Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi

Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi @ Tahnee's house

1.       How important is it to “know where you come from”.

2.       Did you have a favourite character that resonated with you or chapter?

3.       Yaw teaches his students that history is one interpretation of the story and you must consider whose story is missing. What stories were you told as ‘history’ that you later found to have a different interpretation for another group of people?

4.       What did you think of the method of storytelling i.e. one individuals story per chapter?

5.       Was there a chapter or character that you would’ve liked to have been further developed?

6.       Complicity was a significant factor of the continuing “success” of the slave trade. Who was complicit in this novel and what could have been done, if anything, to put a stop to the slave trade. What other historical events have continued on the back of complicity.

7.       Was there a character or chapter that you could not connect with or that didn’t seem to fit?

8.       The novel covers both gender based and racial based oppression, through the ages. Are there other forms of oppression that also feature?

A Family tree

Effia's Family

Cobbee Otcher: Effia’s Father

Baaba: Cobbee’s first wife, not Effia’s biological mother, but reluctantly raises Effia until she can send her away in marriage

Effia Otcher: Fante, married to James to strengthen relationship between village and white men

Fiifi: Effia’s half-brother

James Collins: Governor of Cape Coast Castle, marries Effia

Quey Collins: Fante and British son of Effia and James

Cudjo Sackee: Quey’s friend from a prominent Fante village

Nana Yaa Yeboah: eldest daughter of powerful Asante king, forced into marriage with Quey

James Richard Collins: Fante, Asante and British: Quey and Nana’s son

Amma: James’ first wife whom he doesn’t chose and doesn’t love

Akosua Mensah: Asante, James’ second wife

Abena Collins: only child of James (Unlucky) and Akosua; drowned by missionary when her daughter is a baby

Ohene Nyarko: Abena’s lover

Akua Collins: only child of Abena, raised by missionaries in Kumasi, nightmares of firewoman; becomes the Crazy Woman; lives in Edweso

Asamoah Agyekym: Akua’s Asante husband, becomes the Crippled Man

Abee and Ama: Akua’s children whom she burns to death in their sleep

Nana Serwah: Asamoah’s mother who exiles Akua

Yaw Agyekum: Akua’s son who Asamoah saves from being burned, becomes history teacher

Esther Amoah: comes to clean for Yaw and becomes his wife

Marjorie Agyekum: Daughter of Yaw and Esther

Esi's Family

Maame: Esi’s and Effia’s mother.
Big Man Asare: Esi’s father, skilled and brave Asante warrior who foolishly rushed into conflict, but realized his folly after he was rescued and earned nickname, “It takes a big man to admit his folly.”

Esi Assare: to befriend Adbronoma, Esi sends word to Abronoma’s father that his daughter is a captive. Esi is sold as a slave and raped at the Castle and sold into slavery in U.S.

Abronoma: houseslave for Maame, captive from another tribe.

Ness Stockham: Esi’s daughter, field slave to Thomas Allan Stockham in Alabama

Pinky: Mute slave girl on Stockham’s plantation

Sam: Ness’ husband chosen by the slave owners. Hung by slaveowner

Kojo Freeman: Ness and Sam’s son, taken to Baltimore by Ma Aku

Ma Aku: Asante woman who takes Kojo north in U.S.

Anna Foster: Kojo’s wife, kidnapped when pregnant and commits suicide after H is born

H Black: Kojo and Anna’s son, arrested after the Civil War and sold to work in coal mine in Alabama

Joecy: friend H met as a convict in coal mines and seeks out in Pratt City when released

Ethe Jackson: woman H met before his time as a convict and who he seeks out when released

Wille Black: daughter of H and Ethe, gifted singer, moves from Pratt City to Harlem

Robert Clifton: Willie’s husband from Pratt City who is a very light-skinned black man
Eli: poet of sorts who is transient in Willie's life

Carson “Sonny” Clifton: Willie and Robert’s child

Josephine: Willie and Eli’s child
Amani Zulema: singer and drug addict

Marcus Clifton: Son of sonny and Amani

Approximate Time Periods

Effia and Esi: 1760’s to 1780’s

Quey and Ness: 1800 to 1820’s

James and Kojo: 1820’s to 1860

Abena and H: 1860s to 1890s

Akua and Willie: 1890s to 1920s

Yaw and Sonny : 1940s to 1980s

Marjorie and Marcus: 2000’s

Book Club Report The One in a Million Boy Monica Wood

This month's book was well received by most. Most felt a connection with the boy even though he didn't have a physical presence in the book or had a name.  Ona was the favorite character, while we had mixed feelings about Quinn and had no attachment to Belle. 

The boy and Ona's relationship was the centre piece of the novel.  Ona felt she could trust the boy and told him about her secrets while the boy considered Ona as his only friend.  After the boy's death the relationship between Quinn and Ona, helped them both through their grief giving them a purpose by chasing the Guiness World Record.

Ona didn't see the boy as different, but, Quinn had always felt there was something not quite right with him. We all felt that he probably was on the autism spectrum somewhere and maybe if Belle had not ignored him when he wanted to seek medical help he might have been a better father.

Overall an interesting novel.

Ratings

Tahnee- 7 Bittersweet

Cathy - 4 Ho Hum

Anne Maree  6/7 but not finished

Mel - 7 Bitter lonliness of old age

Georgia - 6.5 Great last page

Tilby - 6 Enjoyable Ona lovely written character

Avis - 3.5 One, waiting for something, Two, to happen, Three,in this story, Four, nearly killed me.

Megan - 7 Slow to start, devastating and exhausting middle, unexpectedly satisfying penultimate end, Disney like, but exultant finale

Kaye - 7 Not a world record breaker, but still enjoyable.

Next Month's Book
Home Going, Yaa Gyasi at Tahnee's

Hi All,

book club at my house tomorrow night.  Here are the questions for discussion:

1. In the opening pages, we discover that the boy of the title has died. And yet, he is a catalyst for everything that happens afterward. How did you perceive the boy's role in the story--as an absence? A presence? A sort of invisible stage manager? Did you sometimes forget that he was no longer alive?  

2. Did you notice that the boy was not given a name in the novel. Why do you think the author did this and do you think it mattered?

3.Why do you think it was important to Belle, that Quinn finished the boy’s time helping Ona?

4. For the first time in her life, Ona gives away her secrets—to a child. What is it about the boy that Ona instinctively trusts?  

5."You reveal a character in two ways," the author has said. "One, how the character views the world. Two, how the world views the character." Does this insight apply to the characters here? Quinn, for example, is rightly regretful for his fatherly failings, and yet the boys in Resurrection Lane trust and rely on him completely. How do varying perceptions combine to make fictional characters feel real?  

 6. "I have deficiencies," the boy tells Ona. Does he? The author has said that she created the boy before the word "autism" or "Asperger's" entered the American lexicon. "He's just who he is," Belle says, bristling against labels.  Is Belle right? Does it matter?

7.The author has said, "If a writer can't make you like a character, she must at least make you understand him." Despite Quinn's flaws, do you like him? If not, did you understand why he behaves the way he does?  

8.When Ona explains the Guinness World Records to Belle and Quinn, she observes: "How tranquilizing it was to arm yourself with information, how consoling to unpack the facts and then plant them like fence pickets, building a sturdy pen in which you stood alone, cosseted against human fallibility." Is this why the boy made lists? Is there a calming aspect to list-making that appeals to a certain type of person?

9. At 104, Ona is young compared to the world's oldest citizens. This is a surprise to both her and the boy. Was it a surprise to you? Did meeting Ona change your assumptions about extreme old age?  

10.The Guinness World Records plays a role in the book. If you were to set a record, what would it be?  

Kaye

Houskeeping July

Hello all,

Just a reminder to post your questions up on the blog the week before.

In addition - when the questions post comes up, please comment if you are attending or not on the post. This will allow people to cater to the numbers.

Tamara, Georgia, Avis and Mel - you should now receive email updates and also have been sent an invitation to access the blog as an author (if you haven't already.)

Happy Reading

Trilby

July Bookclub rounding it up!

Trilby
Score: 5/10
Comment: An enjoyable page turner.

Mel
Score: 7/10
Comment: Eastern Mothers and and Western daughters.

Tahnee
Score: 6/10
Comment: Enjoyable read after some heavy going novels.

Avis
Score: 6/10
Comment: Fortune cookie say 'enjoyable read.'

Georgia
Score: 7.5/10
Comment: Good to read it older.

Tamara
Score: 6/10
Comment: A story of enduring female bonds...




 

august's book

Hi All

I won't be at tonight's book club meeting as I will be on my way to Darwin.
Book Club is at my place next month and the book I have chosen is The One in a Million Boy by Monica Woods.

Have a great meeting.

Kaye

July Discussion 'The Joyluck Club'

Afternoon ladies, 

I will be hosting bookclub at my house this week, I'll have the fire going and a lovely spread to share.. Look forward to seeing you all. (Give me a call if you need directions 0407 341 651, I'll leave the gate open.) 

Tamara x

Discussion questions are below. 

1.What are your thoughts on the structure of The Joy Luck Club? It is not a traditional novel told by one narrator, but the stories are very intricately connected. How did that affect your reading experience? What were some of the differences you noticed in the way that you read this book as opposed to other novels or collections of stories? 

2. Was there a particular story that has stayed with you the most? Why?

3. To what extent do these women experience acculturative stress? Does the initial stress endured by the first generation immigrant mothers create more or less conflict and challenge than that experienced by the second generation daughters? 

(Prompts for discussion: 

While Waverly was a prodigy and grew up to be successful in her career, Jing-mei (or “June” as she is called in America) has had more difficulty. Her parents also wished for her to be a “genius,” as if hard work alone could will it. 

Jing-mei Woo’s chapter “Best Quality” (p. 221) highlights the difference between Waverly and June’s expression of familial culture.) 

4. The goal of the mothers was to provide a better life for their children. Agree/Disagree. Is this singular to immigrant parents or universal to all parents? 

5. To what extent do the second generation daughters experience gratitude for their circumstance, comparative to their mother’s experience. 

(Prompt - Can a parent go too far with providing for their children, is this the case for any of the mothers with their daughters? Is this again singular to the immigrant parent or all parents?) 

(Prompt - It is a common conception that young Asian children are more driven than their peers and more likely to excel because their parents demand more of them. However, it is Waverly’s mother who influences Waverly to quit chess, due to a hurtful argument.)

6. To what extent does The Joy Luck Club perpetuate or challenge stereotypes of Chinese culture.

7.How are men portrayed in the novel? Discuss. 

8.How is marriage represented in the novel? 

(Prompt - Each of the women faces difficult choices when it comes to marrying—whether it be Lindo Jong being forced into an early union with a man she loathes, Ying-Ying St. Clair starting life over with an American man after being abandoned by her first husband, or Rose Hsu Jordan, who is facing divorce from a man whose family never understood her.)

9. When Jing-mei’s aunties tell her about her sisters, they insist that she travel to China to see them, to tell them about their mother. They are taken aback when Jing-mei responds. “What will I say? What can I tell them about my mother? I don’t know anything. She was my mother” (p. 36). How well do any of the mothers and daughters know each other in this book? Kind Regards, 

Good Evening Ladies,

I am going to buck the trend and confess upfront that I have not finished the book. Might have been a bit ambitious trying to host book club a week before heading away.

Anyhow, questions for up to 52% (!)

Do you now understand 'The Troubles;. How would you explain it concisely to the uninformed?
What are your basic perceptions of the history of the troubles in NI.?

Non fiction can be a stifling and tedious read. How did you find the style of writing?

Were you shocked by the scale and extent of violence in such a small land mass

Were the tit-for-tat paramilitary actions childish & immature or a defiant act of revenge?

Discuss the validity internment. Would it be legal these days? As a policy to curb sectarianism, could it have succeeded if loyalists had been interned as well as nationalists.

Did you feel any bias from the authors?

Did Bloody Sunday in Derry shock. Does U2's song make more sense?

Anything worthy of discussion from the remaining 48%?

Hope to see you all tomorrow

That's all folks!!

The Dry by Jane Harper

I chose the book as after reading a review in The Age, also the author was Australian.

Huge attendance this book club, 11 in total.  Welcome to Mel, hope we weren't to boisterous for you.

Everyone except Tahnee (and Colleen who didn't read it) seemed to enjoy read.

Here are the scores and comments

Tahnee - 4/10 - Half baked crime read.

Kaye - 9/10 - Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Georgia - 8/10 - Whodunnit???

Colleen - Still recovering from cleaners blisters

Trilby - 6/10 -- Page turner with some unreality.

Irene - 8/10 - Anchored me for 12 hours.

Megan 6/10 - Page turnability belied the holes in the plot.

Mel - 7/10 - It's no romance.

Kathy - 9/10 - Light fluff that evoked many a town memory.

Tamara - 9/10 - The drought of human nature

Anne-Maree - 9/10 - Finally I picked a winner.


The next book club (June) is at Irene's and the book is Making Sense of the Troubles:..... by David McKittrick and David McVeagh,

July's Book Club is at Tamara's and book is Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club.

Happy Reading!!!

Sorry about the lateness;

My address is 36 Railway Rd Seville. There is a for sale sign out the front of the corrugated fence.

1. How important is grammar, usage, and punctuation?  Do you believe grammar is lost with the tech age?

2. How long has it been since you have thought about grammar and did you learn any thing new from the book?

3.Can you relate to the Author's obsession with stationary?

4. Do yo know of an example where grammar has been poorly used? (please don't pull apart my questions!)

5. Have you taken more notice to grammar since reading this book?

see you at 7:30

Hannah

And for those who like to be super organised in book purchasing....
My book, for discussion in June is Making Sense of the Troubles by David McKittrick & David McVea.
Happy Reading.

Anne-Maree's Book selection for May

Hi All

My selection for May book club is "The Dry" by Jane Harper and a reminder for anyone not at the last book club April book club is "Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen" by Mary Norris.

Happy Reading!

Anne-Maree

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami

Hello all,

Welcome to the new invigorated blog.
I have added a list on the right hand side that says who is hosting in what month.  Please update your book choice for your month as you pick em!

Everybody found my book awkward, dense, confusing or nonsensical.  Except for Hannah, who is obviously superior in looks and intellect to the rest of you ;).

Here are the scores and pithy comments -

Tamara - 1/10 An awkward 'noise'

Kaye - 2/10 Couldn't keep my eyes opne!

Tahnee - 3/10 Soft boiled

Mum - a generous 2/10. Didn't finish it,  Started nowhere and went nowhere.  Very uncomfortable read.

Anne-Marie - Didn't even try to fake it!

Irene - 2/10 Nonsensical attempt to analyse the human nature, under the guise of science fiction

Trilby- 6/10 - Worth wading through the beginning.  Amazing use of language

Hannah - 8/10. Highly imaginative, enjoyed the journey.

Next month is at Georgia's house - Victoria Road, first driveway past Chandler Road (Colleen's road).
The book is The Good People by Hannah Kent.

Hello Everyone

Sorry about the late post but learn to live with it.

Working Class Boy by Jimmy Barns

#Do you think his childhood  destroyed the man or made the man

#For all the degradation of his childhood and all the bad influences, at the core of the man is he bad or a good person

#I think the men in his life had more influence than his mother who I think was strange, very strange or very sick.  What’s your opinion

I# can’t imagine growing up in such a violent atmosphere or area

#Not as much discussion in the book about music as I anticipated

See you Tuesday 6th Chandler Road Seville

Colleen

Good Afternoon Ladies,
A little to consider to before tonight...

1. How does this book come across to you? What does Sue Klebold say her motivation was in writing A Mother's Reckoning? Does she fulfill her goal?

2. "A mother is supposed to know," Klebold has said. To what extent is she right? How much are parents supposed to know? How much can they be expected to know? If children are aware that their parents routinely search their rooms, won't they simply find better hiding places?

3. Talk about the trajectory of Dylan Klebold from Sue's "sunshine boy" to troubled, deadly killer. Was there any point when the Klebolds might have stepped in, where they might have—or should have—recognized something was amiss with Dylan, something seriously amiss?

4. How much sympathy do you accord to Sue and Tom Klebold? Has your attitude toward them changed after reading this book? Were any myths about the Klebolds dispelled, or misunderstandings clarified?

5. Should A Mother's Reckoning have been written? Should it have come out before this time? Or never at all?

6. Can you put yourself in Sue and Tom Klebold's place? Or is that simply to hard to contemplate?

7. School bullying has always been an troublesome element of childhood and adolescence. How has Columbine changed society's attitude toward bullying? What are the ways in which we're dealing with bullying? Are they effective?

8. What were the differences, according to Klebold, between her son Dylan and Eric Harris?

See you later,
Irene

Book club tonight

Hi All, don't forget book club tonight at my house.
61 Monbulk-Seville Rd
Seville
See you then
Kaye

The Harry Quebert Affair

Overall this book was not well liked with superficial, poorly developed, unlikeable characters.  Harry wasn't forgiven for his affair with Nola, a fifteen year old girl.  The age of consent was discussed.


Tahnee:  3/10 Clumsy and unbelievable.  Who dunnit, who didn't do it.

Trilby: 2/10 Dispicable, misogynistic, men projecting their desires onto empty women

Colleen: 0/10 A Group of words repeated, repeated, repeated...10 hrs and 35 mins out of my life.

Irene: 3/10 Superficial, shallow, stereotyped.

Ann Maree: 6/10 Still trying to work out who did it.

Cathy: 5/10 has potential.

Hannah: 6/10 Dissapointing.

"The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair" by Joel Dicker

Hi everyone!

Tomorrow night it is my house, 36 Railway Rd Seville, for book club.


1. Were you conscious of the fact the book was originally written in French?

2.Were you able to forgive Harry for having an affair with a fifteen year old girl?

3.Did your sympathies for certain characters change as the story unfolds?

4."The truth will set us all free", in the context of the novel do you agree?

5. Marcus potentially exploited his friend while saving his career. Discuss.

6. This book seems to be written to create suspense and surprise.  Did you guess the ending?  Discuss another book you have read that had twists, was it successful?

See you tomorrow night!

Hannah xo

My Brilliant Friend

Hi Everyone

I chose 'My Brilliant Friend' after I read a review in 'The Age'.  Must have missed the bit where it said that it was the first of four.  In any case I've finished all of them now and had promised to post a summary of the story since it was unlikely that anyone was going to read all four.

I will do this soon but realised that unless you were at the last meeting you probably don't know what the next book is (see below).

Scores are as follows

5 - Kaye - Bit of a chore.  Brilliance lost in translation
6 - Irene - Inconclusive
5 - Tahnee - Struggled to connect with the characters and place
5 - Colleen - Still waiting.
7 - Hannah - Enjoyed it.  Good story about two young women growing.
6 - Anne-Maree - Felt compelled to read the next 3.  Needed to know how it ended


July book club is at Hannah's and we're reading The Truth about Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker.

August book club reading is The Secret History by Donna Tartt and we're meeting at Kaye's.

Happy Reading!!

Anne-Maree

Apologies Everyone.  Got a bit keen.

I'll see you all next Tuesday 7 June.

Thanks to Tahnee for letting me know I had the wrong Tuesday.  I would have been a bit disappointed tonight when no one turned up.

See you all next week.

AM

Hi All

Look forward to seeing you all at my house tonight (30 Carters lane, Seville) to review My Brilliant Friend.

Here are a couple of questions to prompt discussion tonight.

• What did you think of the girls relationship?  Could you identify something similar from your own childhood?
• Can friendships that are seemly so one sided last beyond puberty. 
• Nature or nurture?  How much are the girls a product of their environment ?  What of their adult 'role models'?  
• Did you find the style difficult?  The novel was translated from Italian to English do you think this impacted its readability?
• Do you get a sense of the violence of the neighborhood, of its inhabitants? Do you think it was a sign the times (50/60's) or a cultural thing?

See you at 7.30pm.

Anne-Maree

May meeting Cindy's house - Streetsweeper questions

Hi All - hope you all had a chance to read the 'Streetsweeper' by Elliot Pearlman.

The book club is at my place and for those of you that have not been here before it is at 605 Victoria Road, Seville. It is not far from Colleens . Instead of going down Chandler Road to Colleens you keep going along Victoria about 50 metres to the first driveway on the left hand side.

Questions to ponder prior to the night -

1.  Are we too distracted these days to hear people's stories? Why did Henry tell his story to Lamont and not his own son.

2.  How did you feel about Adam and his relationship with Diana and the relationship between Dr Border and Rosa?

3.  The novel brings together different people from different cultures and religions to tell the story of the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement in America. How powerful is this and does it work?

4. Did you find the book a bit too coincidental in parts?

Cheers and see you on Tuesday.
Cindy

Sorry for the delay in posting scores but I was enjoying myself down in Inverloch too much to sit at a laptop!!!

Colleen - 6 - Liked the short stories for a change
Cindy - 7 -  Thoroughly enjoyed the concept of short stories. Very good.
Tahnee - 4 - Possibly an unfair four. Will revisit
Hannah - 7 - It sucked me in
Kaye - 6 - would have liked the last story to be more developed.
Anne Marie - 7 - Really strong characters, particularly given short stories. Very Character driven.
Irene - 9 - Epic yet intimate.

See you all in May.

Two months to read The Street Sweeper

Hi all!

Cindy asked me to post to confirm we are not having an April book club meeting, it will be pushed to May.  This is because there will be a number of absentees in April. 

This means two months to read the book! No excuses people, especially those of us having a holiday.

See you all soon.

Love
Hannah

Good Evening Ladies,

Cakes are cooked and time for some self composed questions....

1. In an interview Colum McCann gives provenance of his stories
     "In the end though, everything we write is autobiographical perhaps more especially
       when we attempt to avoid the autobiographical"
 What do you think he means by this and do you agree?

2. Colum McCann blends his own narrative with fiction. Are there any advantages to this style or would you prefer one or the other?

3. Did you identify any continuance between each of the short stories, or did they all stand individually?

4. From the novella, discuss any irony that although his movements are tracked still no one knows for sure what happened on the pavement?

5. ' What Time is It Now, Where Are You' - For anyone who has aspirations of writing a novel would this be a true representative of the story writing process. If not is it convincing?

6. Was the nuns interaction with her abuser satisfactory and likely to have happened if translated into reality?

See you tomorrow.
Irene

Christmas Greetings to all

LITTLE MEN by LOUSIA MAY ALCOTT

The collective vibe for Little Men was heavy in the room.  No one really liked it I'd say everyone thought it was woeful.

TAHNEE:     Couldn't hold my interest, kept falling asleep.  Liked the language.                       3
ANN-MARIE:     Still looking for the personalities.                                                                     5
KAY:     Would have liked to have read it.                                                                                    0
                (for Kay's benefit don't bother)
IRENE:     A little too House on the Prairie.                                                                                  3
                 (A Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder is around $8.00 on
                   the net.  I think if we take up a collection we could buy it for Aruna.  Then
                   Irene could read the stories to her at night)
TRILBY:     Felt like a lecture told as a story.                                                                               2
HANNAH:     Like to go back in time and give the Author a slap.                                               2
                        (Hannah has supressed feelings she needs to get out)
CINDY:     Olden days read.  Awful book.                                                                                    3
COLLEEN:     Boring, awful waste of time.                                                                               
AVIS:         Apoligy
KERRY:     No show, flying around somewhere.

FEBRUARY-  Hope Farm by Peggy Frew   TRILBY 2 Valley Road Seville
MARCH - Thirteen Ways of Looking by Colum McCann  IRENE up the end of Warby Hwy
APRIL - Watch this space CINDY Victoria Road Seville cnr of Chandler Road
MAY - My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante ANN-MARIE up Carters Lane way.
I really need to write down everyone's address

Thank you all for a good year.  Very enjoyable as always.  Merry Christmas to all.
                                                                                             

Hello Everyone

I thought book club was next week.  Maybe if I kept track of dates I would know where I was.   I thought I would give you an easy night and have no real questions.  The fact that I haven't had time to organize any has nothing to do with it.  Unlike some I refuse to pinch them off the net.  I thought we could just discuss the woeful book I chose. Maybe discuss the language and the perfect children and how everything was portrayed in the time the book was written.
See you tonight.
Colleen

November Meeting Only the Animals

Only the Animals – Ceridwen Dovey

Book Club Questions

1.       Did you find that the stories as told from the animals’ point of view were believable or fanciful?

2.       Which was your favourite one and why?

3.       Did anyone have the hardcopy book and do the pictures add to the stories? I read it on kindle and did not have any images.

4.       Does the collection suffer from ‘too much research’ in that we are subject to historical authors and conflicts as well as the animals own tale in each story? Could a more simplistic approach have worked as well?

5.       Did you enjoy the short story format?

6.     Has anyone read any other books from an animals point of view?

6.       Pithy comment and rating

7.       Next book is ‘Little Men’ at Colleen’s house.

Reading list for October and November 2015

Hello All,

October's book is 'The Mandarin Code' by Steve Lewis and Chris Uhlmann.
It will be at Kathy's house.

November's book is 'Only the Animals' by Ceridwen Dovey.
It will be at Tahnee's house.

Happy Reading!

The Delinquents by Criena Rohan

Hello all,

This book seemed to be enjoyed by the group but not loved.

AnneMarie - 8/10 Really enjoyed it but struggled picturing Kylie!

Hannah - 7/10 - Although depressing, a happy ending was the reward

Tahnee - 6/10 - Somehow I haven't written down your comment- sorry!

Irene - 6/10 Tiredness breathes lethargy (she was too tired to be as pithy as usual!)

Avis - 5/10 Decent snapshot but no real story.

See you all at Avis' in August for Terry Pratchetts' The Wee Free Men.


Cheers

Trilby

The Delinquents Questions

Hello

Tonight's book club is at Colleens house - Chandler Road, Seville.

I hope you have enjoyed The Delinquents


1. Do you fee l the author creates an authentic time and place?

2.  Do you feel the 'moral panic' displayed by the adults surrounding Lola and Brownie is justified?

3. How  and why did the youth sub cultures provide a belonging for Lola and Brownie?

4. What was the most dated/jarring aspect of the book for you?

5.Do you think that 'moral panic' around youth sub-cultures has changed since the 1950s? How?

See you tonight

Trilby

Septembers book

Hi all

I think at the May meeting I put my hand up to do September's book, I'm not sure who was doing August maybe Avis?  Anyway thought I would choose my book early so we can all order it in plenty of time.

My book choice is..............Life after life by Kate Atkinson.   

Happy reading

Kaye

Good Evening Fellow Literary Lovers,

Unless I get a couple of hours reading done tonight I am pretty sure ''We of the Never Never” shall remain unfinished on my part so my questions may be a little off the mark, but here goes....

1. Does the prose adequately describe the Australian Bush; the conveyance of size, isolation, vastness, ..... Could you have dated it as a book written in the early 20^th Century. If so what were the indicators?

2. I was easily confused by the pseudonyms used for many of the characters. Does this illicit a sense of disconnectedness or highlight a classist tone throughout the story.

3.There is a considerable degree of 'noble savage' myth in her perception of the Aboriginal characters. Did she lack understanding or comprehension of the injustices imposed upon them?

4. Did you feel gender stereotyping was exaggerated to highlight how willing she was to 'muck in'?

5. In what ways was 'little missus' a pioneer of woman folk living and working in the bush or was the tone patronising and condescending?

6. Why did Cheon succeed where she failed in managing the household?

7. Discuss the atrocities committed under the guiding light of the attitudes of race and gender from that era?


8. Is it a book that emphasis's humanity and the equalising nature of the bush? In what ways?

9. In the book Jeannie describes the Aboriginal's as ''...children who needed someone to lead them''.

Is this approach of whites to Aboriginals still prevelant today?

10. They could ''Live with anything except tea'' Could you?

Hope to see you all tomorrow night.

Irene

59668480

Hi folks! Be seeing you tomorrow night at 36 Railway Rd, 0402812945.

1. Keeping in mind the book started out during the sixties, did you understand David's actions after the birth of his daughter?

2.Did you feel that this book represents how women were greatly underestimated?

3.What do you think would have happened if David didn't give his daughter away?

4.Caroline appears to be the character who takes the moral high ground.  Do you think this is true?

5.Do you know anyone with Down Syndrome?  What are your expereinces?

www.babble.com/parenting/8-people-with-down-syndrome-who-are-making-history/

See you soon

Hannah

April Tuesday Book Club review.

All the Light We Cannot See.....Anthony Doerr.

We all agreed the book was beautifully written. An enjoyable and intense read.

Coll...........6 .....Enjoyable read. A sad reflection of the war.

Irene..........9......Really, really enjoyed it.
"catastrophic consequences and casualties of the singular pursuit of self".

Kaye.........8.......Loved it. A thoroughly good read.

Hannah..... ........An intense read. Very suspenseful. Can't wait to finish it.

Trilby........ ........writing is beautiful.

Kerry........8........An interesting and worthwhile read for lovers of historical fiction...like me...

Next Book Club is at Hannah's  ...The Memory Keepers Daughter..by Kim Edwards.

June Book Club... .....Irene ...........We of The Never Never......by Jeannie Gunn.

July Book Club..........Trilby..........The Delinquents.......by Criena Rohan.

March Review - The Dinner by Herman Koch

I think the reason that I chose this book was I'd read a review in the Age that "peaked" my interest.

Avis  - 7/10 - A terrifying read

Colleen - 2/10 - Overly descriptive in some areas and too little in others.

Cindy - 7/10

Trilby - 5/10 - Didn't like the book, but it was cleverly written to be so deliberately unlikeable

Hannah - 6/10 - Interesting platform for story.  Unlikeable characters, difficult to read.

Kaye - 6/10 - Hard to get into, just wanted to scream at Paul.

Tahnee - 4 1/2 - Flawed.  Unpalatable at every course.

Anne-Maree - 6/10 - Difficult to feel empathy with any of the characters. Distinct lack of a moral compass.

April Book Club.... All The Light WeCannot see.... by Anthony Doerr

Hi All sorry for the late post...
Hope you all had a Happy easter and you're able to make it tonight...

Few questions to consider.... Not mine ..

The book opens with Two epigraphs. How do these quotes set the scene for the rest of the book?
How does the radio play a major part in the story and the time period. how do you think the impact of the radio back then compares with the impact of the internet on todays society.

The narration moves back and forth both in time and between different characters. how did this effect your reading experience? how do you think the experience would have been different if the story had been told entirely in chronological order.

Whose story did you enjoy most.Was there any character you wanted more insight into?

On Page 160, Marie-Laure realizes. "This...is the basis of his fear, all fear. That a light you are powerless to stop will turn on you and usher a bullet to its mark." How does this image constitute the most general basis of all fear? do you agree.

One of Werners bravest moments is when he confronts von Rumpel: "All your life you wait, and then it finally comes, are you ready? Have you ever had a moment like that? were you ready? What would you say that moment is for some of the other characters?

more questions tonight...


hope to see you all tonight

224 Schoolhouse Rd
Woori Yallock..

February Review

February Book Review - All the birds singing by Evie Wyld

Sorry for the late review, no excuses, I'm just slack.

There was a consensus about the book that it posed more questions than it provided answers for and was difficult to keep track of when the narrative moved from previous time periods to the current time.  We all struggled to find anything likeable about the characters and were a bit confused why there were names in it that were mixed gender i.e. Jake and Clare.  Overall another prize winning book that we wouldn't have judged highly.

Scores

Trilby 4- Great scenery was there, unsatisfied

Tahnee 3 - Good evocation of place unappealing, unfinished

Kerry 3 - Confusing narrative filled with pain and lacking fulfilment

Irene 3 - Meaty plost lost to laborious narrative

Hannah 5 - The only thing enjoyed was tour of the island

Avis 2 - Too disconnected to enjoy

Kaye 3 - Too many questions not enough answers

Coleen 5 - Started nowhere going nowhere, Kaye is letting the side down, not finished

Hi All

Here are some questions for 'The Dinner".

• What did you think of the style of the book  (story told in flashback, with a male voice).  How reliable do we believe Paul to be once we are made aware of his condition
• Did you feel frustrated, not knowing the exact nature of his condition and / or Clare's illness.
• What did you think of the venue for the dinner?  How did this act as a driver for the evenings events
• Is the death of the homeless person and the teenagers roles a comment on today's youth?
• Were you surprised by the vastly different views of the parents?
• Did you relate to any of the characters in the book? If so which ones and why?
• How far would you go as a parent to protect your child.
• How did you react to Clare and Michel’s "solution”? 

See you tomorrow night.

Anne-Maree

Feb Meeting

Hi everyone, just a reminder that book club is on at my house tomorrow night. Hope you have all read the book! See you then.
Kaye

Two Brothers by Roger Furphy

Hello Eveyone

I will keep my questions light because I know a few who haven't read the book.

* Did you know the author is a member of the famous Water Cart family.
* Did anyone WHO READ THE BOOK notice a few discrepancy's in the mileage quoted as distances to Melbourne and surrounds from Yering.
* A general discussion on the extreme differences between the two brothers.
* I found Joe to be an excellent poet.  I can be transported to the moment he wrote the work and picture the scene as he wrote.   Does anyone else feel the full of his writing.
* I also feel the author Roger Furphy has a gift for descriptive writing.  I can picture and feel the moment he is writing about.  I think it is very hard to write about the Australian bush because not a lot happens quickly.  It all unfolds slowly and quietly.  'Comments'.

 GOOD BETTER BEST

NEVER LET IT REST

UNTIL YOUR GOOD IS BETTER

AND YOUR BETTER BEST

 

See you all tomorrow night at my place Chandler Road Seville 7.30pm.  I will endeavour to have a Christmas feast for you.

Hello All,

Please see below the questions for the first half of our double whammy December meeting;

The Fictional Woman – Tara Moss

1. Have you read Tara Moss, fiction? Good/Bad/Indifferent.
2. Did you have any preconceptions about the Author prior to reading this book? Did reading this book change them?
3. There is something about Tara Moss that doesn’t sit well with her many detractors, what is it about her persona that attracts so much derision?
4. Has proprietary and predatory behaviour by men towards woman lessened with each generation?
5. Are we all older and wiser, is there anything in this book for us (except perhaps validation of our own experiences)…would young woman benefit from reading this book?
6. Give one positive comment about the book.

We will also discuss Two Brothers - A Bit of a Yarn - Roger Furphy - among other things. 

November Meeting Postponed

Hello Everyone,

Unfortunately, I need to postpone Novembers meeting for 'The Fictional Woman'.
Colleen has generously offered to run a double meeting at her house on Tuesday the 2nd of December where we can discuss both my book and her book 'Two Brothers a Bit of  a Yarn" at the same meeting.
I am attending a book launch on Tuesday the 11th November for a book which I have contributed to and didn't realise that this clashed with book club as book club falls on the second Tuesday this month, due to Cup Day. I apologise for any inconvenience caused and hope that I'm forgiven as it's kind of book club related. See you all for our 'Double December' meeting. Tahnee 

October Meeting - Brief Life of Oscar Wao Review

Hello all,

It was a great book club as per usual.  A big welcome to our newest member Mr Hendrix James - you're welcome anytime, and you were super cute.

The book was not well liked, but Anne-Maree enjoyed it the most.

Somehow the discussion devolved into penises.  Penii? Peni?

Anyhow!

Avis 7/10 - Disfrute de le prose

Irene - 2/1- Not wonderous, on so many levels

Hannah - 6/10 - There was a plus - learning a little bit about Dominican life and penises. (Peni?)

Kay - 5/10 - A dry read

Anne-Maree - Wao Wow

Tahnee - 4/10 - Lack of wonder - failed to hold my attention.

The next meeting is at Tahnee's house.  It will be the second Tuesday due to Cup day- 11th November, 7:30.   The book is 'The Fictional Woman' by Tara Moss. Hendrix is encouraged to attend.


I am a bad host, I did not read the book, nor make the cake.


See you in November.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Hello all,

Book club is at my house tonight, see you there at 7:30.

Here are the questions for the book:

1. Is Wao a political book? Why, or why not?
2. What role does the supernatural play in this novel?
3. Wao attacks the assumption that American identity, or any national or personal identity, is uniform. What other assumptions do you think the novel attacks? Why would it be important for Díaz to unravel these assumptions?
4. Is the novel really about Oscar Wao? If so, what evidence can you cite from the novel to support your answer? If not, what do you think the novel is about, and what evidence can you cite from the novel to support your answer?
5. Why do most of the historical facts about the Dominican Republic and the U.S. appear in the book's footnotes? What does this choice say about the relationship between the individual and history?
6. Do you think that men, and male voices, dominate Wao? If so, do you think this is a mistake on Díaz's part, or is he up to something here? What do Wao's male characters tell us about American culture? Dominican culture?
7. In John Lingham's review of Wao: "Indeed, I can think of no other novel that contains so much brutality, torture, rape, murder, and suicide, yet nevertheless feels fun throughout." Do you agree with Lingham's statement? Is Wao full of disturbing stuff? And does Díaz make it all seem fun and light, in spite of it all? Why do you think Díaz mixes such atrocities with such lightheartedness in Wao?

See you tonight

Trilby!

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Not ''Official'' Book Club Business

Hello Fellow Book Clubbers,
Just wanted to let everyone know that we welcomed Hendrix Mill into our world on Friday morning. All very calm and a gentle introduction by water birth which was awesome. Came home yesterday and we are settling in well. We shall see you at next book club unless new born cuddles drives you towards Reefton.
Irene
P.S I have a new mobile number but reception is intermittent.
5966 8480
0490452860

Coraline and other stories - Neil Gaiman - REVIEW.

Book Club Reviews for Neil Gaimans’ Coraline

This book generated robust debate on what is scary and what is appropriate for kids. I recommend the movie or picking up any of his other books in your spare time.

Anne-Marie   7/10 - Be careful what you wish for…

Trilby-Roux 8/10 - Fantastic imagery.

Tahnee 8/10 - Terrifying in it’s simplicity.

Kaye (absent) 2/10 - Not my cup of tea. Wouldn’t have liked it any bettere if I was eleven.

Colleen 3/10 - It was weird. The author tried too hard to be weird.

Cindy 8/10 - I didn’t read the book, but I had a great time!

Kerry 7/10 - It was a fascinating insight into a young girls mound, with a twist from an old                                    mans’ mind.

Irene 4/10 - Nonsensical musings with an occasional lighter relief.

Hannah 8/10 - It was an enjoyable, scary journey into a childs' imagination.

Julianne 6/10 - There’s no place like home…

Avis 8/10 - This is how I’d like my own daughter to see the world.

Coraline and other stories - Neil Gaiman: posted on behalf of Avis

Coraline is a book aimed at younger readers  - the author wrote it for his 11 year old daughter. At what age would you think it would be suitable to read to kids?

Can scary be good for kids? Has the sanitation of fairy tales impacted on children’s development?

What is the scariest theme from the book?

What do you think about Coraline's Father and his definition of bravery?

Which of the Other Stories did you enjoy, and why?

Niel Gaiman is known for his dark twists on common or classic story elements. How did his stories make you feel?

Address is 4 Lalors Road Healesville. Park on the driveway if you can - the grass is a bit marshy right now. There is a parking spot in front of the letterbox as well.

My mobile is  0430 529 100 if you ladies have any questions.

P.S. There will be much food. Much, much food. You have been warned.