This month's meeting was hosted by Michèle . We had British scones, better known as biscuits here with whipped cream and strawberry jam, bran muffins and fruit salad. Coffee and tea were offered. Present were Carla, Colette, Kathleen, Marg and Michèle.
We discussed Marg's book choice Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. Ms Napolitano is an American novelist and writer and this is her 4th novel. It is the 100th book selection of Oprah's book club. Her third book, Dear Edward, has been adapted into a series on Apple TV.
The novel is about 4 sisters who grow up together and are close. Julia, the oldest marries and young man, William who comes from a loveless family and he is overwhelmed by the family and though he loves the interaction between the parents and sisters, when Julia becomes pregnant, his family background and trauma that was caused by parental neglect kicks in and he refuses to bond with the child. Sylvie, one of the other sisters realizes that William is struggling when he tries to commit suicide and with his friends, she helps him restore a life that he can accept and they eventually fall in love.
Almost all of our members loved the novel. Everyone found the complexity of the sisters' relationships and that of William dramatic. A couple of us found that the interactions between family members and others to be similar to a soap opera, full of drama, difficult interactions and sometimes unbelievable scenes. One of our members who is a soap opera watcher, could hardly put the book down, like a soap opera, what is going to happen next?
Most found the book well written, the characters well developed, the interactions between the sisters, between William and his friends very believable and often touching. We all liked that it ended with the reunion of the sisters and their children, Rose the mother and William well integrated and emotionally stable.
Marg's choice was excellent and it generated a lot of discussion not only about the novel but about family dynamics . Thank you Marg.
