The Good Earth is a good read

 First and foremost, many thanks to Mary for hosting us in her lovely back yard, under the world's best tree. It was a perfect setting and luckily perfect weather for an appropriately distanced meeting. We had to speak up but that proved no issue as we had plenty to say about this classic novel by a Nobel Laureate.

Way back in the day, we read another of Pearl S. Buck's works, The Imperial Woman. Reading that book, I was taken aback by the medieval level of the culture and the absolute abyss between the empress and the empire she ruled. The Good Earth underscored the poverty and isolation of the Chinese rural population, so cut off that there was little distinction between the war of revolution and that of common warlords. The result was a pretty harrowing life, at least for some of the characters, as in the women. 

The story was so very readable, it kept me going even though some of the plot twists were pretty far-fetched. The arc of the rich, idle family tossing away its assets and the poor farmer, rising to riches on the land who rises to riches was compelling if a bit predictable, particularly in the ending that implies the hard-won good earth so prized by Wang Lung, our protagonist, would soon be sold. 

The plight of the women in this novel was pitiful. Wang Lung somehow acquires a wife, a so-called slave who is wise and effective in a way he can only imagine. With her hard work in the fields, even to the minute of giving birth, he is able to scratch just a bit more than a living out of the earth. He even has the audacity to scold her for being pregnant when the harvest was poor. She makes his ambitions possible in every way and he rewards her by taking her beloved pearls and giving them to his mistress. Ugh. 

These heartbreaking scenes of privation and loss were tolerable because of the distant, almost biblical tone that Buck takes with the story. While the characters endure unimaginable circumstances, we are able to read from afar, with emotion certainly, but also a remove that allows us to consider and reflect. This is Buck's gift. 

It was a surprise to me that this is the first of a trilogy. Given the fame of the this book, and the anonymity of the following two volumes, I am not putting them on my library hold list. 

And so on to our next great read which was suggested by Barbara, after a friend of hers sent her the novel. Already a great start! The book is One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes. Barbara raved about it which is good enough for me. It is not that easy to find so check Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I should have my copy read by the end of next week so can pass it on. 

Our next meeting is September 15 at 6:30. Did someone volunteer to host? I don't remember, so sorry! Also, if people would feel more comfortable with an online meeting, just weigh in, we want everyone to be comfortable. Mary absolutely nailed a socially distant, outdoor event that felt completely safe but that doesn't mean every meeting has to be in person. 

Hope to see you all soon! 

Disappearing Earth - What happened?

Follow the tail of Alaska and it leads you to Kamchatka, the beautiful and isolated spit of Russia, perched above Japan overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is remote, inaccessible with poor roads and icy mountains barring entry or exit. It is almost a character in this first novel by Julia Phillips, a setting that provides both context and conflict. 

The first chapter of this impressive, captivating first novel is wrenching, a beautifully written set-up for a mystery that should lead to a standard police procedural - clues, a brilliant detective, a clear resolution. But that would be a different book. 

Instead, in the words of the author, Julia Phillips, the unimaginable crime provides a structure, like ribs coming off of a spine, detailing the range of harms in the lives of girls and women both large and small. The kidnapping of these young girls, swept away by something they couldn't anticipate or control is an extreme form of loss and violence. Yet every women whose story is told here is struggling with the the realization that at any moment, the life one has built can disappear. One's home, loved ones, family, even a country is not permanent, it is fragile and can be swept away on a whim. 

And while this story is uniquely possible in Kamchatka, it doesn't take long to see that the issues are the same for women everywhere. The struggles of toxic relationships, mistreatment from authorities, loss of a spouse, ethnic tensions. These are their struggles and ours as well, universal in many societies. 

The book covers every month following the crime, takes us to another woman impacted, coming back to a chance, perhaps, that there will be a resolution that does not further squeeze your heart. It is ambiguous, difficult to interpret but it gives some hope. There were different interpretations, and any could be the right one. I for one wanted those poor girls to be found and saved. Others thought they were lost, and the author won't say. She does say that she likes stories to have definitive ends but that she has been surprised by the number of interpretations she has heard. 

There is a lot to like and an awful lot to discuss in this book. It more or less naturally led to our own struggles with racial tensions. Julie had amazing insight from work she has been doing with her company, along with suggested reading. The Color of Law is a good start, detailing how US law denied black citizens access to home ownership and created housing discrimination with its centers of poverty. Julie mentioned White Fragility by Robin DeAngelo and a film called "White Like Me".

That of course led to everything else there is to read. Barbara mentioned The Battle of the Villa Fiorita by Rumer Godden (I adore Rumer Godden, her memoirs are incredible), Jean suggest The Nightwatchman by Louise Erdrich (another favorite of mine), I just ordered This is Shakespeare by Emma Smith (described as electrifying, not an adjective much associated with Shakespeare). I know I missed a lot of great suggestions, anyone want to chime in?

I admit to being pretty debilitated with the onslaught of the Cornavirus, our chaotic government and the despair of the recent protests. With that in mind, our next book is The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. If we are going to read about problems, I want them to be someone else's. Hopefully we can do Nightwatchman later as it is really wonderful. 

We are scheduled to meet on Aug. 18 at 6:30, at Mary Millhiser's. Thanks Mary!  Many, many thanks to Karin Walker who opened up her home to us since it was an oven outside. Our seating was distanced, but our friendships were not. Thank you! 

I will send out the Peach Pound Cake and Miso Fish Stew recipes via email, see you all in August! Let me know what I missed. 

The Starless Sea - finally in person

What a terrific night we had with those who were able to come, it was so fun to be together again after such a long and stressful time. Wonderful food, a gorgeous night in a beautiful setting and great conversation about this unusual book, The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern.

A greater number than usual "read" the book by audio, including me. It was a handy way to get access when libraries were largely shut and in this particular case for me was preferable to reading the book. Many of us, certainly not all, thought the book was one long description of a fantasy world that moved as slowly as its namesake sea of honey.

There were lots of symbols and imagery and it was repeated endlessly, but at the end we had no more idea of what they meant than at the beginning. As well, the characters were bland, with seemingly no ability to change their circumstances or impact the possible outcomes around them. While that statement is in conflict with our protagonist, Zachary Ezra Rawlings, who on a whim travels to New York City to find characters in a book he stumbled across, it is nevertheless true. No one does anything in this book, they just float along. There is no plot, no tension, no purpose, no reveal of underlying mysteries.

I know there is supposed to be a conflict of some kind going on, but the dangers were not really spelled out and any battles seemed more like missed connections.

The descriptions were beautiful though, and evocative and imaginative. The image of doorknobs hanging on ribbons in random places was a lovely thought, a bit like Alice in Wonderland. How nice to think you can open an invisible door and find yourself in another universe. Just please, not this one.

Another issue was the interspersed, unconnected stories (or are they supposed to be parables?) that broke up the narrative. These stand-alone tales interrupted any tension the novel might have generated and were just confusing. The overall effect was of a very long book with not much going on.

Someone commented that the whole setup was somehow like a video game, pinging from one place to another and perhaps it wasn't a coincidence that the main character was studying video games in college. Maybe so, it seems as good an explanation as any other.

And so, on we go. Our next book is Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips and we are going to meet at Karin's place July 21 at 6:30. See you all then.  I often wonder if authors find this blog and read what we thought - if you did Erin, get in touch!

The Mirror and the Light - worth the wait

Thanks to everyone who Zoomed in for our discussion on The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel's end to her trilogy on Thomas Cromwell. This is a well-known product - by now we know and either love or hate Hilary Mantel's rendering of the story, and maybe have the same reaction to its hero.

I for one really loved this book and its other volumes in the series. This particular one I heard on audio and it made a big difference in my ability to follow who was talking (or thinking in the case of Cromwell.) As well, I heard Hilary Mantel interviewed about the development of the last book. She said that Ben Miles, who narrated the audio book after playing Cromwell in the theater adaption, became the personification of Cromwell for her and when she wrote, she heard his voice in her head. The way he portrayed his character helped her shape the final book, really interesting.

There were certainly detractors, and rightly so. The violence and brutality described during beheadings, torture and burnings at the the stake was difficult to read. It is hard enough to remember how brutal people were in the Middle Ages. To have these horrible acts unfold in such evocative and descriptive language was affecting to say the least. Once read, it is hard to shake these difficult scenes, especially the beheading of Anne Boleyn. At the same time, so beautifully written.

And on we go. Our next book is The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. This is going to be a very different read and I am looking forward to having a good discussion about it. We are going to try to meet at my house as we can spread out all over the backyard. If the weather is bad, we can try going to the Deep Run Hunt Club as it has a very large screened in room.

The date is June 16 at 6:30 and I for one and looking forward to getting together! For July, our book is Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips, a first novel.

For those of you who were interested, here is the link to the Chicken Pasta that Susan Victoria and I were raving about. It is from the NY Times, if you have trouble opening it let me know and I will send you a copy of the recipe.

 https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012898-creamy-one-pot-pasta-with-chicken-and-mushrooms

See you all in June!

The Talented Mr. Ripley via Zoom

Thanks to Julie W., we were able to hold our book club meeting via Zoom, a new experience for us but one that allowed us to reconnect, even if only for 40 minutes at a time. Thanks to Zoom, Val was able to attend, so great to see you Val! Please move back.  I hadn't realized how much I missed these interactions, wallowing as I am in our current enforced introversion.

So on from introverts to psychopaths, our Talented Mr. Ripley. This was a queasy read for many of us as Tom casually moved from penniless hanger-on to full blooded murderer. Was this his great talent, or was it that he could so easily put it all behind him, somehow assured that he was owed a life he wasn't born to, owed it enough that he could just reach out and take it.

Or maybe his talent, or Patricia Highsmith's, was in bringing us along with our goodwill. He was after all the protagonist with sad circumstances that set up sympathy. Remember our introduction to him was when he felt a threat from someone who was looking for him. It was the first of many felicitous circumstances that it was not a creditor but rather a very rich man who wanted Tom to help bring a lost son back.

The first of many small steps forward, as Tom sloughs off his own life and starts someone else's. Closer contact with the equally rich son, Dickie Greenleaf, means only that Tom want more and more to be Dickie, with a trust fund, beautiful clothes and limitless options. And step by step, he finds a way to remove Dickie and insert himself.

We had a long discussion about whether Tom was truly evil or just inured to the consequences of his actions by delight in their result. He does get the life he craved, implausible as it might seem. And somehow he didn't seem to get the guilt or the stress that should have come with it. It was strange that  Dickie, Marge, the police and Dickie's father all believed him in the end but it also was hard to image any other outcome.

And so on to (finally) The Mirror and The Light, by Hilary Mantel. Our date is May 19 at 6:30 pm and I expect we will still be in isolation, so plan on a Zoom meeting. If not, I can host - I have lots of back yard that we can spread out in. This is the long awaited last book on the life of Thomas Cromwell. I have "read" it on audio book, 39+ hours and it was riveting. It is hard to come out of the fog of the 1500's, it was so well done. The audio included a great interview with Hilary Mantel and Ben Miles, the actor who read all three books - super interesting. She said that Miles, who played Cromwell in the stage adaption of Wolf Hall became the voice she heard when writing this last book and helped shape it in many ways.

The Dutch House - great conversations

You may have noticed that Fiona posted the blog for me last month, thank you! The dead giveaway is that the post included a picture, so I am trying to keep up - here is Ann Patchett although I don't know how recent this picture is. Don't get used to it, it is way beyond my capabilities. 


We had a fantastic conversation about this book, mostly it seems because there was so much in this family story that resonates for our own lives. Ann Patchett said in a 2016 profile in The Guardian, “I’ve been writing the same book my whole life — that you’re in one family, and all of a sudden, you’re in another family and it’s not your choice and you can’t get out.” That feeling is familiar in this book, one based on a strong sibling bond that transcends circumstances despite, or because of, a big age gap. 

We as a group have not been enthusiastic about Patchett's books, perhaps because they are rooted in families, but not in romantic love. This sibling story, a sister Maeve, 7 years older than her brother Danny, has all the hallmarks of a gothic tale, complete with a wicked stepmother. They live, or lived, in a place that dominates their lives - a beautiful mansion called the Dutch House. 

Their father, newly wealthy from his work in real estate had bought the house for his wife without telling her, moving her into an elaborate, ornate landmark still furnished with the bounty of the original owners.  Now long gone, the house is dominated by portraits of the original owners, now stewards observing the house, in a way judging its inhabitants and its long-term help.

Alas, happiness in not in the air - the wife flees from unrequested opulence, leaving her two children, one very young, behind. Their father, soon enough, finds another wife. This one, in love with the house, if not with the owner, brings her own children and soon controls the fate of the house and all within it. 

So, as with all unhappy families, there is an end to the close proximity but not to the emotion. Their father dies, the new stepmother tosses them out of the home and the novel commences. Where is the mother? Who would evict a child, then 11 years old from the home he has always known? It turns out, the new owner of the Dutch House, Andrea the second wife, who wants the legacy for her own children. 

The result is the siblings, sitting outside the house, smoking cigarettes to mark the stages of their lives beyond the Dutch House. This novel covers many year, but the subject is always the same. The devotion between the two, the shared experience of loss, the ways one can move beyond or not, from Danny and Maeve’s childhood to their middle age.

Another part of the novel is about affluence - having it, losing it, wanting it. It seems like it would be a problem but in fact it is just reality. These characters bring you along in their lives and why wouldn't anyone want more than they have. Andrea may be too much of a stereotype but the other characters surround us in every day life. 

And so, on we go. Our next book is The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. You may have seen the movies, but the original author is worth spending time with. Wendy has offered to host, so we will see you there on March 17. Our April book is the new Hilary Mantel book,  The Mirror and Light, which will be published in March. If that makes it too hard to get a copy, we can move it back in the schedule. The date is April 21. May is the 19th, at my house and the book is The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. 

See you all then! 

Island of the Sea Women, by Lisa See

Historic fiction combined with a personal saga 

Author Lisa See has written many enjoyable books, and The Island of the Sea Women is one of them, perhaps her best to date. This fascinating history of the women in a remote part of Korea who support their families and culture by deep sea diving for seafood also incorporated a touching story of friendship formed and strained.

Chance more or less brings the two young girls together but it is the history of Korea that forms their lives. Their experiences in the village’s all-female diving collective gave them purpose, confidence and status. As divers, they were the heads of household in everything except name. The stories of diving, in freezing waters, at great peril, with no protective wet suits or oxygen (until much later) was hair-raising, especially when the women were pregnant and still diving.  See did a masterful job of creating this world in all its detail, beautifully describing the prestige of the women and the great responsibilities they carried.

Family life and to a much greater extent, the outside world changed their lives. Their own misunderstandings, set in and among the Japanese occupation, then the Korean War and the American obsession with rooting out Communism upended their lives, amid great dangers to each of them and their families. As the years continued, heartaches created enmity. See winds the world events around personal tragedies and trials so that in the end, it is impossible to image how any of the characters could have behaved differently, even knowing the price of their actions.  As we consider the personal stories, it is just as unnerving to consider the impact of the many decades of foreign intervention on Korea and this tiny corner of it.

This is a powerful novel of women’s lives, set in a uniquely curious place and historically important time. All in all, a great read and we all really liked it, much as we wanted to shake the main characters periodically. Many thanks to Mary for hosting, what a lovely evening!

And so, on we go to the next book which is The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. For those of you who are not raving fans of this author, never fear, this one is really good. We will meet on Feb. 18 at 6:30. I think we are at Ashley’s house, Ashley can you confirm?

See you all then!

Happy Holidays! What a fun Book Swap.

Hi all, I hope your holidays have been wonderful for you so far this year and that they continue on for next week as we hit yet another decade. Hard to imagine, another decade of monthly book talk is right on the horizon.

Thanks so much to our lovely hostess for this year's book swap, Julie Weissand. What a gorgeous setting, and somehow carolers arrived right on cue. Just a heads up, that does not happen at my house. Lucky us! The food was fabulous, the place was gorgeous as you can see and the audience of readers was quite enthusiastic about all we unwrapped.

We had a small but hardy crew that stepped right up and swapped aplenty. The book that found itself in the most hands was The Dutch House by Anne Patchett so that is our February book. 

 I did not find out who had brought what book, other than when Anna ended up with the book she brought. Luckily, trades are well within the rules so there was an independent "placement" that worked out just fine. Here is the full list of our evening choices, hard to go wrong with any one of them. 

The Choice -  Dr. Edith Eva Eger

The Dutch House - Ann Patchett

Suspended Sentences - Patrick Modiani

News of the World - Paulette Jiles

Eats Shoots and Leaves and The Boy, The Mole, The Horse - Lynn Truss

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane - Lisa See

The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood 

The Key to the Quarterpole - Robin Williams

Witch Elm - Tana French

Unbound - Dean King

This is a pretty motivating list, and my library hold requests are swollen. Margo is following up with Dean King to see if he can come talk with us sometime, and we can always loop in Robin Williams if people want to talk with her. 

Lisa See is the author of our January book which is The Island of the Sea Women. We will be at Mary Millhiser's lovely house on January 21 at 6:30 pm. Bring all your healthy foods to share, no doubt many of us will still be working off the holiday season. 

See you then! Happy New Year!

The Impossible Mission seems even more so now

Charles Fishman has given us a unique view of the massive effort the U.S. undertook to put a man on the moon in 1969, one that underscores just how difficult and potentially disastrous it was. Rather than focus on the astronauts and their experiences, Fishman told the stories of those who had vital and quite specific parts to play.

In our current time of instant information, the descriptions of (now) primitive computers that filled rooms and drained electricity seem almost unreal. The story of the women who weaved together the wiring for these computers by hand, as if they were making fabric was just amazing. What came through time and again was how critically important individuals were in the outcome. The impact of those whose attention to detail and willingness to work harder and longer in the pursuit of perfection was underscored again and again.

Among the 410,000 people and 20,000 companies that participated in the space race were many of these stories; heartwarming, inspiring, and no short measure terrifying. Each of their stories that Fishman included was well-told and interesting. The work these thousands did somehow miraculously came together on a compressed timeline. The author laid out the case that these efforts brought us to the digital age. As technology was invented and developed has needed to support the moon mission, it was reinvented as time went on to make technology part of our everyday life.

The issue for some is that there are way too many of them. The information was dense and often quite technical, and there was a lot of it. That made for slow going, and perhaps a book best read in doses.

And so on to December, our annual book swap! We will meet at Julie Weissand's on December 16, at 6:30 pm, which is a Monday. Bring a wrapped book that you think others should read, with a card (unsigned) about why. The book that is swapped the most will be our February book (if we want).

As a bonus, we talked about visiting the Hopper exhibit at the VMFA in order to pick out a painting and imaging a story that explains it. Fun!

Our January book is by Lisa See, called The Island of the Sea Women. The date is January 21 and we will be at Mary Millhiser's.

Happy holidays and see you on December 16!

Remember October's Meeting?

It seems like a long time ago by now! It was wonderful to have Jean back with us, filling us all in on all she has read since the last time we saw her. Come back more often!

We had a good discussion about The River, by Peter Heller. It wasn't much of a hit but we all agreed that he wrote like a dream when describing the setting - the Canadian wilderness along the isolated river the two main characters had chosen to explore.

At its heart, The River is an age old story of people battling the forces of nature, including the worst side of human nature. This one read like a thriller, with many twists as the two friends Jack and Wynn fight to save a woman left for dead by her homicidal husband as well as outrun a raging fire and some very shady characters they met along the way.

It is inevitable that tragedy ensues, and only Jack survives the friends' trip. The parallels to the early loss of his mother makes this even sadder. Still, the characters were a bit wooden, especially the saved woman who is essentially a prop for much of the book. There were an awful lot of people up on this distant and dangerous river and it did seem a pretty unlikely story. I was willing to forgive all that for the poetic writing but not everyone agreed.

We also had a great discussion about the Hopper exhibit now at the VMFA, and how Hopper's work is so enigmatic that it asks the viewer to construct a story. There is a book out, called In Sunshine and in Shadow that does just that. Twelve different writers each chose a Hopper painting and wrote a short story interpreting the setting. It was great! We are trying that ourselves before our December meeting. The plan is to visit the exhibit beforehand, pick a piece and each of us will create a storyline about it. Fun!

So on to our next book which is A Giant Leap by Charles Fishman and we will be at Fiona's. The date is Nov. 19, see you all then!