Page 57 - Phonebox Magazine January 2013

Book Review By Oxfam Bookshop, Olney
Gwen John was, like her brother Augustus John, a painter of some standing. She studied at the Slade and lived in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century where she modelled for Rodin and became his mistress. For Gwen this relationship was all-consuming and when Rodin tired of their affaire she turned to her work, pouring into it all she had learned from her beloved ʻmaitreʼ as well as all her talent, emotions and ideas. The painting at the centre of this story is based on one which Gwen John painted at this time – not at first sight one which conveys her passion and her unhappiness but one which appears to be a painting of a simple corner of her sparsely furnished room with a chair, a table and a calm warm light coming through the partly curtained window.
Keeping the World Away by Margaret Forster
Nevertheless, there is something about the image which speaks directly and powerfully to the emotions and Forster has built around it a fictitious story of the succession of people who came to own it over the next 100 years and to whom its silence and simplicity seemed to speak directly about their own lives. About the need for a separate identity, about the pleasure of sometimes being alone in your own space, about the power art can have to make us think beyond ourselves and to wonder how an inanimate object seems to have a
Forster tells a wide-ranging and engaging story
with some memorable characters, often at
pivotal moments in their own lives, as the
painting moves from owner to owner – lost,
stolen, strayed, sold and fought over. She
does, however, employ coincidence repeatedly
as the painting passes from person to person
down the years and comes, in some senses
full circle. Sometimes this adds to the
enjoyment of the story but occasionally feels like stretching a literary device a little far. But most of us have experienced the phenomenon of ʻsix degrees of separationʼ – and over 100 years its not impossible to believe in such events. And what she has to say about the power art can have in peopleʼs lives is, overall, the thing which stays with you when the book is closed.
Lone Wolf by Jodie Picoult
life-force of its own: "It has a history. I don't know what it is, but something is there, more than the paint on the canvas. Don't you think so? Don't artists want to put more than the paint on the canvas?"
Once again, Jodie Picoult uses a highly original topic as the theme of her novel, this time she writes about a manʼs fascination, and eventually
Bringing his daughter home from a party one night, Luke is involved in a car crash. Cara suffers nothing more than a serious shoulder injury, but Luke has hit his head and suffers severe brain damage, remaining in a coma. His ex-wife calls their son to come home to help cope with this disaster, and a battle rages between Edward and his sister about whether or not the life-support machine should be switched off, and their father allowed to die. As this conflict is played out, we are given insight, not only into the lives and thoughts of the various characters, but also into Lukeʼs experience of living with wolves in the wild.
identification with wolves.
After graduating from college with a degree in zoology, Luke is hired as a keeper at a small zoo.
He describes working his way up, through small animals to larger, until he finally takes charge of the wolves. So begins his study of these
disciplined, organized animals. He discovers that only by being in the enclosure with them can he really learn about their habits and get
Once again, we are treated to gradual character revelation, as each of the protagonists takes a turn in being the narrator, in Lukeʼs case the chapters are in italics, emphasizing the fact that his narration involves the past, and that he has no cognition. The plot is well- constructed and leads to an inevitable, if somewhat unexpected denouement. This is a book which would interest a reading group, and there are questions at the end to facilitate discussion. However it is one which will bring enjoyment to anyone who likes a good story with an unusual theme.
them to accept him. From there he progresses to studying wolves in the wild, leaving his wife and family to spend two years living with a
pack. His obsession brings his marriage to an
end; his son leaves home abruptly without explanation and only his daughter wishes to remain with him.
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Phonebox Magazine 57
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The books reviewed above are from Oxfam Books and Music, Olney, which sells donated books, records, CDs, tapes and music to raise money for Oxfam’s work in combating poverty around the world.
Review by Sandra Metcalf
Review by Thelma Shacklady