A smaller group of highly engaged readers at our July Book Club meeting allowed for much more discussion surrounding our chosen author - Geraldine Brooks. We even had a member who was at High School with Geraldine Brooks, so this added to our lively conversation.
HELEN, PAT, JUDY J.,KRIS - YEAR OF WONDERS - 2001. Set in 1666, in a small village in England, a bolt of cloth is brought into the town and unbeknown to the villagers the Plague has reached them. Amazingly the town goes into isolation at a time when knowledge of infectious diseases was unheard of, science was feared, religion and superstition controlled lives and medicine was mainly herbal remedies combined with faith and elements of witchcraft. The towns people have to cope, alone. The central character Anna, a young widow grieving the deaths of her 2 babies, rises to the challenge of helping her neighbours to survive what turns out to be a year of dire hardship. So many similarities with the recent Covid pandemic. People finding inner strength to assist, others fleeing to safer places, incorrect blame against the innocent, selfishness versus selfless actions, Church meetings held in open fields, the gap between those who have and those who don't. The book about this fateful year is based on a true story and the terminology reflects the language of the time. Comments from our readers included - the generosity of spirit and resourcefulness of the villagers was revealed and how powerfully portrayed the characters were. It was a fascinating read, thoroughly enjoyed with mixed feelings about the ending.
JOAN, ED. - 9 PARTS OF DESIRE - THE HIDDEN WORLD OF ISLAMIC WOMEN - 1994. A serious, respectful insight into the lives of Muslim women according to the author who spent a number of years in the Middle East closely observing religious, political and cultural practices.. The Koran, the basis of the Islamic faith, has seen many interpretations evolve resulting in varying rules and beliefs across the Muslim world. The brutality of some practices, the differences between what the Koran says verses traditional and cultural 'laws' and the everyday lives of the women resulted in a well balanced read for one member whilst another developed an instant dislike due to the derogatory treatment of women.
THERESE, PRU, TAM, JO - PEOPLE OF THE BOOK - 1996. Australian conservator Hannah painstakingly traces the origins of the 'Haggadah' (an ancient Jewish text that explains the order of the meal and meaning of Passover - the Exodus of Jews from Egypt) through its bindings. The Haggadah, (which in reality was found in Sarajevo) has a wine spill, a cat hair, the vellum is of a sheep now extinct, salt crystals, a hair, and a partial butterfly wing. Through these minute items Hannah tries to determine the history of the text, and the background of the times - wars, conflicts, brutal regimes, religious doctrines etc. The settings are quite detailed, the characters life like, the stories can be dense with different views explored. Fact and fiction blended well.
ROSEMARY - CALEB'S CROSSING - 2011. 1665 A native American became the first man to graduate from Harvard. The story is a contrast of opposites between the old and the new. A friendship is formed between Caleb, the son of a chief and a young girl, Bethia, from a Puritan group who yearns for education and knowledge (not allowed in strict puritanical times). Caleb goes to University, whilst Bethia becomes a housemaid locally but quietly listens and learns about life from those around her.
LESLEY - HORSE - 2022. 2 main time frames - leading up to and including the American War of Independences and the present day. Kentucky - a champion horse is groomed and trained by a slave and his son (Jarrett). They cannot own the horse - only white, and usually wealthy men are allowed to own property. The horse called Darley and Jarrett share a special bond. The background story is filled with the social and political rules of white society. Darley is sold to a wealthy plantation owner, Jarrett is also allowed to go with the horse. The Civil War is approaching, Darley is now known as Lexington and winning races, thus bringing huge kudos, and money, to his new owner. Present day Boston and Australian Jess, palaeontologist and researcher discovers the skeleton of Lexington is held deep in the Smithsonian. She wants to examine it to discover why the horse was so exceptional. Randomly she meets and English art historian, Theo who has an old painting of Lexington, with his slave groom Jarrett. With strong themes of racism, slavery, social injustice and the devastation of war the book is well written, the time frames are well connected and the characters mostly well drawn. Thoroughly enjoyed.
For August the Book Club has chosen 2 books to be reviewed - The Dictionary of Lost Words and The Tea Ladies.
Both books should be enjoyable.
Lesley
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