A Graham for All Seasons

The more I read my Kindle (birthday gift in March, used for my utilitarian reading - ie crime and modern literature but am still intending to buy lots of books in paper form), the more I hanker after delicate colourful first edition books. 

Even Graham Greene, a relatively serious man, had to conform with design norms of the time.  Hence this book cover with its lurid 1950's style, just the thing to read attired in this:

During a period of leave from work some years ago, I developed a low level obsession with Graham Greene.  My problem is that when I decide I like a writer I feel compelled to read all their works.  That's fine if it is Jonathan Safran Foer (only two novels and one work of non-fiction to read).  But with Mr Greene, there are at least 30 to wade through.  So the writer and I had a quite long relationship although I found I couldn't quite get through his entire oeuvre.   

And I am not proud of this, because although he is a magnificent writer, he is heavy going and his books tend to be very guilt ridden.   I felt like life was almost too much to bear at the end of my Greene fest and even converting to Catholicism wouldn't save me.

On the lighter side, what diversity he shows.

To summarise the Nation:

A stranger with no shortage of calling cards: devout Catholic, lifelong adulterer, pulpy hack, canonical novelist; self-destructive, meticulously disciplined, deliriously romantic, bitterly cynical; moral relativist, strict theologian, salon communist, closet monarchist; civilized to a stuffy fault and louche to drugged-out distraction, anti-imperialist crusader and postcolonial parasite, self-excoriating and self-aggrandizing, to name just a few.

Add to that: suicidal, bi-polar, writer of screenplays,  and a man with quite a good sense of humour (he once entered a competition for Greene parody short stories and came second).

There is a book for every occasion: having an adulterous affair?  Go to the End of the Affair.  Feeling Spylike?   Turn to the Third Man.   Stuck in a train with a chatty old lady?  Read Travels with my Aunt. Feeling an existential Catholic crisis coming on?  Try the Power and the Glory.  

I raise this because I have found from this bookseller in Bangkok a number of first editions for sale, including my second favourite Greene, the End of the Affair (for $250).

For this, I recommend something fitted:

Not my favourite Greene however. My favourite is:

Set in Sierra Leone it tells the story of Scobie, adulterer, potentially corrupt policeman trying valiantly to keep law and order, and save his marriage whilst reconciling the things he does with his religious beliefs.

This book was chosen by Time in 2005 as one of the Top 100 books from 1923 to date.  We may think scathing reviews are a product of the modern time.   Well -  George Orwell wrote a review of this book in the New Yorker in 1949 which you can read here, and made this comment after summarising the plot: 

'I have not parodied the plot of this book. Even when dressed up with realistic details it is just as ridiculous as it sounds'.

And today, in a world where we have to tell everyone what we think, all the time, endlessly, blurting out truths to no avail, I rather like this observation by Mr Greene:

In human relationships, kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths.

(Images: (2) Corbis.com (5) bkkbooks.com (6) mistermartha.blogspot.com)

Tweet

Feeling Sad

Feeling Sad is a book my daughter chose herself last year from our local book shop, Berkelouw. Usually she prevaricates so I don't know if the cover grabbed her or if she was indeed feeling sad.

We read it again this week and it seemed apt, given the sad times we live in.

The book, by Sarah Verroken, a graphic designer, plays on the theme of the need we all have for colour in our lives.

This book tells the story of a duck who is sad because his world is black and white. The soft little red friend (who looks like a cross between a jelly bean baby and a gingerbread man) he holds is called Dudley.

For some reason this image of black rain and a tiny pointless leaf shelter really made me think of the terrible situation the Haitians are facing today.

Duck is not prepared to put up with an entirely unsatisfactory black and white world. Would you? He goes exploring and eventually page by page the sun comes out and colour comes to his world.

The illustrations in this book are so textural and interesting. I assume some kind of woodblock or lino cut technique has been used.

I don't know what it is about ducks and children's books. I have a number of duck based children's books which are pretty glum. It's true they generally come good at the end, but they so often have a sad overtone. And yet you never see a depressing book about a sad pig who lives in a black and white world or can't walk or has no family do you?

To demonstrate the point, I present Exhibit 1:

This famous story is about Ping the Duck who lives happily on the Yangtse River until one day he is captured by fisherman. Not just any fisherman. The ones who put metal rings around the birds (cormorants, I think) they keep on the river and force them to dive for fish (the rings stop them swallowing the fish). When I was little this was my first introduction to boats called junks, and cruelty to animals.

Exhibit 2 is a book about a wooden duck with a pole through his back who lives on a merry-go-round. All this duck wants is to fly and that wooden pole is an obvious impediment.

He then meets a real baby duck whom he raises himself. One day the baby duck grows up and leaves the wooden duck. The wooden duck is sad, and things only get better when the real duck returns to give wooden duck a real ride in the sky. Then the baby duck leaves again for good. But merry-go-round duck is happy, as his one dream (to fly) has been fulfilled.

Exhibit 3 - the Sissy Duckling is about a duck who would rather do so called girly things like baking, puppet shows and playing quietly. He is mercilessly teased for this. I know that many people would agree that this is the book to buy if your son is remotely 'different'.

And finally, for just plain out weirdness, you cannot go past Dr Suess' I wish that I had Duck Feet.

For me, if I could have any animal bit attached to me it certainly would not be duck feet. It would be feathery wings. Or even sharp talons. .....

Tweet

Blue skies smiling at me

Over the weekend we visited my mother at her farm in north east Victoria. It was freezing cold, and we returned tired and smelling of wood smoke as I spent the entire weekend either shivering or standing in front of the Aga in the kitchen or the fire place in the living room.

She has a wonderful garden with a variety of interesting non native trees including mulberry, pomegranate, avocado, grapefruit, willow, liquid amber and more.

This is a view of the icy blue sky through the branches of an oak tree.





I will post some more pictures of her garden in winter soon.

And just because I feel like it, a beautiful 1950s retro print for fabric:

Image

This is Calyx, by Lucienne Day, designed in 1951. I love the coral red and blue together.

Tweet