Welcome to the Lower Cribden Avenue Book Club Page
This club was founded by Jean Smith at number 12. We meet three times a year with a rota for hosting. The hostess provides wine and very simple nibbles. Membership is open to anyone on the Avenue and any friends of residents.
The hostess makes a selection of 5 books for the next read and the group chooses one book. We recognise that if the club grows too big for useful discussion we might need to split into two groups, but at the moment that seems unlikely. We are keeping a record of books read, with just a short synopsis of each meeting’s discussion. We have used the web to see others’ critiques.
The next meeting of the Book Club is to be held on Tuesday, 21st February 2012 at Mary Clare’s (no 8) and the books to be discussed are :- The Thread by Victoria Hislop and The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric.
For those of you interested in saving the earth, you might want to log on to the Green Metropolis web site: www.greenmetropolis.com Here you can buy books for £3.75 and sell them back for £3. Both of the recommend books for the next meeting are available.
Book reviews from previous meetings:
On 28th September at Maura's home we discussed the Black Dahlia by James Ellroy and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
Black Dahlia is the first novel in the LA Quartet by James Ellroy. The book explores the investigation into the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, a real woman whose butchered corpse appeared on vacant land one morning in L.A. 1947. The author’s mother had also been the subject of an undetected murder and it was felt that this book had been written as a cathartic experience.
The book follows 2 detectives, Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchard who are attached to the murder investigation. Blanchard goes missing and the story centres on Bucky Bleichert who becomes obsessed with the unsolved torture-murder case, as well as the secret life of his missing partner.
The book is an authentic representation of the envirnoment and style of language used in a busy police department in 1940’s LA. However, this didn’t mean that it was easy dialogue to follow. Jargon busting footnotes may have been helpful to those of us reading it in Lancashire 2011. (And an organisation chart of who was who, including nicknames, wouldn’t have gone amiss either)
Opinion ranged from awful, unrealistic, gruesome, brutal, distasteful and lurid to captivating, intelligent, ‘a journey’. However, from looking at other reviews this would appear to reflect popular opinion.
Some members didn’t finish the book whilst those who did felt that it was worth the perseverance. However, it was only after reading the 2nd half of the book did you realise that the ground work for the novel had been laid out and prepared in the first half. The mentally tortured characters twisted and turned and played out the matrix of the plot. Just when you thought that the solution to the murder had been provided there was one more twist to follow.
Some of us felt that it was worth the effort whilst others felt that it was hours of their lives wasted.
Overall, Book Club opinion was divided - a ‘Life of Pi situation’.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The story concerns an invented book club on the island of Guernsey during the Second World War. The club is invented by Elizabeth McKenna, who, on bumping into a German patrol with a crowd of drunken fellow ‘islanders’, makes the society up on the spot, as a cover story for the fact that the group had in reality been consuming forbidden roast pig after curfew.
The book is written in the style of a series of letters from ‘islanders’ and Juliet Ashton, an up-and-coming writer. Whilst casting about for a new book subject she receives a letter from a Guernsey pig farmer, Adam Dawsey, who has found Juliet's name and address in a second-hand copy of Charles Lamb's essays. From this initial contact grows a web of correspondents, who feed Juliet's obsession with wartime Guernsey and the tragicomic interwoven stories of its people.
Like many present day Book Clubs / Reading Groups the members of the GLPPPS were introduced to books and reading forms that they would not have selected by themselves but in doing so had discovered the pleasures of literature outside of their ‘comfort zones’.
This was a popular book, loved by all – charming, delightful characters, clever, entertaining and beautifully written being some of the plaudits.
In addition to introducing some delicious characters into our lives it also gave an insight into life in occupied Guernsey, a situation that many of us were truly unaware of.
On completing the book the author of this review couldn’t bear to pick up or start another book for a good few days, until she’d finished mourning the passing of the book. The characters had become like friends and much beloved, eccentric relatives. A book to be recommended without reservation
The next meeting of the LCA Book Club is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, 21st February 2012 at Mary Clare’s. The books for review and discussion are :-The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric and The Thread by Victoria Hislop.
The author of this review would like to point out that 7 books were shortlisted for review at the next meeting and she did warn that The Book of Human Skin was described as ‘gruesome’; and, in view of the comments made and feelings expressed about The Black Dahlia she did counsel the group against selecting it, but in spite of all this The Book of Human Skin was selected. The author of this review is beginning to suspect that Book Club members actually revel in being shocked, repulsed and outraged and enjoy a good bit of gore and ‘gruesomeness’.
10th May 2011, 8.30 pm at Rineke's home, members discussed Room by Emma Donaghue and The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Opinion was divided on Room and therefore the majority of the meeting’s discussion concerned this book. The first half of Room describes the day to day life of the female captive and her 5 years old son. The second half of the book describes their life following their escape; how ‘ma’ adapts to life back in the ‘real’ world; and, how her son reacts to a world outside of the ‘Room’, the only world he has ever known since birth.
One member commented it was only because she knew the book was divided into two halves that she was able to continue reading the book past the half way mark. If the author had intended to make the description of life within the room feel claustrophobic then she had succeeded. Descriptions of the book ranged from disturbing, compelling, interesting and unusual to predictable, superficial and ‘not captivating’ – quite an ironic description given the subject matter.
The book was written from the perspective of the son and it was discussed whether a 5 years old, kept in captivity could have such a command of language and understanding of the spoken word. It was agreed that given the intensity and level of interaction between the mother and son it was quite plausible that such a young child could have such advanced language skills.
Members also discussed the issue of ‘ma’ continuing to breastfeed her son at 5 years of age. It was agreed that given the circumstances of the mother and child this was an appropriate source of nourishment and comfort. This was in stark contrast to the description of the mother continuing to breastfeed her child of a similar age in The Slap (as discussed at January’s meeting) where it was almost used as an example of a dysfunctional relationship between mother and child.
Although comparisons with the recently discovered incarcerated family in Austria are inevitable, anybody looking for yet another ‘Misery’ novel will be disappointed with the Room, as it is so much more than a novel jumping on the bandwagon of the sensationalism of recent headlines. Most felt that whilst this was not a comfortable book to read it was a book worthy of its award nominations.
With regard to The Help, members were unanimous in their appreciation and enjoyment of this book. The benefit of being in a Book Club was again reiterated with a few members commenting that this was not the type of book they would normally pick from the shelves, however having being selected for Book Club, they read it and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was very easy to be absorbed by the main characters, it was a page turner and the most difficult part about reading the book was putting it down.
However, members were shocked by the realisation that this book was set not so many years back, in the 1960s and commented on how far and how quickly attitudes have changed in some parts of America. A member highlighted the irony of 'The League' collecting to help the starving children of Africa, a staggering paradox! In summary, an excellent book and totally ‘recommendable’.
2nd February 2011 - Unintentionally, the Book Club had chosen two books by male authors for discussion at this meeting, one written by an Australian and the other by a Briton.
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas.
The author was born and grew up in Melbourne, Australia. The book is set in Melbourne and begins with a family barbecue. At some point during the barbecue an obnoxious 4 years old child threatens another child, and the father of the threatened child smacks him, bringing the barbecue to a swift end. The following day the parents of the slapped child have the ‘slap-per’arrested.
The first chapter provides not only the events at the barbecue but also a thumbnail description of each character and their background. It was felt that this first chapter was almost overwhelming with its introduction of so many characters. However, the following sections of the book are dedicated to each of the main players and so provide a deeper insight and knowledge of each character. By the end of the book it was tempting to re-read the first chapter with the better knowledge and understanding of each character.
Members thought that this book would be dedicated to and explore the issues of discipline and corporal punishment for children and were surprised to discover that the actual court case played a very minor role. The story touched upon many serious issues e.g. domestic violence, drugs, abortion, cessation of breastfeeding, racism, multiculturalism and adultery, each of which could be explored in greater depth and merit its own book. The group found it hard to be sympathetic towards any of the characters, each of whom revealed themselves to be flawed in their own section of the book.
It was felt that the descriptions of the sex scenes were coarse and unnecessarily crude and members could not recall an occasion when the word ‘love’ was used in the context of sexual intercourse. This all female book group commented on whether the sex scenes were what the male author would consider to be ‘good’ sex as opposed to what a female author would describe. The group discussed what they found objectionable about the sex scenes in The Slap, as previously they had read and reviewed Belle de Jour : The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl and so would not consider themselves to be ‘prudish’. It was commented that it was the violent undercurrent to the scenes in The Slap as opposed to Belle de Jour, where sex was dealt with in a matter of fact / functional manner. Some members felt that the bad language bordered on gratuitous and certainly there appeared to be a liberal and perhaps unnecessary use of the ‘C’ word on many occasions.
The book presented a bleak future for middle class Australia and it was discussed whether this was an accurate reflection of life in suburban Melbourne. One of the members said she would ask her friend who lives in Melbourne to read the book and ask her opinion.
However, even taking the above into account some members of the group wanted to finish reading the book for their own personal pleasure and not just because it was a Book Club book. Considering that this was not a unanimously popular book it provoked much discussion amongst the group, and therefore perhaps merits being a good Book Club book.
One Day by David Nicholls
By contrast, the group were unanimous in their appreciation for this book and considered it to be worthy of all the plaudits and awards the author has gained.
One Day follows the lives of Emma and Dexter who meet for the first time on 15th July 1988, the night of their graduation. The book revisits Emma and Dexter on the 15th July every year for the next 20 years.
The book is a very cleverly written book and made compelling reading. The group loved the way the book took the male character from hero to zero and the female the converse.
The group would recommend this book to others without hesitation and yet due to members being in agreement in their opinions it didn’t provoke the same amount of discussion as The Slap.
Contrasts were made between the way in which the two authors had dealt with love and relationships within their respective books and a comment was made that One Day is a very English book whilst The Slap is very Australian.
6th October 2010. The recommended books for discussion were The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory and a lighter read for the holidays Two Caravans by Marina Lewycka. Once again our Book Club Facilitator Denise Collins has written a report for the web site.
With regard to Two Caravans, some members were disappointed with the book and not all felt they could finish reading it. Criticisms included there being too many characters leading to confusion early on in the
book; some found parts of the plot too coincidental to the point of being unbelievable.
For this meeting we had a guest reviewer of Two Caravans - Jeremy felt that he found the jumping from the first to third person confusing and pretentious; and, some of the characters were over-portrayed whilst
others had only vague descriptions. However, his biggest criticism was the way the author tried to emulate Tom Sharpe in describing a scene of chaos but in his opinion it did not come off. In conclusion, he found
Marina Lewycka to be an unconvincing author.
In defence of the author, Denise and Maura stated that they had read and enjoyed the author’s other 2 books: A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian and We Are All Made of Glue. They had particularly enjoyed A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian and would not hesitate to recommend it to others. They agreed that Two Caravans was the weakest of the three books and hoped that it would not deter others from reading other books by this author. It was felt that over the 3 books the author had displayed a talent for writing English as spoken by those for whom English is not their first language. However, it was agreed that Two Caravans had provided an insight into the problems and difficulties migrant workers face in this country.
The reaction of Book Club to The Constant Princess was a complete contrast. Without exception, all members enjoyed this book. It provided a deeper insight and alternative angle into the life of Catherine of Aragon; an historical figure that members previously thought of as being memorable for her dowdy appearance and her role in refusing King Henry VIII a divorce. However, this book highlighted her strong family background and the role it played in European power struggles. It certainly had some members rushing for their history books to refresh their minds about the characters mentioned in the book.
Members agreed that they would read other books by this author.
19th May - The Credit Crunch Conspiracy by Dominic Varadi. This book created so much discussion that we asked our Book Club Facilitator Denise Collins to write a report for the web page:
For this meeting Book Club Members thought they had chosen a topical book for discussion - The Credit Crunch Conspiracy by Dominic Varadi. Members had been lured into this choice by the following review on Amazon written by ‘Simon Taylor’ :-
This is the best thriller I have ever read. Fans of Dan Brown will recognise many of the themes; the Illuminati, Elitist Conspiracies; the Masons etc... and the page-turning, thrill-a-minute pace of the novel is very Brownesque. However, this political thriller is much deeper and more original. The quality of the writing is poetic and some of the characters are amazing. I love the way the author moves effortlessly between scenes set in the seats of power and international finance and a Tyneside pub. Some of the pub anecdotes are hillarious and the novel is both serious and funny, entertaining and informative. It is far more than a thriller. It is a comedy, tragedy, romance, horror. I learnt alot about economics and I never thought doing so could be so sexy and fun.
Members were not quite as fulsome with their praise as ‘Mr Taylor’ but on the positive side, they felt that it was an easy read with some very likable characters.
On the negative side, the standard of grammar, spelling and editing proved to be too distracting for many. Members were aware that this is a debut novel from the author however they felt that this should be no excuse for poor quality proof reading.
Some felt frustrated as they considered that there was potential with the characters and the story but that it could have been so much better, this in turn prompted a discussion on how the story may have been improved.
On the theme of conspiracies, the author of this particular review couldn’t help but notice the spelling and grammatical errors in the review of ‘Simon Taylor’ on Amazon viz :- “hillarious”, “the novel is both serious and funny, entertaining and informative”, “It is a comedy, tragedy, romance, horror”, and “alot”. When she looked at “Simon Taylor’s” other reviews she was intrigued to find that he had written only one other review, Meltdown by Ben Elton :-
“Meltdown is disappointing. New author Dominic Varadi's 'The Credit Crunch Conspiracy' is much better. Whereas Meltdown had me chuckling, Varadi's thriller had me in hysterics and as it is written by an economist rather than a comedian it is much more authentic and informative than Elton's latest novel. Both author's have a talent for observing every-day events and making them interesting and funny, whilst getting across a staunchly left-wing message. Both books have a front cover showing a piggy bank getting squeezed but there is something staid and commercial about Meltdown whereas Varadi's novel is refreshingly different and feels as raw and edgy as when Ben Elton first started writing. Ben needs to re-discover the common touch and deliver something less predictable and more original.”
Hmmmmm, another conspiracy theory, maybe ???
12th January 2010. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff was the main book for discussion. This provoked more discussion than any other book we had read. The unanimous opinion was that this was an excellent book and a compelling read. The fictional story that ran in parallel with the true story made the book so interesting and reading an article about a court case in a recent copy of the Times reminded us all that polygamy continues in the US.
The second book The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas had not proved such a good read with the majority not pursuing the book to the end or even starting it. The one member who had made the effort found she had got to page 250 before her interest was gripped. We read the critics' opinions on the web and one suggested the author was either brilliant or on drugs!
9th September 2009 at 8.30 pm. The books discussed at this meeting were Secret Scriptures by Sebastian Barry and Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup. The Secret Scriptures was considered to be a delightful, well written book which told a story whilst giving an excellent history of the 'troubles' in Ireland. Readers had thoroughly enjoyed the book enjoying the 'Irishness' of it and the style of writing. Many said they would read other books by this author. It was a 'sentimental story told in an unsentimental way' and a sad reminder of the inappropriate mental health treatments recommended in the past.
The Six Suspects was not as popular. It was considered a light read with some funny moments but an unbelievable plot, although clever at the end. Some readers found it 'difficult to keep up' as there were too many characters and the Indian terminology was confusing. Although the book did nothing to promote India it did help the reader appreciate life in that country.
20th May 2009 - Diary of a Call Girl by Belle da Jour. There was much amazement when Maura suggested this book and discussion at Mary-Clare Ainsworths was as much about the reaction of children, relatives and friends that this was the chosen book as the content of the book itself! The opinions generally were that the book 'trudged on', it was shallow, badly written, egostistical and basic porn. No one rated it as a good read.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne had been recommended as a second book and although written for children it proved to be thought provoking for adults. It was considered to be marvellously written from a completely different perspective and highly recommended.
13th January 2009 - 'Fixing Shadows' by Susan Barrett. We discussed this book at Maura's and it proved to be less popular than other books we had read. Many felt that the flowery language was unnecessary, although the use of the present tense did help to keep the reader's interest. None of the stories developed to a satisfactory conclusion and the rapid movement between different character's stories led to confusion with some unrealistic coincidences. Those present felt they could not recommend the book but one absentee member wrote in to say she would read another by the same author.
10th September 2008 - Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale. This book, discussed at Louise's. proved to be very popular despite the misgivings of many of the readers. The fact that it was presented so differently, not in chronological order, added to the interest of the book and proved not to be a problem even for those who liked regularity within their reading! The book gave a good insight into grief, bi-polar disorder and Quakerism. Everyone present felt they would like to read another book by this author.
Two books were discussed at Jean Smith's in May 2008. Both books by the same author Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner and its sequel A Thousand Splendid Suns were highly rated. All book club members had really enjoyed both books with no clear favourite. Everyone felt they would read any new books written by the author. He is an excellent story writer and the verdict was that these books were 'highly recommended.
The book discussed at the January 2008 meeting was Atonement by Ian McKewan. With this book we were unanimous in our opinions and believed it to be the best book club book to date. We enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot and the different styles of narrative in each of the three sections. Of course the final twist was so unexpected . . . .
The chosen book for our September 07 meeting was The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This book won the Booker Prize in 2002 but it received mixed reviews from book club members from "the best book I ever read" to "I hated it". Several members felt they would not have finished the book if they had not belonged to the club but all were glad they had done as it seemed to be a classic book read by many.
Rineke had researched the book on the web and was amazed at how many pages of explanation there were. Suggestions of plagiarism naturally disappointed members but all agreed that Yann Martell's writing style was refreshingly different
At our fourth meeting on 20th June 2007 at Kathryn's we discussed 'The Night Watch' by Sarah Waters. The story began in 1947 and centred on 4 characters (Viv, Kay, Helen and Duncan) in worn-out post-war Britain. The book unravelled their lives as it moved backwards in time, first to 1944 and then to 1941, revealing their past connections and secrets as it regressed. Each character had 'some queerness or scandal attached to them'.
Six of us contributed to the discussion and there was consensus throughout. It was strange to start a book that began with the end and the first third of the book was somewhat turgid and boring. We did not particularly like any of the four key characters, but interest was kindled as the book moved on. The author is an excellent descriptive writer so that you could almost hear, taste and smell some of the surrondings during the blitz episodes.
We were all unaware when the book was suggested that it would explore relationships between lesbians, although we should have realised as Sarah Waters also wrote 'Touching the Velvet'! Some of us felt uncomforatable reading about their trials and tribulations, though this was not a problem for most and Jean S commented that she was impressed how the author was able to deftly remind us of the emotional part of relationships, regardless of sexual orientation.
We would have liked to know more about the ending to each individual's story. We were glad that we had been persuaded to read the book but would not necessarily recommend it or seek to read other works by the same author.
The book for discussion at our February 07 meeting was ‘Touching the Void’ by Joe Simpson. It was unusual to be buying a book from the sport section of the book shop, but this story of endurance was well received by members, but we all wanted to know why he climbed the unchartered territory in the first place. We think we know the answer "Because it's there."
Our second book was ‘Clan of the Cave Bear’ by Jean Auel for our September 2006 meeting . This book rated much more highly than the first. Everyone had enjoyed it and wanted to read the rest of the series of five books. We reviewed the critiques downloaded from the web and were generally in agreement. We had an interesting discussion on ancient history and the research undertaken by the author to produce such exciting books.
The book we all read for the first meeting in May 2006 was ‘Labyrinth’ by Kate Moss. For the Lower Cribden Avenue ladies, this book had not proved to be a ‘page turner’, but it did promote much discussion about the ‘holy grail’ and different authors and experts’ opinion on what that was. In this book, it referred to three volumes: the Book of Words, Book of Numbers and Book of Potions rather than a chalice as suggested by others. The book was successful in providing an interest in Carcassonne with a desire to visit by those who have not yet seen this fascinating, restored, walled city. Reading approximately 40 reviews of this book on the web, following our book club meeting, it would appear that many readers were similarly non-captivated, as the majority of reviews rated the book as trite and plodding, whist others awarded it maximum scores and thought it was excellent.
Other recommended books
Deinse recommended two books for general reading: 'The Uncommon Reader' by Alan Bennett and 'A spot of bother' by Mark Haddon.
JMD