First things first - in a possibly futile attempt to revive the book club & hence to avoid constant ribbing from "she who must be obeyed" about our generally piss poor efforts at reading, I humbly offer up the book below. It was very warmly received on a review I heard on the radio, it seems our sort of book:
Measuring the World, by Daniel Kehlmann.
A book about marvels that is marvellous in the telling. Out of a seemingly unpromising scenario - two great scientists working in Germany in the early 19th century - Daniel Kehlmann weaves a hugely entertaining story that is also deeply thought-provoking. He writes with a witty, deadpan sort of style that reminded me a bit of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days; there is also a degree of sadness at the end - the book has a melancholic undercurrent. Humboldt and Gauss, the two heroes of the novel, are very different characters involved in very different types of scientific exploration (all of which is perfectly readable to a layman like me with little understanding of mathematics!), yet through these differences Kehlmann explores a time when scientific discoveries we take for granted today were still new, and makes us think about things that are still highly relevant today - not least the issue of fame and celebrity. The writing is wonderful, the characterisation superb, and the fusion of good story, thought-provoking ideas and human experience makes it a winner. A novel that shows you can be literary and intelligent while still being very readable and fun!
More importantly.....Kidneys!!!!
Last week some cove was banged up for trying to sell one of his kidneys(he had the foresight to realise that selling both could have its downside).
Now I don't want to appear as a Daily Mail reader, but why can't he sell a kidney? I know in this case there was more than a whiff of a suggestion that he was going to grab the money without producing the offal, but the principle!! Why can't I flog a kidney, it must be worth a few bob, I've looked after it well and its had one careful owner! Its all to do with the sale of tissue Act(approx), so where does it stop. Can I sell a fingernail on ebay without getting my collar felt? I've sold my whole body before round the back of King's Cross, but that's another stor
Stuff altruistic gestures on behalf of ailing relatives, I would want hard cash for my giblets, but due to this stupid Act I can't do it.
I think my first step is to try to get at the artist(name escapes me) who transfused a few gallons of his own blood (over several months) & turned it in to a sculpture(frozen) of his own head. He sold it to Saatchi, who allegedly ended up with a sticky mess on the floor after an electrician turned it off!!
Now several gallons of blood has got to be worse than one measly kidney even if it is a first offence.
Therefore I call on the WNDC to march on Parliament to reclaim the right to sell as many bits as we are willing to part with!
Cry Harry etc!!!!
