February 2012: The Sense of an Ending

This will be a brief one, as I had completely forgotten about writing a post, and its now been two weeks since Book Club, ergo I don't remember too much in detail.

In February, we read The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. This book had a very different writing style to the books we've read previously. It's a style that doesn't quite click until  you read about the author himself - he studied Modern Language in university, and worked as a lexicographer before becoming a literary editor. Additionally, his brother is a prestigious philosophy professor, teaching at universities throughout Europe. I didn't know any of that until after I had read the book, and it certainly helps me understand why he writes the way he writes.

It's the story of Tom Webster, a man who has had an altogether ordinary life, slipping through his experiences passively, at best. He reflects on his mediocrity as he reaches old age, and we meet him as a high school student, meeting a boy named Adrian, and having his first relationship with a girl named Veronica. In the present, Tom learns that he has been left Adrian's diary in a will - strangely, the will of Veronica's mother. The book follows Tom's experiences as he tries to get the diary from an unwilling Veronica, the mystery of where Veronica's life has taken her, and how it relates to Adrian and Tom.

While the storyline had potential to be interesting and captivating, the ending left more questions than answers - particulary the question of 'Why should we care?'. The author's writing, while intelligent, was superfluous. He used so much space to say very little, and it was hard to get engaged in what he was saying.

It did win the Man Booker prize, which honors the best in contemporary fiction in the British Commonwealth. In fact, all of Julian Barnes' novels have been nominated, with this being his first win.

In March, we will be reading Jenn's choice, And Also Sharks by Jessica Westhead. We will be meeting at Danielle's house at 7pm, March 26.

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” — Oscar Wilde

January 2012: The Virgin Cure

On Monday we met to discuss January's book - The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay. This was another book club first - a unanimous dislike of the book! I think what we all felt was disappointment - the book was so underwhelming. When we chose this book, it was based on the subject matter - it's a heavy topic, but also has the weight of historical accuracy - this isn't just a fictional subject, it was a lie that society believed. Who knows how many young girls lives were ruined because of the belief that taking their virginity would cure venereal disease?

It's a legitimate question - one of many that the book didn't answer. In fact, there is one line in the entire book that even hints about the topic, and it's right at the end.

         "Closing her eyes tight, Alice said, 'He bragged about what he did. He said making me bleed would give him the virgin cure.'"

That sentence was followed by no explanation, no detail. The reader is just expected to know what's happening, what the virgin cure is (albeit, we were easily able to figure it out ourselves), and how it fit in to life in Manhattan in 1871.

This seemed to be the problem with the entire book - you get the idea that the author knows exactly what she's talking about, but she never quite finds the time or inclination to explain it to her readers. We didn't get a sense of what the city was like in that time period, there were no descriptions of landscape, society, or even the characters. Without this basic foundation, there was no room to develop an interest in any part of the story. We didn't care what happened to the characters, because we had no emotional investment. We didn't know what they looked like, why they made the decisions they did, or where their choices took them.

The only attempt in this direction were the little descriptive notes on the sides or tops of pages. The author added in fictional newspaper articles or letters, and tidbits on the ways of society, but they never quite seemed to fit into the story, and we all agreed that the information was tangential, more distracting than anything.

Mara pointed out the fact that in the Author's Note, McKay explains why she wanted to write this story - the character of Dr. Sadie was based on her great-great-grandmother, who was one of the first graduates of the Women's Medical College, and spent her life caring for children who lived on the streets. She believed everyone deserved health care, no matter their station or income. The author originally planned to write the story from Sadie's perspective. We discussed the possibility that the book would have been more passionate if she had pursued that original storyline, and if it would have been more focused on the epidemic than the published version was. In fact, the Author's Note talks more about the virgin cure and the myths surrounding it than the entire novel does.

All in all, I think we all were left wanting more, expecting more. Mara and Chelsey both read McKay's first novel, and found it to be far superior to her sophomore effort. This book left something to be desired - so much so that we tried to create haikus about the book, just so that we'd have something to say! Alas, Jenn and I were the only participants. Does that surprise anyone? Between that and the attack on Chelsey, the best parts of this month's meeting had nothing to do with the novel itself.

 I think we're all hoping next month's choice is a little more of a satisfying read! As the host, Chelsey has chosen February's book. We'll be reading The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.

February will see us meeting at Jenn's on February 27 @ 7pm.

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” — Confucius

January meeting

Hey ladies,

I've been thinking about our meetings, and wondering how we can improve the dialogue, and really open up the discussion. When we started this book club, we thought at first we would just leave it open, and not really make it structured; just let the conversation flow where it may. And I still think that's a really great idea; I'm not sure it would really be enjoyable to come with a list of questions that we each have to answer - though Steph might appreciate the school-like setting :).

Side note: I like emoticons because it's sometimes hard to convey emotion through quick blurbs of writing. What I hate about emoticons is I'm not sure where they fit in correlation to the sentence's punctuation. SEE ABOVE. Should that happy face have come after the period? Before? Does the happy face negate the period entirely?? WHO KNOWS.

Back on topic. So here's my (well, other's ideas, I'm just conveying): How about when we read this month's book, we take notes - things that make us think while reading, stuff that sticks out to us, portions that really grab us emotionally. That way we can bring our notes, and really share with everyone what spoke to us in the book. It doesn't have to be formal or long, maybe even just key words to help you remember. I think this will really enrich the conversation and help us get a lot more out of it.

This is just a suggestion, and by no means is it mandatory. If you think that's totally stupid, you can just read and bring your ideas like normal. I know it will help me, because when I read a book, I have so much to say about it, and by the time the meeting rolls around, its easy to forget what I had wanted to say.

So take it or leave it. Either way, I'm sure we'll have another great meeting.

This month's we will be at Chelsey's place on January 23 @ 7pm. Let someone know if you need directions, and maybe someday Steph will update the contact sheet? Kidding, kidding.

Happy reading!

“What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.” — Anne Lamott