I read a lot of books that I enjoy. I’m pretty good at curating my reads and not picking books I’ll hate. But the ones that make me feel something deep don’t end up on my radar very often. From the description of this one, I didn’t really expect it to. I read the blurb and had a picture in my mind, but the book was so much more than I thought!

About the Book

It’s 1975. Bright, dissatisfied teenager Stella Tranter wants to learn about big things: philosophy, great art, love. Her quest leads her to the select ‘Enlightenment Cub’ and the charismatic Dr Stanislas Licht. And to trouble.

Thrown out of college, she continues her search in London. Is she really cut out for being a part-time roadie for a punk band fronted by her outrageous sister? Probably not, but being her, she gives it a go.

Her ultimate goals continue to elude her, however, and she decides to settle for a quiet life with a well-meaning but slightly dull Bobby. But memories of the Enlightenment Club haunt her, whispering that she must find more, do more, learn more, be more… When she meets Alex, a talented, lonely, experimental composer, she knows she must break free. But at what cost? Passion, it soon turns out, can exact a terrible price.

This is a book about dreams and how tough it can be to fulfill them. It is about identity, aspiration, and change. It is about music and its power to inspire (but also, maybe, to mislead).

Prizewinning author DJ Taylor has described it as ‘delicately written, with big themes boiling away beneath the surface.

My Thoughts

It’s hard to describe books, movies, etc., without spoiling the storyline, and I don’t enjoy doing that. What I will tell you is that I know I’m not the only one in my generation or the next who feels the sense of wanderlust and dissatisfaction that emanates throughout this book. We didn’t expect things to turn out this way, and we’re doing our best here.

I went back and forth on Stella. I think I related to her too much, and I saw too much of myself in her. At times, I thought her unhappiness stemmed from her own bad decisions, but then I remembered when my Momma told me that at some point, you have to give up your dreams for your kids. And it made me so mad. I didn’t think that was fair or true. But I find myself in that situation to some degree. What my Momma actually said was dreams change as you get older. But the real problem is that for some of us, they do NOT, and we end up with some big heaping piles of existential dread! Doomed to repeat the cycles of chasing those dreams over and over.

And this book portrays that better than anything I’ve ever seen in my life. I don’t know if that’s what Mr. West was going for, but I felt it in my soul. And I felt understood and seen. I’m so grateful to the author and LBT for including me in this tour!

Also, if you’re a music lover, there are quite a few shout-outs for various types of music on these pages. Everything from punk to various types of rock and roll, and quite a bit of love for classical music!

Who’s It For?

If you’ve ever been disenchanted by life, wondering what it’s all about – this might be a good read for you. If you’ve wandered through thinking, “There has to be something else, right?” Pick this one up. And if you miss the days of “enlightenment” from the free-thinking days of college/university, you’ll enjoy this jaunt down memory lane. Or, it might be a nostalgic kick in the bum that is horridly painful. It could go either way.

Content Warnings: Infidelity, Divorce, Suicidal Ideation/Attempt, Nihilism, Verbal Domestic Violence/Abuse, Existential Dread, Adult Language, Adult Situations

About the Author

(From the Author)

Two of the greatest interests in my life are psychology and history. I have been fortunate enough to write about both.

I studied counselling at Norwich City College in the 1990s, and was particularly intrigued by Transactional Analysis and the Karpman Drama Triangle – about which I have recently written a book, ‘The Karpman Drama Triangle Explained’, as I felt there was not a clear introduction available to this fascinating model of human behaviour.

I have written history since around 2010. My most recent history book is ‘Landslide! How Big Ideas win Big Majorities (and have done for the last 120 years)’, and ‘Eurovision! – a History of Modern Europe through the World’s Greatest Song Contest’ (I’ve been a Eurovision fan since seeing the UK’s Sandie Shaw pad to victory in 1967.) A third edition Eurovision! has just come out in time for this year’s contest.

I also write on business, especially entrepreneurship. The Beermat Entrepreneur has become something of a classic in its genre. I co-authored it with a successful start-up founder, Mike Southon, in 2001, and a new edition came out in 2018. A new version of another joint work with Mike, ‘Sales on a Beermat’, is also available.

My first published writing was crime fiction, which I have always enjoyed reading. In the 1990s I wrote a series of crime novels set in mainland China – a first; nobody else was doing that at the time. The books are now being reissued as ebooks. Contemporary at the time, they are now almost historical. The 1990s were a special time in China.

I must admit that I tend to read classics more than modern literature. Especially the great C19 novelists like Tolstoy (despite current events) and George Eliot. I love the British tradition of humorous writing: I belong to the generation that grew up with Monty Python’s Flying Circus. And I like poetry of a rather old-fashioned kind that rhymes: Hardy, Larkin… I also grew up with pop songs and rock lyrics, where rhyme was expected.

Thanks for visiting my page. I have a website, www.chriswest.info if you want to find out more. Happy reading!

Links

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Enlightenment-Club-Bittersweet-Aspiration-Disappointment-ebook/dp/B0D5DRWDWH
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Enlightenment-Club-Bittersweet-Aspiration-Disappointment-ebook/dp/B0D5DRWDWH
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216767141-the-enlightenment-club