Book Choices for Summer 2022

We will meet on Thursday 9th June 2022 at 8pm in The Hundred of Ashendon to discuss The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela. Then choose our next read from the following choices:

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell

Maggie O’Farrell takes readers on a journey to the darker places of the human heart, where desires struggle with the imposition of social mores. This haunting story explores the seedy past of Victorian asylums, the oppression of family secrets, and the way truth can change everything.

In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her vintage clothing shop and sidestepping her married boyfriend’s attempts at commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call: Her great-aunt Esme, whom she never knew existed, is being released from Cauldstone Hospital - where she has been locked away for over sixty years. Iris’s grandmother Kitty always claimed to be an only child. But Esme’s papers prove she is Kitty’s sister, and Iris can see the shadow of her dead father on Esme’s face. Esme has been labelled harmless - sane enough to coexist with the rest of the world. But Esme’s still basically a stranger, a family member never mentioned by the family, and one who is sure to bring life-altering secrets with her when she leaves the ward. If Iris takes her in, what dangerous truths might she inherit?

Maggie O’Farrell’s intricate tale of family secrets lost lives, and the freedom brought by truth will haunt readers long past its final page.

Snap by Belinda Bauer 

On a stifling summer's day, eleven-year-old Jack and his two sisters sit in their broken-down car, waiting for their mother to come back and rescue them. Jack's in charge, she said. I won't be long.

But she doesn't come back. She never comes back. And life as the children know it is changed forever.

Three years later, mum-to-be Catherine wakes to find a knife beside her bed and a note that says: I could have killed you.

Meanwhile, Jack is still in charge - of his sisters, of supporting them all, of making sure nobody knows they're alone in the house, and - quite suddenly - of finding out the truth about what happened to his mother.

But the truth can be a dangerous thing...

Germinal by Émile Zola, Roger Pearson (Translator)

This is the thirteenth novel in Émile Zola’s great Rougon-Macquart sequence, Germinal expresses outrage at the exploitation of the many by the few, but also shows humanity’s capacity for compassion and hope.

Etienne Lantier, an unemployed railway worker, is a clever but uneducated young man with a dangerous temper. Forced to take a back-breaking job at Le Voreux mine when he cannot get other work, he discovers that his fellow miners are ill, hungry, in debt, and unable to feed and clothe their families. When conditions in the mining community deteriorate even further, Lantier finds himself leading a strike that could mean starvation or salvation for all.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

We met to discuss this book, but first some exciting news. Three of our group were lucky enough to meet Anna McNuff, the author of The Pants of Perspective, a book we read exactly a year before. So let me tell you a little about that first. 

Anna was invited to visit a local school by a headteacher who was told about her by one of her teachers (who happens to be in our group!). The offer to come along to visit the school and listen to Anna talking to the children was extended to our group which was (for me) an opportunity too good to miss. Anna is a lovely, warm and very genuine person who can connect with people of all ages - her reveal of her Pants of Perspective (see them below) was particularly entertaining and the children loved it. I loved meeting her. In her books she talks about her close friends and, having met her, it's easy to see why she has so many.

"Gosh, I wish I could look as cool as Anna!"

Anyway, a year on from reading Anna McNuff, we were discussing a very different read indeed. A book about the Vignes twins - 2 sisters - who grew up in a small, black community, in the 'Deep South' habituated by fair-skinned African Americans, who neither accept their African heritage nor fit into the white American dream. Aged 16 the sisters escape their home town, determined to make it in the big wide world. From here their relationship and their lives changed beyond expectation.

Our discussion centred mainly around how this book makes the reader think, and feel, about being black or white. 

We kicked off with a big question: what is white? These girls had the choice to be themselves or to live their lives as white, or as black. The question raised many more questions: are you white because you are white or does your heritage define your colour/race? And why does it matter? When you look white but believe things happen "because you are black" how does that shape who you want to be? what do you choose to tell other people? and how does all this shape the decisions you make, that may not be possible to undo? Is white 'safer'? does white mean freedom? 

This book contains some shocking scenes that challenge the reader to consider the decisions each of the twins made.

This is not a book about race or racism, it is about attitudes and perspectives. It's a book that makes you think hard. As one of our group said: "I'm white, straight and white, I'm boring!"

There is a nice selection of supporting characters that add further food for thought. 

Would we recommend it? - yes, it's a powerful read.

Our next book is The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela and we will meet at 8pm on 9th June 2022 in The Hundred. 

 

Book choices for Spring into Summer

A Rising Man by Amir Mukherjee

India, 1919. Desperate for a fresh start, Captain Sam Wyndham arrives to take up an important post in Calcutta's police force. He is soon called to the scene of a horrifying murder. The victim was a senior official, and a note in his mouth warns the British to leave India – or else.

Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

'The Sun always has ways to reach us.'

From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches
carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans.

In Klara and The Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela

Natasha Wilson knows how difficult it is to fit in. Born to a Russian mother and a Muslim father, she feels adrift in Scotland and longs for a place that really feels like home.

Then she meets Oz, a charismatic and passionate student at the university where Natasha teaches. As their bond deepens, stories from Natasha's research come to life - tales of forbidden love and intrigue in the court of the Tsar.

But when Oz is suspected of radicalism, Natasha's own work and background suddenly come under the spotlight. As suspicions grow around her, and friends and colleagues back away, Natasha stands to lose the life she has fought to build.

We will meet on Thursday 31st March, 2022 at 8pm in The Hundred of Ashendon to discuss our reading experience of The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters.

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. 

Book choices to kick off 2022

The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?

Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.

Educated by Tara Westover

Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag". In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard.

Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent.

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

Vivid and compelling in its portrait of one woman’s struggle for fulfillment in a society pivoting between the traditional and the modern, The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel.

Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own…

Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in tow—a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those that surround her as she does.

We will meet on Thursday 20th January, 2022 at 8pm in The Hundred of Ashendon to discuss our reading experience of The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters.

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. 

Book choices to see us into Winter

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney

The novel opens with the discovery of the murder of a French trapper and trader named Laurent Jammet. Mrs Ross, the protagonist and first-person narrator of the novel, finds the mysterious trapper in his isolated cabin on the outskirts of a settlement called Dove River. Mrs Ross brings the murder to the attention of the town's magistrate, Andrew Knox, who then calls upon the Hudson's Bay Company to investigate the murder. This brings three men from the Company to Dove River: Mackinley, the leader, Donald Moody, an accountant, and Jacob, a native guide who works for the company and who has named himself Moody's personal protector. Mrs Ross’ son, Francis, also

goes missing on the day that Jammet is found.

News of Jammet's unfortunate end travels south as well, bringing it to the attention of Thomas Sturrock, a former journalist and retired searcher whose talents have endeared him to many Indian tribes. His interest in Jammet concerns not so much the man himself but what he possessed. Specifically, Jammet had a small bone tablet with unidentified markings on it in which Sturrock was extremely interested. Sturrock did not have the funds, at the time, to buy it from Jammet, who promised to keep the tablet safe until Sturrock could afford it. Once he hears of the murder, however, Sturrock sets off for Dove River, hoping to discover the fate of the tablet.

The mix of people concerned with the death further expands with the addition of William Parker, who is a half-Native American trapper. Initially, he is suspected of having committed the murder and subsequently detained. He is soon released, however, and then becomes Mrs Ross's guide in her quest to find her son.

Once all of these characters have been introduced, the novel then follows their respective journeys—and the discoveries they make along the way—through land gripped by winter.

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned; the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa—a large, silent house now bereft of brothers, husband, and even servants—life is about to be transformed, as impoverished widow Mrs Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers.

With the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the “clerk class,” the routines of the house will be shaken up in unexpected ways. Little do the Wrays know just how profoundly their new tenants will alter the course of Frances’s life—or, as passions mount and frustration gathers, how far-reaching, and how devastating, the disturbances will be.

Star of The North by David B John

North Korea proves an enigmatic, startling stage for D.B. John’s assured tale of a CIA deep-cover agent, prepared to risk it all to find her missing twin.

He’s a survivor, playing a poor hand with great skill. His weapons keep him safe from us. Hunger keeps him safe at home. His people think only of where their next meal is coming from, not of rebellion. And he’ll kill as many of them as it takes to stay in power. 

America and North Korea stand on the verge of war.

Enlisted by the CIA, Korean-African American academic Jenna Williams is sent undercover on a perilous mission to infiltrate a terrifying plot at the heart of the regime; a plot to kidnap and engineer home-grown assassins and spies to deploy in the west. For Jenna, it’s a mission that comes with a personal agenda and a heavy cost: that of her own kidnapped twin sister.

As Jenna begins a desperate and dangerous search, John interweaves parallel tales of an ordinary North Korean citizen and the country’s disgraced elite as the webs of deception grow ever-tighter.

Lauded by no less than Lee Child, D.B. John turns in a Frederick Forsyth-level performance with Star of the North. An impressively skilled double-hander, it manages the feat of being both a fast-paced and nerve-shredding thriller and a comprehensive window into life in a ruthless regime few have witnessed first-hand. That the author is one of those rare few only lends this book a greater authenticity - D.B. John is also the co-author of Hyeonseo Lee’s memoir of her own escape from North Korea, The Girl With Seven Names. Blended into high-octane fiction, the result is astonishing: an almost agonisingly tense portrait of a forbidden society and a honed machine of a thriller.

We will meet on Thursday 4th November at 8pm in The Hundred to discuss our current read: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and to choose our next book.