June Books

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 30th June, from 5.30pm at Costa Coffee, Longfield Centre.

Our books for June:

 

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist by Robert Tressell

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is a classic of socialist literature, exploring the plight of a group of painters and decorators who are oppressed by their exploitative employers. Since its first publication, Robert Tressell's passionate and enlightened novel has had a perspective-changing, revelatory impact on generations of readers. The eye-opening spectacle of the workers, refusing to acknowledge that they are being ground down at the hands of their masters is brilliantly conceived. Notable for its humour, humanity and frankness The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is a hugely meaningful and important novel.

The Review 

The story of this book took place in the early 1900’s, although the premise of the book is clear it was still shocking for readers to follow the story of children starving to death, due to the poor conditions under which their parents worked. That they would work hard all their life and still end up with nothing, but the impact of their employers making job as cheap as possible in order to make as much money as possible was significant. The workers were owned by the job, skills were not recognised and they weren’t even given enough materials to the job.

What frustrated all our readers was the inability (or perhaps apathy) to change the culture which at best was exploitation but bullying was also frequent. The men seemed to be content with being taken on the annual workers outing, although poor treatment continued, the trip was just another means of control, but the workers did not see through this.

Our discussion of the book did draw a contrast to today, although conditions are not as severe, there are still many example of worker being treated unfairly or not being able to afford to live reasonably on the pay they receive. An interesting read, but reading was made difficult by the sadness of the material.

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Internationally bestselling author Philippa Gregory brings the tumult and intrigue of The Wars of the Roses to vivid life through the women of the House of Lancaster and the House of York, beginning with the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen. A woman who won the love of a king and ascended to royalty by virtue of her beauty, Elizabeth fought tenaciously for the success of her family -- her daughter who would one day unite the warring dynasties, and her two sons whose eventual fate has confounded historians for centuries: the Princes in the Tower. An active player in the power struggles that surrounded her, she made hard and courageous choices, always trying to protect those whom she loved. Informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills, Philippa Gregory gives an unforgettable voice to an extraordinary woman at the heart of a devastating conflict.

The Review

Most of our readers enjoyed this book (and keen to read more in the series) as the idea of using the historical context to create the story was considered to be well executed. Although the use of magical powers is perhaps not so credible, we reflected on witchcraft being an accepted notion during this period in history.

The tenacity of the fight of the Woodville’s  was clear and perhaps even impressive given the lack of power women had in society during this period and length of time the fight for family success lasted.

It was recommended to the group that the story is further supported by the series of programmes with Philippa Gregory, that discuss the history and facts behind the story.

May Books

THE GREAT GATSBY - is showing at the Printworks Manchester on Tuesday 11th June at 17.25.

If anyone would like to come along either on the tram from Prestwich or meet at 5pm outside the Printworks, please contact either Jill or Vicki over the weekend.

Next Meeting Tuesday 18th June from 5.30pm at Costa Coffee, Longfield Centre

Our Books for May 

 

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin

Meet Angel Tungaraza, professional cake-baker, amateur matchmaker, an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on. A uniquely charming, funny and touching novel of life, life and food set in Rwanda, a country recovers from unimaginable terror and violence. Angel Tungazara has recently moved to Rwanda from her native Tanzania. With her husband, Pius, and the five orphaned children of their late son and daughter, she is hardly short of things to do. But she still finds time to pursue her hobby and her passion, her small but increasingly successful business, baking individually-designed cakes for the parties and celebrations of her neighbours and their friends. Angel is entirely aware that many of the Rwandans around her have witnessed and survived horrors she can barely imagine. But she also knows that their lives continue, that they also have reasons to celebrate, to be joyous and to be happy. As she gets to know her neighbours and as they tell her their stories, she comes to realise how much each of them has to mourn as well as how much they have to celebrate. And, finally, she comes to accept how much that is true of her too.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jay Gatsby is the man who has everything. But one thing will always be out of his reach...Everybody who is anybody is seen at his glittering parties. Day and night his Long Island mansion buzzes with bright young things drinking, dancing and debating his mysterious character. For Gatsby - young, handsome, fabulously rich - always seems alone in the crowd, watching and waiting, though no one knows what for. Beneath the shimmering surface of his life he is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never be fulfilled. And soon this destructive obsession will force his world to unravel.

Review of Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome and Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Both of the books for this month provided a split opinion of the group. Firstly to three men in a boat, mostly we were all glad to have read the book and we enjoyed some of the observations and description of the trip. However, some felt it was not as funny as they were expecting commenting that this was just a jolly trip for three men who had too much money and time on their hands. The tangent stories didn't add to the book and in some cases only served to confuse. The book was originally intended to be a travel book, perhaps the resultant in between story we see, along with the passage of time, has led to the split view.

Moving on to Cutting for Stone, this was a dense book which contained a great deal of medical language and several story threads, upsetting in places which meant that some of our readers did not enjoy the book. We all agreed that this is perhaps a book we would not normally read, but the opportunity to review it was welcomed. Those in the group that enjoyed the book found the story compelling and very sad in many places, but once past the first section of the book you wanted to follow the life of the Stone twins and their extended family and connections.