"The Voices", directed Marjane Satrapi

Movie, 2014

An odd, grisly comedy which through its main sequence of events - principally the fates of the three main female characters in the drama and the use and portrayal of mental health - leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth. Yes, this is entertaining and well paced and, from a technical point of view, very well done, but it's not really good enough to rise above the gravity of the fates and illnesses which seem little more than plot devices. The talking pets are also a little naff - occasionally amusing, but mainly superfluous. As, indeed, is the whole movie.

"We Have Always Lived in the Castle", by Shirley Jackson

Novel, 1962

Terrific Gothic tale of two sisters and a deranged uncle living in an unfriendly village which marginalises them due to the belief the elder sister poisoned and killed the rest of the family. This is a story focusing on Merricat, the younger sister, a fiercely independent, disturbing narrator who brings a very focused view on unfolding events. There's a real tension in this short novel which propels the reader along into some quite disturbing, psychologically wrenching scenes.

"Chronicles: Volume One", by Bob Dylan

Non-fiction, 2004

Dylan picks a few key points in his career in producing this hybrid of memoir and autobiography in what, ultimately, is an engaging, entertaining and occasionally laugh-out-loud account. In telling his tale, the lyricism and atmosphere of his song writing is retained, although the detail is nonetheless present in hugely convincing observations and memories. And contained within are some interesting tidbits - the protest singer famously battling his spokesman for the generation status, with a hankering for his family and life on the high seas in his yacht.

"Chalcot Crescent", by Fay Weldon

Novel, 2009

A novel set in a crumbling London not so far in the future, in which political and counter political oppressions are played out against the backdrop of entangled family relationships. While the evocations of a ghoulish capital are strong, the complex inter-relationships and the hugely unreliable narrator make it difficult to follow what's going on and how characters related to each other. This may be intentional, but does lead to a frustrating read in what would otherwise be a belter.

"The Grand Budapest Hotel", directed Wes Anderson

Movie, 2014

A witty, colourful and fast paced character study and homage, perhaps, to a grander Europe in the early twentieth century, played for thrills, action and - occasionally - a palpable tenderness and poignancy. Within this star-studded chocolate box of a movie are some well-worked themes and devices, and yet there's also something refreshingly original  - the mixture of bathos and comedy sitting on top of the whirlwind of fun is quite remarkable and rewards attentive viewing.

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"Inherent Vice", directed Paul Thomas Anderson

Movie, 2014

Murky, muttering and suitably confused, confusing slow burn frenetic adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's LA private eye caper. The film's pace and its fairly hefty length draw those in who get hooked in the first place from opening scenes depicting a stoned PI, his returning lover, a massage parlour frequented by an Aryan Brotherhood gang, a nasty slick-cut nemesis policeman and some pretty sweaty interactions between and involving each of them. Possibly not destined for classic mainstream status, but a good adaptation all the same.

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"Voyage in the Dark", by Jean Rhys

Novel, 1934

Hugely evocative novel set in a modernising London and focusing on the challenges, loves and  friendships of Anna, a young Caribbean chorus girl. This is an account of despair, drunkenness, abortionists and questionable morality, but nonetheless, life's vitality shines through. Some really keen writing which descriptively tells its story and sets seedy, desperate scenes, with occasionally flights into more modernist streams of consciousness.

"Mr Holmes," directed Bill Condon

Movie, 2015

A retired, infirm and fake-nosed Sherlock Holmes finds his truculent housekeeper, her plucky son and his apiary giving him plenty to think about while he's trying to get on with the business of retiring. A film in which plenty of flashbacks, narratives and themes swirl without fully knitting together. An enjoyable watch but one ultimately stifled by its central character and certain well-meaning but slightly suffocating Englishness. Not at all bad - could have done with a few edits here and there.

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"Girl in the Band", Kim Gordon

Memoir, 2015

Autobiographical work by Kim Gordon in which she plots her artistic and musical life in California and New York. This is a good, flowing read which will disappoint anyone looking for the "warts and all" - her relationship with long-term partner Thurston Moore isn't a salacious hatchet job, while the other Sonic Youth members don't really get much of a look in. Gordon writes in small chunks, conveying the non-stop exhaustion of touring, especially as a mother, and the cliches and attitudes of being a woman in her profession. Good to hear a rock story rather than having one shoved at you.

"American Sniper," directed Clint Eastwood

Film, 2014

Two narratives for the price of one. Unfortunately, the cautionary tale of the disastrous psychological effects of a war on the family is tucked away, only appearing like an unwanted guest when the gritty gung-ho battle scenes and tired cat-and-mouse our sniper versus their sniper trope take an occasional back seat. We're left, really, with crude flag waving nonsense with half decent acting and lots of homo erotically charged blood, sweat and tears and a biopic element realised through an especially unconvincing set of family and funeral scenes at the end.

"Half Blood Blues", by Esi Edugyan

Novel, 2011

A story of betrayal and part reconciliation, looking at the relationships between members of a jazz band who'd split after the Nazi crackdowns in Berlin and then the invasion in Paris. This is an entertaining, vividly drawn work which occasionally veers perhaps a little too far into a retelling of history, but which nonetheless effectively tells a good story evolving round Sid, who's slowly revealed as an interesting main character. Maybe some of the historical detail caused very infrequent lags in the pacing, but then again, an interesting as well as informative and enjoyable read.

"Star Trek Into Darkness", directed Abrams

Blockbuster, 2013

Effective, entertaining blockbuster, which despite a slightly irritating "go in all guns blazing" opening, settles down but keeps up a cracking pace. There would be plenty to moan about in terms of stereotypes, Spock's rampant human side and some predictably lame comic relief provided by Scottie's pet thingy, but that would be pretty churlish. As popcorn romps go, this is superior stuff - much better than the first Abrams outing.

"Nada", directed Claude Chabrol

Thriller, 1974

Political kidnap thriller in which the politics are never really made explicit and are pushed out in favour of some fairly poorly realised relationships, particularly those involving the aging Epaulard. There's lots of gloomy drinking in gloomy flats with gloomy furniture and unfinished baguettes. There are also lightly scathing views of people all round - while the police are clearly reprehensible, the Nada Gang aren't much better. Not a great film, all in all, though quite engaging.

"H is For Hawk" by Helen Macdonald

Non-fiction, 2014

Curious, ambitious and successful interweaving of three narratives - the loss of a father, a meditation of TH White and his book The Goshawk and Macdonald's own struggles with training her own bird. Different sections will work better for some people than others; the training was enthralling and beautifully done, although for me, parts of the looking back at White felt a tad laboured. This is, however, an unflinching, and in being both a bold book and very readable, pulls off quite a feat.

"Laughing Gas" by PG Wodehouse

Novel, 1936

Wodehouse with an element of science-fiction and a switch of identities in a dentist's surgery following a misadventure with the eponymous laughing gas, all of which leaves a young Hollywood brat's body being taken by a toff from The Drones and vice versa. These misfiring figures are then let loose in a familiar world of fearsome aunt-like-authority figures, drunken bounders, clumsy toughs, sly gardeners and plot twists which trip, delightfully, one into the other. The Hollywood setting allows a few pokes at a different society, although despite this, and despite a lack of Wodehouse A-list characters, this is all wonderfully, sublimely familiar.

"The Accidental Tourist" by Anne Tyler

Novel, 1985

Account of what happens after domestic disasters befall a man hooked on routines and constantly updating his world guides on travelling on business in such a way as to encounter as few surprises as possible. While the lively plot largely turns on fairly predictable events and developments, it's a good read all the same, with characters' pathos and sadness nicely and possibly at times over balanced with comedy. This is certainly a good page turner and aims and tugs the heart. Could perhaps have done with a few more unpredictable plot twists, but excellent all the same.

The Man Whose Face Fell Off

Just before I left for a recent and well-deserved break, I posted a short story. It's kind of fantastic and fanciful and may need improving. All suggestions would be more than welcome.

Holiday reading

Picking holiday reading is far too important to leave until the last few months before departure. It is essential NOT TO LISTEN to anyone advocating trash. Light? Yes, certainly. Advisedly, even. But trash? You can read trash any time of the year. Trash is for when your brains are in the employ of grubby bosses or otherwise obliquely being used in order to secure a living. Trash is for when you're fagged from work, or your reading time's restricted to the odd ten minutes just before the lights go out and you're losing or have already consciousness and concentration.

In the not too distant future, I'll return to a fortnight's holiday amd pack a real BELTER in the old gunny sack. Something like Tolstoy's Warren Peas, or something by Proust (unsummarised).

The main reading holiday  - obviously I have more than holiday a year - usually involves going through a number of volumes selected by myself and my good lady. This year, we're packing:

• PG Wodehouse - Laughing Gas. We always take PG Wodehouse;
• David Karp - One, an interesting looking speculative charity shop purchase;
• Esi Edugyan - Half-Blood Blues (as above);
• Timothy J Jarvis - The Wanderer, by a lecturer at the Uni where I ply my trade;
• Helen MacDonald - H is for Hawk, which has one of those multibuy money off stickers on the cover, which is always a bit fishy.

Will report back.

Writing courses - any suggestions?

Is writing a state of mind? Do you need a room of your own and comfortable means? And be able to spell? And don't editors make all properly published stuff up anyway?

You may neither know about some of these questions, nor care. In which case, move over. Maybe watch this excellent goal by Luke Guttridge. If, on the other hand, you'd like to help and/or offer thoughts, I'm all ears. 

I am fortunate enough to have a "medium job" which "provides". This is the road I've taken. I'd like to say I've chosen it, but I've probably just been corporate and pliable enough to have made a good fist of often dithering situations and never had the chutzpah to go off and do something I've really wanted. Or really succeed at anything. And besides, I've always  wanted to spend most of my time doing something I've not really wanted to so that I can find time to do bits and pieces I've always wanted to do, thus making these times 'non-work' and thus more enjoyable. Rather a pissed artist than a suffering artist.

If I'd been able to spend more time on my adequate drum playing - recent improved wrist action and sensible patterns have recently turned this into this -  I might have actually been slightly more successful at it and played festivals and that. Neither my football nor my modelling career ever got off the ground as I always enjoyed introspection over kicking balls hard, looking my age or putting crap in my hair.

Anyway, I'm drifting. Can anyone recommend a good writing course for fiction writers? I'd like to do a full blown uni course - probably by correspondence - but suspect I need to have a taster try out in the meantime. Arvon retreats look way too posh. Much more inclined towards short regular evening courses so I can test out my feeling that being in a room where people talk about their writing is going to be creepy.

"The Good German", directed Soderbergh

Thriller, 2006

A film which, despite looking beautiful and clipping along at a fair old rate, nonetheless feels too pleased with itself, with its classy A-list actors trussed in period dress, swanning through painfully authentic looking titles, fades, soundtrack and a plot more peppered with violence than the 40s noir films it otherwise pays homage to. It's by no means a bad film, but form and style take over, suffocating already occasionally stiff acting and what should be a strong plot.

"India" by John Keay

Non fiction, revised 2010

After shopping round to avoid a big, mighty tome listing generals, battles, dates, politicians and treaties, I ended up buying a big, mighty tome listing generals, battles, dates, politicians and treaties. All of which, over 600 pages of quite dense reading, makes for a reading slog and the likelihood of information and having been far from fully and properly absorbed. Still, a worthy book it's hard to criticise even if it wasn't the one I wanted and should have looked harder for. Never mind; I'll know in the future.

My life as a writer

"My life as a writer" is an adventurous title, especially as my day job entails very little adventure. My day job is at a struggling university in the South East of England. At the weekend, there's not much more in the way of adventure in all honesty.

Not much there to inspire or persuade anyone there's potential for a life of writing, but then again, I've always wanted to write and be published and I've recently - or at least relatively recently - taken steps in this direction through the self-publishing route. See here, haikus for sale.

Right, well, I'm on holiday next week, so there'll be little going up then. I will, however, try and make this blog look half decent in the meantime and put some archivey stuff up. And link pages to other areas of excitement.

Comments and dialogue welcome.