The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek - January 25, 2021

As we begin 2021, we have become quite good at holding our Zoom meetings, being quite respectful,  waiting our turn to speak and sometimes even holding up our hand when we have something to say! However, we all miss  seeing each other in person every month and of course the food and wine! Present at this evening's meeting were Beth, Betty, Carla, Colette, Janet, Linda, Marg, Michèle and Shirley. 

Our first task this evening was to name the Book of the Year 2020.  We had several excellent books this year and it was obvious in the votes we received. However, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was the narrow favourite, Carla's book choice in 2020.  

This evening we discussed Carla's book choice The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michèle Richardson.  Ms. Richardson was born in Kentucky and grew up at the Saint Thomas-Saint Vincent Orphan Asylum.  Her memoir The Unbreakable Child chronicles her experiences at the orphanage and why she along with her sisters and 40 other children who lived at the orphanage, sued the Sisters of Charity in 2004 for the abuse they endured.  Ms. Richardson has written 4 novels along with the memoir.  

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a historical novel set in the Appalachian Hills of Kentucky. The heroine, Cussy Mary Carter is one of the last females of the Blue-skinned people of Kentucky. The story takes place during the depression of the 1930's.  The Pack Horse Library Project was a work project to deliver books to remote areas of Kentucky.  Cussy Mary was hired as a book woman and she and her mule Junia travelled her treacherous routes  delivering books, magazines, newspapers and other reading materials to her patrons.  We learned their stories and difficult life in depression era Kentucky. Cussy Mary's strength of character and determination showed in her belief that books and any reading material helped people dream and believe in a better life. 

There was no debate about the merits of this book.  Everyone loved the book and it is a definite page turner.  The writing is excellent, the characters are well-developed. The description of the Appalachian area of Kentucky brought alive the harshness of the terrain, the mountains and the deep connection people had to their part of the world . As a historical novel we learned about the blue people of Kentucky and many of us took the time to read more about this genetic condition.  The Pack Horse Library Project highlighted the desire and thirst people had to read and learn about the outside world.  We were all moved by the drama of arranged marriages, starving children, bigotry and discrimination.  

We were all intrigued by the use of  a "courting candle" by Cussy Mary's father and Carla showed us a photo of one she had found.  It is a Colonial candle holder used as a time-keeper marking the length of time a suitor could visit.  

Thank you Carla for selecting such a beautiful descriptive historical novel that we all enjoyed. 

The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman - May 26, 2020

This is the third month that we have met online using Zoom.   We discussed Linda's book choice, The Home for Unwanted Girls, by Canadian author Joanna Goodman.  Present were Beth, Betty, Carla, Colette, Janet, Linda, Michèle and Shirley.  We were also very fortunate to have the author Joanna Goodman join us for a good hour of our meeting.

Before discussing this month's book we revealed the "academy award" of the best book we read in 2019.  Circumstances prevented us from awarding the lovely book bag that Shirley made and announcing the winner before this month.  Linda's choice for 2019, Requiem, by Canadian author France Itani was our choice for Best Book.

The Home for Unwanted Girls is the story of a young girl, Maggie, the daughter of a French mother and an English father living in the Eastern Townships of Québec.  It is the 1950's and when Maggie falls in love with a young poor French farmer and becomes pregnant, her parents send her to live with her aunt and uncle and force her to give up the baby.  Maggie's father does not want his daughter to marry a poor French farmer; he has ambitions for her.  Maggie's daughter, that she names Élodie, is sent to an orphanage with the hope that she will be adopted by a good family.  In alternating chapters, we follow Maggie's life and Élodie's life. Élodie finds herself caught up in the horrid nightmare of the Duplessis Orphans in Québec and Maggie begins a new life with an English husband chosen by her father.

This is an historical novel that reveals in great detail the horrific life that illegitimate children had when, because of federal funding, the Premier of Québec Maurice Duplessis passed a law that allowed orphanages to certify the children as mentally ill and the orphanages to become mental institutions.  Also highlighted in the background, is the uneasy side-by-side lives of the French and English that existed in Québec in that time period and, some say, still exists in modern Québec.

It is safe to say that all members of our Club loved this story.  Most of us found the incidents of Élodie's life in the mental institution difficult to read. But because Ms. Goodman alternated between Maggie's life and the description of Élodie's horrifying life, as readers we had some relief.  All our members thought the character development was excellent: we knew Maggie and Gabriel; we could feel the intensity of their love for each other.  We understood Gabriel's anger and felt the pain of loss Maggie felt and the need she had to find her daughter.  Both of Maggie's parents were vivid characters, the difficult relationship between the two well described as well as Maggie's relationship with each of her parents.

Ms. Goodman told us that originally she wanted to tell her own mother's story, of a young ambitious girl raised in a "mixed" family with a  French Catholic mother who had come from a poor background and an English Protestant entrepreneur father.  In the research she did about Québec and the precarious relationship between the French and English, she stumbled on the Duplessis Orphans story and she then knew that the story she would write would be about Maggie and Élodie.

The 20 years of research she did has allowed her to also write a sequel that will be out in Fall 2020, called The Forgotten Daughter. She tells the story of Élodie and of Véronique Fortin, a separatist who falls for the journalist, James Phénix, Maggie's son.

We wish to thank Joanna Goodman for participating in our Bookclub meeting.  It was an excellent conversation with her that we enjoyed thoroughly.   Thanks to Linda for suggesting this book!

The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve - February 4, 2019 (replaced January meeting cancelled because of weather)

Our January meeting, held February 4th because of weather, was hosted by Colette.  Present were Betty, Colette, Jane, Marg, Michèle and Shirley.  Colette had a great array of cheese, crackers, a dip and wonderful warm stuffed pastry rolls.  She served a pecan pie for dessert and of course, wine, coffee and tea were also available.

In January of each year we choose the best book of the previous year.  This year A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles presented by Shirley won.  We also awarded the Jolene Bale Award named in honour of our dear friend and original member of the Muse & Views Bookclub who passed away in August 2017.  It also went to Shirley for A Gentleman in Moscow.  Congratulations Shirley!

This month's book presented by Michèle was The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve.  Ms. Shreve was born in Boston in 1946 and died in March 2018.  This was her last of 19 books.  Muse & Views read one of her most popular books The Pilot's Wife in 2002.

We all agreed that this book is an easy read and most of us wished she had given more information about the fires that are a historical fact.  A few of our members enjoyed the book, one member found it to be almost like a thriller.  Would Grace and Rosie survive the fire huddled in the ocean?  Was Gene dead, would he come back? Would Grace find her mother?  Several of our members found the book a bit like a Harlequin Romance and felt that there were just too many coincidences. When the whole village burnt to the ground, Grace's mother-in-law's house survived. When Grace's daughter became ill, she found a job with the new doctor who treated her daughter.  She found the jewels  hidden in the hems of her mother-in-law's glamorous clothing that permitted her to buy a car and help her feed her family.  As Grace's confidence grew, everything seemed to fall in place, even after Gene came home and set her back she found the strength to improve her life.

We discussed the title The Stars are Fire that comes from a quote in Shakespeare's play Hamlet.  Marg had done some research and in a letter to Ophelia, Hamlet begins by saying Doubt the Stars are Fire, Doubt that the sun doth moves... trying to convince her that she should not doubt his love for her.  The title could have to do with the pianist Aidan's love for Grace.

So we had mixed feelings about the story. For those of us who have read several of Ms. Shreve's novels, it is certainly not her best.

Meeting of October 26, 2015

Our host this month was Colette. Present were Carla, Colette, Jane, Janet, Linda and Michèle. Our book this month was Jane's choice All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

The story takes place in France and Colette served some delectable french cheese and mini-omelets inspired by a passage in the book "Eggs crack. Butter pops in the hot pan................all of Marie-Laure's attention is absorbed by the smells blooming around her: egg, spinach, melting cheese."  Colette also served a peach cheese cake again inspired by what Madame Manec served Marie-Laure "....Marie-Laure can hear a can opening juice slopping into a bowl. Seconds later, she's eating wedges of wet sunlight." 

Anthony Doerr is an American author who has written many short stories and published two collections of short stories, a memoir of his time in Rome and two novels.  All the Light We Cannot See is his second novel.  It took him 10 years to write it.  He first started with the idea of telling a story about radio transmission and the wonder of being able to hear someone speak who could be very far away. In a visit to France he visited the walled town of St. Malo and decided to use it as the setting of his story.  He also became interested in all the treasures and art in Paris that were hidden away before the German invasion and incorporated these three subjects into the story. It won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

The story has two main characters, Marie-Laure who is a young blind french girl whose father is the locksmith at the Paris Museum of Natural History and who finds herself with her father escaping to the town of St. Malo.  The other character is a young German boy Werner who with his sister are orphans. Werner because of his talent for fixing radios finds himself in a military school for talented boys run by the Nazis. He also finds himself in St. Malo with Nazi officers.

Everyone enjoyed the book. All thought the characters were well developed and that there was no stereotypes, for example, not all Germans are villains. We learn to understand and like both Marie-Laure and Werner. Marie-Laure's relationship with her father is touching.

One of our members summarized the writing and what is encompassed in the story very well. "The writer brought together many currents underlying the war in an original way: industrialization and technology; human talent and creativity; art and historical treasures; love, compassion, bravery and sacrifice, etc. " Thank you Beth.  Also though we all enjoy a happy ending, everyone agreed that the tragic ending of this story was realistic and appropriate.  All in all, a very well written story.

We also discussed the meaning of the title All the Light We Cannot See.  There are references to light and the lack of light in many places in this book.  First of all, Marie-Laure's blindness and in one of the broadcasts about light that Werner and Jutta listen to, there is a revealing description. "What do we call visible light? We call it color. But the electromagnetic spectrum runs to zero in one direction and infinity in the other, so really, children, mathematically, all of light is invisible." 

Thank you all for an excellent discussion.

Meeting of January 26, 2015

 

For our first meeting of 2015, we met at Colette's, with Betty hosting.  Under discussion was The Light Between Oceans (Betty's choice). She served yummy pinwheel sandwiches and cheese, a pineapple upside down cake, and Australian wines, in honour of the book.   Beth, Colette, Shirley, Carla, Janet, Jolene, and Betty attended, with Linda and Michèle joining us from Florida via Skype.

Betty told us a little about the author, M. L. Stedman, a London lawyer who researched details for the book at a British library. She began her writing career in 1997.  This was her debut novel, set in her native Australia.  Ms. Stedman commented that the novel almost wrote itself as the characters unfolded in her mind; she even found herself having to stop protecting Tom as she wrote.

 

The book wrestles with complex moral dilemmas and various forms of mental illness and grief.  The two central characters, Isabel and Tom, decide to secretly claim as their own a baby washed up in a boat on their isolated lighthouse island.

 

Reviews were mixed, but all of us had strong reactions--we ached for many of the people and felt anxious and upset at the decisions being made; the ending would have been so different, and perhaps more appealing, had Isabel and Tom notified authorities and returned the baby to her grieving birth mother early on.  From a writing point of view, we commented that the setting was beautifully painted, but many found the dialogue stilted and coincidences forced.  The life lesson was that deception is harmful.  There is nothing better than the truth, however painful.

 

Other news--Linda's friend Norma spoke to us via Skype, telling us about a neighbour of hers who worked at Bletchley Park, famous for its code-breaking and prominent in one of our 2014 books--A Man called Intrepid.  We also awarded a prize to the 2014 winner of best book club read The Rosie Project, Beth's choice.  We had such good club selections last year that the race was very tight. May that be the case as we move forward in 2015!

Happy reading.

Meeting on January 27th 2014

This is our first meeting of the New Year and we have started with a French classic The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Janet's choice.  In attendance were Betty, Colette, Janet, Jolene, Michèle and Shirley. Betty served lovely cheese, pinwheel sandwiches and a lovely fruit crisp with ice cream.

First on the agenda for this meeting was the selection of the best book of 2013.  A testament of the quality of the books we read was evident in the votes. No one book received a large number of votes. Still Alice by Lisa Genova that was Betty's choice, received the most votes.  Deafening by France Itani, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce and The Help by Kathryn Stockett all received the same number of votes.  Congratulations Betty, second year in a row!

Janet chose this book when we read Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress.  If you remember, the two young men in this story are obsessed by the french classics of which one was The Count of Monte Cristo.

Alexandre Dumas was born in 1802 to a French Nobleman and a black woman in St. Dominique (now Haiti).  He wrote plays for the theatre and several novels that were published as serial stories by several newspapers.  The Count of Monte Cristo was published weekly over 18 months from August 1844 to January 1846.  It is said that Dumas had the help of a ghostwriter Auguste Maquet. To accommodate the serial format of the novel, the chapters are short and almost always ended dramatically.

The Count of Monte Cristo is an aventure tale that spans several years in the 19th century during France's 2nd Empire with numerous characters and plots.  The main character Edmond Dantès has several alias as do other characters in the story.  It is a story of love, perseverance, revenge and redemption.  Edmond Dantès a young merchant sailor comes back to Marseille and becomes captain of his own ship.  Because of his stop over on Elba where Napeleon Bonaparte is in exile, he is accused of treason and jailed at the Château d'If off the coast of Marseille.  He eventually escapes his captors and with the knowledge acquired from a priest who was also a prisoner, finds a fortune in gold on the Island of Monte Cristo and begins to plot his revenge against his enemies who wrongly accused him of treason and jailed him.

There are several plots within this story, many similar to Shakespearean like Romeo and Juliet. The length of the novel defeated some of our members. However several enjoyed the book, found it riveting, the drama, the melodrama, one member compared it to Downton Abbey, though not many agreed.  There were a couple of quotes that stood out and one in particular : "Moral wounds have this peculiarity, they conceal themselves but never close; always painful, always ready to bleed when touched, they remain fresh and open in the heart."

Meeting of February 27 2012

The February meeting of Muse and Views was held at Colette's home, with Betty hosting.  Lovely wines, hors d'oeuvres, and Joe's fresh cinnamon buns and coffee warmed us up on a wintery evening.   Betty, Carla, Janet, Shirley, Colette and Jolene attended.  We discussed The Book Thief by Marcus Suzak, Betty's choice and a real hit with most of the group.  Betty had not read the book beforehand, but was pleased with the choice, suggested to her by a friend from another club.

Betty gave us some background on the author, who was born of an Austrian father and a German mother.  Their lives helped inspire the book; in fact, the loveable Hans Huberman was a house painter like Suzak's father.  Another detail of interest was that Suzak's dad had been forced into the Hitler Youth program as a young person.  Suzak wanted young adults to get a different perspective of the Holocaust and to try to find beautiful moments in ugly times.  He was surprised by the success of the novel, which won a Michael L. Printz award.  (What a great surname for someone in the literary domain!)  The book was originally published as adult fiction in Australia, where the author's parents had emigrated after the war.  Several commented that they were surprised that the book has been classified locally as teen or young adult fiction, no doubt largely because it is a coming-of-age story.

Another theme of the book was the power of words, whether the power of Hitler's words to inspire hatred, or the power of Leisel's oral reading  to bring encouragement to townspeople during difficult times.  The narrator of the story was Death, and most found this interesting.  The perspective of a German child was also appreciated, since we often see the Holocaust from an adult, Jewish viewpoint.   All but one found the characters very well described, with even foul-mouthed Rosa endearing because of her good heart.

The only real criticisms were that the book was sometimes difficult to follow, with so much jumping around, and that a better explanation could have been given as to why Rosa and Hans would want to foster the child of a communist in Nazi Germany.  In the end, however, all were glad they had read the book, and some said they might not have to read any further to decide on the "Best Pick" of the year.

Meeting of January 23, 2012

Our host this month was Michèle.  Present were Beth, Betty, Carla, Colette, Jolene, Michèle, Shirley and briefly via skype, Linda.  Canapés, cheese and grapes were served along with a vanilla cranberry cheese cake.

As is our tradition, in January we award a prize to the member whose book in the previous year was most popular.  The Academy Award 2011 goes to Shirley  for Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda that received four votes.  This is the second year in a row that Shirley has won. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Gordon and Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie came in second with two votes each.  Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson and Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks each received one vote.  The variety of books we read in 2011 is clearly a reflection of the eclectic interests of our members!

The book choice this month presented by Michèle is The Mark of the Angel by Nancy Huston.  Ms Huston is a Canadian writer who has lived in France for several years.  She has published 45 books of which 13 are fiction written originally in French and self-translated into English.  She has also written 14 non-fiction books in French of which only two have been translated, the most recent The Tale-Tellers - A Short Study of Humankind in 2008. 


The Mark of the Angel is a story about a young German woman Saffie, who has immigrated to Paris in 1957 and the two men in her life, Raphaël her husband and Andràs her lover.  It is obvious from the beginning of the story that Saffie's troubled past and the demons she lives with impact on her actions and reactions to others. She shows little emotion with Raphaël and none of the emotions usually felt by motherhood.  She changes significantly when she meets Andràs, a Hungarian who lives with his own demons.

Several members enjoyed the book though found it a dark and tragic story. A couple of members did not enjoy the book because there is no hope of happiness or even of a better life in the story.   Generally we felt the characters were well developed.  Raphaël is self-absorbed in his professional career as a musician, has a love-lust relationship with Saffie.  Andràs, who we meet a little later in the story, is a spirited revolutionist and Saffie is immediately attracted to him.  Saffie lives a double life and her personality changes with each man. She is Raphaël's wife in their rue de Seine apartment, orderly, quiet and bourgeois.  She crosses the Seine by the Pont des Arts and becomes Andràs' lover in a life filled with disorder and unpredictability.

The story takes place during the Algerian's quest for independence from France and though there are several descriptions of demonstrations and France's reaction, it does not impact on the story.  There does not seem to be connection except as a vehicle for Andràs' revolutionary beliefs.

There are no characters in this story that we can become attached to, like or find endearing.  Some felt sorry for Raphaël and believed that he truly loved Saffie, enough to refuse to visit his mother if she did not accept his wife.  All felt sorry for Saffie and Raphaël's son Émil who was used by his mother as a foil in her relationship with Andràs and tragically also used by his father Raphaël, blinded by Saffie's betrayal.

A resumé of our reflections on this story cannot be complete without one member's very dramatic reaction to the story.  She was furious and frustrated by the characters and the story.  She felt that we did not get enough about the characters' backgrounds to understand their actions and reactions to each other, especially Saffie.  She wanted to learn more about Mme Hortense Trala-Lepage, Raphël's mother who stays in the background.  She felt that the story was incomplete.

For those who might think of reading other books by Nancy Huston, be forewarned that characters in her stories rarely have endearing qualities and she does not write stories with happy endings.

Meeting of January 24, 2011

The Muse and Views Book Club met at Michèle home to discuss Betty's choice Where the River Ends by Charles Martin.  Present were Betty, Carla, Jane, Janet, Jolene, Michèle & Shirley.  Feeling nostalgic, Michèle made her mother's recipe for a dip with vegetables among other hors d'oeuvres and her mother's recipe for Tarte Fleur de Lys.

Before beginning the discussion on this month's book, the "Academy Award" of 2010 was announced.  Each member had the opportunity to vote.  The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill recommended by Shirley received 5 of the 10 votes. The Boy in the Moon by Ian Brown recommended by our newest member Jane, came in second with 3 votes.  Congratulations Shirley!

Charles Martin is an American author who lives in Florida.  He has several degrees including a Ph.D. in communications.  He has written 7 novels; Where the River Ends is his 6th book.  He was inspired to write the book when he met the parents of a young woman whose husband served her with divorce papers in the hospital.  As he paddled down St. Mary's River in his kayak, the story of Abbie and Doss developed in his mind, thinking about the spouse who stays through the journey while his wife slowly dies.

Generally everyone enjoyed the book except for one person who found the story too incredulous to be believable.  Most of us have known someone who has died or is living with cancer and in many ways the story touched us as we thought of the persons we knew.

Many saw a correlation between the journey down the St. Mary's River and the journey cancer victims take through the many treatments as they strive to beat the disease.  As Abbie began treatments, she lost her breast, her hair because of the chemo.  She lost all her physical beauty, all hope of a cure or treatment that would allow her to survive and she is left with only the will to continue.  At the beginning of their voyage down the river they are robbed of everything they brought with them except for one canoe, a paddle and Abbie's medication, the bare minimum needed to continue the journey. Only their will to finish the journey survives. Several of us, however, grew tired of the river descriptions and some skimmed the descriptions of the river banks, the bends in the river and the vegetation.  Many of us liked the end of the book and the connection Doss finally achieved with his father-in-law.

The discussion turned to coping with illness and how hope is necessary to have the will to continue when faced with an illness such as cancer.  Several of us relayed experiences we had witnessed.  It was for several of us, the opportunity to share.  Thank you Betty for a good choice.

Those who chose not to read the book because you knew you would not attend this meeting might want to pick up the book.

Meeting of January 25, 2010

This month's meeting was at Michèle's home. In attendance were Betty, Colette, Jane, Janet, Jolene, Michèle and Shirley. As Framboise made in her creperie called Crèpe Framboise, Michèle made some galettes bretonnes served with a confit d'oignons and a goat cheese served with a fig jam. For dessert, a clafoutis aux pommes et abricots secs as was described in Mirabelle's book.

The first item of our meeting was awarding the "Academy Award" prize for the most well-liked book in 2009. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society which was Colette's book won hands down. Colette gave her prize to Jane since she had originally recommended the book.

This month's book, Michèle suggestion was Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris. The Book Club read Chocolat by Joanne Harris in 2001. Joanne Harris is a British author born of a French mother and British father. Many of her books are set in France. Five Quarters of the Orange is the last of three books with a food theme, Chocolat and Blackberry Wine are the other two books. She says on her website that this was one of her favourite books to write because of Framboise, the main character. You can read her comments on this link of her website.

Many members commented on the excellent character development in this book. Both Framboise and her mother Mirabelle are quite believable and easily pictured. Though both are not particularly "charming" characters, we were still drawn to them. Mirabelle did not seem particularly "motherly" however it became quite obvious that she did everything to keep her children fed, clothed and safe during the German occupation in WW II. Ms. Harris also described scenes and places well keeping your interest in the story.

Members also found the descriptions of the German occupation quite believable and interesting to see how the WW II affected the parts of France where there was no fighting but German soldiers everywhere. Michèle points out that in almost all villages in France there is a memorial to those who died during WW I both not much to honour those who died in WW II. There are some memorials to honour the those who were in the Resistance only.

Some members commented on the mother/daughter relationships in this book, Framboise and Mirabelle, Framboise and her daughter. The book Mirabelle created writing her thoughts and recipes helped Framboise better understand her mother and brought her closer to her own daughter Pistache.

Jolene, who always brings something a bit different and interesting to the discussion saw in the description of "Mother" the Pike as similar to pighead on a stick in Lord of the Flies.

All , in all, everyone enjoyed the book. Michèle suggests those who particularly enjoy Joanne Harris' writing might want to try Holy Fools and The Lollipop Shoes.

Meeting of January 26, 2009

Our meeting was held at Colette's home with Betty hosting. Thank you to Betty for great nibbles and an excellent wine choice. Betty, Carla, Colette, Janet, Joan and Michèle were present. This month's book was The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson suggested by Joan. This is the second book by Mary Lawson that the Book Club has read. Crow Lake was enjoyed by all members in 2004.

The book was unanimously enjoyed by all members present. All felt that the book was well written and that the story flowed well.  Each chapter began with a headline from The Temiskaming Speaker with the date. This helped the reader understand the chronology of  the two story lines. Carla mentioned and others agreed that Ms. Lawson is excellent at setting the mood and describing the surroundings. 

There was considerable discussion about the three main male characters, Arthur, Jake and Ian and the relationship between the brothers Arthur and Jake.  Janet compared them to the twin sons of Isacc and Rebekah in the Bible,  Esau and Jacob, the good and the evil.  There was a discussion about why Arthur does not stand up to Jake, how past incidents such as Jake's fall from the bridge affect Arthur's reaction to Jake's presence and actions. Many felt that Arthur's reaction was fuelled by guilt and his need to atone for failing to properly protect his brother and disappointing his mother. 

We also discussed how Ms. Lawson managed to keep suspense in a story line even though we knew from the beginning what eventually unfolded in the story. A good example is at the beginning of the book when Jake insists they play the knife game. 

We also discussed Ian's character, his denial as an adolescent of his eventual life choice to f become a family doctor taking over his father's practice. Again, it was evident from the beginning what Ian's choice would be but Ms. Lawson still kept suspense in the story line. 

This was a good choice, thank you Joan.  For those who have not viewed the video interview available on the left side of the blog, it is interesting to hear Ms. Lawson talk about her writing style and the connection she made between her two novels.

A "Name the Book Club" competition was held. Six suggestions were nominated: 

1. Cream of the Crop
2. Eclectic
3. Monthly Muse & Views
4. Ladies of Lit (LOL)
5. Nights of Wine & Proses
6. Read it & Eat

From a secret e-mail ballot, the name that won is "Monthly Muse and Views", suggested by Jolene.  All agreed that it is a good choice for the name of our Book Club. We also agreed to shorten the name to "Muse and Views". 

We also held our "Academy Award" of books read in 2008.  A Thousand Splendid Suns the book suggested by Michèle won easily. 

Meeting of January 28th 2008

Thank you to Janet for hosting our meeting. The hors d'oeuvres and blueberry pie were great. Especially appreciated was the service! Maybe your server would like a contract for future meetings Janet??

Linda, Shirley, Joan, Jolene, Michèle and of course Janet attended the meeting.

Each year at the January meeting, the Book Club gives out it's Academy Award to the member who recommended the book read in the previous calendar year that was most enjoyed by the members. City of Joy, recommended by Linda won this year. Congratulations Linda! Jolene bought a book as prize. There was also a runner-up prize but since no other book received more than one vote, we decided to save the runner-up prize for next year.

This meeting's book was Bay of Spirits by Farley Mowat. A Canadian born in Ontario, Mr. Mowat lived many years in the out posts of Newfoundland. He is well known for his books on wildlife and many of his books were written for children. He is a somewhat controversial author because of his views that he has clearly articulated on subjects such as the baby seal hunts or whale hunting in his books and in the press. Many Newfoundlanders are not appreciative of his opinions and have not enjoyed his description of personalities in this particular book and others.

The book Bay of Spirits is focused on life in the out ports. Through accounts of boat trips with Claire, his second wife over several summers and a few years in the 1960's he describes the out ports and their residents in quite colourful detail. His descriptive powers are excellent; we can easily imagine the houses perched on rocks. He is a great storyteller and some of us wondered how accurate his stories were, especially some of the sea escapades on his boat Happy Adventure.

We wondered how generous he was in comparison to how they were with him. Many of the residents in out ports he visited gave him food and help with his boat. He was quite evidently focused on himself and his causes.

Though the book has a subtitle A Love Story, and there is quite a bit about his relationship with Claire that he meets while still married to Frances, the book definitely has a political bent. Awareness of the over fishing and the destruction of the fishery came out in this book as did the baby seal issue and a definite dislike for Premier Joey Smallwood.

Most members enjoyed the book mainly because of Mr. Mowat's easy storytelling style.

We also talked about books we have enjoyed and about other lists of book. We talked about Yan Martel and the books he has been sending to Prime Minister Harper. There is even a website that describes the books and includes the letters Yan Martel has written to Mr. Harper.