Showing posts with label book club. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book club. Show all posts

Thursday, December 3, 2020

The Cold Millions

The November selection for the Barnes & Noble Book Club was The Cold Millions by Jess Walter. I must admit that I really struggled with this because the subject matter was not particularly interesting to me and I found Walter's prose to be unnecessarily flowery. I picked it up and put it down again multiple times and barely got it finished before the live Q&A with the author on Tuesday. This sweeping historical novel, based on actual events, is set in the Pacific Northwest in 1909 and follows two orphan brothers from Montana who ride the rails looking for itinerant work. Gregory "Gig" and Ryan "Rye" Dolan end up in Spokane and get caught up the free speech demonstrations by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), or Wobblies as they are more commonly known. Gig, the elder brother, is fiery and idealistic and and ends up in jail, along with hundreds of others, for giving a speech during a riot. Rye, desperate to get Gig released, becomes a pawn for an eccentric group of characters (both real and fictional) who use him for their own ends, including a wealthy industrialist hoping to eradicate the unions from his businesses, a vaudeville showgirl with competing alliances, a hard-boiled assassin out to prove he is still up for the job, a double-crossing anarchist with plans of his own, a Pinkerton detective who is not who he appears to be, and a union activist who happens to be 19 and pregnant. Will Gig survive the beatings and hunger strikes in prison with his idealism in tact? Will Rye sell his soul to save Gig? Will the unions do anything to change the inequality between the wealthy few and the cold millions who struggle to survive? It sounds like it would be a compelling read and most people in our virtual discussion thought it was. Unfortunately, I did not. There are a bewildering number of characters and the narrative alternates between too many different POVs. I sometimes found it difficult to keep all of them straight, especially all of the minor characters meant to provide color rather than advance the plot (I sometimes have the same problem with Dickens and Hugo). I was not very invested in any of the characters because they are kept at such a distance (maybe it is due to the aforementioned flowery prose) so it is hard to sympathize with any of them. I actually found Rye, the main protagonist, to be quite unappealing because he is so passive. He is merely swept along by the actions of other characters without really taking a stand and I was a bit disappointed with the epilogue because he seems to benefit from the labor movement throughout his life without much involvement. In fact, I thought the ending was anticlimactic after the slog to get through it but I appreciate the author's comment in our discussion about wanting to demonstrate that the struggle still continues today. I usually love historical fiction but this just didn't do it for me. I am clearly in the minority so I recommend reading it for yourself if the topic sounds interesting to you.

Note:  The Barnes & Noble Book Club is taking the month of December off and will return with a new selection in January.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Leave the World Behind

The October Barnes & Noble Book Club selection was Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam and, even though it was unbelievably unsettling, I couldn't put it down! Amanda and Clay, a middle class white couple, leave New York City for a family vacation in a secluded area of Long Island with their teenage son Archie and daughter Rose. They begin their stay in a luxurious Airbnb with barbecues by the pool and trips to the beach but their idyllic getaway changes when the owners of the house, a wealthy black couple named G.H. and Ruth Washington, knock on their door in the middle of the night. The older couple is seeking refuge from a mysterious power outage in the city. Amanda and Clay are initially wary of the strangers but invite them in and soon the six of them are stranded together without any form of communication with the outside world. A series of unnerving events, such as the unusual appearance of animals, a deafening noise, and worrisome physical symptoms, leave them terrified and desperate for information. This novel is incredibly compelling because it begins as a thought-provoking commentary on race, social class, and privilege but then it taps into the zeitgeist of our times with discussions of disease, death, fear of the unknown, mass destruction, and the apocalypse. What I found so fascinating is the juxtaposition between the abject terror that they are experiencing and the need to carry on with the mundane tasks associated with daily life. I thought it was a very accurate response to the end of the world. It was also very illuminating to me that the characters are practically incapacitated when they can no longer rely on their cellphones (one of the characters becomes horribly lost driving to the nearest town without GPS even though he has instructions). The fact that there are so few details about the cataclysmic event (but endless descriptions of the minutiae of their activities) adds tremendously to the sense of menace. I found the ambiguous ending to be infuriating at first but I have not been able to stop thinking about it since I finished and now I feel that there was really no other way the novel could have ended. Our discussion with the author on Facebook last night cemented my thoughts when he said that the fear of the unknown is sometimes worse than the fear of something specific.  I also loved his comment about the power of art to heal which is something that did not immediately jump out at me when I was reading.  One of the main characters longs to listen to the music from Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky one more time before the world ends because it is the most beautiful thing she has ever heard. Alum indicated that he included that because when humanity seems to be at its worst we tend to seek out the best of what man has created and I loved that! It is quite brilliant but I do have a few complaints. The third person stream of consciousness jumps around from person to person very abruptly so it is sometimes difficult to keep track of whose head we are inside. I also found the prose to be a bit flowery at times (it reminded me of when my sophomores would use a thesaurus to make me think they were better writers).  This will not be for everyone (especially those struggling with the fear and isolation of our current situation) but it is definitely a book that will stay with you for a long time and I highly recommend it.

Note:  The November Barnes & Noble Book Club selection is The Cold Millions by Jess Walter. Once again, there will be a live discussion with the author via Facebook on December 1.  Go here for more information.

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Transcendent Kingdom

This month's Barnes & Noble Book Club selection was Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi and, based on the description, I didn't think that I would like it but I ended up loving it! I really enjoy belonging to a book club because I get a chance to read books that I wouldn't necessarily choose for myself!  Gifty's family emigrated to the United States from a small village in Ghana before she was born but her father went back to Ghana, never to return, shortly thereafter. To cope with her husband's departure, Gifty's mother becomes increasingly more involved with an evangelical church in Alabama. In order to please her mother, Gifty also immerses herself in the church but her faith is tested when her brother dies of an overdose and her mother succumbs to a deep depression. She prays fervently to God for answers about why these hardships have befallen her family but God remains silent. She eventually turns her back on religion and seeks answers from science. As a doctoral student in neuroscience at Stanford University she conducts experiments on the brains of mice to study reward-seeking behavior as it relates to addiction and depression. Even though she has a breakthrough in her research, she still longs for the simple faith she had as a child and realizes that she doesn't need to understand her mother's depression in order to have a relationship with her. The narration alternates between Gifty's memories as a child in Alabama and her experiences as a student at Stanford and I think this is an effective device because her memories of the past keep intruding into the present and they keep her from finding peace. I loved Gifty as a character because, even though her experiences and losses are so heartbreaking, she finds a way to persevere. I also really enjoyed the poignant discussion about religion and how people lose and rediscover their faith.  This really resonated with me and made me confront some of my own issues with organized religion. This novel tackles some major themes such as racism, immigration, addiction, depression, grief, loss, and isolation so it is not easy to read but the prose is absolutely beautiful and the ending is, ultimately, very hopeful. My only complaint is that the ending is a bit rushed. I was hoping that the author would address this in the virtual Q&A on Facebook yesterday but no one brought it up (I need to be braver and ask a question next time). However, I found Gyasi's comments on identity to be fascinating, especially the notion that Gifty's search for answers is the same sort of reward-seeking behavior as her brother's drug use. This novel is definitely thought-provoking as well as emotionally resonant. I highly recommend it!

Note:  The next Barnes & Noble Book Club selection is Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam.  I am really excited to read this because it is a thriller!  The author will be available for a virtual Q&A via Facebook on October 27.  Go here for more information.

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

The Pull of the Stars

This month's Barnes & Noble Book Club selection was The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue and it could not have been a more timely pick. It is set in Dublin in 1918 when a world war still raged on and people were dying by the thousands of the Spanish flu. Julia Power is a nurse at a very understaffed hospital and is, therefore, put in charge of a small three bed ward for pregnant women who are quarantined with the flu. It is the first time that she has been given any authority and comes to rely on her own instincts, rather than the rigid rules, as she does her best to help her patients who come from all walks of life. She is given an assistant, a volunteer named Bridie Sweeney, who is very young and knows nothing about nursing but is a fast learner and a hard worker. Bridie takes great pride in knowing that she is useful for the first time in her life. Because of the shortage of doctors in the hospital, Dr. Kathleen Lynn (a real-life character), a woman suspected of participating in the Easter Rising of 1916, is brought in to help and becomes a mentor to Julia in the field of medicine and in the development of her social conscience. The three women have a profound effect upon each other as they struggle to keep the patients alive and bring new life into a world gone mad. The novel takes place over three consecutive days in the small confines of a ward that is essentially a converted supply closet and the claustrophobia really adds to the sense of urgency. Every action has a dramatic consequence so it is very intense to read and the medical practices of the time are quite primitive by modern standards so it is extremely gory.  However, in the midst of all of the trauma and heartbreak, there is definitely a sense of hope at the end of the novel which readers who are going through a similar global pandemic are sure to appreciate. I was really struck by the similarities between 1918 and now including the canceling of all major events, the supply shortages, the spreading of misinformation, the backlash against taking simple precautions such as wearing masks, the desperation to find a cure, and the willingness of health care professionals to do the impossible to save people. I was also struck by the fact that people started to become more aware of social injustice as a result of how the flu spread and that seems to be echoed by events today (I, for one, really hope that this leads to change as it did back then). Donoghue spoke about this during the virtual Q&A held last night which I found to be fascinating. I also enjoyed her discussion of the title which comes from influenza delle stelle (the influence of the stars).  People believed that the illness was caused by fate but all three of the main characters take matters into their own hands to change fate and I loved that! Donoghue also addressed my one criticism of the novel which is that there are no quotation marks to denote dialogue (a trend I despise in the publishing world). Her explanation was that she wanted the reader to be inside Julia's head with little distinction between what she is thinking and what she is saying which is valid given the chaos of what was happening in the ward. Ultimately, I loved the character development in this novel as well as the highly relevant subject matter and I would definitely recommend it!

Note:  Next month's Barnes & Noble Book Club selection is Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi. Once again this selection was announced earlier than usual so I am already almost finished with it because it is so captivating! There will be another virtual discussion with the author via Facebook on October 6.  Go here for more information.

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Florence Adler Swims Forever

The Barnes & Noble Book Club selection for this month was Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland. It is actually based, in part, on a true story about the author's family and that really piqued my interest in wanting to read this novel. Every summer the Adler family rents out their house in Atlantic City to tourists and moves to the apartment above their bakery. The summer of 1934 begins tragically when Florence Adler drowns while training to swim the English Channel. Her devastated mother, Esther, makes the decision to keep this information from her other daughter Fannie because she is nearing the end of a high-risk pregnancy after losing a baby a year ago and the entire family, as well as other people in the community, is complicit in this deception. This dramatically impacts her husband Joseph, Florence's swimming coach Stuart, Fannie's husband Isaac, Fannie's seven year old daughter Gussie, and Anna, a Jewish refugee brought to the U.S. by Joseph. The narrative alternates between the perspectives of all of these characters and their secrets and motivations are eventually revealed. I was particularly struck by Fannie's POV because she is so upset by the fact that Florence has not visited her in the hospital that her blood pressure becomes dangerously high, thus causing this elaborate plan to almost backfire. I also really enjoyed the character of Gussie because she is a bit of a pill (with a crush on Stuart) and she is so confused by the fact that all of the adults in her life are lying. After reading the description of the story I was really surprised that Florence's death happens within the first few pages but, in retrospect, the novel isn't really about Florence.  Her death sets off a chain of events that take the characters on a journey of discovery and this technique works really well. The period details are absolutely brilliant, particularly the descriptions of the opulent hotels along the boardwalk, and I was drawn into Anna's plight as a Jew trying to escape from Nazi Germany. It is a sensitive exploration of the lengths people will go to protect the ones they love but I was a bit disappointed in the abrupt ending. A scene that I was anticipating throughout the entire novel didn't even take place! This omission was the subject of the virtual discussion with the author last night and, to some extent, I understand Beanland's reasoning. She asserts that the reader already knows how that scene will play out and she wanted to end the book with a more hopeful resolution between Esther and Anna. The discussion last night was fantastic and I really enjoyed hearing a perspective about Joseph that I had not considered before. I really miss the members of my local book club but I have to admit that interacting with the authors during the virtual discussions has been quite enlightening and enjoyable! This compelling novel is a great summer read and I highly recommend it.

Note: The next selection in the Barnes & Noble Book Club is The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue.  This book was announced much earlier than usual and I have already started reading it!  There will be another virtual discussion with the author on Facebook and YouTube on September 8 (go here for more information).

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

The Vanishing Half

The Barnes & Noble Book Club selection for this month was The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. I love a good generational saga and I found this to be a fascinating exploration of identity. Identical twins Stella and Desiree Vignes live in a small town called Mallard in Louisiana. It was founded by a former slave who was given land after the Civil War by his former owner and biological father. Each generation is lighter than the last and the Vignes twins have creamy skin, hazel eyes, and wavy hair. However, they still experience acts of discrimination and are traumatized when their father is forcibly taken from their house and lynched. They run away to New Orleans at the age of sixteen and, even though they are inseparable, their paths diverge in dramatic fashion. Desiree marries a dark-skinned man who abuses her and she eventually returns to Mallard with her daughter. Stella gets a job in an office by passing for white. She marries her boss and moves to California with him without telling her sister. She lives a life of luxury and privilege but is terrified that her husband and daughter will find out the truth about her past. Their paths converge again when their daughters meet twenty years later. Desiree's daughter Jude, who has been ostracized as a dark-skinned girl in a town that values light skin, is attending UCLA on a track scholarship with the hopes of becoming a doctor and Stella's daughter Kennedy, who has had every advantage, is adrift and acting in a low-budget production at a local theater. Both sisters must face the consequences of their actions and come to terms with how their choices have affected everyone in their lives, especially their daughters. I found it interesting that while both sisters are trapped by their choices, Desiree has limited opportunities in her hometown and Stella is plagued by loneliness and fear, only one sister finds happiness. The narrative is told from multiple perspectives and, while I didn't like some of their actions, I found all of the characters to be incredibly sympathetic. There was a virtual discussion with the author last night via Facebook which was fantastic (although I really miss the interaction with my local book club members and can't wait to see them again). We talked quite a bit about the title which, at face value, is about the fact that the twins lose a piece of themselves when they are separated but Bennett also spoke about the fact that almost every character loses part of themselves as a result of racism, classism, abuse, gender, and even disease. Many also asked about the ambiguous ending and, although it really bothered me at first because I wanted more resolution, I can now appreciate the fact that these characters must continue on the path that they have chosen. It is a profoundly moving and thought-provoking story that couldn't be more timely and I highly recommend it!

Note:  Next month's selection is Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland.  It sounds really interesting and I am excited to read it!  There will be a virtual discussion (have I mentioned that I miss interacting with my local book club?) with the author via Facebook on Aug. 4.  Go here for more information.

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

All Adults Here

This month's Barnes & Noble Book Club selection was All Adults Here by Emma Straub and, while I didn't absolutely love it, I enjoyed it much more than I did Straub's previous novel, The Vacationers. Astrid Strick is a retired widow living in the small town of Clapham with three grown children and three grandchildren. She has been conducting a relationship with her hairdresser Birdie in secret for years. When she witnesses an accident that kills a former friend, she realizes that life is short and that she needs to reveal her secret to her children and make amends for her perceived shortcomings as a mother. All three of her children are also struggling with their own lives. Her oldest son Elliott, who has felt disapproval from her his whole life, struggles to make a name for himself in business and to form a bond with his own twin sons. Her daughter Porter, about to have a child on her own, worries that she will make the same mistakes her mother made. Her youngest son Nicky, a free-spirited former actor, ships his teenage daughter Cecelia off to live with her at the first hint of trouble. Astrid sees Cecelia as a second chance to get motherhood right and it is Cecelia's problems at school that bring the whole family together. There is a lot to unpack in this novel (maybe too much) with themes of motherhood, parental responsibility, sibling relationships, birth order, mortality, drug abuse, infidelity, friendship, bullying, sexuality, gender, and even gentrification which are explored superficially, almost as if Straub was ticking boxes for every social issue without giving any of them much development. However, I really loved the message that parents are just doing the best they can and that children will survive because everyone is ultimately responsible for their own happiness. There are a lot of quirky characters behaving badly, much like in The Vacationers, but I found them to be much more sympathetic and I enjoyed their antics. It is also very interesting the role the small town of Clapham plays in the narrative (Straub mentioned in an interview that her inspiration for Clapham was Stars Hollow) because everyone knows everyone else and people can't really escape their childhoods. It is a light and easy read without consequence that I wouldn't have picked for myself but I found it entertaining.

Note:  Next month's selection is The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. There will be a virtual discussion with the author via Facebook on July 7. Go here for more information.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Conjure Women

The next selection for the Barnes & Noble Book Club was Conjure Women by Afia Atakora. Unfortunately, my group was not able to meet yet again because of the current situation but there was a live chat with the author yesterday on Instagram that was very interesting and informative. This novel takes place on a sprawling and isolated cotton plantation before, during, and after the Civil War (described as slaverytime, wartime, and freedomtime). In freedomtime Rue is a former slave who has reluctantly taken the place of her mother May Belle as a healer and a conjure woman after the latter's death. Her status in the community is threatened by the birth of a baby with a caul on his head and unnerving black eyes, the arrival of a charismatic preacher who espouses a belief in Christ rather than superstition, and a strange sickness that is killing all of the children. However, the status of the entire community is threatened by the secrets of the past, especially a spell created by May Belle connecting Rue and the master's daughter Varina. This is an incredibly compelling story about a group of people during a tumultuous time that I, a student of history, didn't know a lot about. Because Reconstruction is usually painted in such broad strokes, I didn't really realize what happened to the former slaves who were left behind on plantations after their masters were killed or were abandoned by them in the immediate aftermath of the war. It was really interesting to me to read about the lengths that Rue goes to in order to keep the community safe from both the master's relatives in the North as well as a new threat from those who resent their freedom. I also really enjoyed Rue's character development, particularly her journey from a scared girl who feels that she will never live up to her mother's expectations to a woman who is able to save the people she loves. She is so complex and resilient. I also found the relationship between Rue and Bruh Abel to be fascinating because they distrust each other's methods (using spells or working miracles) but once they realize that they are both essentially frauds they become friends. Even though many of the events described in this novel, such as torture and rape, are very brutal the prose is incredibly beautiful and I loved the symbolism, particularly the fox. This novel is epic in scope and so mesmerizing that I was transported to another time and place. I absolutely loved it and I am so glad that it was included as a Barnes & Noble Book Club selection because I don't think I would have chosen it if left to my own devices. Don't miss it!

Note:  The next selection for the Barnes & Noble Book Club is All Adults Here by Emma Straub (go here for more information).  I did not especially care for Straub's The Vacationers but I am willing to give this the benefit of the doubt.  There will be a virtual discussion via Facebook on June 2.

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

American Dirt

Last night I went to a meeting of my book club to discuss our latest selection, American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. It is one of the most thought-provoking books I've read in a long time and we had a very stimulating discussion about it. Lydia Quixano Perez is a middle class woman living in Acapulco with her husband Sebastian and their eight year old son Luca. She owns a bookshop and Sebastian is a journalist who writes about narcotrafficking. When he writes a critical piece about the leader of a drug cartel, he and fourteen members of Lydia's extended family are gunned down while the family is celebrating a quinceanera. She and her son are the only ones to survive but, because she knows the cartel will come looking for her, she makes the decision to flee Mexico and become one of the many migrants who try to come to the United States illegally because she feels she has no choice. She and Luca are forced to travel by La Bestia, a network of freight trains that run the length of Mexico north to the United States, which they board while the train is in motion. They face many other unspeakable dangers while riding the train before they give all of their savings to a coyote to take them across the border. This novel was deeply upsetting to me because I could feel Lydia's terror and desperation every step of the way. Intellectually I knew that it was dangerous to cross the border but I had no idea of the horrors involved, particularly for women and children who are attacked, beaten, and raped repeatedly. It was also very enlightening to learn than most migrants are not merely searching for a better life in the U.S. but they are literally fleeing for their lives. This book is very controversial because many have accused Cummins, who identifies as white, of cultural appropriation and have called her out for her stereotypical depiction of Mexicans. We had a great discussion, with an amazing moderator who is Mexican, about the fact that this story made all of us feel more sympathetic towards the plight of migrants and any book, regardless of who wrote it, that shines a light on a dark subject and gets people talking about it is a good thing. This book is a work of fiction that may have some inaccuracies but we didn't think that they detracted from the importance or relevance of the story.  I found it to be incredibly compelling, suspenseful, and heartbreaking and I highly recommend it.

Note:  The next selection for the Barnes & Noble Book Club is A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler.  Go here for more information and to sign up.  As always, if you are local consider joining us on April 7 at the Layton Barnes & Noble.  We are a small but lively group!

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Dear Edward

Last night I went to a meeting of my book club to discuss this month's selection, Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano. Because I was really sick in the middle of January and then busy with the Sundance Film Festival I didn't actually start reading this until a few days ago but, once I started, I couldn't put it down and I became completely absorbed in Edward's story. Twelve year old Edward Adler boards a plane from Newark to Los Angeles with his parents, his older brother Jordan, and 183 other passengers. When the plane crashes in Colorado, Edward is the only survivor and is taken in by his mother's sister Lacey and her husband John who have had their own heartbreak. He must deal with the devastating loss of his family, the fact that he has become a figure of national interest, and the well-meaning attempts of his aunt and uncle to shield him from anything that might upset him.  Ultimately, he must come to terms with what happened to him and find a way to live again. The narrative alternates between Edward's perspective after the crash and the perspectives of several passengers during the flight leading up to the crash. This device is incredibly effective because part of what keeps Edward from moving on is his refusal to think about the moments leading up to the crash. The crash actually happens just when Edward is forced to remember it when he gets a letter from one of the first responders. It was also really effective to have all of the passengers spend most of their time during the flight thinking about what they are going to do once they land in Los Angeles not knowing that their lives are about to end and that they won't have the time to do all of those things. Living in the moment is an important theme of the novel and something that Edward must embrace to move forward. As always, we had some great discussions! We talked about the fact that Edward's aunt and uncle try to shield him from anything relating to the crash and they keep the letters that the family members of the victims send him hidden away. It is just human nature to want to protect someone you love from pain but it is the letters that give him a connection to the other passengers and his decision to help the families anonymously gives him the motivation to live again. We also had a great discussion about Edward's relationship with his next door neighbor Shay because, throughout the novel, is appears that she is saving him from despair but at the end of the novel she tells him that he has saved her.  Our facilitator mentioned that our discussion was really depressing but all of us felt that the book was incredibly uplifting and hopeful.  I found it to be a beautiful and moving story about resilience and I highly recommend it.

Note:  Next month's selection is American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. Apparently there is a bit of controversy surrounding this book so it will definitely be interesting to read.  Go here for more information about the Barnes & Noble book club and to sign up at a location near you.  As always, if you are local, join us at the Layton Barnes & Noble on March 10.  We have a small group but we are lots of fun.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

The Family Upstairs

Last night I went to a meeting of my book club to discuss the latest selection, The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell. We had a very lively discussion with a great moderator and I enjoyed it so much because I discovered many new insights that I had not thought about while I was reading it.  This riveting psychological thriller begins when Libby, who was adopted as a baby, turns 25 and discovers that she has inherited a large mansion in a highly desirable neighborhood in London. She also discovers that her birth parents and an unidentified stranger died in the house in an apparent suicide pact and that she has two siblings who have not been heard from since. She enlists the help of a reporter who once covered the case to help her find the truth and what she discovers is far more sinister than she could have imagined.  The narrative alternates between Libby's search for the truth, her brother Henry's recollections from the past about a charismatic man named David who moved into the house with his family and turned their lives into a nightmare, and her sister Lucy's struggle to survive in the present after the trauma of her childhood. All of the narrators are very compelling, especially Henry because he is so unreliable, and I read well into the night because I had to uncover the mystery of what happened in that house (which is almost a character in and of itself). It is incredibly suspenseful and there are quite a few twists and turns, some of which I wasn't expecting, My only complaint is that there are a lot of main characters to keep track of as well as quite a few secondary characters that are not as developed and do not add much to the story. This, along with alternating between the past and the present, sometimes makes it a bit confusing. As I mentioned, we had a great discussion about the themes of manipulation and how easy is it was for David to gain control of the vulnerable Lamb family, of trauma and how it continues to affect Lucy's decision-making even after leaving the traumatic situation, of identity and how learning about the past impacts Libby's perception of herself, and obsession with the past and how it consumes Henry's life. Almost everyone in the book club really liked this one (two women sitting near us who were listening in on our discussion came over and asked the name of the book because they thought it sounded so interesting) and I would definitely recommend it.

Note:  Next month's selection is Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano.  Go here for more information and to RSVP at a Barnes & Noble near you.  If you are local, consider joining us at the Layton Barnes & Noble on Feb. 4 because we have a fun and lively group!

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Ninth House

I have really enjoyed the Barnes & Noble Book Cub and I was particularly looking forward to last night's meeting because I absolutely loved the October selection, Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. This novel presupposes that the members of the eight secret societies at Yale University (Skull & Bones, Scroll & Key, Book & Snake, Wolf's Head, Manuscript, Aurelian, St. Elmo's, and Berzelius) use magic to achieve success in politics, business, and entertainment. After one of the rituals ended badly, a fictional ninth society (Lethe) was created to have oversight over the other societies and to ensure that the rituals are performed correctly.  Daniel Arlington III, or Darlington as he is known, is the student leader of Lethe and he is responsible for training his replacement. Galaxy Stern, or Alex as she is known, has been chosen to replace him but he considers her to be entirely unsuitable because she has a troubled past. When a murder happens on campus, Alex can't shake the feeling that one of the societies is involved. Against the orders from everyone in Lethe, she uses several of Lethe's magic rituals to investigate (forming an alliance with a ghost) and discovers a connection to another unsolved murder from the past. I must admit that I had a difficult time getting into the story at first because it begins right in the middle of the action with the narrative alternating between the past and present. There are so many people, places, and events that I couldn't figure out what was going on. However, once I did figure it out I found the story to be incredibly compelling and I couldn't put it down. One of the things that I really liked about it is that, while this is a story about the supernatural, it seems very plausible. No one really knows what goes on in these secret societies and, because so many real-life members have achieved wealth, power, and success (George H. W. Bush, George H. Bush, John Kerry, John Ashcroft, Bob Woodward, Jodie Foster, Anderson Cooper), it makes you wonder! I also really enjoyed Alex as a character because she is a fish out of water at Yale but still manages to hold her own and I admire that. The relationship between Alex and Darlington is very dynamic because they each make assumptions about the other that prove to be false and they come to rely on and then respect each other. I also liked the murder mystery aspect of the story. The resolution took me completely by surprise, which is rare for me. We had a great discussion last night and one of our topics was which society would we most want to belong to. I would definitely want to belong to Aurelian because they have power over language and one of their magic rituals involves having words literally enter your body (it is painful but worth it) so that you can become a best-selling author! I highly recommend this book (with the proviso that it is quite dark and there are a few very disturbing scenes).

Note:  The next selection is The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell. I am quite excited to read this because I found her last novel, Then She Was Gone, to be incredibly suspenseful. Join me on January 7 at the Layton Barnes & Noble if you are local or at any other participating location (go here for information and to sign up) to discuss it!

Thursday, October 10, 2019

The Testaments

The TV series on Hulu has made The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood extremely popular again but I remember reading it as a teenager when it was first published in 1985.  I also had the opportunity to hear Margaret Atwood speak about it at the University of Utah when I was in college. The dystopian story about the subjugation of women in the totalitarian society of Gilead affected me as no other book has before or since so I was beyond excited to learn that this month's book club selection was The Testaments, Atwood's long awaited sequel to The Handmaid's Tale. More than anything I wanted to know the fate of Offred and this book answers that question...sort of. Offred is a powerful and integral part of the story but she is not an actual character. Instead, the narrative alternates between the perspectives of Aunt Lydia, a young girl living in Gilead named Agnes, and a young girl living in Canada named Daisy. Aunt Lydia is a villain in The Handmaid's Tale but, fifteen years after the events in that story, we learn that Lydia has been creating an illegal document recounting her life before Gilead and how she had to overcome many obstacles to become a respected judge, how she chose to accept her role as an Aunt as a means of survival, and her attempts to undermine the patriarchy. Agnes is a privileged young girl who is being prepared for marriage to a Commander. She is content with her role in society until she is allowed to read the Bible for herself and realizes that she has been lied to her entire life. Daisy has never been told that she was smuggled out of Gilead as a baby, that the people who have raised her are really members of the Resistance, and that she is now an important symbol to the people of Gilead. When she learns her identity, she decides to work for the Resistance and infiltrate Gilead society. What I loved about this book is that you never really know what any of the three main characters will ultimately do until the final resolution because the stakes are so high for them. It actually felt like a suspenseful thriller more than a manifesto. My book club last night had some great discussions about the corrupting influence of absolute power and how the oppressed will always find a way to rise. We also talked about the dangers of fundamentalism and how the narrative seems to echo many events in the world today which is truly frightening.  Finally, we discussed the important role that reading (we are a book club with members who love reading, after all) played in toppling the totalitarian regime. As a huge fan of The Handmaid's Tale I really enjoyed this sequel (I finished it in two days because it is so compelling) and I would highly recommend it.

Note:  Next month's selection is Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.  The early reviews of this book are great so I am eager to start reading it.  Go here for more information about the Barnes & Noble Book Club and join us for a lively discussion of this selection on Nov 5.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Inland

For the past couple of months I have been thinking about joining another book club.  I missed being challenged to read books that I wouldn't necessarily choose for myself and I have recently made a goal to be a little bit more social (I really struggle in this area). I eventually decided to join a book club that is held monthly at a Barnes & Noble bookstore near me. I went for the first time last night and, even though I stressed about it all day yesterday, I had a lot of fun.  The selection for this month was Inland by Tea Obreht and, while I didn't love it, I found the writing to be incredibly beautiful. Set in the Arizona Territory in 1893, the narrative alternates between two complicated characters fighting for survival. Lurie is an outlaw who joins the Camel Corps of the U.S. Army in charge of surveying the Southwest. He is doggedly pursued by Marshall John Berger because he committed a murder as a young man so he eventually takes a camel named Burke and wanders aimlessly on his own. Nora lives on a homestead plagued by a severe drought. She is left to fend for herself after her husband leaves to find water and her two older sons leave after an argument. She also gets into a squabble with a few locals about moving the county seat to another town which will almost certainly mean the end of her homestead. There is an interesting juxtaposition between the two characters because Lurie is unable to stay in one place for long and Nora cannot seem to leave a place no matter how inhospitable. The connection that ties them together is their ability to speak to the dead.  Lurie is followed by the ghosts of people he knew as a child and acquires their negative characteristics (which gets him into trouble).  Nora speaks to the daughter who died as an infant as a way to assuage her guilt over her death. The two are also connected by the common theme of water and how the lack thereof affects them. However, I had a very difficult time getting through the story because it meanders so much and so many characters appear and disappear without resolution.  I kept picking it up and putting it down, impatient for the two narratives to converge which doesn't happen until the final pages.  If you can make it to the end, both characters do find some redemption and are left with hope for the future but I'm not entirely sure I understand the point Obreht is making.  As previously mentioned, the prose is quite stunning, especially in the vivid descriptions of the Southwest, and there were many times when I went back to read a particular passage again because it was so poignant.  While I can appreciate Obreht’s brilliant writing style, I wouldn't recommend this book.  I would, however, recommend the Barnes & Noble book club because the facilitator asked some interesting questions which stimulated a great discussion (I was not the only one to struggle with this selection) and who can resist the delicious cookies from the cafe!  Go here for information and to find a book club near you!

Note:  Next month's selection is The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (the long-awaited sequel to The Handmaid's Tale).  I can't wait to read and discuss this book!

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

The Nightingale

For its September selection, my book club chose The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. The novel takes place during the occupation of France during World War II and depicts the lives of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, as they cope, very differently, with the horrors of war. There is a framing device involving an elderly woman in present day who discovers a trunk of memorabilia from the war and then recounts the story of the sisters.  Vianne is rendered almost helpless as her husband, Antoine, joins the army and eventually ends up in a POW camp.  She spends the war trying to keep life and limb together for herself, her daughter, and her Jewish neighbor, doing whatever is necessary, even exploiting her relationship with the German officer billeted in her home.  Isabelle, restless and headstrong, joins the Resistance and leads downed airmen back to safety through the Pyrenees Mountains. The unknown woman, once again in present day, then travels to France for a reunion with several of the characters. The reader does not know which of the sisters is depicted in this framing device until the very end and that definitely kept my attention throughout. However, I thought this novel was good but not great. I enjoyed reading about the perspectives of women fighting the war at home but many of the historical details didn't ring true to me (The Nazis didn't advertise that Jews were being sent to concentration camps on posters).  Certain events seemed too coincidental to be believed (Did everyone in France have a secret place in their homes where Jews and resistance leaders could hide?).  I sometimes got the impression that Hannah thought of every horrifying event that happened in France during World War II and then applied it to these two sisters and the town of Carriveau (Why were there so many German officers in this little town?).  I also found the romances to be cliched and melodramatic (Of course Vianne will develop feelings for the handsome German officer so far from home who is only following orders.  Of course Isabelle will fall for a dashing resistance fighter after a dramatic brush with death). Most people will probably enjoy this novel; in fact, everyone seems to be gushing about it but, in my opinion, it does not equal All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (which it is often compared to) or Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky.  I would recommend reading those.

Monday, August 31, 2015

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

For its August selection, my book club chose The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. It is a sad story with an ending that is, ultimately, very uplifting. Harold Fry, recently retired, is is in a loveless marriage, is estranged from his adult son, and is filled with regret about his mundane life and his many missed opportunities. Out of the blue, he receives a goodbye letter from Queenie Hennessy, a former colleague who is dying of cancer. He immediately writes a response and, while on his way to post the letter, he makes the irrational decision to take the letter to her in person by walking more than 500 miles from his home in Kingsbridge to her hospice in Berwick Upon Tweed.  He is ill prepared for this journey (he is out of shape, is wearing inappropriate footwear, and left his phone at home) but he becomes convinced that he can save Queenie if she can just hold on until he gets there. As he walks, he encounters many different people from whom he learns important life lessons and the walk becomes less about Queenie and more about Harold finding his way back to himself and to his wife, Maureen, with every passing step. The writing is beautiful and evocative and there were many times when I felt such profound sadness for Harold.  I really loved his character and I found Maureen to be an absolute shrew until an unraveling of past events, little by little, reveals the reason for her bitterness.  In fact, Maureen goes on a metaphorical journey of her own living without Harold, eventually finding her way back to him.  It makes their eventual reconciliation all the more powerful. I must admit that I cried during some of the final scenes.  I did start to lose interest as the journey dragged on and on and became rather predictable but it is worth it to push through because the message that it is never too late to begin again is absolutely lovely! I definitely recommend it.

Friday, July 31, 2015

Go Set a Watchman

In July my book club chose to read Harper Lee's long-awaited second novel Go Set a Watchman.  I have never been more nervous or excited to read a book in my life!  This novel takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb, Georgia twenty years after the events portrayed in To Kill A Mockingbird so, in many regards, it might be considered a sequel. However, it was submitted for publication before To Kill A Mockingbird so it could just as easily be a prequel, especially in light of the fact that Harper Lee used it as a jumping off point to write the beloved classic.  Twenty-six year old Jean Louise (as she is now known) returns to Maycomb to care for her ailing father.  After living in New York for a number of years, she finds Maycomb to be small and provincial and she is horrified to learn of her father's views on integration. Jean Louise still views Maycomb and her father through the rose-colored filter of her childhood and she struggles with the reality she finds.  I personally really loved the story. The character of Jean Louise is everything that I wanted her to be as an adult (still as sassy as ever) and I was quite moved by her relationship with her father and how it evolved. She discovers that the man who has been her moral compass her whole life is flawed and it is Atticus himself who teaches her that she can and should disagree with him.  Much has been made of the fact that Go Set a Watchman portrays Atticus as a racist.  Like Jean Louise, many To Kill a Mockingbird readers view him as an absolute and they, like Jean Louise, struggle with the fact that he is fallible.  This story did not in any way diminish Atticus in my eyes; if anything, it made him a more complex and interesting character. Atticus is, after all, human and his opinions gave me a lot of insight about that particular time and place in history and how otherwise good people could have thought and acted as they did. I do not believe that this novel is an equal to To Kill a Mockingbird nor do I believe that it should be considered a classic.  It is an early draft and it definitely reads like one (although there are some beautifully written sections).  However, I am glad that I read it for the poignant reminder that you can disagree with someone and still love and respect them.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp For Girls

The June selection for my book club was The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani. The story revolves around Thea Atwell, her twin brother Sam, and her cousin Georgie who are raised in the lap of luxury on a secluded plantation in Florida during the Great Depression. Their lives are incredibly insular and they have no other interactions besides their own close-knit family. As the three of them grow up and mature, their relationship changes and the incident occurs. Because of the incident, Thea is shipped off to the Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls in North Carolina where she is completely overwhelmed by her interactions with the other girls, the instructors, and, particularly, the headmaster. Thea does not know how to have appropriate relationships with any one and, inevitably, another incident occurs. The narrative alternates between the events in Florida and the events at Yonahlossee, giving tiny little hints about what the mysterious incident might be.  (By the way, I figured it out long before it was finally revealed but I kept reading to make sure that I was right and it was strangely unsatisfying when I was.) In the end, Thea is chastised yet again and sent home in disgrace where we learn that her mother also has a scandalous past. This coming-of-age novel about family secrets set during an interesting historical period sounds like it would be right up my alley but I didn't entirely like it.  The action moves very slowly and it eventually got annoying every time Thea would reference the incident without explaining what happened. I suppose DiSclafani uses this device to heighten the tension but it is not altogether effective. Thea is an incredibly unsympathetic character. Part of me was angry because all three of the main characters in Florida are culpable in what happened (have you figured it out yet?) but only Thea is punished because she is a girl. The events at Yonahlossee are highly disturbing (surely you have figured it out) and in my opinion Thea is a victim, but she is the only one held responsible. However, by the time I made it through the novel, I didn't really care what happened to her. Certain scenes are quite salacious and I was a bit put off by them. What I did enjoy about this book is the writing.  DiSclafani uses beautiful and evocative prose, especially in the scenes involving horses (I think I liked the horses more than the main characters), and in the descriptions of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I really wanted to like this book but, ultimately, I wouldn't recommend it.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Dead Wake


Several years ago, my good friend Jim recommended the book The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. I'm not a big fan of nonfiction so I put it aside, eventually picking it up when I had nothing else to read. I should have known better because Jim has never yet disappointed me! I loved the story about the search for a mass murderer during the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and I loved how Larson was able to bring these historical characters to life so vividly, almost like a fictional narrative. I immediately read In the Garden of Beasts, Larson's account of U.S. Ambassador William Dodd and his daughter Martha in Berlin during Hitler's rise to power, next and it was so riveting I couldn't put it down. (I just learned that a film adaptation is in the works starring Tom Hanks and Natalie Portman!) Larson is a brilliant storyteller so when my book club chose Dead Wake for its May selection I was thrilled (I had already pre-ordered it from Amazon)! Larson's latest offering is an enthralling account of the sinking of the Lusitania which precipitated the U.S. entry into World War I. After conducting an almost staggering amount of research, Larson uses numerous primary sources to present the perspectives of Captain William Thomas Turner (of the Lusitania), Kapitanleutnant Walther Schweiger (of the German U-boat, U-20, which sank the Lusitania), executives from the Cunard Line, President Woodrow Wilson, Winston Churchill (First Lord of the Admiralty), secret intelligence operatives in Britain's Room 40, as well as passengers aboard the ship (both famous and lesser-known).  He gives a thorough day-to-day account, from the preparations for the voyage to the aftermath of the sinking, and I was particularly struck by the descriptions of life on board a German U-boat. Much has been written about the purported conspiracy that the British failed to protect the Lusitania to hasten America's entry into the war and, while Larson alludes to that, I appreciated the fact that he presents certain facts and then lets readers come to their own conclusions.  Absolutely fascinating!  Dead Wake is definitely not some dusty scholarly tome but a suspenseful thriller that, despite knowing the outcome, had me on the edge of my seat.  I highly recommend it!

Note:  I highly recommend The Devil and the White City and In the Garden of Beasts as well.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

My book club chose The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin as its April selection. Bibliophile that I am, I absolutely loved this novel about a curmudgeonly proprietor of a bookstore located on a remote island in New England. A.J Fikry is a literary snob who doesn't really like people and he has a lot on his mind. His wife was recently killed in a tragic car accident, his bookstore has fewer and fewer customers every month, and his priceless first edition of Tamerlane by Edgar Allan Poe has been stolen. Books are the only consolation in his life despite the well-meaning intentions of his sister-in-law, the police chief, and an eccentric sales rep from a publishing house. Suddenly, Fikry's life is turned upside down when a young woman abandons her toddler in his bookstore (because she thinks it will be a safe place for the child to grow up). This novel is a funny and tender exploration of how life can change in an instant and how books can bring people together.  It spans a decade in A.J. Fikry's life and every chapter begins with a reference to one of his favorite short stories, such as "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl (which I teach to my sophomores), "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" by Mark Twain, and "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe, among others. I think I must be as much of a literary snob as Fikry because I took great pleasure in the fact that I understood each of his references and the significance of each of them in his life.  Figuring out each reference is half the fun of the novel! Even though Fikry is as irascible as can be, he is such a sympathetic character.  I loved the fact that he judged people based on their favorite book and I loved that he organized book clubs for people (whether they like to read or not). This is a book for book lovers and I highly recommend it.

Note:  It is especially appropriate for book clubs!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...