My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor

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!

UPCOMING BOOKS

November 19
BOOK CLUB SELECTION
Members give 2-3 ideas on a book they would like the group to read.  From that, we choose what we would like to read in the upcoming months.  We will be meeting off site.

December 17
Holiday Party
We will be meeting off site for this event.

January 28
The Hidden Life of Trees
by Peter Wohlleben

February 25
Beartown
by Fredrik Backman

March 24
The Other Einstein
by Marie Benedict

Sept 24 Plot Against America by Philip Roth

Eleven members were in attendance for this discussion of The Plot Against America by Philip Roth.  Philip Roth, born in 1933, passed away in 2018 at the age of 85, received a Pulitzer Prize for his 1997 novel American Pastoral.   

One member said she liked the book, fell in love with the author, watching five of his movies that he has made from his books.  She said HBO bought rights for this novel as a mini series, making six-episode adaptations of the book.  Filming started in 2019, but could find no date alluding to when it will air. Another member said she liked the book, found it interesting and scary at the same time, and found it intriguing how young Philip interpreted what went on at that time.  His writing was very descriptive and helped it come to life.  "I appreciate historical fiction, he did this very well, he took a spin off reality and took it in a different direction.  It could have happened." 

We liked how Philip Roth wrote this as an adult with the view from his youth, using his families names with the story:  Herman, his father, Bess, his mother and Sandy, his older brother.  He even placed the story in the area where he grew up.  Someone said they felt Bess was the heroine of the story, she held the family together, a very strong woman.  She helped Seldon over the phone while he was in Kentucky, able to get him back home again by her husband and Sandy.  

The story struck a chord with some saying that it is scary because of the government climate at this time.  Someone had said they liked the book, but it felt like it has been written in the past few years.   

We talked about Fear in the book.  Fear invaded every Jewish household in the 1940's.  Fear presided over these memories, a perpetual fear.  It is all possible, we can all fear.  The ghost in the basement was true fear for Phillip, along with his stamp collection with Hitler stamp.    Philip's fear ended up sending Seldon and his mother to Kentucky, where Seldon's mother died, something Philip never imagined.   Phillip's mother wanted  to get out of their area, move to Canada, she feared what would happen.  His Dad had faith, he wasn't going let Lindberg and his group bring this fear home, not going to make his family move.  Through out the book, there was fear for humanity.  

Philip, besides wanting to run away, also wanted to help solve problems.  He helped Seldon, although he wasn't happy about it.  He helped his cousin Alvin, with his leg bandaging.  He went to his aunt to see if he can keep his family at home, not be sent to Kentucky.

Interestingly there was a parallel to the Hitler Youth Group, as they tried to spin everything as positive like the OAA (the Office of American Absorption), Homestead 42 and Just Folks.  Someone said, "How fragile our democracy is, and how easy it can be eroded." 

Philip's aunt Evelyn's  husband, the Rabbi Bengelsdorf, believed everything, he thought he was out front, his people would follow, they would be safe.  He was liked and accepted by important people, just look at the wedding.  But he was gullible. 

It really was a good discussion with many thoughts shared and talked about.   There were many twists and turns in the book, characters adding to the dimension of the story, including Earl Axman, Walter Winchell, even Charles Lindberg, Anne Morrow and FDR.  

History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund

Thank you to another member for writing this month's blog.  

Most people found this book difficult to follow because it jumped back and forth in time from the teenage years of the main character, Linda, to her life as a 37-year-old woman.

We focused on 3 main ideas.

1.        The relationship between Linda, Patra and Paul and Paul’s subsequent death.

a.        Linda spied on them when she wasn’t with them.

b.       She wanted to be part of their family because she was lonely.  She seemed to see Patra as a mother figure and a friend.

c.       She did not like it when Leo, the father, returned.   Our group did not like Leo.  He was controlling of the situation, and tried to keep Patra away when he obviously knew Paul was dying.

d.       Linda got along well with Paul and taught him many things about the woods

e.       She was confused about what was happening when Paul was obviously so sick.

f.        We discussed the Christian Science belief system and how it affected the result of the trial for Paul’s death.  It seemed to us that Paul was too young to have his parents allow him to die.  Some in the group pointed out that Paul showed signs of having learned the beliefs already because of things he said and did.  We felt if Patra had been alone, she may have gotten help, since she had visited an endocrinologist about Paul, but never followed through when Leo arrived.

g.       She tried to go for help, get Tylenol for Paul, but in the end she failed to follow through.

h.       She had to testify at his trial, and because she was angry with Patra for blaming her for Paul’s death, she did not tell what she believed, that Patra was a good mother to Paul.

2.       The relationship between Linda and her parents.

a.        Because she began her life in a commune, it is difficult to tell if she was actually living with her birth parents at the time of the story, or if she was “leftover” when the commune split up.

b.       Both parents are distant, although her father spends more ‘quality” time with her.

c.       Linda and her mother do not get along, but she feels an obligation to go back and live with her mother when her father dies.

d.       We could not understand why her parents didn’t keep track of where she was and what she was doing.  She would not have spent so much time at Patra’s if they were more concerned about what she was doing.

3.       Linda’s fascination with the case involving her high school teacher Mr. Grierson and her friend Lily.

Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace

Our July gathering had 13 members ready to give their view about this interesting book.  Those that liked it, thought it was a good summer read, light for the thought!  Someone said if you like tall tales, you would love the book.  One member said, "When I first started reading I was like, what kind of book is this?  Then I liked it and saw where it was going."  Another said she liked it, fun summer read and had listened to it, the reader had a very good southern accent."   Some members did not like it, they commented:  "Surprised that I never heard of this.  I found it frustrating trying to figure out what was real and what isn't.  I just wanted to latch onto something that was real."  "Couldn't get into the book, kept waiting for it to make sense.  Reminded me of my husband as he would make a joke about things!"  "Didn't like the book, thought the second half was better than the first, but would have never read it."  I think the majority of the group did, however, enjoy the book!  Our leader who had selected the book for our group said this "Read it three times!  I selected this book because my teen age son said 'Mom, you have to read this book!'  The second time found the nuances, had to stop and think, saw it in a new light.  The third time, it was a literature experience, did the book do it's job?  I think it did."

One member said "An author who takes on the subject of death and turns it into a fun and adventurous read is very talented."  And one person said, "Fantastic imagination and loved that they turned it into a movie, and was on Broadway too."  Some had seen the movie, and said the movie is different.  One part that was different was at the end, the characters really come when he passes.

A member said, "It made me a little sad that the Dad didn't know who his son really was.  The father liked to joke, didn't like showing his feelings, the corny jokes were his way of connecting.  Another said this "I thought it was sad, many missed opportunities.  The dad could spin webs but couldn't connect with his son."

Stories make us immortal.  Edward wanted to be a big fish in a big pond.    Our parents are larger than life, this was a story of how William viewed his Dad.  Through the tall tales, he got to know his father better.  His dad wanted to be successful, his son wanted his dad at home  He wanted love and acceptance, and attention from his father, to have a serious talk with his Dad, without making it some myth or a joke.  Did he look at it with rose colored glasses on?  He wanted his Dad's story to be good.  We do that sometimes. We look at things and want them to be good, but deep down we know it was not that good.  Edward had made a list that he wanted to pass to his son.  Someone said that through the book the dad/son were dysfunctional and distant at first, but became closer at the end.

There were three different "stories" about William saying goodbye to his Dad. Some felt that the three stories were Edward telling the story and finally at the end William told his version of what happened.  We thought at the end, he was a great man, he did love his son, he loved and respected who you were.  We also talked about there are different ways to look at grief, different ways of going through it.  Someone felt the ending was "very weird," how he swam away!

We did comment that memory gives us different stories.  If you take siblings and ask them to share a story about the same place, each one will share what they see and heard and all will be different.  No two people will remember the situation the same.  It changes a little, when we tell a story.  Memory isn't always reliable.  Truth to one person, is not the same truth to the other.

We enjoyed the jokes, the patient to doctor joke, the stories, the one with the woman who had a glass eye, and talked about the town with the dog that was biting people.  Why?  The dog was fear, they couldn't leave without losing a part of yourself, you weren't strong enough to leave.  The town's name was Spectre, which means ghost!

We had a great discussion and it was certainly a different book!  Many left wanting to see the movie!

The Life We Bury by by Allen Eskens

Sixteen Members were ready to discuss The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens.   From his web page at http://www.alleneskens.com/about-me.php we can read that he has a journalism degree from the U of M and a law degree from Hamline, here in Minnesota.  After his law degree, he studied under a M.F.A. program at Mankato State University, as well as the Loft Literary Center and Iowa's Summer Writer's Festival.  He has since retired after practicing criminal law for 25 years and I think many are glad he did!  We felt he did a great job on the book and many were reading other books he has written!  The Life We Bury was written in 2014.  The Shadows We Hide is a sequel, published in 2018 and someone in the group mentioned that Allen Eskens had said he had to wait awhile to write the continuation of the story of Joe, just like Joe had to "grow up."  It took time and he had to do it justice this way, the characters become real, they have to age.

A member in the group said that they heard him speak recently, and he said that he hopes when you are reading that you find 2 stories, one, the character development and then two, the mystery.  We felt this was not just a mystery it was a novel!  We wondered if there was a movie that would be written from this as we have heard that he is the screen writer for it, but it hasn't been picked up yet.  We found that when we started reading, we didn't want to put it down.  It was a perfect "summer" read, quick and one you could read, almost in one setting as a few almost did!  The mystery was well-written.  One member said she thought she had it figured out, but she was wrong!  She did like the brother's story, and someone noted that Jeremy was the only character based on a real person.  One person, said, though that the story was too dark, it was too hard to read at bedtime. 

We loved that the story was based in Minnesota.  We liked the title of the book, The Life We Bury, and surmised that we, too, in real life, have a story or incident we may have buried, a story that we have hidden.  We felt that the book had great character development, someone even saying that it reminded them of another MN writer style, parallel to "Cork O'Connor stories in  William Kent Krueger's writing."  A member thought back on reading this the first time, she said she read for the "mystery part" and the second time reading, she noticed she read it with the emotions from the characters.  One person said, "How did so many things happen in this story, there was so much, but everything was solved and worked out.  It was a page turner."  Another added to that and said she liked the "inter-weaving" of the story. 

We talked about how bad the mother was, how did Social Services not get involved?  We had a discussion how sometimes families are overlooked in situations like this, as sad as that is. 

What was buried by the characters in the book?  Carl's conviction, he felt he deserved it, does this really happen in real life?  He was ready to kill himself the day this happened.  Joe with his feeling inadequate to help with his grandfather's death.  We felt that Joe would have had help with his grief if he didn't have such a dysfunctional home life.  Lila and her choices she made earlier in her life.  We also talked about these incidents of making them feel "guilty."  Who were the survivors?  Carl with Virgil, Crystal was a survivor, her story was buried, but discovered through Joe & Lila.  Joe and Jeremy with their family life.  Lila, also a survivor.  Someone said, she was accountable, she rose above it, she went the opposite way.  A member said she "appreciated Lila, so impressed with her, with her connecting right away with Jeremy, that is a gift."  So did guilt drive them to bury their stories, their situations?  Did it change them?

Carl stayed alive just long enough to see his conviction thrown out.  We felt that Carl had compassion, he first off asked about Joe, he drew his story about his grandfather out of him.   We talked about the receptionist  and her prejudice -- we all could be like that receptionist!  She couldn't see the other side of what was "preconceived."

Joe was very courageous and brave, a truth-seeker.  He had true character, true strength.  "The scene where Joe was chased into the woods, my heart just pounded the whole time I read that," someone said and a few agreed!  He was a survivor and he left a note behind!  It was a very realistic scene, very well done.  We also laughed about his physical strength, his "bouncer" strength, he wasn't afraid to use it with some people. 

We just felt that the characters were so well developed, you felt like you were right there with them.  Someone said they heard that Allen Eskens, the author, hears a word and has to have that in the book.  He uses an idea box.  So very creative.  Many of us are ready to pick up another book soon!

Killer of the Flower Moon by David Grann

We had a good size group for discussion on this book, fifteen members were present.

This nonfiction book told the story about the Osage people in Oklahoma and the murders that happened because of their wealth from oil under their land and greed from people like, William Hale, who killed to get the money.

One member said she generally doesn't read nonfiction but liked the historical information and the FBI history in the book.   Instead of listening to the book, as she normally does, she liked the pictures in the book, so enjoyed reading it and learning so much.  But the biggest question to most of the members about the book was "Why wasn't this talked about in history classes in school?" "Why haven't we heard of this more in history?"  "Why was there such a cover-up?"  Native Americans have had a lot to endure, one person commented.  One member said this is the 3rd book club she has  read the book for discussion.  She said it makes me sick what we did to American Indians.  The book was a good history lesson. One person said most in the story were a part of the cover-up, lots of corruption another said, even the doctors.  Another said, "How did this happen and I didn't hear about it -- I am a history buff."  Another agreed, and she has a "high learning curve and had never heard of this, and by comments, most of us here had never heard of this."

A member said she thought it was so well-written, David Grann did a great job pulling it all together and made it as readable as a novel.  "I never read a nonfiction that was a page turner" another agreed and said it was hard to put down.  Some in the group found a video to watch about this, and they found there was so much more about Tom White in the book, verses the video hardly mentioned him at all.  Although some in the group said it was hard to figure out who was who in the book, it was hard to keep the story line straight.

There was a discussion about the FBI and J Edgar Hoover.  Glad that the book covered this.

We talked about the Flower Moon, it is a May moon, when the flowers are just blooming.  We talked about the time the flowers were blooming but were hammered down to earth with the killings.  Each tribe had different names for the Moons. 

The Osage now had money with the oil money -- some had 11 cars.  Someone said that when they wanted a car, they pointed to it and say, I want it that color and pointed to their blankets.  All the cars were black until that time, this was the time cars started to have them painted different colors. 

The Osage weren't being treated as whole human beings someone said through all of this.  They were not given their money, they had to have a "guardian" that had to approve their spending.  They were only able to spend a couple thousand if they could get their money.  If you were married to a white person, they could be your guardian.  But, the Osage were considered the happiest of people, they didn't need money, a member said.

Someone said it was good to read the Native American perspective on this.  Tom White separated the facts, he listened and sorted through hear say and facts.  He was diligent about it.  He was smart, he chose undercover cops.  They were honest.  People were so afraid, even generations after. 

Even after all these murders, Hale was sentenced to prison, not to death, which was the custom of the time.  He was released after a short amount of time, too.  At first Hale gave good first impressions, helpful, a good guy, raised his nephew, he had charisma, but all of these things he needed to do to carry off the murders.  He had the Osage best interest at heart (they thought) so they trusted him.  He betrayed them.  He had the politicians in his pocket, and if he didn't they were afraid of him.  It was so easy to poison those he murdered.  There was no coroner, no evidence, you found out days later, the doctors were corrupt, there was no oversights. Everyone was corrupt.

We talked about Oklahoma and the Osage Indians.  There are 5 million Native American and 78% live outside reservations someone said.  Someone said there was a National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City that is worth seeing, too. 

New Boy by Tracy Chevalier

April 2019 New Boy by Tracy Chevalier was a novelty read for us, with 14 members in attendance.  Our leader for this month's book had heard of a new project from Hogarth Press, a Shakespeare project that is found on this link, click here.  The information states: "Shakespeare's works have been performed, read, and loved throughout the world. They have been reinterpreted for each new generation, whether as a teen films, musicals, science-fiction flicks, Japanese warrior tales, or literary transformations. The Hogarth Press was founded by Virginia and Leonard Woolf in 1917 with a mission to publish the best new writing of the age.  In 2012, Hogarth was launched in London and New York to continue the tradition.  The Hogarth Shakespeare project sees Shakespeare's works retold by acclaimed and bestselling novelists of today.  The series launched in October 2015 and to date will be published in twenty countries." 

So, we were part of this history of reading at least one of the books in the series.  The other books written so far were: The Gap of Time, Shylock is My Name, Vinegar Girl, Hagseed, Dunbar and Macbeth.  The day of our book club meeting was Shakespeare's birthday, and the date of his death!

As we shared what we felt about the book, many of the members had never read Othello, or if they had it had been a few years.  So many did some research and read a little about the story.  One member said she could see, very well see, the similarities of Othello.  One member noted that each of the characters names started with the same letter as the original Othello, so similarities with the characters. "It was kind of dark."  someone said, which it was and the story of Othello was dark.  Another added the ending "surprised me."   "How can such a good person spiral down so fast."

One member had a good thought. She knew the storyline, and wondered how is it going to play out.  With all the school shootings, would it go that direction.  It did not and she was thankful it didn't.  The kids were very socially involved in the end, all in one day.  It was not realistic that they had that emotional connection in one day!  Set in the 70's this story would have been different now, someone said, with all the phones they probably are using. A text would have been sent that said they had the pencil pouch!

Another member said it started out subtly and overt, but found that the things they were doing were not things that I would have seen 6th graders do, maybe 9th graders, but not 6th grade (this comment coming from a retired Elementary Teacher).   One member said she thought the kids talked more like adults than the 6th graders that they were.   In reference to Ian, a member said, "one bad apple wrecks the whole bunch."

It was a short and easy read, the setting of the story all in one day, "how many recesses do they get!"  As a new student in school, things progressed rather quickly for the story to come out.  A member related her story of going to new schools, as farmers back in the day moved from farm to farm, she wasn't picked on like "O" was, but more "ignored."  So the story had a good start to it.

We talked about the racism of the teachers.  The one teacher, was very racist towards "O".  He kept expecting the worst from him, even because of his skin color.  Would this happen now?  We thought this was happening at that time.   We were sad to read it happened in New York to "O", even with doormen watching him go past buildings.

Character comparison:  New Boy - Othello

Osei - Othello  Both in love with Dee & Desmenona; Both girls white and both boys were black; Both friended by popular girls.  We talked about O's death -- did he really die?  Most interpreted he did die.
Dee - Desmenona  We thought the girls had a bigger role in New Boy, we were able to see the play through their eyes.  Quite the language -- called a girl a whore and yet they are playing double dutch jump rope. 
Casper - Cassio Was a good kid, the bad outweighs the good.
Ian - Iago  Both bad guys.  We felt that Ian probably didn't have the best home life.  He had learned fear so he gave fear to others.  "Hold your friends close but your enemies closer" applies here!  Ian was a social path -- he is terrifying.  Even the teachers couldn't rein him in.  They couldn't do anything about him it seemed.  There was more unrest in Ian's wake, it had a ripple effect.
Mimi - Emilia
Rod - Roderigo
Mr. Brabant - Brabantio
Blanca - Bianca

Someone said that Shakespeare was drama.  He was presenting ideas, like jealousy.  He didn't mean for it to be real.  Sheakespeare was taken after a real event, probably a muslim/moors event and probably prejudice at that time. 

We talked about Osei bringing up his sister and the Black Power, Black Panther's.  Was there a lot of racism in this or was it more about the bullying?  We still have the bullying in school.  This happened years ago too, Irish, Polish, different nationalities in the area where we lived.  This seems to have repeated itself from Shakespears time to our time, human nature repeating itself.   Is this about race or a means to an end?  What would it be like with out race, perhaps more bullying? 

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

March 2019 - Thirteen members gathered to talk about My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman.   Some of us in book club have read a Man Called Ove, so we had a little history in reading one of his novels.  Many of us stated that it was very hard at first, we weren't sure we could get through the book.  But, by a third of the way in, I believe, most of us were ready to continue on that adventure and excited to see what happens next.

One member said, "Granny was quite the character and I enjoyed the other characters the author created through out the book.  I enjoyed learning about the characters through the scavenger hunt that Granny had Elsa go through.  They were great lessons."  We talked quite a bit about Granny.  In the novel it shares that Granny failed as a mother but thrived as Grandma! And she really did, we agreed.   One member said it made her cry, "I never had a Grandma like that.  Hard to experience because I never had a Grandma like that."  So we talked about our Grandma's in relation to how Elsa's Granny was.  Someone asked, what stories have you told your kids?  Are you a story teller like Granny?  One member said she has told her grandkids stories when she goes to visit them, weaves the story with their location and adds bits and pieces.  Granny had told Elsa these stories but she also told her mother the stories when she was little, she told the policewoman with the green eyes too.

Granny and her daughter Ulrika were so different, such opposites.  Granny was a doctor and had a larger mission we talked about, she saved many lives and continued to save many lives, those around her.  Granny was a free spirit, her daughter, very orderly.  Granny was the one you brought to war.  Granny was a heroine to so many in the book.  The residents, the policewoman in the green eyes and the others at the funeral.  Granny won the apartment building in a poker game and we laughed about Granny being a "playboy" and Elsa asking Alf if they were ever an item!!!

She wanted Elsa to know that all the people you meet will keep you safe, just like Granny had done for her.  "Every 7 year old deserves a hero," one member said.  "We need a hero, someone who asks us to transform, to challenge us, to come in and out of our lives, a gift from God.  It will be nice tell someone you are a hero."  Someone said the new TV series, "The Village" reminds her of this, they are all interconnected in some way in that apartment, all a part of each other's lives.  The people in Granny's building were there to help you, to love you, to protect you when you are in sadness, pain, fear and loss.  They were your support system.

Granny had this planned out for Elsa to follow.  She had even planted the stroller in the front of the apartment, but we figured Britt-Marie made the puzzle for Elsa to figure it out.  We enjoyed learning more about the kingdoms and the explanation as the letter deliveries went on.  It made sense to us then, it all came together, many were intertwined.  These were the kingdoms we found page 228 -- the kingdoms in the Land-of-Almost-Awake:

Miamas -- I love
Miploris -- I mourn
Mirevas -- I dream
Miaudacas - I dare
Mimovas - I dance
Mibatalos - I fight

We struggled with all the fantasy kingdoms, but we agreed we liked the explanation of the kingdoms and agreed this must have been in Wolfhearts native language, perhaps Croatian or Bosnian, since he was part of a conflict in that area we felt.  Was this the secret language they used?  We found that Granny started telling the stories to Elsa when her parents went through a divorce, the first kingdom was about love.

We talked about Britt-Marie and found there is a follow-up novel, that a few had read, saying they would highly recommend it. "That woman needed change" someone said, and that her quirky character fit the book.  We found out that Britt-Marie helped to "raise" Ulrika  -- we noted how she always said her name when she talked to her. There was that connection, but we didn't know why that was until at the end.  We understood why Ulrika is organized, because Britt-Marie was organized.  She was a rule follower and rule maker, and she probably had influence on Ulrika with this.  She took control of what she could take control of.  Like when her husband (we found out later) was having an affair, she had him come home right away and put his shirt in the laundry.  She didn't want to smell that woman's perfume.  But we had no idea why it was her rule to put that shirt in the laundry right away, not until the end.  Elsa asked Britt-Marie why do you move the razor around -- I like to hear him say my name, she replied.  We understood at the end.

We talked about Ulkea and how she wanted to be there for Elsa, she wanted to show Elsa she trusted her, gave her independence though too.  We felt she could have smothered her, with what she went through with her mother, but she didn't.

The other characters in the story were so interesting.  Who was feeding the wurse?  Granny went in hospital so she sent Elsa home to give it chocolate!  We figured out that dog had it's own apartment!   Someone asked what kind of dog did you imagine him to be?  Some said Rottweiler, lab, part hound, and someone said New Foundland dog, full of lots of hair!  Wolfheart was an interesting character.  We were glad he came back New Years Day and was not charged with a crime in saving them from Sam.  Alf & Kent, we find out later were brothers, who were both fighting for the princess, Britt-Marie, but Ken won and it should have been Alf!  Len & Maud were characters that were the parents of Sam, who Granny had met and actually was saved by Wolfheart in the war.  Len & Maud's son, their grandson, helped the Lady in Black Skirt, who had a happy ending in the book, we liked that.  We felt Elsa really helped her.  Marcel - funny, was an accountant, a doctor, a lawyer, a priest!

Harry Potter was one of Elsa's favorite books.  It helped piece together the timeline as we read that Granny used some of that in her stories.  Interestingly at the end, Elsa's Dad had Harry Potter on the radio, that he was listening to the story.  We talked about some of the stories that we read when we were growing up, "the Happy Holisters," "Encyclopedia Brown" "Little House on the Priairie." "Lord of the Rings."

Elsa had some trouble in school, but through stories, through Granny's stories, she survived.  At the end Granny says to her:  "Promise you won't hate me when you find out who I've been.  And promise me you'll protect the castle.  Protect your friends."  We liked how the story wove through those int he building and they were all to protect each other. A few had commented that we thought this would be a great movie, and it would be interesting, now to go back and read it again, as we understood a little better what this all meant!

***I found this link, that explained the characters of the book.  I wish I would have had it before I started reading. If you are interested, click here to see the list!

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

February 2019 - Most of us realized after reading this book that we would have a great discussion of all the different aspects and we did!  There were ten of us for discussion.  It was a very well-liked book!

One member said off the bat, that she loved this book as it was different, it was a book that was more modern, in today's world.  She said every neighbor has a neighbor who shakes it up and she (Mia) would be an asset to the community.  Someone said "Thought the book did a good job of making the adults and the teenagers real. With the kids, you could feel like you were that age again."   Another said "the book starts with the house on fire, interesting start!"  We said many questions were raised, birth parents, adoption, relationships with mothers.

We talked about the relationship between Izzy and Elena (Mrs. Richardson).  Someone shared they felt that anger is the bodyguard of fear.  That since Izzy's birth, there has been this fear, which manifests itself in anger in Mrs. Richardson.  There were things that Izzy did that were very much like her mother.  "The things we dislike most in others are the characteristics we like least in ourselves." - Marian Keyes (Rachel's Holiday).  We talked of our own relationship with our mothers and that perhaps, in the book, Izzy was a "spirited child."

Mia and Pearl had a very close relationship.  Pearl being an only child, liked the activity at the Richardson's home, especially after moving around forever and never having a connection to others.  The focus wasn't just on Pearl, as she had with Mia, as an only child. We wondered, if Pearl was not happy when her mother took the job at the Richardson's, having her mother there often, in the space she so enjoyed.  She had freedom at the Richardsons, and now that changed with her mom there, watching.  Someone said they, Mia & Pearl, lived in 46 different cities.  She finished projects and moved and yet she recognized Pearl's need to stay in one place.  When the time came for them to leave again, we wondered why Pearl didn't tell her mother she was going to stay.  She could have chosen to not go with her mom.

What constitutes a mother, bringing up the adoption issue.  There was discussion, that some parents that are adoptive parents can make it work, others can't.  Linda McCullough would have made it work, we felt.   BeBe realized that, after a short time, she wanted May Ling/Mirabelle back.  She loved that baby so much, but she was in need of so much help, and she did tell the police she wanted her baby back, but was not heard.  She didn't know where to get help.  We talked about what qualifies a parent to parent, what constitutes a mother?  We also talked about Mia leaving with Pearl, not telling the Ryan's that she had the baby.

We brought up the court case of Baby Jessica, click here for more info, as this was a real life instance similar to this situation.  With this case, the mother realized in 5 days she wanted her baby back.  Someone said they wished that they could have split the custody, but this wasn't an open adoption.  Very hard for both mothers.

When the fire happened, and Izzy left, we talked about the change in Mrs. Richardson, especially towards Izzy.  The others didn't really care where Izzy was, but Mrs. Richardson did. She would find her. She was a detective reporter, she knew where to get help, look at all she did to find out Mia's past.  We thought the artwork of Mia, that was left behind for Mrs. Richardson was very good analogy of her life, was she the bird in the cage?  Or was that Izzy?  We felt that there was a change now in Mrs. Richardson because of what they just went through.  We saw that change, a mothering change in Mrs. Richardson.

We talked about some of the connection to the title of the book -- Little Fires Everywhere.

When BeBe is crying at Mia's house and Izzy stops over, Izzy asks "But is she going to be okay?"  Mia answers "I don't know, honestly. But she will. Sometimes, just when you think everything is gone, you find a way." Mia racked her mind for an explanation.  "Like after a prairie fire.  I saw one years ago, when we were in Nebraska.  It seems like the end of the world.  The earth is all scorched and black and everything green is gone.  But after the burning the soil is richer and new things can grow."  She held Izzy at arm's length, wiped her cheek with a fingertip, smoothed her hair one last time.  "People are like that, too, you know.  They start over.  They find a way."  (Chapter 18)

Mrs. Richardson was reflecting on her life "All her life, she had learned that passion, like fire, was a dangerous thing.  It so easily went out of control.  It scaled walls and jumped over trenches.  Sparks leapt like fleas and spread as rapidly; a breeze could carry embers for miles.  Better to control that spark and pass it carefully from one generation to the next, like an Olympic torch.  Or perhaps, to tend it carefully, like an eternal flame:  a reminder of light and goodness that would never -- could never -- set anything ablaze. Carefully controlled.  Domesticated.  Happy in captivity.  The key, she thought, was to avoid conflagration." (Chapter 11)

We discussed the "little fires everywhere" and these two instances were noted in the book.  It was a great title for the book.  We talked briefly about the pregnancy of Elena (Mrs. Richardson's own daughter) that Mia knew about.  Elena thought it was Pearl, but it was really Lexie, Elena's own daughter who had gotten pregnant and then abortion.  She thought it was Moody, who had been the  father, but it was Tripp.  We never did hear the final resolution with this issue.  Did she find out who really had been pregnant?  There were unanswered questions at the end of the book, including did Elena find Izzy?  Did Pearl go back with her Mom to see her grandparents.  Would they find the Ryan's, as Joseph Ryan was her biological father (we thought that was interesting how he pursued her because she looked so much like his wife).  And had Elena changed, would she become a "mother" to Izzy when she found her, as we suspected she would.