Dissolution

This month we read Dissolution bu C.J. Sansom.  It is the first of a mystery series with Matthew Shardlake as the prime detective.  The series is set during the reign of King Henry the VIII.  Anne Boleyn has been beheaded and Jane Seymour has just died.  Cromwell is reaching the height of his corruption, dissolving the monastic structure in England.  Profits are used to fill his coffers.   Matthew Shardlake has been sent to a monastery to solve the mystery of one of Cromwell's men who has been beheaded.  As Tim said, "It is a novel with time and place."  Having just read Wolf Hall, the book club members have perhaps had a bit too much of Cromwell, but nonetheless, it was a light read-perfect for the holidays!

Next month, I took my 100th book prerogative to  read Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada. The novel was written in 24 days and published in 1947.  Translation into English was completed in 2009.  My good friend, Tom promises that the book is good and will bring good discussion.  A bit put off by the 544 pages, we are forging forward for the next meeting January  18th at Fred's house with Cindy's as backup.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/books/review/Schillinger-t.html?pagewanted=all

Cat's Tale

We met on November 14th at Tim's house and discussed A Cat's Tale by Michael Ondaatje. There were mixed reviews amongst the members of Book Club.   English Patient had been one of Book Club's top five favorite books and of course the temptation is to think every book will match expectations.  This one was different.  Although the author denies that it is autobiographical, we all had the feel that it was.  A Cat's Tale depicts the microcosm of life on a ship for a young boy and his mates.  The experiences he has on those weeks at sea live with him and effect him for the rest of his life.  Most of us could relate to those poignant memories of experiences growing up that stay with us and influence most of what we feel later in life.   In general, we gave A Cat's Tale favorable reviews!

The next meeting is on December 12th.  We were going to meet at Fred's but, his mother is having a medical procedure and he can't host.  Chrysanne is going to host.  We are reading Dissolution by C.J. Sansom.  Will fill in about our discussion later.

State of Wonder

Manaus Opera House

Our Bookgroup read Ann Patchett's State of Wonder this month.  Pictured above is the Manaus Opera House where Marina and Dr. Swenson finally meet.  The description of Marina's feet walking in heels chasing down Dr. Swenson was something the women in the group could identify with!  Marina cautiously moved her toes from side to side.   Her feet were swollen while she had been sitting and straps of her sandals were now cutting deep into the skin.  While Ed could not identify with the high heels in Manaus, he did point out that this book had an incredible sense of place.  One could just feel that uneasiness of a primitive setting with meandering rivers replete with crawling insects, unbearable heat and a sense of order and law alien to the visitor.

Overall we had mixed reviews.  We all agreed that  this book had the same flavor and feel of previous novels by Patchett: unusual characters, imaginative scenarios and the sense of place.  Some of her metaphors stopped us in our tracts.  Mindy and I both marked this passage about hope: Hope is a horrible thing, you know.  I don't know who decided to package hope as a virtue because it's not.  It's a plague. Hope is like walking around with a fishhook in your mouth and somebody keeps pulling it and pulling it. Everyone agreed that we find that Patchett's novels have not had the most satisfactory endings (or the ones we would have written).  Both Bel Canto and State of Wonder wrap things up a little too neatly for us.  We prefer messy.  We speculated: What if Dr. Swenson had died in childbirth and Marina had had to take up her practice?  Or what if Marina had to come back and report that indeed Anders had died.  And what if Easter had not been given up to his tribe?  All this great discussion while we ate much too much of Louise's incredible spread of chicken curry, salad, and antipasta.

Over dessert...lemon pudding cake with whipped cream and raspberries, fresh fruit and chocolate chip cookies ( I feel I must mention the food since we were expecting Ed to procure the same IGA lasagne he always gets and names appropriately for the book's theme...Amazonian Lasagne, Mexican Lasagne, etc.), we discussed possible  books for next month.  Our newest member, Fred, came through with some pretty interesting titles.  A couple of edgy novels which were eyed cautiously before the group decided upon a previously read author, Michael Ondaatje, The Cat's Table.   Chrysanne texted Kate who gave it a good recommendation.  Fred sent a NY Times Review in case you are interested.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/books/review/the-cats-table-by-michael-ondaatje-book-review.html?hpw

We missed Katie and Terry and hope to see you next month!


We will  meet next month at Tim's on November 14th.  See you there!

Old Filth At the Brick House

Katie, thank you for a delightful evening at the Brick House at Shelburne Farms.  Make no mistake, we enjoyed your tour over the the more traditional route!  And I think Edward and Betty would have been quite comfortable at the Brick House.  Betty in her pearls and Edward in his lawyer's attire.  The general consensus was that we liked Old Filth by Jane Gardam.  Katie started book group off with a question which got right to the heart of the matter.  "If you don't experience love as a child, can you ever really love?"  Edward, the main character, certainly struggled with love and relationship throughout, however, he fell in and out of luck in relationships which either caused pain or created unexpected opportunities for him.

Mindy particularly liked the Raj element of Edward and Betty's Empire Orphan life.  The couple never really fit anywhere, traveling about from London to Hong Kong to Dorset.  Edward finally feels at home when he breathes in the warm air of Singapore in the very last scene.  Poor Betty dies by her tulip bed...which brings me to the companion novel by Jane Gardam's The Man in the Wooden Hat which tells the story from Betty's point of view.  Mindy read the novel and wouldn't give a bit of it away.  Chrysanne immediately borrowed it and Ed was going out to get a copy.  Ed, by the way, was relieved he wouldn't have to hide the cover title.  He was tired of explaining that Old Filth stood for Failed in London, try Hong Kong.

Our next novel is Ann Patchett's State of Wonder.  We will meet at Ed's on October 19th.  Here is a link to the NY Times review of our book:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/books/review/book-review-state-of-wonder-by-ann-patchett.html

Wolf Hall

This month's Greater Westford Literary Society book choice was Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, winner of the Booker Prize in 2009.  The consensus of the group was that although it was an ambitious undertaking by the author to put a more positive spin on Thomas Cromwell, his character came off as somewhat superhuman...He could be wise, compassionate, insightful, and ruthless.  He navigated the labile political scene skillfully, gathering supporters as his power grew in magnitude.  He became King Henry VIII's Chief Minister.  He was a kind and attentive husband and father, mourning his wife's early death throughout his later life.  In short, we had a hard time accepting this portrait of a man who history has not treated well.  His power was used to destroy the monastaries and redistribute their assets to the King as well as to execute those who came against the King and his marriage to Anne Boleyn.  We were glad we read it, but are ready for a lighter read next month!

Mindy brought Old Filth by Jane Gardam.  She has been listening to it on audio and thinks it is just what we need to read right now.  We couldn't find a date in August where all could be present, so we decided to wait until our September 20th date.  Katie has booked us into the Brick House for bookgroup!  Quite exciting!  Because we are waiting nearly 2 months, we will have time to read other books and since everyone has such interesting (euphemism for eccentric and strange) taste, everyone should bring the book they read on the side during this period.  The other idea, and in the spirit of our beloved Don Hillman, is that members could read all the books by this author including The Man in the Wooden Hat which is written from the perspective of the main character's wife.

See you next month on September 20th!

A Visit from the Goon Squad

Are we too old to truly appreciate a novel written like a vinyl album complete with text messaging and an entire story told in power point?  Thankfully, Katie was able to explain the polymorphic nature or the work and proclaimed it genius.  I liked the reflections about the brother with autism who had a stereotypic fascination with the pauses in music.  In any case, the goon squad has us on it its grip!

We had a wonderful garden tour on a gorgeous night at Terry's followed by a professionally catered dinner which was delicious!  The wine flowed and the conversation spilled!  Great to be a part of this group!

Next month's book is Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.  She won the Booker Prize for her work.  Ed lobbied hard for this one-I think he might be tiring of chick books and Tim probably agreed because it wasn't an "I" book.