We see the Bayeux Tapestry and Battle of Normandy Museum

Bayeux Cathedral 

Our main reason for choosing the Manoir de l'Abbaye campsite which I blogged about yesterday was so we could visit Bayeux and finally see its famous tapestry. That's not all the town has to offer though and we started by visiting the Notre Dame du Bessin Cathedral, a stately and elegant structure which towers over everything. Inside it is mostly plain stone, but with many gorgeously vivid stained glass windows and an incredibly overblown 17th century pulpit. This is about half way down the cathedral, side on to the pews, and would make the speaker look as though they were preaching from within clouds and surrounded by cherubs. Not a subtle message to the congregation! We were lucky to see a worn, but still clear medieval wall painting which had been uncovered when large furniture in front was removed for restoration. We could also peep into a lower possibly Roman level underground, but couldn't walk around as this was closed off for the winter.

I liked this joiner's shop sign 

Also closed for the winter were the pay machines at the d'Ornano which pleased us. Parking is free here from the end of October until the Spring so we didn't have to pay for that or to enter the Cathedral or to wander around the interesting old streets. There is a trail of some twenty boards which explain aspects of Bayeux history from Roman times until the Second World War. We learned that the Roman town here was called Augustodurum. The massive Roman walls which were originally built to protect against Saxon raids were only abandoned during the eighteenth century and we were able to see a small section that has been preserved.

It was a clear but distinctly chilly day so we took the opportunity to warm up at Le Miette Doree, a tiny sandwicherie on Rue Larcher which was offering Soupe Maison at €3 a bowl. The soup was just what we needed and the coffee here was very good too.

Battle of Normandy Museum diorama 

We bought a dual ticket for the Museum of the Battle of Normandy and the Bayeux Tapestry Musem. This was €12 per person and turned out to be great value although Dave was unimpressed at the lack of seniors discount! The Battle of Normandy museum is huge and has extensive exhibits documenting the Allies invasion and ultimate capture of Normandy over the summer of 1944. I was particularly interested in the old photographs and artifacts. There are models in all the various uniforms, vehicles, guns and shells and a detailed diorama which I managed to get a reasonable photo of. The 25 minute film in the little cinema is very good and included a lot of information which was new to us. Most sobering were the images of absolute destruction. Town after town seemingly reduced to rubble. How did anyone survive?

From one war to another and I am happy to say that The Bayeux Tapestry is as incredible in person as it reputation suggests! There is Absolutely No Photography allowed which is understandable so I have 'borrowed' the image below from the museum website. We had read online the evening before our visit that the Tapestry is only 50cm high so I wondered if we would have another Magna Carta moment (is that it?!). Instead I was amazed! We were given audioguide headsets explaining each of the fifty-odd scenes along the seventy metres of embroidery. I wasn't prepared for there to be so much humour in the work - although it does get pretty gruesome later on. After viewing the Tapestry we also explored the accompanying museum which explained its making and the whole 1066 story in great detail and from the Norman perspective. Perhaps not everything I was told at school was true! This museum also has a very good short film and I loved the tiny models of contemporary landscapes and the full size replica of a Norman boat. I can't imagine trying to cross the Channel effectively in a big canoe - with horses!

Bayeux Tapestry detail 

St Jean Pla De Corts to Amelie Les Bains - a superb cycle route

An overcast start that turned into another glorious day and we took

advantage of it today to cycle from our St Jean Pla De Corts campsite all the way to Amelie Les Bains, a distance (we think) of about 14km each way and almost entirely on the Voie Verte which is the superb cycle route we followed in the opposite direction on Tuesday. There's apparently over 300km of this particular route in total.

We joined the Voie Verte a few minutes from the campsite and were immediately taken away from all the traffic on a bicycle and pedestrian only path that leads out into the countryside. We passed the Chateau d'Aubiry again and it isn't possible to get close enough for a decent phone photo, but Wikipedia has a good picture. The route surface is mostly newish tarmac or concrete and, other than a few very steep inclines away from fords and the like, it is practically flat. We got to the next town, Ceret, far quicker than we thought we would so decided to extend our ride to Amelie Les Bains. We paused for a few photographs in Ceret though.

There is a trio of bridges over the majestic river Tech in Ceret. This

Three bridges in Ceret 

photograph is actually taken from the most interesting of the three - the 14th century Pont Du Diable which at the time of its construction in the 1320s was the largest bridge arch in the world. The arch is an incredible 45.45 metres across and 22.3 metres high. These days it is only open to pedestrians and cyclists with other traffic being directed across the much newer, 1939, bridge next door. The third one in the picture is for the railway which was completed in 1883. An information board by the Pont Du Diable displayed a painting by Auguste Herbin who visited Ceret in the 1910s and 1920s. To be honest, if it hadn't been for the board's location and description I would not have recognised the bridge (or even that it was a bridge!). We plan to return to Ceret to see more of the art trail around town and also to visit their Modern Art museum.

The Voie Verte uses a dismantled railway line for much of its distance

Pont de 19 Aout 1944 

between Ceret and Amelie Les Bains. I didn't like cycling across the old railway bridges as they were high with low fencing either side! At one point the route goes through this Pont du 19 Aout 1944 which you can see in the background behind its memorial plaque and stone to the Resistance fighters who confronted a convoy of German trucks here. The link above goes to a French blog talking about the bridge. We didn't know to look for the bullet holes until I began researching information back at home.

Parts of this bit of the journey were suddenly very cold as we found ourselves under the cliff face. I don't think the sun gets high enough to warm the air there at any time of day in winter!

Once in Amelie Les Bains, we stopped on a sunny bench to enjoy our apples and ham sandwich before visiting the Tourist Office for yet more walking maps and the Post Office for a few stamps. We treated ourselves to a coffee too, but didn't have any proper exploration time as we had to start our return journey to guarantee being home before dusk. I must put those lights on my bike! I need to do a bit of servicing on it too. We had to stop during our last ride as one of my front brake pads came loose, and today the spring that holds the centre fold together came undone. I thought the bike felt a bit odd for a while - it was trying to separate in the middle!

Dave zooming ahead! 

Little Women at Lindfield Arts Festival / Narrow Road To The Deep North by Richard Flanagan / Glorious Apollo by E Barrington

Before I get on to my latest two book reviews, I would like

to offer a brief preview of a literary stage adaptation that is coming to Lindfield, West Sussex next weekend. The excellent Barefoot Players will be performing Little Women, based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott, on the evening of September 20th as part of the annual Lindfield Arts Festival. I have been to several Barefoot Players plays in the past and always enjoy their mix of physical theatre and sympathetic story interpretation.

"A heart warming tale that has remained popular in readers' hearts for generations and now its time to see the story come to life. Remaining true to the books Little Women and Good Wives, the Barefoot players production brings a sense of tradition and tenderness to the stage with touching and comical performances from the cast."

Tickets are available from SWALK on Lindfield High Street, from Carousel Music on Commercial Square in Haywards Heath, and on the door.


The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Buy the ebook from Amazon.co.uk
Buy the paperback from The Book Depository
Buy the paperback from Waterstones

I have been looking forward to reading The Narrow Road To The Deep North since Dave got it for his Kindle ( which of course means I get to share it via Amazon's Family Library setting). I enjoyed my Audible download of The Unknown Terrorist, also by Richard Flanagan, and expected this story to grip me in a similar way. Instead, I found Narrow Road a much more difficult and impenetrable novel and not simply because of its horrifying Burma Railroad scenes.

We follow the life of an Australian doctor, Dorrigo Evans, who leaves the love of his life, Amy, when he goes off to war. Dorrigo and his men surrender to the Japanese who treat them as less than slaves and Dorrigo must try to keep as many alive as possible in a situation of desperate privation, neglect and overwork. Flanagan's writing is brutally graphic and honest about the suffering of not only the Australian POWs, but also the men and women of many other nationalities who were enslaved by the Japanese army.

Strangely, I was unable to feel the same powerful style throughout the earlier and later parts of the book. Dorrigo is never a particularly likeable person and while his marriage is essentially a sham, on his part at least, I wasn't convinced by his supposedly passionate affair with Amy either. Overly repetitive writing didn't help and perhaps the problem is just too many years being covered. I am glad to have read The Narrow Road To The Deep North and it is an ok book, but not the great novel for which I had hoped.


Glorious Apollo: A Novel of Lord Byron by E Barrington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Buy the ebook from Amazon.co.uk

I received a copy of Glorious Apollo from its publishers, Endeavour Press, as a thank you gift for signing up to their email newsletter. I am counting the book as my 1920s read for the Goodreads / Bookcrossing Decade Challenge.

Originally published in 1928 and now being republished, the novel is a fictionalised biography of the troubled poet Lord Byron. I think the work must have been scanned somehow as occasional letter parts are missing where perhaps the early print had faded, but I didn't have any trouble identifying what these words should have been.

It did take me a couple of chapters to get into Barrington's vintage writing style which seems unnecessarily verbose compared to modern-day novels. However, once I had got the hang of it, this actually helped with creating the period atmosphere. There are frequent allusions to classical and mythical figures and Shakespearean characters too, several of which I am sure passed me by completely but would add greater depth to the tale when recognised. Barrington has used the known facts of Byron's adult life as a framework and has then imagined conversations and interactions. A few genuine poems and letters are included and I did like that each chapter starts with a brief relevant poetry fragment. Characterisation is wonderful and I enjoyed reading the desperate hysterics of Caroline Lamb, the scheming of Lady Melbourne and the stoicism of Anne Byron. At times, our supposed hero, Byron himself, seemed to take second place to the women in his life. Glorious Apollo isn't the easiest of reads, but is a rewarding novel. Now I just need to find a Byron poetry collection so I can understand all the references!


View all my reviews on Stephanie Jane or on Goodreads

The Polish Officer by Alan Furst / A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride / Fade To Black by Tim McBain and L T Vargus

The Polish Officer by Alan Furst
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Buy the ebook from Amazon.co.uk
Buy the paperback from The Book Depository
Buy the paperback from Waterstones

The Polish Officer by Alan Furst was recommended and a copy given to us by our friend Dave Dyke. Set across Second World War Europe, the novel follows the activities of a Polish former-cartographer, Alexander de Milja, who has been recruited into their intelligence services.

I appreciated Furst's detailed descriptions of the towns and cities to which de Milja is sent. The atmosphere often almost crackled with tension and I was interested to read of the beginnings of the war from a non-British viewpoint. I have always been encouraged to believe that Britain leapt into the fray as soon as Poland fell, and it was only the Americans who dithered. It would seem that we weren't exactly quick off the mark ourselves. Furst cleverly includes fascinating minutiae without slowing the pace of his tale - how to locate a wireless operator, why peasant women might be paid to collect rags - which adds to the convincing authenticity and from a historical point of view, I very much enjoyed this book.

My problem with it was our protagonist, de Milja. Most of the other characters are static, while de Milja travels constantly, so we only meet them briefly and I found it difficult to gain much sense of them as real people. De Milja often doesn't know much of their backstory so neither do we. Unfortunately, de Milja doesn't give away much about himself either. In order to succeed in his new career and identities, he needs to be aloof which makes him difficult to empathise with. And the deeper he gets, the more detached he becomes. By the time we get to Russia, I wasn't actually bothered about him at all and had no emotional involvement remaining in the story. As it turned out, this was a good thing because the story just stops, presumably to be continued in a sequel, which is one of my real pet hates! Authors: please write proper endings!

A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Buy the audiobook download from Audible via Amazon.co.uk
Buy the paperback from The Book Depository
Buy the audiobook from Waterstones.

The Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction 2015 has recently been announced which seemed like the perfect time for me to get around to the 2014 winner, A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride. I have read that it took ages and plenty of refused submissions before McBride found herself a publisher and I can understand that in a way. This is not an easy novel, not in its language or in its subject matter. I think that it is brilliant though!

I downloaded A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing from Audible as an audiobook and believe that this is the perfect way to experience this book. As I already mentioned, the language is not easy. It is written from the point of view of an unnamed young woman who speaks directly to the reader as though she was actually speaking - confessing or recounting - so there are stops and starts, part sentences, abrupt exclamations - at times it could even be poetry. This all makes perfect sense when actually narrated, especially as my audiobook was narrated by McBride herself, but I think it could be extremely hard work to follow as prose. If my review tempts you to try this book yourself, get spoken word!

McBride sweeps many themes into her work. This is an angry scream of a novel encompassing child abuse, rape, the insanity and hypocrisy of religious fanaticism and the intense pain of losing the person we love most. The central family is fractured and violently dysfunctional, yet keep returning to each other despite the pain and guilt this incurs. McBride has written perhaps the most realistic literary portrayal of a rape I have ever encountered and completely understands the self-destruction of her protagonist. Practically every character is shocking, believably real, and I am sure that A Girl will be a novel I will think back to repeatedly over the coming weeks. It requires effort and emotional strength from its readers (and listeners), but is well worth the time put in. An outrageously powerful book.


Fade to Black by Tim McBain and L T Vargus
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Buy the ebook from Amazon.co.uk
Buy the paperback from The Book Depository

I have already read one McBain and Vargus novel, Casting Shadows Everywhere, and thought it good enough that, when I saw a box set of their new Awake In The Dark trilogy on sale at 99p as a newsletter promotion, I would give it a try. The first in the trilogy is Fade To Black.

I enjoyed the beginning with its graphic and detailed description of what might be real or might be a bizarre dream as our hero, the implausibly named Jeff Grobnagger, finds himself hanging by his ankle and needing to escape from a hooded murderer. Again. Unfortunately, this is as good as it gets and I struggled to get more from the book. Jeff's backstory is tragic, but only stated and not really explored in his character. He repeatedly tells us he is a loner, yet clings to a new-found friend, Glenn, who doesn't really have a character but seems to exist to explain philosophical ideas to the reader. He makes lots of long speeches!

For a short novella length book, a fair bit of the prose is repetitive, but it's nicely written for an easy read with no indie-curse typos (although chapter 17 is repeated). However, I didn't like the frequent plot holes and several scenes stop rather than end - at one point gunshots are fired through Jeff's windows. Then he arrives at Glenn's house. How did Jeff escape? Weren't the villains waiting for him to exit? Was it just a random drive-by? More attention I think needs to be paid to flow as the pace varies from chapter to chapter and the story often jumps forward with minimal, if any, explanation. Then the whole thing stops, abruptly, and that's the end of Fade To Black.

I am sure that pertinent details are set to be revealed in the rest of the trilogy and beyond into at least a fourth book so far. This is probably why Fade To Black is effectively just a prologue and not a story in its own right. However, I am irritated enough by the assumption that, having started a series, readers will obediently shell out for several books in order to get one complete story, that I probably won't bother reading even the rest of what I already have. Disappointing.


View all my reviews on Stephanie Jane or on Goodreads