July - The Great Alone

We had such a good meeting in July! There were seven of us and everyone had read the book. Needless to say, it meant we got to spend a lot of time discussing this one.

This time our "game" was to draw statements about the book and say whether or not we agreed with them and why. Some of them were about the writing, some of them were about the events in the book, some of them were about the characters. The statements were meant as a kind of provocation and they really worked in that people were very vocal in their reasons for their answers and others jumped in with their opinions as well.

Most of us had grown up during the time period this book was set in so we could remember what it was like for people returning from the Vietnam war and the state of women's rights at that time. Imagining Alaska at that time was trickier but even those of us with less knowledge about that thought the Allbright family would have had an even more difficult time than Hannah portrayed. We talked about the pacing of the book and all agreed that it felt rushed toward the end and somewhat implausible. At first, most people seemed to feel that Hannah had not added too much to the book, but during discussion, we did agree that there were somethings that were more than needed to be added. And we agreed that the ending would have been better had it not been so "happily ever after."

This one was a hit with everyone and has a lot to discuss. We'd definitely recommend it for other book clubs.

May and June - Ragtime

With just two of us at the May meeting, and with one of us not having been able to read the book for medical reasons, there was no discussion of E. L. Doctorow's Ragtime. Only three of us attended the play this month. We did enjoy the evening out and chatted about the book some. The three of us agreed that the book of the play does a good job of encapsulating a book that has a lot going on. We didn't find most of the music that memorable and had some quibbles with the sound and some of the voices; but, overall, enjoyed the show. The playhouse did do a find job with the sets which needed to work for a lot of different settings.

With the low turnout the past two months, I'm wondering if it's time to revisit the discussion about whether or not we should continue this book club. I understand everyone is busy and if it just doesn't work any longer, that's fine. If enough people are still interested in continuing, we will absolutely keep things going.

Assuming we continue, please note that ALL meetings will be on the third Tuesday of the month with   the exception of severe weather or special events (such as this play or a movie night). Dates are also noted on this site. I will only be sending out monthly reminders of the meetings, assuming we continue, until we find a permanent home for our meetings or if we will be meeting in someone's home. 

If you will not be able to attend a meeting, can you please let me know as soon as you are aware of a conflict. That way I will know ahead of time if there will be enough of us for me to prepare a game or other activity, such as we've done the past few months.

April - China Dolls

With just four of us at the meeting to discuss Lisa See's China Dolls, the chance for a big money win at our version of Jeopardy was great. Ok, maybe not as much money as the guy who's won over a million dollars on the real show but still, it got competitive!

I think we all agreed that this wasn't a great book and the writing left something to be desired. But we did all learn a lot about this time and place and the book gave us a new perspective on the immigrant experience as well as what it means to be from another culture but born in the U.S., especially in a time of war.

We didn't really buy the friendship between the three main characters but their relationship gave us a lot to talk about. Ann had the "who-dun-it" mystery of the book figured out well in advance (and, no, it's not a mystery book but there is a lingering question of who stabbed who in the back) which probably had her questioning even more than the rest of us why these women stayed together for so many years.

A little research showed us that clubs, such as the one the main characters worked in, including the one they worked in, really existed. At the end of the book, one of the character's granddaughter asks another of the main characters if she didn't feel like she was perpetuating stereotypes by having been part of that scene. I'm sure it was a question that See wanted to explore that had her wanting to write the book.

Would we recommend the book? Hmm, that's a toss up. There is a lot to discuss and a lot to learn so for book clubs, it works for that. But there are so many other books that address the immigrant experience better, we'd probably agree that book clubs should look elsewhere.