Book reviews: April 2010

X Marks The BoxEnlarge this image The Artist in the OfficeEnlarge this image Victoria and AbdulEnlarge this image Blue-Eyed BoyEnlarge this image ZeitounEnlarge this image
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X MARKS THE BOX: How to Make Politics Work for You, Daniel Blythe

Icon Books, Paperback £8.99

 

We may be either apathetic about it or bored by it, but one thing is for certain: there is no avoiding the imminent General Election. Daniel Blythe, a self-confessed 'born-again' voter, spells out here why it is we should bother to vote, what exactly politicians do, and how you, as a citizen, can make them work for you. Learn how to interpret the blah in the manifestos, how to protest, how to choose between voting for the 'man' or for the 'party'. He also throws in accounts of elections past and the - somehow inevitable - scandals and outrages and plain silly (but amusing) stunts that accompanied them. It might be fashionable to diss the ballot box, but, as my maternal grandfather in Wales used to rail, people fought for centuries for us all to be able to vote, and we should not abuse that right. He used to bang on every door in the village and bundle the inert into the local Co-op van and forcibly drive them to the poll station. A bit of a radical approach, but it worked. Go vote!

 

 

THE ARTIST IN THE OFFICE, Summer Pierre

Perigee, Paperback £9.99

 

 

The subtitle of this book - How to Creatively Survive and Thrive Seven Days a Week - raises a question that passes through all our minds at some point in our working lives (maybe without the split infinitive, if we were ever taught any grammar). It might be just as well expressed by 'What is this life if full of care we have no time to stand and stare?'. Summer Pierre, a writer, singer and artist, believes that whatever our occupation, it is both therapeutic and fulfilling to allow the creative side of our brains to flourish, so she advocates taking lunchtime adventures to stimulate and maybe sate the curiosity, for example visiting an unexplored shop nearby; photographing  or drawing an everyday object to see what new perspectives it yields; collecting your own and your colleagues’ doodles on Post-It notes and making them into a notice board or scrapbook. Above all, she urges, schedule, incorporate and do not ignore the time needed to nurture this part of your life, or it will be full of unfulfilled wishes and reason for lifelong dissatisfaction. 

 

VICTORIA AND ABDUL, Shrabani Basu

The History Press, Hardback £20

 


We've all heard about Queen Victoria's relationship with her ghillie John Brown (or can picture Judi Dench in the film), but do we know about Abdul, the Indian manservant who replaced John Brown, after his death, in Queen Victoria's affections? This is the extraordinary but true tale of Abdul Karim, dubbed ‘the Munshi’ by jealous courtiers, a simple but handsome man of twenty-four who was 'imported' from our Empire in India to ‘educate’ the Queen in foreign ways, teaching her Hindustani and preparing delicate little curries for the royal household at Osbourne. All was well and good until the Queen invited the Munshi's entire family to come and live in England. She accommodated them in style, and sat at the Munshi's wife's bedside offering advice on birth and contraception. The Munshi continued to rise in the old Queen's affections, persuading her to overstep the mark and demand a title for him. This was all too much for both Royal Household and public, and just as soon as the Queen died, he was sent back home and forgotten. Until now.

 

BLUE-EYED BOY, Joanne Harris

Doubleday, Hardback £18.99

 

 

It is obvious that we live in an age of technology, but not so obvious is the extraordinary strain and distortion it can wreak in our lives with its far-reaching tentacles and influences. In Joanne Harris's latest novel, emails are the device by which the finely wrought and intricately nuanced details of the plot are revealed – it’s a modern version of an epistolary novel, I suppose. The 'blue-eyed' boy of the title, the 'favourite son', leaves his postings on 'badguysrock', and the distance and particular language of the internet add an extra layer of terror to the unfolding nemesis that will befall this family made up of a single mother who believes that she is one step better than her provincial environment and her three dysfunctional sons. Black is the first-born, moody and aggressive; Brown is a bit dull; but Blue, the 'blue-eyed boy', is perfect. Except that he is also a murderer. Best known for her novel and film Chocolat, Joanne Harris reveals once again her fascination with the bittersweet pros and cons of  human nature, here infinitely more bitter than sweet. 

 

ZEITOUN, Dave Eggers

Hamish Hamilton, Hardback £18.99

 

Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a native Syrian, had settled in America and was making a very decent living for himself and his family in New Orleans. Working hard, as for so many immigrant families, came naturally to him, so his response to the warnings about the coming storm meant, to him, that he should stay behind and look after his and his neighbours’ property whilst sending his wife and children away to safety. After hurricane Katrina had wreaked its damage, far worse than expected, Zeitoun paddled his old canoe around the flooded streets helping the stranded and the needy, thinking little of his own concerns as he perched on the roof of his flooded house in a tent. And then the army and police came and arrested him. For surely, as a Muslim and an immigrant, he was a threat to society? Incarcerated without trial, humiliated and starved, he languished - until justice finally prevailed. Zeitoun seeks no retribution, but we should ask ourselves whether, in similar circumstances, our own prejudices might overcome the evidence of our eyes. An important account of disaster both natural and societal.

This article was brought to you by Angel Magazine

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