Thursday, December 13, 2018

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Seven members were available for the January discussion of Homegoing.  The members really liked this book; the storyline and characters were so good.  One person who wasn't at the meeting had said she loved the book and in conclusion added, "A new classic?"

There was so much information in the story, the leader of this book said she recommended it, having listened to it years ago and thought it was just the book for us. She said, she seldom reads a book twice but this one warranted that second read.  "There is so much in here that we just don't know how to connect, no idea how to relate to this."  Many agreed.  Many thought the stories went back and forth and reading it a second time would be great.  It was wonderful to have the family lineage list to follow.  Some people took notes for the book.

Our book club leader asked us something that you hadn't thought of before, something that stood out to us in the book and a few people mentioned that they were surprised by the conflicts with the tribes:  the stealing, the slavery and selling each other.  One person said the English wouldn't have had as much success if there wasn't this conflict between tribes.   This had to do not with survival, but with plain greed, someone said.

The book took us through the lasting effects of slavery.  How at the beginning, we have Maame, who herself was a part of one African tribe who used her, used women, until she ran away and was happy  with Big Man Asare.  She mothered two daughters, one she left behind and their story started to intertwine at the Cape Coast Castle, so close, one above the other, one free, one enslaved.

We talked about the journey the families took, the marriages they had, the children they had, and their journey.  We talked about polygamy in most of the African tribes.  James was the first one that didn't want that life style.  He was the one to change.  The women were strong, being a mother, they had to be strong.  You had to have connections to keep going on.  Some of the men left their families.  The slavery affected families, both in Africa and in America.  Was it better to have stayed in Africa or have gone to America?

We talked about the lasting effects of slavery in America, even with H being "enslaved" at the mines, (convict leasing) not able to pay his way out of prison, and Anna, his mother, a free woman, taken from her family in New York.

We read (on page 175) about Ethe, she was not happy with H, she said that "All I had of her (her mother) was my name. That was all I had of myself too."  We felt that was a powerful statement for the women, too, in this book.

Someone also shared (on page 226) about Yaa talking about history.  "This is the problem of history.  We cannot know that which we were not there to see and hear and experience for ourselves.  We must rely on the words of others...But now we come upon the problem of conflicting stories....Whose story do we believe, then?"  This has been true through out history, and even, now during this time.

Why was the book titled:  Homegoing?  We talked about that, deciding it might have to do with going back home, finally at the end with Marcus meeting Marjorie and both heading back to Ghana.  They both had fears, fire and water, and both helped each other tackle their fear.  The beginning of the book started with the fire and water.  Loved the ending, "Here," Marjorie said." Have it." She lifted the stone from her neck, and placed it around Marcus's.  "Welcome Home."  The very stone that Maame gave to her daughter Effia.

We had a great discussion about this book and looked up the history of the Cape Coast Castle and the country.  We loved the storyline from the author and her own story.  Would be interesting to hear her speak about this book.


Tuesday, December 18 Holiday Gathering

We have changed our reading selection and have chosen to not have a book discussion this month.  We are not at Park Grove Library, this month, instead we are celebrating the Holiday Season together at a local restaurant!  We will return in January.  If you are interested in joining us in December, please connect with the info desk at the library.

The Park Grove Library Book Club meets at 6:30 pm, usually the fourth Tuesday of the month at Park Grove Library, Cottage Grove.  We welcome anyone to join us for the discussion and join our group.

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!

Monday, November 5, 2018

The Wangs vs The World by Jade Chang


The Wangs vs. The World carried quite a discussion with 16 members present.   Some felt it was interesting and humorous and others found it frustrating and didn’t want to read further.  One person stated it well:  “It was a tragedy and a comedy.”  Another said, “Having the comedy helped you get through it.” “It was different” was a common description.  It was a story about an immigrant, but it was unlike other stories we have read.  One person added that “it may be a better read for a younger audience.”  Another added that she didn’t like that it didn’t have a cohesive plot.  Another member said that “there were too many subplots.” 

We talked about the characters of the book.  One member said “The characters were flat and I wanted them to come to life a little more.”  Another member said that she “felt there were missed opportunities to develop the characters.  It didn’t feel 100% genuine.  Grace’s character felt inconsistent, very self-centered.”   One member said that she loved the kids, they were all hardworking and smart.  If you didn’t know their names, it could have been any family going through this.

“I liked Charles, he was always dreaming about China and was shocked as to how he was treated when he went back there.”  Another member was frustrated by Charles, saying he didn’t get enough character plot.  We were surprised by Charles strong business intuition and then when the loss came we questioned that, how did he not know how to truly handle the business financially?  We also questioned why he didn’t go back to China before, as he had traveled many times back to that area.  As a plot to the story, we questioned a few of these aspects.  America use to love Charles Wong, and it let him down.  Charles was under the impression that anything was possible in America.  We talked about how he was so insulated as a CEO from the marketing /delivery of his product.  He took product to a customer, and yet it melted in the back of a U-Haul.  He had no clue that it would melt.  We also chuckled that Charles climbed to his business which started with urine, Urea, used for fertilizer and then for make up!  We did talk about his ancestry, which had been very successful.  When his birthright was taken from him, he moved to America to reinvent himself and become successful.  Being the oldest birthright for his family, he would have inherited their land.    We talked about how much Charles loved his children.  We brought up the thought that, if he would have stayed in China, he would not have had 3 children. 

Saina, the oldest, found a way to survive.  She was smart to buy a home in the country after her melt down with the media.  We talked about the art that she had made, how creative it was to use immigrants, and did it possibly have a connection with her father’s story?  All she wanted to do with her art was resonate, someone had said.  The jackets she started with were a quick media idea.  She was very creative and smart. 

We felt the family was dysfunctional.  We talked about Barbra and her staying with Charles.  On the journey across the country, we learned that she was already to leave him, had it all planned and she couldn’t do it.  Deep down she loved him.  We noted that she found out he kept her badge from when they first met, she had left in the cafeteria where she worked.  He had it all these years.  He didn’t love his first wife, but we felt he did love Barbra. 

Andrew was not what his father would like for him to be.  He knew that a stand-up comedian wouldn’t be what would fit his father idea.  But he pursued it.  We talked about that creativity among the characters was a common denominator.   Some felt Andrew was very self-serving.

Some of us felt Grace was also self-centered, but then we had another aspect brought out when she cared for their Ama.  She was the one who was a caring individual. She also was very talented with her blogging.

We talked about the business aspects that were brought out in the book, and the 2008 recession.  It was interesting to read about the Beanie Bag scheme.  A few of us raised our hands when asked if we were buying Beanie Babies at that time!

At the end of the story, they had what was most important, they had each other.   They were truly connected with each other, when their privileged life style didn’t happen.  In the end money they weren’t interested in the money. 

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea

We had 13 book club members who had read the book. Some weren’t sure what to think of the book, but as they got into it they wanted to find out what happened. Some wants to shake some sense into some of the characters. Multiple readers liked the ending despite having a hard time getting into the book.

Several readers liked the focus on a large, extended family. One liked the focus on the immigrant family experience in California. Another member liked the exploration of grief. She found it heartwarming and containing truths. Multiple members struggled to keep straight the long list of characters in this extended family, and many people had printed out a character list they’d found online (one even constructed a family tree to keep characters straight).

Several liked the humorous parts, particularly the story about the border crossing where the drunk parrot got the attention of the border patrol. One reader thought that audiobook wasn’t a good format for this book because it was particularly hard to track all of the characters, although the narration, done by the author, was very good. Another reader listened to the audiobook and just decided to let go of tracking the characters, trying instead to just figure out what generation of the family they were in relation to Big Angel.

We started our discussion with some background about the settings and the author. Group leader Mary gave some background about his life, in Mexico and then in the United States. We discussed the San Diego / Tijuana border area. We discussed the differences in border crossing from years ago and now, and were surprised in the depiction in the book that decisions about crossing may be up to the discretion of the specific border patrol rather than any fixed rules.

We discussed how the author struggled as his parents (Mexican father and American mother) played tug of war over culture for the household. The group discussed what it would be liked to be raised in a household with two different cultures.

In discussing the book itself, we noted how Big Angel was trying so hard to make strides and overcome his background, but his children didn’t all embrace them. It started from the first line, with the emphasis on Big Angel not wanting to be late to overcome the stereotype, and that his children didn’t embrace it.

Members of the group who were teachers talked about their experiences of teaching ESL students and whether the schools encouraged them to allow the kids to read in their first languages.

Discussed Big Angel lamenting the “American” food served at his birthday party and why isn’t it traditional Mexican food. We took this as a symbol of the loss of their culture, and the end of an era as Perla was the only one still cooking traditionally, and she wanted to retire from cooking the family meals.

The author used Spanish language words without explaining each word, and the group discussed whether this added or detracted from the story. It stopped some of our readers, who felt confused, but others felt that they understood enough from the context and felt that it would have lost authenticity to not have any Spanish language in the dialogue. 

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

Many of our books, it seems, end up in historical fiction and WWII genre.  One of the first of 14 members who attended set the tone of the conversation that night, stating "It was extremely interesting and loved the author."  "It brought a different perspective, not so much of the soldier's perspective," another said.  I think most of us agree.

One member, who enjoyed the book, said that "it was built on three people's story, but I kept wanting more windows of their stories."  The three women were mothers, gave us hope.  Of the three women, Marianne was the leader of the book, the group of women.  One member said she felt that Marianne was "holier than thou" and Benita was"insipid".  But she said, she was glad that she read it. Another said  "I didn't like the ending, it was very abrupt and cold.  Marianne did have her own MeToo Movement, though.  I would like Marianne in my corner, she was the strength.  I would not have gravitated towards any of them, but  respected Marianne." 

We were given the German Resister perspective, the women's perspective in this book.  "The characters were not lovable, they were a product of what happened, they had no control over their situation, or the propaganda around them" a member commented.  Another chimed in, that "this time and place was very difficult to deal with. The women were also responsible for children."  One person also said, she believed they knew something was wrong, but out of fear people could not step up or they would be dead.  Someone said through this they have a better understanding of "why they joined Hitler's Youth Group."   Another said it showed how "it would feel like to be so powerless; it was eye-opening."  

A member said the book had chapters that were different narrators, different times flashing back in time.  Someone mentioned that they wished the characters were better developed, but the book would have been much longer.  

The book has a general  pattern of forgiveness to it.  Someone shared that "It was a book that made me think that you can put yourself in someone else's shoes."

The author wrote the book based on stories and listening to her grandparents.  We talked about that she chose not to talk all about the Holocaust, as it would have had added a lot more to the book, this had a different focus.  We did talk about that the German's were told the Jews were taking away their jobs, and some compared it to what is going on right now with immigration issues in the US.  Someone said the perspective was that the Jews had all the money, all the wealth and control.  

We talked about the three women, Marianne, Benita and Ania, all mothers but each different.  Marianne was well-educated, privileged.  Someone had said, did the others have the skills that Marianne had, the skills to rescue the others?  Benita was looking to be loved.  We talked about Ania and the farms that were a part of the Nazi government that Ania was a part of.  They were going to produce food, the be the start, improving the world after the problems after WWI.  She did love her first husband at first, before all the changes.  Their last farm, which she left, was horrible with the "boys" that were there, they were very violent.  It was hard when they came to take the babies away.  A few members in the group said the boys on the farm were being trained for violence -- like dobermans.  As Germany got desperate, the training was more cruel and mean.  Ania also had a lot of guilt.  

Were the women friends?  At the end Marianne and Ania were happy to see each other. When they were all in the castle, they had cared and enjoyed each other we felt.  They did depend on Marianne, but we felt that Marianne was above the other two, they were not equal.  Marianne could not see the shades of grey.  But, as Marianne aged, she found there was grey areas.  

We talked about Benita. At the end she reads Connie's letter, where it said "I want you to teach our son to be as happy as you are."  She had lost a lot in her life.  And then Marianne made Franz feel not worthy, because he was a Nazi.  We talked about how he must have felt knowing that Connie was a Resister.  Someone said he was the man who took the babies in the woods.  He could do right by his daughter but not right by Benita.  

Of all the three women, we said Ania was the most hardworking, most stoic and most believable character.  She made huge mistakes, but she carried on.  She was pragmatic.

We talked about the end of the story.  What compelled Marianne to write her story?   It was about the Resisters, so their story would be told, and about Peace and Justice.  It was interesting in the end, having Ania and her daughter, and then Marianne and Benita's son Martin. The two younger ones together!  And then even Franz Muller's daughter had a part there.

We had a full hour and half of discussion.  There were some who didn't like the book but it provided a lot of conversation.

Monday, August 6, 2018

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Science and Medical non-fiction came to life for members of the Park Grove Library Book Club as we talked and discussed The Immmortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The leader had a question for us when we arrived.  Fourteen of us were at this discussion.

Some members said they had heard of HELA cells but didn't know the history behind it. Others had never heard of this.  Pre-cancerous screening has it's origins in these cells, one person shared.  Another said it is amazing how science has progressed, and now we have genetic testing!  Another said how primitive it was back in '51 -- you accepted whatever it was.  There was a movie about this, some have seen, and a member said it wasn't as much science in it.  They thought the science part was more interesting in the book.  The book was written with the family information, Henrietta's story and then the medical side of it.  They were woven together in the book and someone said, they needed to be told together in this format. 

Rebecca Skloot did extensive research into this, but one member said it was too long/too deep.  The book could have been condensed a bit.  Another said it was hard to get through all the science part of it.

One member said she was surprised at how racist medical field was, they were being taken advantage of.

The family knew so little about what had happened.  One member said she was "surprised by how much abuse all those kids suffered and they survived somehow.  I don't think that was typical for a lot of families." We found the daughter Deborah fascinating.

"There were ethical issues here, so much more than legal issues," someone said.  We talked about how laws has changed over time, looking through this material.  HPPA is one major change now, the need to consent and to inform people.  But, "you don't always know what you consent to."

We talked about using our medical information for "the better cause."  Will we always know what our medical information is being used for. Should it be used without consent?

We spent a bit of time discussing of whether it was right to earn money off HELA cells or any medical procedure.  The family never saw any money from it but some doctors or researchers did. Now many companies make lots of money off it.  How can you forecast the meaning of something down the line?  So many things have changed and were affected by the HELA cells.  We owe Henrietta Lacks a debt of gratitude, and Rebecca Skloot for telling the story.

Bohemian Flats by Marry Relindes Ellis



Finding good, local, historical fiction was the pleasure of our book club.  Many of us enjoy these books, but to find one that shared stories of the Mississippi in Minneapolis truly brought this story to life for us.  Fourteen members were present for this discussion at the Library.

One member said this is one of the top books we have read, a heartwarming historical fiction that left  us as all historical fiction do: learning more.   Another said it was easy to get into -- the characters were so believable and had such depth, they became very familiar.  Again, another person said I learned something that I knew NOTHING about in the Twin Cities, didn't know about "Bohemian Flats."  There wasn't a lot of humor in the story someone shared, but the bananas floating down the river made some chuckle!

One person said they felt the characters and the people of the Flats were like a melting pot, something they grew up with, in her local town, liked how food was shared, and like her town, the richer lived on the other side of town.  Another said the characters were well-investigated and another said well  researched.  A member brought up how the characters left everything they knew when they came here.  The characters felt far safer and loved than what people feel coming here now, a member stated.  Everyone has a story, something pushing them to leave their country.   "Hatred was a luxury that none of us could afford because at some point, every neighbor was needed, every skill contributed."  The novel was rich with history, including artwork discussion of Caravaggio's Raising of Lazarus.

We talked about the two families in Germany -- the Richters and the Kaufman's.   Annalies becomes a nun after Heinrich dies and two of the three sons go to America, one remains.  Heinrich wouldn't allow the girls in the family to go to school, but the boys could and the two, Raymond & Albert went to the Richters for help. They were a much more "open family" someone said.  In the Flats, women were the head of the household.  In Germany, Annalies was not the head of the household, but her husband Heinrich was.  He was hard, someone said, but he did have a conscience unlike his son, Otto.

Magdalena's story line was interesting, as she came from wealth, went through so much change and struggle.  She was welcomed in the Bohemian  Flats by the community.  The community there supported each other, and so different than what she felt in Germany.  Here she was looked at in regards for her wisdom and there she was thought of as a "witch."  Talked about her daughter's "gift" and someone said, "why have a gift if you couldn't do anything about it."

We also talked about Albert & Magdalena's move from the Flats to WI and how they made their home there.

The question was asked who you would like to meet in the book.  Some said Alzbeta as she was the salt of the Earth, another said Magdalena, as she was a helper, was down to earth, even though she grew up rich.

We felt the ending was very hard with Eberhard and then Raymond.  Talked about why Raymond kept that a secret - didn't want anyone to know Eberhard was a deserter. It left some with much sadness and disappointment.

A very good review was written by Mary Ann  Grossman -- click here for the review.  Another article that was found is here titled:  The Bohemian Flats:  "A quaint little village" or den of iniquity.  One more review by Peter Geye was found here

The real Bohemian Flats 


                                   






Friday, July 13, 2018

Thursday, July 12, 2018

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

What a great discussion we had with The Nest!  Thirteen members were able to attend the meeting and most liked the book.

As we went around our table, sharing our name and whether we liked the book or not and why, the first person said:  "I did enjoy the book, but was "pissed off" at Leo.  He definitely had that effect on people.  Another said they loved the book, and the sibling interaction kept their interest all the way through, and someone added that family dynamics were a big part of the book.  One member said she was surprised by the siblings, but they are who they are!  "Many of us have had this type of family after our parents died," someone mentioned and then a few chimed in with a "yes!"  There was humor in the book, someone said.

One person said the characters were not likable, they were whining a lot.  Someone said they liked the writing, but got bored with the story, thought they should have some real problems.  "They really didn't 'need' the money," she said, "and Leo showed them they didn't need it."  Another said "it seemed like "fluff" to me, how dysfunctional can it be?"  And one more said they didn't see the humor in the dysfunctional family, so she didn't really enjoy it.

The Nest was money set aside by their father, and available when the youngest was 40.  We discussed that they were all dependent on that money.  Did the father, when he set it up, plan it to be such a nest egg?

We talked about the characters -- there were 65 in all.  Click here for the link  We first talked about Francine, their mother.  We felt she was selfish and extremely sneaky.  She knew she wasn't a good mom and she didn't care. "The story of the birthday party, was one time I liked Leo." someone said.

Leo, another one said, "had two redeeming moments, the birthday party and at the end, when he turned away and left the sister have her happiness."  We wondered did she see him?  She tensed up, making some think she saw him.  But then she said she had seen him several times during the trip.  Bea, was the one who genuinely cared for him.  Did anyone really like Leo?  He was impulsive and he was charismatic.  "When Leo met with Nathan it was like looking in the mirror." was a comment from someone in the group.  "Leo saw Leo for what he was.  He thought he'd be golden and he wasn't, he was tarnished."  Leo was "into himself" and "self-serving."  It wasn't his fault for taking the money, someone said, it was their mother, she wanted to save her husband and her.  But Leo had the money and could have made it right, he took the easy way out.  Instead, Leo fled, he was use to running.  Another person commented, "old money, you don't have to work."

Jack, Leo's brother was an antique store owner, dealer, and such a liar!  What he did to Walker!  Walker gave him the benefit of the doubt.  Leo was the star of the show and Leo's little brother was not measuring up and could not come into his "own."

Bea did not find Jack as repulsive as the others did.  Surprised she wasn't so nurturing, she tried.  They didn't have a mother who was nurturing to teach them.  Most of the time in families, it is the oldest daughter who is the nurturer, but she didn't have that skill.

Melanie, the youngest daughter, was full of pretense.  She wanted to have everything.  Her husband was such a good influence.  She didn't need Jack to store her furniture after the house was sold.  She had her redeeming moment at that time. 

Stephanie was well-liked.  She had a big influence on Leo.  She tried to turn Leo around.  At the end Leo thought Stephanie was going to come after him.  They did really love each other.  She did, though, want to be alone, she didn't want any man.  She thought Leo was bad for her.  She was a great mom.

Matilda/Vinnie -- she ends up getting a big "nest" but blows it on family.  Kind of sad, she was going to buy boots to go up to her thigh.  The money never gives anything good, causes a lot of conflict.  Liked the Matilda/Vinnie part.  The statue with Tommy, same thing.  It was sentimental.  Don't put it above people, like money.

Many of us thought this will be a great movie.  Some may describe it about family, others about money.  Is Leo a believable character?  There is a Leo in every family, someone said, and it wasn't a well-rounded family.  All the partners were likable, much more than the siblings.



Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Book Club Selection for June & July 2018

We will meet off site for our Book Club Selection gathering, choosing books for the next couple of years for our group  If you would like further information on this meeting, please contact the librarians at Park Grove Library.  We will always welcome new members!

   May 22 --  New Book Club Selection by Members 
  June 26 --  The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
   July 24 --  The Bohemian Flats by Mary Relendes Ellis



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!

Monday, April 2, 2018

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Thirteen members had a good discussion on this book, considering that almost all the members present were over 50!  Some members weren't too excited to read the book, but one person summed it up well, saying "It was very different than what I would have read, but that is why I joined a book club like this."  One member said "I wouldn't say I liked it one way or another, but it was fun to read.  I went to the movie and the movie was different, even with the author as one of the screenwriters."  One person said, "I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would, it was easy to read, even though it was other wordly!"  Loved what another member said:  "Happy, thanks to (person who recommended book), I could join in on conversation with my grand kids.  That was fun, they were impressed."

Part of the book goes back in time, to the 80's to time spent in the arcade.  One member said she was there "a blast from the past!"  I did this.  A few members said they couldn't relate to the book as they were not there during this time period, they were busy working, going to school and raising families.  

We talked about the book having similarities with the Willie Wonka - searching for the "golden egg."  We also talked about the competition that was started by Ernest Cline when the book first came out.  He gave away a vintage DeLorean click Here for the link to learn more about this story.  Another great reference is this link.

There was discussion about the person who was in a wheelchair, their part in the video game.  They had a feeling of running, a sensitivity, which must have been a good thing.  Wade had a richer, deeper life from it.  He didn't have much until the first key.  It was the have/have nots.

We talked about the benefits of the school, no bullying was there.  It was good to be able to escape the Stacks, and not be influenced by drugs.  OASIS -- you can go to any imaginary world.  We talked about the Stacks, the reason why the book was set the way it was (energy crisis).

We talked about the avatars, who are you really talking to?  Could be someone completely different than you suspect.  We also talked about the fact that giving a physical appearance, does that give us "false clues?"  Wade had a crush on Art3mis.  They all wanted to win for the right reasons.  It bound them together.  Wade knew all the songs, music, movies and took people working together to do it!  In the movie they were spoon-fed the answers, vs. in the book, they had to go through OASIS to find the answers.

Monday, March 12, 2018

March 27 House Rules by Jodi Picoult

House Rules was our book this month, with a dozen of us having a great discussion.  All of us loved it or at least liked it to some degree.  Some one said that Jodi Picoult is a good researcher for her books. Most had read a few of her books, one member has read all her books.

The author used different characters to tell the story, their perspective, and some of us even noted the font was different on each chapter.   The multi-viewpoint novel was a bit confusing for one person, but another shared, at least in this book, they stated the name above each chapter.  One member said she liked the different narratives, it gave you a broader sense of what everyone felt.

One person said at first they weren't sure about it, but when the mystery part of the book came in they wanted to know more

The story is about a young adult who has Asperger's, and one person said Jodi Picoult did a good job of showing us the inside of the brain of an austic child.  One member said that Jodi added so many components of Asperger's, this is not the norm.  Some had family members who were autistic and could relate to that part of the story.  We talked about the causes of it, what really does cause it?  A member said "why do we have to have all our shots at once."  We talked about the "other child" like Theo, the one who doesn't have autism.  "It must be extremely hard to not disadvantage the 'normal' child (per sake of conversation), giving a lasting impact.  It becomes a family issue, impacts in extreme ways."  Another member said they wanted to find out "what happened to Theo, we don't know for sure what happened."

One of the questions for the book club was about this statement Jacob said: "The concept of Asperger's is like a flavoring added to a person and although my concentration is higher than those of others, if tested everyone would have traces of this condition too."  We talked about how we do have to some degree, some of the frustrations and struggles they go through.  A lot of people have anxiety.  A simple one, which Jacob found he needed to do, was to have your money in order, facing the right direction.  Some of us could attest, we needed to do that too.

Another book club question was "Mark Maguire perceives as a "Get out of Jail Free card' (p285), whereas a defender general observes that "Vermont's decidedly crappy when it comes to psychiatric care for inmates" (p231) and Neurodiversity Nation believes "neurotypicals' are trying to 'destroy diversity' for autistic people (p321).  Who is the closest to the truth?  What kind of social provisions are made for Jacob at home, at school and in the wider community?  Are they excessive, inadequate or inappropriate?"  We had some great conversation on this. One person said we can do and should do more to help make accommodations, working to the norms; there should be a way.

Character Emma Hunt -- she is a determined advocate for her kids.  Jacob described his mother as a champion.  Made the house rule:  Clean up your messes, tell the truth, brush your teeth twice a day, don't be late for school, and take care of your brother, he's the only one you've got.

Character Jacob Hunt -- doesn't get "social aspects", super amazing at remembering facts, sees things in black and white.

Jacob doesn't have to put time into relationships, he doesn't need to.  Your heart determines so much to do, what you do, it is a blessing to be detached, 'Oh, oh well, that just the way it is." No emotional meltdown, too, is that a blessing, not to have that?  We have the ability to process, he can't chose it, so it is a disadvantage to it.  The disadvantage outweighs the "blessings."

The house rules -- take care of your brother.  Jacob knew he had to take care of his brother.  He never was asked directly, who did it.  Jacob thought Theo had done it.

We thought the book would have been so different with out the forensic component.  Again, like a member said, we missed not having a judgement, what happened?  At the end of the book, it said "Think whatever you want.  The only thing that really matters is this:  I'd do it all over again."  Jacob loved his brother Theo and house rules, take care of your brother.


Tuesday, January 30, 2018

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

Nine book club members joined in on the discussion of The Garden of Evening Mist by Tan Twan Eng.  We were treated to special tea for the evening by our book club leader!

The book was well-liked and created a lot of dialogue over many aspects that we were not previously aware of.  A few of us mentioned that the book was tough to get through, especially at first.  Seemed like there was a lot of jumping around in the book, one member said it would have been nice to have had years noted in the beginning of the chapters.  There were many words written in a foreign language so was a little hard.  There were little pieces that were thrown out to us at the beginning of the book and we didn't know how that fit in until the last third of the book.  One member said "he left little clues, while developing the characters"  The character development was good for the ancillary characters, their stories were woven together in one way or another.  "There was a lot of mystery around the characters, and not until the end of the novel was it revealed, piece by piece" one of our members said.  There was a lot of description in his writing someone shared:   "It might have been a little too ambitious, he put everything into the book, it might have been too much."

We talked about the depth of character development, including about Yun Ling's glove, that covered the abuse she sustained while  in camp with her captors.  The character development went so far to include the music that Emily & Magnus listened to at the end of the evening.  There were so many aspects to building the many characters in the book.

A member stated:  "It makes me humble what little I know of people in the world.  I learned a lot from this book."  I think that all of us agreed in that statement.  One member, who was a 2nd grade teacher said they studied about Japan and loved it.  We learned about Japanese gardening.  We didn't know that Japan attacked this area before Pearl Harbor.  We learned about Malay (Malaysia) and that Yun Ling was Straights Chinese.  We learned about the Boer War, about tea, about conflicts in Malaysia.  It was good to read about historical fiction in the book.

We talked about memory, survival guilt and forbidden love in this novel.  Yun Ling shared her story with us, her journey.  A member said "I felt a tremendous sense of sadness from what she suffered, made me like her more than what I did."  We learned she did things to survive, even as a snitch in the concentration camp, which was frustrating for us to read about.  She became successful in her life, becoming a judge, which she especially used to become a tribunal war judge so she could find her camp.  A member said:  "Yun Ling wanted to keep her secrets to herself, it was a constant battle for me to crack her open."

Memory was such a big part of the book.  Magnus' garden contained two statues, the Goddess of Remembering and the Goddess of Forgetting.  One member said, that her memories were so painful, she couldn't process it enough and what was taking her life, was taking her memories.  She didn't have control over her own destiny, she was always surviving, even when she lived with Aritomo, having been taken by the CT.  She felt survivor's remorse because of her sister, and the only one who survived the camp.

We discussed Aritomo's horimono on Yun Ling.  She has scars on her back, but they were changed when he did the horimono.  We wondered, did that heal her.  It was interesting to find out it was a map that Aritomo mastered, a clue to the question, maybe, about where the treasure was hidden.  One member said they wish they had more information at the end, many unanswered questions.

We thought the author did a great job, and was interested to learn he was an attorney.   A few members had read his first book A Gift of Rain, and liked it better than this book!  Many were interested to read that book.