The Nurse's Secret by Amanda Skenandore - February 24, 2025

For our February meeting we (Linda, Colette, Betty, Marg, Sharon, Carla, Shirley) discussed Betty's book choice, The Nurse's Secret by Amanda Skenandore.  Tonight's host Shirley provided some snacks to eat along with the book discussion: sausage rolls, goat cheese topped with pistachios, fig preserves and honey, and a Bakewell cake with ice cream for dessert. 

Betty provided background on the author who has written four other books to date, including The Second Life of Mirielle West and Between Earth and Sky. Skenandore struggled with dyslexia in school and found reading difficult, but she persisted and says that even now she doesn’t read fast but reads often and wide. Coming from a family of readers and a family of professionals; she is an infection prevention nurse which gives credibility to the medical jargon in tonight’s book.

The Nurse’s Secret is set in New York in the so-called Gilded Age and is a stark depiction of the political corruption of the time, the two distinct classes – extreme wealth and extreme squalor. This was a time, 1873, when Bellevue Hospital started to train nurses instead of using convicts to staff the hospital. The main character of the story, Una Kelly, who is talented pickpocket, liar, and grifter decides to hide in plain sight as a nurse trainee when she is accused of a murder she did not commit.

This is a historical novel with a murder mystery, albeit one where the murderer is telegraphed early in the story. There were a few incredulous incidents with respect to solving the murder which was a detraction from the story. The characters, however, are well described and well developed. It was noted by some that the opening section where we meet Marm Blei held an uncommon similarity to Charles Dickens’ Fagan. The description of the medical procedures of the time were interesting as it was a time when Lister’s new concept of cleanliness was dismissed as being radical and totally unnecessary. Yikes!

Una, in her life as a loner and a thief, has set herself Rules, many Rules, to live by. Her first rule of survival on the streets was to ‘keep your head down and look out for yourself’. Over the course of the story, Una is transformed under the tutelage of her roommate Dru and begins to see the benefits of helping others.

Thank you, Betty, for introducing us to this author and this book with so many points of discussion.

The Giver by Lois Lowry - February 27th 2023

Shirley was our host this month.  Present were Beth, Betty, Carla, Colette,  Linda, Marg, Michèle and Shirley of course.  We also had a written opinion from Janet who is presently on the other side of the country. Shirley put out a wonderful spread of "pigs in a blanket" vegetables with a dip, cheese and sweet &sour jelly beans!  Wine of course was served and a wonderful prune cake with a toffee sauce and whipping cream.  

Betty presented this month's book, The Giver by Lois Lowry.  Ms. Lowry is an American author, now 85 years old,  who began writing in her mid fifties.  She has written 47 books most are children's literature, many in series.  The Giver is the first of 4 books, followed by Gathering Blue, Messenger and Son.  Two of her books have won a Library Association Award for Children's Literature, The Newbery Medal, Number the Stars and The Giver that frequently appears on reading lists for Grade 7 & 8 classes in the U.S.A. and Canada.  They also often appear on lists of banned books.

The Giver is a dystopian novel about a community that appears to be utopian.  There is no pain or strife, no protest, nothing that is different.  Everyone lives by the rule book and has a particular role in society assigned to her or him at age 12.  The main character is a 12 year old boy named Jonas.

This novel generated considerable discussion.  A couple of us, not having previously read a "dystopian" novels, were shocked and unnerved by the storyline.  We discussed the "sameness" of the community in the novel, the similarity to a communist country like China or North Korea.  The 'release' of babies who were not thriving reminded many of us of "abortions" and the 'release' of the elderly as similar to MAID. However in effect both were murders probably disguised as letting them go (released).  We were all fascinated  unnerved by the story. One member read all 4 books of the series, curious to read what came next after Jonas leaves with Gabriel to find "elsewhere" and the world where joy, sorrow, pain and feelings exist.   

One of our members who us a former English literature teacher, found the book very interesting and she felt it would be a good teaching tool in the classroom, generating discussion and questions about our own society in comparison to the community in this novel. She felt that the author wrote the book in simple terms with few complicated descriptions, very readable for grade 7 & 8 students, that even young adults with reading difficulties would be able to understand and read it, still being able to compare the society in the book to our own.   It is well put together.  

Thank you Betty for a thoughtful selection.

A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson - February 28, 2022

 Present were Beth, Betty, Colette, Janet, Linda, Marg, Michèle and Shirley. We discussed Betty's book choice, A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson.

Mary Lawson is a Canadian author living in Great Britain. This is her fourth novel, all having received rave reviews. It was on the long list for the 2021 Booker Prize. We read her first book Crow Lake in 2003 and The Other Side of the Bridge in 2009.  

The story takes place in a small, fictional Northern Ontario town called Solace and through 3 main characters tells a story of grief, remorse and love. Clara, a young girl of 8, waits by the window for her sister Rose who has run away from home. Elizabeth Orchard lives next door and is in hospital. She wills her house to Liam, a divorced man in his 30s who has left Toronto, his family and job.  

Clara is longing for her sister to come home. Her parents, wanting to protect her, won't talk to her and explain why Rose has left. She takes care of Elizabeth Orchard's cat while she is in hospital. Elizabeth is in hospital and knows she is probably dying and tries to make amends for past actions.  She wills her home to Liam and as the story progresses, we learn of the drama between Liam and Elizabeth.  

Almost all of our members enjoyed the book and appreciated Mary Lawson's writing and how well she develops the characters in her stories. Some of our members would have liked more description of the town and the surrounding Northern Ontario scene. It was, as a couple of our members said, a nice light read, in which you could easily find yourself engrossed in the story and the characters. Some felt it was a sad story but others felt it finished on a positive note with Clara being the link whose attitude allowed some optimism to emerge.  

Thank you Betty for a good choice.  It is always good to read again an author that we so much enjoyed.

Frankenstein - May 31, 2021

 Present at our Zoom meeting were Betty, Beth, Carla, Janet, Linda, Marg, Michèle and Shirley. The book discussed this month was Betty's choice, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. The book was recommended by Marnie, a friend of several of the Muse and Views members.  

Our discussion was quite lively, not only about the story itself but also about Mary Shelley.  She was born in 1797, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist activist Mary Wollstonecraft.  Her mother died shortly after her birth and she was raised by her father who encouraged her to adhere to his political theories but she also read her mother's political theories.  Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and is now considered a pioneer of women's rights.  

In 1814 when she was only 17, Mary began a romance with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and along with Mary's stepsister moved to France with him. As Shelley was already married, they lived ostracized from society. In 1816 they married after the death of Shelley's first wife and the death of their first child. One stormy night when they were staying with Byron and other friends, Byron suggested they should see who could write the scariest ghost story.  Though all started, Mary Shelley was the only one who persisted and the story of Frankenstein was conceived.  It was published in 1818.  Shelley edited it more than once and published an edited version in 1831 that was for a long time the more popular version but in modern times the earlier 1818 version has become the version that is read and studied.  

Mary Shelley's character, scientist Victor Frankenstein, is convinced he can create a real life by connecting different body parts he acquires. He succeeds but the creature is not of his liking and he abandons it.  The creature teaches himself to read and write and wants to feel love and companionship. He feels abandoned and pursues Victor and demands that he create a mate for him. Victor agrees and secludes himself to create a female creature but before completing it he is horrified by the the possible consequences of his work and destroys the unfinished female creature. His original creature vows revenge.

This novel is considered a gothic novel and many see it as the beginning of science fiction.

Some found the older literary style difficult to read but several of us were surprised at how much we enjoyed the book. Shelley has written a story that makes us question the meaning of being human, the emotions that are complex, the needs we have as humans and our need for love and companionship as is seen by the creature's demand that Victor create a mate for him. The story examines learned behaviors, how the fear of the unknown and the fear of  'otherness' guides mankind. One of our members  expressed the view that though the creature is often referred to as the monster (as is seen most Hallowe'en nights), it is Victor himself who was the monster, unfeeling, abandoning his own creation. 

We talked about the different interpretations of Frankenstein that have been made into movies, both as serious horror and as comedy, many of which are described in this National Post article that Beth found. It is worth the read.  Janet had us listen to Monster Mash.  Thank you to Betty for the book choice, it generated a lot of discussion.  

Educated by Tara Westover - February 24th, 2020

Our February meeting was hosted by Janet.  Present were Beth, Betty, Colette, Janet, Marg, Michèle and Shirley. Janet had some excellent Canadian cheese,  sausage pastry rolls, vegetable pastry rolls and olives, wine and tea was served with a delicious dessert.

We discussed Betty's book choice Educated by Tara Westover.  This is a memoir of a young woman raised in Idaho in a survivalist family who shunned public schools, hospitals, doctors and anything governmental.  She was the youngest of 7 children and was partly home-schooled, learning to read from an older brother and then teaching herself, reading anything she could find.  The home environment was difficult and often violent.  Having managed to pass ACT exams, she was admitted to Bringham Young University left home and went on to complete a PhD.

In Educated Ms. Westover describes her family life detailing the abuse she endured from her older brother, the denial from her parents and her efforts to educate herself.  All thought the memoir was well written we all felt that it is not a pleasant read.  Besides her description of the land, there is little hope and light in her relay of family life.   It is a story of resilience and of conflict, of abusive ignorant parents who offered little or no support, love or affection.  She does sometimes question her recollection of events, comparing her memory to those of her siblings who are still talking to her.

There was some discussion of the similarities and differences with the novel we read in January Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens that for some of us did not seem based on reality. However, this memoir Educated has had some of use re-think our view of Delia Owens'  novel.  Some of us who read Jeannette Walls' memoir The Glass Castle see some similarities, parental neglect for example.

Ms Westover did a good job of moving forward in her story keeping the narrative a lot like a novel the place, the house, the community, very well written.  She describes how she kept going back, hoping to re-connect with family.  It shows how strong family ties can be no matter the circumstances.

Despite her difficult life and struggle to educate herself she has become a confident, bold assertive person. Her memoir essentially shows that she had to choose between her education and the life that it has opened up for her and her family.   Thank you Betty for suggesting this book that generated a good discussion.

The Plum Tree by Ellen Marie Wiseman - March 25th, 2019

The March meeting was hosted by Colette.  Present were Beth, Betty, Carla, Colette, Marg, Michèle and Shirley.  Colette had some wonderful cheese and crackers,  lovely savoury puff pastry hors d'oeuvres, a scrumptious amoretto cheesecake and of course, wine, coffee and tea.

This month's book presented by Betty was The Plum Tree by Ellen Marie Wiseman.  Ms. Wiseman is a first generation American, her family immigrated to the U.S. from Germany.  The Plum Tree was her first novel, published in 2012.  It was inspired by the stories her mother told her of life in Germany during World War II. She has since written 3 more novels.

The Plum Tree follows a young working class woman and her family as they struggle through the chaos and devastation of World War II in Germany.  Before the war, Christine and her mother worked for an affluent Jewish family, the Bauerman's in their village and she falls in love with the young man of the family, Isaac.  As the war begins, she and her mother are forbidden from working for the Jewish family. Christine and Isaac try to see each other in secret but it eventually becomes impossible and dangerous and as the war continues, the Bauerman's are taken to the Concentration Camp, Dachau. The story chronicles the difficult life of her family and Christine's constant search for Isaac.

Members thought the book was a good read and found it interesting to have a story from the perspective of a German family.  There was a lot of detail about daily life during the war, the rations, the struggle to keep a kitchen garden so that vegetables and fruit were available for the family.  We learn what the family ate, the rye bread that the mother made, the eggs they gathered from the hens they managed to keep, the goat's milk they diluted to ensure everyone in the family had their ration.  Plum trees in the garden provided preserves in the winter.

There is significant description of the destruction of towns and villages, the air raids and shelters where villagers gathered when the Allied planes dropped their bombs.  There were also some horrendous scenes described from Dachau.

Some members expressed scepticism with respect to the love story since Christine and Isaac had little time together.  However one of our members told the story of her parents who knew each other for only a few months before her father was sent Europe during the war and their love grew and endured the long absence.  They also felt it was a bit incredulous that Christine could travel back to Dachau to look for her father and the plot that was concocted to prove Stefan's (a SS officer from their village) involvement in the atrocities committed in Dachau.  It did however add a lot of drama to the story.

The story does have a happy ending that is important for some of our members however we felt that it ended too quickly, everything tied up in a ribbon type of ending.  Though it could have been better edited, we felt it was a good first novel.  Thank you Betty for a good choice this month.

Meeting of March 26, 2018

The March meeting of the Muse and Views Book Club was hosted by Carla and attended by Beth,  Shirley, Sharon, Jane and Betty. As the majority of this month’s book, The Piano Maker by Kurt Palka, was set in Canada, Carla chose a selection of local cheeses and sausages. She also offered tastes of grapple, which is described as an apple that tastes like a grape and which is actually an apple that has been infused with artificial grape flavour. Grapple is also described as two species that have no business being together combined to produce something beautiful and odd and which definitely relates to our book. Her wine selection this month was in direct correlation with book scenarios. Not to give too much away, but one of the wines was called D’Ont Poke the Bear and another was Twist of Fate. Carla’s delicious Pavlova and tea completed the evening’s food, wine and discussion.

Betty presented this month’s book and provided interesting information about the author. Kurt Palka was born and educated in Austria. He began his working life in Africa where he wrote for the African Mirror and made wildlife films in Kenya and Tanzania. He has worked and written for American and Canadian publications and as a Senior Producer for the CBC.

It was while he was living in a rooming house in Johannesburg that Palka first learned about pianos. While travelling the hot, dry back roads of South Africa with a fellow roommate, an itinerant piano tuner, the impression of watching this master at work left a lasting impression on him. Years later Palka was working in France, staying at a pension in Nice where there was a Bösendorfer in the music room, and most evenings it would be played. This time, it was a young woman who came to tune the piano but this time not with tuning forks but with her highly sensitive ear.

Set in a fictional town on Nova Scotia’s French Shore in the 1930s, it follows Hélène Giroux, a mysterious French woman with a troubled past. When she arrives in town, she joins the church as a choirmaster and pianist, dazzling the small, insular community with her talent, refined elegance and stories of the piano factory her family owned in prewar France. After the Great War left her both widowed and destitute from the ruin of her family's piano-making business, Hélène had left France for England and, eventually, Québec. A series of weighty, enigmatic references – to a jail, an institution, dreams about an accident in a "cave of horror" – suggest Hélène is trying to escape some kind of trauma in her recent past.

The Piano Maker offers interesting characters and a story that goes from France to Canada, taking detours into Indochina and Africa. It illustrates the development of a piano-making company, the horrors of WWI, the market in the early 20^th century for ancient treasures from exotic countries and the harshness of Canadian winters in Western Canada. There is an intrigue and you find yourself rooting for Hélène Giroux. Despite so much going on in the novel, it is not even 300 pages long, it is concise and has little irrelevant descriptions or scenes.

It was noted and appreciated that, reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird and Snow Falling on Cedars, part of the story was told by the use of a trial. There was a lyricism to the writing with the story being told as an onion being peeled. The discussion of the making of a piano with all the woods used and the processes was an interesting diversion.

While the general consensus was that this was an enjoyable, quiet and easy read, there were some distractions. A negative point was made with reference to the priest insisting Hélène go to confession which would definitely not have been done, particularly in that era. There was also a discordant note out of time where Hélène’s daughter who lives in England calls her ‘mother’ and then suddenly it becomes the American ‘mom’.

Questions remain. Why would Hélène go off with Nathan after he had bilked her of all her money? Would an unmarried couple travel together easily in that time period? 

Thanks Betty for another interesting read.

Meeting of June 27, 2016

This month's book was Betty's choice A House in the Sky - A Memoir by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett.  It is an account of Canadian independent journalist Amanda Lindhout's kidnapping in Somalia. Our host Linda had wonderful pinwheel sandwiches, cheese and crackers with smoked salmon.  Red and white wine of course, and a very nice New York style cheesecake with tea and coffee. Present were Beth, Betty, Carla, Colette, Jane, Jolene, Linda, Michèle and Shirley.

Ms. Lindhout has been in the news lately because one of her captors has been arrested in Canada by the RCMP and she has also given support to Alison Azer, the Canadian woman whose children were taken to Iran by her former husband.  Betty gave us a synopsis of the press articles that have recently appeared.  For example, Ms. Lindhout agrees that governments should not pay ransom money but she feels that family who choose to raise the money should not be harassed.

We had a very animated discussion about this memoir.  We agreed that the book was very well written, a page turner and as she recounted her experiences, there was not a feeling of "woe is me". It was written with clarity and power. Sara Corbett steered the writing style well.

However, we all felt that Amanda made several poor choices throughout her travels that finished with the worst choice she made when she went to Somalia despite being discouraged by several people including her mother and seasoned journalists.  We all felt that she was naive at best and stupid not to heed the opinions of others.  We disagreed somewhat on the reasons why she kept choosing more and more dangerous countries in her travels. Several were irritated and angry by her poor choices and lack of forethought. Some of us felt she had no real guidance as a child from her mother or her father.  Chaos, violence and uncertainty were the norm in her childhood. Her refuge was found in the National Geographic magazines that she read and she dreamt of seeing the world. For whatever reason, she chose countries that were more and more unstable as if she was convincing herself that nothing would go wrong.

We also discussed her on and off boyfriend, Nigel Brennan.  Few of us liked him, some did, but even though he was older than Amanda, we all felt he had a weak personality and easily manipulated.  He lied several times to avoid conflict with Amanda and other women in his life.  Nigel wrote a book in 2011, The Price of Life, co-written with his sisters.

During her captivity, Amanda was very resourceful and clever.  She used everything available to her to survive, to influence her kidnappers, to stay sane and to allow her to tolerate the indignities, the violence and cruelty she endured.  She convinced Nigel early in their captivity that it was to their benefit to convert to Islam. She requested English versions of the Koran for herself and Nigel. She learned the required prayers.  Until they were separated, she and Nigel befriended the young guards, learned about their life, their goals.  However when they were separated, the guards' attitude towards her changed. She was kept in a dark room, she could no longer read. Any small pleasures she had such as scented soaps, were taken away and Amanda was raped and beaten.  During this period she coped by making mental lists of good experiences she had had; it is at this time that she created "The House in the Sky"  where she could mentally go and find herself with her mother, friends and family.

Amanda and Nigel spent 460 days in captivity and were finally released when their families, with the help of a private organisation, managed to raised enough money to satisfy the kidnappers.  Amanda created the Global Enrichment Foundation that provides Somalian women and girls with the opportunity to empower themselves through education and training.  Amanda spends a lot of her time raising money and awareness for the Foundation.

It is not a book that you "enjoy" however one that allowed us to become aware of the dangers journalists and travelers confront in countries such as Somalia.

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 of May 26, 2014

On this fine Spring evening we gathered to discuss Betty’s book choice, Call the Midwife by Jennifer Lee Worth. Present at the meeting were Beth, Betty, Colette, Jolene, Linda, Louise, Michèle and Shirley.  Our host Shirley had some wonderful British cheese, pigs in a blanket and a very nice pâté with gluten free crackers. She had also prepared individual English trifles, all very nice.

Jennifer Lee Worth was born in Essex and left school at 15.  She  trained as a nurse and later as a midwife in a convent. When she retired, she tried several ventures including singing. She was encouraged late in life to write a memoir of her time as a midwife in the East End of London. Call the Midwife was published in 2002 and was later developed into a series. Ms. Worth did not however live to see the series; she died in 2011.

All who read the memoir enjoyed the book very much. It  provided a historical background, how midwifery began and came from, and how it evolved. It provided a good description of the conditions in which women in East London lived.  It gave graphic details about births, problems that could occur. It was noted that midwifery has been accepted in Europe for many years and is only beginning to be accepted in North America.

Ms. Worth, in a well-written memoir, provided a lot of information about the lives of the Protestant nuns and even though she did not share their faith, came to respect their lifestyle and the dedication they had to midwifery and the women of the East End of London.  Many of the women who came to train as midwives were well-educated, middle class women who knew nothing of the difficult lives of East End women but learned to respect them. 

We had a discussion about the television series that was based on Ms. Worth's trilogy.  Many enjoyed the televised series more because it focused on the persons.  It was more a story about the people involved, Miss Jennie, Sisters Julienne, Evangelina and Bernadette and two other midwives, Trixie and Cynthia. There are several other characters. It is more of a drama than the book that is a recollection of Ms. Worth's career as a midwife.  

This was an excellent choice that gave us a chance to learn more about post-war London and the profession of midwifery.  Thank you Betty for an excellent book choice. 

Meeting of January 28, 2013

Despite the snow and cold, we had a warm reception at Janet's home, with a roaring fire, lovely wines and juices, carrot cake, great cheeses and dates, and cocktail wieners wrapped in pastry (I'm sure even they wanted to snuggle up in a blanket on a wintery evening.)  In attendance were Janet, Colette, Carla, Shirley, Beth, Betty, Jolene...and Michèle and Linda via Skype. Michèle and her husband had invited Linda and her hubby over for dinner in Florida, so it was wonderful that distance did not prevent their participation in our Book Club.

The votes were tallied, and the prize for the favourite book club read of 2012 went to Betty for The Book Thief.  It was a tight race, which shows just what great books we read as a group last year. 

Betty gave us a little insight into the life of Lisa Genova, who wrote Still Alice, the book under discussion this month.  The author's background is in bio-psychology and neuroscience.  She self-published the book because publishers were apparently not interested in the beginning.  Our group had previously discussed Left Neglected, also by Lisa Genova and very popular, but everyone enjoyed Still Alice better because of its readability.   We are not alone in our high opinion of the book since Still Alice has garnered several prizes and was popular on the New York Times bestseller list.   For those who wish to read more by Genova, her newest book is Love Anthony, about autism.

To say that we "liked" Still Alice would not be the right choice, almost too light a word. A better description would be to say that everyone appreciated it. The book was moving and insightful, but at the same time, anxiety-producing as it hit so close to home.  We all related stories about friends and family afflicted with various forms of dementia, though not at such an early age as with Alice.  We enjoyed the way the author was able to relate the story from Alice's perspective, rather than from an outsider's point-of-view.  The book was well written, with good characterization, and even the Alzheimer's Society has endorsed it.  The relationships between Alice and her husband and children were discussed at length.  The feeling was that it is hard to build a strong relationship between spouses once a disease such as Alzheimer's sets in, if the foundation is not there beforehand.  We were all pleased that the daughter Lydia and Alice ended up as close friends, though we felt that the book's ending was a little unrealistic.  Would someone with such a debilitating disease really be able to set up a support group and make profound speeches the way Alice did?  Betty commented that she had spoken to an Ottawa librarian dealing with a loved one with Alzheimer's.  The librarian could not read the book and said there is never a happy ending with Alzheimer's.

Linda suggested a couple of other books to read with respect to Alzheimer disease:
Alzheimer's Disease: What if There Was a Cure? The Story of Ketones by Mary T. Newport, M.D.
Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words - Travels with Mom in the Land of Dementia by Kate Whouley

All in all, a great choice, Betty.  We would highly recommend the book to others.

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 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 November 23, 2009

This month's meeting was at Janet's home. In attendance were Betty, Carla, Colette, Jane, Janet, Jolene, Linda and Michèle. Betty's sister Helen came as a guest. The book was Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. As usual Janet provided great hors d'oeuvres, wine, Chai tea and an apricot cake.

This book exposes Mr. Mortenson's experience in Pakistan when he finds himself brought back to health by the people of a village when he has an accident climbing Pakistan's highest mountain. He leaves promising to bring what is needed to build a school. He is one of few foreigners who has worked in remote Pakistan. Many members found his achievements inspirational and were amazed by how much he accomplished with little. They felt that he was a humble person who was willing to listen, willing to admit his errors and he did not bring in North American values but rather worked with the local elders and listened to them.

Mr. Mortenson feels that education can solve many problems such a poverty, bring peace and combat terrorists or at least allow young men an alternative.

Janet thought of the book "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. Jolene brought up "Paths of Glory" by Jeffrey Archer.

We also talked about the impact of his tireless work with the Pakistan people on his family, his wife and children. In one of the interviews with his daughter, she spoke of how proud she was of him but how little of him she could enjoy.