2007

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 April
Old Filth
Jane Gardam
Discussion recapped by Fran 

Last night's meeting at Anne-Marie's house to discuss Old Filth by Jane Gardam was attended by Anne-Marie, me, Laura, and Helen. Anne-Marie tried her darndest to keep our discussion focused on the book, but we wandered into such topics as Wellesley dorm life, child psychology, wedding attire, class reunions... In general, our comments about the book were positive - we enjoyed it AND respected it. Laura seemed to have the best grasp on some nuances of the plot, because she started the book, stopped when she realized she would finish it too quickly (with the meeting weeks away), and then started it again from the beginning more recently. I started the book and lacking all self-control, finished it and then forgot a lot of it by the time of the meeting. Our criticisms included plot threads that inexplicably vanished (perhaps a way to counterbalance some of the major coincidences on which the plot also depended?). But overall, we were impressed with how well Gardam manipulated the chronology (shifting between past and present, but never losing the reader), how she gave different characters such distinct voices, and how its lightness of tone contrasted sharply with the heartbreak that was portrayed. Laura brought a copy of Kipling's short story Baa Baa Black Sheep, upon which Gardam drew heavily for Filth's experiences and emotions.


 
 

 

 March
The Year of Magical Thinking
Joan Didion
Discussion recapped by Fran 

Attending the meeting on Wednesday, March 28 at Helen's house: Betsy Kagan, Fran, Helen, Laura, Melissa, and Anne-Marie. Several in the group expressed the view that if this hadn't been written by Joan Didion, it would not have been published. And some felt it should not have been published; arguing that the book amounted to nothing more than a personal diary which should have stayed the writer's personal, private musings. Some of us, however, relished the opportunity to read a personal diary. (Now we know who are the snoops in our group.) We also talked about personal experiences of grief, and how "Year" reflected, or did not reflect, our own emotions and thought processes. To some of us, who have been through or are undergoing very painful experiences, there were reactions of envy, disbelief, or bitterness: Joan's experience is portrayed (by her) as devastating, but she had countless friends to support her, no money worries, and a deeply absorbing and satisfying career. Other people not only grieve for the tragic loss of a loved one, but have no one to talk to or eat dinner with, don't know how they are going to pay the rent, and have to worry about finding a job and feeding their children at the same time. In this context, the book seemed self-indulgent. Surprisingly, few in the group had read any of Joan Didion's other work.


 
 

 

 February
The Hummingbird's Daughter
Luis Alberto Urrea
Discussion recapped by Fran

We met last night at Anne-Marie's to discuss Luis Alberto Urrea's The Hummingbird's Daughter, chosen by Claire. Attending were Anne-Marie, Fran, Melissa K, Susan T, Susan K, Laura, and Sook. Both Susans provided a bounty of Mexican snacks, covering the gamut from kahlua to lime-flavored tortilla chips.

Our lively discussion wandered all over. We started with a quick summary of the historical context for the novel. Either we weren't in a contentious mood or there was remarkable consensus on the book. We all really enjoyed it, but felt it wasn't quite up to the mark of "great" literature. We wondered why, when the subject matter was fascinating and the writing was luminous, even brilliant. Too plot-driven? No depth of characterization? Not enough inner conflict? No life changing insights? Too much food? We enjoyed it, and we learned from it, but at the end of the day, it felt more like eye candy than a Great Novel.

Anne Marie and Laura also shared the experience of asking random Spanish-speaking strangers to aid in translating some of the colloquial Spanish sprinkled randomly without translation through the novel. Definitely, if you have the urge to embarrass someone, this is a great way to do it!

We also learned about oxen, steers, cattle and cows, and Sook learned a little about hide & seek. (My husband said we are all crazy: it is "all out are in free now")

Some of us (me included) wondered very much about where historical "fact" left off and Urrea's fictional work took over. The two links below are interesting—one is Urrea's own version of the "facts" about Teresa and the other is an article posted on the University of Texas website. There are many differences between them!
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/UU/fur4.html
http://www.luisurrea.com/teres/teresita.htm


 
 

 

 January
Don Quixote
Miguel Cervantes
Group recap assembled by Fran

Here's the patched together recap of the four comments from our Don Quixote discussion last month. If I missed anyone, please let me know!! I've pasted them without attribution, just to make it more exciting. Enjoy!!

1) My experience of last night's book group meeting was entirely dependent upon other members' reports of the book and upon Judith's scholarship, since I gave up reading the book quite early on.

I found the members' reactions interesting and sharp. Judith's contributions of general European and specifically Spanish historical background, of biographical information and thematic threads were really helpful -- Now that I know all that, will I . . .? No, probably not.

I was especially intrigued by the comparison of various translations. But then, whenever there is a chance for linguistic games, I'll be there.

2) I missed hearing the members' reactions to the book, for which there wasn't enough time, given Judith's clearly helpful but lengthy presentation.

3) It was interesting that everyone seemed to have had a different experience with the book, from "really getting into the stories" and "finding it laugh-out-loud funny" to finding the reading experience to be complete drudgery. No two of us seemed to have had the exact same experience, or even a similar one.

Having Susan's Spanish professor friend there to guide us was great. We were able to discuss, with an informed guide, issues such as 1)the time period in which it was written and what all was going on in Spain and Europe at that point 2) the language used in the book, including the difference between Cervantes' Spanish and modern Spanish, how good some of the translators were at making poems, sonnets and songs come out in pleasing, rhyming verses and what phrases in our vernacular came from Don Quixote, i.e. Tilting at Windmills and "quixotic"."

It was a lot of fun to read a few sentences from each of the different translations (about 4 of them) in the room, and contrast it with the original Spanish, which Judith had with her and translated for us after reading her few sentences aloud.

I enjoyed reading the book, and sense that I have to read it again, maybe even more than once -- though likely never "every year" or "every Spring" like Faulkner or Fuentes.

4) I agree that reading Don Q. was tedious at times but I did really get into his quirky characters and plot twists.

Having Judith at the meeting was great. Her setting the historical scene for us and being able to fill in some background about things mentioned in the novel and about the author was very helpful. It makes me wish I would spend more time in preparation for being facilitator when it's my turn. Her questions to us drew us in to exploring important themes in the book and kept us focused.

I was fascinated by the part where we compared different translations of the same passage while having Judith to translate from the original.

It makes you realize how much is "lost in translation."

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