Author Archives: Kristine

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About Kristine

I am a retired moderator of the Whitney Library Book Club. I hope to continue hearing from you. Keep up those connections!

Beautiful Ruins April 2013 Discussion Journal

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BeautifulRuinsBookCoverAt the start of each meeting, I usually ask if people want to share their responses to the book — did they like it, love it, hate it, or any number of possible first reactions to a book.  This can be risky, like a leap of faith, asking people to share what might turn out to be a minority view. Often, many of us can appreciate the book much more after the discussion, looking at it through others’ eyes, discovering meanings missed, and, like laughter, enthusiasm can be contagious.  But that immediate response may be the truest, because it reflects the likely impact of the book — undiscussed, perhaps cast aside in favor of another book, or cherished and passed on among family and friends. 

This month, we discussed Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, and the first responder said she had trouble getting into the book and wondered if anyone had been unable to finish it. Several of us did find the book to be slow to start, and the changing characters and times were frustrating at first. One patron found it repetitious and another wondered about its relevancy, especially since so much concerned the making of the movie Cleopatra in 1962. Who is the audience? Would younger readers even care?

In general, most members seemed to like the book. Characters we dislike at the beginning become more interesting by the end and the last chapter recap of what happened to all of the characters, even minor ones, was mentioned by several of us. Two members had listened to the audio version and said that the reader was excellent.

The discussion questions I had printed from litlovers.com were especially helpful this month, although I forgot to distribute them with the books, so we hadn’t all been able to think about them ahead of time. The intersection of art and life brought up several images–from Pasquale’s vision of the tennis court, the bunker art, reality shows, the movie version of Lydia’s play about Pat, and more.   Many of us remembered the furor surrounding the Elizabeth Taylor – Richard Burton love affair and one member had seen Cleopatra because of the publicity — just like in the book! Art intersecting with the book club!

We continued to jump about among the questions, discussing the theme of love that ran throughout. I hadn’t actually thought of the book as filled with humor, and the question made the group think a moment, but as we discussed it, we found bits of humor, words and images, that made us smile — the battle of insults between Pasquale and his friend, the absurdity of the reality shows. We skipped over many questions that I think would have been great to discuss.  Although meeting for only an hour keeps us on task, it can leave a great many things unsaid; but I like to think of it as jump-starting our brain.

We were left with several questions, about how much of this fiction book might really be true. (according to imdb.com, Richard Burton died in 1984 and had three children, one with Elizabeth Taylor). Could you really bake lye into a loaf of bread and would it kill you? And who, in 1962, would have nausea, miss a menstrual cycle, and believe cancer over pregnancy? Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction, so we get back to that art intersecting life question.

Beautiful Ruins is a book that spans 50 years and has at least eight main characters and their perspectives. One member’s first reaction to the book was that the main point is that “we want what we want.” Every character and every reader comes back to that reality. In  the book, Alvis Bender tells Dee, “All we have is the story we tell. Everything we do, every decision we make, our strength, weakness, motivation, history, and character—what we believe—none of it is real; it’s all part of the story we tell. But here’s the thing: it’s our  . . . story!”  (pg 266 )  Another member highlighted Pasquale’s mother: “ ‘Sometimes,’ she said,’ what we want to do and what we must do are not the same.’ She put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Pasqo, the smaller the space between your desire and what is right, the happier you will be.’ “ (pg. 304) I certainly want life to continue intersecting art in the Whitney Book Bistro!

Other works discussed:

  • The Stranger by Albert Camus
  • Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (movie recommendation)
  • Beginners Goodbye by Ann Tyler (March selection)
  • Juliet Naked by Nick Hornby (June 2012 selection)
  • Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (March Movie Club selection)

The Beginner’s Goodbye Discussion Journal

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On Tuesday, the Whitney Book Bistro discussed The Beginner’s Goodbye. I had chosen BeginnersGoodbyeCoverthe book because Anne Tyler is a remarkable and well-liked writer. The book is a 2012 Booklist Editor’s Choice selection, was given a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly, and Library Journal called it “essential reading.” Every book we read has some detractors, and Beginner’s Goodbye was no exception. The Kirkus reviewer called it “an uncharacteristically slight work by a major novelist.”

Although one member didn’t like the book and another found it to be an easy read but wondered at the end why he had read it, we found plenty to discuss – almost as if we were discussing friends and neighbors. One member found the first part of the book slow and said she would not have finished if it hadn’t been a book club book. But by the end, she liked it.

I wondered at the end of last month’s journal how our expectations would inform our reading, and I definitely sensed a fondness for Anne Tyler that superseded this particular work. One member felt the author wrote a male narrator convincingly, another remarked that it was no wonder since Tyler was the older sister of three brothers!

Nothing really extraordinary happens in the book, and that is perhaps its strength. We can so easily identify with the ordinariness. Even the narrator’s visits with his deceased wife are not the spectacular hauntings of a ghost but the subtle insistence of memory. Perhaps. One member wished that there was a companion book, telling the story from the wife’s viewpoint, and most of us seemed to agree.  We even joked that we should contact Anne Tyler to make the suggestion.

The Beginner’s Goodbye is a book about loss and regret, and I was moved by the members who were willing to share their own losses with the group – parents, children, spouses. When I choose a book for the group to read, looking at award winners, popular authors, well-regarded authors, diverse topics, I often worry about wasting our time or missing something great. The Beginner’s Goodbye made me think about missed opportunities, and I’m glad the book club isn’t one of them.

Other books mentioned:

  •             A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon (2011 book club selection)
  •             Netherland by Jospeh O’neill (Sept. 2012 book club selection)
  •             The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
  •             Author Wally Lamb
  •             Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
  •             Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson
  •             Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

When the Killing’s Done Discussion Journal

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WhenTheKillingsDone3During our discussion of When the Killing’s Done by T.C. Boyle, the words most often used were — too much detail; and the majority of those present didn’t seem to care for the book. One member mentioned that in other book clubs, members have rated the books they read, and that on a scale of 1 to 4, she would have rated it a two. Another member wished she had researched a little more about the islands, so we watched a short National Parks Service video about bringing the island of Santa Cruz back into balance, which we all agreed was exactly the kind of video that the antagonist in the story would have called propaganda! At least one member really liked the book, though, especially because of the great detail. Even as we discussed how unlikable the environmentalist Dave LaJoy was, one member felt that he was the character that kept the book interesting. A necessary plot device.

We nostalgically discussed farms, animal rights, and meat. Do animals who have never known the outdoors and freedom know the difference? The unknown dangers of chemicals, from DDT to penicillin tooth paste, cigarettes to the next wonder drug. One member brought in a recent article from the Las Vegas Review Journal about the over abundance of Ravens and the damage they cause, which directly relates to the ravenous scavengers in the book. The story certainly has topical appeal. We all agreed that the significance of the title, When the Killing’s Done, is that the killing is never done.

I was interested in the beauty of the language Boyle used, which often stood out to me almost as strikingly as that used by Daniel Woodrell in Winter’s Bone; and one member agreed that you could open the book up to most any page and find a beautifully descriptive passage. But even as the group raved about the descriptions in Winter’s Bone, Boyle’s language barely registered in our discussion. One member described reading the book as simply laborious. Perhaps, the language gets lost in the detail.

Other books mentioned during our discussion:  Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver and Ape House by Sara Gruen.  So many books, so little time! Our March discussion will be Beginner’s Goodbye by Anne Tyler. The group seemed excited by the choice. I wonder how our expectations will inform our reading? Check back next month.

Miracle at St. Anna Discussion Journal

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MiracleAtStAnnaCoverThis past Tuesday, the Whitney Book Bistro discussed Miracle at St. Anna by James McBride. The discussion brought forth stories from our members—stories about segregation and race, about war, politics, and remembrance.  The immediate reaction from the group was that the story was just too sad. And many found it confusing, difficult to keep the characters straight and filled with an odd depiction of miracles/spiritualism. Yet the discussion was full and varied; and we only referred to one question from the discussion prompts.

Everyone seemed to find Miracle at St. Anna educational and worthwhile, but not all of us would have chosen to read it. I chose the book because, although I don’t generally read war novels, or violent crime novels, I had been impressed by McBride’s bestselling memoir, The Color of Water.  I was equally impressed by his first novel, Miracle at St. Anna. I found it beautiful and uplifting—from the simplicity of Train, who thinks rubbing a statue head can make him invisible, to the decency of a German soldier amidst inhuman cruelty, through the continuing miracle of life and love through the ages. Of course, in between is some ugly fighting, deception, and politics.

Our views of the things we read are so often tempered by our moods and experiences. We may love a book on a first read and despise it on a second! One of the great things about discussing and sharing books is that it can bring new understanding to the books and in many ways, to the world around us.

At the meeting, one member remarked that perhaps we should discuss the books before we read them. Discussion makes a difference.