In Pieces by Sally Field

This month's book club selection was In Pieces, by Sally Field. Despite the unmistakable absence of our snow bird members during these balmy winter months (we miss you!), we have been consistently pleased to see a fantastic turn out at the monthly meetings~ many thanks to all who attend and support our local book club! 

It was disclosed at this meeting that we'd like to collect all nominations for next year's reading list within the next two weeks. We're planning to get the nominations put together and organized between now and our March meeting, when they will be handed out to our members for review (and also posted on the library's website)~ with voting to follow at April's book club meeting! Please get those nominations in by either calling or stopping into the library, e-mailing either Susan or Amanda, or by commenting down below!

Without further ado...

Sally Field is one of the most celebrated, beloved, and enduring actors of our time. She has an infectious charm that has captivated the nation for more than five decades, beginning with her first TV role at the age of seventeen.

With raw honesty and with all the humility and authenticity her fans have come to expect, Field brings readers behind-the-scenes for not only the highs and lows of her star-studded early career in Hollywood, but deep into the truth of her lifelong relationships--including her complicated love for her own mother. Powerful and unforgettable, In Pieces is an inspiring account of life as a woman in the second half of the twentieth century.

It was the consensus of the group that before reading In Pieces, we were all completely unaware of who the real Sally Field is, her true self landing nowhere near where any of us had placed her in our imaginations. In addition to her dysfunctional relationship with her mother, we were also disappointed to learn of the childhood abuse Ms. Field suffered at the hands of her stepfather, Jack Mahoney. It was noted several times during the discussion that her failed relationships with men throughout her life, most notably her tumultuous relationship with the late Burt Reynolds, could likely have stemmed from the detrimental example given to her from her very early years as a toddler and on throughout her life. It was also discussed that while there is some mention of happy times in her life in the book, she seems to write and focus largely on the hardships and anguish she has experienced. This made the read for several attendee's feel long and drawn out with seemingly repetitive doubt and introspection on her part, but also disjointed and filled with large gaps in her timeline. For example, we would have liked to have heard more about her childhood outside of the abuse, and also a bit more about the details surrounding some of her more famous films outside of the limited handful she examines. 

While in the beginning, her apparent lack of confidence and esteem is understandable in both her personal and professional lives, given her upbringing and chosen industry, however, by the end of the book we are left with a sense that she still hasn't turned the corner where these things are concerned and has yet to come into her own. Being a lady with so much life and experience behind her, and with such respected worldwide success, it comes as quite an unexpected shock to learn she still seems to grapple with insecurity, acceptance, and assurance. 

What were your thoughts on the book?

At the end of every book club discussion we ask three questions and track the average answers:

Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"YES"
Would we recommend this to a friend to read?
"NO"
Rate the book 1-4 stars with 1 being the lowest rating:
  2 stars (mostly 2 stars were awarded, with a couple 1's and 3's sprinkled in).

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Happy New Year to one and all! Thank you to everyone who came in from the cold to share in the warm conversation of January’s book club selection, Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate. 

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

It would be fair to say that this book was almost unanimously well liked and enjoyed by the group. There was mention from several attendee’s that the grisly abuse depicted in the novel was hard to read, and unimaginable to consider as common practice in the real-life orphanages this book is based upon. On the other hand, the question of what social services would have thought about the original living conditions of the Foss children on the shantyboat, both in 1939 and today, was also discussed. There was no question among our members that despite their family’s poverty, the children were loved and sufficiently cared for while in the care of their biological parents. However, the question was raised: while the abuse suffered in the children’s home was horrific and cruel, were some of the children better off with their wealthier adoptive parents? And did this somehow offset the practices that brought them there? We found the general consensus was “No.” Regardless of their individual outcomes, it would have been far better had they never had any association with Georgia Tann and/or the Tennessee Children’s Home Society.

As you may imagine, Before We Were Yours made for excellent, thought-provoking conversation! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

At the end of every book club discussion we ask three questions and track the average answers:

Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"YES"
Would we recommend this to a friend to read?
"YES"
Rate the book 1-4 stars with 1 being the lowest rating:
3 stars

Virgil Wander by Leif Enger

December’s book club selection was Virgil Wander, by Leif Enger. For a frosty Tuesday evening, we had a great turnout with an excellent discussion! Many thanks to those who braved the cold!

Virgil Wander tells the story of a Midwestern movie house owner, appropriately named Virgil Wander, who is "cruising along at medium altitude" when his car flies off the road and into icy Lake Superior. Virgil survives, but his language and memory are altered and he emerges into a world no longer familiar to him. Awakening in this new life, Virgil begins to piece together his personal history and the lore of his broken town, with the help of a cast of affable and curious locals--from Rune, a twinkling, pipe-smoking, kite-flying stranger investigating the mystery of his disappeared son; to Nadine, the reserved, enchanting wife of the vanished man; to Tom, a journalist and Virgil's oldest friend; and various members of the Pea family who must confront tragedies of their own. Into this community returns a shimmering prodigal son who may hold the key to reviving their town.

Several group members offered that they felt the beginning of the book was difficult to settle into, noting that its first few chapters were a bit slow and monotonous. Most agreed that it at times also became difficult to keep the cast of characters straight throughout the novel. Though it wasn’t unanimous, the majority of the group found the aspect of kites and kite flying an interesting and charming addition to the story, some wondered aloud if the stated appeal was really for the kites, or instead for Rune, an endearing character featured in the book. Lastly, it was evident that the group very much likes Mr. Enger’s writing style; he seems to have an endless arsenal of extraordinary adjectives, and it was mentioned several times that his first novel, Peace Like A River, was a superb read and comes highly recommended.  

At the end of every book club discussion we ask three questions and track the average answers:

Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"YES"
Would we recommend this to a friend to read?
"YES"
Rate the book 1-4 stars with 1 being the lowest rating:
2.8 stars (it mostly scored 3 stars, with a couple 2 stars mixed in)

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

This week our book club came together in force to discuss the novel The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah.  We really had a large group and a good discussion.  I believe that this month was the final meeting for the last holdouts of our summer residents, as well, so we say goodbye to them until next spring! Don't send us photos of warm sunshine and the beach, please! Well, maybe just a few...

The Great Alone is a novel set primarily in Alaska in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The story follows Cora and Ernt Allbright and their daughter Leni as they learn how to survive in the Alaskan wilderness.  It also follows their story as they cope with Ernt's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and domestic abuse. The plot takes place over a period of approximately 12 years as Leni grows up and struggles to develop her own life. The book provides a remarkably vivid portrayal of life/survival in Alaska in the 1970s and a dark image of a family battling violence from within.

Our discussion group seemed to agree that the book provided an excellent perspective of life in Alaska in the 1970s. The remoteness, the hardship, and the weather were prominent features of the story while the PTSD and domestic abuse plot lines somehow seemed to play a more minor role. Indeed, during our discussion, the majority of the concepts discussed were focused more around Alaskan life and difficulties while the domestic abuse angle wasn't even raised until later in the period. While most members agreed that they liked the book, several commented  that they felt "let-down" by the ending because if seemed contrived and predictable. But, the general consensus was that if you wanted a book that provided an authentic image of life in Alaska 40 years ago, this is a great option.

At the end of every book club discussion we ask three questions and track the average answers:

Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"YES"
Would we recommend this to a friend to read?
"YES" (but it wasn't unanimous)
Rate the book 1-4 stars with 1 being the lowest rating:
3 stars (the ratings varied among the members from 2 stars to 4 stars)

Welcome & Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny

Welcome! We're excited to start on a new journey with a blog for our library book club! A few months ago we had a request from a patron that we create a way of sharing the discussion and general opinions of our Library Book Club with others. And the concept of the Perham Library's Book Club blog was conceived. We're hoping that we can make this page useful and interesting  to those wanting to follow our monthly book club and its ongoing selection of titles for discussion. We intend to make a post every month following our book club gathering to summarize the book and the general discussion. We'll also make periodic posts to share information on special book club activities or to collect reading suggestions, or to vote for items to be included on the upcoming reading list.  We're looking forward to hearing people's comments and suggestions, too.

As the inaugural post for this blog, I'm including some thoughts on the book that our group discussed last week:

Kingdom of the Blind is the 14^th novel by Louise Penny in the Three Pines/Armand Gamache mystery series.  It was a slight departure for our book club because we don’t often choose to discuss mystery or crime fiction. The book follows Chief Superintendent Armand  Gamache of the Surete du Quebec as he is coping with being suspended from his job for allowing a supply of opioid drugs to enter the country. The  dual story line starting with an odd bequest naming Gamache as an executor for the will of a complete stranger while at the same time, Gamache races to track down and retrieve the shipment of opioid drugs before they are introduced onto the streets.  

Our book club members’ primary comment regarding this book is that they found the book confusing (“like walking into someone else’s conversation”). While many of our book club members said that they enjoyed the vivid friendships, the underlying sense of integrity and the ingenuity of the story, they felt that the author assumed that all readers were already familiar with the series story lines and characters and therefore assumed that everyone would understand the backstory without explanation. It was agreed that many of our club members would probably have enjoyed the book more if they had read some of the earlier books in the series and a couple of the members said that they were planning to go back and read the series. On the other end of the spectrum, several people said that they weren’t interested because they thought the book had too many characters and too many twists and turns at the end of the novel. 

At the end of every book club discussion we ask three questions and track the average answers:

Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?  
“NO” (unless you start at the beginning of the series)

Would we recommend this to a friend to read?
“YES” (but it is recommended to read the entire series and not start in the middle)

Rate the book 1-4 stars with 1 being the lowest rating:
2.75 stars (the ratings varied from 1 star to 4 stars)