Books
Around the world in 800 pages
By Vivid writers: Freelance Frank and Christopher Neesham and Oliver Perkins
The effects of communism, the effects of war and the effects of occupation - all themes in the latest books article
Posted: 19/10/2007
Been there, done that
A review by Frank O'Connor
House of Meetings By Martin Amis
Perhaps, in the air-conditioned fishbowl of an American corporate workplace, House of Meetings could have a devastating impact on its reader. But it failed me in this respect, because living in Romania is already a forceful lesson in the dominating idea behind the book - namely that communism was a bad idea.
Or, put more specifically, Russian communism was a deeply brutal attack on the physical and psychological elements of humanity which has left a lasting impression in the modern world. This is something I know already. I know it from having had to carve out a niche for myself in Bucharest - your typical post-communist New York of the old world. So the book never hit me on that level of visceral shock, that cherished zone of suspended disbelief, and reading it remained an oddly detached experience for me - like listening to emergency instructions on an aircraft you think won't crash anyway.
The writing is strong and powerful, even if Amis has toned down his stylistic leaps and pirouettes, as many commentators have noted. His love of structure is apparent in the story, which concerns a love triangle with three main figures - two brothers and a women nicknamed "The Americas" because of her shape. The tale is told from the point of view of one brother - the nastier one - as a written memoir to his daughter, Venus. It is a confession of sorts - mostly self-indulgent sorts.
About half the book is set in the gulag and outlines the hierarchies and brutalities of life there. Again, for me, the broader insights here misfire. They are already to be found, written with much more impact, in the work of Primo Levi. After having read Levi's If This is A Man, I find that Amis' attempt to address the same condition comes off as a shallow imitation. He seems more at home delineating his structure of prison life, from the big mafia figures at the top (the 'Brutes' and the 'Bitches'), to the 'shit eaters' at the bottom, who sleep on the floor and eat the leftovers of others.
Amis' smaller scale insights, however, are definitely worth the price of the admission. His sharp characterisation of the Russians as a people who talk loudest when they are least sincere reminds me of the scandalous arguments which can be heard in any crumbling Bucharest apartment block. His description of the American teenage proclivity to state every sentence as a tentative question, and to answer others with an "OK..." (a tactic that actually holds off assent) - is masterful. The small image of the narrator falling asleep in the camp to the sound of hundreds of men dreaming of eating is memorable.
The self-referential stuff is all intact here. The opening salvo describes the act of writing the rest, and deals explicitly with the question of structure. And a story cast as a memoir from an experienced older man to his 'lost' daughter has extra resonance when written by a man who himself discovered a lost daughter of his own - as Amis discusses in his autobiography Experience.
All in all, it was a fairly effortless glide. The view was nice, but it left me pretty much where I had started from. Amis has style, wit and flourish but he squanders them on a story that goes nowhere new, leaving a trail of fireworks in its wake, and a sense of loss in the reader.
Jonathan Cape, pp 198, 2006, ISBN: 0-224-07609-4, ISBN 978-0-224-07609-8; hardback GBP 11.19; paperback GBP 6.39 from www.amazon.co.uk
Gallipoli redux
A review by Christopher Neesham
Defeat at Gallipoli By Nigel Steel and Peter Hart
Defeats at war are embedded in the history of nations as much, if not more so, than victories. Just as Americans regard the battle of Little Big Horn, and the British look back at the Blitz, Gallipoli looms large in the national psyche of any Australian. School children from an early age have instilled in them a sense of pride for the Australian and New Zealand soldiers (Anzacs) who fought at Gallipoli in world war one during an eight month period in 1915 and 1916 which saw, in all, more than 130,000 troop deaths and 260,000 wounded.
So much so that 25th April - the day of landings at Gallipoli - is an Australian national holiday, known as Anzac Day. The last Anzac veteran of the campaign was honoured with a state funeral. To the outsider it might seem curious a defeat is so celebrated; as time passes the legend intensifies and myths grow.
Fortunately we have Defeat at Gallipoli to counter our wanderings from the reality. The title leaves no room for speculation as to how rigorous research and historical analysis does not leave us guessing as to why it failed.
The plan to land an allied army of British, French, Australian, New Zealand, and colonial armies (including Gurkhas, Punjabs and Senegalese) on the Gallipoli Peninsula in support of a naval attack on the Dardanelles, threatening Constantinople and opening a route to the Black Sea was unlikely to succeed. 'Logic' at the time was that such an action would divert German attention and resources away from a deadlocked Western front while relieving the pressure on the Russians in the Caucasus.
A bold endeavour for a plan that was described by Lord Fischer, Admiral of the Fleet as 'mightily hazardous'. Hazards which were compounded by poor intelligence, insufficient resources, and ad hoc management. The cruel irony is that at the conclusion of the campaign, evacuation was the exact antithesis, a brilliant example of military planning: casualties 1 dead, 2 injured, against initial estimates of 50 per cent casualties in a force numbering more than 100,000. This counters the myth that there were no casualties.
The book offers a comprehensive, yet sometimes heavy and dry account of the campaign but this is complemented by illuminating anecdotal material which gives the campaign a very human perspective.
Letters, diaries and interviews from soldiers convey the horror, suffering, indifference, courage and tragedy of war more effectively than any academic or non-participant could hope to do. Although the accuracy of information secured from interviews recorded for the book, more than 60 years after Gallipoli, may be open to interpretation.
From such material you get a vivid picture of Gallipoli's 'incomparable savagery' and 'utter squalor'. An insight into unofficial truces, the 'respect for Johnny Turk' defending their land against the infidels. Unauthorised orders to retire countering the myth of steadfast compliance and unceasing heroism. The humiliating ravages of dysentery, and disease. The cruel indifference of some officers in high command: the determination to "drive men unceasingly, without any regard to losses or fatigue" (Lieutenant General Hunter Weston). This is countered by the many acts of great selflessness and valour by officers in the field who suffered high casualties as a result of snipers deliberately targeting officers.
Maps of Helles, Anzac Cove and Suvla enable the reader to follow the campaign. This is supplemented by a comprehensive bibliography, source references, general index, and a separate index of forces and people for the academically inclined or for the curious hungry for more information on this tragedy.
Pan Macmillan, pp 422, this edition published 2002, ISBN 0-330-49058-3, GBP 6.99 from www.amazon.co.uk
Middle East unravelled
Review by Oliver Perkins
Israel versus Palestine: what's it all about? By Paul Middleton
I have known the author for some fifteen years; after spending our first year at Durham University (where he studied Arabic and Middle Eastern studies) we spent an amazing summer on a kibbutz close to the Gaza strip. Prior to this Paul Middleton's love affair with the region had already begun, when as a naive 18-year-old he arrived in Israel, backpack slung over his shoulder with a promise ... of sex, sun, drugs and adventure - an irresistible cocktail that was not on offer on my home town of Blackburn (strange as it may seem).
Several weeks ago I received his new book. This no-nonsense, straight talking northern Englishman hadn't changed a bit over the years and his personality permeates virtually every page of this excellent read. If you like your political history brief and snapshotted then this is the book for you. In less than a hundred pages (not including a People section, a Places section, a Glossary and recommended reading) Israel v Palestine goes a long way to explain the chaotic mess that has become one of the defining political issues of the last two generationss.
Beginning with the historical roots of the conflict, Middleton covers British and US involvement, the impact of the Holocaust and its aftermath, Israel's war of independence, the Occupied Territories and intifidas, the Oslo accords and other well meaning but futile attempts at peace, the impact of the war in Iraq and finally George Bushes 'War on Terror'. The overriding feeling the reader comes away with is that once created, Israel's politicians never gave an inch of ground and steadfastly refused to negotiate with any Palestinian initiative that is remotely connected with a call for getting their land back; Palestine has over a great many years been poorly led, characterised by a lack of unity and organisation. And therein lies the problem that lasts to this very day.
The author's relaxed prose gives the reader the impression he might be leaning up in the corner of a bar holding forth on one of the greatest political issues of our times. Here he is discussing an Arab summit in Khartoum in 1967 that became known as the 'Three Nos' (no peace, no recognition and no negotiation):
It was a public relations-fest for the Israelis. Picture it: this vulnerable little country surrounded by a sea of unreasonable and hostile Arabs had miraculously managed to survive against all the odds. Still as belligerent as ever, the Arabs issue the Three Nos. I mean, come on. What can you do with these people? Simple, to the point and engaging. It's the way most people in the West viewed the war. Throw in some guilt over the Holocaust and a bit about Israel being the "only democracy in the Middle East" and it was pretty watertight.
It might seem at times that Middleton is tempted to take sides, but he does manage to maintain a balanced subjectivity throughout. He correctly identifies that most Israelis and Palestinians support peace with their neighbours, and lets the reader draw his own conclusions. However he does contend that ultimately "it is the voices of the bereaved, those courageous enough not to hate that should be listened to most closely." In a region where violence, hatred and self interest have determined people's collective future for so long one cannot help but agree.
Zed Books, pp 96, 2005, ISBN-10: 184277655X, GBP 9.99 from www.amazon.co.uk
Comments:
1. | |
Wednesday 02nd September 2009 at 13:09 guest said: ""he does manage to maintain a balanced subjectivity throughout" - Just as you manage to have no bias in writing a book review about someone you "have known...for some fifteen years" and "spent an amazing summer on a kibbutz close to the Gaza strip" with… right? I am as impressed at how unbiased this book was as I am at how much you managed to criticize your pals book. This book was ok, but misleading at times. This book should only be read by people who plan on looking at more material on the subject, definitely just a small introduction with the author’s personal opinion embedded. May the Middle East finally see peace. 2 state solution. Peace to Palestine, peace to Israel, peace to all people living in the region. May the suffering of all come to an end." | |