Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor

Eleven of us met to discuss Whale Fall and, as always, the conversation took us in some unexpected directions.

When a whale dies at sea, it slowly sinks to the ocean floor, becoming the centre of an entire ecosystem. This whale, however, does not fall – it is stranded on the beach, beyond saving, and is left by the small island community to die and decompose.

We spent some time discussing this. Why were the islanders so drawn to the whale, yet made no attempt either to save it or use it for food? We concluded that this reflected the realities of island life and the community's acceptance of the natural order. Some of us also wondered whether the whale itself was an allegory for the island – isolated, slowly declining and clinging on despite an uncertain future. Others felt the whale was there as a timeline or a parallel to the unfolding story. 

Opinions on island life were divided. Some of us found it enchanting, while others found it bleak. Comments ranged from, "I could have happily lived there – I was born in the wrong era!" to, "I found it rather depressing; it left me feeling quite low."

Whatever our feelings about the setting, we all agreed that Elizabeth O'Connor's writing is beautifully evocative. It is a quiet, slow-moving novel, but one that completely immerses the reader. We liked the short chapters, which made the book easy to dip into and kept the story moving despite its gentle pace.

Set during the final four months of 1938 on a tiny island just a few miles off the Welsh coast, the story follows 18-year-old Manod, who lives with her fisherman father and younger sister, Llinos, who speaks only Welsh and is described as being almost "half-elf". Their mother died several years earlier, and her story is revealed only towards the end of the novel, adding another layer to the family's history.

Manod has taught herself English from magazines and has a talent for embroidery, but beyond that her experience of the world is limited. Having spent her whole life on the island, she is sheltered, naïve and vulnerable.

The beached whale brings unexpected visitors: Edward and Joan, two anthropologists from Oxford University. They employ Manod to help with their research, but none of us warmed to them. We felt they exploited both Manod and the islanders, manipulating situations to make the community appear more mysterious and exotic to enhance their own work, with little regard for the consequences for those whose lives they were documenting.

Life on the island revolves around the church, its traditions and its close-knit community. We were particularly fascinated by the tradition of the Mari Lwyd. Yet change is inevitable. The population is no longer sustainable, young people are already leaving, and the looming threat of the Second World War raises fears of occupation. Manod herself begins to wonder whether her future lies beyond the island.

Several of us reflected on how remarkable it is that a place lying only a few miles from the mainland could feel so isolated.

Our discussion also turned to other remote island communities that some members have visited, particularly the Blasket Islands, abandoned in 1953, and St Kilda, whose final residents left in 1930, famously having to drown their sheepdogs before boarding the evacuation boat. Both provide poignant reminders of communities that ultimately became unsustainable, much like the future we sensed awaited Manod's island.

Would we recommend this book? Yes - it is interesting and gives an insight into community and social history. The writing is great. 

Elizabeth O'Connor has spoken in interviews about both the novel and its setting. When asked to describe Whale Fall in just three words, she chose Wild, Atmospheric and Elegiac. Having discussed the book, it's hard to disagree.

Click here for an interview with Elizabeth.

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Book Group Review: The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Nine of us gathered to discuss The Mercies, as one member hadn’t quite finished the book, we took care to avoid spoilers. That didn’t stop our conversation from being as lively, thoughtful, and honest as always!

The novel centres on the lives of women in Vardø, a small fishing village in Northern Norway, in 1621. The community, already devastated by the loss of its menfolk in a storm, must contend with the arrival of the so-called ‘witch hunters’. The Mercies explores the horrifying real events that unfolded, telling a powerful story of resilience, injustice, and the strength of women.

At the heart of the narrative are two central characters: Maren, a local woman learning to survive in a world without men, and Ursa, the sheltered daughter of a merchant, brought to Vardø through marriage into a starkly different life. Their relationship becomes a poignant lens through which the reader experiences the events of the novel.

Our group had mixed reactions to the book.

One member stopped reading partway through, finding the subject matter too traumatic. We all respected this choice but agreed the book was worth finishing, as it faithfully reflects the real struggles and courage of women in history.

Although audiobooks are growing in popularity among us, we agreed that this particular story was best experienced through a physical copy. The descriptive writing made it easier to immerse ourselves in the setting and mood.

The story took some time to gather momentum as characters were introduced, but once it did, we found it absorbing. Reactions included:

“I couldn’t put it down.” and “It was compelling, though the cruelty was hard to bear.”

We all echoed this sentiment.

The ending proved disturbing and emotional. For some of the women, the outcome was horrific - they never stood a chance. While the story has elements of female empowerment, it also shows how easily male authority could intrude, disrupt, and destroy.

The novel is heartbreaking from the outset. Ursa’s father believes he is doing the best for her, while the captain, though kind, knows otherwise and is powerless to change her fate. One member described the book’s tone as building a “fear of dread,” reminiscent of a Joanne Harris novel.

Did the book portray women as victims? Some of us felt it didn’t. Rather, it showed their strength and heroism. A notable moment came when the Lensman’s wife said to Ursa, her Calvinist counterpart, “You must be so proud.”  We debated whether this was sincere or sarcastic, but didn’t reach a conclusion.

There was much less debate about the portrayal of the male characters. Most were roundly considered to be idiots, the captain being the main exception. We struggled to reconcile how men responsible for such horrors could claim to act in the name of God.

Members of our group who had visited Norway praised the description of the setting and said they could easily visualise the landscape. A recommendation was made to watch Simon Reeve’s travel documentary on Norway. Here’s the link for anyone interested:

🔗 Scandinavia with Simon Reeve – BBC iPlayer

Talk even turned to a possible group trip to Norway - specifically Bergen and Vardø! A bit of travel research revealed:

• Ferry from Bergen to Vardø: every 30 minutes, journey takes about 5 days and 7 hours
• Train from Bergen to Vardø (via Sweden and Finland): 3 days and 5 hours
• Flight from Bergen to Kirkenes (3h 15m), then ferry to Vardø (4h 20m)

My conclusion? Visiting Vardø is certainly doable - but not simple! The distance and multiple modes of transport make it a serious adventure, requiring careful planning and consideration of cost and time.

This all gave us greater appreciation for Ursa’s journey by sea in 1617 and highlighted just how isolated Vardø was, especially for the women left vulnerable to religious persecution.

For perspective: this is the overland route from Bergen to Vardø. Vardø is now marginally less isolated as it is joined to the mainland by a tunnel and a bridge. 

A fallback idea, if Norway proves too ambitious: the Edinburgh Museum was suggested as an alternative destination for exploring the history of witch trials closer to home.

Back to the book - some members felt the ending was sudden and didn’t quite match the slower pace of the rest of the novel. Was it a happy or sad ending? We won’t spoil it, but our interpretations were mixed.

As one member put it: “This is why I come to Book Group!”

Footnote: Several of us also read The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams and found it delightful. As a group, we’d already read many of the books it features and enjoyed revisiting them.

Would we recommend these books?

Yes - to both!

Next Meeting:

📖 The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane

📍 The Ash Tree, Ashendon

🕗 Thursday, 24th July 2025, 8pm

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear

8 of us met to discuss this 1947 novel based around the life of Elinor White.

Elinor White has a seemingly solitary, quiet life in a grace-and-favour cottage in the Kent countryside where she is known locally as 'the White lady' – her community is unaware of her background (a veteran of two world wars, a trained killer and former intelligence agent).

The story ‘time jumps’ between Elinor’s war years and her new life, where she is drawn into using her skills to help a local family troubled by one of the most dangerous crime families in London.

Most of the group ‘enjoyed’ this read but one did not like it at all stating that she ‘hated’ it! another said that she whistled through the book and found it so gripping that she almost missed her train stop!

So, we explored our reading experience based on shared differences! Why did we have such a divided love/hate relationship with this book?

What did we like? The historical context was interesting and thought-provoking. The story brings insight into the SOE (Special Operations Executive), and what women and children did to support their wartime efforts. It was surprising to learn how extensive the SOE activities were in Belgium. The visualisation of the characters and their situations was excellent. 

What didn’t we like? The writing was clumsy and somewhat ‘trite’. “A Boy's Own annual ‘jolly hockey sticks’ story, written by someone who was trying to write like someone in the 1940s!". The ending was weak: a ‘fairy tale’ unreal, romanticised outcome that grated with the reality of the rest of the story.

Would we recommend this book? Well, it was an interesting book, not particularly well written, but if you are looking for a good read and are prepared to accept it for what it is, then yes.

Our next book is On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, we will meet on Thursday 16th May, at 8pm to discuss. Sarah will host. 

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - Maggie O'Farrell

8 of us met to discuss our feelings about this book.

Surprisingly most of us had read this book before, and not one of us had remembered much of the story told. Perhaps it is a subject that brains choose not to retain. it is, after all, heart-rending.

The mystery of how so many of us had read the book before was cleared when Hilary showed us her book -10 years ago, I shared this book when I was given World Book Day copies to distribute.: 

We really enjoyed reading this book and those who had read it before felt it was a different reading experience the second time read. Why? We couldn’t put into words. Are we more aware of mental health issues? did we focus on different aspects of the situation? does the second read come with more understanding? Whatever it was we felt it was not wasted time (even for those of us who rarely re-read books). 

We spent time discussing whether the action taken at the very end of the book was justified. Given the circumstances with which it came about, we mostly felt it probably was. 

Of the characters: 

Esme was quirky, spirited, traumatised, misunderstood (in a terrible way) and absolutely didn’t deserve what happened to her and how she was subsequently treated. We were left angry and horrified by her story. 

Iris was a wonderful woman put into a very difficult situation and we felt sorry for her for that, but we also felt ‘proud’ of her for the decision she made when faced with a very human dilemma. 

We loved the construct of the story – how it developed the characters, how it went back and forth to the past and how dementia was portrayed. There were surprises at every turn. 

The story showcases the cruelty of the past. We did question whether it really is in the past, or whether what happens today can be equally as cruel to people like Esme. One of our members recalled a Woman’s Hour guest telling the story of her son who, through no fault of hers, was in a similar (more modern) predicament to Esme and, she said, there is seemingly nothing she can do to get him out of the situation.

This led us on to the subject of the closure of institutions and how people have been treated in the past vs. today and the language and the attitudes toward people who just don’t fit with the social norm. Certainly, what happened in the past was often very wrong but, we wondered, is what happens now much better? 

Would we recommend this book? Most definitely we would, and suggest you read it twice!

Our next book was selected from three recommended by a friend. All three are books written by her author friends. It was a difficult choice so we decided to go for what we hope will be a ‘light-hearted’ good read: The Hound in the Left-Hand Corner by Giles Waterfield which we will discuss at 8pm at The Hundred on Thursday 27th October. 

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

I am more than a little embarrassed for the time it has taken to summarise our thoughts on this book. In all honesty, I struggled to put pen to paper because I did not enjoy this read AND I failed to finish the book. Usually, when I feel that way, other members of our group offer points of view that help me to find a way to represent the thoughts and feelings of us all and to offer a balanced review of our discussion. I just couldn't find a way to do that, this time. 

So here is a list of the comments made at our meeting back in January in which nine of us sat down to a (short) chat about this read.

What did we feel about this book? "It wasn't doing anything for me." "I stopped reading, it was a waste of my time." "I kept going and I did enjoy it in the end." "I had to force myself to read it." "It could have been 100 pages shorter."

What about the story? "A weak and predictable plot." "It was unrealistic, I lost the plot." "I went up and down those stairs too many times!" "I didn't think it was authentic."

Which characters did we like? "I didn't care about any of the characters."

Any redeeming features? "I was a social commentary, the breakdown of class after WW1, the fall of the 'gentile woman' BUT then it turned into a costume drama!", "A well-bred woman was doing the work of a 'char'." "The elderly Victorian gentry were having to change." "Lodgers were paying guests without rules - that's how the upper-class could justify their fall from grace." "It was well written." "We have read worse!"

That's it - sorry Sarah Waters, of Tipping the Velvet fame, you didn't add much value to our lives with this book. 

On the bright side, we can shut the door on that book and move on to our next read The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett and look forward to discussing that on Thursday 31st March, 8pm at The Hundred. 

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Seven of our group met at The Hundred to discuss our Autumn read which got a massive thumbs up from everyone, including three absent members who sent their comments by email. So that’s a very satisfying 10 out of 10 for Delia Owens' debut novel.

Comments ranged from a simple “I loved it” through to a more reflective, yet positive: “this book had everything from romance to murder to nature”. 

It is, however, an incredibly (some felt horrendous) sad story of loneliness, love, loss, acceptance and resilience. It is an emotional story that brought most of us to tears.

Of the characters, we loved Jumpin’, Mabel, and the many incarnations of Big Red, for being so consistently kind, caring and loyal toward Kya. 

On the downside, some of us found the poetry a little odd, even after it had been put into perspective. One of our readers found the time-jumping hard work although the rest of us agreed it was necessary for the story that unfolded. We also felt it is completely unrealistic - just for the record! 

We wondered, what are grits? Well: Grits are made from ground corn, typically from less sweet, starchy varieties often referred to as dent corn. Grits can be made from either yellow or white corn and are often labelled accordingly. When cooked slowly in water, grits release their starch and make a creamy porridge that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. There’s some confusion (and no agreement) about the actual difference between polenta and grits — some claim that grits are only made with white corn, and that polenta has a finer grind size.

Would we recommend this book? YES - this is the best book we have read in ages and we are left wondering “how can we top this?” 

Let’s hope our next book choice –  The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters – can live up to expectations! 

All will be revealed when we next meet on Thursday 20th January, 2022 at 8pm in The Hundred of Ashendon.

In the meantime here’s wishing you a warm-hearted Winter and a Christmas spent with family and friends. 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The book blurb: “Nora’s life has been going from bad to worse. Then at the stroke of midnight on her last day on earth, she finds herself transported to a library. There she is given a chance to undo her regrets and try out each of the other lives she might have lived.

Which raises the ultimate question: with infinite choices, what is the best way to live?”

We were a small group (5 people) who met to talk about this book and the discussions were interesting, open and even sometimes animated.

So, what were our thoughts on this book?

First of all, it was mentioned that the theme of the book was not new and had already been seen in films such as “Bedazzled” with Liz Hurley and “Sliding Doors” with Gwyneth Paltrow.

Furthermore, Matt Haig is a busy author, has produced a series of self-help material and his particular book titled “Humans” (recommended read) contains similar themes as in “The Midnight Library”.

So, what were our thoughts on this particular work?

It was agreed that the book is an easy read, overall well-written and quirky BUT not a book which can be discussed in 5 minutes! Yes, the pages flow easily but they certainly make you think and raise the fundamental question: does a perfect life exist?

Nobody leads a perfect life despite the impressions that some people may give and post on social media, and leading from this, the pressure some people may put themselves under as they aspire to that impossible perfect goal.

The book was also found frustrating: it proposes all sorts of different lives, but none of which are developed properly and are given any depth. This lack of continuity was found annoying. Also, the tone of the book is sometimes preachy and the author may sometimes engage in too much navel-gazing. To top this, the different bubbles of life Nora is given to live, are fundamentally flawed: Nora is only introduced to material worlds where she has no human connections. In all these different lives, Nora is merely plonked into new situations without any personal connections, meaning that she has to Google her own name in order to find out about herself and she feels a total stranger with the people surrounding her. Strange and artificial lives, really… Furthermore, Nora’s choice of a “best” life appears disappointing; it is too obvious and too predictable (married with a child in a comfortable home in Cambridge suburbia where she feels slightly bored). Is this really the most exciting life Nora can strive for at the age of 30?

Matt Haig’s book is in the top 10 most popular books at the moment. The general press has given it mixed and in general “Marmite”- like reviews: either you love it or you hate it…As for our own book group, the reviews given by our absent members were in general positive and it seemed that people had enjoyed this read.

So, what would be the answer to a reader’s ultimate test question: would we want to read this book twice? Probably not was our answer, but despite its flaws, we enjoyed the read, its quirkiness and we were excited by certain topics and themes the book develops.

We were compelled by the theme of chess and its symbolism; a person in our group remarked how important every single pawn is, because “all these pawns on a chessboard are all queens in waiting!"  

Then our discussions led to the theme of resilience, and how one can learn from famous people’s failures such as Einstein and Edison. In fact, it is good to be sometimes unhappy as it makes you appreciate the good things; the stress, the questioning makes one evolve and progress. Could it actually be one of the flaws of today’s generation as some demand instant gratification?

Certain other themes dealt with in the book such as “you live and then you learn” were found helpful and struck a chord. The theme of “how to deal with regrets” was also found thought-provoking. And in fact, this book gave us the ideal platform to talk more openly about mental health issues and strategies.

Did we think the book might be helpful to others? Overall, we felt it definitely would despite its occasional preachy tone.

Would we recommend this book? Yes, we would.

We learned some valuable things and there’s no harm in wishing to be a rock star… in another life!

For September/October we have chosen to read 'Where the Crawdads Sing' by Delia Owens and we will meet to discuss this book on Thursday, November 4th, 8pm at The Hundred of Ashendon. 

The Librarian by Salley Vickers and I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

I have been remiss in not sharing our review of The Librarian so this is a 2 for 1. 

On 20th May, 10 of us discussed The Librarian by Salley Vickers on, what I hope will be our last, zoom meeting. Once we had debated the act of reading a book in the bath (for some a heinous crime, for others a risk worth taking and for the rest one of the greatest pleasures in life!) we knuckled down to, what turned out to be, a pretty damning review of a book we had all hoped to be so much more. 

The story is about the experience of a young librarian who, in 1958, lands the job to run the children's section in a small town library. This is an easy to read, enjoyable story that took most of us back to our childhood experiences of going to the library. Libraries (back in 'the day') were mostly staffed by strict, rigid librarians and woe betide you if you coughed, spoke or dropped a book. Still, we reflected on fond memories of going to the library and getting told off!

We also enjoyed how Salley captured many of the ways of the time. But as the book went on it felt as if she didn't know where to stop. One of our members observed that it was as if she had simply "chucked in a lot of things she could remember from those days". 

Our expectation was of so much more from Salley Vickers who has written some fine books, such as Mrs Garnet's Angel, over a long career. It is a harmless book but, in our collective opinion, it represents a massively missed opportunity of what it could have been. We were expecting something more philosophical on subjects such as selective education and missed things we should have done, but it led nowhere. Instead, it is a trite and shallow read. 

To sum it up here are our individual conclusions: "I put it down and stopped reading because life is too short." "Watching paint dry." "A book going nowhere." "Terrible." "Poorly written". "She got a contract to write 3 books and banged this one out as the last!". "Was it a children's book?". 

We did enjoy the focus on literature for young people and discussing the authors, and books, we had read and loved as children. Our lovely French lady was excited to learn about the books that British children were reading at that time, many of which she had never heard of and is now keen to read for herself e.g. Tom's Midnight Garden. 

In fact, it was Salley Vickers' continual references to I Capture the Castle that inspired the choice of our next read...

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith was the focus of our meeting on 15th July when 7 of us were lucky enough to enjoy a warm and sunny evening at our local pub, discussing a very satisfactory reading experience. 

This story is jam-packed with odd, eccentric characters, set in 1930's Suffolk with occasional visits to London. 

The book is exceptionally well written. Originally written for adults in 1948 it now crosses the divide between childrens' and adult literature and is now considered appropriate for today's young teens. In 1958 the thought of allowing a teenager to read such a book was the focus of Salley Vickers' scandal in The Librarian. 

In comparison to The Librarian (although there should be no comparison) we found ourselves involved with the characters, we could almost smell the castle and we laughed out loud, shed tears and fell in love with these people, their homes and their lives. 

The situations led us into the philosophical conversations we so enjoy at book group and it is a unanimous YES to the question: would we recommend this book? 

Our next read is The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and we plan to meet once again at The Hundred of Ashendon on Thursday 2nd September at 8pm, to discuss this currently chart-topping novel. Have a lovely Summer.

The Pants of Perspective by Anna McNuff

Twelve of us met to discuss this book, including 2 new ladies.

The initial response was mixed and initially the disgruntled group voice spoke loudest. Anna's seemingly disorganised and scatty approach to her running adventure annoyed and irritated members of our group. This prompted discussion about why she gave that impression? and that, in turn, led to consideration of how such an undertaking might feel and how that could lead one to appear somewhat flippant with regard to the enormity of the challenge. Perhaps, it was concluded, she didn't take the reality in, or she didn't want to take it all in?

Without any intention to pun, it seems what the reader takes from this book depends on their perspective. Some of us felt the risks that Anna took were irresponsible, others tried to understand her approach and process. The quality of the book can be judged by the quality of the writing or the qualities of an adventurer. Are we reading about why she was doing it, or what kept her going? There are so many angles to this story that, if nothing else, this is a book to talk about with friends. 

'I struggle to understand why she put herself through it' was countered by 'I learnt a lot from her and how she dealt with anxiety and physical problems.'

'How could she put herself through the pain?' - 'She is so totally focussed, has utter determination.'

'I was finally really annoyed - she didn't start running until 5 one day, eating cake in a coffee shop' vs. 'I liked that she wasn't pushing it - it made it more real.'

'She got on my nerves - I persevered but gave the book away.' - 'I deeply admired this woman, she was incredible. The sports psychology tips were really useful.'

'I was really anxious for this young, naive woman who had not thought it through.' - 'The Pants of Perspective are a great technique, and she had the foresight to plan new running shoes before she set off.'

So it seems, if you can see beyond the poor editing (and the resultant numerous 'inhalations' of food) and recognise that this is a better book than The Island by Victoria Heslop! then Anna shines through as an inspirational woman. She wasn't afraid to try, wants to achieve, is not an over-confident 'alpha' and is simply prepared to do seemingly impossible/stupid/ridiculous things. 

So did we enjoy this book? 9 of us did and 7 of us would read it (or another by Anna McNuff) again. 

Would we recommend this book? 10 would and 2 wouldn't.

As our conversation moved on to other things, one little voice said 'I'm so far from understanding it...'.

Our next read is Cows Can't Dance by Philip Bowne and Philip will join us on Thursday 25th March at 8pm when we will discuss our experience of reading his first novel and put our questions to him. 

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.

The Familiars by Stacey Halls

9 group members met, on Zoom, to discuss our latest read: The Familiars by Stacey Halls. After a short chat about life in lock down we dismissed the 'Reading Group Questions' provided at the end of the book, just before the advertisement (oh, exlusive extract) for The Foundling by Stacey Halls and got straight into lively conversation and debate. 

We kicked off with a classic Ashendon Book Group diversionary tactic: "I didn't want to read a book on the subject, so I read The Foundling instead! and really enjoyed it". So, let's reconsider dismissal of aforementioned ad. and give it a go sometime. 

The comment was met with the reassurance that the book was more about misogeny than witchcraft. We didn't get into deeper discussion on this obervation other than to log the fact that (male) doctors did not like losing business to midwives and that it was less about witchcraft than about relationships. Following the meeting I googled 'misogeny and witchcraft 1612' and up popped this: 

https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-67763).

Back to the book: the story is based in the year 1612 and is about a young woman (aged 17), married to Richard Shuttleworth since the age of 13. Richard is a wealthy and successful local man, with realistic aspirations to be in Parliament and who needs an heir! Fleetwood has had several miscarriages and is desparate to have a child with Richard whom she loves very much. The story does touch on how this situation impacts their relationship but the main focus is on Fleetwood's relationship with a local midwife.

Although based on a true story, Stacey Halls makes no secret that this book is fiction. So Fleetwood is presented as a feisty girl who gallops around the county on a horse, with a huge dog in tow, and makes day trips to Lancaster (about 40 miles away) - this in itself is improbable and Fleetwood was heavily pregnant at the time! It made the story interesting but some of our group found 'flying in the face of historical reality' frustrating. Those of the group who wanted more historical fact were disappointed. This is not an historical novel. It is almost as if the author wanted Fleetwood to be living in modern times. 

There were though 'nods' to history, such as references to travelling players performing Shakespeare (including the popular Macbeth) but overall the book failed to give insight or conclude the purpose of 'the nod'. It feels as if the author has a few bits of information from her visits to Gawthorpe Hall and Wikepedia and has dropped them into a story with no clear purpose.

Going back to this not being an historical novel, there was a feeling that more insight to the Pendle Witch Trials would not have gone amiss. Compared to Year of Wonders by Anna Frith, another 'not historical novel' based on historical fact that we have read as a group, we felt that The Familiars lacked depth. Even the concept of Familiars was inadequately explained or followed through in the story - we imagined they are similar to Phillip Pullmans Demons - luckily we had already read that!

Interesting fact from Sue: In 1652, George Fox (Founder of The Quakers) climbed Pendle Hill in Lancashire, where he had a vision of a “great people to be gathered” waiting for him. The beginning of the Society of Friends (Quakers) is usually dated from the day, soon afterwards, when Fox preached to large crowds on Firbank Fell, near Sedbergh, in Cumbria. We wonder what drew him to Pendle Hill?

Would we recommend this book? No, unless you don't want to know about the witch thing and are looking for an beach read. It is luke warm and there are better books to use your time on. 

The group did not agree on the book as a 'good read', one reader felt it was a 'page turner' and couldn't put it down (despite it not giving what she wanted), others felt it 'dragged on'; was 'longer than expected' and one member of our group even fell asleep while reading it. Then we had: 'I wouldn't choose to read another book by the same author', followed by 'Oh I would!' and 'The Foundlings is a good read'.

We couldn't choose between 2 of the 3 books proposed for our next read so we are going to read both and meet again in 6 weeks on Zoom (or possibly in small groups + Zoom). So our next reads are: Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires and A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson and we will meet to discuss these on 6th August. 

The Switch by Beth O'Leary

9 of us met via Zoom for yet another lively discussion about our shared reading experience of what was declared: an enjoyable pleasant piece of Chick Lit. 

Despite comments such as “I wouldn’t put literature in the same sentence!” and “it’s one for the beach” and “well, there were no surprises”, we all agreed this was a refreshing book by a young author and all the better that she is an Oxford Graduate in English Literature!

Beth took a nice approach, showing how a young person thinks and cares about the elderly, and she handled the subject of bereavement well.

One of our group declared her love of ‘Chick Lit’ (describing it as her ‘dirty’ secret) and gave us a break down of the formulas for success. This book met much of the criteria, and the writing wasn’t awful, so she gave it ‘middle of the road’ classification and a thumbs up.

Those of our group who had already enjoyed her first novel ‘Flat Share’ felt that was a better story and, perhaps her editors had put her under pressure to produce The Switch. 

Overall we felt this was a good choice for ‘lock down’ reading in the garden and would recommend it to anyone as a nice bit of light reading. 

Our next book is The Familiars by Stacey Halls, which we will discuss on Thursday 25th June, at 8.15pm, on Zoom. 

A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr

Ten of us met on ZOOM to discuss our 'lock-down' reading of this very short memoir of time spent in the countryside. Once again we all agreed that this was a great read. We loved it.

This is a perfect book group read, and one that few of us would have read had it not been a group choice. Some of our group watched the film, made in 1987, starring Colin Firth being very Colin Firth - it wasn't well liked!

The book though is exquisite. The writing style is accessible and matter of fact. There is a lot to read in every sentence and it is an easy read. The descriptions are beautiful and the humour wonderful. It tells the story of two young men returned from the trenches of WW1 who find specialist work in a small Yorkshire village. The story alludes to many things about the 'war experience' in a subtle and gentle manner, and it doesn't dwell on things.

There is no plot and there is no reason to 'rush' through the 100 pages and yet it is a page turner.

The timing of this read gave us the opportunity to reflect on our own experience of 'lock-down' in a small village. We are in a small universe, just like Oxgodby, we can function without the big wide world and we are finding just how therapeutic the countryside can be. It is easy to imagine now how much good the pace and community of a small village would have been for two city dwelling men, broken by war, to spend some time in. Our French member brought our conversation to a lovely close by announcing 'I love the English countryside in the Summer.' Our Australian member agreed and the rest of didn't dispute it!

Our next read will be The Switch by Beth O'Leary and we will meet in a month, once again virtually, on 21st May at 8.15 pm. After our rather abrupt enforced ending of this meeting, a use of full ZOOM account has been offered and Sue will set us up and send invites.

Until then here's a little about J.L. Carr from a resident of Ashendon who knew him:

40 years ago, I was an undertaker, working in the family business, in Kettering , Northamptonshire: the county of "Squires and Spires". I did meet Carr from time to time on various funerals. But that was not where we first became acquainted. The local art shop 'Dinsdales', a frequent haunt of mine, was full of prints, tints and watercolours of local  Churches, some with stupendous skyscraping skylons, others, with squat towers as if trying to fold back into the countryside and hide for fear of offending the county's signature edifices Among these pictures I first came across some print oddities, described by the proprietor thus: “ That's by Carr, he does them himself, he used to be a local headmaster.”

It  cost more to frame, than to buy his prints... Unlike The Dan Dare print hanging next to Carr’s, by local Cartoonist Frank  Bellamy (who had just died) and was described  as a  “Renown Nationally Newspaper Illustrator”. His proofs fetched hundreds. But I preferred the idiosyncratic J.L. Carr.

Kettering was then, a boot and shoe town. The headquarters of the British Shoe and Allied Trades Research Centre (SATRA) was and still is based there today, as are the scatterings of some high brand boots and shoes manufacturers. If you look at Kettering's coat of arms, you'll notice a slave with a broken manacle and a leather hide. That's where it all started, the leather industry, a rural economy, marked by  a strong allegiances  to  non-conformism. Everywhere countryside. a massive park donated by the local engineer and philanthropist Charles Wicksteed vies on It's outskirts with a massive private estate belonging to Britain's largest (by acreage) landowner. Then even more rolling countryside.

So hopefully, you've now got the picture of a market town with little to distinguish it from rolling acres of countryside but Carey the Baptist, Knibb the freer of slaves, Wicksteed park, possibly the Duke of Buccleuch , an incredibly inspiring spire and an awful lot of footwear.

Gently undulating hills on vast tracts of farmland in Northants. separate a half a dozen very large towns. Few villages, means  traveling  several Miles between settlements is not unusual.
Kettering was a self important fish of a town in a modest pond.  It felt bigger than it was.  Surrounding villages were exceptionally modest despite being endowed with churches of outstanding character, full of under appreciated architectural gifts that  took the talent of J.L. Carr to prevent them being obliterated by time and vandalism and lost from consciousness .

He took on his own mission, to prevent one particular local, yet remote and derelict village church from bring made redundant. In this, the ex-teacher partially failed, though not to annoy church authorities. But that church, who’s actual fabric he helped preserve became a field centre and another local church followed suit to become a training school for stonemasons, something else that Carr turned his eccentric attentions too.

A curate of that aforementioned Kettering Church , with the landscape dominating Spire, who self importance had obvious rubbed off on himself, visited JL Carr at home. Carr had carved some statues at the church out of old curb stones to replace ones lost in the reformation. Despite my curate friend’s right wing pretensions, he was very offended when Carr concentrated his energies on trying to get him to purchase some of his prints, disdaining just how small Carr’s bedroom cum print shop was.

It would have been water off a ducks back. Carr was used to disdain. Have a look at his Wikipedia entry, where he described himself.

If you have any doubt about his interest, indeed passion for church architecture, compare two of his prints below hanging in my house.

The quirky Northants. map left ; then the print of local Northampton-shire church stone work (The Soke of Peterborough was part of Northants., pre-boundary changes).

Enlarged sections of both follow below.

I hope you can enjoy this additional glimpse into J.L. Carr .

You may like to add him to that list of Kettering’s distinguishing graces...

Richard (Phillips)

Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

A dynamic book group meeting was had this week. I reckon that's the best word to describe how our little group stood up to COVID-19: by being positive in attitude and full of energy and new ideas. The new idea turned out to be a complete success and we held our first ever 'virtual' book group meeting.

Sorry Sue - we know you were there.

Following the national clap for our NHS, 7 of us logged into Zoom and had a lively discussion about our most recent read 'Prisoners of Geography'.

And thanks to Zoom giving us a special gift of unlimited time we were able to natter on for more than our allocated 40 minutes!

Everyone agreed that this book is brilliant. We thought it might be heavy going, we expected it to be a challenging read and perhaps a bit technical. It was none of those things, it is a very well written, thoroughly enjoyable book full of facts and clear explanation of world history and geopolitics.

Our conversation started with Russian Politics and ended with homelessness in Aylesbury! In between we explored the Middle East, Africa, Europe, America, Iran, Pakistan, India, China, Japan and Korea.

There is so much information between the two covers that, we agreed, it is impossible to take it all in. This is a book to dip in and out of and one to read more than once.

Do we recommend it? yes, of course, and we hope that Tim Marshall updates it too because we need his take on the world after Trump.

Our next book is A Month in the Country by J.L Carr and we will review our read in April. I have set up a Zoom meeting for 8.10pm on Thursday 23rd April. If you haven't received an invite and would like to join in please let me (Sian) know.

Early One Morning by Virginia Baily

A lovely turn out for the start of the year with nine of us sat around the big table in our local pub, enjoying a drink and chatting about our latest reading experience.

Our discussion started like this: "I LOVED IT".

That was almost, but not quite, unanimous and those that didn't 'Love It' were just a tiny, tiny bit less enthusiastic. We all agreed it's a lovely story and a very enjoyable read.

Some of us know Rome well enough to visualise the area where much of the story takes place. One of our group even has a cousin who was brought up in Rome during WW2 and who had her own stories to tell. Others, having never been to Rome (or Italy), didn't feel at a disadvantage because the descriptions were so good - one of our group said she felt as if she had already been!

So was there anything not to like? just that it wrapped up too quickly and we wanted more detail. Let's hope Virginia decides to write a sequel, as there is so much more story to tell.

When we chose this book there was some concern that it could be a gruesome story of WW2 horrors in Rome. But that worry did not bear out. This book is mostly about relationships, and offers a very different take on the war. The story evolves around 3 key characters (Chiara, Daniele and Maria), each bringing their own relationships, and issues. It begins with a incident - early one morning - during 1943 and we left them at sometime in the 1970's.

Our favourite characters:

• Gabriel - a silent gentle hero
• Assunta - brings an element of comedy
• Nonna - a lovely old lady - just how a grandmother should be
• Simone - a rock 

The many underpinning themes such as: 'sense of duty', 'gut feeling', 'morals', 'mothers', 'faith' 'trust' and 'love' all make for great group discussions.

Would we read another Virginia Baily? most of us would, and especially a sequel to this book. We think the book would make a brilliant film too.

Would we recommend this book - definitely.

Our next read is Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall which we will discuss at 8pm on Thursday 26th March at The Hundred of Ashendon.

Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney

We take the selection of books to choose from quite seriously and this was no exception. Sophie Law (BBC Radio Oxford) said she was enjoying reading it, so we checked the reviews: Sunday Times "an addictive debut ... A bright new talent", Observer: "It's a rare that a novel elicits such unmitigated awe from just about everyone you know, whether male, female, millennial or middle-aged". And then we checked the book store scores: Amazon 4.6 out of 5; Waterstones a whopping 5 out of 5.

This looked to be a great choice and a promising read.

So on a beautiful summers evening when 10 book group friends settled down in the pub garden, it felt a little awkward being one of the (at best) 0.4's. That is until we started the conversation!

The conversation started with round table first thoughts:

1. "Rubbish"
2. "I couldn't be interested in these people"
3. "Shallow - I couldn't engage with the characters"
4. "Not even the sex scenes were engaging!"
5. "Soul-less"
6. "Things got introduced then fizzled out"
7. "I couldn't care about the characters - nothing made me bother about them"
8. "I think the author may be self-obsessed'"
9. "NO SPEECHMARKS - how pretentious" 
10. "Phew - not just me then!"

That's about the long and short of it. Our entire book group, ranging from the highly intellectual to the (well) me, was not impressed. We were less than impressed. We were disappointed. We searched hard to try to see things from the reviewers points of view.

"She's prize winning" - "well she got a Booker Prize nomination"#  

"Marian Keyes review is: "Fecken Brilliant" - "that's it?" - "she is Irish" (and then we got onto the subject of Marian Keyes) - "we read one of hers, we didn't like it much either" *

*STOP PRESS: the author of that one was Tracy Chevalier - let's put a Marian Keyes book on our Autumn choice! I expect it will F***ing Brilliant (well I am Kentish!). 

"It's easy to read - quickly" "At least it wasn't a difficult to read bad book"

I quite liked the lack of speech marks, it was freer flowing, a stream of consciousness. (This is a comment and it's from our 'reader most positive' who scores the book 5.....out of 10.) 

"My Grandmother was from Ballina" - BINGO! let's stop right here. 

FOOTNOTE: We are not alone. Adam Mars-Jones review for The London Review of Books: "The blandness of Sally Rooney’s novels, last year’s Conversations with Friends and her new one, Normal People, begins and ends with those oddly non-committal titles." Sign-up to the website is required to continue reading the review - enough now I thought, and clicked X!

Oh and Goodreads 3954 reviewers average score is 3.8 of of 5.

# The Awards Facts:

British Book Award SUBMITTED 2018

Desmond Elliott Prize LONGLIST 2018

Folio Fiction/Poetry Awards SHORTLIST 2018

Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award SHORTLIST 2018

Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year 2017

The Dylan Thomas Prize SHORTLIST 2018

We will meet at 8pm on Thursday 26th September in The Hundred of Ashendon to discuss Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner and then choose our next book. Looking forward to more enjoyable conversations with friends.

Mythos by Stephen Fry

9 members of our group met to discuss the Greek Myths as retold by the actor, comedian, writer: Stephen Fry.

We were bowled over the by the sheer volume of stories. Not everyone had finished the book but we agreed it didn't matter as there was plenty to talk about without giving anything away. It is indeed a big read and with so much to take on the reader must travel back and forth within the book to keep on top of it all. The book itself helps with comprehension by offering a family tree of the Gods, and foot-notes that share useful information to supplement each story.

This is a really well written book but you need  your wits about you to keep up with the pace and depth of coverage. Mr Fry is extremely graphic in his descriptions and holds little back so, as one of our group declared, this is "not a book to go to sleep on"!

There are a vast number of stories - far more than we imaged there would be - and this book does a really good job of explaining the links that each story has with others. It all fits neatly into place.

Myths of our own making were quashed: Zeus it turns out was not the first god and the Leander club did not choose to wear pink socks/tights on a whim! And, it seems that Gods are excellent multi-taskers with (as one member of our group was keen to warn potential readers about) quite varied and extreme sex lives.

Mythos also made us aware of how Greek mythology extends into our modern lives. For example Hermes, the god of trade, heraldry, merchants, commerce, roads, thieves, trickery, sports, travellers and athletes is used today as the brand name for one of the UK's largest parcel delivery companies. 

These are stories that have withstood the test of time and have been taken on by so many as the basis for their own - including the Romans (who renamed many of the Greek Gods in their own myths) and Shakespeare who used their drama to develop his own. 

There was so much we loved about the stories and it was hard to stop talking about everything we had discovered, enjoyed, been shocked or amazed by, laughed along or cried with. From herein the Greek Gods will be with us in spirit and mind as we stumble upon them. Thank you Stephen Fry for broadening our minds. 

Our next book is Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney and we will discuss this on WEDNESDAY 24th July at 8pm in The Hundred. 

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.

The Universe Versus Alex Woods

7 of our group met to discuss our latest read and we were all keen to get on with talking about our reading experience.

"I was hooked from the start!" - we all agreed. 

"I loved it - 5 Stars!" - we all agreed. 

Ashendon Book Group in complete agreement with regard to the book is a rare occurrence, so it was a little worrying we might 'agree to agree' and have little to discuss. But no, the discussion was lively and flowed through the many different subjects, situations and experiences the author has so cleverly stitched together. 

This is a truly brilliant read, that touches on some very serious subjects. It is as thought-provoking as it is hilarious. Wonderful characters and scenarios, with thoughtful explanation where necessary, create a story that illustrates the humour and sadness that comes with friends and relations. You never know what is going to happen next, nothing is predictable.

We did dwell on plausibility for a while - is Alex plausible? are the scenarios plausible? Some members of our group felt the author was trying to put himself into the shoes of a young person and, in so doing, made it hard to believe in that person. Others felt that, if one thinks about the capabilities of young people as e.g. young carers, then Alex's behaviour is highly plausible. We concluded that yes, this fascinating character could well have have found himself in the situations described. 

The story is very visual and would make a great film - we are looking forward to the film should anyone choose to make it. 

Would we recommend it? Well, yes! 

Our next read is two stories in one book: Gigi and the Cat by Colette and we will discuss these at 8pm on Thursday 14th March in The Hundred of Ashendon. 

Our next book choice coincides with the release of a a film focused on the life of the author: Colette. and perhaps some of our group will have the chance to see this film alongside the book. 

Adam Thorpe – Pieces of Light

Just six of us met to discuss this book, with additional input from two ‘roving’ members and one ‘abstainer’. It was a mixed response which made for an interesting discussion. Those of us who have read and loved Adam Thorpe before (including Ulverton) all enjoyed this book, as did some of us who were new to his work.

In summary the results for this book are:
4 liked it
3 didn’t start it
1 didn’t like it
1 was not sure

This is a long book and it is quite a hard read and that itself put three of our group off reading it at all. Another felt she would not finish it. One member, though, read it twice: once to get the gist of it and a second time with the benefit of that she felt a better understanding for the story and the characters. Knowing the ending doesn’t spoil the experience and it helps to give clarity to the story.

It is easy to get lost and confused but, even the dissenters came round to thinking that this book is a very rich read, that offers a lot to the reader who perseveres!

The story starts and finishes in Africa, with the authors fictional town of Ulverton (England) in the middle and focuses on the life of a boy whose wonderful childhood did not continue into a wonderful adulthood.

We all agreed this book would make a great film.

Would we recommend it? We felt that even if you don’t want to/can’t read it all then the first half of the book is really worth a try. So if that can be considered a recommendation then: YES!

Our next book is The Universe versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence. We will meet next year, on January 17th 2019 at 8pm in The Hundred. Please come along and join our New Year conversation.