Sunday 10 March 2013

The Next Chapter Begins...


...as I start my new job tomorrow as a Travel Consultant with this company. How do I feel starting completely afresh? Nervous, excited, curious- all those cliches. It might not feel like it right now, but feeling all those stereotypical emotions is good. If it's frightening...if it's challenging...then that means I'm moving forward. I'm always fearful of becoming trapped in a rut; this is just a more intense fear right now. When my stomach is flipping every which way tomorrow morning, I've just got to remember this quotation from Albert Einstein:

'Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new'.



 

REVIEW: Capital- John Lanchester


Good old Waterstones Book Club- it has come up trumps again. It's been a while since I read a genuinely funny, easy-going book in the vein of Nick Hornby; I've decided that I need more comedic novels in my life. Also, while reading is an escape, it's also occasionally satisfying to delve into familiar territory. Every Londoner will appreciate the truth of Lanchester's observations; every non-Londoner will gain an uncanny insight into this multi-cultural, multi-faceted city.

Capital is actually a collection of short stories, all linked by living on the affluent Pepys Road, located by an undisclosed London Common. Not only that, but they are also brought together by a strange, harrassing postcard with the words 'We Want What You Have': especially ironic, considering every recipient seem dissatisfied with their lives. This element of 'mystery', as all the characters deal with this random intrusion in their own ways- while they are trying to deal with their own everyday issues- will instantly connect you to these characters, and keep you hooked until the very last page. The true beauty of the novel has to be the sheer range of characters that live on Pepys Road: from a city banker, to an elderly widow, to Pakistani newsagents...and then all the characters that they are linked to: a Polish builder, a Banksy-esque artist, a Hungarian nanny...the reader is treated into a humorous, yet realistic insight into every Londoner imaginable.

Effortlessly funny writing is hard to find- and it can be found in abundance in this novel. You will leave this book with a sense of London's incredible diversity- while realising that, apart from personal problems, a country in turmoil is a country united.