Discussion: March by Geraldine Brooks

Meeting date: Monday 8 September 2008
Quorum: 7/11
Rating: 7.6/10 (Range 7-8)


Why the book was chosen

*Alternative to the original choice (Middlesex) which was deemed a bit long.
*Had read author's other books Year of Wonders and Nine Parts of Desire and loved them
*Topical issues surrounding African Americans considering that the US has their first African American nominee for President
*Everyone read and loved Little Women so would be interesting to see how this book dovetails to that one

What we discussed about Geraldine Brooks

*Born 1955 in Australia
*Worked as a journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald before heading to Columbia University, NYC
*Worked as a foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal
*Won the Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for this book
*Married to an author with a keen interest in everything to do with the American Civil War

What we discussed about the book/author

*Geraldine has written about the Middle East, Britain and the US but not about her home country, Australia. Would we accept a non-Australian writing about points in Australian history? For example, the Ned Kelly story? Perhaps her absorption of Civil War history via her husband places her in a unique position to write about US history? Perhaps her ability to distance herself from the issues helped?

*Is the character of Grace, a strong African American woman, really possible in this context and this time? Was reportedly based on a composite of real characters.

*Did this book change anyone's opinion of the US Civil War? No, we are exposed to many resources about the war including many good quality documentaries which detailed the true horror of the times.

*Is this book an allegory for conflict in the Middle East? Most felt it was. The purpose being to reflect on the many interwoven, complex and conflicting reasons why individuals and countries go to war.

*That Geraldine was clever to interweave this story in with the story of Little Women so cleverly and so believably.

*Was March a vegetarian? Could we recall whether the March girls were vegetarian in Little Women. One member thought not as she recalled that they mentioned eating sausages in the book.

*At an author event a couple of years back some of the members recall Geraldine Brooks showing a Civil War era buckle she found at a battle site and how it made her wonder who it belonged to and what their story was. Had she mentioned this as the inspiration for the story?

*Some members felt that there was an interwoven theme of "Hair" throughout the book. With a genesis in Jo March selling her hair in Little Women there was much mention of hair - grabbing hair, locks of hair etc throughout the story.

*Did we like the character of March? He was described by one member as "idealistic" and by another as "pious". One member found herself falling in love with him while another was put off by his relationship with Grace. Overall his character was viewed positively.

We also digressed to these topics:

*We enjoyed hearing about Fe's recent trip to Europe and asked after our former bookclub member Wikke who has recently returned to her native Holland.
*Why people can discuss whether or not they like a book without getting into a heated discussion but not politics. We then had a luke-warm (rather than heated) discussion about US politics.
*Knitting bags for orphaned and ill wildlife.
*Why don't vegans use wool? It doesn't harm the animal to shear it. Is it about the treatment of the animal?