Why take a fridge hitch-hiking around Ireland?
Well, Tony Hawks' approach is best summed up by the question why not? Although, it may be fair to spectulate that a £100 drunken bet with a friend may also have played a small part in his motivations.
The account of his journey in 1997 is populated by a cast of Irish eccentrics who seem to have walked off the set of Father Ted and into non-fiction. Indeed, he introduces us to the hierarchy of the many, many Irish pubs he visits including, but not limited to the 'lead drunk'.
As often as not in this book, Tony Hawks himself seems to be making a bid for that title. Indeed, the story is for the most part a collection of barely remembered evenings from a bloke carrying a fridge.
Hawks takes occasional brief but interesting diversions into whether the fridge itself has gained a personality as the result of its travels. Indeed, he christens it 'Saoirse' - the Irish Gaelic word for 'freedom' - somewhat appropriate given that the fridge gives Hawks a certain freedom through the popularity it lends him.
This is helped to a large extent by the helpfulness of the Irish media, who track every step of his journey, doubtless making it easier on a hitch-hiker standing at the side of the road with only a fridge for company.
Throughout this long, seemingly pointless quest, Hawks never loses his easy affability or sense of joy, despite standing in rainstorms which would test the hardiest souls.
His journey, as he admits, taught him very little and he concedes that it did not achieve anything.
Nor did it have to. The story instead serves as a reminder of the importance of pointless endeavours and the never-ending supply of indulgence for such journeys on both sides of the Irish Sea.
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Sunday, 30 December 2012
Tuesday, 25 December 2012
'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel (book)
Surrealist and beyond the classification of genre, Life of Pi is a fable (there you go, I tried) that deserves to be read and re-read.
Set initially in Pondicherry, the former French enclave on the east coast of India, our narrator and protagonist is a teenage boy named Piscine Molitor Patel. This name is the cue for many jokes from his school mates of predictable content - he gains the nickname 'Pissing' amongst others.
In an attempt to confound them, he shortens it to Pi, the number that supposedly holds the key to many unresolved questions of the universe. Indeed, the first third of the book largely consists of Pi exploring both religious and atheist philosophies, as if the name were a tag to live up to.
Simultaneously, he faces physical challenges of his own from his stubborn father, a zookeeper, who insists that Pi learn from the animals he keeps about the ruthlessness of survival of the fittest.
This knowledge soon becomes extremely relevant when Pi's father decides to move the family to Canada. All seems set fair on their journey by sea until an accident leaves Pi shipwrecked and seemingly alone.
It is at this point that the tale becomes one of the battle between a young man's de-hydrated and starved logical mind and his overactive imagination. Given the aforementioned surrealism of the novel and that he spends most of his time on the lifeboat in the company of a Bengal tiger, it is fairly easy to guess which of these wins.
In amongst the wreckage, both literal and metaphorical, of Pi's previous life are fragments of hope and courage. Even upon arrival at a mysterious tropical island, which seems to offer a safe haven, Pi remains an unselfish and sympathetic character.
Yet, Life of Pi remains open in its exploration of the darker aspects of basic survival. Despite asking much of Pi, he, and ultimately us as the readers are left with as many questions as answers at the end of the book.
Whilst this is frustrating, it also offers space for further exploration. At times I felt that Life of Pi was a bit too pleased with itself but for the most part it is an intriguing story and remarkably readable given the size of its ideas.
It is also one of the few Booker Prize winning novels that is not completely impenetrable. I now look forward to seeing if Ang Lee's film adaptation lives up to its source material.
PS: Merry Christmas to one and all!
Set initially in Pondicherry, the former French enclave on the east coast of India, our narrator and protagonist is a teenage boy named Piscine Molitor Patel. This name is the cue for many jokes from his school mates of predictable content - he gains the nickname 'Pissing' amongst others.
In an attempt to confound them, he shortens it to Pi, the number that supposedly holds the key to many unresolved questions of the universe. Indeed, the first third of the book largely consists of Pi exploring both religious and atheist philosophies, as if the name were a tag to live up to.
Simultaneously, he faces physical challenges of his own from his stubborn father, a zookeeper, who insists that Pi learn from the animals he keeps about the ruthlessness of survival of the fittest.
This knowledge soon becomes extremely relevant when Pi's father decides to move the family to Canada. All seems set fair on their journey by sea until an accident leaves Pi shipwrecked and seemingly alone.
It is at this point that the tale becomes one of the battle between a young man's de-hydrated and starved logical mind and his overactive imagination. Given the aforementioned surrealism of the novel and that he spends most of his time on the lifeboat in the company of a Bengal tiger, it is fairly easy to guess which of these wins.
In amongst the wreckage, both literal and metaphorical, of Pi's previous life are fragments of hope and courage. Even upon arrival at a mysterious tropical island, which seems to offer a safe haven, Pi remains an unselfish and sympathetic character.
Yet, Life of Pi remains open in its exploration of the darker aspects of basic survival. Despite asking much of Pi, he, and ultimately us as the readers are left with as many questions as answers at the end of the book.
Whilst this is frustrating, it also offers space for further exploration. At times I felt that Life of Pi was a bit too pleased with itself but for the most part it is an intriguing story and remarkably readable given the size of its ideas.
It is also one of the few Booker Prize winning novels that is not completely impenetrable. I now look forward to seeing if Ang Lee's film adaptation lives up to its source material.
PS: Merry Christmas to one and all!
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