Smorgasbord Book Reviews – #Biography – #Poetry – #Life – Daydreams and Narcoleptic Nightmares: Memoirs and Poems by John Cornelius Rogers

Delighted to share my review for the recently published biography by Sue. Bavey – a collection of stories, both fact and fiction and poetry written by her father – Daydreams and Narcoleptic Nightmares: Memoirs and Poems by John Cornelius Rogers. Having read and enjoyed the biography of her grandfather Lucky Jack I knew I would be in for a treat.

About the book

Imaginary snakes, Ouija board experiments, World War II and Nursing Home Sex Scandals.

John Cornelius Rogers, a narcoleptic war veteran, experienced emotions so strong they made him collapse. You would, too, if you discovered sex scandals in nursing homes, saw snakes come out of the wall while you were eating dinner, and uncovered a murder using a makeshift ouija board. Join John in the journey through his prose and poetry, silly and sad…

15% of the profits from sales of this book will be donated to the charity Narcolepsy UK.

“So enjoyed it including the poetry. A 5* from me.” – Judith Benson

“Rogers writes in a very engaging manner, witty, thoughtful and taut. I laughed out loud in several places, very keen eye for the absurd!” – Sally Beety

My review for the book 24th September 2022

This is a brilliant collection of stories and poems by John Cornelius Rogers, compiled and edited by his daughter Sue Bavey.

I felt I was sitting beside John as he shared stories from his childhood growing up in Sussex and then Lincoln in the 1920s. His memories are vivid and I laughed out loud at so many wry observations and would loved to have been around at the time, including when the family’s first car arrived.

The war brought enlistment in the Royal Air Force Voluntary Reserve where John was introduced to navigation, armaments, engineering and morse code before proceeding to flight training school. After war there was a posting to one of the worst hit cities Hamburg for a year which made for sombre reading, and left him with a feeling of sickening sadness at the devastation and loss of life.

John then went on to train as a teacher and taught in a school where classes had 49 non-reading 8 year olds undisciplined after the war years and determined not to be educated. A traumatic experience for all concerned.

In contrast, having been billeted in Scarborough during training, it was followed up by an eventful holiday in Scarborough with his wife and young daughter which came with some colourful nightlife! This story and many others were filled with such wonderful humour and it is hard to pick one out to highlight, but “Alfred – Not So Great” is brilliant.

We are also introduced to the two conditions that resulted in challenges in everyday life Narcolepsy and Cataplexy and it is inspiring that despite those challenges John still maintained his wonderful sense of humour and love of life.

Poetry is included between the stories but part two of the collection is dedicated to this form with observations on life and more humour including “An Unusual Talent”

If you mix with the poor, or the privileged elite
whether you travel the world or stay in your street,
The most unlikely attribute you ever will meet
is the gift of Les Blain and his musical feet.

I highly recommend this wonderful collection of poignant and entertaining reflections on a life well lived and on the social history of the 20th century.

Head over to buy the book: Amazon UK – And: Amazon US

Also by S. Bavey and anthologies she has contributed to.

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – Website: Sue Bavey WordPress – Facebook: Sue Bavey – Twitter: @SueBavey

About S. Bavey

Sue Bavey (writing as S. Bavey) is an English Mum of two, living in Massachusetts since 2003 with her husband, kids, a cat named Midnight, a bunny named Nutmeg, a leopard gecko named Ziggy Stardust and occasional frogs and salamanders.

“Lucky Jack is the first book I have written and is my grandfather, Henry John Rogers’ biography. Grandad lived with us when I was born, until we moved when I was six years old. Then he came back to live with us in my teenage years and we were very close.

He was my father’s father, but my Mum diligently collected the newspaper columns he dictated to a local reporter, and kept them in scrapbooks in her attic, where they gathered dust and yellowed over time. A few years ago I moved my Mum into an apartment and found all the scrapbooks in the process. I wanted to get all of those stories into a book for my kids to read. That was the germ of an idea which – thanks to my having time during Covid lockdown – has now resulted in the life story of my grandfather, Jack Rogers being written.”

Thanks for dropping by and I hope you will be leaving with some books… Sally