Signature of All Things and Maple and Pine do not mix

Well, we had a large and very fun group at Maple and Pine on Monday night, collected to discuss Elizabeth Gilbert's Signature of All Things. That was the good news, and that we had a fabulous time and a lovely dinner.

The bad news is that we had 15 people and a long table so there was not much we could do to get a group discussion going on the book.  That and lots of good food made for a tough environment. Maple and Pine, if you haven't been there yet, is the signature restaurant of the Quirk Hotel, and it is very fun. The food is lovely and the atmosphere top notch, especially if you can get there when the Quirk gallery is open. One downside is that it was cold! Thankfully, the concierge brought us a space heater, otherwise we would have been shivering more than talking.

There was a bit on the book though and hopefully we can continue the discussion at our next meeting. One comment was it was too long - there were too many stories and chapters in Alma's life, perhaps we would all have been better served if Gilbert had had a better editor, to take out the things that did not advance the story. The whole Tahiti episode, for example, felt a bit false. And what was the meaning of the dog Roger? That could have cut out five hundred words right there with no loss of story. (Not that I didn't like Roger.)

On the positive side, there were some compelling characters, like Alma, and Prudence. Perhaps there could have been more for Prudence to show - she was compelling and at the same time kept at a great distance in the story. And Mr. Pike, what a great character he was!

All in all, we were mixed on whether we like the book or not - but again, it was hard to tell. So on to next month.  The date is Feb. 15, at 6:30. Place is yet to be determined, let me know if you prefer someone's house or another restaurant pick. As for the book - we were planning on Mark Twain's Joan of Arc but there was some concern about the many pages and the teeny type in the time allowed. So we swapped to The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro, and reading Mark Twain for March.

So great to have seen everyone, it was a wonderful start to the year!