sametimenextmonth: September 2013 Book Club

Sunday, September 15, 2013

September 2013 Book Club

Illustration by Anthony Russo (Sunday Book Review)

Welcome to September's Book Club - hosted by Terry. What a night! Terry's backyard was so welcoming. We could smell the charcoal from the street and the Chimenae was glowing. From our emails I had thought we were having a simple dinner. Terry's best loved Pear Salad, some bread, some dessert. But, knowing these women as I do, I should have known better! Carla A brought so many things I know I won't get them all. She brought roasted chicken in a light cream sauce with potatoes and carrots. The chicken just melted in your mouth. And she and Lou both brought asparagus, which figured promptly in the meals in our story. Terry grilled vegetables, fruit and shrimp for us. There was crab dip and chips and Janie brought two kinds of bread. Carla G topped off the meal with a dessert everyone has a different name for; chocolate and vanilla pudding with flour/butter/nut crust and topped with cool whip! Tea, 7 Deadly Zins and Two Buck Chuck Wines rounded out the evening. Last night were were missing Pam and Laura.

Our book was Rules of Civility, a first novel for Amor Towles. It is the story of a year in the life of Katey Kontent as she attempts to rise in the ranks of 1938's New York City and the accidental love triangle that changes her trajectory. We all agreed it was great writing; atmospheric and poetic. Laura (by email) said It was both character and geography driven and that it was "a slice of life in a city she loves." Every time I picked it up I felt I was transported into Katey's skin. His attention to detail added to the atmosphere of the story without being tiresome.

The epilogue comes first in this story. Katey has married and is in her late 50's when she and her husband stumble across a photographic exhibit of subway photos taken by Walker Evans and she sees two photographs of Tinker Grey. And then the story goes back in time and begins on the last day of 1937 as Katy and her friend Eve Ross meet handsome and well-to-do Tinker Grey at a not so fashionable NYC night spot. Katey is a typist in NY law firm, Eve his her roommate. The two girls "subtly" vie for Tinker's attention and he seems happy to play along - until another "accident" changes everyones course. In 1938 the "Roaring Twenties" have given way to The Great Depression. America is in recovery and nearing the end of the Depression as we teeter on the edge of WWII. And this is where we find our cast of characters.

A central theme in the book is that a chance encounter or cursory decision in one's twenties can shape one's course for decades to come. Do you think this is true to life? Were there casual encounters or decisions that you made, which in retrospect were watershed events? We had a really in depth discussion about this. As we talked we realized that you do have a certain amount of control over life in the decisions you make. Those decisions move your life in one direction. However, there are things that happen to us all the time; a stranger you meet and marry, an accident that maybe leaves you with injuries you didn't count on, a company closes, a relationship ends, etc. And there is a difference from events that influence your life as opposed to events that impact them. Those are two different words. Influence seems a softer word. A great teacher that influences your choice of career is different from a car accident that "impacts" you and forces a change upon you. And, I think both are true.

It was a great discussion and we got deep! But that is the beauty of our group. It's not a therapy session. But great fiction always reflects back to us our emotions and often helps us work through some struggle we are having. And we do that in a safe and loving, non-judgmental environment.

The book referenced several other authors. Darby and Terry recognized a portion as being based on a T. S. Eliot Poem - The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Agatha Christie's mysteries are mentioned and Amor Towles' writing is likened to Fitzgerald and Capote. The book rated a 4.53

Next month is hosted by Carla Gibbs and we chose to tag off this months book and picked an Agatha Christie; Murder on the Orient Express.

In November we'll be reading a book recommended by Pam; One Amazing Thing by Chitra Divakaruni. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, recommended by Laura will be our December book.

Book club dates will change to Saturdays for the next three months.

Below are two links: one to Walker Evans photos and the other is a history and photos of the 21 Club with the Lawn Jockeys.

https://www.google.com/search?q=walker+evans+subway+photos&rlz=1C1TSNP_enUS497US497&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=6AU2UomxMKmT2gXMjYDoAw&ved=0CC4QsAQ&biw=1366&bih=667&dpr=1

http://www.21club.com/web/onyc/history.jsp

No comments:

2015 Hosts and Books

Jan 9 - Pam Boeck - All the Light We Cannot See
Feb 6 - Lou Christian - Alif the Unseen
March 6 - Terry Cummings - Kind of Kin
April 3 - Janie Tisdale - The Girl on the Train
May 1 - Arnora Parish - The Stolen Child
Jun 5 - Barb Barrow - The Elephant Whisperer
July 10 - Diana Beal - Lone Wolf
Aug 7 - Denise McGough - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Sept 11 - Sherrie Phillips - H is for Hawk
Oct 2 - Arnora Parish - The Boy Who Drew Monsters
Nov 6 - Sherrie Phillips
Dec - Laura Madden - A Child's Christmas in Wales & Christmas Day in the Morning

The Honey Tree - Mary Oliver

And so at last I climbed

the honey tree, ate

chunks of pure light, ate

the bodies of bees that could not

get out of my way, ate

the dark hair of the leaves,

the rippling bark,

the heartwood. Such

frenzy! But joy does that,

I'm told, in the beginning.

Later, maybe,

I'll come here only

sometimes and with a

middling hunger. But now

I climb like a snake

I clamber like a bear to

the nuzzling place, to the light

salvaged by the thighs

of bees and racked up

in the body of the tree.

Oh, anyone can see

how I love myself at last!

how I love the world! climbing

by day or night

in the wind, in the leaves, kneeling

at the secret rip, the cords

of my body stretching

and singing in the

heaven of appetite.

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Lis and Diana's Review of Isaac's Storm

Lis said: This book centers around the devastating hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas, in 1901 and is blamed for the death of over 4500 people. Although the story wasn't a page-turner for most, it was full of interesting historical and scientific data while building up to describing accounts of the devastation and aftermath that the storm created. In my opinion, it is debatable whether the book should be considered a true fiction or a non-fiction. Hand in hand with the storm description, the book tells about the creation of the National Weather Service and the struggle that the organization went through to earn the people's trust. When looking back over the disaster, the author identifies areas of misuse and false pride - in the bureaucratic sector as well as the people's personal lives - that, if it had been overcome, might have averted some of the lost lives. Building up to the storm, the author touches on many historical facts surrounding the era, such as the state of Arkansas passing legislation a few decades earlier to legalize the proper pronunciation of its name to be "Arkansaw." Into this background, the author creates the characters that he was able to find in his research that made up the early Weather Service and some of the residence of Galveston, their spouses and children, making us shiver with dread over successful and unsuccessful rescue efforts. After bringing to life the unimaginable aftermath, with whole neighborhoods destroyed and bodies at every step, the book concludes with Galveston's recovery and a large chapter of Acknowledgements for the extensive support and research that the author relied on. I for one enjoyed the book immensely and, after the first third, found it difficult to put down till the end. Elisabeth Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine. I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

Diana said: The old saying, "hind sight is 20/20" comes to mind while reading the hurricane account of Galveston, Texas in 1901. Author Eric Larson's story reminded me of his first book we read, Devil in the White City, as he combined historical facts and real people while piecing together a plausible tale of personalities and lives. I have huge respect for writing historical fiction, as the writer not only has to devise an interesting story but also works as an investigator and researcher in the process. The first third of the story was slow and at times I found myself skimming the pages waiting for action. I think this may have been purposeful by Larson. As a reader I was going about my daily business and uninvolved like the townspeople of Galveston noting the changing winds and heading off to work. I took occasional notice of Isaac's trip to the American west by stage and his appearance as a "dandy", the use of telegraph as the primary form of communication from on location to another and it was surprising to find out the American and Cuban weather men held so little regard for each other. Americans found the Cuban forecasters primitive, romantic and unreliable. But once the hurricane was upon Galveston, I was spellbound for the remainder of the book. With the exception of once when I had to put the story down due to the brutal descriptions of decaying bodies which I found overwhelming. For me the story telling mimicked the event itself. Galveston and the rest of the U.S. were going along with business as usual, and then wham! A hurricane the magnitude no one expected or had experienced before bursts forth with action and drama and left no one untouched including me.

Lis' review of A Thousand Splendid Suns

The story playing in Afghanistan made it another compelling read and a walk through a different culture, very foreign to most of us. I had the fortune to have also read the book The Kite Runner by the same author and found that the two stories make great companion books, almost a must-read duo. Our month's selection takes us into the Arabic culture through the life of two women, one of them a servant girl's bastard child - and yes, I used the old fashioned term for illegitimate child on purpose to stay with the tone of the novel. The other woman is depicted as a well-educated, emancipated young woman from a progressive, westernized family. Through the turmoils surrounding Afghanistan's recent 30-year history, their lives intertwine with the same abusive husband and their attempt to deal with the changes brought on by the Russian occupation, the takeover of the Mujahedin and, eventually, the Taliban. The companion book, The Kite Runner, deals with the same political and social upheavals in Afghanistan but is told through the life of a man and his very devoted male servant. A Thousand Splendid Suns evoked a lot of emotion for most of us, feeling comfortable as well educated American women that have rights and can expect a certain social standing that greatly exceeds the animal-like treatment of our female Afghan counterparts under Taliban rule. Needless to say, we had a lively discussion about Afghanistan's troubles, the interactions of both women's parents' influences, their different upbringing, and how it made them relate to each other. We found similarities to the book Shanturam in this author's use of the cinema, especially Bollywood movies. One thing we did not discuss though that I found enticing, was the advantages of being able to skip hair and make-up treatments through the use of a Burka! Blue was, after all, the favored color of my youth, although I always preferred much darker shades. What do you think, ladies, Burkas in our future?