The Sun Also Rises

Our meeting at Sandy's was cozy, as we enjoyed wine, appetizers and treats beside her tall and refreshingly simply adorned Doug Fir Christmas Tree. It was a sweet respite from the busyness of our lives and as always satisfying to share good food, beverages and conversation with fellow readers and friends.

The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway was not well received by most of us, for the repetitiveness of the plot and the insensitivity of the characters.   Set in Paris, and then Spain, the story follows the everyday life of a group of American and English expats living in Paris shortly after WWI.  They eat, drink and travel together to fish and go to the bullfights.  Their callousness is typified by this description given to the narrator Jake -
"You're an expatriate. You've lost touch with the soil.  Fake European standards have ruined you. You drink yourself to death. You become obsessed with sex. You spend all your time talking, not working. You are an expatriate, see?  You hang around cafes. " 

Several mentioned that the most enjoyable and interesting part of the book was the description of the travel to Spain from Paris. One could easily imagine being on the crowded bus that took them through the many twists and climbs in the Basque country.
" Now as we went higher there was a wind blowing the grain. The road was white and dusty, and the dust rose under the wheels and hung in the air behind us.  The road climbed up into the hills and left the rich grain-fields below. Now there were only patches of grain on the bare hillsides and on each side of the water courses" . Hemingway's description of the terrain and the people they encountered carried the reader along for journey vicariously. 

I  often found myself imagining scenes beyond what was written, which  apparently was the intent of Hemingway's spare style of writing.   "The Iceberg Theory is a style of writing coined by American writer Ernest Hemingway. When he became a writer of short stories, he retained this minimalistic style , focusing on surface elements without explicitly discussing underlying themes." - google search    

Our next book is The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu , by Joshua Hammer.  We will meet at Claudia's home on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 5:30 PM.

Great Things

Thanks to Judy who hosted this month's meeting.  We enjoyed a delicious pot-luck and friendship.  Judy noted that our discussion of the book "Small Great Things", a story revolving around the death of a newborn boy, was coinciding with the Day of the Innocents, when people of Latin heritage honor children or infants who have died.  So appropriate! 

Such an interesting book which dealt with morals, ethics and racism.  The characters were well developed and some were quite gritty - not at all your best friends.  White supremacy versus Hippocratic oath.  "There's a hierarchy to hate, and it's different for everyone."  Eye opening.  We all have a degree of racist thinking, not matter how hard we try to not be racist.  "Is it better not knowing the ugly truth, and pretending it doesn't exist?  Or is it better to confront it, even though that knowledge may be a weight you carry around forever?"  All this interspersed with beautiful prose. 

As a society, how will we ever move beyond our current mindset?  Barbara suggested that we always ask a question about how the other person feels; that's how you learn.  Otherwise you won't know how this person feels.  Jodi Picoult's books always have a surprise twist at the end.  My reaction as I neared the end of this book was "Bravo Jodi!  I didn't see this coming!"  Any book that makes you reflect on yourself and shows you something that can be improved upon is worth it's weight in gold.

At the Water's Edge (Lake Entiat) with Esther

Thank you Esther for a lovely gathering of friends complete with Scottish-inspired selections.  Book- themed soup, potatoes, malt Scotch, garden goodies.  Thank goodness no haggis!  Combined with contributions such as Judy's Walker's shortbread, we certainly shared a feast!  It is always nice to gather together with friends for sharing our comments as well as our lives.

Our book was "At the Water's Edge" by Sara Gruen.  This was a light read which was appreciated as we've had some challenging books this year.  The story focused on three upper-class Americans (husband, wife and best friend) who travel to Scotland during WWII to search for the Lock Ness monster.  Although a fiction story, much background research was done to get the details correct.  The food rationing, necessity of carrying a gas mask with you at all times, the air raids.  Without focusing on the ravages of war, you certainly learned about daily life during the war.  You also learned about attitudes, based on social class and on culture.  Two characters were so very shallow and rude, expecting the world to serve them.  A social class which was quite reminiscent of "The Great Gatsby".  Yet one character changed and grew into a respectable person, while the two friends managed to get worse.  Chris P. had an epiphany about this story: she sees it as the melding of two classic fairy tales - Cinderella (the fair maiden with the cruel step-mother) and Beauty and the Beast (the cold, large male who's heart is awakened by the beautiful maiden).  Chris said the story was somewhat formula but in a new setting.  The writing was good and at times was a "calm and elegant whirlwind".   Was Nessie ever found?  Sara Gruen leaves you to decide.  "But what I had learned over the past year was that monsters abound, usually in plain sight."

Our next meeting will be Wednesday November 1st, 5:30 pm, at Judy's home.  We will be discussing "Small Great Things" by Jodi Picoult.  See you then!

Smoke and Dust

Many thanks to Chris Peek for hosting our September meeting. It is always a treat to view the beautiful Columbia from Chris's windows, though this time the view was hazier than usual. We are all wishing for clearer skies, as the smoke obscures all views, and is causing many to feel confined, and uncomfortable. The choice of The Worst Hard Time, by Timothy Egan could be considered either really good or bad timing. Good, as during these smoky days we can get a very small sense of the oppressiveness of the dust bowl days, or bad as in reading about the misery of that time just makes a hard time harder!

Exerpting from Claudia's review, The Worst Hard Time is   “A classic disaster tale” (New York Times) of greed, hardship and unbelievable perseverance.  The tragedy of the loss of the greatest natural grassland on earth could be blamed on many sources - " government for promoting the land ... banks with easy loans so one will buy everything, bank accounts not backed and deposits uninsured, railroad men with promotional pamphlets full of misinformation. The run up and frenzy of wheat boom, debt loads and technologic revolution " and human nature to consume and claim dominance over nature without considering the long term consequences.  The farmers and ranchers described in the book were not knowingly creating havoc with the land, but they were ill-advised and ill-equipped to create a sustainable life on the plains. The combination of mismatched farming practices and drought over many years, made the consequential dust bowl and deep poverty compounded by the great depression an epic human caused calamity.  The Worst Hard Times , was both appreciated for helping us gain an insight to that era , and critiqued for it's grim and longwinded style.

We discussed our next  book choices and as of this date the following suggestions have been made and will be submitted to Anne for approval. She will let us know if they are available and when we can expect them.. I am asking for 15 copies, of each book including one in LT if available.

• The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck - - Sandy
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway - Debbie G
• The Virginian: Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister - Chris M
• Bad Ass Librarians of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer - Claudia
• You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me - a Memoir by Sherman Alexie - Judy
• Still Life, by Louise Penny – Esther
• The Heirs: A Novel, by Susan Rieger – Chris Peek
• Grandma Gatewood's Walk, by Ben Montgomery - Debbie D. 

The next meeting will be at Esther's home on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 5:30 PM. We will be discussing "At the Water's Edge" by Sara Gruen.

Reading List

Just a quick reminder: it's almost time submit a new reading list, so start thinking about your next book selection!

August Gathering

With many schedules disrupted for the summer, we decided to hold our August meeting at the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center's Arnie Arenson Picnic Shelter.  A bit smoky with the Canadian fires, but a pleasant gathering with our substantial appetizers and desserts.

The Cellist of Sarajevo is based on a real event - a horrific bombing - in which the author has intertwined the stories of three fictional character's lives during this siege of their hometown.  The cellist decides to play Albinoni's Adagio once a day for each of the 22 victims of a bread-line bombing.  This piece of music, which had been recreated after the original was lost in a different war, gave the cellist hope that Sarajevo could be rebuilt into something new and worthwhile just as this score had been.   The three other characters struggle with how this war has changed their lives and what they now accept each day.  They remember how life/the world used to be and wonder if mankind is still capable of humanity.  Paraphrasing other reviews of this book: The author took an imaginative leap to create an intense story of the endurance of the human spirit and the subtle ways individuals reclaim their humanity.  It speaks powerfully to the dignity and generosity of the human spirit under extraordinary duress.  Kris B. commented that "there was enough description to understand the hardship and human life lost but at the same time it didn't feel overly graphic."

Our September meeting will be held at Chris Peek's home on Wednesday, September 6th at 5:30.  Hope to see you there!

A Poetic Evening

Lovely gathering at Debbie G's on a beautiful summers eve.  Good to see Debbie D, back from her long vacation in the motor home.  Fun to reconnect with everyone!

Our book was an anthology of poems by Robert Frost.  Although poetry may not be everyone's favorite genre to read, we all found favorite poems in this anthology.  It is hard to find fault with Robert Frost's poetry and the commentary by Louis Untermeyer was insightful.  Robert was able to take a simple, ordinary subject and create a poem which is deep with meaning.  How could this be any less than a 6.0?!  Although nobody rated the poetry less, there were some small points taken off due to the presentation of the material.  The book itself, some felt, should have been nicer - more of a classic keep-sake, beautifully bound.  Our discussion was filled with memories which the poems brought up as well as discussion of other favorite poets.  As stated by Louis Untermeyer, "It is not so much the power of the thought as the expressiveness that affects the reader.  The spell of the lyrics is in their suggestion, in their half-revealed, half-concealed essence.  What counts here is not so much the meaning as the shades of meaning."