Forward planning - 20 years of book group

Hi, Today we talked about The Accidental by Ali Smith. Generally agreed it was a well-written, clever book deserving of prizes/ nominations. Repaid study and thought. Most took a while to warm to it though and won't immediately be passing it round to everyone as a fun book as we did with Tractors in Ukranian.

April book We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver will be at Stella's place; it's available in the 3 for 2 offers at Borders Bookstores.

So is the May book, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. He is an Afghani writer living in California. So if you buy the two, you can get one free! I got Gilead by Marilyn Richardson, on the strength of it winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2005, but there are some lighter offerings too. That is at Clare's place.

June meeting will be at Jane's place in Lindfield. No book yet.

July meeting is our TWENTY YEAR CELEBRATION. Overnight stay is planned at Stella's beach house at beautiful Blue Bay on Saturday 29th July. Put it in your diary now.

Pat R, Babette, Sue E - have you got this message?

Love
Pat

April Meeting
April 30th meeting will be at Stella's and the book is We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver. It is an Orange prize winner, and yes Lionel Shriver is a woman.

Change of Venue for March meeting
March 26 meeting will now be at my place (ie Patricia Strauss) as Stella will be away. Book is The Accidental by Ali Smith.

FEBRUARY MEETING - TRACTORS IN UKRANIAN - IS AT MOY'S PLACE.

The March book is The Accidental by Ali Smith and will be at Stella's place.

Pat

Hi
Sorry about the long absence.

TheFebruary book, Stella tells me, is A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, by Marina Lewycka. I got it for Christmas and read it in a day, and handed it on to various family and friends who immediately absented themselves from company until they had finished reading it. Men and women. A top holiday read. A kind book with interesting politics and characters. Look forward to talking about it. See a review at:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Reviews/Tractors-in-Ukrainian/2005/05/19/1116361670048.html

Hi:
The January book is The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Nifenegger - settle down for a weighty holiday book. And it will be at Sue Wood's place, Ros is having the November session.

See a review below. I think that site has questions too. And apparently there is soon to be a movie of the book. The review is at:
http://www.book-club.co.nz/books04/1timetravelerswife.htm

November Book:
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
By Jonathan Safran Foer
Penguin, 320pp, $29.95
At Sue Woods house.

There is a review to get started at:
http://http://www.smh.com.au/news/books/a-day-to-remember/2005/09/08/1125772626030.html

I didn't get to the last meeting at Margaret's, but hope lots of people can make it to my place for the October meeting. I've made a start on The Jane Austen Bookclub.
Love
Pat

Interesting link: Twelve books that changed the world. New TV series by Melvyn Bragge to be screened on ITV next April in Britainl. God knows when we'll see it. But anyway the afticle below includes the List. Perhaps we should nominate alternatives. It appears 'The world' meant Britain.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=361630&in_page_id=1773

September book: Emergency Sex at Margaret's place. Stella and Ros will be overseas and I will be interstate. Come if you can!

October Book: The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Jane Fowler at my place (Cheltenham). Ros will host the November meeting - book TBA.

Quite a long article based on an interview with Karen Jane F during recent visit.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/books/science-and-sensibility/2005/07/21/1121539083964.html

A fairly positive reaction to the Wiggins book from those at Moy's for Book Group - Sue Wood, Margaret and me plus Moy of course. The writing was ambitious, we agreed, beautiful prose veering to the florid, with references to American Lit classics, especially Moby Dick, but also Steinbeck, Hemingway and more. This led to a comment from Ros that she loathed the top-heaviness - after a skim read. Lively discussion. Glad to dip into American Literature - Wiggins evidently an established writer, and we'd never heard of her. Except maybe as Salman Rushdie's ex-wife.

We are all speed reading the same copy of the Wiggins book. Looking forward to meeting at Moy's on Sunday. News from Babette and Pat at the next book day.
Love
Patricia

August - Marianne Wiggins' book. There are a heap of major reviews collected at this site.

http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/evidence_of_things_unseen/

I haven't started yet. Who has? Keep us posted if you want to give an early review - or tell us about your grand-babies! Who has news?

September book. Emergency Sex and other Desperate Measures: True Stories from a War Zone by Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait and Andrew Thomson. Location TBA

August book is Marianne Wiggins at Moy's house, party meeting at Strauss house 2pm to car-pool.

The White Earth by Andrew McGahan. Great book discussion at Stellas - Stella, Ros, Clare, Sue Wood and Jane Roberts were present. Roie, home from Ireland, had made us and upside down pear cake - BEAUTIFUL, with Stell's lovely blood orange cake as well. Better than a blog. Concerns from some who have doubts about the blog, in case it replaces face-t0-face meetings - maybe people wouldn't make the effort? It didn't occur to me that it could replace face-to-face - and I still don't think so, I think it would just enhance it - but let's review how we are going after a few months.

Most people liked the book - somewhat. Comments ranging from 'liked it a lot' (Ros) to 'a bit thin' (Jane) - because so much through the boy's viewpoint. Concerns about the boy's age at 9 yo- was he too young to have this level of insight? Began well where the young John McIvor's story was juxtaposed with adult perspectives - up to the Dudley rape scene. After this we tended not to get such layered perspectives. Some concern re dialogue - a bit lifeless compared with Last Drinks, another McGahan novel Sue has read, where language was lively & true.

Gothic elements throughout - the extreme characters, the supernatural visions, the grotesque, the illness (metaphoric, boy/ house rotting within from neglect). House had echo of Rebecca. Burning people - how many? Father, Oliver, John McIvor, Mother, Aboriginal people who returned, figures in dreams of John and William.

White family named symbolically - white's ownership of land, replacement of blacks - themes of ownership and relationship to land quite strongly written. Everyone argeed the One Nation type rally rang very true. Set the scene for Ruth's sophisticated work with Mabo - making her a lawyer good. She is the 'good' white person, who nevertheless has the sense not to gift the land to the 'traditional owners' - more complicated that that.

I haven't got the novel or our blue book where Ros has recorded out notes, so this is just my version - Ros add or amend, please.

I am most impressed with this blog. It will enable me to keep in touch even if my attendance is erratic. I heard some of the Andrew Gann book on the radio, which is just as well as Praise was one of my least favourite reads - too much grot, but not as bad as The River Ophelia however.

Greetings from the West! I read The white earth at Xmas time and actually visited the Darling Downs at the time - serendipitious. I thought the opening was very powerful, with the death of the father and the isolation of the boy - and the countryside!. The sense of place - more of "country" - is well drawn throughout the book (though it seemed a bit hilly for the darling downs). The other powerful theme is the huge liability of being heir to a "dynasty" and the expectations of all the participants. The concept of ownership of the land is also interesting.
Don't you think he's moved on a bit from Praise? His world is still pretty bleak and dark but I guess the characters have more depth - though not necessarily more maturity.
I'll be interested to hear what everyone else thinks.

Blogger Ros - What's the movie on Monday?
Blogger Carmel, Thanks for the Sudoko solver, ours was a tough one today and this has cheered me up considerably,

Group photo from Jane's place.

The White Earth by Andrew McGahan

Please post your comments on this book below.

Hi I'm really disappointed that nobody has commented yet. However I am delighted to tell you that I bought the Marianne Wiggins book Evidence of Things Unseen in the bargain bookstore in the Devonshire Tunnel for $4.95. They have multiple copies in the general fiction section on the left hand wall as you walk in.
Good luck