anecdotes and reflection that is at the book's core. It felt as if Toksvig, having settled on structuring the book around the bus journey then needed to afford plenty of attention to the places that she made her associations from. Between the Stops is extremely readable and extremely honest. Sandi opens up about her political stance and ideology, the homophobic behaviour she has experienced and the haphazard nature of her career path. If you enjoy watching Sandi on the TV you'll most probably also enjoy reading her words; She is a quirky person and it is a quirky book! It is impossible to not respect Sandi as she is continually looking to improve the world. I don't accept some criticisms levied against her that she soulnds sanctimonious or trite. She doesn't Ultimately, Sandi writes beautifully and unlike many memoirs (particularly those of celebrities) there isn't a sense of the book having been ghost written or even worse badly written! Overall, I like Sandi’s original approach to memoir writing. Her life is outlandish in its adventure, yet predictable and full of compassion. Sandi lives in an area of London for the sake of her wife being close to her teenage daughter, not because she wants to be there.. I like that about her. She is angry, funny, kind and emotional. If you do choose to read this book you will be left with the sense of having made a friend. What a privilege it would be to actually catch the No 12 bus and have a chat with her.  A great memoir, especially if autobiographies are not your thing. Book Discussion Questions for Between the StopsSandi is trying to tell her life story whilst not being restricted by traditional conventions of memoir writing. Is she successful. Discuss? What was the most interesting thing you learned about Sandi Toksvig's life during your reading of the book? How would you have reacted to almost being sent down from Cambridge for being gay, but being allowed to stay because you were clever and gay? Sandi Toksvig takes great delight in retelling small and every day events. For example, she tells the anecdote of the lady who likes her, not because she is funny, but because she, like, the lady, is of indeterminate size. What did you find the funniest story in the book? Sandi cites numerous examples of inequality in the book. What did you learn about her political views? Did they surprise you? Sandi was disappointed that Miss Macdonald didn't run away to pain but instead joined a silent order of Carmelites. What is she trying to show us through this humourous anecdote? Sandi shares very little about anyone other than herself in this book. Does this diminish its validity as a memoir? Book Club Questions for Between the Stops (if you haven't read the book)Sandi demonstrated during her first job in the theatre that she was prepared to do everything from sweeping the stage to fixing the lights. What is the most unusal job that you've ever had? When Sandi's university college finally apologized for their homophobic behavour she was able to forgive them. Are you able to forgive and forget, or at least forgive? Sandi would be a great dinner party companion. Who else would you invite along to have dinner with her and you? Sandi talks quite openly about how 'people were not out' in her day, whereas now they are. What is the bigget social or political change that you've seen in your life time? When Sandi is accused on the bus of being racist it caused her a great deal of distress as the criticism was unfair and unfounded? Do you have a similar experience to share. When Sandi presents Great British Bake Off she genuinely cares for the contestants and sheds a tear when they get disqualified. What makes you feel emotional? Which other celebrity memoir have you enjoyed reading and why? Sandi frequently travels the Number 12 bus? If you were to use a regular journey to struture your own memoir around, where would you travel to and from? If you enjoy reading memoirs then you may also be interested in these reviews too.
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