The Tyneside Book Club's February read was a rarity - a novel that met with universal appreciation from members.
For the second month in a row, the club choice dealt with the entirety of one person's life, but over a relatively small number of pages. A Whole Life though packed more of a punch than Mary Costello's Academy Street for the members who made it to the meeting (see last month's blog).
There was much praise for the economy of the writing - something it did have in common with Academy Street - but members felt more connected to the central character. Andreas Egger's life was a solitary one, and much of it was spent in one Austrian valley. At times it could seem uneventful, but it was always engaging. There were events - death and war - but it was often the simple facts of day-to-day living that captured attention.
Members enjoyed the more complex structure, moving back and forth in time rather than following a strict chronological pattern. They liked Egger's stoicism, his determination to just carry on living and surviving despite the trauma of personal loss and imprisonment in a Soviet gulag.
The novel does not really spend time inside Egger's head, making him a little unknowable, but again members enjoyed that, and didn't feel the need for certain episodes to be fleshed out any further. The changing times are weaved in subtly, Andreas adapts to rather than embraces change.
Many members commented on fairy tale aspects of the story, enjoying the slightly more surreal scenes. All felt the end of Andreas' life was conveyed both movingly and in a consoling way, though perhaps it was a conveniently peaceful death. Members liked the fact that there was in the end no simple or pat romantic consolation despite the opportunity of a late-life liaison. A slightly comedic but poignant bus trip was one of the episodes members liked.
This seemed to be a wise book, with much to say about living a life well in both simple, and also sometimes difficult, situations. Andreas was a survivor, and never a victim.
On another positive note, the Club has been able to welcome several new members in recent months, and that trend continued. March will see the group tackle Jonathan Coe's Thatcher-era comedy What a Carve Up!
For the second month in a row, the club choice dealt with the entirety of one person's life, but over a relatively small number of pages. A Whole Life though packed more of a punch than Mary Costello's Academy Street for the members who made it to the meeting (see last month's blog).
There was much praise for the economy of the writing - something it did have in common with Academy Street - but members felt more connected to the central character. Andreas Egger's life was a solitary one, and much of it was spent in one Austrian valley. At times it could seem uneventful, but it was always engaging. There were events - death and war - but it was often the simple facts of day-to-day living that captured attention.
Members enjoyed the more complex structure, moving back and forth in time rather than following a strict chronological pattern. They liked Egger's stoicism, his determination to just carry on living and surviving despite the trauma of personal loss and imprisonment in a Soviet gulag.
The novel does not really spend time inside Egger's head, making him a little unknowable, but again members enjoyed that, and didn't feel the need for certain episodes to be fleshed out any further. The changing times are weaved in subtly, Andreas adapts to rather than embraces change.
Many members commented on fairy tale aspects of the story, enjoying the slightly more surreal scenes. All felt the end of Andreas' life was conveyed both movingly and in a consoling way, though perhaps it was a conveniently peaceful death. Members liked the fact that there was in the end no simple or pat romantic consolation despite the opportunity of a late-life liaison. A slightly comedic but poignant bus trip was one of the episodes members liked.
This seemed to be a wise book, with much to say about living a life well in both simple, and also sometimes difficult, situations. Andreas was a survivor, and never a victim.
On another positive note, the Club has been able to welcome several new members in recent months, and that trend continued. March will see the group tackle Jonathan Coe's Thatcher-era comedy What a Carve Up!
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