Meeting of March 26, 2012

The March meeting was held at Carla's home.  Wonderful brie cheese with a spicy pepper jelly, samosa and toasted asparagus bites were tempting.  Carla also served us a sticky toffee pudding that was sublime! Beth, Betty, Carla, Colette, Jane, Janet, Jolene, Michèle and Shirley were present.  We were missing only Linda who will be back next month!

We discussed Colette's choice Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James, a sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  P.D. James is well known as a detective and mystery writer from Great Britain.  Her books featuring investigator and poet Adam Dalgliesh are well known and loved throughout the world.  She began writing in the 1950's and published her first novel in 1962 Cover her Face. P.D. James, after the publication of her last mystery novel with Dalgliesh as the main character The Private Patient decided that since she had turn 90, she could indulge in her two loves, writing detective novels and Jane Austen novels.  The result was Death Comes to Pemberley.


In a note at the beginning of her sequel novel, Ms. James apologizes to Jane Austen for involving her characters in such odious subjects as murder and she says that Miss Austen would have probably responded that "had she wished to dwell on such odious subjects she would have written this story herself and done better."


Pretty well all our members have enjoyed Jane Austen novels and most also enjoyed this book.  However, one member felt a bit like Ms. James thinks Jane Austen would have responded.  P.D. James should have left well enough alone.  All thought that she did very well in capturing the voices, characters and atmosphere of Austen's novels.  There have been many sequels to Miss Austen's stories, not many that have been successful and  P.D. James certainly is more successful with this novel.  One of our members noted that Carrie Bebris' sequels that are written as murder mysteries are probably among the best.

Ms. James succeeded in keeping the suspense of this murder mystery.  None of us guessed before the end who had murdered Captain Denny.  She succeeded in pointing the finger towards others such as Fitzwilliams that we all suspected at one point in the novel or maybe Mrs. Bidwell?  It became obvious however, that it could not be any of Jane Austen's beloved characters, not even Mr. Wickham who was formally accused and brought to trial could be the murderer.  We did after discussion note that with twist and turns, clues are planted through out the novel pointing to the ailing young Mr. Bidwell. We wondered how realistic it could be that the young Mr. Bidwell, who was on his deathbed could have summoned the energy to be able to hit Captain Denny with enough force to kill.  However, it is explained away by his all encompassing desire to avenge his sister's "supposed" rape.

Sequels with stories and characters from another author's novel is certainly quite a challenge and we thought that P.D. James succeeded in integrating more "modern" aspects such as Georgiana's selection of a husband that she could do herself since she was of age and it was a new era. In a true Jane Austen story, Georgiana's choice would have not been hers alone.  Ms. James also described some of the differences in an investigation and trial in modern times and in the 19th century and this was appreciated, especially by our lawyer member.

There was some criticism.  We felt that Elizabeth's sparkling personality and independent spirit is missing in this novel.  We also wondered why Darcy seemed so unsure of himself and his choices, very unlike the self assured personality he displays in Pride and Prejudice.  Some felt that we had little insight into Elizabeth's and Darcy's relationship.  The only time they actually talked was in the Epilogue and they discussed what had happened back before their marriage.  Some felt that though Elizabeth and Darcy were characterized as excellent parents, they spent little time with their children, probably typical of that class of society in the 19th century.

All in all we were glad to have read this novel and appreciated the effort P.D. James made to make quite a successful sequel to Pride and Prejudice. 

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 November 28 2011

Our host this month was Beth.  Present were Beth, Betty, Carla, Colette, Jane, Janet, Jolene, Linda, Michèle and Shirley. All were present for this last meeting of 2011!  To put us in the mood of an English countryside in this novel, Beth served some wonderful english cheeses and a great ginger chutney.  She also prepared a delicious English trifle. Thank you Beth.

The book choice this month presented by Carla was Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.  Ms Brooks was originally an Australian journalist who worked as a foreign journalist for both Australian newspapers and eventually also American newspapers including the Wall Street Journal.  She worked principally in the Middle East.  She eventually became an American citizen.   Ms. Brooks has written 6 books, the last four are fiction.  She won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2006 for her novel March about the March girls' from Little Women absent father, gone to fight in the American Civil War.

Year of Wonders is a historical novel, taking place in the village of Eyam in Derbyshire in 1665-1666.  When the plague arrived in the village, the Rector convinced the community to quarantine itself and contain the plague within their community avoiding it from becoming widespread in England.  The story is narrated by Anna Frith, the housekeeper of the Rectory.  The other main characters are the Rector Michael Mompellion and his wife Elinor.  They together, work tirelessly to tend to the needs of the sick and help those still healthy.  There are several other characters including Anna's father Josiah Bont a miserable, mean person, his wife Aphra, Anna's selfish step-mother; Anys Gowdie and her mother Mem, the village herbalists and midwives and Anna's boarder, George Viccars.  All members felt that there was some excellent character development by Ms. Brooks,  both for the major persons such as Anna, the Rector and his wife Elinor and the more minor characters that were complex and interesting.

All members agreed that Ms. Brooks described very well the atmosphere of 17th century village life, of a mining and agricultural community.  She wrote in a language of the time and did not shrink from describing the realities of life in that time, the fragility of new borns, the filth, the never ending chores and work of both men and women, the belief in the wrath of God and also the superstitions and panic that can spread because of ignorance.  Some of us found parts of the story wrenching and difficult to read.  When Anna descends into the lead mine, the tension that is created can raise your blood pressure and even though you know that Anna is a main character and narrator you wonder if she will come out of the mine alive.  The lynching of Anys Gowdie is extremely well described. The hatred and desperation leaps off the page.

All members enjoyed the book but several of us were surprised by the ending, the last 50 pages.  Michèle read a review taken from Goodreads that gives the book 4 stars for the first 255 pages and one star for the last 50 pages.  Though some were pleased by the "happy" ending many of us felt that there was a definite disconnect with the story itself and that the description of how Anna turns her life around and where she finds herself is not at all true to the realities of the time in which the story is situated and so well described in the first 255 pages.

Beth read a part of a hymn written by Martin Rinkart in the 16th century that she feels describes the message that Rector Mompellion tried to pass on to his flock.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessèd peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;
The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.


Historical novels always allow us to acquire knowledge of a past events and places and we have all enjoyed Year of Wonders for this reason.  Thank you to Carla for a good choice.

Meeting of October 24th 2011

Our host for this month was Shirley.  Present along with Shirley were Beth, Carla, Colette, Jane, Jolene, Linda and Michèle.  Shirley served wonderful sausage, chorizo and a sweet sausage with an apple chutney.  She also served apple quesadilla and cream cheese and crab quesadilla.  She had a wonderful fruit dessert with vanilla ice cream.  Very nice.

The book choice this month presented by Jane was Sanctuary Line by Jane Urquhart.  Ms. Urquhart is a Canadian writer and this is her 8th novel.  She has also written 4 books of poetry, edited a Book of Canadian Short Stories and a biography of L.M. Montgomery.  In 2001 she was nominated for the Giller Prize for The Stone Carvers.  The Book Club read it in 2006.

In Sanctuary Line, the narrator Liz Crane is an entomologist who specializes in monarch butterflies.  Jane who is a member of the Monarch Teacher Network, gave us an enthusiastic explanation of the life of a monarch butterfly and its migration patterns from Canada to Mexico.  She also explained the goals of the Monarch Teacher Network in using monarchs as a learning tool in science, geography, about change and the need to use our environment responsibly.

Most members liked the book, however found it slow at the beginning and found it difficult to settle into the book. There are several themes in the book, migration, immigration, cultural differences, oppression of migrant workers among others.  As in The Stone Carvers Ms. Urquhart is very good at describing landscape.  There is a definite sense of place in her books.  The story of Sanctuary Line takes place mainly in south western Ontario along the shores of Lake Erie.  Those of us who know the area could easily imagine it and others could easily picture the flat farm lands of the area and the shoreline of the lake.  She has given fictitious names to many locales but the area was still quite identifiable.

The book has a melancholy feel to it and memories of loss and tragedy are what moves the plot along.  Many of Liz's  memories of her summers on the farm with her aunt and uncle describe awkward experiences such as her uncle's attempt to have all square dance, the tension between Uncle Stanley and Aunt Sadie palpable, especially when Stanley urges Teo and his mother to join.  The visits to the old school where Uncle Stanley once taught have a very melancholy feel.  Stories from the past that Stanley recites are often tragic, the barn fire, the Butler lighthouse keepers.  One member noted that none of the "couple" relationships lasted, Stanley and Sadie,  Stanley and Dolores, Mandy and Vahil and Liz herself and Teo.

Some members like the ending and other did not.  However, all in all, we all felt it was a good choice. Thank you Jane.

Books and Meetings in 2012

The list will be updated as members choose their books.

Monday January 23 -  Michèle's choice The Mark of the Angel by Nancy Huston,  Michèle hosting

Monday February 27 - Betty's choice The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Betty hosting

Monday March 26 -  Colette's choice Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James, Carla hosting

Monday April 23 -  Janet's choice Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, Jane hosting

Monday May 28 -  Linda's choice The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis, Colette hosting

Monday June 25 -  Beth's choice, Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner, Linda hosting

Monday September 24 - Shirley's choice, Left Neglected by Lisa Genova, Jolene hosting

Monday October 22 - Jane's choice, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson, Shirley hosting

Monday November 26 - Carla's choice Unorthodox,The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman, Beth hosting

Meeting of September 26, 2011

Our host was Colette for this first autumn meeting. Present were along with Colette, Beth, Betty, Carla, Jane, Janet, Jolene, Michèle and Shirley.  Colette had prepared wonderful sweet potato, basil and tapenade hors d'oeuvres, tandoori chicken, cheese and a wonderful fruit pie made by her husband Dan. She also served California wines.

Before discussing this month's book, we had a short discussion on what is necessary for a book to be considered a modern classic.  Beth, who is an English teacher gave us an excellent interpretation of what she feels is a modern classic.  She feels, and we agreed with her, there must be some perspective, distance of time.  Often a classic book will be quoted by other authors, in interviews, articles, etc.  She quoted Alexander Pope's couplet "What oft was thought, but ne'er so well expressed." They express profound thoughts that stay in people's minds. Classics are also often books first published in a new style and are at the beginning of a new trend in writing style or theme.

The book choice was Secret Daughter by Shilpa Somaya Gowda and was presented by Shirley.  Ms. Gowda is Canadian born and raised who now lives in California.  This is her first novel.  She began her career as an investment banker and then migrated to writing.  She is presently working on her second novel.  Shirley chose this book because it had many themes that she thought could be discussed; mother/daughter, cultural differences, sex selection, extreme poverty vs. rich, adoption and many more.

All enjoyed the book very much and as was expressed by Colette, books that allow us to learn something new about a culture or subject are always interesting.  We all noted the difference in how Ms. Gowda was much more descriptive as to the climate,  smells, sights, sounds, clothing, food, surroundings and people in India than in California.  It highlighted vivid dynamic India and bland California in North America.  Her description of the slums in Mumbai were descriptive but she did not go into as much detail as a previous book we read City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre.  The slums were not the core of the story in Secret Daughter.

We discussed Somer's character, the American mother,  quite extensively.  Some of us saw her as selfish and rigid, unwilling to embrace her Indian husband's culture.  However,  in further discussion many saw that her infertility changed her completely.  Though she was a self-assured professional career woman, she became an insecure woman, unsure of herself in every aspect of her life, as a doctor, mother and wife.

As in several of our last chosen books, identity is a strong theme in this story.  Somer has lost herself, consumed by her infertility.  Her husband Krishnan has tried to blend into American society, embracing everything american, even meals such as Thanksgiving with "bland" mash potatoes and all the fixings.  Asha as she grows up, constantly wonders about her identity not able to identify quite with her friends who have two parents of Indian descent nor her friends who are "all american".  She longs to know who her biological parents are and writes them letters that she hides from her parents.  Jasu, Asha's biological father loses himself in drink when he cannot support his family.

Ms Gowda wrote an excellent story depicting the differences in culture, how it impacts on people and how some adapt and some do not.  Many of us mentioned that we would read other books by Ms. Gowda.

Meeting of June 27th, 2011

Our host for the last meeting of the Muse & Views Bookclub before the summer break was Linda.  Present were Beth, Carla, Janet, Jolene, Linda, Michèle and Shirley.  Linda prepared a great snack for us with of course, both red and white wine, always present at our meetings.

The book choice was Beth's Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.  Mr. Ishiguro is a Japanese born British author well known for his book The Remains of the Day that won the Man Booker Prize and was made into a very popular film.  He has written 6 novels, plays and short stories. Never Let Me Go has a science fiction base as it is about cloning.  Though there is nothing in the story line that describes the raison d'être Hailsham, it becomes evident as we progress through the novel that these children are being groomed for the  health benefit of others.  The story is narrated by Kathy who is in her mid-twenties at this point and as she tells us her story and her friends Ruth and Tommy, she goes back and forth in time.

This book generated the most interesting, fulsome and animated discussion of any book in the past year.  While some of us liked the book some of us did not like the writing style.  However, we came to a consensus that maybe the style was dictated by the age and limited experience of Kathy the narrator. The book has a moody, dark and sad atmosphere. All of us were horrified by the emerging plot and realization of the reason for Hailsham and the acceptance of society for the program.

The previous book discussed The Forgotten Garden, was partly about self-identity and the importance of knowing who we are and where we come from.  It is evident in this book that the young people, Kathy, Ruth and Tommy wanted to know where they came from.  They travelled to Norfolk because someone had possibly seen a Ruth lookalike and Kathy went through the porn magazines left at the cottages to see if she recognized faces because someone had said that they had been cloned by prostitutes or others of that seedy part of society.

Some of the comments from members were that this book reminded them of books such as 1984 and Brave New World, both books about how society can be controlled and truth skewed.  Gattaca, a story about genetic enhancement was also mentioned. Some compared the control of society as similar to slavery.  The movie The Island, also about cloning was also mentioned.

We had a lengthy discussion about the ethical issues around the use of others to benefit ourselves or members of our family such as couples who have another child to help an ill older child with the harvest of a kidney or the bone marrow transplants.  We also talked about gender selection, genetic enhancement and other ethical issues.

Linda, who did not enjoy the book, decided to read other novels from Mr. Ishiguro.  She read The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans.  She felt the need to understand why he is such a celebrated author.  She recommends we read When We Were Orphans that she says is the best of those she read.

Have a great summer and we shall see you all in September!