Martyr!

 

May brought us together over some amazing coconut curry and quinoa salad made by Lexi at Chrysanne's house.  We read Martyr by Kaveh Akbar and I am going to try to capture the discussion- which was a good one.  Lexi led by talking about one of the lines and themes in the book which was about how in relationships there is a feeder and an eater.  This is a universal truth that we pondered in our own relationships and in the relationships of Cyrus, his father, mother, friends and lovers.  

While it was a difficult read about a main character who seeks a meaningful death after tumultuous experiences  with addiction and then recovery,  combined with the issues of being an Iranian immigrant. Cyrus's  parents sought a better life through their immigration, but were they better off in the end?  We felt it was hard to read some of the struggles through the addiction and  the sadness of finding Cyrus's mother. Finally, the struggles of navigating sexuality and finding meaning were painful to read.  

This novel comes at a crucial time when we are at war as a country with Iran and our President has just announced that 'an entire civilization will be destroyed. ' This novel is centered around an event in 1988 when Iranian Flight 655 is shot down by the US- 290 people were killed, including 69 children.  This event in the novel results in the believed death of Cyrus's mother, the move to the United States and his father's under employment on a chicken farm in Indiana.  The parallels to current day, senseless bombings of a primary school are uncanny and the notion that a civilization that is so similiar to our own is being threatened to be destroyed.  We felt sad, frustrated and unsettled.

Next month, we are reading The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak.  We are meeting at Cindy's at 5:30 on 6/29/2026.  Don will join us remotely.  Cindy will send a link.  

The Land in Winter

 We read The Land in Winter for March.  This was a very interesting book that no one in our group loved, however, the reading inspired a great discussion.  The novel is considered an historical novel that covers a record breaking cold winter in 1962-63 in England.  In addition, the main characters are influenced by having parents and colleagues who were traumatized by WWII.  The novel captures the oppression  of the early 60's of marriage, career, socio-economic class and access to education.  The main female characters are isolated, pregnant and unable to freely follow their dreams.  The men are restless, unhappy and searching for something more.  Altogether, it is a story of restlessness and isolation.  We thought the writing was good, but didn't understand what the author was trying to capture, except these historical moments.  No one could find a favorite character and it all felt very sad.  

Our dear friend and bookclub member of 29 years, Mindy Evnin died. and we devoted this bookclub meeting to "What would Mindy think."  It is safe to say that Mindy was direct and no nonsense.  She would have agreed with our discussion and would have had little patience for the sort of accepted suffering of the characters in this novel.

Our next meeting is on May 11th and we are reading Martryed by Kaveh Akbar.  We will meet at Chrysanne's and Lexi is making dinner! 5:30!

The Trees

 February brought us to Terry and Debbie's house reading The Trees by Percival Everett.  We had read James by Percival Everett and loved it.  This novel, published in 2021 is a satire focusing on racism and police brutality. We talked about how the author can bring our attention to the injustices, violence and unfairnesses in our history and present in a way that keeps us engaged and thinking.  we were also struck by his creation of circumstances that are happening now in 2026! This led to some handwringing of what is to come in our politically tumultuous time. Thankfully, we were able to drown our worries with icecream and chose The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller.  We are meeting at Chrysanne's on April 13th at 5:30. 

Isola

 In January, we read Isola by Goodman.  I think just one of us enjoyed it.  While we appreciated the historical tale, we were not moved to identify with the characters. Our discussion was short and we enjoyed Allan's cooking.  Next book is The Trees by Percival Everett. We are meeting at Terry's and Debbie's February 16 at 5:30.
 

The Audition

 

We read Audition by Katia Kitamura and it blew our minds.  We had no idea how to sort out the meaning of this book.  Was it a Sliding Doors theme where an encounter could take two different directions in life? Was the main character psychotic and making up different scenarios or was in a study in two different scenarios with the same characters? Some of us loved it, others not so much.  

Next meeting is Isola by Allegra Goodman.  We will meet at Alan's House at 5:30.

Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

 

We loved The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai.  We thought that the author was able to capture the immigrant experience of having one part of one's identity rooted in one's heritage while living in another culture, learning all the nuances.  There were so many challenges for Sonia and Sunny that were parallel and different based on their economic status, educational status and gender.  

Next book is Auditon by  Katia Kitamura   .  We are meeting at Chrysanne's at 5:30.

My Friends

 

We loved Fredrik Backman's My Friends.  Such a great story of young friends bonding and holding one another into adulthood.  Each character was well developed and we fell in love with each one.  In spite of insurmountable challenges, their friendship held and they not only survived their childhoods, but became humans that were interesting, productive and loving.  

Next book is The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny.  We are meeting at Cindy's at 5:30 for good food and discussion!