What a great group of friends!! We celebrated the upcoming holidays with a Yankee Swap of books and keeping in the spirit of the season shared with our community. We collected children's and adult books and beauty supplies for the Voices against Violence group in Plymouth, NH. These gifts will go to the homeless shelter and safe houses which are made up mostly of women and children. The non-perishable foods will go to the Campton Food Pantry.
Meeting was held at Pembrook. Book discussed was "Kindred" by Octavia Butler. Out of our group of fifteen, only one expressed that she did not like the science fiction aspect of the book. Most of us felt that this was just a vehicle that the author used to tell her story. Some of us are not Sci-Fi fans...but, still appreciated the writing. The topic of slavery is not a new one for us to discuss. We wondered in what ways life is similar today???
Voted on book for our February 26, meeting. Majority voted for "Breakfast with Buddha" by Rolland Merullo. Patricia said that Thornton Library has a book bag with many copies of the book. I just called and the book bag is out to another library. Will have more info.... later. The February meeting will be back at Pembrook as Marilyn and Kathy will be completing a Snowshoe Weekend that afternoon at Pembrook.
Our January 29th meeting will be held at Lincoln Green with Jane hostessing. The book is "The Wives of Henry Oades". The Thornton Library has eight copies at this time.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Patricia's Book Recommendations for February
WAITING By Ha Jin
"In Waiting, Ha Jin portrays the life of Lin Kong, a dedicated doctor torn by his love for two women: one who belongs to the New China of the Cultural Revolution, the other to the ancient traditions of his family's village. Ha Jin profoundly understands the conflict between the individual and society, between the timeless universality of the human heart and constantly shifting politics of the moment. With wisdom, restraint, and empathy for all his characters, he vividly reveals the complexities and subtleties of a world and a people we desperately need to know."--Judges' Citation, National Book Award
"Ha Jin's novel could hardly be less theatrical, yet we're immediately engaged by its narrative structure, by its wry humor and by the subtle, startling shifts it produces in our understanding of characters and their situation."--The New York Times Book Review
"Subtle and complex--his best work to date. A moving meditation on the effects of time upon love."--The Washington Post
"A high achievement indeed."--Ian Buruma, The New York Review of Books
"A portrait of Chinese provincial life that terrifies with its emptiness even more than with its all-pervasive vulgarity. The poet in [Jin] intersperses these human scenes with achingly beautiful vignettes of natural beauty."--Los Angeles Times
"A simple love story that transcends cultural barriers--. From the idyllic countryside to the small towns in northeast China, Jin's depictions are filled with an earthy poetic grace--. Jin's account of daily life in China is convincing and rich in detail."--The Chicago Tribune
"Compassionate, earthy, robust, and wise, Waiting blends provocative allegory with all-too-human comedy. The result touches and reveals, bringing to life a singular world in its spectacular intricacy."--Gish Jen, author of Who's Irish?
"A remarkable love story. Ha Jin's understanding of the human heart and the human condition transcends borders and time. Waiting is an outstanding literary achievement."--Lisa See, author of On Gold Mountain
BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA By Roland Merullo
The only thing certain about a journey is that it has a beginning and an end—for you never know what may happen along the way. And so it is with this journey into the minds and souls of two very different men—one of them in search of the truth, the other a man who may have already found it.
When Otto Ringling, a husband, father, and editor, departs on a cross-country drive from his home in a New York City suburb to the North Dakota farmhouse in which he grew up, he is a man on a no-nonsense mission: to settle the estate of his recently deceased parents. However, when his flaky sister convinces him to give a ride to her guru, a crimson-robed Skovordinian monk, Otto knows there will be a few bumps in the road.
As they venture across America, Otto and the affable, wise, irritating, and inscrutible holy man engage in a battle of wits and wisdom. Otto, a born skeptic, sees his unwanted passenger as a challenge: a man who assumes the knowledge of the ages yet walks a mortal's path. But he also sees their unexpected pairing as an opportunity to take Volya Rinpoche on a journey of cultural discovery, with visits to quintessentially American landmarks (the Hershey's factory, Wrigley Field) and forays into some favorite American pastimes (bowling, miniature golf, dining out).
It is Otto, however, who has embarked on the real journey, that of self-discovery, led by his strange and remarkable passenger. By the time they reach North Dakota, Otto's head is reeling with the understanding that so much of what he had believed—as well as so much of what he had doubted—must be rethought before his journey can truly begin.
Witty and inventive, Breakfast with Buddha takes readers into the heart of America and in the process shows us a man about to discover his own true heart.
SAPPHIRA AND THE SLAVE GIRL By Willa Cather
Novel by Willa Cather, published in 1940. The novel is set in Virginia in the mid-1800s on the estate of a declining slaveholding family. Sapphira and the Slave Girl centers on the family's matriarch, Sapphira Colbert, and her attempt to sell Nancy Till, a mixed-race slave girl. Sapphira's plot is foiled by her husband Henry and their widowed daughter Rachel Blake. A confident, strong-willed invalid, Sapphira has earned the respect of many of her slaves despite her subtle cruelty toward Nancy. Henry is a pious miller whose simple upbringing and passivity contrast with the aristocratic and manipulative nature of his wife. Henry's nephew Martin, a suave but lecherous ex-soldier, tries to seduce Nancy. Rachel, who helps Nancy flee to Canada, remains at odds with Sapphira over the issue of slavery until the death of Rachel's daughter reconciles the pair. Cather appears in the epilogue as a child who notes Nancy's triumphant return 25 years later. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
THE JOURNEY HOME By Olafur Olafsson
Publication Date: October 30, 2001
A lyrical and arresting novel by acclaimed Icelandic writer Olaf Olafsson about one woman's redemptive journey home.
Disa Jonsdottir has managed an inn for years with her companion, Anthony, in the English countryside. Compelled by the demands of time to revisit the village of her childhood, she departs England for her native Iceland. Along the way memories surface-of the rift between her and her mother, of the fate of her German-Jewish lover, of the trauma she experienced while working as a cook in a wealthy household. Skillfully weaving past and present, Olafsson builds toward an emotional climax that renders The Journey Home moving, suspenseful, and unforgettable.
POSTMISTRESS By Sarah Blake
Publication Date: February 9, 2010
Those who carry the truth sometimes bear a terrible weight...
It is 1940. France has fallen. Bombs are dropping on London. And President Roosevelt is promising he won't send our boys to fight in "foreign wars."
But American radio gal Frankie Bard, the first woman to report from the Blitz in London, wants nothing more than to bring the war home. Frankie's radio dispatches crackle across the Atlantic ocean, imploring listeners to pay attention--as the Nazis bomb London nightly, and Jewish refugees stream across Europe. Frankie is convinced that if she can just get the right story, it will wake Americans to action and they will join the fight.
Meanwhile, in Franklin, Massachusetts, a small town on Cape Cod, Iris James hears Frankie's broadcasts and knows that it is only a matter of time before the war arrives on Franklin's shores. In charge of the town's mail, Iris believes that her job is to deliver and keep people's secrets, passing along the news that letters carry. And one secret she keeps are her feelings for Harry Vale, the town mechanic, who inspects the ocean daily, searching in vain for German U-boats he is certain will come. Two single people in midlife, Iris and Harry long ago gave up hope of ever being in love, yet they find themselves unexpectedly drawn toward each other.
Listening to Frankie as well are Will and Emma Fitch, the town's doctor and his new wife, both trying to escape a fragile childhood and forge a brighter future. When Will follow's Frankie's siren call into the war, Emma's worst fears are realized. Promising to return in six months, Will goes to London to offer his help, and the lives of the three women entwine.
Alternating between an America still cocooned in its inability to grasp the danger at hand and a Europe being torn apart by war, The Postmistress gives us two women who find themselves unable to deliver the news, and a third woman desperately waiting for news yet afraid to hear it.
Sarah Blake's The Postmistress shows how we bear the fact that war goes on around us while ordinary lives continue. Filled with stunning parallels to today, it is a remarkable novel.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Community Contributions
As a followup to our October 30, meeting, Mary Jo contacted Kelly at Voices Against Violence in Plymouth. Kelly's response was Book donations would be wonderful, kids, teens, adults, magazines- we could definitely use them!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
October 30, 2011 Meeting at Mary Jo's B&B
Heavy snow south of the White Mountains caused several of our members to stay close to home. In Campton, it was a beautiful sunny day. The grounds of the Colonel Spencer Inn were white with the fresh snowfall. Contrasting were golden leaves and apples still on the trees. All was reflected in the pond across the street with mountain views in the background.
Book discussed was Richard Harvell's first novel...."The Bells". Some of us loved the book and Harvell's descriptive writing....others enjoyed the book....and one did not like it at all. I understand that a couple people who were not able to be there found it to be so-so. Of course, we had an excellent discussion. We all relate differently to books.
We voted on the book for our January 29, meeting. Majority voted for "The Wives of Henry Oades: a Novel" by Johanna Moran.
Our December 4, meeting will be held at Pembrook at 12:00 Noon. Book to be discussed is Octavia Butler's "Kindred". This is our holiday meeting. Each member is to bring a wrapped book for the Yankee Swap. We discussed if this should be a newly published book. Decision was that it could be any book....as long as it was a "Good Read".
There was a lengthy discussion about how we might make a holiday contribution to the community. First suggestion was for childrens books to be contributed to a Vermont Library that suffered flood damage. It was then pointed out that there are needs closer to home. Joy suggested that we do something to aid women in need.
Mary Jo is going to check with the Whole Village to see if we can contribute toilet articles (shampoo, hand cream, tooth paste, and beauty supplies) to the women's shelter or safe houses. She would also ask if they need adult and childrens books. Marilyn is going to check with the local Food Pantry in Campton to see what foods or supplies are needed. It was suggested that this should be a year round project....not just for the holidays. At each meeting, we can gather non-perishable foods. Each member can take a turn delivering the food to her local food pantry. All thought that this would be a good idea.
Hot chili and corn bread were a hit on this winter like day. And of course delicious deserts..... Thank you to all who provided our feast!
Book discussed was Richard Harvell's first novel...."The Bells". Some of us loved the book and Harvell's descriptive writing....others enjoyed the book....and one did not like it at all. I understand that a couple people who were not able to be there found it to be so-so. Of course, we had an excellent discussion. We all relate differently to books.
We voted on the book for our January 29, meeting. Majority voted for "The Wives of Henry Oades: a Novel" by Johanna Moran.
Our December 4, meeting will be held at Pembrook at 12:00 Noon. Book to be discussed is Octavia Butler's "Kindred". This is our holiday meeting. Each member is to bring a wrapped book for the Yankee Swap. We discussed if this should be a newly published book. Decision was that it could be any book....as long as it was a "Good Read".
There was a lengthy discussion about how we might make a holiday contribution to the community. First suggestion was for childrens books to be contributed to a Vermont Library that suffered flood damage. It was then pointed out that there are needs closer to home. Joy suggested that we do something to aid women in need.
Mary Jo is going to check with the Whole Village to see if we can contribute toilet articles (shampoo, hand cream, tooth paste, and beauty supplies) to the women's shelter or safe houses. She would also ask if they need adult and childrens books. Marilyn is going to check with the local Food Pantry in Campton to see what foods or supplies are needed. It was suggested that this should be a year round project....not just for the holidays. At each meeting, we can gather non-perishable foods. Each member can take a turn delivering the food to her local food pantry. All thought that this would be a good idea.
Hot chili and corn bread were a hit on this winter like day. And of course delicious deserts..... Thank you to all who provided our feast!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Book Suggestions for January Meeting
Mary Jo submitted the following book suggestions:
2. My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira- 384 p. March 2011
3. Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve- 453 p. 1999
4. Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund- 668 p. May 2009
5. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake- 384 p. February 2011
From Publishers Weekly
An English accountant and his two wives are the subject of this intriguing and evocative debut novel based on a real-life 19th-century California bigamy case. A loving husband and attentive father, Henry Oades assures his wife, Margaret, that his posting to New Zealand will be temporary and the family makes the difficult journey. But during a Maori uprising, Margaret and her four children are kidnapped and the Oades's house is torched. Convinced his family is dead, Henry relocates to California and marries Nancy, a sad 20-year-old pregnant widow. When Margaret and the children escape, eventually making their way to California and Henry's doorstep, he does the decent thing by being a husband to both wives and father to all their offspring, a situation deemed indecent by the Berkeley Daughters of Decency. Moran presents Henry's story as if making a case in court, facts methodically revealed with just enough detail for the reader to form an independent opinion. But it's Margaret surviving the wilderness, Nancy overcoming grief and the two women bonding that give the book its heart and should make this a book group winner. (Mar.)2. My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira- 384 p. March 2011
From Publishers Weekly
The Civil War offers a 20-year-old midwife who dreams of becoming a doctor the medical experience she craves, plus hard work and heartbreak, in this rich debut that takes readers from a small upstate New York doctor's office to a Union hospital overflowing with the wounded and dying. Though she's too young for the nursing corps, Mary Sutter goes to Washington, anyway, and, after a chance meeting with a presidential secretary, is led to the Union Hotel Hospital, where she assists chief surgeon William Stipp and becomes so integral to Stipp's work she ignores her mother's pleas to return home to deliver her sister's baby. From a variety of perspectives—Mary, Stipp, their families, and social, political, and military leaders—the novel offers readers a picture of a time of medical hardship, crisis, and opportunity. Oliveira depicts the amputation of a leg, the delivery of a baby, and soldierly life; these are among the fine details that set this novel above the gauzier variety of Civil War fiction. The focus on often horrific medicine and the women who practiced it against all odds makes for compelling reading.3. Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve- 453 p. 1999
From Publishers Weekly
The time is the turn of the last century, the setting a rocky New Hampshire coastline resort area nicknamed "Fortune's Rocks." Olympia Biddeford, age 15, is walking the beach, feeling the first stirrings of her womanhood. The strong-willed daughter of an upstanding Boston couple, she soon "learns of desire" as she begins a passionate affair with a married writer, John Haskell, three times her age. From the moment they meet (he is a visiting friend of her father's), they experience a sexual spark Olympia feels "liquid" in his presence. Soon, they fall into sinful trysting. Shreve (The Pilot's Wife) serves up these opening events with breathless immediacy. Once the plot gets a chance to develop Olympia gets pregnant, gives up child, fights to get child back it settles down considerably, turning into a modernized The Scarlet Letter, a tale of a woman attaining feminist independence by living outside her period's societal mores. Reading, Brown (of TV's The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd) clearly has the most fun at the beginning, where the story's real heat and flushed excitement pours out. Listeners, too, may grow colder as the plot loses its torrid, forbidden edge.4. Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund- 668 p. May 2009
From Publishers Weekly
"Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last," says Una Spenser, the eponymous narrator, in the first sentence of this deliciously old-fashioned bildungsroman, adventure story and romance. Naslund's inspiration, based on one reference in Moby-Dick, may not satisfy aficonados of Melville's dense, richly symbolic masterpiece, but it should please most other readers with its suspenseful, affecting, historically accurate and seductive narrative. At age 12, Una escapes her religiously obsessed father in rural Kentucky to live with relatives in a lighthouse off New Bedford, Mass. When she is 16 disguised as a boy she runs off to sea aboard a whaler, which sinks after being rammed by its quarry. Una and two young men who love her are the only survivors of a group set adrift in an open boat, but the dark secret of their cannibalism will leave its mark. Rescued, Una is wed to one of the young men by the captain of the Pequod, handsome, commanding Ahab, who has not as yet met the white whale that will be his destiny. These events recounted in stately prose nicely dotted with literary allusions take the reader only through the first quarter of the book. Una's later marriage to Ahab a passionate and intellectually satisfying relationship the loss of her mother and her newborn son in one night, and her life as a rich woman in Nantucket are further developments in a plot teeming with arresting events and provocative ideas. Una is an enchanting protagonist: intellectually curious, sensitive, imaginative and kind. But Naslund also endows her with restlessness, rash impetuosity and a refreshing skepticism about traditional religion, qualities that humanize what verges on an idealized personality, and that motivate Una's search for spiritual sustenance. Unitarianism and Universalism are two of the religions she investigates; other "dark issues of our time" include slavery, and the position of women. Social and cultural details texture the lengthy, episodic, discursive narrative. Una's search for identity brings her friendship with such real life figures as writer Margaret Fuller and astronomer Maria Mitchell, and with such colorful fictional characters as an escaped slave and a dwarf bounty hunter. Even Halley's Comet makes an appearance. Provocatively, Naslund (The Disobedience of Water) suggests a new source of Ahab's demented rage to kill the whale who has "unmasted" him. Some elements of the novel jar, especially Naslund's tendency to pay rhapsodic tributes to Una's questing spirit; a surfeit of noble, large-souled and amazingly generous characters; and the symmetrical neatness of the plot. In the last third of the book, readers may become weary of Una's spiritual reflections and the minutiae of her daily routine. But these are small faults in a splendid novel that amply fulfills its ambitious purpose offering a sweeping, yet intimate picture of a remarkable woman who both typifies and transcends her times.5. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake- 384 p. February 2011
From Publishers Weekly
Weaving together the stories of three very different women loosely tied to each other, debut novelist Blake takes readers back and forth between small town America and war-torn Europe in 1940. Single, 40-year-old postmistress Iris James and young newlywed Emma Trask are both new arrivals to Franklin, Mass., on Cape Cod. While Iris and Emma go about their daily lives, they follow American reporter Frankie Bard on the radio as she delivers powerful and personal accounts from the London Blitz and elsewhere in Europe. While Trask waits for the return of her husband—a volunteer doctor stationed in England—James comes across a letter with valuable information that she chooses to hide. Blake captures two different worlds—a naïve nation in denial and, across the ocean, a continent wracked with terror—with a deft sense of character and plot, and a perfect willingness to take on big, complex questions, such as the merits of truth and truth-telling in wartime.Monday, September 26, 2011
September 25, Meeting at Claire's Mountain House
Submitted by Lori.....
Last Sunday (Sep 25, 2011) we were treated to the pleasure of a warm,
balmy day, near peak foliage up at Bretton Woods, and time discussing
books with wonderful friends while sitting out on Claire's deck. We
discussed "The Girl Who Fell From the Sky" by Heidi W. Durrow. The
general consensus about the book was best described by Joy, "It was an
easy read with many layers of complexity". Most liked the book
(although thinking back, I don't think people expressed overwhelming
love for it- mostly because of the difficult subject of a mother
killing her children). There was one person vocal in her dislike of
the book, feeling that it engendered too many stereotypes. We
discussed the topic of racism, the status of mixed marriages (are they
more accepted today?), and the motivations and options for the
characters with a lively discussion towards the end as to whether the
main characters were doomed or had potential to make good lives for
themselves in the end (we were roughly split on that).
To add to the discussion I had also read "Passing" by Nella Larsen
written during the Harlem Renaissance in the late 20's. Nella Larsen
was a hero for Heidi Durrow (both were of Dutch and African American
descent). It was interesting to compare the contemporary story written
by Heidi Durrow to Nella Larsen's story set during segregation.
Our next meeting will be held on Sunday, October 30 at Mary Jo's where
we will be discussing, "The Bells" by Richard Harvell.
We decided on a book for our Nov/Dec meeting, "Kindred" by Octavia
Butler. As in previous years, the Nov/Dec meeting will be held in
conjunction with the Polar Express/Elf weekend, Dec 4th, 2011. The meeting will be at Pembrook. We will enjoy our annual Yankee Book Swap.
We had a fairly small group last weekend, and as always, those of you
that couldn't make it were very much missed.
Mary Jo sent pics from September 25, 2011, book club meeting.
Last Sunday (Sep 25, 2011) we were treated to the pleasure of a warm,
balmy day, near peak foliage up at Bretton Woods, and time discussing
books with wonderful friends while sitting out on Claire's deck. We
discussed "The Girl Who Fell From the Sky" by Heidi W. Durrow. The
general consensus about the book was best described by Joy, "It was an
easy read with many layers of complexity". Most liked the book
(although thinking back, I don't think people expressed overwhelming
love for it- mostly because of the difficult subject of a mother
killing her children). There was one person vocal in her dislike of
the book, feeling that it engendered too many stereotypes. We
discussed the topic of racism, the status of mixed marriages (are they
more accepted today?), and the motivations and options for the
characters with a lively discussion towards the end as to whether the
main characters were doomed or had potential to make good lives for
themselves in the end (we were roughly split on that).
To add to the discussion I had also read "Passing" by Nella Larsen
written during the Harlem Renaissance in the late 20's. Nella Larsen
was a hero for Heidi Durrow (both were of Dutch and African American
descent). It was interesting to compare the contemporary story written
by Heidi Durrow to Nella Larsen's story set during segregation.
Our next meeting will be held on Sunday, October 30 at Mary Jo's where
we will be discussing, "The Bells" by Richard Harvell.
We decided on a book for our Nov/Dec meeting, "Kindred" by Octavia
Butler. As in previous years, the Nov/Dec meeting will be held in
conjunction with the Polar Express/Elf weekend, Dec 4th, 2011. The meeting will be at Pembrook. We will enjoy our annual Yankee Book Swap.
We had a fairly small group last weekend, and as always, those of you
that couldn't make it were very much missed.
Mary Jo sent pics from September 25, 2011, book club meeting.
To see photos, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1948237996136.2088116.1548160769&l=4a29c2588f&type=1Marlena's Suggestions for December Book
The following books were recommended by Marlena as our December 4, 2011 read:
| Kindred by Octavia Butler Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stays grow longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin. Homer and Langley by Doctorow Homer and Langley Collyer are brothers—the one blind and deeply intuitive, the other damaged into madness, or perhaps greatness, by mustard gas in the Great War. They live as recluses in their once grand Fifth Avenue mansion, scavenging the city streets for things they think they can use, hoarding the daily newspapers as research for Langley’s proposed dateless newspaper whose reportage will be as prophecy. Yet the epic events of the century play out in the lives of the two brothers—wars, political movements, technological advances—and even though they want nothing more than to shut out the world, history seems to pass through their cluttered house in the persons of immigrants, prostitutes, society women, government agents, gangsters, jazz musicians . . . and their housebound lives are fraught with odyssean peril as they struggle to survive and create meaning for themselves. Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
|
Sunday, August 21, 2011
August 21, 2011 - Meeting at Pembrook
Changed our date from the last Sunday of the month to August 21, since Joy, Ann, Lori, and Claire would be staying at Pembrook for the weekend. We started our discussion out on the back deck....and then the rain and wind came....and we crowded into the dining room.
Book discussed was "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen Simonson. The majority liked this book very much. I dont believe that there was anyone who disliked the book. Majority felt that it was well written. Some quoted their favorite paragraphs or lines. The subjects in the book led to discussions about prejudice of race, nationality, and social position.
Marilyn had proposed four books for the October 30, meeting. The highest votes went to "The Bells" a novel by Richard Harvell.
Our September 25, meeting will be held at either Marilyn or Stephanie's house. They will send an email advising location a week or so ahead. Book to be discussed is "The Girl who Fell from the Sky" by Heidi Durrow.
Mary Jo volunteered to have the October 30, meeting at her B&B.
We will not have a meeting in November as it would coincide with Thanksgiving Weekend. Instead we will follow our tradition of holding our Holiday Celebration meeting on Sunday, December 4. The night before, please join Kathy at Pembrook for our annual Polar Express Elfing Excursion and Pot Luck dinner. Those south of our area are invited to spend the weekend at Pembrook.
At our December 4, Bookclub Meeting we will have a Yankee Swap and also collect new Children's books to give to the Campton Fire Department for their annual Santa Toy drive.
Book discussed was "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen Simonson. The majority liked this book very much. I dont believe that there was anyone who disliked the book. Majority felt that it was well written. Some quoted their favorite paragraphs or lines. The subjects in the book led to discussions about prejudice of race, nationality, and social position.
Marilyn had proposed four books for the October 30, meeting. The highest votes went to "The Bells" a novel by Richard Harvell.
Our September 25, meeting will be held at either Marilyn or Stephanie's house. They will send an email advising location a week or so ahead. Book to be discussed is "The Girl who Fell from the Sky" by Heidi Durrow.
Mary Jo volunteered to have the October 30, meeting at her B&B.
We will not have a meeting in November as it would coincide with Thanksgiving Weekend. Instead we will follow our tradition of holding our Holiday Celebration meeting on Sunday, December 4. The night before, please join Kathy at Pembrook for our annual Polar Express Elfing Excursion and Pot Luck dinner. Those south of our area are invited to spend the weekend at Pembrook.
At our December 4, Bookclub Meeting we will have a Yankee Swap and also collect new Children's books to give to the Campton Fire Department for their annual Santa Toy drive.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Marilyn's suggestions for October Book Choice
THE BELLS. by Richard Harvell
Born in a belfry in the Uri Valley of the Swiss Alps, where his deaf-mute mother rang the Loudest Bells on Earth, Moses Froben possesses both a remarkably sensitive ear and an exquisite singing voice, enabling him to overcome his humble origins to become Lo Suizzero, the musical toast of Europe in the eighteenth century. In papers left for the son he raised but did not sire, Froben recounts being rescued from his father’s murderous plan by monks Nicolai and Remus and taken to their abbey, where the choirmaster recognizes the boy’s gift and goes to inhumane lengths to preserve it. In the neighboring town, Moses meets Amalia Duft, daughter of the area’s wealthiest man, whose love becomes a beacon for his life even after his castration. Despite an opening note that reveals part of the story, Harvell builds suspense as Moses struggles against the superior forces of the noble family Amalia is forced by duplicity to marry into, reaching a bittersweet conclusion. Taking few liberties with history, Harvell has fashioned an engrossing first novel ringing with sounds; a musical and literary treat.
|
Richard Harvell was born in New Hampshire, and now lives in Basel, Switzerland. He studied English at Dartmouth College. The Bells, his first novel, is an Indie Next Pick (October, 2010) and is being translated into a dozen languages. |
THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS. by Isabel Wilderson
The Epic Story of America's Great Migration- Ida Mae Brandon Gladney, a sharecropper's wife, left Mississippi for Milwaukee in 1937, after her cousin was falsely accused of stealing a white man's turkeys and was almost beaten to death. In 1945, George Swanson Starling, a citrus picker, fled Florida for Harlem after learning of the grove owners' plans to give him a "necktie party" (a lynching). Robert Joseph Pershing Foster made his trek from Louisiana to California in 1953, embittered by "the absurdity that he was doing surgery for the United States Army and couldn't operate in his own home town." Anchored to these three stories is Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Wilkerson's magnificent, extensively researched study of the "great migration," the exodus of six million black Southerners out of the terror of Jim Crow to an "uncertain existence" in the North and Midwest. Wilkerson deftly incorporates sociological and historical studies into the novelistic narratives of Gladney, Starling, and Pershing settling in new lands, building anew, and often finding that they have not left racism behind. The drama, poignancy, and romance of a classic immigrant saga pervade this book, hold the reader in its grasp, and resonate long after the reading is done. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
MODOC: THE TRUE STORY OF THE GREATEST ELEPHANT THAT EVER LIVED
The simply astonishing, exhilarating story--complete with high adventure, betrayal, and resurrection--of Modoc, elephant extraordinaire, told by Helfer (The Beauty of the Beasts, 1990). They were born on the same day, a hundred years back, in a Black Forest village: Bram Gunterstein, son of a circus animal trainer, and Modoc, an Indian elephant headed for big-top life with the Wunderzircus, a provincial troupe. Their love for each other develops early, when Bram is just a toddler and Modoc a youthful one-ton package, and Bram's father on his deathbed councils Bram to watch after Modoc. That he does, and the tribulations and pleasures they share defy the imagination: The circus is sold out from under Bram to the sinister Mr. North; Bram stows away on the vessel transporting Modoc, leaving behind the girl of his dreams; discovered, Bram wins over the captain, but the ship sinks during a hurricane; Modoc and Bram float to the shores of India, where Bram learns further tools of the trade at the maharaja's elephantarium; there he lives in a teak-built compound, tends to Modoc, and is honored to have an audience with the sacred white elephant; he woos and wins a woman from the village but is warned that North is on his trail. He strikes out with Modoc to the teak plantations of Burma, is captured by rebels, loses his wife, confronts North, journeys to the US and fashions a spectacular show for Modoc, wins back his earlier love, only to have the elephant sold out from under him again. Helfer (an animal trainer by trade) happens across Modoc and buys him in the 1970s, then Bram appears yet again. The story is told with a heart-tugging warmth that, granted, at times slips into Disney mode, but that feels credible: There is, amazingly enough, a truthful tang to the picaresque proceedings. One glorious pachyderm and one cracking story.
OUT STEALING HORSES. by Per Petterson
Trond’s friend John often appeared at his doorstep with an adventure in mind for the two of them. But this morning was different. What began as a joy ride on “borrowed” horses ends with Jon falling into a strange trance of grief. Trond soon learns what befell Jon earlier that day- an incident that marks the beginning of a series of vital losses for both boys. Set in the easternmost region of Norway, Out Stealing Horses begins with an ending. 67 year old Trond has settled into a rustic cabin in an isolated area to live the rest of his life with a quiet deliberation. A meeting with his only neighbor, however, forces him to reflect on that fateful summer
THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE. by Katherine Howe
Set in Cambridge and Marblehead, Mass., Howe's propulsive if derivative novel alternates between the 1991 story of college student Connie Goodwin and a group of 17th-century outcasts. After moving into her grandmother's crumbling house to get it in shape for sale, Connie comes across a small key and piece of paper reading only Deliverance Dane. The Salem witch trials, contemporary Wicca and women's roles in early American history figure prominently as Connie does her academic detective work. What follows is a breezy read in which Connie must uncover the mystery of a shadowy book written by the enigmatic Deliverance Dane. During Connie's investigation, she relies on a handsome steeplejack for romance and her mother and an expert on American colonial history for clues and support. While the twisty plot and Howe's habit of ending chapters with cliffhangers are straight out of the thriller playbook, the writing is solid overall, and Howe's depiction of early American life and the witch trials should appeal to readers who enjoyed The Heretic's Daughter. The witchcraft angle and frenetic pacing beg for a screen adaptation. From Publishers Weekly
Monday, August 1, 2011
July 31, 2011 - Meeting at Celia's
Submitted by Lori:
We had a small group for book club yesterday, and although the absent
members were very much missed, the small number allowed us to fit
easily for into Celia's gazebo for an extremely pleasant afternoon.
While enjoying copious (and delicious) appetizers and wine, we
discussed "The Widow's War" by Sally Gunning. Most in the group
enjoyed the book immensely, while a few felt it was perhaps a bit too
simplistic or romantic. The book generated discussion about whether or
not personal desire really would have won out over social mores in
those days of strong religious restriction- and we determined that if
the personal desire was strong enough and the social dictum repugnant
enough, yes, the events in the book could have happened. We also
discussed the status of women in the US, realizing that even as little
as 20 years ago, it was difficult for women to own property and get
credit without a husband or father to cosign. It was fun to hear
Patricia talk about the Brewster area (where this story was set) as it
was 40 years ago and still undeveloped. There was also a lively
discussion about the main character's relationship with Sam (the
Indian man), with opinions ranging from that a white woman wouldn't
have jeopardized herself to such a degree back then to some that felt
she should have ended up with him in the end. As usual, it was a
wonderful afternoon.
Because of the number of people that have had to miss summer meetings,
there has been talk of taking a break for a few months each summer.
Those of us at yesterday's meeting decided that we would prefer to
continue through the summers, both for continuity and because the
meetings are still wonderful, even when smaller.
Another point that came up yesterday- we had only appetizers and
wonderful Key Lime Pie prepared by Celia, and felt that it was a
sufficient amount of food for the afternoon. As much as we all like to
prepare food for each other and eat it, we should continue to try to
keep the food offerings simple at these meetings.
The next meeting will be Sun, Aug 21 at Pembrook (Kathy will confirm
the time). It has been moved up one week for Augest since a number of
us will be here already for one of Kathy's trips. The book to be
discussed in August is "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen
Simonson.
A book was chosen for the Sept. 25th meeting. By an overwhelming
majority, it was decided that we would read "The Girl that Fell from
the Sky" by Heidi W. Durrow. We did not decide on a place for the
Sept meeting, and are still looking for volunteers. I am always happy
to host in Jamaica Plain, but perhaps there is someone else that would
rather host in NH. We can determine the place at the next meeting.
We missed all of you that couldn't make it yesterday, but still
managed to have a wonderful time :-)
We had a small group for book club yesterday, and although the absent
members were very much missed, the small number allowed us to fit
easily for into Celia's gazebo for an extremely pleasant afternoon.
While enjoying copious (and delicious) appetizers and wine, we
discussed "The Widow's War" by Sally Gunning. Most in the group
enjoyed the book immensely, while a few felt it was perhaps a bit too
simplistic or romantic. The book generated discussion about whether or
not personal desire really would have won out over social mores in
those days of strong religious restriction- and we determined that if
the personal desire was strong enough and the social dictum repugnant
enough, yes, the events in the book could have happened. We also
discussed the status of women in the US, realizing that even as little
as 20 years ago, it was difficult for women to own property and get
credit without a husband or father to cosign. It was fun to hear
Patricia talk about the Brewster area (where this story was set) as it
was 40 years ago and still undeveloped. There was also a lively
discussion about the main character's relationship with Sam (the
Indian man), with opinions ranging from that a white woman wouldn't
have jeopardized herself to such a degree back then to some that felt
she should have ended up with him in the end. As usual, it was a
wonderful afternoon.
Because of the number of people that have had to miss summer meetings,
there has been talk of taking a break for a few months each summer.
Those of us at yesterday's meeting decided that we would prefer to
continue through the summers, both for continuity and because the
meetings are still wonderful, even when smaller.
Another point that came up yesterday- we had only appetizers and
wonderful Key Lime Pie prepared by Celia, and felt that it was a
sufficient amount of food for the afternoon. As much as we all like to
prepare food for each other and eat it, we should continue to try to
keep the food offerings simple at these meetings.
The next meeting will be Sun, Aug 21 at Pembrook (Kathy will confirm
the time). It has been moved up one week for Augest since a number of
us will be here already for one of Kathy's trips. The book to be
discussed in August is "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen
Simonson.
A book was chosen for the Sept. 25th meeting. By an overwhelming
majority, it was decided that we would read "The Girl that Fell from
the Sky" by Heidi W. Durrow. We did not decide on a place for the
Sept meeting, and are still looking for volunteers. I am always happy
to host in Jamaica Plain, but perhaps there is someone else that would
rather host in NH. We can determine the place at the next meeting.
We missed all of you that couldn't make it yesterday, but still
managed to have a wonderful time :-)
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Lori's Suggestions for September Book
Book Suggestions for September 2011 Meeting:
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez 352 pates
During the last days of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, three young women, members of a conservative, pious Catholic family, who had become committed to the revolutionary overthrow of the regime, were ambushed and assassinated as they drove back from visiting their jailed husbands. Thus martyred, the Mirabal sisters have become mythical figures in their country, where they are known as las mariposas (the butterflies), from their underground code names. Herself a native of the Dominican Republic, Alvarez ( How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents ) has fictionalized their story in a narrative that starts slowly but builds to a gripping intensity. Each of the girls--Patria, Minerva and Maria Terese (Mate) Mirabal--speaks in her own voice, beginning in their girlhood in the 1940s; their surviving sister, Dede, frames the narrative with her own tale of suffering and dedication to their memory. To differentiate their personalities and the ways they came to acquire revolutionary fervor, Alvarez takes the risk of describing their early lives in leisurely detail, somewhat slowing the narrative momentum. In particular, the giddy, childish diary entries of Mate, the youngest, may seem irritatingly mundane at first, but in time Mate's heroism becomes the most moving of all, as the sisters endure the arrests of their husbands, their own imprisonment and the inexorable progress of Trujillo's revenge. Alvarez captures the terrorized atmosphere of a police state, in which people live under the sword of terrible fear and atrocities cannot be acknowledged. As the sisters' energetic fervor turns to anguish, Alvarez conveys their courage and their desperation, and the full import of their tragedy.
East is East by TC Boyle 384 pates
Offspring of a young Japanese woman and a spaced-out American hippie briefly entranced with Japan, Hiro Tanaka grows up scorned as a half-breed in his racially pure homeland. So when he nears America aboard the sailing vessel on which he serves as cook's assistant, Hiro literally jumps ship. He's sure that in America a man of mixed race can easily fit in, but he's in for a big surprise. Landing on Tupelo Island near Georgia, he inadvertently frightens a number of witless residents and thus finds himself a hunted man. He is briefly protected by Ruth Dershowitz, a resident at a writers' colony on the island, but her motives are mixed: she's mostly interested in Hiro as an experience that will enhance her writing and highly developed sense of self. Indeed, virtually everyone in this picaresque novel acts primarily from self-interest; even our Hiro comes across as something of an anti-hero, self-pitying if vulnerable. Boyle's lucid prose charges ahead wrecklessly, sweeping readers along as it effortlessly blends the story of Hiro's plight with that of the writers' colony.
The Locust and the Bird by Hanan Al-Shaykh 320 pages
Al-Shaykh, a Lebanese journalist and author of six novels (including Story of Zahra), finally succumbs to her illiterate mother Kamila's haranguing to write her story. The result falls somewhere between memoir and biography as she recreates and undoubtedly takes literary license with her mother's history. Kamila and her brother grow up in poverty, estranged from their father, until their mother moves them to Beirut to live with their older siblings from her first marriage in the 1930s. Soon, one of their sisters dies of rabies and the family marries 14-year-old Kamila unwillingly to the widower, Abu-Hussein, 18 years her elder. Kamila torments her husband to show her displeasure, but bears him two children by the age of 17. Her starry-eyed love of the cinema is all that assuages her unhappiness but also fuels her affair with a man her own age, Muhammed. After the 10-year affair has shamed both their families, she is granted a divorce from Abu-Hussein but must leave her two daughters behind, including the author, Hanan. Kamila has five more children with Muhammed. Though at times Kamila's life feels overly condensed, the author's journalistic talent reveals itself in her ability to get past her own abandonment to paint Kamila as a vivid, willful girl who lived as though she were the heroine of a great film.
The Girl that Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow 272 pages
Durrow's debut draws from her own upbringing as the brown-skinned, blue-eyed daughter of a Danish woman and a black G.I. to create Rachel Morse, a young girl with an identical heritage growing up in the early 1980s. After a devastating family tragedy in Chicago with Rachel the only survivor, she goes to live with the paternal grandmother she's never met, in a decidedly black neighborhood in Portland, Ore. Suddenly, at 11, Rachel is in a world that demands her to be either white or black. As she struggles with her grief and the haunting, yet-to-be-revealed truth of the tragedy, her appearance and intelligence place her under constant scrutiny. Laronne, Rachel's deceased mother's employer, and Brick, a young boy who witnessed the tragedy and because of his personal misfortunes is drawn into Rachel's world, help piece together the puzzle of Rachel's family. Taut prose, a controversial conclusion and the thoughtful reflection on racism and racial identity resonate without treading into political or even overtly specific agenda waters, as the story succeeds as both a modern coming-of-age and relevant social commentary.
The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey 448 pages
A beautifully written, unforgettable novel of a troubled marriage, set against the lush landscape and political turmoil of Trinidad Monique Roffey's Orange Prize-shortlisted novel is a gripping portrait of postcolonialism that stands among great works by Caribbean writers like Jamaica Kincaid and Andrea Levy.
When George and Sabine Harwood arrive in Trinidad from England, George is immediately seduced by the beguiling island, while Sabine feels isolated, heat-fatigued, and ill-at-ease. As they adapt to new circumstances, their marriage endures for better or worse, despite growing political unrest and racial tensions that affect their daily lives. But when George finds a cache of letters that Sabine has hidden from him, the discovery sets off a devastating series of consequences as other secrets begin to emerge.
Monday, June 27, 2011
June 26, 2011 - Meeting at Joy's
We were a smaller group than usual when we met at Joy's for our discussion of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks". Many of our members were off on vacation. Weather was ideal so we were able to sit outside on Joy's patio....enjoying her gardens and fish pool. Everyone seemed to have liked the book and were impressed that Lori works with the HELA cells. I believe that we could relate better to the book and the difference that Henrietta Lacks made to the scientific world through her cells.
Voted for our book selection for the August 21, meeting which will be held at Pembrook. Book chosen was "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen Simonson. http://www.amazon.com/Major-Pettigrews-Last-Stand-Readers/dp/0812981227/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309200391&sr=1-1 I (Kathy) placed an order with the Thornton Library for this book.
Our next meeting will be on Sunday, July 31, at Celia's house. Book is "The Widows' War" by Sally Gunning. Books are available at the Thornton Library.
After book discussion, we enjoyed a delicious cool avacado soup, chicken tarragon salad, and other treats. Joy also served a wonderful Sangria along with snacks. We need the soup recipe. Will get it and post to www.riverrunrecipes@blogspot.com
Voted for our book selection for the August 21, meeting which will be held at Pembrook. Book chosen was "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen Simonson. http://www.amazon.com/Major-Pettigrews-Last-Stand-Readers/dp/0812981227/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309200391&sr=1-1 I (Kathy) placed an order with the Thornton Library for this book.
Our next meeting will be on Sunday, July 31, at Celia's house. Book is "The Widows' War" by Sally Gunning. Books are available at the Thornton Library.
After book discussion, we enjoyed a delicious cool avacado soup, chicken tarragon salad, and other treats. Joy also served a wonderful Sangria along with snacks. We need the soup recipe. Will get it and post to www.riverrunrecipes@blogspot.com
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Kathy's Suggestions for August Bookclub Selection
Bookclub Suggestions
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez 352 pages
From the author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents comes this tale of courage and sisterhood set in the Dominican Republic during the rise of the Trujillo dictatorship. A skillful blend of fact and fiction, In the Time of the Butterflies is inspired by the true story of the three Mirabal sisters who, in 1960, were murdered for their part in an underground plot to overthrow the government. Alvarez breathes life into these historical figures--known as "las mariposas," or "the butterflies," in the underground--as she imagines their teenage years, their gradual involvement with the revolution, and their terror as their dissentience is uncovered.
Alvarez's controlled writing perfectly captures the mounting tension as "the butterflies" near their horrific end. The novel begins with the recollections of Dede, the fourth and surviving sister, who fears abandoning her routines and her husband to join the movement. Alvarez also offers the perspectives of the other sisters: brave and outspoken Minerva, the family's political ringleader; pious Patria, who forsakes her faith to join her sisters after witnessing the atrocities of the tyranny; and the baby sister, sensitive Maria Teresa, who, in a series of diaries, chronicles her allegiance to Minerva and the physical and spiritual anguish of prison life.
In the Time of the Butterflies is an American Library Association Notable Book and a 1995 National Book Critics Circle Award nominee. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 496 pages
Amazon Best Books of the Month, November 2010: From Laura Hillenbrand, the bestselling author of Seabiscuit, comes Unbroken, the inspiring true story of a man who lived through a series of catastrophes almost too incredible to be believed. In evocative, immediate descriptions, Hillenbrand unfurls the story of Louie Zamperini--a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic runner-turned-Army hero. During a routine search mission over the Pacific, Louie’s plane crashed into the ocean, and what happened to him over the next three years of his life is a story that will keep you glued to the pages, eagerly awaiting the next turn in the story and fearing it at the same time. You’ll cheer for the man who somehow maintained his selfhood and humanity despite the monumental degradations he suffered, and you’ll want to share this book with everyone you know. --Juliet Disparte
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson 640 pages
Starred Review. Ida Mae Brandon Gladney, a sharecropper's wife, left Mississippi for Milwaukee in 1937, after her cousin was falsely accused of stealing a white man's turkeys and was almost beaten to death. In 1945, George Swanson Starling, a citrus picker, fled Florida for Harlem after learning of the grove owners' plans to give him a "necktie party" (a lynching). Robert Joseph Pershing Foster made his trek from Louisiana to California in 1953, embittered by "the absurdity that he was doing surgery for the United States Army and couldn't operate in his own home town." Anchored to these three stories is Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Wilkerson's magnificent, extensively researched study of the "great migration," the exodus of six million black Southerners out of the terror of Jim Crow to an "uncertain existence" in the North and Midwest. Wilkerson deftly incorporates sociological and historical studies into the novelistic narratives of Gladney, Starling, and Pershing settling in new lands, building anew, and often finding that they have not left racism behind. The drama, poignancy, and romance of a classic immigrant saga pervade this book, hold the reader in its grasp, and resonate long after the reading is done.
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand: A Novel by Helen Simonson 384 pages
Amazon Best Books of the Month, March 2010: In her witty and wise debut novel, newcomer Helen Simonson introduces the unforgettable character of the widower Major Ernest Pettigrew. The Major epitomizes the Englishman with the "stiff upper lip," who clings to traditional values and has tried (in vain) to pass these along to his yuppie son, Roger. The story centers around Pettigrew's fight to keep his greedy relatives (including his son) from selling a valuable family heirloom--a pair of hunting rifles that symbolizes much of what he stands for, or at least what he thinks he does. The embattled hero discovers an unexpected ally and source of consolation in his neighbor, the Pakistani shopkeeper Jasmina Ali. On the surface, Pettigrew and Ali's backgrounds and life experiences couldn't be more different, but they discover that they have the most important things in common. This wry, yet optimistic comedy of manners with a romantic twist will appeal to grown-up readers of both sexes. Kudos to Helen Simonson, who distinguishes herself with Major Pettigrew's Last Stand as a writer with the narrative range, stylistic chops, and poise of a veteran. --Lauren Nemroff
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers 368 pages
Through the story of one man’s experience after Hurricane Katrina, Eggers draws an indelible picture of Bush-era crisis management. Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a successful Syrian-born painting contractor, decides to stay in New Orleans and protect his property while his family flees. After the levees break, he uses a small canoe to rescue people, before being arrested by an armed squad and swept powerlessly into a vortex of bureaucratic brutality. When a guard accuses him of being a member of Al Qaeda, he sees that race and culture may explain his predicament. Eggers, compiling his account from interviews, sensibly resists rhetorical grandstanding, letting injustices speak for themselves. His skill is most evident in how closely he involves the reader in Zeitoun’s thoughts. Thrown into one of a series of wire cages, Zeitoun speculates, with a contractor’s practicality, that construction of his prison must have begun within a day or so of the hurricane.
Monday, May 16, 2011
May 15, 2011 - Meeting at Marilyn's
Book discussed was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Everyone liked the book. Some commented that they liked it better the first time they read the book. Comparisons to the movie were made. Discussion about circus life, life in nursing home, loyalties to friends and workers.
Voted on Judy's suggestions for July 31st meeting. Widow's War, by Sally Gunning was selected.
We expressed how we would miss Selena, our Thornton Librarian. She has served us and the town for the last nine years. Marilyn passed a card around for us to all sign wishing Selena well and thanking her.
Clothing exchange followed our discussion. What was left over will be donated to the Thrift Shop in Campton.
Feasted upon lasagna, turkey pie, and salads....and delicious desserts.
Our next meeting is on June 26, at Joy's house. Book to be discussed is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Voted on Judy's suggestions for July 31st meeting. Widow's War, by Sally Gunning was selected.
We expressed how we would miss Selena, our Thornton Librarian. She has served us and the town for the last nine years. Marilyn passed a card around for us to all sign wishing Selena well and thanking her.
Clothing exchange followed our discussion. What was left over will be donated to the Thrift Shop in Campton.
Feasted upon lasagna, turkey pie, and salads....and delicious desserts.
Our next meeting is on June 26, at Joy's house. Book to be discussed is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
July Book Selections from Judy
The Glass Room, by Simon Mawer
A near-perfect novel of architecture, art and love
The latest from novelist Mawer begins with great promise, as Jewish newlyweds Viktor and Liesel Landauer meet with architect Rainier von Abt, not just an architect but "a poet...of light and space and form," who builds their dream home, a "modern house...adapted to the future rather than the past, to the openness of modern living." World events, however, are about to overtake 1930s Czechoslovakia. Viktor, like most in the community, dismisses rumors of impending pogroms-"The only people who hold the German economy together are the Jews"-but once the signs of Nazi occupation become impossible to ignore, the Landauers must abandon their beloved home. As the world spins into chaos, the highly symbolic Landauer house is the only constant; though it shifts identities more than once, the house remains "ageless," a place "that defines the very existence of time."
The author tells us in a Note at the beginning of this novel that the beautiful modern house that contains the Glass Room is not fictional. Here called the Landauer House in Mesto, it is in fact the Villa Tugendhat in Brno, completed in 1930; and, excellent and faithful though the descriptions of it are, some readers may like to look at Google Images to see what the exterior and the interior actually looked like. They can also ascertain that the real name of the architect, here called Rainer von Abt, was Mies van der Rohe, and the real owners of the house were Fritz Tugendhat (a textile magnate) and his wife Greta, who were BOTH Jewish.
Shortlisted for The Man Booker Prize 2009
The Bells, by Richard Harvell
Born in a belfry in the Uri Valley of the Swiss Alps, where his deaf-mute mother rang the Loudest Bells on Earth, Moses Froben possesses both a remarkably sensitive ear and an exquisite singing voice, enabling him to overcome his humble origins to become Lo Suizzero, the musical toast of Europe in the eighteenth century. In papers left for the son he raised but did not sire, Froben recounts being rescued from his father’s murderous plan by monks Nicolai and Remus and taken to their abbey, where the choirmaster recognizes the boy’s gift and goes to inhumane lengths to preserve it. In the neighboring town, Moses meets Amalia Duft, daughter of the area’s wealthiest man, whose love becomes a beacon for his life even after his castration. Despite an opening note that reveals part of the story, Harvell builds suspense as Moses struggles against the superior forces of the noble family Amalia is forced by duplicity to marry into, reaching a bittersweet conclusion. Taking few liberties with history, Harvell has fashioned an engrossing first novel ringing with sounds; a musical and literary treat.
|
Richard Harvell was born in New Hampshire, and now lives in Basel, Switzerland. He studied English at Dartmouth College. The Bells, his first novel, is an Indie Next Pick (October, 2010) and is being translated into a dozen languages. |
Widow’s War, by Sally Gunning
Mystery author Gunning moves to literary historical with this provocative tale of a whaling widow determined to forge a new life in colonial Cape Cod. When Lyddie Berry's husband drowns in 1761, her grief is compounded by the discovery that he's willed her the traditional widow's share—one-third use, but not ownership, of his estate. Lyddie's care, and the bulk of the estate, have been entrusted to their closest male relative, son-in-law Nathan Clarke, husband to their daughter Mehitable and a man used to ordering a household around. Lyddie's struggle to maintain a place in her radically changed home soon brings her into open conflict with an increasingly short-tempered Nathan and his children from two previous marriages. Gunning infuses the story with suspense and intrigue, as Lyddie's plight brings her into the orbit of local Indian Sam Cowett; community censure then brings her an ally in sympathetic lawyer Ebeneezer Freeman. Gunning resists easy generalizations and stereotypes while the story pulls in 18th-century law and Anglo-Indian relations, but the dull period dialogue, of which there is a great deal, reads awkwardly. Yet she makes Lyddie's struggle to remake her life credible and the world she inhabits complex. The crisp prose is flavored with the stinging salty atmosphere of a New England community witnessing a strong willed widow’s war for independence. A good choice for book groups.
How Green Was My Valley, by Richard Llewellyn
How Green Was My Valley is Richard Llewellyn's bestselling -- and timeless -- classic and the basis of a beloved film. As Huw Morgan is about to leave home forever, he reminisces about the golden days of his youth when South Wales still prospered, when coal dust had not yet blackened the valley. Drawn simply and lovingly, with a crisp Welsh humor, Llewellyn's characters fight, love, laugh and cry, creating an indelible portrait of a people.
Written in 1939, Richard’s first book has become a bittersweet coming of age tale of a boy growing up in a large family in a small town, and of his love for his lovely sister-in-law. This is a coal mine story, so you just know there's going to be some tragedy involved, and of course there is. The story is written from the depths of the author's heart and soul. No wonder it won an Oscar when it was made into a movie.
Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese
Lauded for his sensitive memoir (My Own Country) about his time as a doctor in eastern Tennessee at the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the 80s, Verghese turns his formidable talents to fiction, mining his own life and experiences in a magnificent, sweeping novel that moves from India to Ethiopia to an inner-city hospital in New York City over decades and generations. Sister Mary Joseph Praise, a devout young nun, leaves the south Indian state of Kerala in 1947 for a missionary post in Yemen. During the arduous sea voyage, she saves the life of an English doctor bound for Ethiopia, Thomas Stone, who becomes a key player in her destiny when they meet up again at Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa. Seven years later, Sister Praise dies birthing twin boys: Shiva and Marion, the latter narrating his own and his brothers long, dramatic, biblical story set against the backdrop of political turmoil in Ethiopia, the life of the hospital compound in which they grow up and the love story of their adopted parents, both doctors at Missing. The boys become doctors as well and Vergheses weaving of the practice of medicine into the narrative is fascinating even as the story bobs and weaves with the power and coincidences of the best 19th-century novel.
From John Irving: That Abraham Verghese is a doctor and a writer is already established; the miracle of this novel is how organically the two are entwined. I’ve not read a novel wherein medicine, the practice of it, is made as germane to the storytelling process, to the overall narrative, as the author manages to make it happen here. The medical detail is stunning, but it never overwhelms the humane and narrative aspects of this moving and ambitious novel. This is a first-person narration where the first-person voice appears to disappear, but never entirely; only in the beginning are we aware that the voice addressing us is speaking from the womb! And what terrific characters--even the most minor players are given a full history.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
March 27, 2011 - Meeting at Diane's
Beautiful Sunday afternoon. There is still deep snow in the White Mountains. Mountain views from Diane's house were spectacular.
We discussed "Strength in What Remains" by Tracy Kidder. We were divided in our opinions of this book. The majority liked the book. Some felt very emotional about the situation in Burundi and other oppressed countries of the world. Some gained understanding about the recent history in this part of Africa. If this was not non-fiction, it would be hard to believe the opportunities that were presented to the main character once he arrived in the United States. We wondered what has happened to Deo since the book was published? Is he practicing as a doctor?
Discussion led us back to the United States......New Hampshire.....the North Country..... Perhaps we need to learn more about the disadvantaged who are living in our own backyard. The question was raised...."Are there any books available that deal with this issue of the disadvantaged who live closer to us"?
Future meetings: We meet on the last Sunday of the month. In April, this would be Easter Sunday.....the week before would be Passover. In May, the last Sunday is Memorial Day.
We decided to combine our April and May meetings and meet on May 15. The following meeting will be held on June 26.
The book for the May 15, meeting is "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. We will meet at Marilyn's house.
We voted for out choice of books for the June 26, meeting. Joy had provided us with a excellent list. Joy added a couple of more books for us to consider another time. They were "Blindness" by Jose Saramago and "The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration" by Isabel Wilkerson.
Selection chosen for June 26 was "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot. The June meeting will be held at Joy's house.
We feasted on Diane's Chili and Ashe's Corn Bread....plus delicious snacks and desserts.
We discussed "Strength in What Remains" by Tracy Kidder. We were divided in our opinions of this book. The majority liked the book. Some felt very emotional about the situation in Burundi and other oppressed countries of the world. Some gained understanding about the recent history in this part of Africa. If this was not non-fiction, it would be hard to believe the opportunities that were presented to the main character once he arrived in the United States. We wondered what has happened to Deo since the book was published? Is he practicing as a doctor?
Discussion led us back to the United States......New Hampshire.....the North Country..... Perhaps we need to learn more about the disadvantaged who are living in our own backyard. The question was raised...."Are there any books available that deal with this issue of the disadvantaged who live closer to us"?
Future meetings: We meet on the last Sunday of the month. In April, this would be Easter Sunday.....the week before would be Passover. In May, the last Sunday is Memorial Day.
We decided to combine our April and May meetings and meet on May 15. The following meeting will be held on June 26.
The book for the May 15, meeting is "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. We will meet at Marilyn's house.
We voted for out choice of books for the June 26, meeting. Joy had provided us with a excellent list. Joy added a couple of more books for us to consider another time. They were "Blindness" by Jose Saramago and "The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration" by Isabel Wilkerson.
Selection chosen for June 26 was "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot. The June meeting will be held at Joy's house.
We feasted on Diane's Chili and Ashe's Corn Bread....plus delicious snacks and desserts.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Joy's Book Selections for May 2011
Joy’s Book Selections for May 2011
Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese 658 pages
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Verghese turns his formidable talents to fiction, mining his own life and experiences in a magnificent, sweeping novel that moves from India to Ethiopia to an inner-city hospital in New York City over decades and generations. Sister Mary Joseph Praise, a devout young nun, leaves the south Indian state of Kerala in 1947 for a missionary post in Yemen. During the arduous sea voyage, she saves the life of an English doctor bound for Ethiopia, Thomas Stone, who becomes a key player in her destiny when they meet up again at Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa. Seven years later, Sister Praise dies birthing twin boys: Shiva and Marion, the latter narrating his own and his brothers long, dramatic, biblical story set against the backdrop of political turmoil in Ethiopia, the life of the hospital compound in which they grow up and the love story of their adopted parents, both doctors at Missing. The boys become doctors as well and Vergheses weaving of the practice of medicine into the narrative is fascinating even as the story bobs and weaves with the power and coincidences of the best 19th-century novel. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Still Alice Lisa Genova 292 pages
From Publishers Weekly
Neuroscientist and debut novelist Genova mines years of experience in her field to craft a realistic portrait of early onset Alzheimer's disease. Alice Howland has a career not unlike Genova's—she's an esteemed psychology professor at Harvard, living a comfortable life in Cambridge with her husband, John, arguing about the usual (making quality time together, their daughter's move to L.A.) when the first symptoms of Alzheimer's begin to emerge. First, Alice can't find her Blackberry, then she becomes hopelessly disoriented in her own town. Alice is shocked to be diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's (she had suspected a brain tumor or menopause), after which her life begins steadily to unravel. She loses track of rooms in her home, resigns from Harvard and eventually cannot recognize her own children. The brutal facts of Alzheimer's are heartbreaking, and it's impossible not to feel for Alice and her loved ones, but Genova's prose style is clumsy and her dialogue heavy-handed. This novel will appeal to those dealing with the disease and may prove helpful, but beyond the heartbreaking record of illness there's little here to remember. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot
From a single, abbreviated life grew a seemingly immortal line of cells that made some of the most crucial innovations in modern science possible. And from that same life, and those cells, Rebecca Skloot has fashioned in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks a fascinating and moving story of medicine and family, of how life is sustained in laboratories and in memory. Henrietta Lacks was a mother of five in Baltimore, a poor African American migrant from the tobacco farms of Virginia, who died from a cruelly aggressive cancer at the age of 30 in 1951. A sample of her cancerous tissue, taken without her knowledge or consent, as was the custom then, turned out to provide one of the holy grails of mid-century biology: human cells that could survive--even thrive--in the lab. Known as HeLa cells, their stunning potency gave scientists a building block for countless breakthroughs, beginning with the cure for polio. Meanwhile, Henrietta's family continued to live in poverty and frequently poor health, and their discovery decades later of her unknowing contribution--and her cells' strange survival--left them full of pride, anger, and suspicion. For a decade, Skloot doggedly but compassionately gathered the threads of these stories, slowly gaining the trust of the family while helping them learn the truth about Henrietta, and with their aid she tells a rich and haunting story that asks the questions, Who owns our bodies? And who carries our memories? --Tom Nissley
The Elegance of the Hedgehog Muriel Barbery 325 pages
From The Washington Post
From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Michael Dirda
Renée Michel is the dumpy, nondescript, 54-year-old concierge of a small and exclusive Paris apartment building. Its handful of tenants include a celebrated restaurant critic, high government officials and members of the old nobility. Every day these residents pass by the loge of Madame Michel and, unless they want something from her, scarcely notice that she is alive. As it happens, Renée Michel prefers it that way. There is far more to her than meets the eye.
Paloma Josse also lives in the building. Acutely intelligent, introspective and philosophical, this 12-year-old views the world as absurd and records her observations about it in her journal. She despises her coddled existence, her older sister Colombe (who is studying at the École normale supérieure), and her well-to-do parents, especially her plant-obsessed mother. After careful consideration of what life is like, Paloma has secretly decided to kill herself on her 13th birthday.
contined
These two characters provide the double narrative of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and you will -- this is going to sound corny -- fall in love with both. In Europe, where Muriel Barbery's book became a huge bestseller in 2007, it has inspired the kind of affection and enthusiasm American readers bestow on the works of Alexander McCall Smith. Still, this is a very French novel: tender and satirical in its overall tone, yet most absorbing because of its reflections on the nature of beauty and art, the meaning of life and death. Out of context, Madame Michel's pensees may occasionally sound pretentious, just as Paloma might sometimes pass for a Gallic (and female) version of Holden Caulfield. But, for the most part, Barbery makes us believe in these two unbelievable characters.
This Glittering World t. greenwood 285 pages
Editorial Reviews
A lackluster guy finds purpose in the pursuit of justice in Greenwood's slack latest (after The Hungry Season). When Ben Bailey, an adjunct history professor and part-time bartender mildly dissatisfied with his life and engagement to occasionally shrewish Sara, finds the badly beaten body of a young Native American on his lawn, he's driven to find out what happened. His quest takes on a new dimension once the young man dies and his death goes all but unnoticed. Ben soon meets the victim's sister, Shadi, and falls for her while they investigate her brother's murder, but by the time he tries to call off his engagement, Sara is pregnant and Ben is torn between the life that's being planned for him and the more adventurous one that he thinks he wants. Greenwood's Flagstaff, Ariz., is a convincing one, more so than the forced premise of Ben's sorrow binding him to Shadi, and while the plot manages a few surprises, Ben's too passive for a man on a mission. (Jan.)(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Monday, February 28, 2011
February Meeting at Lincoln Green
In addition to discussing "The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet", we sampled Senior Living at Lincoln Green. We used the comfortable community room which looked out on a winter garden. This has been a very snowy winter and this Sunday was no exception. Lincoln Green is Jane's new home and she so graciously made arrangements for our bookclub to meet there.
Everyone liked the book. Discussion was mainly about how those of us who grew up on the east coast knew very little about the Japanese internment. It was only in recent years when we read books like "Snow Falling on Cedars" and "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" that our consciences were raised. Could this happen again. We agreed that it was indeed possible. The Moslems come to mind. What if there was a terrorist incident and war involving persons of the Moslem religion.... would we inter citizens of that faith in our country????
Jane baked a delicious lasagna and garlic bread. Others brought food to share. We had a lovely afternoon in comfortable surroundings.
Winner of the vote for our April book was "Water for Elephants" by Sarah Gruen.
Our March 27, meeting will be held at Diane's house. Book is Tracy Kidder's "Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness ".
Everyone liked the book. Discussion was mainly about how those of us who grew up on the east coast knew very little about the Japanese internment. It was only in recent years when we read books like "Snow Falling on Cedars" and "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" that our consciences were raised. Could this happen again. We agreed that it was indeed possible. The Moslems come to mind. What if there was a terrorist incident and war involving persons of the Moslem religion.... would we inter citizens of that faith in our country????
Jane baked a delicious lasagna and garlic bread. Others brought food to share. We had a lovely afternoon in comfortable surroundings.
Winner of the vote for our April book was "Water for Elephants" by Sarah Gruen.
Our March 27, meeting will be held at Diane's house. Book is Tracy Kidder's "Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness ".
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Book Suggestions for April Meeting
Jane made the following suggestions from which we will vote at the February 27, 2011, meeting:
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Amazon Best of the Month, February 2009: The publishers of Chris Cleave's new novel "don't want to spoil" the story by revealing too much about it, and there's good reason not to tell too much about the plot's pivot point. All you should know going in to Little Bee is that what happens on the beach is brutal, and that it braids the fates of a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan (who calls herself Little Bee) and a well-off British couple--journalists trying to repair their strained marriage with a free holiday--who should have stayed behind their resort's walls. The tide of that event carries Little Bee back to their world, which she claims she couldn't explain to the girls from her village because they'd have no context for its abundance and calm. But she shows us the infinite rifts in a globalized world, where any distance can be crossed in a day--with the right papers--and "no one likes each other, but everyone likes U2." Where you have to give up the safety you'd assumed as your birthright if you decide to save the girl gazing at you through razor wire, left to the wolves of a failing state. --Mari Malcolm --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Jacob Jankowski says: "I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other." At the beginning of Water for Elephants, he is living out his days in a nursing home, hating every second of it. His life wasn't always like this, however, because Jacob ran away and joined the circus when he was twenty-one. It wasn't a romantic, carefree decision, to be sure. His parents were killed in an auto accident one week before he was to sit for his veterinary medicine exams at Cornell. He buried his parents, learned that they left him nothing because they had mortgaged everything to pay his tuition, returned to school, went to the exams, and didn't write a single word. He walked out without completing the test and wound up on a circus train. The circus he joins, in Depression-era America, is second-rate at best. With Ringling Brothers as the standard, Benzini Brothers is far down the scale and pale by comparison.
Water for Elephants is the story of Jacob's life with this circus. Sara Gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. The animals are mangy, underfed or fed rotten food, and abused. Jacob, once it becomes known that he has veterinary skills, is put in charge of the "menagerie" and all its ills. Uncle Al, the circus impresario, is a self-serving, venal creep who slaps people around because he can. August, the animal trainer, is a certified paranoid schizophrenic whose occasional flights into madness and brutality often have Jacob as their object. Jacob is the only person in the book who has a handle on a moral compass and as his reward he spends most of the novel beaten, broken, concussed, bleeding, swollen and hungover. He is the self-appointed Protector of the Downtrodden, and... he falls in love with Marlena, crazy August's wife. Not his best idea.
The most interesting aspect of the book is all the circus lore that Gruen has so carefully researched. She has all the right vocabulary: grifters, roustabouts, workers, cooch tent, rubes, First of May, what the band plays when there's trouble, Jamaican ginger paralysis, life on a circus train, set-up and take-down, being run out of town by the "revenooers" or the cops, and losing all your hooch. There is one glorious passage about Marlena and Rosie, the bull elephant, that truly evokes the magic a circus can create. It is easy to see Marlena's and Rosie's pink sequins under the Big Top and to imagine their perfect choreography as they perform unbelievable stunts. The crowd loves it--and so will the reader. The ending is absolutely ludicrous and really quite lovely. --Valerie Ryan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Steig Larsson
Amazon Best of the Month, September 2008: Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo. --Dave Callanan
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
Amazon Best Books of the Month, May 2010: Even if this weren't her first novel, Julie Orringer's Invisible Bridge would be a marvelous achievement. Orringer possesses a rare talent that makes a 600-page story--which, we know, must descend into war and genocide--feel rivetingly readable, even at its grimmest. Building vivid worlds in effortless phrases, she immerses us in 1930s Budapest just as a young Hungarian Jew, Andras Lévi, departs for the École Spéciale d'Architecture in Paris. He hones his talent for design, works backstage in a theater, and allies with other Jewish students in defiance of rising Nazi influence. And then he meets Klara, a captivating Hungarian ballet instructor nine years his senior with a painful past and a willful teenage daughter. Against Klara's better judgment, love engulfs them, drowning out the rumblings of war for a time. But inevitably, Nazi aggression drives them back to Hungary, where life for the Jews goes from hardship to horror. As in Dr. Zhivago, these lovers can't escape history's merciless machinery, but love gives them the courage to endure. --Mari Malcolm
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Goolrick's fiction debut (after a memoir, The End of the World as We Know It) gets off to a slow, stylized start, but eventually generates some real suspense. When Catherine Land, who's survived a traumatic early life by using her wits and sexuality as weapons, happens on a newspaper ad from a well-to-do businessman in need of a "reliable wife," she invents a plan to benefit from his riches and his need. Her new husband, Ralph Truitt, discovers she's deceived him the moment she arrives in his remote hometown. Driven by a complex mix of emotions and simple animal attraction, he marries her anyway. After the wedding, Catherine helps Ralph search for his estranged son and, despite growing misgivings, begins to poison him with small doses of arsenic. Ralph sickens but doesn't die, and their story unfolds in ways neither they nor the reader expect. This darkly nuanced psychological tale builds to a strong and satisfying close. (Mar.)
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
Female bonding is always good for a good cry, as Hannah (True Colors ) proves in her latest. Pacific Northwest apple country provides a beautiful, chilly setting for this family drama ignited by the death of a loving father whose two daughters have grown apart from each other and from their acid-tongued, Russian-born mother. After assuming responsibility for the family business, 40-year-old empty-nester Meredith finds it difficult to carry out her father's dying wish that she take care of her mother; Meredith's troubled marriage, her troubled relationship with her mother and her mother's increasingly troubled mind get in the way. Nina, Meredith's younger sister, takes a break from her globe-trotting photojournalism career to return home to do her share for their mother. How these three women find each other and themselves with the help of vodka and a trip to Alaska competes for emotional attention with the story within a story of WWII Leningrad. Readers will find it hard not to laugh a little and cry a little more as mother and daughters reach out to each other just in the nick of time. (Feb.)
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