We had a great and enthusiastic turnout for our most recent meeting as everyone had something to say about this weird collection of characters. Let me first welcome Catherine Hammond, who came for the first time. And, get this, she was moving the very next day! Thanks for coming and welcome!
When it was all said and done, the general consensus was that this, like Gone Girl before it was a really good compelling read and kept us turning the pages. The bad news is that we wished we hadn't.
The problem is that after we turned all those pages, we were sorry to have spent the time as the main characters were just odious! What mother encourages her fifteen year old son to commit murder, killing his adopted cousin of all people? Yikes. After looking the other way after he killed a homeless woman!
It was very interesting though to watch the personalities and history unfold, one horrifying bit at a time. The way the author gradually revealed past incidences was very well done. Particularly well done was the way he positioned Claire as reasonable, even sympathetic, until at last even her husband was surprised at the extent of her duplicity.
At the end, it was only the much-maligned famous brother who seemed at all honorable and normal, with the only reasonable plan forward for the two involved sons. Sadly, his career was over, thanks to his relatives, while they continued on, seemingly unfazed. His wife, the least described of the group, was a weeping Myrtle throughout, not much of an add to the story other than to introduce the adopted son who would end up the second victim.
Dawn had a fascinating take on the story, which seemed completely plausible. She thought that Paul, clearly mentally disturbed, actually imagined the whole evening and the whole outcome. In fact, she thought that Claire died in the mysterious hospital visits. Paul's inability to cope resulted in his brother's suggestion that they take his son. As we remember, that resulted in Paul hitting his brother in the face with a hot pasta pot, which is what Dawn thinks actually scarred Serge, the famous politician. Made sense to me!
Ok, then, moving on, can we put these people behind us? Maybe not, as despite it being odious, it was also compelling and thought-provoking.
Our next book, an entirely different cast of characters, is River of Dust, by Virginia Pye, a Richmond author. Did we pick July 16, a Tuesday? Our notes say we are at Julie's, and since our date has changed, I will confirm with her.
Meantime, stoke up your appetizer reportoire as it was a ton of fun to have lots of nibbles. Wendy brought a fab salad that rounded out the whole evening, thank you! I will reach out to Virginia and see if she can join us for a bit and also confirm the venue with Julie.
Our August date is the 12th, at Wendy's and our book is Proof of Heaven. Let me know if I got anything wrong and feel free to weigh in, the blog is for us all. See you soon!
