"Happiness can exist in a moment"

A most eloquent forward to Barracoon,  by Zora Neale Hurston written by Alice Walker includes this beautiful quote " That though the heart is breaking, happiness can exist in a moment, also. And because the moment in which we live is all the time there really is, we can keep going. Life, inexhaustible, goes on. And we do too. Carrying our wounds and our medicines as we go. Perhaps our planet is for learning to appreciate the extraordinary wonder of life that surrounds even our suffering, and to say Yes, if through the thickest of tears. "


The reading of Ms. Hurston's series of interviews with Cudjo was challenging, because of the reality presented of our inhumanity to man over the course of all generations and cultures, and specifically in the case of  the slave trade. How lonely, desperate and traumatic was the experience of the men, women and children who were taken by force to a land far from home and all that they knew to be sold and treated worse than animals. We must not let that past be forgotten.  We need to continue to be reminded and to tell our young people of this past  to avoid it's recurrence. And yet, our discussion led us to consider how today in our country and communities, we seem to have not evolved beyond a self centered and uncivilized culture.  No, we won't solve the world's problems by talking about them, but perhaps we will be encouraged to act when we have the opportunity to stand up for what is right,  when we can give of our time, resources, and talents in small and large ways. 

It seemed that working in his garden was nourishing and healing after such a hard life,  and  Ms. Hurston's gifts of food and conversation were welcomed. He needed to tell his story and she needed to hear it . We are the fortunate readers to learn of it. 

All the lonely people

Eleanot Oliphant is completely fine, by Gail Honeyman is an quirky and  heart wrenching story of a woman traumatized by a parental  disfunction and lack of love.  Whether Eleanor became so alienated from everyday life due to the tragic fire that killed her little sister caused by her mother or whether she may have had tendencies toward autism that were exacerbated by that event could be speculative. What could have helped her ? A more compassionate foster family? A more resilient nature?  After  having just read Educated, by Tara Westover , a strong sense of oneself and persistence to survive can overcome a horrible childhood, but certainly there is much needed in broken early lives to heal and persevere.  Eleanor had so little recognizable help.  The author expressed her dilemma and mindset  in many interesting ways.  From page 5, "There are days when I feel so lightly connected to the earth that the threads that tether me to the planet are gossamer thin, spun sugar.  A strong gust of wind could dislodge me completely, and I'd lift off and blow away, like one of the seeds in a dandelion clock."  Her honest, and quirky nature must have been exactly what drew Raymond to her. As well described by Claudia, in her review ,  " Eleanor was so lonely; she would observe other people's social interactions and try to analyze them and learn by example ("Oh, this is what friends do.") Raymond's own awkward social skills were minimal in comparison, and his dedication to her was what finally brought her to accept herself and realize that she could face the reality of her past, and learn to be comfortable with who she was and could become.  He was not the only kind person she encountered in the space of time the book takes place, and perhaps there were others earlier, but she may have not let them into her realm of existence.  We do need each other, and we need to recognize that as Maureen stated in our discussion ( I am paraphrasing )  - It only takes a few good people to make a difference in a person's life.

We enjoyed a dinner I intended to be comfort food  - homemade bread, tomato soup, and chicken pot pie, along with cheese and crackers, kale and greens salad, homemade sugar cookies, and a wonderful white wine .  It was a small gathering, but very congenial.  I look forward to next month's read, Barracoon, by Zora Neale Hurston.  We will be sharing at Chris Mallon's home on the first Thursday of April.

Book Ideas for Next Round

On a site for "recommended reads," this book sounded interesting. Thought it might be handy to have posts here to record ideas for our next round of requests to NCRL Book Clubs.
The Current by Tim Johnston   from The Real Deal (Retail Me Not post).
Just log in and add a comment to this post with your suggestions.

A Gentleman's Life

I certainly enjoyed hosting our gathering to review "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles.  It was fun to plan what to serve as there were so many options to choose from.  And I really appreciate that all our potluck selections were so connected to the story as well.  Bravo everyone!  It was fun to be a bit fancy - even when it was 12 degrees outside.  I'm pleased that Judy B used this as an opportunity to wear her grandmother's jewelry so we could all enjoy it!

I found this book to be a pleasure and an indulgence to read.  Its characters became friends.  The author wrote with insight, humor and reflection on many themes, culminating in the ability to change our life as necessitated by life's uncertainties.  It also provided some basic insight on Russian history without being boring.  This book was well received by everyone and most of us shared quotes from the book that were meaningful to us.  While reflecting on this story, I found I had a better understanding of Ron's father's life in Hungary before the war.  I had always viewed things through my American-upbringing eyes and never fully realized other possibilities.

I spent some time reading Amor Towles' website after our meeting to see what motivated him to write this novel.  He stated that he loved Russian literature and used this knowledge to anchor the story over years of extensive research.  His great-great-grandfather died when he was a teenager, and Amor selected a piece of luggage - a traveler's hat box - as a memento from the estate.  It was covered with labels from hotels his great-great-grandfather had stayed while traveling for his work and Amor imagined the elegant journeys he had taken.  When Amor began traveling for his work for an investment firm, he realized his trips were nothing like what he thought his great-great grandfather's were.  While at a hotel in Geneva, Amor surveyed the other travelers around him and, instead of feeling transported by his ornate location, he felt trapped.  He began to wonder what it would be like to live in a hotel like this for the rest of his life, what it would take to live in such constrained circumstances.  That was his inspiration for this story.

About his writing, Amor says he views writing in musical terms.  "I think the closest cousin to the novel in the art realm is the symphony.  A novel has movements and leitmotifs.  It has moments of crescendo and diminuendo.  You feel a growing emotional force and then it backs off for reflection.  A work must feel cohesive and organic and the beginning and end inform each other in a way we can hold in our head."

We are looking forward to our next meeting which will be held Tuesday, March 5th, at Esther's home.  See you there!

A Note About Our Meeting

Thank you Maureen for being our January hostess.  It was a pleasure to spend time with friends in your lovely home.  Thanks too for your delicious lentil soup and everyone else for their yummy contributions to our evening.  It was so nice to start our new year sharing with friends.

Our book for this month was written by Lisa Genova, who also wrote "Still Alice", a story about alzhimer's disease.  Our book, "Every Note Played", is a story about ALS  - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis disease, also called Lou Gerhig's disease.  Although the characters in this book were fictional, the facts of the disease and its progression were well researched.  It is very hard to imagine receiving the news that you have ALS as it is almost without hope, leaving you like "an animal in a cage...shut down, shut in, turned off."  The progression of this disease can be very rapid, making "each week, a new normal."  The book was somewhat difficult to rate as the basic story of the family - husband, wife and daughter - could have been better written, but the description of the stages of ALS and the treatments was extremely well presented.  Also well handled was the importance of having a good caregiver and how hard this job is.  "On a road leading to any great achievement are a thousand missteps, a thousand more dead ends.  Success cannot be born without the life and death of failure."

Esther shared with us information she found on the author's blog about theories on preventing this disease:  Get plenty of sleep
               Get plenty of aerobic exercise
               Challenge yourself by doing things outside your comfort zone

Our next meeting will be Thursday February 7th, 5pm at Claudia's home.  Looking forward to seeing you then!  Happy New Year!

Holiday Happiness

We enjoyed a delightful holiday evening thanks to Nika.  Our historically themed peasant meal centered on lamb, yams, and mead along with oat bread, garden vegetable and other goodies.  Conversation and sharing among friends, as always, made a memorable evening.

Our book this month was "A Morbid Taste for Bones" by Ellis Peters, the first in a 21 book historical mystery series written around the main character Brother Cadfael, a Benedictine monk.  This was Judy B's selection as she loves the Cadfael television series.  Being the first book in this series, the beginning of the book was a slow read as the characters were being established, but once you were entrenched in the setting and familiar with the players, the book became more interesting.  Brother Cadfael proved to be a wise person well educated in the ways of the world.  He enjoyed tending the garden which contained medicinal as well as food items.  He also showed his humorous side at times, such as when he quipped "When I want to hear my echo, I'll speak first."  The details of daily life were well researched and you felt as if you were part of the village as you read the story.  A few of us commented that they will be reading the second book in the series as they feel this series has potential.  One comment was that the book could have been edited better as the writing style was a bit uneven but we wonder if this is more a British style of writing. 

We ended our evening wrapping many children's books which will be distributed to our community through Entiat Community Resource Center.  We also enjoyed a fun secret Santa gift exchange.  Our January meeting will be hosted by Maureen so mark your calendars for Thursday January 3.

Wishing all a wonderful and safe holiday!

A Creative Evening

Thank you Judy Schmidt for graciously hosting our meeting with a bit of creativity in our meal - cauliflower crust pizza!  Glad to try this curiosity and found it to be quite good.  Will sneak some into the freezer so husbands won't see what they are getting (until it's too late!).  A delicious and cozy evening filled with friendship and conversation.

Our read this month, "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert, is a self-help guide which defines creativity (the relationship between a human being and the mysteries of inspiration) and explores methods of enhancing and expanding it.  The author states that she wrote this book for herself as she mused about creativity, filling it with personal stories.  And filled with stories it was, so much so that we found it to be a tedious read, one which should have been edited down and turned into a magazine article.  We feel any book which sparks good discussion is worth our group reading, and discuss we did!  Several commented that they found the book improved if you stuck with it to the end.  All the basic information regarding creativity was included; not many new revelations.  One comment discussed was there are more useful and inspiring books on creativity.  Also, the avenue of creativity pursued seemed to make a difference.  The basics of creativity applied to each aspect of creativity, but some were more important for one discipline over another.  I feel everyone in our group is so creative, this book had little to add.  Persons just beginning to explore their own creativity will get more out of this book than we did.

Our next read will be "A Morbid Taste for Bones" by Ellis Peters.  This is the first installment of a historical mystery series.  Nika will be our host on December 6th.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone then!