Bel Canto

A numerous group of members of The Book Club were graciously welcomed on a lovely May evening into the warm spacious home in the countryside to discuss Bel Canto by Ann Pachette. 

The book was variously described as historical fiction, based on The Lima Crisis, which evoked scenes of the history of the ruthless women of The Shining Path, (Kerry), the Stockholm Syndrome (Cynthia) or just a lovely old fashioned love story (Janet). Reviews were mixed but we all took something away from the reading even if it was an almost immediate passionate rejection! (Liz). 

Among the books we're reading, was recommended Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas

Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed. The food and hosting, as always, were superb. 

The next meetings are as follows:

June 17th, At Pietro and Marijke's,  White Masai, Corinne Hofmann

July 22nd, at Fabiana's, The Lowland, Jhumpa Lahiri

September, On Writing, by Stephen King

October, Miss Garnet's Angel, Sally Vickers

My Brilliant Friend

On a mild fragrant spring evening a large group of Book Club members
were welcomed into the charming courtyard and then the intimate
interior of the legendary home on the via dell'Acquedotto
to discuss Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend.

The novel is set near Naples in the years just after WWII but opens

with the reflections of one of the two main characters, who are now in

their sixties, who has been contacted by the son of the other,

revealing that his mother has disappeared without a trace.

Knowing the recent outcome of their lives solves one question but

leaves many others open.

The novel is about escape and obviously they have both achieved it.

One is living in Turin and the other is no where to be found, yet. The

novel is the first of three and to learn the the outcome one would

need to read them all.

Elena and 'Lila' grew up in very traditional homes in a poor area of

Naples during a period which experienced great social change. Italian

life, particularly in the south was restrained, strongly influenced by

the church, tradition, ritual and even superstition. In addition, the effects

of the war were still felt and fear influenced much social discourse.

As the girls were growing up there was a great cultural shift toward

more humanistic self determination. Elena and Lila began to excel in

school, often in competition, they led each other on. Ultimately they

had to choose, to pursue the academic path or the traditional. There

is conjecture as to whether it is autobiographical.

Most found the girls' story either deeply moving or deeply

disturbing. It was both. Over and above their personal stories, it is

the image of great social upheaval.  It represents a pivotal moment in

cultural history when the traditions of Church, home and family, and

women's roles began to change forever.

Margaret, who had suggested the book, loved the poignant portrayal of

the friendship and cited the comparison with moving post war novels such as

'Cristo  Si è Fermato a Eboli, by Carlo Levi. She will read the rest

of the novels and hopefully report back to us; Krysia found it badly

translated, if not just badly written, but loved the sense of place;

Helen was enjoying the fantastical atmosphere; Isobel found it

difficult but could identify with the familial rivalries of Naples;

Barbara found it depressing, almost moved to tears; Salene said though

it wasn't a page turner, it did make you want to know how it would

continue and end; Bill puzzled over the glimpse into girldom that it

represented and though enjoyed it felt there were many things unexplained; 

Cynthia found it an account of someone looking back, trying to be objective, 

a case of one being locked in and the other moving on; Boo, did not enjoy it

but was fascinated by the theme of escape; Anne found it a sad book,

but a commendable insight into post war life in Naples; Elliot thought

it was a good, very vivid account of life in Naples, relationships

handled deftly, sensitively, odd in an interesting way, suggestive,

hidden sides to the characters and it read well; Janet enjoyed the

series of pictures painted, the portrayal of deprivation, ritualistic extreme

versions of life presented with subtle balance.

Thank you to our hosts for so graciously fitting us all in. As always the

food was superb and company delightful. Thank you to everyone who

participated and contributed.

We welcomed a new member Barbara, who recommended Sally Vickers, Miss Garnet's Angel to add to our on going reading list.

The next meetings are as follows:

Wednesday May 27 Bel Canto, Anne Pachette at Boo’s

June, White Masai, Corinne Hofmann

July, The Lowland, Jhumpa Lahiri

The Garden of Evening Mists

The Barga Book Club met on a cool spring evening in a warm intimate art filled home just outside Barga to discuss, The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng. 

The story, set in the area now known as Malaysia in the years after the Japanese occupation, in which the protagonist and narrator, an ethnic Chinese, who was the only survivor of a Japanese internment camp, and is now a Supreme Court Judge, describes in depth the history, clash of Asian cultures, discrimination, war and her will to survive, and commemorate her sister’s life and love of Japanese gardens, in an intricate intimate relationship with a gardener who would have been the enemy. 

The descriptions are sublime. The story transports one fully to another world. For perhaps the first time, The Book Club’s opinion was unanimous. This was a compelling and beautiful story.

Salene summed it up with: A Garden A Woman and A Man. The Garden represents everything, the calmness, spiritual meaning, extremes of beauty and  suffering.  

Liz, the story which covers three periods, a relationship transition. had beautiful descriptions but sometimes bland or just understated. 

Helen, tranquil, calming, atmospheric, reflective, pond reflections offering different perspectives, therapeutic. 

Isobel, appreciated the book in a personal way as it reminded her of a family member with similar experiences and she could identify with the wartime memories.

Krysia enjoyed the historical context, the gentleness, beauty, but found little joy, and felt the writing was sad and joyless. 

Boo felt its joy in the moment , not focusing on the past elements.

We welcomed two new Book Club members and look forward to seeing them and everyone again. As always the meal was stupendous and thank you to all who participated and contributed. 

The next meetings are as follows:

April 22  My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante at Helen’s

Wednesday May 27 Bel Canto, Anne Pachette at Boo’s

June White Masai, Corinne Hofmann

July The Lowland, Jhumpa Lahiri

Gone, Girl.

The Barga book Club met on a cold February evening in a cozy firelit home at Canale, Tiglio, to discuss Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. As always, the food, provided by members new and continuing, was fabulous.

Kerry initiated the conversation. Gone Girl, which had come extremely highly recommended was a proportionate disappointment. A Thriller? she remarked, more like a yawner. 

The convoluted story obsessed about a purportedly brilliant and famous young woman’s disappearance and possible murder. 

Others were more generous. Isobel said, and rightly so, although it was about a strange relationship, manufactured, controlled and getting stranger, without getting overly analytical, it was a good easy read, to take you out of yourself. Helen felt it was an entertaining romp about multiple, flawed but genuine characters. An easy read. Boo, who we happily welcomed to the book club for the first time, also mentioned that it was an easy read that could have been better, and referred to the passive aggressive dynamics of typical dysfunctional relationships. Margaret found it unpleasant, the voices indistinct, author’s voice not credible, not funny, unpleasant, nothing rang true, the book missed its point, ending was revolting. Liz refused to read it after a couple of pages. Krysia, had seen the movie and didn’t like either, and felt it was a post modern fantasy mystery. The characters were stories not people, whom she didn’t care about, it was a parody of 30 year olds. Some were amusing, she liked that the author wrote the male perspective from inside his head. It was too long. Salene: the supposedly perfect NY marriage collapses, Amy was a plotting and manipulative, weak character, who spots weakness and exploits everyone. Everyone was just too perfect. 

Once again it was a great meeting with fascinating feedback. We also mentioned a few other books to recommend, Boo opened with The White Massai by Corrine Hoffman; The Lowland, Jhumpa Lahiri;  Married to a Bedouin by Marguerite van Geldermalsen; The Magus by John Fowles. 

Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed. We look very forward to seeing you all at the next meetings, which are as follows:

Thursday, March 26th at Krysia’s, The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

Wednesday April 22, at Helen’s, My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

May date and venue to be announced Bel Canto by Ann Patchette

The Prague Cemetery

On a cold January evening just days before merely 300 survivors and a few thousand others gathered at the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps in Poland to commemorate  its liberation 70 years ago by Soviet troops in the last months of WWII, the Barga Book Club met to discuss The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco. 

The novel’s complex, convoluted, even contrived, historically based plot revolves around a fictitious document forger who seems to be everywhere and a party to or witness of most major events during the late 19th c., and promulgates the idea that the seeds of WWII were sown in a late 19th c. conflict between Catholicism, Judaism, and Free-masonery. It has been compared to a picaresque novel and Dan Brown’s fiction but to  a large degree it read more like Woody Allen’s mockumentary: Zelig.

Is it satire, is it postmodern irony? Is it to be taken seriously? The historical elements rejigged to foster conspiracy theories? The trivialization of events bordering on sensationalization? Erudite Eco thumbing his nose at the contrived historical fiction genre, antisemitism, anti-everythingism? The protagonist was presented at very least as unscrupulous, in the extreme, a monstrous creature who abetted atrocities. 

Everyone in the book club agreed, it was a difficult read, most didn’t finish it. Liz compared the translation in part to the original and mentioned that the original was beautifully written, and the translation was not good, but it had a great start, but when it seemed to devolve into racism she lost it. Helen felt it was completely incoherent, questioned whether the convoluted plot and contrived main character and its fictionalization, its main theme distressing, no positives, no scruples, no morals, it trivialized the actual events and said that this would put her off any other books by Eco. Margaret, loathed it, although she had enjoyed Il Nome della Rosa, the protagonist, a schizoid double dealing character was cold blooded with nothing to identify with and no redeeming value.  Isobel was irked by it and agreed with all of these comments. Salene was bored to tears with this romp through the 19th century. Kerry felt that it wasn’t boredom which drove one to tears and had another perspective to add.

Today, particularly in film, we seem to be glossing over the atrocities of the Holocaust with poignance and quasi sympathetic characters, the uber sexy Ralph Fiennes as an SS officer in Schindler’s list, to name only one. Eco has created an insipid, deceitful, despicable, unredeemable but seemingly feckless monster involved in the bureaucratic and philosophical machinery that resulted in the most horrific man-made event in current history.  Were not most guilty of not taking the build up to the Hitler’s final solution seriously enough? Didn’t most believe that these characters, these events were too horrific to be happening at the time. Six million Jews were not the only victims, there were also Romani, homosexuals, communists, and the mentally and physically disabled, who were not only murdered but experimented on first, to total up to 11 million perished, each one cherished by at least one other. 

So, should it be taken seriously? Absolutely, lest we ever forget.

Thank you to everyone who contributed and participated. 

The next meetings are as follows:

February, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn at Isobel’s.

March,  The Garden of Evening Mists, by Tan Twan Eng

April, My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

May, Bel Canto by Ann Patchett