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The Squire Quartet #3
Remembrance Day
Four people are killed by an IRA bomb in a Great Yarmouth hotel in the the mid-Eighties. Five years later an American academic sets out to test his theory that their deaths were not random but in some way pre-ordained.
It was a small bomb in a small hotel, but the conceptual canvas of 'Remembrance Day' is a large one. By turns comic and sad, in true Aldiss fashion, and operating on a deceptively domestic scale, its cameos of the nature of disaster reflect global concerns.
It was a small bomb in a small hotel, but the conceptual canvas of 'Remembrance Day' is a large one. By turns comic and sad, in true Aldiss fashion, and operating on a deceptively domestic scale, its cameos of the nature of disaster reflect global concerns.
Paperback
First published July 7, 1993
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About the author
Brian W. Aldiss
834 books672 followersPseudonyms: Jael Cracken, Peter Pica, John Runciman, C.C. Shackleton, Arch Mendicant, & "Doc" Peristyle.
Brian Wilson Aldiss was one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He wrote his first novel while working as a bookseller in Oxford. Shortly afterwards he wrote his first work of science fiction and soon gained international recognition. Adored for his innovative literary techniques, evocative plots and irresistible characters, he became a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1999.
Brian Aldiss died on August 19, 2017, just after celebrating his 92nd birthday with his family and closest friends.
Brian W. Aldiss Group on Good Reads
Brian Wilson Aldiss was one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He wrote his first novel while working as a bookseller in Oxford. Shortly afterwards he wrote his first work of science fiction and soon gained international recognition. Adored for his innovative literary techniques, evocative plots and irresistible characters, he became a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1999.
Brian Aldiss died on August 19, 2017, just after celebrating his 92nd birthday with his family and closest friends.
Brian W. Aldiss Group on Good Reads
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 3, 2017
Author Brian Aldiss begins this book with an introduction stating that this novel is the least liked of the Squire Quartet. He suggests the plot was to complex, offers that perhaps there were too many characters. I'd suggest another reason. The book just isn't very good. Nominally the novel is an exploration of a group of characters who end up at the site of a terrorist bombing… The novel is bookended with the thoughts of a researcher exploring the notion that some individuals attract misery. One couple in the novel is eternally cash poor and yet the husband hates to ask someone to repay a debt. Another character is trying to fix a marriage that Aldriss seems to suggest is unfixable. The theme then becomes do people make conscious choices that lead to unhappiness.
This is my fourth Aldiss novel and I think I’ve finally come to grips with his writing style. Aldiss is more of an ideas writer. His novels don’t necessarily have a plot, but generally if you stay with them there are moments of such power you feel compelled to read on. I never had that sort of moment with Remembrance Day. In hindsight- perhaps the problem the novel has is embedded in the theme. Are miserable people really the sort of people you want to spend hundreds of pages reading? Perhaps. But not in a novel so meandering and unfocused.
This is my fourth Aldiss novel and I think I’ve finally come to grips with his writing style. Aldiss is more of an ideas writer. His novels don’t necessarily have a plot, but generally if you stay with them there are moments of such power you feel compelled to read on. I never had that sort of moment with Remembrance Day. In hindsight- perhaps the problem the novel has is embedded in the theme. Are miserable people really the sort of people you want to spend hundreds of pages reading? Perhaps. But not in a novel so meandering and unfocused.
November 14, 2015
Book 3 of the Squire Quartet. This one has characters from the first 2 books as minor characters in it. Still not SF and a bit contrived.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews