The Time we Have Taken apparently was time wasted?

Well Steven Carroll's Miles Franklin Award winning The Time we have taken did not seem to impress our members. Descriptors like 'slow', 'boring', 'dull' seemed to be in the majority. Many folks were quite dismayed when they realised that it was the third book in a trilogy and were quite relieved that at least they had only had to read one and not three books in a similar vein.

Folks agreed that the author had certainly captured the monotony of life in the suburbs well but they had difficulty finding any sympathy or empathy for the characters and therefore found it difficult to connect with the book.  Discussion on the novel was a bit restricted in that everyone seemed to be on the same page and in agreement which doesn't lead to that impassioned debate stimulated by one's desire for one's opinions to be seriously considered by the rest of the group.

I often find that if I have not enjoyed a book, listening to those who have gives me another perspective which encourages me to re-read it with a more positive attitude. As we did not have this variance of opinion in our group, I have included a copy of what the Miles Franklin judging panel had to say about the novel, as they were certainly impressed by it!



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2008 Winner - The Time We Have Taken by Steven Carroll

Commenting on the winner’s novel, the Judging Panel wrote:
“In the spare, episodic style of the two earlier novels (The Art of the Engine Driver and The Gift of Speed) in this trilogy, Steven Carroll undertakes a parallel task of representation as his cast of characters reconsider their lives in and beyond the suburb that has been their crucible. Michael, son of the engine driver, moves to the city and falls in love with a girl beyond his reach – or so, poignantly, he believes. Vic, the father, has long since travelled north to a life of abstracted retirement. The mother, Rita, too well turned out to quite fit into the street, sells the house which has been her refuge, and makes an unlikely alliance with the widow of the industrial entrepreneur they called ‘Webster the Factory’. At night they drive together across the thistle-landscape in a sleek black car that is both comet and hearse.
What do they all make of their lives? Do they hear ‘the music of the years’? Or are they deaf, missing the wonder of it? Carroll’s novel is a poised, philosophically profound exploration of the question, a stand-alone work that is moving and indelible in its evocation of the extraordinary in ordinary lives.”


We are delving into the world of non-fiction with the memoir The Rules of Inheritance: a Memoir by Claire Bidwell Smith.

 

 



I'll include more information about this book in a later blog but I'll let you get started on your own views before I give you more to ruminate on.

Keep those pages turning and the grey cells firing!





 

Ready for "The Time we have taken"?

Hello everyone!

Well I'm physically back but the mental return seems to be taking a bit longer! I'm sure I read Steven Carroll's book before I left but am scratching to remember what it was about! Hopefully some of you will be able to assist in this. I know one of our regulars has been unimpressed so will be interesting to hear what the rest of you come up with.

I was quite excited to see Gone Girl being advertised in Swedish the other day and found Burial Rites in Icelandic. Certainly made me feel that our book clubs are connected to the rest of the world through what we read!

Looking forward to catching up with you all on Thursday 30 October at Gordon White Library at 6.00 pm!

Happy reading!

Linda Grant's "The Clothes on Their Backs" up for discussion tonight!

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!

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.

 

 

 

It certainly has a eyecatching cover which I guess reflects the colourful characters contained within.

 

 

I hope you're enjoying the read!



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!

As Rod Stewart croons - 'Tonight's the night!'

We meet tonight at Gordon White Library at 6.00pm to discuss all things 'Transatlantic'!

Quite a different experience from 'Gone Girl' which should be screening in Mackay, early October!

Mirani book club would like to have a MRCL Book Club en masse social get together at the end of the year. What do you think?

I'm thinking the first week in December and a dining out experience???  Would be great to socialise with other book clubbers!

See you this evening!

It's nearly Transatlantic time already!

Well it certainly has been great weather for curling up with a book even though the cold of some of the Atlantic connections often intensified the chilly feeling. Time to warm up with another 'Cosy' I think!

I hope you are all doing better at keeping track of the many characters in this novel than I did. I'd come across a name and then have to scurry back through the pages to try to find it so I could make the correct connections. I felt like I should have set out a family tree alongside me when I read the book so that I could keep better track of who was who and who was connected to who!

Looking forward to catching up next Thursday 31 July at 6 pm at Gordon White Library!

Enjoy the rare pleasure of reading wrapped in blankets while one can!