Carlo Levi

1945

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An autobiographical tale set in a minimally-disguised corner of southern Italy, in which an anti-Fascist activist is sentenced to internal exile. And it really is an exile for a cultivated and urbane man who finds himself in a peasant community that's radically different to his experience: almost a different country.

In many ways this is a study of how two different cultures can co-exist almost side-by-side and yet touch only in the most minimal and superficial ways. The peasantry have a fatalistic view of their lot, assuming they'll be mis-treated and used by the rich; the richer members of the villages see themselves as far above the norm; while the visitor from outside remains long enough to uncover the petty jealousies and insecurities of people desperately trying to achieve and maintain their position within a strictly limited environment. The only real way to rise is to leave, to go to America and then either send home money or return and become – hopefully – someone of distinction.

There are some comic insights into how little Fascism actually penetrated into the heartlands of Italy, and how many were willing to unofficially look the other way as Levi practices as a doctor (despite being forbidden to do so) while demanding that he respects the other, most trivial, aspects of his exile. The village already has two doctors, who charge more than the peasants can afford for their services (and so remain poor themselves) but who are both determined to protect their positions – one is tempted to say to the disadvantage of their fellow villagers, but of course they don't see the peasants as "fellows" at all. A perception of social position locks everyone into place, unable to co-operate to improve things or to influence the outside world to bring help.

4/5. Finished 15 October 2022.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Carlo Levi

1945

---

An autobiographical tale set in a minimally-disguised corner of southern Italy, in which an anti-Fascist activist is sentenced to internal exile. And it really is an exile for a cultivated and urbane man who finds himself in a peasant community that's radically different to his experience: almost a different country.

In many ways this is a study of how two different cultures can co-exist almost side-by-side and yet touch only in the most minimal and superficial ways. The peasantry have a fatalistic view of their lot, assuming they'll be mis-treated and used by the rich; the richer members of the villages see themselves as far above the norm; while the visitor from outside remains long enough to uncover the petty jealousies and insecurities of people desperately trying to achieve and maintain their position within a strictly limited environment. The only real way to rise is to leave, to go to America and then either send home money or return and become – hopefully – someone of distinction.

There are some comic insights into how little Fascism actually penetrated into the heartlands of Italy, and how many were willing to unofficially look the other way as Levi practices as a doctor (despite being forbidden to do so) while demanding that he respects the other, most trivial, aspects of his exile. The village already has two doctors, who charge more than the peasants can afford for their services (and so remain poor themselves) but who are both determined to protect their positions – one is tempted to say to the disadvantage of their fellow villagers, but of course they don't see the peasants as "fellows" at all. A perception of social position locks everyone into place, unable to co-operate to improve things or to influence the outside world to bring help.

4/5. Finished 15 October 2022.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

John Prebble

1968

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An excellent history of Scotland's attempt to found a colonial empire in the wake of the Spanish, French, and English – and the determined attempts by all three to frustrate this.

The story is impossible to tell without also telling the domestic Sottish and English political history of the time – not least because the two were largely distinct despite the Union of the Crowns. Indeed, the fact that a single king is required to adjudicate the claims of two sets of subjects with different interests is part of the making of the disaster: the English commercial elite are determined not to allow independent Scottish engagement in international trade. The king has to choose a side, and chooses England (while trying to argue to the Scots that he isn't). This sets the scene both for Scotland to go it alone under considerable restrictions, and for England (and later Spain) to try to crush them.

It was a venture that from the modern viewpoint seems entirely doomed, and not only because literally no-one involved in promoting had ever even visited Darien, and because the leaders never developed a clear idea of who was in charge or what they were to regard as success. The alleged commercial benefits were entirely speculative and based on hearsay; the climate was unwelcoming; and the ability to claim the land legally completely at odds with the realities on the ground, which the Spanish could enforce (although they did so rather ineffectually: one has to suspect because they knew there were no riches to be had). Most of the colonists died, from the journey or from disease rather than from enemy action, and also from abandonment by their leaders.

It's a book that lacks a certain spark for the reader, and sometimes comes across as too dense. That's a shame, because Prebble has a good eye for personal foibles that illuminate character, and a very sure touch in explaining the society of the late seventeenth century, which is a period that lies neglected before the better-known Enlightenment and Jacobite eras.

4/5. Finished 15 October 2022.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Mike Hally

2005

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Some lesser-known tales from the early days of computing. It doesn't provide any new aspects on the stories that are well-trodden, but does illuminate some corners that deserve more attention: the role that the Lyons company of cafes had in transitioning computing from scientific calculations into commercial applications, and the contributions of the Soviet Union to the development of different hardware techniques. (Most of the latter seemed to be carried out in Ukraine.)

4/5. Finished 15 October 2022.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Paul Gorman

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A biography of someone with a claim to having been one of the most influential British music producers of the 20th century. I say "claim", because it's not always clear how much is reputation is deserved beyond his pivotal role with the Sex Pistols – whose own influence on punk can be disputed.

McLaren seems to have seen himself more as a fashion entrepreneur than as a musician, and indeed seemed to regard everything he did as an outgrowth of fashion in a wider sense. He emerges as a troubled individual who inflicted similar troubles on those close to him: he didn't seem to have taken his own background as a warning or as a negative example. And it's hard to decide whether some of his antics derived from a vision of how society could be different, or simply from truculence and a desire for the limelight. Gorman doesn't dig deeply into these issues, but does a balanced job of showing McLaren's strengths and weaknesses.

4/5. Finished 15 October 2022.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)