Ben Daubney - aNobii

Books (18)

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- Death In Venice (82)
- By Thomas Mann
- Reading since Dec 15, 2008
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- The Human Stain (218)
- By Philip Roth
- Finished on Dec 12, 2008
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- V (114)
- By Thomas Pynchon
- Finished on Nov 26, 2008
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- Regeneration (60)
- By Pat Barker
- Finished on Oct 20, 2008
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- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (1251)
- By Jonathan Safran Foer
- Finished on Oct 12, 2008
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- Pale Fire (110)
- By Vladimir Nabokov
- Finished on Sep 30, 2008
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- Man and Superman (25)
- (Penguin Classics)
- By Stanley Weintraub, George Bernard Shaw
- Finished on Sep 17, 2008
  
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Man and Superman

1 person find this helpful
Why I hate Victorian society comedies

Pedants: yes, I know that this was first published in 1903, two years after Victoria died, but the sentiment remains the same.
This, spouts Shaw in his endless introduction, is a play of ideas. It ends with a marriage or two and the entire cast laughing. It features a dreamt discussion between ... (continue)

Pedants: yes, I know that this was first published in 1903, two years after Victoria died, but the sentiment remains the same.
This, spouts Shaw in his endless introduction, is a play of ideas. It ends with a marriage or two and the entire cast laughing. It features a dreamt discussion between Don Juan and the Devil, amongst others, in Hell.
It is excruciating.
This is a combination of everything fashionable during the late Victorian era. It's a genteel play, it is comedic, it continually alludes to the classics and it has a Big Moral Message. And it goes on. And on. And on and on. At times, it feels as if it's not Don Juan in Hell but the audience, whom are forced to endure hour after hour of twenty-minute long answers to twenty-minute long questions. It has that irritating Wildean element of everything meaning the exact opposite, with the equally infuriating quality of trying to refute that illogic.
There is a nice morality at the heart of the play but it's completely lost in the ridiculous verbiosity. Truth be told, the moment when the scandalous girl meets her illicit husband's father for the first time encapsulates the play's whole argument brilliantly. But that's not enough for Shaw! Instead, he has to analyse and analyse and argue and repeat over and over again the same arguments, the same rebellions, the same conformities.
How I want to pretend that Shaw acted as a prelude to Waugh. How disappointed I am that he is not. Gentle reader, do not be fooled. Read in abbreviation, if at all.

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— Oct 11, 2008 | Add your feedback
- Collapse (443)
- How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive
- By Jared Diamond
- Finished on Sep 8, 2008
  
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Collapse

As a keen supporter of environmental issues, it is tempting to completely disregard Jared Diamond's Collapse as just another in a long line of volumes on how we are all contributing to global warming and how it will eventually kill us all. Reading beyond the introduction and into examples bot ... (continue)

As a keen supporter of environmental issues, it is tempting to completely disregard Jared Diamond's Collapse as just another in a long line of volumes on how we are all contributing to global warming and how it will eventually kill us all. Reading beyond the introduction and into examples both historical and modern, it is apparent that Diamond is incredibly sympathetic not only to ecological issues but also to industrial and sociological issues.
That's where this book really begins to awe. It's not a rant against the mining and coal industries but a carefully considered and crafted volume on the suspected causes of cultural collapse given written and archeological evidence. Whilst wags of the finger are made to some modern companies and practices (the mandatory native crop destruction in Australia, for example), approving nods are made to companies trying to actively conserve and in some cases improve the areas in which they work. Diamond's book is not a compilation of statistics cleverly put together in a slideshow but an intelligently put-together portrayal of how human experience has led us to where we are now, the mistakes previously made (and still being made) and, crucially, the lessons learnt and now being actively applied.
The Rwandian chapter, perhaps the most controversial, is certainly a clear indication of Diamond's message. A very catastrophic collapse which could have been avoided were it not for the unintentional blindness of the society as a whole. If nothing else, the book has made me seriously reconsider that massacre, and whether it is truly possible to create a world society with any level of equality.
Much like Zeldin's An Intimate History of Humanity, at a mere 550 or so pages Diamond's work on societal collapses feels abridged, the summation of a much grander and all encompassing thesis not just on societies but also on human nature. Even though it took a good few weeks to read, it felt like there could be so much more - more conclusions, more examples. There are flaws to the conclusions - I felt that the map at the end of the book showing ecologically damaged versus sociologically damaged regions was far too simplistic and didn't take into account the two extremely damaged countries (Iceland and Australia) previously mentioned. It does rather impact on the faith in his conclusions elsewhere, but even so this isn't a book of continual negativity. In fact, the feeling I had at its' conclusion was of hope - people are changing, things are beginning to turn around, and even if global environmental change does occur then we should be able to limit its impact.

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— Sep 13, 2008 | Add your feedback
- Things the Grandchildren Should Know (70)
- By Mark Oliver Everett
- Finished on Sep 1, 2008
  
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Things the Grandchildren Should Know

*** This comment contains spoilers! ***
Hey man, now you're really living

I'm not really much of a biography reader, much less a music biography reader. They have a habit of glamorising a pretty superficial, obnoxious, egocentric world - brilliant if you're a Heat reader, pretty repugnant if you're not.
I made an exception with this, though. Now, I'm not a fan of Ev ... (continue)

I'm not really much of a biography reader, much less a music biography reader. They have a habit of glamorising a pretty superficial, obnoxious, egocentric world - brilliant if you're a Heat reader, pretty repugnant if you're not.
I made an exception with this, though. Now, I'm not a fan of Everett's band - I have a few albums and like a few of the tracks but his style doesn't do much for me. But even the most passing fan of alternative music has a vague awareness of Everett's background - the physicist father, the childhood plane crash on his street, the sister whom overdosed just before the release of his first album - and whilst you can listen to Everett's music and interpret that life, it's this book which really draws a much clearer portrait.
It's such a vivid portrait, too. I've spoken to people in the past about how Electro-Shock Blues got them through some terribly bleak times but have rarely thought about how Everett felt whilst recording and promoting the album. His obsession and collapse, his unconventionality and his utter humility make Things the Grandchildren Should Know utterly compulsive to read. What could have felt like a commentary to his albums instead feels like a stranger in a bar telling you about his utterly bizarre life and saying, as an aside, that he's also written a few songs.
And that's the best way to approach this book. If you haven't heard a single Eels song, this really is a book you should read. I guarantee that when you're done, you'll be eager to listen to those songs even if you don't quite get them, or don't quite understand the obtruse lyrics. You'll just want to experience more of Everett's life.

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— Sep 11, 2008 | Add your feedback
- The Plague (206)
- (Penguin Modern Classics)
- By Albert Camus
- Finished on Jul 21, 2008
  
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The Plague

The important thing isn't the soundness or otherwise of the argument, but for it to make you think.

Once upon a time, many years ago, I read 'L'etranger' and 'The Myth of Sisyphus' back to back. They were both brilliant little books - one a thesis on the futility of existence, the other a vivid illustration of this fact.
I always felt that this was enough Camus for me. I'm not sure why - I t ... (continue)

Once upon a time, many years ago, I read 'L'etranger' and 'The Myth of Sisyphus' back to back. They were both brilliant little books - one a thesis on the futility of existence, the other a vivid illustration of this fact.
I always felt that this was enough Camus for me. I'm not sure why - I think that as beguiled as I was with the two, I had a sense that I wouldn't enjoy anything else he'd written quite as much, that those topics had been adequately discussed already and any other subject would seem trivial.
'The Plague' does not really compare to either book, I feel. It's more of an abstraction of Camus' earlier philosophy put into the stark relief of post-war France. As a reflection of a nation struggling to comprehend the joy of liberation being tempered with the horror of the previous decade it's a brilliant novel. Without that historic knowledge it does not feel particularly relevant or innovative - instead, it feels flat.
But I did enjoy it. It does have its flaws but everyone should be able to find something within it to reflect upon. To me, the revealing of the narrator's identity at the end made me consider the nature of impartiality - certainly not Camus' main aim when writing the book but definitely there nonetheless.
It's an important novel and still deserves to be read, but please, if you are new to Camus, give 'L'Etranger' a try first.

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— Aug 9, 2008 | Add your feedback

- Yes Man (105)
- By Danny Wallace
- Finished on Jul 4, 2008
  
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Yes Man

This year's holiday novel

Choosing a book to read in terminals, on beaches and in quiet piazzas is always a bit of a challenge. I have tried compilations of short stories, shorter literary fiction, episodic hard novels (hello, the summer of Proust) and whatever this years' big story is.
This year, I opted for somethin ... (continue)

Choosing a book to read in terminals, on beaches and in quiet piazzas is always a bit of a challenge. I have tried compilations of short stories, shorter literary fiction, episodic hard novels (hello, the summer of Proust) and whatever this years' big story is.
This year, I opted for something which is, essentially, trash.
I always feel a bit guilty reading books like this. They don't really feel as if they are really proper books, and with so many good books to read in this world surely everything you read should be substantial?
This is where I had failed in the past. Summer holidays, when books are read in spits and spats, need to be easy to pick up and put down. This is where Yes Man succeeds so well - not only are the chapters relatively short, but Wallace's style of writing (and repeated, erm, repetition) means that jabbing a tram ticket in the middle of a chapter does not really interrupt the flow of the narrative.
But let's not sell the book purely as a summer book. It probably will not be held up as a shining example of early 21st century writing in years to come, but it is so immediate and the story so utterly compelling that you almost want to shirk any commitments you have in order to keep reading. The story is enchanting, and unlike Are You Dave Gorman? or Join Me, the paths that Danny takes feel far more satisfying and real. There is always a lingering suspicion that anecdotes are somewhat embellished and the narrative does tie up very neatly, but by story's end you will not care.
I really, really liked this book. Really did. If you want something very simple to read, give it a go. It won't be to everyone's taste by any means, but for me, it was perfect.

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— Jul 6, 2008 | Add your feedback
- The Steep Approach to Garbadale (37)
- By Iain M. Banks
- Finished on Jun 17, 2008
  
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The Steep Approach to Garbadale

Iain Banks writes an Iain Banks novel

Have you read an Iain Banks novel before? If you haven't, do - they're very readable and have a wonderful flow to them. The biannual publication of a Banks novel is like making a cup of tea - it's warm and comforting, and though it's much like the last one you had, you still look forward to it.
< ... (continue)

Have you read an Iain Banks novel before? If you haven't, do - they're very readable and have a wonderful flow to them. The biannual publication of a Banks novel is like making a cup of tea - it's warm and comforting, and though it's much like the last one you had, you still look forward to it.
Garbadale is a good story, and it would be a curmudgeon who didn't recognise the obvious quality of the prose, the narrative and the pacing. If you've never read anything by the same author before, you can go into it with a sense of wide-eyed wonder, marvelling at the time-shifts, the odd snatches of Scottish dialogue, the international flair and so forth. It's genuinely sad, it's genuinely funny; it has a plot twist that is always hinted at but never fully realised until the final few pages.
It is, for wont of a better word, likeable. Scholars and beachreaders alike will read through and like it. I like it. You will like it. Go on, try it.
But therein lies the only problem. If you have read a Banks novel before, you'll recognise the pacing, the tone of voice, the little Scottish interludes and the niceness already. No matter how much of a loner outcast the main character is, he is very lovely really. And, though families may be torn apart (or not) at the end (or not), it'll all be fine in the grand scheme of things. See that final three-page chapter? Oh! Everything turned out grand there, didn't it?
It's not a book-destroying flaw at all. It's an odd authorial tick that really inhibits any sense of excitement at a new book coming. Perhaps that's why he writes the sci-fi works, just to break that pattern. It is a shame that he cannot extend that unpredictability over into his literary fiction.

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— Jun 24, 2008 | 1 feedback
- An Intimate History of Humanity (24)
- By Theodore Zeldin
- Finished on Jun 17, 2008
  
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An Intimate History of Humanity

This is far too short

Far far far too short. What Zeldin accomplishes in a scant 500 pages should, in reality, be a twenty volume thesis. The topic is so vast, and the only real criticism one could possibly level at the author is that at times chapters should be book-length, rather than ten or twenty pages.
It is ... (continue)

Far far far too short. What Zeldin accomplishes in a scant 500 pages should, in reality, be a twenty volume thesis. The topic is so vast, and the only real criticism one could possibly level at the author is that at times chapters should be book-length, rather than ten or twenty pages.
It is a colossal achievement, and surely a good which should grace the shelves of every serious literary reader. Everything that your favourite novelist tries to do - every emotion, nuance and ambition - is caught, examined and predicted by Zeldin. It will not change your life, but it will make you examine your society and reactions just that little bit closer.
Read it. Be brave. Don't look back.

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— Jun 22, 2008 | Add your feedback
- Busconductor Hines (1)
- By James Kelman
- Finished on May 23, 2008
  
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Busconductor Hines

Kelman is undoubtedly one of those authors that strobes in and out of view every decade or so. His few published works are seemingly greeted with mild interest, a blaze of reviews then public silence. With a new book out this year, his earlier novels have been redesigned and reissued, seemingly garn ... (continue)

Kelman is undoubtedly one of those authors that strobes in and out of view every decade or so. His few published works are seemingly greeted with mild interest, a blaze of reviews then public silence. With a new book out this year, his earlier novels have been redesigned and reissued, seemingly garnering more interest than the new work they're trying to promote.
It's a first slice of Kelman for me. I opted to shy away from Booker winner 'How late it was, how late' and start at the very beginning. I'm glad I did - I had no preconceptions when starting 'The Busconducter Hines' and expected nothing from it, and what I found was a wonderful slice of life at a particular social-economic time. It's a book essentially about hope and failure, of trying to attain but not finding the desire there. Of falling into circumstance and staying there. Frustratingly the book doesn't really resolve the plot, but that is a deliberate reflection of Kelman's message - at the end, Hines is still in the same situation, still resolved to change but still working the buses.
The only criticism (and the relatively low rating) is due to its meandering plot. It never feels fully set in place and as a result tends to be something of a struggle to read. The message of the story has been told before - and better - but it is still a very enjoyable book in itself.

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— May 24, 2008 | Add your feedback
- The Girl in Blue (6)
- By Pelham G. Wodehouse
- Finished on May 2, 2008
  
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The Girl in Blue

Older Wodehouse, older style

Wodehouse is always good. No matter which book you pick up, you can be sure of a good chuckle somewhere throughout. By the time 'The Girl in Blue' was released in 1970, Wodehouse had already written a small library and as each has a pretty similar conceit - upper-class buffoons temporarily impede da ... (continue)

Wodehouse is always good. No matter which book you pick up, you can be sure of a good chuckle somewhere throughout. By the time 'The Girl in Blue' was released in 1970, Wodehouse had already written a small library and as each has a pretty similar conceit - upper-class buffoons temporarily impede dashing young things from getting engaged - this novel feels somewhat flat.
The gags are there and the characters likeable. The big plot reveal upon which the title is based happens far too early though, leaving a plodding twenty pages where the inevitable liasons come together without much in the way of passion. Wodehouse seems to have written the book in a single draft, too - the most engaging character is initially portrayed as a money-sucking scoundrel but brings about a very smart resolution worthy of Jeeves, before Wodehouse remembers that he's meant to be the villian of the piece and returns him to roguery.
It's still not a bad book. It's a short amusing pastoral jape much like any other Wodehouse novel. But there's nothing to distinguish it, no Empress of Blandings or Psmith to elevate it. Do read it if you have a lazy few hours, but otherwise pick up something with Bertie Wooster in.

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— May 17, 2008 | Add your feedback