A Sailor of Austria: In Which, Without Really Intending to, Otto Prohaska Becomes Official War Hero No. 27 of the Habsburg Empire

Here's my review of A Sailor of Austria: In Which, Without Really Intending to, Otto Prohaska Becomes Official War Hero No. 27 of the Habsburg Empire (The Otto Prohaska Novels) by John Biggins

Rescue John Biggins From Undeserved Obscurity!, February 15, 2007

In 'Sailor of Austria', John Biggins introduced Otto Prohaska, captain of an Austro-Hungarian submarine during the Great War. The tale is told from Prohaska's perspective as a 100-year old resident of a nursing home in rural Wales. Surprised by the interest of a young worker at the home, Prohaska sets about recording his story. This 'looking back' perspective allows a modern sardonic narrative voice somewhat in the manner of Thomas Berger's Little Big Man.

The manner of telling is reminiscent of George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman: A Novel (Flashman), as others have remarked, but darker. At times the book is laugh-out-loud funny - particularly early in the book when the dire consequences of a submarine crew fed on rotten cabbage stew leads to a serendipitous result. Biggins gives the reader a convincing sense of life and death aboard the absurdly primitive WW I submarines.

As the book moves into the later stages of the war, humor takes a backseat and tragedy takes center stage. Biggins' remarkable description of the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire puts the reader amidst the shock and utter chaos of a crumbling world. And then the Spanish Flu makes its entrance.

It's exciting to see the renewed interest in John Biggins works, which were hardly big sellers when first published in 1991 but are now being brought back by McBooks Press. I was only recently put on to Biggins over on LibraryThing and the discovery's been one of those great unexpected experiences that come along only rare even to devoted readers.

Help rescue John Biggins from undeserved obscurity. The writing is really first-rate and so is the story. Highest recommendation.

A Rumpole Christmas

Here is my review of A Rumpole Christmas: Stories by the late John Mortimer.

Rumpole, One More Time, December 19, 2009

The very idea of reading A Rumpole Christmas evoked several responses: melancholy, because it is likely to be the last publication of more or less new stories from the pen of John Mortimer; a wry smile, because of the unlikely juxtaposition of Rumpole and Christmas; and gleeful hand-rubbing anticipation, because we get to read more Rumpole.

If you are reading this review, you probably know who Rumpole is. If not, I would suggest that start at the beginning: The First Rumpole Omnibus by John Mortimer. Technically, to start at the beginning you should watch the BBC shows from the 1970s starring the inimitable Leo McKern (Rumpole of the Bailey, Set 1 - The Complete Seasons 1 & 2). (I was unaware until very recently that the scripts for the BBC TV show actually preceded the books.)

This collection of stories (most previously published in magazines) is not the best of Rumpole, but they do feature genuine Horace, She Who Must Be Obeyed, Mr. Justice Gravestone, Soapy Sam Ballard, and a sprinkling of Timsons. One story here features an accused terrorist whom Rumpole agrees to defend - when the other barristers make excuses. Rumpole kept fighting the good fight usually with gentle humor and always with an insistence on the rights of each and every person facing the power of the government. So long old darling.

***