Tigerman - a world alway PLUS a change in book for August

We had a lovely time at my house, complete with a visit to my now two month old colt fresh from his breed inspection. Thanks to everyone who came! Welcome to our newest member of the group, Liz Culley! Liz is a trooper, she came with one day notice without reading the book. That's enthusiasm.

Tigerman turned out to be a great read and we enjoyed it. The mash-up of a poisoned community, a war fatigued Brit now nominally in charge of the local mission, a comic-book obsessed 11-year-old and a sinister fleet of boats in the harbor made for a really entertaining story that moved along really well, albeit a bit unbelievably.

Those of us who read the book all agreed that it was quite readable and at least the main character, Lester was engaging, particularly in his awkward attempts to adopt the comic-book kid called Robin. As Lester finds out more about this boy and the impact of the environmental damage to the island, the more he wants to take the boy with him when he leaves - whenever that might be.

The culmination of the book leaves Lester dressed as Tigerman, storming a drug ring with a dozen bond-like devices strung on his belt, thanks to Robin. It is hilarious while also being poignant and thrilling. While that finally goes bad, at least poor Lester gets the girl in the end.

We loved the writing, the pacing and the weird story. At the same time, the combination of a comic-book plot and real life and death, not to mention crime, made this book seem less serious than it might be.

We spent a long time talking about parenting, as that was an important part of the story, even as it was totally missing for this young man. Lester's love for this boy, his desire for a deeper relationship was really touching. Robin, for his part tragically lost his mother, alive but mentally erased by a toxic cloud that swept over the island. His cagey interaction with Lester made it all the more interesting.

Alas, in the end the conclusion was totally unbelievable and hurt the overall book, in my opinion. That being said, it was a fun and interesting read, definitely a cut above many.

So after all that discussion, we turned to the reviews of Go Set a Watchman which is set for our August book. The overall feeling was that we DID NOT want to read it. While it is on my shelf, I think I will wait a bit to read it, Scout and Addicus are too precious to me.

So for August, we decided to move up the Shirley Jackson book, We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Ashley has offered to host, let me know if that still works Ashley!

For September, the group wanted to read the new Kate Atkinson book, A God In Ruins. This is a related book to Life After Life, but not a sequel so don't worry if you haven't read it yet.

Call if you have any questions! Lynn was generous enough to give us her Pea and Mint dip recipe, expect to see this on my table anytime you come for dinner! Thank you Lynn! Here it is:

4 shallots, minced (I used scallions)
2 cups peas (I used org frozen)
2 Tbs EVOO
3 Tbs chopped mint
2 Tbs mascarpone
1/4  tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

In medium pan over medium heat, mix the shallots with the peas, and sauté in the evoo until the peas are barely done and the shallots are wilted, about 4 minutes.  Stir in the mint, mascarpone, salt and pepper.  Chop coarsely in a food processor or by hand and spoon onto the bread.  They had crostini - I used rice crackers.