Modern Book Review: “Dodger” by Terry Pratchett (2012)

Dodger is the latest and highly anticipated new book by Terry Pratchett; but unlike the brilliantly fantastical writing for which he has become renowned and known by, this offering reads more like a wry crime caper through the underbelly of Victorian London.

The story is told (in third person) mostly through the eyes of the young boy known as Dodger, having earned the name by moving quickly, which with the kind of life he leads is in fact necessary.   Although a drastic change in direction for Pratchett, his typical sense of satire – and a tendency to never convey anything too seriously – are ever present throughout the story.

Clearly an homage to Charles Dickens from the start, Dickens – known as “Charlie” even makes an appearance as a supporting character, and in his interactions with Dodger, adding something of a “meta” quality to the whole thing. Even a  sneaky “Can I have some more?” is rather knowingly put in there…   Furthermore, despite Victorian London being notoriously unforgiving of those down on their luck, or otherwise fallen on bad fortune, Dodger is helped out by a few forgiving people; firstly the maid of the household he is part of for a short period of time, and then by Solomon Cohen, a devoutly Jewish and street-wise man with a habit of saying “mmm” constantly.

It is not long before Dodger focuses his attention on an unfortunate young woman, known only as “Simplicity”, who falls foul of some shady men and whom he takes it upon himself to help to save.   Simplicity, however, remains a rather vague character, about whom we learn relatively little. She shows some resilience which lend her a slightly stronger presence as the story goes on but, unfortunately, her character is never really developed in a satisfactory way (perhaps in itself an echo to Dickens’ tendency to underwrite female characters in his writing?). Indeed Simplicity, near the end of the story, appears to be subsumed into another similar character known only as Serendipity, who appears to merely replace Simplicity.

However, this is otherwise a well-written and witty tale. Despite being typically “Pratchett-style”, in the way the characters are conveyed and how the story seems to unfold almost randomly, it is clear that Pratchett has done research into the reality of Victorian London, and indeed it reads in a sufficiently contemporary way that the story could almost be read as a comical take on what could very well have been written at the time.

Well worth a read whether or not you are a Terry Pratchett fan.

Gove shocked by heckling headteachers

As Michael Gove attended the conference for the National Union of Headteachers he appeared to be taken aback by jeering and heckling aimed at him by the members of the union. During the question and answer session Gove was ruffled by ironic laughter and groans that were the frequent response to his answers.

The National Union of Head Teachers passed a ‘no confidence’ motion in the policies proposed and adopted by Gove, however, he remained steadfast in his belief in the policies and stated that he was striving for higher standards in schools.

When informed that, under his policies, teachers were suffering from stress due to SATs and OFSTED inspections, his response was less than sympathetic. Even when headteachers told him of their own experiences, including feeling that they were working within an environment of ‘bullying and fear’ whilst waiting for OSTED inspections and the subsequent results. Another example of the stress was reported by a headteacher who explained that in her school a governor with 20 years of experience ‘dissolved into tears’ when the school had to cope with SATs and OFSTED in one week. Still Gove seemed unmoved, even though the stress caused by his policies is shown to be affecting not only paid members of schools but also volunteers such as school governors.

Rather than accepting that his policies have caused upheaval and stress, and conceding that he could consider revising them, Gove instead insisted that the problem was that he had not communicated his ideas effectively. He would not be making any changes to his policies whether or not there was a problem with him expecting high standards and this was causing stress.

The overwhelming feeling that came from the question and answer session was that Gove was uninterested in the levels of stress that school staff were facing. He would not change his policies simply because headteachers were suffering and did not wish to work with people who were not happy to be constructive rather than just critical.

The general secretary of the National Union of Head Teachers, Russell Hobby, described the session as ‘bruising’. It is not just the National Union of Headteachers who have lost confidence in the government’s plans for the education system. The three biggest teachers’ unions, ATL, NUT and NASUWT, have also been vocal about their dislike of the policies and are planning regional strikes in response to the continuing dispute over pay, pensions and workloads.

It would appear that Gove has made his position clear and will not be backing down. It is also clear that the biggest unions in the country are not willing to accept this position and will continue to fight for what they believe teachers deserve. Evidently, a rough journey lies ahead, whatever the outcome and whoever ends up being victorious.

Delay in London Cycling Initiative

A major revival of cycling infrastructure in the outer boroughs of London has been put on hold by mayor Boris Johnson, after having initially praised the move.

The mayor of London, and his predecessor Ken Livingstone, both agreed to aim to reach the proposed 400% increase in cycling by 2025. Recent developments have indicated that things are going in the right direction, with 2003 seeing an introduction of a congestion charge, and the “European style” bike hire made available in 2009.

Indeed, the cycling culture of inner London has improved drastically, where it can often be quicker, not to mention far healthier, to commute by bike than by car, but it is the areas in outer London which currently need the most attention. The majority of cycling trips in the future will have to be made in these areas, so it is essential that the experience of cycling there is a safe one, and not potentially off-putting to the novice.

According to the Guardian, the overall “vision” of the cycling initiative will focus on  “the creation of ‘mini Hollands’, to transform conditions in areas of outer London and make safe, pleasant cycling a reality for local people.” Inspired by many European cities, London, being one of the largest cities in the world, realises the sense it makes to develop a similar scheme. But it seems that the scheme is being halted, albeit temporarily.

One obvious reason for this is the severe government cuts being made all over the country; there simply may not be enough money in the near future to fund a better cycling infrastructure. But public interest is being expressed far and wide in the value of investment in cycling.

In Scotland this weekend, thousands of cyclists, novices and seasoned pros alike, are planning to take part in Pedal on Parliament, descending on Holyrood en masse to campaign for better cycling infrastructure, and that the limited resources available will in fact be better spent on a healthier and safer means of travelling.

Certainly from a health perspective, with the current concerns for obesity and widespread lack of exercise, this could be the ideal investment for the governments to make, tackling both health and transport issues at the same time.

Judging from the better records of many other cities in Europe and elsewhere, and the growing expression of interest from the UK public, perhaps it is the best next move for Boris Johnson to reopen the cycling case, and put the limited economy to the best possible use.

Vintage Book Review: “Notes from the Underground” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky” (1864)

“Notes from the Underground” (1864)  predates many of the better known works of Dostoyevsky, such as “The Idiot” and “Crime and Punishment”, but shows a fascinating glimpse of a foray into an existential, stream-of-consciousness, style.

The narrator makes it very clear from the beginning that he is “a spiteful man”; due to varying factors, including a chronic illness, and various setbacks in life, he has become a misanthropic recluse who speaks from the darkness of wherever he may be hiding. Also, from the beginning, we come to realize that he is far from a reliable narrator, for just moments after claiming to be a retired government official, he says that he was lying about that all along “out of spite”. However unreliable, his subsequent ranting about the ills of society, and the inner demons he grapples with every day – reaching the point where he begins to derive a perverse enjoyment from his own corruption “from the intense consciousness of one’s own degradation” – become darkly compelling.

The narrator goes on to claim that it is not only he that is suffering “degradation”. In fact, he claims that the whole of humanity from the malady of hypocrisy, in pertaining to have achieved civilization whilst still seeking out war and practicing oppression, killing and persecution. The narrator gladly awaits a time when “reason and common sense have completely re-educated human nature and turned it in a normal direction”, but as long as this is not the case, the narrator is prepared to continue living in estrangement from fellow people.

Moving further on, he describes a time when he was due to meet up with colleagues and they gave him the wrong time, and did not even apologize when it made him late, leading to grow increasingly irate and distance himself socially. Later, he encounters a prostitute, whose grim future he anticipates and recites to her, trying to veer her off the path to self-destruction. Eventually they part ways, with it being not entirely certain whether she will heed his advice.

Eventually, in typical fashion, the narrator apparently becomes weary of his own story and decides to cut short his own story, yet intriguingly ending with a footnote that it “does not end here”. We gain the impression that there is so much more that the narrator has to say, but given that only pure spite was fuelling him in the first place, he would have to run out of steam some time.

As a commentary of the  failings of the human race, “Notes from the Underground” was controversial at the time, due to its suggestion that people are inherently uncooperative and unable to act and live as a collective. In fact, for some time this was treated as something of an “underground story”, however as more satire on Soviet society began to subsequently emerge, Dostoyevsky was seen as providing a jumping-off point in the “man vs. society” narrative trope which has become legitimately recognized over time.

Film Review: Breathless (À Bout de Souffle)

Very few films can lay claim to being called innovative; after all, film-making is fundamentally a craft and a craft is basically an activity that involves making something with one’s hands. There are a number of well-trodden steps to follow in order to attain the end result in much the same way as there is when making a cake. First you do this, then this and then this and so on. In essence, the camera captures the shots and then the screen shows the result but of course, there can be an entire directory of additional technical processes in between, not to mention all that comes before the camera is even taken off the truck.

But each one of these processes is a craft unto itself and the individuals involved are all skilled technicians of their own particular field whether that’s to do with the actor’s wardrobe, the make-up they wear, the design of the sets, the editing, the special effects, the coordination of stunts, the lighting, or the cinematography (the list can go on), but they all have steps to follow; steps that define their job, their reason for being involved.

However, film-making is also an art; a medium for expression and an outlet for creativity. Part of that creativity could be defined as bending the rules, of thinking outside the box, of trying something new. This is innovation.

One film that can definitely be labelled innovative and still sleep soundly at night is Breathless, or if you prefer the French title – À Bout de Souffle. Released in 1960 to both critical and box office success, it quite simply rewrote the rule book, certainly for editing style. Its use of jump-cuts was totally radical for the time and to watch it now, amazes and horrifies in equal measure. Some of the editing is in-your-face noticeable and looks positively amateurish, jarring even – as though the film stock snapped and was poorly spliced back together – and yet it adds a nuance of freshness and intensity to the film that wouldn’t be there if the editing was smooth. Love it or loathe it, it was a stroke of genius. It was also filmed entirely on a hand-held camera (tracking shots were courtesy of a wheelchair or a postal cart with the camera hidden and the lens poking through a hole because no permission was given from French officials) and with virtually no additional lighting – made possible by using a specific type of film stock that needed to be painstakingly modified.

It was director Jean-Luc Godard’s first feature length film and was one of the earliest examples of the French New Wave of cinema or Nouvelle Vague and it would go on to become one of the most influential films of that era. The young Godard was very critical of mainstream cinema, saying it “emphasised craft over innovation” and many of his films challenged the well-established conventions of traditional Hollywood as well as that of French cinema. Together with his group of contemporaries that included Claude Chabrol and François Truffaut (who both wrote the foundations of Breathless), he set about shaking up the establishment and the way it was perceived that films could be made. He has influenced numerous directors like Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, John Woo and Bernardo Bertolucci and is often ranked by critics as one of the greatest directors of all time.

The plot of Breathless revolves around a petty criminal named Michel Poiccard (played sublimely by the then soon-to-be-famous Jean-Paul Belmondo), who fancies himself as a sort of Humphrey Bogart tough guy stereotype. He steals a car in Marseille and then shoots the policeman who has pursued him out into the country. Now a penniless fugitive, he flees to Paris and hides out with an American girlfriend Patricia (Jean Seberg), a student and aspiring journalist who sells newspapers along the Champs Élysées to earn her living. He spends his time attempting to seduce her while trying to call in a loan from a local hood so that he can fund their escape to Italy. The police soon make the link between her and her boyfriend and when questioned by them, Patricia learns that Michel is on the run for murder. She eventually betrays him and yada yada yada. Watch it and you’ll find out what happens. Oh and an added bonus – Paris has never looked cooler!

 

 

 

 

Support For Wind Energy

Recent studies have shown that the majority of people are in favour of onshore suppliers of wind energy, but would be less likely to cast their vote.

A number of MPs have claimed that wind farms would be too expensive, despite growing evidence that people would in fact be more likely to vote for them if they were seen to be in favour of environmentally friendly energy.

At the end of last month, The Department of Energy and Climate Change gathered and released data that showed strong support for those in favour of wind energy, and on 1st May a series of polls were commissioned by RenewableUK, which revealed how voters really feel about the views of their local MPs on core issues such as climate change.

However, the number of voters could use a boost in many demographics; proportions of pro-wind energy votes are high among Labour and Liberal Democrat voters, but votes are also relatively high among Tory voters, 33% of whom would support a pro-wind farm candidate. Furthermore, 23% of UKIP voters claim that they would be more likely to vote for a candidate that openly supports wind energy, clearly leaving the rest of UKIP voters in a state of non-support, or uncertainty.

One vote that was given in a surprising quantity was “makes no difference”, which may lend more credibility to the notion that people are not, in fact, opposed to wind farm energy, which many MPs have been claiming, but that there are simply too many other issues to take into consideration.

Propelling wind energy to the forefront of the minds of the people will be something of a challenge, given the priority of other issues, such as welfare cuts, immigration and affordable housing. Yet with various contemporary issues to contend with, the importance of wind energy, and its potential to help conserve the environment in the future, should not be neglected when there are more potential voters than ever before, all of whom have the chance to make a difference to the environmental wellbeing of the country.