Annie provided wonderful ambiance for our February meeting and our discussion of The Secret Keeper. Those in attendance were Ellen Bowes, Kathy Day-Carey, Nancy French, Christe Gillespie, Annie Larkin, Judy Lee, and Jo Smith. As usual, we caught up on what has been going on in each other's lives and enjoyed our time together.
There was a mixed reaction to the book, as some of us had trouble with the young Dorothy (Dolly). While there are plenty of books that have characters you don't like, her character was troublesome because of her connection with the lovable Jimmy. It was also disconcerting to try to reconcile who Dolly was as a young, self-centered, shallow woman with the mature, loving wife and mother Dorothy became. Originally, Annie stopped reading the book after Dolly masterminded the plot to blackmail Vivian. Christe later convinced her to go back and finish reading the book due to the plot twist near the end.
Jo was bothered by the details in the book that she didn't feel contributed to the story in any way. She felt that this detracted from the story and left the reader constantly wanting the author to get on with the story.
Christe read a long excerpt that she enjoyed.
The Nicolson children all knew the story of Greenacres' acquisition by heart. The skeptical old farmer scratching his head when Dorothy knocked on his door, the birds nesting in the parlor fireplace as the farmer poured tea, the holes in the floor with planks laid across them like narrow bridges. Most importantly, no one was in any doubt as to their mother's immediate certainty that she must live in this place.
The house, she explained to them many times, had spoken to her; she'd listened, and it turned out they'd understood one another very well indeed. Greenacres was an imperious old lady, a little worn, to be sure, cranky in her own way -- but who wouldn't be? The deterioration, Dorothy could tell, concealed a great former dignity. The house was proud and she was lonely, the sort of place that fed on children's laughter, and a family's love, and the smell of rosemary lamb roasting in the oven. She had good honest bones and a willingness to look forwards rather than backwards, to welcome a new family and grow with them, to embrace their brand-new traditions. It struck Laurel now, as it hadn't before, that her mother's description of the house might have been a self-portrait.
This house would never have spoken to the young Dolly. I might add that Christe has a wonderful style and tone as she reads aloud. She could have a new career recording audio books!
Annie shared a quote that struck her. The quote comes after a "sour nurse" gave Laurel the report on how her mother was faring, having bounced back after the birthday party which had tired her.
And then she smiled with a remarkable deficit of warmth and returned her attention to the plastic clipboard she was cleaving.
Our book for March is Empire of the Summer Moon, by S.C. Gwynne. This will be our first non-fiction selection. The March meeting details are at the bottom of this blog entry. No decisions have been made for our April book or our April meeting place.
March meeting:
Book: Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne
Location: Nancy French's
Date: March 19, 2015
Time: 6:30 pm
No comments:
Post a Comment