I’ll start by saying unequivocally that The Uncommon Reader
by Alan Bennett is a total joy to read from start to finish. There, that’s my
review…
Okay, let’s rewind and dismantle that statement a bit, as I
should probably say why I feel like that.
The Uncommon Reader of the title is Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II, and in this small, but beautifully formed novella (only 120
pages) Alan Bennett imagines that the Queen comes across a small mobile library
on the grounds of Buckingham Palace one day while she’s out with her corgis.
Always a stickler for etiquette, she borrows a book to be polite, and makes the
acquaintance of a pretty unprepossessing kitchen boy called Norman. From such
small beginnings, great national events are built.
After a hesitant start the Queen begins to relish her forays
into literature, aided and abetted by the redoutable Norman who is elevated to
a position as a page, much to the chagrin of her private secretary Sir Kevin, a
New Zealander of whom great things are expected (including by himself). As the
Queen becomes more and more absorbed by the myriad worlds and different points
of view that books can offer, her household become increasingly alarmed that
she’s letting things slide, letting the side down, and that god forbid, reading
for pleasure is somehow a selfish pursuit not appropriate for a sovereign whose
life has been and should be devoted to duty.
As I say, this is a delightful read. Alan Bennett exercises a
light, witty and ultimately biting touch to make the narrative and especially
the dialogue sing. But for all its lightness of touch, The Uncommon Reader has
a lot to say about duty, the tyranny of social and political expectation, the
excitement that new knowledge can engender and the fear that it can engender in
others. It’s a sly and witty commentary on just who is charge of whom in royal
circles – the Queen acknowledges that on a royal tour she is a package to be
delivered form A to B – an important package obviously, but a package nonetheless.
And more than anything it’s a lovely hymn to new worlds and possibilities
unfolding through books to which her Majesty is a beguiling guide.
Oh and the ending is a killer, I’m just saying.
As I say, it’s only 120 pages, and everyone of them is a
gem.
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett was originally published
in 2007 and my copy was published by Picador.
You make me wonder whether I've still got my copy. I do remember enjoying it, and it might just break through my non-reading at present.
ReplyDeleteGo look for your copy. It might be just the tonic that you need!
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