The first Book Club meeting of 2018 took place at The Angel
Inn on a rainy night in January (not Georgia). Present
were Annemarie, Joan, Sue, Jeanette, Pauline and Kate. We discussed the various book gifts that had
been exchanged at our Christmas meeting and read during December. We also
enjoyed some food in the dining area. It was a nice venue as it is large and it
felt as though we had the place to ourselves.
The following reviews are shorter than usual and not as
detailed as I am trying to avoid giving too much of the storylines away as
members are swapping and sharing the books.
Joan A kicked off the
proceedings with her views on When
Breath Become Air by Paul Kalanithi which had been given by Jeanette. The story
is an autobiographical description of a young doctor’s memoir following a
diagnosis of terminal lung cancer. Although it is obviously sad,
Joan loved the book and also found it oddly inspiring. She would not hesitate in recommending it to
others .
Joan scored this book a 5.
Kate had received After You’d Gone by Maggie O Farrell which
had been given by Emma. Kate had mixed feelings about the book. The plot
revolves round a woman taking a train journey to visit her family. However she
witnesses something shocking and leaves
for home immediately. Kate felt she had been put off by a reference right at
the beginning of the story and found the plot rather unbelievable, and the
twists did not reflect the characters.
Kate gave the book a score of 3.
Jeanette had been give Red House by Mark Haddon and was keen
to read it as she had enjoyed The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Nigh Time. The
story centres on two families on holiday together in a cottage. Jeanette
admitted that she struggled with it at first and had to resort to her memory
technique as there were a lot of names
to remember. She felt the chapters were
too long and the lack of a back story meant she wasn’t really bothered about
the characters till a long way into the plot.
Jeanette rated this one 3.
Pauline had received Precious Bane by Mary Webb from Annemarie. She commented that it was a lovely book and
beautifully written, although in this particular edition the lengthy preface
gave too much of the story away. It is set in rural Shropshire in the early nineteenth century and tells the
story of a woman born in the countryside who has a facial affliction. Pauline
felt the melodramatic nature of the story was comparable with Thomas Hardy.
Pauline rated this book 4.
Annemarie had been given
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. If I had to sum up this book in three words it
would be Snowy, smouldering and
secretive. A woman steps from a train in
rural Wisconsin in the bitter winter of 1909 to meet a man she has agreed to
marry via his newspaper ad. I really enjoyed this book it has some classic
gothic twists and turns but the ending was unexpected. I would certainly
recommend it to others.
Joan H gave us her comments via the Facebook site. Joan had
read The Five People You Meet in Heaven
by Mitch Alborn. Joan had enjoyed the
book although she felt it was sad, but it does make you think about life. She
found the book quick to read and is keen to pass it on to others. We don’t have
a score as yet for this one.
Although Sue was present for the meeting she had only just
started her book so it was too early to review this one.
If anyone who was unable to attend the meeting wants to add
their comments please do so via the page or the blog.
Remember the read for January is A Dangerous Crossing by
Rachel Rhys.
Our next meeting will be Thursday February 1st. Venue
to be agreed.
