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Book summaries - 2015
THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY - Rachel Joyce H IS FOR HAWK - Helen Macdonald AFRICAN STORIES - Doris Lessing THE POPE AND MUSSOLINI - David I. Kertzer THE SHIPPING NEWS - Annie Proulx THE DAYS OF ABANDONMENT - Elena Ferrante THE YEAR OF THE HARE - Arto Paasilinna TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD - Harper Lee
THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY - Rachel Joyce from Margaret 10/12/2015 This deceptively simple book with its unadorned style and much-trodden plot (a quest) produced a surprisingly lively discussion at our latest reunion at Tatiana's house. We had all liked the book, but we all focussed on different aspects, such as Harold's character, his marriage with Maureen, the shock of the death of their son (did he really graduate or not?), the rabble of followers-on, the horror of Queenie's illness and deterioration. A lot of questions came up that were not answered in the book. We speculated on the lack of communication between husband and wife, Harold's difficulties in expressing emotion, his relationship with Queenie (purely platonic?), his sudden decision to take off totally unprepared. We liked his dawning awareness and appreciation of Nature. We agreed that many men have great difficulty in dealing with grief or other major difficulties and that they tend to shut off rather than face up to the situation, which partly explained Harold's uncharacteristic flight. Women were stronger and better at coping, although Maureen was not a good example – she submerged herself in housework and consoled herself with imaginary conversations with her dead son. The book had a happy ending, with Maureen and Harold reconciled, but of course poor Queenie died. A miracle would have been nice and satisfying but the - that would have been impossible. (M) from Tatiana 14/12/2015 We met at my house to discuss The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which I’d chosen as a juxtaposition to The Year of the Hare. While both follow the unlikely travels of two men, I found the latter to be cold and heartless and so wanted to share something closer to my heart. Overall we agreed that it was a good story well told – no pyrotechnic writing, no sublime poetry but a story we wanted to read until the end as it slowly unfolded, bringing new insight. Some thought that certain aspects were not believable, like the crowd that eventually follows Fry, while for others that seemed perfectly plausible in our media saturated age. Some thought Joyce skated awful close to the hokey but we agreed that she ultimately avoided it thanks to the realistic drawing of Fry and how his upbringing and culture fought with the anguish he tried to outrun. The book made us think about how one’s culture influences one’s reaction to grief, and how different people handle grief differently – some families torn apart by a traumatic event and others brought closer together. While Fry’s journey truly was unlikely, it was not something that was hard to relate to, and in the end all present enjoyed it. (T)
H IS FOR HAWK - Helen Macdonald from Tatiana 02/11/2015 It was a grey and rainy fall day when we met at Margaret’s and in the cozy warmth, eating a wonderful fall lunch, it was a perfect afternoon. We all enjoyed H is for Hawk, agreeing about the beauty and virtuosity of her writing, impressed by Macdonald’s ability to make us truly see the places she was describing. For a few of us, the subject matter, hawking, was not something we enjoyed, and it made me angry that there are people who enjoy breaking such fiercely majestic birds, forcing them to live unnatural, imprisoned lives, but nobody can deny that the author is dedicated to hers and eloquently describes what it takes to train a hawk and how it can become an obsession. We did find it odd that Macdonald plummeted so badly when her father died and turned to something so basically vicious as hunting with a hawk to dull her panic and loss. We couldn’t relate to such a choice and for that reason had difficulty imagining what kind of life a person would have to be leading to find solace in hawks tearing up rabbits and birds. At the same time, it is clear that Macdonald’s keen eye for detail and honest appraisal of herself give the reader a good look into a lonely woman’s psyche and it is with relief that, in the end, she appears to overcome her grief and seek the comfort of human contact again. The author deftly juxtaposes her experience with that of another hawker and well known writer, T.H. White, who died in the sixties and whose unhappy, unlikely life resonated for her even in childhood, allowing the reader to experience yet another attempt at hawking as remedy for life’s sorrows. The scenes are often rough and bloody, and the subject not everybody’s cup of tea, but the writing is superb and we all agreed that this is one of the greatest things about our book club – reading something we otherwise would never have read, and being very, very glad we did. (T)
AFRICAN STORIES - Doris Lessing from Tatiana 30/09/2015 Something about the impromptu meeting at IKEA, organized at the last minute because Eva, sadly, was unable to preside over her own book, gave our discussion a lighthearted, fun touch, making it thoroughly enjoyable even under such hurried circumstances. The group agreed on some basics with regard to African Stories: it was too long, the stories were often fairly similar and a huge collection such as this is not the ideal book for our club. We also all agreed that the writing is lovely and Lessing’s ability to set you into the minds of her characters effective. The divergences came with regards to the impact of the work as a whole. Some felt that she wasn’t strong enough in condemning the injustices and cruelties she writes about while others thought she was making very clear statements if only one actually thought about what exactly she says. Some felt the book was dated, that things have changed so much in Africa as to make this almost a quaint look back at another time while others believe that there are many things that have stayed exactly the same. Thus, while we at first concurred that a collection such as this is not conducive to a group discussion, we ended up having a very lively and thoughtful meeting – so I stand corrected, and can say that it engendered more of an exchange of opinion than I thought it would. (T) from Margaret 03/10/2015 Our Book Club members were very anxious to have another meeting after the long summer break, so we decided to go ahead even though Eva, our prospective hostess, was ill and unable to attend. We met instead in the IKEA cafè where we managed to have a good meeting, despite all the background noise and distractions. Eva's choice: Doris Lessing's short stories were on the whole favourably reviewed, although some members remarked that the short story genre made a difficult “all in one go” read. Everyone admired Lessing's writing style and descriptive powers but there was some dissent regarding the characterization and tone. Whereas some found Lessing's approach to the African problem of white domination sympathetic to the African population and anti-apartheid, others thought she seemed too detached and emotionally uninvolved. We discussed the fact that these stories were written over sixty years ago when Lessing was just finding her voice and could not express her views too openly. Rather surprisingly, Lessing was on the whole indulgent towards the white masters, who all seemed to be reasonably benign and paternalistic, with good – if mistaken – intentions. The Africans were almost all described as children, unable to think or look after themselves. This, of course, perfectly reflects the thinking of the fifties, at least in the UK, where this was the kind of stuff we were taught in schools – all about the poor little black boys and girls we were helping with our superior civilization! We found it difficult to settle on one favourite story, but the title tale “This was the Old Chief's Country” was enjoyed by everyone and was perhaps the one with which we could feel most affinity with its underlying and subtle condemnation of colonialism. (M)
THE POPE AND MUSSOLINI - David I. Kertzer from Tatiana 19/06/2015 The view of the lake off Jill’s terrace never disappoints and no matter what book we meet to discuss there, it is always a marvelous afternoon. Though not all of us finished The Pope and Mussolini , those that had read the book found it an interesting (though rather exhausting) look into a particular time in Italy’s history – come to light now because of the unsealing of Vatican documents. We found the intense attention to detail, appropriate for a scholarly work such as this, too tiring and, ultimately, even boring for a book being read by people whose interest in this period is general, at best, but appreciated the anecdotal asides and the views expressed by foreigners – journalists, Ambassadors and others – because they lightened it’s tone and were often humorous. Those who hadn’t finished the book were interested in going ahead with it over the summer, and some even expressed interest in continuing along the same vein with a book covering the next several years after Mussolini’s death, but I for one think that these “revelations” are hardly startling – just the same old same old of politics the world over. (T) from Margaret 30/06/2015 We met on Jill's terrace for our last meeting before the summer break, where we had, as always, an enjoyable lunch overlooking Lake Albano. Our discussion was pretty orderly, as the subject matter concentrated on documented historical facts. On the whole we all found the book heavy going – some, in fact, hadn't managed to finish it.. The author had obviously done a very thorough job of organizing and presenting his material as something like a third of the pages were devoted to references and sources. I found it interesting as I knew very little about Pope Pius XI – Pius XII, his successor, has always been presented as the main culprit for not attempting to halt Hitler's persecution of the Jews. In this book, Pius XI came over as a thoroughly unlikeable character – the worst kind of ignorant bigot to exercise power. Even though I tried to read it in the spirit of the times – almost a century ago, with the Russian revolution not long over and Communism seen as a real threat to world order – it was hard to excuse the Pope's attitude and his lack of perception in backing the Fascist regime. There certainly seemed to be very little spirit of Christianity in this vicar of Christ. The book was frightening in so far as it portrayed events which are really not so long ago and showed how easily people can be influenced to follow and adulate a leader like Mussolini. Pius XI willingly and knowingly lent his support to a movement that committed crimes like the assasination of Matteotti, the suppression of harmless Catholic movements and the introduction of the racial laws. Even though at the end of the book (and at the end of his life) the Pope appeared to have changed his views and had prepared a document denouncing the racial laws and the persecution of the Jews, this came too late to change the course of the tragic events that followed soon after. Unfortunately his successor turned out to be, if anything, worse. The most interesting revelation came, in fact, at the end of the book when the author tells us that Cardinal Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII) knowingly secreted Pope Pius XI's “enciclica segreta” and that it was not made partially public until twenty years later by Pope John XXIII. The entire text was only made available in 2006, thanks to Pope Benedict XVI who opened the Vatican archives. (M)
THE SHIPPING NEWS - Annie Proulx from Tatiana 25/05/2015 Laura’s book meetings have become wonderful week-end events filled with good company, excellent food and marvelous sightseeing so it is hard to focus solely on The Shipping News. However, once we finally did get down to talking about it, we all agreed that it was a very good book. For the non-mother tongue English speakers it proved daunting because of Ms Proulx’s inventive literary style and complex, poetic vision – so much so that it required a dictionary close at hand. For us mother tongue English speakers it was a literary delight, her prose so rich and evocative that we were in awe of her writing. Some of us got impatient with the main character, a sad-sack if there ever was one, while others liked him from the start, attracted by the loving way he treated his children, and the many other characters were believable and engaging. Seeing the movie afterwards added another dimension to this reading experience because of the power of the Newfoundland setting. Though we debated the effect s of the ways the film differed from the book, in the end it was clear to us that film and books are two totally different mediums, engendering entirely different experiences, so comparing the two is useless. It was a marvelous evening and watching the cold, stark and snowy setting of the movie from the couch by the fire was exquisite. from Margaret 02/06/2015 Our annual Book Club outing weekend in Molise was every bit as enjoyable as last year's, thanks again to Laura's generosity and hospitality. Our numbers were unfortunately depleted, as Jill, Minu, Francoise and Eva were unable to come, so there were only five of us, including our adopted youngest member, Chiara, Lena's daughter. However, the advantage was that we were all able to stay together in Laura's house and the group wasn't divided like last year, with some going to the nearby hotel. After a delicious polenta (not forgetting the local freschissima ricotta), we went for a visit to the famous Bell Foundry at Agnone, where we had a guided tour and learned all about the complexities of bell-making. The following morning we made the trip to the archaeological site of Saepinum, a little-known marvel that could almost be compared with Ostia Antica. We explored its decumanus, its old city gates, its theatre and the small museum with a guide whom Laura luckily found on the spot. The site is beautifully kept, in the heart of unspoiled countryside, full of wild flowers and scented herbs. We rounded off with a delicious lunch of Molise specialities at the little rustic restaurant at the entrace to the ruins. What with all these pleasant diversions, our book discussion was shorter than usual. But this was also because we had all liked “The Shipping News”, so we all agreed with each other and there wasn't anything to argue about. We all admired Proulx's unique writing style and extensive vocabulary and felt sympathy for the fumbling but well-intentioned “hero” and we were captivated by the descirptions of the harsh seascapes and rugged people of Newfoundland. Laura had organized a viewing of the film which we saw after the discussion. Much as I admire Kevin Stacey, I really didn't think he was suited to the role (this is my personal opinion). In the book, Annie Proulx had described Quoyle as ugly, ungainly and fat (which Stacey is not). Since much of the underlying theme of the novel was the development of Quoyle's character – how he becomes “a man” able to face up to his disadvantages and overcome his feeling of inferiority – I felt that the film totally failed to address this issue and became simply a chronicle of adapting to life in Newfoundland. Very very many thanks to Laura for organizing such a great trip. I think you are stuck with us every year from now on!!!
THE DAYS OF ABANDONMENT - Elena Ferrante from Margaret 25/04/2015 Well, you can't get much more idyllic than this.....our meeting took place under the spreading boughs of a flowering cherry tree in Minu's garden, where we sat around the table in a romantic shower of white petals. A mood of general indulgence was fostered by the delicious Iranian specialities and an excellent spumante. We almost forgot about the book! However, when we did get down to it, the discussion was lively and somewhat undisciplined (maybe it was the fault of the spumante). We got excited and interrupted each other frequently. A bit hard to keep this lot in line, Margie! The theme of Elena Ferrante's book touched us as women – what can happen to a woman when her husband unexpectedly abandons her and their children and takes himself off with a young girl. On the whole most of us did not feel unconditional sympathy for the protagonist, who went totally to pieces and became unable to cope or face her responsabilities. Some of us felt strongly that even in these circumstances she should have put her children first. Instead, she sank into such a deep depression that she could not look after them, or her house or her dog. Ferrante's description of her mental state was frightening and her analysis of the wife's loss of sense of reality, her character change (she became aggressive, sexually assalted the neighbour and used vulgar language that was completely out of character), plus her inability to come to terms with the situation were perceptive and convincing. I was not the only one who almost abandoned the book half way through. It was just too depressing. Luckily, I persevered because in the end – thank goodness! - the wife actually pulls herself out of it and starts to make a new life. We all admired Ferrante's writing style and descriptive gifts. There was some speculation about who she actually was as rumours circulate that she is actually a man (hardly credible, however!). In fact, Margie has solved the problem for us by sending us the author's picture she found in a paper. She is definitely a woman! (M) from Margie 30/04/2015
I wonder of anyone reads my emails...or should I
be asking myself if perhaps I am unclear...? from Tatiana 02/05/2015 Herewith
is what I thought of the book and, since it seems
this was the view generally, there's not much to
it.
from Tatiana 21/03/2015 Gone Girl was a book most of us enjoyed as long as we set aside any anticipation of literary beauty or moral resonance. It was a whodunit with an interesting twist, written the way it was in the two perspectives, and most of us did want to find out what actually happened. Though a few were completely put off by the violence and profanity, the majority considered it a page turner and it was interesting to discuss the various issues the book brought up such as whether or not Amy was a psychopath, did her husband have any choices other than those he made, what are the ties that bind us. It was even engaging to consider the book club questions at the end. Seeing the movie after our discussion added a new dimension – some liked it better than the book and some thought it lacked the insight the book provided into the character of the protagonists – but save one, who dislikes movies jarring the vision she herself has imagined reading a book, we were happy to have done both. It was a fun afternoon and a good discussion though I do want to put it on record that I would appreciate members keeping to their appointed turns because I really and truly missed Margie’s strawberry cake! (T) from Margaret 27/03/2015 On the whole, most of us enjoyed this book, with reservations. Personally, I would put it in the category of “commercial books”, written especially to be marketed. This sounds very snobbish (in fact, it is - as books are a commodity like most other things!) This was a classic page-turner, ending each chapter with a cliff hanger that fascinates the reader and impels her (we are “shes” in this case) to find out more - in the same category as thrillers and detective novels. I did not feel any empathy with or sympathy for the two main characters – not even the underdog, who turned out to be the man. They were pretty one-dimensional and I didn't put the book down with any special feelings of interest in their ultimate fate. Latterly, we have been including a viewing of the film based on our books, when available, so we had a lengthy session at Margie's house – a double act of discussion and visual interpretation. In this case, I enjoyed the film more than the book, perhaps because I expect less from films than I do of the written page. The film stuck very close to the book plot, which was a plus – so often script writers take great liberties. However, this book was so action-packed that it made a perfect box office product. Thank you Margie for hosting and providing the usual enjoyable lunch! (M)
THE YEAR OF THE HARE - Arto Paasilinna from Margaret 26/02/2015 Apparently Minu (forgive me if I haven't spelt your name right!) and I were the only ones who interpreted Arto Paasilinna's book as a metaphorical spiritual journey, like the epic quests by characters in many of the great classics like Ulysses, Christian in “Pilgim's Progress”, Don Quixote etc.. I saw the hare as the mystical guide (Angel, Guardian God, Guiding Force, Beatrice etc.) leading the hero through his adventures and encounters till he achieves his apotheosis in the end by walking through the walls of the jail and vanishing, along with the hare, while the guards are powerless to stop them. I found all sorts of parallels with these great mythical “quests”, even if this story was on a more down-to-earth level and did not aspire to great literary heights. To me, the trials and adventures Vatanen went through to find his true self and his true place in the world and the obstacles he met could be analysed and interpreted in many ways. The crow, for instance, was a robber come to prey on him. The fire was a purifying element – in fact, he fell into a peaceful sleep after he had fought it. His love story in a drunken stupour was like being under a magic spell. The rich people who wanted to adopt the hare were rejected by it. The bear that Tatiana felt so sorry for, pursued by the ruthless hunter, was the black and negative force that was the last obstacle to be overcome to achieve self-realisation. Throughout the hare was a constant presence, leading him on and showing him the way to go, However, since no-one else came to these complicated conclusions,nor apparently did any of the critics I looked up on internet, I can only put my interpretation down to an eccess of imagination! I can only say that with all these meanderings I did find the story much more interesting than if I had read it simply at face level. A very enjoyable lunch at Lena's Scandinavian-style, thank you – and great seeing you all. (M) from Tatiana 01/03/2015 This was one of those meetings where hearing members’ views and ideas made a book far more interesting and valuable than reading it alone. Before our discussion I had simply disliked The Year of the Hare (along with some others of us) but seeing it from an entirely different perspective enabled me to appreciate the book’s impact and even its voice. Where the writing style seemed practically childlike and ever so simple to me I learned from Lena that Finnish is a very simple, basic language, and Finns themselves known for not being loquacious. Where the people, especially the protagonist, seemed totally unconnected to both themselves and their surroundings I learned that a natural landscape of mostly trees, hiding any sort of vista, and darkness, due to the long, long winters, influence people’s characters to no small degree. And where this book seemed to have no purpose or goal, here we have Margaret’s and Minu’s symbolic interpretation, giving this bland little story so much more depth and heft. It’s not like I would recommend The Year of the Hare but I am glad to have read it – and this is thanks to my dear book club members, my friends. (T)
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD - Harper Lee from Margaret 28/01/2015 I personally enjoyed re-reading this old classic which I already had on my bookshelves. Many of our members commented that they found it a bit dated. However, I didn't agree. Themes of injustice and moral courage, as this book is centred on, never go “out”. Unfortunately, fresh examples of injustice and racism keep cropping up every age and hopefully the human race will always be able to produce champions of moral courage to combat them. The only aspect that could be considered really dated, alas, was the description of the children's games. I can't imagine any of our pampered western kids of today amusing themselves running about the streets with old tyres and a broken-down pocket watch! The great respect they showed their father and grown ups in general (at least to their faces) also does not on the whole conform to modern manners. Apart from that, I found the cameo portraits of the inhabitants of Maycomb as delightful as ever. None of them were very nice – gossipy old ladies and bruttish men, not to mention the unspeakably horrible Ewell family. Naturally, the black population came over as superior in every way, as Lee's objective was to portrait the ugly face of discrimination and ignorance. The parallel story of Boo Radley took second place to the central theme of the trial but also served to show another face of discrimination, in this case it was class status: white middle class against poor white. By the way, the reason for the title is on page 96 when Atticus gives the children air guns and says: “Shoot all the blue jays you want....but remember it's a sin to kill a mocking bird.” How many of us got it? Thanks to Francoise for hosting a highly enjoyable meeting. Our debate lingered on till nearly 5 pm! from Tatiana 01/02/2015 So, we were met at the door with blankets and shawls, and informed that there was no heat and no water, but plenty of food and lots of wine, and a lovely fire going in the fireplace. Thus began our meeting at Francoise’s house and it was wonderful. While indeed some of us did feel that the book is dated in some ways, most appreciated the fact that it is a classic, and the writing and characters are perfectly rendered. Considering some recent events in the United States it was also quite pertinent as the issues tackled by Harper Lee appear to be prominent problems to this day – it seems the issues connected with race simply won’t go away. Many of us liked the vivid way Harper Lee evoked a place and a time, making it as sharp as a memory of our own, and we all considered the language wonderfully crafted. In terms of being outdated, I would say the main thing that makes it so for me is the fact that all the black characters were saints, and all the whites were jerks except for Atticus, who was perfect. We have come far enough now to be able to accept that this idea of the “noble savage”, as it were, is as erroneous as the prejudice that it purports to fight. We truly are all the same – with good, bad and indifferent people of all colors – and it was something sorely lacking in this book. We all find it unfortunate that she never wrote anything else as she is one author most of us would have been interested in reading more of. (T) |
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