Our thanks to Tammy for hosting February book club at her newly remodeled home. She and Randall did a beautiful job. It was a crispy cold and clear winter's night. I so enjoyed admiring the bright stars on my way home.
We were a small group. We missed Pam and want to send our condolences on the loss of her friend, Joan Phillips. Several of us knew and loved Joan but, she was Pam's best friend. We send our thoughts and prayers to Joan's daughters and grandchildren and to the many friends who will miss her. Barb, Lis, Lou, Darby, Leslie, and Terry were also missed.
Tammy out did herself with her Chicken Piccata to the point of no leftovers! Denise brought pasta salad, Carla G the fruit and cheese, Janie brought Hummus and crackers and, I brought bread. Laura made chocolate chip cookies with whole wheat flour for dessert. The whole wheat flour was a substitute when she realized she was out of regular flour. However, the wheat gave the cookies a great texture and nutty flavor, without the nuts. We put back three for Lily otherwise, no leftover dessert either! Diana, Laura and Arnora brought wine and also, as always, graced us with the beautiful floral centerpiece.
Our book for February was "Moonglow" by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Michael Chabon. This book was written as a memoir of Michael's maternal side of his family told mostly from the perspective of his unnamed grandfather, his grandmother and his mother. My review below is a mixture of Diana's notes and a couple of quotes from an online review that I thought helped explain the writing style.The grandfather is an engineer who is dying from bone cancer. He wants his life to be remembered, for it to mean something and asks his, published author grandson, to write it down. The characters were so very human with complicated lives who experience great atrocities. They overcame some, and live with the consequences of others, for the rest of their lives. It is a story of survival and love.
Everyone agreed that story felt disjointed and sometimes hard to follow. Diana had even mentioned, at one point, she might not finish but, was glad she did. Arnora and Janie tried it but didn't stick it out. Carla A and I just didn't get to it. Carla is doing her own renovation and I lost track of time. It was agreed, by those who finished, that it was a full and satisfying read, albeit a long one and rated it 3.8.
Alex Preston, in his review in The Guardian, states the story is structured haphazardly between the grandfather's wartime exploits, his marriage and his time in jail. The story explores the fertile hinterland of the world between fact and fiction. Chabon admits in his forward that he verified facts when he could but, quotes the grandfather as saying, "It's the way I remember it. Beyond that there are no guarantees."
To again quote Alex Preston, "The jumps in the story could definitely feel discombobulating but, there's a degree of logic at work. Memory hunting in the dark for the truth and affinities with the seeming randomness of life."
It seems true with any life, we don't see the chronology of it until the end. As often happens with our book club discussions, this one made me want to read the book.
Denise will host our next meeting on March 3, and the book is "The Girl from Everywhere."
Please remember to check your email regarding our trip to Hugo and the Endangered Ark Friday and Saturday, March 31 and April 1. Diana has reserved the nearby Hospitality House and has put down a deposit. There is still plenty of time for those to join who may still be unsure of their schedule. We had such a good time last year, it'd be a shame to miss it! 