Unbroken- Lisa Hillenbrand March 2011

Lisa Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit has topped her first book in my opinion, if that is possible I am recommending it to everyone I see, and sending people notes to go buy this book and read it. Why?

So many of us were educated well on the European WWII  theatre, not so much the Pacific. This book does a fantastic job of bridging the gap, as well as telling an important individual, family, country, political, and war story. I could not put the book down.

Thanks to Kelly’s terrific notes from club, her recap will show, we had a rich discussion of the book

“We talked about how the protagonist Louis clearly had ADHD, before anyone had ever heard of such and how left to his own devices without doctors and medication, in many ways it may have saved his life. He had the stamina for the running; the optimism and hyper-focus to survive the months stranded at sea on the raft and the prison camp. He lived in the present which was more inclined to make him successful in his struggles. Sylvia also referenced an article in which the author’s struggle with her illness (CFS) is described as being on “her own raft.” And, she could capture those raft scenes so accurately and detailed because of her own travails. We also discussed Louis’ relationship with his brother Pete and how he was like a father figure to him. Carolyn and Jane both shared information about relatives who fought in WWII. Jane shared a photo of her father in uniform. We also talked about Louis’ time in the prison camp, his downward spiral after his return to the states and how Billy Graham led him to turn around his life. We probably could have discussed this book for another hour. So many fascinating layers and shed tremendous light on the Pacific Theater of WWII. Thank you Carolyn”.

Other items we talked about is having a better understanding as to why VFW’s from this theatre are reluctant to purchase Japanese cars, where we did not have perspective before. We also discussed the crime and punishment versus geopolitical aspects of what happened to the captors versus the captured and whether the punishment fit the crimes in all cases. And then, the timing of our reading and the current events in Japan. As Kelly wrote we could have continued discussing this one for another hour.

Nicolette made the following recommendations for April. It was a close vote between Columbine and Remarkable Creatures, in the end, we decided on the latter. Summaries from Amazon.

·         From the unchosen list, a book many of us have already read and found enlightening, Columbine by Dave Cullen

·         Remarkable Creatures** by Tracy Chevalier, our choice from the author of Girl with the Pearl Earring, available in paperback
On the windswept, fossil-strewn beaches of the English coast, poor and uneducated Mary Anning learns that she has a unique gift: “the eye” to spot fossils no one else can see. When she uncovers an unusual fossilized skeleton in the cliffs near her home, she sets the religious community on edge, the townspeople to gossip, and the scientific world alight. After enduring bitter cold, thunderstorms, and landslips, her challenges only grow when she falls in love with an impossible man.
Mary soon finds an unlikely champion in prickly Elizabeth Philpot, a middle-class spinster who shares her passion for scouring the beaches. Their relationship strikes a delicate balance between fierce loyalty, mutual appreciation, and barely suppressed envy, but ultimately turns out to be their greatest asset.

·         The Last Brother by Nathatcha Appancik

Nine-year-old Raj lives with his mother and abusive father in a small village on the island of Mauritius in the 1940s. When his older and younger brothers are tragically killed, the family moves halfway across the island to Beau-Bassin, where Raj’s father finds work as a prison guard, overseeing European Jewish exiles interned by the British after being turned away from Palestine. When Raj is admitted to the prison’s hospital after a severe beating by his father, he meets one of the orphaned refugees, David. Though the two couldn’t be more different, they forge an immediate connection. As their relationship grows, a violent cyclone rocks the village and, with Raj’s help, David is able to escape. As suspicion surrounding Raj’s family begins to swell, the two boys retreat to the surrounding forest, struggling to survive as their harrowing journey becomes increasingly dangerous. Appanah’s intense tale finely captures the deep connection between the imperiled Raj and David as well as Raj’s desperate attempts, later in life, to make sense of these tragic events and extraordinary circumstances.

The Savannah Book Club Festival- our annual retreat-what a treat

All the planning, all the e-mails, and great communication, and would you believe, I did not know- we were going to a book festival, with real authors that would be speaking to us about their writing process, their life stories, and why they write?. (I just knew, we were going to Savannah, and missed a few notes along the way).

Day1- Lisa Genova- Still Alice- her talk about why she wrote the book was nothing less than inspiring. Her grandmother had the disease, and she could not fix that, but wondered, what would it be like to have it from the very first moment? Lisa , an accomplished PhD, she had access to the medical community, her ability to research that question, and then write it as a novel was quite unique and resonated so well with her readers. Her story about how she self published, and the author she met who introduced her to the publishing world, was also an amazing story.

We also listened to several other authors speak of their writing process, including Karl Marlantes for Matterhorn and Robert Goolrich speak about his life as an author including A Reliable Wife.  The  thing I enjoyed most about listening to  these authors was their passion for the craft, the process, and their varying stories about how they achieved their big break with their book successes.

The setting of Savannah was fantastic, and being there with the book club ladies, a group I cherish and look forward to seeing each and every month. This weekend, along with our March selection, Unbroken, by Hillenbrand -  inspired me to update our blog and keep it alive for us to continue to read and share with the world what wonderful books there are and how they are able to touch lives and make a difference.

Thank you book club ladies for a wonderful weekend!

Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford- February 2011

Thanks to Heather for her wonderful hospitality last night. The flourless chocolate cake was so delicious and indulgent,
We welcomed our new member Aileen with brief introductions and trips down memory lane recalling some of our earlier book club selections.

Jane led our discussion of her recommendation Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. We talked about the father-son relationship and the father’s requirement that his son speak only English. Nicolette and Sylvia both shared from their personal experience on this topic. It was decided that the father did this to protect and help further advance his son’s immersion into American life. We discussed the difficulty for Asian immigrants during wartime and the potential for confusion between the ethnic groups. Jane also shared an interesting and funny article about the recent controversial “Tiger Mother” who has been in the news. We all seemed to enjoy the book…and it is the perfect segue into next month’s book.

Carolyn’s Recommendations:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot This is a phenomenal book from the unchosen list that I’m hopeful will make a return. It is simply a “must read.”
From Amazon: Science journalist Skloot makes a remarkable debut with this multilayered story about faith, science, journalism, and grace. It is also a tale of medical wonders and medical arrogance, racism, poverty and the bond that grows, sometimes painfully, between two very different women—Skloot and Deborah Lacks—sharing an obsession to learn about Deborah’s mother, Henrietta, and her magical, immortal cells. Henrietta Lacks was a 31-year-old black mother of five in Baltimore when she died of cervical cancer in 1951. Without her knowledge, doctors treating her at Johns Hopkins took tissue samples from her cervix for research. They spawned the first viable, indeed miraculously productive, cell line—known as HeLa. These cells have aided in medical discoveries from the polio vaccine to AIDS treatments. What Skloot so poignantly portrays is the devastating impact Henrietta’s death and the eventual importance of her cells had on her husband and children.

**Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand  Our choice. A wonderful new book by the fascinating author of Seabiscuit.
From Amazon: The inspiring true story of a man who lived through a series of catastrophes almost too incredible to be believed. In evocative, immediate descriptions, Hillenbrand unfurls the story of Louie Zamperini–a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic runner-turned-Army hero. During a routine search mission over the Pacific, Louie’s plane crashed into the ocean, and what happened to him over the next three years of his life is a story that will keep you glued to the pages, eagerly awaiting the next turn in the story and fearing it at the same time.

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross This title makes a reappearance and gets rave reviews from all members who have previously read it.
Amazon: Cross makes an excellent, entertaining case in her work of historical fiction that, in the Dark Ages, a woman sat on the papal throne for two years. Born in Ingelheim in A.D. 814 to a tyrannical English canon and the once-heathen Saxon he made his wife, Joan shows intelligence and persistence from an early age. One of her two older brothers teaches her to read and write, and her education is furthered by a Greek scholar who instructs her in languages and the classics. Her mother, however, sings her the songs of her pagan gods, creating a dichotomy within her daughter that will last throughout her life. After a savage attack by Norsemen destroys the village, Joan adopts the identity of her older brother, slain in the raid, and makes her way to Fulda, to become the learned scholar and healer Brother John Anglicus.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton- January 2011

Thank you to Carolyn for hosting us last night.

In December, we had our annual book exchange, and the books were a treasure to read over the holidays-

In January 2011 , as with tradition, we vote for our favorite book of the year – the one book, of the 36 recommendations and 10 -12 discussions we hold each year. The 2010 honor went to:

·         Book of the Year: Cutting for Stone-

A fine choice- among many terrific reads.
Catherine led us in discussion of her recommended book The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. We all really enjoyed the many layers and facets of the book. We talked about the roles of mothers and the switching of time periods from chapter to chapter. Again, a reminder to one and all that the “unchosen” list holds many book treasures.

Book Recommendations:
Jane recommended the following books for February.

·         The Next 100 Years by George Friedman (this was a very close second place)

·         Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet*** by Jamie Ford …our choice…in paperback

·         Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Bonus Book:
We are reading Still Alice by Lisa Genova as our bonus book for the retreat and we will see her on Friday- at the Savannah Book Festival.

Zoo Story by Thomas French- November 2010

We discussed Sylvia’s recommendation Zoo Story by Thomas French. We found the book to be a fascinating tale of life in a zoo and the tension between conservation verses commerce in zoo world. The author did not make a political statement, but presented enough information that the reader could make his or her own decisions. A very interesting book. The conversations we had regarding how animals come to the zoo, where they came from, and how the landscape has changed was also very interesting as well. We have a member from South Africa who shed light on how the herds need to be “maintained” as a circle of life in Africa.  Thank you Sylvia!

Catherine recommended for January.
Still Alice by Lisa Genova—we will read this on our retreat in February…more details later.
***The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton….a wonderful winter recommendation as it is rather long, you might want to start soon as it takes a while to read. Our choice.
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

Retreat Update:
After taking  a second vote, it is nearly unanimous that we go to visit Lyn over President’s Weekend for the Book Fest in Savannah. February 18-20. The Friday speaker is Lisa Genova, the author of Still Alice.

Bloggers note- the planning continued for the retreat- all I knew, is I was going and could not wait!

Small Kingdoms-by Anastasia Hobbett- October 2010

Thank you to Catherine for hosting us . What a perfect fall evening for a porch and a lively discussion. The dessert was also very delicious! Becky has informed us that the Pumpkin Kisses are available at Target. (bloggers note: I missed this meeting, and it sounded like I missed one of our best!)

Before we talked about the book, Sylvia presented an invitation from Lyn that we come to Savannah in Jan. or Feb. We started the planning process!
We discussed Heather’s recommendation Small Kingdoms by Anastasia Hobbett. Guiding and enlightening our discussion, was Heather’s communication with the author, who submitted her own list of questions for the group. Another shout out to Kelly for doing a great summary of the exchange- with the author and members.
Title: The author selected the title from a Mary Oliver poem. The group seemed to think this was a great title once you got immersed into the book, but it wasn’t a big hook to get you into or purchasing the book. There were “little kingdoms” in all the households, somewhat hidden from view. The hospital also had its own “kingdoms.”

Characters: The author asked about our favorite major and minor characters. Favorite Majors: Theo, Mufeeda; Favorite Minors: Tess (the loud American) and Dr. Chaudhary. Some felt that Theo was not as flushed out as he could have been to fully explain why someone would go that far away to escape family. Becky felt Hanaan asking Theo to cross the threshold was the perfect ambiguous ending to a complex character dynamic in her. Most of us found her to be very believable, with her internal struggles and how she said her father’s ultimate punishment was to grant her an education. The “tribal” family stuff seemed accurate, especially based on our previous readings. We all seemed to relate to Kit and to her reluctance to hire servants. Nicolette (who is from South Africa) said that many times it’s more work getting involved in the day to day lives of the help than just doing it yourself and you would miss out on the relationships and activities with your own children. (The author liked Mufeeda best, while admitting she was difficult to write. And for a minor character, Dr. Chaudhary who reminded her of her dr. in Kuwait.)

Multiple Points of View: How did we feel about point of view changing? Most of us agreed that we didn’t even notice until we read this question. Carolyn said it’s because we are a more agile group of readers than most. Jane said due to the talent of the author, there was a seamless transition when the POV switched. Catherine said she was never so invested that it was difficult to make the transition.

The Realtor and her Husband: We felt they sort of evaporated into the book. We picture the realtor as Kathy Bates. The consensus was that the party scene at their home was very necessary to set the stage for how both Theo and Hanaan didn’t fit in and to further illustrate the social structure.

Santana: Was it the right decision to not go into her head? We thought that the “subtle plot” shift was the best way to lure readers into learning about this topic. Had this been non-fiction, who would want to read it? We learned about these people in context, which led us to discover this horrific reality of abuse, without throwing it in our faces. We thought this was better than just stating the facts or making the book entirely about the rescue. We needed this context to make it work for us. We also felt that we have read enough books that we believe that this is how it is. (Ex. Honeymoon in Tehran)

Mufeeda: Heather said that she really took from this character a sense that here is a Muslim woman who got something very personal from her faith and how important her religion was to her. We get so much negative press here about Muslims, that it was interesting to see it from this perspective.

Kit and Jack: We thought it was ironic that they had to go all the way to Kuwait to discover who they are married to.(I know I’m ending a sentence with a preposition, but I have been trying to get these notes out for 14 hours!) Carolyn had a profound statement: “Travel brings out true colors.”

Was it a Happy Ending? We found it interesting that the ending is interpreted differently by different cultures. Becky felt it was perfect and left everything open and Carolyn liked the possibilities.

The Book Cover: We felt the book cover is very off-putting to American readers. It has a non-fiction feel. We thought it could be more stylized (fabrics and pretty scenery) and perhaps the cover is keeping people from buying this book. A better selling angle we felt was “Americans in Kuwait and their perspective. I added that since I read it on the Kindle, my biggest problem was remembering the title and I never saw the cover.

Thank you Heather for bringing this to the group. Thank you Anastasia for an enlightening read and for your personal interaction with our group. I also would like to add that I think we did an excellent job of staying on topic for the discussion and focusing on the plot, characters, and issues the book brings to light.

Sylvia’s recommendations for November:

·        Still Alice by  Lisa Genova

·        Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (part of the trilogy)

·        Zoo Story by Thomas French *** OUR CHOICE  (and, Carolyn’s daughter’s professor at Indiana University!)

September 2010 Pick- A Reliable Wife- by Robert Goolrich

We discussed Kelly’s recommendation A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrich. The frigid Wisconsin winter was the ironic setting for this rather dark and somewhat gothic book. We talked about the characters and how their tragic backgrounds contributed to their rather dysfunctional personalities. Yet, in the end we found ourselves rooting for both Ralph and Catherine. Everyone liked the hopefulness at the end. The “sexuality” played an interesting role in the story, and some felt those scenes made it very obvious it was written by a man. Ultimately, it seems despite the rather grim storyline, most found it to be a compelling read.

A note about the timing here- As  I am collecting book club notes and catching up our club blog- , we have since met Robert Goolrich at the Savannah Bookclub Festival, and have heard him speak about the writing of this book.  It was fun to meet him, and hear him talk. He was an advertising executive who lost his job at the peak of his career and decided to write a Memoir and then, this novel. Some of us are now reading his Memoir. I asked him if he was influenced by Wuthering Heights? (his answer was , that he has never read it). He discussed despair, a great deal as a theme for the book. He also attributed the great success of this book to book clubs , like us here at BentCreekBookClub!

On to October
Heather recommended for October. (She obviously had a summer of light reading!- sarcasm)
·        Small Kingdoms by Anastasia Hobbet** (our unanimous choice)

From Publishers Weekly Hobbet’s compelling novel is set in Kuwait between the Gulf Wars, with the country poised for the next wave of unexpected terror while coming to grips with the last: He’d expected to see some scars of the war. But there was nothing that spoke of the violence, not even a tank posed as a public memorial. Hobbet’s disparate protagonists come from different classes, countries and faiths: devoutly Muslim, wealthy Mufeeda; her young Indian cook, Emmanuella; California doctor Theo; Theo’s Arabic teacher, Hanaan (a Palestinian); and timid American housewife Kit (also Mufeeda’s neighbor). Each character is, to varying degrees, a misfit in a society beset by violence and ancient practices. When news of murdered maids begins circulating, several characters undertake a precarious plan to save a maid in danger, a dangerous mission with the potential to change all their lives permanently. Hobbet’s extensive knowledge of Kuwait’s people, customs and political landscape combine to make an immersive, authentic novel about Middle East life. (Jan.)

·        The Thousand Autumns of Jacob DeZoet by David Mitchel

Amazon Best Books of the Month, July 2010 <http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000522331> : David Mitchell reinvents himself with each book, and it’s thrilling to watch. His novels like Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas spill over with narrators and language, collecting storylines connected more in spirit than in fact. In The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, he harnesses that plenitude into a more traditional form, a historical novel set in Japan at the turn into the 19th century, when the island nation was almost entirely cut off from the West except for a tiny, quarantined Dutch outpost. Jacob is a pious but not unappealing prig from Zeeland, whose self-driven duty to blurt the truth in a corrupt and deceitful trading culture, along with his headlong love for a local midwife, provides the early engine for the story, which is confined at first to the Dutch enclave but crosses before long to the mainland. Every page is overfull with language, events, and characters, exuberantly saturated in the details of the time and the place but told from a knowing and undeniably modern perspective. It’s a story that seems to contain a thousand worlds in one. -

Back from Summer- our Review of “In the Place of Justice”- A Story of Punishment and Deliverance by Wilbert Rideau

We discussed my recommendation In the Place of Justice: A Story of Punishment and Deliverance by Wilbert Rideau.

I originally brought this read to the club, because I knew very little about the penal system, this case, and after reading the book there seemed to be so much to discuss about what, the purpose of prison is. There was a Shawshank redemption quality to the charachters, and yet these stories were real. There was also the dilemma of crime and punishment and where to draw the line and what is rehabilitation, and how the waves of political changeovers may affect that aspect of what occurs.

Thanks to the archives- we have our notes from the meeting- and discussion! :

We all found the stories of Rideau’s 44 year incarceration fascinating and learned much about the social order of the prison community. We talked about his unique perspective on the justice system, the role of race in his fight for release and whether he inflated his version of events throughout his story telling. We also discussed the role of prisons and whether the purpose is punitive or rehabilitative or both, and how the role changes with changing political climates. A  very eye-opening book.

Our Picks for September 2010-
***A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrich (our choice)
From Publishers Weekly Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Goolrick’s fiction debut (after a memoir, The End of the World as We Know It) gets off to a slow, stylized start, but eventually generates some real suspense. When Catherine Land, who’s survived a traumatic early life by using her wits and sexuality as weapons, happens on a newspaper ad from a well-to-do businessman in need of a “reliable wife,” she invents a plan to benefit from his riches and his need. Her new husband, Ralph Truitt, discovers she’s deceived him the moment she arrives in his remote hometown. Driven by a complex mix of emotions and simple animal attraction, he marries her anyway. After the wedding, Catherine helps Ralph search for his estranged son and, despite growing misgivings, begins to poison him with small doses of arsenic. Ralph sickens but doesn’t die, and their story unfolds in ways neither they nor the reader expect. This darkly nuanced psychological tale builds to a strong and satisfying close. (Mar.)

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
Carolyn and Nicolette also read this book. It was a little disconcerting to Carolyn and me, but would have made for good discussion. It got rave reviews. Nicolette suggested that it’s sort of a “new generation” novel. So, we probably didn’t get it because we’re old, that was my comment, not Nicolette’s!

Amazon Best Books of the Month, April 2010 <http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000491111>  Printing presses whirr, ashtrays smolder, and the endearing complexity of humanity plays out in Tom Rachman’s debut novel, The Imperfectionists. Set against the backdrop of a fictional English-language newspaper based in Rome, it begins as a celebration of the beloved and endangered role of newspapers and the original 24/7 news cycle. Yet Rachman pushes beyond nostalgia by crafting an apologue that better resembles a modern-day Dubliners <http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451530411> than a Mad Men exploration of the halcyon past. The chaos of the newsroom becomes a stage for characters unified by a common thread of circumstance, with each chapter presenting an affecting look into the life of a different player. From the comically overmatched greenhorn to the forsaken foreign correspondent, we suffer through the painful heartbreaks of unexpected tragedy and struggle to stifle our laughter in the face of well-intentioned blunders. This cacophony of emotion blends into a single voice, as the depiction of a paper deemed a “daily report on the idiocy and the brilliance of the species” becomes more about the disillusion in everyday life than the dissolution of an industry. –Dave Callanan

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
This was another one of those books I got an advance copy of from the publisher, but I didn’t read it until the summer. Really liked it, but we have read SO many immigrant books lately, wasn’t sure if we were up for another. Sylvia has also read this book and she and I agreed that we enjoyed it more than the Lisa See book, “Shanghai Girls” that we read earlier this year, but they are definitely in the same genre. We can get an author phone interview if we select this sometime in the future. It’s gotten a lot of good reviews and done well this summer.
From Publishers Weekly A resolute yet naïve Chinese girl confronts poverty and culture shock with equal zeal when she and her mother immigrate to Brooklyn in Kwok’s affecting coming-of-age debut. Ah-Kim Chang, or Kimberly as she is known in the U.S., had been a promising student in Hong Kong when her father died. Now she and her mother are indebted to Kimberly’s Aunt Paula, who funded their trip from Hong Kong, so they dutifully work for her in a Chinatown clothing factory where they earn barely enough to keep them alive. Despite this, and living in a condemned apartment that is without heat and full of roaches, Kimberly excels at school, perfects her English, and is eventually admitted to an elite, private high school. An obvious outsider, without money for new clothes or undergarments, she deals with added social pressures, only to be comforted by an understanding best friend, Annette, who lends her makeup and hands out American advice. A love interest at the factory leads to a surprising plot line, but it is the portrayal of Kimberly’s relationship with her mother that makes this more than just another immigrant story. (May)
Other books of note:
Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley
This is a delightful memoir about his very famous parents, not much of a discussion book, but I really enjoyed it.
The Secret Garden

The Big Short- June Review- and Summer Read recommendations-

click here to order

May and June are busy months in Bent Creek Book Club. We had many celebrations, vacations, and still managed to get in a great timely discussion of how our economy turned upside down- we agreed we would not have read this book on our own, and recommend all read this book to understand how carried away things can get when opportunities shut down in one area and they need to open up in another (which is about to happen again with all the new regualtions in the banking industry….Once again I must thank Kelly for her notes, as this is a very busy time of year for yours truly!. (Especially since I was the recommender this month, which means I had to come to the table with three books (below) so we could pick one).

Carolyn led us in the discussion of her recommended book, The Big Short by Michael Lewis, previously brought to our attention by Lyn. We all found the book to be fascinating and more “readable” than one could have imagined given the subject matter. The author successfully presents the events leading up to the collapse of the home mortgage industry and financial markets by using character- driven story lines. We were all alarmed by the ignorance of those at such high levels of decision making, the lack of accountability in the ratings agencies and the overall absence of federal regulation. Nicolette and Debbie said that the banking industry in Europe and many other countries is far more advanced than in the U.S. We discussed the characters and whether their unusual personalities made them less credible to the “higher ups” as they tried to warn of the impending crisis, how the overwhelming desire for home ownership affected the decisions being made, and the role that other current events might have played in where the SEC had their focus during this time period (ie: Martha Stewart.) All in all a very informative read. Thank you Carolyn!

Debbie recommended the following books for discussion in August: (note…it was a very close vote. )

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
Making a return appearance on the recommended list and getting high marks from all members who have previously read it, this story also gets a raving review from Publisher’s Weekly: In her charming debut novel, Simonson tells the tale of Maj. Ernest Pettigrew, an honor-bound Englishman and widower, and the very embodiment of duty and pride. As the novel opens, the major is mourning the loss of his younger brother, Bertie, and attempting to get his hands on Bertie’s antique Churchill shotgun—part of a set that the boys’ father split between them, but which Bertie’s widow doesn’t want to hand over. While the major is eager to reunite the pair for tradition’s sake, his son, Roger, has plans to sell the heirloom set to a collector for a tidy sum. As he frets over the guns, the major’s friendship with Jasmina Ali—the Pakistani widow of the local food shop owner—takes a turn unexpected by the major (but not by readers). The author’s dense, descriptive prose wraps around the reader like a comforting cloak, eventually taking on true page-turner urgency as Simonson nudges the major and Jasmina further along and dangles possibilities about the fate of the major’s beloved firearms. This is a vastly enjoyable traipse through the English countryside and the long-held traditions of the British aristocracy.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
This book has received much publicity and Debbie suggests that it would be an excellent discussion book and one we might want to reconsider in the future. From Amazon…” a fascinating and moving story of medicine and family, of how life is sustained in laboratories and in memory. Henrietta Lacks was a mother of five in Baltimore, a poor African American migrant from the tobacco farms of Virginia, who died from a cruelly aggressive cancer at the age of 30 in 1951. A sample of her cancerous tissue, taken without her knowledge or consent, as was the custom then, turned out to provide one of the holy grails of mid-century biology: human cells that could survive–even thrive–in the lab. Known as HeLa cells, their stunning potency gave scientists a building block for countless breakthroughs, beginning with the cure for polio. Meanwhile, Henrietta’s family continued to live in poverty and frequently poor health, and their discovery decades later of her unknowing contribution–and her cells’ strange survival–left them full of pride, anger, and suspicion. For a decade, Skloot doggedly but compassionately gathered the threads of these stories, slowly gaining the trust of the family while helping them learn the truth about Henrietta, and with their aid she tells a rich and haunting story that asks the questions, Who owns our bodies? And who carries our memories?”

In the Place of Justice*** by Wilbert Rideau
We chose this memoir of a former prisoner…a description from The Booklist:
“With probing intelligence but only a ninth-grade education, Rideau honed his acclaimed journalism skills inside Louisiana‘s notorious Angola prison. In 1961, at the age of 19, he killed a white woman in the course of a bank robbery. Sentenced to death, he was eventually given a life sentence after repeated appeals based on irregularities in his trial and national changes in policy regarding the death penalty. Rideau suffered years on death row and in solitary; once integrated into the broader population, he worked his way onto The Angolite, the prison publication. Eventually becoming editor, he earned the respect of the warden, prisoners, guards, as well as the broader journalism profession, with exposes of the politics and economics of the prison system, earning several prestigious press awards along the way. He struggled with journalistic principles in a highly charged environment in which all sides were hyperpartisan and often violent. After 44 years and scores of appeals lost to political machinations, Rideau was finally freed in 2005. This is more than a prison memoir; it is a searing indictment of the American justice system.”

Happy Reading !

From BentCreekBooks

May’s Discussion: Meet the Author of “Postmistress”- Sarah Blake

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This month we were honored by a visit from the author of the book we read- Postmistress by Sarah Blake PhD.

Below is a summary of our session as written by our club secretary Kelly:

“We briefly discussed the book ahead of time and fine tuned our questioning prior to the phone call. As it was Gina’s recommendation month, she compiled background on the author for us (including the fact that she has a PhD in Victorian Literature) and provided some initial discussion questions. We all agreed that speaking with the author provided a new level of appreciation for the book and some terrific insights into her writing process. Kudos to everyone for getting us back on track with constructive, positive discussion.

As a summary, here are some highlights of the book club discussion with Sarah Blake, albeit paraphrased from my notes and memory:

Q: While the novel is called “The Postmistress,” at times the most of the story focused on wartime correspondent, Frankie bard. How did you arrive at the title and did you consider other alternatives?

SB: It was always called “The Postmistress.” Iris has the exchange with Frankie about the use of that title which someone in the postal service told us is definitely outside the regulation title for  the position. The name “Frankie’s War” was tossed around, but I ultimately set out to tell this story of a postmistress.

Q: It seems like there was an underlying theme of fate verses control. Even in a time of war, a bus accident, a heart attack, child birth still occur and present a threat. Was that your intent?

SB: I think that a better word would be “accident.” At one point Frankie says something to the effect of ‘it was a matter of looking right verses left.’ I think as Americans we want to look away, especially in times of war. I wanted to write about how we come to terms with and how we manage our lives in times of war and how life goes on. Frankie and Iris wanted to protect Emma. Was it fate that Iris had this desire to be an overseer and Emma’s desire to be taken care of? I think if you believe in God or a high divine order that explains it.

Q: While you say you wanted to write about  managing our lives in times of war, why did you pick World War Two for the setting?

SB: I think it is the perfect armature to hang ideas. It works for our culture like Iliad or the Odyssey. There is a clear good vs. evil and a beginning, middle and end. It is a war like the early Greek epics. It is the perfect setting for asking metaphorical questions  and other questions in  our lives. It is now part of our own history and it is our own theater.

Q: Was there a theme or “layer” in the story that resonated most with you?

SB: Early on I had these two stories going…one in Cape Cod and one in the Blitz. When it occurred to me that the radio broadcasts were the way to transition between ordinary life and the war going on, it was very exciting. It was the most fun!

Q: What challenges did it present when using ‘real’ characters, such as journalist Edward R. Murrow in a work of fiction? Tell us about the decision to do so.

SB: Franklin, Massachusetts is a fictional town created as a character. You have to create a credible world and when it is something based on history…a real place…like London…then Edward R. Murrow is a real journalist the way London is a real place. I read about women reporters and their role in covering the war.

Q: Can you tell us about your next project?

SB: I am writing a novel about the same family, two generations set in both 1959 and 2009. I’m interested in the ways our lives are layered from parent to child in different generations.

Q: What are you reading?

SB: I just read Evening by Susan Minot. I really enjoyed Waterland by Graham Swift, Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro and I really loved Out Stealing Horses by Per Peterson and Anne Born. It is sent in Norway during WWII.”

We want to thank Sarah for the time that she spent to us.

Carolyn recommended some terrific books- for June.  Kelly thank you and Amazon for these great summaries for our June options:

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
In her witty and wise debut novel, newcomer Helen Simonson introduces the unforgettable character of the widower Major Ernest Pettigrew.  The Major epitomizes the Englishman with the “stiff upper lip,” who clings to traditional values and has tried (in vain) to pass these along to his yuppie son, Roger. The story centers around Pettigrew’s fight to keep his greedy relatives (including his son) from selling a valuable family heirloom–a pair of hunting rifles that symbolizes much of what he stands for, or at least what he thinks he does. The embattled hero discovers an unexpected ally and source of consolation in his neighbor, the Pakistani shopkeeper Jasmina Ali. On the surface, Pettigrew and Ali’s backgrounds and life experiences couldn’t be more different, but they discover that they have the most important things in common.

Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjailan
Who killed Alice Hayward? Was it the charismatic pastor who baptized her hours before her death? Was it her abusive husband, George, who then took a gun to himself? Or was it Heather Laurent, a famous author of books about angels, who may have a demonic side? On the surface, the crime scene at the Hayward’s comfortable Vermont village home appears to be a straightforward case of murder-suicide in which George Hayward strangled his wife and then blew his brains out. But to Deputy State’s Attorney Catherine Benincasa, things are rarely as they seem, a view that is reinforced when Alice’s diary is found with cryptic references to Reverend Stephen Drew. Suffering from his own crisis of faith, Drew is particularly susceptible to the not-unwelcome attention of Laurent, who believes she is a guardian angel sent to help Drew resolve these conflicts. Always a solid craftsman, Bohjalian brings his trademark brand of astute character development to these delightfully ambiguous portraits of suspects, victims, and accusers alike, as he drops bombshell clues through sly, innocuous asides and weaves subtle nuances of doubt and intrigue into a taut, read-in-one-sitting murder mystery.

**The Big Short by Michael Lewis
Ultimately, we chose this work of non-fiction recommended previously by Lyn. We agreed it was a timely book that the motivation of book club might be needed to urge us to read it. It is about the current economic crisis and the events leading to the collapse, written in understandable, readable terms.
And…if you made it all the way through these notes…I feel I should provide a bonus feature… other books:

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Girl who fell from the Sky by Heidi Durrow

AND.. next week…the third in the Steig Larson series comes out The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

Kelly thank you so much for the great summary- I found it very interesting to listen to the author discuss the writing process a first- one that I really enjoyed, as well all did. and to Sarah, who asked for a copy of the link to our blog-  a warm thanks from Bent Creek Book Club for taking your time with us. We sincerely appreciated your insights!

Happy Reading!

Bent Creek Books