The book group I'm in has just read two novels in a row set in England. The second book, Kate Atkinson's Behind The Scenes At The Museum, I chose for what I hoped would be a light-hearted antidote to the first book, Doris Lessing's The Sweetest Dream, which reduced me to tears about the hopeless emptiness* of being English AND female, and made me very homesick at the same time.
I enjoyed Behind The Scenes... but for a while after I'd started it, I was worried it was going to lead to a similar discussion about just how many Brits are deranged, almost always because of some or other world war. One commenter concluded that a main character in The Sweetest Dream must be "bipolar" because she was so crazy - I was astonished because to me she just seemed like a tired-out, world-weary, cynical English woman, the kind that are a dime a dozen in everyone's family (I thought). One nation's familiar bitter cynicism is another nation's bipolar, I guess.
After this, I wanted to find an English 20th or 21st century novel that doesn't mention the war - not in the lines, not between the lines and not beyond the lines, as one of my GCSE English teachers would have said. I kind of failed with Behind The Scenes.., although people seemed to enjoy it. It just made me think again about how much two world wars (and one world cup) somehow infiltrated my environment and upbringing.
I was born in 1981. My parents were born in 1952 and 1954. Theoretically, I shouldn't have had much to do with any war - but I remember in primary school, our headmistress would terrify us into quiet in morning assembly with tales of how she survived the Blitz. There was a U-Boat bell on a stand in the corner of our dining room. Many, many school projects involved interviewing grandparents or neighbours about their wartime experiences. We have relatives in Canada - they moved there after the war. Growing up near Portsmouth, there are forts in the sea against the French, forts on the hill against the Germans and we're round the corner from what was once one of Europe's largest council estates, built badly in a hurry to house those displaced from the bombed-out city.
If I have kids, I'd hope they never have to experience war first hand. But if I pass on anecdotes about my grandparents, family stories and heirlooms, backed up with some top quality 20th C British culture (Fawlty Towers, Blackadder - is there anyone that truly doesn't mention the war?) do I risk turning them into cynical, world-weary adults? Or does it only make an impact if you know people, grandparents for example, who were there, somehow? Would growing up in America make a difference? I realise there are many, many terrible scars on America's history, but they don't seem to have scratched the psyche of the populace in quite the same way.
*I just saw Revolutionary Road. I may be feeling particularly morose because of that film. I wasn't sure whether it was all it was cracked up to be, but it's been lingering with me and I can't stop thinking about it, so it must have done something effectively.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
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6 comments:
I can't think of any 20th/21st century English books to recommend which don't mention the war...
I've read a lot of London books recently. Graham Swift's 'Last Orders', Colin McInnes' 'Absolute Beginners', and Sam Selvon's 'The Lonely Londoners'.
All of which are excellent, although Last Orders has a particularly high second war reference count.
The Lonely Londoners is about West Indians in London in the 50s (I can't really remember the war being a direct issue), and Absolute Beginners is about a teenager in late 50s London... I'd read that if you want English, but non-war...
I don't have any English book suggestions for you, but I think I have a pretty good idea why these stories of war keep rolling on. They are meant to frighten you into being controlled.
Your teacher told them to you so you would be quiet and pay attention. In a bigger sense they contribute to a contrived form or UK patriotism which leads to group think. In the US this fear/control dynamic is used to sell products. Everything from fear of rodents to zits sells crap on TV every day. Let's not forget those rights we gave up for fear of terrorists, despite the fact that death from terrorism is a few hundred times less likely in the US than death from heart disease.
I'm not so worried about teaching my child about war as I am about teaching him or her to simply question.
If your book club takes on this theme, I would suggest one American and one British work:
- Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
My parents were born in '46 and '47, right after my Grandfathers returned from the war in Africa and India respectively - so yes, I know what you mean about the war being ever-present.
My take on things being so often WW1 or WW2 related is, not only is the period a writers treasure trove of socio-economic upheaval, but it's also the most recent historical time period. It's hard to write decent contemporary fiction unless it's shear fluff along the lines of 'Shopaholic' etc, as it's so hard to be subjective about the time period you're living in.
Hands down my favourite book, and ripe for a book club because of the contentious subject matter, is 'Notes on a Scandal' by Zoe Heller.
maybe this will cheer you up if you haven't seen it...a largely WW-free taste of home.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/16/walkers-crisps-new-flavours-brooker
I felt the same way about Revolutionary Road. It was very depressing.
I think Americans are less affected by wars because they seldom take place on their own soil. That's not to say that their forces haven't fought in wars, but when they take place thousands of miles away it is easier to maintain a sense of detachment.
Also your parents being born in 1952,54, only 7 and 9 years after the second world war are bound to have been affected by their own parents wartime experiences.
Perhaps the book club should stick with Jane Austin. :-)
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