Fall of Giants-Review by Lindsay

The ratings for the novel ranged from a high of 5 to a low of 2.5, we either loved it or hated it.  We found the historical perspective of WWI very interesting as it isn't a part of history that we often study.  Seems like our studies skip from the Civil War to WWII, so we enjoyed that aspect of the book.  We were impressed with the depth and accuracy of the historical research included in this story.  The stark contrast between the classes was engaging.  We could taste the coal dust in the Welsh town, and our hearts went out to the poor peasants in Russia who were hung for minor crimes by the Tsar.  No wonder the Bolsheviks shot the Romanov family!  And you've got to be proud of the United States when you read about the dysfunctional governments around the world during this time, and the mental midgets that instigated WWI. 

The criticism of the book was the huge number of characters and difficulty getting attached to or identifying with any of them.  Some of us thought the writing and dialogue between the characters was a little weak; and the personal situations between the characters was not very believable.  The front row seats the characters enjoyed in viewing actual historical events added to a personal perspective, but hard to believe that they were witness to these pivotal events.  But of course, it is an historical novel, so we must remember that! 

The good news (or bad) is that this novel is the first in a trilogy.  We can continue to follow the characters in the next novel if we so chose.  I think the rise of Hitler will be interesting to read in the next installment.  What a shame the League of Nations was not more successful, perhaps that horrific time in history could have been avoided.

Our next meeting is scheduled for September 9th, 9:30 am at the Pinery CC.  We will be discussing The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which is the first book in a trilogy as well!

Hope to see you all next month,

Lindsay

Cheap Cabernet: A Friendship- Review by Laura

 

First off, thank you so much Valerie for hosting this month's Book Club/Happy Hour!  The food and sangria were fabulous!  The weather and setting couldn't have been better!  The book, however, could have!

There are only two words to describe this month's choice of books and those are EPIC FAIL!  Of the 5 of us who read the entire book (including Cindy but I didn't get her rating) and 2 who read half of it and

couldn't stand to read the rest, Cheap Cabernet - A Friendship, got an overall rating of 1.5.  Needless to say I won't leave my book choices up to the reviews of NPR and Kindle readers again! 

Even though no one liked the book, we actually had a pretty good discussion about it.  After filling everyone in on what the book was about, it didn't sound quite as bad as it actually was.  We all agreed that,

this being a true story, Cathie Beck could have written a very good book about her life, her friendship with Denise and the hardships of dealing with and having Multiple Sclerosis.  Unfortunately, she just threw

a bunch of stories from her life in the book and didn't really follow through with any of them, leaving us confused and frustrated.  For example, she and Denise had gotten into a big fight towards the end of

Denise's battle with MS and they hadn't spoken to each other for some time.  Denise called Cathie out of the blue to come meet her sister that she had spoken so much about, Cathie never picked up the phone

or returned Denise's call.  The next chapter has Denise's husband handing Cathie a baggie of some of Denise's ashes.  Frustrating!  The use of the F-word in every other sentence turned me off in particular

and made it hard to focus on what was actually being said.

On the other hand, as Valerie and Pam mentioned, there were a few good stories in the book too.  Cathie's struggles as a very young single mother and what she had to do to feed her children were very real.

Also, her trip to Jamaica/Cuba with Denise was written so that you felt like you were there with them, the people they met and places they went were interesting and vivid.  For example, when Cathie and

Denise were leaving Cuba, their host Fidel who they had had such a good time with and who knew that this was Denise's last trip due to her MS, wiped his face with the back of his hand as they hugged good bye. 

Very vivid and touching.

An interesting fact that I read in Cathie's interview at the end of the book is that when she saw the Columbine shooting on TV, it prompted her to write this book about her extraordinary friendship.  It is

true that she and Denise had an extraordinary friendship but we also felt it was a bizarre and unhealthy.  Like Deb said "who doesn't go to your best friend's funeral?"

Other than a couple of good stories, the only other good thing that I can say about this book is that part of the proceeds went to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. :)

Housekeeping notes:

August Book Club discussing Fall of Giants will be held on August 19th at the coffee place on Mainstreet at 9:30am.  We switched it from the 12th due to college move in week.

Everyone would like to see the movie "The Help" which comes out on August 10th, does the 10th, 17th, 24th or 26th work for anyone??  Let me know...

Have a great day!

Laura

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen-Review by Bonnie Jean

 

 

Hi everyone,

    We met at the Pinery club today to talk about Freedom.  We started by talking about the characters and hearing people's reactions/responses to the different characters.  Pat printed out the discussion questions (thanks Pat!) (most of which were a little over the top) and we talked about a couple of them.  It was a good discussion.  The ratings went from 2.5 (Pat raised hers from a 2 after our discussion) to 4.  Most of us liked the book and were happy for the characters in the book that their lives were on the mend by the end of the book.

    Next meeting will be on Friday, 7/15 at Valerie's house at 4:30.  Please let Valerie know what you will be bringing - and the rest of us too so we have a variety of things.  I have included the list of books so we remember what we're reading.

    After the meeting, Kellie and I went to look at the ladie's lounge in the Pinery for a potential meeting place.  We both think it might work well.  I have a call in to Anastasia at the club to see if we might be able to meet there and if they might provide a pastry platter of some such thing for us.  What do you all think about the ladie's lounge?  I'll let you know what I hear from the Pinery.

    Look forward to seeing everyone in July,

 

Bonnie Jean

 

P.S.  I just finished a 900+ page book that I really loved (didn't love every moment of it - but it was incredibly fascinating to me) about a guy who escaped prison in Australia and decided he could hide in the slums of Bombay India.  It is based on the author's life - though he calls it a novel.  I told the group to today I would include the name in this e-mail.  It's called  Shantaram -  by Gregory David Roberts  It certainly gives you a picture of the life of a criminal who has a good heart.