Date: Jan. 21, 2006
Summary: Story of Max born at the age of 70 in an infant’s body and he ages backwards. The only people who know the truth about him are his parents and his best friend, Hughie. He falls in love with a girl named Alice, 1st at age 17 when he looks like an old man, then at 30 when he marries her and then at 12 years old when he looks like a little boy.
Notes: Wierd story. Tragic ending. Terrible writing. Not interesting and ultimately not well-liked.
Rachel’s rating: One (1) out of four stars
Jessica’s rating: Two (2) out of four stars (was one of my picks; read it twice and liked it less on the second read; the writing leaves something to be desired but the story is original and extremely clever)
Date: March 24, 2006
Summary: Memoir of drug addiction and rehab, made famous by Oprah when it was revealed that the author fabricated some details. Most everyone liked it and almost everyone thought it didn’t matter what the lies were: the basic message was there.
Notes: Long, written in stream of consciousness voice, which people either liked or hated. I liked it alot.
Rachel’s rating: Three (3) out of four stars
Jessica’s rating: Three (3) out of four stars (Easy read; frightening description of drug addiction; well worth a read even if lambasted by Oprah)
Date: May 12, 2006
Summary: Middle-aged woman Nelle has returned to her childhood home – Egret Island, off the coast of South Carolina – when her mother maims herself by chopping off a finger. Basically, she has a mid-life crisis, leaves her husband, has an affair with a monk and tries to solve the mystery of her father’s death. It gets better as it goes on.
Notes: Very mixed reviews from the group. Lead character hard to connect with. Read like a Lifetime movie.
Rachel’s rating: Two (2) out of four stars
Jessica’s rating: One (1) out of four stars (Main character has little redeeming qualities; poor example of a woman who supposedly becomes self-actualized through inane and somewhat despicable behavior; Kidd uses similes to enhance metaphors; couldn’t stand the writing; this book made me not want to read Secret Life of Bees)
Date: July 6, 2006
Summary: Set in Maycomb, Alabama during the Depression, story of 8-year-old Scout and older brother Jem and dad Atticus. Follows 3-year period where a black man is accused of raping a white woman. Told through the eyes of a child, it’s about race, class, justice and growing up.
Notes: Won the Pultizer Prize. Well-liked by all. Character-driven.
Rachel’s rating: Three and a half (3.5) out of four stars
Jessica’s rating: Four (4) out of four stars (I can’t believe I never read this book before; what was wrong with my high school English curriculum?)
Date: August 24, 2006
Summary: Memoir. Smith alternates her own experiences growing up in Hartford in the 1950’s as a child of French-Italian immigrant parents with the 1953 murder of her friend and classmate who was 11-years-old. We saw her speak at the library and she was very interesting.
Notes: Everyone really liked the book and enjoyed listening to the author.
Rachel’s rating: Three (3) out of four stars
Jessica’s rating: Three (3) out of four stars (several interesting stories woven together in a single book; the more I heard the author speak, the more I enjoyed the book)
Date: October 6, 2006
Summary: Coming of age story of Will Tweedy in the early 1900s who is 14 at the start. Will loses his grandmother and his Grandpa Blakeslee scandalizes the family by marrying three weeks later – Miss Love Simpson. He dies at the end.
Notes: Not a favorite among the group but I really liked it. There is an unfinished sequel called Leaving Cold Sassy.
Rachel’s rating: Two (2) out of four stars
Jessica’s rating: Two (2) out of four stars (didn’t really enjoy the story as a whole but liked the development of the grandfather character who proved to be more insightful than I would have thought; our discussion made me enjoy the book more than having read it alone)
Date: November 17, 2006
Summary: Did not finish this one! Painfully confusing story of old man, Leo Gursky, and 14-year-old Alma. Leo long ago wrote a book called the History of Love and he had a son that he never knew. It’s alternating chapters and at times he’s funny. But overall it was depressing and confusing.
Notes: As one person said, it was like reading a book in a foreign language.
Rachel’s rating: Half (.5) out of four stars
Jessica’s rating: Half (.5) out of four stars (winding story line; felt like Krauss tried too hard to write a story of lives woven together through twists of fate and failed)