A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson and The Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

The high days and holidays of Summer saw just four of our group Zoomed in to discuss our latest reads: A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson and The Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires.

We started with Dave’s ‘Bee Book’.

“I tried it – it was boring” was quickly countered by “I wasn’t planning on reading a book about bees but found I couldn’t put it down” and “I was excited about reading this and all my expectations were met – totally loved it and couldn’t put it down” and “me too”. Our three ‘apologies’ also relished this book with one admitting to bombarding her husband with bee facts! The other two had started reading and enjoying learning about bees though one found it a slow read, and the other was reading it slowly as she could only absorb so many bee facts.

So, from a bad kick off we quickly moved on to discuss a book that the majority had found an enjoyable and/or interesting read. The passion that exuded from those that had read and enjoyed this book led to our member who found it boring admitting that she “went in with low expectations” and will “give it another go!”

This is a non-fiction book written by a man who has spent many years studying Bumble Bees and has published over 250 scientific articles on their biology. The dissenters can be forgiven for their low expectations but those who ventured forth were rewarded with a story that is both entertaining and educational. Who knew there was so much to learn about the humble bumble bee?

Dave himself is equally as humble, his writing passes on his learning in a way that engages the reader and as if being shared by a very ordinary person.

For anyone who cares, even just little bit, about ecology and nature, this is essential reading.

“I no longer feel guilty about the ‘weeds’ in my garden”, “I will never look at a bee again without thinking of Dave!”

Do we recommend it – YES!

We moved on to talk about The Heads of the Colored People. Just 2 of our 4 had read it. Both enjoyed the read: “It was brilliant, I read it again” and “I think it’s really good, I need to read it again”. Seems this is a book that deserves a second read (vs. a second chance).

This series of short stories is written in a fascinating style, that one of our readers described as ‘obscure’. It is, they felt, no about Black people in the USA (although it is) but could relate to any sub-group of society. One of our apologies also felt the same way about the subject group. 

There are many twists and turns, with unexpected endings. The reader is lured into the story and then ‘BANG’!

The stories are so varied: office politics, parental competitiveness, best friends backstabbing and so on. The authors ideas are ‘off the wall’. We wanted to know more about the author who seemed young but knowing. (I Googled her - she is 36 years old - I no longer know if that is young or old!). 

(Since our meeting I have started reading this book and am also really enjoying it and its quirkiness.)

Do we recommend it – another YES.

Our next book is Less by Andrew Sean Greer and we will meet (most likely by Zoom) at 8pm on Thursday 24^th September.

Book Choices To Take Us Into Autumn

We will meet to discuss our current books: A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson and Heads of the Colored People by Narissa Thompson-Spires  at 8.15pm on Thursday 6th August, by ZOOM. 

Here are our next choices:

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

All it takes is a day trip past Georgetown and Chinatown. A slow saunter past The White House, Phoenix House, Blair House and the local crack house for the message to become abundantly clear. Be it ancient Rome or modern-day America, you’re either a citizen or a slave.

A biting satire about a young man's isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game.

Born in the 'agrarian ghetto' of Dickens on the outskirts of Los Angeles and raised by a single father, a controversial sociologist, the narrator of The Sellout spent his childhood as the subject in racially charged psychological studies. He was led to believe that his father's pioneering work will result in a memoir that will solve his family's financial woes. But when his father is killed in a police shoot-out, he realises there never was a memoir. All that's left is the bill for a drive-thru funeral.

Fuelled by this deceit and the general disrepair of his hometown, the narrator sets out to right another wrong: Dickens has literally been wiped off the map to save California from further embarrassment. Enlisting the help of the town's most famous resident - the last surviving Little Rascal, Hominy Jenkins - he initiates the most outrageous action conceivable: reinstating slavery and segregating the local high school, which lands him in the Supreme Court.

Beatty’s fast-paced, hard-hitting prose is as eloquent as it is laugh-aloud funny. He is a master of his craft, riffing on the chords of contemporary black culture with a speed and deftness that leaves his readers breathless.

The Sellout is an outrageous and outrageously entertaining indictment of our time.

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

Less is the story of a 49-year-old writer, Arthur Less. Caught in a cycle of bad reviews and reduced to interviewing blockbuster-writing hacks for no fee, Arthur’s life is in freefall. Then, to crown his descent, he learns that his former boyfriend is about to get married. Determined to avoid the wedding - and heartbreak – at all costs, he decides to embark on a trip around the world, accepting invitations to a series of half-baked lectures and literary events.

From almost falling in love in Paris, almost falling to death in Berlin, to booking himself as the (only) writer on a residency in India, and an encounter in a desert with the last person on earth he wishes to see, Less is a novel about missteps, misunderstanding and mistakes.

Counting John Updike, Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers and John Irving among his many admirers Andrew Sean Greer has been steadily making a name as a writer to watch. Less is a tour de force offering; a book that will have you aching with laughter one moment and cut to the core the next. Excellent fun and endlessly surprising, it’s a novel about life’s unexpected turns and the resilience of hope. As the New York Times puts it, ‘no less than bedazzling, bewitching and be-wonderful’; it’s a joy to read.

A Confederacy of Dunces by Josh Kennedy Toole

A monument to sloth, rant and contempt, a behemoth of fat, flatulence and furious suspicion of anything modern - this is Ignatius J. Reilly of New Orleans, noble crusader against a world of dunces. The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged. Ignatius ignores them, heaving his vast bulk through the city's fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity and ignorance. But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him: Ignatius must get a job. Undaunted, he uses his new-found employment to further his mission - and now he has a pirate costume and a hot-dog cart to do it with...

John Kennedy Toole (1937-1969) was born in New Orleans. He received a master's degree in English from Columbia University and taught at Hunter College and at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. He wrote A Confederacy of Dunces in the early sixties and tried unsuccessfully to get the novel published; depressed, at least in part by his failure to place the book, he committed suicide in 1969. It was only through the tenacity of his mother that her son's book was eventually published and found the audience it deserved, winning the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His long-suppressed novel The Neon Bible, written when he was only sixteen, was eventually published as well.