The Barga Book Club met last Wednesday graciously hosted by Krysia Bell. The book club meeting opened with an overview of the over a year and a half since its inception at The Osteria in Piazza Angelio. Since that meeting we have read and discussed a variety of books in many categories from autobiography through literary fiction and thriller. It can be said that all of the books have appealed to some of the readers but not all of the books have appealed to all of the readers, but in all, there has been variety and the challenge to read a book that one might not read on one’s own, has been worthwhile.
The reading list to date has included:
The Glass Room, by Simon Mawer.
Seta (Silk) by Alessandro Baricco
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafòn.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Tehran Conviction by Tom Gabbay
The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells.
158 lb Marriage by John Irving
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters by J D Salinger
The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi
Spilling the Beans by Clarissa Dickson Wright
The Other Side of You by Salley Vickers.
In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Of Love and other Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The novel discussed at the meeting was The Glass Room by Simon Mawer. In consensus, it was one of the more popular books with the group. All agreed that it was superbly set and described. The plot left something to be desired and characterization had a range of support from ‘love, love, loved it’ from the delightfully delighted Salene to varying connections with characters as believable or accessible. Socioeconomic references to The Great Gatsby were acknowledged. The Story revolved around an architectural tour de force of the early 20th century, a home built in glass and steel in the Czech Republic with references to Adolf Loos and Le Corbusier and evocative of the whole of the inception of modern architecture and culture as it related to the rise of the Third Reich. The Glass Room was seen as a metaphoric parallel for Kristallnacht and the theme of the shadow of the holocaust overcame the serenity of transparency and freedom. Early 20th C. cultural mores were explored in the overtly libertine behavior of certain characters in contrast to those bound by tradition. An engaging sense of history and evolving sense of time were successfully executed. The strength of the novel was clearly in a sense of place and evocative atmosphere recreating the sensual ambiance and shock of the new in architecture and elitist power potential rendered impotent through racism.
Thank you very much to all who participated and to our hosts Krysia and Chris Bell.
The book to be discussed on January 19th will be The Sea by John Banville. The following month we will review The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal
We look forward to seeing you there.
Kerry
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Silk
Thank you very much to Margaret Moore who graciously hosted the meeting again this month and kindly wrote this in depth and perceptive recap including contributions from Liz Marroni and Krysia Bell.
The meeting for December may be held on the 15th due to holiday conflicts. Thanks to everyone who participated.
The Barga Book Club met , with very reduced numbers yet again, in November, to discuss Alessandro Baricco’s book Seta (Silk). It was suggested that everyone try to read the original as it is a short book and the language is not too difficult to follow. It should be added that the translation is not good. Comments were varied. Here are two:
1)I found it empty, devoid of interesting characters, characterization and psychological plausibility. It stuns me that this empty and hollow narrative is supposed to be internationally popular. It could possibly be clumped together with other books written by young authors who seem to want to show their intellect and just lose the plot after the second page. I found the style, plot and characters completely dull, thin, and perfunctory, plodding. The only good thing is, it’s short.
2)In this novella you are left with a deep sense of the people, the places and the time (19th century France and Japan) not as a result of character development and descriptions, but conversely, by the lack of them. Like hypnotic suggestions the author flits from one idea to another giving you just enough information for your imagination to create the world of Herve Joncour , a world which you want to return to. Consequently, this poetic fable still lingers, and like an unresolved evocative dream remains in the subconscious.
Not by chance is the French town in which the protagonist lives, called Lavilledieu, (the town of God)which leads to considerations on the nature of the character Baldabiou (we are told no one knew how old he was), who seems to play a decisive role in the lives of the population and in particular the life of Hervè Joncourt, who says that Baldabiou had rewritten his destiny. Taken at face value the book may appear facile, repetitive and empty, and one person described the book as boring, plodding and thought the characters were flimsy. It was also observed that given the title there was not the sensual feel to the book that one might have expected, as with for example with the book Chocolat, a feast of luscious sensations. However, it is as delicate and as light as silk and, for some, as unsubstantial.
It is written as a fable and rich with symbolism, some of which we did not actually uncover. It is also a love story and perhaps a moral fable. The protagonist seeks an elusive love that is never consummated except by proxy and is willing to risk his life and that of others to follow ‘to the end of the world’ what is in fact an empty dream, an illusion, unaware that he already has what he is searching for: his wife, Helene, who loves him enough to let him go. It is she who writes a lyrical letter to him, which can only be described as a declaration of undying love, and which he believes comes from the unknown woman he loves . Only after Helene’s death will Joncourt realise that it was she who wrote it.
Perhaps the saddest thing is the comment that Joncourt is one of those men who are unable to ‘live’ their life, they merely ‘witness’ it , men who ‘observe their fate as others observe a rainy day.’
So in his search for a ‘love’ that he feels will fulfill him he travels time and time again to Japan, so alien to the French culture, in the latter half of the 19th century, that it embodied the fascination of the unknown. His quest is involved with the silk industry. Silk, the name of the book , that beautiful sensual material woven from the cocoon of the silk worm. In France there is an epidemic that causes the death of all the silkworms; those in Japan are unaffected so the lengthy journey to procure fresh healthy eggs is undertaken by Joncourt. It is while he is there falls in love with a woman with whom he cannot speak and whom he can never know. This over-riding passion will take him there one last time, during a period of war. It will cause the death of an innocent boy and bring disaster , for the return home takes too long and all the eggs die. The ‘affaire’ is over. Joncourt lives the rest of his life feeling that he has lost something precious, and that the most precious thing he had was unappreciated by him.
The moral of the fable ? Perhaps that we should appreciate, enjoy and explore what we have, and not seek for it in worlds that do not belong to us. It is inevitable that only when it is too late does Joncourt realize what he had and what he has really lost.
To quote Proust;
The true journey of discovery is not to seek new lands but to have new eyes.
The meeting for December may be held on the 15th due to holiday conflicts. Thanks to everyone who participated.
The Barga Book Club met , with very reduced numbers yet again, in November, to discuss Alessandro Baricco’s book Seta (Silk). It was suggested that everyone try to read the original as it is a short book and the language is not too difficult to follow. It should be added that the translation is not good. Comments were varied. Here are two:
1)I found it empty, devoid of interesting characters, characterization and psychological plausibility. It stuns me that this empty and hollow narrative is supposed to be internationally popular. It could possibly be clumped together with other books written by young authors who seem to want to show their intellect and just lose the plot after the second page. I found the style, plot and characters completely dull, thin, and perfunctory, plodding. The only good thing is, it’s short.
2)In this novella you are left with a deep sense of the people, the places and the time (19th century France and Japan) not as a result of character development and descriptions, but conversely, by the lack of them. Like hypnotic suggestions the author flits from one idea to another giving you just enough information for your imagination to create the world of Herve Joncour , a world which you want to return to. Consequently, this poetic fable still lingers, and like an unresolved evocative dream remains in the subconscious.
Not by chance is the French town in which the protagonist lives, called Lavilledieu, (the town of God)which leads to considerations on the nature of the character Baldabiou (we are told no one knew how old he was), who seems to play a decisive role in the lives of the population and in particular the life of Hervè Joncourt, who says that Baldabiou had rewritten his destiny. Taken at face value the book may appear facile, repetitive and empty, and one person described the book as boring, plodding and thought the characters were flimsy. It was also observed that given the title there was not the sensual feel to the book that one might have expected, as with for example with the book Chocolat, a feast of luscious sensations. However, it is as delicate and as light as silk and, for some, as unsubstantial.
It is written as a fable and rich with symbolism, some of which we did not actually uncover. It is also a love story and perhaps a moral fable. The protagonist seeks an elusive love that is never consummated except by proxy and is willing to risk his life and that of others to follow ‘to the end of the world’ what is in fact an empty dream, an illusion, unaware that he already has what he is searching for: his wife, Helene, who loves him enough to let him go. It is she who writes a lyrical letter to him, which can only be described as a declaration of undying love, and which he believes comes from the unknown woman he loves . Only after Helene’s death will Joncourt realise that it was she who wrote it.
Perhaps the saddest thing is the comment that Joncourt is one of those men who are unable to ‘live’ their life, they merely ‘witness’ it , men who ‘observe their fate as others observe a rainy day.’
So in his search for a ‘love’ that he feels will fulfill him he travels time and time again to Japan, so alien to the French culture, in the latter half of the 19th century, that it embodied the fascination of the unknown. His quest is involved with the silk industry. Silk, the name of the book , that beautiful sensual material woven from the cocoon of the silk worm. In France there is an epidemic that causes the death of all the silkworms; those in Japan are unaffected so the lengthy journey to procure fresh healthy eggs is undertaken by Joncourt. It is while he is there falls in love with a woman with whom he cannot speak and whom he can never know. This over-riding passion will take him there one last time, during a period of war. It will cause the death of an innocent boy and bring disaster , for the return home takes too long and all the eggs die. The ‘affaire’ is over. Joncourt lives the rest of his life feeling that he has lost something precious, and that the most precious thing he had was unappreciated by him.
The moral of the fable ? Perhaps that we should appreciate, enjoy and explore what we have, and not seek for it in worlds that do not belong to us. It is inevitable that only when it is too late does Joncourt realize what he had and what he has really lost.
To quote Proust;
The true journey of discovery is not to seek new lands but to have new eyes.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
On Elegance and Hedgehogs
A surprising number of dedicated book club members gathered at the home of Margaret Moore on Wednesday to discuss The Elegance of the Hedgehog by the French novelist and professor of Philosophy, Muriel Barbery. Most agreed that the book was enjoyable on a number of levels and that the translation was very good. Some felt, justifiably from their viewpoint, that the story lacked depth and was disappointing from the standpoint of not delivering on promised substance with regard to philosophical allusions.
The beginning of the book was somewhat hard-going and left some feeling that the story was about as elegant as a hedgehog but, beyond around page 70, it began to flow and, in part, rose to the representation of a Zen like image of the elegance of the hedgehog.
The strength of the writing and translation was in its descriptive quality and a brief discussion ensued regarding written imagery vis-à-vis visual imagery in that, at certain points, the writing was so rich one could almost see, hear, smell, or taste whatever the author was describing.
Characterization was another strong point and most members felt drawn to the protagonists. The story revolves around a highly intelligent Parisian apartment house concierge who feels the need to hide her intelligence to fit the mold of the rigid social structure. The theme centered on the two protagonists mortal struggle with the class system and the artificial roles they felt they needed to play. In all, a highly recommended read.
The book club members have handed themselves a challenge in choosing Seta by Alessandro Baricco to be read in the original, and/or, if necessary, in translation. We will discuss this book in November.
The following month we will discuss The Glass Room, by Simon Mawer.
I know it is not about the food but, I would like to thank all of those, particularly Margaret, who put so much effort and expertise into serving up such delicious fare!
Thanks too, to all who participate, we look forward to seeing you next month.
Kerry
The beginning of the book was somewhat hard-going and left some feeling that the story was about as elegant as a hedgehog but, beyond around page 70, it began to flow and, in part, rose to the representation of a Zen like image of the elegance of the hedgehog.
The strength of the writing and translation was in its descriptive quality and a brief discussion ensued regarding written imagery vis-à-vis visual imagery in that, at certain points, the writing was so rich one could almost see, hear, smell, or taste whatever the author was describing.
Characterization was another strong point and most members felt drawn to the protagonists. The story revolves around a highly intelligent Parisian apartment house concierge who feels the need to hide her intelligence to fit the mold of the rigid social structure. The theme centered on the two protagonists mortal struggle with the class system and the artificial roles they felt they needed to play. In all, a highly recommended read.
The book club members have handed themselves a challenge in choosing Seta by Alessandro Baricco to be read in the original, and/or, if necessary, in translation. We will discuss this book in November.
The following month we will discuss The Glass Room, by Simon Mawer.
I know it is not about the food but, I would like to thank all of those, particularly Margaret, who put so much effort and expertise into serving up such delicious fare!
Thanks too, to all who participate, we look forward to seeing you next month.
Kerry
Friday, September 17, 2010
Barga welcomes the Lucca Book Club
The Barga Book Club enthusiastically welcomed many members of the Lucca Book Club to their meeting this month in the elegant surroundings of the Hotel Villa Moorings for a lively discussion of The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafòn.
Elisabeth Marseglia opened the discussion with her thoughts on the story’s rendering in translation. As reflected by others, she felt there were some things lost in translation, but overall the translator’s difficult job was executed satisfactorily if not colorfully. Citing examples such as the impact of the image of ‘bloodless shadow’ substituted with ‘spidery shadow’ or the gravitas of ‘dragging his spirit and his feet’ with the simplified ‘dragging his feet,’ Elisabeth represented what was missing in the tenor and import of the language.
The strength of the storytelling was in character development, with vivid and lucid descriptions of a diverse and colorful, almost Dickinsian, cast of characters. The other strength was in the descriptive quality of the setting in which the reader was transported onto the broad boulevards or narrow alleys and into stately mansions or seedy apartments of post war Barcelona.
While at times, in the opinion of some readers, the book seemed superficial and more like a young adult caper, Elisabeth and others emphasized the apparent political and cultural ironies of the post war period, the Spanish civil war and Franco’s regime, which at times bordered on satire. The reader whose historical grasp of the period was informed could read between the lines and glean greater understanding of the author’s intent.
Thanks very much to Carolyn Slater and the members of the Lucca Book Club for joining us and contributing to this interesting interchange and we look forward to meeting you all again.
The members of the Lucca Book Club have recommended the following books which have been added to our reading list. (click on the link to the right of this blog post)
Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut
Scoop Evelyn Waugh
Disgrace J. M. Coetzee
The Citadel A. J. Cronin
We Need to Talk About Kevin Lionel Shriver
The Dig John Preston
The book which has been chosen for the October meeting is The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
Thank you to everyone of the Barga Book Club who participated and we look forward to seeing you next month. We would also enjoy a few new recipes. If anyone has a favourite to add to the recipe blog, please send it to me in an email.
Elisabeth Marseglia opened the discussion with her thoughts on the story’s rendering in translation. As reflected by others, she felt there were some things lost in translation, but overall the translator’s difficult job was executed satisfactorily if not colorfully. Citing examples such as the impact of the image of ‘bloodless shadow’ substituted with ‘spidery shadow’ or the gravitas of ‘dragging his spirit and his feet’ with the simplified ‘dragging his feet,’ Elisabeth represented what was missing in the tenor and import of the language.
The strength of the storytelling was in character development, with vivid and lucid descriptions of a diverse and colorful, almost Dickinsian, cast of characters. The other strength was in the descriptive quality of the setting in which the reader was transported onto the broad boulevards or narrow alleys and into stately mansions or seedy apartments of post war Barcelona.
While at times, in the opinion of some readers, the book seemed superficial and more like a young adult caper, Elisabeth and others emphasized the apparent political and cultural ironies of the post war period, the Spanish civil war and Franco’s regime, which at times bordered on satire. The reader whose historical grasp of the period was informed could read between the lines and glean greater understanding of the author’s intent.
Thanks very much to Carolyn Slater and the members of the Lucca Book Club for joining us and contributing to this interesting interchange and we look forward to meeting you all again.
The members of the Lucca Book Club have recommended the following books which have been added to our reading list. (click on the link to the right of this blog post)
Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut
Scoop Evelyn Waugh
Disgrace J. M. Coetzee
The Citadel A. J. Cronin
We Need to Talk About Kevin Lionel Shriver
The Dig John Preston
The book which has been chosen for the October meeting is The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
Thank you to everyone of the Barga Book Club who participated and we look forward to seeing you next month. We would also enjoy a few new recipes. If anyone has a favourite to add to the recipe blog, please send it to me in an email.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
August meeting
Hosted at the home of Margaret Moore, the book club met Wednesday, August 4th to discuss F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby. For most of us it was at least a second reading and raised many questions regarding its status as a classic in American literature. Nevertheless an enthusiastic discussion followed and, as usual, members raised interesting points as to the plot, characters and underlying theme of the tragic fate of the American dream.
Thank you very much to everyone who participated and especially Margaret for her always unreserved welcome and selfless commitment.
By popular request we're starting a recipe blog and I'm anxiously awaiting more recipes to post. There are several special requests which have been conveyed and we'll welcome any other personal favorites. http://bargabookclubrecipes.blogspot.com/ This link is also on the sidebar of the main book club blog.
We have had the pleasure of a request for a get together with the Lucca book club and have set the date of Wednesday 15 September. The time will probably remain the same and the place here in Barga will be announced closer to the meeting date. The book selected for this meeting is: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafòn.
We look forward to seeing you all there,
Kerry
Thank you very much to everyone who participated and especially Margaret for her always unreserved welcome and selfless commitment.
By popular request we're starting a recipe blog and I'm anxiously awaiting more recipes to post. There are several special requests which have been conveyed and we'll welcome any other personal favorites. http://bargabookclubrecipes.blogspot.com/ This link is also on the sidebar of the main book club blog.
We have had the pleasure of a request for a get together with the Lucca book club and have set the date of Wednesday 15 September. The time will probably remain the same and the place here in Barga will be announced closer to the meeting date. The book selected for this meeting is: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafòn.
We look forward to seeing you all there,
Kerry
Monday, July 26, 2010
Two meetings in one
The Barga Book Club, hosted by the always convivial Julie Flynn, met in June and were enthralled with the presence of the author Tom Gabbay of The Tehran Conviction. A fascinating discussion was led by the author regarding the background, history and inspiration for his engaging story of intrigue in Tehran. Read the book is the simplest and best recommendation we can offer. It is excellent.
The July meeting was held on the new terrace of Isobel Dodds home to discuss Rebecca Wells' The Divine Secrets of The Yaya Sisterhood which was well reviewed and the recap of the meeting by Margaret Moore follows. Thank you to our wonderful host Isobel, everyone who participated and especially to Margaret for writing this summary.
The books chosen for the months of August and September respectively are the following: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
This month’s book club meeting was kindly hosted by Isabel Dodds .
The book chosen for the July meeting was The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. Discussion of the book centered on two aspects; the immense value of a group friendship which starts in childhood and lasts a life-time; and the rapport between mothers and daughters.
The very special kind of friendship described in this book is the YaYa Sisterhood, which is able to give support to all its members, without judging them, in the way that close sisters would. There is love and it is strong enough to survive any situation. This amazing group of southern Louisiana women, hemmed in by the conventions of their time, through the sisterhood are able to experience life in a different and more exciting way as they grow up together. Their lives are immeasurably enriched by it. As they get married their friendship encompasses each other’s families so that their children, the petite YaYas, have an extended family to turn to as well.
When one of the group has a breakdown and physically abuses her children, she is not judged by the others but is supported by them and helped to overcome this terrible event. It is this event that is the focus of the book. Because of the physical abuse she suffered on that occasion, Sidda, Vivi’s oldest girl, finds herself unable to commit. She leaves her partner and goes away for a period of time alone to think. She has argued with her mother whom she has publicly accused of hurting her although she remembers little in detail of what happened. Vivi sends her the scrapbook of the events of her life in the sisterhood. While Sidda ponders over these tokens of memory, and does indeed remember many good things, the other members of the sisterhood, now much older and physically fragile, arrive at her retreat. They are able to provide more information about the relics and Sidda learns the truth about what happened to Vivi. They also give her detailed information about many events in her childhood, and her mother’s burning love for her and her brother and sister are manifest. At the same time we learn about Vivi’s own experience with her mother. What is discipline to one generation is child abuse to the next.
The book struck many chords for most of us. Some remembered friendships that had lasted for a life time and other lamented the lack of such important and enriching relationships. It also called to mind our own relationship with our parents and the totally different kind that we have with our children. We are all products of our time as Sidda too came to understand. Breakdowns were once secret events, never mentioned; now most people who have this experience, see a psychiatrist, take medication, have therapy, sometimes group therapy and talk their way through it.
So, through the relationships formed in childhood that extended throughout a lifetime and encompassed a huge extended family, The YaYa Sisterhood, were able to enrich not only their own lives but those of their large families too. The general consensus was that this was a very beautiful book, though perhaps a ‘women’s’ book. The men in this book are peripheral and we see them only as they relate to their wives or daughters, not to each other. (Men’s comradeship seems to be of a different kind and related to external events especially stressful ones, as for example in war. )
Next month’s book is The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
The July meeting was held on the new terrace of Isobel Dodds home to discuss Rebecca Wells' The Divine Secrets of The Yaya Sisterhood which was well reviewed and the recap of the meeting by Margaret Moore follows. Thank you to our wonderful host Isobel, everyone who participated and especially to Margaret for writing this summary.
The books chosen for the months of August and September respectively are the following: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
This month’s book club meeting was kindly hosted by Isabel Dodds .
The book chosen for the July meeting was The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. Discussion of the book centered on two aspects; the immense value of a group friendship which starts in childhood and lasts a life-time; and the rapport between mothers and daughters.
The very special kind of friendship described in this book is the YaYa Sisterhood, which is able to give support to all its members, without judging them, in the way that close sisters would. There is love and it is strong enough to survive any situation. This amazing group of southern Louisiana women, hemmed in by the conventions of their time, through the sisterhood are able to experience life in a different and more exciting way as they grow up together. Their lives are immeasurably enriched by it. As they get married their friendship encompasses each other’s families so that their children, the petite YaYas, have an extended family to turn to as well.
When one of the group has a breakdown and physically abuses her children, she is not judged by the others but is supported by them and helped to overcome this terrible event. It is this event that is the focus of the book. Because of the physical abuse she suffered on that occasion, Sidda, Vivi’s oldest girl, finds herself unable to commit. She leaves her partner and goes away for a period of time alone to think. She has argued with her mother whom she has publicly accused of hurting her although she remembers little in detail of what happened. Vivi sends her the scrapbook of the events of her life in the sisterhood. While Sidda ponders over these tokens of memory, and does indeed remember many good things, the other members of the sisterhood, now much older and physically fragile, arrive at her retreat. They are able to provide more information about the relics and Sidda learns the truth about what happened to Vivi. They also give her detailed information about many events in her childhood, and her mother’s burning love for her and her brother and sister are manifest. At the same time we learn about Vivi’s own experience with her mother. What is discipline to one generation is child abuse to the next.
The book struck many chords for most of us. Some remembered friendships that had lasted for a life time and other lamented the lack of such important and enriching relationships. It also called to mind our own relationship with our parents and the totally different kind that we have with our children. We are all products of our time as Sidda too came to understand. Breakdowns were once secret events, never mentioned; now most people who have this experience, see a psychiatrist, take medication, have therapy, sometimes group therapy and talk their way through it.
So, through the relationships formed in childhood that extended throughout a lifetime and encompassed a huge extended family, The YaYa Sisterhood, were able to enrich not only their own lives but those of their large families too. The general consensus was that this was a very beautiful book, though perhaps a ‘women’s’ book. The men in this book are peripheral and we see them only as they relate to their wives or daughters, not to each other. (Men’s comradeship seems to be of a different kind and related to external events especially stressful ones, as for example in war. )
Next month’s book is The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
Saturday, May 8, 2010
158 lb Book
Seven enthusiastic members of the Barga Book Club met Wednesday evening to discuss the novel, 158 lb Marriage by John Irving. The story was a period set piece of mid 1970’s lifestyle choices, exploring sexual attitudes and representative of the author’s early thematic development.
The plot revolved around two couples who exchanged sexual partners in an early experiment during the so called sexual revolution. Twisted rationalization prompted the beginning of the experimentation and extreme disillusion ended it and tragically ruptured one family.
Though the opinions were typically divergent, the consensus was that though readable, the writing was heavy handed, the story contrived, the characters calculating and exploitative. It is representative of a particular period in time and therefore seemed dated. Various influences on the author at the time were cited as too apparent. Opinion varied as to interesting aspects of the writing such as the seeds of typically wry John Irving humor and touches of the absurd. One member noted that the peripheral characters seemed to have been very interestingly developed but not integral to the story. There was an overall wrestling metaphor with allegorical implications of Irving wrestling with a theme of the period, which was inter-relational sexual experimentation that ultimately went very wrong.
We will next meet on Wednesday the 2nd of June to discuss The Tehran Conviction by Tom Gabbay. We’re very happy to report that the author will be there for the discussion.
In July we will discuss Divine Secrets of the Ya -Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells.
A sincere thank you to Julie Flynn-Ciniglio for hosting the meeting again and thank you very much to everyone for patience and effective cooperation in the book exchange process. A special thanks to Margaret Moore for getting copies of the books and helping to organize the exchanges.
We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting and we’ll confirm the place closer to the date,
Kerry and Julie
The plot revolved around two couples who exchanged sexual partners in an early experiment during the so called sexual revolution. Twisted rationalization prompted the beginning of the experimentation and extreme disillusion ended it and tragically ruptured one family.
Though the opinions were typically divergent, the consensus was that though readable, the writing was heavy handed, the story contrived, the characters calculating and exploitative. It is representative of a particular period in time and therefore seemed dated. Various influences on the author at the time were cited as too apparent. Opinion varied as to interesting aspects of the writing such as the seeds of typically wry John Irving humor and touches of the absurd. One member noted that the peripheral characters seemed to have been very interestingly developed but not integral to the story. There was an overall wrestling metaphor with allegorical implications of Irving wrestling with a theme of the period, which was inter-relational sexual experimentation that ultimately went very wrong.
We will next meet on Wednesday the 2nd of June to discuss The Tehran Conviction by Tom Gabbay. We’re very happy to report that the author will be there for the discussion.
In July we will discuss Divine Secrets of the Ya -Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells.
A sincere thank you to Julie Flynn-Ciniglio for hosting the meeting again and thank you very much to everyone for patience and effective cooperation in the book exchange process. A special thanks to Margaret Moore for getting copies of the books and helping to organize the exchanges.
We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting and we’ll confirm the place closer to the date,
Kerry and Julie
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Small Island
The Book Club met on Wednesday to discuss Small Island by Andrea Levy. Krysia Bell opened the meeting and gave this astute summation of the book.
‘Small Island’ by Andrea Levy doesn’t really need to be unearthed and analysed like some of the previous books we have read because it speaks for itself. The novel is about the arrival of Jamaicans in England just after the war, the racial discrimination and hostility that they encountered and the disappointment in a land which they regarded as their mother country. As Jamaica was part of the British Empire they couldn’t understand why they were not welcomed with open arms. The characters and events are based on the experiences of the author’s parents who sailed from Jamaica to England in 1948. The author skillfully moves backwards and forwards in time using multi narratives to create the four main protagonists in the novel.
Gilbert, who has come to London from Jamaica to make a better life for himself and his new wife Hortense. Their landlady Queenie rents out the rooms in her grubby Earls Court house and is frowned on by the neighbours for accommodating ‘darkies’ and bringing down the neighbourhood. Queenie has waited three years for her miserable husband Bernard to return from the war and by now considers herself a war widow. The opening chapter of the novel tells of Queenie as a child when she is taken to the Empire Exhibition. She follows the smell of chocolate to the African village where a black man who is manning the stand shakes her hand. Her father reassures his frightened daughter that the man would have been a chief or a prince in his own country ‘you can tell he’s been civilised says her father, because he speaks English. The story starts with Hortense’s arrival in the middle of winter on a boat from Jamaica ‘on the boat women were in their best clothes, cotton dresses, hats and white gloves, jumping up and down waving, being met by black men in scruffy coats and hand knitted scarves hunched over in the cold’. The scene is set. The contrasts made. You know what awaits them.
However the discrimination which pervades this book is quite shocking at times. Queenie says to Hortense when she first arrives at the house ‘I hope you are not bringing anything into the house that will smell’.
Mr. Todd, a neighbor relates the story of how his sister is approached by two black women who, in passing, force her to step into the road. He says, ‘don’t they know that it should be them that steps into the road and not a white person.’
Then of course there is the scene in the cinema where the black and white GI’s are segregated, and the heart wrenching scene when Hortense goes to the Council offices to apply for a teaching job and ends up walking into the broom cupboard. But horrible bigoted Bernard is the most dislikeable character in this book especially at the end when he walks into Gilbert and Hortense’s room and looks at the curtains ‘The curtains grubby and ripped. He thought Those coloured people don’t have the same standards....the war was fought so that people might live amongst their own kind. Everyone was trying to get home to be with kith and kin except for those blasted coloured colonials. I’ve nothing against them in their place but their place isn’t here. Mr. Todd thought they wouldn’t survive another cold winter. I hope he was right.’
For me this was an award winning book. A story, simply written, with brilliant dialogue, big characters, funny, moving and above all memorable. Yes, I did find the Michael Roberts connection and the baby rather incredulous but it’s a good story.
An animated discussion ensued and the reviews were mixed. In many ways the book succeeded in capturing a sense of the times which was rendered in excellent use of description and dialogue, but there was a minority opinion that it missed an evocative rendering of Jamaican life. Some felt that, despite an overall successful telling of the tale, there were aspects which lacked continuity, while at the same time being strongly written. At the end, one wonders to which small island the author was referring. An interesting read nonetheless.
The book chosen for the May meeting, which will be held Wednesday 5 May, is The 158 Pound Marriage by John Irving. The book selected for June is The Tehran Conviction, by Tom Gabbay.
A huge thanks to Margaret Moore for hosting the meeting and providing several delicious dishes and equal thanks to everyone who participated and contributed.
We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting.
‘Small Island’ by Andrea Levy doesn’t really need to be unearthed and analysed like some of the previous books we have read because it speaks for itself. The novel is about the arrival of Jamaicans in England just after the war, the racial discrimination and hostility that they encountered and the disappointment in a land which they regarded as their mother country. As Jamaica was part of the British Empire they couldn’t understand why they were not welcomed with open arms. The characters and events are based on the experiences of the author’s parents who sailed from Jamaica to England in 1948. The author skillfully moves backwards and forwards in time using multi narratives to create the four main protagonists in the novel.
Gilbert, who has come to London from Jamaica to make a better life for himself and his new wife Hortense. Their landlady Queenie rents out the rooms in her grubby Earls Court house and is frowned on by the neighbours for accommodating ‘darkies’ and bringing down the neighbourhood. Queenie has waited three years for her miserable husband Bernard to return from the war and by now considers herself a war widow. The opening chapter of the novel tells of Queenie as a child when she is taken to the Empire Exhibition. She follows the smell of chocolate to the African village where a black man who is manning the stand shakes her hand. Her father reassures his frightened daughter that the man would have been a chief or a prince in his own country ‘you can tell he’s been civilised says her father, because he speaks English. The story starts with Hortense’s arrival in the middle of winter on a boat from Jamaica ‘on the boat women were in their best clothes, cotton dresses, hats and white gloves, jumping up and down waving, being met by black men in scruffy coats and hand knitted scarves hunched over in the cold’. The scene is set. The contrasts made. You know what awaits them.
However the discrimination which pervades this book is quite shocking at times. Queenie says to Hortense when she first arrives at the house ‘I hope you are not bringing anything into the house that will smell’.
Mr. Todd, a neighbor relates the story of how his sister is approached by two black women who, in passing, force her to step into the road. He says, ‘don’t they know that it should be them that steps into the road and not a white person.’
Then of course there is the scene in the cinema where the black and white GI’s are segregated, and the heart wrenching scene when Hortense goes to the Council offices to apply for a teaching job and ends up walking into the broom cupboard. But horrible bigoted Bernard is the most dislikeable character in this book especially at the end when he walks into Gilbert and Hortense’s room and looks at the curtains ‘The curtains grubby and ripped. He thought Those coloured people don’t have the same standards....the war was fought so that people might live amongst their own kind. Everyone was trying to get home to be with kith and kin except for those blasted coloured colonials. I’ve nothing against them in their place but their place isn’t here. Mr. Todd thought they wouldn’t survive another cold winter. I hope he was right.’
For me this was an award winning book. A story, simply written, with brilliant dialogue, big characters, funny, moving and above all memorable. Yes, I did find the Michael Roberts connection and the baby rather incredulous but it’s a good story.
An animated discussion ensued and the reviews were mixed. In many ways the book succeeded in capturing a sense of the times which was rendered in excellent use of description and dialogue, but there was a minority opinion that it missed an evocative rendering of Jamaican life. Some felt that, despite an overall successful telling of the tale, there were aspects which lacked continuity, while at the same time being strongly written. At the end, one wonders to which small island the author was referring. An interesting read nonetheless.
The book chosen for the May meeting, which will be held Wednesday 5 May, is The 158 Pound Marriage by John Irving. The book selected for June is The Tehran Conviction, by Tom Gabbay.
A huge thanks to Margaret Moore for hosting the meeting and providing several delicious dishes and equal thanks to everyone who participated and contributed.
We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
In Tribute to J. D. Salinger
Thank you to everyone who attended the Barga Book Club Meeting on Tuesday. Thank you as well, to our host for the splendid setting and delicious meal.
Margaret Moore has honored us with a perspicacious recap of the meeting below.
Although Salinger's work merits much further study we will move on to discuss Small Island by Andrea Levy at the meeting which will take place 13 April and then Book of Illusions by Paul Auster at the May meeting. We would like to encourage everyone to participate. Even if you did not like the books which were chosen, your contribution is appreciated and valuable to the discourse at hand. We look forward to hearing from any and all of you as to which books you might wish to read and discuss.
Thank you again and we look forward to seeing you on April 13th.
This month the Barga Book club was hosted for the rather reduced number of members present. There was a lively discussion of the book, ‘Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters’ by J D Salinger, led by Kerry Bell who chose the book. For some this was the re-visitation of a book read and loved in the sixties, for others it was a first time reading. Approaching the book so long after its publication, one is perhaps more of aware of the historical context. It was suggested that this book has its roots in the Jewish background of the author, who also spent some time in Vienna in 1939 where he can hardly have been unaware of the precarious situation for Jews at that time. For others the overwhelming importance of this book was that it was emblematic of the culture of youth , when for the first time the young looked objectively at adults and rejected their values as phony. Youth was speaking its own language and communication with the previous generations was often impossible. It had not as yet acquired its own identity. The War broke down many barriers; for the young who were abruptly empowered when they took on the burden of active service, and for women whose role was changing, too.
The opening page of the book, through a story from the Dao, has an Eastern Philosophical slant, and the writing throughout is permeated with this Zen-like approach to life. The scene is set in 1942. Seymour’s sister is in the navy, Buddy in the army, Seymour has seen action, another brother was killed. Salinger too saw active service during World War 11 and was present at the liberation of a concentration camp. The effects of these experiences , after which he suffered a nervous breakdown, will be evident throughout his life as he seeks in Eastern Religions a more peaceful and compassionate way of life. While many post war books dealt with the external aspects of this period, Salinger was concerned with inner emotional perception and explores relationships, through the invented Glass family, of mixed Jewish/ Catholic parentage like himself
The main character, Seymour Glass, although absent , is presented through others. He is the bridegroom who leaves his bride alone at the wedding, too overcome and almost unbalanced by his immense happiness. It is up to the narrator, Buddy, his brother, (Salinger’s alter ego) to defend his brother’s absence. Through him the reader comes to know about this intellectual, erudite, sensitive, beautiful man and poet, who seems to live on a plane that the average person cannot approach, let alone understand. The Glass family, parents Jewish/ Irish, had seven children who all took part in the radio programme ‘It’s a Wise Child’ for child prodigies. They are set apart from their peers at an early age, partly through their astonishing intelligence but also because Seymour educates them in Eastern philosophy, and preaches love and compassion. The dynamics between the family members is realistic and convincing.
After the wedding fails to take place, the guests exit and seek escape. The atmosphere is suffocating, in a limousine in the heat of New York, where a very noisy parade is taking place and effectively blocks their passage. The noise is deafening. They then proceed to an airless closed apartment where Buddy hastens to turn on the air conditioning. He is surrounded by the bride’s guests, who do not know his identity. He is further constricted by plaster round his body as the result of an injury . While the Matron of Honour is vociferous, telling everyone that Seymour needs psychiatric help and may even be ‘a latent homosexual and a schizoid personality’ , and her army officer husband subtly reinforces the concept of authority, Buddy is at first unable to be himself and avoids saying who he is. Everything is claustrophobic ad vaguely menacing. The only person with whom Buddy can communicate is the deaf-mute uncle, who theoretically is the only person who cannot express any views and remains like a smiling Buddha throughout.
The language used by Salinger is immediately identifiable, as Manhattan-ese. It is credible, and reinforces the solid reality of the situation , where ‘normal’ people are commenting, what to them is inexplicable and abhorrent behaviour, which Buddy is defending , as not only acceptable but as supremely understandable. The abyss, between their way of perceiving things and his own, is emblematic of the rift between ‘normals’ or ‘phonies’ (See the Catcher in The Rye’) and the Glass family, as it is between youth and the older generations. The Matron of honour accuses Seymour of ‘freakish behaviour’ . What does not adhere to the norm is frighteningly incomprehensible and must be labelled as abnormal.
While the guests lie around his sister’s apartment in the heat, Buddy retreats to the bathroom to read his brother’s diaries. Seymour’s somewhat inexplicable love for Muriel who is quite different to the Glass family is summed up when he says, ‘’she wants her own Christmas tree ornaments to un-box annually, not her mother’s.’ Seymour defines himself as a paranoiac in reverse, ‘I suspect people of trying to make me happy,’
There was general recognition of the importance of Salinger’s writing, not only in its historical context but today as well. His output was slim but had a massive impact. It was prophetic and is still pertinent in the 21st century. Like a Zen aphorism; either you get it or you don’t . Margaret Moore, March 4, 2010
Margaret's work can be found here.
Margaret Moore has honored us with a perspicacious recap of the meeting below.
Although Salinger's work merits much further study we will move on to discuss Small Island by Andrea Levy at the meeting which will take place 13 April and then Book of Illusions by Paul Auster at the May meeting. We would like to encourage everyone to participate. Even if you did not like the books which were chosen, your contribution is appreciated and valuable to the discourse at hand. We look forward to hearing from any and all of you as to which books you might wish to read and discuss.
Thank you again and we look forward to seeing you on April 13th.
This month the Barga Book club was hosted for the rather reduced number of members present. There was a lively discussion of the book, ‘Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters’ by J D Salinger, led by Kerry Bell who chose the book. For some this was the re-visitation of a book read and loved in the sixties, for others it was a first time reading. Approaching the book so long after its publication, one is perhaps more of aware of the historical context. It was suggested that this book has its roots in the Jewish background of the author, who also spent some time in Vienna in 1939 where he can hardly have been unaware of the precarious situation for Jews at that time. For others the overwhelming importance of this book was that it was emblematic of the culture of youth , when for the first time the young looked objectively at adults and rejected their values as phony. Youth was speaking its own language and communication with the previous generations was often impossible. It had not as yet acquired its own identity. The War broke down many barriers; for the young who were abruptly empowered when they took on the burden of active service, and for women whose role was changing, too.
The opening page of the book, through a story from the Dao, has an Eastern Philosophical slant, and the writing throughout is permeated with this Zen-like approach to life. The scene is set in 1942. Seymour’s sister is in the navy, Buddy in the army, Seymour has seen action, another brother was killed. Salinger too saw active service during World War 11 and was present at the liberation of a concentration camp. The effects of these experiences , after which he suffered a nervous breakdown, will be evident throughout his life as he seeks in Eastern Religions a more peaceful and compassionate way of life. While many post war books dealt with the external aspects of this period, Salinger was concerned with inner emotional perception and explores relationships, through the invented Glass family, of mixed Jewish/ Catholic parentage like himself
The main character, Seymour Glass, although absent , is presented through others. He is the bridegroom who leaves his bride alone at the wedding, too overcome and almost unbalanced by his immense happiness. It is up to the narrator, Buddy, his brother, (Salinger’s alter ego) to defend his brother’s absence. Through him the reader comes to know about this intellectual, erudite, sensitive, beautiful man and poet, who seems to live on a plane that the average person cannot approach, let alone understand. The Glass family, parents Jewish/ Irish, had seven children who all took part in the radio programme ‘It’s a Wise Child’ for child prodigies. They are set apart from their peers at an early age, partly through their astonishing intelligence but also because Seymour educates them in Eastern philosophy, and preaches love and compassion. The dynamics between the family members is realistic and convincing.
After the wedding fails to take place, the guests exit and seek escape. The atmosphere is suffocating, in a limousine in the heat of New York, where a very noisy parade is taking place and effectively blocks their passage. The noise is deafening. They then proceed to an airless closed apartment where Buddy hastens to turn on the air conditioning. He is surrounded by the bride’s guests, who do not know his identity. He is further constricted by plaster round his body as the result of an injury . While the Matron of Honour is vociferous, telling everyone that Seymour needs psychiatric help and may even be ‘a latent homosexual and a schizoid personality’ , and her army officer husband subtly reinforces the concept of authority, Buddy is at first unable to be himself and avoids saying who he is. Everything is claustrophobic ad vaguely menacing. The only person with whom Buddy can communicate is the deaf-mute uncle, who theoretically is the only person who cannot express any views and remains like a smiling Buddha throughout.
The language used by Salinger is immediately identifiable, as Manhattan-ese. It is credible, and reinforces the solid reality of the situation , where ‘normal’ people are commenting, what to them is inexplicable and abhorrent behaviour, which Buddy is defending , as not only acceptable but as supremely understandable. The abyss, between their way of perceiving things and his own, is emblematic of the rift between ‘normals’ or ‘phonies’ (See the Catcher in The Rye’) and the Glass family, as it is between youth and the older generations. The Matron of honour accuses Seymour of ‘freakish behaviour’ . What does not adhere to the norm is frighteningly incomprehensible and must be labelled as abnormal.
While the guests lie around his sister’s apartment in the heat, Buddy retreats to the bathroom to read his brother’s diaries. Seymour’s somewhat inexplicable love for Muriel who is quite different to the Glass family is summed up when he says, ‘’she wants her own Christmas tree ornaments to un-box annually, not her mother’s.’ Seymour defines himself as a paranoiac in reverse, ‘I suspect people of trying to make me happy,’
There was general recognition of the importance of Salinger’s writing, not only in its historical context but today as well. His output was slim but had a massive impact. It was prophetic and is still pertinent in the 21st century. Like a Zen aphorism; either you get it or you don’t . Margaret Moore, March 4, 2010
Margaret's work can be found here.
Friday, February 5, 2010
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Barga Book Club convened Tuesday with a spirited discussion of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid, led by Margaret Moore who presented an astute and cogent account of her reading of the story.
It is told as a monologue by the Pakistani protagonist who recounts his personal history, as a gifted student who achieves select placement in the financial sector in New York, to an unknown American listener in a cafe in Lahore, Pakistan. It is an intricately woven tale of multi-layered symbolism and allegory. There are intriguing suggestions of a complicated conspiracy to assassinate either the listener or the protagonist. The strength of the story is in poignant and beautifully composed passages describing his relationship with a bereaved American woman and in vivid descriptions of his homeland and its history. Through historical references intertwined with topical subject matter, such as 9/11 and an allusion to the assassination of Daniel Pearl, the speaker tells his tale of infatuation and disillusionment in what amounts to an upbraiding of American capitalistic arrogance and hegemony.
Thank you very much to Margaret and everyone who participated.
The book we’ll discuss on Tuesday March 2nd, is Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction, by J.D. Salinger. There are a number of copies in circulation so keep in touch if you would like to borrow a copy to read.
The following book will be Small Island, by Andrea Levy.
We look forward to seeing you in March,
Kerry and Julie
It is told as a monologue by the Pakistani protagonist who recounts his personal history, as a gifted student who achieves select placement in the financial sector in New York, to an unknown American listener in a cafe in Lahore, Pakistan. It is an intricately woven tale of multi-layered symbolism and allegory. There are intriguing suggestions of a complicated conspiracy to assassinate either the listener or the protagonist. The strength of the story is in poignant and beautifully composed passages describing his relationship with a bereaved American woman and in vivid descriptions of his homeland and its history. Through historical references intertwined with topical subject matter, such as 9/11 and an allusion to the assassination of Daniel Pearl, the speaker tells his tale of infatuation and disillusionment in what amounts to an upbraiding of American capitalistic arrogance and hegemony.
Thank you very much to Margaret and everyone who participated.
The book we’ll discuss on Tuesday March 2nd, is Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction, by J.D. Salinger. There are a number of copies in circulation so keep in touch if you would like to borrow a copy to read.
The following book will be Small Island, by Andrea Levy.
We look forward to seeing you in March,
Kerry and Julie
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