New acquisition/I capture the castle 410

I'm still finding ways and means to acquire books despite having given up their purchase for Lent. The other week I joined "Bookhopper", a site where you can upload books which you no longer want, to see if anyone else wants them, and in return have a look at other people's unwanted books. About half of the books I uploaded were snapped up immediately, and I managed to get a VMC that I didn't have in return - I capture the castle. I'm surprised that I didn't have a copy of this book as it is one of my favourites , so I was very happy when that arrived.

I won't write much about it here because there are any number of reviews on Amazon and blogs and librarythings, and it is difficult to do justice to such a lovely book not having read it especially recently. But I will just mention its opening lines which are perhaps my favourite of all opening lines..."I write this sitting in the kitchen sink" - what a wonderful picture that conjures up, and how could one not want to read on from that beginning??

It's actually been published 3 times by Virago, most recently with a film tie in edition - I highly recommend the film which is a lovely adaption starring Ramola Garai, Rose Byrne, Tara Fitzgerald and Bill Nighy). My copy is the rather lovely middle one. Definitely a 5* VMC.

The holiday (Smith) VMC 7

Having enjoyed Novel on yellow paper very much last week, I was keen to read the other two Stevie Smith VMCs and when I spotted The holiday in Blackwells' Secondhand bookshop I just couldn't resist (even though I find their books a bit overpriced). Particularly as I was hoping to go away for the weekend, and a book called The holiday, just needs to be read on holiday. The synopsis excited me - the story of a young woman who goes on holiday with her uncle in the immediate post-war period. However, I'm afraid to report that I was disappointed.

Like Novel on yellow paper, The holiday is strongly autobiographical. Celia - the main character - works as a secretary at the ministry, and spends much time thinking about politics and the issues of the day. She then goes on holiday with her cousin and uncle; "here they talk endlessly, argue, eat, tell stories, love and hate - moments of wild humour alternating with waves of melancholy as Celia ponders obsessively on the inevitable pain of love" (from the cover). Like the earlier novel, the story is strongly discursive and is almost a vehicle for Smith to relay her own thoughts and feelings.

According to the introduction, even though the book is apparently set after WW2, it was mostly written during the war, and Smith decided to "update" it when the war finished and it had not been published.

There were however some very beautiful passages of writing - the book is interspersed with poetry (let us not forget that Smith was foremost a poet) and a short story - such as this:

"There is the sea, and one wishes to get into it, but there are always so many things to do, and the end of the holiday comes and still there is the sea, and still one has not got into it, one has forgotten to get into the sea, but that is what one has most wished to do, so strongly one has wished to do that, and now the holiday is over"

I think that is absolutely exquisite and so very true. How often one feels like that at the end of a holiday!

So I have mixed feelings about this book. But have just ordered the other Smith VMC (Over the frontier) from the library and look forward to comparing that with the other two works.

There are three Virago covers, and I own the first one.

Novel on yellow paper (Smith) VMC 27

"But first Reader, I will give you a word of warning. This is a foot-off-the-ground novel that came by the left hand. And the thoughts come and go and sometimes they do not quite come and go and sometimes they do not quite come and I do not pursue them to embarrass them with formality to pursue them into a harsh captivity. And if you are a foot-off-the-ground person, I make no bones to say that is how you will write and only how you will write. And if you are a foot-on-the ground person this book will be for you a desert of weariness and exasperation. So put it down. Leave it alone...
...But if you do not know whether you are a foot-off-the-ground person or a foot-on-the-ground person, then I say, Come on. Come on with me, and find out."

I think this extract really sets out the tone of Novel on yellow paper which is an absolutely delightful and individual read. It is the book of Pompey, who works in an office for Sir Phoebus, who composes her thoughts on yellow paper, as opposed to the blue of the official correspondence... In essence this is very autobiographical, and Pompey is Stevie Smith as she saw herself, as the author worked as a private secretary for Sir George Newnes, the magazine publisher. Apparently Smith tried to publish a book of poetry in 1935, but was told to go away and write a novel; this is the result, and it is unlike anything I've read before.
She skips between subjects in a stream of consciousness and we hear about her work in the office on a day to day basis, her life (living normally with her Aunt, but at present with her friend Harriet), and her thoughts on subjects as diverse as Euripedes and Nazi Germany. Hence the need to be a foot-off-the-ground person in order to appreciate it - i.e. you must be able to get past the need for a linear story and cope with something which is more discursive than descriptive. Yes, it is now dated, but I don't think that detracts from its value as a novel and it thus also provides insight into the 1930s when it was written.

Over the frontier and The holiday are also VMCs by Stevie Smith and I will be interested when I get to them to see how they compare.

This book has been published by a number of publishers, but here are the Virago covers - I read the 1980 one, which is the third one - I found it in our college library, but will be looking out for my own copy.