On the 16th April we discussed 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' by John Irving.
Those of us who perservered with this long book felt well rewarded by a tale of a unique and strange character who turns out to be a great person – funny, kind, loyal, intelligent and gifted with prophetic insight and a real sense of destiny. Through his friendship with Owen, the outsider, the narrator explores the pains of childhood, growing up, surviving education and comments on the times in America and the Cold War, the hopes raised by Kennedy and then eroded through the escalating costs of the war in Vietnam. Very much a novel of its time (published 1987) it is intriguing, well written, wide ranging and probably destined to endure.
Our recommendation for May was 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini.
We were all moved by this book – how could we not be? It gripped from the very beginning, then took us from idyllic childhood play right into the darkness of personal evil and jealousy and the horrors of war, the Russian invasion, the brutality of the Taliban, the collapse of society, the helplessness of the people. Hosseini weaves a terrific story, beautifully written with great characters, suspense, hope, possibility, taking us full circle to a faith in human goodness and hope for the future.
For June we chose 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' by Stieg Larsson.
This also tells of man’s potential for cruelty. But this is a thriller, a murder mystery, a 'who-dunnit'. As such it is brilliant – nasty murders, a whole gallery of dubious suspects, a dogged investigator and his complex side-kick. Suspense is maintained, the story moves along at a cracking pace and contains plenty of drama. And there are two more volumes waiting to complete this trilogy. I was the only dissenter here, not my kind of book, but overall it was a winner. Judge for yourself.
Next month's meeting will be on the 9th July, when we shall be discussing 'The Vows of Silence' by Susan Hill.
6th August: 'Wolf Hall' by Hilary Mantel. Meeting to be confirmed: watch this space!