The Book Thief

[April 2010]

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The Book Thief
Markus Zusak

number of voters: 5
percentage of voters who finished the book: 5
highest rating: 9
lowest rating: 8
average rating: 8.4

percentage of readers who are more grateful for books after reading this book: 100

* * * TWO QUESTIONS: * * *
1. Do you like historical fiction?
2. Are you open-minded?

Yes and yes? That’s a good start.

* * * A DEFINITION * * *
open-minded
adjective
willing to consider new ideas; unprejudiced

Still with me? Good. Now you are ready to meet the book thief and the one who tells her story. But I won'’t be the one to introduce you. I will let the author himself do that. Because, no matter how I phrase it, there is no way to summarize this book in a few sentences without making the book sound cliché... and it is anything but that.

* * * ANOTHER DEFINITION * * *
What this book is not:
cliché
noun
a very predictable or unoriginal thing

Let’s review what we know so far:

* * * THE BOOK THIEF by MARKUS ZUSAK... * * *
...a kind of historical fiction
...requires an open mind
...completely unpredictable and original

Is this enough for you? Can you commit yourself to reading a book without knowing anything about time period, setting, or plot? No? Then just for you:

* * * THREE THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW * * *
1. time period: World War II
2. setting: Germany
3. plot: not what you’d expect from 1 and 2

There. I’ve said enough.
More than enough.
Go meet the book thief, then come back and we’ll talk.

The Glass Castle

[March 2010]

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The Glass Castle
Jeanette Walls

number of voters: 9
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 9.7
lowest rating: 7.5
average rating: 8.189

percentage of readers who used the words “really liked” or “loved” to describe what they thought of this book: 100

*****

Imagine a car wreck on the freeway. Traffic slows, heads turn, eyes gape. And then on we drive. A moment later, it is forgotten.

Here, in The Glass Castle, a little girl reveals all the gory details behind that wreck. Her innocent voice is the one we hear as she describes the way people in her family collide with one another, a mass of crumpled hopes, fears, and expectations. The collision is her childhood; the mangled ruins, her life; the burning wreckage, her. This is the story of Jeannette Walls.

The story goes something like this: Four kids grow up in poverty and neglect with their brilliant, alcoholic father who loves them emphatically and their artistic, emotionally unstable mother who believes what does not kill them will make them stronger. The makings of a car wreck, indeed.

And yet—miraculously perhaps—they all walk away intact. There are scars, of course. There always are. But you would never know from looking at them that they had lived through such adversity. You wonder how anyone could possibly even survive it.

In this way, The Glass Castle is inspiring where it could have been depressing, full of promise when it could have been only tragic. And now we know what it is not just to gawk in passing, but to look—really, closely look—at disaster. There are atrocities, but there is also resiliency.

Read this book. It is a difficult tale, beautifully told; surprisingly humorous; moving and unforgettable.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

[February 2010]

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Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Gregory Maguire

number of voters: 5
percentage of voters who finished the book: 80
highest rating: 4.75
lowest rating: 3
average rating: 4.05

percentage of readers who, with knowledge of both, preferred the musical to the book: 100

*****

And so I find myself once again in the unenviable position of writing a recap of a discussion about a book that I did not read—a book that, after a handful of excruciating pages, I could not stand even an attempt at reading. I recognized these storybook names—the munchkins, the wicked witch of the west—and these fantastical faces—squat and plump, a ripe shade of green—but everything else was foreign and, to be honest, a bit nauseating.

And so I left it to others, far more brave than I, to tackle this doorstop of a novel. Maybe they would see something in it that I could not or did not want to see.

Not so much.

To summarize the words of those brave readers: The author was trying too hard and trying to fit too much in. There was no flow to the story, which jumped around way too much. It was too political. There were no redeeming qualities in the characters, who were thus simply unlikable. There was too much happening and not enough depth. The author shot for “epic” and didn’t pull it off.

But maybe there was something there that none of us could quite see. It was, after all, a brilliant idea, completely original (that is, if you discount the fact that the novel is based on someone else’s work), and asked some interesting questions (for example, how do our experiences shape us?). It’s up to the individual reader to decide whether this smattering of qualities is worth wading through such prolific misery.

To make a long story short, which perhaps the author himself should have considered, we did not really like it, we would not recommend it, and we wished we’d spent the time going to the musical instead.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

[January 2010]

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Betty Smith

number of voters: 6
percentage of voters who finished the book: 83
highest rating: 9.5
lowest rating: 8.5
average rating: 9.17 (!)

percentage of readers who have lived in Williamsburg: 0

*****

The women of Williamsburg gathered to reminisce, and the stories flowed like wine. It was as though weeks had passed instead of years, though nearly a century had gone by. Brooklyn will never be the same as we remember it then... a generation frozen in our minds.

Oh, except that we weren’t there.

You can forgive us, can’t you, for forgetting that Francie’s story is not our very own? If you’ve read Betty Smith’s pseudo-autobiography, then you know...

These people stroll through the streets of Brooklyn and onto the pages and into our consciousness. Remember how Papa understood Francie’s need to attend the finer school and took matters into his own hands? Remember the way Mama made Francie and Neeley read from Shakespeare and the Bible every night? Remember Aunt Sissy? Remember the tin can?

Like visiting an old friend, we will return to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn again and again. Our feet walked the dirty ground, but our eyes saw the sky beyond. And our hearts were full of hope. 

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

[December 2009]

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The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Muriel Burbery

number of voters: 6
percentage of voters who finished the book: 83
highest rating: 10
lowest rating: 6
average rating: 7.83

percentage of readers who hold a degree in philosophy: 0

*****
Marx has the ability to completely change the way one views the world. One need not agree with him to necessitate said change; the evolution of thought occurs with or without concurrence.

So it may be with Muriel Barbery and her eclectic collage of aristocratic and working class figures coexisting in a Parisian apartment.

The title, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, refers, in no subtle way, to the hidden intellectualism (elegance) of the building’s underclass concierge (hedgehog), Renee. Her secret is uncovered by the adolescent, quasi-suicidal Paloma, a paltry girl who is wealthy yet suffers from a dearth of human affection.

I would be negligent if I did not mention that the author is a professor of philosophy. Her novel is dense, overloaded with metaphysical contemplation. The plot develops at an almost sedative pace, but when it—finally, fantastically—engages it is in a headlong rush that leaves the reader almost dizzy with, in turns, exultation, anguish, and simple, quiet beauty.

Concerning the denouement—and here I hesitate, apprehensive of sabotaging your own experience—prepare yourself for a myriad of possibilities and your accompanying reactions. Prepare yourself for anything and nothing, and in this way, I hope, you will not be dissatisfied.

Take it upon yourself to read this book. You might love it or you might hate it; all the same, perchance you will be changed.

Feed

[November 2009]

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Feed
M.T. Anderson


number of voters: 7
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 8.75
lowest rating: 3
average rating: 5.75

percentage of readers who rushed out to get new lesions after reading this book: 0

*****
I read a young adult book to have fun, but the book turned out to completely suck.

Well, maybe not completely. But mostly. I mean, I don’t know for sure because I can’t remember what they taught is in School Inc. about what books are for. Are they supposed to be funny? scary? weird? Are you supposed to learn stuff from them or, like, just be entertained or something?

So, in the story there was this meg stupid guy with this totally weirdo name and he kind of liked this girl, I guess, and they were, like, Do you come to the moon often? No, you? Sometimes. Da da da da.

And then some whacked out unit totally hacks their feeds. He’s all, We enter a time of calamity! We enter a time of calamity! Then, BAM! No more feeds! Then it was, like, totally crazy and I wanted to read more because can you even imagine what life must be like without being connected to anything, just you all alone by yourself?

Then their feeds get fixed and the girl is all weird and then the guy doesn’t like her so much anymore. But he does get a totally brag upcar.

Everything kind of falls apart after that though, and the book is a meg downer and I thought well, maybe books are supposed to be kind of, like, preachy? But really, it was meg null and nothing really ever happened. I kind of laughed at some parts, but then I started wondering if the book was really, like, laughing at me?

So I just deleted it from my feed.

A Fine Balance

[October 2009]

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A Fine Balance
Rohinton Mistry

number of voters: 7
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 9
lowest rating: 6.5
average rating: 7.7

percentage of readers who were disappointed in some way or another with the ending: 100
NOTE: All quotes in this recap are from the book.

*****
“Birth and death—what could be more monstrous than that? We like to deceive ourselves and call it wondrous and beautiful and majestic, but it’s freakish, let’s face it.”

Part history. Part fiction. All epic.

Set in India during “The Emergency,” A Fine Balance follows four characters on a roller coaster existence of day-to-day survival. It is dark and funny and moving and maddening. “After all, our lives are but a sequence of accidents—a clanking chain of chance events. A string of choices, casual or deliberate, which add up to that one big calamity we call life.”

Rohinton Mistry pieces together a quilt of characters (both major and minor) and events (both national and miniscule) that is both beautifully rich and tragically threadbare. The end result is that “the whole quilt is much more important than any single square.”

The main characters are intriguing, if not always likable, each one struggling to survive. “You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair. In the end it’s all a question of balance.” Although it could be argued that in the end the author makes his opinion known as to which wins out.

A Fine Balance is not for everyone. It is long, slow in places, at times frustrating, and often infuriating. But for the patient reader, this epic tale of a country gone mad is a truly rewarding experience. “Flirting with madness was one thing; when madness started flirting back, it was time to call the whole thing off.”

Love in the Time of Cholera

[August 2009]

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Love in the Time of Cholera
Gabriel Garcia Marquez

number of voters: 2
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 5
lowest rating: 5
average rating: 5

question of the night: Can really good writing redeem a really long story with really unlikable characters?

**********

She pulls the faded book from the shelf, dusting its cover with the palm of her frail hand. The pages are worn and yellowed, corners threading from years of folding and unfolding where the reader had marked his place. As she opens the cover, a musty smell fills her nostrils, and she breathes deep its familiar scent.

This is the book. This is the book that her lover read and reread from the time she first knew him until the day it fell from his hands in his final repose.

She’d never dared to open it since that day. How it came to be on this shelf, she would never learn, but there it was, and without pausing to contemplate the repercussions of the ensuing memories, she had removed it from its own repose.

It is just a book, she tells herself. Just a story. There is nothing to fear from a story, a jumble of words arranged in a particular order. But her hands tremble nonetheless. And her fingers fumble with the frontispiece as she turns to chapter one.

...

As if from a dream she awakens to the final sentence, five words loaded with a subtext that sends her heart plummeting. This is the book. This is the book that her lover, to whom she had abandoned herself and her purity for innumerable years, had so desperately adored. Her stomach roiled.

Who was this man who had loved a book with such unlikable—nay, appalling—characters and such a tedious plot. Had he seen himself in this same light? Had he thought of her in this way?

The writing was beautiful; perhaps he merely enjoyed the language the author employed. Perhaps he felt a particular sympathy for these drifting souls. Or maybe, through some literary trick of the mind, he was drawn to the disease of the title, somehow knowing that he too would die by its clawed grasp.

This was the book he had loved as much as, if not more than, he had loved her. A better woman might return it to its resting place on the shelf for others to find, read, ponder.

She throws it in the fire and watches it burn.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

[July 2009]

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The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
Alexander McCall Smith

number of voters: 7
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 9
lowest rating: 4
average rating: 6.41

random quotes about this book: “didn’t love it” “didn’t get it” “liked it fine” “really liked it” “take it or leave it” “liked it” “love it”

**********

“Mma Ramotswe had a detective agency in Africa...” and First Monday Reading Group might need her to solve the mystery of what to think of her novel.

We’ve never read another book quite like The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency—and depending on your perspective that might be a good thing or a bad thing. Is it overly simple, or simply unpretentious? Is it choppy and uneven, or consistently varied? Are the African themes beautiful and moving, or too picturesque?

Precious Ramotswe is the first woman in Botswana to open a detective agency (hence, the title). As a main character, Precious is strong, independent, and clever. She solves cases with alacrity, and each case reveals to the reader some new, hidden facet of her character. In this way, the novel is surprisingly deep.

The cases, however, are fairly uncomplicated, and as readers we don’t get far before the author takes us somewhere else. The quick, short mysteries can be entertaining but can also lack depth. Also, the story jumps around so much that it can be hard as a reader to get a good footing as to where the plot is going.

The setting is undoubtedly a rarely seen portrait of Africa. Whether it focuses too much on the continent’s beauty and not enough on its hardships is debatable, but never for a moment does the story feel like is could take place anywhere but the sub-Sahara.

So, is The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency recommended reading? The case file is open. A ruling is pending. You just might have to read it to decide the answer for yourself.

Moloka'i

[June 2009]

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Moloka’i
Alan Brennert

number of voters: 7
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 9
lowest rating: 7.5
average rating: 8.03

percentage of readers who liked this book particularly because of the history: 100

**********

At the intersection of history, Hawaii, and leprosy lies the fascinating novel Moloka’i. In 1891, a young Hawaiian girl contracts leprosy. She is torn from her family and sent to live in the leper colony at Kalaupapa on the island of Moloka’i. How her life unfolds from this point is best left to author Alan Brennert’s competent prose.

The historical part of this historical fiction book was a completely new and fascinating topic for us. The irony of a beautiful island paradise serving as a prison is haunting; the humanity of the colony’s inhabitants is astounding. The fact that hundreds of people were ripped from their families is horrifying; the government’s desire to protect the rest of a population is frighteningly understandable.

As for the fiction, it is a shocking and tragic story, yet surprisingly sweet and moving. We couldn’t help but root for the young heroine, and her life story quickly became too interesting to put down.

The novel itself is not without its flaws—it is at times choppy and can be repetitive—but these flaws are minor compared to the rewarding experience of the book as a whole. Moloka’i is a well-crafted piece of historical fiction. Recommended.

Suite Française

[May 2009]

Suite Française, Irène Némirovsky
number of voters: 3
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 9
lowest rating: 7
average rating: 8.167
percentage of book clubbers who didn’t read the book (shame on us!): 75

***

[personal disclaimer: Since I have still failed to finish reading this book, my recap centers more on what fascinates me about it and why I still desire to finish it than on our discussion recap...]

It’s June, 1940. You are a French authoress of Jewish descent, and your country is being invaded by the Germans. What do you do?

You write, of course.

You write what you see, what you hear, what you feel. Only you make it a novel, because the wound is still too raw to expose it to the air. You write a true story about fictional characters in the midst of invasion, flight, and quick defeat. You write about the foreign occupation and the tenuous peace it brings. For two years, you write. The story is unfolding around you every day.

But you do not know how the story will end. This part of the story, you cannot foretell.

It’s July, 1942. Your Jewish heritage is discovered by the Germans. You are sent to Auschwitz. And you are sent to the gas chambers.

This is the true story of Irène Némirovsky. It is not the story told in Suite Française, but knowing the author’s story makes the book all the more poignant.

And what of that unfinished novel? Madame Némirovsky’s daughters keep their mother’s notebook and, assuming it is a memoir with too traumatic of details, do not open its pages for 50 years, at which time they discover two parts of an unfinished suite.

Suite Française is part historical fiction and part history. It is haunting for the story it is, but even more so for the story the author herself could not tell.

Lamb: The Gospel according to Biff

[March 2009]

Lamb: the Gospel according to Biff, Christ's childhood pal, Christopher Moore
number of voters: 6
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 9
lowest rating: 6
average rating: 7.33

percentage of readers who laughed and/or cringed, possibly at the same time: 100

***

If thou dost wish to laugh, if thou dost long for thy thoughts to be provoked, if thou seekest a respite from the typical retelling of the gospel, might we recommend the irreverent Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff?

We might. It depends.

Christopher Moore (whose author photos show him in a ratty t-shirt and baseball cap) takes his readers on a gleeful tour of the life of Christ, as told by the imaginary—and imaginative—Biff.

It is hilarious. It is troubling. It is moving. It is raunchy (very much so). It is well-researched and well-written. It is too long, but it is a quick read. It is believable and yet completely unbelievable. It is arguably accurate in its adherence to scripture, but it is full of colorful writing between the lines. It is a story you probably know, but it is completely unique. It might even drive you to your knees (if only to pray for your mind to be cleansed... or for the author’s soul).

Still confused? Maybe this will help:

Art thou easily offended in matters of faith and religion? This book is probably not for you.

Art thou willing to suspend thy disbelief for 400-some pages and look at the life of Christ in a whole new way? This book might possibly be for you.

Give it a try and let us know what you think. Or don’t. Direct all complaints and/or compliments to Christopher Moore.

The Shack

[February 2009]

The Shack, William P. Young
number of voters: 6
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 7.5
lowest rating: 5
average rating: 6

percentage of readers who think the book would have been more powerful if (spoiler alert!) justice had not been meted out: 100

***

Dear reader,

Meet me at The Shack. There, we will together contemplate all that is mysterious about the Trinity. We will wrestle with guilt and pain and fear. We will ponder the judgment seat and the Judge’s seat. We will stare in wonder at forgiveness and grace.

Sound serious? It can be. Sound hokey? Okay, well, maybe it’s that too. But if it doesn’t make you think, then it has failed completely.

If you believe that no one can completely know and understand the Trinity or the depth of human emotion or judgment and grace, then you are right. But who is to say that one little human author can’t give it his best shot? You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to agree with it. But you should probably read it. And discuss it. And prepare to answer questions about it.

So I’ll see you at The Shack. It might not be easy or pretty or perfect or likable, it’s definitely a trip.

Love,
Papa

Little Women

[January 2009]

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Little Women
Louisa May Alcott

number of voters: 6
percentage of voters who finished the book: 67%
highest rating: 10 (from our guest Isabel)
lowest rating: 7
average rating: 9

percentage of readers who thought the writing was too flowery: 100
percentage of readers who thought the writing was too flowery but loved it anyway: 83

**********

And now, a scene from “Little Women: The Book Club Discussion”...

“I absolutely adored this delightful book! The writing is brilliant, the characters are so endearing, the story is wholly original and completely moving,” cried A—.

“Oh, how you do go on, dear,” replied K—, “but you are right that it is a great book. I do wish, though, that Miss Alcott didn’t feel the need always to use such ornate, overly elaborate expressions.”

“You are right about that!” interjected M—. “While it is an extremely romantic story – and by romantic I mean both a depart from the classical and a darling love story – the whole March family can be a little too perfect, don’t you think?”

“Of course! That’s what makes it so idealistic and quaint!” added C—. “It’s such a nice little piece of diversion.”

“Well, you can call it a ‘little piece,’ but the whole thing was too long for me,” commented L—. “Too long, too flowery, and after a while I just didn’t care anymore! But I do have to agree that the writing part is superb. What about you, I—? What did you think?”

I— replied quietly with a sweet little grin: “I loved it! I give it a 10!”

A Thousand Splendid Suns

[December 2008]

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A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini

number of voters: 10
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 10
lowest rating: 5.5
average rating: 8.25 (third highest rating of any book)

degree of difficulty in reading and rating this book without comparing it to The Kite Runner: high

**********

Even as I type this, history is unfolding in Afghanistan. It’s hard to relate to a nation in turmoil when your own is at peace, a culture of oppression when your own is so free. It’s hard to relate to a society so radically different from the one in which you daily live. Headlines are impersonal. News tedious. But a story tells you how it really is.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a story, a modern history lesson, and an excellent book. By focusing on the fictional lives of two women, Khaled Hosseini is able to tell the story of an entire nation.

Miriam and Laila are two vastly different woman who, due to family circumstances and war, are forced to form an unlikely relationship. The author presents the difficulty of their situation with an even-tempered voice, without resorting to sensationalism or sentimentality. The characters are realistic, tragic but not melodramatic. The writing is beautiful. The story is sometimes difficult to read, but even more difficult to put down.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a splendid story. But it is also more than a story. It is a magnifying glass on an Afghani culture that to most of us is a great mystery.

A Name of Her Own

[November 2008]

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A Name of Her Own
Jane Kirkpatrick

number of voters: 7
percentage of voters who finished the book: 71
highest rating: 7.5
lowest rating: 4
average rating: 6.214

percentage of readers who described this book as “long” (or some derivative thereof): 86

**********

WANTED:
Strong, intriguing woman of Indian descent for starring role in a work of historical fiction. Must love excruciating long journeys, brutality, near starvation, and little hope of survival. No guarantee of return voyage. Must pay for your own food and supplies.

Possible rewards include: Meeting Sacagawea; near-equal rights with white men (once in a while); and a small place in history.

ALSO WANTED:
Patient, intrigued women for reading of said book. Must love long passages, repetitive plot points, little character development, depressing events, and slim hopes for main character’s survival. No guarantee of uplifting ending. Must invest your own time and money.

Possible rewards include: A glimpse into Anglo-Indian relations circa 1800; a realistic look at the difficulties faced and endurance required to make the trip west in the times before planes, trains, or automobiles; and an inspirational story of one woman’s journey to find her place in the world.

A Long Way Gone

[October 2008]


A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah
number of voters: 9
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 8.75
lowest rating: 6.5
average rating: 7.583
percentage of readers who enjoyed reading about the atrocities of war: 0


**********

There are all kinds of stories about war. Many of them are historical recounts. Some are political discourses. Still others are strategic assessments.

A Long Way Gone is none of these.

It is the story of a boy at war. It is the story of a war so recent that it is nearly present-day history. It is the story of Africa.

A Long Way Gone is not a perfect story. It is too long in places. It is repetitive in other places. It ends abruptly, leaving the reader wanting more but also leaving the reader a little disappointed.

But, on the other hand, this is the story of one life in one war, and both life and war are messy, unpredictable things.

A Long Way Gone is an eye-opening true story, eloquent yet simply written. We didn’t all love it, but even those who didn’t could appreciate the importance of its being told.

Chocolat

[September 2008]

Chocolat, by Joanne Harris
number of voters: 7
percentage of voters who finished the book: 85
highest rating: 6.75
lowest rating: 5.95
average rating: 6.2

number of urges to consume vast amounts of chocolate while reading this book: innumerable

***
Les truffes, les bon-bons, le chocolat chaud....

Never has a book so enticed our palates as Joanne Harris’s Chocolat. The drinking chocolate, the truffles, the pralines, the candied rose petals. All these and more tempted our taste buds, and our mouths salivated as we eagerly turned the pages.

But there were other, less sweet, morsels as well. That—and the fact that a book, that material thing we hold in our hand, is nothing more than ink and paper—left us wanting more. More than just tantalizing descriptions. More than just vivid details. More than just a story that merely held our curiosity but did not move us.

A somewhat backward morality tale, Chocolat tells of a beautiful and exotic wanderer who opens a chocolaterie at the beginning of Lent in a small French village. What follows is the story of the town’s awakening and one priest’s struggle against it.

It is an interesting story, and we were anxious to discover where it would go. But part of our distaste came from the fact that the story never really went anywhere. Another problem was our lack of affection for the characters; while we would have loved to sip chocolat chaud at this little shop, we were less interested in reading about those who did so. A third problem was in the author’s attempt at creating a sense of timelessness—that this story could be taking place at any time—then confusing us with modern references.

But the chocolate—exquisite, sensual, and inviting—was irresistible. Ultimately, if you love chocolate or baking or France, you might enjoy Chocolat. Just keep a box of truffles near by.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

[August 2008]

**********
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Lisa See

number of voters: 7
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 8.5
lowest rating: 6.5
average rating: 7.87

ideal foot size of the perfect 19th century Chinese foot: 3 inches

estimated average foot size of the First Monday Reading Group: approximately 10 inches


**********

One of the beauties of literature lies in its capacity to transport us—to another time, another place, another life—and expose us to a world we might otherwise never have known, seen, or understood.

Such is the beauty of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

Set in nineteenth century China, at what might be considered the height of foot-binding’s reign, the story unfolds as two young girls—Snow Flower and Lily—become laotong, “old sames” (bff, only closer and...well, closer). We follow the lives of these girls as their feet are bound, they are married off to strangers, and as they become mothers. Their paths and their fates intersect in ways that neither of them could have ever expected.

Many aspects of the history and culture are incomprehensible to the modern American reader. Women were treated as property, worthless except for in the production of sons. The bound foot was considered a delicate beauty, and a woman with a small “lotus flower” was deemed to be the best wife prospect. Author Lisa See delves into all this and more in a respectably well-researched fashion.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a solidly written novel that brings the best of historical fiction to a sometimes fickle reader. If only History 101 had been so engaging.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

[July 2008]

**********
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
Kim Edwards

number of voters: 5
percentage of voters who finished the book: 80
highest rating: 8.5
lowest rating: 3
average rating: 5.6

number of books, including this one, for which Angie has written a recap without having read the book: 1

**********

No one knows for sure who recommended The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. If only we knew, then we would have someone either to thank or to blame.

Some enjoyed the writing style, others despised it. Some felt no attachment to the characters, others connected with them. Some thought it was an easy read, others just couldn’t get into it.

The one point on which we could almost agree was that the storyline was interesting—albeit depressing.

The story centers on an over-achieving doctor and his wife and their set of twins. The son arrives first, a healthy strapping boy. The daughter comes next, but is seen by her father as imperfect because of her Downs syndrome. He secretly sends the daughter to an institution and tells his wife she arrived stillborn. From here the story unwinds in a slow burn, as lies and deception tear the once-happy couple apart and a new life comes to an unexpected mother.

As a group, we enjoyed discussing the realism of the book’s plot as well as its relationship to other books we’ve read recently.

Maybe the best summary of our opinion on this book is this: When I asked if I should take the time to read it, no one really said yes.