Ken Branagh, Natasha Richardson and Colin Firth in the 1987 film adaptation of A Month in the Country
Februrary saw the Tyneside Book Club spend A Month in the Country as members read JL Carr's 1980 modern classic.
The novel follows damaged First World War veteran Tom Birkin as he arrives in a Yorkshire village in 1920 to restore a medieval mural in a local church. Slowly, the work, the community, and contact with fellow veteran James Moon and vicar's wife Alice Keach begin to have an impact on Birkin.
Members were full of praise for what is a strikingly short novel. Although some found the first few pages hard to get into, as the book progressed they found themselves gripped and enchanted by the story and the characters.
Many loved the skill of the writing as it packed so many themes and meaning into a limited number of pages. This was not a book driven by plot or events as such. Not a huge amount happens, but there is still a lot going on, particularly in its effect on Birkin, but also in the often unspoken lives of the other characters.
Members really appreciated Carr;s choice not to explain everything that happens, or reveal all about his characters. The reader is left with gaps, but that seemed particularly satisfying, and true-to-life rather than frustrating. There were also moments of oddness and humour that lifted the novel beyond the prosaic.
This is no pat cure for Birkin as well. He does undergo a healing process while he is in the village, but it doesn't sweep away the impact of the war on him, and Carr avoids narrative temptations to make more happen - particularly between Birkin and Alice. It's this subtlety that makes the novel so poignant.
And although Carr outlines a specific set of circumstances, A Month in the Country, is about a golden period of possibility that many may experience at some point in their lives. From that point of view, members thought it was vital that the author chose to frame it as the reminiscences of an elderly Birkin, rather than setting the whole novel as events unfolded in 1920.
Some members had also seen the 1987 film adaptation, but found that it wasn't as effective as the novel because of some of the narrative choices it made.
March sees the club take its first look at Angela Carter as members read her 1977 novel, The Passion of New Eve.
The novel follows damaged First World War veteran Tom Birkin as he arrives in a Yorkshire village in 1920 to restore a medieval mural in a local church. Slowly, the work, the community, and contact with fellow veteran James Moon and vicar's wife Alice Keach begin to have an impact on Birkin.
Members were full of praise for what is a strikingly short novel. Although some found the first few pages hard to get into, as the book progressed they found themselves gripped and enchanted by the story and the characters.
Many loved the skill of the writing as it packed so many themes and meaning into a limited number of pages. This was not a book driven by plot or events as such. Not a huge amount happens, but there is still a lot going on, particularly in its effect on Birkin, but also in the often unspoken lives of the other characters.
Members really appreciated Carr;s choice not to explain everything that happens, or reveal all about his characters. The reader is left with gaps, but that seemed particularly satisfying, and true-to-life rather than frustrating. There were also moments of oddness and humour that lifted the novel beyond the prosaic.
This is no pat cure for Birkin as well. He does undergo a healing process while he is in the village, but it doesn't sweep away the impact of the war on him, and Carr avoids narrative temptations to make more happen - particularly between Birkin and Alice. It's this subtlety that makes the novel so poignant.
And although Carr outlines a specific set of circumstances, A Month in the Country, is about a golden period of possibility that many may experience at some point in their lives. From that point of view, members thought it was vital that the author chose to frame it as the reminiscences of an elderly Birkin, rather than setting the whole novel as events unfolded in 1920.
Some members had also seen the 1987 film adaptation, but found that it wasn't as effective as the novel because of some of the narrative choices it made.
March sees the club take its first look at Angela Carter as members read her 1977 novel, The Passion of New Eve.
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