The French Exit

This November, we read The French Exit  by Patrick DeWitt. Just about everyone loved the novel.  Frances, the main character was admired for her fearlessness and gutsiness.  We found the scenarios ridiculous, bizarre and funny.  Frances was a complex character who just did not think about the effect she was having on others except to get her immediate needs met.  There were scenes of her lighting a table on fire in a restaurant to get the bill or leaving her deceased husband in her apartment and keeping with her plan to ski, reported his death when she got back from her week-end.  

French Exit or the Irish Goodbye is a term many of us did not know.  Ghosting is also a more modern term for leaving a social gathering without saying your 'goodbyes.'  One moment you are the life of the party and then next, you are gone.  Key to the concept is that the other members of the social occasion do not notice that you have left.  Patrick DeWitt creates the perfect French Exit for Frances.  Saying any more will give away the story!

Next month we planned on December 23rd (whose idea was that) and rescheduled due to holiday craziness for January 11th at 7 PM.  Zoom of course!  We are reading Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips.

We generated a list of books we wanted to read that I placed in the Books to Consider page.  

Also...as a bonus activity, Tim offered to organize a reading and book discussion with Elizabeth Shackelford, who is the author of The Dissent Channel.