Under The Influence by Joyce Maynard

We met at Rockstone on September 7, to discuss

Joyce Maynard's novel "Under The Influence".

The members who attended were Kathy, Sarah, Donna,

Nettie, Julie and Janet.

The book we all agreed was a page turner,

but maybe a beach read which is not really a bad

thing. Sometimes Beach reads are great for a busy 

summer schedule.

The book is about a single mother who is

struggling with alcoholism which caused her

to lose custody of her young son Ollie.

The book does not concentrate on her alcoholism

but the bad choices she makes in life.

The mother  Helen is seduced by a wealthy couple who

seek to control her choices and her entire life.

Eva wants to dress Helen, she wants to have her at her

beck and call. She denigrates the only person who

really cares for Helen always pointing out his ordinariness 

and shortcomings.  They try to take over her child. 

The friendship is caustic and eventually she sees them

for what they really are after a very disastrous incident

her son had with the husband Skip while on a

boating trip. The self serving wealthy couple

are eventually exposed for their misdeeds and

we get the feeling that Helen may be on the

road to healing.

I think most of us liked the book and even went

on the read her bestseller "Labor Day".

Kathy led a great discussion from the study guide

questions .

Donna chose a book by Kate MacIntosh entitled.

"I let You Go".

we chose October 26th for the next meeting.

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

On June 20, 2016 we held our meeting at

Rockstone Pizza. It was a small group of 6 members,

Kathy, Betsy, Donna, Sue, Carol and Nettie.

Sue did a fantastic job of leading the discussion with

the help of the book club suggested topics.

The Spool of Blue Thread was a quintessential

Anne Tyler book about 4 generations of an

American family totally heartwarming and at the

same time dysfunctional.

We discussed the characters we felt were important

and agreed they were Denny the problem child and Abby

the mother who was going to keep her family united.

She was the spool of blue thread who tried to keep

her family grounded and together.

The house that was built by the eldest Whitshank for a 

wealthy client  almost becomes 

a character in the book and so it was surprising that none

of the Whitshank children chose to keep the home.

The story flip flops between the different generations

but all came together. 

Eventually they had to deal with old age and dementia

like all families.  The Whitshanks could be any of our

families, just  ordinary people trying to attain togetherness.    

Kathy chose "Under The Influence" by Joyce Maynard.

It is about a recovering alcoholic who makes some

bad choices regarding a couple who greatly influenced her.

September 7th was targeted for the next meeting.

A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman

We met in June at Rockstone Pizza to discuss

Madeleine's choice "A Man Called Ove" by

Swedish author Fredrik Backman. It has been

a while so bear with me if I am incorrect. I recall

that those attending were Madeleine, Julie, Betsy, Sue,

Carol, Julie, Donna, Nancy, Janet, Sarah and Me.

Those who read the book did not start out liking

Ove who was a cantankerous curmudgeon and widower who

lived by order and rules and was annoyed by any who

did not follow the rules in his housing complex.

He was set in his ways such as only driving a Volvo

and breaking up a long term relationship with a

neighbor as he bought a BMW. 

However as we learn more about him we start to

like him. We learn about his motherless childhood,

his heartwarming courtship and love for his deceased 

wife Sonja, his high principles for doing the right thing.

Ove is trying to commit suicide but is failing miserable 

because he gets involved with new neighbors who are

needy Iranians. He forms an unlikely friendship with one of

the children, adopts a messy stray cat, teaches a woman

to drive his Volvo, harbors a gay boy whose

father has estranged him. He is needed by his neighbors to

fix their heating units, helps a boy fix a bicycle. As he

becomes needed and involved he morphs into a generous

caring person. Ironically he dies of a heart attack at the end of 

the book just when he had given up ideas of suicide.

Sue chose an Anne Tyler book called "A Spool of Blue Thread".

A date was chosen but had to be cancelled.       

My Notorious Life by Kate Manning

On April 13th we met at my home to discuss Janet's book

"My Notorious Life" by Kate Manning.

It has been a while but I remember Kathy, Madeleine, Sarah, Donna,

and Janet attending. 

This was the first time the chooser admitted to not liking

her choice. This was the story of Axie Muldoon, an Irish Orphan who

against all odds rises from rags to riches in 19th century

New York. She apprentices as a midwife/abortionist and

becomes  very successful and notorious in her field.

Her husband a very enterprising orphan himself starts a

mail order business selling abortion  pills, French

letters and related items.

Abortion was against the law but not enforced till one

crusader made Axie his special project. She serves prison

time and  eventually moves to London where she continues

to ply her trade.

We had discussion on the morality of the abortions and its

timing and learned that women had very few rights then

and no voice in how to solve their own problems.

It was an age old story of women's struggles to gain control of

basic rights.  This was historical fiction loosely based on an

abortionist named Ann Lohman who is not very well known.

Madeleiene chose a book by Fredrik Backman entitled,

"A Man Called Ove" which is a charming debut novel about

a curmudgeon. We chose May 18th to be the next date. 

The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman

On March 16th, 2016 we held our book discussion at Chilis.

We had 7 attendees including Sarah, Janet, Kathy, Betsy, Donna,

Madeleine and Nettie.

We discussed which marriage or relationship was the one the author intended in the title.

Most thought Rachel and both husbands were opposites. But when we looked at

most of the relationships we saw opposites. Although people are similar in religion,

race, and social class and ideally suited for each other that does not guarantee

a successful marriage.  

We talked about Rachel's relationship with her mother as well as her

relationships with the other women in her life, like Jestine, Adele and Rosalie.

Rachel and her mother had a flawed relationship.

The mother did not want her daughter to be educated and did not care

for her daughter's headstrong manner which was unsuitable for the 1800's

We liked the setting of the novel and learned a lot about the Jewish refugees

settling in the Caribbean and their adherence to the strict religious rules

in that part of the world. We also learned about the Danish government and how they

settled St. Thomas. We thought the author put us right in the midst of the flora and

fauna and the blueness of the Caribbean Sea and the creole food along with the demon Rum.

It was a huge plus to then have one of Rachel's sons be Camile Pissaro who was one

of the fathers of Impressionism. Later whilst sipping wine we looked at several of his paintings.

We could see where some were influenced by his time in St. Thomas.

We also discussed the fact that Pissaro's mother opposed his marriage to their

housemaid and that she supported him financially throughout his life. She was disappointed that he chose a creative rather than practical career . Her disappointment with his marriage and career consumes her in the end.

Janet chose a book called "My Notorious Life" by Katie Manning and 

we are aiming to meet again on April 13th .

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

On January 21 we met at my house to discuss Nancy's book "The Nightingale"

written by Kristin Hannah.

After pizza and a lovely salad made by Madeleine, we

had a very fine discussion led by a well prepared Nancy.

Betsy made a cameo appearance but opted for tennis.

Julie, Nancy, Madeleine, Kathy, Sarah, Carol, Sue, Doug and I

filled out the attendance role.

Nancy set the tone by a quotation.

In love we find out who we want to be.

In war we find out who we are.

Two different sisters separated by age and circumstances

find out who they are in war torn France during the German

occupation. Survival is the keynote here and the elder sister who

has a child must do all she can to save her family. She finds herself

doing things including killing a German man who was

billeted in her home.

The younger sister is rebellious and reckless and joins

the resistance. She led many downed allied pilots across the

Pyrenees into Spain so they could get back to bombing Germany.

She became known as the Nightingale and showed extra ordinary

courage for an 18 year old. Her romance with another partisan Gaetan

added some extra heat, though some said it was like a romance novel.

The author intentionally misleads us to believe it is the youngest

sister who is the survivor in Oregon. We discussed this twist and 

agreed it added to the overall effect of the novel.

We discussed the possibility of a movie and who might be the 

stars chosen for the roles.

Nancy went around the room and gave each person a chance to say

why they liked or disliked the novel.

I chose a book called "The Marriage of Opposites" by Alice Hoffman.

It is set on the Island of St. Thomas during the 1800's which is the

birthplace of Camille Pissaro who is the father of Impressionism.

We chose February 24th for our next meeting but as usual it  might

be subject to change due to a possible Florida trip.   

A God In Ruins by Kate Atkinson

 

 

On December 9th, we had a Christmas gathering and book club

meeting at Nettie's home. It was a pitch in and we had 9 people

present including Julie, Madeleine, Betsy, Sue, Janet, Kathy, Sarah, 

Doug and Nettie. 

Julie had done her homework and led a very good discussion

on Kate Atkinson's book "A God In Ruins".

It was a story of a British family spanning four generations.

The time periods went back and forth but that is a very

common writing technique now and was not a problem.

The book centers around Teddy Todd who was in the Royal

Air Force and was a heroic pilot during the second world war.

The author actually took us on some bombing raids over

Germany with Teddy where civilians may have  perished though

not targeted.

Teddy was a great husband, father, grandfather and we see him

adjust to a changing world after the war in a life he did not

expect to have. In fact at the end of the book we find out

he actually died during the war. This left some of us readers feeling

cheated, short changed and confused. So we have to suspend

reality. Julie saw it coming as several "walls" would break

down one by one.

This was one man's struggle to exist in a world in a future he

did not expect to have. Did anyone really exist?

The author's first book Life After Life also explores the

same idea of infinite chances and the power of choices.

We all had some thoughts on crossroads of our own lives

that may have drastically changed our lives if we had made

different decisions.

We discussed the idea that God made us in his image with

God within us but due to choices humans make we are ruined.

We are ruined by war and the author had some staggering

figures on all the lives lost in all the wars...yet we persist.  

Doug regaled us with a few war stories about his Dad and some

funny ones about his Meditteranean tour paid for by the Navy. 

We agreed Kate atkinson was an excellent writer and a very educated

woman as she had used many literary allusions

 and many foreign phrases that those with electronic readers had to praise the ease of the electronic dictionary usage.  

Nancy chose a book entitled "The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah

which is another world war two epic.

January 21 is the tentative date for our next meeting.