Readers Weigh In on "Wives"

Emails were flying fast and furious after a reminder was sent out for last Tuesday's meeting. Several book club members were forwarding their regrets of not being able to attend, but having read the book, their messages included comments about it.

The book chosen for discussion in February was The Wives of Henry Oades, by Johanna Moran. The book tells the story of Henry, who moves his family to a distant land when he is relocated by his job. Turmoil in that country separates him from his family, and in time he becomes convinced they are dead. He moves back to California, meets a woman and remarries. His first wife and children, still alive, escape and return to California. Henry then becomes husband and father to two wives and all of their children. The story is based on a true case of bigamy.

Char said: "Loved the book . . historical fiction always a pleasure to read . . a real page-turner for sure . . loved the strong, compassionate women . . Margaret and Nancy were amazing, were they not?"

Diane said: "I loved the book . . especially Margaret, who made the most sacrifices in my mind. The book stayed with me all week after reading it. I wonder what I would do in this situation?"

Kelly said: " Loved the book. Loved the women. At first I wasn't crazy about Nan, but then she grew on me as she showed her compassion to Margaret!"

Cora said: "I did enjoy 'Wives . .', to think it is based on fact is remarkable!"

Ginger said: "I enjoyed the book, but I was so frustrated with Henry. I'm not sure what I expected him to do, but it felt to me as though he abandoned Meg emotionally, which didn't set well with me at all."

Learn more about the author at her web site, www.johannamoran.com

See the U.S.A. . . .

January's book, Queen of the Road, by Doreen Orion, met with mixed reviews by members of the book club. Ten of the members loved it, two didn't, and two others were on the fence.

The book tells the true story of a woman who helps fulfill her husband's dream of traveling the country. They do so, with their pets, in a full size bus, covering 47 states and encountering numerous adventures.

An excerpt of the book can be found on the author's web site, (www.doreenorion.com). The writing is personal and humorous, and descriptions of their travels are enjoyable to read. Doreen also maintains a blog on her web site, posts photos of the places they've been, and gives away free, signed bookplates to those who ask. (It could be fun to request one just to see what postmark they're mailed from.)

For those who want to know more about the author, Women on Writing include an interview with Doreen Orion on their web site, (www.wow-womenonwriting.com/33-FE3-DoreenOrion.html).

Another interview (made by email exchange), can be found on www.liveworkdream.com/2009/02/08/queen-of-the-road-drink-it-in/. The live-work-dream web site is from another married couple who sold everything they had to take to the road. They travel and work with their pets from the comfort of their own RV, and supply helpful travel information from their site.