The Gathering

The blurb on the back of the book describes the novel thus:

"The nine surviving children of the Hegarty clan gather in Dublin for the wake of their wayward brother Liam. It wasn't the drink that killed him - although that certainly helped - it was what happened in his grandmother's house, in the winter of 1968.

The Gathering is a novel about love and disappointment, about thwarted lust and limitless desire, and about how our fate is written in the body, not the stars."

While being accurate, I'm not sure this describes the book to best effect. I also feel that the book should maybe have had an alternative title.

The novel is narrated by Veronica who was the sibling closest to the deceased Liam. Through a series of flashbacks she tells a number of stories - that of her own life and marriage, her journey to Brighton to identify and reclaim Liam's body and the impact on the family of his death. 

The gathering of the title doesn't actually occur until three quarters of the way through the book  after the family history has been recounted. The central story is of an incident which may or may not have happened when Veronica, Liam and their younger sister stayed with their Grandmother, Ada. In explaining the incident, Veronica also relates the history of Ada, her husband Charlie and his friend, Nugent. How much of this backstory is true is, however, open to question - her "memories" contain a certain amount of conjecture.

The book explores how memory can work two ways; how the past, or our perception of the past, impacts on our lives and the choices we make and also how our experiences and knowledge affect our interpretation of the past. Another central theme is the how emotion motivates the behaviour and responses of individuals and those close to them.

The writing is beautiful with a richness of language which reminded me of another Irish Booker winner - The Sea by John Banville. Unlike that book, though, I felt I cared about the characters and the story in The Gathering. The beauty of the prose enhanced the story-telling rather than seeming to be an end in itself.


All in all, The Gathering is a wonderfully crafted and thought provoking novel. I highly recommend it.

Andrew

What this blog needs is a touch of class...

....but I'll leave that for another time. Instead this post features a ballet classic as you may not have seen it before.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo are an all-male group of classically trained dancers performing parodies of some of the best known ballets. I saw them some years ago and approached the performance with some scepticism; I had seen them perform a piece on television but could the joke sustain a whole show? What I experienced was one of the funniest and most fun nights I've ever had in a theatre.

The finale is a unique, ehm, "interpretation" of Mikhail Fokine's The Dying Swan:

You can visit their website for more information and tour dates. They're touring the UK in March and April - well worth a gander if they're in your vicinity!

Andrew

The Lord of the Rings: How it Should Have Ended

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a lifelong fan of Lord of the Rings. I read the books every four years and love the monumental achievement which the films represent. That said, I do understand those who feel the whole undertaking of the fellowship could have been less protracted and yearn for a shorter version. So here it is:

You can see abridged alternative versions of a number of other films on the the How it Should Have Ended You Tube channel.

Andrew

An A-Z of my CDs: T

T is for Texas who are my favourite band. While interest in other bands has waxed and waned, Texas have been a consistent love for over 20 years. I can't wait to hear the new material and album due later this year. For now, though, I present three of their classics!

First, I Don't Want a Lover. Most of the videos on You Tube are of the remix from the Greatest Hits album. I'm not sure when this performance dates to, but it's faithful to the spirit of the original:

Next, a track from White on Blonde, the album that remains their biggest seller and saw them make a comeback in the UK after the (relative) lack of success of Mothers Heaven and Ricks Road here; although these had been much more successful in Europe, particularly France and Belgium. This is Say What You Want:

And finally, a track from their last album, Red Book. This is Getaway:

Hope you enjoyed!

Andrew

Cock! Balls! Tits! Text RUDE to 70011 to Donate.

No, I've not developed Tourettes. 

Instead, this is a post about The Rude Road Trip undertaken by the guys from The Inbetweeners in aid of Comic Relief. Like the show, the premise glories in puerile and infantile humour - the guys set out to visit 50 places with rude place names over the course of 50 hours. 

You can read more on their challenge here and see a map of their adventure here as well as links to more photos. Here's a flavour of their escapades:

To donate to Comic Relief, follow this link or, in the UK, you can donate £1 in support of the boys by texting RUDE to 70011. Texts cost £1 plus standard network rates.

Andrew