May Round Up
May has been and gone and like my barber said to me this morning as the rain bounced on the pavements outside, hard to believe it’s the first of June. The weather has been pretty dismal and the temperature in the mid teens, usually with a gunmetal sky. Though as can be see from above, there have been days when the clouds disappeared for a bit. I haven’t joined the throngs fleeing the country just yet, as the pictures of Dublin airport would put anyone off going anywhere. I reckon most of my trips will be on the island of Ireland this year. I digress - here’s what I’ve been reading/watching/listening to this month.
Books
It feels like it’s been a slow month reading wise, but it goes like that sometimes. Certainly not helped by the length of one of the books I’ve been reading - Grand Hotel Europa by llja Leonard Pfeijiffer which I haven’t got around to reviewing yet. 550 pages, and I did struggle at times, but made it through. It’s about how Europe depends so much on the glories of it’s past, dependance and and dislike of mass tourism and that the migrant may be the one that saves it, as it starts to reinvent itself and looks towards the future.
Much shorter, despite its title, was This is vegan propaganda and other lies the meat industry tells you by Ed Winters but the first section took me a while to read, because it detailed the treatment of animals in farms and slaughterhouses. A couple of pages at a time was enough. All of it I knew to be true but had previously ignored, in my life as a carnivore. It’s made me all the more committed as a vegan.
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel was my read of the month, a book about the aftermath of a devastating pandemic and how a small group of people, all interconnected, form a community again. It had moments of real beauty and was much more hopeful than you would imagine. I also watched the TV show, more of which below.
Television
I started watching ‘Station Eleven’ immediately after finishing the book, which I probably shouldn’t have done as the characters and the setting were still fresh in my mind and I found any differences a bit jarring. That’s the thing with books - you’re operating your very own private cinema, so while it’s always interesting to see what others come up with, there can be a disparity there. It took me a while to get into it but I did enjoy this adaptation as it doesn’t stick too rigidly to the book which is always good in my opinion, but it does follow it in spirit. Again, like the book, it emphasises that just surviving isn’t enough, and that we need art as well. Some great performances as well, particularly from Mackenzie Davies (below).
Mackenzie Davies from Station eleven
The other TV highlight for me was the return of Better call Saul. As it’s the final season, it’s normal glacial pace has been ditched for something approaching a gallop. Not that it’s lost anything - the storytelling remains wonderfully rich and nuanced. In this world, every action has a repercussion and after watching some of these characters for six seasons now, there’s something incredibly satisfying as they reach the end of their character arc. Of course we know that Jimmy, Mike and Gus return in Breaking bad but the fate the others remain unknown, including Kim, who we have watched being pulled into Jimmy’s universe. Netflix has of course split the season so have to wait until July for the remaining episodes.
I haven’t bought any new vinyl this month and listening to the same podcasts so have nothing new to report on that score. Nothing on the live scene either, but have a few events lined up over the next few months.
I discovered this trailer a few months ago and I still find it hard to believe it’s not fake. It is real, and it does feature ‘in the role of a lifetime, Gary Oldman’ whilst wearing shoes on his knees. Enjoy.