The Jane Austen Book Club

I like this book. I like it very much. It could fall apart I suppose, but it is quirky, it is holding my interest and it is making me think. First about Emma because that is the book the book club focuses on in the first session ( March -how about that?) but in which we mainly meet the cast of 6 book club characters through the very acerbic "group" narrator and we get some of Jocelyn's and Sylvia's back stories.

I like Fowler's style. There's something very, I don't know, surprising about her prose. She'll be describing something and then throw in something unexpected. Sample:

There were porcelain lamps in the shape of ginger jars, round and oriental and with none of the usual dust on the bulbs because this was Jocelyn's house. The lamps were on timers. When it was sufficiently dark out, at the perfect moment they would snap on all at once like a choir. This hadn't happened yet but we were looking forward to it. Maybe someone would be saying something brilliant.

She can be very funny.
"I think Jane is being ironic here", Prudie suggested..."she has an ironic wit, I think some readers miss that. I am often ironic myself., especially in e-mail. Sometimes my friends ask. Was that a joke?"
"Was that a joke?" Allegra asked. ...

Then further on Jocelyn says "The pretty marry the pretty the ugly marry the ugly...to the detriment of the breed."
"Is that a joke?" Prudie asked

The book is set in California somewhere I believe but the author quotes Robertson Davies. Is there a Canadian connection?

Jocelyn and her dogs, Emma cf dog show Interesting. Nobility and wealth, money and breeding.

I have started April/ Sense and Sensibility but will leave thoughts on that for a later date.

Austen awaits

Our next book for my book circle is The Jane Austen Book Club. I hope this book lives up to my hopes and expectations. I wanted to read it because A) I love Jane Austen and it gives me an excuse to delve into Austen again B) it is another "book club" book. Having read Reading Lolita in Tehran I thought it would be a good contrast for discussion. C) the premise of a book club centred on Jane Austen where the participants' relationships are dissected by an Austen-like eye is wonderful. But will Karen Fowler pull it off? I hope she can match Austen but perhaps that is too much to expect. I will be happy if she comes close.

Wright's wrongs

Our LitWits met today and we tore into Richard Wright's Adultery. We didn't tear it apart but rather dove into the questions raised by the author.

On the whole I think we agreed it was a good readable book with much in it to think about. Some thought it better than Clara Callan as I did ( but at least one thought the reverse) The title put some of our members off initially. One member had several alternatives she thought might have been better( "the wages of sin" I think was one ?) but we agreed the adultery event was the central issue of the book with Denise's death only exposing the betrayal. We talked quite a bit about adultery itself. It seemed to be accepted by his colleagues, by the police ( except for the female constable) and by Denise's family. Does this partially absolve Daniel? I felt that it meant that the situation Daniel had to face was made easier for him but that it shouldn't in any way absolve him; he had hurt his wife and daughter seriously no matter what society thought of it.

Would Claire have found out about the affair had Denise not been killed? Would the affair have continued? I thought for sure it would have if Denise had anything to do with it as it was clear she had initiated the affair and had a "thing" for Daniel. And Daniel might have been weak enough to continue with it.

I felt Daniel was very detached through the first half or more of the book and was very self centred until he met Denise's family when perhaps finally he was made aware of the full tragedy of the events in which he was a central figure. But did he feel guilty? Did he really feel how much he had hurt Claire? We thought maybe men feel less seriously about betrayals of this sort and intellectualise it while a a woman's point of view might have had more emotion and obvious pain which Daniel did not seem to express. Was this what the author intended? There was a feeling that that the author is more confident in portraying male characters ( cv Clara Callan ) and I agree as the female characters were sketchily drawn, except for Denise who was fleshed out more toward the end.


My quibble remains. I question the logic, credibility, athleticism? of a 50+ year old man waiting in a car park until past dark for English rain to stop (does it ever stop) and having a "quickie" in the (small, standard shift, rental ) car when a comfortable hotel room awaited them. Necessary for the plot maybe but ....

Books for Life

What stories/myths do I live by? What books have laid down paving stones I have followed in my life, or hope to follow? This was a question asked of herself by my friend "Mamie" in her Meanderings.

I had to think about this quite a bit but it was easier when I thought about the books I like to re-read or that I remember vividly from childhood. They must have meant something for me to be so attached to them. When I reflect on them and think about what they mean to me now this is what I have come up with so far. I'm starting with books from my childhood that I will never forget.

Winnie the Pooh - There are all kinds of folk in the Hundred Acre Wood, they can be quirky but take them as they are, warts and all, and they can be interesting friends.

Mary Poppins - Adults ( parents, guardians, teachers) can seem very stern and expect a lot from you but they have wonderful exciting stuff they can share with you; they love you underneath that crusty exterior. It is important to be disciplined, but there is a place for breaking out and having fun.

The Wind in the Willows: Ah friends. Friends care for and help each other even when they are silly. Nature is nice.

Heidi: Things, places, people that you may not like at first may end up being beloved. Give them a chance. Oh, and warm milk is sweet.

Tom Sawyer: Life is an adventure. Leaving home could be fun. You will survive

The Chronicles of Narnia - Don't be fooled by appearances. Turkish delight is a short lived "sweet" and can't replace the things in life that count. Life is a battle between good and evil and the choices you make are important. Power is tempting but its charm is a mirage. It takes courage to admit your own wrongs and it takes courage of a different sort to forgive others. Family matters.

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings- Evil must be fought. Life is a hard journey and you often feel as if the side of the angels is losing the battle but one must be brave and go on anyway. We are not alone; many others very different in kind are in the same struggle and we can help them and vice versa.

The Christmas Carol:- It is never too late to remake yourself. Generosity trumps frugality.

The Cosmic Trilogy ( C.S. Lewis again) - Science and God are not incompatible. There would be no science without God.


Well, that's a start. I expect I shall come up with more.

Daniel's adultery

This character Wright has created...what to think of him. Self centered or what. Has he yet really felt sorry? Yes, he has said he is sorry, and he is for what it has done to his comfortable life. Yes, he is sorry in a detached kind of way for Denise's mother. The author seems to be trying to show that Denise was the instigator of the affair. As if that absolved Daniel in any way. It doesn't. I do not yet get a sense of "Oh my GOD. What have I done" kind of sorry. The sorry of real guilt and penitence. Only, the "I'd like to fix this up", "Can't we fix this up?", kind of sorry. One has to ask, is this what the author intended or is it just that he failed to convey this, wasn't skilled enough? I haven't finished the book quite yet, but it will be the question I ask myself when I do.

My Library

I've just added "my library" from Bibliophil.org See the button in the left column. I started with recent books discussed in our LitWits book circle. I intend to add more from that list and then add more of my bookshelf and then a wish list. I often hear about a book and say- I'd like to read that- and then forget about it. This way I won't forget! I guess it's my librarian background that makes this "fun" for me. Others might find it tedious and it does take a bit of time but I think readers of this blog may find it interesting to see what I am reading and compare my reviews with other readers of the same books. Not all books are for all readers and after a while I would think that if you see a reader who has similar tastes you could then see what they are reading and be confident that a certain book would suit you.

I chose the bibliophil program over the other jazzier one mainly because it was less commercial but I have to say the other one looked a bit more user friendly.

Cataloguing!!!

Just found out about this site. Neato. Going to look into this. Oh and now this one too
oh oh,now I have to choose.

Murder he wrote

I'm into Adultery. Perhaps I should clarify that... I have finally started Richard Wright's book. I have to admit, it has grabbing opening section. I am just into the part where he has to go home and face his family.

I only have a couple of niggling complaints, so far. Is it really believable that Daniel and Denise would have a quickie in the car by the side of the road rather than go back to their more than comfortable hotel room? If you didn't drive every time it rained in the UK you could be almost perpetually parked by the side of the road. Also, would Claire really use the word c___t to describe Denise. If Claire was of my generation ( ie. close to Daniel's age) not likely. Bitch maybe. But maybe I am a bit repressed. Daniel is narrating all this in a very detached and "dead" manner, but that perhaps is purposeful on the part of the author. I'll have to read the rest to see if it has real meaning.

Bedside reading

I am wading through Lynne Truss's second comic novella in the Lynne Truss Treasury entitled Tennyson's gift. I think I would like it if I was as knowledgeable as LT is about Tennyson and Dodgeson, Ellen Terry and everyone connected with that circle, which obviously the author is. It would be very witty I am sure if I was in the know. I loved her first one in the anthology which required only a more general knowledge.

I learned something very important, as a writer, though from this... if you write about a rather narrow subject which you know very well, you should make sure you give enough little "handrails" along the way for readers who are subject deficient. Those who are in the know can skip through them but they are invaluable props for us limping along behind.

I had better start Adultery. I should get over my reluctance.

Gaspereau Press

I was terribly impressed by Andrew Steeves who came to talk to our University Women's club members about Gaspereau Press. I knew about this local publishing house of course, that is I knew it existed but I didn't know "what it was about" if you know what I mean. I didn't know that the owners/publishers have a real passion for the book as an art object and a penchant for collecting old printing equipment and that they were so ideologically tied to the "art and craft" aspect of book- making, and committed to the idea of a community of writers, publishers, printers etc.

Andrew had a great presentation with a visuals of book making through the ages ( which sounds kind of boring but which wasn't at all) ending with how Gaspereau Press fit into the great publishing tradition. Our writing circle members have decided that a tour of the premises is a must for our group.

Train station-writing station

My writing circle meets here on Tuesday. The topic we were to be inspired by was "travel" or "a trip". I have not been inspired. Not by our trip away, not by the contrasting pictures I posted, not by Ami's success ( I really hoped that would get me going) not by my reading, not by anything.

Sitting down to write this I saw the train station photo I posted and I thought ... there is no train at the station. The train station ( ironically full of books!) with the empty tracks is a good metaphor for my writing. My writing station has been vacant. I have not been there, sitting down every day and writing as I did when I had the 50,000 words to do. Then I wrote - what was it?- something like 1700 words a day, every day for 30 days so surely if I sat down an hour or two every day something would come out. And I am sitting now and this idea of the train station just appeared. Maybe if I sit a bit longer something I can use will happen in that magical but unreliable and difficult way that it sometimes does. But if not, what to do. If not then I think I will have to pull out that 50,000 words and go through it to find a segment worth reading. Perhaps the part about Scotland. That involved a trip on the part of my protaganist....hmmm.

Win a library

From Random House! A contest open to Canadian residents only sadly, with the prize one of two libraries of books published in the last ten years, about 30 books. HatTip Ami MacKay

The Birth House Launch

I attended the launch of The Birth House by Ami MacKay at the Acadia cinema theatre the other night. It was a sold-out crowd; I was lucky to get a ticket. Lots of women, several with their babies. I bought two books; one for myself and one for a friend, Junie, who unfortunately couldn't come with me. I was impressed with the visual display Ami had projecting on the screen behind the podium with photos from the era relating to midwifery and the period she was writing about. After being introduced Ami came out glowing pride of course but still the Ami I knew from our writing class. She phoned her mother- who was ill and couldn't attend- using her cell phone when she first came out on stage, and we all said "HI" to her. Nice, different, relaxed. She read several excerpts from the book.

Then afterwards, naturally, she signed copies. There was an older lady ahead of me who said she had been born in "that house" the "birth house". I guess there were quite a few people from the community who had a connection with the house. When it was my turn and I offered my two books for her to autogrpah, Ami remembered me and Junie and asked me what I was up to so I told her I had done Nanowrimo which she applauded. And she asked if our group was still meeting and was happy to hear we were. And she remembered also her promise to come talk to my other writing circle.

It was nice and a bit inspiring. I must take a look at my Nanowrimo manuscript one of these days.

Sea Glass

Our circle met today and talked about Anita Shreve's Sea Glass. Most thought it not a bad book, perhaps emphasizing story over characterization. A notch above a Danielle Steele.

Points raised: the sea glass- symbol of beauty to be found in the unexpected, treasure from trash, symbolic of survival and even transformation in hardship, lives tossed and turned in the sands of time. One of our members brought some sea glass which she placed in a white dish. She had also done a watercolour of bits of sea glass! Wonderful.

Writing style. Most agreed that the different chapters given to each character's voice was a bit choppy and distracting at first but as the characters linked up and the story came together more as a unity this was not minded so much. I thought, as a writer, this was a relatively easy technique to pull off. It would be harder to put in the good narration to bring out the characters motivations and thinking.

Who was the most realistic character? Some thought Vivian ( as I did) , others disagreed absolutely and thought she was the least realistic. The mother, though her voice was small, was universally thought authentic. Honora- some thought her personality was a bit enigmatic , others thought that her character came through clearly from her actions and decisions in the story. Loyal, resourceful, hard working, well liked, compassionate, a woman of her time. McDermott and Alphonse, well portrayed but Sexton was less fleshed out; there was less back story on him.

The time period: Most thought the author did a good job of her research although some thought the mention of the Halifax explosion and some details were a bit forced, didn't seem natural or intrinsic to the story. All thought the details such as recipes and household tips from Honora's mother were dead on. Were the details of labour unrest in New England mills authentic? Probably.

The House: I tried to bring up the role of the house which inspired Anita Shreve's three books- The Pilot's Wife, Fortune's Rocks and Sea Glass but members didn't seem much interested in this. It was of great interest to me, my friend Ami having just written her first novel The Birth House inspired by the house she lived in which had been the house of a midwife in the community.

Next book- Adultery by Richard B. Wright

Train Station Library

An allsorts reader JAR has a photo on her blog Daffodil Field of her library in a train station. Compare it to these shots of the Train Station Library in myTown.

Contrasting photos

I never think to post photos. This is a writing and reading journal after all but I couldn't resist this contrast. The photo left is a scene taken in our back yard earlier this winter and is more or less what we left. The photo below right is of one of the Curacao beaches we visited lately. Ah, well it was nice while it lasted and it may inspire great writing?

Tsk, tsk

I have neglected this blog. For shame. I have been away again. Yes, mentally still but this time also physically. We went to visit some friends in Curacao where we used to live for a while and although it was very nice we are glad to be home. The trip down was hellish as we left in a snowstorm Or rather we didn't at first leave in the snow storm and then did leave late in the same storm after missing all our connections. So we had to overnight in Miami and lost a day. Other than that... We did get back before the latest big storm which, had we been going through New York a day later, would have tied us up again so we must be thankful for small mercies.

I took 3 or 4 books with me and didn't crack open one of them. On the flight ( flights rather -six in all) and in the airports I did Sudokus. What can I tell you: they are better than reading for taking your mind off of those bothersome things of flying like waiting and turbulence and being tinned like sardines and waiting. And when we got to where we were going- my we were way too busy to read.

So... I have NOT read our next book club book which is Anita Shreves' Sea Glass. And we meet next week. Ah well, it won't be the first time I have read a book within a few days. It would help perhaps if I had the book in hand at least and I tried to solve this today when I went into our local independent bookstore. No luck. They didn't have it so instead I will borrow it from a friend who has been paying more attention to her reading duties.

But of course I have been reading ( not just sudokuing) . I just finished ( since we got back) Lynne Truss's With One Lousy Packet of Seed, which I had started before I left. Lousy title but great fun. I love her sense of humour, British natch. It is in The Lynne Truss Treasury which contains 2 other comic novels and some of her columns.

Okay that's it for tonight. I hope to be a more faithful poster ...

Oh, I should mention that tomorrrow I am going to a book launch of an acquaintance of mine who has just had her book published. I was in a writing class with her a few years ( 3?) ago; she was starting the book then and read us a few excerpts from it in class. Nice to see she has " made it". The book is called The Birth House and is inspired by the house where she lives which used to be the home of the local midwife.

Le Carre doesn't disappoint

Unlike Archer, Le Carre's books are never fluff. The Constant Gardener isn't a short book - 664 pages before the author's note [ in which he denies that any of his characters or companies resemble real people or companies HA] and even though it is "specially designed for easy reading" ( translation- slightly bigger print for all us old folks who are the only demographic that reads!!!!!!) it could have used a little paring of detail. Editors don't seem to want to sit down people like Le Carre and say "hey old chap, this could be shorter, ya know- save a few trees!" BUT with those asides, piddling criticisms really, this is a good read. Thoughtful, moving plot, interesting characters that aren't paper thin and fun to read.

Hiatus

I've been away. Not physically but mentally away, distracted by other things and other thoughts than books and writing and perhaps that is a good thing. We all need a break from routine.


I have started the next book for our book circle - The Constant Gardener by John le Carre. The writing is good and I am noticeing how he handles things like introducing characters' appearances, and how he switches from one characters head to the next and even mixes them in the same sentence. This is a sensibility that comes from my efforts to write. I haven't read any le Carre for a long time so this is the first time I have read his stuff as a writer and not just a reader. Also I can see where he has got some of his ideas - the culture of NGO's, Princess Diana, terrorism, drug company lawsuiits - and how he has taken these elements from sources in the news and around us and made them his own.

Our next book

...is the Constant Gardener by John LeCarre. I like LeCarre - I have read a number of his earlier books although none recently- so I am looking forward to it. I have to wait for Christmas though as my husband has bought it for my stocking! I think this author both writes well (with a literary style) and also has great story lines, plot and action - the kind of book my husband could also like whereas some of the books we read in our circle he doesn't care to finish!