The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Mara Molner was recommended by a friend. I thought about suggesting it to my book club, but decided to read it first. I will definitely recommend it when it’s my turn. I have grown to love historic fiction. This is an easy read, and it’s the third book I’ve read this month.
This book is about half fiction and half history, going back and forth in time. It follows the life of Emsley, an art auctioneer and granddaughter to Violet, a Hollywood Celebrity (current day, fiction). Her grandmother leaves a box to her, which contains an old diary, in addition to some letters written in Dutch. As Emsley is reading the diary, written in English in the 1800s, she realizes this is the diary of Johanna Bonger, the sister-in-law to Vincent Van Gogh. We are transported back in time to her life (historic and true with some fiction interspersed for the story’s sake). I learned a lot about the Van Goghs that I didn’t already know, or had forgotten.
Tim and I visited the Van Gogh museum nearly 30 years ago when we were in Amsterdam. It was our first trip overseas as a married couple (not including our mission trip to Mexico, as that was not technically “over-seas.”) We were on a tight budget. We booked the cheapest flight and that’s how we landed in Amsterdam. We also booked an inexpensive hotel. We were so new to traveling at the time, we really had no clue how to go about finding the best locations.
Little did we know, we would have to walk through the red light district to get anywhere! I remember the smell of cannibus everywhere we went, being offered to buy it in the shops, and feeling a little unnerved by the women standing in the windows as we walked through the district (I had never seen glow-in-the-dark underwear before – wow).
I also remember the good things. The canals, the very old architecture, the trams, and the snowflakes. They were the biggest I had ever seen fall from the sky; I have never seen any to compare since that day. People continued to ride their bikes as a primary means of transportation, even in the snow, holding an umbrella with one hand and the handlebar with the other. It was surreal. We also took a day tour of the windmills and a shoe factory. Now that I think of it, our daughter was 3 or 4 years old at the time. I bought her a little Dutch outfit which she wore for the fall festival later that year. Good memories.
Vincent Van Gogh was Dutch, and his brother Theo believed in his brother’s talent, trying to sell his work. He only sold one painting while Vincent was alive, and that was to a family friend. You may remember from art history that Vincent was mentally ill, and eventually committed suicide. What I did not remember was that his brother Theo was so grief-stricken and filled with remorse that he, too, ended up in a home for the mentally ill. He died about six months after Vincent. That’s the sad part of the story.
Johanna, now a widow and mother to an infant, took on her husband’s baton. It was her way of keeping the memory of her husband alive in her heart. She was rejected many times, but did not give up. She finally decided to represent his work herself. She was the first female art agent, and was not taken seriously in the beginning. However, her persistence was largely responsible for making Vincent’s artwork famous. Johanna kept impeccable notes in a diary, which Emsley is reading. There is an actual diary, which has now been made public. However, the author published the book just a few months before they were made public, and had to get her research from numerous other sources, mostly out of print. Her recounting of Johanna seems to be spot on though, in my humble opinion. Regardless, The Secret Life of Sunflowers is a great story with a lot of uplifting quotes that encourages women to just “go for it.”
Emsley’s life also provided some levity to the book. I think it added immensely to imagine that her grandmother had in her possession the diaries of Vincent’s sister-in-law. Emsley’s friends (and Violet) made me laugh, and her pet chicken was a great addition to the story.
Read it. You won’t be disappointed.
Vincent Van Gogh painted a lot of sunflowers, which provided some insight into his life. His addition of color amidst all the gray in his other paintings (as well as life) brought moments of happiness for the artist. Apparently, sunflowers will grow wherever they are planted, regardless of soil type. He believed sunflowers were stretching toward the sun in gratitude. The is a reminder for us to do the same.
Also, if you believe someone is suffering from a mental illness, please reach out and help them. You may be the only sunflower in their life.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
I finished my June book early and started on my book for July (even though we will be traveling). I finished this novel fairly quickly as well. It’s a pretty easy read, and the author keeps your interest as you seek to know more. We were still on Lake Livingston, staying in our Airstream, when I read this book. Lake living sure is relaxing! It’s like a perpetual vacation.
These Tangled Vines, by Julianne Maclean, starts with what we would all love to hear – you just inherited some property in Italy! At least, I would! I’ve never been to Italy but if someone wanted to give me a vineyard, I don’t think I would turn it down.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The book is set in Tuscany and primarily follows three women: Fiona, Lillian, and Sloane. There are spoilers in this review, so if you plan to read the book, SCROLL past the sections with “Spoilers.” 😂😂
The setting was beautiful, as the author described it. I’ve seen pictures of Italy and I would love to go there one day. It seems like such a serene, calm, and peaceful environment. The food would be a bonus! The author did a good job of including enough descriptions to make me wish I was there.
KEEP ON SCROLLING…
Fiona Bell is a young woman in her 30s (young to me, anyway). Her perspective is the only one shared in first person, and she is a likable character. She is single with some relationship issues. Fiona was 18 when her mother died, and on her deathbed her mother revealed to Fiona that her father—who she has known these past 18 years as her father—is not her biological father. (What?? Can you imagine hearing that from your mother on her deathbed?)
Her biological father (Anton) owns a vineyard in Italy, but her mother makes her promise to keep this news a secret from her father, because it would devastate him. The father who raised her has been in a wheelchair her whole life due to a horrible accident in Italy. He had only bad memories of their trip. The dutiful daughter kept her promise for all these years. She didn’t want to hurt her father.
Fiona receives a phone call from a lawyer in Italy, who tells her that her biological father had passed away. He urges her to be there for the reading of the will as she is named as one of the heirs. She was too late to attend the funeral, but if she hurried she could make it in time for the reading of the will. After much contemplation, she lied to her father and his caregiver, got on the next flight to Italy, and began to face her past. Her mother’s past. Her father’s past. It was quite a tangled story, hence the title.
Fiona had always believed Anton to be a man who took advantage of her mother, a womanizer, or some other connotation of negative relationship, so she never sought to know him or attempt to have a relationship with him. She also didn’t want to hurt her disabled father by engaging in an attempt to know him. Little did she know she would be walking into a hornet’s nest with Anton’s two older children—who only just learned that they had a half-sibling—with all the implications of her “stealing” their inheritance as an illegitimate child, manipulations by her mother, and other serious accusations regarding her character and her intentions.
The second woman followed in the book is Lillian, Fiona’s mother. She and her husband went to Tuscany for a season, while her husband was writing his first novel. She took a job at a vineyard in Tuscany, and the reader is aware that this is the same vineyard which is owned by Fiona’s biological father Anton. The author jumps back and forth in history to share details of the relationship Lillian had with Anton. It was clearly an affair, which both of them seemed to genuinely try not to engage in. He was the perfect gentleman.
Anton’s wife was living in LA with their two children and had recently filed for divorce. They rarely saw each other in spite of his constant begging for her to bring the children. Lillian’s husband was off in Paris writing his novel and was not staying connected to her because, “It’s long distance.” Throughout their marriage, she had put all of her attention onto her husband and his writing career, yet he did not support her desires or needs. One can see how easy it was for her to fall into the arms of another man, regardless of looks or status. She offers some business advice to Anton on marketing the Americans; he is very supportive and complimentary of her ideas and there is a chemistry between them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NO SPOILERS HERE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aside, that’s how affairs usually get started. Another reminder to support and compliment your spouse. If you don’t, someone else probably is! Give him or her the love they need.
In all my years of being a marriage therapist, I don’t recall anyone who had an affair tell me they did it “on purpose.” (If they did, I would consider an even bigger issue than this.) Their typical response, “it just happened.” It started with a conversation, complimentary and support of ideas, a hand on the back, a lengthier conversation, brooding over the individual, and so on. It happened because they didn’t guard their heart. Their spouse didn’t guard their spouse’s heart either, and their spouse was not fulfilling a deep need in their life. I’m not excusing affairs, so please don’t email me and blast me about this. I am not in favor of affairs. And I am not in favor of divorce for the majority of marriages. God hates divorce. However, I do understand how affairs can happen when someone is living in an emotional desert. Perhaps because of my profession I am a bit more understanding of Lillian and her dilemma.
KEEP ON SCROLLING
Anyway, back to the story. Fiona learns through her research and conversations with various staffers that Lillian and Anton’s relationship went beyond a one-night stand or sexual offense. Anton did not take advantage of Lillian as she had previously thought. Their relationship grew over time, and they were very much in love. Lillian had not heard from her husband in weeks. She finally made plans to leave her husband and stay with Anton. But suddenly, her husband returns, was involved in an accident, and became a quadriplegic. I won’t tell you the details of the incident, so as not to spoil the entire story, but it is a juicy part of the story. After the accident, Lillian comes to her senses, says good-bye to Anton, goes back to America with her husband. She spends the rest of her life taking care of his needs. Recompense, perhaps?
The third woman is Sloane, Fiona’s half-sister. Fiona also has a half-brother, Conner. Neither of them stayed in touch with their father after the divorce, and they were both fairly spoiled and entitled individuals. I felt like Conner’s character was a bit one-dimensional as he remained the same throughout the book. Some people are not willing to forgive. Conner and Sloane (and their mother) never knew about Fiona until she arrived for the reading of the will, so they were justifiably angry. They believed she was there to manipulate and take over, and they thought she was there just for the money. She never came to Italy, after all. While Conner remains angry and maintains the bitterness toward Fiona and Lillian, Sloane begins to see the truth about her father, the vineyard at Tuscany, and the situation between Anton and Lillian for what it was. She also has a revelation about herself, her children, and her family. I liked seeing her transformation, which again reminds us that anyone can change, and anyone can forgive.
Even Fiona. After Fiona learns she has inherited the vineyard (yes, the whole kit and caboodle), she resolves the issues she had with her mother and learned to love her father (Anton). She then goes back home to deal with her stepdad. For her entire life, she had taken up the baton that her mother passed on to her. Just as her mother had given up on her own desires in life, Fiona sacrificed her life to care for her dad. He obviously needs care, but he has also used his disability (and other means prior to the accident) to prevent the women in his life from advancing their own selves. He was afraid of “losing” them, so he held them tight. So tight that Fiona was feeling smothered. She was bitter at him for losing an opportunity to connect to her biological father and wasn’t sure she could ever forgive him.
I felt like the book wrapped up everything pretty well, but the resolution between Fiona and her dad seemed a bit abrupt. Within one chapter she went from “I’m so mad at you” to “Okay, I forgive you.” It felt a bit quick after all the chapters that preceded that moment in time, like the author was tired of writing by that point.
Other than that—dealing with her stepdad issue—I really liked the book. I liked the way it ended, and I liked the overall messages one can draw from it. Lillian’s affair could have been avoided, and this is something all couples should consider, but she would never go back and change it as she has a daughter she loves. While she could have justified leaving her husband, she made the choice of commitment to her wedding vows. It’s way too easy for couples to give it up when things get tough, so I appreciated her decision no matter how difficult.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~YOU HAVE REACHED THE NO SPOILERS ZONE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lessons for couples? Love your spouse. Love is an action word, so show them love in the things you do, say, and time you spend together. Hold your spouse tight but don’t squeeze the breath out of them. Encourage one another to have independence and reach their individual goals, all the while balancing it out focusing on the relationship. Most importantly (not necessarily in the book), developing a relationship with God as a couple will draw the couple closer to each other, and increase their love for each other.
I’m so glad I have a husband who has stuck with me through thick and thin. I’ve heard firsthand stories of men leaving their wives when they are diagnosed with breast cancer. But Tim has been with me, caring for me, and picking up the slack when I have been unable to follow through. He’s a champion!
We haven’t had our book club meeting yet. I would love to be there for the discussion, but I won’t be able to attend this one because we will be traveling. If I remember, I will edit this to include my book club’s review. I would rate it 8.5.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt picked by one of our book club members was a welcome read after a run of several serious books. It was a delight, and I finished the 368-page novel in no time. The cover is beautiful as well. We were staying on a lake in our Airstream while I was reading most of this book.
I read the author’s comments in the back, and she noted that her publisher wasn’t sure how it would go, since she was writing an octopus as the narrator of the story. Marcellus is a giant Pacific octopus, weighing about 60 pounds. He was rescued by an aquarium in the Pacific northwest, where Tova works as a janitor. He starts each of his chapters with Day #### of my captivity. He longs to be back in the open sea, and I grew fond of him throughout the book.
Both Marcellus and Tova are wonderfully written characters. I don’t know why the publisher was concerned, as I found Marcellus to be engaging and very entertaining, which made me want to know more about this amazing creature. If you’ve never watched any videos or documentaries about octopuses, I highly recommend you do so. They truly are very amazing. One might think the author was making up his abilities to escape from his tank through such a small hole, unlock treasure chests, memorize names and fingerprints on the tank, and even learn to read. I found it believable after a video popped up in my Facebook feed right before I started reading the book (insert spooky, eerie music). He would escape at night when Tova was cleaning, dig through the trash and eat contraband food that had been left behind.
Tova saved Marcellus the first time she found him out of his tank (he was tangled in some cords underneath a table), and that was the start of a long friendship. Apparently, their suckers put quite a mark on your arm if they attach their tentacles to your skin, but she suffered through it, lied about the marks, and managed to keep his secret so she could connect with him on a deeper level. Tova’s son had drowned when he was 18, and there was much suspicion that he had committed suicide (although Tova never believed it). Her husband died a couple of years ago as well. She had a lot of grief going on. As Tova and Marcellus become close “friends,” Marcellus sets on a quest to solve her son’s mystery for her. He leaves her clues from objects he has found around the aquarium on his many escapades. This is likely his final deed, since octopuses don’t live long and he was counting down the days. I was cheering him on, and her as well.
Then there is Cameron. I didn’t like him at first, and I wondered why the author would introduce him at all. He didn’t seem to “fit” with the rest of the story. He was a young adult in his early 30s, unable to keep a job or relationship with any stability. When Tova hurt her foot and had to stop working for a period, he helped out at the aquarium. He lived in a camper as he had no money for rent. I assured my book club friends that his camper was nothing like ours. His was old and had a smelly mattress, something he didn’t mind but made me think ew, gross. He became integral to the story as Marcellus brought him and Tova together. They both needed someone, and somehow Marcellus managed to make it happen. Learning his true identity at the end of the story was alluded to throughout the book, but it was satisfying to watch it play out. His is a success story, as he proves himself to be a hard worker and loyal to his employer.
I think we can learn a lesson from Cameron’s character. Just because someone appears to not have it all together when we meet them doesn’t mean they will be that way forever. They just need someone to believe in them. Someone to give them a hand up, not just a handout. Tim and I are starting a new book together about evangelism using house keys. It is a bit hard in the Airstream, but we will be looking for ways to use our new home and hospitality to connect with people. Perhaps we can do it on the road as well.
I liked the way the author packaged everything up at the end. There were other characters too, of course, and even their stories were wrapped up with a neat little bow. I may not remember all of them or their exact names, but there was Terry the aquarium director; Evan, the Scottish shop owner who was sweet on Tova; the “Knitwits,” Tova’s knitting group who tried to care for her with endless casseroles; and Cameron’s aunt and mother. The twist for me was at the very end, which I probably shouldn’t tell you (spoiler alert!). I thought from the very beginning that the title referred to the octopus. But Marcellus in all of his wisdom looks at Tova and calls her a remarkably bright creature. Sometimes we may forget that we are, indeed, remarkable. We are created to be bright and clever and creative.
My book club loved this book as well. We met on the second Wednesday in June to discuss this one. Here’s the summary from our leader, Carol.
Eleven of us gathered at Canopy this afternoon to discuss Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. This is her first novel and we all loved it. It was delightful. I started out the meeting by asking everyone “What kind of person do you think Marcellus would be if he was human?”. Some of us thought that he’d be skinny or fat, he would be inquisitive; good listener; Yoda [that was not mine lol]; Sleuthing; bald; nerdy with big dark rimmed glasses; a collector; therapist; a professor especially science teacher but we all thought he was an incredible character in the book. We are in awe of how smart octopuses are!!! We thought the book was well written, the author pulled all the strings together at the end and we were not disappointed at all with the ending. We encouraged everyone to watch the academy award nominee documentary movie called My Octopus Teacher that is on Netflix.
We rated the book 8.6.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Our book for May was The Last Restaurant in Paris, by Lily Graham. Apparently I didn’t take a picture of this book, which is unusual for me 🥴, but you can click on the link above if you want to see the cover. I was intrigued because it was set in Paris, and I have been learning French on Duolingo for about four years now. It was set during the time of the occupation by Germany, in a little town where a woman owned a restaurant.
I was unable to make it to the meeting as we were in Bandera Texas in our Airstream at the time. I did take a picture of that. Several in fact. 😂😂
Thousand Trails, Medina Lake
Here are my thoughts about the book, which I emailed to the group.
I finished the book, and I really enjoyed the read. Admittedly, I had difficulty getting into it at the very beginning, and when I read later that the author changed the order so she started with Gilbert instead of Sabine I wondered if I would have liked it better had she stuck with her original plan. But once I got into it I had a hard time putting the book down.
I kept hoping Marianne had somehow escaped, and was not executed. However, after reading the why behind the murders it made sense that she turned herself in. She likely felt like she deserved to die after what happened to Henri. I felt her pain when she was not able to vindicate herself by telling Otto Bush why she was killing him, but that also made sense. Again, after reading the author’s notes it made sense due to the way every day people in her shoes dealt with their actions. She was not trained to kill.
I agree with Pat that the third part seemed like a repeat of part one, although it was from a different perspective. I still felt like there was a lot of repeat, but more was revealed in the third part and there was an understanding that was missing when Gilbert was sharing his story.
I enjoyed reading part 2 the most. I appreciated the story of Elodie and Jacques. Again, there was a lot of sadness in the development of her character, but it set the stage for her purpose behind the murders. It was not a surprise to me that she was a spy. I thought it was odd that no one else in the book thought that, as they all thought she was crazy or something. I wanted to yell at them and say, “There could be another reason!” She was doing this not only to vindicate her husband but also to save her country. Another reminder to be slow to question someone’s actions, as they may have a lot more going on behind the scenes than we give them credit for.
There was a question about this in the notes – would you be willing/able to sacrifice something personal for the sake of the greater good? I honestly don’t know how to answer that. Until I am faced with that decision it would be hard to say yes, but I imagine when one is in that position it gives them pause. I would have difficulty killing anyone, so I’m not sure I could carry out that kind of mission. I would also have difficulty sacrificing someone I love. I don’t think I could do that.
It was a little dark due to the war setting and complicated protagonist, but a great story and well written. I rate it a 9.
The group talked about it in my absence, and here was their summary.
Seven us gathered this afternoon to discuss The Last Restaurant in Paris by Lily Graham. All of us enjoyed the book and thought it was well written. Of course it is a heartbreaking story and Sabine and Gilbert investigating the past and finding the truth kept us hooked by the book. We thought the ending tied everything up neatly in “a little bow”. As you can read below, Cindy and Pat that there was a lot of repeating of part one but several of us liked this and getting a different perspective we felt important to the novel. We admired how Elodie/Marianne survived such tragedy, her mother dying in front of her; her terrible father and stepmother; her miscarriages; her Jaques getting killed by Otto Busch and then patiently getting her revenge but at the sacrifice of poor Gilbert’s brother, Henri. We all loved her grandmother and the sister at the abbey. Sabine and Gilbert finally getting the truth and realizing that, of course, Marianne is not a murderer or traitor as the townspeople accused her of. In our discussion, we realized that this novel is based on true events and there really was a Otto Busch, who was a naval officer.
I love the cover, as the emotion is so evident in the lives of these children. I envision Rill on the left, who felt totally responsible for taking care of her siblings.
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate was selected for our April book club. This one was much better than the last one, but it was still a difficult and sad story to read. The story is based on a real place called the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, whose owner Georgia Tann tricked families into giving their children up for adoption (and even stole babies who were born) so she could traffic them and make money. She made a lot of pretenses about helping the children and taking good care of them, and wealthy celebrities supported her endeavors, but the book reveals the truth about the woman and her place through the eyes of some (fictitious) children who lived through it.
The shanty boat families were intriguing. Families who could not afford proper housing lived on a house boat on the Mississippi River. They kept to themselves, to avoid problems with the law. The main family that was followed in this story loved living on the river, and the children didn’t have any inclination that they were disadvantaged. They fished for food, and rowed into town for other necessities. When their mother was in the hospital giving birth to twins, Rill and her four siblings were taken away and placed in the Tennessee Children’s Home Society; their one piece of comfort was dreaming of the day they would go get to go back to the shanty boat and live with their parents. While this family is fictitious, there are pictures of shanty boat families in the book that I would imagine this family to resemble.
The story doesn’t begin there. It’s another novel that goes back and forth in time (we seem to be reading a lot of those lately). In the present day, Avery Stafford is with her Senator father attending a lady’s 100th birthday celebration at the nursing home where her high society grandmother now lives. A new resident at the home named May Crandall comes up to her and grabs her by the arm, and calls her “Fern.” Although a bit startled, she is intrigued. This event leads her down a path to solve a mystery, especially when she follows May to her room and sees a picture of May and her own grandmother on a table in May’s room. The book really takes off toward the second half, as Avery is learning about her grandmother’s hidden past, while learning about her own heritage in the process.
I shared a personal foster story with my book club, based on one of the questions in the book. There were a set of boys at the orphanage, who reminded me of my foster brother Jerry Meyers. He lived with us for two years from the time starting when he was 11, the same age as my brother Shawn. I was 7. If you were friends of my family back in the late 60s early 70s, you may remember Jerry. The boys in the book’s orphanage were incorrigible, as was Jerry, and older boys were rarely adopted. They felt unloved, and therefore acted unloving toward others. Jerry had been tossed back and forth from one foster home to another so he never learned how to love or trust his family. My mother made it her mission to love Jerry with the unconditional love of Jesus, and he had a radical transformation under her care. After two years his father (who had basically disowned him) decided to take him back. Why not, he was much better now. We saw him once more when he turned 18 and sought out my mother, but then we completely lost touch with him after that. I often wonder what happened to Jerry.
Anyway, the book was very good. It touched on a lot of emotions. It was a hard story to read, but an important piece of history. We discussed human trafficking, and how it still happens today. It’s just harder to put a name or face to the perpetrators in our day. Somehow Georgia Tann got away with this for three decades, but she died from cancer before the investigation could result in a conviction. I wonder how many others are getting away with this today because people are desperate to adopt a child, and they put their faith in an entity that they know little about. Definitely food for thought.
On a lighter note, it has been two years since they started the book club at the Canopy, and thus it was time for a celebration. the Canopy provides a variety of support services to cancer survivors (and warriors), all for free. They also sponsor my Spanish class. Click the link if you or a friend want to know more about how to get involved in the Canopy.
Here is our fearless leader’s synopsis of our time together.
Eight of us gathered to celebrate our second anniversary of the Canopy Book Club. We all liked the book and thought it was an easy read and some of us would read it again!!!! Especially since the names of the children had changed at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society by the terrible Georgia Tann. We all couldn’t believe that a Memphis woman could cause so much pain, death and child trafficking and people went along with it for decades. We discussed how Rill/May and her siblings were so poor on the Arcadia but were so loved by Queenie and Briny and they never forgot it. We discussed how the sisters kept their history to themselves rather than sharing it with their families.
One woman shared a family secret that she found out through researching her genealogy but kept it to herself. We talked about adoption and another member shared the journey of both her children who have adopted children and how different the birth mother’s stories were. This was such a sad and heartbreaking story but we all thought it needed to be told.
We rated the book 8.4.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Our book for March was Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn. I almost didn’t leave a book review, because it comes with mixed reviews. I recommended it to my book club based on a friend’s very high recommendation. Also, it’s a best seller! I didn’t think we could go wrong.
I understand why my friend liked it. The setting of first century Rome was intriguing, the author did a good job of maintaining historic accuracy including some real historic people, and it follows some strong women throughout the book. I learned a lot about the role of Domitian (the last of the really bad Emperors, and that dude was ba-a-a-a-d) as well as gladiators, the games, and how women matriculated their way through society. I didn’t realize gladiators were like our modern day athletes, and while they were technically slaves, they were revered by the community because of their position in the games. Similar to our celebrities, women would fall at their feet. Tim also filled in some information about this time period in Rome that helped me appreciate the history.
However, my book club hated it. 🥴🙄 Some of them didn’t even finish it! 😭😭 I knew they were going to be careful about revealing their honest thoughts as no one wants to hurt the feelings of the person who recommended the book. So, I started the meeting off with, “First of all, I want to apologize. I thought this would be a good book but it wasn’t.” I could see a wave of relief spread across the room, and we were all able to laugh after that 😂😂. We had previously read another novel by Kate Quinn (The Rose Code), and it was absolutely wonderful! So, we were all disappointed to say the least.
The story follows two women primarily, Thea, a slave girl from Judaea, who was purchased as somewhat of a “pet” for Lepida Pollia, who is a spoiled socialite and daughter of the creator of the games. They attend the games on a regular basis, and Thea has to answer all of Lepida’s whims. One thinks they might mature and become friends, but that is not in the cards. Thea falls in love with a gladiator who becomes the best and most well known. He continues to win because of his obsession with killing. Lepida is jealous, because she wants him for herself, so she sells Thea to a brothel and tears them apart.
There were a lot of graphic descriptions about the games, how (specifically) gladiators would kill, with all the blood and gore, and I think this is primarily what turned off our readers. The crowds would cheer with each death, more loudly when more gruesome, and there did not seem to be any remorse to the killings. I was aware of Christians being thrown out to the lions, which was also discussed in the book. I felt like I had a front row seat to what the early Christians endured, and a glimpse into the suffering Christians experience in other parts of our world even today. While hard to read, I was glad to experience a greater understanding of their hardship.
It was a very depraved society in so many ways. In addition to the blood and gore, women in first century Rome were basically sex objects, so they used their bodies as a means to advance themselves in society. There were descriptions of some of the sexual exploits, orgies, prostitution, and other conniving actions of women, especially those of Lepida. Again, the author was true to historic first century Rome, but it just wasn’t a “feel-good” book.
One member said she finally ran into a character (Lepida) she actually hates. I felt the same way. Lepida was so conniving and had only one mission in mind, to become the Emperor’s mistress. She would stop at nothing to fulfill that mission. I didn’t care for this book overall. I found it hard to pick it up after the first page which finds Thea self-mutilating into a blue bowl, but I did finish it. This just goes to show that not every book is for every person. Authors of all types are needed. Some people love this book–it is a best-seller–while others are put-off by it.
We had some fun discussing the book and laughed about our feelings, but everyone agreed they would not read any more books in this series. This is now the second book I have recommended that my book club didn’t care for. I have decided to buy a book and read it first before I make my recommendation next time. 😂😂 Here are the notes from our book club meeting.
Eight of us gathered this afternoon to discuss Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn. We all giggled about this book because we were so disappointed in this Kate Quinn novel especially after reading The Rose Code in January of 2022. Lisa couldn’t finish it which she always finishes a book. We all agreed that it was a struggle to get through and found the book a lot like the movie “Gladiator”. We thought it gory, abusive even though it was during the Gladiator times. We did appreciate that some of the characters were real and her research in this book. We rated the book a 4.5.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
For our February book club, we read Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah. We know the books we will read three months in advance, so I’ve had it for a while. The cover was not appealing to me. I’m not sure why; it just wasn’t. Well, this is one instance where there is truth to the saying, “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” This is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it. Here’s my review.
Trevor Noah is an excellent writer. He was first a stand-up comedian, and he shares stories from his childhood in many of his gigs. I watched a few of his shows, and I do not believe he used a ghost writer because he is very articulate. He’s an intelligent young man. He speaks multiple languages. He isn’t the kind of comedian like Jim Gaffigan or Jerry Seinfeld, where you laugh at punch lines which hit you every thirty seconds. He is more of a story teller, with humor intertwined with some rich history from his childhood as well as apartheid. It’s informative, educational as well as laughable.
The first page you read will tell you he was born a crime because it was illegal for blacks and whites to have sex during apartheid. They literally would be sent to prison for having relationships. His mother was a bit of a rebel, and she didn’t play by all the rules. She was black and his father was white, so Trevor is “colored.” I was interested in reading on, as I wanted to learn more about apartheid, the diversity that is evident throughout the book, and how he matriculated these years. Born a Crime is filled with information about what it was like living during apartheid, and a life of “freedom” after Nelson Mandela was released (which had its own complications).
The stories he tells about having to hide from the public, being on the outside of every racial group, having childhood sweethearts and losing love because of the color of his skin, never having any friends, were heart wrenching. Yet, he had a way of telling the stories that made you laugh. He managed to find humor in every challenging life situation, and didn’t let his circumstances push him down. This spirit came from his mom.
Trevor’s mother sounds like quite a lady. I already said she was a rebel, and she fought the traditional expectations of a black woman in South Africa. She had a way of (literally) beating sense into her son, talking to him in a way that made him listen, and developing him into the man he has become. Her advice was crude and sometimes made my eyebrows raise, but it spoke to Trevor and stuck with him as life lessons. Her commitment to Jesus was unmatchable. She would drag him to church or Bible studies several times a week; her faith in Christ saved her life. I wonder what my group members will think of this, as they often don’t like books that have a strong biblical base.
Trevor’s mom became independent and took care of finances, raising her son as a single mother. But she did make some poor life choices which deeply impacted Trevor, like marrying Abel who was a violent alcoholic. Her financial independence was put in jeopardy as he kept drinking away their earnings. This made me so mad. “Just leave him!” we would say.
Yet, I also understand the mentality of abused women. The learned helplessness. Domestic violence is so hard to comprehend even with my mental health background. The belief it is better to stay, because he will kill you if you do leave, and after hearing how things were handled by the “good ol’ boys” police in South Africa, it’s no wonder she had difficulty leaving. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and take her away from him. But she wouldn’t have wanted that. She’s an independent woman.
I didn’t care for the language. There were lots of “F” bombs and “sh*t” as well as other curse words, even though they were committed to a Christian way of life. After living in Australia, I realize cursing is viewed differently in other countries. So, I gave him a pass on this. However, I was also able to understand some of his terminology because of living down under (e.g. “tuck shop” and “jumper”). His friends needed a bit more character development, I thought. He knows them well, and he can tell stories about them, but it was difficult keeping up with who was who at times. I enjoyed reading about “The Cheese Boys,” and wondered if this is where the term “Big Cheese” in reference to our bosses came from.
I loved the stories, but I had a little trouble keeping track of where he was in the course of his life. His writing style is a bit like a stand-up comedy act. Story after story without a lot of chronological organization. If he at least started each new story with “when I was nine,” or something similar, I might not have had so much trouble keeping up. Regardless, the stories were captivating, and the introduction to each chapter with a bit of historical reference was intriguing as well. I read the book and also read some of the stories to my husband, and he said he wants to read the whole book. They were that good. Some stories are more serious. Others were hilarious (the poop in the kitchen was by far the funniest of all stories). Some were a mixture of both, helping me to also better understand how some folks simply don’t know who Hitler was, and what all he did. That kind of blew my mind, but it did make sense to me culturally.
It was a great book about coming of age, culture, diversity, South Africa and apartheid. I learned a bit of history I never really studied before. I would rate the book an 8.5.
We’re meeting in two weeks to discuss it. After we meet, I’ll include what my book club had to say about Born a Crime…
Updated February 13th. Here’s what my book club had to say about this book.
Ten of us gathered to discuss our February book, Born A Crime by Trevor Noah. We had two new members show up, so a BIG welcome to them. This book surprised a lot of us with a young comedian writing a book about growing up in South Africa, and boy were we surprised how well written and also learned a lot. We didn’t realize it was a crime to become pregnant by a white man in South Africa. We didn’t realize the atrocities of living with Apartheid……no electricity, no water, different neighborhoods that were cut off from each other. Trevor describes it was worse than the Holocaust. Despite all these terrible things, we laughed a lot. His friend called “Hitler”; his experience in jail and starting to like it since it was 3 meals a day and a bed; his beautiful date who turns out doesn’t know his language, the struggles of being “colored” and not knowing where to fit in, etc. We all thought his mother Patricia was a force and admired her strength and teaching Trevor how to speak in different tribal languages and how he used this to his benefit of survival. We were in awe how she survived getting shot it the head by her abusive husband and surviving that. Our conversation covered so many topics that Trevor pointed out in this novel. Several people didn’t like how he jumped around a lot and didn’t flow in chronological order. We rated the book 8.4.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
I just realized I never posted this book review, so I’ll back-date it. Tim and I were on our way to watch the Wheel of Fortune taping, so I was unable to make it to the book club meeting in January. There should be a post about that bucket list item somewhere in my blog list 🤩.
This picture was taken on chemo day. I often take books to read and an engaging discussion with my nurse ensues. Often they write down the titles, or give me suggestions from their book clubs.
We read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, an intriguing book about the concept of “parallel universes.” I recall a Seinfeld episode about this concept! The book explores many of the potential branches in the life of Nora. She is transported into that life, to live as though she had made a different decision. It provides great insight into how one’s life of regrets, decisions, and relationships, may not have turned out any better than the actual life he or she has lived.
I sent my review via the following email, as we flew out the day of the meeting.
“We are standing in line waiting for our plane to board. I hope y’all are having a good meeting! I wish I could be there for this discussion. I’m curious what others think.
I still have 50 pages left, and I’ll probably finish it on the plane [I did]. Nora just entered her “perfect life” with Ash and daughter Molly. It is a rather captivating book, so it wasn’t for lack of desire; I’ve just been busy this month.
Interesting concept of parallel universes. Certainly makes you think about those Deja vu moments in life. Also made me think about some past regrets. Choices I might have liked to change, but after seeing Nora’s life experiences with overcoming those regrets and the ensuing consequences, it makes me glad to have this life and just live with my choices. Her alternate lives did have some valuable lessons. Maybe we can learn from that as well. I’d rather remember a life that isn’t perfect than to have no memory of it at all.
Lastly, I loved the Thoreau references. Makes me want to read some more of his work.
Anyway, just a few thoughts before I get on the plane. I would rate it an 8.0.
I did finish the book, and I liked the way it ended.
Here’s what the group said.
Good Afternoon Ladies!!!! Eight of us gathered to discuss The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Our discussion varied immensely about “regrets” and different outcomes that your life can take or could have taken. Some of us had a hard time getting into the book with the countdown of Nora’s death in the first nine chapters. But once Nora goes to her different realities or “lives” the book gets very interesting. We described the book as self discovery and discussed the good and bad of her different realities. Each of us thought about how important it is to live and let go. We loved the reality of her with a family but Nora realized that she didn’t earn that life and decided she wanted to live and earn her own life. We rated the book an 8.3.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about a parallel universe, or if you have read this books what are your thoughts? Please comment below. It will prompt you to input your email address, but I promise I will never sell it. This is just to ensure you are a real person and not a robot.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
A couple of months ago I posted about The Walk, a novel I read for my book club by Richard Paul Evans. Tim and I read the book together on a trip pulling the Airstream. I would read and he would drive. Fortunately I don’t get car sick when reading.
After losing his wife, home, cars, and business, the protagonist (Alan) was planning to walk from Seattle Washington to Key West Florida, because it was the farthest he could walk on the map, and it was better than killing himself. He only made it as far as Spokane in the first book, so we decided to purchase the rest of the series and see what his journey was like on the rest of the walk. (We knew he would make it to Key West; we just didn’t know the story along the way.)
I’ve already posted a review of book one in the series, so this review is more focused on the remaining four books and the overall series. Each book could almost be read as a standalone as he does recap in each book (if you don’t mind ending on a cliffhanger). However, one cannot fully appreciate the entire series without reading them all.
We finished the series on a few other trips in the car, truck, and lying in bed when we didn’t feel like watching television. It was a good thing to do together, as we could read aloud and walk the journey as a couple, groan at the less than realistic parts, drool over Alan’s brand new camping gear, commiserate when he made stupid choices, reminisce about the places he described where we had already been, and contemplate visiting some of the places he mentioned in the book where we have never been. It’s a great way to pass the time, while spending quality time together.
There are some spoilers here, so if you plan to read the books, don’t read any further 🤪🥴. I thought I’d give you a quick review in case you were wondering how the series ends. Some critiques will be shared as well as things we really liked.
The author’s writing style is easy to read. Chapters are short and manageable. He does a good job of painting a picture of the activity in the book, sometimes in painful detail, but it helps you to “see” what Alan is experiencing in the moment. Also, he has many, many interesting lines that make you stop and reflect. I also liked that he drew a map at the beginning of each book, to show the reader his route and point out interesting places along the way.
Book OneBook TwoBook ThreeBook FourBook Five
The last book was another easy read on our quick trip to Florida between Christmas and New Years to see our friends. We finished the series together on the road and we met our goal of completing the series before the year ended. The stories found throughout the series were heartwarming, while not always realistic. For example, a young mom named Analise with two children invited him (a stranger) to come over for dinner, intimating that her husband would be joining them shortly. When it later became evident that she didn’t have a husband, we felt it was much too bold for her to have done that, for her own safety as well as the safety of her children. Either she was very naïve, desperate, or they are much more trusting of strangers in the small rural town he was walking through.
Overall it was an entertaining series with cliffhangers at the end of each book, nudging us to keep reading. However, we felt it could have all been put into one long novel, or two at most, with fewer lengthy monologues and details about which road he took and what kind of mundane food he ate. (We tired of reading about Cliff bars and Pop-Tarts.)
Unrealistically, there were way too many stories that had a religious twist, when in the real world not everyone you meet is into God or part of some freaky cult group. The retired pastor and his wife who bought the bed and breakfast where he had previously stayed seemed like an odd choice of characters. I truly wish people were more open about their faith as they are in the books, but it seemed forced throughout the series. Also, several references seemed anachronistic for a man in his 30s. A reference to Zsa Zsa Gabor changing husbands 🙄? We understood because of our age, but young adults might wonder who in the world Alan is talking about. Ms. Gabor died a year after his last book was published at the age of 99.
Some stories were very strange, like the cult leader in book four who preyed on his hunger, swayed him to come to the compound to eat, and locked him in the building from which he had to escape. They believed aliens were our god and all the cult members followed one leader. Alan tried saving a woman who was being “punished” by the cult by helping her escape, but she went back to the cult in the middle of the night. He regretted leaving her side, as he thought she truly wanted out. That whole story seemed to come out of left-field, and we wondered if the author was just looking for a filler to entertain. I suppose one could find a hidden message, e.g. the wiles of Satan and how he tempts us when we are weak, but the whole thing was very bizarre. Alan was looking over his shoulder for a while after that encounter, and we had a bad feeling as well.
I read the author’s background and he comes from the LDS (Mormon) tradition, so we wondered if he was sending some type of message about the church at times. Perhaps he was subtly warning people not to get involved with a group that has been labeled as a cult by mainstream Christianity. Nowhere could we find whether he is still active in the LDS church, but we know it is a hard one to leave. He does live in Utah with his family, so he is likely still a member. The religious theme of the series seemed closer to a dismissal of religions, and Alan himself didn’t seem to have a strong religious belief. Yet religion and talk about God was found throughout the series. It seemed out of character, while tugging at the main character. It was difficult to get a sense of who the character Alan really is as it pertains to his own personal faith.
There were a lot more stories than actual walking throughout the series, which made the journey interesting and provided lots of fodder. But there was also enough walk (3,000+ miles) to enjoy the scenery. Alan was met with people and circumstances delaying his walk several times; for example, being mugged, recovering from serious injuries, having a brain tumor (benign), surgery, more recovery, and caring for his dying father. Alan’s walk was delayed by almost 200 pages at the start of book four while staying in Pasadena with his father; however, the lessons he learned while caring for his dad are noteworthy. He grew to appreciate his father more than ever before. He never knew the sacrifices his father had made on his behalf. His dad had written a family history, which gave Alan insight into his grandparents, parents, and his own life growing up as a child. It made me want to write such a history for my own children.
One long part of his journey confronted Alan’s need to extend grace and forgiveness to other individuals. There are some great quotes in the third book which primarily deals with this concept. For example, “we chain ourselves to what we do not forgive.”
Alan’s business partner had stolen his company, which lead him down one path of bitterness. The Holocaust survivor Leszek, who found him passed out on the side of the road, was instrumental in helping him see the value of forgiveness. Alan wrote, “Leszek has taken me into his home to care for me. Would I have done the same for him? I’m ashamed to answer.” We thought it a bit unrealistic that he would run into a Polish, Jewish man in South Dakota, but we tended to overlook these kinds of conflicting details and just read the message. After that encounter (and a lot of introspection) Alan penned Leszek’s words, “It is not the ability to walk that pleases God, it is the desire to walk. The desire to do the right thing. The truest measure of a man is seen in the actions that follow.”
Also, McKale’s mother Pamela searched and found Alan. She showed up in book three. He dismissed her, but she followed (stalked) him for a lengthy part of his journey. Early in the series we learned that McKale and Alan were childhood friends and sweethearts. She was the girl next door — literally. Her mother had left her with an abusive father when she was young, and Alan never understood why. He held a disdain for her mother that is evident in the following book quote: “There are people such as Benedict Arnold or Adolf Hitler, whose names become synonymous with evil and more adjective than proper noun. For me, ‘Pamela’ is such a name.”
Pamela could not keep up with him. She didn’t have a backpack or proper footwear, was not drinking water or eating, but she was persistent in finding ways to locate him on his journey. Multiple times she had a driver drop her off on the road beside Alan. He kept walking. She became quite ill from trying, and finally passed out on the street where Alan had a decision to make: Go back and help her, or keep on going. Fortunately for her he did the right thing, the most unselfish thing to date. There was an interesting plot twist when he finally decided to hear what she wanted to say. And yes, he did choose to forgive her. He wrote, “To forgive is to unlock the cage of another’s folly to set ourselves free.”
“As we walk our individual life journeys, we pick up resentments and hurts, which attach themselves to our souls like burrs clinging to a hiker’s socks. These stowaways may seem insignificant at first, but, over time, if we do not occasionally stop and shake them free, the accumulation becomes a burden to our souls.”
Book 3, Chapter 9
Alan had a few potential love interests along the way, none of them sexual, which was a bit unrealistic in our view (the closest he came to having sex was with a young single mom Analise who shared his bed and invited him to make love to her, but he rejected her offer because he couldn’t imagine giving himself in that way to anyone but his wife McKale). While he remained pure in his commitment to his deceased wife, he shared hotel rooms, homes, beds, and even his tent and sleeping bag with various women. Perhaps the author’s attempt to keep it PG played into this decision. As a Christian I appreciated the purity, but it seemed unrealistic for a man in his 30s.
“People aren’t wired to be alone. Even in the stressful population of prison, solitary confinement is still considered a cruel punishment. “
Book 2, Chapter 13
Alan finally started moving past McKale’s death as he discovered the second love of his life. Until the very end, the reader was left wondering who it would be? The young mom, or the other two more prominent characters Nicole or Falene? It wasn’t Analise. She was only present in the one story, never to show up again.
One possible love option was Nicole. He knew her as “Angel” at first. He fixed her flat tire on the highway, and then she nursed him back to health after his mugging in Spokane. They lived together for several months while he was recovering (in another purely platonic relationship). Interestingly, while he was recovering at her place in the first half of book 2, he says, “My father came. No matter what he said, his search for me spoke louder.” She helped him deal with his feelings toward his father, and he helped her get through her depression by watching her bucket list of movies together and sharing life together. There was a lot of healing that took place physically, emotionally, and relationally, one of life’s many lessons.
In English we have one word for love. I wish we had different words like we see in other languages, as it would make our communication about this emotion much clearer. Alan was very grateful for Nicole’s compassion. He loved her, and her love for him grew stronger each day. But he loved her more like a sister. When they eventually kissed in the final book, after she had pursued him the entire series, she realized at that moment she wasn’t in love with him but loved him in the same way he loved her. She loved him like a brother. Alan and Nicole remained good friends throughout the series, and they stay connected. Admittedly, the love triangle was resolved a little less messy than I’ve read in other novels. (She ended up with the doctor who was treating his father.)
So that leaves Falene. She was introduced in the first book. She was his assistant at the advertising agency which he owned. When he lost his business and took off walking, she was the only one who stood by his side. She helped him by organizing his stuff, helping him fund his walk through the sale of his things. It took him five books and a trip across the country to realize she was the one for him. He wanted to reach out to her but she had moved to New York and changed her contact details so he could not find her. He hired a private investigator and found her phone number, but he didn’t call her right away. He finally called her after his father died. He asked her to come to the funeral where she told him she was engaged to be married.
From the time she met him she was in love, but he was married to McKale so she had never pursued it. Even after McKale died, she didn’t think she was good enough for him, even though she was a beautiful model. She had several abusive ex-boyfriends, and believed she would always be the “girl behind the bleachers,” never good enough for someone as kind and loving as Alan. She agreed to help him on his walk so she could stay connected. Eventually she broke off her engagement because she had always been in love with Alan.
Alan and Falene finally got together when he was sitting on the sandy beach at Key West and he heard her voice come up behind him. I wasn’t surprised for her to be there honestly, but my reaction caught me off guard. There was a continual question of “will she/won’t she” so it could have possibly gone either way. I admit I was a bit teary when they finally got together 🥲🥲. I thought she would be the one, because he alluded to this in the beginning of the series when he said he never thought he would be married to a model, but the journey to get there was heartwarming.
At the end of his journey, Alan took an inventory of all the people who had helped him on the walk and influenced his life in some fashion. He was grateful for everyone he met, and each circumstance, even the challenging ones. Also, Alan helped several people along the way, like Kailamai, the Samoan runaway teenager who was just about to be raped by a gang (again, a bit unrealistic, but not entirely implausible). He pulled out his gun gifted to him by his dad after the mugging, and saved her life. The two of them walked together for several days, weeks even. He connected her to Nicole, who had by now inherited an apartment complex and a house. Nicole became a mentor to the young girl who became a successful student in college.
He wrote about Kailamai in book 2. “It’s difficult to believe that someone with so many trials could harbor such hope, as there are those with so much advantage who harbor such hopelessness.” She embodies a teen one would like to help. She loved stupid dad jokes, had a positive attitude, and her character made me laugh as I’m also a bit weird.
Kailamai comes back in the end and meets Alan in Key West with Nicole. The two of them were there to welcome when he finished his walk. In the restaurant they read a sign that made me laugh, and then go hmmmmm, “I dream of a day when a chicken can cross the road without having its motives questioned.” So many people questioned Alan’s motives. How often do we question another’s journey in life, and the choices they make? Take a step, and don’t worry about what others think. It’s your walk!
One thing I liked about the series was the spirit of adventure, and reading about different parts of the country where we have personally been. The author got most of it right, as he did take a road trip with his daughter to research the road his character Alan would travel. A few times my husband and I looked at each other and said, “nah…there’s no way he did that in one day.” Some of the stories were adapted from the author’s interviews with a holocaust survivor, hitchhiker, and others who he met on that road trip, which did make it feel more authentic at times.
I was also inspired by the analogy to our own “walk.” Everyone travels a journey in life. Everyone. Everything and everyone we encounter shape who we are. The good, the bad, the pretty, the ugly. Even the health scares. I know I am a better person because of the ladies in my book club as well as others I have met along the way.
Sorry this is so long, but it is a five book series, so you can cut me some slack 😂🤣😂. I hope you enjoyed reading my review of The Walk series. Let me know what you think in the comments below! We would probably rate the series about an 8.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
We ordered all these books while we were on the road in October. I was so happy when they arrived at the KOA safe and sound! The top four are the rest of The Walk series, in sequential order. The bottom one, The Secret History, is for our December book club meeting. I wanted to get an early start, as it is a doozy. I finished the book a few days after our November meeting!
The Secret History by Donna Tartt is an intriguing murder mystery novel. I was captivated after reading the prologue, which tells you that someone nicknamed Bunny will be murdered, and Richard (the character telling the story in first person point of view) was at least partly responsible for his death. Wikipedia calls this an “inverted detective story” also known as a “howcatchem.”
It’s not very often I start a book and have trouble putting it down, but this one was just such a book. Psychologically thrilling and intriguing as well. I was thankful the book is a work of fiction, but the story did seem plausible.
I started reading it in October, as I had finished our November club book quickly, and went on to read this heftier novel. It has over 550 pages, and small print at that. I finished it about a week ago, just after our November meeting.
I think this book could be made into a movie, although there are a few scenes I wish the author would have deleted. Those scenes did show you how depraved this group could be. The plot was quite involved.
Also, there is a lot of alcohol and drug use in this book. It is a college scene, after all, but are all college students thatbad? I went to a small Christian liberal arts college for my undergraduate degree, so was probably a bit more sheltered. The worse thing I remember happening was the panty raid when all my underwear went missing. They were found, á mon grand et total embarras (to my complete and utter embarrassment), strung up in a public place. I’m pretty sure I know who did that. 😂😂
I thought the setting as well as the plot of this book were both very interesting. The plot had several twists and turns. You don’t even experience Bunny’s death until half-way through, as the entire book to that point is building the characters and providing a foundation for how this could possibly happen. At one point you could nearly be convinced that he has to die! From there you see how his death affects the other players, as they are waiting to see how the police and FBI are going to handle the case.
I thought I had it all figured out, but then the book deviated and meandered around corners I didn’t know existed. A flurry of emotions kept popping up, but mostly frustration at the stupidity (yes, stupid geniuses), and all the poor choices made throughout the book. I just wanted to slap some of the characters. Come on, don’t do THAT! Maybe it is a product of their age, but they had no foresight into possible consequences for their actions until much later. Nearly all of the characters go through a mental health crisis in the second half of the book, as they one by one begin to experience the repercussions of their actions. There’s a lot to be said about thinking ahead.
The main characters are six college students at an elite liberal arts college called Hampden, located in Vermont (I fact-checked to see if it really exists. While Hampden College is fictitious, Tartt attended Bennington College between 1982-1986, and patterned her book after this school). The six students are all part of a very small, prestigious clique of what I would consider genius level intelligent students of the classics, who are also learning to speak in multiple languages including ancient Greek. They have one professor. I looked up The Secret History on Wikipedia, which you could do if you don’t mind spoilers. Apparently this book, published in 1992, helped popularize “the growth of the dark academia literary sub-genre.” (I learned a new thing today.)
Several times I was forced to pull out my dictionary to check definitions, as well as my translator to look up the Greek, Latin, and French which the students used to communicate between themselves in public settings. I think it helps that the author actually attended a similar school, and probably had some training in the classics. Since I didn’t, I wouldn’t really know if the things they described could be for real, but it could be. I had to skim over some of the philosophical discussions, as it got pretty deep and a bit over my head. Their professor is a bit far-fetched. Who gets an entire building endowed to them, so they can teach just five students? Yeah, right.
I had to learn the characters, which were so many it confused me at first. To help with this, I made associations. Basically, I assigned famous people to each of the main characters based on the author’s descriptions, and how I viewed them.
A young Johnny Depp was who I pictured as Henry, if you imagine him to be a few inches taller wearing an expensive English suit, round glasses, and sporting a mysterious façade. Henry seemed capable of talking anyone into anything. He was rich and used his money as a means of manipulation and control. He started to remind me of a cult leader by the end of the book. I think Johnny Depp could really bring this character to life.
Gru from the Despicable Me animated series immediately came to mind for Francis, but since he doesn’t have any hair and is a cartoon character after all, I looked online for red-headed actors. When I saw this picture of Benedict Cumberbatch my mind said, “yes, that’s it!” He’s a natural ginger, believe it or not.
Christina Ricca sans her gothic persona fits nicely for Camilla, who is a twin to Charles; they are two of the six. Charles reminds me of Rami Malek (below) who incidentally studied Greek, and is an identical twin himself. This is something else I just learned! He would need to lighten his hair to a dark blonde, but I could see these two as a pair of twins in the story.
I think Bunny could be played by Owen Wilson, as he is a bit more comical. Owen would make a good Bunny, as he is the jokester in the group, and he knows how to make people laugh. I see that with Owen. Bunny can get serious when he needs to, though, and eventually his discontent with the rest of the clique is what leads to his demise.
Emma Chambers (left) or perhaps moreso Heather Matarazzo (Lilly in the Princess Diaries below) is who I pictured for Judy Poovey, the somewhat absent-minded neighbor who doesn’t enter the picture until a few (long) chapters in.
Richard was telling the story, and I imagine he would look like Eddie Redmayne since he grew up wearing freckles, with intentionally messy hair. He was not rich, so anything fancy came from years of hard work and savings. I found this picture of Redmayne on the left, which reminds me of Richard in the beginning of the story, while the one below would come later as he seems a bit disturbed by something he has just done.
Lastly, we can’t forget one of the premier characters, the one who started the school of Classics, and has a substantial influence over his very select group of students, Julian. Donald Sutherland is who I picture when I think of Julian. He is an extremely intelligent faculty, knowing several languages and works of philosophy as well as other classic literature. He can be endearing toward his students, while at the same time aloof and uninvolved. One might think he instigated the murder of Bunny, or at least encouraged the activities that lead to his death. But he doesn’t take accountability and removes himself from any connection. He is an interesting character, of which I could never fully resolve.
Okay, I’m showing my age. Most of these would not likely pass as a 20-something aged college student, so we’d have to get some much younger actors to play their roles. But it helped this old bird keep them straight! Anyway, you get the idea. If you’ve read the book, who would you cast as these characters?
I won’t tell you how Bunny died, or whodunnit or how they did it, or why, (although you will learn in the brief Prologue that Richard was an accessory and Henry was the instigator. You’ll also know how he died), but I will say if there is one moral to the story, it could be summed up in the following.
Bad Company Corrupts Good Character.
1 Corinthians 15:33
That’s all I have to say about that.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
