Violeta by Isabel Allende - March 24, 2023

 Carla was our host this month.  We were a small group, Carla, Colette, Linda and Michèle.  We discussed Michèle's book choice Violeta  by Isabel Allende.

Isabel Allende was born in Peru where her diplomat father was stationed as the representative from Chile.  She moved back to Chile with her mother when she was 3 years old.   She was educated in private English schools.  She married Miguel Frias in 1962 and had 2 children.  She married twice more, her most recent marriage is to American lawyer Roger Crukas in 2019.  She now lives in California and is an American citizen.  She has received numerous honorary doctorates.   

Her writing career started as a translator of romance novels such as Harlequin Romances into Spanish. She was fired from that job because she was modifying the stories to make them more interesting.  She wrote her first novel The House of Spirits in 1982.  It evolved from a letter she wrote to her 99 year old grandfather hoping  to keep him alive, at least in spirit.  She has written 22 novels and 5 non-fiction books. 

She is often categorized as a writer of magical realism such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  Her most notable books are the first one, The House of Spirits, Daughter of Fortune, published in 1999, it was an Oprah choice, and City of Beasts published in 2002. 

Violeta is her most recent novel based on her Grandmother's life begins in the early 1900's during the influenza pandemic and continues through to the present COVID pandemic in 2020. It covers not only the effects of the pandemics but also the depression, military coups in South America and family upheavals.  Violeta Del Valle is a 100 years old woman, almost on her death bed and pens a letter to her grandson describing her life. 

Members enjoyed the book, all present felt she has a good writing style and told the story of Violeta and her family well giving us a good history lesson of South America.  No specific country was mentioned.  Violeta had several men in her life, not only husbands but also lovers. She seemed to thrive only when she had a man in her life.  Though she always had men in her life, her decisions were her own and she was obviously the matriarch of her family. 

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.

State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny - January 30, 2023

Marg was our host as we began our 25^th year of the Muse and Views Book Club. Linda, Carla, Betty, Colette, Beth, and Shirley attended as we met to discuss Colette’s book choice, State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny. In the book, the characters travel to Germany, Russia, Pakistan, Iran and is based in the U.S. so Marg took her cue from that and prepared appetizers to represent many of those options including beet bruschetta, a middle eastern platter, bratwurst with a beer sauce and we topped it off with ‘American as apple pie’.

We have previously read one of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache books so we were familiar with her writing but this book took a very different turn into political intrigue. One might assume that the book’s Secretary of State is based on Hillary Clinton however it was not. The authors did choose people close to them for their inspiration for each of the characters. We found that the co-authors Clinton and Penny mimiced the State of Terror characters of Ellen and Betsy as they worked together in solving the mystery.

We all found the inside look at the Secretary of State's office fascinating plus, of course, the thinly veiled jab at Donald Trump. One of the members found some relationship with the Joshua Boyle incident which happened while Hilary Clinton was Secretary of State. Joshua is the son of a then Tax Court judge.

Overall, the book was enjoyed by all. There were portions of the book that were perhaps a little too close to current events to be able to read without serious thoughts about our world today. There were lots of twists and turns to the story with travel and politics along with the mystery to keep interest alive. It was particularly interesting for our group of ladies of a certain age to see the middle-aged women being taken for granted as being ‘less than’ while proving that they are really ‘more than’.

Thank you, Colette, for choosing State of Terror for our first read of 2023.

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. 

Books and Meetings in 2023

  This list will be updated as members make their choices.

January 23 - Colette's choice State of Terror by Louise Penny & Hilary Rodham-Clinton, Marg hosts.

February 27 - Betty's choice The Giver  by Lois Lowry, Shirley hosts

March 27 - Michèle's choice Violeta by Isabel Allende , Carla hosts

April 24 - Marg's choice, The Thursday Murder Club  by Richard Osman, Michèle hosts

May 29 - Janet's choice Haven by Emma Donoghue, Linda hosts

June 26 - Beth's choice, The End of the Alphabet by C. S. Richardson, Colette hosts

September 25 - Carla's choice The Blue Castle by Lucy Maude Montgomery Michèle hosts 

October 23 - Linda's choice, Albatross by Terry Fallis, Betty hosts

November 27 - Shirley's choice, The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict, Beth hosts

The Lincoln Highway – October 24, 2022

Colette, Marg, Carla, Janet, Linda and Shirley were hosted by Betty for our October book club where we discussed Janet’s book choice The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. Betty had a delicious assortment of cheeses and crackers to munch on with our wine. She also had chocolate covered almonds that make frequent appearances at our meetings and, as per our usual custom, were devoured. With a nod to the book’s character Sally who was known for her strawberry jam, dessert was fresh scones with strawberry jam and whipped cream. 

Janet went above and beyond in researching this book for us. It included a road trip following parts of the Lincoln Highway while listening to the audio book, a playlist including songs named for towns along the highway, and, of course, photo evidence of the plaque at the San Francisco end of the highway. 

The Lincoln Highway is Amor Towles’ third novel and the third one we have discussed in our group. Towles was an investment professional for over twenty years before publishing his first book, Rules of Civility, followed by A Gentleman in Moscow. Towles has a distinct writing style with unusual characters written with a touch of magic realism. This book was easy to read, a ‘good yarn’ as one member described it. 

The Lincoln Highway covers the lives of its characters over the course of ten days and the days are counted down very deliberately. In his Rules of Civility, the time period was exactly one year while A Gentleman in Moscow covered thirty years. This book is told in the voice of the various individuals, each with a distinct voice which was easily understood and which enhanced character development. There remained questions about some of the characters, Woolly in particular, as well as some disappointment in the main character, Emmett, however the book was unanimously enjoyed.

Some members expressed a bit of disappointment that the book did not follow the Lincoln Highway across the U.S. and was left for the reader to decide whether or not the trip would ever be completed. But then, the greatest part of a road trip – or life – is not the destination, it is all the stuff that happens along the way.

Thanks, Janet, for another enjoyable book choice.

A Killer in King's Cove - Iona Whishaw - September 26, 2022

It was so good to see everyone again and catch up everyone’s news after our summer hiatus. We met at Beth’s and she served us crackers with an assortment of cheeses, olives and, in a nod to the book’s setting, some BC salmon, finishing with a delicious apple crumble topped with ice cream. Betty, Carla, Jane, Colette, Marg, Shirley, Linda, and, of course, Beth, were in attendance.The book this month was A Killer in King’s Cove by Iona Whishaw chosen by Jane. Jane began the evening by giving us some background on the author. Iona was born in Kimberley, BC, but grew up in a number of different places, including a small community on Kootenay Lake, as well as Mexico and Central America, and the US because of her father’s geological work. She took a degree in history and education from Antioch College, and subsequent degrees in Creative Writing at UBC and pedagogy at Simon Fraser University. Her own writing output took a brief back seat during her teaching career, but she shared her passion for writing by nurturing a love of writing in her students in English, Creative Writing, and Spanish classes. During the course of her career as a Principal in Vancouver she was awarded the Woman of Distinction in Education by the YWCA in 2010 and a Canada’s Outstanding Principals award in 2012.

Iona has published short fiction, poetry, poetry translation, and one children’s book, Henry and the Cow Problem. A Killer in King’s Cove was her first adult novel, published in 2015. Her heroine, Lane Winslow, was inspired by Iona’s mother who, like her father before her, was a wartime spy. A Killer in King’s Cove is the first of nine in the Lane Winslow series of books.

The book is set in a very small, rural BC community at the end of World War II and, as such, the aftereffects of war on each of the main characters plays an important role. It was mentioned a number of times that the author’s power of description was such that it was easy to imagine the locale, the personalities of members of the small community of King’s Cove, even the wee stream where the body was found. The house that Lane Winslow moved into has a supposed ghost and as attic windows open erratically, that might even be conceivable. From the beginning, there is the hint of suspense.

Character development was very well done, some extremely likeable and others, not so much. Finding that this book is the first of a series meant that some of the most likeable characters will (we trust) make further appearances. Lane Winslow is a mid-twenties, ex-British spy with a history that is not fully explained but it does give us insight into her strength of character under the circumstances in which she finds herself enmeshed while still showing a bit of the naivety of youth.

While we are reminded that there are currently another eight books in this series to be read, we played a bit of ‘if you like this, then you might like…’. The Maggie Hope Mysteries by Susan Elia MacNeal was suggested as well as The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Thank you, Jane, for suggesting A Killer in King’s Cove and leading us on another path of literary discovery

Operation Angus - Terry Fallis - June 30, 2022

Present were Betty, Colette, Linda, Marg and Michèle.  We were a small group for this last meeting before September.   The book this month is Operation Angus by Terry Fallis recommended by Linda.  In honour of the main character Angus McLintock's native country Scotland, Michèle prepared smoked salmon served on homemade blinis, with a Scottish cheddar and a blue cheese quite popular in Scotland, and potato crisps made in Scotland.  We also had Scottish scones with strawberries and cream.  

Linda had contacted Terry Fallis and he generously agreed to participate in our meeting via FaceTime. He was very patient with us as we had some technical issues and his suggestions helped us get around them and still have a great conversation with him. 

Terry Fallis is, of course, a Canadian author and he has written 8 novels.  Operation Angus is the 3rd of a series beginning with The Best Laid Plans that we read in 2012 and The High Road published in 2010. All three novels relate the experiences of a mechanical engineering professor, Angus McLintock, originally from Scotland, who is elected to Parliament.  Mr. Fallis has won several awards including twice the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.  He has an excellent website that can be accessed by clicking here Terry Fallis .

In Operation Angus, our main character Angus McLintock is now a junior Minister in the Liberal government and finds himself along with his Chief of Staff Daniel Addison in the middle of a clandestine spy operation to assassinate the President of Russia on Canadian soil. 

 As with the other novels we read, we all enjoyed the story and found it to be funny and quite the page turner, i.e.what else will happen?  We did find that the suspense ended early in the story after the terrorist were apprehended.  The last third of the book tied up loose ends, i.e.who was "Fleming" and what happened to her when MI6 found out she had gone rogue when her superiors refused to believe her about the assassination plot against the Russian President?  How did our Canadian Prime Minister approach the British Prime Minister?  Were Angus and Daniel properly recognized for stopping the Chechen terrorists?  What was the connection between their friend Vivien, the former CSI agent and Fleming? 

We had a very enjoyable conversation with Terry Fallis.  We were able to ask questions about the plot and the characters.  What was most interesting was our conversation about his writing process and even more important his new novel that he is presently writing.  He was very generous with his time.  We are looking forward to his new novel.  Some of our members have read all of his books.  

Thank you Linda for your book choice and especially for contacting Terry Fallis.  Thanks to Terry Fallis for a very enjoyable conversation and his patience when we had technical issues with FaceTime .

Have a great summer everyone and we shall see you all, hopefully in person, in September.