Micro Review 32 (Wainwright Prize)

 

The Stubborn Light of Things by Melissa Harrison (Faber & Faber)

NetGalley

This was another book that I'd read before the Wainwright Prize long list was announced, and was another book I was really pleased to see made the list - and one I was really sad that didn't go further, it is definitely a contender for being on my best books of the year in December.

Another book that was great to dip in and out of as it was written in diary format - a style I really love. Another real plus about this book was that I knew the places Harrison talks about, especially when she is writing about Suffolk.

My favourite thing about this book is the way that Harrison appears to experience nature in the same way that Mr Norfolkbookworm and I do - it feels natural and points out things that non experts can see. The details are there but it is the ordinary that shines, and the details are written so that everyone can feel the wonder and even if you live in a city centre there are still natural wonders to see.

On the back of how much I enjoyed this book I went out and bought Harrison's novel All Among the Barley and I'm sure it won't be that long before it gets to the top of my tbr pile...

Micro Review 31 (Wainwright Prize long list)

 

Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald (Jonathan Cape)

NetGalley

I was lucky enough to have the chance to read this back in July 2020 thanks to NetGalley and so I was very pleased to see it on the long list.

Unlike H is for Hawk this wasn't a straight forward narrative, this was a collection of essays, musings, and articles all with nature as a theme.

As is always the case with an essay collection not every one hit the mark for me, but I loved the format - a book to really dip in and out of. Macdonald's writing is very readable and I like her style a lot.

It didn't quite hit the high of H is for Hawk but I am really surprised that it didn't make the Wainwright shortlist. I was amused to see that nature writing is no different to other genres in that books with similar themes come along at the same time - 2021 seems to be the year of the swift!

Theatre 2017: Review Six - She Loves Me

She Loves Me, Menier Chocolate Factory, London. January 2017.

After the confusion that was Nice Fish I was certainly a little bit nervous about going to see this musical on the same day. While I love the film You've Got Mail I was underwhelmed by the film that is adapted from The Shop Around the Corner and so the musical version of the same story could have gone either way. Then I saw it has Les Dennis in and to be honest my heart sank a little lower.

However this time I had a pleasant surprise. After reviving dinner with a glass of wine we arrived at one of our top theatres and the familiarity of the place, plus the knowledge that some of our favourite theatre productions come from this place calmed the nerves.

From the second the houselights dimmed I was transported into a beautiful, Technicolor whimsy that for two and half hours did make me forget everything else.

Again the set really needs to get a mention here as it was enchanting and revolved from a basic street scene to the beautifully decorated interior of the shop seamlessly. Then later on more scenery slid on and we were in a cafe/bar, a hospital and a bedroom - it all worked and was all so beautifully decorated and detailed that it really did look like you could step into these real places.  We were in the front row and seeing the small detail here set the tone for the detail and precision of the whole production.

The story could be hard to stage as the main romance is epistolary but as the protagonists meet in real life and dislike each other there is wonderful tension - they played the oblivious romantic connection really well and right up to the end there was just enough tension and doubt to keep the story interesting.  The subplots were also fun and this felt a real ensemble piece where everyone got to tell their story. Even Les Dennis was good in his role, and managed to make me feel sorry for his character.

The singing and dancing were great, the comedy funny and the right level of sadness/tension reached making this a wonderfully balanced show. I was also pleased that despite it being set in a perfume shop and scents being 'sprayed' throughout the creatives had decided to make this just visual and not olfactory - my imagination supplied the smells I'd like to sniff and not overpowering ones that cause headaches!

I'm not sure how highly it will feature on my best of lists come the end of the year but in a January that seems cold and bleak (weather-wise and politically speaking) this was just what I needed, pure escapism that left me feeling warm and happy.

Theatre 2016: Review Twenty-three

Boys Will Be Boys, Bush Theatre at the Bush Hall, London. July 2016.

This was my final event of a busy few days (three plays/shows, one film and an exhibition in 50 hours!) and neither Rebecca nor I can remember why we picked to see this - a review somewhere must have enticed us.

We landed on our feet with this show - at just 1hr 45 minutes it packed a lot of punch.  The all female cast told a shocking story of sexism in the world of finance but the show was a mix of straight drama, cabaret style anecdote telling and big musical numbers.

The cast of 5 were incredibly talented and throughout the show I was never quite sure where the specifics of  story were going but the feel, that women don't compete on a level playing field with men currently was eloquently told without becoming didactic.

I found the show to be moving, socially aware, funny, shocking, and sensual.  I found Kirsty Bushell, playing Astrid to be the stand out of the show. With no costume changes at all she managed to convey all aspects of Astrid's character with just body posture and facial expressions and towards the end, despite her behaviour, my heart broke just a little for her as she looked so broken.  The rest of the cast were also terrific and as an ensemble this was stunning - it was just a little sad to see how empty the venue was.

If this tours or transfers I'd urge you to go - I know I'd try and get tickets again.

Theatre 2014: Review Thirty-Two

My Night With Reg, The Donmar Warehouse, London. September 2014.

Not quite an impulse trip but one that Rebecca and I planned after reading several reviews and realising that this looked like a good play in one of our favourite venues.

We weren't disappointed.  The play is a very clever three act piece featuring six men all of whom know Reg in some way and it then follows their lives over the next few years as the importance of this friendship becomes known.

All three acts take place in the same room and it is very clever how they segue into each other, it is only by paying close attention to the words and body language that you you can see what is actually happening - even thought the play has now actually closed I am loathe to explain too much about this as this is so cleverly done that I don't want to spoil it for anyone who may see this, or who looks for a copy of the film.

The play managed to go from causing tears of laughter to tears of grief in a heartbeat and was totally wonderful, like the best drama it kept me guessing and the third act for me was a real surprise and shock, and I don't just mean thanks to the full frontal male nudity.

There was so much detail and nuance in this play that part of me wishes I'd caught it early in the run and had the chance to see it again but then it was close to being perfect when I saw it and perhaps a second viewing would have spoiled that.

I love the surprise of theatre - every time I see a good play I think 'that's it - I'm never going to see something that good again' and lo and behold the next play is even better...

Snow in midsummer

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

This book has been sitting on my Kindle for quite a while, a few people told me how good it was but for some reason I just hadn't got round to reading it.

After a conference in London where the publicists of the book gave a presentation on the publishing history of the book I was intrigued and following a few prompting tweets I finally got round to reading it.

I started reading the book in the middle of the longest heat wave we've had in Norfolk for years and being transported in to snow Alaska was heavenly - it cooled me down no end and when I emerged from the book I kept being surprised that it was sunny and summer!

The book is wonderfully lyrical - an older couple have moved to Alaska to try their hand at farming as they are finding it too hard to live back East where all of their relatives seem to have the families that the couple can't have but so desperately want.

Alaska is a hard, unforgiving place and it almost breaks the couple but the appearance of good neighbours and the mysterious snow child turn their lives around.

I can see why this book was such a success - I found it a magical read that totally transported me to the wilds of Alaska about 100 years ago.
I do wonder if reading it in the winter just past would have been a different experience but in the height of summer it was wonderfully escapist!

The Greatest Show on Earth

The Olympic Games

I think that it is fair to say that I was not really looking forward to the 2012 games.  I'd failed to get tickets in 2 rounds of the ballots and then there were no affordable seats left for the sports I wanted to see.

Even though the Opening Ceremony was being directed by Danny Boyle and scored by Underworld I wasn't that bothered. Like so many of us the whole ticketing fiasco had made me lose any interest.

On Friday 27th July Mr Norfolkbookworm and I decided that as it was such a historic moment we would at least watch the first few minutes of the opening.  We flicked it on about an hour before the start and to be honest it didn't look great, we crossed our fingers that it would get better.

In our opinion it did. We were both captivated at the spectacle, it was wonderful on so many levels. The artistry of the the countryside becoming an industrial nightmare, the celebration of children's books (and the NHS), the humour and cameo appearances and most surprisingly of all the wonder of the modern dance sequence.

I'll admit the arrival of the athletes did get a little dull - but hey they are what it is all about after all!

The arrival of the torch and the lighting of the cauldron was a masterpiece and from talking to other people I know that I am not the only one who had goosebumps at this point.

The only downside was letting Paul McCartney finish the evening...he might be a talented songwriter and musican but after this I have my doubts, and I don't think he can sing!

All in all my cynicism has vanished, I'm hunting through the website looking for tickets to the Paralympics and hope to get to at least one event. I knew holding on to that day of annual leave was important.

The thing that made Mr Norfolkbookworm and I laugh the most (apart from Mr Bean) was the recognition of the influence last year's Frankenstein play had on the spectacle - we're both still waiting for the train to appear...