Television Review: The Night Watch

I love Sarah Waters. I've watched the adaptations of Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith and Affinity and enjoyed them all. In the case of Affinity I think I preferred the adaptation to the book. However, The Night Watch struck me as a completely different animal. How do you dramatise a book that begins at the end and works backwards? Thankfully, the concept worked better than I thought it would on screen and a good story was backed up by some outstanding performances.

Credit has to go to Paula Milne for a terrific script and to director Richard Laxton. They brought a difficult novel to life and the bomb scenes in particular were haunting. The barest dialogue in those was enough. Of course, an excellent script and direction only count if you've got a great cast and The Night Watch certainly had that.

Anna Maxwell-Martin was known to me for her recent role in South Riding. I have to say, I wasn't sure she was right for the role of ambulance driver Kay but she fit the part very well. I couldn't warm to her immediately but - as with most characters - as we moved backwards I understood her more. It's difficult to pick my favourite Kay scene but her breaking down in the rubble when she thought her beloved Helen was dead was painful to watch - along with what happened directly after that.

Claire Foy as Helen did very well with a character whose motivations aren't as clear-cut as those of other characters. Equally, Anna Wilson-Jones as Julia was alluring, manipulative and guarded - sometimes all in the same scene. As for Jodie Whittaker playing Viv...well, I think I've found one of my favourite actresses for years to come. She was by far my favourite character in the adaptation when I felt indifferent to her during the novel at times. Harry Treadway as Duncan, Viv's brother, was something of a revelation to me since I wasn't expecting to like him. Duncan's a pretty complex character but, to my surprise, the layers were there without the necessary explanation. I particularly liked the prison scenes, especially when he started crying in the visiting room. That was another of those haunting scenes this adaptation did so well.

I could list almost every scene if I began talking about the ones I liked but I'll settle for a select few: Julia and Helen's conversation in the rain; Viv's first encounter with Reggie on the train; Kay's decision to lie for Viv as they travelled to hospital; the bombs falling on the prison... Honestly, the list goes on and on.

As with the book, you really need to watch this again to get the full effect of it. Did I like it? Yes. More than the book? No. But I think that's true of most adaptations. It certainly stands on its own feet though.

Book Review: The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

First of all, let me say that I don't think the Richard & Judy recommendation sticker on any book is supposed to be a deterrent. However, it certainly made me think twice before I picked up the nice book with the intriguing cover of a woman with a picture of a smoky London in the background. I read the blurb, dithered a bit, read the first few pages, dithered a bit more, then finally bought it. No matter how good Richard & Judy seemed to think it was, I wanted to give it a go independently.

The plot revolves around three women. Frankie, an American journalist, is reporting on the London air raids to the people back home. On the other side of the Atlantic are postmistress, Iris, and newly married couple, Emma and Will Fitch. Through circumstance, Dr Fitch leaves to help the wounded in London. While there, he encounters Frankie and sets in motion a chain of events which see the book to its conclusion.

Generally, the book is an easy read in the sense that it flows reasonably well. If I had one criticism of structure, it would be that sometimes it takes a few seconds for you to realise whose viewpoint you've moved to. At one point, for example, a viewpoint character was watching two other people across a room and it disorientated me until I realised where I was. However, when juggling three primary viewpoints, plus several others, slight confusion is understandable at times.

Sarah Blake portrays the horror of the nightly air raids skilfully. It would be very easy for the descriptions to fall into melodrama, but they don't. One of the most poignant images in the book is Frankie returning with a young boy to find their homes in ruins; where Frankie's friend and the boy's mother had been when the bomb hit. It's a quiet scene, all the more touching for the lack of movement around it.

Later, when Frankie embarks on a rail journey around Europe, meeting displaced and frightened Jews along the way, the snapshots of life are well-drawn, portraying the reality of encountering someone on a platform and never knowing the end of their story. As a journalist, Frankie struggles with the difference between reporting and seeing - her boss has told her in the past that facts are facts, and anything else is irrelevant.

Frankie arrives in Cape Cod, the home of the Fitches and Iris James, the postmistress. She has a letter to deliver but, as is made clear in the prologue, it's one she doesn't hand over. The tension in the novel doesn't come from whether she will pass along the contents of the letter but why she decides not to. In that sense, it isn't a novel of high drama. If anything, it's an extended piece of observation which leaves the reader vaguely unsettled. WWII feels so long ago for those of us who didn't live through it, but this book brings it back in vivid detail.

Every secondary character Blake introduces has a function, whether to demonstrate a particularly mentality or show the helplessness of a particular situation. One poignant character is that of Otto, an Austrian refugee living in Cape Cod. He's mentioned throughout the narrative with vague suspicion by the other characters. However, his ultimate story is as natural as it is heartbreaking.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. Perversely, despite the sparse plot and observational nature, there seemed to be a lot going on. This was mainly due to the secondary characters passing through and Frankie's reactions to them. Character-wise, perhaps the book suffered from having too many primary characters. However, they all serve a purpose, and the piece would feel less real if they weren't included.

I'd urge anyone to read The Postmistress. I guarantee that it'll take your mind away from any of your own troubles for quite some time.

My Five Favourite Romantic-ish Musical Songs

I am not a fan of Valentine's Day. We could put this down to resentment that my boyfriend lives elsewhere, disgust at the growing commercialisation of absolutely everything, or perhaps just a disregard for everybody else's happiness... No, it couldn't be that one. I too frequently put the happiness of every human, mouse and child above my own.

Anyway, it still stands that I dislike this day of the year but I do find musicals to be an absolute treasure-trove of odd little love songs. Since I adore delving into musical scores at the best of times I thought I'd share some of my favourites.

5. 'Baby, Dream Your Dream' from Sweet Charity

Sung by Charity's two friends, examining the realities of a happy-ever-after, the song tells of boredom, impossibly-gained credit and family quarrels. It concludes with a painful reminder that, even though it isn't perfect, it's what these women want:

Baby, dream your dream,

Close your eyes and try it,

Dream of three fat kids,

Brother would I buy it!

Life could be frozen peaches and cream,

If only I could, if only I could,

Dream, dream, dream our dream.

4. 'Hate Me Please' from Robert and Elizabeth

This delightful little song depicts the struggle of forcing yourself not to love when you quite plainly need to love. Interspersed with several drifts back into a poignant ballad, the singers try in vain to force their affections out of them. Some of my favourite lines:

There's just a slender chance a beautiful romance

Would not survive if you would bury me alive!

I'd count it as a favour if you'd shun me, shock me, tear my heart in two,

Halve it up and calve it up and serve it to the zoo.

Wound me, wing me, stab me, sting me,

Something's to be flung - then fling me!

Someone's to be clung to... cling me.

3. 'Love is Always Lovely in the End' from The Drowsy Chaperone

A rather dotty woman draws on some loved-up couples to illustrate how love endures: Samson and Delilah, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Romeo and Juliet.

2. 'Opposites' from Blitz

This takes up the old adage that opposites attract in a delightful way that promises an exciting life ahead. Lionel Bart was a genius in getting to the humour in things, especially love.

Two similar kinds of poodles

Bring up an upper-pedigree pup,

But two opposite kinds of mongrels

Produce a pooch you'd love.

Where I see black, you see white,

Wrong to me, to you seems right.

1. 'Losing my Mind' from Follies

This is just an outstanding song about love and longing. I don't think I've heard a better analysis of how it feels to lose your train of thought as you stand in the middle of a room and drift away to forbidden places. Of course, it's Sondheim, and he expresses almost anything better than anyone else.

All afternoon, doing every little chore,

The thought of you stays bright,

Sometimes I stand in the middle of the floor,

Not going left, not going right.

I dim the lights and think about you,

Spend sleepless nights to think about you,

You said you loved me, or were you just being kind?

Or am I losing my mind?