Siblings survive their artist parents

Just finished a book that might appeal to bookclubs that enjoy something a little quirky, like Miriam Toews or Jessica Grant characters.  The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson is the story of a family of performance artists.  Caleb and Camille are completely devoted to their art.  They enlist their children Annie and Buster (called A&B) in their disruptive performances.  It is comic and painful at the same time.  It could lead to some interesting book club discussions around what exactly is art, and where is the line between being a professional and being a parent drawn?

Light and sweet British comedy of manners

Been busy reading "teen" fiction and "so junky I don't want to admit it" fiction and even a little "unhappy" fiction.  But here's a happy one I can recommend for book clubs.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is by Helen Simonson. Major Pettigrew is a retired widower in a small British town. He falls in love with Mrs. Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper, who has also been widowed. Their fumbling romance is closely observed by the other inhabitants of the village. The characters are realistic and three dimensional and I've grown to love them. If I saw Major Pettigrew in the street I would rush over to shake his hand, much to his chagrin no doubt.

In high school I enjoyed books by Miss Read and Jane Austen. This has a similar tone. There's social criticism in them, but it's delivered in a light manner.

How is it that I am recommending a book with sadness in the title for my happy book club choices blog?  The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender is a fantastical tale of Rose who can taste the emotions of people who prepared the food she eats. This isn’t as enchanting as it sounds, because Rose's mother is unhappy, and all the emotions flood over her daughter. Rose is also trying to figure out the mystery around her brother, who also has an unusual talent.  Underneath the story of fantastical gifts, Lemon Cake is a portrait of a girl being overwhelmed by the world. Watching her learn to cope is a realistic and moving experience. 

Two literary choices set in warm places

Brazil and Egypt.  I enjoy learning about other places through novels, and in winter it's those warm settings that appeal!  State of Wonder by Ann Patchett is the story of Marina, a scientist searching for her missing lab partner Anders in Brazil.   First Marina has to find intelligent, single minded Dr. Swenson who lives deep in the Amazon pursuing her research.   The first half of the novel is slow as Marina's locked up character is revealed.  The reader experiences the same waiting frustration as Marina as she navigates Dr. Swenson's blockades.  Then it's up the river into a female version of Heart of Darkness.  The plot speeds up as the story explores the clash of western and native culture, whether the end justifies the means, and the pull of motherhood.  The novel ends suddenly, with many plot threads still to be worked through.  If you like deep exploration of character like in Patchett's Bel Canto, you will enjoy this book.

Anatomy of a Disappearance opens in Alexandria, Egypt.  Author Hisham Matar gives us Nuri, a young boy mourning the death of his mother.  He falls in love with a beautiful woman named Mona, whom his political dissident father weds.  It is an uneasy trio of characters full of hidden motivations.  When his father is kidnapped and disappears, Nuri struggles to understand.  He slowly unravels the truth, and learns to live with the huge absence of his father.  This is also a novel of characters facing terrible challenges.

Run away to the Night Circus

Do you enjoy Cirque du Soleil shows?  If yes, you will want to read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  It tells the story of Celia and Marco, two magicians dueling with magic inside a travelling circus at the turn of the 20^th century. Although the love story follows well worn patterns, there are unique supporting characters. 

 This novel is more about looking around and enjoying the circus experience instead of following a plot through to a conclusion.  Now I’m done, what I remember are the imaginative descriptions of the circus itself.  What remains vivid are the bonfire in the courtyard, the bright red scarves of the devoted fans the Reveurs, the hot chocolate with cinnamon, and the various tents with their magical offerings.

If you enjoy being read to, I recommend listening to the book CD of this story, read by Jim Dale.  He’s the versatile voice actor who read 146  different characters in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  He creates a separate voice for each person, extending their characterization.  It’s like the way an illustrator can develop characters in ways not outlined in the plot. 

An interesting sideline about this bestseller is that there is a Night Circus game on Twitter so that you can connect with other readers to extend the reading experience.  The use of social media and online gaming is fascinating to watch.  How will we take the solitary joy of reading and make it a social experience?   I’m sticking with my friends in book club.  But then, I’m all about the food.  And now to put some cinnamon in my hot chocolate….

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

The Imperfectionists is a collection of short stories about a set of characters working at an English language newspaper in Rome.  Some book club members disliked the jumping around among characters, and would have preferred a more linear plot with developing characters.  Others enjoyed it, citing the excellent character studies and easily readable sections.  The perfect one chapter before bedtime book!  It is like a Robert Altman movie, with the connections between all the various characters slowly revealed.  One thing it is not particularly about, though, is Rome!  The Italian setting didn't figure very heavily in the story at all.  The book lead to interesting discussions about the impending digital age and what it will mean for newspapers and books.  A good read, although some felt there could have been at least one functional happy relationship!

The Cellist of Sarajevo

After a summer reading things my book club wouldn't enjoy (fantasy, young adult, and then some young adult fantasy!)  we're back together again for the fall.  Our first choice was The Cellist of Sarajevo by  Steven Galloway. Not a happy story, but a happy choice in that it got us talking.  There are three fictional narratives by people living through the Yugoslav war in the 1990s.  Each of the characters react in different ways to a cellist who decides to play in the street to commemorate people killed in a bomb.  We felt that the story was accessible, easy to read, and gave us a first person idea of what it would be like to live in a war zone.  The theme of the redemption of art resonated with the group.  Sad, but highly recommended.