Next Meeting Tuesday 2nd April from 5.30pm at Costa Coffee, Longfield Centre
Our Books for February
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Marion and Shiva Stone, born in a mission
hospital in Ethiopia in the 1950s, are twin sons of an illicit union
between an Indian nun and British doctor. Bound by birth but with widely
different temperaments they grow up together, in a country on the brink
of revolution, until a betrayal splits them apart. But fate has not
finished with them - they will be brought together once more, in the
sterile surroundings of a hospital theatre. From the 1940s to the
present, from a convent in India to a cargo ship bound for the Yemen,
from a tiny operating theatre in Ethiopia to a hospital in the Bronx,
this is both a richly visceral epic and a riveting family story.
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
Though he achieved more popular success for works such as Far From the
Madding Crowd and Tess of the d'Urbervilles, most critics now see The
Mayor of Casterbridge as Harding's crowning accomplishment. This novel
traces the ascension of Michael Henchard from a hardscrabble manual
labourer to a pillar of his community. But will the shameful secret that
haunts him come to light and undermine his new-found prominence?
Review of The Woman Who Stayed in Bed for a Year by Sue Townsend
The group has a polarised view of the book, finding the central character Eva quite irritating but wanting to finish the book. Overall there was agreement that the book was good but Eva wasn't likable, she treated those who tried to help (her mother and mother in law and several others) very badly. Some sympathy was given for the mental breakdown Eva was experiencing as a result of being badly treated by her husband and children, but this diminished as the character became increasingly irrational only crossing the room by walking on a white sheet and having the windows boarded up. Thought provoking, it reminded some readers of the film Forrest Gump, who like Eva, ended up with several followers, that appeared for no real reason, in the street outside her home. Perhaps they were looking for answers to the twists and turns of life too?
Review of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Considered a very enjoyable book by the group, which are keen to read other works from the author. We saw Rebecca as the young lady's companion was seemingly experiencing many awkward situations in which she struggled to managed, having no adviser to guide and confide in. This was all set within society and environment where keeping up appearances is the 'done thing' and structure and formality is considered to be the only way of life. Wonderful story telling, it was refreshing to read a book where we were not sure of how it would end.
