Here we go again; Best books and why?


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Posted by Peter Ceresole on February 22, 2010 at 07:25:44 user PeterC.

Okay, I know this is old hat, mouldy potatoes, deja vu... But please indulge me. I've been dreamily gazing at the spines of my old JC volumes, lined up in my 'instant access' bookshelf next to my iMac, and thinking about which ones I read most, which ones I like most, and why.

No doubt about my favourites; first comes PM, then WH. Both like a warm bath, sheer pleasure every time I start into them. Both with passages I re-read on their own (for instance, Dorothea meeting Captain Flint for the first time on the Fram). I read them because I think that AR reached a peak of story telling and style in those books, and because there he fully exploits the characters of the Ds, who out of all his characters are my favourites. And that may well be because, like them, I am a city boy, and love it, and like Dick I studied science, enjoyed it (physics was my favourite subject at school) and feel it has enriched my life ever since. So I can identify with them best of all.

But objectively the most powerful book is WDMTGTS. It's quite superb, a description of raw courage and persistence that still rings true, and stylistically wonderfully handled. The contrasts between the scenes of mayhem at sea and the domestic comfort of Pin Mill, and (my favourite bit of business) Jim Brading coming to in the hospital and escaping into the blazing sunshine. So vivid, so well imagined. Even the happy ending is poetically handled, with John looking out at his father as he starts to sing shanties at the helm, getting louder as he lets himself go... Lovely.

There's also BS, especially the twins' passage on 'Sir Garnett'. 'Wasters!'

But the ones I read most often are PM and WH. Maybe at the venerable age of 70 I just value pure pleasure most. It's allowed...


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