My Holiday Reading ‘Tangent Style’
Book review 1: Mother of Invention by Katrine Marçal
Introduction
I love reading on holiday, it’s one of my favourite things to do, whilst periodically staring out at the ocean to contemplate what I’ve just read, and ponder on the bigger questions of life… or the smaller things like… whether that paddle board is actually moving forwards or backwards.
So I thought a holiday reading book review style post might be fun, so I can share any good finds with you and help steer you away from those that aren’t quite so brilliant.
I must admit the thought of writing a ‘book review’ gave me a slight whiff of a school ‘book report’, accompanied by an uneasy feeling that I should have already handed it in yesterday.
These are my first book reviews, and of course, before I actually started writing them, I imagined it would only be a short while after their release before The London Review of Books or The New Yorker would be clambering for my attention.
But alas, no sooner had I sat down to write about the first book, I immediately went off on several tangents explaining the ‘why’ to you, before the ‘what’, and before I knew where I was, I felt myself getting misty eyed for previous cars that I’ve owned… which won’t surprise you to learn, has nothing whatsoever to do with the book I’m supposed to be reviewing.
So if you’re expecting literary criticism here, you’re in the wrong place, but you knew that, so let’s just get on with the why’s, wherefore’s and wramblings1, and I promise to include at least one paragraph at the end to let you know if the book was worth a read or not.
One more spot of housekeeping, is that my original intention was to put all three books in one post, but having written the first one, it weighed in at over 1,000 words and I expect you would drift off before the end of a 3,000 word post (I certainly would!) so I’ve split them into one book per post.
My plan is to then release them in quick succession (one every other day), so we don’t lose the overall thread, and that will also give you the chance to decide quickly, upon receiving each one, whether you think it’s going to be your cup of tea or not, without having to scroll down scanning the post for a more interesting book.
Don’t bother, there won’t be, just read or bin, simple as.
On to Book No.1 (of 3)…
Setting the scene
As I jumped in my car, belted up and set off for my pre-holiday book shopping session a couple of weeks ago, a thought struck me as the seatbelt brushed the middle of my neck… as bloody usual…
“I wonder if the seatbelt starting height is designed with men in mind, not women?”
Just to be clear, at 5ft 5.5 inches, I’m of average height for a European woman.
Additionally, I would consider my car to be particularly ‘girly’, in that it’s a tiny 2-seater Mazda MX5-RF (in Nail Varnish Red… which I believe the manufacturer calls ‘Soul Red’, but what do they know).
Mr.D just about fits into it, and if he was much taller his head would touch the ceiling. Yet, despite me surmising that this car is ‘women sized’ the seatbelt is anchored too high up… like every other car.
I believe the majority of drivers of this type of car are women. I know this because we wave at each other as we pass… like Barbie.
Male drivers of this car also wave, but it’s more of a ‘fingers extending off the steering wheel’, than an actual wave… the same as a gesture of thanks when you let someone through, rather than the full hand-shaking wave that women use at each other, which implies:
“I know! Aren’t we lucky to drive this cute little car, it’s so impractical, but it has a button for the roof, so hooray!”
At least that’s what I’m trying to imply with my frenzied wave.
I used to drive an MG Midget and the same thing happened with MG owners and the waving, but my last car was a very standard VW Polo which was bereft of such highway entertainment.
I guess Polo drivers don’t want to draw attention to themselves.
Or in my case I was probably too busy grappling with the manual window winder (no automatic button, imagine!) to notice anyone gesticulating at me.
It’s also worth noting that I drove that car for 17.5 years… which I think makes up for my daily bathing antics on the saving the planet front. 😉
Getting back to the point… every car I’ve ever had, and most that I’ve been a passenger in, the seatbelt aligns with my neck, rather than my shoulder.
Sometimes, I position the seatbelt behind my shoulder, so it doesn’t cut into my neck, which probably defeats the point of it, but, hey, it’s really annoying.
After some research, it turns out Male-Centric Testing is a thing!
Crash tests historically use dummies modelled on the 50th-percentile male (175 cm or 5’ 7.5”), leading to belts that fit this height optimally. Women and taller/shorter individuals often experience suboptimal positioning.
I knew it!
So imagine my surprise when, only a few minutes later, I stumbled across this book in my favourite ‘Clever Thinking’ section of my local Waterstones bookshop…
Mother of Invention by Katrine Marçal
I was immediately drawn to it, what a coincidence!
My usual book shopping methodology is to read the blurb on the back, then if I still like what I see, I will start reading the actual book from page 1, or the introduction whatever comes first.
If after 2-3 pages I want to read more, I buy the book.
Many a time have I been caught out by the prose on the back cover, only to find that the writing inside is actually pretty dull, so I now like to get a feel for the actual author, rather than just the marketing department before purchase.
‘Mother of Invention’ kicks off with this powerhouse of a statement:
“In which we invent the wheel and, after 5,000 years, manage to attach it to a suitcase.”
Love it, I’m in!
By the end of page two I had learned that this ‘crazy’ suitcase innovation had also taken place AFTER the moon landings!
Bloody hell! Are you kidding me?
Why wasn’t that modification done long before? It seems so obvious with hindsight.
Surprisingly, the idea didn’t take off immediately due to a heady combination of male ego and the portering economy.
And when it finally did, the poor chap had a hard time convincing anyone there was even a market for it.
This was probably due to the Mark 1 version needing a bit more design time… as it had the two wheels on the narrower side of the suitcase, and a leather handle to pull it along… which of course meant it kept falling over. 😂
After which they realised that putting the wheels on the wider side, and teaming them with a rigid handle made a lot more sense.
The concept was still seen as a tough sell, and they didn’t become popular until the late 1970’s when Air Hostesses were seen glamorously whizzing their Trolley Dollies across gleaming airport concourses.
This is thought to be one of the reasons why women started travelling more on their own from that point in history.
Imagine limiting your travel because you needed a man to lug your heavy suitcase about?! Seems madness in today’s world, but back then it was the reality.
This book is full of lots of stories like that, which I really enjoyed reading about, and also helps fuel holiday dinnertime conversations with new topics.
You can only spend so much time speculating on who Office-Slut was obviously having an affair with (it definitely wasn’t the person she was on holiday with), and on which day Burnt-Guy would finally admit defeat and go and sit in the shade! 😉
It manages to not get too preachy and anti-men, just pro common sense which helps everyone.
Would highly recommend!
You’re welcome.
K8x
PS: Up next is Floor Sample by Julia Cameron.
Join in the comments below:
What’s was your last holiday read?
Have you noticed anything that you think could do with a female redesign?
Have you ever stayed in a hotel room which has a well lit mirror, outside of the bathroom? I have, but only once, it’s a constant bug bear. 😂
Thank you for being here, please ❤️ (below) if you enjoyed this piece, it really helps others find it.
Misspelling intended.
Hilarious! I’ve had every one of those thoughts (I’m only 5’2” height) and love little red cars — fiats are so cute — and I’ve admired what I call “candy apple red” that Mazda created, or as you say, “nail varnish red”. Gonna check out this book… Mother of Invention. Thanks Kate!