February read – The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards.

The February meeting of the book group was well attended, with nine keen readers making it to the Old Library Centre, despite the rawness of the weather. We all enjoyed a leisurely discussion of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. Jean, who had selected the book, introduced her choice with an outline of the story.

Questions of morality and responsibility occupied a great deal of the discussion – was David’s decision the night his twins were born simply morally repugnant or was it understandable, forgivable, even, given the prevailing attitude of the time?

We talked a lot about the likeability of the main characters and the extent to which that might affect our judgements of their actions and attitudes. Most of us found merit in Kim Edwards’ writing, especially her descriptive passages and her evocation of a strong sense of place. There was less enthusiasm about the narrative aspects of this novel, some of us admitting that we gave up on the characters and their troubles long before the end of the story. In particular, quite a few were frustrated by David’s sudden death before the issues raised by his actions had been resolved and felt that, although his life had been deeply affected by the snap decision to send Phoebe away, and to lie about it, he had never really had to face what he had done.

As is often the case, our discussions wandered off topic, perfectly enjoyably, onto quite unrelated subjects – New Zealand, emigration from Shetland, what drove people to leave, recent and upcoming films at the Garrison Theatre, Shetland during the Second World War, food security and traditional farming in Shetland (sorry, my fault, but thanks to all for your input).

On the tasty treats front, Marghie saved the day, and my tum from rumbling all the way through, by bringing some delicious biscuits for us all – big thanks!

you must read this!

For those of you who enjoy short stories with a dark twist,can I recommend Stephen King's latest collection,Just After Sunset.
I have to admit that, being an avid fan of Stephen King's early writings, I have been a bit disappointed with some of his more recent works. But I am glad to report that this latest offering is both gripping and chilling -the kind of stories which stay with you for a long time.
Perhaps this is because most of these stories were written in the aftermath of 9/11,and therefore focus on the unimaginable becoming real,and normality transforming into terrifying abnormality.
Many of the stories prey on our worst fears,and for me,the most disturbing was the final story, A Very Tight Place.
All in all,I would say this Stephen King back on top form and well worth a read.

Book Group 20/01/09

Tuesday's meeting was well attended,with ten regular and two new members coming along.
The book under discussion was Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones,which was my choice. My reasons for choosing this title were from other readers' recommendations and also from reading very positive reviews. I felt this was a book which would keep me hooked to the end, and it did not disappoint in that respect.
Most of the group enjoyed the book,although Janet felt that the ending wasn't in keeping with the rest of the story,and some people agreed with this.
There was some discussion on the setting of the story and the politics which influenced the plot,which led to further comments on colonialism and how authentic the details of the rebel activity were. Andy said he believed that the story was loosely based on actual events.
Further discussion followed on Dickens,the composition of Great Expectations,how well the story adapts to film,the parallels between the plot of Mr Pip and that of Great Expectations and the significance of certain aspects of the plot which don't become clear until the final chapter.
We also considered how the story would have worked without the link to Dickens,and agreed that this was what made the story stand out from other stories of oppressed communities.
On the whole,most of the group had found this a worthwhile read,despite one or two admitting to having skimmed the later chapters once the story shifted from the main plot!
Everyone is now looking forward to reading the Memory Keeper's Daughter and Silent in the Grave,which are next month's choices.

Mister Pip

Wow! What a wonderful book. It is the best book by a contemporary writer that I've read in long, long while. I sat and thought about the book for about an hour after finishing it and began to re-read it immediately....I'm really looking forward to the discussion on this one! Now I need to buy my own copy because I have to return the library copy which naturally has a waiting list.

Dubliners discussion

Well after some gentle prodding by Karen….here are my recollections of the discussion of James Joyce’s Dubliners. (I am sure my memory is imperfect now that the holidays have taken their toll…so chime in folks and add to or correct me.)

I choose Dubliners because it is a book I have read several times. I also like to re-read the story The Dead during the Christmas holidays because it seems to me to capture the melancholic but also sweet memories of the passing of one year into another.

As I re-read the stories this time I noticed that they seemed inter-linked with similar characters appearing on several stories. (Andy compared them to a book of stories by Will Self where characters from one story crop up in another.) I can see that there is a sort of narrative arc moving through the stories depicting youth through middle to old age. Joyce wrote in a letter about seeking to describe a Dublin that he saw as the “centre of paralysis” and indeed many of the characters of Dubliners are trapped by their circumstances, fears or belief.

Several people in the groups mentioned that Joyce’s language made them fell they could really “hear” the characters. Others felt his descriptions are “dead on”. For instance the description of Maria in the story “Clay” as a “very, very small person indeed but she had a very long nose and a very long chin,” allows us a clear picture of her physical character.

We discussed the fact that Joyce had difficulty in getting the stories published and that there were elements, particularly about the church and sex, which would have riled the average Irish reader of his time.

I also quite clearly remember someone mentioning that the stories “didn’t go anywhere” and indeed the stories are less concerned with describing an event or series of events than describing an interaction between people or describing a situation. Many of the stories seem to trail away and come to no real resolution…I imagine this is another way to indicate Dublin’s “paralysis”.

Update from the Book Group

Many thanks to Andy, for reviving our badly neglected blog. We had a good discussion about Madame Bovary - I think everyone had very much appreciated it, and would enjoy Andy's comments. We talked a lot around how Emma was really a selfish and horrible person, but yes, we couldn't help rooting for her a bit too. We also appreciated the humour in the book. I particularly liked Flaubert's delicious sarcasm about the pompous bore Homais.

Other things we discussed at the November meeting: a promo by Mira publishers offering us free books! They sent us 5 sample novels and we had to choose one. We picked what we hope is a jolly historical crime romp called Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn. Copies have now arrived so we'll have them as light reading in tandem with our other choices.

We also decided to try and choose books a couple of months ahead. So January is Morag's choice: Mr Pip, and February will be Jean's choice The Memory Keeper's Daughter. March will be my choice but I've still not decided...

For our December meeting we are having Secret Santa, and maybe I shall concoct some mulled wine. I am also going to try and persuade a different member each month to write up a meeting report for this blog, so that it doesn't slip back into the doldrums.

Madame Bovary 2

I'm reading Alexander McCall Smith's "Love Over Scotland" between books and came across this nugget:

"...it's so refreshing to see a male writer having a go at a truely nasty woman; male writers don't dare do that these days... You wouldn't get a modern day Flaubert punishing Madame Bovary as the real Flaubert did. Oh no. By the way, did you know that Flaubert wrote terribly slowly? He managed five words an hour, which meant that on a good day he wrote about thirty words. Now they were good words, of course, but even so..."