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.