Gillian Devine

Modern Book Review: Star of the Sea (2003)

In 2003, Irish author Joseph O’Connor released the historical novel Star of the Sea, combining fact and fiction in an innovative way to create a tale – a collective biography – depicting the harrowing journey undergone by Irish immigrants escaping the terrible famine ravaging the country. This period in history would come to be widely known as “the greatest social catastrophe of 19^th century Europe”, as described in a review of the novel upon its release by Terry Eagleton. Such was the immense scale of human loss and sacrifice.

The main event in the narrative – the Star of the Sea voyage – takes place in 1847, with the details of various passengers’ life stories continually emerging. These eventually combine to create a collage of human experience within the context of “History”, managing to be every bit as evocative, as if it were written –or compiled as the case seems to be – into a present-day diary. The voyage of the Star of the Sea to America became infamous as one of the most deadly of those many that attempted a similar path across the ocean, claiming lives relentlessly throughout the journey – with a cruel irony, some even before the journey had begun.

The “menace” of the impending journey is established early; the “viciously black water which could explode at the slightest provocation” already sets a dangerous and foreboding atmosphere. A dark figure – the Ghost, or the Monster, as he is described in the passage, whose real name is Pius Mulvey, stalks the decks, adding menace to an already apprehensive atmosphere. “He seemed to carry an indescribable burden” – that burden being the “mission” he was being coerced into undertaking at some point during the journey.

Then we meet the troubled couple, David and Laura Merrdith, and their nanny Mary Duane, all of whom are linked in more ways than what it appears to be on the surface. It transpires, unfortunately not surprisingly at the time, that David had been propositioning Mary, but simply to watch her undress and nothing more. It is not clear whether Laura realises what occurs between them but they become an almost normally squabbling couple; “Abusing each other had become a kind of pantomime”.

David soon comes to blows with the claiming-to-be enlightened and self-promoting American, Mr Dixon, who takes a fashionably liberal stance towards the plight of immigrants and the ongoing slavery which was rife in America at the time; ie., “Treat a man like a savage and he’ll behave like one”. This certainly contrasts heavily with the virulent extracts from the magazines, but even here there seems to be a scale of discrimination. However, soon even Mr Dixon veers slightly from his supposedly liberal agenda, to comment on the many troubles Ireland was facing at the time, saying simply that “its nom de guerre is Laissez Faire”.

Inevitably, the class system was going to infiltrate Irish society, if not in legal terms then certainly in attitude. Ships at the time would be holding these people together for great lengths of time, so many would revert back to the familiar class system in order to reassure the passengers that not all law and order was lost at sea; that this happens on a ship with primarily Irish people, most of whom are merely trying to survive, is in itself worthy of note.

It soon emerges that Mulvey, his brother and Mary Duane have a history; Mulvey, rebelling against taking the priesthood like his brother, got involved with Mary Duane, resulting in a sort of “love triangle”. When Mary ends up in “the family way”, Mulvey leaves abruptly, with Mary soon suffering a miscarriage. Shunned by the Mulvey brothers, and by society, she was forced into prostitution for some time before being adopted into the Merridith family as a nanny.

However, it is Pius Mulvey who perhaps has the darkest story to tell; after the “incident” with his brother and Mary Duane, he essentially goes “on the run”; he goes to the city, eventually ending up in London, and ending up in a life of crime, keeps going under new aliases to fit in. However, his past does not get left behind completely, as shady acquaintances blackmail him into carrying out another murder on the Star of the Sea – the intended victim being David Merridith – before reaching the shore.

Just as the ship was so unbearably close to shore at home, problems begin to arise as the ship draws tantalisingly close to the American shore. Immigration issues mean that the ship is not allowed to dock and allow its passengers to disembark, so technically, while the ship is so close to shore, it and everyone within is still subject to the laws of the old country. People continue to die, and others in desperation – just as before – leap off the ship and swim to shore.

Furthermore, Mulvey has been carrying the burden of his past and the task he’s been assigned for some time, continually “speaking at an angle”, prompting him to actually warn Merridith of the plot, saving his life initially and absolving himself of the responsibility, yet someone else ends up taking it upon themselves to kill Merridith, giving a tragic foreshadowing quality to someone saying not long before, “one of them would never set foot in Manhattan”.

The Star of the Sea had become a prison, and by the end of the journey, in the literal sense. A prison which, those who did survive, grew more determined to escape; when that day finally did come, the fates of the characters on board the Star of the Sea proved to be variable. After the death of her husband, Laura Merridith and her sons try to repair and restart their lives in the New World, while Mulvey ends up not being able to escape his past entirely, as he ends up being caught and murdered quite gruesomely, putting an abrupt end to his troubled life of crime. Meanwhile, there is the unexplained disappearance of Mary Duane – she embarked upon the New World never to be seen again. Hints of her whereabouts, and possible identity, crop up all over the country, but no-one can be sure that it is in fact Mary, because she disappears again just as quickly.

Even in the time since this novel’s release, there have been far more Irish authors approaching the subject of their nationality, and its troubled history. Joseph O’Connor has articulated this traumatic time in Ireland’s history, using fact and fiction in turn, where they are deemed necessary. Possibly the most “true-to-life” example, if not entirely anchored in fact, of life on board the “Star of the Sea” in the deadly winter crossing of 1847, as there is likely to be.

Tweeting Astronaut Chris Hadfield To Retire

Commander Chris Hadfield – the Canadian astronaut who shot to fame with his tweets from space – is to retire from the Canadian Space Agency.

Making unique use of social media to report on his work and to send amazing pictures of Earth from the perspective of space, 53-year-old Hadfield managed to capture and captivate the world’s attention, and also to reignite people’s interest in space exploration.

However, it was on his last “day” in space, when he sang a rendition of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, when the song went viral and he became something of a superstar of space exploration. Since returning to Earth, Hadfield has remained very much on top of his game, continuing to tweet and post about matters relating to the planet, and its “role” within the greater context of space.

Hadfield announced his retirement at a press conference outside Montreal yesterday after having received a visit from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and will return to live in Canada shortly. Speaking of his space venture, Hadfield said that “it has been an incredible adventure”, and commented on his ISS project, which saw him achieve international fame, as being “a kind of pinnacle of my entire career… since I was a little dreaming kid of nine years old thinking of flying into space.”

Indeed it is true that Hadfield’s ambition has seen him become the first at many endeavours, including being the first Canadian to spacewalk, and the first Canadian to visit the Russian Space Station MIR in 1995.

Of course, more recently, Hadfield has become both the first man to tweet from space – thereby proving that it can actually be done – and the first man to film a music video in space (albeit a relatively low budget one).

Now that he has become, essentially, a multi-record breaker in space exploration, Hadfield has certainly earned a break from his hard work, promising his wife that they would move back to Canada one day when his space work was complete.

However, as he has declared plans to continue giving presentations and promoting space exploration, it is apparent that this is not the last we will be hearing from Hadfield, and he will continue to be a prominent figure in the space industry.

Modern Book Review: “Dodger” by Terry Pratchett (2012)

Dodger is the latest and highly anticipated new book by Terry Pratchett; but unlike the brilliantly fantastical writing for which he has become renowned and known by, this offering reads more like a wry crime caper through the underbelly of Victorian London.

The story is told (in third person) mostly through the eyes of the young boy known as Dodger, having earned the name by moving quickly, which with the kind of life he leads is in fact necessary. Although a drastic change in direction for Pratchett, his typical sense of satire – and a tendency to never convey anything too seriously – are ever present throughout the story.

Clearly an homage to Charles Dickens from the start, Dickens – known as “Charlie” even makes an appearance as a supporting character, and in his interactions with Dodger, adding something of a “meta” quality to the whole thing. Even a sneaky “Can I have some more?” is rather knowingly put in there… Furthermore, despite Victorian London being notoriously unforgiving of those down on their luck, or otherwise fallen on bad fortune, Dodger is helped out by a few forgiving people; firstly the maid of the household he is part of for a short period of time, and then by Solomon Cohen, a devoutly Jewish and street-wise man with a habit of saying “mmm” constantly.

It is not long before Dodger focuses his attention on an unfortunate young woman, known only as “Simplicity”, who falls foul of some shady men and whom he takes it upon himself to help to save. Simplicity, however, remains a rather vague character, about whom we learn relatively little. She shows some resilience which lend her a slightly stronger presence as the story goes on but, unfortunately, her character is never really developed in a satisfactory way (perhaps in itself an echo to Dickens’ tendency to underwrite female characters in his writing?). Indeed Simplicity, near the end of the story, appears to be subsumed into another similar character known only as Serendipity, who appears to merely replace Simplicity.

However, this is otherwise a well-written and witty tale. Despite being typically “Pratchett-style”, in the way the characters are conveyed and how the story seems to unfold almost randomly, it is clear that Pratchett has done research into the reality of Victorian London, and indeed it reads in a sufficiently contemporary way that the story could almost be read as a comical take on what could very well have been written at the time.

Well worth a read whether or not you are a Terry Pratchett fan.

Delay in London Cycling Initiative

A major revival of cycling infrastructure in the outer boroughs of London has been put on hold by mayor Boris Johnson, after having initially praised the move.

The mayor of London, and his predecessor Ken Livingstone, both agreed to aim to reach the proposed 400% increase in cycling by 2025. Recent developments have indicated that things are going in the right direction, with 2003 seeing an introduction of a congestion charge, and the “European style” bike hire made available in 2009.

Indeed, the cycling culture of inner London has improved drastically, where it can often be quicker, not to mention far healthier, to commute by bike than by car, but it is the areas in outer London which currently need the most attention. The majority of cycling trips in the future will have to be made in these areas, so it is essential that the experience of cycling there is a safe one, and not potentially off-putting to the novice.

According to the Guardian, the overall “vision” of the cycling initiative will focus on “the creation of ‘mini Hollands’, to transform conditions in areas of outer London and make safe, pleasant cycling a reality for local people.” Inspired by many European cities, London, being one of the largest cities in the world, realises the sense it makes to develop a similar scheme. But it seems that the scheme is being halted, albeit temporarily.

One obvious reason for this is the severe government cuts being made all over the country; there simply may not be enough money in the near future to fund a better cycling infrastructure. But public interest is being expressed far and wide in the value of investment in cycling.

In Scotland this weekend, thousands of cyclists, novices and seasoned pros alike, are planning to take part in Pedal on Parliament, descending on Holyrood en masse to campaign for better cycling infrastructure, and that the limited resources available will in fact be better spent on a healthier and safer means of travelling.

Certainly from a health perspective, with the current concerns for obesity and widespread lack of exercise, this could be the ideal investment for the governments to make, tackling both health and transport issues at the same time.

Judging from the better records of many other cities in Europe and elsewhere, and the growing expression of interest from the UK public, perhaps it is the best next move for Boris Johnson to reopen the cycling case, and put the limited economy to the best possible use.

Vintage Book Review: “Notes from the Underground” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky” (1864)

“Notes from the Underground” (1864) predates many of the better known works of Dostoyevsky, such as “The Idiot” and “Crime and Punishment”, but shows a fascinating glimpse of a foray into an existential, stream-of-consciousness, style.

The narrator makes it very clear from the beginning that he is “a spiteful man”; due to varying factors, including a chronic illness, and various setbacks in life, he has become a misanthropic recluse who speaks from the darkness of wherever he may be hiding. Also, from the beginning, we come to realize that he is far from a reliable narrator, for just moments after claiming to be a retired government official, he says that he was lying about that all along “out of spite”. However unreliable, his subsequent ranting about the ills of society, and the inner demons he grapples with every day – reaching the point where he begins to derive a perverse enjoyment from his own corruption “from the intense consciousness of one’s own degradation” – become darkly compelling.

The narrator goes on to claim that it is not only he that is suffering “degradation”. In fact, he claims that the whole of humanity from the malady of hypocrisy, in pertaining to have achieved civilization whilst still seeking out war and practicing oppression, killing and persecution. The narrator gladly awaits a time when “reason and common sense have completely re-educated human nature and turned it in a normal direction”, but as long as this is not the case, the narrator is prepared to continue living in estrangement from fellow people.

Moving further on, he describes a time when he was due to meet up with colleagues and they gave him the wrong time, and did not even apologize when it made him late, leading to grow increasingly irate and distance himself socially. Later, he encounters a prostitute, whose grim future he anticipates and recites to her, trying to veer her off the path to self-destruction. Eventually they part ways, with it being not entirely certain whether she will heed his advice.

Eventually, in typical fashion, the narrator apparently becomes weary of his own story and decides to cut short his own story, yet intriguingly ending with a footnote that it “does not end here”. We gain the impression that there is so much more that the narrator has to say, but given that only pure spite was fuelling him in the first place, he would have to run out of steam some time.

As a commentary of the failings of the human race, “Notes from the Underground” was controversial at the time, due to its suggestion that people are inherently uncooperative and unable to act and live as a collective. In fact, for some time this was treated as something of an “underground story”, however as more satire on Soviet society began to subsequently emerge, Dostoyevsky was seen as providing a jumping-off point in the “man vs. society” narrative trope which has become legitimately recognized over time.

Support For Wind Energy

Recent studies have shown that the majority of people are in favour of onshore suppliers of wind energy, but would be less likely to cast their vote.

A number of MPs have claimed that wind farms would be too expensive, despite growing evidence that people would in fact be more likely to vote for them if they were seen to be in favour of environmentally friendly energy.

At the end of last month, The Department of Energy and Climate Change gathered and released data that showed strong support for those in favour of wind energy, and on 1st May a series of polls were commissioned by RenewableUK, which revealed how voters really feel about the views of their local MPs on core issues such as climate change.

However, the number of voters could use a boost in many demographics; proportions of pro-wind energy votes are high among Labour and Liberal Democrat voters, but votes are also relatively high among Tory voters, 33% of whom would support a pro-wind farm candidate. Furthermore, 23% of UKIP voters claim that they would be more likely to vote for a candidate that openly supports wind energy, clearly leaving the rest of UKIP voters in a state of non-support, or uncertainty.

One vote that was given in a surprising quantity was “makes no difference”, which may lend more credibility to the notion that people are not, in fact, opposed to wind farm energy, which many MPs have been claiming, but that there are simply too many other issues to take into consideration.

Propelling wind energy to the forefront of the minds of the people will be something of a challenge, given the priority of other issues, such as welfare cuts, immigration and affordable housing. Yet with various contemporary issues to contend with, the importance of wind energy, and its potential to help conserve the environment in the future, should not be neglected when there are more potential voters than ever before, all of whom have the chance to make a difference to the environmental wellbeing of the country.