2022 Book Club Reviews
November 2022: The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
I really did not like this book, but others did not mind it.
Confusing was the main criticism but mine was DULL and unbelievable. A nurse in the army left on her own to care for a very ill soldier in a house that had been destroyed in parts by bombing and mined before the Italians left. The nurse would have been charged with desertion at the very least. And where did all the morphine come from??????? Never mind. It got loads of good comments from journalists.
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October 2022: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
I found this modern classic baffling. This man was a serial killer and a psychopath. What is there to not like you might say but I read the story with no problems and so did most of the group . One was not impressed and couldn’t engage with the characters and didn’t find the tale at all believable. One discovered that the copies that the library provided us with were intended for students of the English language and this sort of made sense to the rest of the group. Interesting to see homosexuality mentioned when it was illegal at least in UK but of course this was set in mainland Europe.
I might try and see the film on television which may further help with understanding.
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September 2022: Far From The Tree by Robin Benway
We all enjoyed the read. It was about 3 teenagers who had been fostered and adopted by in the main, very good people. The narrative dealt with adoption, divorce, dysfunctional homes and lesbianism.
Some felt that the book kept them interested from beginning to end. Some felt that they enjoyed the read but that it was a bit twee. The happy ending did not expose the true emotional upheaval and stress experienced by people involved in the adoption process. The issue of women having baby after baby with no intention of looking after them was not addressed either.
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August 2022: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Like a lot of modern American books, the chapters are headed by characters and it can be difficult to “keep up”. Once again the black Americans did not have a good life - improved now of course and some were portrayed as affluent.
Not all the group liked the novel, finding the characters unbelievable and the story “wishy washy” and with a weak ending. Two did enjoy the read, but accepted that there were gaps in the narrative.
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July 2022: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
This novel was set in a small town in Australia. Quite affluent people were friends and supported each through the rigours of life. One woman suffered dreadful domestic violence, one was a single mother whose young son was treated abominably at school by other MOTHERS!!!!!!! eg one invited the whole class to a party and left him out and another woman suffering because her ex husband who has married a sort of bohemian, moving near her and her new husband.
Her young daughter (16), (the ex husband’s daughter as well) became very good friends with her father’s new wife thereby causing a lot of jealousy. WOW. Yes does sound a little bit beyond belief but the whole group enjoyed this book very much indeed and discussed issues at length. Very much recommended.
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June 2022: My Name Is Eva by Suzanne Goldring.
This novel is about an elderly lady in a care home. She has never forgotten a promise she made to discover the truth about her lover’s death. Set in war-battled Germany, It includes love, courage and betrayal.
Four of the six really enjoyed it and one thought it wasn’t as bad as she though it was going to be. One person (me) was not quite as enamoured but still read it without problems. Some things were quite far-fetched.
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April 2022: We Were The Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
A novel based on the truth about a family that survived the atrocities of the Nazi regime of WW2. Heart rending and a real page turner. Enjoyed by all members but with a tinge of guilt about enjoying something so awful. Obviously parallels can be drawn about Ukraine now.
No reservations about recommending this novel. Indeed, it was felt that it serves a very good purpose to read this sort of narrative quite regularly to prevent our memories fading.
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March 2022: There There by Tommy Orange and we all had one copy to read. Heaven.
This is a New York Times bestseller and is about an estranged family trying to reconnect.
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February 2022
We had our meeting a bit sooner than usual this month, anticipating that some books would be available for us.
We spent some time discussing books that we had passed around the group so that we were up to date.
Just Quite by Claudia Winkleman to be read by one more member. This book has had very mixed reviews.
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January 2022
Had our meeting today and part of the time was spent discussing the very few books we’d had available to read and part of the remaining meeting was spent discussing how we could get over the issues surrounding ordering books for book clubs from the library.
We discussed:
- Using BorrowBox but decided that this was not going to work due to short time you can borrow for and availability of books
- Using a different library where perhaps we could hold meetings there and would be looked after by a librarian.
- Ordering 6 different books via our standing club and read and pass round to others. It would take a while to get through them and get everyone’s thoughts and opinions .
- Everyone ordering their own book.
No one was willing to buy the books and all ordering them from an Essex Library would open up the same issues as now and also less time available to read the books. 14 weeks for book clubs . Two members already go to a reading group in Hadleigh library and are going to see the librarian about out group joining there. They certainly don’t seem to have the same issues as South Benfleet library
I have a list of 6 different books in at the library as of now of now so will see what happens
Two members read Quite by Claudia Winkleman. Rubbish. Same old problem. Some people can do their own jobs very well but cannot WRITE.
Ask Again Yes by Mary Beth Keane
Two people “struggled”. One felt it was “not bad”. All felt it was “so American “
The Storied life of A J Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Undemanding was one comment, more easily understood as not too many characters. It was about a little girl left in a bookshop
We have now sort of swapped around so that others can now read these books so you should receive more comments from next meeting and possibly we will have found some answers to our problems