On January 21 we met at my house to discuss Nancy's book "The Nightingale"
written by Kristin Hannah.
After pizza and a lovely salad made by Madeleine, we
had a very fine discussion led by a well prepared Nancy.
Betsy made a cameo appearance but opted for tennis.
Julie, Nancy, Madeleine, Kathy, Sarah, Carol, Sue, Doug and I
filled out the attendance role.
Nancy set the tone by a quotation.
In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.
Two different sisters separated by age and circumstances
find out who they are in war torn France during the German
occupation. Survival is the keynote here and the elder sister who
has a child must do all she can to save her family. She finds herself
doing things including killing a German man who was
billeted in her home.
The younger sister is rebellious and reckless and joins
the resistance. She led many downed allied pilots across the
Pyrenees into Spain so they could get back to bombing Germany.
She became known as the Nightingale and showed extra ordinary
courage for an 18 year old. Her romance with another partisan Gaetan
added some extra heat, though some said it was like a romance novel.
The author intentionally misleads us to believe it is the youngest
sister who is the survivor in Oregon. We discussed this twist and
agreed it added to the overall effect of the novel.
We discussed the possibility of a movie and who might be the
stars chosen for the roles.
Nancy went around the room and gave each person a chance to say
why they liked or disliked the novel.
I chose a book called "The Marriage of Opposites" by Alice Hoffman.
It is set on the Island of St. Thomas during the 1800's which is the
birthplace of Camille Pissaro who is the father of Impressionism.
We chose February 24th for our next meeting but as usual it might
be subject to change due to a possible Florida trip.
