Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

Six of us enjoyed a somewhat eye-opening chat about our latest read: Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan.

The conversation started like this: "it's nicely written but I found myself wondering where it was going, I got bored and had to force myself to finish it."

Oh no, I thought, this is going to be a one drink meeting and early to bed. How wrong was I? well, very! 

Our resident Ian McEwan fan jumped in: "I absolutely adored it, it was extremely clever and there was a constant sense that this was going somewhere interesting, something would happen."  

Now, I should have seen this coming as every time I have seen said fan recently she has been talking about how the 'tension' was building and wondering if I had got to the bit where...? and I was a bit bemused...

...because, my take on it is: I didn't get it! I didn't experience any tension but I really enjoyed the read and the characters. I thought it was a bit Bridget Jones in places, there were loose ends all over the place and the characters weren't all that convincing (I don't feel the author knew these people very well.) I was disappointed in the ending but probably because I failed to spot the 'clues' which were (according to no.1 fan) peppered throughout.  As an Ian McEwan 'virgin' I didn't know to look for clues though!

Our education continued, we learned that this book is Ian McEwan's first happy story, and it was quirky and full of deceit. You see, I for one didn't realise it was happy and I didn't notice the deceit! We did all agree that we enjoyed the quirkiness of the novella's. Also, the writer character is, in fact, Ian himself. You do have to read the book to realise how highly he rates certain of his abilities and how funny that is. 

So it seems that with Ian McEwan, you either love him or simply enjoy him. Certainly no-one hated the book but it was fabulous to have someone who was able to see the book for what it was and allow the rest of us to understand what makes a great spy story and to gain some appreciation for the talent Ian McEwan has. That is the beauty of a book group.

Of the characters most of us felt they were not very convincing. We did like Shirley a lot and Jeremy so Sarina (boring as she was) did choose her friends well. 

Would we recommend this book? Yes, especially if you like Ian McEwan. And, if you haven't read him and don't know what to expect, give it a try and please look for the clues!

As agreed, some of our group also chose to read another of our choices: Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey. We didn't discuss this book in detail but the overriding response is it is very well written, gripping, and a great read. 

Our next book is The Painter of Signs by R.K. Narayan. We will meet to discuss our reading experience on Thursday 14th May, 8pm at The Hundred. Again we were split in our choice and we will try to also read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. So we have a readathon going - happy reading. 

Book Choices - March 2015

Here are our Spring choices: 

The Unlikely Pilgrimage or Harold Fry by Sue Joyce

Harold Fry is convinced that he must deliver a letter to an old friend in order to save her. He meets various characters along the way and reminisces about the events of his past and people he has known, as he tries to find peace and acceptance.

Recently retired, sweet, emotionally numb Harold Fry is jolted out of his passivity by a letter from Queenie Hennessy, an old friend, who he hasn't heard from in twenty years. She has written to say she is in hospice and wanted to say goodbye. Leaving his tense, bitter wife Maureen to her chores, Harold intends a quick walk to the corner mailbox to post his reply but instead, inspired by a chance encounter, he becomes convinced he must deliver his message in person to Queenie -- who is 600 miles away --because as long as he keeps walking, Harold believes that Queenie will not die. 

So without hiking boots, rain gear, map or cell phone, one of the most endearing characters in current fiction begins his unlikely pilgrimage across the English countryside. Along the way, strangers stir up memories -- flashbacks, often painful, from when his marriage was filled with promise and then not, of his inadequacy as a father, and of his shortcomings as a husband. 

Ironically, his wife Maureen, shocked by her husband's sudden absence, begins to long for his presence. Is it possible for Harold and Maureen to bridge the distance between them? And will Queenie be alive to see Harold arrive at her door? 

The Painter of Signs by R.K. Narayan

For Raman the sign painter, life is a familiar and satisfying routine. 

A man of simple, rational ways, he lives with his pious aunt and prides himself on his creative work. But all that changes when he meets Daisy, a thrillingly independent young woman who wishes to bring birth control to the area. Hired to create signs for her clinics, Raman finds himself smitten by a love he cannot understand, much less avoid-and soon realizes that life isn't so routine anymore. 

Set in R. K. Narayan's fictional city of Malgudi, The Painter of Signs is a wry, bittersweet treasure.

The Truth by Terry Pratchett

William de Worde is the accidental editor of the Discworld's first newspaper. New printing technology means that words just won't obediently stay nailed down like usual. There's a very real threat of news getting out there.

Now he must cope with the traditional perils of a journalist's life - people who want him dead, a recovering vampire with a suicidal fascination for flash photography, some more people who want him dead in a different way and, worst of all, the man who keeps begging him to publish pictures of his humorously shaped potatoes.

William just wants to get at THE TRUTH. Unfortunately, everyone else wants to get at William. And it's only the third edition...

We will make our book choice on Thursday 19th March, 8pm at the Ashendon Hundred when we will be discussing Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan. Please come along and join us if you would like to - whether you have read the book, or not.