Forty Years On
(in Plays 1)
Alan Bennett
76 p.

Faber & Faber, 1996.
(first staged 1968.)

Back cover blurb:

none

Alan Bennett’s first play on the London West End, and, although it has a lot of Bennett’s wonderful language, it isn’t quite on par with The History Boys or anything in Untold Stories. One can tell that he is still not quite sure on what he’s doing - it’s full of short skits, without too much holding them together. Nevertheless, some of these skits are hilarious. Additionally, I do not think this is one of the plays one may as well read - I believe this is a very visual play, and in order to be enjoyed, it ought to be seen.

I’m sorry, I’m awfully behind on this. Because I will have no chance of actually writing proper posts, let’s do speed reviews instead.

The History Boys: The Film. Alan Bennett. (First published 2006, 107 p.) This is the script for the film version of The History Boys.  This play is my favourite one ever, and reading this reminded me of why I love it so. It is just so witty and clever and oh! Plus there’s extra material, some of which surfaced in the film, some of which didn’t. Also in this book was the shooting diary of Bennett, which was extremely exciting to read.

Vile Bodies, Evelyn Waugh. (first published 1930, 224 p.) Evelyn Waugh has a fantastic language. Unfortunately, this novel is not quite as good as Decline and Fall; it is far less direct and to the point, but seems to lose itself in the details. Still, it is good for laughs. It’s been made into a film by Stephen Fry, under the title Bright Young Things, and seeing that cast list, I am itching to see it. I am such a sucker for film versions of novels.

Sugar Rush, Julie Burchill. (First published 2004, 230 p.) So, I saw the TV version of this novel before reading the book, so I wasn’t sure what to be expecting. What I can say is that it is extremely different from the series, and I think it’s more believable. There’s actual going-to-school-bits, which is something in novels which I completely adore. And yes, it was very good.

Untold Stories. Alan Bennett. (First published 2005, 658 p.) This is a collection of essays and such written by Bennett. Although the material did not always interest me (things such as the best pictures in the National Gallery is not on my top-five of things to read about), the language is constantly amazing and just wonderful. Also present was a lot of information about his family and his relations, and it was really nice to see that he, too, is a human being.

Educating Rita. Willy Russell. (First published 1981, 65 p.) Now, everyone knows the film version of this play is awfully good. As is, unsurprisingly, the play. Willy Russell has a wonderful language (which also can be seen in The Wrong Boy, which includes lots of Morrissey: very neat!) and it is full of references and discussions and it is really a sweet play. Also, props for the Doctor Who reference.

Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad
146 p.

For Decades ‘08.

Penguin Classics, 2000.
(First published 1902.)

Back cover blurb:

In Conrad’s haunting tale, Marlow, a seaman and wanderer, recounts his physical and psychological journey in search of the enigmatic Kurtz. Travelling to the heart of the African continent, he discovers how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local people. Marlow’s struggle to understand what has happened involves him in a radical questioning of not only his own nature and values but the nature and values of his society.

A masterpiece of twentieth-century writing, Heart of Darkness explores the workings of consciousness as well as the grim realities of imperialism.

I can’t say I quite understood this book. It is beautifully written, but what happens, really? Marlow travels to Africa, he buggers around in Africa, and he leaves. And, yeah, there’s a bit of a strange man called Kurtz as well. I thought this book was brilliant until Kurtz made his ACTUAL appearance. That appearance was a bit of a let-down, I must say. Up until then, it was brilliant. There’s this one character who doesn’t get a name, who was lovely. He was Russian and looked like a harlequin and was extremely girly. He was brilliant. I found Marlow a little annoying, because he just thought and thought and thought. On the other hand, that makes him a rather interesting narrator. And talking about narration, I love the way it is told, a story-within-the-story-way. Think Wuthering Heights. But I don’t know if I’d read Heart of Darkness if it was not for school.