The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell

Hello Everyone,
Yesterday evening we discussed The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G Farrell. Unfortunately it was a very brief discussion because the music in Bar no. 8 got a bit too loud. No one could hear the conversation and this was the book that I was most looking forward to discussing of all of the books so far at BookClub.
Of course the goal of any pub is to make money and the management are going to cater to the needs of the customers who will bring the most business in. There was some party on so I suppose I can't complain, and the staff always do their best to accommodate us.
We are considering changing the venue however. As the summer comes into full swing it will be hard I'm sure to have an evening in Bar no. 8 when it's quiet enough to hold our meetings. Perhaps we should have our next meeting there in 2 weeks time and see how it goes. If again it's very loud we can move on. Hugh suggested The Cottage in Salthill as there are a few small rooms, which maybe we could reserve. I suggested The Bal because this has three floors and the chances are at least one floor won't be busy on a Tuesday night. Architecturally, I really like it also. It's bright and spacious. Parking wouldn't be such a problem in Salthill either. Anyway, suggestions are more than welcome and if we have to change venue, we can try to make an informed decision.
Back to The Siege of Krishnapur; what a brilliant book in my opinion! I found it very very funny whilst also being very serious in dealing with the predicament that the characters find themselves in. It's a great study of traditional/conservative views versus new/modern approaches to different aspects of life. From technology and innovation to the class system of British society at the time the book is set in...and I'm sure this still applies today, but perhaps to a lesser degree in our society.
All the main characters seem to have a protagonist to their ideals...not necessarily an enemy but someone who generally has conflicting ideas in relation to the same subject...spirituality or religion or government or status or materialism and as the book progresses there is a gradual "stripping down" of these ideals which is paralleled with the gradual wasting away of the characters during the siege. By the end of the story there is a complete shift in some of the character's beliefs as to what they feel is important in life, to the opposite end of the spectrum.
The book itself was quite difficult to read. Small text and over 300 pages but I feel that it's not the kind of story that you want to rush. Almost every sentence in it is relevant, holds undertones of satire or illustrates brilliantly the character's pre-occupation with their own beliefs, a preoccupation which is often detrimental to their hazardous circumstances at any given time, which is what made the book for me so enjoyable.
So without a doubt, I would give The Siege of Krishnapur 10 out of 10. Thanks Pope Buckfast for nominating it :)
All comments are more than welcome re. my own views above about this book. Agree...disagree?
At last night's meeting was:
Anne MarieCaitrionaPope Buckfast (Hugh)Damien GSandraand Myself
Details of the proposed BookClub barbeque will be texted to members shortly :D

Upcoming Books 16-06-2008

Hi All,

Here's the upcoming booklist:

17th June
To Discuss: The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell

1st July
To Discuss: The Sea by John Banville

15th July
To Discuss: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

29th July
To Discuss: Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen Lealock

See you tomorrow,
Happy Reading!

BookClub Meeting to Discuss The Siege of Krishnapur

Hello Everyone,

Seeing as only one of the five attendees at last night's BookClub meeting (namely Pope Buckfast) read the nominated book, we decided not to discuss it until next Tuesday night, the 17th of June. That's only one week away, not the usual two weeks we have between books but most of us had some of it read at least.

I was happy with this myself because I really didn't want to know the ending of the story until I had read it. I'm finding it to be a very entertaining read, and also very funny. I think this was the general consensus at the club yesterday evening.

Of course this is going to alter the schedule of books to be read so we will modify it asap.

Kate also nominated a book. Don't have a clue what it was but I'll find out or I'm sure she will fill us in on Boards.ie

So, I hope to see lots of members next Tuesday night if ye can make it. The book is well worth reading...and now you all have a 2nd chance :)

Oh yeah, at last night's meeting were the following:

Sandra
Kate
Hugh (Pope Buckfast)
Tristan C
TristanPeter

Book Club Meeting No. 8: The Doors of Perception

Hi All,

Sorry for the delay in the update... I've been up the walls!

It seems 'The Doors of Perception' by Aldous Huxley was pretty well received by those in attendance. Most agreed that while the book was of it's time it was certainly worth the read. Some people felt that Huxley was advancing Mescaline as a panacea for the worlds need to get out of it's collective head, although others thought that he was merely relating a personal experience and a hope that one day a drug may be developed without the associated problems of alcohol and other narcotics.

There wasn't a huge amount of buy in on Huxleys main thesis that we take in much more information than our brain wants to handle, and drug taking simply removes this filter. However we have to remember that there have been many advances in medical science since Huxley wrote the book.

It was quite a short book, which was just as well, as many people found it difficult to follow, given the authors predilection for referencing high art, and as it turns out, we're not exactly a high art bunch!

Special kudos have to go to Kate for being the only one to get stuck into Heaven and Hell too :)

Tristan one the raffle, and his book choice is 'A Confederacy of Dunces' by John Kennedy Toole

I'll publish an updated upcoming book list tomorrow.

Happy Reading!

Hugh

BookClub Meeting No. 7: The Silver Swan

Hi Everyone,

Just a bit about our last BookClub meeting where we discussed The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black. First off, I'd like to welcome our newest members; Kate and Frances.

I think that the overall feeling towards this novel was that it wasn't very good at all. It was overly descriptive of scenes and settings. The characters were not very likable and also, it wasn't much of a "mystery." From the beginning of the novel, it was quite obvious who the killer was (not to me though because I didn't manage to finish it on time. Tut tut!). It was suggested that John Banville tried to adapt his tried and tested manner of writning to a different genre of novel, and the end result was that it just didn't work. Perhaps highly descriptive passsages are more at home in his other books such as The Sea etc. for which he was nominated (or won?) the Booker Prize. Personally, I think that he was trying to break the mould in terms of the formula that runs through crime thrillers in the main...even if it didn't work very well. The hero of the story, Quirke, in the end didn't even solve the crime, It was a lesser involved character, Hackett! This is one of the reasons why I believe that Banville was trying alter traditional story-telling formulas. Also, I believe that he was trying to avoid the "easy-read" style associated with this genre by being highly descriptive and historically accurate. The Swastika Laundry did exist in Dublin during the period in which the novel is set for example.

Some of the scenarios in the story were very very unlikely, especially his daughter Phoebe falling in love with one of the villainous characters, Leslie White, who was Quirke's nemesis I suppose.

Ok, I admit, I still haven't finished it yet either. It is a tough read. I find it very easy to loose concentration. The pace is slow and there is no real need for the copiously descriptive passages or the flashbacks (Phoebe and the leverets when she was a child...). However, I'm still enjoying the book. I do like the historical aspects of it and it does paint a vivid picture of Dublin City, even if it is hard to differentiate the period of the story's setting from the present or any other time within the last 100 years.

To surmise, the majority of the members who read the book didn't enjoy it at all apart from myself and Tristan C. But I want to give John Banville the benifit of the doubt. I do think that he was trying something new, not just in terms of the kind of books he generally writes himself, but of the style of writing associated with the mystery/thriller genre overall. That can't be a bad thing altogether in my opinion at least. So, as I won the BookClub lotto this week, I get to choose the next book. I really want to see how The Silver Swan compares to John Banville's other works so therefore, I am choosing another of his books, The Sea. It could be a quiet week in Galway BookClub :)

By the way, those who attended the meeting were as follows:
Tristan C
Hugh
Anne Marie
Paul P
Sandra
Kate
karl
Hazel
Frances and
TristanPeter

Looking forward to our next meetin and hope to see you all there

p.s. I don't know how to do a spell check on this so please forgive my terrible spelling.

100 Must Read Books

Art of Manliness has listed it's 100 essential books

There's a few interesting ones on the list which might serve as inspiration for book choices.

Upcoming Books 6-5-2008

Hi All,

Here's the upcoming booklist:

13th May
To Discuss: The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black

27th May
To Discuss: The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley

10th June
To Discuss: The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell

See you on the 13th,
Happy Reading!