Home again from a wonderful afternoon spent with friends, talking about the book Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe, drinking champagne and eating cakes. Thanks Sue E for hosting us. There was plenty of discussion about the book - some varied viewpoints, which always makes for a lively afternoon. No one faulted the passion with which Pascoe approached his argument and all believed that what he was saying was important. But some found the book boring to read, and felt he was cherrypicking his evidence to support his thesis, with too much reliance on secondary sources. Others disagreed, finding it opened a new vision of Australian history, a cathartic truth telling that they would want to share, a starting point for other researchers. Some of us will be passing the book on to family and friends - but some were pleased to finish it. Gave us fuel for hours of robust discussion.
Agreed quickly on the April book - An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire, a writer we have ignored for a long time! In April we will meet at Ros's place. The March meeting will be at Margaret's home at McMahons Point, when we will be discussing Steven Amsterdam's The Easy Way Out and (Optional) Cary Taylor's Dying: a Memoir.
