Sunday, July 25, 2010

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry


Thanks to all the BBC's who talked about Chesil Beach, it was a great night and as usual everyone came to the book from a different angle. Some with little time for virgins, others saw Florence as the victim of child abuse or thought Edward was just too self-centered and this was the only way Flo would have pursued her musical passions. Overall verdict was that they might have got it together if they had had their honeymoon in a warmer climate and the book has probably done very little for Chesil Beach as a post wedding destination. 

The next book for the BBC will be from Irish writer/playwright Sebastian Barry. A finalist for the 2008 Man Booker Prize and winner of the Costa Award for Best Novel, The Secret Scripture encompasses not only some of the most painful episodes in Irish history, but also delves deeply into the emotions of love, passion, and soul-destroying prejudice. Casting doubt upon the reliability of human perceptions and, indeed, the very nature of truth, it also upholds the possibilities of dignity and redemption.

We will meet at Dani's on Friday September 10th from 8pm. Enjoy!!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Karen's comments and apology


I was so keen to come to tomorrows book club, but unfortunately it coincides

with Pete's brother from New Zealand coming over.. A bit of a bummer as I am

a great fan of Ian McEwan and I would have loved to know what everyone

thought of this particular piece of writing and compare it to his other

writings.


I enjoyed 'on chesil beach'.. Like most of his books, I love the pace and

the way he unravels each memory and each detail that give Florence and

Edward a beautiful depth. I think McEwan is a great humanist and always

keeps me thinking about our wonderful strange human ways and how we interact

with one another.. There are so many ways to read and misread each others

actions and behaviour.. The human error to misjudge could be seen as a

crime, but I think McEwan creates a way to find forgiveness.. Which is what

I really like about the book..


Anyway.. I'm sad to miss out tomorrow night, and I'm sure there will be some

beautiful ideas and thoughts about the book and his writing style.. I would

love to hear how it all goes..


Have a beautiful night, and please send my regards to all BBC members!


karenxx


Comments from michael

I concur with Dimity, although on reading the book for the 2nd time (it's a habit in our house) I did reflect back tot hose times in the early sixties and I remember quiote clearly young people (men in particular) laughing as they described marriage as a 'licence to have sex'. Remaining virgins until marriage was seen as a moral imperative, not usually followed, but probably more common than today. Of course we all know what changed that position irrevocably, that being the pill and the onset of the sexual revolution which, of course, Eddie finally got involved in. Flo, on the other hand, alluded to another trend of the 60's, that being 'open marriages', and a side reference to psychoanalysis (Yes! The product of a cold, calculating mother and a domineering father!). So altogether she was a harbinger of the 60's revolution, ironically from someone who was 'frigid'. Could such a story have credence today? Possibly not as sex is probably integral to any relationship which ends in marriage, whereas 50 years ago sex was seen as starting at marriage (in theory at least). A bit of juxtaposing horses and carts if you will.

The most disappointing aspect of this book from a self-confessed McEwan fan is that I did not engage with either character, and so I was not emotionally or intellectually wedded to any outcome. They did not draw a sympathetic response from me and I felt a bit of 'as you sow, so you reap'. Victims of their generation? Victims of each other? Victims of themselves? Probably.

Eddie ends up with one short marriage and a string of over-lapping relationships. It may well have been that Flo was his one true love and that if his ego had relinquished a little on Chesil Beach then they could have made a reconciliation and sought solutions to their dilemma. Is the key to all relationships perseverence, and the death to relationships stubborn ego and petulant flight?

One last point. The rleationship between the two was hard to be viewed as a classical love affair. It was duty-centric. And largely duty to each other's family. There was little (actually no) passion, which may give substance to that old joke - what is the shortest book in the world? The book of great British lovers. 



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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

BBC - On Chesil Beach Discussion Questions


1. What do the novel’s opening lines tell us about Edward and Florence? How did your perceptions of them change throughout the subsequent pages? What details did you eventually know about them that they never fully revealed to one another?

2. Is Edward’s libido truly the primary reason he proposes marriage, or were other factors involved (perhaps ones he did not even admit to himself)? Are relationships harmed or helped by cultural restrictions against sex before marriage? Would this marriage have taken place if the couple had met when birth–control pills were no longer just a rumor?

3. Edward replays the words “with my body I thee worship” in his mind. What might have been the intention in including that line when this version of the marriage ceremony was written? How does it make Edward feel?

4. Ian McEwan describes the novel’s time period as an era when youth was not glorified but adulthood was. We are also told that Edward was born in 1940, while his parents contemplated possible outcomes of the war with Germany. At what point did Edward and Florence’s solemnity become viewed as old–fashioned? What contributed to that shift? What are your recollections, or those shared by relatives who lived it, of the emerging youth culture of the late 1960s and ’70s?

5. Were Florence and Edward incompatible in ways beyond sexual ones? What do their difficulties in bed say about their relationship altogether? Or is sex an isolated aspect of a marriage?

6. Chapter two describes how Florence and Edward met; the first paragraph tells us that they were too sophisticated to believe in destiny. How would you characterize the kind of love they developed? What made them believe they were perfect for one another? Are any two people perfect for one another?

7. What did Edward’s decision to go to London for college indicate about his goals? What was Florence’s dream for her future? Was marriage a greater social necessity for her, as a woman? Would her career as a classical musician necessarily have been sacrificed if she had remained with Edward?

8. Compare Edward’s upbringing to Florence’s. How did their parents affect their attitudes toward life? How did the limitations of Edward’s mother shape his feelings about responsibility and women? Was Florence drawn to her mother’s competitiveness?

9. To what extent was the financial gulf between Edward and Florence a source of trouble? How might the relationship have unfolded, particularly during this time period, if Edward, not Florence, had been the spouse with financial security?

10. Chapter four recounts the moment when Edward tells Florence he loves her because she’s “square,” not in spite of it. Are their opposing tastes the product of their temperaments or the episodes in their young lives? What is your understanding of her revulsion to sex?

11. Discuss the novel’s setting, which forms its title. What is the effect of the creaky hotel McEwan creates, and the crashing permanent waves on a beach where the temperatures are still chilly in June? What does it say about the newlyweds that this is the scene of their wedding night?

12. In the end, Edward explores various “what ifs.” Would their marriage have lasted if he had consented to her request for platonic living arrangements? What are the best ways to predict whether a couple can sustain a marriage?

13. How would Edward and Florence have fared in the twenty–first century? Has the nature of love changed as western society has evolved?

14. The author tells us that the marriage ended because Edward was callous, and that as Florence ran from him, she was at the same time desperately in love with him. Why did Edward respond the way he did? Why was it so difficult for them to be honest about their feelings? How would you have reacted that night?

15. Discuss the structure of On Chesil Beach . What is the effect of reading such a compressed storyline, weaving one night with the years before and after it? How did it shape your reading to see only Edward’s point of view in the end? What might Florence’s perspective have looked like?

16. In what ways does On Chesil Beach represent a departure for Ian McEwan? In what ways does it enhance the themes in his previous fiction. 

17. Discuss the form of the novella. Is it as satisfying as a novel. Why is it such an under published genre. Does it work for this book? Compare it to other novellas you may have found satisfying such as Ballad of the Sad Cage, Death in Venice, The Scarlett Letter or another?
(
Questions issued by publisher.)

BBC Questions for Friday July 23rd On Chesil Beach

  1. Why do you think McEwan chose to set On Chesil Beach in 1962?

  2. How does McEwan build suspense despite the limited setting and action in the story?

  3. Why do you think Florence was "frigid?"

  4. What do the flashbacks to Florence and Edward's childhoods reveal about the characters?

  5. What details from their courtship were important to understanding their actions?

  6. Were you surprised that Florence and Edward divorced?

  7. How does this story speak into our modern culture despite being set more than 50 years ago? Is their any continuity in fears and feelings about marriage, sex, and identity?

  8. Rate On Chesil Beach on a scale of 1 to 5.