The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin

 

 

In Early February Molly hosted us at her beautiful home.

We discussed her book "The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Hoosier author,

Melanie Benjamin. This was a historical fiction about Truman Capote and

his friendship with the very wealthy elite of Fifth Avenue in the 50's and 60's.

It focuses primarily with his friendship with Babe Paley who is the wife of Bill 

Paley, the CBS magnate.  All that glitters is not gold as there are many sad stories

behind the glittering facade,

Truman is depicted as a troubled unwanted child whose only desire is to be

accepted and loved. He is privy to all the secrets of these wealthy socialites.

He then betrays them when he publishes a scandalous story about them, Names are not

mentioned but they know who they are. Truman falls from grace and is shunned by all.

This was a very interesting tale about some very unlikeable characters.

Molly had three kinds of pies. There was a Thai Pie, a chicken pot pie and a

vegetarian pie. This was accompanied by a lovely green salad and a cake. 

We had lots of wine and almost a perfect attendance. Julie and Carol were unable

to attend.

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

On November 30th Laura Derrickson hosted us to discuss her book

“The Island of Sea Women” by Lisa See.

We had a phenomenal perfect attendance which has not occurred

for a very long time. Somehow Laura made it work. We were all 13 comfortably

seated as we each shared our thoughts.

The friendship of the two women and the heartbreaking rift was important

to everyone. The need for forgiveness was cited and necessary for self

preservation..The uniqueness of the diving Haenyo women who engage in dangerous 

free diving to harvest food from the ocean was also high on the impressive list.

We even engaged in a little fun experiment to see how long we could hold our breaths.

We discussed the roles of men versus women in that particular Jeju Island

scenario and the various traditional beliefs of Shamanism, Christianity and Confucianism.

Everyone also admitted to learning some new facts about the Japanese occupation 

of Korea and the brutal reality of their civil war as well as the American part in

shaping today’s Korea.

We then retreated to dine on beautifully set tables where we enjoyed salad, 

spinach pasta, and home made key lime pie. All of this accompanied by

lots of wine, beer, and even scotch.

As some people stated it was a great way to kick off the Holiday season.

Molly chose “The Swans of Fifth Avenue” by Melanie Benjamin and January 18,

was set for the next meeting.

 

Never by Ken Follett

In October Marsha hosted us at her home to discuss this gritty new thriller

by Ken Follett. We had two kinds of pasta salad as well as a green salad

and of course dessert.

“Never” is an action packed, globe spanning drama set in the present day.

America has the first female president as well as first gentleman.

There is a brilliant Chinese spymaster, the leaders of both Koreas and many undercover

agents  all struggling to prevent the outbreak of world war 111 when nuclear

weapons are used. Diplomacy has to be exercised to prevent this.

Every nation has its spies and undercover people gaining

each other’s intelligence.

As the crisis escalates we are taken into the world of international tension which is

all too real. There is some romance thrown in which could make the movie more

interesting when it comes out. It was 800 plus pages but it kept us captivated.

We have not read many spy thrillers but all agreed it was a nice change.

We asked Marsha to show us some of her jewelry artworks and

had  a little shopping spree before we went home.

Laura chose a book called “The Island of Sea Women” by Lisa See

for  our next read and November 30th set for the meeting

Blessings

In September we met at Julie’s home to discuss her book Blessing, by Anna Quindlen.

A teenage couple drop off an unwanted baby at the garage door of a an estate called Blessings which is owned by Lydia Blessing.

The caretaker and gardener, Skip Cuddy decides to keep the baby secretly. The owner of Blessings discover the baby and joins with Skip in raising the child which changes both their lives.

The secrets of the past and how they affect the decisions of the present is one theme. It’s about family and the community and about redemption and change. As Julie stated, it was a sweet book which speaks to people of our age and urges us to action in living a life worthwhile.

Julie made a wonderful pasta salad inspired by the New York Times and we had a lovely picnic on her deck.

Marsha chose the book called Never by Ken Follett for 

our October meeting.

 

The Man In The Dog Park

 In July we met at Carol’s house to discuss her book, 

The Man In the Dog Park by Cathy A. Small, an Anthropologist.

This is a book about homelessness which the author was

Inspired to co author with a homeless man she encountered 

In a dog park. The book takes us into the lives of homeless people

who  have slipped between the cracks into poverty and  exposes the

difficulty they face in trying to get back on track. We are taken into

the tented makeshift camps and the shelters. We experience a day labor agency, a panhandling corner, a pawn shop, HUD. offices and learn how what it’s like

to be homeless in America

So it calls us to become conscious of the problem and think about how we can help.

Melody Ingle was a guest speaker and she shared her experience of taking care of a local homeless man named James whom she has befriended.

Carol made a lovely meal and a very yummy creamy dessert.

Julie sent in her book choice called Blessings by Anna Quindlen.

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

 

On June 23rd, we met at Betsy's home to discuss her book

"The Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles,

Betsy had questions penned by the author himself to guide our

discussion. Though the book was over 500 pages most people had read it

and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is a fast paced and reflective adventure story centered on three young men

who were incarcerated in a juvenile work camp. The 3 boys are joined by Billy

a bright 10 year old on the Odyssey.  It is an adventure story set in 1954 and lasts

 for 10 days when they travel the Lincoln Highway from Nebraska to New York and then to

San Francisco. Each boy is different and they have conflicting motives for making the

trip. The author has created so many different characters and each character gets to

narrate the happenings of each day. They are joined by Sally a caring young

lady who is in love with one of the boys and has her own agenda for going along.

They meet a cast of characters along the way some of which are very minor

ones but all are important in the big picture of the adventure.

Some of the themes in the book are physical violence, murder, racism,

 corporal punishment of minors, suicide, greed, exploitation, autism, and revenge.

The end of the book leaves the reader on their own to decide what really happens.

There is a dream sequence which helps us to decide.

Discussion was animated and we all had a chance to voice our opinions.

We also welcomed our newest member, Linda Pratt who added many good

insights to our discussion. 

Betsy made a shrimp pasta salad, a watermelon mint cucumber salad and another 

vegetable salad. Dessert was a whipped cream and strawberry concoction topped

with cognac. Betsy indeed set the bar high with all these delicacies. 

Carol chose a book about homelessness entitled "The Man in The dog Park".

  

      

One Night Two Souls Went Walking by Ellen Cooney

 

In April we met at Sarah's home to discuss her book choice

which was entitled "One Night Two Souls Went Walking" by Ellen Cooney.

Sarah fixed a lovely vegetarian supper including a tasty lentil soup, a great bread

and a healthy salad. We of course accompanied this with lots of wine and beer.

The book is about a young female hospital chaplain who is joined one

night on her rounds by a rough and tumble dog who may or may not 

have been a ghost. This very caring chaplain tends to the souls of her

patients who are young and old, some living their last moments and others

navigating their altered lives. 

Our Reverend was raised as a Catholic but she switched to a Protestant religion

when she discovered that girls can't become priests. She works the night shift and because of her 

caring is a very popular chaplain who does not quote the bible but has a sense

of what people need to hear. The book makes a great argument for the existence of

a soul and an afterlife. There is no great plot just mainly separate vignettes of different

patients. She brings peace to their minds and souls.

The book is sometimes humorous and whimsical but it is also very thought

provoking and uplifting.

Betsy chose "The Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles for our June meeting.