Gigi and The Cat by Collette

Six of our group enjoyed discussing these two short stories by Collette.

Coincidentally a film about Collette’s life was recently released and one of our group had found the time to go and see it and shared the story with us. This insight really helped us to gain an appreciation of the author. It seems that the story of Gigi, a girl of around 15 years old, has some parallels with Collette’s own life.

Gigi is being brought up by three single women (mother, grandmother and aunt – all of whom had lived or were living proudly hedonistic lifestyles). Gigi was being prepared for a career as a courtesan which required dignified etiquette to attract wealthy, powerful, or influential lovers. We were saddened by the intentions of the older women, and also the restrictions they placed on Gigi’s life. The story was, however a good social insight and even funny in places! Well-read members of our group felt the humour was similar to that in The Importance of Being Earnest (Comedy of Errors) by Oscar Wilde).

The story itself is hard to read, it didn’t flow and we suspect it was not as well translated as it could have been.

The second story - The Cat - was more readable than Gigi but not a pleasant read. It was easier than Gigi, to get involved in the story and it flowed better. The characters however are shallow and spoiled with, according to one of our group, ‘quite nauseating’ behaviours! The comings and goings of a ‘mummy’s boy’ and his fiancé were entertaining and one particular scene (on the balcony) was quite exceptional.

So, surprisingly, Ashendon Book Group read and discussed stories written by one of the most revered of French writers and didn’t really enjoy the experience.

We reflected on this for a while and our collective knowledge of other works by Collette was shared. We concluded that, at some time in the future, we should give Claudine (a series of 4 books) a try (either as independent readers or as a group).

But for now, here’s something different: our next read will be Mythos by Stephen Fry and we will meet on Thursday 23rd May at 8pm in The Hundred.

As we have a little longer than usual before our next get together, some of us will also read The Wisdom of Little Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan.

Reading Choices for March/April 2019

Here are the book choices for our next read.

The Other Hoffman Sister by Ben Fergusson

Ingrid Hoffmann has always felt responsible for her sister Margarete and when their family moves to German Southwest Africa in 1902, her anxieties only increase. The casual racism that pervades the German community, the strange relationship between her parents and Baron von Ketz, from whom they bought their land, and the tension with the local tribes all culminate in tragedy when Baron von Ketz is savagely murdered. Baroness von Ketz and their son, Emil, flee with the Hoffmanns as the Baron's attackers burn down the family's farm.

As they struggle with the return to Berlin, Ingrid's concerns about Margarete are assuaged when she and Emil von Ketz become engaged on the eve of the First World War. But Margarete disappears on her wedding night at the von Ketz's country house. The mystery of what happened to her sister haunts Ingrid, but the ensuing chaos of war destroys her hopes of solving the mystery.

After the war, in the midst of the revolution that brings down the Kaiser and wipes out the aristocracy that her family married into, Ingrid returns to the von Ketzes' crumbling estate determined to find out what really happened to her sister.

Mythos by Stephen Fry

The Greek myths are the greatest stories ever told, passed down through millennia and inspiring writers and artists as varied as Shakespeare, Michelangelo, James Joyce and Walt Disney.

They are embedded deeply in the traditions, tales and cultural DNA of the West. In Stephen Fry's hands the stories of the titans and gods become a brilliantly entertaining account of ribaldry and revelry, warfare and worship, debauchery, love affairs and life lessons, slayings and suicides, triumphs and tragedies.

You'll fall in love with Zeus, marvel at the birth of Athena, wince at Cronus and Gaia's revenge on Ouranos, weep with King Midas and hunt with the beautiful and ferocious Artemis.

Thoroughly spellbinding, informative and moving, Stephen Fry's Mythos perfectly captures these stories for the modern age - in all their rich and deeply human relevance.

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan

Once a spirited, independent woman with a rebellious streak, Masha's life has been forever changed by a tragic event twelve years ago. Unable to let go of her grief, she finds comfort in her faithful canine companion Haizum, and peace in the quiet lanes of her town's lido.

But a chance encounter with two extraordinary women - the fabulous and wise Kitty Muriel, a convent-girl turned magician's-wife turned seventy-something-roller-disco-fanatic, and the mysterious Sally Red Shoes, a bag lady with a prodigious voice - opens up a new world of possibilities, and the chance to start living again.



We will meet at 8pm on Thursday 14th March in The Hundred of Ashendon to discuss our reading experiences with Gigi and the Cat by Colette and then choose our next book. See you there.