Saturday, August 28, 2021
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
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.
Thursday, February 11, 2021
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.