Euphoria by Lily King

Our group met on Friday to discuss Euphoria written by Lily King.  We had an animated and good discussion, only occasionally wandering off topic.  ;)

The book was inspired by real life anthropologist Margaret Mead and the few months in 1933 in which she, her husband Reo Fortune, and Gregory Bateson (whom later became her third husband) spent together on the Sepik River in New Guinea.

The title comes from something that the character Nell (Margaret Mead) says:  "It's that moment about two months ink when  you think you've finally got a handle on the place.  Everything clicks and it all feels within your grasp at that moment the place feels entirely yours.  It's the briefest, purest euphoria."

We struggled with the fact that Nell’s character was too loosely based on Margaret Mead.  We felt it would have been better if the author either had gone full on with Mead’s life or written a story of complete fiction.    This hybrid approach was awkward.  A few of us felt that the characters were only partially developed and had trouble connecting with them, while others were completely invested in the characters and their journey.  Nell’s husband, Fen, is such an outwardly evil person that you wonder what a supposedly strong and accomplished woman as Nell is doing with him.

That said, we mostly found the book very good.  The insight into New Guinea’s various tribes and customs was fascinating, particularly seeing it through a 1930’s perspective.  We enjoyed learning about the different approaches to the study of the new field of anthropology.  The techniques that they developed became an important tool to future anthropologists that had far ranging effects.  We also discussed the themes of tribal savagery versus Western civilization, a theme that is still current today.

Ratings ranged from 3.0 to 3.75.

HER EVERY FEAR by Peter Swanson

We enjoyed a beautiful day out on the Pinery patio discussing “Her Every Fear” by Peter Swanson.  The character development in the book was good although we would have liked to have known more about Corbin and Henry growing up.  We all agreed that Kate was a weak character with all of her anxiety issues.  One of the biggest surprises in the book was that Kate got together with Alan at the end of the book so that was a bit of a shocker.

There were some subtle clues in the book, such as Kate’s drawings being changed, Sanders mysteriously gaining entrance into Corbin’s apartment, and Audrey’s key in Corbin’s apartment disappearing which all came together at the end of the book when we discovered that Henry had been secretly hiding in Corbin’s apartment while Kate was there.  The book had a few twists and turns throughout but we questioned the plausibility of specific events that occurred during the book so the plot was not as well composed as “The Kind Worth Killing”.  

Five of us rated the book and the average rating was 3.15.  Most of us agreed we would not recommend this book to a friend to read. 

We will be meeting on Friday, Sept 15^th and will be reading “Euphoria” by Lily King. 

Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom

Our annual evening party was held and we had a short discussion on July’s book, Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom who also wrote The Kitchen House which all of us had read and loved a few years ago.  Glory Over Everything is the sequel to The Kitchen House.  The average rating was 3.75 so a fairly good rating but the book was not as well written as her previous book in our opinion. 

All of us found the book to be engaging and enjoyed the Underground Railroad journey that Jamie takes to rescue Pan.  The main criticism was that no one really liked the main character, Jamie Pyke.  Jamie was a weak and flawed person that made several poor decisions during the book so it was difficult to embrace him as a lead character.  We did like the love story between Jamie and Caroline as well as most of the outlying characters such as Pan, Robert and Sukey.  Some of us questioned the ending of the book and how plausible it was that Jamie could live with his a white baby, Pan and Robert without drawing attention to themselves so the author could have done more to tighten up the book’s finish.  

We will be reading Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson for August.

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

June's book was JUST MERCY by Bryan Stevenson. We all gave it a score of either a 3.75 or a 4 so, that averaged out to a 3.85.

When starting the book we all knew that our prison system certainly wasn't perfect but, I think we were hoping that cases like Walter McMillians' were exceptional. However, the fact Bryan has made this his mission/career for more than thirty years, proves otherwise. This book was incredibly thought provoking and brought all of us to tears, on more than one occasion, and ultimately changed Pam's mind towards that death penalty. 

Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy was compelling. His assertion that “we are more than the worst thing that we have done” was provocative.  Stevenson’s Methodist (AME) faith informs his profound belief in the possibilities of redemption, and I found his perspective moving.  He presents a series of vignettes that highlight the injustices in the criminal justice system in the Deep South that persisted into the 1980s and beyond. His narrative was particularly moving when he documented the cases of innocent people who were falsely indicted for murder and were incarcerated for crimes that they did not commit.  Stevenson successfully revealed the humanity of people like Walter McMillian and the terrible personal consequences of his time in prison.  It was painful to read about McMillian’s inability to reconstruct his pre-prison family life and business successes after he was released.  His freedom from prison was simultaneously heartwarming and tragic. 

However, Stevenson fails to show the many cases where the sentences were just and the criminals were unrepentant, which might cause the reader to assume that all life sentences are unjust. Nonetheless, Stevenson’s nonprofit organization, Equal Justice Initiative, provides support and hope for people who are improperly sentenced.

Hillbilly Elegy - Review by Kellie

Our book for January was, as you know, HILLBILLY ELEGY.  Unfortunately, only three of us were in attendance for our meeting last Friday, so we bugged out of the Pinery Club and went to breakfast for discussion.  We all enjoyed the story very much and for the most part, thought it was well written.  However, both Bonnie Jean and Lindsay agreed with Susan that his views on Appalachian culture seemed rather exclusive. As a matter of fact, Susan, your review was SO well written I would like to add it to this email, for those who might have missed it.

From Susan: I really enjoyed reading Hillbilly Elegy.  Great suggestion, Kellie!  J.D. Vance provided a fascinating perspective on a timely topic.  I’m really sorry to miss Book Club, and instead I wrote LONG comments!

On the positive side, I found Vance to be an entertaining storyteller who detailed his family story and its relationship to what he calls the “greater Appalachian culture.”  I had never connected Ohio with this culture, especially since my late Czech-American dad was from Cleveland and grew up in a very different ethnic subculture.  I was fascinated by his explanation of the Appalachian diaspora, including migration to western Ohio.  Vance’s story was strongest when he regaled his readers with his colorful family members, particularly his redoubtable gun-totin’ and cussin’ Mamaw and his Papaw.  I appreciated that he wrote the book to pay homage to the critical role that they played in his life.  His narrative certainly underscores the serious issue of widespread unemployment, hopelessness, and drug addiction in many Rust Belt communities. 

On the downside:  

I found that Vance’s tendency to use his own family and community experiences to make broad inferences regarding “Hillbilly culture” and "the white working class" problematic.  Sam and I worked in a family practice clinic in a medically underserved area in western North Carolina for seven years.  We lived there in the 80s and 90s, which was a very different time, but we’ve stayed in touch with our friends. (They preferred to be called Western North Carolinians or Highlanders rather than “hillbillies.”) We found that our friends, patients, and neighbors in a small town south of Asheville tended to be community-oriented, church going, and family oriented people.  There were certainly those with substance abuse problems and families with abuse issues.  While Vance mentions that these less dysfunctional people exist, he leaves the reader with a sense that his family experiences represent “Hillbilly” culture.  In my experience, there were considerable community variations.  There was a nearby county called “Bloody Madison” county because of frequent “feuds” and violence. Patients with gunshot wounds often rolled into the Asheville Emergency Room. It sounded more like Vance's description of his Kentucky hometown. However, it seemed to be an outlier.  I feel that Vance’s over-generalizations are a disservice to people who share a unique Appalachian subculture characterized by close ties of family and community with the usual mix of functional and dysfunctional relationships.  (Or am I just being defensive?  I’m Scots-Irish on my mom’s side.  Scots always get stereotyped as drinkin’ and theivin’ and fightin’!)  This area of western NC has experienced the closing of factories and businesses in the wake of NAFTA.  One problem that they face is the out-migration of young people in search of jobs and an aging population. 

I also think that Vance’s book would have been stronger if he had simply told the strong narrative of his life, family, and community and left the sociological/psychological analysis to the introduction and the conclusion.  His social commentary seemed patchy and at times disrupted the flow of his narrative. 

Nonetheless, Hillbilly Elegy was a good read and it provides one perspective on the problems facing many white working class communities in the Appalachian and Rust Belt areas. The book has certainly sparked conversations about this topic!  I’m sorry to miss our discussion!!

Thanks for making my job easy this month, Susan!  I would say we rated the book a 3.75.- 4.  Also, I will say that this book inspired me so much so, that I am now reading WHITE TRASH by Nancy Isenberg. This book has been difficult to get through but I am determined to finish it. Not written in story form, this book is just facts and figures, very academic and verbose.  I liken it to reading a text book.  Welcome back to school, Kellie :)  That being said I am learning a LOT.

Our book for next month is WILD SWANS: THREE DAUGHTERS OF CHINA by Jung Chang, and our meeting is scheduled for the February 10th.