It's the last Thursday in August already! We'll be meeting at 6.00pm at Gordon White Library!
Looking forward to hearing your views!
Thursday 28 August 2014
Monday 11 August 2014
A little more about Linda Grant's 'The Clothes on their Backs'
I promised I would provide more information on this month's book club selection, so I'll see what I can find for you.
Kamila Shamsie wrote this review for The Guardian.
The following are reviews and comments found on Linda Grant's website.
Kamila Shamsie wrote this review for The Guardian.
The following are reviews and comments found on Linda Grant's website.
It certainly has a eyecatching cover which I guess reflects the colourful characters contained within.
I hope you're enjoying the read!
Monday 4 August 2014
Discussion of many things Transatlantic!
After the psychological trauma of Gone Girl, this month's foray into Colum McCann's Transatlantic felt much gentler. One could almost feel the waft of Irish mist.
Most of our readers enjoyed McCann's style and some were seeking other books written by him as a result. One of our readers spoke of her blissful enjoyment of some of his expression when the words just jumped off the page - not an overabundance of words but just the unexpected right word in the right place which painted a clear picture.
Some of our readers had trouble keeping track of who was who as the story unfolded over several generations as well as being trans-Atlantic. One reader solved this issue by creating a family tree cum graphic organiser which clearly showed the links and relationships across the period of the novel. It was certainly a succinct visual way of clarifying the various links and relationships.
One of our readers told of her confusion when the book opened with a manly adventure but then largely told a story peopled by women. She found this incongruence a bit frustrating.
People talked of how their views of various characters changed as they progressed through the book. Some characters became less likeable and others increasingly demanded our respect as they coped with the various curve-balls thrown their way.
One of our readers considered it was a novel about second chances while another reader felt it addressed the concept of freedom for various downtrodden members of society such as slaves and women.
The insight into the Northern Ireland peace process added another historical dimension while the descriptions of ice-farming in North America were a revelation.
Overall the group had a positve reaction to this novel and it certainly generated a range of discussion.
Next month we will be discussing Linda Grant's The Clothes on Their Backs. As we have only six copies of this novel, if you were lucky enough to get a copy at our meeting please do your best to read it as quickly as possible and then return your copy to Gordon White Library so that another book clubber can pick it up to read. I know one has already been returned so if you did not get a copy last Thursday, pop in to GWL to see if it is still available.
I'll unearth more information on this read and include it in another blog.
Happy reading!
Most of our readers enjoyed McCann's style and some were seeking other books written by him as a result. One of our readers spoke of her blissful enjoyment of some of his expression when the words just jumped off the page - not an overabundance of words but just the unexpected right word in the right place which painted a clear picture.
Some of our readers had trouble keeping track of who was who as the story unfolded over several generations as well as being trans-Atlantic. One reader solved this issue by creating a family tree cum graphic organiser which clearly showed the links and relationships across the period of the novel. It was certainly a succinct visual way of clarifying the various links and relationships.
One of our readers told of her confusion when the book opened with a manly adventure but then largely told a story peopled by women. She found this incongruence a bit frustrating.
People talked of how their views of various characters changed as they progressed through the book. Some characters became less likeable and others increasingly demanded our respect as they coped with the various curve-balls thrown their way.
One of our readers considered it was a novel about second chances while another reader felt it addressed the concept of freedom for various downtrodden members of society such as slaves and women.
The insight into the Northern Ireland peace process added another historical dimension while the descriptions of ice-farming in North America were a revelation.
Overall the group had a positve reaction to this novel and it certainly generated a range of discussion.
Next month we will be discussing Linda Grant's The Clothes on Their Backs. As we have only six copies of this novel, if you were lucky enough to get a copy at our meeting please do your best to read it as quickly as possible and then return your copy to Gordon White Library so that another book clubber can pick it up to read. I know one has already been returned so if you did not get a copy last Thursday, pop in to GWL to see if it is still available.
I'll unearth more information on this read and include it in another blog.
Happy reading!
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