sametimenextmonth: August 2014

Monday, August 11, 2014

AUGUST 2014 BOOK CLUB

I just have to start off this blog by saying how wonderful the summer has been. We've been riding the wave of moderate summer temperatures and intermittent rain. Once again, we found ourselves sitting outside with a cool breeze and the August Super Moon rising above us at Arnora's. Our intrepid hostess made us a crockpot version of Cordon Bleu that went very nicely with our novel, The Philosopher's Kiss set in the mid-1700's Paris. We had two versions of brie and fig on toast points, two salads, two loves of French Bread, a quiche and a peach pie. Well fed and comfortable we set about to discuss this months book. We missed Denise, Lou and Carla A.

Written by German author, Peter Prange, the book revolves around the publication of the first encyclopedia. The book starts off with a jolt. Our protagonist, Sophie Volland witnesses the execution of her mother at the tender age of ten. Accused of being a witch and an adulterer by a man in a plumed hat, she is hanged then burned. Sophie is taken in by the Abbe of the town and later moves to Paris for better opportunities where she marries one man (Sartine) and then meets Denis Deiderot. He is working on the controversial encyclopedia. Over the course of the story the book is being written and published, then banned several times. It is an age old argument of Reason vs. Faith, Science vs. Religion. The lofty goal of the encyclopedia is to gather all the current knowledge of the day into one place and to be sold by subscription. It is several years in the making leading up to the French Revolution. Sophie is one of the few women in her circle at the time that can read and write. This is heresy in society except for the very wealthy women. Deiderot encourages her to write articles for the encyclopedia under a male pen name. This eventually backfires and ruins their relationship for a time. Part of the story includes King Louis XV, his mistress, Madame Pompadour, and other religious, political and philosophical figures of the day, all fighting for and against the Tree of Knowledge that this new book represents. It was quite revolutionary for its day. In the end, the stories of Sophie, her husband, Sartine, Deiderot and the man with the plumed hat converge. And our story ends after the publication of the encyclopedia a midst the horrors of the French Revolution.

I really enjoyed the book. This is historical fiction, but Mr. Prange's writing style is very fluid and brisk. He keeps the chapters short, which I think gives the brain the illusion that you are reading faster than maybe you are. And, he doesn't mire the story down with too much detailed description. He paints a very vivid picture with dialogue and an economy of words. I found many passages to be rather humorous and even though there were a couple of graphic torture scenes, I was able to skim over them for the gist without too much trauma. I learned a lot in the reading of this book. As I was in grade school in the 1960's we had a volume of the Encyclopedia that had been given to us by a neighbor. It never dawned on me that people almost lost their lives to see it published or that controversy surrounded it. As with many historical novels, this one led me to our current version of the on-line Encyclopedia - Wikipedia. I realize this may inflame Darby who finds it wholly inaccurate (tongue-in-cheek.) However, it is at the fingertips and I searched out several people and subjects regarding the subject and time period that enhanced my reading of the book.

Just as I was starting the book, Carla and I went to the OKC Museum of Art to see the exhibit Gods and Heroes. This is an exhibit of works from the Ecole des Beaux Art in Paris. The very first painting in the exhibit is one of King Louis XV and many of the paintings were done for competitions within the school at about the time our story takes place. It was a wonderful synchronicity that also enhanced my reading of the book.

There were only about 3 present who managed to finish the book. Most were within 40-60 pages of finishing and plan to do so. It has rated a 4.25 and a "liked it very much". We'll update the rating as other finish.

September's book club will be our sleepover at Denise's and our book is the Ray Bradbury, "Farewell Summer." September people - by the time we meet again - fall will be fast upon us.

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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?

sametimenextmonth

Monday, August 11, 2014

AUGUST 2014 BOOK CLUB

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