July: Daphne du Maurier

ROSEMARY & WENDY both read 'Rebecca'
Set in southern Cornwall in an area she had visited and knew from her childhood at a house called Mandalay. Both enjoyed reading it: romance, intrigue, and who 'dunnit'. Rosemary found the ending a little confusing and needed to reread the beginning.
Connie: the book had been written in the 1st person with Rebecca the narrator and other characters based on the author's family. The question was asked whether Rebecca was bi-sexual reflecting rumours about the author's life.
MARGARET also read the book, commenting that it was an epic tale set in a grand house.
Through her writing you can visualize what you read. Parts of it seemed quite dated and the characters didn't have much depth.

GINNY:  House on the Strand
This was one of her last novels written in the swinging sixties, at the height of the drug culture, when the author was 60. In this novel the protagonist Dick Young agrees to test out a drug which his old university friend, Magnus, has developed.  Dick takes the drug and is transported back in time to the fourteenth-century and is immersed in a world of intrigue, adultery, and murder.
Ginny enjoyed reading it, as it was different from many other stories written by the author.

JO: The Glass Blower
Set during the French Revolution, this book gives insights into du Maurier's ancestors who were glass blowers. The story is set in a small village where the whole population is involved in the industry. As times gets tough everyone in the village is affected. It was a traumatic time to live. Jo did enjoy reading it though.

ENID & SHEILA : Rendezvous and Other Stories
Enid: Short stories require a particular skill to write them..the opening sentence or paragraph must grab you. These were entertaining stories, often with the ending containing a sardonic twist. The author has a penetrating ability to assess characters and and her descriptions are very good.
Sheila: The stories were very dated but the more she read, the more she enjoyed them. She thought they were beautifully written and all the subjects were different.

PAMELA: Frenchman's Creek
Pamela thought the descriptions in this book were very good especially those of the sea and ships, but the plot was ridiculous. It would be a good book for an 'uncritical' reader to pick up.

CONNIE & ANNE: My  Cousin Rachel
Connie: She had read the book as a teenager and loved it then, the drama and the scenery! But reading it now, she felt that she was 'someone else'. She has a different view of life now, found the plot became ridiculous after awhile and admitted that reading about the 'class system' in society was very disturbing. The description of the scenery was very realistic though.
Anne: Anne was also rereading it and quite enjoyed it, but thought that the ending was unconvincing, and not sure whether Rachel was good or bad.

KRIS: Scapegoat
 This book is set after the war and concerns an Englishman, fluent in French, an historian with no family, rather unhappy and on holiday in France. There he bumps into a 'doppelganger' and learns that he is a French aristocrat who is also unhappy with his life! What happens next is an interesting series of events that occur over a relatively short time frame which somewhat spoils the whole idea.

JULIA:
SCAPEGOAT...tried it but couldn't really get into it!
I'LL NEVER BE YOUNG AGAIN...horror, suspense, romance- didn't like it
DON'T LOOK NOW: 5 short stories all from a different genre eg mystery, supernatural events and family confrontations. Although she enjoyed reading them, she found them rather old fashioned.

KATHY: The Parasites
She didn't like the beginning, but continued on and eventually it was 'OK'. The story is about a family involved in the world of the theatre. When the children are accused of being 'parasites' on the talent of their parents the story goes back through each of their childhoods to see why they have become like they are. Kathy found it confusing sometimes to identify the narrator. She felt the book had parallels with the author's own life - grew up in the theatre, and she had 3 children whom she was not close to.

MAREE, JOAN & JUDY: Jamaica Inn
Again the comments about this book were similar to others...her descriptive writing is excellent, you could feel the cold and fog on the moors. She creates great atmosphere with her writing.
The story is set on the moors in Cornwall and concerns a bunch of fairly desperate characters who are 'wreckers' ie they force ships to beach and then steal their cargo and kill the crew if necessary. A young niece who comes to stay at the Inn sees what is going on and tries to stop it.
All thought the ending was a little far fetched and came about after some amazing detective work!
 A common comment was that this book also seems very dated.

OTHER BOOKS TO BE RECOMMENDED:

CLAURENCE: Cold Light by Frank Moorhouse
This is the third in the Edith Trilogy and tells her story of working at the League of Nations before, during and after World War 2.

ROSEMARY: Escape From Camp 14 by Blaine Harden
It is the true story of a young boy born in a North Korean Camp, his life and his eventual escape to the USA.

JOAN: The man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin
Tells the story of how a low-level KGB operative  rose to the position he now holds.

NEIL: The Lotus eaters by Tatjana Soli
Set at the end of the Vietnam War, an American journalist must leave the conflict but her emotions are torn because of her feelings for the country and her Vietnamese lover.

FUTURE BOOK CLUB TOPICS

August: author Peter Robb - Death in Brazil & Midnight in Sicily

September: author Joanna Trollope - various titles

October: author Donna Leon - Crime theme

November: a Miles Franklin Award winner

December: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

January: 'Santa Sack' a book you have recently received/read


February: True crime


March: author Jeanette Winterson

JUNE: LARRY McMURTRY

This month the topic for our discussion was the work of American author Larry McMurtry.
Following is a selection of the comments made and shared by those present.

SHEILA: Sin Killer
An American western that was unreadable!

JO: The Late Child
599 pages...she read the whole book but with great difficulty. It concerned a family of screwed up people...not recommended.

ANNE: Some Can Whistle
Danny Deeks is the main character who has made plenty of money writing TV series. He is an eccentric character who 'picks up' boys in summer, and girls in winter. Love affairs are carried on via answering machine and a daughter turns up out of the blue. Book is full of baudy humour.

JUDY: Rhino Ranch
One of the author's last books, bringing back a number of previous characters. They are all older, sadder and gradually one by one they disappear or die. A female billionaire attempts to sets up a ranch to save the black rhino. Too many horny old men, an absurd storyline, but some good observations of life in a small town.

MERILYN:
She began book 3 from a series...didn't make sense. Picked up another book but didn't read it.

JOAN & KATHY: Telegraph Days
Both had read the same book. After tough times the 2 surviving members of a family set off across the country arriving in a small town called Rita Blanca. Jackson becomes Deputy Sheriff, while Nellie goes on to run the local newspaper, writes a successful novel as well as "romping" with any bloke available. A number of the great gunslingers come into their lives including Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, Jessie James and their families and they meet them again when they turn up just before the shoot out at the OK Corral.

JEWELS: When the Light Goes Out
This is the story of a man whose wife has been killed and how he coped with the situation. There were so many explicit descriptions of a sexual nature that it really became too much. She quickly read through the book just to get it finished.

DIANNE: The Last Picture Show
Dianne described the author as an old man who couldn't get his head above his navel. His attitude to women is that they are there just for man's pleasure! The film was brilliant but she hated the book. It really depicted the sad, hopelessness of small towns where the only way out was to join the army. She couldn't recommend it.

ENID: Zeke and Ned
Enid had hoped that this book would tell her more of the history of the American Indians but she was disappointed that this was not the case.
The plot is somewhat Shakespearean with feuding families, murder, revenge and immorality.
 The setting is the plight of the Indians as they are pushed onto reserves. Tragedy unfolds between Zeke and Ned because of Zeke's loyalty to Ned. They are uneducated, living in poverty and have many children.
The plight of the Indians trying to live under Western conditions has many similarities with the current aboriginal problem.

PAMELA: Dead Man's Walk
This is the prequel to Lonesome Dove and involves a group of misfits who are ill trained Texan Rangers out in Cheyenne country. They are led by a Major with 2 weeks training but a great shot.
Another character is a 200 pound whore who is killing a snapping turtle! As the story became more ridiculous Pamela decide she had better things to read.

LESLEY and GINNY: By Sorrow's River
Again, Lesley only read some of it. Its the story of Lord Berrybender, an English fool, and his dysfunctional family as they try to conquer the west. Along the way they come across many fictional characters. Is it a farce or is he serious?
Lesley questioned who the intended audience really is... probably not "us" but possibly those who live in small towns and fantasize over what the West was like!

Ginny had thoughts and comments similar to Lesley's. She only read half way through the book and found it blood thirsty (Indians slicing off ears or left feet) and quite ridiculous.

KRIS: Loop Group
The 2 characters, Maggie and Connie are two sixty year olds, single and lusty as ever. They provide the sound effects for B grade movies to make a living. Following a hysterectomy and pining for her womb, Maggie is joined by Connie and take off to visit an aunt in Texas, drinking, smoking and carrying on along the way.
They live a pathetic and depressing life, not acting their age or accepting what life gives them.



WELCOME to new member Rosemary currently reading Anna Funder's 'All That I Am'

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS

• The Reunion by Sue Walker - a psychological thriller, you'll never guess the ending
• Oranges Aren't the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
• Bird Cloud: A Memoir by Annie Proulx
• Deception: The Story of Mark Standen's Downfall