Thursday, October 26, 2017

The Ledger by Lloyd Holm

We will meet at Park Grove Library at 6:30 pm for this book club discussion.  You are welcomed to join us.

One of our book club members has a connection to this author! We will look forward to having that revealed at our next meeting.  I did hear some of the book club members say you can download this book for a reasonable price.

We do meet at the Park Grove Library, but in December we will be meeting off site and that location will be announced at this next book club.

Just a special note to book club members.  Would love to hear your thoughts & opinions on the book club, whether you were at the discussion or not!  Share what you thought about the book.  There is a spot under the post for comments, you can do a few different log-in programs or do it anonymously but feel free to write your name!

Thursday, October 5, 2017

The Oceans at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

We had a full house to discuss this interesting book, that one person very well described as 'magic realism.'  Most of the members, 18 of whom were in attendance, liked/loved the book, but there were a few that did not enjoy the book, of which one person said, " I was anxious to see what others liked about the book."  Another said she "didn't like it at first, but then couldn't put it down," but she said, "if I never read it, I wouldn't have felt bad.  "I liked it and didn't like it" another said.  One more person said in regard to her not liking it as well "Reading the book went quickly, but I didn't enjoy it.  It was well-written and I would call it magic realism, and to write in that style is incredible.  Getting that type of writing to flow so easy, as this author did, is hard.  I respect that."

Of those that liked it said, "It was a fantasy book that wouldn't fit in a box."  "The fantasy and reality were very close," one member said, "weaving modern day reality into fantasy.  He pulled me into the story."  Another said "The way it was written, I couldn't quit!"  "Loved the fantasy part of the book, very creative, reminded me of fantasy like Alice in Wonderland."  Several members listened to the audio version of the book.  One person said he had a wonderful voice, and another added "I would listen to the author read a phone book."  She had also read his other books and enjoyed them.  Someone said they were reminded of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.  Another said she thought The Shack reminded  her of these three women.  "It was pro imagination, pro library" someone said.

One person said "I like that when I'm not reading the book, I am thinking about it.  Kids have a different reality than we do, with perspective and sorting through reality."  Another said she enjoyed the part where he put on the old night gown and it reminded her of Wee Willie Winkie -- it was a like a museum in there.

We read from the book, in chapter 10,  page 112  "Oh, monsters are scared," said Lettie.  "that's why they're monsters. And as for grown-ups...."She stopped talking, rubbed her freckled nose with a finger. Then, "I'm going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either.  Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing.  Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age.  The truth is, there aren't any grown-ups.  Not one, in the whole wide world."  She thought for a moment. Then she smiled.  "Except for Granny, of course."    Summarizing, the leader said, "We try to have ourselves be adults, but we all have a child within us."

We talked about the parents of the narrator (no name was ever given in the book).  We questioned why did his parents not know that no one would show up for the birthday party?  Were they a dysfunctional family?  They weren't connecting with their kids?  Someone said, maybe the kids that were invited knew the family was different and didn't want their kids to go to the party.  "The books were the star of the party" for our narrator, someone said.  He loved that no one showed up and that he could escape to read his new books.  Parents had no empathy when his cat was killed.  The Dad, in the first part of the book made toast that was burnt and gave it to the narrator, burnt.  Later we read that Dad didn't like his toast burnt.  We questioned this and wondered what else were we lied to, what else was going on?

After the accident and death of the families renter, the narrator went with Lettie and the women.  We talked about the "hold my hand" that Lettie told the narrator.  He dropped her hand once and the monster got in his foot.  We talked about 'holding my hand.'  We tell that to those we care for, to cross the street, to be safe; we are safe when we are holding hands.  When he wasn't holding her hand, evil happened.  It was like a fall from grace - evil enters his body, evil, mystery and horror.  He brought evil back to his family, Ursula  But Ursula Monkton didn't see herself as a villain, she gave people what they wanted.

We talked about the coin in the narrator's mouth.  Ursala was already there before he even met her.  She had thrown money to his sister and their friends.  She was giving out the coins. She had come back through the hole in his foot.  Someone mentioned was that part real -- maybe he had stepped on a nail, like some of us had, or knew someone who had.  Was it infected?  What part was real?

We talked about the women at the end of the Lane.  Lettie, some felt, was like a maiden, enchanted, the new beginnings, the promise;  Mother was ripeness, fulfillment, stability (she was always making sure they had good food) and the Grandmother was the Crone, full of wisdom, repose and endings.  We found ourselves liking the women at the end of the lane.  Some felt they were like the Mythical Demeter, Persephone & Hecate.  The Crone meets our narrator at the end of the book.

We talked about the Hunger birds -- the mystical bird.  In reality, they were the critics, the judgement, the haters.  They were the cleaners, taking something out that doesn't belong, scavengers that are for balance in the world.

We questioned in our group, how much of the story was real, how much was fantasy, how much was myth, his imagination?  Was his family his struggle?  Did he go to get away and go to a decent home, a safe haven with three women?  It was at the time of the suicide victim and he was traumatized by it. Or was it his imaginary friends?  He did go back though, to visit, we read, once when his divorce, and then at this death, while he experienced trauma in his life.  We thought he was introverted, he was isolated as an adult, he didn't want to be around others at the funeral.

Was his memory altered, were things fabricated?  Every time you retell a story, from memory, it changes.  If we walked out of the library and was asked a question, we would have 18 different answers.  Memory is your lens of childhood.  The story may be told, someday in a movie, as Tom Hanks, is said to have bought the rights to the story, through Focus Features.