Guest list and RSVPs to the current discussion meeting can be found on "view guest list" of your paperlesspost invitation card. 

12/18/2025: The Sea, by John Banville 

11/20/2025: People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks | Ellen Tafeen 

Ellen brought a few versions of Haggadah, which added great depth to the discussion. She also shared an article about mother-daughter relationships, and that was very relatable. We had a wonderful discussion on the book and shared our own family experiences.

10/30/2025: Collective Regrets of Clover, by Mikki Brammer | moderated by Anne

09/31/2025: The Next Day, by Melinda French Gates

08/28/2025: Brooklyn, by Colm Toibin | Moderated by Ursula Berg-Lunk

Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn tells the story of Eilis Lacey, a young woman from 1950s Ireland who emigrates to Brooklyn in search of opportunity. She struggles with homesickness but gradually builds a new life through work, studies, and a romance with Tony, an Italian-American. When a family tragedy draws her back to Ireland, Eilis is torn between two countries, two loves, and two versions of herself.

At our meeting of 16 participants, the discussion was lively and inclusive. We reflected on themes of immigration, cultural adaptation, and family dynamics, often relating them to our own experiences. Opinions differed on the writing style and character development, but this led to rich conversation. We also considered cultural contrasts between European and American societies and the challenges immigrants face in finding both identity and belonging.

Colm Toibin and Literary Ireland

Ursula, our moderator, opened with background on the author. We learned that Brooklyn was published in 2009 and set partly in Tóibín’s hometown in Ireland. Tóibín has since written a sequel, Long Island, released in 2024. Our conversation touched not only on Tóibín’s life but also on Ireland’s rich literary tradition.

Immigrant Experience

Several members, along with some of our parents, came to America as immigrants, which made Eilis’s journey especially relatable. We compared our own experiences of identity, belonging, and adaptation to hers, noting her resilience and the novel’s sensitive portrayal of family ties. 

For those who grew up in New York City, the story also evoked memories of earlier cultural tensions between Italian and Irish communities.

Book and Film Adaptations

Some members had both read the novel and watched its film adaptation. Initial reactions were mixed—particularly about the ending, which felt abrupt and out of character when Eilis returned to Ireland. However, as we talked through the details, we began to see more nuance in Tóibín’s choices and the film’s interpretation. Our collective discussion helped reveal subtleties we might have overlooked individually, leaving us with a deeper appreciation of the story and its conclusion.

Literature

Tóibín’s prose struck many as simple - almost a feeling that English might not have been the author’s first language, and reminiscent of a TV show in its straightforward plotlines. Some felt the characters’ emotions were underdeveloped and the ending unresolved. Others, however, argued that the very simplicity of the language opened space for imagination and reflection, allowing us to engage more personally with the story, and that it is the beauty of simplicity that does not detract readers from the story’s depth, intricacies, and complexity. As the discussion deepened, many came to appreciate the understated style and the quiet power it carried.

We liked the protagonist's transformation into a strong, independent woman. We also reminded ourselves that the story was depicted in the 1950s, when women’s rights and circumstances could have presented a unique challenge.

Cultural Perspectives

We reflected on differences between European and American family dynamics. Eilis emerged as a strong, grounded protagonist; her sister was seen as supportive and self-sacrificing, while her mother’s stoic reserve spoke volumes in its silence. The complexity of these relationships—marked by unspoken emotions and generational boundaries—sparked thoughtful comparisons with our own families.

​—-----------

We have a great selection of books for the next half-year, and more for those ambitious readers.

​More summaries of past discussions can be found on our website.

See more photos of our discussions.

Until next time!

- Wen, Rita, Meera

07/31/2025: The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood

06/26/2025: Trust, by Hernan Diaz

Hernán Díaz’s Trust is a layered meditation on money, power, and the stories we tell to legitimize both. Set amid the boom-and-bust decades of 1920s–30s New York, the novel is built from four interlocking texts—a popular novel, a financier’s memoir, a ghost-writer’s manuscript, and a private diary—that offer clashing versions of the rise of tycoon Andrew Bevel and his wife Mildred. As each account revises or erases the others, Díaz exposes how wealth can not only move markets but also manipulate memory, marginalize certain voices (especially women), and manufacture “truth.” This vantage on unreliable narration, financial myth-making, and the silencing of outsiders provides a concise springboard for our discussion summary.

Our conversation started around Trust’s central question of self-mythologizing—how we all edit the family album in our heads—beginning with one reader’s admission that her recollection of a childhood family member bears little resemblance to her sister’s. From there, the group teased apart why the same events splinter into conflicting stories: money tilts the lens, social status dials the contrast, and private hurts color every frame. We also lingered on Díaz’s portraits of the orbiters who feed off great fortunes, noting how Banner’s brash public legend, Andrew’s self-aggrandizing, Mildred’s guarded interiority, and Ida’s outsider skepticism offer clashing angles on the same glittering empire.

Competing portraits of Andrew Bevel
The group compared the novel’s four “biographies,” debating which version of Andrew’s life and market tactics feels most credible. One reader relayed her partner’s view that Andrew blended sharp data-gathering with almost preternatural intuition—a mix the book’s different narrators bend to their own agendas. Everyone noted how each retelling reshapes Mildred’s contribution, from invisible muse to decisive strategist, revealing how power and money distort memory, and how little control women had over their destiny and their life story.

A marriage seen through many lenses
Turning to relationships, we agreed that Mildred’s private diary suggests a colder yet intellectually equal partnership than the public myths admit. The couple’s union seems transactional by contemporary standards but perfectly calibrated to their class and era. Several readers observed that Mildred/Helen uses the marriage to escape her parents’ manipulations and craft a self-directed life.

Parenthood, legacy, and status
Personal anecdotes surfaced about having children late, choosing not to have them at all, and the cultural weight placed on offspring as a legacy. Our conversation linked these experiences to Andrew’s obsession with leaving his own legacy in print and to the way different cultures teach children to address adults—by first names, titles, or seniority — as subtle markers of class, economic background, as well as social expectations of respect and self-awareness.

Market manipulation, then and now
The group unpacked Benjamin Rusk’s (Andrew’s fictional stand-in) mastery of 1920s market quirks — trading volumes, rumor management, insider signals, market manipulations — and traced some parallels to modern tactics, social-media hype cycles, and ongoing public doubts about financial institutions. We contemplated the author’s choice of the title Trust, and related it to the trust in the financial market, trust in individuals, and trust in different narratives of the same events.

Media framing and hidden histories
Finally, participants explored how wealthy patrons, political forces, and editorial priorities shape news coverage, and how to counter the bias by swapping among international outlets and reading opposite views. 

Special Mention:

On August 28, during our regular book discussion, we will have a special guest, Alvida Mirzoyan, an art historian who worked for many years in the Hermitage Museum as a curator and was the guard of Georgian treasures, will give us a short talk about her book and the related art collections in Hermitage Museum, Georgian Toreutics of the Middle Ages – Research and Attributions in the Hermitage Collection. 

05/29/2025: Horse, by Geraldine Brooks

04/24/2025: Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie is a vivid, imaginative novel that tells the story of Saleem Sinai, born at the exact moment of India’s independence in 1947. Saleem’s life, intertwined with magical elements and historical events, mirrors the chaotic and often painful journey of India and Pakistan as new nations. Blending memory, fantasy, and history, the novel explores themes of identity, fate, and the power of storytelling, ultimately asking how personal and national histories shape and distort one another.

We had a spirited discussion led by Meera, who brought valuable insight into the historical background of the novel. She guided us through multiple aspects of the book, including its use of magical realism, its religious parallels, and the actual history of India and Pakistan as newly independent nations. Rita emphasized how the characters in the book metaphorically map onto the nations themselves, with their personal life stories mirroring the broader historical narratives of India and Pakistan during that era.

Midnight’s Children is a rich and challenging read. While a few of us didn’t quite make it to the end, we were all captivated by Rushdie’s vibrant writing style, his masterful choice of words, and his remarkable ability to weave such a complex and layered story. We also enjoyed watching the movie adaptation together. Although it may not be a great cinematic masterpiece, it offered a helpful way to follow the novel’s major storylines. Our potluck movie night at the library was delightful.

The historical context Meera shared ahead of our reading, along with our discussions on broader cultural and religious themes, greatly deepened our understanding of the novel. 

As we explored the religious aspects, we reflected on the evolution of yoga and Hinduism, noting how yoga has shifted from its spiritual and meditative roots to a more exercise-focused practice in the modern world. Our conversation about Hindu deities and their stories helped us appreciate the parallels Rushdie weaves into his narrative. These reflections led to a broader discussion on conflict, tolerance, and the importance of accepting diverse beliefs and perspectives.

The group discussed the portrayal of Indira Gandhi, particularly her role during the Emergency. We reflected on the novel’s depiction of the sterilization campaign and its impact on society. 

We read some sentences that highlight the beauty of Rushdie’s language and his ability to weave mythology and history into a compelling fictional tapestry.

In contemplating the fate of the two major characters, Saleem Sinai and Shiva, who were switched at birth between poor and rich families, we noted that Shiva grows up to represent power, ruthlessness, and the darker forces of history that shape nations through force and domination while Saleem's destiny is to remember, interpret, and embody the fragmented, chaotic story of the nation. The novel suggests that identity and destiny are not purely innate — they are profoundly shaped by chance, upbringing, and historical forces. Saleem and Shiva’s crossed lives mirror the unpredictable, often arbitrary forces that shaped postcolonial India and Pakistan.

Our discussion of religions in the book touched on Islamic beliefs about human creation (from three drops of blood) and Hindu symbolism, such as the reverence for rubies. We noted that Salman Rushdie very deliberately uses character names and actions to evoke religious and cultural symbolism. He draws from Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Indian mythology, layering these associations into the characters’ identities and destinies. 

A light-hearted but meaningful moment closed our session as we learned about chutney’s role in Indian cuisine — balancing flavors much like the novel balances history and imagination.

This discussion was a wonderful learning experience for all of us. We enjoyed sharing insights about the history of the region, the rich religious influences woven into the story, the author’s remarkable writing style, and aspects of Salman Rushdie’s own life and background.

03/27/2025: Midnight Blue, by Simone van der Vlugt

Our March discussion centered on Midnight Blue, a historical novel set in 17th-century Holland during the Dutch Golden Age. The story follows Catrin, a young widow who escapes her rural village and attempts to reinvent herself in bustling Amsterdam. Themes of secrecy, reinvention, art, and female empowerment unfold against a backdrop of social hierarchy, artistic ambition, and survival.

Our group dove into a thoughtful and spirited debate over the novel’s character development, historical accuracy, and narrative depth. Some members found the story engaging and flowing smoothly, while others felt the characters were underdeveloped and that the emotional arcs felt superficial. We also questioned whether translation may have played a role in some of the dialogue’s flatness, noting how nuance can be lost when a book crosses languages.

Despite differing views, everyone appreciated the book’s accessible style and smooth pacing. The depiction of the Delft pottery trade and the realities of 17th-century Dutch society added richness, even as we debated whether certain modern-sounding elements—such as women’s roles and plague treatments—felt anachronistic in a historical setting.

Our member Anne provided rich historical context on Delft pottery, tracing its roots through Dutch-Chinese trade, the rise of the East India Company, and the booming economy of the Dutch Golden Age. Her research added wonderful depth to our understanding of the novel’s backdrop.

Equally memorable was Karen’s contribution. Drawing from her childhood in the Netherlands, Karen shared vivid memories of farm life, icy winters, and cycling in all weather, bringing authenticity to the group’s discussion of daily life in historical Holland. She delighted everyone by bringing Dutch stroopwafels, a special treat we enjoyed. She also brought in two 18th-century Delft tiles (photos above) to show the group the kind of artwork depicted by the book. These sparked a lively conversation on their artistic detail, manufacturing process, and their symbolic connection to the novel’s themes of craftsmanship and reinvention.

The group had mixed reactions to Catrin’s transformation from self-preserving widow to emotionally strong and compassionate artist. Some found her growth inspiring; others questioned its pacing or emotional realism. Her later choice to wait for a man who had once left her earlier divided opinions: was it strength, romantic optimism, character growth, or a flaw in the plot?

We appreciated the novel’s effort to depict the challenges faced by female artists in a male-dominated society. That opened a broader conversation about the resilience of Dutch women, and how it compares to Asian women’s responses to adversity, drawing on personal experiences and cultural reflection.

Though our reactions to Midnight Blue varied, the conversation was rich, layered, and full of thoughtful deliberations. 

From stroopwafels and Delft tiles to discussions of identity, gender, and artistry, this month’s meeting was a true celebration of literature and community. We do not always agree but we respect and truly want to hear other’s perspectives, and that is what makes our discussion rich and dynamic. In such lively discussions, we learn from each other and find more nuances and story lines in the book that we might have originally missed.

02/27/2025: Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks

Moderator: Wen Gong

Set in 1666, Year of Wonders follows Anna Frith, a young housemaid in the English village of Eyam, which voluntarily quarantines itself to stop the bubonic plague spread. As death and fear consume the town, Anna grows from a quiet servant into a resilient healer. She forms a deep bond with Elinor Mompellion, the rector’s wife, who mentors her in herbal medicine and midwifery.

As the plague worsens, paranoia and violence take hold. Neighbors turn on each other, and religious zealotry leads to tragic consequences. Anna uncovers shocking truths about the rector, Michael Mompellion, especially after Elinor’s death. In the end, she chooses to leave Eyam, seeking a new life beyond the village.

The novel explores themes of resilience, faith, superstition, and women's strength in the face of disaster.

Our book club was deeply moved by Year of Wonders, with an overwhelmingly positive response. Many of us approached it with hesitation, wary of its seemingly grim subject matter. Yet from the very first pages, we found ourselves captivated—not just by the compelling story, but by Geraldine Brooks’ poignant and evocative writing. Even the harrowing scenes of loss and suffering did not deter us; instead, they pulled us in further, making the novel impossible to put down. The narrative’s momentum, rich character development, and emotional depth kept us engaged.

We deeply appreciated the author’s meticulous research into the history of Eyam and the events that inspired the novel. Her beautiful and immersive writing style, enriched with period-specific language, gave the story a unique sense of authenticity. The unfamiliar words from the era added depth, making the setting feel vivid and true to its time. Brooks’ choice of words and her evocative descriptions—whether of people, gardens, or daily life—painted striking images that resonated with us, drawing us even into the world she so masterfully recreated.

Though set in the 17th century, the novel strikes a good balance between historical detail and compelling storytelling. The portrayal of daily life feels authentic without overshadowing the narrative’s momentum. We found the characters to be well-developed, realistic, and deeply engaging. In particular, Anna stands out as an inspiring heroine. Her resilience, kindness, and selflessness serve as a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit. Despite immense loss and tragedy, she perseveres, and her journey moves us all.

We had a lively debate about the novel’s unexpected ending. Some of us felt it veered too far into fantasy, even bordering on the absurd, as it didn’t seem to align with Anna’s character development. Others, after considering Geraldine Brooks’ background as a journalist, speculated that she may have drawn from her own experiences to craft an ending that felt familiar to her. Some, after researching the historical context, found Anna’s final journey plausible and feasible for the time. Still, others believed that Brooks deliberately left us with a thought-provoking conclusion—one that invites reflection on themes of faith, rebellion, and acceptance.

Our readers were deeply impressed by the town’s extraordinary act of self-sacrifice—choosing to isolate themselves to prevent the plague from spreading to neighboring villages. While a few of us naturally drew parallels to our own experiences during COVID-19, the majority were more struck by the broader historical implications. The town’s struggle to enforce a public health policy in the face of fear, superstition, and suffering reminded us of other moments in history when society grappled with similar challenges, such as the early response to the AIDS crisis and other pandemics. The novel offered a powerful reflection on the resilience and moral dilemmas faced by communities in times of crisis.

Our discussion also touched on the importance of science in combating disease and how pandemics, such as the polio outbreak, have shaped our own country's history. We reflected on the critical role of medical advancements in saving lives and how the resistance to science—such as the rise of the anti-vaccine movement—has impacted public health. The novel’s depiction of fear, misinformation, and the struggle to understand disease resonated with these modern parallels, reminding us of the ongoing tension between scientific progress and societal beliefs.

We had a spirited discussion on the concepts of atonement and retribution, exploring their meanings and how they are used in and outside of the novel. 

We talked about how Geraldine Brooks masterfully maintained suspense and kept the story moving forward. One reader pointed out that the constant uncertainty—wondering who would succumb to the plague next—created a gripping sense of tension. Others felt that the real driving force was Anna’s journey—her resilience, her personal growth, and how she navigated the loss of those she loved. The novel’s pacing, vivid descriptions, and emotional stakes made it difficult to put down, as each chapter revealed new challenges, deepened character development and pushed Anna toward her ultimate transformation.

One reader commented that she liked our discussion better than the book itself!

1/30/2025: Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt

Moderator: Wen Gong, Rita Comes

Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures is a heartwarming novel that explores themes of loss, loneliness, connection, and second chances. The story follows Tova Sullivan, a widowed 70-year-old woman who works as a nighttime janitor at the Sowell Bay Aquarium in Washington. Still grieving the disappearance of her son over thirty years ago, she finds solace in her work routine and in the company of an unlikely confidant: Marcellus, a highly intelligent giant Pacific octopus who lives at the aquarium.

Marcellus, an observant and curmudgeonly creature, has a unique perspective on humans and their quirks. Through his internal monologues and clandestine nighttime adventures, he begins to piece together a long-buried secret that connects Tova’s past to another key character in the novel: Cameron Cassmore, a drifting 30-year-old searching for stability and answers about his missing father.

As the novel unfolds, Tova and Cameron’s paths cross in unexpected ways, with Marcellus pivotally nudging them toward the truth. The story is infused with warmth, humor, and emotional depth, exploring how people (and even an octopus) can find healing and meaning through new relationships.

We had a large group of about 14 participants. As we went around the table, everyone had the opportunity to share their thoughts and experiences with the book.

While some of us found the portrayal of a highly intelligent, narrating octopus — along with a few other plot elements — a bit contrived, coincidental, or unrealistic, the majority thoroughly enjoyed the story. Our discussion brought out several key perspectives, including the following: 

• The story is engaging and fast-paced, making it a true page-turner. Readers strongly connect with the octopus, whose serious yet accepting perspective on both his captivity and human behavior adds depth to the narrative.

• Each character in the book is well-developed, distinct, and possesses a unique voice. Although the beginning feels somewhat slow, we appreciate how all the characters grow and evolve as the story progresses. They each have their own aspirations and remain open to new experiences and possibilities. 

• The book’s structure — featuring short sections with different characters narrating their perspectives, including an octopus given a human-like voice — is unique and compelling.

• Not surprisingly, we find the octopus’s voice more engaging than most of the human characters, making him our favorite character overall.

• The group is divided on the character of Cameron. Some see him as the most compelling figure, while others find him frustrating and destructive.

• We are intrigued by how the author was inspired to write this story—starting from an interest in marine life and developing it from a short story written in a class.

• The element of magical realism—giving the octopus a human-like voice and thoughts—feels unconvincing to some. For them, it makes the story difficult to relate to and comes across as a Hallmark-style sci-fi read suited for a relaxed beach day.

• The novel brings forth themes of loneliness, abandonment, and friendship. It also highlights the role of animals, much like dogs in real life, in facilitating human connection and encouraging conversations with strangers.

• The audiobook version enhances the reading experience, as it features two narrators—a male and a female—making it more enjoyable and easier to follow compared to most single-voiced audiobooks.

• As animal lovers, we feel deeply for the octopus and find it sad that he is confined away from his natural habitat.

• While the ending ties everything up neatly—perhaps a bit too neatly to be entirely realistic—we still found the story to be a delightful and satisfying read.

• Would we want the octopus character to exist as a human in real life? No. His judgmental and negative outlook would make him a rather unpleasant friend.

Ultimately, Remarkably Bright Creatures is a blend of marine biology fascination, human drama, and a touch of magical realism — all centered around themes of healing, loneliness and abandoment, family and friendships, lose and grief, mystery, discovery and adventure, intelligence and empathy of animals.

As a group, we watched My Octopus Teacher before our discussion to gain a deeper understanding of the book’s central character, the octopus. What fascinated us most was learning that each octopus has its own distinct personality, much like humans. We were also deeply moved and saddened by the fact that octopuses die after producing offspring.

At the discussion concluded, we decided that we would organize a roadtrip to Monterey Acquirium and have an opportunity to observe the octopus.

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​We have a great selection of books for the next half a year, and more for those of you ambitious readers.

​More summaries of the past discussions can be found at our website as well.

See more photos of our discussions.

Until the next time!

- Wen, Rita, Anne

11/21/2024: The Confidante, by Christopher C. Gorham

TBD

10/31/2024: Castle of Water, by Dane Huckelbridge | Moderator: Wen Gong

Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge is a novel about survival, resilience, and unexpected companionship. The story follows Barry, an American, and Sophie, a Parisian, who survive a plane crash in the South Pacific, landing on a tiny deserted island. With limited resources and no immediate hope of rescue, they must learn to work together, sharing skills and forming an unlikely bond as they face daily challenges for survival.

The novel explores themes of love, loss, and the human capacity for adaptability in the face of isolation. The author balances moments of tension with humor and warmth, making it both a survival tale and an intimate exploration of human connection. The story invites readers to reflect on what it means to truly survive—not only physically but emotionally.

In our book club's seven years of discussions, we've noticed how our unique life experiences, reading habits, and personal preferences shape our interpretations of each story we read. Castle of Water was no exception, as our varied opinions sparked a lively, thought-provoking discussion that encouraged us to see the novel through multiple perspectives.

Some of us found the story lacking, citing the foreshadowed ending, the well-worn theme of being stranded on a desert island, and the challenges in suspending disbelief around the characters' survival. However, once we chose to overlook the convenient circumstances that made their survival possible, our conversation shifted to the deeper themes the author may have wanted us to explore: the limits of human endurance, the impact of isolation, and the slow, transformative power of love.

For those who questioned why the characters didn’t attempt to leave the island sooner, we considered human nature—how clinging to hope for rescue might delay taking drastic measures like building a canoe. Over time, as hope waned, they adapted and grew more resourceful with the few materials they had, echoing how necessity can drive creativity.

We delved into the complexities of Barry and Sophie’s relationship, wondering whether their love was purely out of survival needs or if it was genuine, possibly the kind that could endure beyond island life. The contrast in how each character experienced love and adapted to isolation sparked further conversation. We also scrutinized the realism of the survival details, checking against our own knowledge of basic survival skills.

Interestingly, when we imagined ourselves in the characters' situation, there was a distinct difference in perspectives: those of us raised in the U.S. leaned toward a determined, "can-do" approach to survival, while those from different cultural backgrounds leaned towards a more pessimistic approach.

As always, our conversation led us to reflect on our own life experiences and helped us understand each other better, adding yet another memorable discussion to our club's journey.

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​We have a great selection of books for the next half a year, and more for those of you ambitious readers: http://tinyurl.com/pvwc-bookclub

​More summaries of the past discussions can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/club-discussions

More photos of our discussions can be found at: https://sites.google.com/view/pvwc-bookclub/group-photos

​Happy reading, ladies and gentlemen! 

8/29/2024: The Housemaid, by Freida McFadden | Moderator: Wen Gong

In The Housemaid, Millie Calloway, recently released from jail, unemployed, and desperate for work, takes a live-in housemaid job for the wealthy Winchester family. From the outside, the Winchesters' home and lives seem perfect, but Millie quickly discovers that things are far from what they appear. The house is filled with unsettling secrets, and Nina Winchester, the matriarch, is emotionally erratic and controlling.

As Millie navigates the strange dynamics in the house, she uncovers dark truths about the Winchesters and their hidden agendas. At the same time, she grapples with her own past, which she is trying to escape. Twists and turns unfold, leading to a suspenseful and unexpected climax as Millie’s role in the household becomes more dangerous.

The novel is a psychological thriller with themes of manipulation, class struggle, and the masks people wear to hide their true selves. The Housemaid keeps readers on edge, exploring the tension between appearances and reality, trust and deception.

During our discussion, opinions varied on the pacing of the novel’s opening section. Some members felt the initial setup dragged on, with repetitive details that made it difficult to stay engaged—one member even considered giving up. However, others thought that this repetition was intentional, highlighting Millie’s growing desperation to remain in a job that increasingly seemed dangerous. The slow buildup served to underscore the depth of her hopelessness, which surprised us when eventually she turned the table around.

We agreed that the novel effectively portrays the behavior of a typical abuser—targeting someone vulnerable and easy to control. The story reflects the desperation of women who find themselves without options. Millie, with her past incarceration, faces immense difficulty in securing work, while Nina is trapped by the demands of an unplanned pregnancy and caring for her child, making her an easy target for manipulation.

Some scenes, however, stretched credibility. For instance, a scene where Millie and Andrew attend a play that receives three ovations seems exaggerated. Additionally, Andrew’s having to extract four teeth to save his own life felt overly dramatic, and the twist involving the detective—who just happens to be connected to Andrew’s past victims—felt too convenient and strained believability.

Despite these moments, we found the ending satisfying, especially Millie’s ultimate act of revenge. It was a cheer-worthy moment, though we were divided on whether Andrew’s death was truly deserved, even after all the harm he caused both women.

The story’s conclusion clearly hints at a sequel, which indeed has followed, leaving us curious about what lies ahead.

7/25/2024: Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett is a New York Times bestseller, a Reese Book Club pick, and voiced by Maryl Streep for the audiobook version. The novel explores themes of love, memory, and the passage of time. Set against the backdrop of a family cherry orchard in Northern Michigan, the story unfolds during the COVID-19 pandemic. The protagonist, Lara Nelson, recounts her past to her three adult daughters, drawing them into her youthful experiences and the defining moments that shaped her life. Lara's narrative oscillates between her current life on the family farm and her younger years as an aspiring actress. Much of her story centers around her time at Tom Lake, a summer theater where she had a passionate love affair with a charismatic actor named Peter Duke. As she shares her memories, her daughters learn about the complexities of her past, including the choices and sacrifices that led her to her present life.

We had a lively discussion. One observant reader highlighted the author’s skill in planting subtle clues and resolving them later in the book, which made the reading experience particularly engaging. For instance, the significance of Lara’s children’s names, revealed later as names of important people in her life, added depth to the story.

We found ourselves relating deeply to the themes of family, love for our children, and the timing and extent of sharing our pasts with them. Some members were so captivated by the book that they found it hard to put down. Patchett’s unique storytelling weaves together valuable life lessons, encouraging us to reflect on major decisions and turning points in our own lives.

The discussion reminded us of the importance of family and the effort required to keep family bonds strong. Patchett’s narrative beautifully underscores these themes, making Tom Lake not only a compelling read but also a poignant reminder of what truly matters in life.

We lingered on the particular message from the story, that is, we often do not appreciate what we have until it is too late. 

Some readers had higher expectations for Tom Lake, given its New York Times best-seller status and the narration by the renowned actress Meryl Streep. They felt the book fell short of these high expectations, finding it lacked the literal impact they anticipated. While the story was pleasant, it did not provide the depth or intensity to leave a lasting impression.

Additionally, some found certain minor storylines to be somewhat superfluous, seemingly included to appeal to a broader audience and ensure commercial success. 

As our discussion deepened, however, we discovered nuances that some of us had initially overlooked. Specifically, it dawned on us that Lara’s three daughters embody aspirations and destinies that reflect the three major periods of her life. This revelation added a richer layer to our understanding of the characters and their connections to Lara's past experiences.

The book also addresses the destructive impact of alcoholism and the tragic isolation experienced during the pandemic, notably marked by the death of Lara’s ex-lover. This theme adds a somber and reflective dimension to the story, highlighting the profound effects of addiction and solitude.

During our discussion, we related the themes to our own lives and our relationships with our children. We were particularly surprised to learn that the author, Ann Patchett, chose not to have children of her own. Despite this, her portrayal of familial bonds and parental love is remarkably authentic, demonstrating her deep empathy and understanding of these universal experiences.

Thornton Wilder's classic play Our Town plays a crucial role in Tom Lake. The protagonist, Lara Nelson, spends a transformative summer at Tom Lake, a theater company, where she performs in this iconic production. One of our members watched Our Town on YouTube and found that it delves into themes of everyday life, love, and the passage of time—mirroring the broader themes present in Tom Lake. The play becomes a significant part of Lara's past, shaping her memories and influencing her present. The story of Tom Lake was possibly inspired, at least in part, by the profound themes of this classic play Our Town. To watch the play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k_EBbZdUO0

Each of us felt we gained a deeper understanding of Tom Lake through our discussion. By sharing our individual reading and insights, we connected more dots, uncovered missing links, and enriched our appreciation of the story. While the book may not be a lasting piece of literature, we unanimously agreed that it is a delightful and thoroughly enjoyable read, perfect for a summer vacation.

6/27/2024: A Woman of No Importance, by Sonia Purnell

Sonia Purnell’s A Woman of No Importance is a wonderful biography that unveils the extraordinary life of Virginia Hall, an American woman who defied all odds to become one of the most successful and influential Allied spies during World War II. The narrative begins with Hall’s privileged childhood and the devastating accident that resulted in the loss of one leg, and follows her through her remarkable journey into espionage.

Driven by unparalleled determination and courage, Hall's contributions to the war effort were nothing short of phenomenal. She skillfully organized resistance networks, orchestrated daring sabotage operations, and provided vital intelligence that proved crucial to the Allied forces. Purnell’s account is more than a biography; it’s an inspiring story of a woman who rose above immense challenges to leave an indelible mark on history.

We are deeply inspired by Hall’s remarkable story, recognizing the immense difficulty of her feats at a time when women were oppressed and mistrusted. Her resilience in the face of physical limitations, constant threats of betrayal, and the ever-present danger of capture is truly admirable. Hall's unwavering commitment to her mission and her deep-seated beliefs in freedom and justice led her to risk everything for a cause greater than herself.

Purnell’s detailed portrayal of the French Resistance brings to life the incredible bravery of people like Hall, whose profound courage and steadfast dedication continue to inspire us. Although some found the writing style somewhat dry, making the book a bit challenging to read, the audiobook version (available at the library online) offers a more engaging experience.

A Woman of No Importance succeeds in shining a much-deserved spotlight on the often-overlooked contributions of women in wartime. It’s heartening to see Virginia Hall finally receive the recognition she deserved from British intelligence and the CIA after her story came out. Purnell’s work ensures that Hall’s legacy as a pioneering female spy will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.

5/30/2024: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, by Elif Shafak

4/25/2024: Recapitulation, by Wallace Stegner

Under the full blooming wisteria and surrounded by incredible nature, enjoying the homemade Lavender cookies and lemonade, we had the book discussion in a most beautiful and enchanted setting!  🌹 Thank you, Rita!  ❤️

We have mixed feelings about the story. Some thoroughly enjoyed every word, others gave up on the story half way. After listening to one member's more comprehensive approach to understanding the author's life and his other works, some of us feel we might consider re-reading the book and enjoy it better. For those of you who like Wallace Stegner's writing, one of our members recommended these books:

• All the Little Live Things (1967)

• Crossing to Safety (1987)

• The Spectator Bird (1976)

This year we are trying new ways to boost our spirit and have fun while reading and discussing. Please feel free to send us your creative ideas. 

3/28/2024: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride

2/29/2024: Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Thank you, Cathy Lampman, for inviting us to your very special and beautiful home for a wonderful discussion! 

As fans of the author, Kazuo Ishiguro, many of us have read his other books and love his writing. We found in Klara and the Sun similar sentiments present in all of his writings: Ishiguro is a master at exploring deep human emotions, love, loneliness, and regrets…. In telling the story of Klara, an Artificial Intelligence Friend of a young teenage girl, Ishiguro compels us to compare our human journey to that of Klara, whose curiosity led her to observe and to understand, in her own way, all of these human emotions and what it means to be human. Does she ever develop these emotions herself? Is her fate different from that of a real human being? How is she treated in the human society? Different characters in the book relate differently to Klara. Mom of Josie, to whom Klara devotes her attention as her best AI friend, wants Klara to live forever as Josie if Josie dies from a mysterious illness; Josie’s neighbor, Rick’s mom, wonders out aloud if she should treat Klara as a machine such as a vacuum cleaner; Josie’s teenage friends debate whether they could treat Klara as a toy to throw around or treat her with dignity; Josie’s “portrait painter” tries to make Klara into Josie if Josie died as he believes that there is nothing special in human and all of humanity can be replicated in AI…. 

We too found ourselves split in our imaginary relationship with a future AI who might appear in our future households. As we wondered about such an intelligent humanoid, most of us said no to having such an AI friend or helper. Yet, reflecting on what we already have, the iRobot floor cleaners, Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Gemini, or OpenAI’s ChatGPT, etc., we came to realize that we are already relying on these AI in more ways than we thought. 

Klara herself has absolute devotion to her human teenage companion Josie. In Klara’s eagerness to help Josie’s illness, Klara embarks on a couple of tasks that she deeply believes in, and even risks her life to carry out these tasks. This reminds us very much of our human beliefs, how they come about, and their role in society and our lives. Ishiguro gently guides us into contemplating the boundaries between humans and human-like AIs. 

The story is narrated in the 3rd person voice of the Artificial Intelligence Friend Klara. Some of us find this voice somewhat childish and annoying, others thought this was a fitting way of speech by the portrayed Artificial Friend of a young teenage girl. 

We all found the ending rather sad. Klara slowly deteriorates after taking some of her precious fuel to destroy a machine that she believes to be a hindrance to Josie’s recovery. After Josie recovers and goes to college, Klara finds herself standing in the attic most of the time like an unused cleaning tool, while new AI friend models continuously replace the old ones. Eventually, Klara finds herself standing alone in an AI junkyard and looking out to the setting sun. This reminds us of the lonely ending of our human lives. As we contemplated ways to recycle, reuse, and improve Klara so she can be with another family, we almost forgot that after all, Klara is a machine - this is how we treat our robot machines today, we buy a new one instead of trying to fix the old one. Yet for that special brief moment, we did feel for Klara as if she too has acquired humanity and thus deserves our feelings for her.

In conclusion, Klara and the Sun offers a compelling narrative that beautifully explores themes of love, identity, and technology. It's a book that speaks to the heart and mind, making it a must-read recommendation for all.

1/25/2024: Dare To Be 100, by Walter M. Bortz

Many of us remember the Portola Valley author Dr. Bortz when he was alive, often jogging through the town and chatting people up. He was a model of exercise and movements, running marathons well into his 80th. We shared many stories about Dr. Bortz and conversations with him.

Dr. Bortz's book is a collection of his insights, his understanding of the current medical field on aging, and his personal experience on how to live well while aging. The focus of his advocate in his 100 Steps to Live to 100 Years Old is exercise, exercise, exercise - just keep moving, do not stop. We were amused that out of the 100 steps, over 20 steps were devoted to how to exercise as a senior. We resonated with some of his insights by observing our own aging friends, for example, Dr. Bortz cautioned seniors not to gradually close into themselves figuratively (stop socializing) and literally (hunch over physically). We found that some of his claims seem to be overgeneralizations (for example, one's genes do not contribute to one's longevity), others derived from less than rigorous scientific findings (i.e., he found in some athletes the natural rate of performance degradation is 1/2% per year, and claimed that the true aging changes equal to 1/2% per year). Nonetheless, his book is full of wisdom that we found inspiring and great reminders, for example, "not all people are wise, but you don’t get wise until you are old," Victor Hugo, “When you look into a young person’s eyes you see flame; when you look into an old person’s eyes you see light."  “In helping someone else to survive, the person most likely to benefit is you”

A couple of us find that the book is a bit too oriented in research and thus a little boring to read; others find the book lacks enough substance and give up midway. However, since this is a subject that is of great interest to all of us, we appreciate the words of wisdom and tips that help us deal with aging and live well, thus overall we appreciate the message and reminder from Dr. Bortz. 

The short list of Dr. Bortz's 100 Steps to 100:

The Steps to 100

Step 1: anti-aging nutrition

Step 2: read well to eat well

Step 3: time to eat?

Step 4: your body's need for calories

Step 5: fat alert

Step 6: count cholesterol

Step 7: push carbs

Step 8: protein pros and cons

Step 9: don't dry up

Step 10: slash the salt

Step 11: keep your fiber up

Step 12: vitamin care

Step 13: calcium matters

Step 14: a coffee break for longevity

Step 15: alcohol: anti-aging foe or friend?

Step 16: chemical cuisine?

Step 17: beware free radicals

Step 18: cancer-fighting diet

Step 19: believe in longevity

Step 20: be necessary

Step 21: find meaning

Step 22: be an optimist

Step 23: take risks

Step 24: stay in control

Step 25: maintain the creative spark

Step 26: seek wisdom

Step 27: be a responsible ager

Step 28: have options

Step 29: be a good neighbor

Step 30: cherish experience

Step 31: get high on helping

Step 32: learn to learn

Step 33: don't kill yourself

Step 34: keep your senses sharp

Step 35: train your brain

Step 36: build memory

Step 37: keep order

Step 38: be attractive

Step 39: recognize that sex is for life

Step 40: stay in touch

Step 41: take rx pet

Step 42: keep family strong

Step 43: don't take yourself so seriously

Step 44: work with stress

Step 45: have time sense

Step 46: know your primary doctor

Step 47: pamper your glands

Step 48: be a good loser

Step 49: stay in tune

Step 50: stay on the road

Step 51: recognize depression

Step 52: die well

Step 53: have guts

Step 54: recharge yourself

Step 55: stay in flow

Step 56: renew your health

Step 57: cherish your world

Step 58: think travel

Step 59: think when, where, and why retire

Step 60: make your last nest your best

Step 61: beware of retirement myths

Step 62: afford retirement

Step 63: have a life money plan

Step 64: be wealth fit--save

Step 65: keep working

Step 66: spend it all

Step 67: lobby for yourself

Step 68: use leisure

Step 69: re-learn, re-think, re-educate

Step 70: sleep enough

Step 71: keep in rhythm

Step 72: steps for the woman

Step 73: steps for the man

Step 74: keep in rhythm

Step 75: know how hard, long, & often to exercise

Step 76: realize it's never too late

Step 77: make time for exercise

Step 78: when tired, exercise

Step 79: don't fear exercise

Step 80: it's ok to be sore

Step 81: watch your fuel gauge

Step 82: learn with what & when to fuel exercise

Step 83: keep your oxygen tanks full

Step 84: make exercise your circulation's best friend

Step 85: be strong

Step 86: stay loose

Step 87: stay balanced

Step 88: stand straight

Step 89: work dem bones

Step 90: respect your back

Step 91: honor your neck

Step 92: keep breathing

Step 93: use your brain -- exercise

Step 94: chase the blues

Step 95: be sexy, be fit

Step 96: avoid the big C -- exercise

Step 97: walk away from infection

Step 98: know that aging is incurable

Step 99: you don't have to win

Step 100: just do it

12/28/2023: The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand

ChatGPT: Please summarize the essence of Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead

ChatGPT

"The Fountainhead," written by Ayn Rand, is a novel that was first published in 1943. The book is an embodiment of Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, which champions individualism and rejects collectivism. The story focuses on the life and career of Howard Roark, an innovative and uncompromising architect who struggles against what he perceives as a tradition-bound, conformist society that stifles creativity and individual expression.

Key themes and elements of "The Fountainhead" include:

• The Celebration of Individualism: Roark, the protagonist, represents Rand's ideal of an individualist who acts on his convictions and creative impulses without regard for societal norms or conventions. He is contrasted with characters who embody various forms of compromise and conformity.

• Critique of Collectivism: The novel criticizes collectivist thought, represented by various antagonists who believe in sacrificing the individual for the sake of the group or society.

• The Role of the Creator in Society: Roark's character embodies the role of the creative individual or the 'prime mover' who drives progress and innovation in society, often against considerable opposition.

• The Struggle Between Integrity and Compromise: The narrative highlights the tension between maintaining personal integrity and yielding to social pressures or the demands of the majority.

• Romantic Realism: The style of Rand's writing in "The Fountainhead" is often described as romantic realism. It combines a focus on larger-than-life characters and dramatic events with a realistic portrayal of human nature and society.

• Philosophical and Ethical Dialogues: Throughout the book, characters engage in complex dialogues about ethics, art, and philosophy, reflecting Rand's own philosophical ideas.

• "The Fountainhead" has been both widely praised and criticized for its philosophical themes and its portrayal of architecture as a metaphor for individual creativity versus societal norms. The book remains influential and continues to provoke debate about the nature of individualism and the role of the individual in society.

10/26/2023: Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World, by Malcolm Harris 

Ginger: "I really enjoyed the book - it felt like sleuthing through the inner workings of this magical bubble place and the people who

have created and created and created  The downside of the book is its very wary of the changes and the rich pioneers who

created Palo Alto. Stanford  The upside was the insights about the history of the region set to the beat of capitalism 

Sorry to miss the discussion...."

Rita: "Interesting book. It’s like all the gossip I ever knew about Stanford and Silicon Valley all smashed together in intricate sometimes boring and coffee chatter comments."

Patty: "I have to admit I got to page 76 and had to stop.  The detail was overwhelming and I couldn't stomach another 550 pages.  I think we should have a page limit on our books, LOL.  So I probably won't join the discussion."

Anne: "I haven’t finished the book and won’t before Thursday. I’m finding it fascinating, though I didn’t start getting into it until about page 90 or so.  I’m interested in what others’ thoughts are, regardless of how far you got."

Wen: "Finally, I got around to finishing listening to our last month's book,  Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World, by Malcolm Harris

I have changed my mind about it. In the end, I enjoyed learning about the history of our area (even if it's one-sided), and though the author's opinions might be a bit extreme, it is thought-provoking nonetheless.

So here is my take on the book:

In Palo Alto, Harris explores the social, political, and economic forces that have shaped Palo Alto and the surrounding area. Harris dissects Palo Alto’s profound impact on the region and the world with a strong point of view. The book is full of interesting historical facts, events, anecdotes, and stories of early arrivers and of those who shaped our towns and culture in Silicon Valley. One learns familiar names such as the people who exerted great influence over Stanford University, local industrialists, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and inventors and inventions that powered Silicon Valley’s rapid growth. The author also reminds us of and champions for the hardworking, the oppressed, and the less privileged: the indigenous people, minorities, and immigrants whose suffering and contributions were conveniently neglected and forgotten. The book takes us through well-known technology companies dotted the valley, HP, Intel, Apple, Google, Facebook, etc. Don’t be surprised if you come across the author's strong opinions on companies you have worked for, the events and people you know, perhaps even your friends and neighbors. 

Harris compels us to take a critical look at the history of our surroundings and the unseen cost that shaped Silicon Valley’s way of life. For good or bad, balanced, one-sided, or extreme views, it makes for fascinating reflections.

The book is a bit long-winded at times, I recommend an audiobook so you can easily skip ahead or listen at a faster speed.

"

9/28/2023: This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger

8/31/2023: An Immense World, by Ed Yong

7/26/2023: A Ladder to the Skey, by John Boyne

6/29/2023: June 2023: Fresh Water for Flowers, by Valerie Perrin

5/25/2023: The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco

4/27/2023: The Subtle Ar of Not Giving a F*, by Mark Manson

3/30/2023: Island of Sea Women, by Lisa See

1/26/2023: The Outsider, by Stephen King

12/29/2022: If I Live Until Morning, by Jean Muenchrath

11/17/2022: Sign My Name to Freedom, by Betty Reid Soskin

10/27/2022: The Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave

9/29/2022: All the Young Men, by Ruth Coker Burns | Moderator: Rita Comes

8/25/2022: The Guest List, by Lucy Foley | Moderator: Rita Comes

7/28/2022: The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig | Moderator: Patty Dewes

06/30/2022: Dune, by Frank Herbert | Moderator: Rita 

Short discussion as many people are on vacation for the summer.

05/26/2022: In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson | Moderator: Patty Dewes

Tea party at Fran's home, great fun!

04/28/2022:  The Sentence, by Louise Endrich | Moderator: Rita Comes

Louise Erdrich's latest novel, The Sentence: A small independent bookstore in Minneapolis is haunted from November 2019 to November 2020 by the store's most annoying customer. Flora dies on All Souls' Day, but she simply won't leave the store. Tookie, who has landed a job selling books after years of incarceration, must solve the mystery of this haunting while at the same time trying to understand all that occurs in Minneapolis during a year of grief, astonishment, isolation, and furious reckoning. ***************************************** Mixed Reviews from the Book Club: Some loved the writing but not the book. Some loved the book. Some didn’t and thought it was messy. Those that loved it thought the writing and the story were rich but also very complicated. Not many authors could weave in all the things Erdrich does in this novel and make it work. A haunting, a bookstore, Covid, motherhood, George Floyd's death and the ensuing protests, marriage, quarantine, and more. She also keeps true to her Ojibwe roots with native lore and injustices. Serious subjects but humor as well. Louise uses several techniques which draw the reader in and keeps our interest. Her writing is a respectful detailed history of indigenous people and their customs, beliefs, etc. She inserts teasers that don’t appear choppy, but patience is rewarded as they are pulled back in at critical times to be relevant to the story. Many appreciated that Tookie was a strong yet uncommon female indigenous character with a complicated personal life. She must reconcile her husband’s affiliations — he’s a former tribal policeman — with her own experiences of state-inflicted violence. She must navigate a complicated relationship with her stepdaughter and step-grandson as they are quarantined together during Covid. And she must exorcise the ghost. Those that didn’t’ like the book felt that there were far too many sub-plots that were distractions, i.e. the step-grandson’s father could be a werewolf - really?? And that it was too “current” – i.e. It’s too soon to be reading about the Covid mess, the George Floyd murder with its protests, etc. woven into fiction. All of us loved that she included a list of books to read - many which could make it into our recommendations or personal lists. One of the few constants this novel affirms is the power of books. Tookie recalls that everyone at Birchbark (the bookstore where she works) is delighted when bookstores are deemed an "essential" business during the pandemic, making books as important as "food, fuel, heat, garbage collection, snow shoveling, and booze." No arguments here

03/31/2022: Crossroads, by Jonathan Franzen | Moderator: Patty Dewes

It’s December 23, 1971, and heavy weather is forecast for Chicago. Russ Hildebrandt, the associate pastor of a liberal suburban church, is on the brink of breaking free of a marriage he finds joyless—unless his wife, Marion, who has her own secret life, beats him to it. Their eldest child, Clem, is coming home from college on fire with moral absolutism, having taken an action that will shatter his father. Clem’s sister, Becky, long the social queen of her high-school class, has sharply veered into the counterculture, while their brilliant younger brother Perry, who’s been selling drugs to seventh graders, has resolved to be a better person. Each of the Hildebrandts seeks a freedom that each of the others threatens to complicate.

A tour de force of interwoven perspectives and sustained suspense, its action largely unfolding on a single winter day, Crossroads is the story of a Midwestern family at a pivotal moment of moral crisis. Jonathan Franzen’s gift for melding the small picture and the big picture has never been more dazzlingly evident.

A rabbi, a preacher, and a drug dealer walk into a Christmas party. This is not the setup to a joke; it is the setup to a pivotal scene in “Crossroads,”  And thus begins the tsunami of events — a car wreck, rape, suicide attempts, adultery, drug deals, arson, did I forget anything?.  Yet this IS about a preachers family. . . 

We had a very small turnout this month, so this result is by no means scientific, but 3 out of 4 of us hated it and 1 loved it.  Go figure. . . 

The one that loved it, having not grown up in this country or our culture, thought it was a fascinating story of complicated, albeit flawed characters who were richly developed by the author.  Their conflicts, especially as they centered around organized religion in middle USA circa 1960/70/s was a lens into lives that were foreign yet captivatingly fascinating to her.  She wondered if this was truly fiction or was it based upon possible events that could have happened.  

Well for those of us who hated it, we can assure her that they happened.  The 3 of us grew up in middle USA circa 1960/70’s and we can attest that organized religion and their accompanying families, youth groups, etc. were hotbeds (no pun intended) of irreverent and sometimes shocking behavior.  We felt like we were re-living our childhood and NOT in a good way.  We found the family to be over the top dysfunctional and the characters – unlikable, selfish and pathetic:  albeit, in their own minds, virtuous.  They used Christianity/God as a crutch to defend their actions and neglected to even pretend to practice His/Her teachings.   We all finished the book, but only in a morbid sense to see which character screwed up themselves and the rest of the family the most.  

It's accurate to say that the author was following his SOP and intending to show the flawed side of family and humanity, even those who, in this case, professed a deep love of a deity and a willingness to “follow” their path. Franzen is primarily interested in why people perceive themselves as good or bad, often despite ample evidence to the contrary, and why people who are at least intermittently trying to be good do terrible things.  Like real people, the characters in the book go to therapy every week and attend worship services every weekend because their will to be good is in constant need of renewal, which is to say that it is in constant jeopardy.

It's also long, rreeaallyy, rreeaallyy long. . . 

02/24/2022: The Book of HOPE: A Survival Guide for Trying Times, by  Jane Goodall, Douglas Abrams | Moderator: Rita Comes

Looking at the headlines—the worsening climate crisis, a global pandemic, loss of biodiversity, political upheaval—it can be hard to feel optimistic. And yet hope has never been more desperately needed. 

Drawing on decades of work that has helped expand our understanding of what it means to be human and what we all need to do to help build a better world, The Book of Hope touches on vital questions, including: How do we stay hopeful when everything seems hopeless? How do we cultivate hope in our children? What is the relationship between hope and action? Filled with moving and inspirational stories and photographs from Jane’s remarkable career, The Book of Hope is a deeply personal conversation with one of the most beloved figures in the world today.

Many thought that the book was a quick and enjoyable read, relishing in the amazement and wonder of her life experiences and enjoying the stories of her early work with the chimps,  Some even said that the book spurred them to look at ways that they could “act locally” while supporting the seemingly insurmountable challenge of fixing our global crises.  Others commented that they would like to read more about her and in particular, her earlier work 

BUT. . . 

Others bristled at how to reconcile the hypocrisy of her material wealth and assets while advocating us all to limit the use of and protect material resources.   One member even regretted buying the book (thinking that it could be lent out); didn’t a wonderful tree give its life to print this gibberish?  

Substance, depth and even the style of writing were severely lacking for many as it felt like we were being lectured to or reading a Readers Digest version for 4th graders.  Her steps to hope seemed like re-cycled messages with no original ideas on the “how”.  Yes, we can all plant trees and reject Styrofoam, but that’s nothing new.  And it’s not very inspiring.  One member even commented that’ the best part of the book were the pictures!  

The interview/conversational style worked for some but not for others.  Many commented that Mr. Abrams could hardly call himself an author when all he did was transcribe her recorded comments and stories. 

HOWEVER. . .

we seem to be in the minority.  The book reviews are almost unanimous in their loyalty to this icon and glowingly praise the inspirational message of the book.  Maybe her reputation precedes her, and if so, I’m sure she has earned it. I’ll close with one of her definitions:

"Hope is what enables us to keep going in the face of adversity. It is what we desire to happen, but we must be prepared to work hard to make it so."

And that, I “hope” we can all agree with. . . 

01/27/2022: The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy | Moderator: Rita Comes

Compared favorably to the works of Faulkner and Dickens, Arundhati Roy’s modern classic is equal parts powerful family saga, forbidden love story, and piercing political drama. The seven-year-old twins Estha and Rahel see their world shaken irrevocably by the arrival of their beautiful young cousin, Sophie. It is an event that will lead to an illicit liaison and tragedies accidental and intentional, exposing “big things [that] lurk unsaid” in a country drifting dangerously toward unrest.

******************************************************

Almost all found the writing to be “luscious,” descriptive, captivating, amazing, multi-sensory, a literary triumph.  One of us (?) found it to be a never-ending stream of somewhat irrelevant consciousness possibly brought on by a long acid trip. One commented that after a while, the long paragraphs and the language invoked numbness, but you almost couldn’t stop reading.

There is no single tragedy at the heart of Arundhati Roy's devastating first novel. This ambitious meditation on the decline and fall of an Indian family is part political fable, part psychological drama and part fairy tale.  

Although the narrative jumps around, the main story is seen somewhat through the eyes of the innocence of children; the twins fashion a childhood for themselves in the shade of the wreck that is their family—their lonely, lovely mother, Ammu (who loves by night the man her children love by day), their blind grandmother, Mammachi (who plays Handel on her violin), their beloved uncle Chacko (Rhodes scholar, pickle baron, radical Marxist, bottom-pincher), and their enemy, Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grandaunt).  When their English cousin, Sophie Mol, and her mother, Margaret Kochamma, arrive on a Christmas visit, Estha and Rahel learn that “things dan change in a day.” 

All thought that the story was brilliantly plotted, although some were uncomfortable with the sequence of jumping back/forth.  One-minute Ammu is dead, the next she is putting the twins to bed.  The story uncoils with an agonizing sense of foreboding and inevitability.  The characters were deep and complicated, we found ourselves whiplashing between deep love and sympathy for some and rabid hatred and scorn for others.  To one, it felt like we were peeking into someone’s window at their deep and foreboding family secrets.  

To some there was no closure, still not sure what happened, what was real and/or imagined because the characters were protecting their own memory or sanity.  But all agreed that it was haunting and that for Estha and Rahel, they have never properly grown up. Whatever the nature of their crimes, it is almost immediately apparent that they have never recovered from their punishment and guilt.  

All would recommend the book, but this is not a summer beach read.  It’s deep, complicated and foreboding.  But luscious!  

12/16/2021: Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens | Moderator: Patty Dewes

Potential “girls movie night out!!” This is being made into a movie which will be released sometime next year (theaters or streaming, not sure. . ). But we thought it might be fun to get together and watch it. Stay tuned for more info. . .

Non-Spoiler Alert: For those who have not read it but want to or haven’t yet finished it, I will NOT reveal the ending although I will summarize our “generic” and divergent thoughts around it. For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl"; have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life--until the unthinkable happens.

Almost all of us enjoyed reading the book although there were differences in how we saw the characters, the writing, and the ending. Some found it implausible that a 6-year-old girl, abandoned by her family could survive. We see Kya foraging her surroundings, paw through mud for mussels to sell to a local supplier, using the money to buy grits in town, barefoot in “too-short bib overalls.” To the townsfolk, Kya is “the Marsh Girl,” a poor, uneducated freak, willfully living alone in a remote shack. But other Book Club readers found it believable and saw it as a testament to the life learnings of where and how you are raised. They could reflect on their own experiences of harsh realism at 6 or younger. Others also pointed out that she did not exhibit the psychological trauma that “should” have been evident given her situation. Additionally, some saw her meteoric transformation from illiterate to world renowned author and scientist also to be a stretch of believability. Even more so that she embraced and even created poetry that interjected the learnings from nature and animal life onto the human population, especially males, that she was so isolated from.

Some thought the writing to be brilliant, vibrant, vivid, descriptive. You could imagine that you were there among the marshes listening to the gulls and the splash of the tide against the side of the boat. Others thought that since the author's background was in botany/zoology, that she knew less about wiring a novel and just filled it with what she was comfortable writing about. Still others though It was just a screenplay disguised as a story. . .

Some sympathized with the mom for leaving an abusive relationship, probably already exhibiting signs of the mental illness that would take her life. Others found it unfathomable that a mother (and her brothers and sisters) would leave a child to that situation. The story moves seamlessly between long, poetic descriptions of Kya’s relationship with the marsh that becomes her home over the years and the murder trial that leaves the reader fighting not to skip ahead to find out what the next piece of evidence will be. 

In some ways, this was a women’s “empowerment” book. In every heartbreaking way, Kya was her own woman. She belonged to nobody. She determined her days, who could get close to her, and who would be rewarded or paid back for mistreating her.

And the ending. Some saw it as a tidy way to find closure, others felt it was left open to the readers’ imagination to consider other plausible explanations. Regardless of who you think might have murdered Chase, there’s a sense of vindication. And that felt good. . . .

11/18/2021: The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

10/28/2021: This Is How They Tell Me How The World Ends, by Nicole, Perlroth | Moderator: Patty Dewes

TBD

09/30/2021: At Home: A Short History of Private Life | Moderator: Rita Comes

TBD

08/26/2021: The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton | Moderator: Rita Comes

One of Edith Wharton’s most famous and moving novels—the first by a woman to win the Pulitzer Prize—exquisitely details a tragic struggle between love and responsibility in Gilded Age New York.

Newland Archer, an aristocratic young lawyer, is engaged to the cloistered, beautiful May Welland.  But when May’s cousin Ellen arrives from Europe, fleeing her failed marriage to a Polish count, her worldly and independent nature intrigues and unsettles Archer. Trapped by his passionless relationship with May and the social conventions that forbid a relationship with the disgraced Ellen, Archer is torn between possibility and duty. An incisive look at the ways desire and emotion must negotiate the complex rules of society, 

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Everyone really admired and/or enjoyed this book, although many felt that the first part was slow and lagging.  All felt that it was beautifully written, and the detailed descriptions made you feel as if you were transplanted to the streets of New York or the parlor of the characters.  Many also watched the film and spoke highly of it as well, especially the period costumes which won awards.   

Some wondered how NY society reacted to the book as it examines and exposes the way in which desire and happiness are obstructed and influenced by social conventions and notions of duty (what Archer wants for himself vs. what society dictates for Archer).  In his feelings for Countess Olenska/Ellen, Archer experiences a romantic (but unfulfilled) love free of the concepts of duty and tradition; while his engagement with May is mandated by notions of propriety and decorum,  Additionally, Archer’s interactions with Countess Olenska provide him with a taste of freedom, he shares many interests and aspirations with her (travel, art, music, etc.) that the sheltered May appears to be bored and disinterested in. 

At many points throughout the book, both Archer and Ellen are expected to sacrifice their desires and opinions in order not to upset the established order of things. Archer is expected to announce he and May’s engagement early to support the family’s introduction of the disgraced Ellen into NY society.  Later in the novel, when Ellen wishes to reclaim her freedom by divorcing her philandering husband, she is discouraged from this action because the family fears unpleasant gossip. And of course, Ellen and Archer's decision not to consummate their love is based largely on their fear of hurting the family 

Captured beautifully in the book by Wharton’s exquisite writing and in the movie by the talented acting of Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer, Archer’s exchanges with Countess Olenska —even when consisting of a couple of words or a “look”— seem to carry depths of meaning. Her language, as well as her very glances and expressions, are loaded with ‘real’ emotions, emotions which Archer believes to be absent in May.  May’s later actions, however, in handling the presumed “affair” between Archer and Ellen suggest a more manipulative person and that her ‘intuitions’ may be more deliberate than accidental.

Almost all were disappointed in the ending, some of us were downright depressed.  We SO wanted them to be together, here they were so many years later, untethered by relationships and/or a society which had changed and evolved to one less restrictive and more accepting.  Even Archers oldest son, Dallas, seems to encourage what was lost so many years ago and hinted to him on May’s deathbed.

It was thought by some (and hinted at by a few reviews) that the title of the book was meant to be sarcastic.  That “The Age of Innocence” is a title both ironic and poignant: ironic because the “age” or period of the novel, the late nineteenth century, teems with intolerance, collusion, and cynicism;  poignant because the only innocence lost is that of Newland Archer, the perfect gentleman whose insight into the restriction of aristocratic life comes much too late. 

All would recommend it.

07/22/2021: The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race, by Walter Isaacson | Moderator: Patty Dewes

Driven by a passion to understand how nature works and to turn discoveries into inventions, Jennifer Doudna made the most important biological advance since the discovery of the structure of DNA. She and her collaborators turned a curiosity of nature into an invention that can edit DNA. Known as CRISPR, it opened a brave new world of medical miracles and moral questions.  The development of CRISPR and the race to create vaccines for coronavirus will hasten our transition to the next great innovation revolution. The past half-century has been a digital age, based on the microchip, computer, and internet. Now we are entering a life-science revolution. Children who study digital coding will be joined by those who study genetic code.  Should we use our new evolution-hacking powers to make us less susceptible to viruses? Should we allow parents, if they can afford it, to enhance the height or muscles or IQ of their kids?  After helping to discover CRISPR, Doudna became a leader in wrestling with these moral issues and, with her collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier, won the Nobel Prize in 2020. Her story is a thrilling detective tale that involves the most profound wonders of nature, from the origins of life to the future of our species.

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Except for a lone outlier, this book was a huge hit.  It started slowly as we grappled with comprehending the nuances and technicalities of DNA, RNA, enzymes, cell structure, etc.  We even resorted to animated YouTube videos to gain enough of an understanding so that we could keep up w/ the dramatic storyline as it developed.  The harsh monotony of testing and re-testing that defines the clinical researcher gives way to “eureka” moments that build on each other.  Successes can only be celebrated for a short time as the realization sets in that others want to use your invention to further their own. This uncovers the private world of cutthroat competition to be the “first,” to fight over ownership and the ultimate prizes, be they historic (Nobel) or financial (patents).  

The author takes us primarily into the world of Jennifer Doudna as she and a multitude of supporters and collaborators rode this roller coaster, but he also strives mightily to include the comments and stories of those that were in competition with her, those who were critical of her and those who were envious.  Many thought that this balancing act added to the overall completeness of the story, others felt it degenerated into too much repetition.  All felt it was a fascinating story that was extremely well researched and written.  We were also somewhat shocked to read about the extreme competitiveness and backstabbing of these Mensa white coats, others who had some personal experiences in this area were not.  It becomes clear that when research moves beyond the personal appeal of “the joy of discovery” and into academia and government, more devious motivations take precedence.   We also appreciated that it highlighted the Bay Area, primarily Stanford and Berkeley.   Read it as a scientific book AND a biography, wonderful combination of the two.  

We felt that this would be an extremely valuable book for young women to read.  In fact, some wondered if they had read it themselves, might it have changed their idea of what a young women could aspire to.  Highly recommend!

06/24/2021: Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout | Moderator: 

TBD

05/27/2021: A Passage to India, by E. M. Forster | Moderator: Patty Dewes | Summary by: Patty Dewes

A Passage to India is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s..  The story revolves around four characters: Dr. Aziz, his British friend Mr. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Miss Adela Quested. During a trip to the fictitious Marabar Caves (modeled on the Barabar Caves of Bihar),[6] Adela thinks she finds herself alone with Dr. Aziz in one of the caves (when in fact he is in an entirely different cave), and subsequently panics and flees; it is assumed that Dr. Aziz has attempted to assault her. Aziz's trial, and its run-up and aftermath, bring to a boil the common racial tensions and prejudices between Indians and the British who rule India.

All of us found the book to be extremely beautifully written but it paints a disturbing picture of the relationship between the British elite who lived almost exclusively in their white Country Club environment and the Indians who were servitude to them.  Almost immediately, you get a picture of the storylines to come when Dr. Aziz (Indian) is almost run over by a British caravan careening through the streets, oblivious to whatever turmoil they might cause,  Then, he is hijacked by two British women who imagine that it has been called for their benefit.  Dr. Aziz is befriended by Mrs. Moore who has accompanied Miss Adela Quested to India in order to encourage her marriage to Ronny, Mrs. Moore’s son.  Almost immediately Mrs. Moore and Adela wish to “see” the true India and meet “true” Indians.  This leads Dr. Aziz to arrange a trip to the Caves where the alleged “assault” takes place.  Mr. Fielding is a British principal of the city’s government-run college for Indians.  He and Dr. Aziz become friends and Mr. Fielding is caught between the British elite who seem intent on convicting Dr. Aziz in any case and his belief that his new friend is entirely incapable of committing the acts to which he is charged.

We were all disturbed by the treatment of the Indians by the British as described in the book (believing it to be an accurate portrayal given the authors significant time in India) and could not help but draw comparisons to the social upheaval in today’s world, particularly the evidence of widespread mistreatment of people believed to be inferior to others in positions of authority or power.   Some commented that there seems to be a natural desire to “feel superior” and thus find the appropriate class of people to take advantage of, whether it be the color of their skin, their religious beliefs, etc.  It seemed to us that not much has changed nor has the world learned much in the intervening years between the book and today.

Many of us also watched the 1984 movie and felt that it was an accurate adaptation of the book, better than most.  While the book reveals more of the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters, the movie relies heavily on symbolism (especially water) and religious artifacts.  The movie also helps to portray the mass of humanity that is India, which was not apparent in the book.  We also felt the cinematography was almost Cecil B. DeMille like

All would recommend the book.

04/29/2021: A Question of Honor, by Lynne Olson and Stanley Cloud | Moderator: Mary McDonald

03/25/2021: Lady In Waiting, by Anne Glenconner | Moderator: Rita Comes

02/25/2021: Istanbul: Memories and the City, by Orhan Pamuk | Moderator: Rita Comes

Istanbul: Memories and the City is an autobiographical memoir by Nobel Prize laureate Orhan Pamuk. The personal memoir is intertwined with literary essays about local and foreign writers and artists who were connected in some way to Istanbul. It brings our attention to Turkish history, literature, the vast and conflicting cultural change pulling from both the west and the east, and the constant struggles between modernization and the receding glory of the past. In this deeply moving memoir, Pamuk paints a picture of a fallen empire, its people, and his own childhood with a permeating melancholy - hüzün as in Turkish cultural context. We follow the author’s footsteps through the forgotten back streets of Istanbul, learn about the Bosphorus, watch the lives of locals, and experience this unique sense of hüzün in a city rapidly changing with the memory of its past. The book is full of black and white impressionist photographs that perfectly match the mood as we go down memory lane with the author.

While the theme is melancholy, the writing and the tale, however, are undoubtedly beautiful, dreamy, and exotic. Its portrait of the city and representation of Turkish culture through time is so infectious that we want to go visit this place, see it through the author’s eyes, and understand its people and history. For the few of us who have visited the city, however, we failed to relate to Pamuk’s Istanbul, trying in vain to recall some of the little-known back streets mentioned in the book. We reasoned that a visitor saw a place differently from a local resident, especially from an author with keen observation and deep understanding of the past and present as well as the city and the country’s changing culture and life. A tourist likely sees the well-known sites - the ruins, the temples, the touristic attractions - and is unlikely guided by the past into the deeper unknown streets and hearts of its residents. Now that we have read his book, we wonder whether we will see the city differently or whether we will be disappointed when we may not be able to relive the same feeling from reading the book.

Some of us love the writing style. We compare it to a piece of artwork that Pamuk succeeded in creating with his words while weaving together essays about other writers and artists, descriptions and tales of this historical city, his own personal story, and his family history. Like a museum filled with old sentimental objects, it brings us back through time and space. Others find the theme overly dark and moody, making it seem that the author finds sadness in beautiful surroundings and unhappiness in happy times. While some of us love the lushness and richness of Pamuk’s writing, enjoying it like fine wine, those of us who prefer a different writing style find it a bit fluffy, overly poetic, personal, and intimate and wish for a certain straightforwardness. As Pamuk’s Istanbul drifts between its modern aspirations and the ruins of its fallen Empire and between western and eastern cultures, hüzün became “a culture shared by millions.” Some of us indulged in this alluring and tender nostalgia that transported us into an exotic old world. Others did not care for the sense of loss for a glorious past and preferred a forward-looking spirit. 

Nonetheless, for many literature lovers, Pamuk’s Istanbul is a wonderful encounter of place and sensibility, beautifully written, and immensely touching.

For those who are interested in knowing more about Istanbul:

• A Tour of Istanbul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXDN3ad3Ld4

• Istanbul Walking Tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQH9krST07Y

01/28/2021:  The Great Influenza: The Deadliest Pandemic in History, by John M. Barry | Moderator: Wen Gong

An immensely relevant story read by the book club in the middle of the worst pandemic of our time, The Great Influenza reminds us once again that “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.” With in-depth research of the medical field at the time, author John M. Barry painted a grim picture of the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu outbreak, the deadliest pandemic in history. Lack of scientific understanding of viruses, lack of preparedness, and the complicated political landscape in the middle of World War I left the world in destructive chaos. One-third of the world’s population, about 500 millions, were infected by the virus. Death rate ranged between 10% to 30% depending on the local conditions. As many as 100 million of the world's population was killed by the pandemic. To put that in perspective, the Spanish Flu killed more people in twenty-four months than AIDS killed in twenty-four years, and more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century.

It was with curiosity, heavy heart, and mixed feelings many of us read the book. We were half in dismay that 100 years later we are in the thick of another deadly virus outbreak and Barry’s accounts of history seem to suggest that we have not done much better. At the same time, we felt lucky that we now live in a different era when scientific understanding is much better, sanitary conditions are incomparably improved, and most importantly, many of us have the luxury of working at home while staying connected through modern technologies and thus more effectively isolating ourselves from infections. We learned that the Spanish Flu killed more young people between ages 20 and 40 years old than older people. We wondered if that was due to a multitude of problems faced by young people at the time: living and working under crowded conditions and being sent off to World War I, among others. Or was it the unique feature of the Spanish Flu pandemic? Another fact that caught our attention was that the Spanish Flu killed people alarmingly fast. In many cases, a seemingly perfectly healthy young man would suddenly fall ill and be dead within days or even within one day. Barry puts the number of deaths in the United States at 750,000. We wondered if that number was accurate. It sounded low even when adjusted for the population size of the time. While some grandparents of our members talked about the virus, it was surprising to others that their grandparents never mentioned the pandemic. We speculated that life was difficult in so many ways back then that getting sick and dying from the flu was perhaps not beyond ordinary suffering to take a special note.

Overall, we found the subject extremely intriguing and timely as we eagerly absorbed whatever information Barry had to offer us. The first half of the book talks about the history of medicine, the understanding of virology, the major medical figures involved in the research and search for the virus, as well as the involvement of institutions such as John Hopkins Hospital and Rockefeller Foundation. Some of us found this interesting and a welcome education, while others find it a bit overbearing and tedious. 

One take away from the book, unfortunately, seems to be that history does repeat itself. We seem to be facing many of the same struggles 100 years later. We wondered if our human nature doomed us to a similar fate. For example, then as it is now, mask-wearing garnered divided opinions and varied adoptions and it was much politicized, there was misinformation or lack of information depending on which part of the country one was in, politicians including the then-president Wilson downplayed the virus, and in a turn of event president Wilson himself caught the virus and became gravely ill… All of which sounded eerily familiar.

One question that puzzled us after reading the book was how the Spanish Flu faded away given that there was no effective vaccine. The highest death rate occurred between 1918 and 1919. When we listened together to the NPR interview with the author during the early days (April 2020) of the Covid-19 pandemic, Barry answered this question by speculating that enough people had obtained immunity. He added, to our surprise, that the virus did not completely go away after 1919, and in 1957 there was another smaller outbreak.

We appreciated the author’s Afterword in which he nicely summarizes the lessons learned from the Great Influenza: "The final lesson of 1918, a simple one yet one most difficult to execute, is that...those in authority must retain the public's trust. The way to do that is to distort nothing, to put the best face on nothing, to try to manipulate no one. Lincoln said that first, and best. A leader must make whatever horror exists concrete. Only then will people be able to break it apart."  

Interviews with the author can be found at the following links:

• NPR: The Great Influenza: Lessons To Learn From the Spanish Flu: https://www.npr.org/2020/04/29/848112072/the-great-influenza-lessons-to-learn-from-the-spanish-flu

• CNN Email Interview with John Barry (author) during COVID in the end of March 2020 - Lessons from Spanish Flu: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/27/politics/interview-john-barry-great-influenza/index.html

• April 7 2020, Library of Congress: John M. Barry in conversation with David Rubenstein: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9pC6WW12qE

• May 14 NRP with Terry Gross. What the 1918 Flu Pandemic Can Tell Us About the COVID-19 Crisis: https://www.npr.org/2020/05/14/855986938/what-the-1918-flu-pandemic-can-tell-us-about-the-covid-19-crisis

For those who are interested, one of our members had a first count from a friend’s grandma’s diary: 

“

I left for college in the fall of 1917, and became a “War Baby” at the University of California. I lived in a boarding house for a few months, but in December, Mother came back with the girls. My cousin, Sue, was living with us at that time. Shortly after I started school, I came down with the flu. That was the time of the great influenza epidemic. There were 14 girls in our house, and everyone caught it. None of us died, however, tho several, myself among them, had relapses. The college was quite unable to handle all the cases there, and the infirmary was always full. I was there for a few days, but as soon as I was somewhat better, they sent me home to make room for some poor child who was much worse. The students died by the hundreds, and every time one went thru Sather Gate, the bulletin board would be covered with new black bordered notices. It was a sad and rather weird time. Everyone in the cities on both sides of the bay was required by law to wear masks. These were bits of gauze held in place over the nose and mouth by strips of tape. There was no particular restriction as to the size of the mask, until society women were discovered with bits so small they resembled postage stamps, of tinted gauze with pastel tapes!! After that the regulations were changed to prohibit masks smaller than a reasonable size. Words fail to describe the thousands of people going to and fro upon their business with these masks! The sight of all these masked men, women and children, was rather chill inspiring.

Theaters and churches, and most schools were closed. The University kept going, but all other large gathering places were closed until the health authorities allowed them to open. Gatherings of more than 25 were forbidden. The epidemic raged for several months, and then died down. Several of my friends went into the poorer homes as volunteer nurses, but I wasn’t able to. Conditions there were terrible, sometimes whole families would be down, with no one to help. Parents died leaving families of small children. Mothers would be ill almost to death, and while ill, would lose their husbands and children. Men would come back to an empty house. Occasionally whole families would be wiped out. Doctors and nurses were worked to death, some of them falling ill, at the last, of the sickness they were combating. Calls went out for volunteer nurses and helpers, both men and women, and all classes responded nobly.

12/17/2020: The Night Watchman, by Louise Edrich | Moderator: Rita Comes | Opinion Written by Trish Heald

Trish Heald: A (sort of) book review/summary/rambling stream of consciousness about The Night Watchman and my pool guy, Adrian.

I came to December’s book club meeting late and animated. Five minutes before the call, I’d meant to quickly hand Adrain, our pool guy, his Christmas card, exchange our normal few pleasantries, and jump onto Zoom. But Adrian, himself a night watchman of sorts at Costco, had been in an extraordinary car accident the week before. As an erstwhile novelist, I confess to being a bloodthirsty audience, a hound ever on the scent for quarry I can later weave into a plotline or a character description. Well, Adrain delivered in spades (or should I say lamb shanks?). 

But it wasn’t his dramatic hit-and-run story that lit up my tastebuds. It was his funny, and entirely unrelated, monologue afterward about his pandemic-induced, Friday yellow-tag Safeway obsession, tearing apart the dairy section in a frenzy to find the last on sale pint of Ricotta cheese (“I don’t even like fucking Ricotta cheese!”) that I loved. This was a portrait of Adrian I will remember long after the tale of his accident. 

And the same is true of Louise Erdrich’s book. It isn’t the high-stakes story about Thomas Wazhushk’s (the night watchman of the title) fight to save the Chippewa Turtle Mountain reservation from being “terminated” by the US government that distinguishes this book. Nor is it the gut-wrenching drama of Thomas’s niece, Patrice Paranteau’s, journey to find her sister in the underbelly of Minneapolis’s sex trade. These story arcs, for me (and there are many more in this polyphonic novel), are just the backing of what is otherwise a beautifully rendered patchwork quilt of character. 

Erdrich shows us the inner worlds of the Native Americans who inhabit the reservation in addition to their outer struggles amidst poverty, discrimination, and cultural annihilation. There is something exquisitely tender about the way she renders their dreams, visions, hopes, fears, and flaws. In shifting points of view and with spare sentences and short chapters, Erdrich illuminates both the vulnerability and courage inherent in her diverse set of characters whatever their circumstances.

Here is Thomas after reading the government bill that will terminate the reservation and provide for the “orderly relocations of such Indians in areas of greater economic opportunity”:

He threw down the pages. Walked his round. But after he finished, he picked up the papers, put them back in order, and replaced them in his briefcase. He was empty of response. There was a hollow feeling, a thrumming, a sense that his body had become a drum. That anyone could knock on him and get a sound. That the sound, even if defiant, would be meaningless. And that whoever used the drumstick knew this and was pitiless. That person would strike and strike until the hide was worn out.

Here is Patrice after falling asleep in a bear den, comforted and warmed by the heavy hibernating “fug” of its breath (“a quiet kind of odor, seeping up from under the dense oak leaves.”:

She woke in the cave of leaves with a tingling sense that something good had happened and might happen. Then she remembered that she’d been sleeping feet away from a bear. She put her snowshoes back on and left quietly, walking at first, then loping lightly, knees high so her snowshoes would clear the snow, all along the bottom of the ravine. The cold air flooding her throat was a source of deep power. Sleep was a fuel, too, making her springy and buoyant. She was so much stronger than she’d thought. And fearless. As she went downhill she was nearly flying across the snow.”

In short, The Night Watchman rewards readers who brave the depressing landscape of its narrative in exchange for remarkable intimacy with an extraordinary cast of characters. 

(P.S. Adrian also gave me a quick and tasty way to use up a lot of broccoli--yes, he cleared out the broccoli section during a Friday yellow-tag Safeway sale! Let me know if you’d like the details.)

This opinion piece is by Trish Heald, author of Sassafras, https://www.trishhealdauthor.com

11/19/2020: Less, by Andrew Sean Greer | Moderator: Wen Gong

In this entertaining and touching love story, Less, Pulitzer Prize author Andrew Sean Greer takes us on an around-the-world-trip with the story’s hero, Arthur Less. Less is almost fifty years old and a not-so-popular novelist whose boyfriend of the past nine years is about to marry someone else. To escape this undesirable reality, Less escapes town and ventures to Paris, Berlin, India, Japan, and more. As Less embarks on this adventurous and often hilarious journey, through all his mishaps, missteps, misunderstandings, and mistakes, we get to know Less and learn about his life and his first and last love. Less is a romantic comedy about a man accepting himself in reaching middle life, about expectations, about the meaning of elusive success, about love, and finally about what makes us human.

Those of us who liked the heartwarming love story enjoyed the humor and the subtle and dry wit in the author’s use of the language. We took delight in the images the author paints, such as the color matching that of a lover’s eyes, the bright colored suit representing the mood of the occasion or the sentiment of the wearer. The description of San Francisco gave us a bit of nostalgia since most of us have not left our homes for much of the pandemic year. Inspired, we looked up the many cool staircases in San Francisco: https://sf.curbed.com/maps/sf-staricases-beautiful-coolest-urban-steps-san-francisco  We appreciated Less’ stream of consciousness that opened a window into his inner thoughts. We were brought closer to the main character by relating to Less’s feeling of self-doubt, of having difficulty accepting his age, of inferiority for lack of better success, of losing true love, and of not living the perfect life. We contemplated the author’s clever pick of the book title and the name “Less” which perfectly sums up the main character’s sentiment.

Though some of us liked the travelogue adventures that describe the local customs and artifacts, others felt it was a bit scripted and episodic, all too familiar to what has been done therefore not very inventive. A few of us found it slow to get into the book, had difficulty relating to the main character, and were less than impressed given the high expectation of a Pulitzer winner. We were not inspired by the story’s hero who seems to drift through life from one lover to another, becoming an author only at his famous poet lover’s encouragement, not committing himself, and not striving very hard on a particular goal. Nonetheless, as our discussion progressed the book seemed to grow on us. Notably, we heard from one member who read the book 3 times (for 3 different book clubs) and how her understanding and liking of the book evolved through each reading. It seemed that some of us did not pick up as much of the subtlety of a satiric romantic comedy and intriguing details as others, and after listening to the interesting dissection on numerous aspects that eluded some of us, a few of us felt the book might deserve another look or even re-read.

We talked about the Pulitzer award received by the author. We were a little surprised to learn that, to receive the famed prestigious reward, a 5-member juror vote for it. One would have thought a lot more people had to vote on it. We could not quite agree on whether the author is awarded purely for his literary prowess or in part due to one aspect of the Pulitzer that awards to authors whose writing has societal impact and promotes social progress and awareness. In the latter case, the story of Less brings gay people's lives, aspirations, and love stories to the mainstream, thus help remove prejudice, misunderstanding, or lack of understanding that some in our society might hold towards gay people and the gay community.

Since this is a book by a gay man and about a gay man, out of curiosity, a member looked up other notable books by LGBT authors, for those who are interested:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LGBT_writers

Here is a book that may not seem immediately relatable at first glance, yet it might grow on us if we took a closer look and focused on the humor, satire, sharp observation of humanity, wit, and other subtle details that have great potential to provide much to appreciate and to entertain.

10/29/2020: The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes | Moderator: Wen Gong

Set in America's heartland Kentucky during the depression-era, Jojo Moyes’ Giver of Stars is a wonderful story about five extraordinary women who defy social stigma, overcome personal misfortune, and embark on a meaningful and often treacherous journey through the Kentucky mountains, delivering books to people who need them the most. It is based on a true story in the 1930s following Eleanor Roosevelt’s call for traveling libraries to educate remote Americans. This soon-to-be-a-movie novel gives a funny, heartbreaking, and enthralling account of women’s friendship, hardship, and true love. In its many twists and turns, we follow the women’s lives and learn about many social issues that oppressed women, such as alcoholic and abusive fathers, a failed marriage, racial tension, greed, and prejudice. 

Most of us really enjoyed the lovely story in which characters are well developed and the writing is sophisticated. We resonated with these strong-minded women who, defying odds and adversary, dedicated their lives to deliver much-needed books to the rural families.  It has a strong feminist agenda that we support, and it is fascinating and delightful to learn about Roosevelt's traveling library project in the 1930s. We talked about the choices made by the two main characters amidst their great suffering and mistreatment, and thought we ourselves might have made different choices should we be in their place. 

On the other hand, some of us found that the story was a bit overly predictable and formulated. It offered us all the familiar tragedies and challenges faced by independent women of the past.  It lacked the depth one might expect from an award-winning author.  Particularly we thought the ending was rushed and a bit unconvincing when, after dramatic turns of events, everyone got exactly what they wanted and had a big Hollywood happy ending. We thought perhaps the author and her publisher aimed to have the story made into a movie and thus crafted the ending to support such a goal.

Our discussion turned to the shocking claim of plagiarism by the less well-known author, Kim Michelle Richardson, who published her novel The Bookwomen of the Troublesome Creek. A couple of us were so intrigued by this claim that we read Richardson's book as well. Because of the significant similarities in the plots and events, we found it puzzling whether indeed Jojo Moyes’s story was influenced by Richardson’s book that was published only a few months before. However, as both authors claim their stories are based on real historical events taking place in the Kentucky mountains during the same period, it seems to also make sense that there would be some similarities. On the other hand, the storylines and characters are different enough that, for those of us who read The Bookwomen of the Troublesome Creek, we actually enjoyed both books and did not particularly feel that we were reading the same book the second time. However, we thought perhaps a movie would have been more interesting if it was based on Richardson’s book instead.

Overall, it is an intriguing story and encouraging vacation reading for a troubled time like this.

09/24/2020: Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, by Mathew Walker | Moderator: Rita Comes

In his well researched and superbly articulated book, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, UC Berkeley neuroscience professor and sleep researcher Matthew Walker presents to us the science behind sleep and dreams and debunks many myths and misunderstandings about this essential human activity/inactivity. Through experiments and studies, we learn about the surprising way some animals sleep with one eye open and half of the brain still functioning, the diseases associated with chronic sleep deprivation, the role of sleep in calibrating and promoting long term memories and in improving one’s well-being and longevity, and many other fascinating discoveries. Walker answers intriguing questions about sleep such as: how do caffeine and alcohol affect sleep? What happens during REM sleep? Why do individual sleep patterns change across a lifetime? How do common sleep aids affect us and are there long-term damages by using them?

We had one of our most amazing discussions, lively, delightful, and personal. There is an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the book. Everyone is impressed with Walker’s style of writing that makes it fun to follow his scientific discussion. Though our interest and knowledge vary on topics such as the benefits of a good night’s sleep, good sleep hygiene, the effect of caffeine and alcohol, we all find it enlightening to have learned the scientific reasoning behind these. Some of us are especially impressed with the advanced methods used to study this essential human function while not putting subjects in harm’s way. We are pleasantly surprised to learn about new findings such as how the REM sleep cycle works, how cells shrink and flush out toxicity during sleep, how sleep promotes creativity and turns short term memories into long term memories, and how other animals such as birds, whales, and dolphins sleep. 

Like Bill Gates, a couple of members find that reading this book is conducive to sleep. However, it is encouraging that each chapter seems independent of others so one can simply pick up the book in the middle and read some chapters without going through the book from beginning to end. Some members find that listening to the audiobook while taking a walk is a great alternative when reading a physical book makes them sleepy. Since Walker’s study shows that a good night’s sleep and dreams improve creativity, we wish the author could have given us some tips on how to achieve that creativity exactly, though perhaps this is not yet fully understood. 

We are aware of certain critics against some of the author’s claims, such as everyone needing eight hours of sleep, however overall we find most of Walker’s advice reasonable. The group enjoyed the insights from one member who worked at the Stanford Sleep Clinic and another who is an expert in functional and herbal medicine with vast knowledge on the effect of common non-prescription and prescription sleep medicine.

Despite many of Walker’s advice may seem like common sense, we all find the following advice great reminders of good sleep hygiene: 

1. Replace any LED light bulbs in the bedroom as blue light stimulates the brain and corrodes sleep.

2. Reduce bedroom temperature to 65 degrees at bedtime.

3. Limit alcohol consumption for good night’s sleep.

4. Take a short midday nap if possible but not after 3 pm to improve creativity and productivity.

5. Do not use electronic devices before bedtime.

6. When traveling internationally, try to get to your destination at least 1 day ahead of important events to adjust to the local clock. Taking a long walk upon arrival instead of going to sleep also helps.

The after-discussion anonymous survey on Caffeine and Sleep Habits revealed some interesting results:

•  https://drive.google.com/file/d/17vl3znscc0__2w5SC4KhnnwekixzAwLy/view?usp=sharing

• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b4IM58-SkS9kop6gXXvHzlMO2ewyKgwNzrubhMqm_Qo/edit?usp=sharing

08/27/2020: City of Girls, by Elizabeth Gilbert | Moderator: Wen Gong

An instant New York Times bestseller from the beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert, City of Girls is an intimate, sensual, and adventurous novel about unconventional love, women’s sexual freedom, and finding happiness in New York City during the 1940s. The protagonist Vivian, a girl from an affluent upbringing, finds herself in New York City among fun-seeking showgirls, charismatic actresses, brilliant and eccentric show business men and women. In this dazzling world full of colorful people, Vivian explores female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love.

The many early rave reviews on Amazon and its bestseller status sparked our interest. We looked forward to a wonderful summer reading. As with certain great expectations, it occasionally turns out to be great disappointments, which unfortunately became the case for some of our members. On the other hand, a few members did like the reading to varying degrees, from being entertained and charmed by some portions of it to thoroughly enjoying the alluring story and writing style. 

Those of us who do not like the story find it lacking depth and weak in character development. It is difficult to appreciate any character with its overly simplified portrayal of men being weak, shallow, and untrustworthy, and women being beautiful, strong-minded, and dependable. We find it hard to have empathy for the free-spirited and frivolous protagonist Vivian who gets bailed out every time she gets into trouble. The story is written in the form of a letter that an eighty-nine-year old woman writes to her lover’s daughter, who is unaware of her father’s true love. This structure is unusually long-winded and puzzling. The letter, as the key element to unfold the story, seems contrived and an unnatural afterthought. It surprises us to find that the writing from the well-regarded author to be sometimes disjointed and seemingly in want of editing. On occasion, excessive description of sexual activities becomes tedious to read. While there are some smart observations and funny remarks, we would be happier if the prolonged story is cut half in size. 

A few of us have mixed feelings about the book or genuinely enjoyed the story and found it hard to put down. Here we find the story to be a lighthearted, magnetic, and entertaining read about a fun-loving 19-year-old pretty girl’s adventures in New York City. Without judging her, we appreciate the honest account of Vivian’s unconventional life that is full of mistakes, struggles, pleasures, and happiness. The depiction of sewing, high fashion, theater works, and New York City in the 1940s is undoubtedly intriguing. While pursuing a life of sexual freedom and instant pleasures, Vivian finds true love with Frank, a World II soldier who suffers from the post-traumatic stress disorder. This platonic love between Vivian and Frank is heartfelt and touching. We like a couple of female characters, notably Vivian’s aunt and her lesbian lover. The writing shows the author’s mastery of witty and wise observations and metaphors. It is at times charming, humorous, and delightful.

After hearing the polarized reactions to this particular book, we could not help but wonder whether we would change our own opinion should we read the book with the approach and expectation of the members with opposite views. It was a fun exercise of the imagination.

07/30/2020: Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury | Moderator: Mary McDonald

A favorite of many, Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury, published in 1953 during the McCarthy era. The story presents us with a fictional future American society where books are outlawed and the firemen’s job is to burn books wherever and whenever they are found. The title of the book refers to the temperature at which paper catches fire and burns. The story’s protagonist, Guy Montag, is a fireman who becomes disillusioned with his job, and eventually quits his job and joins other outcasts to the preservation of literary and cultural writings.

Many of us enjoyed the reading while others had a hard time relating to it. Regardless of how we felt about the story, however, it sparked a great discussion on many important social issues and the fate of our society.

We thought the story was thought-provoking and shockingly relevant with sophisticated character development. As lovers of books and knowledge, we found Bradbury’s imaginary society rather terrifying. Though the story is set in a fictional futuristic environment, we could see the parallel in our society where many people are glued to their huge screen televisions and their minds controlled by the information and media that they consume incessantly.  The scary world of Fahrenheit 451 could be one direction where human society is heading. It reminds us of the many deliberate book-burning events in history when rulers try to suppress dissenting ideas. The subplot, where a war starts and ends in a day, brought us to the unfortunate and unsettling feeling that our country had been at war somewhere in the world since the beginning of our history.

We tried to understand the premise of the fictional society where reading is forbidden, books are burned, diversity of ideas are buried, all for the sake of “happiness” and “harmony” of people. We sought to understand the author’s motivation in writing such an imaginary story at the rise of McCarthyism. We contemplated that perhaps reading was thought to make us unhappy because it made us use our brain, feel the emotions of sadness and nostalgia, and want to change for the better. The society of Fahrenheit 451 has an authoritarian government that seeks to control thoughts by controlling knowledge and encouraging superficial pleasure rather than intellectual pursuits. 

Some of us had a bit of trouble getting into the book. The idea of burning all existing books and living with walls of television screens in a highly technologically advanced society is so contrary to our belief that we have a hard time following the reasoning of such a story. However, we could see how some of its fictional elements have become reality today, for example, a cell phone now has more computational power than the computer that had sent people to the moon.

A thoughtful discussion ensued as we touched the issues on censorship and impact of technology especially in social media and constant bombardment of news, which have changed our lives and influenced our opinions in unexpected and unprecedented ways. Our human tendency of scanning for information that confirms our preexisting biases has been exacerbated by social media and news that track our online activities and tailor information to please our senses in order to increase our consumption for their commercial gain. To the detriment of our society, there is already an unintentional loss of intellectual diversity, fear of different ideas, and extreme positions.

The increased use of multimedia and online/digital learning led us to the discussion about the difference between learning from physical books vs. from electronic devices. Studies show that reading from computers is different from reading from paper books. We are puzzled and wonder to what extent such difference makes in our brain development, positively and negatively, and what would be the societal impact of a generation of youth growing up under such a different learning environment. It is already obvious, however, that we have increasingly become addicted to and been manipulated by social media, news, and entertainment industries that have their own agendas. 

If you want to reflect on what a society might look like when a government is given absolute control and censorship of its citizens, this book offers a lot to meditate on.

06/25/2020: Sassafras, by Trish Heald | Moderator: Rita Comes

Sassafras, by local author Trish Heald, is a Silver Winner of the 2020 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, in Best Voice: Fiction category. Sassafras is a wonderful story of transitions, family secrets and dynamics, reconciliations with our past, and finding a way forward after a major life change. The story begins with the newly widowed Champs Noland’s escape from a retirement community where he lived with his late wife. The grieving and nostalgic Champs returns to his beloved summer cabin on the Sassafras River, intending to spend the rest of his days idly fishing on his rusty old boat and drinking beer. Instead, he discovers a shocking family secret, has to resolve past issues with his grown children, and finds his way into the future. 

We had a wonderful, lively, and candid discussion with the author, whose unique perspective was greatly enlightening. Most of us enjoyed the captivating story for its writing style, its use of humor, and the author's ability to draw out the deep humanity of the characters – some would call it a true page-turner. We felt that we could very well relate to and sympathize with the main character’s struggle after the loss of his spouse. At times we felt as if we were watching a movie with the characters and scenes right in front of our eyes. Some of the scenes, such as Champs’ carrying around his wife’s ashes, resonate with our own experiences towards the ashes of our beloved deceased parents. While some characters may have their flaws, we recognize their place in the plot and appreciate how the characters’ storylines are woven in and out throughout the book. Some of us recognize the metaphors, and we appreciate the author’s style in formulating the storyline.

While most of us were intrigued by the twists and turns in the story, some found the many twists and turns a bit disjointed. One interesting observation is the issue of alcoholism that seems to be present in the protagonist, and the book does not make an effort to resolve that. In our conversation with the author, we were reminded of the American drinking culture that sometimes blurs the line between recreation and alcoholism. Owing to our natural tendency and eagerness to fix broken characters and broken relationships, some of us become impatient when characters struggle at fixing themselves. We recognized that having to do with our own life experiences, this general feeling of impatience applies to all books with such characters. 

Many of our members are contemplating “Aging in Place” issues and this book was a very timely read to add in our thought process.

It was fascinating to discuss with the author her creative process, and learn how, after becoming a successful businesswoman, she decided to switch gears and became an author.  We were very impressed with her first book and were delighted to find out that, despite not going through formal training in writing, she created such an engaging book that was enjoyed by almost everyone in our group.  For her bold choice, we have the utmost respect for her, and we look forward to reading her future books.

05/28/2020: The Library Book, by Susan Orlean | Moderator: Wen Gong

In The Library Book, author Susan Orlean uses the theme of 1986 Los Angeles library fire and its aftermath to uncover the large and crucial role that libraries play in our lives. It brings us on a journey to learn about the history and evolution of libraries across the country and around the world. With great research and persuasive writing, Orlean introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters from LA library’s past and present, and brings our attention to the variety and importance of work done by libraries and the challenges that libraries face. 

As passionate and frequent patrons of libraries, we are very happy to have read this book that many of us may otherwise not have picked up on our own. We share Orlean’s love for the libraries and enjoy her captivating and eloquent writing style. Some of us feel that, at times, she goes off tangent a bit too much, and thus a few sections of the book appear uncalled for or boring. However, we value her remarkable effort in covering the many aspects of and the running of a library, as well as its impact on all visitors. We recognize her journalist background in her writing and appreciate her use of parallels, broad research, and her devotion to thoroughly understand what she communicates to us. For instance, she relates her mother’s loss of memory to the loss of books and knowledge during a library fire; and she burnt a book to personally experience how it feels to watch books burn and to see the exact way a book burns in a fire. Her diligence and expressiveness provide a powerful description of the LA library fire that seems to come alive to the readers. 

The book brought up many keen observations, detailed studies on history, and fascinating inquiries into some of the most colorful people running the LA library. Though a bit scattered in a range of topics relating to libraries and LA library in particular, reading the book was also like an exploration through space and time to come upon the many book burning events around the world, the investigation into the LA fire’s suspected arsonist Harry Peak, the characteristics of different libraries, the many unusual characters of LA library’s directors, the political struggles in controlling the LA library, the people who visit the libraries, the proper use of library funds in balancing the need of patrons and the library’s overall collections, the history of women’s rights reflected in the LA library’s history, and more. 

We talked about how the librarians manage the homeless population so that they may benefit from the libraries and not become a distractor for other patrons. We discussed the evolution of libraries in modern times. There are now more multimedia collections than ever before: e-books, audiobooks, videos, games, tax forms, etc. We compared the difference between reading a traditional book and a digital book. We noted the irony and the coincidence that, in the middle of the unprecedented Coronavirus pandemic, we are reading a book about libraries when all of the libraries are closed. We spoke of the changes to the libraries due to digitalization and the disappearance of many specialized libraries that existed earlier in companies and institutions.

Finally, despite having been getting e-books during these months of library closure, we agree that we would be very happy to go back to our favorite library as soon as it opens. The Library Book provides us much to learn and prompts us to reflect on the depth and breadth of how libraries affect our lives and our society in ways we may not have thought about before.

04/30/2020: The Japanese Lover, by Isabel Allende | Moderator: Rita Comes

The Japanese Lover is a story about forbidden love: interracial couples, gay couples, and love with someone who was sexually exploited. The story starts in 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco’s parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, Alma encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family’s Japanese gardener… Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco’s charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years.

A couple of us liked the story that sweeps through time and spanning generations and continents. We enjoyed reading the history and the love relationships. It felt like an easy and comfortable reading at such an unusual time sheltering-in-place.

Most of us, however, did not like the book. The author tried to cramp so many significant historical events into one relatively small book that, at times, we felt like being given a rushed history lesson that consisted of WWII in Europe, the Nazi concentration camps and holocaust, the American Japanese encampment after Pearl Harbor, forbidden love between interracial couples and gay men, the Eastern European sex trade, senior community living in San Francisco…  Each of these subjects could have made a story of its own. Thus it felt they were unnaturally stuffed into one book for its commercial success. The characters are not likable or inspiring. Then the book surprised us with its surrealism ending that just seemed an unnatural progression and was patched together like the rest of the historical events. It also seemed to lack focus with multiple interracial relationships and multiple unconventional love stories.

As we found ourselves critical about the book, we asked ourselves if we had missed certain aspects since it was on the list of New York Times Best Sellers, having sold 65 million copies. We analyzed our own perceptions and talked about how the book might be made appealing to us. We agree that one issue we had with the book is that there are too many historical events with different love stories. If the book was published as a set of independent stories that separate these events and couples, we might have different expectations and like it much better. Another possibility is that we are the wrong audience: most of us already are familiar with the fore mentioned historical events, perhaps to many others, that part of history such as the Japanese encampment may not be well-known, the prohibitive interracial love and impossibility of gay relationship may seem unimaginable, and the senior community living may be a novelty. Thus for a different audience such as some young adults and college students, this book could be intriguing. 

03/26/2020: Meet Me at the Museum, by Anne Youngson

"Meet Me at the Museum" is a story about a man and a woman who find themselves disappointed later in life. They are two strangers who begin a correspondence by chance when Tina, a farmer's wife in England, writes to Anders, a curator at Denmark's Silkeborg Museum. Over time, their correspondence evolves to more intimate conversations as they share their life stories and their thoughts, happiness, and unhappiness.

Due to Covid-19 Shelter-in-Place order, the club did not meet in person to discuss this month’s book. However, some of us who read the book have noted down our reading feedbacks as below.

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I found this book to be absolutely delightful!  It was a quick read and I had no problem w/ the format (letter writing). The characters came alive for me; there was so much depth to them.  I felt like as Anders says at the end, I would have known either one of them if they had walked through the front door of the museum.  I'm super fascinated by archaeology anyway, that to have that as a central cohesion factor for the story was a plus.  And although I typically like my stories to have an ending (preferable a happy one) I was quite satisfied w/ not knowing . . . It leaves so much to the imagination and I don't think I could have tolerated an unhappy ending having become so fond of Tina and Anders and their families (Well not Edward, I didn't like him at all!).   

I would highly recommend it!

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I enjoyed the little story. At first, I was unsure it'd be a good read and found some parts rather slow. Noticed that until Sept 18th the letter exchange was rather formal. On this later date rather than "your friend, Anders Larson',  Anders' closes by saying Love Anders and the letters grow more affectionate from then onward. Tina even begins to greet Mr. Larson with "My dear Anders". Enjoyed seeing both Tina and Anders grow stronger in their personalities and even change during their correspondence. I really loved the ending with hopes the two live together and continue to grow as a couple. I am glad I read Meet Me at the Museum with an unusual epistolary format. Believe Anne Youngston did a fine job creating and making her characters and the information both Anders and Tina exchanged credible and convincing.

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I started the book but find it boring and slow. I decided to listen to the audiobook and see if that allows me to get through the story. 

This turns out to be a great option. I could listen to the story at 1.50X to 1.75X the speed (surprisingly at such speed it is perfectly clear), which allows me to finish the book very quickly. Because the book is writing with plain language and in the form of letters between two people, listening to it makes it seem like listening to real conversations, which is actually enjoyable.

The story brings out the familiar topic of infidelity. Are intimate conversations between two adults, one of them is married, a form of cheating? 

The story makes me wonder, when we grow older and start looking back at the choices we made and the life we led, whether we are happy with the path we have chosen. Sadly, our protagonist Tina seems to feel all of her married life was against her wishes… All the years, all the children… I am glad that she eventually decides to leave, however, not because she had finally taken charge of her life, but because of the events outside of her control – her husband’s infidelity. I find her attitude passive and not inspiring.

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I checked the book out of the library, and it is a sweet little book, at 272 pages, with its diminutive size, it is so pleasant to hold. I was looking forward to reading it.

Alas, by page 3, I was brought up short and disappointed when I read this sentence: "As I pass the mirror in the hall on the way out of the door, I notice myself in profile..." I thought, wait, wait, when I look in the mirror, I can't see myself in profile, unless well, maybe if I'm twisting my head and looking at my body. So I read on: "...the same hollowness of cheek, the same beakiness of nose." Myself, when I pass by the mirror, I can't see the angle of my nose. This passage was jarring.

I continued reading and came to the conclusion that Anne Youngson's writing style is just not of very high quality. This author has feelings and ideas, as do we all, and she wants to express these feelings, but she is not in the league with some of our highly-skilled, wonderful writers like Elizabeth Strout, Anne Patchett, Jane Smiley, Ann Tyler, etc. She has an interesting idea, a way to unite two strangers through their letters and to discover what they have in common when outwardly their lives seem so different. This book is a thinly disguised romance novel IMHO. (And no, I'm not just being testy because of COVID-19 and its effect on our world. I had these same thoughts in late February before our lives changed.)

This book is mildly entertaining and a quick read, but it is not literary fiction.

What did I like about this book? I appreciated learning something about the Tollund Man https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tollund_Man. I thought it clever that the author would entwine her fictional characters with an actual person, P.V. Glob (1911-1985, a Danish archaeologist) and an actual book, The Bog People, published in 1965.

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I loved this book, but I tend to go for the understated ones.

 Enjoyed discovering their personalities and friendship by reading the letters.  I liked that the characters were relatively ordinary.  I thought the writing was awfully good, not showy or histrionic.

 The book made me feel very content.

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I struggled through the book till the last 1/4 of the book as I struggled to identify with these quiet introverted people.... but by the last of the book, I was deeply taken by the development of their relationship and felt very hopeful as the book closed.  I would not recommend this book to someone who just read 5-6 books a year as it was not beautiful literature or a catchy story but it was a book I would recommend to avid readers as it has stayed with me. As an extrovert, it really helped me slow down into the thoughtful daily routines of those not forced to be on the go all the time.... My parents fell in love through weekly then daily letters during WWII so I loved the idea of the letters... They were both from the same small town and all the girls wrote to all the boys away - as was the custom of the time- but their letters led to love to marriage immediately upon my father's return!  I did a bit more research about the Tollund Man as I was not familiar with it.  It will be interesting to see how others liked or disliked it. 

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I may have come in with a negative view from the get-go - the lost lives of those who did not marry well…. and it seems bleak. 

The Tollund Man was a cool anchor for the book - slower-paced - many redeeming points - but not my favorite.

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“I found it slow and a bit ponderous.   Unsatisfactory ending.  Looong letters are a little deep for my liking.  Reading the reviews on the back cover, it seemed to me that the author may have paid to have a couple of those written (ok, so almost just kidding).   And how did “The Creature” get in there anyway?“

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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-bog-bodies.html

02/27/2020: Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune, by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr. || Moderator: Wen Gong

While house hunting, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bill Dedman stumbled upon a grand home for sale, unoccupied for nearly sixty years. In his search for answers to this and other related mysterious mansions, Dedman teamed up with Paul Clark Newell Jr., a relative of the self-made copper industrialist W. A. Clark, and discovered a surprising and captivating historical story. The Empty Mansions is a rich mystery of massive wealth found and lost, connecting the opulent nineteenth-century Gilded Age with a twenty-first-century battle over a $300 million inheritance. At the center of this saga is a reclusive and secretive heiress named Huguette Clark, the sole heir to the enormous fortune left by her father, W. A. Clark. Though she owned palatial homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, despite being in excellent health, she lived her last twenty years (until her death at 104 years old) in a simple and unassuming, some times windowless, hospital room, leaving all the magnificent mansions empty. Was she in control of her fortune, or did those managing her money control her?

Our readers are split between those who enjoyed the book and viewed it a fascinating story, and those who found the book dull and characters empty and uninspiring. 

Those of us who liked the book found it engagingly written with photographs that helped to connect the readers with the characters. Some even thought the book deserve​d​ a second read to grasp more of its details and depth. We appreciated that this biography was written with extensive research, though without direct involvement or knowledge of the secretive heiress herself. We were impressed by Huguette’s generosity towards the very few people to whom she is attached. We found it interesting to contemplate and explore the topic of elderly or disabled people being taken advantage of by the people whose services are depended upon, such as health providers and accountants.

Those of us who did not like the book found the characters unlikeable and dreary. Some could not finish reading it. We felt that the characters were as empty as the mansions. Not only did the reclusive and secretive heiress to a massive fortune do nothing meaningful in her life, but everyone surrounding her seemed to be greedy and influenced only by her money. Her accountant, CPA, nurse, relatives, hospital, and its doctors all wanted her money in one way or another, yet no one seemed to be determined to do what was truly best for her.

The story reminds some of us of a certain type of rich New Yorkers, whose lonely souls wander around the bustling city without real connection to other people. At the story’s center, Huguette Clark took unusually generous and perhaps extreme steps to gift her nurse with many houses and cars, and to pay for her children’s education. Weeks before her death, she changed her will to leave her massive fortune to her nurse, which led to a ferocious legal battle over her $300 million fortune among the hospital, charities, her accountant, her nurse, and her relatives.

We questioned whether Hugette’s nurse took advantage of her. We debated Huguette’s motivations and considered whether she was mentally sound while making these decisions. We concluded that money does not create problems, rather it exacerbates existing problems. This led us into an interesting discussion about the ideas and consequences of gifting: the complex dynamics and cultural differences involved in the meaning of gifts, for both givers and receivers. We agreed with Huguette’s attitude that “I want to see people enjoy the gifts that I give while I'm alive.” We savored another quote from one of our members, whose client once said of a gift to her, “By accepting a gift, you appreciate the value to the giver.” 

Huguette’s motto from a French fable, “To live happily, live hidden,” led us to compare Huguette’s life to that of another rich heiress, Paris Hilton. In judging whether Hugette lived a productive life, we also realize that each of us creates a bubble of our own lives. While we may disagree and disapprove of her lifestyle and her choices, we may also seek to understand, sympathize, and respect them.

01/31/2020: The Dutch House: A Novel Kindle Edition, by Ann Patchett || Moderator: Patty Dewes

The story sets at the end of the Second World War, when veteran Cyril Conroy struck good luck in a single canny investment and began an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to massive wealth. Meant as a surprise for his wife, Cyril bought the Dutch House, a lavish abandoned estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Unexpectedly, moving into this spectacular house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is narrated by Cyril’s son Danny, who, along with his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are abandoned by their mother soon after they moved into the opulent mansion. Growing up with a distant father and cold stepmother, and eventually exiled from the house by their stepmother, the two siblings found themselves thrown into the poverty their parents had escaped. It is this unshakable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.

Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives, they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.

The book caused diverse views among readers in our group, which made a wonderful and interesting discussion. Some liked the first part of the book and displeased with the ending, some cared little about the first half of the book and really enjoyed the last part, some could not stand any part of the book or any one of the characters, and some truly enjoyed the whole book from the beginning to the end, considering it a page-turner. When asked if one would recommend the book, most of the group would recommend it as “light” reading material for the summer (i.e., your beach vacations), a couple of opposing voices expressed mild to strong reservations.

We agreed that there was a very strong character development in the book, and that while almost everyone is flawed, we could appreciate the different personalities and background of each individual, as well as how it affected their relationship with others.  Those who did not like the book felt that there wasn’t anything to like about any of the characters, seeing them as pathetic and dysfunctional. Perhaps that is exactly what the author wants to portrait: the damaged souls and their illogical choices due to their inability to escape their past.

We talked about loss, rejection, and abandonment in early childhood and how it affects and shapes subsequent relationships and life decisions.  To us, this is a story of love and attachment between parents, children, and siblings; and a story about unresolved anger and misplaced love.  It’s eventually about truly accepting our loved ones for who they really are, the good and the bad.  We found it a novelty that the author makes the house a character and a central theme that ties all threads together.

All of us agreed that the ending (roughly the last 20-30 pages) seemed rushed.  While some appreciated that it tied together many of the loose strings in the story, others felt that it was jumbled and disconcerting. 

10/31/2019: Becoming Madame Mao, by Anchee Min || Moderator: Rita Comes

“Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min, as the book is opened, I can hear the Opera’s orchestra test the tuning of its instruments and I hear the different scenes of the opera (think Turondot) throughout the book until our dramatic heroine takes her own life after ten years of being jailed. Madame Mao seems to play many parts in her opera; lead, chorus, protagonist, victim, coy young lover, brilliant strategist, long-suffering wife, sage, marketing genius, war strategist, medical specialist, historian, mentor and actress. I shared this opera idea that I experienced years ago when I read this book for the first time.” - Rita

The group had mixed feelings about the book, in particular, the author switches between first voice and third voice throughout the book, which most of us found so hard to follow that many laid down the book in frustration. However, those who are mildly familiar with this part of the Chinese history seem to recognize that the third voice is an attempt to capture the actual history and the first voice is the author’s depiction of Madame Mao’s inner voice based on cultural influences.

The story is a “fictional” autobiography of Madame Mao, her family upbringing of abuse, the opportunities that she created for herself using the tools she had at her disposal - honor, comradeship, female charm, hunger, etc - whatever that was needed for the “part” she was playing at that time. Despite being portrayed as an ultimately tragic figure with artistic drama tendencies, we largely despised Madame Mao’s shameless self-promotion and her power-hunger attitude. The group reflected on the thought that if this book was about a man, it may have evoked a less defensive reaction for we are a product of our society and we are influenced by its expectation of women. We compared Madame Mao’s story to Forest Gump, who seemed to be everywhere at the right time, and to Eva Perone. We related her to Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind. In the end, we came to the conclusion that her fate was more similar to Winnie Mandela.

The book loosely touches on the actual history of communism in China, the rise of Chairman Mao and the suggested influence that Madame Mao had on this legacy. People in our group that were interested in the recent history of China seemed to connect with the book in a different way than those that were not interested. Though our group is full of voracious readers, many of us did not connect with this particular book.

Towards the end of our discussion, the group talked about Anchee Min, the author, and her personal story. Anchee Min seemed to have suffered directly by the communist uprising in China. The subconscious voice of Madame Mao in the book could easily be the suppressed voice of Anchee Min, words that she would like to yell in Tiananmen Square under the large portrait of Mao while it is filled with well-heeled tourists.

9/26/2019: Women Rowing North, by Mary Pipher || Moderator: Wen Gong

The stereotype would have us believe that, as women grow older, they contend with and dwell on ageism, misogyny, and loss. Mary Pipher, in her book Women Rowing North, shows that most older women are deeply happy and filled with gratitude for the gifts of life and that, having gone through life’s ups and downs, older women have grown into the authentic, empathetic, and wise people we have always want to be. Mary Pipher explores the ways women cultivate resilience and face challenges as they age. The book is full of inspirational quotes, some are tacky and others serve as useful reminders of what we may already know yet sometimes forget. The book is not about how to deal with aging, but focuses on how to think as we go through tough periods and face new challenges that aging inevitably brings.

During our discussion, we mostly feel the same way: while the book has some good ideas and stories of older women successfully dealing with various problems, we do not find much unusual wisdom and guidance, especially given that the subtitle seems to suggest that it is a how-to book. We do like that the author uses many quotes that are inspirational and good reminders in times of need when we might lose our wits. For example, the quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it. To taste experiences to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.”  Having navigated life this far, we feel that the author repeats what we already know, overuses metaphors (“We feel as useless as poinsettia’s after Christmas”), states the obvious (“Preparing for death: It is important to have in place medical POA, wills, etc…”), makes some T-Shirt slogans (“We’ve grown into the finest of wines”), and creates uninviting melodramatic sentiments (“Bliss, like orgasm, comes easier after our first experience”). It seems that the author’s own experience, education, and expectations are similar to that of ours, which may explain why we feel like her advice is that we are already pursuing, and we realize that we may not be her ideal audience.

Despite the lackluster reception to the book itself, we had one of the most hilarious and humorous discussions filled with hearty laughter, fueled by us looking into ourselves and finding our inner selves who are still young, beautiful, funny, and sexy. Our ability to laugh at ourselves and enjoy life at the present moment is improved by our newfound wisdom and carefree spirit that naturally come with age. The book may not have lived up to our expectations, but it sparked an amazing, honest, and fun conversation about the joy and challenges as we grow older.  Whatever our ages are, at times we still feel like the inexperienced teenager and other times the same confident person as we were at 30 years old. We absolutely resent being labeled the “elderly woman.”  However, we are happy to follow the author’s suggestion to ask ourselves each morning, “how can I enjoy my day?” We also realize that we are fortunate to live in a supportive environment with many clubs, supportive women, volunteering opportunities, etc.. Thus we seem to be doing what the author advocates older women do to find purpose, happiness, friendship, and support in each other. We totally agree with the author that older women can be and often are wiser and happier. 

We were intrigued by the chosen title and wondered why it was that the author chose for women to row north instead of south. To some of us, the north represents the harshness of cold and infertile land. We questioned why not rowing towards the sunny and warmth of the south. We came to two conclusions. One interpretation is that north conventionally, as is in the case of a Map, indicates the way towards “up.” The other interpretation is that something going south might have meant that something is not going well.

We briefly touched on how men and women age differently, emotionally, physically, and psychologically.

Would we recommend the book? It depends. It provides a wonderful platform for a great discussion on the subject that we or people we care can very well relate, and it is valuable and a lot of fun to examine ourselves, share our experiences, and look forward to the road ahead. If you are happy and content, you most likely have accumulated more wisdom than you realize, and the book will not give you extra insight or enlightenment, we suggest that you skip it. However, if you are going through a tough period where you could benefit from reminders of what is important, what to do and how to think in order to make yourself feel better, you may find this book a useful resource.  

8/29/2019: Educated, by Tara Westover || Moderator: Mary McDonald

What a story, a young woman’s memoir of her growing up in an isolated fundamental Mormon household. She was in constant fear of the government changing their ways and her parents made sure that they had enough supplies and ammunition to protect them from change.  Tara and her siblings did not attend school, seems that the mother “home schooled” the older ones for awhile but Tara was left with gumption, curiosity, survival and the universal school of hard knocks to educate her in her preteen years.  As a teenager, Tara “escaped” to BYU by studying on her own for an entrance test but then discovered another hard life lesson of how to live in the world with others and began to question the situation she was raised in.  Tara would eventually survive the scrap yard, the abusive controlling older brother, the strong but not always caring mother, the possible bi polar/schizophrenic father and non supportive community to get her PhD (as did a few of her other siblings), only to be eventually ostracized out of the family.

Our group had some very strong opinions on this book, some couldn’t finish it, some were saddened by all Tara and her siblings had to endure, some were mad that no one helped them, and some saw it as a great example of resilience and determination in a sea of adversity.  We questioned if there was any other type of abuse that went on in the house but agreed that there might have been but she would not be able to write it in this book.  

One question that we had around the table was – would this be the same book if she wrote it at fifty? One comment was that this book was such a catharsis of healing, that she might not have been alive at fifty without it and perhaps she has a chance to do great things but she will never forget her past.  We also mentioned other writers that wrote survival memoirs like the Glass Castle – Jeannette Walls, not and easy life for these survivors but they live on and are more successful than what was originally expected of them. 

The names of the people in the book were changed and she admits that she had to modify some stories to protect people (most likely protect her self).  At the end of the discussion, the people that were not able to complete the book were going to give it a new try with insight from the group – we look forward to see what this young lady is going to do next…

7/25/2019: Becoming, by Michelle Obama || Moderator: Linda Olson

Becoming is a memoir by the former First Lady Michelle Obama. The book is separated into three sections: Becoming Me, Becoming Us, and Becoming More. Becoming Me begins with Michelle’s early life growing up on the south side of Chicago and her education at Princeton University and Harvard Law School, and continues until her brief time at one of the prominent law firms in Chicago. Becoming Us is about meeting Barack Obama, their romance, the beginning of his political career in the Illinois State Senate, and how Obama’s political activism affects their family life. Becoming More gives a detailed account of the First Family’s life in the White House. The book sold more copies than any other book published in the United States in 2018. 10 million copies have been sold by March of 2019.

The club had a high-spirited discussion about the book and how it reflects on Michelle Obama as a person whom we have gotten to know better.

We are aware that some people did not come to the discussion because they did not like the book or were not interested in the book, as is the case with some other books in the past. We respect everyone’s opinion and hope that everyone feels welcome at the PVWC Book Club’s discussion table, whatever her view might be. We believe that we learn more and have more fun in a discussion with multiple voices. In this spirit, the paragraphs below attempt to capture all of the voices that emerged during our discussion, which is only about the book and our individual takeaway from reading the book, not about Michelle Obama in real life. Each voice is only a way to capture the conversation and does not correspond to a single person’s view or one person’s entire view.

One voice loves the book and absolutely adores Michelle Obama. In the first section Becoming Me, we felt that we could very well relate to her story, follow her upbringing, and understand the circumstances in which she grew up. Michelle Obama sounds like a smart, assertive, yet totally accessible woman that we recognize and feel close to. She shows us how an ordinary person could become so remarkable in unexpected ways and under unimaginable and unpredictable circumstances. We were deeply moved by her humble beginnings and her sole breadwinner father who bravely battled with debilitating Multiple Sclerosis that got rapidly worse over the years. Her father’s calm and collected personality and courage have had a lasting influence on her. Like her father, Michelle Obama is not a complainer; she moves gracefully through difficulties and carries on. We respected and admired her dedication to her family and her fervent protection of her daughters. As her life changes, from meeting Barack Obama to getting more involved in politics, she continuously transforms and becomes more mature, resourceful, and impactful. Thus, we thought “Becoming” is such a fitting title for her story. In many ways, we felt that her journey was greatly encouraging and a reflection of all of us, in that we are all learning, growing, and becoming more. Given all of the criticisms and scrutiny that she faced, we agree that she always acts as an exceptionally admirable, exemplary, and classy lady, a true role model especially for women, minorities, and disadvantaged people everywhere.

The second voice finds the first section or even the entire book to be on the safe side. The book does not put much emphasis on the unusual challenges she faced even though the south side of Chicago, where she grew up, is known to be a tough part of the city. It stays away from making strong statements. We wished to learn more about her feelings and connections she made while visiting Kenya for the first time with Barack Obama, as well as her subsequent overseas visits to other countries as the first lady. Overall, it felt that she grew up in a very supportive and stable family and a good school environment even as her neighborhood was going through the white flight. This impression, however, is naturally subjective depending on one’s definition of a tough environment. At the same time, we thoroughly enjoyed reading the section Becoming More, which is about her life on the political stage. As a keen participant and observer of an extraordinary period and groundbreaking events in our political history, she tries to give a neutral, objective, and the insider view on what was happening. We found her approach to this part of history both informative and necessary. We appreciated her candid admission about the nuances of living with so many security details, the lack of privacy and freedom, and her struggle to live a normal family life especially for her young daughters, as well as her striving to have the right impact as the nation’s first black lady and the unique challenge that brought upon her.

The third voice, on the other hand, feels the book overall is a bit one-sided about Michelle Obama. She comes across as being intelligent and strong-willed. She is raised by the most supportive and understanding parents, surrounded by an affectionate large extended family, protected by an outstanding brother one could ever hope for, and guided and loved by an extraordinary man. She is a devoted wife and mother, striving for her family to live a normal life under very unusual circumstances. We wished that the book focused more on her feeling empowered and using her influence as one of the most powerful women in the world to change people’s lives. She admits lack of interest in politics and writes, “I’ve never been a fan of politics, and my experience over the last ten years has done little to change that.” which gives an impression that she did many things to help her husband’s political cause, not necessarily out of her own belief.

Despite our different views on the book, most of us enjoyed reading the book and feel that it is valuable for the unique historical context. Obama’s completely unpretentious and telling it all style in describing the details of her family life creates a warm and relatable intimacy with readers.

Those of us who listened to the audio book generally like it better because Michelle Obama read it herself and she definitely gave her own story a positive lift.

6/27/2019: She Would Be King, by Wayetu Moore || Moderator: Wen Gong

Wayétu Moore’s debut novel, She Would Be King, tells the dramatic story of Liberia’s early years through three distinct characters who share an uncommon bond: their utterly different paths and suffering bring them to the same place that is about to become a new nation, Liberia. Our female protagonist Gbessa is born in the West African village of Lai after a cat died and, due to superstition, is considered cursed and a witch. She ends up being exiled, starved, bitten by a viper, and left for dead, yet she survives. June Dey, raised on a plantation in Virginia, hides his unusual strength until a confrontation with the overseer forces him to flee. Norman Aragon, the child of a white British colonizer and a Maroon slave from Jamaica, can become invisible. When fate brought the three to the settlement of Monrovia, later the capital of Liberia, their gifts help them salvage the tense relationship between the African American settlers and the indigenous tribes, as a new nation forms around them.

In her book, Moore uses magical realism to intermingle historical events with supernatural abilities. We found this mix of magic and reality hard to reconcile and enjoy. Some of us could not get past the first few pages about an old tribe woman beating her cat. We were unclear about which part of the story is meant to be actual historical accounts. The writing is not particularly appealing due to use of improper English, perhaps in an effort to show either the imperfect translation from indigenous languages or the broken English spoken by the American slaves. And lastly, we were unable to follow the threads in the book that lead to the title “She Would Be King.” Our female protagonist Gbessa is told by the wind that “She Would Be King,” yet, our reading did not lead us to conclude either she desires to be a King or she is destined to be a King.

However, as the discussion unfolded and as we reviewed other materials aside from the book, we realized that our understanding of the story was limited by our own lack of sufficient knowledge on Liberia’s history. After we learned about the author’s personal background – she is a mixed Lai, Gola, and Americo-Liberian, and did a bit of research on Liberia’s early days, we gained much more appreciation to the story and started recognizing many actual historical accounts that we missed before. For example, we learned that Liberia was purchased by the United States at the time when slavery became illegal, and it was there many newly freed African Americans (Americo-Liberians) went to form their own nation. Moore uses the three characters to show the roots of the forces during the formation of Liberia, and the complicated relationships among the many different groups at that time. Gbessa represents the largest indigenous tribe Lai, June Dey and Gbessa’s husband represent the free and newly freed African Americans, and Norman Aragon represents the displaced people from the former British colonies. During the discussion, it became clearer to us that Gbessa’s life with the Americo-Liberians explores the illegal slave trading and the conflicts between indigenous tribes and the Americo-Liberians, and the way Norman Aragon’s British scientist father studies his own mixed-race child is a testimony to the time when the colonizers held the ignorant and primitive view that black people were different from white people. The story started making much more sense.

As we learned Moore’s other endeavors in her non-profit organization, One Moore Book, we also wondered if our dislike of the writing has to do with our own bias and inclinations due to our western education. One Moore Book’s mission is to “encourage reading among children of countries with low literacy rates and underrepresented cultures by publishing culturally relevant books that speak to their truths, and by creating bookstores and reading corners that serve their communities.” Perhaps Moore’s magical realism was her way of reaching out to these communities and making the story resonate with their history, culture, and their way of story telling, which is unfamiliar to us.

Despite the initial lack of enthusiasm in reading the book, through the discussion, we have learned more about Liberia’s history, understood and appreciated more about the story, and felt that we would like to explore more about Liberia and its people.

5/30/2019: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain || Moderator: Patty Dewes

Kitchen Confidential is both funny and shocking wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade from the late professional Chef turned author, Anthony Bourdain. In a seemingly uncensored voice, Mr. Bourdain narrates his more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, haute cuisine, and an insider view of the restaurant industry.

As if taking a cue from the unconventional style of the book and perhaps the very intent of the author, the club had one of its most lively and heated discussions. We either passionately like the book and love how the author explores each restaurant worker in both the darkest and the most valuable traits or we are utterly appalled by the author’s glorifying, excusing, and normalizing drug abuse, sexual harassment at work, criminal minds, alcoholism, lying, cheating, and stealing, etc.

The consistently polarized personalities presented in the book led us to wonder to what extent each character is based upon a single individual vs a combination of multiple people; at times, the language is so raunchy, unfiltered, and direct that we could not help but speculate to what extent the writing deliberately creates an overloaded shocking sensation for marketing purposes, and to what extent it is the author himself writing on the high from drugs or going through the high period in his manic depression. It seems a miracle, as the author recounts the prodigious amount of chaos in the kitchen, where the staff is fueled by drugs, alcohol, sexual innuendo, sarcasm, anger, impatience, and tyranny, somehow the food (some times even outstanding food) is delivered and customers satisfied.

We learned a lot about the restaurant industry and how it works, the kind of people who work there, and how they work their shifts. We were impressed by such advice as to avoid seafood on Mondays, to never order mussels or well-done steak, and to steer clear of any brunch.

Some of us are charmed while others alarmed by the sardonic though insightful depictions of the diverse crew that works in the kitchen – the legal and illegal immigrants from various South American countries such as El Salvador, Columbia, Mexico, and some of the European countries. The author's counter-cultural view had a special artistic appeal to some but was disturbing to others. Despite our split views, we all agree, however, that the book is entertaining to read about food and cuisine, and is authentic on how restaurants operate and how the industry works.

The discussion inevitably turned to the author himself, who committed suicide in 2018 while filming his TV series in France. An extraordinarily complex person, Mr. Bourdain makes little or no apologies for being an alcoholic and a drug addict; while being a busy working professional Chef, Mr. Bourdain was also a prolific writer with 13 published books and multiple New York Time’s bestsellers. His TV show Parts Unknown gained many dedicated followers and international recognition. Thus Mr. Bourdain himself embodies the very contrary characters that seem to repeat over and over in this book.

4/25/2019: On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan || Moderator: Wen Gong

An elegant and poignant short novel, On Chesil Beach brings us to a remarkable depth of personal embarrassment, humiliation, and repression of the 1960s in England.  The novel focuses on the wedding night of a young couple, Edward and Florence, “young, educated, and virgin...” In the course of the night, as the awkwardness unfolds between the sexually inexperienced couple, we learn about the couple’s personal history, their struggle, their families, and the events of the time.

Given what we know about the lack of sex education and society taboos at that time, we felt a deep understanding to Florence’s reluctance to consummate the marriage.  We thought it was a very immature and rushed decision when Edward had the marriage annulled on the ground of the non-consummation. The couple never discusses sex or what it implies. They are utterly unable to communicate their expectations and fear of the unknown.

 Our discussion explored the subtle hint about Florence’s relationship with her father. Though it is not explicitly told, we concluded that Florence’s father sexually molested her, which would have contributed to her reluctant attitude towards intimacy with Edward. We felt like we were reading between the lines, however, especially given the complicated and confusing relationship between the molested child and the molesting father. For example, Edward observes that the father is never compassionate with Florence like with his other daughter, yet, Florence often “exchanges glances with” her father during discussions as if they share some common understanding, and that she bursts out during a heated exchange with Edward, “perhaps I should murder my mother and marry my father...”

Some of us felt that the couple lacked true love. The story was set at a time when young people were not free in exploring relationships, and not respected until they enter marriage, a marker of the adult life. Edward blames Florence for tricking him into the marriage knowing that she was “frigid” and rationalizes that she marries him in order to leave her suffocating family life and entering adulthood. Others, however, were moved by their true love demonstrated in Edward’s unexpected embracing of her classical music and Florence’s after-performance glances to the empty seat where he used to sit. It seems that the author purposefully arranged the ambiguity so that each of us could draw our own conclusions.

When Florence suggested to Edward that they could continue to love each other, and it was ok for Edward to take a lover, we were reminded of marriages of convenience between homosexual and heterosexual people before homosexuality was accepted. In a way, we thought Florence was forward thinking and was trying to find a creative solution to the problem at hand. On the other hand, Edward’s immediate reaction was to put the blame entirely on her, ran off, and never returned. We found that the rushed summary of Edward’s life thereafter was a very sad one. He never found true love again, drafted through life without any determination and a goal, and never found time to achieve his ambition of writing history books, as he was inspired to do when he was with Florence.

Like Edward himself, we wondered what life could have been had he remained patient and done nothing after the disaster of the wedding night. Would their problems be resolved with the passage of time and patience?

We explored the symbolism of the cold, hard, and non-romantic pebble beach where the couple chose to spend their wedding night, as well as their non-romantic planned activity to collect these pebbles and compare them in this much-anticipated night.

Most of us were absolutely wowed by the author’s writing and found the story like a jewel box, small but beautifully crafted. We appreciated that the author was able to arrive at such incredible depth in complicated relationships with so few words. A couple of us felt the novel was a bit narrow-focused with one issue – sexual inexperience, and wished that the author could have explored a bit more of the social environment that led to these confusions; and the explicit descriptions of the newlyweds’ attempts to consummate their marriage seemed unnecessarily detailed.

As a prolific author, Ian McEwan, one of the most acclaimed authors of our time, received the Man Booker prize in 1998, and has written a number of novels that were adapted into films: The Cement Garden (1978), Comfort of Strangers (1981), Enduring Love (1997), Atonement (2001). On Chesil Beach (2007) was adapted into a film with a different (happy) ending, which we thought was very typical of Hollywood optimism.

3/28/3019: Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes || Moderator: Rita Comes

An unusual science fiction, Flowers for Algernon, was a delightful and heartfelt reading that reflects deeply about our humanity and our society.  The story’s hero is Charlie, a mentally disabled yet happy and hardworking man for whom scientists conduct an experiment to increase his intelligence as they did with a lab mouse, Algernon. Charlie’s intelligence increases rapidly, and soon surpasses that of the scientists; yet, as in the case with Algernon, Charlie’s intelligence does not last and he suffers a rapid deterioration. During the brief period Charlie is highly intelligent, he is able to discover his own destiny that the scientists fail to understand. Is he able to define his own path during his high IQ period and sticks to his plan after his mental abilities deteriorated? 

We had a great discussion on many social aspects exposed by the story. Everyone finds it a fascinating reading and liked the first person narrative. We talked about how implicit and explicit caste/class/ social categorization system affects our relationship with each other and the society. We explored the ways and the clues that the author chose to demonstrate Charlie’s intelligence progression on the way up as well as on the way down: memory, clarity of thinking, use of proper grammar, logic, and reasoning, etc. 

Even though the original short story was published in 1959, and the book was written in 1966, we all see the relevance in today’s society. Most of us did not find it as a typical book in the Science Fiction genre, because we feel that the story is particularly relatable. For example, as his intelligence increases, Charlie struggles with relationships with his formal coworkers, friends, and scientists he works with.  People find it hard to accept the new intelligent Charlie as he steps out of the boundary in which people understood him, while Charlie himself also becomes impatient, arrogant, and irritable as his mind races faster than others. In the story, Charlie’s mental disability was a result of phenylketonuria, a condition that might have been treatable if his parents had more resources, which resonated with us as being true in our present day. In subtle ways, the story also reveals the ugliness in competition for fame and ranking in academic fields.

Among the many ways we feel connected to Charlie’s journey, Charlie’s isolation stands out when he becomes smarter. People could no longer accept him because he is not the Charlie they knew. Our natural tendency is to put people in a frame, both positively and negatively affecting our relationship with others. We talked about how a change in a person or society can put people off because of our inclination to keep the old frame of mind. We also compared Charlie’s mental deterioration to cognitive decline as we age, and as we watched our relatives and our friends suffering such mental decline. Charlie sometimes refers to his less-intelligent self in the third person, as if he were an observer of his former self, which reminds us of our own experience in seeing our past younger selves as being vulnerable and innocent, almost detached from ourselves. 

What is surprising, however, is that Charlie’s emotional happiness seems to go in the opposite direction of his intelligence. The smart Charlie starts to remember unhappy events in life, sense other people’s negative emotions, detect other’s selfish motivations, and become anxious about his future, etc., which all add to his unhappiness. 

In varying degrees, we have all enjoyed the reading greatly and are thankful that we read such a wonderful book that we would not have picked up on our own.

2/28/2019: The Battle for God, by Karen Armstrong || Moderator: Mary McDonald

The Battle for God is a thoroughly researched and fascinating historical account on the rise of fundamentalism in the three major monotheistic faiths: Protestant, Jewish, and Islam. Armstrong's analysis begins with the fundamentalism developments in Judaism, followed by the creation of fundamentalism in Christianity and Islam.

By narrating the historical events that had coincided with the rise of fundamentalism, the author makes a strong argument that the western modernization was at the root of the fundamentalist movement in each of the three religions.  While the modernization process was enlightening and somewhat confusing to western society, it was largely oppressive and threatening to the people in the Mideast. This was because the western countries rapidly gained unprecedented power through industrialization and advances in science & technology, which made possible for colonization, influence, and world domination that caused both improvements and tragedies.  In both the West and the Mideast, however, the traditional way of life and spiritual pursuit were challenged and had to change with the time. Thus all three religions sought to adapt to the new world order, to understand people’s suffering, and to preserve their way of life through the fundamentalist movements. For that reason, the fundamentalism indeed contains the elements of the modern way of reasoning rather than simply reverting back to the mythology of the past.

Some of us felt that, as human beings, individual or group needs naturally leads to the occasional violent competition and struggle on the limited resources on earth, and the desire for power over others and their beliefs was the impetus for the change and evolution. In a way, Armstrong’s thoroughly researched history suggests to us that this is more about the battle among human beings “in the name of God” than “for God”. We wondered about whether the people leading the fundamentalist movements and other fractions in the different religions were truly for the good of their people or simply struggling to gain power.

We agree that it was an interesting read, serving primarily as history and evolution of the major western religions, albeit for some it was a bit overly detailed and tedious to read. Also, the author seemed to approach it more in an “academic” exercise and style, which made it a little harder to read.  We wished that the book could have made some comparison and references to the Eastern religions and spirituality, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.  However, the second half of the book, which starts in roughly the 1960s, is more relevant and relatable for those of us that lived through those times. So we recommend for those who find the book tedious to focus on the second half.

One thing stands out for us that shows how the West and the Mideast thought differently about some of the most fundamental things is the veil in the Muslim world. The West thought of it as the symbol of oppression imposed upon women, yet in Islam world during the rising fundamentalism, women chose to wear the veil as a statement of their choice, in fact, a choice to show their open rebellion to the Western influence.

The concept of mythos (myth/cult) vs. logos (logic/science) was the focal point to the author’s hypothesis of how Western modernity influenced fundamentalism.  We wondered about the impact of science such as DNA/genealogy testing that have shown to challenge our assumptions about whom we are, as well as about how science affects how we evaluate the “truth” of what has been written historically about our faiths:  The Bible (Old and New Testament), the Koran, etc.   

The author, Karen Armstrong, spent 7 years in a Convent, yet she writes in an absolute scholarly manner with a great understanding of science and a profound understanding of human spirituality and all three religions. We were fascinated by the authors’ background and felt compelled to search out some of her other books. 

All who read the book would recommend it, rating it 3.5 or higher. Many suggested starting in the middle, expecting more of an academic read than a story.

1/31/2019: Bonanza King: John Mackay and the Battle over the Greatest Riches in America, by Gregory Crouch || Moderator: Patty Dewes

Crouch’s comprehensive narrative, The Bonanza King, combines the history of Nevada’s bustling Comstock Mine with the tale of how penniless miner (John Mackay) became one of the world’s richest men. The book’s first half establishes background on the life of miners and the technical elements of mining. In the second half, Mackay rises from poverty to form a partnership that eventually built one of the most successful mine operations ever. Crouch shows how Mackay’s firsthand mining knowledge gave him a competitive edge. The taciturn Irishman also enjoyed an unconventional but happy personal life.  Helpful footnotes relate historical sites to modern landmarks or locations. This is a thorough tribute to the life and work of an honest man who earned his fortune and kept his good name in an era of fierce competition and astounding corruption.

Overall, we felt that this is a wonderful story about the Wild Wild West and about the history (beginning in about 1850) of Northern California, Nevada, and San Francisco. But it was very long and portions of it were very difficult and confusing to read, particularly the sections which discussed the mining operations in detail.  It was fascinating to learn about how people lived back then and all the hardships that they endured (travel to CA from the East Coast, vigilantism, disease. . .) It also seemed to be an early harbinger of what CA and Silicon Valley have become:  people coming here to make their fortunes or discover something new, how the bankers and lawyers seemed to be making all the money, and how one person’s commitment and passion can drive them to success. 

Mr. Mackay (John) was not very colorful but he was committed, hardworking and didn’t care a hoot about the money.  He was respected by the men who worked for him because he was down in the mine, working alongside of them.  He knew what they were going through because he was once in their shoes. For some, it didn’t paint many “visual” pictures, for others it did.  There were many “mini-stories” which some felt were fascinating to read, others wondered if some could have been deleted to make the book shorter.  Also, interesting to learn about his partners who had an influence on the Bay Area and how they helped build San Francisco from the ground up, even saving it during the 1906 earthquake (Sharon, Flood, Fair, Ralston. . .) 

In all, while not so much a story about a man, it’s a fascinating story about a time in history that’s relevant to us in the Bay Area.   Would recommend but it’s long and at times very complex/confusing.  You can skip over some parts without missing most of the “mini-stories.” 

12/27/2018: Bad Blood:  Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup By John Carreyrou || Moderator: Wanda Ginner

The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of Theranos, the multibillion-dollar biotech startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end, despite pressure from the Theranos’ charismatic CEO and threats by her aggressive lawyers. 

 With one exception, all of the book club members saw Elizabeth Holmes as a sociopath(*) who did not have the technical expertise to know whether or not the Theranos idea could ever work.  She was young and beautiful and charismatic, and had an ability to charm older men so they believed her without doing any real due diligence.  It was interesting to note that none of the biotech VC firms invested in Theranos, probably because they knew the concept was unworkable.

One book club member believes that Holmes was not capable of fooling seasoned investors for so many years, and that those people went along for so long to try to maximize their investment returns.

The New York Times reviewer complained that the author introduced too many personalities late in the book, thus confusing the reviewer.  None of the book club members had that problem.  We all thought the writing was well done, the personalities generally recognizable, and the subject more fascinating because it was set right here in an environment we all know.

Besides creating a workplace with such ridiculous secrecy, security and hostile work environment that employees were unwilling to confront her, Holmes masterminded a scheme that bilked millions from investors.  She is now under indictment, with the case proceeding in federal court in San Jose.  We couldn’t agree on an appropriate punishment but will wait to see what happens in court.

(*)Traits of a sociopath:

·       Glibness and Superficial Charm

·       Manipulative and Conning. They never recognize the rights of others and see their self-serving behaviors as permissible 

·       Grandiose Sense of Self 

·       Pathological Lying

·       Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt 

·       Shallow Emotions 

·       Incapacity for Love

·       Need for Stimulation

10/25/2018: East of Eden, by John-Steinbeck || Moderator: Wen Gong

East of Eden, by John SteinbeckEast of Eden is a sprawling epic in which the author created his most mesmerizing characters and explored his most enduring themes, the mystery of identity (Cyrus, Cathy), the inexplicability of love (Adam, Aron), and the murderous consequences of love’s absence (Charles, Caleb). The Nobel Prize-winning author, John Steinbeck, once said that all of his other works were in preparation for this masterpiece.

The story sets in our neighboring Salinas Valley between the beginning of the twentieth century and the end of World War I. The author vividly presents us the sights, sounds, smells, and colors of the region. The main characters focus on two families, the Trasks who migrate here from a farm in Connecticut and the Hamiltons who emigrate from Ireland. The very hardworking and traditional Hamiltons plow on their infertile land and raise nine children who venture into numerous existence of American life; while the rich Trasks own the best of land yet suffer heartbreaking troubles lasting two generations. It seems the new generation was doomed by the same fate of the older generation. An important character, Lee, Adam Trask’s Chinese cook and servant holds together Adam’s family and offers wisdom in the face of painful circumstances. The author successfully made Trasks the “symbol people” who reenact the saga of Cain and Abel from the book of Genesis, one of the world’s greatest stories of love, rejection, jealousy, and redemption.

The club members had one of the liveliest discussions, some passionately disliked the characters because they did not resemble anyone they knew from that region, yet for the others, even the most evil and highly controversial character of Cathy (later Kate) was recognizable in real life. While on the surface it may seem the story of East of Eden portraits a harmonic inter-racial life, our members did not see it as such. Lee, the Chinese cook and servant, was treated with respect by neighbors and as part of the Trask family, yet nonetheless, he was the cook and the servant, not an equal by any means. Our discussion also turned to the portray of male and the female characters and recognized that there was no major inspiring female character in the story, it was acceptable to not respect women and discard them at the time of this writing.

The brilliance of the novel, however, rests on its effort to explicate the most fundamental trials of mankind and is both brutally realistic and fatalistic about people’s ability to harm themselves and those around them. Thus most of the characters are not heroic or admirable. This was a turnoff for some readers. Yet it is also profoundly optimistic as it explores man’s search for answers and demonstrates the capacity of humans to triumph over adversity and ultimately the ability to make their own choices and determine their own fate. 

09/27/2018: The Little Prince, by Antoine Saint-Exupery  || Moderator: Rita Comes

True to the reputation of this classic that is widely read and universally cherished by children and adults, everyone loved The Little Prince. The Little Prince has been translated into over 150 languages.

This charming story was told by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who drew his own experience where during a reconnaissance mission, his Lockheed P-38 vanished over the Mediterranean in 1942. In the story, the narrator, a downed pilot, found himself lost in Sahara desert, frantically trying to fix his plane. One day, a Little Prince appeared before him and asked him to draw a sheep. Thus began an interesting dialog between the pilot and the Little Prince. The Little Prince went on to tell his journey visiting from planet to planet. One single adult occupied each planet. In exploring these planets and interacting with the adults, the author pokes fun at some of the absurdity of our grown up lives as well as futile aspect of our existence. The tale also examines the Little Prince’s complicated yet ultimately tender love for the rose that he had abandoned when he left his own planet.  

Frequently perplexed by the behavior of grown-ups, the Little Prince symbolizes the hope, love, innocence, and insight of childhood that lie dormant in all of us. During our discussion, half of the discussion attendees read the book from an adult’s perspective, and the other half from a child’s perspective. Both perspectives found the story appealing in different ways. Nonetheless, we have all recognized and related the portrayed characters, the planet dwellers, to someone we know in real life, which is what makes the story so special and fun to read.  

In our discussion, we took time to understand the author’s own life and his experience as a downed pilot in the desert not knowing if he would ever be saved. This has added a great new dimension in our understanding of the story. It connected the dots for us as to the meaning of the picky rose that the Little Prince fell in love yet left behind. From knowing that the author had a tumultuous love affair with his wife, and missed her dearly when he was lost, we understood the author’s message behind the Little Prince’s encountering with the fox, which showed him how to build that special bond – the meaning of love.  The story also gives us a view into Antoine’s subconscious  - is the Little Prince his subconscious?  Is the fox the subconscious of the Little Prince?  Is our subconscious the child that we have outgrown?

The group ended the discussion on how this book is very similar to Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift and the Booker Prize winning book, The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje.

08/30/2018: When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithe || Moderator: Wen Gong

When Breath Becomes Air is a true story of life and death told by the brilliant neurosurgeon Dr. Paul Kalanithi, who was diagnosed with lung cancer when he was 35 years old. It chronicles Dr. Kalanithi’s life and how it ends while he lived through cancer. Even though Dr. Kalanithi started writing the book only after he became ill, the book is very well written with a remarkable eloquence of someone possessing great literal skills.

In this moving and thoughtful memoir, we learn about Dr. Kalanithi’s life leading up to becoming a neurosurgeon, how he found out his cancer, how he dealt with the news, and what he did subsequently. It is inspiring the way Dr. Kalanithi took control of his life, his illness, and his death. This single focus on controlling his own life and destiny, however, came across at the expense of others, in particular, his wife. He did not seem to care much about the people around him or his patients in the process.

From an early age, Dr. Kalanithi sought to understand “what makes human life meaningful.” He came to see “literature provided the best account of the life of the mind, while neuroscience laid down the most elegant rules of the brain.” And this explains why after studying literature and philosophy, Dr. Kalanithi took on the challenge of medicine to become a neurosurgeon. When he learned that he had the terminal illness, he took no time to accept this fate and to decide that he was to simply speed up his original plan of practicing medicine for 20 years, having a family, and writing for the next 20 years. Thus despite the excruciating pain and suffering from the lung cancer and the chemotherapy that followed, Dr. Kalanithi did exactly what he planned to do. In the remaining 22 months, he managed to finish his residency training as a neurosurgeon, had a child, wrote this book, and strived to live a life as normal as he could to the very end. It was with awe that we read the last decision he made on his hospital bed was “I am ready” for the life support to be taken off.  It is a great lesson that we have control over our own lives, to the very end.

As Dr. Kalanithi’s life faded away, he wrote and shared with us how he lived, and how he made decisions, took actions, and accepted death. We appreciated the opportunity to gain the insight into an exceptional man’s life, his decisions, and his actions in dealing with mortality.

During our lively discussion, we debated over the author’s relationship with his wife and what it reveals to us about the author’s real character. To some of us, what Dr. Kalanithi and his wife had seems a very normal love story with its ups and downs; others are troubled by the fact that the author does not explore in depth how his illness affects his wife but only mentions their marital troubles in passing. He took actions that seem only suited himself, not in the least concerned about his family. This seemly lack of concern for her well being and his patients seem to suggest that he is self-centered and egocentric. On the other hand, some of us also feel that it perhaps was the author’s and the editor’s intention to be original and stick to the subject matter - given that the author was fighting the disease and was running out of time - that this is a book about how Dr. Kalanithi lived through the terminal illness. Indeed, the book was somewhat unfinished as Dr. Kalanithi’s illness took a sharp turn and he passed away before a smooth ending was formulated.

Our individual understanding of a book has a close relation to our own life experiences. In discussions like this one, the club members get to know each other on a deeper and more meaningful level, and not surprisingly, we get to learn something new about ourselves in the process.

06/28/2018: The Warmth of the Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson || Moderator: Wen Gong

In this epic and brilliantly written masterpiece, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson tells the amazing and heart filled stories of the Great Migration in a span of six decades on the American soil.

Combining an impressive amount of research with great narrative and literary power, Isabel paints a comprehensive picture of the massiveness of the migration and the challenges faced by the migrants. Chronicling the many migrants’ stories, Isabel Wilkerson leads the readers through the lives of three black families that migrated out of the south to the northern cities in search of better lives. These families represent the migrants from completely different social and economic backgrounds. Once out of the south, these families chose different careers, faced different circumstances, and achieved varying degrees of success in their newly adopted cities. 

What awaited the migrants at the receiving northern and western cities was a different kind of challenge. The racism in the north was different and less overt than that in the south, yet, it continued to be a huge obstacle for the migrants in their pursuit of better lives. White flight of urban areas and industrialists using cheap black labors against northern unions were only the surface of how the blacks continued to be isolated and discriminated against.

Lack of opportunities and racism plagued the migrants. George and Ida Mae represent the lesser-educated hard working southerners who migrated to Milwaukee then to Chicago. George and Ida struggled to find jobs and make ends meet. They remained in poverty and held onto hard labor jobs. Another couple, George Starling and his wife, after a failed attempt to organize the southern plantation workers for a better pay, landed in New York City. George had to take a railroad porter job that caused long periods of absence from home. The working parents’ children were left to the temptations of drugs in this big city.  One of the most intriguing stories is that of Robert Foster, a renowned surgeon from a prominent southern family. Robert Foster was extraordinarily smart and the Jim Crow rule of the south was a great insult to him. Thus he drove to LA, made smart choices, and became a successful surgeon who mingled with some of the most famous people of the time.  The lives of these migrants are very different, yet their sufferings are all the same, either in the south or in the northern and western cities where they made their new homes. 

The massive and mastery accounts of the decades-long migration also shade light to what has shaped our nation’s civil rights movements, as well as the lives of black people in some of the most troubled inner cities after the migration settled.

As the O, The Oprah Magazine, puts it, “Scholarly but very readable, this book, for all its rigor, is so absorbing, it should come with a caveat: Pick it up only when you can lose yourself entirely.”

05/31/2018: Orphan Master’s Son, by Adam Johnson || Moderator: Amy Pinneo

Just as the club was finishing up reading The Orphan Master’s Son, a Pulitzer Prize winning fiction that took us on a heart-wrenching journey into the lives of people under the world’s most mysterious dictatorship, Trump canceled the meeting with North Korea amidst nuclear threats from both sides. It was a surreal realization that we live in a very special time, which sets the tone for our book discussion. Though Trump has since put the talks back on ‘track’, we are all eager to see what happens from here on.  

The story begins with Jun Do, an orphan master’s son who is fiercely loyal and possesses keen instincts of survival. Jun Do comes to the attention of the state leaders, rises in the ranks, and starts a life journey from which he has no control. We follow Jun Do into the North Korean society of loud speakers full of propaganda, atrocious violence against each other, kidnapping of foreign people, hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty… For some of us, it is very hard to read these horrifying accounts, yet we all had a kin interest in understanding the lives of North Korean people and how they endure in the unusual conditions under their “Dear Leader”, considered by most a terrifying dictator. 

The cruelty of what people do to each other in North Korea seems unbelievable at the first sight, yet, once we stop and think about what is going throughout the human history and what is still going on in the world today, we see that all of us are vulnerable to be manipulated and brainwashed, and to act in extreme. To that point, we note that, even in the US, the land of free, how people are divided and hold strong and extreme beliefs. In some cases, people derive opposite views from reading the same news. This observation helps provide us with insight into the isolated North Korean society where there is only one voice (state propaganda), and how powerfully that one voice affects people’s mentality and their actions.

In addition, we reviewed briefly what socialism offers and how it can be incorporated into a system that functions well, such as those existing in Scandinavian countries with more social structure and more benefits, etc... The key failure in North Korea seems to be the dictatorship, the absolute control of the relentless state propaganda machine, and a government that arbitrarily threatens, terrorizes, and punishes people to prevent them from thinking and acting independently.

It is both enlightening and challenging to read the book. We learned a great deal having taken on this journey. In discussing the divide in our country, Susan Adams brought up a wonderful site: allsides.com, which analyzes how each side (Left, Center, Right) interprets the same event and the same piece of news.   

04/26/2018: A Tale for the Time Being, By Ruth Ozeki || Moderator: Mary McDonald

Full of Ozeki’s signature engaging style, A Tale for the Time Being is a beautiful tale exploring the relationship between the writer and her readers, past and present, fact and fiction, quantum physics, history, and myth. It is a brilliantly unique story of our shared humanity, our search and longing for a home, and our sense of time and connection.

In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao, recently moved back to Japan after spending her childhood in Sunnyvale, California, is on the verge of leaving the world due to her aching loneliness and her classmates’ brutal and devastating bullying. Before she ends it all, Nao writes a diary and documents the life of her great-grandmother, a Buddhist nun who’s lived more than a century. Nao’s great-grandmother taught her how to be brave and be better despite the harshness of reality. Unbeknown to Nao, her diary will touch lives in unexpected ways. The name Nao is pronounced "Now,” a reference to the most important concept of time.

Across the Pacific on a small isolated island in Canada lived Ruth, a novelist moved from the bustling New York City to be with her aging mother and sickly husband. Ruth discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox, which she speculated to be debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao’s drama and her unknown fate.

We had an interesting discussion about the time being: the present moment is what we’re stuck with now and must embrace. What some of us missed from our reading is also the connection to Buddhist viewpoint, which is that the time being in the Buddhist viewpoint: each human is entrapped by time, and we are all in this together. In a way, this is a tale for all of us.

Some of us love Ozeki’s writing style and the complexity and many layers of her story. In this story, Nao writes her diary as if she is having a direct conversation with her invisible readers.  On the other hand, the many facets of the Ozeki’s story also presented a challenge to others who felt the story was a bit all over the places, and the connection between the sense of time, quantum physics, fact, and fiction, etc. was a bit hard to keep track of.  It was great to have this wonderful discussion where we hear from each other on how we read into the story and learn what we may have missed in our own reading and interpretation of events and author’s intentions. 

03/29/2018: All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque || Moderator: Rita Comes

Our March book was All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.  A young German man from a good family with a good education is encouraged to go fight in the Great War by a schoolteacher.  He and his buddies soon find out that war is not the same as in the Odyssey and the Iliad. The heroes do not just fall in battle with Athena wiping their brow as they drop to the heavy arrows and then cling back to the earth like a fallen babe, instead they get bayoneted and their guts fall out for miles and the screams that they can’t bear any longer is from some beast that cannot be human.  Paul found that the “enemy” was not much different than him and the romanticism of war was much different than the reality of war. People in positions of power are not very kind to each other but the feeling of love of your fellow comrades that you are starving with, is equal to none.  Upon returning home during a leave, Paul is disconnected from his family and disconnected from the books that he once coveted. He longed to be back to the front. It was ironic that after so much drama associated with killing, the writer has Paul die in the last quiet days of the war.

The book is very graphic describing the gore and deprivation of war and that seemed to make some of our group not very enthused to read the book.  Paul, the main character is very intelligent and observant and shares with us a peek into a generation destroyed by trench warfare in the years long Great War. This book is a reflection of Erich’s experience during the war and the first time that there was a book in the first person questioning the meaning of war.  

This book was an experience of someone from Germany but can it be much different than the young men of France, Russia or the others?  Our conversation explored the nature of war and how the life force almost forces us to be unsettled and fight.  We discussed how the Nazis due to their propaganda machine did not wanted the soldiers that they were building to feel weak or scared and vehemently banned the book. The group stopped short of making any parallels with the current political situation in the US but agreed that not much as been learned with time.

02/22/2018: The Hidden Life of Trees, by Peter Wohlleben || Moderator: Susan Adams

A fascinating subject written in an unusual voice, The Hidden Life of Trees explores the abundance of hidden lives and the vast ecosystem that support trees, plants, and fungi in the forest.

Managing a forest for over 20 years, the author develops the deepest love for and a special connection with these wonders of nature. He has a burning desire to bring readers into this hidden world.  Citing scientific discoveries and with a unique point of view, the author draws a parallel between forest society and the human society: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. While he may have over-anthropomorphized trees, he succeeds in helping readers appreciate the amazing and little-understood complexities of forests.

Facts such as these astonished us: The largest living organism on earth is a fungus: a specific honey fungus measuring 2.4 miles (3.8 km) across that lives in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. Dr. Martin Gossner counted 2,041 animals belonging to 257 different species on ONE old tree. Trees often live up to hundreds and thousands of years. We suddenly felt that our time on earth is incredibly short and unimpressive.

Some of us found the personalization of trees and plants a little hard to reconcile in scientific terms, particularly regarding the consciousness, emotions, and (sound wave) communication among individual trees and a family of trees. The author compares the natural processes of trees and forest to humans and human society. While this offers a simple way to explain the life of trees, we preferred explaining it using more traditional theories of biology, chemistry, and natural selection. However, the author’s approach does illustrate that the existence of community, emotional expression, and intraspecies communication are basic to life, and suggests that all beings are related in some special way.

While the book felt a bit slow and repetitive, our discussion brought out our passion for the environment in which we live. We wonder about how trees and forests will adapt to climate change since, as temperatures rise, they will need to move north or to a higher altitude. We agreed that we would look at trees and forests with a new appreciation.

The highlight of the discussion is when we went outside and took a picture with the giant tree in front of the library. We estimate this tree should be at least 500 years old.

Finally, some suggestions to follow up:

•  Take the canopy tour at the SF Botanical Gardens

• About the author: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/30/world/europe/german-forest-ranger-finds-that-trees-have-social-networks-too.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share

• http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141114-the-biggest-organism-in-the-world

• http://www.homesongblog.com/spring/homesong-book-club-the-secret-life-of-trees-discussion-part-i/

• http://www.homesongblog.com/spring/homesong-book-club-the-hidden-life-of-trees-discussion-part-ii/

• http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/10926-hidden-life-of-trees-wohlleben

01/25/2018: A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles || Moderator: Amy Pinneo 

Everyone loved and enjoyed the book, particularly, the little details on how the Count lives in the moment, not in the future or in the past. In his unique and gentlemanly way, the Count is able to survive a dramatic life change with grace and dignity. He makes a dreadful situation seem a natural transition and, with such ease, he takes in everything as it comes without losing his honor and belief.

The discussion turned quite a bit to morality. We felt that we call the Count a gentleman is because he has strong morals and abide a certain code of conduct by which he lived regardless of the different circumstances. Such moral standards and inner beliefs could not be taken away, unlike one’s possessions, money, and social stands. Being a waiter must be extremely difficult for him as he was used to being waited on, yet he took it in such a stride that one only admires his courage and his manners without feeling pity for him.

We pondered about the Count’s becoming invisible and how this was due to his having become a service person. This feeling of invisibility gives us a glimpse of the weakness existed in the Count, which makes him more humane.

The story’s ending is thought-provoking. We wondered what he would do as he reached the village of his childhood home in disguise. He seemed to be at peace with his life and his choices, just as how he thought and put in practice in the duration of his house arrest at the Hotel, “ if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them,” and “It is the business of the times to change, …, And it is the business of gentlemen to change with them.”

12/21/2017: Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate || Moderator: Linda Olson

Inspired by one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals, Before we were yours weaves together the tragic lives of twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings in 1939 with the present day privileged life of a young woman, Avery Stafford, whose wealthy father is also a US senator. What could they possibly have in common? Could they be actually related in some ways?

As Avery comes home to help her father’s political career, a chance encounter during Avery’s visit to a nursing home leads Avery to uncover her long-hidden family secrets.  Avery discovers that her grandmother is one of the 5 Ross children taken by Tennessee Children’s Home Society where the children were kidnapped, lied to, molested, horribly abused, and sold to wealthy families.

The author who was a former journalist and an inspirational speaker presents us with her thought-provoking and complex tale of the two families that are two generations apart. The touching story went back and forth from the current time to the past, and between characters. Some of us really enjoyed the complexity of the multiple threads and piecing together how everyone is related; while others find the story a bit hard to follow.

We talked about how the poignant novel reminds us that we all have family secrets, and how it feels to discover the untold family stories and pass them to our own children. We found that Avery’s character development is a bit weak, and her romantic ending is unconvincing. Overall, this is a heartwarming story of love, betrayal, memories, and redemption, even though its ending feels sudden and contrived. Nevertheless, the subject of adoption and the dark side of our society enlighten us all, and it inspires us to look further into the history and issues with adoptions. For those who are interested in further study of the related history on Georgia Tann, our moderator, Linda Olson, recommends these two movies: Stolen Babies and the Baby Thief, as well as the book Missing Children.

11/16/2017: Good Morning, Midnight, by Lily Brooks-Dalton || Moderator: Ginger Greevy

Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the light reading (or so we thought), Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton, a mysterious science fiction adventure about what happens at the end of the world. At the center of the story, two scientists Augustine and Sully are embarking on their own unusual journey of isolation and self-indulgence of their own passion. They both abandon their child to pursue their careers and to satisfy their unquenched curiosity to discover what lies beyond the universe. However, as the earth suddenly goes silent, each lost connection to the family they left behind, what keeps them alive and what endures at the end of the world? How do their stories intertwine and connect?

We were delighted to hear each other’s readings and to piece together the puzzle and solve the mystery that lingered in our minds. It was with great interest to discover that we each realized Iris the little girl was a figment of Augustine’s imagination at very different stages of the reading.  The realistic readers realized this right away based on the fact that she could not have possibly appeared in such a harsh condition of the Arctic research facility; the science fiction readers were willing to apply parallel universes, time travels, and other spiritual possibilities for Iris’s appearance; the analytical readers made for allowance that she was accidentally left as some scientist’s daughter, and only realized that she was not there at all towards the end of the book when Augustine neglected to mention her to the astronauts on the spaceship returning to earth. 

A big question is why there are two Iris. And is there any connection between the two of them? We came to the conclusion that, in fact, not only is Sully’s first name Iris but also is she Augustine’s long-abandoned and ignored daughter. While it seems there are two parallel stories going on until the very end, it was all the time together with little clues.  As the world ends, Augustine desires nothing more than to connect with his own daughter Iris and even creates her existence out of the thin air. Iris accompanies him at the end of his life in his imagination and in real life as he makes contact with Sully – Iris - boarding the returning spaceship.

The real remaining question is, what happened to the humans on earth? There is only a quick mention of a nuclear war rumor, enough to bring us to reality today…

Oh yes, lunch was a wonderful idea too. The food was great, and the company is even better!

10/26/2017: Strangers in Their Own Land, by Arlie Russell Hochschuild || Moderator: Wen Gong

Strangers in Their Own Land takes us over the empathy wall and guides us through the puzzle to understand the Great Paradox of the southern Tea Party members. While the author did a fantastic job in articulating and conveying the minds, hearts, and lives of the Tea Party, some of us feel that it fell short of understanding the broader population that helped to shape politics today.  To illustrate the country’s current political thoughts on the right using the relatively poor area of Louisiana seems limited in representing the rest of conservatives, republicans, and those who voted for Trump.

The author did a great job in her investigation into the Great Paradox: “Why is hatred of government most intense among people who need government services most?” In doing so, she exposed the former government’s big tax giveaways to Big Petro, throttling of essential government services, and ignoring the environmental degradation. In our research from reviews of a right-winger, Ralph Bendo, we learned that the right-winger’s answer to this Great Paradox is fundamentally different from the liberals or the left, and it remains consistent with the deep belief of a small government. Ralph explains that the Great Paradox is slightly misstated because even those who are on government assistance would rather not need the assistance if they had good jobs; the same argument goes for the solution for the environmental disasters – the fact that government has failed over and over again just validates the inefficiency of regulations. The right-wingers simply distrust that any large government can do good for the society.

The author explores the Deep Story of feelings and how politics is shaped in everyday lives. To this segment of people, their income has been dropping for 20 years, everyone else seems to get a bigger voice and assistance from the government: immigrants, refugees, gay, women, minorities… Yet they cannot complain because the blue states and media make them feel their way of life, their values, and their beliefs are outdated, perhaps even backward.  They feel like strangers in their own country and they have to do something to take it back.

It was a great pleasure to be able to talk open-heartedly about issues facing our country and to try to understand those who do not share the same views.  We also had the pleasure of one of the PV Librarians joining in on our discussion - PV Library's non fiction book club had also selected the same book for the month of October - it was a real treat to hear about some of their discussion.  One of the thoughts of the group was about if the author could actually separate from the research itself and if there was some bias that played into the observations since the author's life was very different from the observed community from the book.

09/28/2017: Wild, by Cheryl Strayed || Moderator: Rita Comes

Cheryl, a seemingly intelligent woman, is starting to unravel due to her mother's terminal illness. Following her mother's death, Cheryl's marriage is in shambles from her self-destructive behavior that involved infidelity and drugs.  Four years into this chaotic life, Cheryl decides to go on a solo trek on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and then everything will be better.

This is premise the story of “Wild.” A twenty six year old naive hiker goes out for this big thousand-mile hike and suffers the pitfalls of being a naïve hiker.   Cheryl has to deal with wrong shoes, a heavy pack filled with unnecessary stuff, running out of necessities, life threatening wild animals, and encountering seemingly life-altering encounters with people she meets along the trail that changed her forever onto the right path.

The PV Book Club members at the September meeting were feeling that the story was a bit contrived.  We also found it interesting that the book was published twelve years after her solo trek and that it showed constant examples of a heavily edited sensationalized manuscript that reflected her acquired MFA.

We applaud her effort and the popularity/fame that came with the success of the book but the feeling of it just falling short as a book that helps women find their path in life of self-discovery.  The group also spoke of the spike of ill prepared people to hike the PCT the experience the “Wild Effect.”  The increased number of permits that are requested each year since the book was published and then popularized with the movie, has caused some issues with the traditional hiking community.  Worth the read as a popular book but perhaps not a permanent book for your library. 

Article on the “Wild Effect”  http://mashable.com/2015/05/17/pacific-crest-trail-wild-effect/#flcNxBOmTOqP

08/31/2017: Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande || Moderator: Susan Adams 

Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande, is an eye-opening book about our human journey towards the end of life and what we can do to manage our lives when we are sick, frail, or simply too old. The secret for the best outcome is to make these decisions in the "light of day and with loved ones" not when we are in crises. The author offers a great many insights into how to live a full life to the end, die gracefully and with dignity if this must be the end for us all.

We learned that the ultimate goal of the last period of our lives is “not a good death but a good life to the very end.” In this context a medical professional’s job is to enable well-being and to focus on quality of living. Traditional care fails when family members or patients, due to emotional shock and lack of thorough understanding of consequence of their choices, insist on treatments that in turn, prolong suffering. Physicians often do not offer enough information to discourage these choices because they consider their jobs were to do whatever they can to prolong the state of living, often at the expense of lowered quality of life in this last period. The physicians are also concerned with personal liability and the liability of the institutions they work for.

We had a wonderful discussion on quality of life versus quality of death. Quality of life focuses on these three aspects: mobility, purpose, and social contact, which are reflected in something to do (mobility), someone to love (purpose), and something to look forward to (social contact). When it comes to quality of death, the author advocates avoiding therapies that shorten lives and increase suffering. We discussed many examples and practices where medical professionals, caregivers, and others have discovered creative ways to keep old and frail people in their own homes with maximum independence for as long as possible. We agreed that there was no "one formula" that will work for everyone. We touched upon the ethics of social justice that dictates promoting the allocation of limited resources to maximize societal benefit, with examples such as scarce goods and services should be allocated fairly, or whether to perform heart transplant for patients over 70, etc.

At the end of our discussion, we came to the realization that it is a wonderful idea to have these conversations well before “that final, infirm stage of mortal life”. For example:

1) Identify what a person wants or fears the most, use that as an anchor for making certain medical treatment decisions;

2) Constantly review a person’s priority when choices had to be made through questions such as “what constitutes a good day?” A single woman's medical directive might need to be be reevaluated after she has had a child.

Our thoughtful moderator Susan Adams has also researched this useful “Conversation Starter Kit” to help us all get prepared and have a peace of mind: www.theconversationproject.org

07/27/2017: Born A Crime, by Trevor Noah ||  Moderator: Mary McDonald

Born a Crime tells some of the most unusual and unforgettable stories! It was heart breaking to learn that so many lives and hopes were destroyed by the continuation of Apartheid, a tragic period when racism was embraced, systematically supported, and taken to an extreme. We were most impressed by Trevor Noah's mom, a remarkable and disadvantaged black woman whose adventurous spirit and determination have helped to raise a child who did not follow the social norms and who was not afraid of breaking boundaries. 

Trevor's mother became pregnant, with her lover's consent, aware of some of the battles that she would have to fight as a single mother.  It was against the law for a white person to have a child with a black person during the time of Noah's birth, thus the book's name "Born a Crime."  

We discussed Trevor's mother's motivation in her devotion to religion, wondering if she did this to have a sense of belonging or saw that it was a way to integrate Trevor into the "other" (white and mixed) societies that would not have accepted him otherwise. Given her strong personality, we were puzzled by the fact that she married an abusive man and put up with him for so long. It was both heartbreaking and amusing to read about the mother's physical beatings of Trevor as it so vividly painted the picture of the determined mom trying to out maneuver and give a good beating lesson to her beloved child. However, from an American point of view, this seems rather excessive and unacceptable.

The book did not mention Trevor's path to the world of comedy or how he became so internationally successful; rather it focused on his life with his mother and the impact of her choices on him. It is clear that Trevor's mom played the essential role in instilling the spirit of breaking social boundaries, and was instrumental in helping Trevor establish his world view and his smooth integration into the post Apartheid world. It shows that a person's success is never an isolated instance; Trevor is who he is largely because of his mom and the environment she deliberately put him in.  Trevor is an enigma, a mimic, a chameleon, an observer and most of all, a survivor - highly recommend the book.

06/29/2017: What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky, by Lesley Nneka Arimah   ||  Moderator: Amy Pinneo

A set of remarkable short stories and the lively, inspiring, and fascinating discussion makes a wonderful lunchtime getaway. Thank you, everyone! Your point of view is unique and refreshing. Even more interesting is the fact that our reading experience is so drastically different this time. While some of us find it dark, full of tragic and uncontrollable situations, lack of optimism, the others found the stories showing strength of women and optimism of life. How is that possible? After diving into our life experiences, we have come to see just how our reading experiences are influenced by our life experiences and our expectations. When we come from a darker and less optimistic social background and less mobile environment, we see the hopelessness and lack of control for one’s destiny as fact of life, the fate. When the characters were able to accept that fate and still have a voice and go on in life without despair, they demonstrate the strength in adversity. While with the American experience, the American upbeat spirit, and the infectious American optimism, we tend to think that we have control and choices in everything that happens to us; we don’t accept failure and fate, we strive, fight, and prevail.

We had an amazing discussion around fate, chance, and choice that lead to where we are in our lives. It seems that some of us are more emotionally involved in the stories while others participate in the stories more as a 3rd person observing the scene. We all agree that the language is rich and masterful, and the author is deeply insightful and introspective.

It was a truly meaningful and inspiring discussion. We look forward to more members joining us the next time!

5/25/2017: Palace Walk, by Naguib Mahfouz  ||  Moderator: Wen Gong

Thanks everyone for your participation today! We had a fantastic discussion about lives of men and women from the book. Surprisingly, despite how different and shocking the lives of men and women had at the turn of the century in a Muslim family, we were able to draw parallels to our current society and saw that some things never change for as long as we are human: occupation of another country, men's double lives & double standards, or the fact that sons turn into their fathers. We are in awe of the author's writing and his ability to create vivid characters.

4/27/2017: My Own Country, by Abraham Verghese || Moderator: Rita Comes

We had a wonderful book discussion today. It is great to see that everyone is so excited and eager to share our thoughts, experience, and our findings.

Some highlights from the discussion: We found Dr. Vergehese to be very international and very American, extremely intelligent and deeply introspective. The author has an amazing ability to tell stories and is an outstanding narrator. We were touched by his ability and willingness to connect with patients even though he was not able to offer effective treatment to the early AIDS patients. We realize that, as a society, we have come very far in accepting homosexuality and understanding AIDS. Reading the book makes us feel more appreciative of what doctors do, and hope that medical care will be more about connecting with patients on the emotional level. Some of us have met Dr. Vergehese in person and he had said that more non-fiction books were sold than fiction books, which was a surprise to most of us.