The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 162

Having recently read The Silence of the Girls we are now well versed in the words of the Iliad and the story of Achilles.  This novel from the perspective of Achilles friend and lover Patroclus, is a love story, a peon to that warrior of warriors, the best of men - Achilles.  Even though you know the story, the interweaving of the capriciousness of the Gods, the eventual death of both protagonists, it is a beautiful book of love. Having said that I think that we read it too soon after The Silence of the Girls and were Trojaned out!

Words used to describe it:  boring, prosaic, beautiful, balanced, disappointing, impactful

Marks out of 10:  between 3 - 7

Next Book 

The Pale Abyssinian by Miles Bredin

Next Meeting

Thursday 10th February at 115 Harbord St

Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor 163

 The hotel becomes a genteel antechamber to oblivion, its spectral inhabitants representative figures from postwar English life. It’s the 1960s, and a new society is taking shape. 'The Claremont symbolises a class and a way of life heading for the dustbin of history.' It is also a gentle romance, on the edge of a rom-com, with comic characters such as Lady Swayne and Mrs de Salis.  The book evokes the era of Earls Court hotels and boarding houses. The writing is beautiful. The pathos of the ending is hard.  The book generated a good discussion about how times have changed, class and romance in later life.

Words used to describe it:  wonderful, multidimensional, biting, reflective, poignant, pathos

Marks out of 10:  between 8 - 10, there were a couple of 10's so well liked 

Next Book

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

and if you have time read Dead Cert by Dick Francis

Next Meeting

Thursday 6th January 

at 

126 Harbord St

The Promise by Damon Galgut 161

 A hard read, the characters are difficult to like - the story charts and examines the disintegration of a privileged white Swart family, living on a farm outside Pretoria.  The Promise of the story, is a child, Amor Swart, overhears her dying mother make her father promise that her nurse/maid Salome will be given the home that she lives in. This promise is not enacted, reflecting the mess that South Africa now is after the promise of the Nelson Mandela era.  Now all lies, greed, corruption, violence affect everything. The family fractures, promises are not held, and around them the country reflects this.  There is an assumption of knowledge with this book, but interesting writing.  

This book generated an interesting discussion about South Africa, corruption, and families.  

Words used to describe it:  poetic, humbling disheartening, hopeless, grim

Marks out of 10 - between 7 -8 so highly rated.

Next Book

Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor

Next Meeting

Thursday 4th November at Olivia's 

Thursday 9th December - Christmas at Chelsea Arts Club

Bolder by Carl Honore (Jane)

An interesting book exploring getting older and what it means. What it means now and how people are defying the expectation that it means less.  Less active, less adventurous, less fun, less interesting, just less.  Increases in health and the age of mortality means that many of us will live a lot longer to live.  And many, many people are making the most of these additional years.  The author of this book gives an excellent Ted Talk, which is basically a synopsis of his book.  Ageism is built into our culture, but being older gives us so much more.  We are wiser, we understand the world and our place in it, we have experience and can give so much.  The example of the car production line that adapted their line to suit older people, increasing lighting, having magnifying glasses available, more breaks, allowing people to sit or stand meant that the 'mistakes' on the production line plummeted, especially when the young were able to integrate these working practices into their work as well.  

The book generated an excellent discussion about aging, what we can expect to do, creativity isn't age bound, writers, scientists, artists, mathematicians are not on the slag heap once you reach a certain age.  Some felt the book was a bit 'woman's magazine article'  and didn't have enough depth.  However, if read in snap shots it was an interesting and insightful book.

Words used to describe it:  affirming, rampant ageism, insightful, cause for optimism, pedestrian, inspiring, still thinking

Marks out of 10:  between 6 -10 so a varied mark

Next Book

The Promise by Damien Galgut

Next Meeting

Venue - TBC

Date:  Thursday 2nd September

Beyond Brlliant: Inspired Indian Cooking by Dipna Anand

A departure for the book club, a recipe book.  Dipna's family originally from India via Kenya, ended up in SW London after the exodus from Idi Amin's regime.  Her grandfather and father were restaurateurs, who build their name on good, tasty, Indian cooking.  Dipna, the third generation of chefs was inspired by her father's health condition to change the style of Indian cooking/recipes making them lighter and healthier while keeping the original taste and spice of the dishes.  The prose could have done with some editing, but the recipes themselves were very tasty.  We all made a dish and brought them together for a delicious evening discussing food, flavours, diaspora and what makes a good chef/cook.

Following on from our discussions Cindy found this link:   The Great Indian Kitchen: Serving an unsavoury tale of sexism in the home.

Words used to describe it:  Excellent, encouraging, discovery, educational, brand, delicious

Marks out of 10:  between 8 - 10 so highly marked.

Next Book

Bolder by Carl Honore

Next Meeting

Wednesday 21 July

130 Harbord St meet at 8.15

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Set in Tokyo of the late 1960's this novel follows Toru Watanabe looking back at his college student days and his relationships with two different women.  Naoko, beautiful but emotionally troubled, and the lively and outgoing Midori.  There was an interesting discussion about how books age (this one was written in 1987) and has a detached and juvenile aspect where the sex written about is titillating rather than descriptive.  There is very little Japanese culture although very descriptive.  We on the whole found the book disappointing.

Words used to describe it:  juvenile, of it's time, too wordy, tedious, why, bleak, detached

Marks out of 10:  between 5 - 7

Next Book

Beyond Brilliant by Dipna Anand

Next Meeting

Wednesday 23rd June - 8.00pm

Venue

5 Treadgold St, W11

Cheri by Collette

Cheri, the eponymous 'hero' of the novel, is a weak spoilt individual with too much money and time.  Lia the beautiful but aging courtesan who loves him realizes that this love cannot last but gives her heart none the less.  The characters are well drawn, the harpy friends of Cheri's mother are particularly well crafted. Bitches who's cutting chatter is filled with well aimed barbs and quips aimed to hurt.  

The book generated a good discussion about the Belle Mode of Paris at the turn of the century, and about Collette herself, how her life of a courtesan earned her independence but not a family and the differences between England and UK about women who earned a life at the top of the sex working tree. The very french way of looking at love, sex and relationships. 

If you want to listen to the novel the BBC have serialized it click here to listen

Marks out of 10:  between 6 - 9

Words used to describe it:  spoil, indulgent, bittersweet, vivid impression, harsh

Next book

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Next meeting 

19th May 2021 at Chelsea Arts Club (COVID rules allowing)

An Experiment in Love by Hilary Mantel

Carmel MacBain, looks back on her school and university years (1970's) with a bleakly comic eye. The friendships - are they friendships or are they rivals/bullies that you keep close.  The book flicks between Carmel s childhood years in a Lancashire town and her University time studying law in London.  Not a polemic, the novel does discuss feminism and class.  Women's relationship with food and friendships. Are they friends or just convenient acquaintances?  A bleak book, but well drawn characters with all their flaws are skillfully drawn.  You may not like the protagonists but they we all know their like.

The book generated an interesting discussion on female friendship and competitive rivalry, class and what it was to be young at that time, and our (women's) relationship with food. 

Marks out of 10:  between 7 - 8

Words used to describe it:  class envy, caustic, cold, stark, dreary, riveting, hungry 

Next book 

Cheri by Collette

Next meeting via Zoom

  Thursday 15th April

Burnt Sugar by Anvi Doshi

Nature or nurture?  Indifferent mothering or even absent mothering what effect does this have on a child.  Antara's mother is suffering from dementia, should she take her into her home and care for her in her declining years. Her 'abusive' childhood is slowly reveled through short glimpses of her upbringing.  The neglect she suffered from her narcissistic mother, who basically forgot her when she wasn't convenient to have around.  Who left her to be brought up by others when she became enthralled with a guru. Despite the two main protagonists being fairly unsympathetic characters, the moral dilemma of looking after your mother when you are not sure that you even like let alone love her..........should you? 

The book generated an interesting discussion about aged parents, guilt and cultural expectations.  Did we like the book, not so much, but we did enjoy the phrasing and language used.

Marks out of 10 - between 5 - 8

Words used to describe it:  ambiguous, multi layered, OK, cruel, painful, evocative, detached.

 Next Book

An Experiment in Love by Hilary Mantel

Next Meeting by Zoom 

Thursday 11th March

 

 

The Butchering Art by Lindsay Fitzharris

The book follows the professional life of Joseph Lister, Quaker, eminent doctor and surgeon of the Victorian era.  Lister diligently, scientifically and systematically worked out how and why wounds became infected.  He may not have understood completely the workings of bacteria, but he did work out that there were microbes that infect wounds and if left to fester killed.  This book, although explicit wasn't gruesome, just factual about medical practices of the time.  It was interesting to understand how medical practice is built on the foundations of previous knowledge.  How difficult it was for Lister to get the egotistical surgeons of London to change their minds about antiseptics, cleanliness and good practice - their egos got in the way of accepting the science.  Obviously written for the layman, an interesting book with a few 'clunky' nuggets of information.  

Despite talking over zoom the book generated a good discussion about history, knowledge, germs and medicine.

Marks out of 10:  between 7 - 9 so highly rated

Words used to describe it:  harrowing, fascinating, very interesting, not for the faint-hearted.

Next Book

Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi

Next Meeting

Zoom - Thursday 11th February 2021

Ok, Let's do your stupid idea by Patrick Freyne

 A collection of amusing memories, strung together with humour, insight and pathos.  These essays by Patrick Freyne contain much that resonates with us all even if they don't all make us chuckle with laughter they do evince a smile.  Amongst the fun there are a few essays that are very deep.  The one, Care, about being a carer, how hard and difficult it can be, but also how rewarding "For every day that I drove home from work with scratches and bruises, feeling like I'd earned my wages, there'd be another where I had experienced the simple force of someone else's love and it felt like I had stolen something."  An entertaining read.

Words and marks out of 10 weren't taken this evening but those who read the book enjoyed it. 

Next book

The Butchering Art by Lindsay Fitzharris

Next Meeting

13 January 2021 by Zoom

Frieda by Annabel Abs

Emma Maria Frieda Johanna Freiin (Baroness) von Richthofen, the original Lady Chatterley it says in the blurb, but this woman is so much more than an aristocrat stuck in a stifling marriage attracted to some one of the 'lower classes;. Frieda Weekley, nee  von Richthofen the daughter of a Bavarian down on his luck, gambling count, married to a much older English professor was an intelligent, attractive and vivacious woman.  This book is the fictional biography of the woman who inspired, edited, coped with and married the maverick author DH Lawrence, for him she left her husband and her children.  The harsh  laws of adultery at the time meaning no woman could see or look after her children if she had left her husband. She had no rights at all.  The driving pain in the book is the loss of her children.  She comes out of the novel as an interesting, spiky, sensual, well rounded woman.  This book took pains to separate the woman from the more famous husband, to write her as an individual, precocious, indecisive and interesting.  The Germany of the early 20th Century was so interesting, the many different ideas and philosophy being developed, free love and the embryonic psychiatry were well described.

This book generated an excellent discussion over zoom.  We all enjoyed it even if some of us had reservations about the writing.  

Words used to describe it:

Marks out of 10:  between 6 -8

Next book

Ok, Let's Do Your Stupid Idea

by Patrick Freyne

Next meeting

2 December on Zoom (again) 

unless lock down really has ended, but that's unlikely.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

Redolent and oozing the heat and sensuality of the Caribbean, this prequel to Jane Eyre illuminates the theme of women as property, as incubators, as valueless except for what they bring to a marriage.  The mad woman in tower of Jane Eyre, is fleshed out as a sensitive woman, traumatize by the death of her mother and sickly brother in a fire.  Her, unnamed husband, presumed to be Rochester of Jane Eyre fame, claims her for marriage and her dowery, uses her and is then ultimately disgusted by her sexuality.  He listens in Othellian ways to what other insinuate about her, believing them as a salve to his conscience after rejecting her.  A brilliant read.

This book conjured up some great discussions about Jane Eyre, women and marriage and insanity.

Words used to describe it:  multi layered, brave, atmospheric, introduction, fetid.

Marks out of 10:  We all gave it 8

Next Book

Frieda by Annabel Abs

Next Meeting 

5 November possibly by Zoom

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

Raynor and Moth in the space of a few days, hear that Moth has a terminal illness, they have lost their home and livelihood - bailiffs are at the door.  Not knowing what to do they decide to walk the South West Costal Path, 630miles from Somerset to Dorset all round the peninsula of Devon and Cornwall.  Along the way they battle loneliness, hunger, destitution and illness. The harshness of the endeavour that they have set themselves seems to be their salvation.  The beauty of the landscape, the nature, sky, sea and sounds appear to cleanse them of their issues.  This seems trite but it does.   A poignant read, even if the protagonists aren't that likeable. 

This book generated a good talk about how easily we can lose everything.  How homelessness is a harsh and unforgiving state - we are all only one bad investment away from this. How people judge the homeless. 

Words used to describe it:  perceptive, harrowing, humbling, chilly, cold, sobering

Marks out of 10:  between 7 - 9

Next book

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

Next meeting

7th October

Venue:  TBC

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

Pat Barker has taken the story of the Iliad and given a voice to some of the women who are mentioned but not noticed in the stories.  History is written by the victors and that doesn't include women.  This retelling of the Trojan Wars,  in particular Achilles and Agamemnon, from the view point of Briseis, a teenage Queen, of ransacked Lyrnessus, given to Achilles as part of his 'spoils of war'.  Seen from the view point of a woman with no standing except that she is the 'trophy' of a powerful warrior, this book is a interesting discourse on the plight of women. Referred to as 'it', displayed, defiled and ignored the women's lives are precarious, and dependent on keeping their man 'happy'.  Somethings appears not to have changed much in thousands of years - to be given, traded, fucked and abused, women have to find their place where they can.  Brutal and uncomfortable reading, mixing the known stories from the Iliad with imagined scenarios, this brilliant book gives voice to the unheard bringing to life the dirt, blood and harshness of a battle camp. It also explores the psychology of the 'hero' Achilles inured to death, bored of battle and fixated on his goddess mother.

The discussion was broad, a number of us didn't know well the stories of the Iliad, and therefore had difficulty in understanding the relationships between the men and why they were fighting etc.  Having said that Achilles, was more man and less godlike in this story, a warrior who knows his business, but is plagued by PTSD. We generally thought the end was weak, but most of us loved the book. 

Words used to describe it:  sympathy for the girls, survival, co-modified, chattels, absorbing

Marks out of 10: we all gave it 8

If you want to listen there is an interesting podcast interview: Pat Barker with Eleanor Wachtel

Next Book

The Salt Path by Raynar Winn

Next Meeting

Friday 4th September

at Carolyn's

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernandine Everisto

This book follows the lives of 12 different women through their lives, loves and struggles. The mainly British and black women and girls give us a  Britain which challenges us with its glimpse into their lives.  Cleverly linking together various women through the last century. Each of the 12 characters is given a chapter, occasionally other characters appear and overlap, but essentially each character has a different life, choices and background.  From gender identity,  a career woman, a young bride from Barbados in an unhappy marriage, an abusive lesbian relationship  All very diverse lives but eloquently written.  These characters are elegant vessels to discuss and illustrate the many and varied lives of British black women.

The book generated a good discussion about identity, colour, race and being a woman.  

Words used to describe it:  marvelous, rich storytelling, better on the second reading, too many characters, irritating, humanity

Marks out of 10: between 5 - 9

 

Next Book

Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

Next meeting 

Friday 14th August at 126

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

8 years following many women, results in a book of three women and their sex lives, general lives and loves.

I think that this reveiw on Goodreads explains it best:

 

May 24, 2019 Roman Clodia 

This is quite a perplexing book as I'm not sure what Taddeo's intentions were. She takes three American women and tells their stories of failed love, disappointing marriages, unmet or unfulfilled sexual and emotional needs.

In some ways, the stories are different and, almost deliberately (?) echo themes covered in recent fiction: Lina, in a sexless marriage falls into an affair with her high-school boyfriend; Maggie is 'groomed' into a sexual relationship with her high-school teacher; Sloane finds herself introduced to open marriage built around a ménage theme, and recognises herself as a submissive after reading 'Fifty Shades of Grey'.

And yet, all three have commonalities: all three women are essentially unfulfilled; all are, to greater or lesser extents, exploited by men. Lina and Maggie are desperately pleading for love from married men who call them up when they choose. Sloane has a troubled history of anorexia/bulimia and despite her seeming assurance, traces early examples of male familial disapproval which affected her adolescence.

What I found disturbing about the book is a seeming gender essentialism which shows us, abject women, in thrall to powerful men who control their relationships whether through being unavailable emotionally and physically, sometimes because they're married, or, in the case of Sloane, by a voyeurism which makes her the sexualised object beneath a dual male gaze. The overall tone is one of dysfunctional masochism, especially in the cases of Lina and Maggie.

It's fascinating to see other women's inner lives but it's also frustrating to see how much pain, misery and lack of agency inhabit these (love) lives. The implication seems to be that whatever happens to level the playing field for women publicly and professionally, there's still an underground struggle for some women who want to be loved in ways that their men and their own choices seem to preclude.

Words used to describe it: (not given yet)

Marks out of 10: (not given yet)

Next book

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo

 

Next Meeting

In the garden of 117

17 July 2020

after Gin by the Bins

Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Read during lock down - in a time of corona virus, most of us found this a difficult book to get our heads around.  The many names of the characters, the flitting around in time and style was discombobulating.  The allegorical, dreamlike narrative where the Devil, 'Professor Woland' battle with the bureaucracy of Soviet Russia as a character, then slipping to another narrative of a embittered writer, the Major who battles to create and publish his novel on Pontius Pilate and Jesus. While Margarita lover and muse of the Major, leaves him to live a life of the comfortable bourgeois, only to give it up when given the chance - to ride naked on a broomstick over Moscow before arriving in the middle of an event with all the other various characters and metaphysical beings made it essential to concentrate when reading. 

This dense and difficult book requires time and an understanding of the Russian character, especially of the tense and difficult time under Stalin, where anything could mean your removal to the gulags, or death.  I don't think that we quite understood the depths of this novel. Also we think that the different editions/translations make a huge difference to the ease of reading. 

Most of us failed to read it, finding the metaphysical aspect too difficult at this time of uncertainty.  However those (2 of us) who did finish it found the book a fascinating but problematic read.

Words used to describe it:  difficult read, watching paint dry, sympathy for the Devil, confusing

Marks out of 10:  between 1- 6

Next Meeting

Sunday 14th June by Zoom (probably)

Next Book

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

Olive Kettridge by Elizabeth Strout

Book Club meeting held via Zoom due to Lockdown.  Not totally successful technology wise - but at least we had our book club meeting.

Olive Kitteridge (2008) is a novel by American author Elizabeth Strout. It presents a portrait of the title character and a number of recurring characters in the coastal town of Crosby, Maine. It takes the form of 13 short stories that are interrelated but discontinuous in terms of narrative. (Wikipedia)  Using the stories within a novel concite, we are introduced to the people that Olive as school teacher, wife, mother has touched upon in her life.  She is not a likeable character, abrasive, harsh, kind, intuitive, blunt and many other contradictory words.  

Most in the book club loved this book, found the character of Olive, difficult though she is, resonated with them.  The short stories within the novel was an interesting way to introduce the complex characters that lived in the Maine town.  A few of us did not like the chop and change of the short stories and found the inconsidtent time line difficult.  

Words used to describe it:  resonates, human nature, vivid description of character, unforgiving, 

Marks out of 10:  between 5 - 9 (mostly between 7 -9)

Next Book

The Master and Margarita by Mikahel Bulgahov

Next Meeting by Zoom

Friday 8th May

Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown by Anne Glenconner

Wow, well that book generated an excellent discussion at book club, from the mores of the aristocracy, bad parenting, feminism (or not), up bringing, boarding school, and much much more.  Anne Glenconner's biography was a thoroughly entertaining read.  Her life fairly rips along at a pace that would have left most of us behind.  Her life with Colin Glenconner was unconventional and difficult and yet ultimately extremely privileged.  Colin Glenconner's disregard for his family, his spoilt child attitude to life was extremely hard to bear.  Without the money behind him, his behavior would not have been supported by anyone.

Words used to describe it:  loved it, a romp, fascinating, fawning sycophantic, engaging, rip-roaring read.

Marks out of 10:  between 5 - 9 

Next Book

Olive Ketteridge by Elizabeth Stroud

Next Meeting

9th April

Venue

TBC