10 JULY 2021

 

San Miguel.  T.C. Boyle.  Penguin, 2013

Who recommended this book?

Nobody liked it!

Nobody had anything good to say about it!

The general consensus was that it was badly written and not worth the trouble.

But I liked it (and am stilling liking it).

I had read about 250 pages by the time I got to Delancey Street

(Is that the best value in the world? - Six good breakfasts, generous portions of Garden Scramble, Reuben Sandwiches (no fries), Fruit Cocktail,  Eggs Benedict, lattes, coffee, tea - all for $80, though we left Matthew a tip large enough for him to buy his own Tesla).

I was impressed by the silkiness of the writing and the depth of the characters.

I enjoyed the narrative that was pieced together from two journals.  It was disjointed and at times didn't seem to flow together, but that's the nature of journaling, a scrapbook of memories that won't make much sense to future readers.

AL had also read about 100 pages and was looking forward to finishing it.

BOOKCLUB BONUS:  Delancey Street now has a booknook, but none of the books we have ever read is available yet.

Next book:  East of Eden for AUG 14.

Was today our last Zoom Meeting?!?!

 We'll see. Janice will be trying to snag us an outdoor table at Delancey Street for our June meeting. 

Today, readers liked "The Vanishing Half" to various degrees but all agreed there were parts that really worked for us. The town of Mallard was a wonderful creation and Early's relationship to Stella and her mother was sweet and real. 

Our June book is "Go Tell it on the Mountain" by James Baldwin.

July's read is "San Miguel" by T. C. Boyle.

April Foolishness

 We missed Mairtin today but the rest of us were all in attendance. Tony zoomed in from Turkey with a glass a wine in hand, having not read the book despite having PLENTY of time on his flight. Greta rightly took him to task for this.

"Animal Dreams" got mixed reviews. Some found it wanting after enjoying "Bean Trees" so much. Others liked its examination of community and memory. Almost all found the plot line of the sister going to Nicaragua unsatisfying. 

Next up for May: "The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett. We will be zooming for this meeting.

We are daring to dream of a face-to-face meeting in June. Our book will be "The Edge of the Haight" by Katherine Seligman.

Read on!

March Madness

The main madness was taking note of the one year anniversary of the plague. All members were present and five out of seven were fully vaccinated. Tony has one more shot to go and Mairtin got his first shot today. We have begun to dream of a return to Delancey Street. 

There was unanimous praise for "The Bean Trees," even from Mairtin who hadn't read it! It was so enjoyed that we have chosen another Barbara Kingsolver book for April, "Animal Dreams."

It turns out "The Bean Trees" was followed up by "Pigs in Heaven," continuing the tale of Taylor and Turtle but I could not find evidence of a third book. Please let me know if you learn otherwise.

A Long Overdue Update

 So when last heard from, our October book was "Christ Stopped at Eboli." Somewhat mixed reviews as some found the descriptions of the Southern Italians to be too harsh. 

November we sorta read "The Shadow of the Wind." Not one of us had completely finished it. It was made optional to finish it by the next meeting. Meanwhile for December we agreed to "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, A New Critical Edition by Angela Y. Davis."

During our discussion of the Douglass book we discovered that this recent edition had some language changes from earlier versions. In Janice's book the word "bloodless" was used multiple times in confusing ways. In Anne Marie's edition the word "cold" replaced it. 

January's book was "The Welsh Girl" by Peter Ho Davies. This got unanimous thumbs up from our reviewers.

Today we meet to discuss "Rules of Civility" by Amor Towles. Opinions were very divided with some enjoying it very much, others not interested in the characters. And yet, all agreed the writing was very good.

For March we will be reading "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver. This will be the one year anniversary of pandemic book club. 

Yikes.