February's book was Barbara Kingsolver's "Unsheltered." Fortunately for us, we found warmth, comfort and shelter at Pam's home! Everyone was able to join us this month except for Carla A and Leslie. Barb's friend, Julie, had read the book and joined our discussion. Some of us have met Julie over the years and it was good to see her.
For our meal, Pam provided roasted chicken and a Greek salad. Carla G brought tomato basil soup and baguette. Julie brought chicken tenders from Cains. Diana brought delicious blueberry muffins and Laura brought apple cobbler. I brought a quiche, Tammy brought both sweet and savory plantains, Janie brought cheese and crackers, Barb brought roasted veggies and Arnora brought a beautiful bouquet of flowers. And, we had a wide assortment of wines and fruited water.
Unsheltered: a timely novel that interweaves past and present to explore the human capacity for resiliency and compassion in times of great upheaval.
One of the central questions is: "How could two hardworking people do everything right in life and end up destitute?" After a life time of doing the right things like getting an education and having professional jobs, they have nothing to show for it but debt, an inherited house that is falling apart and an ivy-league educated son who is in crisis. In another time, a troubled husband and public servant asks, "How can a man tell the truth, and be reviled for it?" These questions and these families are living out their lives against the backdrop of all our contemporary social issues.
It seemed to me that the room was about equally divided on their assessment. Most of the group are Barbara Kingsolver fans with "Prodigal Summer" rating among one of the favorite books of our time together. Pam, Tammy, Barb and Julie really liked the book, while Diana, Laura, Denise and Arnora had mixed feelings about it.One of the issues that some had with the book was that it felt like the author had made a list of all our social woes and then weaved the story to promote her political views. The writing felt preachy. Janie, Lis and I did not read it. Carla A told me that she didn't care for the story but she really liked the epilogue and thought you could get the gist from that.
In essence the book attempts to paint a portrait of lie in precarious times when the foundations of the past have failed to prepare us for the future. That being said, if you read much history, you know that all times are precarious. To me, it just feel worse when you are the one living through it.
March book club will be at Janie's and our book is Kristen Hannah's "Nightingale."
