A new season of Book Club!

An excellent turnout today with all present except for our French Correspondent M. Mairtin. With so much catching up to do, we almost didn't discuss the book at all but after the bill was paid a rousing conversation ensued with insightful comments from all. Even those that hadn't read the book! Bravo.

All recommendations were put forward and (mostly) approved. We are still holding off on a LeClezio novel until more research can be done to find one of his novels that is translated and easy to find in the U.S.

And the selections are:

August 8, 2009
Gardens of Water by Alan Drew






September 12, 2009
House of Meetings by Martin Amis



October 10, 2009
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris


November 14, 2009
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem


December 12, 2009
Lie Down in Darkness by William Styron


January 9, 2010
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill


See you at the Delancey Street Restaurant.

Springing Forward, Into the Future

So what, you may ask, are our next four selections?
April 11: The Reserve by Russell Banks












May 9: Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates





June 13: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz




July 11: Out Stealing Horses by Per Patterson

Marching On . . .

A very good turnout this Valentine's Day. We missed you Art. Otherwise all were accounted for.
Next month's selection is "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison. See you March 14 at the usual place.

What month is it anyhow?

If I remember this right, there was no meeting in December. In January the group met and discussed "White Tiger." What did you think?

February's selection is "What is the What" by Dave Eggers. It is an autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng. How can this be? Join us at Delancy Street restaurant on Valentine's day to find out.

THE WHITE TIGER

ARAVIND ADIGA

WAITING FOR AN ANGEL

HELON HABILA

Next meeting: Saturday November 10, 2008


This one lost out for now.

SPLIT DECISION

Saturday turned out to be a lovely day for BookClub. Four of us got together - Janice, AnneMarie, and Ann, as well as yours truly. We had regrets from Greta and Art but not a peep out of Tony. I imagine he was sailing the bay on such a glorious day.
We entertained Greta's request to read something by the new French Nobel laureate but decided that it is too soon to go looking for these books at the library or bookstore. We would like to read something by LeClezio in the future when his books are more readily available.
Janice brought two books for us to consider for next time: Waiting for an Angel, by Helon Habila, the story of an idealistic journalist in Lagos; and God's Bits of Wood, by Sembene Ousmane, about the 1947-48 uprising of railway workers in Dakar.
We compared density of type on the page and chose Waiting for an Angel.

THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST

MOHSIN HAMID

We had a good turnout for this book. The only ones MIA were Greta (in France) and Art (in Yosemite).
The discussion began slowly - there were lots of other things to talk about. Best student story goes to Ms. Grace, "Did we really visit another planet?" and best sailing story goes to Tony, "We made it".
The aspect that everyone seemed to like about the book was how the narrator seemed to have two distinct voices - a young voice when he was describing his life in America and an older, more mature voice when he was talking in the cafe in Lahore. Ann straightened out the title for us. The narrator didn't seem to be a Muslim fundamentalist but she pointed out that this was a reference to his work in the New York world of high finance: "Stick to the fundamentals" he was told when he was first hired. Tony pointed out a nice turn of phrase that exemplified the authors command of language: "Maximum return was a maxim we returned to again and again." I liked the way he kept his protagonist on the edge of the American mainstream: "Even after four years I never became an American but I was a New Yorker from the very first day."
We did have some concerns about the "girlfriend". Janice thought that this character was superfluous and a little bit of a distraction from the main narrative. Everybody wondered about the ending. Who was the mysterious "tourist"? Was he a CIA operative planning to assassinate our narrator? Or was he merely a tourist trying to get a better understanding of modern-day Pakistan. You must decide that for yourself!

Here's our summer schedule, 2008

Hi Kids,

For July 12: Lost City Radio, by Daniel Alarcon (this meeting subject to cancellation)

For August 9: In the Country of Men, by Hisham Matar


For September 13: The Gathering, by Anne Enright

Special congratulations to our teachers (Anne Marie, Mairtin, Greta) who made it through
another school year! Happy vacations to all.

THE LAST FRIEND

TAHAR BEN JELLOUN

Five of us got together on Saturday. We had to thread our way through the throngs staking out their places for KBOOM and the ticket buyers/sellers for the big baseball game. Despite all of that we had no problem getting our usual table at Delancy Street without a reservation.

Most of the discussion was about how unsatisfying the second part of the book was compared to the first. We also wondered about the prologue and the letter at the end. One interesting feature that was mentioned was how Morocco was compared to Sweden, almost like the comparison between Ali and Memet. Another aspect that was discussed was the way the author described the rivalry between the wives. It was felt that it would have been better for the author to include their take on the friendship directly in the book rather than have Ali and Memet describe what they thought was the relationship between the wives.

The general consensus: this is a book worth reading but not worth lingering over for a second month of deliberation.

Next book: THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST

SUMMARY

Taft
by Ann Patchett

April 12 was a bright sunny day. We had a good turnout, with all seven of us in attendance. We were in general agreement that Taft is a good yarn, the voice of John Nickel, a young Black man captured skillfully by a White woman writer. The fact that John is Black came as a surprise as he does not speak like a Southerner. He seems intelligent and capable, yet lost and floundering, having random affairs and living with no clear focus. The story raised many questions for us: why does he go out of his way to help Fay and Carl? Is it because he feels guilty for having treated Marion badly? Why does Marion not “get over” it, after all, John is trying, and he did send her to nursing school. His channeling of Taft seems accurate, but why does John idealize a father who is White? Why does Ruth want him to be a drummer again? Can he do nothing better than to manage a bar? (To which someone answered that there is nothing much else in Memphis.) What does the ending suggest about the future of John and Marion and Franklin?

FUTURE READ SUGGESTIONS

LOST CITY RADIO


MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN


THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST


THE COLLABORATOR OF BETHLEHEM

TAFT

Anne Patchett



Saturday, April 12 in San Francisco. Delancy Street, 10:00.

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.

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.

Pep talk on February club selection

Hi All,

I just finished "Murder in Amsterdam" and wanted to encourage you to
keep going if you're stalling out.... the first third is very
academic and not that engaging, but after that, I'm pretty sure your
head will be spinning about Amsterdam, free speech, and Islamic
fundamentalism/ rage.

Janice

KEPLER'S FEBRUARY EVENTS

Russell Banks -A Valentine's Day Alternative
The Reserve
Thursday, February 14, 7:30 p.m.

Part love story, part murder mystery, set on the cusp of the Second World War, Russell Banks's sharp-witted and deeply engaging new novel raises dangerous questions about class, politics, art, love, and madness--and explores what happens when two powerful personalities, trapped at opposite ends of a social divide, begin to break the rules.

KEPLER'S WEBSITE

MORE FEBRUARY EVENTS AT KEPLER'S, MENLO PARK

MARCH . . . AND BEYOND!

Yes, we went crazy and picked books for the next several months. And the winners are:

"Murder in Amsterdam" by Ian Buruma for March, "Taft" by Ann Pachett for April, "The Last Friend" by Tahar Ben Jelloun for May.

Start your reading!

THE WORST HARD TIME

TIMOTHY EGAN

February 9, 2008. Delancy Street Restaurant, San Francisco.

BOOK REPORT

We had a full house on Saturday with everybody present except Greta. She did intend to come but fell ill and couldn't make it. 6 people showed up including Ann, the newbie, fresh from her relaxing getaway cruise with her husband. Tony was there again (that's three in a row) and Art made it through the Mavericks traffic on the bridge. Anne Marie, Janice and myself rounded out the group. It was a little surprising (though pleasantly so) to see everybody there since there was no general reminder sent out other than the posting on the blog.

There was some lively discussion of the book. Everybody had read some part of it. Most people thought it was a very good yarn but that it lacked the character development that could have added depth. I thought the passages in the assisted-living home distracted from the overall feel of the book. For me, they tended to take me away from the part I liked the best - the circus story. Other people thought that these passages added greatly to the story, providing some of the character development that was otherwise lacking in the book. I guess I really thought that the circus itself was the main character and the narrative illustrated what a character it was.

We had many choices for our next book (This is the point where you make your list and upload the photographs, Anne Marie!) but we all decided that we would like another look at Depression-era America so we chose "The Worst Hard Time" by Timothy Egan.

THANK YOU, JANICE!

I am almost finished the book (unfortunately).
I have to say it is one of the best books I've read in a long time.
Thank you Janice for recommending this book.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS

by Sara Gruen

The December Book Club was noteworthy for the presence of Tony for the second month in a row. AND he read the book! He is now going to go through the archives and read every book he has missed. Bravo Mr. Miller!

Those who had read "The Grass is Singing" both liked the book despite the somber and downbeat story.

We will be meeting next on Saturday, January 12 at 10 a.m. at Delancy Street. We thought of making a reservation but then realized we would be tempting the fates, not to mention testing the abilities of the Maître d'. We will chance it, yet again, and pray for an available table in January.

THE GRASS IS SINGING

by Doris Lessing

Meeting in San Francisco, December 15, 2007.

IT'S STILL SUITE FRANÇAISE

Mairtin and Art graciously agreed to wait until Saturday, November 10, to discuss "Suite Française." The time, 10 a.m. The place, Delancy Street Cafe. See you there!

SUITE FRANÇAISE

Our next book is "Suite Française" by Irène Némirovsky.
Meeting in San Francisco on Saturday, October 13.

What a great book club we had on Saturday! We had a surprise guest - Art's sister from New York, Eileen, who had read the book about a year ago.

There were two aspects of the book that we didn't get to touch on. We never talked about the fabulous costs involved in getting John to the hospital and treating Quintana over an extended period. I know the Dunne-Didions were wealthy from their involvement in Hollywood (there were hints that they weren't exactly hurting for money even before the script-doctoring days) but it must have cost a fortune to medi-evac Quintana across the country and treat her for six months at the Rusk Institute (anything with the word institute in the title is going to cost some bucks).

We also didn't talk much about the difference between how she treated the memory of John and how she treated her daughter. I know that when the book was being written she expected her daughter to recover and live so there is a fuller treatment of her relationship with John. But I think I detected testiness, irritability with her daughter's illness. Several times in the book she mentions that she had to push Quintana out on her own again to help her recover. Did I misread that as Didion's inability to focus on the grave situation her daughter was in while investing so much in grieving for John? Was it part of her "magical thinking" that she couldn't understand how close to death her daughter was even while she was getting clues from every doctor?

QUESTIONS?

Why is their daughter called Quintana Roo?
What are the "Nassoons"?
Who was Rudy Gernreich?

I've finished "Magical Thinking" but I'm not sure what the magical thinking was.

THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING

Our next book is Joan Didion's "The Year of Magical Thinking".
We are meeting in San Francisco, at Delancy Street, at 10:00am on September 8.

WIKIPEDIA: MAGICAL THINKING

SWEETNESS IN THE BELLY

Camilla Gibb

WIKIPEDIA: SUFISM

FOOLS OF FORTUNE

William Trevor

THE MADONNAS OF LENINGRAD

Debra Dean

GET A LIFE

Nadine Gordimer

SLOW MAN

J. Coetzee

PALE HORSE, PALE RIDER

Katherine Anne Porter

THE SEA

John Banville

THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING

Alaa Al Aswany

THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE

Muriel Spark

MRS. DALLOWAY

WIKIPEDIA: Virginia Woolf

SATURDAY

Ian McEwan

FUGITIVE PIECES

Anne Michaels

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Graham Greene