One of our regular BTL book clubbers put in a special request for a novel that would be amusing rather than angst-ridden, hence the selection of the potentially lighter Carrying Albert Home by Homer Hickman. On previous occasions there has been much discussion about how difficult it is to write humour as it is such a personal thing. Unfortunately this particular book clubber did not make it to this particular meeting so we'll find their views on another occasion.
Hickman claims this hybrid novel/biography was inspired by family history stories passed down to him by his mother who is one of the main characters in the story. However towards the end of the book he does mention in passing, that his mother was fond of fabricating tall tales so it is difficult to fathom the actual fractions of fact and fiction which combine to tell the tale.
One of our readers spoke of the many layers contained within the novel while others deemed the succession of tall stories somewhat ridiculous. Others researched some of the events and found there was an historical basis for many of the incidents encountered by Elsie, Homer and Albert. The inclusion of family photos to support the biographic premise was met with suspicion by some of our readers as, despite the apparent importance of Albert, there were no photos to endorse the actual existence of this particular alligator. This lead to discussion as to what the alligator (or the rooster for that matter) really represented and whether they were 'real' characters or not!
For various reasons several of our readers did not finish reading this month's selection while others enjoyed reading something with a lighter mood and enjoyed it for an undemanding diversion. One of our readers was disappointed in that it seemed, that despite Elsie making such a 'journey', she still appeared to take the 'line of least resistance' and 'settle' thus making the apparent cross-country expedition and its trials (and therefore, to a certain extent, the novel itself) for naught. This dissatisfaction was somewhat amplified when it was revealed that, while Elsie spent her life mooning over the demise of her great 'love affair', Buddy Ebsen (the other half of the affair) considered the relationship a brief, meaningless fling and was at pains to explain to Homer that Elsie had 'chosen' Homer over Buddy. Did Elsie just take her 'delusions' for a trip across the United States and back again for no apparent reason? Was the novel just an opportunity to 'name drop'?
It seems that for many of our readers this novel-cum-biography posed questions rather than answers.
For our next read, we venture to Norway and flit between the present and the future with Jostein Gaader's The World According to Anna.
Looking forward to hearing of your experiences with this month's selection at 6.00pm at the Community Meeting Room at the Gordon White Library on Thursday 26 May.
Happy reading!
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