Anne Patchett
Saturday, April 12 in San Francisco. Delancy Street, 10:00.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
BRIEF SYNOPSIS
Below is Tony's synopsis of our discussion on Saturday:
Saturday, March 8 (my mom’s birthday!) saw the liveliest book club/breakfast club discussion that I’ve ever witnessed. The book, Murder in Amsterdam, by Ian Buruma, supplied endless topics for debate: Muslim non-assimilation into western societies, the ironic intolerance of the philosophy of tolerance, The Enlightenment, for mystical (read religious) beliefs, the role played by the western view of the status of women in the unrest of Middle Eastern and African immigrants, and the long lasting effects of colonialism on the collective guilt and anger evident in Europe. In this last point we were aided in understanding by Art’s guest, Alain, a French/Portuguese Ph.D. candidate from Paris.
Murder in Amsterdam covers the background of the assassination of filmmaker Theo van Gogh in November 2004. The killer’s specific motives are not the central story; Holland’s social structures, history, and smugness are. Buruma also explores the alienation of an entire generation of Muslims who feel displaced from both the culture of their fathers, and from the permissive culture of their adopted home.
The extensive cast and episodic writing did get in the way of easy comprehension, but as a vehicle for discussion and reflection, this book was a winner.
Saturday, March 8 (my mom’s birthday!) saw the liveliest book club/breakfast club discussion that I’ve ever witnessed. The book, Murder in Amsterdam, by Ian Buruma, supplied endless topics for debate: Muslim non-assimilation into western societies, the ironic intolerance of the philosophy of tolerance, The Enlightenment, for mystical (read religious) beliefs, the role played by the western view of the status of women in the unrest of Middle Eastern and African immigrants, and the long lasting effects of colonialism on the collective guilt and anger evident in Europe. In this last point we were aided in understanding by Art’s guest, Alain, a French/Portuguese Ph.D. candidate from Paris.
Murder in Amsterdam covers the background of the assassination of filmmaker Theo van Gogh in November 2004. The killer’s specific motives are not the central story; Holland’s social structures, history, and smugness are. Buruma also explores the alienation of an entire generation of Muslims who feel displaced from both the culture of their fathers, and from the permissive culture of their adopted home.
The extensive cast and episodic writing did get in the way of easy comprehension, but as a vehicle for discussion and reflection, this book was a winner.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
GENTLE REMINDER
We will be meeting in San Francisco on International Womens' Day, March 8 2008.
Delancy Street (the restaurant - do we have a reservation?), 10:00am.
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