Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez

8 members of our group met to discuss this very short book.  Because I struggled to find anything about the book that inspired conversation I expected we would have an equally short meeting. I should have known better as the shared experience of reading rarely leads to predictable discussion and this meeting was 'book group' at its very best.

The opening comment: "I hated the Glass Castle BUT I thought this book was really good!" met with a howl of (dismissive) laughter from the far corner BUT then a conversation began to flow that turned out to be significantly longer, and to a greater depth, than I thought possible.

The story is of the short period of time surrounding an event that occurred in a small (Columbian) village. It is, apparently, loosely, based on a real event that took place in the 1950's and yet is more akin to Mediaeval times!

A narrator who did not witness the event tells the story. Through research and interview (he) pulls many threads together so that, eventually, he can claim 'I saw it in my memory'.

There is an of illusion simplicity. The book isn't long and it's certainly no mystery. The reader knows the ending from the outset. It is though, we concluded, extremely clever to write a book having disclosed the ending and yet, keep the reader unaware of what happens.

There is no scene painting and no real background provided of the characters. We couldn't name a favourite character as we didn't get to know any of them. We were not supposed to get to know them, we were 'simply' supposed to know the story of an event that lasted about an hour and a half. Readers can draw their own conclusions about what happened and think about 'why?' it was allowed to happen. This story is richer on reflection. It is not as it appears, a simple piece of writing.

The story is a brilliant illustration of community failing to take responsibility. It is gory. Some of the group found it 'boring' and others of us (including me) just didn't 'get it' until...we talked it through. My failing was that I read it in short bursts, a few pages at a time. This is a book to read in one or two 'sittings'.  I felt I was going two steps forward and three steps back as I continually re-read sections in order to remind myself of who was who - It is easy to lose track. I will one day give it another go on a holiday 'readathon'!

After a long and enlightening conversation the perfectly put closing comment was: 'I'm glad it wasn't longer - it was exactly enough!'

Would we recommend this book? yes - to friends that we think would 'get it' and enjoy it.

Our next meeting is THURSDAY 24th March 8pm at The Hundred of Ashendon. We will be discussing All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. 

Book Choices - January 2016

We are meeting at 8pm in The Hundred of Ashendon on Thursday 21st January and will be discussing A Chronicle of Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 

Book choices for our next read are as follows - please email me (sian) if you can't make the meeting and have a preference. 

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II

Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.’

For Marie-Laure, blind since the age of six, the world is full of mazes. The miniature of a Paris neighbourhood, made by her father to teach her the way home. The microscopic layers within the invaluable diamond that her father guards in the Museum of Natural History. The walled city by the sea, where father and daughter take refuge when the Nazis invade Paris. And a future which draws her ever closer to Werner, a German orphan, destined to labour in the mines until a broken radio fills his life with possibility and brings him to the notice of the Hitler Youth.

In this magnificent, deeply moving novel, the stories of Marie-Laure and Werner illuminate the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Widely regarded as one of Edith Wharton's greatest achievements, The Age of Innocence is not only subtly satirical, but also a sometimes dark and disturbing comedy of manners in its exploration of the 'eternal triangle' of love. Set against the backdrop of upper-class New York society during the 1870s, the author's combination of powerful prose combined with a thoroughly researched and meticulous evocation of the manners and style of the period, has delighted readers since the novel's first publication in 1920. 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou's seven volumes of autobiography are a testament to the talents and resilience of this extraordinary writer. This is arguably her best. Loving the world, she also knows its cruelty. As a Black woman she has known discrimination and extreme poverty, but also hope, joy, achievement and celebration. In this first volume of her autobiography, Maya Angelou beautifully evokes her childhood with her grandmother in the American south of the 1930s. She learns the power of the white folks at the other end of town and suffers the terrible trauma of rape by her mother's lover.

'I write about being a Black American woman, however, I am always talking about what it's like to be a human being. This is how we are, what makes us laugh, and this is how we fall and how we somehow, amazingly, stand up again' Maya Angelou