The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

 

This one was chosen by Carol Branson.

This was enjoyed by everyone especially those who had the pleasur

of listening to Tom Hanks narrate this tale.

It is about a brother and sister who have been thrown out of

their childhood home by the stepmom when there father dies.  

They cannot help returning to the scene of the lavish Dutch

house where their lives were unraveled. The house is part gift,

part curse. It spans five decades and 3 generations.

Carol made a great dinner and we were entertained by the 

myriad of hummingbirds that buzzed by her dining room window.

This book post is out of sequence. This was after "The French Bistro"' 

  

The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

 Julie chose this British mystery Whodonit novel which was published

in 2016. The murder is set is a small English village. The brilliant detective

is Atticus Pund. There are many characters all who could have

some motive in killing the Lord of the Manor as well as his housekeeper.

There is also a second murder as the writer of the novel is murdered.

The editor now becomes a detective and there are many clues in

both stories that the reader has to notice if he or she is to solve

the crimes. Lots of fun as we all tried to be sleuths.

Julie made a lovely spinach salad. I made a caprese salad and we had

pizza. Sarah made a lovely  peach crisp to end the delightful evening 

on Julie's deck.

Doug detected a small plane going by that sounded strange and we

all saw it on our way home as it had made an emergency landing on 96th St.

 

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Marsha chose this historical fiction published in 2019. It is set  in a

remote area of Eastern Kentucky back in the depression. It is about

five brave women who journey through the hills of Kentucky by

packhorse distributing library books funded by a program started 

by franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Moyes is a British author but

she really captures the people and ways of the area. There is of course

some nice love stories woven in as well. There was some claim that

Moyes plagiarized Kim Michele Richardson's "The Book Women of Troublesome Creek".

Marsha made pot pies and we played with Opal, her Bichon Frize.

 

 

Little French Bistro by Nina George

 This was chosen by Betsy. It is about an unhappily married German lady

named Marianne who attempts suicide during a vacation in Paris with her controlling

husband. She is however saved from drowning by an onlooker,  She goes to the

coast of Brittany to a small Breton village where she meets many people and

eventually finds herself and begins to take pleasure in life. Of course she also

finds love and develops her given talents.

We had to discuss this one at Diavolo's Pizza as Marco's closed. It was loud and

the acoustics were bad but the food and drinks were good. 

The Last Report on the Miracles of Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich

 Sarah chose this book by one of her favorite authors,

It is about a priest Father Damien who serves the Native American tribe,

the Ojibwe. He is really a woman who has posed as a man and dreads the 

discovery of his identity as he nears the end of his life. It is a very complicated

novel. It deals with passion, death and humor. There are many excellent characterizations.

It is a sequel and a prequel to her other works.     

This was our last discussion at Marco's in the private room.

Ask Again Yes by Mary Beth Keane

This is a story of 2 families who are living in the Suburbs, the dads are both

Irish Brooklyn cops. We see what happens behind the closed doors of each

household. But the son Peter and daughter Kate fall in love at age 14 and

are then divided by a chance incident when Peter's mother shoots Kate's father.

Peter's mother Anne is a mentally ill, abused woman who abandons him during

her institutionalization. Then he is again abandoned by his Dad who moves away

 and becomes physically and emotionally unavailable. Peter also becomes a cop

and an alcoholic. The story continues for over

30 more years when Peter and Kate eventually marry and have kids

and forces the two families to interact and to ultimately forgive.

It is a book about mental illness and alcoholism and their toll on all

the characters they touch.

We do feel that all may end well as our families heal and cast away blame

due to family loyalty and love. Kate would say "Yes" if he asked her to

marry him again. It was a good story of ordinary people and their

marriages and relationships.

Sarah chose "The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse" by

Louise Erdrich.

      

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin

 In January we zoomed to discuss Donna's book "When Crickets' Cry"

by Charles Martin. This was actually listed as Christian reading.

The hero is a non practicing heart transplant surgeon who has a

painful past and he meets with a spirited child who is in need of

a heart transplant. We soon learn why crickets cry and that miracles can occur.

There is a wonderful love story between the hero Reese and his wife Emma.

The book is full of wonderful characters and is threaded with quotes

from the bible and poetry and full of such good people that you have to like them. 

We learned a lot of medical facts about the heart and its functions. 

And who doesn't love a miracle? It was a feel good story.

Kathy Chose "Ask Again, Yes" by Mary Beth Keane for the  next read.

  

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

 We postponed  the meeting till December due to the

difficulty of getting the book and reverted to Zoom due to

the surge in the Covid cases brought on by Thanksgiving gatherings.

This was a quirky laugh out loud novel, a totally original story.

It's about a would be bank robber who disappears into thin air

and eight completely anxious  strangers who find out they have more

in common than they suspected. There are many twists and surprises

but Backman tells us that though we live in a messy ambiguous world

we can turn to each other to find calm and assurance.

The book is as insightful into human nature as it is heartwarming

and heart wrenching. 

We had lots of good discussion of the many oddball characters that is

 truly Backman. Good choice Madeleine.

Donna chose "When Crickets Cry" by Charles Martin for the next 

read and meeting designated to be Zoomed in January.