February 16th Meeting

Tonight we discussed Linda's selection of The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway. Again the book was met by mixed reviews. I believe that most of the woman enjoyed the book and we had some very heartfelt comments regarding peoples struggles to maintain their humanity during devastating circumstances. One of the beauties of the book was that although it took place in Sarajevo, it could have been anywhere. The people who inhabited the story, were ordinary citizens caught in a nightmare. We tried to imagine what we would feel like and how we might behave in similar circumstances. This is a book with a fairly simple plot. For some of us that was the beauty of it while others felt it lacked depth. Again, we all have different opinions.

We won't be meeting next month as many of our group will be down south. I look forward to meeting with all of you again in April to discuss The Paris Wife. Until then.......

December 8, 2010 Meeting

Tonight we met to discuss Pat's choice for the month, Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verchese. This was a beautifully written novel with a very compelling story line and some fascinating characters. It seems that most of the members of the group enjoyed the book to a degree. A couple of us truly enjoyed it and savoured the way the story unfolded. One of the criticism's from a couple of the women was that it "dragged" a bit at times. This, I'm afraid is a criticism that is often leveled at our books. Admittedly some times it is deserved, but often the book deserves the time to unfold in its own way. This is of course one of the challenges of a Book Club. It is difficult to find stories that will appeal to everyone. We all have very different tastes and expectations from our books. However this is also what keeps the discussions lively.