ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE by Gail Honeycut

We had a nice gathering yesterday to discuss Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.

Overall the book received rave reviews, 4.75-5.0, with the exception of one 3.0. 

We could hardly believe that this is a debut effort. Gail Honeyman created several lovable and relatable characters, particularly Eleanor Oliphant and Raymond Gibbons. It is immediately evident that Eleanor is NOT “completely fine”.  Why do we say “fine" when asked how we are, as in the snarky response to a loved one or an answer to a waiter in a restaurant about our substandard meal?  The title alone clues the reader into the premise that not everything is as it seems.  

Based on her inept social skills, we assume that Eleanor is on the autism spectrum.  She has had a traumatic childhood, the extent to which we are unaware until well into the book.  Her unfiltered comments, actions and life observations are beyond hilarious, but her lonely existence is quite sad.  Eleanor has accepted her life as it is, until she meets Raymond.  

Raymond is kind, patient, and genuine.  He is so unpretentious and warm, without being sanctimonious or overbearing. He is the kind of friend we should all aspire to be, and the kind of friend we would all be lucky to have. 

But this is far beyond a syrupy love story.  It is not about how Eleanor just needed a boyfriend to fix all her problems.  This book will make you laugh, cry, feel anger towards the cruel world that Eleanor must face, and be deeply touched by the kindness of others.  Lastly, it will cause you to take pause in your own preconceived ideas, reminding yourself to not judge a book by its cover.  

THE FORGETTING TIME by Sharon Guskin

Overall, we all enjoyed the book giving it an average rating of 3.5.  The ratings reflect more about the concept of reincarnation than the writing style. The author's research for this novel was taken from books written by a Professor who researched reincarnation for nearly forty years.  We found the story both, intriguing and compelling but, her addition of sections taken from the research was completely fascinating. 

So, personally, I didn't think the beginning about Janie on vacation and having a brief encounter with the sperm donor was particularly interesting although, she did tie it in to the end of the book. One of us didn't find Jerry Anderson's (the researcher) story particularly compelling but, for the most part the rest of us actually liked the addition of his story to the book. In the end he had a really nice connection to Janie and Noah although, sadly, he wouldn't be able to remember them by the end. Also, him walking into the surf was an interesting way chosen to end one's life. Noah's life began on a beach, while Jerry's would end there....

We all sympathized with Janie as a single mother and her struggle to find out what is wrong with her son, all the while trying to hold it together emotionally, mentally, and financially. Especially after he's been given a possible diagnosis of being schizophrenic. We all agreed that would be a far worse diagnosis than someone else's soul possessing ones body for a short period of time!   

We loved that the spirit within Noah was that of an African American boy, Tommy. We didn't see that coming and thought it was really clever. Denise and her oldest son Charlie were great character's and their story was both very entertaining, when they meet a small white boy who claims to be Tommy and then, unfortunately, completely tragic because of their loss, grief and guilt that they have had to go through during Tommy's disappearance. Personally, one of my favorite scenes in the book was when Charlie and Noah are in the tree house; the other was when Noah wanted Denise to give him a bath.  I thought both of these moments were both, well written and, intimate. It was essential that Denise and Charlie came to the realization that, indeed,Tommy was really there within Noah and, it helped give them closure on Tommy's death, which they both so desperately needed.

Although, it was a good effort for a first novel, collectively, we all agreed the writing was fairly average and at times "clunky".

THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ by Heather Morris

It was nice to have our 4 new ladies at the meeting today, and a special welcome to Lynn.  We read Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris.  This was written as a novel after the author interviewed Lali Sokolov for 3 years as he told her his story.  For him, it was a story of his falling in love with the most wonderful girl.  It just happened to take place in one of the worst places and times in history.  With the exception of one member, the book club liked the book.  With one low rating of 1.0, the rest spanned from 3.25-4.50, with an average of 3.5.  

The cons regarding  the book was that while it was a novel, some of the historical data didn’t match with Lale’s recollections of his experience in camp; and the author’s writing style could have been more developed.  Some of the pros mentioned were that it had heart, the reader could feel the sense hope that Lale and Gita felt in the book, the romance was sweet, and the story itself for a “5” even if the writing style was a bit lacking.

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES By Deborah Harkness

The Timbers BookClub, read and reviewed “A Discovery of Witches” by historian Deborah Harkness.  The book is the first of a trilogy that has been made into a TV series in the UK.  This was her first work of fiction.  It is also important to note that she is a well known wine writer.

Our book club followed what seemed to the trend on GoodReads.  Readers seemed to completely love the book or totally hate it. It was interesting that our bookclub felt the same way.  

For the members that did not like the book, some felt that the author spent a lot of time and verbiage on describing a lot of details about the wine and the food and it was suggested that the author needed a better editor.  The members that did not like it also felt that the romance was too juvenile in nature, it was mentioned that the book was too long and it was not a preferred genre of another member.  

Even for those that liked it, some felt that it was very slow going for the first half of the book.  Those that liked the book did enjoy the love story and several members of our club plan to read the next book or have already started it. The historians in the club did really enjoy the book and the references to the events in history.

The average of everyone’s rating was 2.85.

ALL THE UGLY AND WONDERFUL THINGS By Bryn Greenwood

The group engaged a long discussion of All The Ugly And Wonderful Things last Wednesday.   It is the story of a girl (Wavy), who at the age of 8, develops a friendship with a young man (Kellen) who is 20.  Their relationship evolves from a big brother/little sister situation to a sexual one as they get older.  

This book dealt with many uncomfortable subjects: illegal drugs, spousal abuse, child abuse/neglect, murder.  But, in particular, the sexualization of children and pedophilia.  And yet, the author takes that topic, flips it on its side and forces the reader to look at an older man/young girl relationship from a different perspective.   While none of us would ever condone a 28 year old man hooking up with OUR 13 year old daughter, somehow the author flipped this narrative from “Ugly” to “Wonderful”.  What really is the best course of action and care for a child at risk?  We found ourselves scratching our heads, how brilliant a writer, to take something so taboo as pedophilia, and encourage the reader to consider, is this specific relationship okay with me?  Would it be okay if this were a Catholic priest and a young boy?  If not, why?  Why are we not more outraged at the criminality of the situation?  

This novel pushed our boundaries and found us questioning our viewpoint on age of consent.  What defines a healthy relationship?  We found ourselves being appalled by and then defending Kellen's actions, all in the same breath.  This book stuck with many of us, but in the end, we discovered, you don’t have to agree with every story to appreciate it.  The book was highly rated by all of us, scores ranging from 4.0-4.75.