After a delicious meal offered by hosts and guests we got down to discussing Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers. It is the story of a committed spinster who has inherited a small fortune from her close friend and longtime housemate and decides to travel for an extended stay in Venice, and resultant adventures. Throughout the story is woven the biblical legend of Tobias and the Angel, inspired by an intrigue surrounding the painted panels in a church and their disappearance.
Isobel enjoyed it overall, mentioning that the two disconcertingly disparate parts, modern and historical, eventually came together. Helen did not enjoy it at all, found the writing disjointed, laborious but it did spur an interest in Venice. To our delight, founding member Julie Flynn joined us after a too long absence, and while she compared it to Enchanted April, she felt she liked the process and it represented a good mechanism. Salene felt it represented a personal journey for the protagonist, loved the description of Venice, loved the way it was interwoven with the story of Tobias, and liked the whole book about change developed through friendships. Margaret wondered when it was set, thought the language archaic, there were flashes of a 1920's woman in Liberty bodice, etc., it was overall anachronistic. Kerry felt it was a little like a Nancy Drew mystery. Rigo was bored and put it down immediately. Anne knew this woman. She was credible and she could understand how she got that way. Anne found the descriptions of Venice backstreets interesting and then left us with a delightful anecdote of her own childhood experience when, having always felt she had a guardian angel on her shoulder, she mentioned to her little girl friend that she must have one too, the girl was appalled and tried to brush it away.
As is often the case, opinions diverged but we all enjoyed meeting to discuss them in the warmth of the Capanni home and Anne kindly provided these photos.
The next meeting was graciously hosted by Salene where we discussed The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan. It is an account of the meeting between a young Palestinian activist and a young Israeli woman in the home from which he was evicted years before and now which she calls home. The book details their personal journeys and the conflicts' facts leading up to the present.
Once again after a wonderful meal we got down to the discussion. Helen, who had recommended the book, said that she'd wanted to read it to help understand the history of the conflict with the interesting approach of its being presented through the eyes of two families. The history and detail were sometimes dense and reading hard going but it did help challenge the notion that the conflict is unsolvable. Isobel found it difficult but it made her think deeply about how these people lived and survived. Liz, who has traveled to Israel and found it very interesting, enjoyed the story yet felt it was about a battlefield, intrenched and intransigent. Salene, although the pull was "home" didn't think the two stories linked. Krysia who also didn't feel the two stories linked well was shocked at the way the Palestinians were treated as reported in the book. Boo found it fascinating and highly educational. Helen closed by saying that she had recommended the book thinking everyone would hate it and was relieved that, though reviews were mixed, it seemed that everyone got something from it.
Krysia brought a most appreciated, extensive list for recommended reading which you will find at the end of this post.
The book selected for March is A Painted House by John Grisham. These photos are from my archive of classic unpainted tin roofed houses in this part of the southern U.S. for image reference.
The next meetings are as follows:
March 16 at Boo's, A Painted House by John Grisham
April 13 at Isobel's Follow Your Heart by Susanna Tamaro (Va' Dove Ti Porta Il Cuore)
Thank you so much to everyone who participated and contributed.
