Reporting in after our August meeting at Stella's place, where we discussed 'All the light we cannot see' by Anthony Doerr, recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize. We had a smaller group - Maggie, Sue W, Jane, Stella and me. Ros and Margaret L are travelling, Liz has a weekend away, and Sue E wasn't quite up to attending, still recovering from her surgery.
The book got a positive review from all present, with some reservations. Stella, our host, really liked the book. Ros had reported in from her travels that it was a bit 'Boy's Own' for her taste, and indeed, we agreed it was plot-driven, an old-style genre book, packed with events, multiple themes. Some worried that the 'stone' plot device didn't work well, though it did hook in to the Nazi treasure hunter. The blindness metaphor worked on a number of levels.
Sue W provided book club questions - one used an Alexander Solzhenitsyn quote: 'The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every living being' - this started us talking about good and evil in the book. Also pointed us to the two epigraphs, one (Goebbels) about the power of radio for the Nazis - the book goes on to consider the internet in the modern day.
Discussion of the structure - jumps about in different time zones. Would it have been a better book if chronologically told? Perhaps not, the forecasting of plot in front of being told would be lost. Through strong on plot, not over told - holds back detail, yet you know exactly what happened - for example in the rape scene. A well written book, and an old-fashioned good read.
Over a delicious pear upside down cake, baked by Rosie, (many thanks), we deliberated on the October book, without a clear standout. In the end, we chose a book from the Booker long list - 'Did you ever have a family?' by Bill Clegg. September book is 'The Lost Daughter' at Margarets, October book group is at Sue Wood's.
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