Review of Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver

Pigs in Heaven was chosen by Fe. The evening was hosted by D. This meeting was the last bookclub (other than the end of year dinner) to be attended by ArmyWife before she moves interstate next year.

Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver was published in 1993 as a sequel to her first novel The Bean Trees. While The Bean Trees was written in the first person this novel was written in an omniscient voice.

The novel was set in Kentucky, Arizona and Oklahoma. Kingsolver was born in eastern Kentucky in 1955 but moved to Indiana for her tertiary education. While at university Kingsolver became active in the anti-Vietnam movement and from there became a political and social activist.

Kingsolver's novels draw upon her social and political beliefs and she starts each novel with a question in her mind. The question in this book was "Can the needs of the community and the needs of the individual be reconciled?".

The setting for this question is the social position of Native America and whether a Native American tribe can have a child returned after she has been adopted by a non-native family. Kingsolver asks us to consider the needs of the Native American community to protect and promote its culture by bringing up all its children with the tribe as well as the benefits to the child of living with a non-native family.

This book provoked rigorous discussion about the situation posed in the book and we discussed whether parallels could be drawn with issues facing Aboriginal Australia. This made it a very interesting book to read in the light of Carpentaria which was read last month.

The ambiguity of the novel's central question is reinforced by placing all characters from the adoptive mother and her family to the Native American community in a low socio-economic band. The child (Turtle's) adoptive mother is fiercely protective and loving and yet struggles to care for her. Meanwhile the community, represented by lawyer & tribe member Annawake, is also fiercely protective of their tribe and yet struggles to keep it together.

All the characters in the book portray different ways of showing love as the novel works towards its very tidy movie-like ending.

Members agreed that the novel was generally agreeable but that perhaps the ending was a little too 'movie-like' and gave an average rating of 7.5

In other news

• As it was ArmyWife's last official bookclub meeting before her departure interstate we took commemorative photos.


• We confirmed that our annual end-of-year bookclub dinner will be at the fabulous new Ripples at Chowder Bay in December.


• The highlight of the food part of the evening was D bringing out tea and coffee using her beautiful vintage china.

October Book: Carpentaria by Alexis Wright

Review by L

I chose Carpentaria, 'sight unread' as such, as I felt that it would be a good choice to read the winner of the Miles Franklin Literary award for 2007.

Caprentaria is a story about an Aboriginal community set in the fictional town of Desperance on the Gulf of Carpentaria. Desperance is made up of four groups of people co-existing: the Westside mob who live on the edge of the rubbish dump, the Eastside mob who claim to be the traditional land owners, the Uptown people who are the whites and the Pricklebush people who are the 'old people'.

Central to the book are issues of land rights and mining as well as a host of social issues affecting Aboriginal people and how the four groups interact as well as their different belief systems. Wright explains that a central concern was 'How do you mend the broken line - the effect of colonisation?'

When I started reading Carpentaria I began to regret my choice. This was echoed by the grumblings from other Book Club members. The book is difficult to penetrate and requires real effort. However, the consensus of those who persevered was that it was well worth the effort. Wright says herself she expects her readers to work.

The story is told in a narrative style in the language of an Aboriginal elder. You soon realise although very descriptive, in the words of our 'linguist' club member, every word is there for a reason, nothing is superfluous. Wright did attempt to write the story in a more conventional style but felt it didn't strike the right tone.

The characters in the book give the story the depth to expose the serious social issues up for discussion,  with an added humorous slant to elicit some chuckles.  The three generations of female characters are almost 'extras' while the male characters are more extraordinary.  The story centers around the lives of  Norm Phantom and his family (Westend Pricklebush people) and their battles with the Eastend mob led by Joseph Midnight against a backdrop of struggles with the white officials of Uptown and Gurfurrit mine.

During our discussion, four members who were not raised in Australia quizzed the others as to details of the background of Aboriginal affairs in Australia. This highlighted how little direct exposure the rest of us have had to Aboriginal people although very much a current affairs topic.

The range of scores from the five members of our Book Club who finished and rated the book were:  9 highest and 7.5 lowest with an average of 8.1.  After our discussion several of the members who were there,  and had not persevered,  did commit to giving it another go.  I hope they do.

November book: Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver

Our November read is Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver. This book has been chosen by Fe. This book will be discussed on Monday 12th November at 8pm. Location for this discussion is TBA.

Review: Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, published by MacAdam/Cage in 2003.








I stumbled across this book in a very round about way (thanks to my friend Julia!) - which was lucky since the publisher's review, whilst enthusiastic in its praise, probably would not have tempted me. We reviewed the book at bookclub on 10 September 2007. Here's the quote:

" A dazzling novel in the most untraditional fashion, this is the remarkable story of Henry deTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare's passionate love affair endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap, and it is Audrey Niffenegger's cinematic storytelling that makes the novel's unconventional chronology so vibrantly triumphant" Hmmm.

What can you say about a book that's more than a love story, that dabbles in science fiction and time travel without becoming too fantastic, that celebrates and explores relationships without becoming sentimental, that makes you feel you could know these people and go to the places they go to? (which, in fact one could, as the geography of the novel is very real and embraces Chicago like an old friend).

Without going into the details of the plot too much, The Time Traveler's Wife chronicles the extraordinary relationship of Henry and Clare over their lives, starting from when Clare is six and Henry is 36 through to Clare's old age. From the beginning the reader is drawn into their lives and their future lives. The dual narrative voices of Henry and Clare allow the reader to be privy to parts of Clare's life (by virtue of Henry's time travel) that Clare has not reached yet. There's an intimacy is knowing what Clare doesn't know and an expectant thrill in looking forward to getting to where Henry is. It's not always a comfortable journey. Like (real) life, it's punctuated by the unexpected, the bad, the sad and the glorious, but it still retains a fairy tale quality - which incidentally, was part of the attraction for me!

The Time Traveller's Wife was Audrey Niffenegger's first novel. It took about four and a half years from conception to finished manuscript and was rejected by about 20 publishers before being accepted by MacAdam Page (which paid out, incidentally, the largest advance they've ever given for a first novel). As Ms Niffenegger says, she "didn't have to worry too much about how long it ... nobody cares if you're done ... you don't really have anyone to impress yet"

It's an accessible, fantastic read, a carefully crafted book with much to recommend it, even if you're not a fan of romantic or science fiction - which I'm not. Look beyond the "labels" and just jump in. You won't be disappointed. We weren't.

Incidentally, the book is being made into a film scheduled for release next year - it will be interesting to see how it stands up to the test! Here's the link: http://http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452694/

October Book: Carpentaria by Alexis Wright

Our book for October is the Miles Franklin Award-winning novel Carpentaria by Alexis Wright.

This is LJ's choice and the discussion will be held at KM's house on Monday 15 October at 8pm

Man Booker Prize Shortlist Announced

The Man Booker Prize shortlist was announced in London today. For more details check out the press release.

The Shortlist:

Darkmans by Nicola Barker (Fourth Estate)
The Gathering by Anne Enright (Jonathan Cape)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (Hamish Hamilton)
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (John Murray)
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape)
Animal’s People by Indra Sinha (Simon & Schuster)

The Worry Tree

Does your child come home from school with "big issues" from the playground? Is your child a natural born worrier?

Sharyn from Pretty Essential recently bought The Worry Tree by Marianne Musgrove for her 8yo daughter and she loved it. It sounds like a beautiful book.

Read her review here.

UPDATE 4 September 2007: I bought this for my 9yo daughter yesterday. She couldn't put it down (reading during dinner, late at night, during breakfast) and has declared it her favourite ever book.

September book: The Time Traveller's Wife

Our September book, chosen by KM, will be The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Date: Monday, September 10 2007
Place: JH's Place

Links:

SMH Review
Amazon entry

Review: Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin

Thank you to book host Elle for this review (update: rating added below):

Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin was reviewed by our bookgroup on Monday, 13th August at LJ's house.

Li Cunxin grew up on a commune in northern China in the 1960s when Mao Zedong ruled the country. Such was the poverty of a peasant's life in Mao's China that starvation was a daily fact of life and villagers in Li's commune were forced to eat the bark of trees.

But Li Cunxin's life changed dramatically the day a delegation from Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy arrived at his school searching for potential ballet students. As fate would have it, they overlooked the 10-year-old Li, but just as they were leaving, a teacher tapped one man on the shoulder, saying, "What about that boy?" That boy was Li and that was the beginning of a glorious dance career. But first came years of harsh training and an absolute hatred of dancing. He was desperately homesick and was only allowed to see his family once a year. But he had food in his stomach and thanks to one teacher, he discovered a passion for ballet and eventually real talent.

Li was 18 years old when a cultural delegation from the US offered him a scholarship to the Houston Ballet Academy. His first taste of freedom was life changing and on his second trip to America he fell in love with a fellow dancer. With the help of Barbara Bush and then-vice-president George Bush Snr, Li successfully defected to the West. The marriage later foundered, but in 1987 Li Cunxin married fellow dancer Mary McKendry, a Queenslander.

In 1995, they moved to Melbourne to dance with the Australian Ballet. According to The Australian's dance critic Lee Christofis, Li was one of the best ballet dancers ever seen in this country. "There were moments when I felt it was like being at a rock concert", says Christofis of Li's appearances with the Australian Ballet. "The audience would gasp at something spectacular he would do and he would just keep on dancing like an ordinary dancer again and at the end of the solo there would be eruptions all around the theatre."

But a dancer's career must always come to an end and in this Li was more prepared than most. He'd studied at the Australian Securities Institute and is now a well-regarded stockbroker.
Never one to stay still for long, Li Cunxin decided to write an autobiography, urged on by his friend and children's author Graeme Base. "It had everything, it had drama, political intrigue, it had this cultural divide, it was a love story," says Base.

Penguin Books took a gamble and made the first print run of Mao's Last Dancer 16,000 copies. Eighteen months later, the book is in its twenty-sixth reprint and has sold more than 160,000 copies. And the story doesn't end there, as film producer Jane Scott (who produced Shine) has bought the rights to Li Cunxin's story. Production is scheduled to start next year.

We had a small group this month only L.J, K.M, J.H M.O and myself. We all seemed moved my Li Cunxin's story. I have not got all the rating those I do have are quite high. People liked the style of writing and the fables throughout. The mango was a great Metaphor for life" savour every bit!!

Li Cunxin writes in a fluid, moving manner, one would never guess that English is not his native tongue. The book is engrossing and brings both tears and smiles to the reader. We cheer his hard won accolades as he falls in love with the ballet and ascends its international ladder. At the same time we share his grief and love for those he leaves behind.

This is not the usual famine to fortune tale. It is a story of determination over great odds, strokes of luck and relentless love. Ballet lovers will find the description of his early training horrifying. His first teachers have little concept how to safely train a young body. It's a wonder the children survived the “if 8 is good then 108 must better” mentality or if it's good to train in a studio then it is even better to train outside in the snow. But then, one beloved teacher changed Cunxin's hatred toward his forced study of the ballet into a love affair.

This book is well worth reading for many reasons. In the end one need not be a lover of dance to be enriched by this human story.

Gossip.

We had a bit of a laugh as I asked if I could "see" another book club whom asked me to join. M.O gave me a few ground rules. Ha ha. You are my number 1 book club. We also talked about having a weekend away sometime next year.!!!!!


Average Rating: 7.8
Highest Score: 8.5 Lowest Score 7

Book Review: Infidel by Ayaan Ali Hirsi

Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Image from here.

Review by book host LV:

A lively discussion was had by all as we explored the very controversial and extraordinary Ayaan Hirsi Ali's autobiography (although it would have been even more lively if FL had been there; she will go to all sorts of lengths to avoid book group!).

In the Infidel Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells her life story, from her traditional Muslim childhood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya, to her intellectual awakening and activism in the Netherlands, and her current life under armed guard in the West. We all agreed, regardless of how much we enjoyed the book, that Hirsi Ali has an amazing story to tell.

The book was thought provoking and raised very topical issues for discussion. Reactions to the book were varied across the group. Some book group members were not looking forward to reading the book as they had preconceived ideas about Hirsi Ali and had been suffering overload of books themed around Muslim issues (particularly ones about Muslim women); some of these members ended up being pleasantly surprised by the book. Others found that the book did not raise anything they had not already thought about/considered. A number of us looked forward to reading the autobiography and found the story riveting, the themes compelling and it gave us much to think about.

Following are some of the themes we discussed on the night:

Human rights
Human rights is a key issue running through the book. We noted some parallels with our own aboriginal situation (particularly given the recent interventions in the NT) and discussed the conflicting needs to respect cultural values/beliefs/rituals of different ethnic/religious groups while also protecting their human rights. Many of us voiced our agreement that human rights override the cultural/religious. Multiculturalism was also lightly touched upon. These issues were not solved on the night (surprise, surprise).

Impact on Dutch society
We are lucky to have two bookgroup members with the Dutch connection. One member, WP, was living in Holland during the Theo van Gogh murder and she gave some fascinating insights. She explained the enormous impact that Hirsi Ali has had on Dutch culture - to some extent shifting the traditionally very open and liberal attitude towards immigrants. WP commented that her negative attitude towards Hirsi Ali, before she read the book, has now changed substantially; while she doesn't agree with all Hirsi Ali opinions she has a greater appreciation of why these opinions have been formed. To WP's great surprise she really enjoyed the book.

Islam
Islam, of course, was a hot topic of conversation. Some of us even voiced a desire to read the Qur'an (well one of us anyway - me) as we were keen to get to the bottom of Hirsi Ali's claims. The Muslim faith (as with most religions) is highly interpreted and spans a wide spectrum across different countries.

Many of us commented that Hirsi Ali's highly controversial statements about Islam are not helping her achieve one of her key objectives - to emancipate Muslim women. We also commented that while we admire Hirsi Ali's courage to speak out, she could perhaps be a little less inflammatory (e.g. calling Muhammad a pedophile).

Since reading the book my ear has been more highly tuned to discussion around Islam; I attended an Malaysian export forum last week and was mesmerised by the Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry, Rafidah Aziz. She spoke about the Muslim religion as one that is tolerant and caring and discussed in detail her relationship with her God (I would love to see a debate between Rafidah Aziz and Hirsi Ali).

Freedom of speech
The issue of freedom of speech was also raised by MM. MM's reading of Infidel has made her more acutely aware of how difficult it can be to speak out. Once a general consensus of opinion is out in the public arena, it can be difficult to move against that powerful tide.


Rating:

Avg: 7.6/10

Lowest score: 6.5, Highest score: 8

Butterfly Man: Lord Lucan just keeps fluttering by - or does he?

"On 7th November, 1974 a young English nanny named Sandra Rivett was murdered in London's West End. Her employer, Lord Lucan, was named as her attacker. It was widely assumed he had mistaken her for his wife. Lord Lucan disappeared the night Sandra Rivett died and has never been seen since." source: UQP

In February 2006 our bookgroup discussed a lovely novel by Heather Rose called The Butterfly Man. This fiction, which won the 2006 Davitt Award for Best Adult Crime Novel, was based on the premis that Lord Lucan fled the UK and is now living a quiet life in rural Tasmania as Henry Kennedy.

Heather Rose makes no attempt to claim that this story is anything other than fiction. However, there have been plenty of "sightings" of Lord Lucan over the past three decades. He has been "sighted" in Africa, Australia and now New Zealand.

Today's news suggests that the locals in Marton, New Zealand believe that a man living in a Land Rover with a cat and pet possum has the bearing and accent of an upper-class British gentleman and fits the description of Lord Lucan who would now be 72. See here for the full story.

August Book: Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin

Our August book, chosen by Elle, is Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin.

Date: Monday 13th August 8pm

Place: This discussion will be held at LJ's house.

July Book: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Our July book is Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Date: Monday 16th July 8pm

Place: This discussion will now be held at Army Wife's house due to renovations starting earlier than expected at LV's house.

UPDATE: This book was discussed last night and was the subject of fun and spirited debate. A review will be posted shortly by book host LV.

Carpentaria: Winner of 2007 Miles Franklin Literary Award

Carpentaria, an 'epic' novel centering on indigenous issues in Australia's Gulf Country, has won this year's Miles Franklin Literary Award.

Previously won by luminaries such as Peter Carey and Tim Winton, this award recognises a 'published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases'.

This year's choice, written by Alexis Wright, is seen as a critical step in the recognition of the importance of indigenous stories and writing in Australia.

Has anyone read this book? Do you have a view?





*photos and art in this post have been sourced from here

The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles: A visit by Elizabeth Stead

Last night nine of our members met at my house to discuss The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles. The discussion was led by TD.

We were honoured to have, as our special guest, the author Elizabeth Stead. At 75 years of age, Sydney resident Elizabeth made a lively guest, full of life and wit and fabulous stories of her time living on a tropical island like the one in The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles.

The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles is a story in the true sense of storytelling. It is set on an unnamed tropical island "just two degrees below the equator of its world" and tells, through linked stories, a tale of how missionaries and other visitors from the modern world impact the lives of the native villagers. And how the villagers impact them. We all agreed that the book was beautifully crafted and Elizabeth Stead's ability to develop characters and weave them together, in such a witty way, was superb.

Of the very few criticisms that exist of this book one is that the book doesn't specify a time in which it is set. This is quite deliberate. Ms Stead told us that she loves storytelling and for her "Once upon a time" is enough. Those with a keen ear to the historical references in the novel would probably place it in the 1950s as we emerged from the rubble of the second world war and before the feminist movement had traction.

Our group had already discussed how we felt about the book before Ms Stead arrived (we all liked it)and so could concentrate on asking her questions about her writing in general and about the three years she spent posted to a tropical island with her three small children (her husband was in the Navy).

Here's what we learnt about the book:

• Ms Stead thought of the title for the book 15 years ago. Before the current trend for books to be called "The Gospel of..."
• The book took 15 years to write (in between she wrote other novels such as The Fishcastle and The Different World of Fin Starling).
• The island represented in the book does not exist.
• Ms Stead does not plan out her books in advance. The stories emerge as she writes.
• Sam Maitland is based on the characteristics of a real person. That person has never lived on a tropical island. He doesn't know he is the basis for the character.
• So as not to offend the native villagers on the real tropical islands - the myths and legends represented in the book are made up by the author. The real myths and stories are safely held by the villagers themselves.

Here's what we learnt about Ms Stead's life on a tropical island:

• Ms Stead had two small children when she went to live on a tropical island. Her third child, a daughter, was born in primitive circumstances there. The natives held a "Sing Sing" for her to celebrate the birth. Talking about it still brings a tear to her eye.
• Milk was such a rare commodity on the island that when a US ship once docked with fresh milk the base wives held a "milk party".
• While the native children were immune to local diseases, the base children weren't. They lived on anti-biotics.
• Vegetables were impossible to grow and were rare. Base wives would buy Taro and Yams from the villagers who were able to grow them deep in the forests.

Here are sample reactions to Ms Stead's visit from our bookgroup:

"What I came away with last night is how very entertaining Elizabeth Stead is. She seems to me to be a 'character' herself and probably has another book full of stories about island life tucked away in her memories. It was a very enjoyable evening and I will definitely be waiting for her next published book."

"I really enjoyed the book. I was glad such a topic that could be serious, such as white "invasion", could be told with wit. I laughed alot."

"Meeting Elizabeth was very exciting her stories were fantastic. I was amazed at all she told. 15 years to write. Who says woman need to have it all at once, I love how she raised her family then had her writing career." (Ms Stead did not publish her first novel until she was 60)

"The book made me chuckle! I found the characters particularly interesting and loved it. Elizabeth Stead coming to our bookclub added an extra dimension to the evening and the book, and it was great to hear her views on writing the book and where her ideas came from."

"I loved the book because it reminded me of the places that we visited with my father in East New Britain and very much reflected some (not all) of the missionaries we met out there. It also questioned the validity of enforcing Christianity on indigenous people "for their own good". "

"Having Elizabeth at the meeting was very valuable as you rarely get the opportunity to ask questions about the background to - and motivation for - the novel. I hope that I have as much spark and enjoy my wine as much when I am 75"


Thank you Elizabeth Stead for visiting our group. And thank you to Simone (Ms Stead's publicist) for making this possible. We greatly appreciate it.

Rating:

Avg: 7.8/10

Lowest score: 7 Highest Score: 8.5


Next book: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali to be held at LV's house on Monday 16th July


*photo above sourced from here.

Books&Gossip now on LibraryThing

Books&Gossip's entire back catalogue of reviewed books is now on LibraryThing. Click on the Search Tab and enter "booksngossip" into the users field to view.

Our books are currently tagged by the year we read them. Over time we will update our catalogue with reviews and comments. Check out who else has read our books, what they have said and get ideas for new books to read.

We have also put a LibraryThing 'Widget' in the sidebar of this blog which will show 3 random books from our back catalogue. Click on the picture to go to Amazon.com, or the title to go to the LibraryThing page.

Happy Browsing!

Suite Francaise: Radio interview with Denise Epstein

When you have a quiet moment I recommend listening to a radio interview with Irene Nemirovsky's daughter Denise Epstein and Suite Francaise translater Sandra Smith. It is extraordinary to hear Denise tell the story of this book from her own point of view.

The interview is conducted by US nationally syndicated radio host Diane Rehm and can be listened to by clicking the appropriate link on this site.

*photo is of Irène Némirovsky in 1930 with her daughter Denise and was sourced from here.

The No. 1 Melbourne Ladies Bookclub

Welcome to the Blogosphere No. 1 Melbourne Ladies Bookclub!

This is the bookclub I belonged to in my Melbourne days. The girls are a fabulous group of friends, from a variety of backgrounds, who have been discussing books and gossiping since 1998.

Check out their blog; look at their past reading list; look at their upcoming books and feel free to post your comments.

Links of Interest: The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles

Current reviews circulating in the Australian press:

The Australian
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Bulletin

May: "Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky

This month we met at T's house. Someone must've let slip that mini cupcakes and chewy nougat were on offer for dessert because all 13 members were present. This was the first time we had all been together since last December's Christmas dinner. And discussion was no less lively than that occasion.

We discussed "Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky; winner of the Prix Renaudot in 2004 and the French-American Foundation Prize for translation in 2007.

Irene Nemirovsky was born in Kiev in 1903 and died in Auschwitz in 1942. This book is the story of how the occupation of France in WWII affected its civillians. What makes the novel so extraordinary is that it was written as the events unfolded; yet, unlike The Diary of Anne Frank, was not a journal but a fiction. In addition, despite being of Jewish heritage and forced to wear the yellow Star of David, Irene didn't reflect on her war but the war being exprienced by others, including sympathic treatment of the lives of the German soldiers garrisoned in French towns.

The story of how Suite Francaise came to be published only adds to the power of the story. Originally intended to be her "War & Peace" the book was planned to be in five parts: Storm in June, Dolce, Captivity, Battles and Peace? (the question mark was hers). However only the first two parts were completed before Irene was arrested and transported to Auschwitz in 1942. She died within a month of arrival. Her husband soon met the same fate, leaving her two daughters (aged 13 and 5) to flee with whatever they could carry. They happened to pick up a suitcase containing what they thought was their mother's diary. It was not until the 1990s that Irene's daugher, Denise Epstein, read the 'diary' and realised it was a fully formed novel. The book that was published in 2004 is, in fact, the first draft of the first two books.

Discussion:

• despite the power of the story of its discovery we felt that the books stood on their own as beautifully written works of art. Each part, or novella, could in fact stand on its own.
  
• Storm in June is an exquisitely written anatomy of a panic.
  
• Irene possesses an extraordinary talent to be both experiencing an event and be able to stand back and comment on it with such precision
  
• We were amazed that despite the impact of the war on her (viz Jewish heritage) she treated all the characters with a sympathetic eye.
  
• Some members wished the remaining three parts existed to flesh out the relationships further while others were satisfied with the two existing parts, in combination with the story of their discovery.
  
• Irene seemed to have a greater understanding of the privileged classes than the working classes, although some members felt that this was balanced out in the second book.
  
• Most of us loved this book.

Average score: 8.3

Range: 7, 7.5, 8, 8, 8, 8.5, 8.5, 8.5, 9, 9, 9, 9

Gossip:

• In the world of blogs, SMS and email will we find wonderful, unpublished works such as these in the future? Answer: Yes, because we are recording more than ever.
  
• The MySpace generation: should we be looking at MySpace sites to see what our children will be up to in a few years time?
  
• Blogs: That the norm in the US is for public blogs with personal details displayed; more the norm in Australia for bloggers to have aliases, not show photos of faces on public blogs for security reasons.
  

Next Month: The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles by Elizabeth Stead. Chosen by T and to be held at FL's place on Monday 18th June.