Jazzy D's Soul Notes

Georges Simenon "Félicie (Inspector Maigret) (Penguin)





Jules Lapie, nicknamed Houtebeen, is assassinated in a suburb of Paris. Partly with and partly without the cooperation of Lapies housekeeper, Felicie, Maigret finds out who committed the murder; a tough guy of Pigalle.

THis is a typical Simenon Book.The protagonist is a woman who complements her pretty one-sided life of hard work with a dream world have built on using all kinds of cheap novels and the schmaltz contained within them. It is a less than straightforward investigation by Maigret, and the author has created an atmosphere of geniality, good food and pleasant scents.

Simenon paints with a small palette of selected colours and hits the target time and time again.So fat,this has turned out to be one of my favourites as Simenon draws out Felicie's character and Maigret's interaction with her. The exasperation is well done.

A short novel which can be read easily in a couple of days and also an enjoyable book.

Malcolm Gaskill "Witchcraft : A Very Short Introduction" (Oxford University Press)





This provides an informative introduction to the history of withcraft throughout the ages, though mostly focusing on persecutions, right up to modern times including the abuse of child witches in modern-day Nigeria recently featured in documentaries. It seems to take an unbiased view, and references many studies which investigate witchcraft and the circumstances under which accusations arose, including political and cultural.

An interesting introduction that opens up several avenues for investigating further.

He also wrote this book some time ago,and i have in my collection , yet to read of course.

John Le Carre "The Looking Glass War" (Penguin Modern Classics)




I actually started reading this late December , and just finished recently,a reflection of this being not one of his best.

John Le Carre follows up The Spy Who Came In from the Cold with this more realistic take on the mundane, and inane, world of cold war espionage. The brief sparks of idealism occasionally present in the previous book is replaced here by an almost pervading cynicism as rival intelligence agencies compete for resources, with the fading military intelligence operation, the Department, snatching at the flimsiest of leads in an effort to prove their relevance compared to the political intelligence agency, the Circus. In doing so, lies are believed to the point where they become indistinguishable from truth, careers are made or broken, assets, including men, are wasted.

This is where the more modern Le Carre began to take shape, introducing a brand of scepticism that can only be wrought by a former insider. At the time of its publication in 1965 it was excoriated by critics and did not sell nearly as well as its predecessor, not surprisingly since it was not in the mode of the rah-rah spy novels in vogue at the time. Sadly, as evidenced by the dysfunction revealed in the 9/11 investigations, clumsy, uncoordinated intelligence agencies incapable of working together still rule the world with disastrous consequences. The writing is less polished, but here lies the germ of the style that would become Le Carre's hallmark in the Quest for Karla trilogy, which is probably his best known novels. I shall be reading these at some point ,although i have read "Tinker TailorSoldier Spy" before.

So in conclusion, not one of the best Le Carre novel but still good.

Slavoj Zizek "Philosophy in Transit - Event" (Penguin)






This is what the blurb says "An Event can be an occurrence that shatters ordinary life, a radical political rupture, a transformation of reality, a religious belief, the rise of a new art form, or an intense experience such as falling in love. This book examines the new and highly-contested concept of Event."

As Zizek says, with such a myriad of definitions available, there is no choice but to take a risk and begin the journey towards understanding the concept of an “event”, a journey that Zizek likens to that undertaken by Elspeth McGillicuddy in Agatha Christie’s 4:50 from Paddington.

Elspeth McGillicuddy is the innocuous old lady friend of Miss Marple who happens to be glancing out of the train window at just the right time to see a murder committed. The whole thing happens in an instant and, her view having been obscured by the train window, no one except Miss Marple believes her. For Slavoj Zizek, the experience of Elspeth McGillicuddy is the very epitome of an “event” – “something shocking, out of joint, that appears all of a sudden and interrupts the usual flow of things.”

This is a nice, almost straightforward introduction to the subject matter of Event but things do rapidly become more complicated. Zizek expands upon this sudden, interrupting kind of event to describe how, at first, an event is “the effect that seems to exceed its causes” and that, further, the “space of an event is that which opens up by the gap that separates an effect from its cause.” Zizek considers the various different definitions of “event” and addresses fundamental questions like: “are all things connected?; how much are we agents of our own fate?; and, in a world that is constantly changing, is anything new really happening?” It is through these questions of causality that the concept of “event” ties in with one of the central questions of philosophy: are all things connected with causal links?

After discussing the differences between transcendental and ontological means of philosophical investigation, Zizek steers Event on a journey that includes stopovers considering changes or disintegrations of the frame through which reality appears to us, felix culpa (a religious fall), the reality of Buddhist Enlightenment, the power and significance of truth, the role of self, and the central elements of psychoanalysis, before finally arriving at the undoing of an event induced achievement. Zizek explains everything in a clear, almost patient, fashion and offers plenty of “real world” examples but these are still heavy topics. If I were actually reading Event on my commute then I would definitely have missed my stop.

Event is an extremely interesting book and, if accessible is not the right word, one that will have popular appeal. Zizek draws on universal references from Plato to arthouse cinema, the Big Bang to Buddhism, in order to make Event a journey into philosophy at its most exciting and elementary. Through his investigation into the nature of an “event”, Zizek has crafted a book that serves as an excellent primer to understanding philosophy and philosophical investigation in general.

W.G Sebald "The Emigrants" (Harvill)




This is a book of 4 essays, each focusing on someone the author knew personally (a landlord, a teacher, a great uncle, an artist friend), all displaced emigrants, all fairly normal, but also very remarkable in ways that Sebald skillfully and subtly brings out. These are essays about history and fate and, often, the holocaust... which is wisely never mentioned directly.

He writes in a way you have to savour slowly, in a certain state of mind.I have a hard time putting my finger on what exactly I enjoyed so much about this book. Perhaps this is a compliment to the writer, in that nothing stands out as remarkable... it is stylistically and structurally pretty standard stuff, but it builds in a cumulative way. Something about the slow, personal way these essays develop. Something about the melancholy that isn't ever melodramatic. Enlightening without being simply (or ever) revelatory. In fact, there are no answers here, simply questions and pain and longing. It's complex and open ended and personal.

His essays, which are sometimes considered fiction, but really are a tightrope-walk between reality and our tenuous relationship with it, are interspersed with photos. Some of the photos obviously contribute to the pieces, but some--oddly--are very literal and do not seem to illuminate much. And oftentimes I want to see a photo of something that is frustratingly not shown. Perhaps this was deliberately withheld from the reader for a purpose.

This particular book satisfied a craving. A craving for something stirring and huge, but not sad in the traditional 'weeping over my pillow' way... but more restrained, more difficult, more like a very distinct stillness, like an enormous snow-covered mountain range.

Recommended reading i say.

P.G. Wodehouse "Something Fresh" (Arrow)




This is the book in which Wodehouse introduces his readers to the idyllic world of Blandings Castle where for the first time we meet the Earl of Emsworth, the Efficient Baxter and Beach the Butler. It is something of a sketchy start to the series however; Lord Emsworth is eccentric in a mild way and absent- minded enough to walk off with the priceless scarab belonging to Mr Peters, father of his son's fiancee. However that noble beast, the Empress of Blandings has yet to appear and Lady Constance has not made an appearance, leaving Baxter with no- one to play off and Clarence no- one to hide from as Lady Ann, Blandings hostess, is usually in her room nursing a sick headache.

The plot centres on the scarab with Peters hiring pulp writer Ashe Marson to retrieve it, while Joan Valentine, a friend of Mr Peters daughter Aline is also after it. Ashe and Joan live in the same boarding house in London and poverty makes the reward for returning the scarab to Peters very attractive. They are a rather uninteresting pair of romantic leads and the chief interest in the novel lies in Baxter's attempts to foil what he assumes to be the theft of the scarab. There is a very funny scene in which various parties swirl around each other late at night at the foot of the great staircase, while one waits with bated breath for the inevitable collisions to occur.

The book is a bit under powered as a whole, but improves as it goes along. A good read but not enough to entice me to read more of this series or any other Wodehouse book.

John Ruskin "On Art and Life" (Penguin)




John Ruskin (1819-1900), gave us impassioned critique of a society obsessed with getting and spending that struck a chord that has continued to reverberate with thoughtful individuals across the political spectrum. Ruskin was a seer in both senses of the word: an acutely perceptive observer of art, architecture, literature, and Nature, and an uncannily prescient Cassandra who warned of developing threats - moral, social, economic, cultural, and environmental - to human life and happiness.

Ruskin's politics were something of a paradox. A forceful critic of greed, the profit motive, the degradation of labour, and economic injustice, he was also a staunch believer in hierarchy and authority.

"John Ruskin, the nineteenth-century British writer with the most wide-ranging influence on contemporary thought, has gone unread for a long time. His ideas have lived through the words of other writers while his own works are ignored. Their style suited an age that found the forty mile-per-hour speed of the railway frightening, that never dreamed of multi-tasking, channel surfing, and sound bites. Reading was then a majestic activity in pace and status, total attention demanded by it and total attention given it. We have lost that patience and those skills, so Ruskin's prose seems difficult, and we avoid it. That is our loss". Phyllis Rose.

Some quotes from Ruskin:

"Of all inorganic substances, acting in their own proper nature, without assistance or combination, water is the most wonderful. If we think of it as the source of all the changeableness and beauty which we have seen in clouds; then as the instrument by which the earth we have contemplated was modelled into symmetry, and its crags chiselled into grace; then as, in the form of snow, it robes the mountains it has made with that transcendent light which we could not have conceived if we had not seen; then as it exists in the foam of the torrent, in the iris which spans it, in the morning mist which rises from it, in the deep crystalline pools which its hanging shore, in the broad lake and glancing river; finally, in that which is to all human minds the best emblem of unwearied unconquerable power, the wild, various, fantastic, timeless unity of the sea; what shall we compare to this mighty, this universal element, for glory and for beauty? or how shall we follow its eternal changefulness of feeling? It is like trying to paint a soul.!

I’m a big believer in reading primary texts. I get a little sick at the idea of studying a philosopher without reading the works of that philosopher, but I’m realistic enough to know that for the general reader, primary texts aren’t always a good option. They’re often too long or too involved for someone just looking for a passing familiarity, and so we end up relying on secondary sources. If this little book from the Penguin Great Ideas series is typical, this series is a great way of filling the need for primary texts for the general reader. Plus, with its lovely embossed cover, this book is a thing of beauty.

The 98-page book contains just two essays by Ruskin: “The Nature of Gothic” from The Stone of Venice and “The Work of Iron in Nature, Art, and Policy,” a lecture Ruskin delivered in 1858. My only complaint is that there’s no actual context or introduction provided. Just a few pages of basic biographical and historical information would have made this a perfect little introduction to Ruskin.

James Sharpe "Instruments Of Darkness" (University of Pennsylvania) 



James Sharpe is a well known historian on the topic of witchcraft in early modern England. The witchcraft trials in England were different from their continental counterparts and that becomes apparent in this book. Sharpe comes to some great conclusions and analyzew how tensions between church, state, and society were able to produce such widespread fear that led to the witchcraft accusations and trials.

I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about the subject.

I have moved the two jobs to Friday - last day for doing them because i forgot that although it is a Thursday the buses are running a Saturday service and i missed my bus,and anyway have other things to do here. I also realised that on my journey back from Brighton on Tuesday all the bus companies were running a Sunday service,making the journey even more remarkable ,and quicker, than i had anticipated -that is - i happened to disembark at the right time without too much waiting around for the next bus. A minute wait in the case of Tunbridge Wells and twenty at Maidstone.

Another sharp frost last night with the ground feeling snap crackle and crispy. The sun is out hovering low in the sky and it felt quite warm in an odd way. Anyway, i have a book to post today to a guy in Polperroin Cornwall. He will be the recipient of the Carrie Fisher paperback book i finished yesterday.

I have now started to read the six hundred paged Silk Roads history book and also the Instruments of Darkness i started to read at the end of November and then left to one side.

Last night i was listening to an audio book version of A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell,which i had also read in book form.

One fascinating aspect is that in Book 2 what he calls "Catholic philosophy" is the notion that if you didn't toe the party line, they burned you at the stake; hence the witch burning mania,and sometimes they burned you even if you did (particularly if you got in the way of the Pope politically, had a little money or piece of property). The most interesting individual to begin to extricate himself from the medieval morass was John Wycliffe (ca. 1320-84). He was excommunicated in 1366 because he preached "communistic opinions" (i.e., "property is the result of sin; Christ and the Apostles had no property, and the clergy ought to have none." He also denied transubstantiation and passively encouraged The Peasants Revolt of 1381. Most importantly, though, is that while his followers were eventually driven underground, "the revolt against the papacy remained in men's thoughts, and prepared the soil for Protestantism". Ergo, Protestantism is an outcropping of "communistic opinions." Sadly, it has slid into a unique orthodoxy all its own. I am reminded of a quote by André Malraux, "Christ was an anarchist who succeeded. That's all". I shall listen to Book 3 of the audio book on the Audible app on my tablet tonight.

Anyway, off to post the book and then head for Faversham to pick up some pipe tobacco.