Recent reading

[luzula]

Commodore Hornblower by C S Forester (1945)
It was fun to see Sweden and Denmark through Age of Sail eyes: where on the coasts would have been dangerous passage points for ships, and the English equivalents of placenames in these "barbarous northern tongues". The Skaw is obviously Skagen (the northernmost tip of Denmark), Cape Kullen is Kullaberg, and (which never fails to amuse me) Elsinore is the much more prosaic Helsingör. This book feels obviously written as a novel and not as a series of short adventures, which I enjoyed. I recognized with glee several very slashy lines about Bush which I have seen around the fandom before, and enjoyed the dynamic between them as they navigate a new chain-of-command situation. But I am baffled by Hornblower randomly sleeping with some Russian countess, which happens without him ever thinking of it in relation to his marriage. I am amused by the insert of Clausewitz as a minor character, and Forester's guts in portraying his own character as smarter than Famous Military Theorist. I haven't actually read Clausewitz, but I thought he was famous for pioneering ideas about morale and the political and psychological aspects of warfare, and here he's portrayed as doctrinaire and not used to thinking outside the box? But perhaps Forester means to imply that Hornblower has Opened His Eyes to such matters? Heh.

Fröodling by Anders Skarlind (2006) [Seed cultivation]
A slim volume about growing and harvesting your own seeds in your kitchen garden, so as not to have to buy seeds every year. This is obviously easier with some vegetables, such as peas, than with biannuals like carrots, where you typically eat the root during the first year, so that's not what I'm going to try first. Obviously vegetable gardening is shaping up to be a new nerdy interest, which plays well with established nerdy interests such as field biology and history. I can grow the kinds of peas people grew in the 18th century! Which were often "grey peas" with violet flowers, instead of the current strains of peas with white flowers which apparently taste milder. The pea soup would actually have been grey in colour!

I also read a chapter of Violet Jacob's The Lairds of Dun (1931), because regshoe tipped me off that she had based two of the characters in Flemington on her own ancestors and what they did during the '45! And yes, this was obvious, though she has really aged down James Erskine who was 75 (James Logie in the book is in his 30's). Also, I do think less of David Erskine (Balnillo in the book) for having Lord Grange, who famously shipped off his wife to languish on a remote island, as a friend.

I have also read 50 pages of Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake and am not sure I'll go on. I've read and enjoyed the previous two in the Gormenghast trilogy, but it was some time ago. I still enjoy the singular writing style, but I feel that the book somehow lost its magic when it left the Gormenghast castle setting. Opinions on this book?

Comments

[sanguinity]

Commodore icon, because!

I'm glad you enjoyed Hornblower's trip into the Baltic; I had no idea if this book would be entertaining or irritating for you. :-)


This book feels obviously written as a novel and not as a series of short adventures, which I enjoyed.

Huh. I think of this as one where the serialization shows pretty strongly. There are several overarching throughlines, it's true, but each chapter is its own complete event or encounter, with a fairly clean break between chapters. Obviously it's not as serial-shaped as Midshipman or Ship of the Line, but it's a lot less novel-shaped than, say, Lieutenant or Beat to Quarters, imo.


But I am baffled by Hornblower randomly sleeping with some Russian countess, which happens without him ever thinking of it in relation to his marriage.

Presumably he believes a one-night-stand in a foreign port has nothing to do with his marriage. He's always been a bit loosey-goosey about what he considers cheating or not, or how much he even cares.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that in the 1950s radio adaptation, which aired a few years after this was written, Hornblower turns down the countess and goes back to the ship to write a letter to his wife.

What's next for you, Lord Hornblower?

[greenwoodside]

I read the first two Gormenghast books when I was in my mid teens — I enjoyed them (though no doubt with much going over my head) and also bounced off Titus Alone and DNF. It didn't help that I wasn't bothered about him in Titus Groan and thought all the other characters were more interesting.

I knew that Peake had been ill when he wrote it. Wikipedia says he had dementia. I didn't realise till now that it also has a complex editing history.

More randomly, Peake's grandson Jack Peñate looks *so much* like him.

[garonne]

I struggled through Titus Alone until the end, but it was in the pre-Internet era when the range of reading material available to me was much more limited. I don't even remember very much about it any more! I had loved the previous two books, though.

[feroxargentea]

The Gormenghast books provide quite drastically decreasing returns, iirc, so if the series is no longer working for you, no need to feel bad about letting go.

[luzula]

Late reply, sorry! I went offline while I was at a forest surveying camp in the north.

It was definitely entertaining--I rolled my eyes rather than was offended by Hornblower calling my language barbaric. You have the Vikings to thank for a lot of vocabulary, sir!

Huh. I think of this as one where the serialization shows pretty strongly.
I suppose I was thinking that it felt novel-shaped because of the course of the war, but yes, Lieutenant has more of a throughline when it comes to characterization and relationships.

What's next for you, Lord Hornblower?
Yes, and I am braced for it! But I'll take a break inbetween as usual.

[luzula]

Thanks for the input, I feel justified in my urge to DNF! Yeah, Titus was not the most interesting character, I agree.

And sorry for the late reply, I've been offline...

[luzula]

Yes, I'll definitely DNF! Funny, on Wikipedia it says that Peake was inspired (among other things) by RLS. I can't say I recognize the influence!

[luzula]

Yes, it seems all the commenters agree on this! I'll definitely follow my impulse and DNF.

[sanguinity]

I rolled my eyes rather than was offended by Hornblower calling my language barbaric. You have the Vikings to thank for a lot of vocabulary, sir!

He certainly does!

I don't know if you remember, but when we were doing pod-together last year, I suggested something Commodore-based, maybe about Braun, to take advantage of you being on the team. (If we have a podficcer who speaks English, why not take advantage of that...)

Yes, and I am braced for it! But I'll take a break inbetween as usual.

But of course! You have a bunch of fic recs to read first! :-D

Looking forward to your thoughts when you get there, whenever that should be. And of course I have a whole 'nother set of fic recs for that one... ;-)

[luzula]

I don't know if you remember, but when we were doing pod-together last year, I suggested something Commodore-based, maybe about Braun, to take advantage of you being on the team. (If we have a podficcer who speaks English, why not take advantage of that...)
I don't remember this, in fact! I'd love to record a Commodore-related podfic some other time... (and I assume you meant Swedish : P).

[sanguinity]

*laughs* I did mean Swedish! Sorry about that!

I don't have the historical background to write Braun off-the-cuff, but it's an idea to keep in mind!

[luzula]

Braun seems to be a complicated person, in his cultural background and potentially also in his motivations! I don't think I have the historical background to write him either, without reading up more.