Chat about Sophie Laguna's The Eye of the Sheep ebbed and flowed. There was discussion about the way the author used pace to accentuate Jimmy Flick's thought processes. Most of our readers really enjoyed the way she told the story from Jimmy's perspective. Some thought the younger Jimmy was more authentic than the older Jimmy though. Some of our readers commented on the way the reader was left guessing as to defining what Jimmy's difficulties actually were. He just summed it up himself when he talks about sometimes being too fast and other times being too slow. The author really let the reader into Jimmy's head though which most of our readers found really intriguing.
Most of our readers enjoyed the descriptions of Jimmy's relationship with his big cuddly mother and the way the relationship between his father and the Cutty Sark bottle was portrayed. The way Jimmy's perception of his father's relationship with alcohol was written was also appreciated by our readers.
There was much discussion about the plight of children who lose their single parent. The pressures on foster carers was spoken about and some of our readers had had personal experience of the system and how because of under-resourcing there was a lot of duress exerted on active foster carers to continue beyond their ability to perform effectively. Jimmy Flick's foster carers were so exhausted by their long term custody of difficult children that they were unable to effectively cope with the plight of Jimmy Flick. There were comparisons drawn between Liam in The Eye of the Sheep and Garrick in Golden Boys and how they were the victims of unsupportive family lives and the way this anger was transferred from generation to generation.
Our readers were divided as to whether there were grounds for an optimistic outlook for Jimmy's future. Some thought that Jimmy's dad's addiction to alcohol and his reliance on it when times became tough did not bode well for Jimmy's future. Others were more confident that Jimmy's own resilience would win through despite adversity. There was general agreement that despite its greyness, this novel had a more positive essence than our last novel, Sonya Hartnett's Golden Boys.
Between the Lines Book Club will now take a break over the Christmas holiday period. We meet next year on Thursday 28 January. Some folks were happy to take a break from selected reading and enjoy their own choices over the holidays while others were enthusiastic about sampling Josh Cohen's tome, Book of Numbers. We agreed that it would probably take the two months to get through. It certainly gives us an experience of a genre that we have not dipped into previously.
Summer is shaping up to be a hot one so hopefully you'll be able to find a cool spot to enjoy reading whatever you fancy.
Wishing all BTLBCers and their families a safe happy Christmas and an exciting 2016 crammed chock-a-block with fulfilling reads!
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