The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

On July 9th we met at my house to discuss The Fisherman which

was a debut novel by a young Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma.

We had our usual salad and Kathy picked up Puccini's

pizza as they no longer deliver. Kathy also contributed some

cheesecake (not her home made) but quite yummy.

I think this was a very sad book and I got the impression that

was why it was not that well received. It is a story about a

Nigerian family of 5 brothers and one baby sister. The story

really focuses on the four eldest boys who are left by their

father in the care of the mother because he has to relocate for

work. The boys become disobedient and decide to go fishing and

begin to skip school. They encounter a mad man who predicts that

the second son will  kill the eldest. This almost becomes a self fulfilling prediction.

The 2nd son kills himself after he murders his oldest brother and the other two brothers avenge their deaths

by killing the mad man in a very savage manner.

The narrator goes to prison for 7 years and their dreams of migrating

to Canada are dashed. The mother goes crazy and is institutionalized.

A sad tale indeed still there is a glimmer of hope at he end.

Still people liked his writing and his unique way of mixing the Igbo 

language with English. They also liked how the chapter began with

names like Eagle, Falcon, Python, Fungus  and others to classify a person and

their characteristics.          

Madeleine chose the popular "Where The Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens.

August 21 was targeted for the next meeting.

South of Broad by Pat Conroy

In June Madeleine hosted us at her lovely new home where we

were fed snacks, cocktails and many healthy salads ending with

Limoncello and ice cream.

We discussed Doug's book choice which was written by popular and

prolific author Pat Conroy. The book is set in Charleston, S.C.

The book had a host of characters some of which are sinners

and others saints. Leopold Bloom is the narrator and he has a

loving father and unique ex nun mother. The family struggles

with the suicide of Steve, the eldest child. Leo searches for something to sustain him

and does so when he becomes involved with a group of

high school seniors.

These characters were diverse including socialites, blacks, broken

mountain siblings, glamorous Sheba and her gay brother.

We follow the group through their lives and share in their

successes and breakdowns in Charleston's dark legacy of

racism and class divisions. The book is  typically  Conroy at his

finest whose passion for life and language has no bounds.

I chose a book entitled " The Fishermen"by Chigozie Obioma

and settled on a July 10th date.