Lincoln Highway

 

This month brought us together to discuss Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
.  Everyone agreed that they enjoyed reading this novel.  We each talked about our favorite character.  Most liked Billy the best.  We were puzzled by the numbering of the chapters starting at 10 and ending at 1.  We thought the 18 year old characters talked and thought as though they were adults, but that was ok with most of us.  We also found that the number of twists and turns with most being resolved pretty quickly was not that realistic, but made for the good story.  We discussed how sad the ending was.  We gave it the thumbs up and are looking forward to reading Cold Millions by Jess Walter for January.  We think we will most likely be on Zoom.  Cindy will send a link closer to the time.  We will meet 6:45.  If the numbers of cases decreases, we can make a plan B, but one of our members will be in Mexico and will need to Zoom in anyway!  

Deacon King Kong

 October brought us together to discuss Deacon King Kong by James McBride.  We were missing Terry and Ed, but the rest of the group absolutely loved this novel.  First of all, unanimously we loved the writing.  Mindy read us the cheese excerpt as one example:

“This was fresh, rich, heavenly, succulent, soft, creamy, kiss-my-ass, cows-gotta-die-for-this, delightfully salty, moo-ass, good old white folks cheese, cheese to die for, cheese to make you happy, cheese to beat the cheese boss, cheese for the big cheese, cheese to end the world,”
― James McBride, Deacon King Kong

McBride takes on the issue of inequity in a way that effectively demonstrates the many different ways people have suffered while not alienating the reader.  Someone in our group said that this book read like poetry.   The connection between race and color and religion and the inner soul of people was so remarkable in this novel.  

“Nothing in this world happens unless white folks says it happens. The lies they tell each other sound better to them than the truth does when it comes out of our mouths.”
― James McBride, Deacon King Kong

Next month is a book by Amor Towles, The Lincoln Highway.  We are meeting at Mindy's on December 2nd.

Night Boat to Tangier

Late August found us struggling to figure out how to meet safely with Delta variant of Covid lurking at the corners of our lives.  We met remotely and discussed Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry.  This novel read like poetry.  We had mixed reactions to the violence and the pain and suffering of these two Irish men and their families.  The novel is reminiscent of Waiting for Godot, as these two old friends sit and remember their lives of their childhood struggles with poverty, their young drug running days, their love for the same woman and their struggles with loss and disappointment.  We all agreed that it was a dark novel, full of Irish suffering.  We also found it to be a profound novel of love and commitment, albeit, a strange variant of commitment.  We were deeply affected by Dilly, the daughter they wait for at the Algeciras terminal.  Her struggle between compassion and obligation and a need to lead a life that was her own was compelling and struck home with many of us. 

Next month, we are going to read Deacon King Kong by James McBride.  We are hoping to meet in person at Terry's with a back up of a Zoom meet on October 11th at 6:45.

 

Mexican Gothic

In July, we gathered to discuss Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.  We were not sure about this choice proffered by the staff at Phoenix Books, but thought it would be a good discussion since gothic novels are typically white, English, country settings and characters.  Although I missed this discussion, a synopsis of the discussion was that the author gets a commendation for taking on the task of writing a gothic novel in a different setting, incorporating linguistically and culturally different characters.  The group thought the first 3/4 of the novel was great, however, had a bit of difficulty with how creepy the ending was...although, that is the way gothic novels tend to end!  We are hoping to see a film in the near future!

Next month is at Terry's and we are reading Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry and meeting on 8/30/21.

Silence of the Girls

 June brought us to Ed's home for a discussion of Silence of the Girls.  This novel, by Pat Barker is a retelling of the Iliad through the women who were witness to the battle and considered to be part of the rewards or trophies for the victors.  The story focuses on Briseis, who becomes Achille's concubine after witnessing the death of her husband and her seven brothers.  The women are treated as objects of status and at the fall of her home town, Lyrnesses, they are taken into captivity and assigned by age and beauty and worth to leaders and warriors.  There are harrowing tales of women who are sacrificed and killed.  Others are violated and raped.  The treatment of women was violent and without regard for their human dignity.  The novel also outlined the violence of war.  I love Pat Barker and this book was a gift from a friend.  

We commended Pat Barker for taking an opportunity to tell this classic from a female's perspective.  However, we found it hard to read about the pain and inhumane treatment of the women and the disregard for the pain and suffering of witnessing death and imprisonment of their families.  

We did take the opportunity to regale the trilogy we read and loved, Regeneration!  Next month we are meeting at Tim's on 7/22/2021 to discuss Gothic Romance by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

Anxious People

 The month of May brought us back together again!  We met at Chrysanne's in her airy porch, socially distanced and ate her wonderful food!  Being back together was so great.  Just about everyone enjoyed reading Anxious People by Fredrik Backman.  We loved the wit and the laugh out loud moments.  The relationships were sometimes a bit far reaching, but fun.  Those of us who did not enjoy this book found no merit and argued good heartedly with us.  

Next month, we are meeting at Ed's House on June 22nd.  We are reading The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker. 

Hamnet

  In April, we read Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell.  We had a mixed reaction as readers.  We agreed that it was beautifully written and quite interesting from an historical perspective.  I don't think any of us would have thought about the connection between the death of William Shakespeare's boy, Hamnet and the play, Hamlet.  We discussed the possible connections between the play and the story of his son's death from the Bubonic Plague.  We talked about the difficulty of resolving the death of a child within a family and a marriage.  Ironically, we were reading a book that was set during the time of a pandemic during a pandemic.  The division in our endorsement of the novel was in the somewhat magical and fantastical nature of the activities of Agnes and the plot.  Some of us loved the escape, while other found it hard to reconcile.  In the end, we were glad to have read it.  

This book marked a year of meeting remotely and we tried to liven up our gathering with a facilitator (Thank you, Lexi) and a video of Maggie O'Farrell discussing her novel.

We are going to meet in person on May 6th, 2021 at Chrysanne's home.  We will read Anxious People  by Fredrik Backman.

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Shuggie Bain

 

This month we read the 2021 Mann Booker prize, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart.  We found this novel to be well written with some very wonderful ways of using language to describe some personal and painful dynamics of living with addiction.  This novel is a memoir that comprehensively covers the complex layers of family relationships when there are overwhelming stressors and roadblocks to having basic needs met such as food, heat, clothing, as well as love and acceptance.  We all agreed that it was a great novel that was painful to read.  There was a good and hopeful ending that helped to resolve some of the despair we felt for Shuggie Jr.  

Next month, we will read Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell.  We plan to meet on April 5th at 7PM via Zoom.

Disappearing Earth

 This month, we read Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips.  Most everyone was glad to have been introduced to this author and the peninsula of Kamchatka.  The region lies in the far eastern part of Russia on the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk.  The novel explores stories of different character's lives in different parts of the geographical area.  We learned about the land, the native people and the people who located to Petropavlosk, the capitol.  The one negative for our group was the abduction that starts off the novel.  In some ways it was a catalyst for learning about how unexpected tragic events affected different groups of people.  The second abduction, which actually occurred before the first chapter also pointed out the disparity between the native Even investigation and the city, Petropavlosk search for the missing children and youth.  Terry was able to tell us stories relating to his business dealings in Russia in the nineties and Ed had actually been to the area enroute to another area of Russia.  All in all, it was a great discussion.  

Next month, we are reading Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart.  This novel won the Booker Prize.  We are meeting on February 15th at 7 PM via Zoom.

In addition, Tim is arranging for those who are interested, to read and have a discussion with the author of The Dissent Channel and he will let us know when he has a date.