26/03/19: Nicholson Baker – The Mezzanine (1988)

It was interesting to read this classic after working through much of the author’s other work. His first book, The Mezzanine is an astonishing achievement that slows down time to detail the events and – in particular – the thoughts that took place in a single office lunch break.

There are super-detailed analyses (with long digressive footnotes) on shoelaces, drinking straws and ice cube trays. Baker really gets inside the mundane reality of objects – almost down to the atomic level – and makes you see them afresh. He finds sensual pleasure in exploring the most ordinary and familiar things.

One brilliant section offers four reasons why you should feel less upset about the death of brain cells as you age. Another astounding passage describes the ways that “staplers have followed, lagging by about ten years, the broad changes we have witnessed in train locomotives and phonograph tonearms, both of which they resemble”.

Whether delighting in the joys of perforation or contemplating what people do while alone in lifts, this novel (which isn’t really a novel at all) amounts to a terrific rendering of consciousness.

07/01/19: Joe Simpson – Touching the Void (1988)

This remarkable and moving memoir details Joe Simpson’s 1985 climb of the 6,344-metre Siula Grande in the Andes. He was accompanied by his friend Simon Yates, whose far briefer account is also represented here with italics interspersed between sections of Simpson’s narrative.

The pair became the first to ever reach the summit, but were unprepared for the extremes it offered. Simpson broke his leg on the descent and – despite Yates heroically winching him down the slopes in incredibly dangerous conditions – plummeted off a cliff and was left dangling. Fearing Simpson dead or doomed and certain that he was about to plummet himself, Yates considered he had no choice but to cut the rope...

The book tells the astonishing and unlikely story of how both men survived. Simpson lost a third of his body weight during the ordeal and was close to death at the point he finally made it back to base camp after dragging himself and his smashed leg back across crevasses, glacier ice and boulders.

Touching the Void is fascinating on so many levels. Simpson vividly articulates the absurd degree of human suffering he endured to stay alive. He also probes deeper questions about life, death and consciousness, all of which he was brought into close proximity with. His relationship with Yates is also key. He immediately and lastingly “forgave” him for giving up on his survival – even dedicating the book to him “for a debt I can never repay” – but Yates was nevertheless demonised as “the man who cut the rope”.

In the 2003 film adaptation of Touching the Void, Simpson and Yates both speak direct to camera about their experiences. It’s sad that the passing of time and the fame/notoriety of the events seem to have permanently damaged their strained relationship. But the film remains the perfect complement to the book, with different insights gained by the perspective of those passing years. Whichever way the story is told, it’s emotional and unforgettable.

12/08/18: Patrick Süskind – The Pigeon (1988)

My third novel in a row from the Holborn Library 20p shelf. This is a brilliantly written account of one day in the life of a man whose world is turned upside down by a simple event. Translated from German by John E. Woods, the writing perfectly captures the sense of balance and control that is threatened by the bird of the title. Jonathan Noel is brought to the brink of total despair by the sudden appearance of a pigeon in the hallway of his apartment. This unexpected arrival is a symbol of randomness in a life that is otherwise completely regimented. The author expertly conveys how this one breach of order begins a chain reaction of existential torment. It’s a mark of the strong premise and its execution that you simultaneously sympathise with Noel’s plight while realising just how ridiculous he is being.

28/03/17: David Leney – The Landfill (1988)

"Listen very carefully. We've got a thing going, see. Tape-recordings. Confessions, if you like. You can hear them on one simple condition: once you listened to even a single tape, you gotta record your own. And that's it. So, if you've got the guts, you go ahead and hear one. Just remember, yours had better be good and it had better be true. We don't want any Goldilocks rubbish. You'll find spare tapes in the glove compartment of my car. We'll give you three days to do it."

Danny Vickers likes to play alone in the landfill site, where he sometimes sits in an abandoned American car. One day in the car he finds a tape player and some cassettes. He starts listening to the tapes and uncovers a secret world of young landfill visitors who have been recording and sharing their stories.

Only in the 1980s would a Puffin book revolve around tape cassettes. Although it works as a novel, this is essentially a collection of short stories cleverly woven together by one central plot device. It's highly entertaining, and touching without being sentimental. With a complete avoidance of cliché, it rings true about how it feels to be a vulnerable child in a world of uncertainty.