Le Pigeon

To Sarah Waters, farewell we say and we probably won't go back...
Our new exciting task is Patrick Süskind's The Pigeon. Patrick being the sweet child he is (easy I know with a name like that), he's blessed us with a short and efficient story: a novella! We will be discussing it on Wednesday the 26th of September.
Welcome to our new member, Evan.

Watch your Fingers

Another fruitful gathering of the Books ta Mère rangers, at the new plush BFI (ex NFT) café took place recently. We democrately elected Sarah Waters' Fingersmith as part of our Gay & Lesbian selection.
Other contenders that made it to the final were Jean Genet's Our Lady of the Flowers and James Balwin's Giovanni's Room.



We also had a fierce debate on Arnaldur Indriðason's Silence of the Grave, here are the results:

Adam: 2/5
Alex: 2/5
Gaelle: 2/5
Hannah: 1/5
Justin: 2/5
Rocio: 2/5


And a warm welcome to our new members: Misters Peter S. and Peter T. and Ms Dileeni!

Gulfoss

Hello - my first blog for 1 year...Went to Iceland and tried to read the book but was too distracted in the mighty hotel Cabin. Please come and visit me when I move on secondment to the icelandic ministry of justice. I'll tell you all about icelandic naming conventions if you're lucky!

PEL

Silence Please!

Last Friday some of us gathered at Le Pain Quotidien, to choose a new title for this session's theme, Crime Fiction. The lucky Winner was Arnaldur Indriðason's Silence of the Grave, the English translation by Bernard Scudder in 2005 won the British Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger award for best crime novel of the year.

We also voted on The Diviners:

Adam 2/5 (for the colitis moments)
Dave 3/5 (individually enjoyed it)
Gaelle 3/5 (for the Krispy Kreme moments)
Justin 1/5 (big piece of intellectual masturbation)

Divine!

Last night we had a meeting in Regent's Park. Geese surrounded us but didn't eat us so we managed to pick a new book. The theme being "Fiction from the last two years", Rick Moody's The Diviners, one of Dave's proposals was chosen.

Amazon UK's summary says: "This is a spectacularly epic comedy of love, politics, sex and work from one of the most admired and influential American writers of his generation. It is the autumn of election year 2000, and scores of film-business strivers are focused on one goal - getting themselves connected to an elusive but potentially huge television saga, one that opens with Huns sweeping through Mongolia and closes with a Mormon in the Las Vegas desert: a sure-to-please-everyone, multi-generational TV mini-series about diviners, those miracle workers who bring water to perpetually thirsty (and hungry and love-starved) humankind. Among the wannabees are: Vanessa Meandro, hot-tempered head of an indie film company; her harried and varied staff; a Sikh cab driver; a bipolar bicycle messenger; the Vanderbilt girls; a thriller writer who gives Botox parties; a CEO of network programming whose daughter is Vanessa's donut gofer; and a supreme court justice who wants to write the script."
Thank you Amazon man/woman.


Here's a picture of our man Rick, proudly holding the American edition of The Diviners.










Our previous selection (oh THANK YOU HANNAH) Flowers for Algernon, was mostly liked (even adored perhaps) by everyone, and got the following ratings:
Adam: 4/5
Alex: 4/5
Dave: 4/5
Gaelle: 3/5
Hannah: 4/5
Isobel: 4/5
Justin: 4/5

The exciting theme for the next meeting is "Crime Fiction".
Now put the knife down!

Daniel!

So here we go, our new book for this month (months!) is Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. It's part of our Sci-Fi season and everyone should rejoice! Indeed, one reader on Amazon wrote this: "I have never cried so much or so hard after finishing a book. Highly recommended."
Get the buckets ready!

On the other hand I now realise I have read this book...
But when? But where?

G

"It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Hannah's victory!

Hannah has been celebrating last night's incredible victory for hours now... To celebrate with her, why not view the Official Video of her acceptance speech?

(requires Quicktime or Realplayer (may need additional download though) to play)

The Master's on the Telly!

A story (from the Guardian) warmeth the heart of the Bulgakov lovers... the famous novel has been made into a mini-series on Russian TV!
Can we expect it on BBC4 within the next ten years? (I bet it's on ARTE next month!).
The handsome monsieur on the left will play obscure Woland. Hmmm.

Princelet Street

Having a slightly boring day today I decided to find out more about Princelet Street and discovered a website dedicated to the building where David Rodinsky lived.
More stuff here!

Royal Festival Hall Of Shame

Dave and Gaëlle, the chattiest members of Books Ta Mère.

Royal Festival Hall Of Fame

Jack discusses his literary ambitions with his new aunt, Rocio; while Hannah imagines what it'd be like to fill Books Ta Mère with more of
her children...

La Chambre De Rod

For Adam

Love Justin

Rodinsky Baby

Here's a nice photo of our xmas choice - Go Get!

The DAY after...

Well, it's the day after the night before - Adam will be recovering from his amazing victory.
Click here for a video of his triumphal speech (you'll need to save the file from the link - MAC: hold Control and click on link, then select SAVE LINKED FILE AS - ignore the APPEND message. PC: Right-click and SAVE LINKED FILE AS - needs Quicktime).

Gaelle's recommendations

1- Mutants: On the Form, Varieties and Errors of the Human Body
Armand Marie Leroi
464 pages
Winner of the Guardian First Book Award 2004, Mutants is disturbing, fascinating and enlightening; in short, a remarkable book.
"This book is a well-written account of mutants and mutation, in which the author draws not only on his considerable scientific knowledge, but also illustrates his points very interestingly using vignettes from the history of the study of mutants. He deals with conjoined twins, the Elephant Man, pituitary abnormalities, the castrati etc... in a very readable but precise and concise manner."
Should satisfy my curiosity for "Freaks"...

2- Hitchcock  
Francois Truffaut
367 pages
The classic study of the great director and his films, comprising a series of dialogues between Hitchcock and Truffaut, is fully updated with material on Hitchcock's last years and his final four films as well as his more "classic" ones. A compelling read.
Fascinating for Hitchcock fans as well as anyone with an interest in films.
He is the Master after all...

Adam's Recommendations

Well it's non-fiction next month and these are my two recommendations:

1. We Wish to Inform you that Tomorrow we will be Killed with our Families - Philip Gourevitch.

This was the winner of the Guardian First Book award in the late 90s and is a journalistic account of the Rwandan Genocide. The genocide is one of the most shocking atrocities in recent history but compared to other genocides such as the Holocaust little is known about it. Gourevitch examines and explains the genocide through harrowing individual stories - both perpetrators and survivors and in fact the film Hotel Rwanda was based on one of the chapters in this book. I'll admit this is not going to be a cheerful read but it is also seems shameful that so many of us know so little about such a shocking event.

2. Rodinsky's Room - Rachel Lichenstein and Iain Sinclair

A fascinating book. David Rodinsky, caretaker of an old synagogue in Princelet Street near Brick Lane disappeared in the 1960s. Although the synagogue fell into dilapidation his room was left undisturbed for 20 years until Rachel Lichenstein, a Jewish artist happened upon it. The room was full of writings, annotated books, maps, gramophone records and clothes. Lichenstein, whose grandparents had fled from Poland in the 1930s started to try and piece together the shadowy figure that was David Rodinsky, a journey that takes her from the east end of London, to Poland and to Israel. She discovers that his world was that of Eastern Jewry, cabbalistic speculation, an obsession with language as code and terrible loss. This is a book about both the experience of Eastern European Jewry in the east end of London and Lichenstein's own search for her roots and Jewish identity. Weaved into this, in alternative chapters, the London based author Iain Sinclair meditates both on Lichenstein's quest to discover the "lost" David Rodinsky but also Rodinsky's Whitechapel and its immigrant past and present.

Adam R

New meeting!

It seems that we've agreed the new Books ta Mère meeting will take place on Friday the 28th of this month. So Ladies and Gentlemen, if you could think of a venue that is baby-friendly but also serves wine I think our dream (ok maybe just mine) can come true... Over.

Graham Greene With Envy

This is just for Adam really, cos I think this is as close as he'll get to the Greenester in Books Ta Mère.
Ho ho!

Themes for future Ta Meres

Let me know what you think - a few ideas for themes: -

General non-fiction
Biography / Autobiography
Crime / thriller
Russian literature
S American literature
Graphic Novels
Chick Lit
Pulp fiction / popular best-seller
Past Booker winners
Releases from this year
Graham Greene novels!!
Author themes (e.g. Graham Greene)
Poetry collections

Adam

Brucie Bonus

I was on the train a few weeks ago and I happened upon a man reading a Bruce Forsyth biography! I mean really of all the biographies in all of the world. Why is he always classed a "great entertainer" - what is entertaining about a seedy old man with a big chin? Well at a recent wedding I went to there was a groundswell of favourable opinion to one of the grand old men of British tv! I give up.

Adam