The breaking of eggs is a matter for debate

Jim Powell's novel The Breaking of Eggs provided fertile ground for a book group discussion at Sally J's on Wednesday evening. At a packed meeting (save for the member for Greece) everyone had a view on the narrative that unfolded, its credibility and historical perspective and the political discourse that is the real point of the book. It surprised no one that Powell had stood for parliament - one view is that the book is a device to allow him to rehearse philosophical arguments about the relative merits and demerits of two opposing political theories. The story, compelling as it is, is arguably in parts a political tract which highlights the dangers of dogmatism; in Feliks' case, his inability to form relationships and have a personal life was the price he paid for his political dogmatism. The deconstruction of his political views was painful for him and for the reader but of course, since there was a certain predictability about the story, resulted in a happy ending.

Some felt that the effectiveness of the narrative tone was patchy and we all agreed that there were some very obvious devices employed to allow the story to get to from A to B. So Woody was a crude portrayal of the American capitalist dream (although the overwhelming welcoming of a jetlagged Feliks by his plentiful family rang very true), letters and Woody's recitation of his story dominated the middle of the novel and there were some clunky decisions and connections in the narrative, necessary to make Feliks the island that he was; not all rang true. However, it is a thought provoking read and we had an interesting discussion about facts giving rise to differing views of reality.

And was it Stalin who first coined the term the breaking of eggs to make an omelette?  Alison's ipad leapt to the rescue to tell us that although it is commonly thought to be Stalin's phrase, it is in truth much older and is first attributed (presumably involving oeufs and casser) to Robespierre, appropriately, mastermind of the French Reign of Terror in the 1790s.