A visual montage of all the drama of ITV's 1970s adaptation of Arnold Bennett's Clayhanger saga
The club sampled a sizeable slice of Arnold Bennett in March as members tackled Clayhanger, the first volume of a family saga set in late Victorian Staffordshire.
Opinions were mixed. While some very much enjoyed their deep dive into Bennett's Potteries, others found the going as heavy as the local clay.
There was much discussion about whether the book lacked enough events or overall plot to keep the reader compelled. Supporters felt Bennett built his world well enough to excuse a leisurely pace, and that there was enough happening to keep them satisfied. And even members who were sceptical accepted that he had fully realised the main characters.
For some though the passivity of the central character, Edwin Clayhanger, made it harder to engage with the novel. There was a sense that it might have been enlivened by focusing more on other characters - such as Clayhanger's father or the enigmatic love interest Hilda Lessways.
There was an acceptance that Bennett was a good technical writer, but some felt a tendency to stodginess might explain why he is beginning to slide into obscurity. His supporters felt it would be sad if his contribution to the 20th Century novel was forgotten, and that he had become underrated.
Some felt he did not reach the heights of his influences (Dickens and Hardy), whilst also failing to push the form as far as Woolf and Joyce were shortly to do. There was also a failure to look at working class lives.
But for his supporters, Bennett showed he was capable of significant psychological insight, building convincing and complex characters, while providing an insight into Victorian and Edwardian politics and society. Most felt the book slipped a little into melodrama by the end though as the author sowed the seeds for further instalments.
While some thought they would go on to tackle the other books in the series, others felt their journey into Bennett's Potteries had reached a dead end.
Opinions were mixed. While some very much enjoyed their deep dive into Bennett's Potteries, others found the going as heavy as the local clay.
There was much discussion about whether the book lacked enough events or overall plot to keep the reader compelled. Supporters felt Bennett built his world well enough to excuse a leisurely pace, and that there was enough happening to keep them satisfied. And even members who were sceptical accepted that he had fully realised the main characters.
For some though the passivity of the central character, Edwin Clayhanger, made it harder to engage with the novel. There was a sense that it might have been enlivened by focusing more on other characters - such as Clayhanger's father or the enigmatic love interest Hilda Lessways.
There was an acceptance that Bennett was a good technical writer, but some felt a tendency to stodginess might explain why he is beginning to slide into obscurity. His supporters felt it would be sad if his contribution to the 20th Century novel was forgotten, and that he had become underrated.
Some felt he did not reach the heights of his influences (Dickens and Hardy), whilst also failing to push the form as far as Woolf and Joyce were shortly to do. There was also a failure to look at working class lives.
But for his supporters, Bennett showed he was capable of significant psychological insight, building convincing and complex characters, while providing an insight into Victorian and Edwardian politics and society. Most felt the book slipped a little into melodrama by the end though as the author sowed the seeds for further instalments.
While some thought they would go on to tackle the other books in the series, others felt their journey into Bennett's Potteries had reached a dead end.
RSS Feed