THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE By Jonathan Stroud

Wowser! I can't remember the last time I got so engrossed in a book! Five days it has taken me to read this and had it not been for college, it probably would have taken a lot less. Stroud is a genius and has left me clinging onto the edge of my seat for September to come around when the sequel comes out.

I am no stranger to ghost stories and tales of things that go bump in the night. In fact one of my many favourite series, is The Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney, set in Lancashire (My home county, in fact it was set in the town next door!). I was familiar with the iron and salt and other remedies for ghosts and such like, but The Screaming Staircase seemed different. Whether that was because it was a different setting, or because of the differences in the ghost themselves, I'm not sure but I tell you now, September cannot come quick enough!

From the moment I 'laid eyes on him', I was in love with Lockwood. I'm pretty sure that this is what Stroud would have wanted and certainly, you can do nothing but love Lockwood. His humour, his smile, even his rebellion, everything about him is perfect, yet still you can see the underlying dark secrets that we never get to know about. I think this is what makes him so appealing. Despite this, there was no love interest between the main characters which to be honest, I liked. It was nice to read something that wasn't about the protagonists and they're relationships, you can probably tell, I'm not one for the romantic side of things. The small element of romance (if you can call it that) was confused and ambiguous which made you appreciate it more in the end when it was finally confirmed and revealed fully.

There is such a uniqueness to the Stroud's supernatural characters, he has taken something so well known and so stereotyped and turned it into something new and something brilliant. My favourite being a group of ghosts that work together as one and manifest differently in three different places. They are working as one yet they are separated.

I could write about this forever but I really don't want to give any of this away! I would recommend this book to everyone (Unless you're a little faint hearted, but even then you should be fine ;) ). It is a work of pure genius and as soon as I get the chance, the second in the Lockwood & Co. books will be in my hands and the pages will be turning! Read it! Read it! Read it!

Oh, and you might want to leave the light on...

THE HOLLOW CHOCOLATE BUNNIES OF THE APOCALYPSE By Robert Rankin

With a name like The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies Of The Apocalypse, how can you not be intrigued into reading this fantastic looking book?

Before I started reading this novel, I Googled it to see what other people had said about it and the general consensus was that this book had what I like to call, 'the marmite effect'. People were either giving it five stars or one, they either loved it or hated it, and with no clearer view on whether I should read it or not, I just dived straight in.

Unfortunately, six chapters in and I am no closer to knowing whether or not I like the book and why I was continuing to read a book that did nothing to entertain me what so ever. I'm not saying I hated the book I just found it a little pointless and O.T.T on the violence front. Personally, I get no enjoyment from reading about a thirteen year old boy, threatening to shoot a barman with a homemade pistol, because his cooker had broken down and he couldn't give him any food. That just doesn't do it for me!

I can see why this would appeal to some people but it just isn't for me. I can't make a recommendation for this book because it really is a read-it-and-see kinda novel.

RED BALLOON By Dannie Abse

I believe that in this poem the balloon is a metaphor for, Abse's/The Persona's resolve, what he believes in, the thing that keep him going every day. Towards the end of the poem Abse talks about how 'still it would not burst' when the balloon is attacked and clawed at with knifes. This confirms to the reader that this is not a real balloon, but rather something within the narrator that is represented by this image.

The whole tone of the poem, I think, is quite childlike and simple which reflects the childish notion of becoming attached to something as simple and as delicate as a balloon. This also reminds me of how children seem so much more resilient to the world around them, if they fall over, they get back up again, if they fall out with their friends, ninety nine percent of the time a few hours later they will have forgotten the dispute and will be playing together again. Compared to adults, children have a much better way of coping with stressful and traumatic situations in the short term, while it is actually happening .

 I feel what Abse is saying here, is that we need to learn from this and be more like children in our resilience to attack.

NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR By George Orwell

Nineteen Eighty-Four has been on my 'Must Read' list ever since I started my English Literature course back in September of last year, and as much as I enjoyed the book (and I did!!!) it wasn't quite what I was expecting from the novel. If you have already read the book, then you will know that it is incredibly political and in some ways, I wish I had read the book before taking Politics As Level as this only enhanced my understandings of the events that were taking place and made them all the more frightening. 

When I first came across The Party's main three-part slogan at the start of the book, I found it difficult  to see how there could be any sense in the idea that war and peace are the same thing and that there is little and no difference between freedom and slavery. The idea that one is never truly free because real freedom means to be on your own and not having anyone to be accountable to or for, however paradoxically, being on your own does not mean being free at all because you are responsible for maintaining your freedom and therefore are a slave to yourself and your right to freedom. As the books progresses and these things are put into context, it makes you realise just how real and accurate these slogans actually are.

Although the plots and ideologies in the book are incredibly exaggerated, if you look close enough you can see elements of things in the book, reflected in our own society, - countries becoming and battling to become superstates, society coving up information that makes them look bad, not quite physically changing history, but in my mind they're not far off.

Initially I loved Winston's character, I thought he was brilliant and should be supported in his efforts to over throw the party, but I found myself definitely growing hard towards him and his attitudes as it became apparent of his 'fight-fire-with-fire' attitude. He complained and was repulsed by The Party's lack of morality and human nature, however he was willing to throw acid into a child's face, to lie and  murder just to get back at the party. Wasn't it the lies and the murdering of innocent lives that he was angry about? So why would acting the same way show that he was any better than them which is the conclusion that Winston comes to near the end of the novel. That his is better than them and more moral and more human. Personally, I think he is just as bad as the party, the only difference is that he is fighting for something different. I have to admit that in the final part, I felt little in the way of pain and pity towards Winston, and even found myself asking him to be sent to a forced labour camp.

One thing that Orwell has done very well indeed, is to help you empathise with the characters. As a reader, one of the first things I do in a book is develop my relationships with the characters, however right from the word go I was reluctant to connect with anyone and was wary of anything. I wanted to believe that I liked O'Brien's character until the end but something about the way Orwell wrote made me hold back and think 'yes but...'. I found myself detaching myself from Julia and getting as far away as I could because I didn't know if I could trust her. Even Winston who is the protagonist, the person we are supposed to love and support in any other novel, here you just want to keep an eye on him. I was very worried through most of the novel that he was going to do something that even the reader couldn't forgive him for it. 

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a brilliant book and one I am so glad to have read. I was genuinely surprised at how easy it was to read. The pages kept turning and I kept on reading. The hardest part of the book to read was the segment from THE BOOK and even then, it never became unenjoyable. The whole thing has been a fascinating and incredibly thoughtful journey. I know this was Orwell's final novel, but it has left me wanting to back-track and pickup Animal Farm as soon as I get the chance.

FOR SYDNEY BECHET (Poem) By Philip Larkin

For Sydney Bechet is a poem written by Larkin in tribute to one of his favourite jazz musicians; Sydney Bechet. Not only was Larkin a poet and a librarian, but he was also a jazz critic, writing numerous reviews for The Telegraph. Many of Larkin's poems suggest that his love of music was far greater than his love for women, in essence this is one of the most emotive love poems Larkin ever wrote, only this one wasn't for the ladies.

This love and adoration for music is played out beautifully at the end of stanza three/beginning of stanza four where he describes mainly the performing women and the atmosphere of the jazz clubs as 'priced far above rubies'. Here Larkin shows a hint at some biblical knowledge, as this is a quote from the Bible: Proverbs 31:10 says this - 'Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies' (KJV). Only here, in the context of Larkin's poem, he has personified the music and believes that the music is the one with the value greater than rubies. Also by using the scripture reference, the poet suggests that the relationship he has with music may not just be earthly. It could suggest that the love goes beyond that into dedication to and worshipping music. Music is the thing that keeps him going and keeps him alive.

'On me your voice falls as they say love should'. It is clear that here, the persona/Larkin is getting from music, the same thing that everyone else is getting from love. His security, his energy, his reason to live does not come from the love of a woman, or a wife or partner like everyone else. Music is the lover who keeps making sure he gets out of bed in the morning, keeps him working and enjoying the life that he has been given. In fact, not only does the music give him these things, but it also scatters 'long-haired grief and scored pity'. It takes away the pain and fills the hole with something good and whole. Throughout the entire poem, Larkin's lexicon is that of love and adoration, with the use of words such as 'natural', 'legendary', 'reflected'. Not only do most of these words suggest the complete and utter all embracing passion he has for music, but many of them are words which have strong connotations of the natural world, which would suggest that the Persona's relationship with music is not forced like some child who was strapped to the piano stool and forced to play from as soon as he has enough strength to hit the keys. This love is natural and organic, it grows and changes with the music. Just as jazz musicians are encouraged to improvise, so is there nothing rigid or definite about the relationship. There are no right or wrongs. It flows in a way that only real love can do.

It amuses me slightly that Jazz music allows him to be himself, but at the same time allows him to be whoever he wants to be. He talks about people who 'pretend their fads' and 'scholars manques'. People who are not in fact scholars but in the presence of the music, they can be whoever they dream of being. The example used in the poem is of regular workers being able to imagine and believe they are rich, intelligent scholar for just a sweet, short while.

This is the first poem I have studied where Larkin is not clearly set on being alone and in solitude. It is the exact opposite of silence and loneliness which is what you will usually find Larkin's other works flooded with. In this poem, Larkin writes multiple times in the second person, directly addressing the music as if it were a person 'that note you hold', 'you're voice'. He speaks kindly to the music and welcomes it into his personal space. A complete and utter reversal of Larkin's attitude in his other work.

WILD OATS (Poem) By Philip Larkin

In the scheme of things, Wild Oats is a poem quite different to the other poems that I have studied by Philip Larkin. This is one of the few poem where he talks directly about relationships with women.

As usual, Larkin begins with a very descriptive beginning: 'About twenty years ago / Two girls came in where I worked - " It really doesn't get more descriptive or more narrative than that. The entire poem is particularly descriptive through out, riddled with extra thoughts and metaphors, unlike Larkin's other poems which are usually well structured and follow a strict pattern of: description, thoughts and then ultimately revelation/epiphany.

In many ways, Wild Oats is an incredibly cheesy love story, where the persona end up dating second best, not actually getting the one that he wants. in the second stanza, the persona reveals the reason why he ended up with 'her friend in specs' rather than his 'bosomy English rose'. He only ever met with her, and took her out on a date twice, both of which, he was left with the impression that she was trying not to laugh at him.  This appears to have been the catalyst that sent him into developing the resignation that we see at the end. All in all, one can only conclude that he decided to date the woman in glasses because it was as good as he was ever going to get. Maybe he thought that if he couldn't begin a relationship with the woman he really genuinely loved then, by dating her friend, then he could at least spend time with her; a possible shot in the dark, another attempt to get closer to what he wanted.

On thought that comes to me is the saying 'Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all', and the impression I am getting from this poem in particular, is that Larkin/the persona's ideas about romance, are about as far from this as you can get. He would rather learn from it and, never date a woman again rather than have to go through the embarrassment, and disappointment of being laughed at and not quite getting it right. In the last stanza, the persona's resignation to the entire affair becomes apparent. Talking about how the whole event of this affair and the things it taught him were 'useful to get ... learnt', and 'that I was too selfish, withdrawn'.

I think the biggest revelation that the persona has at the end of this poem is not actually about realising that he will never get the woman he wants, although this is something that definitely crosses his mind. The real revelation is that he is 'easily bored to love'. In fact he is not overly wanting of human love or relationships, but rather he is happier with his love of music, thinking and writing. They are the things that he really loves, not women at all. I think that this is not a poem about relationships and romance, I think it is far more likely that this is a poem about the persona realising his true loves in life.

SELF'S THE MAN (Poem) By Philip Larkin

Just like Dockery and Son, as well as a number of Larkin's other poems, Self's the man is another poem about life choices and family.

This poem is very similar to Larkin's other poems in the fact that throughout the course of the poem, the persona's emotions and feelings change and eventually he has an epiphany at the end of the poem. He starts off with what seems almost like admiration for Arnold, the way he has made something of his life and how he has coped with marriage so well, however this soon changes, subtly in the third stanza where the persona almost sound sorry for Arnold, as if he got the short straw, the bad end of the stick. The final change in emotion at the end of the poem is really obvious, when he physically says: 'but wait, not do fast:'

The poem begins very suddenly, almost as if in answer to a question or a statement that had been said of him just before the poem started. You can just imagine someone turning round to the persona and telling him that he is really selfish and why couldn't he be more like Arnold (the other person in the poem), and then him turning round and almost shouting: 'Oh, no one can deny / That Arnold is less selfish than I', in response to the people.

The only thing that really changes in the first five stanzas is the tone of the persona's voice, as the more he describes Arnold's life, the more he feels sorry for him and the more he begins to think that he got a better deal than Arnold. However once we reach stanza six, things change quite dramatically and things really do begin to get interesting. The persona changes his mind about Arnold's decision to get married and begins to try and convince us that there is no real difference between the two men, and that Arnold is not 'less selfish than I', but in fact he is just as selfish, if not more so.

The argument that the persona bases this theory on, is that Arnold wanted to get married, he wasn't forced into it, he didn't sacrifice anything to get married. He wanted a wife and children and therefore marriage is the most selfish thing Arnold could have done because it is what HE WANTED TO DO. Arnold 'still did it for his own sake.'

The persona comes to the conclusion that there is no reason for him being called selfish, or more selfish than Arnold, because just as he avoided marriage for himself and his own reason, so did Arnold get married and start a family. 'So he and I are the same'.

Ultimately, I think that what Larkin is trying to say here, is that no matter how hard we try to be selfless, when it comes to life choices 99% of the time, we will be selfish and make a choice in terms of how we want our live to turn out. Even if you want to live it for someone else's benefit, its still what you want to do with it... it still selfish, and we can't help it.