by Sue,
Years ago I read and enjoyed Brother of the More Famous Jack by the
same author. Frankie and Stankie is
set in South Africa in the apartheid era. Given recent travels there, I
selfishly though this should be a relevant and interesting read. It may prove
to be both. The reviews are good:
“As with all her novels, it
is informed, as the critic Philip Hensher has commented, by ‘her knowledge of
the endlessly surprising and devious ways with which people deal with each
other’. Having been short-listed three times for the Whitbread Novel Award,
Barbara Trapido is surely overdue to win a major literary prize.”
However, I have the advantage of having read pages 1-13 in bed
last night. So much information given at such a rapid rate in the small print
of my copy . . . It could have been that I was tired – time will tell.
My copy has ten discussion questions. Referring to these,
perhaps we could think about the style - “short simple sentences in the present
tense” - and how we feel about it. We could also think about why Trapido wrote
a novel on this topic rather than an autobiography. It seems much of the novel
is based on her own experiences. We could also comment on how much we learn
about apartheid South Africa. And anything else that strikes you, of course.
Happy reading ladies.
Hello to you both! Loved seeing your faces from Nancy's facebook pictures! Looks like you had a nice visit. I'm sorry to say that my post will be late this month. My copy of Frankie& Stankie still hasn't come in. Hopefully it will be here soon.
ReplyDeleteMuch love!
Katie
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeletePlease don't worry, I may be a little late myself !! Our time with Sue and Jay was wonderful. I took the liberty of showing off a few fb Benjamin photos, hope you don't mind.
regards Nancy
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures of you and your family, Katie – Benjamin is beautiful. Research tells us genes will out. And it was a joy to have Nancy and Ivars here – a wonderful few days – we only wished they could have stayed longer. But such marvellous holiday plans, Nancy, so meticulously carried through. You and Ivars are a wonderful example to Jay and myself. Currently, we are planning a trip, and I have you in the forefront of my mind as I grapple with the timetabling – and this is only a short, simple trip. Hope the rest of your fantastic journeying is going just as you and Ivars would want it to.
Hope, too, both your families are well. In the milder weather, we’re doing fine here. Birds making a terrific racket, flowers in bloom – and a lady coming to see about improving the garden. Perhaps a foolishly indulgent thought regarding such a small garden.
There will be spoilers here, ladies, so you may not want to read further until you’ve completed the novel – but it’s an autobiography set in a time of which I’m sure we’ve all got some knowledge, so perhaps no real surprises
I feel I should apologise for this choice. It took me three attempts to get into it. Those “short simple sentences in the present tense” might bring more immediacy, more drama, more involvement with the text but the impact was overpowering in places. So much to take in at such a rapid rate - one was just dragged along. There seemed no time for reflection – and heaven knows Trapido is describing times on which we should all be reflecting. (There’s an attempt to refIect on life in South Africa and U.K. in the last paragraph on p.296, where past and present are deliberately juxtaposed, to reflect Dinah’s own confusion, I think, but I’m not sure it works – certainly not for the superficial reader.) I got used to the style eventually, but it was a while before I looked forward to resuming reading the text.
Even then, the sheer detail meant I knew I’d forget something important – that references back to events earlier in the book would be lost on me. Poor reading habits, I have: I think you’re supposed to “surrender to the text” or something.
Some memorable characters, though – loved Evalina and Francis-the Gardener. There again, so many characters it became confusing to someone whose short-term memory is not what once it was. But the characters all revealed so much about apartheid. Indeed, the author’s discussion of the evils of apartheid was gloriously conducted through a child’s observations of the characters’ behaviour.
So, in that respect it is perhaps a better approach than a straightforward autobiography; that might have been a much drier affair. But this reader had to work a lot harder. I’m not sure why the excellent section on Dinah’s Mum’s parents, Chapter Six, was placed between leaving primary and entering high school. (In life, one tends to leave grandparents behind then?) I felt fascinating information was being fired at me in ways that failed to capitalize on their potential impact.
And I’m not sure of the appropriacy of the title since we lose sight of Lisa for much of the novel. Perhaps it’s a metaphor for the struggle – originating as it does in a song about the workers’ struggle?
Enough attempts to analyse what I’ve had my own struggle with. I very much enjoyed sections of it, but found it unsatisfactory as a whole. A bit of pruning might not have come amiss. (I’m a fine one to talk! I ramble endlessly.)
Again, I’m sorry, ladies – this was not the book for travelling with, or for reading at breakneck speed as a result of late delivery.
Good luck to you both.
Sue
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for taking so long to make my comment this month, I have been attempting to finish our book while waiting in airport lounges and on flights but I must confess not only am I late posting, I also didn’t finish. I am in Oslo airport lounge now on route to Riga to catch up with family so it seems like a good time to write.
You are right Sue, this is a difficult story to read when time is limited. I feeI I really haven’t given it the attention it requires. I know very little of this time in South African history and actually very little about South Africa in general, so I found myself wanting to research some of the references Dinah has made to obviously very important historical events, but I was jet lagged and rushed and so missed opportunities to learn more of about these times.
There was so much information fired at us and at times I was a little lost and also at times felt I was reading a teenage girls diary and dare I say I was a little bored , but perhaps this was just my tiredness, and of course this can be the nature of autobiography.
I have good intentions to re read Frankie and Stankie at a later time when I can enjoy and take my time and appreciate the true value of it.
I have enjoyed some incredible stories written through children’s eyes by very talented authors. On racism, To Kill A Mocking Bird immediately comes to mind.
I hope all is well with you both and you are enjoying your summer weather.
love Nancy
Hello again, ladies
ReplyDeleteWhere are you now, Nancy? Wherever, I hope you are enjoying yourself and feeling a little more rested. Travelling is very tiring - not just the physical aspects - it's the strain of always having to be alert. So, you were wonderful to get through as much of the book as you obviously did. And I would absolutely agree that some of the sections were like a teenage girl's diary.
I do hope you are having a more rewarding interaction with it, Katie.
I've yet to start this month's book, but I do have a copy of it. I'm looking forward to reading it, dealing as it does with " . . . the extraordinary power of reading", something we can all agree on.
Looking ahead, was it me who recommended "The Narrow Road to the Deep North"? Because if it was, I need to get to a copy to write an introduction. It's our turn to go on holiday - leaving 8th July, returning 10th August - Malaysia, Brunei and Turkey with a weekend in London to finish things off. It will be relatives and friends; a reminder to myself of us in Greece as Jay and I go to Ephesus; and sheer indulgence in London.
Hope all is well with both you and your families
Love
Sue
Hello to you both!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sue, for the complement. We are very much in love with our little guy. Nancy, I’m loving all your photos! I’m very sorry about my tardiness with this novel. It took a while for the novel to arrive and we took a little family vacation that was not conducive with reading. Not as glamorous as the trips you both are having, but just a nice little beach trip. Benjamin’s first time seeing sand and ocean! Very cute.
Sue, I agree completely with your feelings of being dragged along. The tenses made it difficult to determine where I was in the timeline. I wouldn’t mind this style of writing if it weren’t for the back and forth through the past, present and future. I was very unaware of the apartheid in South Africa. I find racism of the past hard to read. I understand this was the way the world worked, and even still works, but I’m pleased to live in an area/society that is mostly accepting. There was a merciful shortage of racism toward the Asian populace. (I’m sorry I’m a little biased haha!)
But all of that a side, the title still greatly confuses me. The origin of Frankie and Stankie was mentioned once, briefly, in the beginning and never addressed again. If Frankie and Stankie are to represent Dinah and Lisa, then by the end of the novel only Frankie or Stankie is left. As you mention, Sue, Lisa drops mostly out of mind toward the end of the novel. Another difficulty with the title was being taken seriously at the library and by the bookstore. I would be asked multiple times by staff about the title. When I was on the phone at work trying to find it, my coworker would giggle every time I said Frankie and Stankie. Not a particularly serious name for such a serious novel. Not a bad novel in regard to the extensive history it shared with an unknowledgeable reader such as me.
Sue, enjoy your upcoming travels! Nancy, I hope you are enjoying yourself despite being so busy. I will try not to be so late with our next novel!
Much Love,
Katie
My goodness, Katie - I hadn't thought about the potential embarrassment of constantly repeating the title. You must have caused endless amusement to others - sorry!
ReplyDeleteThe image of Benjamin at the beach is glorious - thank you for it.
Are you home now, Nancy? Hope you're getting some R&R.
Love to you both
Sue