The September meeting of Low Fell Book Group discussed The Marble Collector by Cecilia Ahern. It took place at Rosa 12 at my suggestion, who accommodated us beautifully with absolutely no help at all from me. I didn’t book a table, had no idea how many people would be attending, but the staff gamely offered support with the only rider being that we would need to be out by 10pm. Oh how we laughed, three and a half hours for a book group meeting, surely not! (We left at 21:50.)
Just to continue with the chaos of the event I’d not printed out the booklist for next month (supplied by Joanne B) and have now lost all the email comments people had sent to me on the book. (It’s been tough month.) After providing the booklist for the October meeting as promised I think I’ll take a back seat and just enjoy reading the books for while!
Anne Marie started proceedings commenting that the book was ‘nice easy reading’ which she enjoyed although ‘it took a while to get into it’.
Universally the group expressed some surprise at the wealth of material that could be woven around marbles. I must admit having just divided my late father’s estate the book had me dashing to the internet to see if we’d sent something of value to the car boot sale. Well it seems there are some very nice and expensive marbles out there. A bit niche in their appeal perhaps. Not something there is a department for in ‘Collectables’ for example (other glass and china gift shops are available.)
It was delightful to have a door to this world opened for a while, although personally I did find relentless marble facts tedious after a while. No-one in the group had been aware of championship marble competitions, and remained rather underwhelmed by the knowledge.
In a new venture for the group we considered the ‘Reading Group Questions’ at the end of the book. Rather curiously one question seemed to invite disclosure of secrets in the group. ‘Have you ever hidden something about yourself, however small?’ I wonder how other groups fared with that one?
Sabrina was not found to be a likeable character. Dashing around mystery solving with relentless urgency, diving into hospital hydrotherapy pools fully clothed, travelling to some party in a car park in wet clothes with someone you’ve barely met and ‘tashing on’ with a man young enough to be your son. Emotionally unstable personality disorder at least. Or if there is truly a cycle to this ‘the moon made me do it’ possible mania in a bi polar presentation?
Emma wasn’t impressed with Sabrina’s life guard skills, leaving Mr Daly just a little too long underwater, getting angry about missing the action of a near drowning when she took her 5-minute (ok four and a half minute) coffee break. And her response to not being there when the emergency cord needed to be pulled; throwing a cup against the wall! Anger management issues?
Speaking of the tashing….. it seemed this interlude opened the door to a ‘create your own character’ moment.
I had the young man as a cross between Harry Styles and Russell Brand … I think it was the reference to the skin tight jeans… Anne Marie pictured him with dreadlocks. But with a quick check mid-pasta eating it seems that he had long black hair, but no dreadlocks. Is there something that you have kept hidden from your past that you would like to share with the group Anne Marie?!
In contrast to Sabrina there was a lot of warmth for Fergus. His family history was particularly enjoyed by Joan who noted that ‘coming from a large family of scallywags’ herself, she identified with the relationships, politics and alliances. The moment in Venice when his ‘heart in a marble’ was rejected by Gina was painful reading, and it was no surprise to the group that this marriage ended in divorce.
It almost seemed that the pace of the ‘one-day investigation’ overshadowed the unravelling of Fergus’s storyline. Many members of the group had read the book very quickly. Gripping story? Easy read? Not much on? I wonder if the urgency of the plot transferred to urgency for the reader?
Joanne B really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the storylines; a whole lifetime contrasted with the events of one day. The group found the ‘and they all lived happily ever after ending’ (Fergus regaining his memory) a little twee and unrealistic.
The biggest fan of the book this month was Susan who found the characters genuinely identifiable and the writing sympathetic and accessible.
Joanne C felt, having read other books by Cecelia Ahern, that this isn’t her finest hour, not one likely to be picked up by Hollywood this time. She is certainly an author that the group would be happy to read again, and this is reflected in the 3.5 stars rating.
Huge apologies for comments I have missed. It was lovely to be joined for the evening by a previously ‘remote’ member of the group. Sharon I’m sorry about the disorganisation of the evening, we shouldn’t be judged by my poor event management!
Next month's book is The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley and will be held on October 6th.
