The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris - October 27, 2025

 This month's meeting was hosted by Betty.  Present members with Betty were Colette, Linda,  Marg, Michèle and Shirley.  Betty had lovely cinnamon rolls along with fruit and coffee, perfect for a Monday morning meeting. 

Nathan Harris is a young American author and The Sweetness of Water, a historical novel, is his first novel.  It quickly became popular making Oprah's Winfrey's Book Club list and Barack Obama summer reading list.  It made the Booker Prize long list and several other literary lists.  

The story begins as the Civil War ends and the Emancipation Proclamation is declared.  We meet two former black slaves, Prentiss and Landry who are determined to go north and find their mother and a white Georgian farmer George who would like to hire them to clear his land.  We also meet Isabelle, George's wife.  The story revolves around the reality and impact of emancipation, the realities of life after war and the acceptance of the south's loss and surrender to the North.  

Members thought the book is very well written, the prose is beautiful, well constructed. The characters were well described. It is a compelling story that includes loss, sadness, anger, frustration and grief.  Relationships such as the ties between brothers Prentiss and Landry, the growing wall between George and Isabelle and others are well defined as the story develops. 

We discussed the meaning of the title The Sweetness of Water.  Water is a symbol of life , the cleansing of the soul. The "sweetness" can be seen as the hope for a more peaceful and meaningful life after the Civil War.  

Members agreed that it was a book well worth reading.  Sharon brought up another book with a similar theme by Canadian author Kai Thompson, In the Upper Country. 

Thank you Shirley for the book choice.  

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon - November 25, 2024

 

Present were Betty, Carla, Colette, Linda, Michèle and Shirley.  Our host was Colette.  She offered us a very nice variety of cheese and pâtés.  

The month's book was The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, chosen by Shirley.  The Frozen River is a historical fiction inspired by the real person, Martha Ballard who was a midwife, healer and diarist in Maine during the last 40 years of the 18th century.  The principle character in the novel has the same name. Though a novel, the descriptions of country and village life, the harshness of winter, midwifery,  farming and the legal system in Maine are very realistic.  

There are many characters in the novel plus animals that have their own personalities.  Some found it took some concentration to keep the characters and their relationships and connections with others straight.  However, Ms. Lawhon gave us vivid descriptions of the mains characters, Martha and her husband Ephraim are well described, obviously a couple with respect and love. 

The story begins with a drowning death and stories of families, murders, births and a court case are all intertwined .  Martha's journals serve as record keeping of births, deaths and the history of the community. There is drama,  family activities, a court case in which Martha is a witness.  There are crimes committed. There is no down time in this novel! 

Almost all of our members enjoyed the book and found all very realistic.  Thank you Shirley for an excellent choice. 

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray - November 29, 2023

Michèle was our host for the November meeting and we also had, after our discussion a pot luck dinner to celebrate  the 25th Anniversary of the existence of the Muse & Views Book Club.  We began our meeting with a glass of bubbly offered to us by Janet's husband.  After our discussion we had a great meal provided by all of us! 

Present were Beth, Betty, Carla, Colette, Janet,  Linda, Marg, Marilyn, Michèle & Shirley.  All were present.  Shirley presented our book for November, The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.  

Marie Benedict is an American writer and lawyer.   She writes principally fictionalized novels of real women.  Her first book was The Other Einstein, the story of Mileva Maric Einstein, who was Albert Einstein's wife and a brilliant physicist herself.  She has written 9 historical novels about women of this world who had extraordinary lives.   For The Personal Librarian, she partnered with Victoria Christopher Murray a business woman and an author of 30 books.  

The Personal Librarian is the story of Belle da Costa Greene who was the personal librarian of J.P. Morgan and who maintained and built up the collection of rare manuscripts, books and artwork for the Pierpont Morgan Library.  Belle had a closely guarded secret, she was from a family of "coloured folks" but he skin was pale enough to pass as a white person.  Belle became well known in New York High Society and soon had close acquaintances in her professional and personal life, none who knew her secret. 

Most of the members found the story intriguing, many saying it is a "page turner" and also enjoyed the historical aspects of the book.  We could easily visualize the characters, especially the 2 main characters. J.P. Morgan, such a strong character who dominated everyone, both family and professional colleagues.  Belle da Costa Greene, from the beginning was confident in her abilities and knew, for example, how to convince J.P. Morgan to acquire a particular manuscript or artwork that she believed would be worthwhile for the library.  Several members mentioned how the business relationship grew so each had confidence in the other.  

A couple of our members thought that her anxiety and fear that her secret would be divulged was too often repeated in the story.  Every time she met J.P. Morgan's daughter Ann, her fear and anxiety came to mind.  When she was home with her family, the topic was often part of the conversation.  It was a way for the authors to emphasize how important it was for her to keep her heritage a secret, but some found it repetitive.  

Marie Benedict has written 9 books about women, all true stories and several members had read more than one of her books and enjoyed them.  Thank you Shirley for introducing several of us to an interesting author. 

Looking For Jane - Heather Marshall - November 28, 2022

The meeting was held at Shirley's with Linda hosting.  Present were Betty, Colette, Janet, Linda, Marg, Michèle and Shirley.  We discussed Shirley's book choice Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall. 

Heather Marshall is a Canadian author. She worked in communications and politics and now writes full time.  Looking for Jane.   

The conversation was thoughtful and we discussed not only the accessibility of abortion before it became legal in Canada but also women's experiences with pregnancy, mother/daughter relationships,  and many other issues around family and women in the 1960's and today.  

It was evident that we do not all have the same views about abortion but the conversation was interesting and many of us learned about the homes for unwed mothers and the religious nuns money making schemes in selling babies. 

Thank you Shirley for choosing such a thoughtful book. 

The Lightkeeper's Daughters by Jean Pendziwol -June 28th, 2021

 

Present at are hopefully last Zoom meeting were Beth, Betty, Carla, Colette, Jane, Janet, Linda, Marg, Michèle and Shirley.  The book to discuss was Shirley's choice The Lightkeepter's Daughters by Canadian author Jean Pendziwol.  We were fortunate to be able to welcome Ms. Pendziwol who joined our Zoom meeting.  

Ms Pendziwol is a Canadian author who lives in Thunder Bay on the shores of Lake Superior.  This book is her first adult novel and she is a well loved children's book author.  On her website you will find information about all her books, a blog that is interesting to read and recipes.  She also has on the side bar a poem written in honour of International Women's Day. It is worth listening to the poem.   

The story of this novel is narrated by two characters, Elizabeth who once lived on Porphyry Island and now lives in a retirement home and Morgan a young woman who is completing community work at the retirement home.  When Elizabeth receives her father's journals that he kept as a lightkeeper, she enlists Morgan's help to read them to her.  As Morgan reads the journals we are taken back to the Island and the life of the two sisters.  Morgan is fascinated by the story in the Journals and it becomes evident that there is a connection between Elizabeth and Morgan.  

Ms Pendziwol had a slide presentation for us that showed us the location in Lake Superior, of Porphyry Island and several photos of the structures on the Island and the flora and fauna. It helped us visualize aspects of the novel.  

We very much enjoyed Ms. Pendziwol's participation and appreciated her input in our meeting.  Thank you very much!  

The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. - November 23rd 2020

We are continuing with our Zoom meetings and they have become very productive.  We all agree however that when we can again meet in person it will be even better!  Present at the meeting were Betty, Carla, Janet, Linda, Marg, Michèle and Shirley.  We discussed Shirley's book choice, The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish.  Ms. Kadish is an American author. This is her 4th book.  The Weight of Ink took her 12 years to write.  She teaches creative writing at Lesley University.

This is the story that takes place in London, of two strong women, Ester Valesquez a young Jewish emigrant in the 16th century and Helen Watt a Historian with a specialty in Jewish history in the 21st century.  Helen is asked to evaluate papers found during the renovation of an ancient house in London.  Through these papers we meet Ester who is a scribe for a blind Rabbi.  As the stories evolve we learn of the horrors that Jews endure in the Spanish Inquisition, the rich trade of Amsterdam and their life in London including the plague that ravages the city. We read of Helen's one true love when she spends a year in a Jewish kibbutz. We read of her struggles as a historian ailing as she was, and the trials and tribulation she goes through in her last years working, her struggle to make her mark by discovering the importance of the papers found in the 17th century London house.  

Most of us loved this book, enjoyed the intrigue, the strong women characters and the men that surrounded them, the 16th century mores of London society. Anti-Semitism was as present as today's society.   Of course the description of the London plague and how society coped is very relevant for us today. We learned so much history of those times in London in this story. 

When Helen, as a young woman, decides to spend a year in a Jewish kibbutz, we discover the politics, the norms of a kibbutz and we witness the development of a love story between Helen and Dror the young Jewish man who leads and supervises the young people who come to do their part in the development of the Jewish State. We live the pain that Helen feels when she leaves Dror behind. 

In the 16h century, Ester Valesquez is determined to continue her work as a scribe but also she discovers a thirst for knowledge that she needs to fulfil. She struggles to find balance between her desire for knowledge and her attraction and friendship with Alvaro. 

Some of us found a link with Jane Austen's books, women looking for husbands.  Janet noted that in the time of Ester in London it is the same time that Jean-Esprit Radisson from the book Bush Runner was in London.  There is a lot to learn and enjoy in this book.  

Some of us enjoy books with a happy satisfying ending and although Helen did die before her work and achievements were properly recognized, we felt that there was a good and happy ending.

Thank you Shirley for pushing us into reading this book, heavy and long as it was!  

A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay - November 25th, 2019

Our November meeting was hosted by Beth. Present were Beth, Betty, Carla, Colette, Jane, Janet, Linda, Michèle and Shirley.  Beth had some very nice cheese, olives and a pâté.

This month we discussed Shirley's book A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay.  Mr. Kay is a Canadian author born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. He worked a year with Christopher Tolkien to help edit J.R.R. Tolkien's unpublished works.  He also worked as a writer for the CBC radio series The Scales of Justice.  His first book, The Summer Tree, was published in 1984. He is considered a fantasy fiction writer of novels that have a historical aspect.  They are usually in fictional settings  that resemble real places such as in China, Italy, Spain or Turkey taking place during real historical periods.

A Brightness Long Ago tells the story of a power struggle between mercenaries to take over the Court in fictional Batiara after the murder of its brutal ruler by a young strong woman, Adria.  The Beast as he is called, has young women brought to him that he rapes and kills.  Adria has decided to end his rule by posing as his next victim and kills him by poison from her lips.  The story is told by a merchant of the Court, Danio Cerra who helps Adria escape after she poisons the Beast and finds himself in the middle of the struggle to take over the Court.

For several of our members this was their first fantasy novel and many found it very interesting.  We all found the characters to be well developed and the writing lyrical and poetic at times.  There were several characters both major and minor, all well described and developed.  The only character some thought we did not get to know was the narrator Danio. Some thought there were too many descriptions of battles and the slaughter of people.  We also had a discussion about how and when the story should have ended, some of us thinking that the death of Adria should have been the end.  One of our members, who is an avid reader of Guy Gavriel Kay, felt that ending the story at that point would be too devastating and dramatic.  We agreed, whatever our opinions of the book, that Mr. Kay is an excellent storyteller.

As with many books where opinions differ, we had a great discussion.  Thank you Shirley for introducing us to this very interesting Canadian author.

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.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - November 26th, 2018

Our November meeting was hosted by Beth at her home. Present were, Beth, Betty, Colette, Janet, Linda, Michèle and Shirley.  Beth had a nice array of cheese, devilled eggs and nuts.  She served us a wonderful Apple Crisp for dessert and of course wine and tea were also offered.

This month's book presented by Shirley was A Gentleman of Moscow by Amor Towles.  This is the second book we have read from this author, the first being Rules of Civility.  Mr. Towles is an American author and graduate of Yale and Stanford University.  He work as an investment professional for over 20 years and now writes full time.

A Gentleman in Moscow recounts the life of a young Count Alexander Rostov who in 1922 is placed under house arrest in the Metropol Hotel in Moscow, a large grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin.  For 32 years we learn how he copes with life within the hotel, we meet the friends he makes, the women who have shaped his life and how he grows emotionally and intellectually.

All our members enjoyed the book.  It was an interesting premise, everything happening within the walls of the Metropol Hotel.  The character development and relationship development between the Count and members of the staff and some hotel guests was very interesting.  It was interesting to see how they evolved.

Hotel living is a world in itself, you learn who the staff are and who does what. You learn who the long term guests are and regular visitors to the restaurant. The Count enjoyed the food and wine and the people, he enjoyed working in the restaurant and used his skills to deter conflicts between clients.

We delighted in his relationship with the young Nina that he ends up raising.  Together they explore the hotel and he teaches her about art, history and life.  We wonder how his relationship with the actress Anna will develop.

Many enjoyed the storyline, long and very detailed, descriptions painted beautiful pictures of the Count's surrounding and the people he met and his friends.  The end was well plotted, a bit of a countdown and charming in the way it unfolded.  When he goes home at the end, he knows it won't be the same and he accepts the changes.

Thank you to Shirley for the book choice.

Meeting of November 27th 2017

We met a Beth's home to discuss Shirley's book choice Home Front by Kristin Hannah.  Present were Beth, Carla, Colette, Linda, Michèle and Shirley.  Beth offered us a very nice array of hot and cold canapés along with a variety of nuts and sweets.  Of course we had the usual wine, red and white and tea and coffee.

Kristin Hannah is an American author and former lawyer.  She has written 20 novels, Home Front and The Nightingale are the most popular.  She has received several awards, especially for The Nightingale.

Home Front is a timely and intimate look at the effect of a deployment on a family.  Jolene, a helicopter pilot in the Reserves is deployed to Iraq and Michael, her husband, who is a lawyer, finds himself with the responsiblity of taking care of his daughters and keeping the home going.  As Jolene is about to leave, Michael expresses his doubts about their relationship.

Jolene finds her deployment and work in Iraq much more challenging than she had anticipated and the uncertainty of Michael's love and commitment to their relationship weighs on her emotions.  Michael begins to realize the sacrifices Jolene has made, the work she has put into their relationship and the lack of responsibility on his part in their relationship.

We all found the book to be a pager turner and easy read as the writing style is very straight forward.  The characters were well described and we found our feelings towards them changed as the situation changed.  Life on an Iraq base was well described, the heat, the dust and sand, having to line up to call home, the line ups for showers all made the difficult life soldiers had real.

The author described well the anger the characters felt,  Jolene’s inablity to speak out and Michael's concentration in his work to the detriment of his family, his inability to understand what Jolene was doing and the importance of her work for her as a person and a soldier.  She did a good job of describing the transition Michael went through as he found himself responsible for his children and the effect it has on his feelings towards Jolene.  

One of our members remembered that Tolstoy's Anna Karina begins "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy it its own way." It is a good description of this family and its struggles.  

Thank you Shirley for an interesting read.  

Meeting of November 28, 2016

We met at Beth's home to discuss Shirley's book choice,  Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. Present were Beth, Betty, Carla, Colette, Jane, Janet, Michèle and of course, Shirley.  Beth served very nice rolled finger chicken and beef sandwiches, a dip and vegetables, lovely olives and cheese.  She also served a wonder Irish apple cake.

Shirley introduced the author.  Christina Baker Kline was born in England and raised there and in the United States.  She studied literature at several American and British universities including Yale and Cambridge.  She also taught at several universities, literature, writing and women's studies.  She has written several books including 5 novels and several non-fiction books.   Orphan Train is her latest novel.  She presently lives in New Jersey with her husband and sons.

Ms. Kline's idea for this novel Orphan Train came from her mother-in-law's grandfather's story that she happened upon one holiday time when they were snowed in.  He had been as a child taken west from New York on a train.  The idea of taking children from New York to the mid-west came from a methodist minister who wanted to rid New York of underage criminals and vagrant children.  Taking them west would allow farm families in the mid-west to take the children in and would be free labour for them.  The program began in 1854 and went on to 1929.  After several years of research and interviews, Ms. Kline was able to create several characters such as Niam and Dutchy.  The novel begins in 2011 and there are two main characters, Vivian who is a 91 year old woman living in a huge old house and 17 year old Molly who is a ward of the Children's Aid Society living in a foster home.

The story begins with Molly who was caught stealing a library book and must do 50 hours of community work to pay for her sins.  She finds herself doing the community work by helping Vivian clean out her attic.  As the two begin to go through boxes, Vivian tells her story and her life as a child on an orphan train.

It was unanimous, all of us enjoyed the book.  We felt that the author had done considerable research not only about the Orphan Train project but also about the conditions in America for new immigrants, the conditions in Ireland that required many to immigrate. Beth said that the book had the feel of an old fashion novel.  The historical aspect of the novel satisfied the need of many of us to learn something from a book.  With the two characters Niamh Power and the young boy Dutchy that she meets on the train we are given good descriptions of what happened to many orphans who were given to families in the mid-west.  The descriptions of the families where Niamh finds herself are well developed and we find out quite a bit about the families  who went west in the late 19th and early 20th century. It gives us a good idea of how these children were treated both badly and well and how easily they were considered almost as "property", changing a child's name without hesitation.

Molly the 17 year old who comes into Vivian's life to help put order in the attic soon finds herself engrossed in Vivian's life.  As boxes are unpacked, we learn how Vivian coped and survived.  We also learn about Molly, who has lived and survived quite a lot in her 17 years.

Several of us talked about how a past can be seen to be better than it actually was.  Vivian talks about her life in Ireland before her family imigrated to America and paints a better picture than what was reality.  In the prologue, that begins "I believe in ghosts.." she talks about the positive things she remembres about her gram, her da and her mam.

We talked about the reasons there were so many orphans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many parents died young because of plagues, industrial accidents, children who were abandoned because families could not cope.  There are many classic novels written about orphans, two are mentioned in this novel,  Jane Eyre and Anne of Green Gables. There are others,  David Copperfield, Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer and many others.  The old fashion feel of the book comes from the two main characters, Vivian and Molly who were in fact both  orphans.

Some of us liked that we learn what happened to everyone at the end.  We know that Maisie was adopted, married and had a family.  We know that Carmine was adopted by a good family.  Vivian meets the daughter she gave up for adoption.  Some of us however, wanted a few more chapters to find out how Vivian and her daughter got along, what happened to Molly as she aged out of the Children's Society system at age 18.

The discussion was lively and interesting.  Thank you Shirley for a good choice!

Meeting of November 23, 2015

Our host this month is Beth.  Present were Beth, Carla, Colette, Janet, Jolene, Linda, Michèle and Shirley. The book this month, was Shirley’s choice The Lotus Eaters by Tatjani Soli.

Beth, provided cheese, spicy sausage, a wonderful pho soup and  key lime tartlets.

Born in Salzburg, Austria, Tatjani Soli moved to California to study at Stanford and stayed first making her name as a short story writer. The Lotus Eaters was her first novel.

The story The Lotus Eaters  covers love and obsessions, adultery, war photography, the Vietnam war, American distrust of their government,  shock, descriptions of Vietnam, in every shade of green. It questions if war journalism changes public opinion. Does it mean we become numb to all the violence? Some of the characters in the story are based on real persons. Linh was based on a real Vietnamese spy. Darrow and Helen are based on a journalist and a woman photographer..

Most of us liked the book, all mentioned that they learned a lot about Vietnam, the war, photo journalism. 

We learned a bit about Vietnamese culture and traditions. One of the traditions that stood out was the beautiful courting traditions in Vietnamese villages such as singing to each other from one side of the river to the other.

Ms. Soli was able to bring out the brutality of war, how even those fighting and those present to relay the stories of the war did not think of the suffering of the civilian population and humanitarianism was rarely present in her descriptions.  An example is Helen’s reaction to the child that tries to follow her as she is running through the streets at the beginning of the novel. They did not think of the civilians in a humanitarian way.

Ms. Soli also had very detailed descriptions of living in Vietnam, the culture, the landscape, the moutains, villages, the light where the sun fell.  

Helen, Darrow and Linh were well developed as characters,  Helen who had come to Vietnam in the beginning to find out what had really happened to her brother, becomes obsessed by photojournalism.  She sees herself as someone who can let those at home know what is really happening through her photographs. She is terrorized by all she sees but learns to mask her terror. When she takes a soldier’s picture and he dies minutes later, she just keeps moving.   In an interview Ms. Soli says “the rage that filled her felt good, weighted her like a good meal or a strong drink, felt better than fear. The rage filled her so that nothing else could get in.” Helen was probably suffering from PTSD when she went back to the States. 

Some of us wondered about the title The Lotus-Eaters. It comes from The Odyssey – Book 9.  What happens to those who eat the lotus fruit are as much the journalists and the soldiers.

The ODYSSEY – Book 9

Reluctantly, Odysseus tells the Phaeacians the sorry tale of his wanderings. From Troy, the winds sweep him and his men to Ismarus, city of the Cicones. The men plunder the land and, carried away by greed, stay until the reinforced ranks of the Cicones turn on them and attack. Odysseus and his crew finally escape, having lost six men per ship. A storm sent by Zeus sweeps them along for nine days before bringing them to the land of the Lotus-eaters, where the natives give some of Odysseus’s men the intoxicating fruit of the lotus. As soon as they eat this fruit, they lose all thoughts of home and long for nothing more than to stay there eating more fruit. Only by dragging his men back to the ship and locking them up can Odysseus get them off the island.

Meeting of September 23, 2013

Janet hosted this month's meeting.  Present were Beth, Colette, Janet, Jolene, Linda, Louise, Michèle and Shirley.  We were served a nice healthy dip with vegetables, a variety of cheese,  a wonderful pastry with cheese and caramelized onions and of course a chocolate dessert.  Wine and coffee and tea were also available.  We discussed Shirley's book choice, Deafening by Frances Itani.

Frances Itani is a Canadian author who presently lives in Ottawa. She trained as a nurse and then completed a Master's in English at the University of New Brunswick.  She met and became friends with W.O. Mitchell and Rudy Wiebe.  She has written 13 books, poetry, short stories, children's books and novels.

Deafening is the story of Grania a young girl at the turn of the century who becomes deaf after a bout of scarlett fever at age five.  The novel tells of Grania's struggles to understand and be understood in her family, her experiences when she is sent to the Ontario School for the Deaf in Belleville and her mariage and relationship with her soldier husband Jim who is a stretcher bearer in World War I.

Most of us enjoyed the book though some found the beginning slow. As many of us enjoy a novel that allows us to learn something new, this book, gave us an insight into the world of the deaf, the controversy within that world between sign language, lip reading and teaching the deaf to speak. We also learned, through Jim's correspondance while on the battle fields of WWI, about the horrible experiences in the trenches and the difficulty of re-integration for former soldiers after the war.

Most found that Ms. Itani writes well and we found the book very narrative, almost like two stories within the book.  Some found that the story lacked drama.  For some of us who enjoy descriptions of everyday life, the imaginative childhood life of Grania and her sister Tress were well described and the bond between the sisters is very evident.  Mamo, Grania's grandmother was a favourite character and we learn to love her pragmatic outlook on Grania's future and what was needed to ensure she had the most  normal life possible.

Thank you Shirley for an enjoyable read.

Over the summer, Linda gave us some homework to do for this meeting.  After learning about the BBC radio program Desert Island Disc , she challenged us to come back with three favourite pieces of music and what one luxury we would bring to a desert island.  We spent quite an interesting half hour discussing our favourite music and what luxuries we would treasure.

Meeting of September 24, 2012

This meeting was hosted by Jolene.  Present were Beth, Betty, Carla, Jolene, Linda, Michèle and Shirley.  Jolene made a lovely ham and cheese pastry roll.  The book discussed this month's was Shirley's choice Left Neglected by Lisa Genova.  Ms. Genova who is a neuroscientist, has written two other novels, all related to the functions of the brain,  Still Alice whose main character has Alzheimers and Love Anthony about an autistic child.

Left Neglected is the story of Sarah and her family and how they cope with a neuropsychological condition she is left with after a car accident.  Left neglected is a condition in which deficit in attention to and awareness of one side of space is observed.  Sarah and her husband are type A personalities and organize their life in a "type A atmosphere" with three children, two homes and plenty of activities scheduled around their high-powered work lives.  When Sarah has a car accident, her husband tries to continue the same lifestyle with the help of Sarah's mother.  Sarah in a rehabilitation centre and with physiotherapists tries to get back all her physical and psychological abilities so she can jump back into their type "A" lives.

Generally the book was enjoyed by all members.  We all felt that Ms. Genova's medical background made the description of the condition and its impact very realistic and the rehabilitation Sarah had to go through credible.  However we also found the writing style a bit choppy and the stream of consciousness with Sarah was sometimes too much.  This can be because of Ms. Genova's scientific background and better editing could have corrected it.

There were several relationships that were well developed, Sarah and her mother, Sarah and her son Charlie, her relationship with her therapists.  Hoewever, some of us would have liked to see better development of Sarah's relationship with her husband Bob.  All found that Ms Genova's desciption of their family life before Sarah's accident was well done and gave us a good picture of life on a treadmill.  Ms. Genova also did a very good job of describing Sarah's difficulities coping with the limitations her condition caused, the step by step therapy she experienced and the humbling experiences she went through because of her condition.  A good example of this is their night out to their favourite restaurant to celebrate their anniversary.

The story has a happy ending and though some of us thought the end of the story was too quickly wrapped up, most were particularly pleased to have read a book with a happy ending!

Linda reminded us that a lesson learned from this story is that we must all appreciate what is important in life and not neglect our family, friends, and the life around us.  She has given us a challenge for our next meeting to report back about at least one thing we have done that we keep putting off that would give us or someone else some satisfaction.

Another book was suggested for those who would like to read on similar topics, My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor.

Thank you Shirley for an interesting read!