Ashley's beautiful (and central) home could not have been a better spot for us to meet with the author of our most recent book, Clint McCown, otherwise known as Dawn's husband. As usual, the food, wine and company was great, and Ashley's dogs were a fun addition!
Our star of the evening however, was our author who was gracious enough to spend the evening with us talking about the book and his literary process. Thank you so much Clint! This novel, with its separate stories of tightly interconnected characters really seemed to catch and hold our attention.
Clint's discussion of his process and how he evolved from being a "gusher" as a writer into one that carefully crafts each sentence as he goes along was really interesting. His work started by just writing and writing, putting down whatever he wanted and creating pages and pages of work a day. He credits a conversation with Reynolds Price for his current approach as he realized that his old method meant he had to throw out a lot of work, and it was a lot of work to figure out which part to toss.
So after hearing Reynolds Price say that on a good day he could do a couple hundred words, Clint changed his approach and began carefully writing against whatever framework he determined for the work at hand. With Haints, his framework was the idea that your past never really leaves you and still is a ghost in your relationships and your life today.
He also said, which surprised me, that he had no idea where the story was going as he was writing - that he just began with the idea he wanted to convey and let the story go where it may. As a result, the character he thought would dominate the book came to be just the beginning and the end of the view of this gothic little town going through a difficult situation.
Instead, he gave each related character its own turn to tell his or her story and in doing so, woke the reader up to their shared history and circumstances. The town and the people themselves were really vibrant and well crafted - it was pretty easy to imagine you had these people somewhere in your own life.
While poignant and more than a little sad, this book was also quite funny. The idea of having the funeral parlor shift over to the hardware store was quite an image. While some who grew up in little towns thought that was completely normal, it did make me laugh to think of the body in the window. (No disrespect meant to the man who died.)
Also funny were some of the situations - the convict who escaped prison while another convict was supposed to be watching him, the burial of the wooden leg and the (short-term) relief it gave Herb's old girlfriend, the doctor's wife, Herb's response to the boy who tells he is supposed to be dead. These funny things just snuck up on me in the story and kept the overall tone from becoming maudlin.
All in all, a very educational and fun evening, thanks again Dawn for organizing and Clint for coming!
Our next meeting is at my house on Dec. 9. It is our second annual book swap, so no reading required for this meeting. The plan is to bring a gift-wrapped book that you think people should read, along with a note explaining why you selected the book. Don't sign your name! We will have a Yankee Swap and the most swapped book will be our reading choice for Jan or Feb, depending on what we decide.
See you all there, let me know what you may be able to bring along!
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
The Wife - two people who needed each other
Thanks so much to Carole for hosting in her beautiful home! Thanks as well to everyone who brought things along, I think the all appetizer all the time is working well for us. Weigh in if you don't think so!
Well, once again we have found characters that no one really could like, and in the case of Joe Castleman, pretty easy to dislike. At the same time, these characters, and this particular situation was pretty easy to understand and so Joan, the wife, got some considerable empathy despite some of us wanting to slap her into taking responsibility for herself.
The tension of The Wife is one of an extremely talented woman with little ambition and confidence married to a charismatic, highly ambitious man with no talent. Of course they are two sides of one coin, a perfect partnership to produce literary success, at long as no one regrets their role.
Did we discuss the Joan/Joe selection of names? Could this be any more transparent? At least some of us caught on fairly quickly to this sad story of a man of limited talents using his highly talented wife to create and sustain his life, with her full cooperation. Of course, at some point, after years of standing on the sidelines despite deserving the attention, the wife decides to bail. Not to mention the bad behavior of a husband who is both appreciative and entitled. Yuck.
Many of us felt this story resonated with the stories of their mothers, or others who had chosen to be the support of the man in her life rather than compete on her own. And of course there are a lot of women who wanted to have their own life and accomplishments and never were able to find a way. For all of those women, this story rang true and the mix of bitterness and complacency of the main character was the flavor of their lives.
Our general consensus was that Meg Worlitzer is really readable and we liked the book overall. Yes, it was predictable, yes there was no compelling character, but at the same time it was very well written and certainly kept our attention and interest. And it was short enough for the story it had to tell, unlike some other novels that just go on way too long.
Of course, we had our usual round of fun and chatter complete with lots of laughs. What a fun group we have and how lucky we are to have been born when we were, able to have the lives we want, the careers we want and at least in my case, a husband who does not expect to be the headline. I for one, am a very lucky girl.
Our next book is Haints, by Clint McCown. Dawn says Clint is coming to our meeting, so read up! The date is Nov. 18 and we will be at Ashley's. Please let her know if you will be coming and what you can bring.
Our December meeting will be at my house on Dec. 9. This will be our Yankee Book Swap and Christmas party, so start thinking about what book you want others to read and why. The rules are"
1) Bring a book you think others should read, gift wrapped.
2) Include a note on why you selected this book - do not give your name!
3) We will conduct a usual "Yankee Swap" format - choose numbers, pick gifts in order, swap out as you want when your number comes up, # 1 goes again at the end.
4) The most swapped book will be nominated for our read in February
5) After the swap is concluded, we can reveal who brought what!
6) We eat and drink and have much fun along the way.
Does this not sound like the best possible way to spend a Monday?
See you on Nov. 18!
Well, once again we have found characters that no one really could like, and in the case of Joe Castleman, pretty easy to dislike. At the same time, these characters, and this particular situation was pretty easy to understand and so Joan, the wife, got some considerable empathy despite some of us wanting to slap her into taking responsibility for herself.
The tension of The Wife is one of an extremely talented woman with little ambition and confidence married to a charismatic, highly ambitious man with no talent. Of course they are two sides of one coin, a perfect partnership to produce literary success, at long as no one regrets their role.
Did we discuss the Joan/Joe selection of names? Could this be any more transparent? At least some of us caught on fairly quickly to this sad story of a man of limited talents using his highly talented wife to create and sustain his life, with her full cooperation. Of course, at some point, after years of standing on the sidelines despite deserving the attention, the wife decides to bail. Not to mention the bad behavior of a husband who is both appreciative and entitled. Yuck.
Many of us felt this story resonated with the stories of their mothers, or others who had chosen to be the support of the man in her life rather than compete on her own. And of course there are a lot of women who wanted to have their own life and accomplishments and never were able to find a way. For all of those women, this story rang true and the mix of bitterness and complacency of the main character was the flavor of their lives.
Our general consensus was that Meg Worlitzer is really readable and we liked the book overall. Yes, it was predictable, yes there was no compelling character, but at the same time it was very well written and certainly kept our attention and interest. And it was short enough for the story it had to tell, unlike some other novels that just go on way too long.
Of course, we had our usual round of fun and chatter complete with lots of laughs. What a fun group we have and how lucky we are to have been born when we were, able to have the lives we want, the careers we want and at least in my case, a husband who does not expect to be the headline. I for one, am a very lucky girl.
Our next book is Haints, by Clint McCown. Dawn says Clint is coming to our meeting, so read up! The date is Nov. 18 and we will be at Ashley's. Please let her know if you will be coming and what you can bring.
Our December meeting will be at my house on Dec. 9. This will be our Yankee Book Swap and Christmas party, so start thinking about what book you want others to read and why. The rules are"
1) Bring a book you think others should read, gift wrapped.
2) Include a note on why you selected this book - do not give your name!
3) We will conduct a usual "Yankee Swap" format - choose numbers, pick gifts in order, swap out as you want when your number comes up, # 1 goes again at the end.
4) The most swapped book will be nominated for our read in February
5) After the swap is concluded, we can reveal who brought what!
6) We eat and drink and have much fun along the way.
Does this not sound like the best possible way to spend a Monday?
See you on Nov. 18!
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope - a consistent conclusion
First, a big thanks to Julie Joyce for hosting us in her absolutely lovely home, well sheltered from the Cary St. traffic and so welcoming. Thank you so much for having us and for the absolutely yummy shrimp cups - would you share the recipe?
Of course there was a lot of other fantastic food, so much that it took us a bit to get to the book. When we did however, our opinion was very consistent. The premise had a lot of promise and interesting characters but the plot failed to take advantage of its opportunities and devolved into a repetitive pattern that brought no higher insight or purpose to the story. There was so much imagination and invention, but in the end, there was too much to make a cohesive and compelling story.
In fact, Val went so far as to say she had never hated a book more that she finished reading and that seemed to summarize the overall response. There was enough in the premise to keep people reading, but not enough to convince them it was worth the time.
There were a number of gaps that made it difficult to find a framework to explain the story. For example, why could Adam conform to look like Evelyn, then Adam and then freeze into Adam for all time? What brought him/her there to start with and why was that no part of the story? What was the meaning behind choosing Adam and Evelyn as the names, really is this biblical?
The worst fault to me was that the story went nowhere. Much like The Time Traveler's Wife, it was a repetition of the same events over and over, with no progression in the development of the plot and character, just another episode. This doesn't draw a story to a clear conclusion, it only keeps you reading in hope of one.
And, in this case, the end was telegraphed fairly clearly, so it was in fact wholly predictable. Too bad. Maybe next time this author will do a better job of editing her content, much like Virginia Pye explained she had done with her River of Dust, and come up with a winner. She clearly has the imagination, now she just needs the implementation.
Our next book is The Wife by Meg Worlitzer and we will be at Carol's. Thank you so much for agreeing to host! The date is October 14 (Columbus Day) so mark your calendars.
The book after that is Haints by Clint McCown, who is Dawn's husband. Clint has agreed to meet with us, should be a ton of fun! The date is November 18 and we will be at Ashley's. Thank you!
Our December meeting will be a redo of our very fun Holiday Party Book Exchange. I will host, and each of us will bring a book we want to share with someone else, wrapped with a note as to why you chose that book, but without your name. We will then have a Yankee swap with the books and the book that gets swapped the most will be our February selection. At some point we will let people know who brought what book.
Ok, feel free to weigh in with your thoughts, see you all at Carol's on Oct. 14!
Of course there was a lot of other fantastic food, so much that it took us a bit to get to the book. When we did however, our opinion was very consistent. The premise had a lot of promise and interesting characters but the plot failed to take advantage of its opportunities and devolved into a repetitive pattern that brought no higher insight or purpose to the story. There was so much imagination and invention, but in the end, there was too much to make a cohesive and compelling story.
In fact, Val went so far as to say she had never hated a book more that she finished reading and that seemed to summarize the overall response. There was enough in the premise to keep people reading, but not enough to convince them it was worth the time.
There were a number of gaps that made it difficult to find a framework to explain the story. For example, why could Adam conform to look like Evelyn, then Adam and then freeze into Adam for all time? What brought him/her there to start with and why was that no part of the story? What was the meaning behind choosing Adam and Evelyn as the names, really is this biblical?
The worst fault to me was that the story went nowhere. Much like The Time Traveler's Wife, it was a repetition of the same events over and over, with no progression in the development of the plot and character, just another episode. This doesn't draw a story to a clear conclusion, it only keeps you reading in hope of one.
And, in this case, the end was telegraphed fairly clearly, so it was in fact wholly predictable. Too bad. Maybe next time this author will do a better job of editing her content, much like Virginia Pye explained she had done with her River of Dust, and come up with a winner. She clearly has the imagination, now she just needs the implementation.
Our next book is The Wife by Meg Worlitzer and we will be at Carol's. Thank you so much for agreeing to host! The date is October 14 (Columbus Day) so mark your calendars.
The book after that is Haints by Clint McCown, who is Dawn's husband. Clint has agreed to meet with us, should be a ton of fun! The date is November 18 and we will be at Ashley's. Thank you!
Our December meeting will be a redo of our very fun Holiday Party Book Exchange. I will host, and each of us will bring a book we want to share with someone else, wrapped with a note as to why you chose that book, but without your name. We will then have a Yankee swap with the books and the book that gets swapped the most will be our February selection. At some point we will let people know who brought what book.
Ok, feel free to weigh in with your thoughts, see you all at Carol's on Oct. 14!
Thursday, August 22, 2013
A great read - "Unaccustomed Earth" and an update on the Rabies girl
Well, I couldn't stop myself from telling you all about the wonderful book I just finished, a collection of stories by Jhumpa Lahiri called Unaccustomed Earth. You may remember this accomplished author from her most recent book, also stories, Interpreter of Maladies.
This lovely book has eight unrelated tales of people who are both bound by family structure and its complicated relationships and also alienated, each in his or her own way. Each story has its own memorable (if sometimes bewildering) characters and its own way of describing the process of coming together or falling apart or sometimes both. The families stretch to a community, usually of exiles, who stand in for far-off parents or grandparents, a refuge in a new world.
The writing is just beautiful, so careful, so descriptive. It took very little for me to get involved with these characters and want to follow each story to the end, which I did pretty quickly. This one is a keeper, I have no idea why it sat so long on my "to-read" shelf. Luckily, it won out over The Horse, the Wheel and Language, on my recent trip to Cincinnati as I loved it.
Now, for the update on the rabies girl, which I forgot to include in my last post. Those who were able to get to Jean's parent's LOVELY home (thanks again) may remember that RadioLab had a recent episode on a girl in Wisconsin who contracted rabies which unfortunately was not diagnosed until way too late.
Rabies is considered the most fatal disease; its mortality rate is 100%. This poor girl, only 15 or 16 years old developed odd symptoms that progressed very quickly from a tingling in her arm to double vision to almost comatose within weeks.
After exhausting all possibilities, her mother finally remembered she had been bitten by a bat. They hadn't thought much of it but obviously the bat was rabid. Doctors told her to take her daughter home to die.
Except for one doctor, an infectious disease specialist in Milwaukee, who took on the case and in doing so, reviewed 20 years of case studies on rabies. In one, he found an amazing ray of hope - this study determined that rabies does not so much destroy the brain, as usually thought, but disrupts it. Sadly, it disrupts the base functions of the brain long enough to kill the patient. Autopsies showed not only an undamaged brain, but no rabies in the tissue around the brain.
So this doctor put the girl in a coma and had machines perform the functions the brain should, like breathing and ingesting water. AND she lived! And recovered, at least almost all of her functions. Of course, no one on record had recovered from rabies, so this treatment became known as the "Milwaukee Protocol" and has to date been used on 30 patients.
The good news is that 6 patients recovered, out of the 30, a big step up from everyone dying. The most interesting thing is that further study has found that the patients who recovered had enough antibody in their systems that they likely would have recovered anyway. So now doctors think rabies is 100% fatal...until it's not.
Here is the link to the RadioLab story. If you haven't listened before, give it a try, it is endlessly fascinating. http://www.radiolab.org/popup_player/# Rodney versus death.
This lovely book has eight unrelated tales of people who are both bound by family structure and its complicated relationships and also alienated, each in his or her own way. Each story has its own memorable (if sometimes bewildering) characters and its own way of describing the process of coming together or falling apart or sometimes both. The families stretch to a community, usually of exiles, who stand in for far-off parents or grandparents, a refuge in a new world.
The writing is just beautiful, so careful, so descriptive. It took very little for me to get involved with these characters and want to follow each story to the end, which I did pretty quickly. This one is a keeper, I have no idea why it sat so long on my "to-read" shelf. Luckily, it won out over The Horse, the Wheel and Language, on my recent trip to Cincinnati as I loved it.
Now, for the update on the rabies girl, which I forgot to include in my last post. Those who were able to get to Jean's parent's LOVELY home (thanks again) may remember that RadioLab had a recent episode on a girl in Wisconsin who contracted rabies which unfortunately was not diagnosed until way too late.
Rabies is considered the most fatal disease; its mortality rate is 100%. This poor girl, only 15 or 16 years old developed odd symptoms that progressed very quickly from a tingling in her arm to double vision to almost comatose within weeks.
After exhausting all possibilities, her mother finally remembered she had been bitten by a bat. They hadn't thought much of it but obviously the bat was rabid. Doctors told her to take her daughter home to die.
Except for one doctor, an infectious disease specialist in Milwaukee, who took on the case and in doing so, reviewed 20 years of case studies on rabies. In one, he found an amazing ray of hope - this study determined that rabies does not so much destroy the brain, as usually thought, but disrupts it. Sadly, it disrupts the base functions of the brain long enough to kill the patient. Autopsies showed not only an undamaged brain, but no rabies in the tissue around the brain.
So this doctor put the girl in a coma and had machines perform the functions the brain should, like breathing and ingesting water. AND she lived! And recovered, at least almost all of her functions. Of course, no one on record had recovered from rabies, so this treatment became known as the "Milwaukee Protocol" and has to date been used on 30 patients.
The good news is that 6 patients recovered, out of the 30, a big step up from everyone dying. The most interesting thing is that further study has found that the patients who recovered had enough antibody in their systems that they likely would have recovered anyway. So now doctors think rabies is 100% fatal...until it's not.
Here is the link to the RadioLab story. If you haven't listened before, give it a try, it is endlessly fascinating. http://www.radiolab.org/popup_player/# Rodney versus death.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Not necessarily proof but certainly a compelling experience
What an interesting and personal discussion we had this evening, all about Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander. Thanks to Jean for hosting in her parent's absolutely beautiful home, weren't we lucky she and Julie were able to negotiate a swap so that we can see them both these two months! Also thanks to everyone who contributed to a beautiful array of delicious food. Susan brought bags full of fresh yummy stuff like figs and Lynn had amazing fig treats. I need a fig tree!
Among us, many had met Dr. Alexander, a neurosurgeon from Lynchburg, or had heard him speak at one of his several Richmond appearances. Beryl and I had talked with him, me at some length during the Book and Author luncheon this past May. He is personally engaging, articulate and obviously convinced of his experiences. Catherine, Jean and Lynn all saw him at Reveille Church and came away with different opinions - Lynn skeptical, Jean and Catherine all in.
And that was in fact the way the group fell out on the book - with slightly more skeptics than believers but we all agreed that Dr. Alexander had this experience and is not fabricating a story, he is convinced this has happened to him. Kathy added in her sister's experiences from her many years as a hospice nurse which validated much of what he went through. At the same time, those universal types of experiences did not, to some of us, prove that heaven does exist, rather it was proof that we as humans travel the same pathways of human interaction and love, reaching for those we have loved, who made us feel secure, as we experience the last surges of life.
There were many personal stories of deaths and near-deaths in our families that corresponded with the outlines of Dr. Alexander's story. The one consistent thread was the connection, often a physical one, with loved ones and how that made the difference. In Dr. Alexander's case, his family members made the decision to stay with him all day and night, holding his hand, speaking to him, encouraging him to come back. He talked about being pulled back, by those who still needed him, only to find out that his younger son was talking to him, asking him to come back during the last stages of his coma.
Dr. Alexander's experience in heaven gave him endless confidence that he was loved, that he didn't need to worry, that all around him were there for him.His family had been with him during his coma all day and night every day, which could have created that feeling for him. Catherine shared an incredible experience that she had with her younger son who was very ill at age 2 1/2. In her case, she climbed into his crib in the hospital, after days of a coma, hugged him and told him it was not his time to go... and he opened his eyes and said "hi, momma". The incredible power of love from those around us are indeed what we felt cause us to come back from the brink, or allow us to pass on with peace.
So do we believe him or not? The conclusion seemed to be that the afterlife is not a function of religion or ritual but instead a great connectedness in some way that creates a greater good, a larger purpose and a reason to exist or to expire. We didn't believe him, but we didn't discount him either. What a great night, thank you all!
On to more prosaic subjects, our next meeting is at Julie's on September 16 at 6:30 pm. Our book is The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope, another Book and Author find. Please let Julie know what you will bring along, let's hope it is warm enough for us to hang at her pool.
October's book is The Wife, by Meg Worlitzer, place to be determined. November is Haints by Clint McCown, is this author related to our own Dawn? If so, could she use her influence to get him to talk to us? I hope so!!
Thank you all for allowing me to be part of such a wonderful, thoughtful and intelligent group of readers. All the best to Sally Eddows, who is recovering from a mild concussion, we want to see you back next month!
Among us, many had met Dr. Alexander, a neurosurgeon from Lynchburg, or had heard him speak at one of his several Richmond appearances. Beryl and I had talked with him, me at some length during the Book and Author luncheon this past May. He is personally engaging, articulate and obviously convinced of his experiences. Catherine, Jean and Lynn all saw him at Reveille Church and came away with different opinions - Lynn skeptical, Jean and Catherine all in.
And that was in fact the way the group fell out on the book - with slightly more skeptics than believers but we all agreed that Dr. Alexander had this experience and is not fabricating a story, he is convinced this has happened to him. Kathy added in her sister's experiences from her many years as a hospice nurse which validated much of what he went through. At the same time, those universal types of experiences did not, to some of us, prove that heaven does exist, rather it was proof that we as humans travel the same pathways of human interaction and love, reaching for those we have loved, who made us feel secure, as we experience the last surges of life.
There were many personal stories of deaths and near-deaths in our families that corresponded with the outlines of Dr. Alexander's story. The one consistent thread was the connection, often a physical one, with loved ones and how that made the difference. In Dr. Alexander's case, his family members made the decision to stay with him all day and night, holding his hand, speaking to him, encouraging him to come back. He talked about being pulled back, by those who still needed him, only to find out that his younger son was talking to him, asking him to come back during the last stages of his coma.
Dr. Alexander's experience in heaven gave him endless confidence that he was loved, that he didn't need to worry, that all around him were there for him.His family had been with him during his coma all day and night every day, which could have created that feeling for him. Catherine shared an incredible experience that she had with her younger son who was very ill at age 2 1/2. In her case, she climbed into his crib in the hospital, after days of a coma, hugged him and told him it was not his time to go... and he opened his eyes and said "hi, momma". The incredible power of love from those around us are indeed what we felt cause us to come back from the brink, or allow us to pass on with peace.
So do we believe him or not? The conclusion seemed to be that the afterlife is not a function of religion or ritual but instead a great connectedness in some way that creates a greater good, a larger purpose and a reason to exist or to expire. We didn't believe him, but we didn't discount him either. What a great night, thank you all!
On to more prosaic subjects, our next meeting is at Julie's on September 16 at 6:30 pm. Our book is The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope, another Book and Author find. Please let Julie know what you will bring along, let's hope it is warm enough for us to hang at her pool.
October's book is The Wife, by Meg Worlitzer, place to be determined. November is Haints by Clint McCown, is this author related to our own Dawn? If so, could she use her influence to get him to talk to us? I hope so!!
Thank you all for allowing me to be part of such a wonderful, thoughtful and intelligent group of readers. All the best to Sally Eddows, who is recovering from a mild concussion, we want to see you back next month!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Whoops! September and October books, a correction
Hi all, Ashley pointed out a mistake in the last post - we are reading The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope for September and The Wife for October. Sorry about any confusion!
August is still Proof of Heaven, some things stay the same. Thanks Ashley!
August is still Proof of Heaven, some things stay the same. Thanks Ashley!
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
An Enlightening Night with Virginia Pye
Lucky us to get to spend an evening discussing River of Dust with its author Virginia Pye at Wendy's lovely home. Thank you so much Wendy, it was wonderful!
What a fascinating discussion, it was so interesting to hear how a novel comes together, and how it is like most things - hard work, perseverance and some luck makes it happen more than inspiration. Most of us really appreciated her effort as the general consensus was that we liked the book, although there were definitely other opinions.
In Virginia's case, this is her sixth novel and came out, in part, of a previous attempt that spanned three generations, starting in the same place as this book, the northern plains of China. Virgina drew on her family history for this novel. Her grandfather had been a missionary in a similar period in the same region and left his journals behind when he died, filled with his impressions and experiences. In his case, he came to China to close a mission on the heels of the end of the Boxer Rebellion. Instead, he stayed 15 years until his death and his widow stayed on many years after that with Virginia's father, their son.
His life, and that of his very strong and capable wife, was entirely different than the Reverend's and Grace's but there was the same sense of place, time and challenge. Virginia was open, funny and insightful as to how this particular novel came about. I was particularly taken with her describing her prior novels and how those lead into this one and gave her the practice she needed to create this novel.
And speaking of creating, Virginia mentioned that each of her prior efforts had taken about five years to complete. In this case, she completed the first draft in 23 days! She was taken with the story and the effort of getting it on the page and got up early and stayed up late with the inspiration.
As for the book itself, our discussion was all about The Reverend and his wife Grace, an odd combination of characters. He was remote in so many ways, increasingly obsessed with the local culture, increasingly absorbed in guilt and despair in the search for his son, lost as a result of his role in the death of another child. While some of us could empathize with his quest, in the end, he seemed beyond redemption, completely mad.
Grace was another puzzle, a physically weak person, longing for children that were repeatedly lost, yet her obsession was with her physically and mentally absent husband. Why did she focus on him while dismissing her lost son? Why did she give her daughter away to the other missionaries who were leaving China as she stayed to search for her husband. Virginia didn't say!
For her, the biggest surprise of the book was that Ahcho and Mai Lin were married! And that Grace comes to this conclusion late in the story, as she is physically wasting, watching them exchange the familiar, loving gestures of those long together. "Could they be married?" she wonders. Of course they could, of course they should be.
So, a lovely evening, talking about an entirely different view of our chosen book. Thanks again to Wendy and to Virginia for a great night!
Our next meeting is August 13 (another Tuesday, heads up, sorry Dawn!) and our book is Proof of Heaven, by Eden Alexander. This is a Book and Author Dinner book, and having met him, I can't wait. We are hoping Julie can host, if not, any volunteers?
We had a lively discussion about the next book and once again decided to select the next two books. September is The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope, by Rhonda Riley, another Book and Author Dinner selection. Beryl, Mary and I were at her table at the luncheon and truly enjoyed talking with her.
September's date is the 16th and the book is The Wife, by Meg Worlitzer. I love this book and can't wait to hear what you all have to say about it. Anyone volunteering for September? Who could have thought that we would be scheduling into September? Certainly not me.
Thanks to all who brought goodies, it was a great evening all around, can't wait for the next time!
What a fascinating discussion, it was so interesting to hear how a novel comes together, and how it is like most things - hard work, perseverance and some luck makes it happen more than inspiration. Most of us really appreciated her effort as the general consensus was that we liked the book, although there were definitely other opinions.
In Virginia's case, this is her sixth novel and came out, in part, of a previous attempt that spanned three generations, starting in the same place as this book, the northern plains of China. Virgina drew on her family history for this novel. Her grandfather had been a missionary in a similar period in the same region and left his journals behind when he died, filled with his impressions and experiences. In his case, he came to China to close a mission on the heels of the end of the Boxer Rebellion. Instead, he stayed 15 years until his death and his widow stayed on many years after that with Virginia's father, their son.
His life, and that of his very strong and capable wife, was entirely different than the Reverend's and Grace's but there was the same sense of place, time and challenge. Virginia was open, funny and insightful as to how this particular novel came about. I was particularly taken with her describing her prior novels and how those lead into this one and gave her the practice she needed to create this novel.
And speaking of creating, Virginia mentioned that each of her prior efforts had taken about five years to complete. In this case, she completed the first draft in 23 days! She was taken with the story and the effort of getting it on the page and got up early and stayed up late with the inspiration.
As for the book itself, our discussion was all about The Reverend and his wife Grace, an odd combination of characters. He was remote in so many ways, increasingly obsessed with the local culture, increasingly absorbed in guilt and despair in the search for his son, lost as a result of his role in the death of another child. While some of us could empathize with his quest, in the end, he seemed beyond redemption, completely mad.
Grace was another puzzle, a physically weak person, longing for children that were repeatedly lost, yet her obsession was with her physically and mentally absent husband. Why did she focus on him while dismissing her lost son? Why did she give her daughter away to the other missionaries who were leaving China as she stayed to search for her husband. Virginia didn't say!
For her, the biggest surprise of the book was that Ahcho and Mai Lin were married! And that Grace comes to this conclusion late in the story, as she is physically wasting, watching them exchange the familiar, loving gestures of those long together. "Could they be married?" she wonders. Of course they could, of course they should be.
So, a lovely evening, talking about an entirely different view of our chosen book. Thanks again to Wendy and to Virginia for a great night!
Our next meeting is August 13 (another Tuesday, heads up, sorry Dawn!) and our book is Proof of Heaven, by Eden Alexander. This is a Book and Author Dinner book, and having met him, I can't wait. We are hoping Julie can host, if not, any volunteers?
We had a lively discussion about the next book and once again decided to select the next two books. September is The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope, by Rhonda Riley, another Book and Author Dinner selection. Beryl, Mary and I were at her table at the luncheon and truly enjoyed talking with her.
September's date is the 16th and the book is The Wife, by Meg Worlitzer. I love this book and can't wait to hear what you all have to say about it. Anyone volunteering for September? Who could have thought that we would be scheduling into September? Certainly not me.
Thanks to all who brought goodies, it was a great evening all around, can't wait for the next time!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
No one wanted to have dinner with these people.
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!
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!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Lean In - and did we ever!
Once again, our book blog has been delayed by a well-timed vacation, this one in the beautiful beaches of Murrell's Inlet, SC, tucked between Pawley's Island and Myrtle Beach. So sorry, I wanted to get this off earlier but just did not!
This past meeting was at Beryl's house, now across the street from her old one! Of course the food was great and the fun even more so. Many, many thanks to Beryl who was able to get us all around the table for what will now be a rare seated dinner. As you may all recall, we are going the to all hors d'oeurves unless otherwise planned, as we are outgrowing our venues!
Our book was Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg, the most recent of many books either for or by women on succeeding in the work place. The short sum up of our very fun evening was that we really liked this book even though some of us are over having to think about the topic.
Despite some painful (if still good) advice like "smile when you negotiate", the consensus was that this was a smart, well-researched and well-considered book with a fresh approach on a tired old subject. Many of us in the room had plenty of personal experience and so could relate all too well to the obstructions described.
One of the many fresh ideas in the book was that the choice of partner is as much a part of being successful in the work place as any other factor. Having a partner who is willing to take on child care and domestic duties frees up energy and time to devote to a career. Several of us also commented on how this also frees up resentment and anger from a marriage also, again a help when trying to concentrate on a career.
Sadly, I am unable to do justice to the energetic discussion we had, and it was a really good one. Please feel free to add in your own comments, as the discussion was long and pretty far-ranging.
Our next book is The Dinner, by Herman Koch and did we come up with a location? I think we are heading to the Deep Run Hunt Club but correct me if I am wrong. The date is June 10.
July's date is the 15th. For those who read ahead, our July book is River of Dust, by Virginia Pye, a Richmond author and this is her first published novel. She has offered to come visit with us, we can talk about that at our next meeting. See you all then!
This past meeting was at Beryl's house, now across the street from her old one! Of course the food was great and the fun even more so. Many, many thanks to Beryl who was able to get us all around the table for what will now be a rare seated dinner. As you may all recall, we are going the to all hors d'oeurves unless otherwise planned, as we are outgrowing our venues!
Our book was Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg, the most recent of many books either for or by women on succeeding in the work place. The short sum up of our very fun evening was that we really liked this book even though some of us are over having to think about the topic.
Despite some painful (if still good) advice like "smile when you negotiate", the consensus was that this was a smart, well-researched and well-considered book with a fresh approach on a tired old subject. Many of us in the room had plenty of personal experience and so could relate all too well to the obstructions described.
One of the many fresh ideas in the book was that the choice of partner is as much a part of being successful in the work place as any other factor. Having a partner who is willing to take on child care and domestic duties frees up energy and time to devote to a career. Several of us also commented on how this also frees up resentment and anger from a marriage also, again a help when trying to concentrate on a career.
Sadly, I am unable to do justice to the energetic discussion we had, and it was a really good one. Please feel free to add in your own comments, as the discussion was long and pretty far-ranging.
Our next book is The Dinner, by Herman Koch and did we come up with a location? I think we are heading to the Deep Run Hunt Club but correct me if I am wrong. The date is June 10.
July's date is the 15th. For those who read ahead, our July book is River of Dust, by Virginia Pye, a Richmond author and this is her first published novel. She has offered to come visit with us, we can talk about that at our next meeting. See you all then!
Monday, April 29, 2013
Well, finally a recap
No doubt you have all been wondering where our most recent recap has been. The answer is in Kentucky, along with our book club members Mary Millhiser, Sally Eddows, Maggie Georgiadis and me. We were all at the premier horse event in the country, the Three Day Event sponsored by Rolex in Lexington, KY. There are pictures and they are amazing, will try to post them soon. This is one of only six events in the world at this level and it was absolutely amazing.
But, back to the real world, including the world of wonderful stories. A big thank you to Val for hosting, she was absolutely fabulous in getting so many of us around the table and we had a great turnout for Gone Girl.
The consensus was that we liked this book and I was one of those in favor, although most of us HATED the characters. Among the main characters, Nick was weak and weaker, Amy was just too amazing and odious, and Margo "Go" was just useless. What kind of nickname is that? And they were so isolated from everyone else, even Amy's parents. How sad, how
I think it was Val who pointed out that "Go" was the unconditional love role of the story, showing Nick, her twin, all the support of the absent parents, or any other responsible adults. No doubt there was a shortage of them as Amy's parents clearly used her as to create the life and the child they wanted. Should an issue arise, an Amazing Amy book could work it out, and show the real Amy what and how they wanted her to be.
Poor Amy, she grew up so amazing and so capable and so disassociated that she orchestrated her own life as if it were another episode, just along different lines. She wanted a handsome, compliant husband, playing out his assigned role and she finally got just what she wanted. Could any of us conceived of and executed such a plan, and adapted along the way as she did? Please say no.
I had to admit, this was a great read. I actually cancelled plans in order to get home and finish this book, it was so compelling and many of the group agreed. That being said, is there some reason why our younger writers have great stories and odious characters? This is far from the first book where we have not been able to find a character that we might identify with and champion. This may be the trend of current publications but I want to find someone to bring me into and along with the story and somehow that is missing from so many recent books.
Ok, then, moving on. Our next book is Lean In by Sheryl Sandburg, could not be a more different part of our intellects but an important one. We are meeting on May 13, but our place is uncertain. Wendy can't do it that night as we had hoped, and the Deep Run Hunt Club is also out that night. Can anyone volunteer to host?
Our June book is The Dinner, by Herman Koch, tentatively at Wendy's. Bring your ideas to the May or June meetings for July books, my pick is River of Dust, by Richmond's own Virginia Pye, I LOVED it.
Looking forward to seeing you all soon!
But, back to the real world, including the world of wonderful stories. A big thank you to Val for hosting, she was absolutely fabulous in getting so many of us around the table and we had a great turnout for Gone Girl.
The consensus was that we liked this book and I was one of those in favor, although most of us HATED the characters. Among the main characters, Nick was weak and weaker, Amy was just too amazing and odious, and Margo "Go" was just useless. What kind of nickname is that? And they were so isolated from everyone else, even Amy's parents. How sad, how
I think it was Val who pointed out that "Go" was the unconditional love role of the story, showing Nick, her twin, all the support of the absent parents, or any other responsible adults. No doubt there was a shortage of them as Amy's parents clearly used her as to create the life and the child they wanted. Should an issue arise, an Amazing Amy book could work it out, and show the real Amy what and how they wanted her to be.
Poor Amy, she grew up so amazing and so capable and so disassociated that she orchestrated her own life as if it were another episode, just along different lines. She wanted a handsome, compliant husband, playing out his assigned role and she finally got just what she wanted. Could any of us conceived of and executed such a plan, and adapted along the way as she did? Please say no.
I had to admit, this was a great read. I actually cancelled plans in order to get home and finish this book, it was so compelling and many of the group agreed. That being said, is there some reason why our younger writers have great stories and odious characters? This is far from the first book where we have not been able to find a character that we might identify with and champion. This may be the trend of current publications but I want to find someone to bring me into and along with the story and somehow that is missing from so many recent books.
Ok, then, moving on. Our next book is Lean In by Sheryl Sandburg, could not be a more different part of our intellects but an important one. We are meeting on May 13, but our place is uncertain. Wendy can't do it that night as we had hoped, and the Deep Run Hunt Club is also out that night. Can anyone volunteer to host?
Our June book is The Dinner, by Herman Koch, tentatively at Wendy's. Bring your ideas to the May or June meetings for July books, my pick is River of Dust, by Richmond's own Virginia Pye, I LOVED it.
Looking forward to seeing you all soon!
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