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Notes from the meeting held on 1st May, 2012 Many thanks to the 8 of you who braved the rain for a very detailed and enthusiastic discussion of David's choice, 'The Seven Sisters' by Margaret Drabble. Apologies from Melanie, Lene, Lyn, Ali and Freda. Jennie held us in order as moderator. Well done and many thanks Jennie. And many thanks to David for his excellent afternoon tea of classic shortbreads! The scores reflect the comments below: 1 x 10, 1 x 9, 1 x 8.5, 3 x 8, 1 x 7, 2 x 6, 2 x 5. An even spread on the positive side! This voting includes emailed scores. Average = 7.3, 11 voting. Now I will list out some of the comments noted: 40 years separate Margaret Drabble's first novel 'A Summer Birdcage' from 'The Seven Sisters'. Both bring an inexperienced woman to London where she has to pit her wits alone, against the metropolis. The women are 40 years apart in age. Drabble is not afraid of writing about people who aren't terribly nice; The name Candida is a significant insight into the narrator's character; Some found Candida realistic, she reminded them of lots of people they knew, and not at all depressing (why then did she suicide? there were no clues that this would happen); Others found Candida depressed, historically depressed, unlikeable, hammering home little French expressions. Unremittingly depressing! Some found Candida honest, others found her criticism of her friends unlikeable. The Classical allusions for some had deep meaning. For others the allusions were right over their heads; Generally most found the section on the cruise and travel with the 'seven sisters' the highlight of the book; Perhaps more detail about the other 6 sisters? There were some lovely descriptions, quirky details especially of Ladbroke Grove. A lot thought that Candida's detachment from her children troublesome; Would have liked an explanation of this diffidence; Others thought this is sometimes the case and should not reflect on the narrator. Some thought the device of the faked death of the narrator a lift in the novel, and then the return of the narrator quite interesting. Others found they would have like Candida to remain dead, for various reasons : some because they disliked her, others, so that her story could be revealed by her 'daughter narrator'. Generally the change from 1st person to 3rd person allowed a change of point of view - a device to allow us to learn more about the character. The diary style allowed us to perhaps to be the only people that knew her real thoughts and observations. Some found the unexpected windfall a bit hard to take. A little like Alexander McCalls Smith's Isabel having a fortune of £7 million! One member gave a fresh insight into the book calling it a very funny novel - full of bluff and double bluff. For example: the humour were Candida's musings on people at the gym who would try to befriend her - she would always be wary of people who wanted to be friends of people like herself! To summarize future club events The next meeting will be on Tuesday 29th of May 2.00PM for 2.15PM. This is to replace the June meeting which is a Public Holiday. We will be discussing Jennie's selection 'The Lieutenant' by Kate Grenville. Melanie will moderate the meeting and Irene will supply afternoon tea. Rhona will be presenting her 3 choices for next selection. At the 29th May 2012 meeting we will be collecting our novel for the July. This will be Melanie’s choice 'Family Matters', by Rohinton Mistry Please do check the Events Calendar to see where you are on the list: {}http://www.onlinedesignmakers.com/cityreaders/html/calendar.html Notes from the meeting held on 3rd April, 2012 Many thanks to all of you for what seems from David's very detailed and most welcome report, to be a very polarised meeting. The book discussed was Freda's choice 'A Long Way Down' by Nick Hornby. Welcome to new member Pauline - I hope you enjoyed the meeting! Apologies from Fiona, Lesley, Melanie and me. David took over the reins as moderator. Well done and many thanks David. I do believe Freda was lined up for afternoon tea - was it home baking? Freda excels with her biscuits ;-) The scores reflect the comments below: 1 x 9, 1 x 8, 3 x 7, 1 x 5, 2 x 4, 2 x 3 . In such circumstances the average, 6 [5.7], is meaningless. Now I will list out some of the comments David noted: There were considerable differences of opinion about this book. Some enjoyed it: typical comments were: A very accessible book, with well drawn characters all with different voices. The topic of suicide was very serious, but the characters were quite amusing. Well written and did not mind it being done in sections, except sometimes I had to go back a page to check who I was reading. Quite entertaining how [the characters] found each other’s reasons for committing suicide poor compared to their own situation! [The book} showed Hornby’s trademark wit, humour and ‘readability’. It alternated between funny, sad and uplifting, which managed to create a fairly light read of a dark subject area. The book could have been a slapstick comedy The characters were created as deliberate stereotypes. The book had a great beginning, and a good ending, with the characters looking at the London Eye, asking each other if it’s moving, and agreeing to give the issue of suicide another six months Other readers didn’t like it: Suicide is a serious issue and … even though the characters’ problems are quite serious I didn’t believe for a moment any of them were really going to jump. [This is a view shared by several readers, although a few thought Maureen perhaps was the one who might have jumped.] Maureen’s characters was the most successful, evoking pity for her awful situation, a 50-year old single mother, the sole carer of a seriously handicapped son who will never lead an independent life. No one should have to live a life like that The book trivialised suicide. I think Hornby decided to write another funny book, a light-hearted read, something he does well, and then found he was writing about suicide, and he was really out of his depth. Many readers thought that the continued swearing was meaningless, as well as pointless. Two of those present had not read the book, one because she didn’t want to waste her time, and read another book instead), and one started the book, found what it was about, and couldn’t go on. To summarize future club events: At today's meeting we had a visitor called Gita Malik. I have written to here to see if she enjoyed the experience, and if so she could be on the Waiting List, as presently our Reading Group is Full. The next meeting will be on Tuesday 1st of May 2.00PM for 2.15PM. Jennie will moderate the meeting and David will supply afternoon tea. Melanie will be presenting her 3 choices for next selection. At the May 2012 meeting we will be collecting our novel for the May 29th(to replace June meeting) discussion. This will be Jennie’s choice 'The Lieutenant' by Kate Grenville
Notes from the meeting held on 6th March, 2012 Many thanks to all 13 of you came out on a bright late winter's day to come to our most lively and thoughtful meeting on Yvonne's choice 'The Believers' by Zoe Heller. Apologies from Rhona. Freda held us brilliantly to order, as moderator, and we had afternoon tea of delicious biscuits provided by Yvonne... and Ali! It was a very stimulating discussion and mostly we all enjoyed the novel as can be seen by the voting pattern : 10x1, 9x3, 8x4, 7x1, 6x2, 5x2 (+ 5x1 by email). 14 voting. The average was 7.36 with the most votes at 8. I will list out some of our comments here: Zoe Heller is a sharp and edgy writer. She doesn't create pleasant characters. She has been quoted as saying if you want pleasant characters, go to a cocktail party! Some felt there was no plot, the book didn't go anywhere, the people unrelentingly horrible; the novel was read as an obligation; the book was strong on characterisation, week on plot; the depiction of the children was very real; Heller was spot on with every word; Most liked her previous book, 'Notes On a Scandal' much better; Joel seemed to be the driving force of the book, although we only see him well and conscious for a short time. It would have been good to see more of his character as a forceful charismatic man, to understand the shadow he cast on the development of his family. Some felt the 1st half of the novel, the meeting of Joel and Audrey, was enjoyable and expected it to lead to flashes of courtroom events and family life; Although liking the novel very much, and admiring the use of language and the writers craft, some found it was not funny; the book did not make some feel happy; There was discussion on who actually were The Believers - perhaps it should have been called 'The Unbelievers'? Discussion on the aspects of Judaism depicted by the novel - were they accurrate or did Heller actually portray them in a good light? We loved the cover and felt it symbolised a lot of the issues, topics and thoughts in the novel, the interconnectedness of modern life. The interconnectedness, which is so frail that if an out of control event occurs it can rip away the day to day facades of normality, revealing the true politics and dysfunctionality of family life. To summarize future club events: It has been offered up as an idea, seeing we are a large group now, that we start the meeting 15 minutes earlier 2:15PM, and finish perhaps 15 minutes later. Could you all let me know if this is agreeable for you? Jo Harrison resigned today. I have sent her a email expressing our sadness and thanked her for her contribution. She is always welcome if she feels she would like to rejoin. So I have now offered a position in our group to Pauline. I will let you know if she takes this up. We are currently reading Freda’s choice, ‘A Long Way Down' by Nick Hornby for March 2012. For those of you who have not received a book, please check in our Hold Box on the ground floor of the library near the Information Desk. There were 2 copies in the box when I last looked. We will discuss this novel at our next meeting on Tuesday 3rd April 2012 at 2PM for 2:30PM or perhaps 2:15PM if we agree. David will moderate the meeting and Freda will supply afternoon tea. Jennie will be presenting her 3 choices for next selection. She has already provided printed copies of her selections: 'The Lieutenant' by Kate Grenville, 'Ordinary Thunderstorms' by William Boyd, 'Spies' by Michael Frayn. At the April 2012 meeting we will be collecting our novel for the May discussion. This will be David’s choice ‘The Seven Sisters' by Margaret Drabble.
Notes from the meeting held on 7th February, 2012 Many thanks to all 10 of you who braved the weather to make it in for our meeting. It was a very stimulating discussion and in general we all enjoyed reading Lesley's selection: 'Room' by Emma Donoghue. Apologies from : Melanie, Lene, Ali and Yvonne. I stood in for Yvonne and moderated the meeting. The voting for 'Room' went as follows : 10x1, 9x1, 8x5, 7x1, 6x1, 5x1. 10 voting. The average was 7.7 with the most votes at 8. I will list out some of our comments here:
To summarize future club events: We have a membership of 14 with 2 more on the Waiting List. There is one copy of 'Room' still to be returned to the library. If you have it down the back of your sofa, please do return it ;-) We are currently reading Yvonne’s choice, ‘The Believers’ by Zoe Heller for March 2012. For those of you who have not received a book, please check in our Hold Box on the ground floor of the library near the Information Desk. There are 3 copies more due to arrive within the week. We will discuss this novel at our next meeting on Tuesday 6th March 2012 at 2PM for 2:30PM. Freda will moderate the meeting and Yvonne will supply afternoon tea. David will be presenting his 3 choices for next selection. At the March 2012 meeting we will be collecting our novel for the April discussion. This will be Freda’s choice ‘A Long Way Down' by Nick Hornby. Please do check the Events Calendar to see where you are on the list: http://www.onlinedesignmakers.com/cityreaders/html/calendar.html
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