Poldark by Winston Graham

Seven members of our group enjoyed a relaxed discussion about a book we were pleasantly surprised with. We knew it was going to be a relatively easy read but found we really got into the story which was well written, extremely vivid and had an excellent sense of place and time. 

Some of us had watched, and enjoyed, the TV series' (1975 and 2014) which are closely based on the Poldark series of 12 books. It didn't seem to matter whether we had or hadn't, as the characters sprung to life and were easy to get to into. There was, of course, a slight distraction every time Aiden Turner was mentioned! (Robin Ellis - the 1975 Poldark didn't get the same response). Those with 'book and TV' experience were, though, able to draw comparisons and agreed that: George was less creepy in the book and Jud and Prudy were less 'in your face'. None of us felt the TV series did any injustice to the book (as is often the way).

Sue brought along her (almost obligatory) timeline which gave us a good sense of the historical timing of the novel which is set in 1785 to 1787 -  happening in the world was:

1783

• February - UK recognised the independence of the USA 
• June - Montgolfier Brothers demonstrated their hot air balloon
• November - Waterford Crystal was established and the last British troops left New York 
• December - Saw the first public demonstration of the Parachute (in France)
• Prime Minister - William Cavendish Bentink led the coalition government until William Pitt the Younger (Tory) took office in December
• King George 3rd was on the throne

1785

• Herschel discovered Uranus's moons: Titania and Oberon
• Mozart Symphony No. 38 was premiered in Prague
• 700 convicts left England for Australia to establish the first penal colony there
• The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade was founded
• 1st cricket match was played at Lords
• US Constitution was adopted
• William Bligh set sail from England on the HMS Bounty

Starting with Ross Poldark returning from the wars in America, this book truly reflects the time it was set in and makes references to the events, and trends, of the day as they mattered to Cornwall and highlights the insular way of life in a small, relatively isolated county. Ross returns more worldly than his peers and his character challenges the otherwise accepted social structure, and the order of things: standing up for the poor and the injustices he felt were served on people who were simply trying to survive and joining in with the local traditions (such as the arrival of the pilchards and their 'harvest'). 

We loved this book, and would recommend to anyone. The Ashendon Book Group Poldark Fan Club is now established and most of us will read the other books as and when the opportunity arises (acquisition of the box set was even mentioned!) 

Our next book, however, is really quite different in genre. Our Christmas and New Year read is: The Fall of the House of Wilde by Emer O'Sullivan and we will meet to discuss our reading experience in The Hundred at 8pm on Thursday 25th January 2018.

Book Choices for December and January

We are meeting at The Hundred on Thursday, November 23rd to discuss Poldark by Winston Graham. Here are our choices to... gulp...end the year and start the new with. Where did all that reading time go? 

Together by Julie Cohen

An epic love story with a secret you won’t see coming. 

On a morning that seems just like any other, Robbie wakes in his bed, his wife Emily asleep beside him, as always. He rises and dresses, makes his coffee, feeds his dogs, just as he usually would. But then he leaves Emily a letter and does something that will break her heart. As the years go back all the way to 1962, Robbie's actions become clearer as we discover the story of a couple with a terrible secret - one they will do absolutely anything to protect.

News from Nowhere by William Morris

Or an Epoch of Rest, Being Some Chapters From a Utopian Romance.

News from Nowhere(1890) is the best-known prose work of William Morris and the only significant English utopia to be written since Thomas More's. The novel describes the encounter between a visitor from the nineteenth century, William Guest, and a decentralized and humane socialist future. Set over a century after a revolutionary upheaval in 1952, these "Chapters from a Utopian Romance" recount his journey across London and up the Thames to Kelmscott Manor, Morris's own country house in Oxfordshire. Drawing on the work of John Ruskin and Karl Marx, Morris's book is not only an evocative statement of his egalitarian convictions but also a distinctive contribution to the utopian tradition. Morris's rejection of state socialism and his ambition to transform the relationship between humankind and the natural world, give News from Nowhere a particular resonance for modern readers. This text is based on the 1891 version, incorporating the extensive revisions made by Morris to the first edition.

The Fall of the House of Wilde by Emer O’Sullivan

Oscar Wilde's father - scientist, surgeon, archaeologist, writer - was one of the most eminent men of his generation. His mother - poet, journalist, translator - hosted an influential salon at 1 Merrion Square. Together they were one of Victorian Ireland's most dazzling and enlightened couples. When, in 1864, Sir William Wilde was accused of sexually assaulting a female patient, it sent shock waves through Dublin society. After his death some ten years later, Jane attempted to re-establish the family in London, where Oscar burst irrepressibly upon the scene, only to fall in a trial as public as his father's.

A remarkable and perceptive account, The Fall of the House of Wilde is a major repositioning of our first modern celebrity, a man whose fall from grace marked the end of fin de siècle decadence.

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears

Seven members of our group met to discuss our high Summer read - a complex novel set in 1663 around the individual narrated memoirs of four characters, about the circumstances surrounding a murder in Oxford.

The book is 698 pages long and most of us agreed it was quite hard to read. It is easy to lose track and forget some of the detail (there was a lot of back and forth in the reading for those of us who like to stay in control!). Whilst a fascinating read, this is a perfect book for group discussion. As we talked the layers unpeeled and between us, we came to realise the depth and meaning of the content which made the book all the more interesting. Knowing Oxfordshire really added a level of enjoyment - we all agreed that Thame has improved significantly from the 1663 description as a 'mean' little town!

Many of the characters and places are real. Two of the four narrators are historical figures: John Wallis (before Isaac Newton he was the most influential English mathematician) and Anthony Wood (an Oxford historian). The other two narrators (Jack Prestcott and Marco da Cola) are fictional characters though based on real people of the time. 

Other characters are also drawn from real life and events of the time. There are so many characters it is impossible to reflect on all of them here.

We were as one with regard to John Wallis (we didn't like him much) and Anthony Wood was a firm favourite. Anthony was an Oxford man through and through; he was born, lived and died in Postmaster's Hall in Merton Street and educated at Merton College. In the story, Anthony comes across as a man with (at least) some conscience - it does seem however that he was not as well liked in real life and is described as: 'a cantankerous and vituperative character who fell out with everyone sooner or later.' he was also sued for libel. 

So many other real historical figures pop up in the story and add to the richness of the reading experience - this is a time of enlightenment when so much is being discovered in science, engineering, medicine etc. it is a great read just for the historical interest.

Sarah Blundy was, we felt, the character with most integrity -  her character is fascinating, and led our discussions into the religious and symbolic nature of the story. We also liked that a woman was the central character of interest. The other woman of significance is Kitty who, despite her circumstances, was a woman of independence. 

Throughout, the order of things (religion and society) is upheld at this time (which is just after the restoration of the monarchy following the English Civil War, when the authority of King Charles is not yet certain). Even the academics and men of science didn't waiver from their belief in the order of things. 

What is the 'fingerpost'? this is explained late on in the novel as: 'When in the investigation of any nature the understanding is so balanced as to be uncertain, instances of the fingerpost show the question is decided. Such instances afford very great light, the course of interpretation sometimes ending in them. Sometimes these instances meet us accidentally among those already noticed.' In the original Latin, the term "fingerpost" is simply "cross" (crucis), echoing the decisive "crucifixion" revealed in the story.

Overall we concluded that this is a very well researched and clever novel. Pears slips in little facts that add to the interest. All is woven together so as to tell small stories within a bigger plot that will not be uncovered until the very end - this is a very clever book indeed.

Would we recommend this book? Yes, particularly as one to be discussed with others and certainly for anyone with a love of Oxford.   

Our next book is a lighter, though equally historical, story of Ross Poldark by Winston Graham - we will meet on Thursday 23rd November at The Hundred to discuss our autumn reading experience. 

Book Choices for October and November

We are meeting at The Hundred on Thursday, September 28th to discuss The Incident at the Fingerpost by Iain Pears. 

Here are our choices for the coming Autumn reading season:

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterman

San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, is a place so isolated that no one who lives there can afford to make enemies. But in 1954 a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, and a Japanese American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with his murder. In the course of the ensuing trial, it becomes clear that what is at stake is more than a man's guilt. For on San Pedro, memory grows as thickly as cedar trees and the fields of ripe strawberries--memories of a charmed love affair between a white boy and the Japanese girl who grew up to become Kabuo's wife; memories of land desired, paid for and lost. Above all, San Piedro is haunted by the memory of what happened to its Japanese residents during World War II, when an entire community was sent into exile while its neighbours watched. Gripping, tragic, and densely atmospheric, Snow Falling on Cedars is a masterpiece of suspense-- one that leaves us shaken and changed. 

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham

In the first novel in Winston Graham’s hit series, a weary Ross Poldark returns to England from war, looking forward to a joyful homecoming with his beloved Elizabeth. But instead he discovers his father has died, his home is overrun by livestock and drunken servants, and Elizabeth—believing Ross to be dead—is now engaged to his cousin. Ross has no choice but to start his life anew.

Thus begins the Poldark series, a heartwarming, gripping saga set in the windswept landscape of Cornwall. With an unforgettable cast of characters that spans loves, lives, and generations, this extraordinary masterwork from Winston Graham is a story you will never forget.

I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Every morning and evening, Zoe Walker takes the same route to the train station, waits at a certain place on the platform, finds her favourite spot in the car, never suspecting that someone is watching her...

It all starts with a classified ad. During her commute home one night, while glancing through her local paper, Zoe sees her own face staring back at her, a grainy photo along with a phone number and listing for a website called findtheone.com. 

Other women begin appearing in the same ad, a different one every day, and Zoe realizes they've become the victims of increasingly violent crimes—including rape and murder. With the help of a determined cop, she uncovers the ad's twisted purpose...a discovery that turns her paranoia into full-blown panic. For now, Zoe is sure that someone close to her has set her up as the next target. 

And now that man on the train—the one smiling at Zoe from across the car—could be more than just a friendly stranger. He could be someone who has deliberately chosen her and is ready to make his next move…

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon

While most of us loved it, one was indifferent and one absolutely loathed it!

We all related to that long hot summer of 1976; some group members were looking after their young families at the time and some of us were teenagers still at school. The historical context was well presented, it all felt familiar, and for one member the place was familiar too, a location somewhere in the East Midlands. We all remembered having to put the television on to warm up; the TV programmes mentioned; and the casual racism!

We agreed that the descriptive language was fantastic and we recalled favourite passages about the oppressive heat, John’s emotional turmoil and Grace’s weak attempts at pre teenage rebellion.

The crux of the book was people being singled out for being different and it was only through the mouths of the children that Jesus became the most obvious example of this. The adults were unaware of their hypocrisy throughout. As the adults’ secrets emerged through the story (and there wasn’t actually much really happening, it was mainly back stories) it became apparent that the person they were ‘picking on’ was actually the least flawed of them all. From the group which included alcoholic Sheila, lazy May to the abused John and depressed Sylvie; none could grasp that Walter had actually done nothing wrong. Well, apart from the real ‘child snatcher’ who was herself a victim of circumstance.

It was the children, Grace and Tilly, who could most easily see through some of the web of lies that adults spin to get through life. Their observations, which include comments like, “Why do people blame everything on the heat?” “It’s easier than telling everyone the real reason” were very knowing.

Would we recommend it? All bar one – yes! This is a first novel and we look forward to the next one.

Our next book is The Incident at the Fingerpost by Iain Pears and we meet on Thursday, Sept 28^th at the Hundred.

Current good reads by members that they would also recommend are:

• The Map Addict by Mike Parker (if you are mad about maps like Jane and me!)
• The book the recent film Lion is based on – A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierly
• A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gayle
• Neurotribes – the Legacy of Autism and how to think smarter about people who think differently by Steve Silberman

Book Choices - July 2017

Here are our book choices for high-Summer reading. You can send your preferences to me by email or make your voice heard at the meeting this Thursday (20th July) 8pm at The Hundred. 

An Instance of the Finger Post by Iain Pears

Set in Oxford in the 1660s - a time and place of great intellectual, religious, scientific and political ferment - this remarkable novel centres around a young woman, Sarah Blundy, who stands accused of the murder of Robert Grove, a fellow of New College.

Four witnesses describe the events surrounding his death: Marco da Cola, a Venetian Catholic intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion; Jack Prescott, the son of a supposed traitor to the Royalist cause, determined to vindicate his father; John Wallis, chief cryptographer to both Cromwell and Charles II, a mathematician, theologian and master spy; and Anthony Wood, the famous Oxford antiquary. 

Each one tells their version of what happened but only one reveals the extraordinary truth. Brilliantly written, utterly convincing, gripping from the first page to the last, An Instance of the Fingerpost is a magnificent tour de force.

Together by Julie Cohen

On a morning that seems just like any other, Robbie wakes in his bed, his wife Emily asleep beside him, as always. He rises and dresses, makes his coffee, feeds his dogs, just as he usually would. But then he leaves Emily a letter and does something that will break her heart. 

As the years go back all the way to 1962, Robbie's actions become clearer as we discover the story of a couple with a terrible secret - one they will do absolutely anything to protect.

Larchfield by Polly Clark

It's early summer when a young poet, Dora Fielding, moves to Helensburgh on the west coast of Scotland and her hopes are first challenged. Newly married, pregnant, she's excited by the prospect of a life that combines family and creativity. She thinks she knows what being a person, a wife, a mother, means. She is soon shown that she is wrong. As the battle begins for her very sense of self, Dora comes to find the realities of small town life suffocating, and, eventually, terrifying; until she finds a way to escape reality altogether.

Another poet, she discovers, lived in Helensburgh once. Wystan H. Auden, brilliant and awkward at 24, with his first book of poetry published, should be embarking on success and society in London. Instead, in 1930, fleeing a broken engagement, he takes a teaching post at Larchfield School for boys where he is mocked for his Englishness and suspected - rightly - of homosexuality. Yet in this repressed limbo, Wystan will fall in love for the first time even as he fights his deepest fears.

The need for human connection compels these two vulnerable outsiders to find each other and make a reality of their own that will save them both. Echoing the depths of Possession, the elegance of The Stranger's Child and the ingenuity of Longbourn, Larchfield is a beautiful and haunting novel about heroism - the unusual bravery that allows unusual people to go on living; to transcend banality and suffering from the power of their imagination.

The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally

I have an admission - I have lost my notes so I am going to keep this brief and from memory. Please add comments to the blog post with additional points that I have failed you on.

A good group of us met to discuss this book - the story of Australian nurses who volunteered to nurse in World War 1 and found themselves on an incredible journey travelling through Egypt to nurse the injured from the Dardanelles and then to France.

Quickly the book establishes the senseless and cruel loss of life that comes with war and gives a clear insight into the extreme conditions that medical corps were working in, ill-equipped and overwhelmed thay rarely lost their sense of professionalism even if they lost all hope.

Keneally has the ability to use language in an almost poetic way to describe even the most horrific circumstances.  It is a hard story, well researched and told in a manner that holds no punches yet enables the reader to continue through the horror and sadness that frequently arises.

Central to the story are two sisters: Sally and Naomi Durance, both nurses with very different careers - Sally stays in their home bush town, and cares for her dying mother whilst Naomi heads to Sydney and is altogether more sophisticated. We found it hard to warm to Naomi at the beginning but quickly we came to like and respect her (as Sally did too) so that by the end of the book it was hard to choose a favourite sister. In fact it became quite difficult at times to remember which sister was which as the story ran on - they 'morphed' so well that even the author got the confused at one point when he refers to Sally waiting when it should have been Naomi (I wrote the page number down but I lost it!)

We enjoyed the 'challenge' of reading narrative with no speech marks - indeed it is surprising how quickly this feature became quite unnoticeable.

The nurses enjoy high status and are well looked after by the officers but are less well treated by the 'orderlies'. Love is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a key part of the story as each of the nurses meet different partners in different circumstances. For example we experienced the joy of love at first sight, the trauma of sudden loss; the sadness of seeing your own child injured; the inequality of rape; the inequity of a frowned upon nurse/patient relationship; a proposition by a female doctor; a husband and wife dealing with personality change from head injury - all clearly experiences of real nurses during the war.

Of the characters we found space in our hearts for Nettice (who fell in love with a blind patient) and Honora who lost her sense of joy at the same time she lost her love and Mitchie, the indomitable matron who never gives up as that would mean losing touch with her son.

The ending is confusing and not all the group agreed that it was a good ending though perhaps it continues the senseless brutality, the horror of war and of the death, mutilation and annihilation that came with the war to end all wars.

Would we recommend this book? Yes, it is a brilliant read.

Our next meeting is on Thursday 20th July (8pm at The Hundred) when we will discuss The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon.

Our Next Book and Meeting

Apologies I have not got round to writing up our discussion on Daughters from Mars - I will do that, it was such a good one. No excuses other than too many things on my mind and I haven't finished the book and want to achieve that at least so I understand the comments about the ending.

Anyway our Summer read is The Trouble With Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon - looks like an interesting read. We will meet on Thursday 20th July to discuss our experience.

Books Choices - May 2017

Our next meeting is on Thursday 25th May when we will be discussing 'The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally' and we will meet at The Hundred of Ashendon, 8pm .

Here are the choices for our Summer read.

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon

Part coming-of-age story, part mystery, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is a quirky and utterly charming debut about a community in need of absolution and two girls learning what it means to belong.

England, 1976. Mrs. Creasy is missing and the Avenue is alive with whispers. The neighbours blame her sudden disappearance on the heat wave, but ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly aren’t convinced. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, the girls decide to take matters into their own hands. Inspired by the local vicar, they go looking for God—they believe that if they find Him they might also find Mrs. Creasy and bring her home.

Spunky, spirited Grace and quiet, thoughtful Tilly go door to door in search of clues. The cul-de-sac starts to give up its secrets, and the amateur detectives uncover much more than ever imagined. As they try to make sense of what they’ve seen and heard, a complicated history of deception begins to emerge. Everyone on the Avenue has something to hide, a reason for not fitting in.

In the suffocating heat of the summer, the ability to guard these differences becomes impossible. Along with the parched lawns and the melting pavement, the lives of all the neighbours begin to unravel. What the girls don’t realize is that the lies told to conceal what happened one fateful day about a decade ago are the same ones Mrs. Creasy was beginning to peel back just before she disappeared.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

When orphaned Mary Lennox comes to live at her uncle's great house on the Yorkshire Moors, she finds it full of secrets. The mansion has nearly one hundred rooms, and her uncle keeps himself locked up. And at night, she hears the sound of crying down one of the long corridors.


The gardens surrounding the large property are Mary's only escape. Then, Mary discovers a secret garden, surrounded by walls and locked with a missing key. One day, with the help of two unexpected companions, she discovers a way in. Is everything in the garden dead, or can Mary bring it back to life?

The Amazing Adventures of Kavelier and Clay by Michael Chabon

Joe Kavalier, a young Jewish artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed in New York City. His Brooklyn cousin Sammy Clay is looking for a partner to create heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit America - the comic book. 

Drawing on their own fears and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the Escapist, the Monitor, and Luna Moth, inspired by the beautiful Rosa Saks, who will become linked by powerful ties to both men. With exhilarating style and grace, Michael Chabon tells an unforgettable story about American romance and possibility. 

Letter to Daniel by Fergal Keane

Seven of our group enjoyed a deep, sometimes bordering on political, discussion over a glass of wine and nibbles kindly hosted by Felicity.

We all sat down with our books of matching covers, each representing the resourcefulness we share as the book is out of print and hard to come by. The efforts to search and secure our reading matter were well rewarded as we talked and talked about the book and more broadly about the world it is written about.

This is an honest account by and about the life Fergal Keane has had as a BBC news reporter - a life that took him from small town Ireland to the African and Asian continents and almost certainly many other parts of the world.

It is an infinitely depressing read, but it is though provoking, educational and gripping. It is (as you expect of such an eminent journalist) very well written. It brought back memories of a (totally different genre) past book group read: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - "how can something so awful be so beautifully written?"

We had many questions we would have liked to have asked Fergal. For example, how does he live his life when dealing with everything he reports? how does he cope with the horrors? We are 20 years on from when this book was written and the world has got no better - is it worth it? Do you distance yourself from the horrors?

The book is more than a catalogue of horror and disasters but only because Fergal brings each episode back to his reality and leaves a glimmer of hope here and there. Such as:

The Grandson who took a stand against his Prime Minister Grandfather - the architect of Apartheid.
AND
The Chicken School where 9000 children came to learn everyday and sat on old bus seats to do so.

For some of us the book highlighted our own limited knowledge of politics in other parts of the world. How much do we really know about the Middle East now, we wondered? Should we keep out of the situation? does it make anything better to get involved? This is a book group, we stopped short at full on politics, though the Daily Mail did get a mention (mainly for the crossword!)

After Africa it was hard to concentrate on Asia, but concentrate we must in order to get a little bit of knowledge about a very hard line world.

So, in summary this is a thought provoking, hard to read, book and we recommend it as a book that needs discussion - if you can find it!

Our next read is 'The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally' and we will meet at The Hundred of Ashendon, 8pm on Thursday 25th May.

Book Choices - March 2017

Our next meeting is on Monday 27th March at 8pm when we will be discussing Letter to Daniel by Fergal Keane. We will be meeting at Felicity's house as the pub is closed on Mondays.

Here are the choices for our next (Spring!) read.

The Outsider by Albert Camus

In The Outsider (1942), his classic existentialist novel, Camus explores the alienation of an individual who refuses to conform to social norms. Meursault, his anti-hero, will not lie. When his mother dies, he refuses to show his emotions simply to satisfy the expectations of others. And when he commits a random act of violence on a sun-drenched beach near Algiers, his lack of remorse compounds his guilt in the eyes of society and the law. Yet he is as much a victim as a criminal.

Albert Camus' portrayal of a man confronting the absurd, and revolting against the injustice of society, depicts the paradox of man's joy in life when faced with the 'tender indifference' of the world.

Albert Camus (1913-1960), French novelist, essayist and playwright, is one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. His most famous works include The Myth of Sisyphus (1942), The Plague (1947), The Just (1949), The Rebel (1951) and The Fall (1956). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, and his last novel, The First Man, unfinished at the time of his death, appeared in print for the first time in 1994, and was published in English soon after by Hamish Hamilton.

The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally

From the acclaimed author of Schindler’s List, the epic, unforgettable story of two sisters from Australia, both trained nurses, whose lives are transformed by the cataclysm of the first World War. 

From the acclaimed author of Schindler’s List comes the epic, unforgettable story of two sisters whose lives are transformed by the cataclysm of the First World War.

IN 1915, Naomi and Sally Durance, two spirited Australian sisters, join the war effort as nurses, escaping the confines of their father’s farm and carrying a guilty secret with them. Though they are used to tending the sick, nothing could have prepared them for what they confront, first on a hospital ship near Gallipoli, then on the Western Front. 

Yet amid the carnage, the sisters become the friends they never were at home and find them­selves courageous in the face of extreme danger and also the hostility from some on their own side. There is great bravery, humour, and compassion, too, and the inspiring example of the remarkable women they serve alongside. In France, where Naomi nurses in a hospital set up by the eccen­tric Lady Tarlton while Sally works in a casualty clearing station, each meets an exceptional man: the kind of men for whom they might give up some of their newfound independence—if only they all survive

At once vast in scope and extraordinarily intimate, The Daughters of Mars brings World War I vividly to life from an uncommon perspec­tive. Thomas Keneally has written a remarkable novel about suffering and transcendence, despair and triumph, and the simple acts of decency that make us human even in a world gone mad.

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

Lucy Barton is recovering slowly from what should have been a simple operation. Her mother, to whom she hasn't spoken for many years, comes to see her. Gentle gossip about people from Lucy s childhood in Amgash, Illinois, seems to reconnect them, but just below the surface lie the tension and longing that have informed every aspect of Lucy s life: her escape from her troubled family, her desire to become a writer, her marriage, her love for her two daughters. Knitting this powerful narrative together is the brilliant storytelling voice of Lucy herself: keenly observant, deeply human, and truly unforgettable. 

A short novel about love, particularly the complicated love between mothers and daughters, but also simpler, more sudden bonds . . . It evokes these connections in a style so spare, so pure and so profound the book almost seems to be a kind of scripture or sutra, if a very down-to-earth and unpretentious one.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Nine members of our group met to discuss this short, intense story. We were looking forward to welcoming a new member to our group but a long term road closure is currently splitting our little community in two and, in the dark, she found the complex diversion along tiny, icy roads too nasty and confusing to tackle. So we have our next meeting to do that and we look forward to it and hope the weather in March is kinder. 

So, on to the book:

This classic book was written in 1926, so is an ‘in the time’ story of how the wealthy Americans behaved. We believe that it is a fair representation of life at the time and the overriding impression was of a society with "very few morals".

Nick, the narrator, perhaps had more of a conscience than the characters he portrays (some family, but none friends) but he doesn't give much insight into himself, his life and his motives for sharing the story.

The quality and style of the written word is outstanding. The descriptive phrases and subtle commentary command a second read to ensure nothing is missed nor misunderstood.

The observation of the narrator captures the humour, opulence and appalling behaviour of the set. We enjoyed sharing our narrative highlights: for example:

“Anyhow, he gives large parties,’ said Jordan….’And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”

“Whenever he sees I’m having a good time he wants to go home.”

“Never heard anything so selfish in my life.”

“We’re always the first ones to leave.”

“So are we.”

‘He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us. Shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel…Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily…”I’ve never seen such beautiful shirts,” she sobbed.

‘And the day before the wedding he gave her a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.’ (Jordan about Daisy.)

As an all-female group we couldn’t help taking a few minutes to discuss the women and how they are seemed to be either ‘weak’ or ‘used’ – were we over sensitive?

Will we recommend it? Yes, definitely, as a good read that generates a lot of discussion, far more than has been shared here for fear of ‘spoiler’.

Our next read is: Letter to Daniel by Fergal Keane. As some members would like an alternative day due to other commitments we decided to ring the changes and will meet on MONDAY 27^th MARCH and, as the pub is closed on Mondays, Felicity has kindly offered to host. 

Book Choices - January 2017

Our next meeting is on Thursday 26th January at The Hundred of Ashendon. We will be discussing The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Blott on the Landscape by Tom Sharpe

The landscape is flawless, the trees majestic, the flora and the fauna are right and proper. All is picturesquely typical of rural England at its best. Sir Giles, an MP of few principles and curious tastes, plots to destroy all this by building a motorway smack through it, to line his own pocket and at the same time to dispose of his wife, the capacious Lady Maude. 

But Lady Maude enlists a surprising ally in her enigmatic gardener Blott, a naturalised Englishman in whom adopted patriotism burns bright. Lady Maude's dynamism and Blott's concealed talents enable them to meet pressure with mimicry, loaded tribunals with publicity and chilli powder, and requisition orders with wickedly spiked beer. 

This explosively comic novel will gladden the heart of everyone who has ever confronted a bureaucrat and spells out in riotous detail how the forces of virtue play an exceedingly dirty game when the issue is close to home.

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which was first published in 1887. It is the first story to feature the character of Sherlock Holmes, who would later become one of the most famous and iconic literary detective characters, with long-lasting interest and appeal. The book's title derives from a speech given by Holmes to his companion Doctor Watson on the nature of his work, in which he describes the story's murder investigation as his "study in scarlet": "There’s the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it." Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a Scottish author most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and the adventures of Professor Challenger. He was a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, historical novels, plays and romances, poetry, and non-fiction. Conan was originally a given name, but Doyle used it as part of his surname in his later years. 

Letter to Daniel by Fergal Keane

Fergal Keane is one of the BBC's best known foreign correspondents. His latest work for Radio 4 was "Letter to Daniel", an emotional message to his newborn son. This work contains a collection of his pieces and includes the "Letter to Daniel" and a similar despatch he wrote to his deceased father. The book also features many of his pieces for "From Our Own Correspondent" and articles written for the "Spectator", the "Guardian" and the "BBC Worldwide" magazine.