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Welcome

I started this blog in 2013 to share my reflections on reading, writing and psychology, along with my journey to become a published novelist.​  I soon graduated to about twenty book reviews a month and a weekly 99-word story. Ten years later, I've transferred my writing / publication updates to my new website but will continue here with occasional reviews and flash fiction pieces, and maybe the odd personal post.

ANNE GOODWIN'S WRITING NEWS

Epic novels: Equator & The Old Drift

18/3/2019

8 Comments

 
Like many words, the meaning of epic has evolved and seems to be applied to various incarnations of big. Both of these novels have been described by others (in the endorsements) as epic: the first, I think for its geographical scope (and, combined with its big brother, can be considered so in length); the second for its length and sweep of history and character.
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Equator by Antonin Varenne translated by Sam Taylor

Pete Ferguson is a drunkard, and no stranger to the barroom brawl. Sheltered on a Nevada ranch for years as a young Civil War deserter, he’s now a killer on the run. His demons follow him to a company of bison hunters where he makes another enemy and has to flee again. Crossing the border into Mexico, he kills a man who has caused the deaths of several Indian children. If Pete has a redeeming feature, it’s compassion for the underdog.
 
And also his fondness for the brother he always protected, and his love for the woman, a surrogate mother, who took the boys in. But when he hears about the equator, it becomes his lodestar. Pete is sure he’ll find redemption there.
 
In Guatemala, he’s hired to join the resistance against the corrupt government, but Maria, a Xinca woman and would-be assassin leads to a change of mind. Not that she’s grateful to him for it: Pete’s actions risk more lives than they save. But their journeys intertwine from that moment as they join another doomed mission, to rescue escaped prisoners from the penal colony of French Guiana.
 
I first met Pete towards the end of author’s previous novel, Retribution Road, one of my favourite reads so far this year. While that focused on the plight of the indigenous people of North America, Equator holds up a mirror to the sociopolitics of the south. Although I didn’t enjoy the sequel quite as much as the former, it’s nevertheless an entertaining read. Thanks to MacLehose Press for my review copy.


The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell

Namwali Serpell’s debut begins at The Old Drift, a colonial settlement on the north side of the Zambezi, where bazungu proved their superiority by drinking, gambling and succumbing to malaria. A few miles to the east, Percy Clark, a photographer from England, sets up shop next to the Victoria Falls Hotel, which is run by an Italian. Out hunting, and foggy with fever, Percy mistakenly shoots a Tonga ‘native’. The novel charts the course of the descendants of these three men across four generations and into the near future.
 
Along with Bangladesh, Zambia is a country I’ve visited ‘accidently’, nipping across the border from Zimbabwe to view the falls from the north. So I enjoyed being reminded of that, and the appropriateness of the falls’ original name, mosi-oa-tunya, the smoke that thunders. But that doesn’t tell you much about the book!
 
It’s a big book, with nine main characters and each of its three sections enough for a novel in itself, but is there a big theme? Expecting a state-of-the-nation story to complement House of Stone, I was disappointed when, after the entertaining extended prologue, I spent an evening in Italy, followed by a trip to England, although the upper-class antics of Percy’s progeny was fun. Then I thought the theme might be ‘melting pot’ politics, and Africans’ reclaiming their country from the Europeans: beginning with two thirds white couples, all the grandchildren are black or brown.
 
It’s also about hair! Sibilla, clothed in a pelt that grows at an alarming rate, is a curiosity in Italy but feels more accepted in Lusaka where the whites are expected to be weird. Bernadetta shaves her daughter’s hair so she can attend school like a boy. Sylvia graduates from sex work to hairdressing, while Isabella marries an Indian who trades in wigs and goes on to harvest her daughters’ hair.
 
You’ll notice the female names, so is it a book about women’s lives? Or mothers in particular (mothers-of-the-nation?), most of them neglectful in some way? Or women’s dependence on men? Sibilla through her hairiness, and Agnes in her blindness, would struggle without their husbands to mediate between them and society, although both pursue their own paths in the end. But it’s men who do the big jobs: from Ronald Banda, engineer on the Kariba dam, his son, Lionel, researching HIV, to teacher, dreamer and activist Edward Mukuka Nkoloso, while the rich women kill time and the poor ones sell their produce, and sometimes their bodies, to make ends meet. Matha, a promising student of Nkoloso’s, and cadet on his ‘Afronaut’ programme, crashes when she becomes pregnant and the father is nowhere to be seen.
 
Towards the end of my reading, I decided it was about power: the power of nature in the falls, of electricity and, of course, the power of men, especially if they’re white. So good to turn the page and find that thought reflected back to me (p548):
 
Power’s just an accident that depends on the weakness of others.
 
Is the accident in question is the arrival of the colonials? Is this a novel about the West’s exploitation of Africa as a whole (p525):
 
The world hates black people but they love our biological advantages.
 
I suppose I’d have relished this theme more if Namwali Serpell hadn’t given quite so much narrative power to her white characters. The acknowledgements state ‘The Old Drift includes many fictions and quite a few facts’, suggesting a glorious patchwork of Zambian history, culture and myth. For many readers, the playfulness, along with the beauty and originality of the language, will be more than enough. While I enjoyed it, I’d have been happier with less. Thanks to Hogarth Press for my review copy.


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I’m hoping to get back in the swing of weekly 99-word stories, so how do I get from these epics (which was one of last year’s prompts) to chisel (which is this week’s)? Firstly, Charli’s post bemoans her recent wrangles with technology and futuristic tech is one of The Old Drift ‘s many themes. Secondly, Equator is a classic hero’s journey, complete with the part I often overlook, the return to home.
Where else would I find old technology and home but in my possibly third novel, Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home, which I’ve spent hundreds of happy hours micro-editing for language and nuance in recent weeks? I suppose I could’ve had Henry, demoted at work for failing to get to grips with computers (it’s 1989), take a chisel to one, but, as Matty deploys a metaphorical chisel in her narrative, I had a near-enough ready-made story. Actually, I have two, perhaps to atone for missing last week’s challenge, although I’m not sure either makes a lot of sense let loose from the context of the novel as a whole.
The hospital closure is announced
 
Excitement flutters inside her like the start of a baby. Could it happen, or is it a fairy tale? Amy Johnson flying so high she could chisel a chunk of cheese from the moon.
 
“Who decided the hospital had to close?” A woman jabs a gnarled finger at the Belgian. “Was it you?”
 
Rather than solving a mystery, the detective has created one. But, Mrs Christie having summoned him for a reason, Matty wracks her brain for a solution that would appease her guests. “Buck up! We must all forgo some comforts in wartime. Even our dear King George.”
 
Tea with Mr Windsor
 
A street so grand the houses had names chiselled on the gateposts. Like gravestones. As at the cemetery, trees lined our route, pushing through the pavement at intervals, as if Briarwood was so healthy, vegetation reigned over stone.
 
I did not slurp from the saucer or forget to extend my pinkie on raising my cup. I did not drop jam on the Chesterfield or gobble up the dainty sandwiches in one bite. But I thanked the lady who offered me the plate as our host’s wife. How could I know she was the daily woman if she wasn’t introduced?


Finally, if you are anywhere near Leicester (although I'm sure most of my readers won't even know where it is), come along to my literary identity quiz on Saturday. It's fun and it's free!

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Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think. If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to sign up via the sidebar for regular email updates and/or my quarterly Newsletter.
8 Comments
Charli Mills
19/3/2019 03:36:45 am

Ha! I guessed which workshop was yours, looking at the advert before I read your invite to join you in Leicester (where I'd love to go and listen).

I bought Antonin's Retribution Road, which the Hub is trying to read. He used to be an avid reader but it's hard for him to focus now. I plan to read it soon. I didn't realize he had put out Equator.

The old Drift does indeed sound epic in scope. An apt description of power. I often think how much damage those who exploit the weaknesses of others. Both sound like good books (and I admit to liking epics; I'm finishing up one right now).

Good to see you and Matty back on the page. I like both your uses for the word chiselled, each line adds to the merit of the passages. Your micro-editing language is having a strong impact.

Reply
Anne Goodwin
19/3/2019 09:42:02 am

Thanks, Charli, I hope your hub is enjoying Retribution Road. The problem with a longer / bigger book is keeping track of the characters and plots, and there's a point towards the end of this one where a character from earlier on crops up, but under a different name, so confusing for anyone (although it does come clear).

Oh yes, if only you could come to my quiz -- I've really no idea how much it will appeal and there's a choice of 4 or 5 sessions for each slot.

I think both of Matty's chisels are new since you read the MS. I'm editing in a new way (for me at least), jumping about the text so I can focus more on the language. When I read through chapter by chapter I don't necessarily notice if the language is flat, so long as it makes sense.

Reply
Robbie Cheadle
19/3/2019 05:51:57 pm

I loved both your flashes, Anne.

Reply
Anne Goodwin
20/3/2019 02:48:53 pm

Thanks, Robbie, glad they worked 'out of context'.

Reply
Norah Colvin link
24/3/2019 10:02:59 am

I enjoyed your review of both books, Anne, and think I might enjoy both, though probably not at the moment. I used to enjoy epic reads but don't have the time to begin one just now.
The description of power as an accident that depends on the weakness of others is very profound. I like it a lot. It holds a lot of meaning for me.
I enjoyed both your flashes. Matty is such an endearing character. I hope that the chiselling at your novel is helping to refine its inner beauty.
I love everything about your first paragraph announcing the closure. Such a vivid description. It makes me all a-flutter too, and how I'd love to chisel a chunk of cheese from the moon. Just love that alliteration.
The introduction to tea with Mr Windsor is excellent also - such a great juxtaposition of ideas.
While I wouldn't have liked to mark my book, I could have highlighted so many similar phrases in your wonderful collection of short stories "Becoming Someone". I wonder how a story of Matty would fit into that collection about identity. Is she finding her identity or losing it? In the loss of an identity, do we find another, if only in another's eyes?
I love the way that reading your stories always gives me something to contemplate.

Reply
Anne Goodwin
25/3/2019 08:14:36 am

I love reading your reflections on this post, Norah, and I'm pleased you picked up on Matty's identity. It was actually people like her who first fired my interest in identity, especially the various ways the patients responded to a psychiatric diagnosis.
On Saturday I was at a book fair and presented my quiz on identity along with readings from my short stories. I'm pleased to say it was well received -- at least by those who spoke to me afterwards!

Reply
Norah Colvin link
1/4/2019 11:14:17 am

I'm pleased to hear your quiz went well, Anne. I'm sure it was enjoyed by many, not just the ones who spoke with you.
Identity is a tough thing, not just for the one with the psychiatric diagnosis, but for all those affected, especially family and friends.
Have a good week.

Reply
Anne Goodwin
1/4/2019 01:03:46 pm

Good point, Norah. A psychiatric diagnosis can change how friends and family view the person, not always in a negative way if it seems the strange behaviour has been explained.

Reply

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