In the Mood for Love (Tony Rayns)
Released in 2000, Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love" is
possibly the last great film. Rayns, a translator, discusser and faller-outer
with Wong, writes a two-part look at what is also probably Wong's last good
film.
The first part is a scene-by-scene description of much, if not all of
the film, making you recall just how housewife's choice Tony Leung
Chiu-wai dabs his mustard, I think. Even
for someone like me who has watched the film many times, a better person detailing
the film in this way does add some new perspectives on things.
The second half places the film in the context of Wong's wider work and
what was happening in the build-up to its filming and release, including photo
shoots of films never made, offering yet more insights galore.
Obviously, this is one for the film-nerd / loyal Wong fan, but perhaps
is more important looking at a film that sees a turning point in cinema and how
the Twenty-first Century is lagging well behind the Twentieth in delivering a
level of quality in film.
Days to read: 4
Days per book: 15.1
How Not to be a Boy (Robert Webb)
It's pretty much obligatory now for a comedian to write a book, often
about themselves. But with this the case, it does require one to do a little
bit more than just write a self-indulgent drinking anecdote.
Possibly - if you're cynical, like me - Robert Webb chooses to build on
recent social media trending around gender and whether it's nature or nurture
and all that jazz (though he wasn't raised on jazz music alone), seemingly
taking some cues from Caitlin Moran's books. Depending on which side of the fence you
sit, or which side you dress, this autobiography could be seen as a bold cry
against social traditions, or an annoying gender agenda.
So, on which side of this fence do I sit? Probably on it -
the easy option. This isn’t Lewis Hamilton “boys don’t wear princess dresses”
bashing, but more a self-exploration of Webb’s desire to not become his father.
A less-than-perfect picture is painted of his father, and indeed his
stepfather, with his mother and elder brothers fitting more into the hero role;
his brothers more in-line with the male archetype.
Preferring his mother in all areas, he soon shows traits
supposedly not befitting a teenage boy, such as an interest in the performing
arts and other boys, sort of. As such, it’s more of a finding your feet memoir
than a full-blown gender politics attack, though may take the latter route
occasionally.
As such, it has enough of a balance to not simply laugh the notion
of male gender conditioning off, but also avoids forcing the reader as to what
to believe.
Days to read: 14
Days per book: 15.1
The Master of Go (Yasunari Kawabata)
I was yet to read any of the works by Yasunari Kawabata, but he's one
of those names you see on bookshelves next to other authors' with surnames
starting with the same letter. Looking at one of those bookshelves, I opted for
"The Master of Go": a book, that while an easy read, I imagine is not
representative of the body of his work.
A collection of his newspaper reports covering the 1938 go match
between an ageing master and his young challenger, formed into a novel years
later, "The Master of Go" is a series of short chapters covering each
day's play, as well as those in between, of the six month match, which resulted
in inevitable defeat for the master in his last match.
The outcome of the match is made clear early on, making this not so
much about the match itself, but the contrasting behaviours of the two
competitors in their down time. The master cannot switch off from competition,
always wanting a game of chess or billiards; while his young opponent spends
time with his young family, preferring to rest when possible.
This is welcome to someone like me who knows nothing of the game of go,
and so the coverage of the matchplay, tactics involved and point scoring is
more a collection of words on a page. But while shaping a story, this still is
very much reporting on the match played over six months and so maybe does not
paint the best picture of Kawabata as an author for the novice in numerous
ways.
Days to read: 11
Days per book: 15.0
The Miner (Natsume Soseki)
I'm making it a mini-mission to get through all of Soseki's works by
the end of 2018. Not really much of a challenge, but like myself in a urinal, I
aim low.
"The Miner" is the collection of Soseki's serialisation in
the newspaper Asahi Shimbun and is certainly one of the more ironically titled
of his works. A middle-class nineteen year-old of education and no work
experience from Tokyo heads north in search of a place to quietly die, for
quite meaninglessly middle-class reasons. During his search, he meets a man who promises him money if he takes work
with him. With quite literally nothing to lose, he follows the man to see where
the journey takes him.
Eventually, he ends up at a nameless mine buried in the mountains,
though he soon finds himself alone, his original guide disappearing once he has
his "recruitment" money. Unwanted by the miners, whom he sees as
inferior beasts, and hounded by bedbugs as he tries to sleep, he soon finds
that the world of mining is not for him after being taken for a tour of the
mine on his second day there. Encountering a miner who was once in a position similar
to his own, though probably more earnest, he is fully convinced that he doesn't
want to set foot in the mine again, taking a *SPOILER ALERT* role as a
bookkeeper for the mine for five months before returning home.
Written as a memoir, the author frequently references how this is no
novel. And, written in serialised parts, this is more an extended train of
thought, but strangely has no natural breaks that staggered publishing might
suggest. But largely, this is just rambling, similar to "Botchan" with
a young Tokyoite looking down at country folk, though with somewhat more
awareness of his naivety.
But the fact that it is halfway through the novel before he actually
reaches the mine - and subsequently fails to forge a career as a titular miner,
returning to his parents - this is where Soseki's comedy comes in as the novel
concludes; the whole journey seemingly a waste of time, the protagonist having
learnt little from his experience.
Soseki's "experience" of mining came from discussion with a
young former miner, perhaps why there is much more focus on the journey there,
and little actual working as a miner explored. As such, this is no novel, more
an account of observations from an extended journey into the depths which can
be escaped at any time for our "hero", placing it stylistically closer to Orwell's
"The Road to Wigan Pier" or "Down and Out in Paris and London"
than most storytelling.
Days to read: 11
Days per book: 15.0
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