Sunday, October 28, 2007



September & October meetings

Picture is of our January book: The Gathering by Anne Enright.



In the meantime, sorry to have got at bit behind. We met last month at Sue's new place to talk about Infidel, which stimulated quite a bit of discussion.


The month, we met here at Cheltenham to talk about Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. What a wonderful book, wryly observed. We were four members - Stella and Ros, Sue and I, and we were pretty much in agreement about the book. So the discussion was not as lengthy as it might have been. We had a great review by Andrew Reimer, but he thought it was wonderful too, so we noted his observations with interest but it was just more agreement!





We had a question about the cover of the book - where did that photographic image come from.


Well, its from a collection of photos called the Rogerviollet collection - have a look at:


http://www.topfoto.co.uk/aboutus/pdfguides/rogerviollet.pdf It's worth a look at the series if you have the time. Great pic of people leaving Paris in 1940.





Next meeting is at Jane Roberts place - the Christmas meeting, so be ready fto begin deciding the best and worst for the year. The book will be Shakespeare's Women by Germaine Greer.





Then in January, we will do the Booker Prize winner: The Gathering by Irish woman Anne Enright. The Booker site says it is 'exhiliratingly bleak'. We should love it.

Monday, September 03, 2007

October book:
Thanks Margaret for your hospitality - it was great though we had little to say about the book, Carpentaria. Marg was the most advanced, having read 4 chapters. The rest of us failed to engage even earlier.
Better luck next time with Infidel, when I am sure we will have something to say. Then in October, here is the book:

Suite Francaise Irene Nemirovsky Chatto & Windus $23.95
The first English publication of Suite Francaise - sixty five years after it was written. Already a bestseller in France, it has captured reader's imaginations, not only for the tragic story of its author, and the circumstances of its rediscovery, but for its brilliantly subtle and compelling portrait of France under occupation.
Description of the Book SUITE FRANCAISE has all the ingredients of a major bestseller: the story behind its rediscovery is extraordinary; the life of the author is fascinating and moving; but, most importantly, it is a hugely compelling work of literature, elegantly, subtly and simply written, with astounding insight into the moral complexities of the human condition. It comprises two parts of what might have been a four or five-part work had Irene not been taken to Auschwitz. She conceived of it as a symphony - or her WAR AND PEACE. In the first part, Storm in June, she tells of the exodus from Paris on the eve of the Nazi invasion. Bourgeois and working-class characters alike pack up their belongings and flee, forced to rub shoulders in traffic-jams on the crowded roads south, some behaving with dignity, others with nauseating selfishness. In Part Two, Dolce, we meet several of them again in a small French village where Nazi soldiers are billetted, and watch Lucille's story unfold as she tries to resist the attractions of a sensitive German officer, and takes the risk of defending a young farmer who joins the resistance. The intertwining stories of all these utterly engaging and vivid characters combine to produce a unique portrait of France at that time, and of the subtle calibrations that exist between collaboration and resistance.

Review"Every page shines with a ravishing delight in the surfaces of life, and a profound empathy for the souls of its characters" - Canberra Times 18/03/06

"Even in its incomplete form Suite Francaise is one of those rare books that demands to be read" - Sun Herald 26/03/06

"Suite Francaise will become a classic" - Courier Mail 25/03/06

The French press:'A masterpiece. saved from oblivion.' Le Monde 'The most important novel of the year.' Livres Hebdo ' 'It is hard to find a comparable book in French literature.' Lire

The British press:'A book of exceptional literary quality. it has the kind of intimacy found in the diary of Anne Frank.' TLS 'Remarkable as the story of the publication of SUITE FRANCAISE is, it will finally be of anecdotal interest compared with the importance of the book. Here is the work of a fine novelist at the top of her form, writing about the fate of her adopted country with a pitiless clarity.' Patrick Marnham Evening Standard 'An heroic attempt to write a novel about a nightmare in which the author is entirely embedded.' Anita Brookner, Spectator

Friday, August 24, 2007

This Sunday's book group venue is Margaret Lackenby's place. I wasn't sure but Stella checked up. Book is the Alexis Wright.
Regards
Patricia

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

The September book
Ros asked me to let everyone know that the September book is ‘Infidel’ by Aayan Hirsi Ali (at Sue Wood’s).
Regards
Patricia

Sunday, July 22, 2007

The Scandal of the Season

Since I won't be at the Book Group meeting, I won't be able to tell you that I have visited the Blount home at Mapledurham. See history here:

http://www.mapledurham.co.uk/history/manorhouse/index.php

Also if you want to look up The Rape of the Lock, here is a link to the complete poem. But a warning, it would be 55 pages to print out.
http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/a~pope/rapelock.pdf
Capricornia by Alexis Wright.

Ros says that that the book is on long waiting lists through public libraries and sold out at lots of bookstores. I did manage to get a copy at Hornsby Borders. It was the only one in sight. I haven't started it yet (yes I know I should).

There is an article about Alexis Wright here, and a link to her PEN speech

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/13/1977989.htm

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Hi all, home from book day at Stella's where Margaret, Ros, Moy, Sue, Stella and I talked about Dreams of Speaking and lots of other things. We admired the language, specially the descriptions - eg of Perth, though Moy was a bit annoyed by the poetics. We quite enjoyed the book except Ros, who thought it was weak, but not enough to get into an argument about! So while we found quite a bit to like, discussion flagged and couldn't compete with Stellas 3 cakes, and Pat Rayner's letter to the Editor and her municipal gift of bantam eggs.

Anyway, the July book is at Ros's house - the Sophie Gee re Alexander Pope: The Scandal of the Season.

And the August book is the new Miles Franklin winner, Carpentaria by Alexis Wright. Here is a brief SMH review:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/book-reviews/carpentaria/2006/09/18/1158431619821.html

Monday, May 28, 2007

Thanks for the update on the May meeting - I was recovering from Emma's engagement party. We have a lot happening, Emma and Andrew are off to London to live in July, back next March for a wedding and Chris and Leesa's baby is due in August.

However today I went to the Sydney Writer's Festival at Katomba and heard a wonderful conversation with Andrew O'Hagan, on his new book Be Near Me, which I bought, Hazel Rowley on Beauvoir and Sartre which I recommend, Frank Brennan and the launch of Emily Ballou"s book Aphelion
May meeting was at Sue Wood's new rented place, where Margaret L, Sue E., Stella and I heard the news that Sue has bought a new unit in Russell Lea, in a dramatic competitive bid that sounded the very stuff of drama. We were impressed by Sue's Ricotta Cake, bought from Pastaceria Papa (I think that's the name) in Haberfield. Will still be available at Russell Lea.

We were divided on the book, Company by M Ward. Those who were suffering under restructures recognised its humour, but Margaret and Stella had little patience with it. I thought it was cleverly written, but thought it a bit undercooked, with a cliched plot. Nevertheless, it was an easy amusing read. It sparked some sharing of our own restructure experiences, so was therapeutic too.

Then we got to choosing the July book: Sophie Gee's The Scandal of the Season on 29 July.

The June book is Gail Jones' Dreams of Speaking. It will be at Stella's house on 24 June 2007. Gail Jones is a featured writer at the Sydney Writers Festival. Lots of us are going to the festival at various times, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Patricia

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Here are some cake pictures I got in an email. No challenge to Moy!






Monday, March 26, 2007

May book - Company by M. Barry. Don't know the details yet, just the bare facts from Stella.
I will be away next month, so will aim at a May book group attendance.

Patricia

Sunday, March 11, 2007

April book
Mothers Milk
Author : EDWARD ST AUBYN
Here are the details from the Abbey bookshop online site.
Format : Trade Paperback
ISBN : 033045076X
Publisher : PicadorPublication
Date (AUS) : January 2006
Imprint : Picador
Prizes : Shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction (2006)
Usually ships within 7 to 10 days
Web Price AUD$32.95
Description
The novel's perspective ricochets among all members of the Melrose family – the family featured in St Aubyn's praised trilogy, Some Hope – starting with Robert, who provides an exceptionally droll and compelling account of being born; to Patrick, a hilariously churlish husband who has been sexually abandoned by his wife in favour of his sons; to Mary, who's consumed by her children and an overwhelming desire not to repeat the mistakes of her own mother. All the while, St Aubyn examines the web of false promises that entangle this once-illustrious family whose last vestige of wealth – an old house in the south of France – is about to be donated by Patrick's mother to a New Age foundation.
An up-to-the-minute dissection of the mores of child-rearing, marriage, adultery and assisted suicide, Mother's Milk showcases Edward St Aubyn's luminous and acidic prose – and his masterful ability to combine the most excruciating emotional pain with the driest comedy. Absorb Mother's Milk into your bloodstream and postnatal depression will never seem the same again...
March book: Helen Garder and the Meaning of Everything By Alex Jones. This will be held at Moy's new house at Long Jetty on the Central Coast.