RAINBOW READERS – THE STORY SO FAR

Rainbow Readers, the NLGBA book group, began their monthly meetings in December 2004. Group member Alan Wright provides us with an insight into what sounds like a lively meeting of literary minds.

Our inaugural novel, “The Line of Beauty” by Alan Hollinghurst, was universally disliked by all members of the group, none of whom warmed to the main character, nor to any of the personalities depicted within the very unappealing clique of Conservative politicians, businessmen and their families around whom this story is weaved, stirring a few memories of the Thatcher era best forgotten. The gay love element of the tale was a hideous frustration and we were all left wondering who would choose to award this novel the coveted Booker Prize and why?

Moving on to our second book, “Flying under Bridges” by Sandi Toksvig, there was no middle ground of opinion on this novel. It was either adored or hated! We were either scintillated or irritated by Ms Toksvig’s style of humour. Some of us indulged in laughter and tears throughout, whilst others found this a trivial and lightweight read, not even worthy of finishing the book to its improbable end. The lively nature of the group discussion was a sharp contrast to the unanimous disappointment of the previous month.

Then followed a feast of literary description; a great romantic romp full of colour, emotion and surprise and superb characterisation. Sarah Waters received enthusiastic praise from our group for her extraordinary tale of loves won and lost in her exploration of less than conventional Victorian lifestyles in “Tipping the Velvet”. The Rainbow Readers were equally split between those who had seen the TV dramatisation and those who had not. The former category acknowledging the BBC’s faithfulness to the text, and the latter delighting in the unexpected twists and surprises as the story unfolded.

We then ventured into a classic of gay literature, immersing ourselves in the perplexing mid-twentieth Century world of Quentin Crisp in “The Naked Civil Servant”. The discussion within the group was enriched by the recollections of two members who had actually met Mr Crisp in person. The entire group respectfully acknowledged both the man himself and his writings as great gifts of their time to our community. Thanks to the stand he made in a less tolerant period, we thankfully now find his uncomfortable descriptions of life as a homosexual in England very outdated and distant from what we have come to expect and enjoy today.

The much anticipated “Giovanni’s Room” followed. Many of the group remarked on passages where the descriptions had stirred something tender in the heart or had stabbed sharply at a nerve. All recognised James Baldwin’s literary talent, but did not necessarily find it an enjoyable read as we were steered through the grimmest descriptions of a very unromantic image of Paris, coupled with unbearable pain and torment and the evident dishonesty of some fairly unlikeable characters. Just as with Quentin’s offering the previous month, we were left very glad to know that times have changed greatly.

And now, we find ourselves in Radclyffe Hall’s “Well of Loneliness” which, as the tale unfolds, is rapidly becoming my personal favourite to date…

Alan Wright

05.05

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