The Vanishers. Our book title for August was certainly appropriate as a title for what happened to the food! At one point I caught a glimpse down the table. I don't believe I have ever seen a meal where every single plate looked as if it had been licked clean. The heat this month dictated the menu rather than the book. Carla G. hosted and decided on a menu of cold salads and homemade ice cream. Terry brought our all-time book club favorite Pear salad and Diana brought a tomato, mozzarella, and home grown basil salad. Carla G. made her first chicken salad and it was delicious and Janie brought the croissants to go with it. The homemade vanilla ice cream went great with Darby's homemade fudge and salty butterscotch toppings. Pam made Sangria, Diana concocted a butterscotch cocktail and Arnora brought the flowers. The perfect cold complement to the hot temperatures.
We missed Denise, Lou, Liz, and Barb who were unable to join us this month.
Darby suggested our book based on a personal recommendation and Laura kicked off the discussion by praising this book as one of the best she's read in recent months. She loved the writing which was adept at prolonging the mystery of the story right until the end. Several readers had taken notes to keep up with the characters and memorable quotes. This made two of our teachers, Darby and Terry, very happy.
To be honest, this months book is a bit difficult to review and capture in a nutshell. One of the quotes on the dust jacket described this book as an "astral detective thriller". Our protagonist, Julia Severn, starts the story by telling us it is preposterous to begin with. A warning to "read at your own risk." Julia believes that she is being psychically attacked by her boss and mentor, Madame Ackerman. Julia's mother, who resembles Madame Ackerman, committed suicide when Julia was one month old. As Julia's health deteriorates, she embarks on a journey to heal herself and she stumbles across her mother's dark past. She must come to terms with her grief as she also realizes that she may be the unwitting psychic attacker rather than victim. In the process, Julia meets a number of people who both help and hinder her. Some are real, others are imagined or conjured up through astral travel.
The themes and characters are layered and the action sometimes ambiguous leaving some of us a bit confused at the end. A little, "is it real or is it Memorex?" In fact, one of Laura's favorite quotes was on page 136, "Memory is unnecessary work. To forget is to respect the past, and to enable your pleasant future." And Carla A. liked the quote on page 214 "People accuse therapists of seeing abuse where there isn't any; of fabricating memories for their patients. Maybe this is true. But if so, it's because neurosis without a perceptible cause is very hard to accept. How does one fix a problem that arose from nothing?"
In addition there was mythological symbolism of the wolf. A quick search provided this information on the wolf: They are highly misunderstood and have gained a reputation for being cold blooded. In reality, they they are friendly and social creatures who avoid aggression. The wolf is an incredible communicator. By using touch, body movements, eye contact as well as many vocal expressions - the wolf makes his point understood. Some might call these non-verbal cues "psychic" when used by humans.
And, Julia's last name, Severn, means boundary. This may or may not have anything to do with her character. But as I read into it, without being able to form some kind of psychic boundary, Julia left herself open to attack. Finding and setting boundaries of any kind in your life is always part of a healing experience.
In the end the book rate 4.3 among those who vote and 2 "liked it very much". Denise commented that by email that, while she enjoyed the book, she would have preferred more character to development.
Several of us plan to read it a second time.
Next month we will meet at Pam's and our book will be Beautiful Ruins. Lis will host in October and we read Prisoner of Heaven.
Book club members have traveled to this summer to: Europe, Brazil, California/Nevada, Colorado, S. Dakota. Others are heading off to Florida, Wyoming, Mexico. To those traveling now or soon - happy and safe journeys!
