For some reason, I took great comfort towards the end of December in non-fiction writing, and I followed up my reading of the very pithy George Orwell anthology with another slim volume of John Berger’s writing. Entitled “and our faces, my heart, brief as photos”, it was originally published in 1984, although my edition is a 2005 reprint. In much the same way “Confabulations“, it’s a bit of a pot pourri of a book; combining poetry with meditations on art, mortality, love and the distance from a lover, it’s a heady mix and one which chimed in with my mood as well as occupying my mind and heart for some days.
This is where stories began, under the aegis of that multitude of stars which at night filch certitudes and sometimes return them as faith. Those who first invented and then named the constellations were storytellers. Tracing an imaginary line between a cluster of stars gave them an image and an identity. The stars threaded on the line were like events threaded on a narrative. Imagining the constellations did not of course change the stars, nor did it change the black emptiness that surrounds them. What it changed was the way people read the night sky.
Berger’s writings are often eclectic and hard to define; he’s not an author who you can summarise easily and this is not a book where you can give any kind of ‘plot summary’. Instead, it’s perhaps best regarded as some kind of ‘commonplace book’, collecting together poems, fragments of autobiography, thoughts on art or the natural world and extended meditations on the nature of time. This latter element, of course, formed the subject of Berger’s final book for Notthing Hill Editions, which I reviewed here; and it seems to be something which constantly exercised his mind. Certainly our concept and understanding of time has changed over the centuries, and it was fascinating reading Berger’s thoughts on the topic.
Central to the book is love , of course, and Berger contemplates somewhat elliptically an affair in which he is involved. We never know with whom, why they’re separated and whether the love endured; but the passages Berger addresses to the unknown other are moving and lyrical (like all of his writing) and allow a strangely intimate look at the affair even though we’re kept at a distance.
Berger was, of course, a political animal with a deep distrust of authority and this element is present in the narrative. He had a great sympathy with those struggle to make change for the better and it does seem that little has changed since this book was first published.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries most direct protests against social injustice were in prose. They were reasoned arguments written in the belief that, given time, people would come to see reason, and that, finally, history was on the side of reason. Today this is not by no means clear. The outcome is by no means guaranteed. The suffering of the present and the past is unlikely to be redeemed by a future era of universal happiness. And evil is a constant ineradicable reality.
In the end this book is probably unclassifiable, and that’s fine by me. I love Berger’s books of meditations, full of thought provoking writing, lyrical and meditative. Though written many years ago, like Orwell, Berger’s words contain thoughts which are still relevant, and reading through the book I constantly felt I was encountering little nuggets of truth and meaning.
The poet places language beyond the reach of time: or, more accurately, the poet approaches language as if it were a place, an assembly point, where time has no finality, where time itself is encompassed and contained.
Although he was a very different kind of thinker and writer to Orwell, Berger shared the same distrust of those in power and the same anger at the suffering of those being controlled. An odd pairing of books to start of the year with, maybe, but I was in need of writing which took me away from the everyday horrors and convinced me that the words of thinking people were still there to reassure. “and our faces…” did just that and will find a welcome place amongst my growing pile of Berger’s books!
Cathy746books
Jan 09, 2020 @ 10:28:46
I’m a big fan of John Berger, particularly Ways of Seeing. I haven’t read this one, but it sounds just as good!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 09, 2020 @ 11:22:19
I love his work too, though I’ve yet to read my copy of Ways… Something I can save for a rainy day! His writing is just so good.
Linda
Jan 09, 2020 @ 15:17:09
I haven’t read his writings, but this sounds really good!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 09, 2020 @ 15:45:36
I can’t recommend his books highly enough – his writing is lyrical and so thought-provoking. Love him! 😀
JacquiWine
Jan 09, 2020 @ 19:34:47
I keep looking at Ways of Seeing in the shop and thinking I ought to read it, particularly as it’s considered such a classic. Based on your commentary, I can certainly understand why Berger holds such strong appeal for you.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 09, 2020 @ 20:48:51
I must get round to Ways, really, being such a Berger fan! I do love lyrical, thought-provoking writing and that seems to sum up Berger! 😀
heavenali
Jan 09, 2020 @ 19:56:17
This sounds like a good collection of pieces. I’m glad you were able to enjoy more of John Berger’s writing.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 09, 2020 @ 20:48:09
It was – very beautiful and absorbing! 😀
1streading
Jan 09, 2020 @ 20:39:49
Berger sounds like such an interesting writer but I’ve yet to read him. Your unusual start to the year perhaps means that 2020 will be full of interesting discoveries – our reading tastes do change from year to year.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 09, 2020 @ 20:47:54
He is fascinating, and quite multi-faceted. I’ve only read one of his novels, but I loved it; and lots of his other books seem to cross genres which is fascinating. You’re right – our tastes do evolve and I’m wondering where 2020 will take me! 😀
cirtnecce
Jan 11, 2020 @ 05:55:52
I have never read Berger, but I must; such lyrical yet powerful prose!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 11, 2020 @ 14:02:13
He writes wonderfully, and always has so much to say. I do highly recommend him! 😀
Liz Dexter
Jan 11, 2020 @ 19:17:43
Sounds like a perfect read for you in these times, glad to see it!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 12, 2020 @ 11:54:24
It was indeed – I love his writing! 😀
madamebibilophile
Jan 12, 2020 @ 19:46:26
I love that final quote – so beautiful and so thought-provoking. Thanks for sharing Kaggsy 🙂
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 12, 2020 @ 19:49:27
Very welcome! It is lovely – he was such a thoughtful writer.
buriedinprint
Feb 03, 2020 @ 16:16:19
Some spells do seem more non-fiction-y, don’t they. Perhaps it has something to do with the freedom we are or aren’t feeling to join in the construction of the imagination. Mostly my reader’s heart belongs to fiction but, lately, when the news has been particularly challenging to attend to, I’ve felt I had to choose my stories very carefully, whereas picking up the non-fiction volume in the stack was less complicated somehow. (Even though it’s openly challenging and instructive material.) Berger is a gap in my reading experience, but I hope to remedy that before too long.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 03, 2020 @ 19:02:00
I think sometimes I just don’t want to engage with a fictional structure, a whole set of characters and what that entails. Sometimes I want someone to entrance me with something factual or something that stretches the imagination or pushes the boundary. Certain Berger does all that, and I can’t recommend him highly enough! 😀
“… a revolutionary transformation of the world.” #JohnBerger #TheLookOfThings | Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings
Dec 08, 2021 @ 07:00:59