Booklovers
We started Booklovers because we wanted to talk about the books we’ve been reading and to introduce those we’ve enjoyed to others.
We each take turn to speak about our chosen book and this invariably leads to discussion of broader topics. Four times a year we agree on a shared title to maintain the value of close reading and to hear each other’s interpretations of different aspects of those works.
We are a friendly group of people, meeting on the third Thursday of each month in a member’s home. You’ll find you’re never short of ideas for a new book to read and we warmly welcome others to join us.
For further details, please contact Christine Roberts.
For upcoming meetings, please visit our events page.
We each take turn to speak about our chosen book and this invariably leads to discussion of broader topics. Four times a year we agree on a shared title to maintain the value of close reading and to hear each other’s interpretations of different aspects of those works.
We are a friendly group of people, meeting on the third Thursday of each month in a member’s home. You’ll find you’re never short of ideas for a new book to read and we warmly welcome others to join us.
For further details, please contact Christine Roberts.
For upcoming meetings, please visit our events page.
Notes from the Booklovers Meeting held via Zoom
on Thursday, 21st May 2020
(Picture: Woman With Parasol Reading by Henri Matisse)
Sue read: The Glass Palace (2000) Amitav Ghosh. This is a historical novel set in Burma, Bengal, India and Malaysia. It was a recommendation from her book club and Sue enjoyed it very much especially the scope and diversity of it. At times it was slightly confusing particularly at the beginning where there was quite a lot of repetition and it wasn’t always clear which country you were in or who the characters were... It involves three families and covers the period from 1885 century in Mandalay to the post war era and focuses on the fortunes of a Burmese man, Rajkumar Raha. Exiled from Burma when the British forcibly deposed the Burmese king, it moves from an almost fairy-tale early life to the family’s move to Calcutta and the subsequent joining of multiracial families It covers the wide scope of social and economic change including the growth of rubber wealth, the Japanese invasion of Burma and the losses of family lives. The final part covers the post WWII lives of the scattered families. Sue appreciated the story telling and exploration of racial tensions and intergenerational issues.
Vanessa read Tombland (2000) by C J Sansom: This is the seventh novel in the author’s bestselling Shardlake series and Vanessa is a fan of other books by Sansom. The book is set in 1549 two years after the death of King Henry VIII. Shardlake is a lawyer and is in the service of Henry’s younger daughter Lady Elizabeth. Shardlake and his assistant Nicholas Overton go to Norwich to the summer assizes to investigate the murder of Edith Boleyn, wife of John Boleyn a distant relation of Anne. While there a second murder occurs and Shardlake, reunited with a former assistant Jack Barak, and this leads to the three of them investigating the mystery. Simultaneously there is an outbreak of social rebellion by peasants against enclosures led by Robert Kett. The latter establishes a vast camp outside Norwich and leads a force of thousands to overthow the landlords. Soon the rebels have taken over the city. Jack throws in his lot with the rebels whereas Nicholas, opposed to them, becomes a prisoner in Norwich castle. Shardlake discovers that the murder of Edith Boleyn may have connections reaching into both the heart of the rebel camp and of the Norfolk gentry. Vanessa enjoyed the authenticity of the research - the book contains a fifty page essay of historical research into Kett’s Rebellion. Di, another Sansom fan mentioned that his style is ‘rambling’ whereas one review claims that ‘ eight hundred pages in Shardlake’s company always fly by’!
Denise read Fireflies – A Father’s Tale of Love and Loss (1999) by David Morrell. This is an account of his son’s brave but ultimately unsuccessful struggle with bone cancer. According to Denise, this is a beautifully written book about grief that moves between genres – fiction to non fiction. Best known as the author of novels of suspense where fear is usually the main subject, Morrell said he had never known terror until this dreadful six month period of his son’s illness. He says (on his website) “The book is about despair and loss and God. It's also about eerie experiences that made me believe I was getting some sort of contact from my son. I know that sounds odd, but as the priest/novelist Father Andrew Greeley wrote to me, in his experience more than half the people he has counselled for grief had a similar sensation but didn’t feel free to talk about it for fear of being thought strange.” Although the book is an unusual mixture of the real and the spirtual, Denise said this was not confusing and entirely believable and she thought it would be a very important book for anyone going through a similar experience.
Simon read: Apropos of Nothing the 2020 autobiography of Woody Allen. Simon has always enjoyed his films and was keen to hear his side of events in what has been an often contentious life. The story brings us to the present day and is particularly interesting in its account of film-making. It has a conversational style and gives a comprehensive account of his life moving backwards and forwards in time and including lots of gossip. It covers his early life when he was a stand up comedian. Along the way, he discusses his marriages, his romances and famous friendships, his jazz playing, and his books and plays. We learn about his demons, his mistakes, his successes, and those he loved, worked with, and learned from in equal measure. Simon found this a very entertaining, honest, brilliant self-portrait of an artist who is one of the greatest filmmakers of our time.
Mary read: The Queen’s Fool (2017) by Phillipa Gregory. Mary has been enjoying Gregory’s books and this one was no different. The author has the clever idea of putting a fictitious spy, Hannah as the Queen’s Fool, in the midst of the royal household. The time is circa the middle of the 1500’s before and during Queen Mary’s reign. Jewish, Hannah and her father hide their faith and became faux Christians. Hannah was fourteen and dressed as a boy when they escaped from Spain, because her father, a bookseller of unusual books, deemed that she would be safer disguised like that. Her ability to sometimes be able to see into the future and because she spoke fluent Spanish and French attracted attention to her, and she was recruited by John Dee (a real historical person) to be Mary’s Fool before she ascended the throne. John Dee an astrologer and occultist, eventually became an advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. Hannah becomes a companion to both Queen Mary and Elizabeth and observed the jealousy between them. She had to walk a tactful fine line in diplomacy to save both her job and her life. She has many adventures and eventually marries another Spanish Jew, Daniel Carpenter, who had also changed his name when he came to England. (Mary says coincidentally that is the name that her grandfather changed his name to when he came to England as a Jewish refugee from Poland.) Many adventures ensue before and after the marriage. A really interesting read which gives you an excellent insight into that turbulent time.
Alan read The Confessions of Felix Krull (1954) by Thomas Mann. Mann began writing this book in 1905 and it took over forty years for it to come to publication during which time the author was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Even then it remained unfinished as its author died in 1955. It is a comic, picaresque novel and in Alan’s opinion really is very funny. He said he’d always wanted to read a comic German novel. The book is set in the nineteenth century and is the account of the series of adventures that befall the narrator and this provides the unity of the story. Lacking moral scruples, essentially a con man, Felix Krull takes us through a world peopled by bizarre characters from all stratas of society. Krull is able to adapt himself to the situation of the moment and becomes such an effective con man that his victims almost consider themselves privileged. The Encyclopedia Britannica comments: “The story is a good example of Mann’s often-used theme of the immorality of the artist. Krull makes an art of his criminality and is motivated less by greed than by the sheer joy of a job well done.” The book is ultimately severely critical of the bourgeoisie. Alan found it very funny and would heartily recommend it.
Di read: The Power And The Glory (1940) by Graham Green. Di has owned a copy of this novel for some time and during lockdown has decided to read books she owns but hasn’t read before. A classic modern novel, its title coming from The Lord’s Prayer, it is one of the redemption of a Mexican Catholic priest, a so-called ‘whiskey priest’. He is believed to have been based on a real person, Tomas Garrido Canabal, a committed socialist who despised the Church. During the vicious persecution of the clergy in Mexico, this worldly priest, the, an alcoholic is on the run during the Mexican Revolution. Chased by the police his routes of escape are being shut off, his chances getting fewer. But compassion and humanity force him along the road to his destiny, reluctant to abandon those who need him, and those he cares for. In the introduction to the Penguin Modern Classic John Updike wrote: “The Power and the Glory, is Graham Greene’s masterpiece…. The energy and grandeur of his finest novel derive from the will toward compassion, an ideal communism even more Christian than Communist.” Di found this novel to be very descriptive, lyrical and poetic even – a brilliant book.
Christine read: Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier. She had been given a copy, in French, by a French lady who had stayed with her family and was looking for it recently while thinking about rural France and wishing she could be there. She couldn’t find it but found the Penguin Modern Classic translation and realized that she had never actually read it. It is a classic coming of age novel which every French child reads at school. Recently it figured 6th on Le Monde’s list of the 100 greatest French novels. Christine thoroughly enjoyed the story. The eponymous hero comes to board at a school in a French village and becomes friendly with the son of the schoolmaster, François, who is somewhat in awe of him. Le Grand Meaulnes’ name doesn’t just describe his physical stature but also his dominant character. The plot is based on him setting off driving a carriage to pick up François’ grandparents from a nearby station. He gets lost and that’s essentially where the story begins. He arrives at a chateau ‘the lost domain’ where an engagement party is taking place and there at first sight he falls in love with the daughter of the owner. He is away from the school for three days. The rest of the book deals with his restless search for ‘Yvonne de Galais’ and his desire to find her for Meaulnes. Intertwined is the story of Yvonne’s brother Frantz whose engagement is broken that night. The book is delightful in the way it describes youth and particularly for young males in a small French village. It verges on sentimentalism at times but ultimately it is a beautiful book that captures the essence of what it means to be an adolescent wherever you are. Christine was pleased to have rectified one of the gaps in her life of novel reading.
Sue read: The Glass Palace (2000) Amitav Ghosh. This is a historical novel set in Burma, Bengal, India and Malaysia. It was a recommendation from her book club and Sue enjoyed it very much especially the scope and diversity of it. At times it was slightly confusing particularly at the beginning where there was quite a lot of repetition and it wasn’t always clear which country you were in or who the characters were... It involves three families and covers the period from 1885 century in Mandalay to the post war era and focuses on the fortunes of a Burmese man, Rajkumar Raha. Exiled from Burma when the British forcibly deposed the Burmese king, it moves from an almost fairy-tale early life to the family’s move to Calcutta and the subsequent joining of multiracial families It covers the wide scope of social and economic change including the growth of rubber wealth, the Japanese invasion of Burma and the losses of family lives. The final part covers the post WWII lives of the scattered families. Sue appreciated the story telling and exploration of racial tensions and intergenerational issues.
Vanessa read Tombland (2000) by C J Sansom: This is the seventh novel in the author’s bestselling Shardlake series and Vanessa is a fan of other books by Sansom. The book is set in 1549 two years after the death of King Henry VIII. Shardlake is a lawyer and is in the service of Henry’s younger daughter Lady Elizabeth. Shardlake and his assistant Nicholas Overton go to Norwich to the summer assizes to investigate the murder of Edith Boleyn, wife of John Boleyn a distant relation of Anne. While there a second murder occurs and Shardlake, reunited with a former assistant Jack Barak, and this leads to the three of them investigating the mystery. Simultaneously there is an outbreak of social rebellion by peasants against enclosures led by Robert Kett. The latter establishes a vast camp outside Norwich and leads a force of thousands to overthow the landlords. Soon the rebels have taken over the city. Jack throws in his lot with the rebels whereas Nicholas, opposed to them, becomes a prisoner in Norwich castle. Shardlake discovers that the murder of Edith Boleyn may have connections reaching into both the heart of the rebel camp and of the Norfolk gentry. Vanessa enjoyed the authenticity of the research - the book contains a fifty page essay of historical research into Kett’s Rebellion. Di, another Sansom fan mentioned that his style is ‘rambling’ whereas one review claims that ‘ eight hundred pages in Shardlake’s company always fly by’!
Denise read Fireflies – A Father’s Tale of Love and Loss (1999) by David Morrell. This is an account of his son’s brave but ultimately unsuccessful struggle with bone cancer. According to Denise, this is a beautifully written book about grief that moves between genres – fiction to non fiction. Best known as the author of novels of suspense where fear is usually the main subject, Morrell said he had never known terror until this dreadful six month period of his son’s illness. He says (on his website) “The book is about despair and loss and God. It's also about eerie experiences that made me believe I was getting some sort of contact from my son. I know that sounds odd, but as the priest/novelist Father Andrew Greeley wrote to me, in his experience more than half the people he has counselled for grief had a similar sensation but didn’t feel free to talk about it for fear of being thought strange.” Although the book is an unusual mixture of the real and the spirtual, Denise said this was not confusing and entirely believable and she thought it would be a very important book for anyone going through a similar experience.
Simon read: Apropos of Nothing the 2020 autobiography of Woody Allen. Simon has always enjoyed his films and was keen to hear his side of events in what has been an often contentious life. The story brings us to the present day and is particularly interesting in its account of film-making. It has a conversational style and gives a comprehensive account of his life moving backwards and forwards in time and including lots of gossip. It covers his early life when he was a stand up comedian. Along the way, he discusses his marriages, his romances and famous friendships, his jazz playing, and his books and plays. We learn about his demons, his mistakes, his successes, and those he loved, worked with, and learned from in equal measure. Simon found this a very entertaining, honest, brilliant self-portrait of an artist who is one of the greatest filmmakers of our time.
Mary read: The Queen’s Fool (2017) by Phillipa Gregory. Mary has been enjoying Gregory’s books and this one was no different. The author has the clever idea of putting a fictitious spy, Hannah as the Queen’s Fool, in the midst of the royal household. The time is circa the middle of the 1500’s before and during Queen Mary’s reign. Jewish, Hannah and her father hide their faith and became faux Christians. Hannah was fourteen and dressed as a boy when they escaped from Spain, because her father, a bookseller of unusual books, deemed that she would be safer disguised like that. Her ability to sometimes be able to see into the future and because she spoke fluent Spanish and French attracted attention to her, and she was recruited by John Dee (a real historical person) to be Mary’s Fool before she ascended the throne. John Dee an astrologer and occultist, eventually became an advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. Hannah becomes a companion to both Queen Mary and Elizabeth and observed the jealousy between them. She had to walk a tactful fine line in diplomacy to save both her job and her life. She has many adventures and eventually marries another Spanish Jew, Daniel Carpenter, who had also changed his name when he came to England. (Mary says coincidentally that is the name that her grandfather changed his name to when he came to England as a Jewish refugee from Poland.) Many adventures ensue before and after the marriage. A really interesting read which gives you an excellent insight into that turbulent time.
Alan read The Confessions of Felix Krull (1954) by Thomas Mann. Mann began writing this book in 1905 and it took over forty years for it to come to publication during which time the author was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Even then it remained unfinished as its author died in 1955. It is a comic, picaresque novel and in Alan’s opinion really is very funny. He said he’d always wanted to read a comic German novel. The book is set in the nineteenth century and is the account of the series of adventures that befall the narrator and this provides the unity of the story. Lacking moral scruples, essentially a con man, Felix Krull takes us through a world peopled by bizarre characters from all stratas of society. Krull is able to adapt himself to the situation of the moment and becomes such an effective con man that his victims almost consider themselves privileged. The Encyclopedia Britannica comments: “The story is a good example of Mann’s often-used theme of the immorality of the artist. Krull makes an art of his criminality and is motivated less by greed than by the sheer joy of a job well done.” The book is ultimately severely critical of the bourgeoisie. Alan found it very funny and would heartily recommend it.
Di read: The Power And The Glory (1940) by Graham Green. Di has owned a copy of this novel for some time and during lockdown has decided to read books she owns but hasn’t read before. A classic modern novel, its title coming from The Lord’s Prayer, it is one of the redemption of a Mexican Catholic priest, a so-called ‘whiskey priest’. He is believed to have been based on a real person, Tomas Garrido Canabal, a committed socialist who despised the Church. During the vicious persecution of the clergy in Mexico, this worldly priest, the, an alcoholic is on the run during the Mexican Revolution. Chased by the police his routes of escape are being shut off, his chances getting fewer. But compassion and humanity force him along the road to his destiny, reluctant to abandon those who need him, and those he cares for. In the introduction to the Penguin Modern Classic John Updike wrote: “The Power and the Glory, is Graham Greene’s masterpiece…. The energy and grandeur of his finest novel derive from the will toward compassion, an ideal communism even more Christian than Communist.” Di found this novel to be very descriptive, lyrical and poetic even – a brilliant book.
Christine read: Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier. She had been given a copy, in French, by a French lady who had stayed with her family and was looking for it recently while thinking about rural France and wishing she could be there. She couldn’t find it but found the Penguin Modern Classic translation and realized that she had never actually read it. It is a classic coming of age novel which every French child reads at school. Recently it figured 6th on Le Monde’s list of the 100 greatest French novels. Christine thoroughly enjoyed the story. The eponymous hero comes to board at a school in a French village and becomes friendly with the son of the schoolmaster, François, who is somewhat in awe of him. Le Grand Meaulnes’ name doesn’t just describe his physical stature but also his dominant character. The plot is based on him setting off driving a carriage to pick up François’ grandparents from a nearby station. He gets lost and that’s essentially where the story begins. He arrives at a chateau ‘the lost domain’ where an engagement party is taking place and there at first sight he falls in love with the daughter of the owner. He is away from the school for three days. The rest of the book deals with his restless search for ‘Yvonne de Galais’ and his desire to find her for Meaulnes. Intertwined is the story of Yvonne’s brother Frantz whose engagement is broken that night. The book is delightful in the way it describes youth and particularly for young males in a small French village. It verges on sentimentalism at times but ultimately it is a beautiful book that captures the essence of what it means to be an adolescent wherever you are. Christine was pleased to have rectified one of the gaps in her life of novel reading.
Read the notes from previous sessions here.
