Well, another year has passed and so again I can echo the opening passage of my review of 2023. And this time also I can say that despite everything it has turned out to be a fairly busy year in terms of my cultural highlights, and so as usual I will begin with books:
2024 Diary –
Books
1) `Go West, Inspector Ghote` by H R F
Keating – Hamlyn p/b 1982 – © HRFK 1981 - pp 213. Had so enjoyed his `The
Perfect Murder`, and the film version of it, all those years ago – this one,
more than 40 years old now, is subtitled
`The Bombay detective visits America` - good fun – basically, Ghote is
ramrodded into going to the US by his superior, at the instigation of a Bombay
business tycoon with political connections, to look for and persuade his
daughter, a student in California who had joined a spiritual ashram run by a
Rajnish type swami and fallen under his spell, to return to India – Ghote`s
brief being to act as an associate of an LA private detective who had been engaged
by the father of the girl at vast expense, and so the two of them go about
their mission and in the process have to solve the mystery of the swami`s
unexplained death with all manner of investigative loops, in describing which the
narrative takes a bizarre turn and in the end we are left with nothing more
than a light-hearted romp, though we learn a lot about the dubious inner
workings of an ashram and its head, including of course sexual
shenanigans! This came out of our bulging
bookshelves.
2) `Sour Sweet` by
Timothy Mo – `Abacus` p/b published by Sphere Books Ltd (no isbn id) first
published in GB by Andre Deutsch 1982 – © TM 1982 – 279 pp = (this also I took
out of our bookshelves for want of something to read) set in Chinatown in
London`s Soho in the 1960s about a Chinese immigrant family, the Chens, who go
through the typical newly arrived migrant experience of eventually settling
down, owning their own takeaway restaurant; their progress through all this is
fraught with all manner of struggles, with ups and downs of family dynamics and
lots more – a learning curve for the reader as well as the characters portrayed
with an eye for detail – according to the blurb, it was made into a film though no details are given.
3) `The Lost Letters of William Woolf` by Helen Cullen – Penguin p/b – © HC 2008 – 377 pp+ isbn 978-1-405-93495-4 – the eponymous William Woolf is a dead letters detective based at the East London Dead Letters Depot where he regularly reunites the intended recipients or in some cases the authors of these letters with their long lost owners – he becomes obsessed with one case involving a string of letters from a mysterious writer called simply Winter and gets emotionally involved with her and follows all sorts of leads to get to her – but while that is the main story, it is conflated with that of his own personal life – married to a friend from university and a lot of the book is devoted to their marital problems as their relationship sours – too much mundane and boring detail on both fronts – I had begun to read this book on our Canaries Cruise ship, had to stop at p 68-69 and return it to the ship`s library at the end of the cruise – so I borrowed it from the local library to finish it out of curiosity – I should not have bothered!
4) `The Man Who Loved Attending
Funerals and Other Stories` by Frank Collymore – a Heinemann p/b – © Estate
of F C 1993 – isbn 0435 989316 – 178 pp – another one from our home collection
that I picked out as a bed-time time filler and slowly got absorbed into
reading a large selection of the collection – classified by the publishers as
`Short Stories/ Fiction – Caribbean` - we learn from the Afterword that when
Frank Collymore began writing and editing in the 1940s, there did not yet exist
a substantial body of distinctly West Indian literature, which then emerged in
the decades that followed, thanks in part to Collymore`s strenuous
efforts. This is a varied collection and
I enjoyed in particular the title story and `Some People Are Meant to Live
Alone`, `The Death of Angela Westmore` and `RSVP to Mrs Bush-Hall`. This slim volume was easy to handle and keep
by the bedside.
5) `Burma Sahib` by Paul
Theroux – Hamish Hamilton h/b – isbn 978-0-241-63334-2 – © PT 2024 – 390 pp –
ordered 14/03/24, rec`d and started 16/03/24, finished 16/05/24 – absolutely
riveting, looked forward to reading it at bedtime nightly – thoroughly absorbed
into the narrative – a fictionalised construction of the five
formative years that Eric Blair, who later became famous as George Orwell,
spent in Burma as a raw recruit, straight out of Eton at the age of just 19,
into the Indian Imperial Police during the 1920s - how he was able to override
his innate shyness and lack of social confidence by assuming the mantle of the
pukka white sahib, lording over the lesser mortals, the native subjects, even
resorting to physical punishment and violence as a tool of repression and
exacting obedience; how he played along with what was expected of him as a
member of the ruling class while keeping quiet about his inner misgivings; and
how his character was formed both as he grew into manhood as a silent writer
who then chronicled the passage of this time in his Burmese Days, first
published in 1937, that I read on my trip to Myanmar in 2017 - the book`s
influence is also referenced by Theroux - now it made perfect sense - all this is
graphically captured by Theroux, a literary heavyweight. This was the first most satisfying read of the year
so far, by a writer who still remains one of my favourite authors.
6) `Two Lives` by Vikram
Seth – Little Brown – h/b – isbn 0 316 72774 1 – © VS 2005 – 503 pp – I had
actually read this in 2005 (there is an entry relating to it under `Book
Mentions` at page 165 of my book `Empire`s Child`) and yet re-reading it this
time, all through 503 pages over two months (straight after finishing `Burma
Sahib`, above) was a thoroughly absorbing experience too. I had forgotten so much of the detail of the
`two lives` and indeed of their respective families and trajectories, and that
of the author himself, that I found all of it to be like a fresh learning curve.
My 2005 take had summarised the essence of the story, but this time I was
particularly struck by the minutiae of Shanti and Henny`s relationship as it
developed over the years from 1933 in Germany, through Henny`s exile that began
just before WWII began, he also having left Germany in good time, to re-connect
on British soil upon her arrival there, eventually getting married in 1951. As
Seth says at p 491: “Both were born in 1908; Henny died in 1989, Shanti in
1998”. After her death, Shanti lived on as a grieving widower. Henny was cool,
detached and correct in her bearing and acceptance of the fate of her mother
and sister who had ended up as holocaust victims. Did she `love` Shanti? He certainly did love her. The book also looks at their close German,
mostly Jewish, friends` circle, those who survived and others who perished.
Seth`s treatment of the end days of his great uncle Shanti is fraught with much
agonising and ambivalence on his (the author`s) part, in relation to his
character assessment of Shanti and the disposal of his estate – he was hurt
that his mother, Shanti`s beloved niece, had been left out. But even so, Seth was frank enough to spell
all this out without rancour.
Coda: This was
a major piece of literature that I have now re-read, just as in 2005 I had also
re-read his `An Equal Music`(mentioned at p 167 in my said book). When `A Suitable Boy` came out all those years
ago, I had of course begun to read it with much anticipation and excitement but
abandoned it after something like 1100 pages, I think. It was a book which made a very suitable
wedding present for the son of a friend back then! I also read his `From Heaven Lake: Travels
Through Sunkiang and Tibet` with an equal curiosity and enthusiasm (mentioned
at p 166 in my book, ibid). It is still
lying in our bookshelves and I will probably pick it up again later this
year. `The Golden Gate: A Novel in
Verse` - I attempted it but not being a connoisseur of poetry I gave it up
after a few pages.
7) `Stars and Bars` by William Boyd – Penguin
p/b – isbn 978-0-141-04692-1 –© WB 1984-348 pp – what a wasted effort? I had only chosen the book because of the
author`s fame and past works that I had read, but this one strung me along for
quite long until I came to detest the narrative, the characters and the plot
and the whole works – the only bit that was a saving grace, as it were, was the
description of the main character Henderson Dores running stark naked to escape
from his murderous stalkers through the streets of Manhattan in the early hours
(in Part Three of the book, titled `Twenty-four hours in New York`): “At half
past two in the morning, Henderson set out. … At Canal and Forsyth he passed
and took shelter in a doorway … He saw a yellow cab drive by, its `for hire`
light on … hailed it … The taxi driver looked disgustedly at him, swore and
drove on … He realised now that he was effectively invisible in this city …
With its madmen … joggers and … twenty-four hour existence … he was simply
another mad jogger… He wondered what anyone – casually watching the rain fall
from their apartment window – would think: a pale ghostly figure slipping from
shrub to shrub, darting across streets, incongruous in his heavy black walking
shoes … After his naked run through Manhattan he could hardly complain about
other travails ….” and so on and on!
These end pages did not endear me to the book, which again I had taken
out of our bookshelves.
8) `Yellowface` by Rebecca F Kuang – Borough
Press h/b – isbn 978-0-00-853277-2 - ©RFK 2023 – 323 pp – a current literary
sensation by a Chinese American who writes this from the perspective a privileged white young
writer about a college friend who, like herself (the author) a rising
Chinese-American literary celebrity, whose latest manuscript she, the narrator,
steals when the subject dies in a freak accident, and all manner of
consequences ensue. The title itself is
significant of course in that context.
One could see where the story was going but it ended with a damp
squid.
9) `Western Lane` by Chetna Maroo – Picador p/b – isbn 978-1-52909464-0 – © CM 2023 – 161 pp – a much acclaimed debut novel, shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2023 – by an ex-East African Asian – of Indian parents – a slim volume – the plaudits are pasted on the front and back covers - I began reading it in earnest but got soon exasperated with the amount of mundane detail of the narrator`s domestic life in the wake of her mother`s early death leaving behind her, her two older teenage sisters and their father who got them to play and excel at squash while the family come to terms with the loss of the mother, with an insight into extended family dynamics – see the attached file:///C:/Users/User/Documents/Western%20Lane%20-%20cover%20and%20extracts_20241126_0001.pdf
((List of
some out of several half-read, abandoned, and put aside books through the year:
1.
`Traitors Gate`
by Jeffrey Archer – isbn 978-0-00-847437-9 (HB) – Harper Collins – © JA2023 –
367 pp – picked it up on impulse from the local library for short of something
new to read – plodded on for 76 pages then gave up in utter boredom and
self-criticism for even bothering to read such tripe -
2. `American Pastoral` by Phillip Roth – Vintage s/b 1998 – © PR 1997 – 423 pp – took it out of our bookcase = did I really want to re-read it? Tried and gave up after a first dozen or so pages = had thoroughly enjoyed it on my first reading in the late 90`s but thought it best to leave it in my memory bank.
3. `Shelter` by Jung Yun – ISBN978-15098-1050-5 – Picador NY - s/b – © JY 2016 – p 328 – Korean Canadian – a neighbourhood mystery involving the narrators` family history – I had actually read this in 2023 but not included in my 2023 list, and the same for the next one
4.
`The Lodger` by
Valerie Keogh – my library account shows I borrowed and checked it out in June
2023 – again I had failed to include this in my 2023 list – the title gives a
clue to the mystery – a female lodger who inveigles herself into the life of
her host/landlady with unforeseen consequences.
5.
`Those People
Next Door` by Kia Abdullah – again my library record shows I borrowed It in Oct
2023, but after a few pages abandoned it.
6.
`The Paper
Palace` - again according to my library account, I had borrowed it in June 2023
– a family mystery set in Cape Cod – gave up after a few pages – not to my
taste.
7. `The Fraud` by Zadie Smith – Hamish Hamilton, h/b - isbn 978-0-241-33700-4 – © ZS 2023 – 451 pp - much hyped historical novel – I just couldn`t get into it despite trying hard – gave up after 20-25 pages.))
aTThis year`s extra input: posted below are photos of (our home) book collection as I have alluded to it in my diary entries at several points, just to show how bulging the bookshelves are even as it remains an open question as to what we are going to do with them? The fourth photo is an extended one of the second and third as a corner piece -
in the images below:
2024 Diary - Films, Plays,
Concerts etc
1) Thu 01 Feb – Epsom Odeon - `The Color
Purple` - (dir: Blitz Bazawule, based ultimately on the book by Alice
Walker; produced jointly by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and
Quincy Jones; starring among others Halle Bailey - USA 2023 – did not like it –
the plot was too complicated to follow, as was most of the dialogue – did not
take to any of the characters – the original Color Purple seemed too far back
in memory and recall and it did not reverberate in this musical version – the
music itself, especially the opening number and dance sequence was captivating
but later did not seem to go along with the narrative – it has received much
critical acclaim and received many awards – Daniele Brooks who plays one of the
leading roles has been nominated for the Oscars as Best Supporting Actress –
let`s see what happens – (note: she did not get the award).
2) Tue 20 Feb –
ICA - `The Settlers` (Los colonos) (dir. Felipe Gálvez, Chile, Argentina
2023, Spanish, English with English subtitles, 101 min. 15) a South American version of the western, with a distinctly
chilly ambience, set mostly in the
Chilean/Argentinian landscape – three horsemen are commissioned by a wealthy
landowner to root out native Indians from his property at the turn of the 20th
century, dense with menace and violent action sequences involving shooting down
of peaceful and sleeping Indians in their village - The Selk`nam Genocide lies at the core of the film and one of the horsemen, a mixed race young man recruited for
his knowledge of the layout of the land and familiarity with the inhabitants is
appalled by the senseless violence and escapes to tell the tale – all in all a
painful viewing.
3) Fri 09 Mar
– ICA - `Perfect Days` (dir. Wim Wenders, Japan / Germany 2023,
Japanese with English subtitles, 125 min. PG) –
from the acclaimed filmmaker Wim Wenders (Paris,
Texas; Wings of Desire) comes this enchanting tale of Hirayama, a
contemplative, educated middle-aged man who lives a life of modesty and serenity, spending his days balancing his job
as a public loo cleaner in Tokyo with his passion for music, literature and
photography, giving the viewer a
fascinating insight into his work, meticulously cleaning toilets with the tools
of his trade in his work overalls (The Tokyo Toilet, emblazoned on the back)
and much more – we see a lot of Tokyo as he goes about the city in his van, on
his bike and generally; then we have a family sequence involving his young
niece who has come out of the blue to stay with him for a few days until her
mother turns up in a chauffeur driven limousine to pick her up from which it is
clear he has a familial background and cultural hinterland but we never
discover the reason why he was living the life described – all in all a great
movie experience.
4) Tue 02
Apr – ICA - `Monster` (dir: Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan 2023, English subtitles, 127 min) –
mysterious but a deeply disturbing tale of family and false impressions and
according to the promotional write-up hope (but see my take on it, below) – a
complicated plot involving a single mother who, when her young son begins to
behave strangely suspects that one of his teachers may be responsible, so as
the story unfolds some shocking truths emerge; powerful performances from the
main characters, with a musical score from an Oscar-winning composer Ryuichi
Sakamoto.
Despite all the hype, however, I was absolutely not impressed and wanted
to walk out but still persisted to see the end, which did not redeem the basic
flaws in the narrative and actions. There were too many gruesome action
sequences, both outdoors in the wild and within the school setting. This was such a contrast to the previous
Japanese film Perfect Days that I had enjoyed so much. ((Note:
according to my diary for 2004, I saw another movie with the same title,
Monster, at the Epsom Odeon on Bank Holiday Mon 03/05/04 - checking out found
this Wikipedia entry from which I could faintly recall the plot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_(2003_film)).
5) Wed 17 Jul – NFT3 - `Sleep` (Dir:
Jason Lu, with Jung Yu-mi, Lee Sun-kyun – S Korean 2023 –
95 min) – a claustrophobic psychological thriller set mostly in the apartment
of a recently married young couple, with the wife pregnant, and an actor
husband who is going through an intense psychosis of a sleeping disorder which
creates havoc in their lives – there was not a moment of light relief in the
whole narrative interspersed with unexplained violent occurrences – were all
these imaginary sequences or the product of something innately
superstitious? The end was ambiguous but
could not have come any sooner. The
director has received much acclaim for his debut production, but like the
previous entry, Monster, I did not enjoy it much.
6) Sat 27 Jul – RFH - `Maestros in Fusion`, a musical feast with Zakir Hussain (tabla),
Shankar Mahadevan (vocals), Rakesh Chaurasia (flautist), Louiz Banks
(keyboard), Gino Banks (drummer) and Sheldon D`Silva (bass) – a stunning fusion
of classical and jazz music with an Indian spin from an all-Indian cast of
world class musical maestros indeed who produced a superlative and thrilling performance that
captivated the audience – one of the best and most memorable concerts of my
life time; witness my diary entries of the past twenty years!
Coda: I was shocked
to learn of Zakir Hussain`s untimely death just a fortnight ago, on 16
December; the tributes and the obituaries that came from all over the world
were truly heartwarming: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/music/indian-tabla-maestro-and-grammy-winning-musician-zakir-hussain-dies/ar-AA1vWv1a?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=123b0699b5bf47159fc114544788ab70&ei=40
7) Tue 15
Oct – NFT1 – (LFF offering) `Shambhala`
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambhala_(2024_film) - this Wiki entry summarises the plot and the
theme superbly – it was an enchanting story, set in the Himalayan mountains of
Nepal, which provided a beautiful landscape, while the acting of all the
principal characters, especially Pema (played by Thinley Lhamo) was impressive. Came away feeling enriched.
Extracted
from the LFF/BFI site: Tashi and Pema live in the Nepalese
Himalayas. When Tashi goes missing around the time that Pema discovers she is
pregnant, and with gossipy neighbours questioning her fidelity, Pema decides to
embark on a search for her husband. She is joined by Tashi’s brother, a
Buddhist monk. But as Pema begins to reflect on her own spirituality, the
journey soon becomes one of self-discovery.
8) Fri 18 Oct – RFH (LFF Special Presentation) - `All We Imagine is Light` - the lives of three women intersect and overlap in a story of social realism where the city of Mumbai plays a central role - Director-screenwriter: Payal Kapadia; actors: Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam France-India-Netherlands-Luxembourg 2024. 115min - Languages, Malayalam, Hindi With English subtitles -
Extracted from the LFF site: Prabha, Anu and Parvaty are
employees at a hospital in Mumbai. They grapple daily with the opportunities
and hardships of existence in the city. Balancing an immersive verité style
with a touch of the surreal, Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix-winning drama
captures the many shades of working-class life in Mumbai. The result is a
profound and deeply humanist meditation on urban migration and dislocation.
At the special presentation showing, Payal Kapadia gave a charming account of the making of the movie and was given a prolonged applause by an appreciative audience. She described the input of each of three major stars. It was definitely worth making the effort to see the movie late at night.
9) Tue 22 Oct – NT (Dorfman) – “A Tupperware of Ashes” (Dirs: Tanita Gupta & Puja Ghai – with Meera Syal in the leading role of Queenie)
Extracted from the NT site: An ambitious Michelin-Star chef, Queenie is used to having the last word. But when her children notice gaps in her memory and her grip on reality loosening, they are faced with an impossible choice. As Raj, Gopal and Kamala battle to reconcile their life-long duty to their mother, the ramifications of their decision take on a heart-breaking permanence.
Good, but some aspects of it were not to our liking. The first half set the scene and the
narrative very well; the second half delved into Queenie`s past with her late
husband and their migration from Calcutta to Britain around 1948 but did not
give much of an insight into their marital life or progression to where Queenie
was at the start of the performance.
2024 Miscellany
While the basic pattern of my life has
not changed much, there are significant changes that have impacted our daily
routines because of advancing age, of course, and my wife`s health condition. This year we did not go on holiday abroad, nor are we planning to in the coming year, so
belatedly let me post a picture of me dining at the captain`s table on our
cruise ship last year, plus one of myself with my wife, to keep our spirits
alive:
Though I did say in my last review that I liked the sound of 2024, it was with reservations – these have proved right at least on the global front. So while radical changes to the world order are afoot at the turn of the year, let us keep our fingers crossed for a better 2025 - a Happy New Year to all.
RAMNIK SHAH
© 31.12.2024
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