July

Now here's a book that brought out all kinds of feelings among the group! Ann loved it; Nancy was at the other end of the spectrum. When the book was selected, it was understood to be a book about a dysfunctional family. What a surprise to find out that  incest was at the center of the storyline!


As uncomfortable at that made all of us, we had no problem talking about the way Engel uses it in the book. We talked about whether or not the incestuous relationships were believable, the reality of incest in people's lives, and the fallout for the victims.

The publisher didn't include discussion questions for the book, but Lisa prepared some based on posted reviews of the book and interviews with Engel. In fact, though, we had no problem talking about the book at all - we talked about this book more than we've talked about most other books. Curiously, even though we shot holes in a lot of the plot points, we all had an appreciation of the way Engel structured the book, the way she wrote about small town, Midwestern life, and the main character, Lane.

I don't know that we would recommend the book to other book clubs. Given the subject matter, it would certainly be something that might be a trigger for some people.

Because the book is set in Kansas, we enjoyed several corn dishes and Kansas beer. Nancy even made cookies with nuts, because the grandfather in the book is "nuts," she said!