A Charles Frazier potluck

This month we mixed it up with the Charles Frazier book of your choice, but focused on either Cold Mountain or Varina. I opted to read Nightwoods as it was what the library had available and I had already read Cold Mountain and didn't like it.

And that was the conclusion for the crowd that read it - no one liked Cold Mountain and I don't like Nighwoods, all for the same reason. The stories are beautifully written with a great sense of place and time that connect seamlessly and effectively with the emotional lives of the characters. But those settings are dismal, with brutal scenes and a hopeless future. Not so fun to spend precious reading time on that type of book when you could be reading War and Peace. More on that later.

On the other hand, the people who read Varina loved it. The historic novel with much of the action in Richmond was by contrast uplifting, interesting, and overlapped with historic figures that loom large in the Richmond landscape. Frazier's gift of language and pacing worked well in this book, and his characters were those one would want to know.

It was interesting to discuss the difficult scenes in Cold Mountain, a Civil War book, versus older, equally bruising authors like Isaac Babel. His Red Calvary stories of the Crimean war are every bit as dark as Frazier. Yet the distance of time and place make it easier to read. Set in the early 1900's in far-off Odessa, we can presume that we have progressed, that the behavior in the Crimea is an historic artifact.  Nightwoods, a contemporary story, has no such relief.

So read at your peril, or at least select carefully when picking up Charles Frazier. I for one am done with him, but he likely won't care much.

And on we go to our August book, a historic novel about girl power by the highly readable Kate Quinn. The book is The Alice Network. Jean recommended it so we know it will be good! To accommodate my schedule and to be able to have Jean join in again, we have moved the date to August 30 at Fiona's.

In a burst of organizational fervor, we picked a book for September, Breath by Tim Winton. Winton is one of Australia's most beloved and decorated authors, rightfully so. You may have run across his biggest book. Cloudstreet. Barbara (one of our new, fab additions!) had him on her reading list and in my opinion Breath is a much better book than Cloudstreet, so there you are.

Also on Barbara's reading list is the aforementioned War and Peace. It has been years since I last read it and as novels go, it is pretty amazing. Since we haven't tackled a classic in a while, is anyone up for that as our October book? Or January, giving you lots of time. Let me know!

Finally, thank you to our fantastic hostess Rene Massey. Watermelon margaritas are not usually on my Tuesday menu but they were at Rene's! As well as other lovely treats from Rene and everyone else. Thank you all! And welcome, welcome to Margo Hardy and Barbara Scott who added so much to our discussion and our level of fun. Thanks for joining.

See you all on August 30 at Fiona's at 6:30. I will send out an email about a week in advance with more details, so no need to stress about them now. Looking forward to our next meeting and book.