July brought us together to discuss
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. We had a very lively discussion with some members loving this work and others finding it challenging to get through. Our discussion was interesting in that what some members loved about the book others did not love. For example...the 100 plus voices...some readers rode along with the stream of consciousness of the many different voices while others became frustrated trying to keep track. Some found the novel to read like poetry and others, a disjointed series of short stories. Some found the variety of conditions and voices important while others felt that the author was somewhat formulaic in the representation of different points of view. My take away insight was from our historian (or one of our historians), Tim describing how Lincoln was grieving the significant loss of his son and at the same time realizing how he had to increase the intensity of the war and realizing that other sons would be lost as a consequence. For me, this gave the book a different meaning, which is what I love about our discussions!
We will gather at Terry's new house on July 31st to discuss the novel, Circe by Madeline Miller.
During the summer month of August, we read Circe by Madeline Miller. Everyone gave the novel a thumbs up in approval. We discussed our collective and respective knowledge of mythology and realized that this is not an area of expertise for any of us. We thought that Madeline's writing was great. We agreed that it was a great summer read.
July brought us together to discuss Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. We had a very lively discussion with some members loving this work and others finding it challenging to get through. Our discussion was interesting in that what some members loved about the book others did not love. For example...the 100 plus voices...some readers rode along with the stream of consciousness of the many different voices while others became frustrated trying to keep track. Some found the novel to read like poetry and others, a disjointed series of short stories. Some found the variety of conditions and voices important while others felt that the author was somewhat formulaic in the representation of different points of view. My take away insight was from our historian (or one of our historians), Tim describing how Lincoln was grieving the significant loss of his son and at the same time realizing how he had to increase the intensity of the war and realizing that other sons would be lost as a consequence. For me, this gave the book a different meaning, which is what I love about our discussions!
