CHAIR: Hello, everyone and welcome to the tenth meeting of our discussion group; and I'd like to extend a particularly warm welcome to Heather, who's joining us for the first time. Heather, I think you'll find us a, a, a, a friendly bunch, err, so just feel free to jump in with whatever thoughts you may have, don't be shy. We do argue hard, sometimes, but we're all here for the love of art and literature.
[Light chuckles, and general murmurings of approval from ARTHUR, and JUDITH. HEATHER smiles nervously.]
So this week's selection was, for my money, one of the finest of the novels we have discussed so far, but of course that's open to our usual healthy debate! Arthur, the narrative from the point of view of the central character was particularly moving, would you agree?
ARTHUR: [Brief thought] I did react very strongly to the coming of age story; there was a great sense of regret, and self-sacrifice as they tried unsuccessfully to define their role in a society so dominated by the powerful antagonistic influences on every side.
JUDITH: Mmmm. The depth of character was exemplary. All the actions were so raw and provocative. Pained, at times - one felt a palpable sense of not being able to break free, to communicate with the world at large.
HEATHER: Yeah, especially in chapter 4.
CHAIR: Chapter 4...?
HEATHER: The, err, the...
[Blank looks all round]
The aggressive, err, congress.
[Still blank]
The rape.
ARTHUR: Oh. I suppose there may have been a subtle suggestion of -
HEATHER: Not that subtle. Chapter 4. Really...rapy.
JUDITH: OK, OK, what I think Heather is trying to say, is that she felt the narrator's emotional boundaries were being violated... [Nods from CHAIR and ARTHUR]
[HEATHER has been flipping through the book and reads aloud]
Heather: "Chapter 4. Chrystal had thought about phoning her mother all morning. She looked at the phone, considering that awkward call. But then Rod f**ked her up the arse."
CHAIR: Do I take it you detect a metaphorical suggestion of...
HEATHER: No. No, not metaphorical. Gynaecological. At times, biologically unfeasible.
ARTHUR: We might be in danger of focussing too deeply on one passage -
HEATHER: [Flicking on a few pages, then reading] "Chrystal thought about quiet Sundays with her grandfather in the Rhonda valley. The musty smell of his pipe, the low murmur of Songs Of Praise on the television, the moist battenburg and the milky tea. Then she stopped, because she was being raped. Again."
CHAIR: I, err, I must admit, I don't recall every detail - when one reads a book in a week, one must necessarily swallow it whole without tasting every flavour. I think Dr Johnson said something similar.
ARTHUR: Quite. Can we not move on from one little event in Chapter...4 was it? I confess I don't recall it, either, and I feel we're missing an important overview.
HEATHER: Chapter 4, yes. And 6. 7,8,9. Twice in 10 and 11. No rape in 12, granted, but she does suck off that Iranian midget.
JUDITH: I'll be honest, I don't remember any of that.
HEATHER: Aaaagh! What's wrong with you people? It's rape crazy, this book. Rape rape rape like there's no tomorrow. How can you not have noticed the almost incessant rape? Every third word is "rape"! And most of the others are "anal". It's all about bloody rape!
CHAIR: [Pause] Well. Strong words, there. Perhaps, Heather, it would be best if we could avoid too much, um, um ,um, tension on your first meeting; perhaps we might leave this discussion for another day. Let's open the wine and move on to tonight's film. Arthur?
ARTHUR: Yes, quite. I have here a spanking new print of the classic Battleship Potemkin. What say you we settle down and watch this masterpiece one more time?
[Agreement all round]
HEATHER: OK. Sorry about all that.
CHAIR: No problem. Eisenstein's editing is just incredible.
[Sound of film starting on unseen TV screen. Gulls and sea sounds. Suddenly, they are overlaid by wah wah guitar, and we hear two men grunting, clearly having bad gay porn sex]
SAILOR: [On DVD, Russian accent] I'm going to rape you Ivan, you dirty sailor.
HEATHER: Oh, this is ridiculous! [She leaves in a huff. The others shrug and carry on watching, we hear the sounds of rough sex, lots of grunting and physical movement]
SAILOR 2: [On DVD, Russian accent] Ugh! Take me, Kirov! Oh, Kirov, watch out for that pram. [Clattering noise]