One Has Good Reason to Love How It All Began, Doesn't One?

Brie, fruit, gluten-free crackers and bunnies

Title: How It All Began
Author: Penelope Lively
Host: Joanne

With apologies to Vicky, whose good guidance has kept us from ruining many a good book club discussion by firing right out of the chute with "well, I loved this book" or "I hated this book," we were unable to contain ourselves. First comment of the night on Penelope Lively's How It All Began -- "well, I for one loved this book," followed by the second comment -- "thank you for having us read this." We are unanimous in our affection for this fine work.

Insights and Opinions

+ Our group of Midwesterners fell in love with the essential Britishness of this book. Charlotte, one of the main characters who has been injured by a mugger, opines "Just what one didn't want. Being a burden and all that. What one had hoped to avoid." And, as Charlotte's daughter Rose recalls her first interview before being hired by Lord P -- "String of letters after his name; people sometimes glancing at him, thinking: why do I know that face? Shirty enough if anyone looked like taking liberties." Lots of stiff uppers throughout.

+ One of the distinguishing aspects of this novel is the richness of its characters, especially the two older characters -- Charlotte and Lord Peters. These are real people, not just old people being old, as Joanne stated.

+ The academics among us found a lot to recognize in Mark, the unctuous, slimy academic with an agenda who sucks up to Lord Peter to satisfy his own ends.

+ Beautiful details add richness to the narrative without intruding. While riding in a cab, for instance, Charlotte establishes that her cab driver is from Eritrea "and that minicab driving was for him a secondary occupation that funded his main concern, which was the compilation of the first dictionary that would give three-way reference between English and the two main languages spoken in Eritrea. This conversation had been prompted by Charlotte's having noticed that he had a copy of Samuel Johnson's Rasselas lying on the passenger seat." A small vignette that tells us much about both Charlotte's character and the richness of London life.

+ The theme of "story" undergirds the book's structure -- from immigrant Anton's learning to read by consuming children's stories, to the value of reading in general, to the individual stories of each of the characters in the book following an arc of tension and coming to a satisfying conclusion.

+ Margy felt the characters in the book fell into two camps -- those who have lived their lives, and those who have merely ridden along on opportunity.

+ At nearly 80, Lively understands what it means to be on the second half of life. She delivers many wonderful passages about the difficulties of old age, all followed by beautiful passages that show how much joy she takes in life.

+ Definitely read the two-page section on reading as "necessary fix" on pages 34 and 35.

+ The style of this book is somewhat cinematic -- we slip quickly from one character's point of view to another's without apology.

Oddments and Telling Details

+ What's your opinion about the relative merits of looking up unknown words while reading? One of us believes this interrupts the flow of deep reading, while another believes reading with a dictionary nearby is a good thing and helps a reader fully grasp the author's intention. (The question really is "is look-up on an e-reader a good thing or a bad thing?") Discuss.

Death Comes to Pemberley -- Or Does It?

Roses with nosh.

Title: Death Comes to Pemberley
Author: P.D. James
Host: Margy

In fact, Pemberley may never die. Ever since Jane Austen created the fictional estate that is the focus of conflict in her beloved novel Pride and Prejudice, it's been revisited in movies, movie remakes, PBS specials, zombie attacks, and now a murder mystery by renowned author P.D. James. It's interesting how a light mystery that falls into the category of "summer reading" can throw our group of book lovers into a paroxysm of disagreement, but there you have it. We like to complicate things.

Insights and Opinions

+ Whether or not you love this book may depend on whether or not you love Jane Austen and how many times you've read Pride and Prejudice. Those among us who have read Austen recently were less transported than those who hadn't picked up an Austen book in awhile.
+ This is a quick read with strong forward momentum. Many of our group loved the prologue, characterizing it as a "perfect precis" of the original story. If you missed the original, not to worry. James sets the stage for you.
+ P.D. James is clearly a thorough researcher, writing with authority to inhabit a world.
+ Linda felt the book was heavy on plot and thin on characterization. The wit that draws readers of the original work into Elizabeth's character is largely missing. On the other hand, it's perhaps not fair to judge a book against expectations the reader brings to the reading.
+ A few naysayers were bothered by the amount of exposition in the book, but they were roundly shouted down (in our nice non-shouting way).
+ One observer wondered why a writer of P.D. James' status would take on the challenge of extending such a beloved story. This is always a risky proposition.
+ James introduces a joyful cynicism in some of her description -- the pastor's sermon length, the invalids who manage to make it to church for the scandal, and Charlotte's report to her mother on "her cows, poultry, and husband."
+ All in all, five of us characterized the book as "entertaining and fun" -- with two harumphing.

Margy's fabulous library (part of it, actually.
It's spread out all over the house.)

Oddments and Telling Details

+ One of us has actually had dinner with P.D. James, twice. A very gracious woman. The rest of us were suitably impressed.
+ The sommelier did a wonderful job, and we should consider inviting him to every session.
+ Steve will be gone in March, and just back from CHINA at our April meeting.

A State of Wonder Leaving Many Questions

Title: State of Wonder
Author: Anne Patchett
Host: Shirley

Shirley welcomed us with lovely wines and with her ever-popular food offerings that included the divine chocolate she special orders and the Fulton bread and yummy cheeses.

Insights and Opinions

Our discussions are always lively, and the discussion of State of Wonder by Ann Patchett was no exception. Some pondered the possibility that Patchett might be planning a sequel to the book, as we were in a State of Wonder about the following unanswered questions (FYI, every one of these unanswered questions will spoil the story for you if haven't already read it, so fair warning):
• Will the bark-addicted and presumably now quite fertile Marina become pregnant from her roll in the hammock with Anders?
• Will Marina return to the Amazon to assume her position as Dr. Swenson's heir apparent?
• Will Easter be resurrected (again) and find his way back to the Lakashi and Dr. Swenson?
• Will Marina and Mr. Fox ever be on a first-name basis?

+ We all agreed the book is a real page-turner. Most liked the book, and several saw it as Marina's voyage into The Heart of Darkness. We were not unanimous about giving it a thumbs up, however.  Blanche liked the novel enough to want to reread it, Joanne "did not much care for it," and Linda felt the indigenous peoples ("an intractable race...any progress you advance to them will be undone before your back is turned") were not dealt with respectfully.

+ Linda asked if others saw, as she did, a similarity between the way Henrietta Lacks was treated by the doctors at Johns Hopkins and the way the Lakashi were treated by Dr. Swenson and her associates, and she kept waiting for the Big Reveal that would explain why the Lakashi were so intimidated by Dr. Swenson that they allowed her to chart their menstrual periods and take their children's blood. Linda wished Patchett had tackled the issue of corporate greed and addressed the problem inherent in scientific exploration of how to extract whatever raw materials the scientists want without destroying the habitat and culture of the indigenous people who reside in the area under exploration.

+ Margy commented on the book's Minnesota setting and was unconvinced by Ann Patchett's thought that Minnesota (all cold and flat) is so easy to write about.

+ Our criticisms aside, Gail and Steve pointed out and we agreed that Dr. Swenson was a wonderfully drawn and fascinating character and Marina's personal odyssey was compelling.  We were all interested in Patchett's admission that The Poseidon Adventure has been her most important artistic influence, and we could see that in this jungle thriller.

+ Liz missed the whole thing, having thought the session was on Tuesday rather than Monday.

A Book to Read Twice. Or Three Times.

Title: The Sense of an Ending
Author: Julian Barnes
Host: Joanne

What happens when the photographer is late to the session.

Yes, our group was small this month, but a small group makes for in-depth analysis and time spent considering nuance. Had Shirley been able to join us, we would have asked for a grade on our discussion. We're sure it would have been an A.

Insights and Opinions

+ First words spoken: "I'm not finished, but I am loving the language."
+ Second words spoken: "As soon as I finished, I immediately wanted to go back and read it again, this time re-visiting cues I missed or glossed over on first read."
+ Seemingly simple, a straightforward walk through memory and past events that collide with present-day experience, this work plays with memories and their accuracy. The readers sees the past through the eyes of the first-person narrator, but at some point begins asking -- is that really what happened? Is he a reliable source?
+ The main character regrets the fact that he married someone safe and settled into a quiet life. Now on the other end of life, he asks "did I just let my life happen to me?" His musings are provocative. Was Adrian a coward? He's disappointed in how he's led his life -- holding himself up to some kind of standard and coming up short. But is his view accurate?
+ The book structure is interesting -- told more as a tale, with long pages of exposition and very little scene. Our writing teachers tell us not to do this. Barnes makes it work so well.
+ Many of the mysteries in this book are never solved, which made all of us immediately want to go back and read it a second time.
+ Barnes' use of language is masterful -- great prose punctuated by humor makes every sentence a joy.
+ Question: is this a book you would enjoy or might interpret differently if you were 25? (Hint: none of us are 25).

The Final Verdict

The Sense of an Ending is not just a good read, it's a re-read.

Gail's fabulous library. Sigh.

A Literary Walk in the Woods

Title: In Caddis Wood
Author: Mary Francois Rockcastle

Sweets and hydrangeas

Despite the absence of more than half of our sorely missed discussers, we had a great conversation anyway because we weren't interrupting each other.

Insights and Opinions

+ This work delivers strong momentum from page one. Carl's first experience of "something hot and galloping in the room, black walls leaping like a Tilt-A-Whirl, the steady thump of his heart," pulls the reader in. We know we are in good hands.
+ With two primary viewpoint characters -- successful architect Carl and his writer wife Hallie -- we questioned whether we understood whose story this is. Further, there are two daughters, each of whom has suffered enormous tragedy. And then there is the land -- nature -- which is also a key character. Ultimately, we decided it's the marriage's story. How does a marriage grow, shift, suffer, shrink and expand over a lifetime and through tragedy and betrayal?
+ Back story is revealed in small increments over the course of the novel, which sometimes caused us to falter. But by novel end, all of the back story has been revealed, and the last two chapters soar.
+ The prose is lyrical, poetic, beautiful and a joy to read.
+ So much of this story is told through memory, which stimulated us to ponder the nuances of how a story shifts, depending on who is doing the remembering. Did it really happen that way? Was it the same experience for both?
+ Layers of destruction populate this book. There is natural destruction -- from a hurricane, from lightning. And then there is manmade destruction -- a poisoned piece of land Carl works to restore, Carl himself poisoned by exposure. Recovery is everywhere in the aftermath of natural destruction. There is no recovery from the manmade destruction. Is there a message here?
+ Throughout, Hallie is trying to understand the meaning of her own life. Can this woman artist work wholeheartedly and all-consumingly in the way her driven architect husband can?

Oddments and Telling Details

Joanne's fabulous library, of which we are
all insanely jealous.

+We've decided to open our blog up to public scrutiny.
+ Then, we spoke American Sign Language for awhile, having been distracted by a plugged ear and the fact that two of us can speak ASL. Who knew?
+ We are all as excited as can be about Graywolf Press' recent successes -- one of our favorite hometown small presses that every reader should adopt.

October Selection: In Caddis Wood

Title: In Caddis Wood: A Novel
Author: Mary Francois Rockcastle
Host: Joanne

From Publisher's Weekly

“As she did in her debut, Rainy Lake, Rockcastle once again melds family drama with a palpable sense of place. . . . Suffused, appropriately, with imagery of the natural and man-made worlds, Rockcastle’s skillful pacing weaves together the family’s tumultuous history with its uncertain present. A mature love story offering a clear-eyed glimpse of the challenges and rewards of a long marriage.”—Publishers Weekly

From New York Journal of Books

Told from the alternating perspectives of a husband and wife, In Caddis Wood explores the competing rhythms of romantic love, family life, and professional ambition, refracted through the changing seasons of a long marriage. Beneath the surface, affecting their collective future, beats the resilient and endangered heart of nature.

Hallie’s career as a poet has always come second to her family, while Carl’s life has been defined by his demanding and internationally acclaimed work as an architect. The onset of a debilitating illness and the discovery of Hallie’s cache of letters from another man set Carl reeling and cause him to question not only his previously unshakable belief in himself but also his faith in Hallie’s devotion. As the memories multiply and the family gathers at their longtime summerhouse in the woods of Wisconsin, Hallie and Carl’s grown-up daughters offer unexpected avenues toward forgiveness and healing.

With warmth and generosity, Mary François Rockcastle captures the way that the aging mind imbues the present with all the many layers of the past as she illuminates the increasingly unbreakable bonds borne of a shared life.

“Rockcastle has written a simple, but not simplistic, satisfying story of love, loss, marriage, fidelity, and family. . . . This family is so real, so understandable, so in need of comfort each in their own way, that we want to embrace them in their grief, applaud their reconciliations, and learn from their loving fortitude.”

Special Appearance

The author will join us to read and discuss (we hope and pray, if she is willing).

Readers without a Map, but with a Purpose

Feeling the end of summer, darkness descending toooo early, some of us sort of lost our way--but eventually, 10 of us showed up at Faith’s, to be warmly welcomed with a delicious, appealing spread.

Literature with cheese and champagne grapes

Insights and Opinions

Where would we begin?  Shirley dived in, asking “Why couldn’t he write the introduction to the anthology?”
+ Writers’ block? Because Roz left him? Because he was depressed?
+ If he was depressed, was it short term because of Roz leaving him? Because of losing his job? Or was it brain chemistry. Or, if it wasn’t depression but procrastination, was it because it wasn’t his idea?+ But he really was writing it--this book is the introduction to the anthology. It even, Linda noted, had the right number of pages--230--if you took out all the blank pages between chapters.
+ Whether he was depressed or not, there were nods all around at the suggestion that “it was the sweetest love story.” ‘Actually, someone noted, there were parallel love stories: between Paul Chowder and Roz, and between Ted Roethke and Louise Bogan.
+ Several of us had felt compelled to find and read The Fish by Louise Bogan, and then to look up her The Roman Fountain, and agreed with Paul Chowder that the first verse is terrific, but the rest doesn’t quite measure up. Sometimes just one word or one line, is brilliant in a poem.
+ As Margy said, “who knew iambic pentameter could be so hilarious?” Again, nods all around that this The Anthologist was comic, but dead-serious about poetry:
- A wonderful introduction to poetry, perhaps, even a Poetry 101 introduction.
- It’s a history of poetry, with brilliant insights but playful, both facetious and serious at the same time.
- Paul Chowder is a bit reactionary and contrary.
- He makes arguments for rhyme, and does a lot of rhyming at the end of chapters.
- It was a humorous, inviting, literary lark, arcane (but not to us!)
+ We all loved that in his talk at the poetry convocation near the end, he told his listeners, “write about the best moment of the day.” I think we agreed that this is an effective secret to writing poetry.
+ We asked ourselves why Paul Chowder cried in front of his class, near the end of the book. Thoughts:
- He set the bar too high for himself
- He was coming to terms with just being ordinary
- He was a pathetic, zany, off-beat person who stands for love and art, and is trying to discover “what really matters.”

Oddments and Telling Details

+ This wasn’t a poem, but an observation by Paul Chowder, but the only gentleman in attendance noted that he was particularly taken with the sentence, “a really good fuck makes me feel like custard.” We did not discuss whether that feeling was more significantly a male reaction, but I doubt it.
+ Toward the end of the discussion, someone (was it you, Vicki?) mentioned that listening to The Anthologist on audio was very satisfying--you could hear the beats in the poetry, the music to which he set the poems, and “it sounds exactly like Paul Chowder.”
+ Ten readers attended. Eight gave the book a "thumbs up." We welcomed Blanche, who abstained as she had not yet read the book.

 

September Selection: The Anthologist

Title: The Anthologist
Author: Nicholas Baker
Host: Faith

From Publishers Weekly

In Baker's lovely 10th novel, readers are introduced to Paul Chowder, a study in failure, at a very dark time in his life. He has lost the two things that he values most: his girlfriend, Roz, and his ability to write. The looming introduction to an anthology of poems he owes a friend, credit card debt and frequent finger injuries aren't helping either.

Chowder narrates in a professorial and often very funny stream of consciousness as he relates his woes and shares his knowledge of poetry, and though a desire to learn about verse will certainly make the novel more accessible and interesting, it isn't a prerequisite to enjoying it. Chowder's interest in poetry extends beyond meter and enjambment; alongside discussions of craft, he explores the often sordid lives of poets (Poe, Tennyson and Rothke are just some of the poets who figuratively and literally haunt Chowder).

And when he isn't missing Roz or waxing on poetics, he busies himself with a slow and strangely compelling attempt at cleaning up his office. Baker pulls off an original and touching story, demonstrating his remarkable writing ability while putting it under a microscope.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Torrent of Conversation in a Torrential Rain

Normally unenthused about non-fiction selections, the group dove into discussion of Edmund de Waal's The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance as if it were a plate of fresh cookies. This elegant family memoir is so much more than a recitation of facts that even the most concerted searchers for the perfectly written sentence found nothing to criticize.

Still Life with Tri-Color Hummus

Insights and Opinions

+ This is not a quick read. Every sentence is dense and information-filled. Take your time. It's worth it.
+ The heart of the book is acquisition -- the careful collection over time of something treasured -- and then the turning point, when treasured items become "stuff." How does meticulous, passionate collecting migrate into extravagant shopping and then diminish into one small collection of treasured objects whose history has been lost?
+ Astonishing to consider that none of us had ever heard of the Ephrussi family, even the art historian among us. Yet this family was as wealthy and powerful as the Rothschild family and equally influential.
+  De Waal himself is a passionate collector -- he has collected stories, and it's these stories that prevail.
+ The work is very readable, and engaging on many levels -- as social commentary, as an examination of the collector's process, and as a new view of the effects of anti-Semitism.
+ We all want to go to Paris and Vienna and visit the houses built by the Ephrussis.
+ Our question to each other:  if you had to choose one object that is the essence of your family, what would it be?
+ Keep your provenance on treasured objects. Somebody, someday, will care very much.

Oddments and Telling Details

+ We were too busy enthusing about the book to notice that it was raining pitchforks -- two inches between the beginning and end of our session.
+ Vicky invented a new cocktail which involved Campari and mint and some lemony stuff and now we want the recipe.
+ A special thank you to Joanne for sharing her grandmother's ivory shoehorn with the amber eye, and to Vicky for displaying the beautiful handmade dress she wore at the age of eight.

August Selection: The Hare with Amber Eyes

Title: The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance
Author: Edmund DeWaal
Host: Vicky

From Publishers Weekly

In this family history, de Waal, a potter and curator of ceramics at the Victoria & Albert Museum, describes the experiences of his family, the Ephrussis, during the turmoil of the 20th century. Grain merchants in Odessa, various family members migrated to Vienna and Paris, becoming successful bankers. Secular Jews, they sought assimilation in a period of virulent anti-Semitism.

In Paris, Charles Ephrussi purchased a large collection of Japanese netsuke, tiny hand-carved figures including a hare with amber eyes. The collection passed to Viktor Ephrussi in Vienna and became the family's greatest legacy. Loyal citizens of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Vienna Ephrussis were devastated by the outcome of WWI and were later driven from their home by the imposition of Nazi rule over Austria. After WWII, they discovered that their maid, Anna, had preserved the netsuke collection, which Ignace Ephrussi inherited, and he settled in postwar Japan. Today, the netsuke reside with de Waal (descended from the family's Vienna branch) and serve as the embodiment of his family history. A somewhat rambling narrative with special appeal to art historians, this account is nonetheless rich in drama and valuable anecdote.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

More About Netsuke

The International Netsuke Society

Video

Interview with the author in his studio

Hot Weather, Lovely Garden, and Spirited Discussion

Although we missed several of our regulars, our group of seven guaranteed a lively discussion of Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin. The fact that we met on the hottest day of the year -- anywhere on the globe -- was softened by air-conditioning, a lovely garden view, and Heathcliff the dog.

Tableau with non-soggy biscotti

Insights and opinions

+ Phillipe Petit's unauthorized tightrope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center is the unifying thread in this work, but the characters and their stories are so compelling they could have stood on their own without the wire walk. The feat is a metaphor for the struggles of McCann's characters. Each is poised over a personal abyss, risking everything.

+ The author skillfully inhabits his characters, bringing each of them to life, making them believable, and making the reader care.

+ Some found the structure of the book jarring at first. Just as you sink into a character's story, you're forced to leave that character and meet another. But within a few paragraphs, the new character takes over and you are fully engaged. The reader is in good hands. And, patience pays off in the end.

+ McCann is particularly adept at engaging all of the senses in his writing. We smell the city, hear its sounds, taste what the character is tasting. He is equally comfortable in the judge's chamber, the hooker's stroll, and the wire walker's training -- and we believe it all.

+ The female characters in this work are more fully fleshed out than the male characters -- interesting, given the fact the author is male.

 

Would we recommend?

With seven of seven "recommends," the answer is a strong "yes."

July Selection: Let the Great World Spin

Title: Let the Great World Spin: A Novel
Author: Colum McCann
Host: Linda

From Publishers Weekly

McCann's sweeping new novel hinges on Philippe Petit's illicit 1974 high-wire walk between the twin towers. It is the aftermath, in which Petit appears in the courtroom of Judge Solomon Soderberg, that sets events into motion. Solomon, anxious to get to Petit, quickly dispenses with a petty larceny involving mother/daughter hookers Tillie and Jazzlyn Henderson. Jazzlyn is let go, but is killed on the way home in a traffic accident. Also killed is John Corrigan, a priest who was giving her a ride. The other driver, an artist named Blaine, drives away, and the next day his wife, Lara, feeling guilty, tries to check on the victims, leading her to meet John's brother, with whom she'll form an enduring bond.

Meanwhile, Solomon's wife, Claire, meets with a group of mothers who have lost sons in Vietnam. One of them, Gloria, lives in the same building where John lived, which is how Claire, taking Gloria home, witnesses a small salvation. McCann's dogged, DeLillo-like ambition to show American magic and dread sometimes comes unfocused—John Corrigan in particular never seems real—but he succeeds in giving us a high-wire performance of style and heart.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Video

Philipe Petit's Twin Towers tightrope walk.