Author Night April 13, 2017 Atlanta History Center

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Attendeed:  Cheryl, Joan, Emily, Pam and Susan.  

In lieu of a regular book club night we had a field trip to the Atlanta History Center to hear author Anthony Doerr speak about his novel All The Light We Cannot See, which was our selection back in February 2015 (!)

He was an excellent speaker and gave a most entertaining speech and slide show starting with his  background as a kid.  He shared his personal life curiosities and interests which led from childhood fishtanks... to gems and minerals... to bioluminescence in fish... to cell phone waves... 

 all of which is..... the light we cannot see.  There, you have it in a nutshell.

Our outing started out with a tailgate at the history center, complete with picnic table.  How much fun do we have as a book club?!  Yay!

Yummy sandwiches provided by Susan, thank you!

Next month is a double with Born to Run by the Bruce and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

The Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

March 2, 2017

Hostess:  Amy
Myra, Michelle, Lisa, Pam T, Pam M, Cheryl, Janna

Best Books of 2016: Yaa Gyasi

Author of HOMEGOING

Interviewed by Mark Athitakis on November 16, 2016

The structure of Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel, Homegoing, is all wide sweep and ambition, covering three centuries and a host of characters between Ghana and the United States to depict the long and harrowing reach of slavery. But even while the novel’s scope expanded, Gyasi’s chief concern was keeping the story on an individual level.

“We have a tendency to look upon our ancestors as though they were less smart or less moral than us,” Gyasi says. “Were we living in the 18th century, we wouldn't have made those same mistakes. Us as individuals, we would've been better people. I think history makes clear that it's actually quite difficult to make your own decisions when the big socio-economic political system is all driven by whatever it is at the time.”

That point plays out in a multitude of ways across Homegoing’s 14 chapters. In the 1700s, the daughter of a tribal leader marries a British man only to discover the “castle” where he keeps slaves; in the 1880s, a coal miner labors for his freedom but can only get so far in Jim Crow Alabama; in the 1960s, a civil rights activist descends into addiction. At each point the urge for heroism collides with the suppressive institutions of the time.

Gyasi, 26, initially had narrower plans for the novel. As an undergraduate at Stanford, she visited the Cape Coast Castle—that jail for slaves in her native Ghana—and envisioned a story that would cover the early years of the slave trade, then leap to its legacy in the 21st century. Once she arrived at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 2012, however, she saw the need to fill in the history.

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“I realized that what I really wanted to do was to be able to look at something, in this case slavery, very closely over a very long period of time, 250 years, three centuries,” she says. “I realized that what I needed was a structure that would allow me to make pit stops…in as many of the big moments in history along the way between those two time periods. That was the hardest part.”

Getting the emotional impact of slavery’s effects on her characters, from African colonialism to the Fugitive Slave Act to the civil rights movement and beyond, meant more for Gyasi than filling Homegoing with lots of historical detail. Though she was born in Ghana and raised in Alabama, she has lived in at least five U.S. states. “For me, place has always been kind of mutable,” she says. “I have always felt comfortable with the idea of being in a different place entirely. Perhaps that's a little bit of why I felt comfortable writing a novel like this.”

Enthusiasm for Homegoing started early: last November, Ta-Nehisi Coates praised the novel in a series of tweets. (“This is the book I’d give to my kid if he asked about the trans-Atlantic slave trade,” he wrote.) “I kind of lost my mind a little bit,” she says.

Yet while Homegoing echoes Coates’ interest in the roots of racism in America, Gyasi also stresses that the novel argues for the need for individual defiance. “How do you say, ‘I'm going to be my own nation’ when your nation is involved in the slave trade?” she asks. “You can’t be your own nation, but you want to try.”

Mark Athitakis is a reviewer in Phoenix and regular contributor to Kirkus Reviews.

So many characters to keep straight!

And it's always a good thing to confirm the title of the book selection to make sure you are on the same page (wink) as the rest of the group LOL

Yumm..... thanks Amy for the spread.

We found this book to be complex and rich in plot, characters and writing.   (Although some of us found it a little too much... as in difficult to follow and keep the stories straight).   There was a big swing in ratings from a few stars to several, giving us an overall average rating of about 3.75

Next month:
Field Trip!  An evening of talk and discussion at the Atlanta History Center featuring author Anthony Doerr of All the Light We Cannot See, one of our previous selections.

May:  We'll discuss two books, combining April's selection Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen) with    
           A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles)

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

February 2, 2017
Hostess:  Pam T
Attendees:  Lori, Jana, Michelle, Myra, Susan, Amy, Cheryl, Joan, Mary Margaret, Pam M

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From Amazon:

A Man Called Ove

by Fredrik Backman (Goodreads Author), Henning Koch (Goodreads Author)(Translator)

 4.33  ·   Rating Details ·  152,544 Ratings  ·  22,930 Reviews

A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations. 

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Pam created a warm and cozy atmosphere for a heartwarming book.   We unanimously enjoyed this book and ended up giving it 4+ stars, which seems to be right on par with many other reviews,  (note 4.33 for Amazon, above).   A Man Called Ove was  translated into English from Swedish by Henning Koch who has to be credited for his excellent work.  We gave this book high marks for character development.   Ove was not a likable character in the beginning,  and yet rather than Ove developing into a lovable character, we felt the author did a remarkable job of changing us, the readers, in a manner that we could see Ove in a different light and acknowledge his quirky charm.  We also gave praise for Ove's wife Sonja and neighbor friend Parvaneh.

The one thing we were surprised by (and didn't appreciate) was the author classifying Ove as "old!" at age 59.   But we attributed that probably to life in Sweden with its socialized medicine, work retirement age, etc.   We also discussed Ove's childhood and what led to him becoming so cranky and curmudgeonly in adulthood.   We liked the author's acknowledgment to his father:  "Because I hope I am unlike you in the smallest possible number of ways".

The book was entertaining, enlightening and overall charming.  We agreed it is worth recommending.  

MMMMMMM....tortilla soup!

Oh, we do enjoy our East Cobb book club!

Next month's selection:    The Homegoing  by Yaa Gyasi

The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington

January 12, 2017
Hostess:  Joan
Attendees:  Michelle, Cheryl, Amy, Lori, Pat, Janna, Pam T, Pam M

The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
Published in 1918

from Amazon book review:

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize when it was first published in 1918, The Magnificent Ambersonschronicles the changing fortunes of three generations of an American dynasty. The protagonist of Booth Tarkington's great historical drama is George Amberson Minafer, the spoiled and arrogant grandson of the founder of the family's magnificence. Eclipsed by a new breed of developers, financiers, and manufacturers, this pampered scion begins his gradual descent from the midwestern aristocracy to the working class.  

Today The Magnificent Ambersons is best known through the 1942 Orson Welles movie, but as the critic Stanley Kauffmann noted, "It is high time that [the novel] appear again, to stand outside the force of Welles's genius, confident in its own right."

"The Magnificent Ambersons is perhaps Tarkington's best novel," judged Van Wyck Brooks. "[It is] a typical story of an American family and town--the great family that locally ruled the roost and vanished virtually in a day as the town spread and darkened into a city. This novel no doubt was a permanent page in the social history of the United States, so admirably conceived and written was the tale of the Ambersons, their house, their fate and the growth of the community in which they were submerged in the end."

 We knew going in that this book might be a tough sell.  The majority felt the plot was disappointing.  Nothing truly exiting going on and the ending felt quick and flat.
Everyone agreed George was extremely unlikeable:  spoiled, whiny, privileged, and mean.  Lucy was the most likable and also the one we were eager to know more about but she disappeared in the plot (or non-plot).   There was also a questionable relationship between George and his mother Isobel.

It was interesting to follow the development of technology (automobile).
Some of us felt this novel was like looking through a window into the  world of the have and have-nots a century ago (doing vs. being, old money vs. new money).  It was also a revealing study of homes, clothing and social activity of the time period.   Some aspects showed that not much has changed in today's world!

We did agree that reading a book actually written 100 years ago is much different than reading a contemporary published book about a time period 100 years ago.   Many members just could not get through the archaic language while a small few thought the writing was very rich and well done.  C'mon, this book did win the 1919 Pulitzer Prize, after all!
  It was interesting to contrast this novel to last month's never-ending convoluted plot in The Life We Bury.
Overall star rating we averaged out as a 2 ** or maybe 2.5

 We were kept on our toes with  Cocoa the canine's shenanigans and keeping a watch on our food, especially those oatmeal cookies!  

Next month's selection:   A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Hostess:  Pam T

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskins

December 2, 2016

Hostess:  Cheryl
Attendees:  Janna, Susan, Mary Margaret, Emily, Joan, Pam T, Pam M, Myra, Lori


Cheryl was well prepared as usual and led us through a lot of interesting discussion on The Life We Bury.   Seems like it started out with good intentions of being a page-turner with its multi-layered plot and various characters.   However, the further along it went the more far-fetched the novel became. (How dumb do you think we are?)   Lori summed it up that it was as if the author were writing to a social-media audience.  Kinda like that last few books we've read...   Our group always manages to have entertaining discussions, though,  no matter how good or bad we end up rating the book.   This book hovered at 3 or 3.5 stars.

 Mary Margaret suggested we consider A Gentleman in Moscow by
Amor Towles if we want to get in a little more reading over the holidays.

Merry Christmas to all! Our next meeting will be in January 2017!  
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington at Joan's house.

Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner

November 3, 2016

Hostess:  Susan
Attendees:  Cheryl,  Mary Margaret, Amy, Pam T, Pam M,  Janna, Joan, Betty Rose, Myra

Not the best book we ever read, but good company,  good food and good discussion!

Next month's book choice:  The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

Wool by Hugh Howey

Sept 8, 2016

Hostess:  Mary Margaret
Attendees:  Michelle, Cheryl, Pam T. Pam M, Myra, Janna

Wool was the first science fiction choice for book club.  It was met with skepticism by some of us  but once hooked we found it to be entertaining and enjoyable.  It felt more like a mystery than straight science fiction.   The character development was good, and the plot kept us going.   This book was self-published;  prior to publishing this, the author was a yacht captain among other occupations.   Wool is also part of the Silo series.

We gave it a **** (four star) overall rating. 

 Mary Margaret won "QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"

Next book:   The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith