AUGUST 2026.
A lively discussion was
had today! 3 books were chosen – Life After Life (Kate Atkinson), Everything is
Illuminated (Jonathan Safran) and Fragile Monsters (Catherine Menon). A very
enjoyable morning spent with an articulate, happy group.
Life After Life. Kate Atkinson. 2013.
KERRIE,
DEBRA, KELLIE, BEV, JUDY D., LESLEY. Timelines that went back and forth, a ‘sliding doors’ novel.
A woman born in 1910 England relived her many lives, during world changing
events, with no knowledge of her past lives. Ursula had just vague thoughts and
feelings of having done something or been somewhere before. Kerrie loved it and thought it was rich and
evocative with great characters. PALIMPSEST – where
an old parchment could be scraped and reused, but there are always remnants
that may remain. Kerrie felt this term applied to the main character –
Ursula. Debra particularly liked certain
sections (eg the WW2 experiences) and was glad she read it. Kelly had enough of the War and was pleased when
that section finished but thought the overall book came together well at the
end. Judy D. very much liked the book. Lesley enjoyed the book once she understood the
premise of ‘what if a moment in time could change the future’. She liked the
‘Englishness’ and experiences of life for those from a certain class. Bev said she was the ‘fly in the ointment’ as
there were too many different scenarios and too much going back and forward.
Everything is Illuminated. Jonathan
Safran. 2002.
JOAN,
JO, PRU, MARGARET, DIMITY. Set pre the
current war in the Ukraine, a young man has a photo of a woman whom he wants to
trace. He believes she may have saved his grandfather from the Nazi’s during
WW2. Deep intergenerational trauma leaves many scars. Joan
began the book, read little and decided she had better use of her time. Jo was irritated by the way language was used in
the novel so only read a few pages. Pru persevered
but found the story made no sense. Margaret thought
the use of language was like a game that had to be decoded. Tedious and
confusing. Dimity finished the book, so she
was the star of the day! She agreed also with others about the complex writing
and use of language.
Fragile Monsters. Catherine Menon. 2021.
ED, ROSEMARY,
KRIS, LYN, HELEN, JOAN, PAT, THERESE. Set in Malaysia during 1920s to 1985, a young woman
returns to her sharp-tongued grandmother to untangle the secrets of the past. Difficult
relationships, love, redemption, family trauma, ghosts, demons, disappointments.
Ed found it confusing. Rosemary read most of the novel and thought it was
OK. Kris didn’t like the characters and only
read part of the story. Lyn couldn’t ‘get
into’ the book so let it go. Helen said it
was hard work but did finish! Evocative account of families living on the banks
of rivers, but nothing was resolved. Joan
commented the ‘war part’ held her interest however the characters were not
inspiring. Pat thought the story was boring
and disjointed. Therese commented there was
no structure, no point and didn’t care what happened to the mother.
Next month is ‘biography
or autobiography’. Enjoy. Lesley
