All of the Yard Things at Once

I know that many people view laundry as the endless task of all endless household chores, and most of the time I agree with them. But our house seems so full of other endless tasks — like dusting, or kitchen-based messes or feeding cats. I guess I have fallen into the absent-minded intellectual stereotype of having an acceptable amount of disorganization around me because my lovely spouse and I want to spend time reading or writing or studying film through a Criterion subscription.

I’m comforted by the simple fact that we so rarely have guests that it isn’t like our bit of household chaos is bothering anyone other than ourselves, but then June comes around and the yard beckons. Finding time to mow seems impossible. Finding time to garden seems even more impossible. I am besieged by guilt in the form of a yard bag of soil still sitting in the driveway. I can only hope that our very nice neighbours have some patience with the shaggy grass and wild golden rod. At least I’m helping the bees? One of the reasons I am so grateful for fall is that soon it will be winter and shovelling only takes twenty minutes at most.

This week we had to get everything (mowing, trimming, plant care) in the same afternoon. And what a very long afternoon that ended up being.

Another Lost Classic

Jack Hilton’s Caliban Shrieks was originally published in 1935, but, due to uncertainty in regards to the holder of the copyright for Hilton’s work, it hasn’t been republished until this year when finally the rights-limbo it was in could be resolved. Caliban Shrieks is just the first of the general plan to republish all of Hilton’s work over the next few years — and is a treat of another lost classic!

It’s so sad when it’s copyright that stands in between classics and the ability of subsequent generations to enjoy it. Intellectual rights are very important to protect and, when the oversights of the past either lead to a violation or lost paperwork, it’s so frustrating. In this case, the inability to find out who held these rights made it so that Hilton became a less well-known author over time — even while being a contemporary of George Orwell and sharing many of his themes, and bringing to his own work a firsthand knowledge that Orwell often lacked.

The Lost Generation

Caliban Shrieks has been described as somewhere between an autobiographical novel and a rant, and you know what? I actually agree with this statement. If you’re hunting for a straightforward novel with an easy-to-follow plot, you are looking for it in the wrong place. Though Hilton based the book on his life — detailing what it means to be working poor in England at the turn of the century — it does not follow his life in a straight line. The structure of the novel is more closely described as being short vignettes heavily interspersed with social commentary about problems plaguing the poor, such as homelessness, lack of employment, and lack of education.

Hilton also discusses his experiences in World War I and, more importantly, what happened to him once he returned and needed to fit back into English society. He describes a generation that is lost and searching for meaning in a world that has been ripped away from under them and then foisted back upon them in broken pieces.

Labour Rights

Most of the back half of Caliban Shrieks deals with labour rights and politics, and, while this forms an important statement about working conditions and the economics that both led to and prolonged the Great Depression — it’s not exactly riveting to read. I found the first half of the novel much more impactful because it had a solitary focus: Growing up in a family where money is scarce and periodic hunger is a foreboding reality. It felt like Hilton started to lose his focus the deeper he delved into his own adult life.

But, riveting or no, Caliban Shrieks is a vital piece of English interwar literature that I am glad has finally been able to be put back into print. I have no doubt that it will on many a university course syllabus this fall and for many years to come.

But How Long Will It Last?

I see from our various weather prediction sources that this week is going to be hot again and I am trying not to be disappointed by that. September is just not October and I need to stop expecting that it’s going to be October if I wish for it hard enough. I’ll have to start burying myself in spooky books and keep thinking cool thoughts.