Beebo Brinker by Ann Bannon

Plot (taken from waterstones.com)

Jack Mann finds Beebo Brinker (real name Betty Jean — she was unable to pronounce it as a child) wandering the streets of Greenwich Village. Beebo is 18 years old, tall and handsome, vacillating between overconfidence and vulnerability after leaving her family's farm in Wisconsin for New York City. Beebo is clearly welling up with a terrible secret that forced her to move east, and guilt that comes with leaving her father alone.

Jack helps Beebo get a job delivering pizzas (one of the advantages is that she can wear pants) for Pete, who is a little creepy, and his wife who cooks. Jack also allows Beebo to live with him until she gets on her feet, and allows her the time and space to ask the questions he knows she needs to ask. When she admits her frank admiration for a woman she sees, Jack tells her about lesbians, and she reacts with obvious fascination. He escorts her to several gay bars in the Village where she is astonished and touched by what she recognizes in herself.

After being treated cruelly by a vindictive woman playing a game with Pete, Beebo happens upon Paula one evening at her apartment, and it is Paula who verifies the suspicion of Beebo's sexuality. She is roused a couple days later to make a delivery to the apartment of a rather outrageous movie star, Venus Bogardus, who lives with her lonely teenaged son whom Beebo befriends. Beebo is infatuated and unnerved by Venus, who proposes that Beebo join them to return to California as company for her son — and to bridge the gap between them. Venus, in turn, divulges her past loves with men and women and seduces Beebo.

As Venus rehearses for a television show, Beebo learns her new precarious place at Venus' ranch in California negotiating around Venus' business-minded husband, her public persona, and her vulnerable son. She is essentially, kept in secret. It dissatisfies her and she begins to miss Paula. She is seen briefly with Venus in public and it causes gossip columnists to start asking questions, and Venus' husband warns her to stay away from Venus in public. But on the night of the show, Venus' son has an epileptic seizure and cuts his head open. Beebo must find Venus at a party celebrating the show's end, but is intercepted by her husband, who beats her in a rage before she can tell Venus what has happened.

The morning papers unleashed rumors of Venus being a lesbian. Unwilling to live in secret with Venus, Beebo returns to New York to recover while Venus and her husband appear happily in public. After a while, Beebo goes to find Paula again, who is thrilled to see her once more. Paula assures her that love can be better and they decide to see for themselves how.

Rating 4*- After reading ‘I Am a Woman’ I decided to have a look at some of the other novels in the series. This novel is very different to the first, and although it includes some of the same characters it is somewhat more mysterious. The characters reveal themselves in a more subtle way and live their lives, as homosexuals, very differently in the way Laura does in ‘I Am a Woman’.

I love the pull of New York City in these novels, and more importantly the importance of Greenwich Village. The characters living in the city are described with fantastic detail and the insight in the 1960’s allows for a very different perception of the people in the novel.

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Of course I have always been aware of Edgar Allan Poe, but I was never really interested in reading any of his works. That was until last year- when the film 'The Raven' hit cinema screens. Recently released on DVD, the Raven provoked me to read some of Poe's short stories.

The Pit and Pendulum (1843)

The pit and pendulum is one of Poe’s short stories.

An unnamed narrator opens the story by revealing that he has been sentenced to death during the time of the Inquisition (an institution of the Catholic government in the 15^th/16^th century Spain that persecuted all Protestants and heretical Catholics).

When the narrator reveals he has been sentenced to death he faints. When he wakes he faces complete darkness. The narrator is confused as the usual fate of the Inquisition normally takes the form of hanging.

Walking around the walls leads the narrator to think he has been captured and is being prisoned in Toledo, an Inquisition prison. When attempting to explore the tomb and see how wide it is the narrator stumbles and collapses to the ground.

Waking to water and bread the narrator continues his exploration of the tomb in complete darkness. He trips and falls again finding he is on the edge of, what he assumes, is a pit in the centre of the tomb. He finds a stone and throws it into the abyss, believing it to be quite deep- the narrator explains the pit is a function of surprise. After finding more water the narrator passes out again.

He wakes up to find the prison dimly lit, and remarks that he overestimated its size. The narrator finds he is now bound to a wooden board by a long strap wrapped around his body. Looking up the narrator sees the figure of time painted on the ceiling. Time has been made into a machine, a pendulum- which swings from the ceiling- however it is not like any ordinary pendulum. The pendulum is constructed with a razor-sharp crescent and is its descent towards him.

Rats begin to swarm up out of the pit and surround him and the food which was left out for the captive. The narrator remains hopeful as the pendulum is swinging and descending very slowly. The rats climb on top of the narrator and chew through the strap keeping him on the table. As the pendulum nears his heart and tears some of his clothing- the rats break through the strap. When he gets up the pendulum retracts the narrator is positive he is being watched…

…and that’s when the walls of the prison begin to move inwards. The narrator realises it will move him towards the pit in the centre. However, the walls stop moving inwards just as the narrator begins to fall- to his great surprise someone latches onto him and prevents him falling any further.

The French general Lasalle and his army have successfully taken over the prison in their effort to terminate the Inquisition.

The Masque of Red Death (1845)

A disease known as the Red Death plagues the fictional country where this story takes place. The Prince, Prospero, instead of mourning the plague – like many others, he instead feels hopeful. He decides to lock the gates of his palace in order to fend off the plague, ignoring the disease ravaging the land.

After several months he decides to throw a masquerade ball. For the celebration, he decorates seven rooms in his house, each having a different theme- Blue, purple, green, orange, white and violet with the final room being black. This room also contains an ebony clock, when is chimes each hour the sound is so loud that everyone stops talking and the orchestra stops playing. When the clock is not sounding the rooms are filled with people enjoying the masquerade, the black room is the only place not filled with people.

At midnight a new guest appears, dressed in a mask that looks like the face of a corpse and his garments covered in blood suggesting that he is a victim of the Red Death. The prince is angry at the guest and finally catches up to the guest in the black room. As soon as he confronts the figure the prince dies. As soon as rest of the party guests enter the room they find there is nobody underneath the costume. The entire party soon dies, for the Red Death has infiltrated the castle.

‘Darkness and decay and the Red Death’ have at last triumphed.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

This is one of Poe’s detective fictions- the story centring on who killed Madame L’Espanaye and her daughter Mademoiselle Camille.

An unnamed narrator begins this tale of murder and criminal detection with discussion of the analytic mind. He describes the analyst as driven paradoxically by both intuition and the moral inclination to disentangle what confuses his peers. He adds that the analyst takes delight in mathematical study and in the game of checkers, which allows the calculating individual to practice the art of detection—not only of the moves integral to the game, but also the demeanor of his opponent. The narrator argues, however, that analysis is not merely ingenuity. He states that while the ingenious man may, at times, be analytic, the calculating man is, without fail, always imaginative.

The narrator describes how he met C. Auguste Dupin- both men were searching for the same book at an obscure library, in Paris. We soon see Dupin’s great understanding of the mind- as he describes what the narrator is pondering over in his mind.

Soon, thereafter the narrator and Dupin read the newspaper headlines about a horrible murder at the Rue Morgue. One night at three a.m the neighbours hear L’Espanaye and her daughter screaming from their apartment. The neighbours hear the voices of two people and then silence.

The story moves on from here, showing the newspapers witnesses and how they remember the scene of the crime. The narrator and Dupin then begin to take a look around the L’Espanaye’s apartment for clues as the police are at a loss. The two men that the witnesses heard were unable to hide the body of the daughter up the chimney as it impossible for only two men to perform such a physical task.

Dupin summarizes that no human could have performed these acts and upon summoning a sailor to the scene he learns he is right…

Learning that a sailor has lost an ape- it soon becomes clear who is responsible for the murders in the Rue Morgue.

The Oval Portrait

‘The Oval Portrait’ is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe involving the disturbing circumstances surrounding a portrait in a chateau. It is one of his shortest stories only filling two pages in its initial publication in 1842.

The tale begins with an injured narrator seeking refuge in an abandoned mansion in the Apennines- we have no explanation of his wounds. He spends his time admiring the works of art decorating the strangely- shaped room. He eventually discovers a painting which shocks him which he refers to as ‘absolute life-likeliness of expression’. He spends a moment in silent awe until he cannot bear to look at it anymore- then he consults a book which describes the paintings found in the house.

The reminder of the story is a selection from the book which discusses when it was created etc. The painting was by an eccentric artist depicting his young wife, but he grew more and more obsessed with the painting to the point he forgot about his wife’s personal needs. When he finishes the painting and looks up at his wife he discovers that she is dead and her spirit was transferred into the lifelike painting.

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

This book has been on my reading list over the summer- for returning to university. I have read a couple of Virginia’s books- and I expected this to be on the same wavelength. Woolf’s books are heavy and difficult to just pick up and read. However, Orlando is the complete opposite. This is by far the most enjoyable novel I have read by Woolf and the easiest!

PLOT

Orlando begins the story a boy, progressing into manhood. He lives in London during the reign of Elizabeth I. He is briefly a lover to the queen who is growing ill with age- a poignant line in the novel occurs when she tells Orlando to never grow old. After the queen’s death Orlando finds a new love interest, in a Russian princess, Sasha. However, after the ice in London melts Sasha disappears leaving Orlando heartbroken. He begins an isolated life at this stage and takes up writing, poetry specifically.

The second stage of Orlando’s life begins in Constantinople, where he serves as a British ambassador. However, after a night of civil unrest and riots, Orlando falls into a deep sleep. After days of sleep Orlando eventually awakens as a woman.

Now, Lady Orlando, leaves Constantinople in order to begin a new life as a female. On a ship back to England she realises how much changes with her change of sex, the list of things she cannot or must not do, she never even considered when she was male.

Orlando experiences life, as a woman in the 18^thand 19^th centuries, with a number of new friends and acquaintances. Finally, after winning the lawsuit over her property (being a woman meant her inheritance of her mansion was in jeopardy) she marries Captain Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine. Finally in 1928 Orlando publishes her poem she started at the beginning of the novel- The Oak Tree.

Rating 4*- It is interesting to see how Woolf’s style changes so much when she wrote a novel she considered as a ‘break from writing’. This is a quirky and fun read-something I was not first expecting! Having read a number of novels by Woolf, including‘A Room of One’s Own’ and ‘Mrs Dalloway’, this is by far the best read.

If you are looking for something a little different and historical this is definitely worth a read! The history through the eyes of a man changing into woman is so fascinating, especially in Virginia Woolf’s written style. I really cannot recommend this book enough, well worth giving it a go!

If you think this book is a little too heavy- watch Sally Potter’s version of Orlando. Tilda Swinton takes the role of Orlando in a unusual adaptation!

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway

‘The Sun Also Rises’ was Ernest Hemmingway’s first novel, published in 1926. Hemmingway was born in Illinois in 1899 and his work was considered to have a strong influence on 20^th century fiction.

Hemmingway began writing the novel on his birthday in 1925 and his first manuscript was finished two months after this, in September. The basis for the novel was on Hemmingway’s trip to Spain in 1925. Although the novel also visits Paris, the settings described in the novel are memorable, possibly based upon Hemmingway’s experience of living in Paris- when he was a young writer himself

PLOT

The main storyline follows a group of American and British expatriates, who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona, to watch the running of the bulls and the bullfights. This was an early modernist novel and received mixed reviews upon its publication.

The novel follows an underlying love story between Jake Barnes, the protagonist- and Lady Brett Ashley, a divorcée. Brett’s affair with Jake’s friend Robert Cohn upsets the protagonist and their friendship is broken off. Brett continues a long set of affairs with her seduction of Romero, a bullfighter- whom Jake introduces Brett to whilst they are in Pamplona for the fiesta. This leads Jake to lose his good reputation whilst he is in Spain and once the fiesta is over the characters finally take off on their own journeys. Jake begins to regret turning down Bill’s invitation to join him when he receives a telegram from Brett, telling him she is in trouble and to meet her in Madrid. The novel comes to an end when Jake finds that Lady Ashley has sent Romero away. The novel ends with a sense of dѐjà vu from the beginning as Brett and Jake get into a taxi and Jake finally gets to put his arm around Brett once again.

Rating 4*- This was the first Hemmingway novel that I have read so I did have high expectations. The novel was not quite what I expected although it was thoroughly engaging- the bullfights and fiesta in Spain being an exciting highlight of the book. The descriptions of the café’s around Paris and wine shops in Pamplona created an atmosphere and culture which added to the novels plot.

I was expecting the novel to have slow moving chapters but as soon as I read the first page I was hooked! Definitely worth a read, this novel has underlying gender topics- as Brett is described her feminine aspects are rarely mentioned she is shown to have more masculine features and always enters the scenes with her line ‘hello chaps’. Brett is by far one of the most interesting characters to pay close attention to when reading this novel.

Daughters of the House by Michele Roberts

The award winning novel ‘Daughters of the House’ by Michѐle Roberts won the WH Smith Literary award in 1992.

PLOT

Set in France, Daughters of the House begins with Lѐoni waiting on the arrival of her cousin Thѐrѐse. The stunning narrative sets the scene of the house, as each chapter is devoted to the tiniest detailing including ‘the writing table’ and ‘the buffet’.

After setting the scene of the present, the book skips back to when Lѐoni and Thѐrѐse were children. Living in post-war Normandy, the novel explores the children’s past and how they perceive the world around them. The idea that Lѐoni is half French, half English (like Michѐle Roberts) allows her to discover the past and shape her future as she develops into adolescence.

However, when both children have a vision of a woman in the woods, the children are faced with who is going to be believed and who is telling the truth. The novel invests itself in discovery of the truth and will this break the relationship that Lѐoni and Thѐrѐse have formed?

The children use the house to uncover dark secrets that surround their parent’s past…

Rating 3*- Robert’s novel is beautifully written; however, the plot is slightly unusual in comparison to many other novels. Although there is a ‘revealing’ towards the end, the plot seems to drift off and does not have the impact you would normally expect. Robert’s novel is a little disappointing in this aspect, although it does make up for this in other senses (through its interesting contrast of characters perspective), it does not have the disclosure you normally receive from finishing a book.

Nevertheless Michѐle Roberts presents a thought provoking novel, which introduces you the Lѐoni and Thѐrѐse past. The award winning novel includes an interesting set of events throughout and Robert’s use of language produces a powerful piece of writing.