The Submarine VOL 11 NO 1
March 2016
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EDITORIAL
The Librarian is used to being asked by TIME magazine to celebrate our mutual ‘subscription anniversary’. This involves, like many anniversaries, an exchange of gifts. But recently he was taken aback to receive a brochure (not from TIME) addressed to the ‘Book Rental Coordinator’. It felt like he’d been given an election leaflet—seemingly personal but ultimately useless. But are books like politicians, he wondered in his dark moment? In an electioneering kind of way where popularity does not always mean quality? Where ‘big beasts’ can overwhelm smaller, truer voices? Other similarities quickly presented themselves. For example, some books deal in facts, and some, frankly, are fiction. And many books carry historical or violent baggage which can make them seem archaic or irrelevant, or attractive, to young people—and dangerous to those who remember. Books often make promises in their election literature, but it is only when you read their full manifestos that you find out what they’re actually about. This can disappoint. Or surprise. Many have followed the example of politicians and Still life with paintbrushes—Jeanne Levesque courted popularity through social media, using Kindle and ebooks and self-publishing...and yes, it could be argued, though not by this Librarian, that women in literature are under-represented except in the softer ministries (chick-lit, or choc-lit), whereas men swagger down more boastful streets (chap-lit, or chop-lit if it’s getting rough). Though both can become chuck-lit if deemed too saccharine or salty—but hey, that’s democracy. And books do have elections (Booker, Costa, bestseller lists), where often the wrong candidate gets in, to cries of ‘fix’, and, ‘are you mad?’ Furthermore, like you-know-whos, books can be expensive. Sometimes we wonder if they’re worth it, and contemplate weeding our shelves. Then they go and attract religious or social disapproval, speak up against injustice and prove instead far-sighted and humane. The stronger ones become icons of freedom. Some even need protection. Would it be right then to call a library a parliament of books, a Dáil Leabhar? The Librarian’s heart beat faster...but no. Books are silent until the reader makes them speak. They suffer no orthodox party whip, are all independents, and so no government is formed. Their job is not to legislate, but to illuminate. To misuse a quote from Patrick Kavanagh’s Raglan Road, they give ‘gifts of the mind’—imagination, empathy, insight, engagement, enlightenment—far from the cynicism of ordinary politics. Sadly this means that the Librarian, who had entertained hopes of being the Ceann Comhairle of a novel Dáil, remains simply TMcC, Book Rental Co-ordinator 1
The Assassination of JFK - Minute by Minute Jonathan Mayo Black Tuesday: the history and legacy of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 Charles Rivers Editors (editors) Born To Run: the hidden tribe, the ultra-runners and the greatest race the world has never seen Christopher McDougall The Careers Directory: the one-stop guide to professional careers Ken Reynolds (editor) The Cold War 1941-95 David G. Williamson Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919-1963 Geoff Layton Disraeli or The Two Lives Douglas Hurd, Edward Young The Dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire 1867-1918 John W. Mason Do No Harm: stories of life, death and brain surgery Henry Marsh Dynasty: the rise and fall of the house of Caesar Tom Holland Europe: Privilege and Protest 1730-1789 Olwen Hufton Fearless Symmetry: exposing the hidden patterns in numbers Avner Ash, Robert Gross Genesis Sebastiao Salgado The Great Crash 1929 John Kenneth Galbraith Guests of the Ayatollah: the first battle in the West's war with militant Islam Mark Bowden The Happy Pear: healthy, easy, delicious food to change your life David & Stephen Flynn Heap 2016 University Degree Course Offers: the essential guide to winning your place at university Brian Heap Ireland's Call: Irish sporting heroes who fell in the Great War Stephen Walker James Dean: little boy lost Joe & Jay Hyams Latin Panegyric Roger Rees (editor) Lawrence in Arabia: war, deceit, Imperial folly and the making of the modern Middle East Scott Anderson A Long Way Gone: the true story of a child soldier Ishmael Beah The Medici: story of a European dynasty Franco Cesati Medieval Ireland: The Barryscourt Lectures I-X John Ludlow, Noel Jameson editors Ocean to Sky: India from the Air Kumal Verma Personal Statements: how to write a UCAS personal statement Paul Telfer Plato on the Rhetoric of Philosophers and Sophists Marina McCoy Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the greatest unsolved problem in mathematics John Derbyshire Pure White and Deadly: how sugar is killing us and what we can do to stop it John Yudkin Rajasthan: panoramic photography Reiner Sahm Raven: the untold story of the Rev. Jim Jones and his People Tim Reiterman & John Jacobs Sapiens: a brief history of humankind Yuval Noah Harari Shine: a girl's guide to thriving (not just surviving) in real life Mary Doherty & Siobhan Hackett SPQR: a history of ancient Rome Mary Beard The Tragedy of Lebanon: Christian warlords, Israeli adventurers and American bunglers Jonathan Randal The Travels of Marco Polo Ronald Latham, translator
NEW BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY These are some of the books we added to our shelves recently. JUNIOR FICTION Carry On Rainbow Rowell Demon Road Derek Landy Diary of a Wimpy Kid 10: Old School Jeff Kinney Everything is teeth Evie Wyld Geek Girl: All That Glitters Holly Smale Green Rider Kristen Britain Large Mammals, Stick Insects and Other Social Misfits Felicity McCall OMG! is this actually my life? Rae Earl One Sarah Crossan The Painted Man Peter V. Brett Red Shadow Paul Dowswell The Rest of Us Just Live Here Patrick Ness Username: Evie Joe Sugg The Weight of Water Sarah Crossan
SENIOR FICTION 10:04, Ben Lerner The Ables, Jeremy Scott The Alchemist Paulo Coelho All Involved Ryan Gattis Asking For It Louise O'Neill Beatlebone Kevin Barry The Book of Memory Petina Gappah A Brief History of Seven Killings Marlon James Dictator Robert Harris Go Set a Watchman Harper Lee A Hero of Our Time Mikhail Lermontov I Am Pilgrim Terry Hayes Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace A Lesson before Dying Ernest J. Gaines The Mark and the Void Paul Murray The Martian Andy Weir The Miniaturist Jessie Burton Miss Emily Nuala O'Connor Number 11 Jonathan Coe Satin Island Tom McCarthy Seedless in Seattle Paul Howard A Spool of Blue Thread Anne Tyler Tender Belinda McKeon These are the Names Tommy Wieringa The Thing About December Donal Ryan Under Major Domo Minor Patrick de Witt Villa America Liza Klaussmann Whiskey Tango Foxtrot David Shafer
SENIOR NON-FICTION 1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear, James Shapiro Africa, Leni Riefenstahl After Hitler: the last days of the Second World War in Europe Michael Jones After the Titanic: A life of Derek Mahon Stephen Enniss An American Caddie in St. Andrews: growing up, girls and looping on the old course Oliver Horovitz
2
ARTS WEEK 2
0
1
6
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Wednesday 9th March Chapel Talk All day 18.45
Nick Brace A Call to Arts BSR, Form II Drama Workshops with Actiontrack Special Drama Workshop for V & VI with Actiontrack, BSR
Thursday 10th March All day 8.45-10.15 Morning Lunch 18.00
BSR, Form II Drama Workshops with Actiontrack TY Clowning Workshop with Hillas Smith Art Workshop with Form I facilitated by Vanessa Lopez in the Art Centre Hilario Spillacci half hour street show in Chapel Sq Exhibition of Portrait Paintings from Abdul Bulbulia’s collection. A talk by Abdul Bulbulia. Reception, Drawing Room.
Friday 11th March Chapel All day Morning 11.30 – 1 Expedition 13.25-13.55
A Song to Start the Day from Caroline O’Neill (OC) BSR, Form II Drama Workshops with Actiontrack Art Workshop with Form IV facilitated by Deboro Ando in the Art Centre Songwriting Workshop with Form IV Music Pupils with Caroline O’Neill Form V & VI Art Historians to Irish Museum of Modern Art Caroline O’Neill lunchtime Library gig
Saturday 12th March Art, Craft & Photography Exhibition and Prize Giving, BSR, 8pm. Special guest: Dominic Lee
Sunday 13th March Music Prize Concert, BSR, 8pm. Adjudicator: Mairead Hurley, Director of Vocal Studies, DIT Conservatory of Music
Still life with jars – Ciana Taylor
3
The Last Moments Elena m Sirazetdinova Последних слов последнее мгновенье. Последних снов пронзительная тишь. Я бы вернула все, но, к сожалению, Нам можно будет вспомнить это лишь. Мы знали, что когда-нибудь нагрянет Возмездие за счастье наших дней. И ничего тогда нас не избавит, И что борьба лишь сделает больней. Но мы все ж продолжали свято верить В любовь, возможность счастья в мире сем. О будущих не думая потерях, Любили мы и жили одним днем.
Still life with skull—Alexandra Konopleva
_____________________________
The last moments of the last words still flow, In the shrill silence of dreams that are no more, I would return them all but, unfortunately, no, They're all that's left of what we had before. We realized the time would have to come, In repayment for the happy days we had, For nothing can avert the reign of fate, And fighting only causes pain that's greater. But nonetheless we carry on believing, For love and joy throughout this world we pray, To face our future bravely, never grieving, Having loved and lived our lives out in a day. Inspired by Posters of Protest and Revolution – Daisy McKeever and Ciana Taylor
4
REVIEW – HARRY POTTER AGUS AN ÓRCHLOCH by J.K. Rowling Nyla Jamieson _____________________________ Le deanaí fuair mé an leabhar, Harry Potter agus an Órchloch. D'iarr mé ar mo thuismitheorí é a fháil domsa mar bhí mé ag iarraidh an leabhar a léamh as Gaeilge. Nuair a cheannaigh siad an leabhar dom bhí mé ar muin na muice agus gan mhoill thosaigh mé ar é a leamh. Léigh mé an an leabhar trí Bhearla roimhe sin agus ba leabhar é arbh ansa liom. Mar sin bhí mé ag tnúth go mór lena léamh é as Ghaeilge. Is í J.K. Rowling údar an leabhair seo agus d’aistrigh Máire Nic Mhaoláin go Gaeilge é. Chaith mé tamall measartha fada á léamh, caithfidh mé a admháil, mar tá 262 leathanach sa leabhar sin ach b'fhiú go mór, dar liomsa, mo chuid iarrachtaí go léir. Tá an scéal seo an-cháilúil ar fad. Tá an scéal faoi Harry. Is ghnáthdhuine é Harry. Nó sin é an rud a cheapann sé ar aon nós suas go dtí breithlá áirithe amháin nuair a fhaigeann sé amach nach bhfuil sé ina ghnáthbhuachaill in aon chor. Is draoíodóir é, Harry, agus tá áit faighte aige i Scoil Chomhoideachais Draíodóireachta Hogwarts. Tá gach rud go hiontach ach 'ní mar a síltear a bítear' i gcónaí in Hogwarts. Tá drochdhraíodóir ann agus Voldemort is ainm dó. Tá sé ar lorg cloiche speisialta. Is cloch dhraíochta é. Má fhaigheann Voldemort an órchloch seo beidh sé ábalta fanacht beo go deo. Caithfidh Harry agus a chairde stop a chur leis sin! Cheap mé go raibh sé go suimiúil an leabhar seo a léamh as Gaeilge mar bhí focail aite sa leabhar agus stór maith de nathanna deasa scaipthe tríd an aistriúchán ó thús go deireadh. Tá na hainmneacha pearsanta sa leabhar gan athrú ar bith; rud a fuair mé greannmhar go leor. Mar shampla, ar an gcéad leathannach den leabhar tá “... neamh-Dursleyúil...” scríofa agus ceapaim go ndealraíonn sin pas beag aisteach sa Ghaeilge. Tá an t-aistrúchán go maith i mo thuarimse féin. D'fhág Máire cúpla focal as Bearla nach ainmneacha pearsanta iad ach ba beag a líon ar fad iad. Fuair sí aistriúcháin don chuid is mó de na tearmaí, mar shampla, aistríonn sí an “Hogwarts Express” mar an “Traein Luais Hogwarts” sa leabhar. Ceapaim gur smaoineamh maith a bhí aici chun Gaeilge a chur ar an leabhar seo. Is leabhar iontach é agus nach bhfuil sé go maith má tá níos mó leabhar as Gaeilge ar fáil d'aos óg na tíre. Is aoibhinn liom an Ghaeilge agus is breá liom bheith ag léamh leabhair mar seo inár dteanga dhúchais mar sin tá mé ag iarraidh leabhair eile mar é a leamh as Gaeilge freisin. Tá buíochas ag dul go haistritheoirí agus do scríbhneoirí mar Mháire a bhíonn ag aistriú nó ag cumadh scéalta as Gaeilge do léitheoirí óga - nár laga Dia a lámh! Má tá tú ag féachaint le leabhar maith a léamh as Gaeilge agus tá tú ag iarradh mar liomsa feabhas a chur ar do chuid Gaeilge, léigh an leabhair seo. Gan aon amhrasm tá an leabhar, Harry Potter agus an Órchloch, saghas deacair a léamh ach tá súil agam lá amháin go mbeidh mé líofa go leor chun leabhar mar seo a léamh gan dua ar bith agus táim réasúnta cinnte go dtiocfaidh an lá sin gan móran moille. 5
D R A G O N
A long curling tail Scales painted against the moon Bright flame from black jaws _________________________
The Dark The dark is a person telling a secret you didn’t want to hear. It’s too late. As if entering a cave only to find there is no exit. It has gone into dark never to come out. It’s too late. As if falling into water only to find it ice over above you. It’s too late. Yet one avoids dark with a powerful light tearing through the black of night. One secret we beg for … there is such a thing as second chances.
Two poems by Tania Stokes
6
Lives
Successful JOHN SOMERVILLE-LARGE Architect ____________________________________________________________
We start this series of Old Columban Successful Lives with our first choice - Mr John SomervilleLarge, not because he is one of the most famous Old Columbans but because every day all of us enjoy John's creative vision, whether we sit in his beautifully designed Library to read and study surrounded by an abundance of space and light, or play in his dramatic and optimistic Sports Hall commanding the entrance to the College. In this series, as we make our way through some of the many extremely talented achievers who were former pupils of the College, we will also be focusing on the kind of success that brings not only a sense of personal fulfilment but also great benefit to others and to society at large. We will be examining what it means to be successful and what skills are required to achieve real lasting success, while also asking, what, apart from the College, do all these successful lives have in common? GRB
Architect of light, vista and visual legibility
A
nyone who enters the Library immediately experiences an inspiring sense of light and space. The building itself is snuggled into the northeast corner of the 1st Garden. Its entrance possesses the architect’s intended intimacy of a ‘garden’ entrance so as not to disturb the sanctity of the Warden’s Garden that has become an innate part of the original architectural plan in the upper end of College. It was no accident that the ambitious plan of 1849 by the architect P.C. Hardwicke was conceived in neo-gothic architectural language to evoke the monastic tradition of Original plans – south elevation of the Quadrangle, ‘with a tight learning. The plan sidestepped cloistered quadrangle and chapel with a tower of monumental scale and the westwards garden axis ecclesiastical romance’. towards Montpelier Hill,
7
established by the Georgian Country House built forty years earlier, with a tight cloistered quadrangle and chapel with a tower of monumental scale and ecclesiastical romance. A shortfall in funding and Sir William Butterfield’s later preference for siting his own more modest design for the College Chapel on the inspired, elevated and ‘open’ site to the north east, meant Hardwicke’s plan would be left incomplete—and the College without a vision into the future. Over the next 100 years the first and second walled gardens and, by my thinking, the later added third walled garden that diverted the Hurley Lane, together with the two school farmyards, provided a ready-made but much looser framework to accommodate growth and change. With the first building of the College’s 150th Anniversary Development Plan, it was my intention from the beginning to reinforce the original and historic centre of gravity of the College and complement the original architectural plan. A strong desire for a new College Library presented the opportunity. As it is not always appropriate for an architect to ‘say’ something in a markedly different architectural language to that which may already exist, the Library and Drama Studio’s design extends Hardwicke’s original language with neo-gothic proportions constructed in random-rubble-coursed Wicklow granite walls, gables and 60˚ slate roofs. But as you enter the Library from the Warden’s Garden, as Dr Banister says, “its illusory smallness opens up and out into a surprisingly much larger volume of light, space and contemplation, almost like Dr Who's Tardis, except the Library, unlike the Tardis, merges seamlessly with its surroundings”. Architect John McCurdy’s plan of the Dining Hall and Buttery, 1860s
*
*
*
I was a pupil at St Columba's College from 1969 to 1975, during the final years of F. M. Argyle’s twenty-five year Wardenship, and my final year was spent in what was then called Upper Sixth, under the new Warden, David Gibbs. I remember those Argyle years as a time of benign anarchy with an underlying current of real creativity. How else to account for the whole school, on a Saturday evening film-night, acquiescing to English teacher David Fitzgerald’s showing of an avant-garde black-and-white film called Dots? This era ultimately gave way to a more conventionally civilised and academic era with the 1973 introduction of girls into the Senior School and the 1974 arrival of Warden Gibbs, bringing, for me at least, a timely personal focus on straight-forward academic endeavour. I remember with great affection my friends, many of whom I’m still in contact with today. And also the teachers, not always because I particularly liked their subject, but because of the quality of people they themselves were. I especially valued the teaching and background support of the College’s senior teachers in my final years. When I returned to the College to assist in planning the proposed buildings, I was profoundly struck by the continued commitment and dedication of staff such as Patrick Gray, Ninian Falkiner, Michael Heaney, John Fanagan, Chris Vis, Bud McMullen and Christopher Fettes, who had taught me 8
twenty years before, and yet were still teaching with exactly the same energy and commitment. I was in Gwynn House and, although very far from being a kindred spirit, retain a deep respect for my housemaster, the classicist G.K.White who was also Librarian of the former school library, the Masterman. Many years later, seeking out the by then long-retired GK for insights he may have had on what should be considered in the further development of the College, I discovered a shared belief in the importance of views out of the College. GK’s wistfully recalled favourite was out from Founder’s classrooms up towards the south light filtering through the trees of the Deer Park above. My own was of the stone vaulted 18th century folly, the Hellfire Club, atop Montpelier Hill, which would, in its day, be routinely set alight to simulate partying in ‘hell’. Today cash crop tree planting obscures the building. I still possess a valued and many-small-paged letter from G.K. White, handwritten in tiny and dense script on both sides, offering detailed advice on designing the new school library. The gist of the letter was “don’t!”, for his preference was to focus on small ‘subject based’ libraries to be distributed around the school rather than build a new library that would replace his beloved Masterman. I remember Gay Caird and also the significantly beneficial and long term influence of Norman Lush, who both tried enthusiastically to teach me Irish. In my last days in the College I remember Lush, between the upper and lower levels of the Farm’s yards, fixing me with a steady gaze, sweeping his arm in a broad arc and asking: “So, you’re off to study architecture; then what would you do with this lot?” I remember the eccentric Noel Kennedy who instilled a love of the classics and also the impressive example of Christopher Fettes’ modesty and seriousness combined with an absolutely steadfast adherence to principles, even when unfashionable. I owe an enormous debt to my later year English teachers Colin Polden (now retired housemaster of Eastbourne College) and John Fanagan, “one of the great pillars of the College,” (Morgan Dockrell) who became a life-long friend and godfather to my daughter. I consider myself very fortunate to have left the College with an enduring love of English literature and the language of Shakespeare. I also feel a very real appreciation of the enormous value of having been enabled to develop my own thoughts through writing.
The Library and BSR from the Warden’s Garden – Watercolour, John Somerville-Large
9
But of all the teachers who stand out, it has to be my Art teacher and mentor, Patrick Pollen, the famous British stained glass artist (1928 - 2010) who, although probably unknown to almost the entire college, was and will always remain a continuing inspiration. In my time the art room was in the eastern half of the former college restaurant, now Drive Studies and built during the Second World War to cater for parents visiting their hungry sons. Its location, set apart from the hurly-burly of College life, with the wide expanse of Dublin set out before it, became a significant place of independent study and creativity for me. I was unusually fortunate to have been taught by no less than four immensely inspiring artists. As most boys had opted for woodwork, I found myself being taught for several years on an almost one-to-one basis. First I was introduced to art by the ____________________ memorable and, to my 12-13-year-old self, mysterious heavily bearded sculptor of unknowable age, Frank Morris (1928-1970), who had abandoned his own architectural And it was from Pollen’s studies to become a sculptor living in the Wicklow Mountains. Characteristic of the example that I first Argyle era, Morris had been teaching encountered the successfully at the College for a number of years, but unbeknown to me at the time, he understanding and love of suddenly died, tragically young, at 42, during the summer holiday. materials and the
craftsmanship and artistry with which to work them, the respect for which is a fundamental cornerstone of the work of an architect.
Stepping in for a year to fill Frank Morris’s place, while also embarking on his own, now internationally acclaimed career, was the young (approximately 20 years old) sculptor Michael Warren who was also an O.C. (see forthcoming Successful Lives). I have a clear memory of a carved torso with large shrinkage crack inhabiting a corner of the Art Room and of its sculptor Warren _____________________ carefully teaching me, through self portraiture, how to observe shape, light and shadow and how to hatch and shade: all against the immediate backdrop of the view over Dublin to the horizon beyond. Then came Patrick Pollen whose transparent energy, enthusiasm, high seriousness and clarity of vision made a deep impression from the start. It was Pollen who, over three critical years, taught and helped embed the discipline of drawing and drawing again and, importantly, how to draw a freehand ellipse and how to precisely construct a drawing of a building in perspective. I often visited his freezing and immensely tall Dundrum studio to see racks of beautiful coloured glass, personally sought out and collected in his van from foundries in Southern France and what was then Czechoslovakia. I saw Pollen’s robust ‘cartoons’ of stained glass projects being converted into richly coloured glass shapes laid out on trestle tables, with faces, hands, folds in fabric and angel’s wings over painted and fired before all being joined with lead ‘cames’. And I saw also the powerful simplicity and beauty of his completed windows.
10
It was Pollen who first inspired me with the reality of an artist’s practice and the power of simplicity in form of expression. And it was from Pollen’s example that I first encountered the understanding and love of materials and the craftsmanship and artistry with which to work them, the respect for which is a fundamental cornerstone of the work of an architect. By the time Pollen emigrated to America and the new art teacher Chris Vis arrived at the school to bring the teaching of art to many, I was independent and confident enough to rearrange Vis’s ‘A’ Level examination still-life of a horse’s bridle and a bucket so that most of the difficult bridle was invisible inside the bucket. The ability to confidently draw and sketch well in three dimensions is an essential tool in the process of conceiving and developing a design, because it harnesses those authentic creative sensibilities that can bond the architect to everyone else in the world. I draw accurate sketches of emerging designs again and again in order to interrogate and to better understand what is evolving. This process creates time for the necessary layers of thought, it allows discovery of ideas, and it enables the control of the detail. I also like to think it enables me to ‘hear the voice’ of the emerging design or building say what it wants to be. And ultimately, this process enables the attainment of a more complete final visual legibility of and responsibility for what actually gets built.
_________________ The ability to confidently draw and sketch well in three dimensions is an essential tool in the process of conceiving and developing a design, because it harnesses those authentic creative sensibilities that can bond the architect to everyone else in the world.
In 1970 the uncompromisingly modern white concrete and glass Science building, by the _________________ Old Columban architect Robin Walker (19241991), and of which I will say more, was completed. The reverberations from the ‘shock of the new’ were such as to usher in a 20-year period of small-scale new buildings and building improvements without any involvement from an architect at all. These buildings filled in many vacant corners with designs by the Warden, David Gibbs, Art teacher and artist Chris Vis and the College builder John MacDonald. But with the 1988 arrival of Tim Macey as teacher and Warden—“vigorous, enthusiastic, dramatic, inspirational, bombastic,” (Morgan Dockrell)—it was only a matter of time before big plans for the College’s future would be taken in hand. The upcoming 150 th Anniversary was to be the occasion to launch a Development Plan and Development Fund to secure the College’s future.
To be continued ______________________
11
REVIEW - THIS BOY’S LIFE by Tobias Wolff Blanaid Sheeran ________________ This Boy’s Life is a memoir by Tobias Wolff. When Wolff was ten years old, he decided to change his name to Jack after his hero, Jack London. This book is a truthful and candid account of his life as Jack. Wolff’s father abandoned his mother and him when Wolff was an infant; since then his young mother, who had very few qualifications, had been struggling to hold on to badly paid jobs while looking after her unruly only son. When his mother met a seemingly harmless middle-aged man things looked like they could finally turn for the better, but in fact it was just the beginning of a troubled and abused adolescence filled with pressure, lies and confusion. The main character in This Boy’s Life is the author himself, Tobias Wolff. When we first meet Wolff he is a young boy of around ten. As with many young boys he was fascinated by guns and ammunition. However, unlike most innocent and eager children he already desired to change who he was. He writes “I didn't come to Utah to be the same boy I’d been before.” In my opinion this is a very profound statement for a ten year old to make, and shows us the hard life that he’d had. Although the author writes little about it, it is obvious that he and his mother were always on the move, often running from ex-lovers. He seems to be embarrassed by this past life and would like to create a new identity for himself. His first step is to rename himself Jack, after his hero Jack London. He believed that having this name would “charge him with some of the strength and competence inherent in his idea of Jack London.” At the beginning Jack is a sweet yet devious child, always up to mischief with his friends— for example, accidently shooting a nun with an arrow. He has a big heart filled with love for his mother, Rosemary. Rosemary is the most important person in his life and always has the greatest faith in her son. They have a strong mother-son bond which is tested frequently by Jack’s inability to avoid trouble. As the book progresses Jack begins to get more insubordinate and untrustworthy. He constantly tests boundaries, always rebels against any form of discipline and lies his way out of most situations. Jack’s new step-father, Dwight, a violent selfish alcoholic, leaves Jack feeling like an outsider in his own home. However Dwight still has an eerie control over Jack both physically and mentally. He encourages him to fight with other boys whilst convincing him that he is a good-fornothing idiot. He kicks and slaps him, insulting him and his mother constantly. However these insults do nothing but fire up Jack’s anger, giving him the determination he needs to survive his miserable life, and the courage to try and get out. Throughout the book there is one goal for Jack: to get into the army. As I have said, he had an admiration for guns since he was a child. The army represented structure, nobility, honour and above all else, a new and equal start. He felt it would be the first opportunity he would get that did not discriminate against him because his background. I thought Jack’s character was easy to relate to. This may have been because the book takes place in a modern day setting. However, I think it’s more that Jack was always blaming his problems on other people and things, which, although true some of the time, was not completely correct. But 12
strangely, this made me like him more as I felt I could better connect with him. It made him feel imperfect, as a person should be. There are many moments in This Boy’s Life that are important to the plot. For example, when Rosemary, Jack’s mother, reluctantly marries Dwight. She is forced to give up her friends, job and life in the city, to move to the isolated town of Chinook, “a company village”. “A couple of hundred people lived there in neat rows of houses and converted barracks. The village had the look of a welltended old military camp, and that was what everyone called it—The Camp.” This short sentence conveys its depressing, military-style atmosphere. Mother and son must have had many doubts about uprooting their whole life to come to this dreary village, but, for the sake of her badly-behaved son, Rosemary had married a man she barely knew. The consequences were great: Jack was abused physically, forced to do back-breaking repetitive labour and encouraged to be violent and insulting towards other boys. One of his tasks, which has embedded itself in my mind, was the shucking of chestnuts. “Except when Dwight had other plans for me I shucked chestnuts almost every night, chipping away at them through most of the winter.” The repetitive, tedious labour meant Jack was bullied and teased at school, as his hands were stained yellow by the chestnut juice. “Didn’t your Mamma teach you to wash your hands after you go pee?” These incidents all had a scarring effect, and he would never be able to forget those schoolboy taunts, or forgive his alcoholic, abusive stepfather for the things he had done. Another key moment is when Jack is given the chance to attend a private boarding school, “Hill”. Jack had had enough of his horrific home life, and although he had moved in with a friend and was finally out of the reach of his violent stepfather, life was still not what he expected. He believed the world was a magnificent, uncorrupted place outside of his own miserable life. He filled out tens of application forms for scholarships to private schools; he lied and exaggerated about all his achievements, yet still no school would take him. Finally he got a call. He had been accepted by “Hill”. It was the first real chance he had been given in life. The disobedient young man with an unfortunate family background had been given the opportunity of a lifetime. Still life with book—Vera Ratnikova
The ending of This Boy’s Life is one of my favourite parts of the book. Jack is relaxed and happy, which unsurprisingly he barely ever had been. He has just dumped a load of stolen goods and is reassured by the idea that “when the summer was over he would go East to a Noble school”. Finally he feels the universe has “thrown him a bone”. The last page contains my favourite lines: “When we are green, still halfcreated, we believe that our dreams are rights, that the world is disposed to act in our best interests, and that falling and dying are for quitters. We live on the innocent and monstrous assurance that we alone, of all the people ever born, have a special arrangement whereby we will be allowed to stay green forever. That assurance burns very bright at certain moments.” I adore these final words as I believe they are true for every human when we are “green”. In one brief paragraph he explains all the self-righteous, pompous feelings we as young people have but never admit to—that at some point we all believe the world should revolve around us. I also liked these lines as they are in complete contrast 13
to the rest of the book. Jack is always doing selfish or ignorant things and he expects the world to clean up the messes he makes. Has the famously mischievous Jack redeemed his ways? My overall opinion of This Boy’s Life is very positive. I loved the way the story was made more personal by writing it in the first person. I feel this method of storytelling grips a reader's emotions and pulls them right into the story. It felt effortless to connect with his characters and understand their problems and emotions. I also liked the way Wolff writes with a certain comical air throughout the book, which made it easy to read and more enjoyable. Tobias Wolff has quickly risen to the top of my list of favourite authors and I have already started on his second book, In Pharoah’s Army. I would definitely recommend his work to others and I hope they find it as thoroughly enjoyable as I did!
__________________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW – PURE, WHITE AND DEADLY: how sugar is killing us and what we can do to stop it, by John Yudkin
Mr A. Mitchell If you are looking for a controversial read then look no further than Professor John Yudkin’s “Pure, White and Deadly”. In 1972 this book was quickly banned from publication as it exposed the truth about the seemingly harmless food product that most of us consume in abundance every day. In fact Yudkin’s honesty of sugar and what consequences it can have on us would lead to the end of his career. If you are interested in any aspect of food whether it be in the field of health, science or economics then this book is a must read. The new version was updated in 2012 and at one point it was so sought after that hundreds were being paid for it. Yudkin talks about all features of sugar in the book, from its history and production, criminally misleading propaganda in the sixties and seventies, sugar vs. fat, to its effect on the body and especially in young children. At times I felt distressed as he delved deeper into how misled we have been for generations and the consequences and diseases we are seeing today, without knowing sugar may have been the culprit all along. Yudkin had fought for years for action to be taken on the sugar industry, only to be taken down by scientists who were being paid by these manufacturers to produce “scientific evidence” that sugar was harmless. Yudkin passed away before his work was finally acknowledged but today more people are aware of the dangers that he once preached. This book should be recommended to everyone whether they be interested in their health or not. As Yudkin said you have a right to know what you are putting into your body and the right to know the truth about the products flooding the shelves of the supermarket. 14
DEAR SANTA WITH CHRISTMAS LONG GONE, IT’S NOW SAFE TO TELL SANTA WHICH BOOKS WE REALLY WANTED. And with a little bit of elf-magic they might just turn up on the Library’s shelves. Though Juhjun Kim is taking a bit of a chance. And Nick Oguntase definitely is. Andrew Kim: Alex Rider series, Anthony Horowitz – There are a couple of Alex Rider books but some are missing or not there, so I would like the Library to have the whole set. Rowan Sweeney: Famine in Ireland – I really want to read about some personal stories that people went through at the time. Juhjun Kim: Why we took the car, Wolfgang Herrndorf – Dear Santa, I do not believe in you. Nick Oguntuase: The Ables, Jeremy Scott – I would like the book ‘The Ables’ by Jeremy Scott in the St Columba’s College Library for Christmas (Mr Brett take notice). Sehee Kim: Twilight, Stephenie Meyer – I want this book because it is fun and interesting. Jamie Harris: The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials, James Dashner – It is the second book in the Maze Runner trilogy. It is about teenagers separated from their parents by an organisation to run tests and try to find a cure for a new disease. I want Santa to bring it so I can read it again. It is a very gripping book. Aleksandra Murphy: Between Shades of Grey, Ruta Sepetys – I really want to get Between Shades of Grey because I did read it before and really liked it and would recommend it to others. I generally like all her books. She writes about historical fiction and is an extremely good author. This book is about a girl and her family being sent to Siberia and her fight for survival. 15
C O N T E N T S Editorial ....1 New Books in the Library ....2 Arts Week programme ....3 ‘Last Moments’ Elena Sirazetdinova ....4 Harry Potter agus an Orchloch, J.K. Rowling, Review, Nyla Jamieson ....5
Yulia Sirazetdinova: Schatten im Paradies (The Promised Land), Erich Maria Remarque – I really like the German author Remarque and have read most of his books. However, I haven’t read one called Schatten im Paradies, and I’d really like to read it. It’s about an immigrant to New York during the Second World war, and, probably, his life there. My sister told me it’s very interesting and I simply love reading.
Two poems, Tania Stokes ....6
Gabriel Chisholm: The Kingkiller Chronicle, Patrick Rothfuss – 1. The Name of the Wind, 2. The Wise Man’s Fear, 3. How Old Holly came to be.
Successful Lives: John SomervilleLarge....7 This Boy’s Life, Tobias Wolff Review, Blanaid Sheeran ....12 Pure, White and Deadly, John Yudkin Review, Mr Mitchell ....14 Dear Santa ....15
Li Zivianqiao: A book for learn Chinese in English
_________________
I’d like to thank all our contributors, be they staff or pupils. It takes energy and courage to put your work ‘out there’ and I hope you are rewarded by seeing your creations in print. I’d particularly like to thank Dr Bannister and our guest contributor, John Somerville-Large. Both of them put a huge amount of thought and effort into John’s article. In this, part one, he reflects on his time in St Columba’s and the particular members of staff who influenced and encouraged him. We look forward to parts two and three. (I must hastily point out that the series title ‘Successful Lives’ is not John’s description of himself! It is our editorial catch phrase, and indeed, as I think we will discover as the series develops, ‘successful’ has many nuances). And finally, last but not least, our thanks as always to Ms Emily Bainton, our ‘publisher’.
Sophia Cole: Cherub, Robert Muchamore – May I please have this book. Andriu Pollock: I’d like these books, they are good. Sam Lawrence: A Brief History of the Universe, Stephen Hawking – Some people just want to watch the world learn. Avouka Assebian: Shatter Me, Tehereh Mafi –I would love, if you can give me that book! Because it’s a romantic and action book that I would love to read!! Please!!♥♥
16