Sofie Laguna, The Underworld

 

- Acclaimed Miles Franklin award-winning author, Sofie Laguna, has gifted us another sensitive, insightful and beautifully written novel. One of the best I’ve read this year. 

- A young girl, Martha, is in her mid teens. It's the 1970's. She’s absolutely delightful and fascinating, and the only child of an unhappy marriage. Her parents and their friends are all conservative Liberal voters. They of course hate Whitlam. 

- Martha attends a private girls boarding school south of Sydney, and she loves it. She's exceptionally bright. Classes on the ancient underworld of Greek and Roman times captivate her. ‘A dead language suited her best. It was her own. Latin - reading it, translating it, learning the stories and poems - was her private inner puzzle...It was study and reading and being in the library that made Martha feel better’. Her school friends are her life, and her best friend is Valerie, a girl from a large family (mainly boys) from a farm just east of Broken Hill. 

- Her mother doesn’t like Martha. ‘It had been that way for years’, and Martha doesn’t like her mother either. She particularly hates horse riding with her. But she likes her father, sort of. She enjoys being with him - eating pizzas, watching TV. But he’s also frequently distant and absorbed in his work. 

- She gets her first period, and Laguna describes the painful experience in detail. Martha writes the dreaded letter 'M’ in her calendar. 

- She reads that homosexuality was accepted by the Romans, but not between women. Valerie invites her and another friend to her family’s property. With the many brothers and dogs they have a wonderful time - riding horses, singing songs, eating good food, roasting marshmallows around the fire. She undergoes a sexual awakening. She feels sexually aroused by Valerie. 

- She reads about homosexuality at the library. Homosexuality was accepted by the Romans, but not between women. It was considered ‘…a social or moral aberration….No individual is born homosexual’, according to most scholars. 

- At their final end-of-year party she's partly drunk and thrusts herself onto Valerie. She’s shamed by the other girls. They isolate her, as does Valerie herself.   

- She finds her first year at Sydney University very difficult but really excels in the following years, getting High Distinctions in all of her subjects. But she misses Valerie, who went to Adelaide Uni, terribly. Laguna brings Sydney University alive - the old sandstone paths and buildings, the beautiful lawns and trees, the surrounding streets and pubs. And Martha's lectures on Roman poets are described in detail. We're immersed in the course details. And there are heaps of quotes in Latin, many not translated into English. The point is to absorb us, to thrust us headfirst into it. 

- The 1970's of course, to those of us who were students at the time, were alive with protests on political issues like Vietnam, Women's liberation, and University administration. Martha however ignores them. ‘Latin language, literature and the history of Ancient Rome formed the parameters of her world’. 

- Over the four years of her course she receives short letters from Valerie expressing love and friendship and apologies, but she doesn’t reply. 

- Martha's choice for her honour's thesis in her fourth year is the poetry of Sulpicia, a female poet who was considered a fake by male scholars. A visiting Professor from the UK was convinced the poems were written by the male poet Tibullus. His anti-women attitude pissed Martha off, so she decides to write her thesis on Sulpicia. '…what really gets me is that it’s still going on today - and so pervasively. The male dominance, and the attempt to monopolise scholarship.’ 

- Laguna plummets her reader into the ancient world and Martha's thesis, and doesn’t condescend. I personally found it absorbing. (Martha's thesis in the end is judged 'outstanding'). 

- The final chapters of the novel are very dramatic, involving rape, trauma and depression. But the resolution is very satisfying indeed. 

- Sofie Laguna has written an exceptionally powerful and original book which doesn't hold back. We're thoroughly immersed, challenged and enlightened. The whole point of novels after all. 

 

Greg Sheridan, How Christians Can Succeed Today.

 

- This has to be the most theologically illiterate tome I’ve ever read. It fails on so many levels. 

- Sheridan has minimal understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition and its richness. His book is simplistic in its Christian beliefs about the resurrection of Jesus, his ascension to heaven, and other ‘facts’. He makes no attempt to engage with the gospels and their stories and parables and whether the facts as presented actually happened, rather than being a rich collection of fictional and mythological elements that constructed the Old and New Testaments over centuries. 

- His constant quoting of familiar conservative writers of the last century like G.K.Chesterton, C.S.Lewis, and Malcolm Muggeridge, add absolutely nothing to his treatise other than supporting his simplicity. 

- His fundamental proposition is ‘with God out of the picture, humanity is immensely reduced’. Sheridan hates our modern world of secularism and modernism, initiated by science. ‘…our civilisation faces a choice between a re-enchanted culture informed by Christianity, or a future of chaos and cruelty’. The smartphone and social media are satanic. Popular culture is always anti-Christian. 

- There’s no analysis of the Catholic and Protestant traditions. ‘Christianity’ seems all one and the same. It becomes clear as the book proceeds he favours a fundamentalist evangelical extremism as his expression of true Christianity. 

- All that said, there are some positive features to the book. His chapter on St Paul, while being disappointing theologically, is excellent biographically and sociologically. 

- There’s also an excellent chapter on early Corinth and its deplorable practices regarding marriage, infanticide, forced abortions, and forced prostitution, and Christianity’s condemnation of these behaviours which inspired a revolutionary change for women. Paul preached the centrality of love. As a result the majority of early Christians were women. Sheridan makes clear how revolutionary Christian belief was at the time. 

- ’Christians exploded the sexual hierarchy of the ancient world as well as the social hierarchy.’ He’s also good on slavery, money, children, and death. ’Christians hold the most elevated view of the human body that has ever been imagined in human history’. 

- His chapter on the early church fathers is informed and enlightening. Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp were all executed for their belief in Christ. Irenaeus was the first great theologian. Also influential were Gregory of Nyssa in Turkey, Tertullian of Carthage, Origen of Alexandria, and St Anthony the Great. The early centuries were prone to heresies from influential sources, which had to be met effectively.

- The most important figure was Augustine of Hippo in Algeria. His two important books were City of God and Confessions. 

- Part 2 of the book is biographical. Sheridan introduces us to ‘Contemporary Early Christians’, as he calls them. They’re presented as models of Christian behaviour for our time. Most of them are unknown. Some of them are celebrated for their conservative social and political positions - Jordan Peterson, Mike Pence, Niall Ferguson for example. He interviews them in a very journalistic, Sunday Magazine, style. He certainly doesn’t indulge in any critique of their views. 

- An exception would be Marilynne Robinson, a Christian novelist. She’s excellent on Genesis and other parts of the Old Testament. 

- It becomes quite clear at the end that Sheridan is positing a Christian rebellion against the modern world, a world of digital ‘gadgets’ like desktop computers, iPads, and mobile phones. These internet obsessions are destroying our society, making it ‘woke’ and meaningless, particularly for the young. He's a great fan of the recent 

movement in the US, and increasingly in Australia, called Classical Liberal Education. The curriculum of these private schools is centred around the great books of history, and ancient Greek civilisation. Many teach Latin as well. God is always central. 'In a distressed and bleeding culture, these classical schools are field hospitals; perhaps more than that  - base camps; perhaps more than that - signs of a new creation.' 

- Two stars out of five. Max. 

Sulari Gentill, Five Found Dead

 

- I hadn't read any of Sulari Gentill's previous novels, despite the fact she's a multi-award winning Australian author, well known internationally. But I absolutely loved Five Found Dead, her latest.

- Just a few pages in, I was hooked! We're on the famous train, the Orient Express, travelling from Paris to Venice. There are murders on board and the suspect unknown. Hints of Agatha Christie's famous novel. 

- Fortunately there are a few retired police detectives on the train who meet and take charge of the investigation. They are led by the delightful Bonaparte Duplantier, a charming Frenchman. Our narrator, Merdith Penvale, and her twin brother Joe are also invited to help, as Joe is a successful thriller writer. 

- Other odd-bods are on board, all with opinions of course. As the first murder is followed by others the drama intensifies. There is also a Covid outbreak in one of the carriages, so that has to be locked down. The passengers are not happy at all. 

- There are so many characters, many forgettable, and the drama gets a bit congested towards the end. But that's a minor issue. As the story develops, and there are more murders, the resolution is surprising and very satisfying. 

- Gentill's prose is lively and highly readable. What a talent. 

William Boyd, Gabriel’s Moon

- This novel, first published in 2024, is the first in the Gabriel Dax trilogy. (I reviewed the second a few weeks ago). It's a little more complex than the second, but it's just as good. In fact both books are superb. 

- Gabriel Dax is a celebrated travel writer. In this novel he's in his early thirties and it's set in the early 1960's. This was a time when smoking indoors was common, and heavy drinking even more so. And there's also lots of sex. Gabriel is good-looking, fun to be around, and has a fair bit of money. What's not to like? His only problem is he can’t sleep well at all. His mother died in a fire in his home when he was a child, and he suffers from nightmares about it. He believes he caused the fire. 

- We first meet Gabriel in the newly independent republic of the Congo. He's landed an interview with the Prime Minister which he records on tape. A few weeks later the PM is ousted in a coup and killed by firing squad.  

- The other principal character is Faith Green. She's a senior agent in the British MI6. She approaches Gabriel and offers him small jobs involving spying. 'Do us a small service, a small favour'. He's sent to various countries for a few days each, and never disappoints. 

- He feels he’s always being followed however. He's in possession of information that he doesn't realise is critically important, secret and dangerous. We're in the early 1960's after all. The Cold War was feverish and nuclear war deemed highly possible at any time. The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 magnified the fear. 

- The novel is loaded with intrigue, and many minor characters and subplots that enrich it on many levels. And its ending is very satisfactory. 

- I particularly relished the details Boyd includes, on everything about villages, towns, cities, public transport, restaurants, food, drinks, clothes, shoes, cars, bikes - you name it. They enliven and add so much colour to the story. Boyd is a writer of exceptionable talent. His novels are a joy to read. 

Ilan Pappe, Israel On The Brink

 

- This book is so damn good. As in his previous book, A Very Short History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, Ilan Pappe whacks us with the undeniable truths about Israel’s history and its current genocidal operations in Gaza. (He is an Israeli Professor of History at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies and Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter).  

- In this just published short book he utterly demolishes the idea of a two-state solution. ‘In real terms, the two-state solution is a stinking corpse’. He focuses on the very likely future of Israel, and predicts how things will inevitably work out over the next thirty or so years. There will be a State of Palestine, a democratic, multiracial, multi-religious state living in peace with its Arab neighbours. The Jews and Palestinians will have achieved a national harmony as did the South Africans after the end of apartheid. He diligently examines all the complexities of how this will be brought about despite the support for Zionism across the Western world, particularly the United States.    

- The state of Israel has fatal cracks: 1. In 2025, there are two Jewish peoples living in Israel, with practically nothing in common: the ultra-Orthodox, theocratic Jews and the secular Israeli Jews. Both are, however, united by the constant threat of an external enemy.  2. The Subjugation of Israel. Many countries are now boycotting Israel goods. 3. Jews across the world do not universally identify with Zionism, particularly younger people. 4. The Inevitable Economic Slump. Israel is one of the most unequal nations in the world, with 20% living in poverty. 5. Is the Israeli army invincible? No, it’s more like a police force. 6. The State Is Not Working. It is utterly unprepared for the logistical challenges of wars. 7. A New Palestinian Liberation Movement is emerging. Young people are dominant. ‘Instead of pursuing a two-state solution, as the Palestinian Authority has done fruitlessly for several decades, they are seeking a genuine one-state solution…I believe in a future in which everyone is able to live freely, where Israeli Jews and Palestinians work alongside each other for a better future in a decolonized and free Palestine, and obtain it. It won’t be easy but it is possible.’ 

- This new Palestinian national movement must unite Hamas, the old Palestinian Authority, and the new youth guerrilla groups.The old and tired PLA must fundamentally change. It’s now corrupt and often pro-Israel. The Palestinian Youth Movement wants to move beyond the old ideological and political stasis of the PLO. The internet and smartphones are central. Palestinians are now the largest group of users of the internet in the Arab world. The vision is one democratic secular state in Palestine from the river to the sea. Islam is welcome, but it will not be a theocratic state. 

- Many countries across the world in the two decades will move beyond the tepid two-state solution and introduce severe, if not total, sanctions on Israel. Including the USA. All military aid to Israel will be suspended, and the 'new PLO's proposal to conduct, under international supervision, elections for a democratic state over all of historical Palestine' will be fully supported. 

- Pappe digs deep into the likely future of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. In the one state of Palestine there will be the possibility of peace and social harmony, although the process will be difficult given that so many Palestinians were violently ousted from their homes, farms and workplaces.  

- In the final section of the book, a little fanciful perhaps, but very enjoyable, Pappe travels into the future as an old man and looks back at the journey he's witnessed as the state of Israel transformed into the state of Palestine. 'I managed to scribble something on 31 December 2049; this was a small card I wrote to friends and family:

MAY THE NEXT YEAR BE THE FIRST BORING YEAR IN THE HISTORY OF PALESTINE. 

(I loved this para:

In addition to that, the continued change in the American policy was enhanced by the reformist winds blowing from Tehran. The country was still an Islamic republic, but eased its pressure on the public sphere and, in particular, reformed the policies towards women's dress code in public. So it seems that without American sanctions and military adventurism, a more reformist version of theocratic rule developed, mainly because educated young women were needed to push forward the crippled economy, and because, like everywhere else in the world, a younger generation navigated the tensions between sacred principles and the realities of life more successfully than the previous one.)

Ian McEwan, What We Can Know

 

- I've read and hugely enjoyed most of Ian McEwan's novels over the last few decades. This new one is absolutely one of his best by far. It's a detailed examination of personal relationships between close friends and partners. 

- There are two parts, one set in the future in 2119 (Part One), and the other in our current world, the early 2000's. It's an unashamedly literary work, obviously a total indulgence for McEwan and his loyal readers like me. Most of the characters are literature academics, and he obviously relishes their discussions and arguments. His prose is congested at times, but delicious. It has a biographical flavour to it as it digs deep into his main characters' predicaments, fascinations, passions, and multitudinous love affairs. It's very insightful, and dotted with comments on everyday human behaviour, (‘The mind was our most erotic feature').  

- Part One, in 2119, is rich and confronting as McEwan describes what's left of the world after the ravages of climate change and wars. The 21st century was a global heating catastrophe: the deadly and destructive ocean rises, the new inland seas, scores of vanished cities (Glasgow, New York, Lagos for example), the collapse of the global economy, the collapse of heavy industry and fossil fuel use, the population of earth having declined to below four billion (half what it was a century earlier), a shattered Germany incorporated into Great Russia, a totally isolated Scotland. The ‘Derangement’, the period was called, a 'Metaphysical Gloom', the fading of a belief in progress.

- As well there were nuclear wars costing more than 200 million lives: India and Pakistan - over a million killed; Israel and Iran; the US and China; a Russian nuclear bomb dropped into the Atlantic flooded cities, including London and Paris. Britain became an archipelago, its population halved.

- Thankfully post-nuclear global cooling was encouraging a new spirit of optimism. ‘When the rising curve of global temperatures met the descending curve of population numbers and industrial activity, nature seized the moment and pushed up through the ruins.’ Students in 2119 ‘cannot believe that pre-Inundation people…were at all like themselves. Those ancients were ignorant, squalid and destructive louts...social media was run for profit not as a public service...The stupidity and waste…the self-serving short-sightedness or plain folly or mendacity or viciousness of political leaders - take your pick - and the quiescence or craven idiocy or terror of their populations...the accumulated victims of global heating, nuclear battles, drowned cities, ruined economies, shattered ecologies, untamed viruses.’ 

- A century earlier, pre-Inundation, Vivien, our main character, is married to her second husband Francis Blundy, a celebrated poet and national icon, and climate change denier. They live on a rural estate. He composes a poem (a corona) on vellum, rolls it, secures it with a ribbon. At a party with their circle of friends, he reads it and they toasted it. It was a classic, they said, utterly brilliant, 'a glorious love poem, a hymn to Vivien'. As one guest reflects: ‘poetry, not the novel, was literature’s indispensable form…The novel was the froth of recent centuries….to meet the needs of intelligent, privileged women excluded from formal education and meaningful work…It took modernism to shake the novel up’. Vivian retained the only copy. But it disappeared and was never found again. And that mystery is at the heart of the novel. 

- A century later in 2119, Tom, our narrator, is a humanities researcher at Oxford University. He's a huge fan of Francis Blundy's poetry, and is determined to find the poem. He's convinced it must be hidden somewhere, most probably on their rural property, which is now old and abandoned. ‘Vivien’s love of poetry was too fierce to let her consign the poem to oblivion. It was somewhere and I would find it’. 

- Part Two is all about Vivien and her first marriage to Percy, who suffered early onset Alzheimer’s. It is hard for her to abandon her academic career and care for him. He had no interest in books or poetry, but he was an excellent musician and tradesman. 

-Her problem was that she ‘had a partner and a playmate, but I also wanted a thought-mate’. 

- She meets the famous poet Francis at a launch, and is immediately, and sexually, attracted to him. Percy, however, is still alive, although his mental faculties by now are virtually non-existent. He lingers...and lingers. 

- McEwan has written another brilliant novel. It is highly challenging, and thought provoking, and so very relevant to today's personal, social, and political realities. An absolute joy to read.   

William Boyd, The Predicament

- This new novel from celebrated English author William Boyd is the second in his three-part Gabriel Dax series. I hadn't read the first so wondered if I'd find the second frustrating. I certainly didn't. 

- The novel is so absorbing in every way. The central character, Gabriel, is a successful travel writer who also secretly works for the UK spy agency MI6, and occasionally the CIA. It's full of other charming characters, locations, and stories that make the novel come dramatically alive. It’s set in 1963. John F. Kennedy is the US President, and we all know what is about to happen in Dallas, Texas. 

- Gabriel is thirty-three, single, and has just bought a cottage in the small village of Claverleigh in Sussex. He travels to London frequently to meet his MI6 agent Faith Green, who also happens to be his previous, now just occasional, lover. Green visits him in Claverleigh. She requests he go to Guatemala, run by an unpopular autocratic military regime, to interview the possible future leader Santiago Angel Lopez, a popular ex-priest known as ‘Padre Tiago’. There will inevitably be a regime change and an election, and Tiago the likely new President. The CIA wants to know how the relationship with the USA would play out. But the CIA is not one united body. It's riven with power plays, some very ugly indeed. Gabriel has to be careful. 

- While in London he regularly meets his publisher, who's now told him he is being sued for plagiarism by an old famous author who wrote a book years ago on the 

Greek Islands. Gabriel's latest book is also about the Islands. He's enraged by the outrageous claim, and hires a lawyer. Then he decides to confront the author directly.  

- There are numerous subplots in the novel that delve deep into the political complexities of the time in an extremely satisfying and highly credible way. The resolutions are perfect. There are assassinations by lone gunmen as we know. That characterised 1960's America. 

- Kennedy was also assassinated at that time. By a 'lone gunman'.