The Literary Circle is a vibrant group of
Deercreek readers who meet monthly to exchange
thoughts and insights about the books they are
reading. The group’s 2010-2011 is posted here
for interested readers.
The Literary Circle would like to hear about
books that have interested Deercreek residents.
If there is a book that you have read and would
like to recommend to our group, please write a
short synopsis that will be posted here—and
enjoy some of the books on our list. Please
contact Marie Smith at kemabeam@bellsouth.net
with your ideas or submissions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On May 17, 2010, the Literary
Circle met at the home of Sue Akel to discuss
“The Hindi-Bindi Club” by Monica Pradhan.
Neelima Gole led the discussion and
provided a summary of the author’s background.
“The Hindi-Bindi Club,” Pradhan’s first novel,
features six alternating narrators. It explores
the complexities of relationships between
mothers and daughters, specifically Indian
mothers and daughters, and the struggle to
reconcile the mothers’ immigrant experiences and
their daughters’ western outlook. The Indian
mothers gathered to share secrets, hopes,
stories, recipes and memories from back home.
Their children collectively nicknamed them “the
Hindi-Bindi Club.”
Neelima
also gave honest insights on her own Indian-
American experience and east-west cultural
differences including the concept of arranged or
semi-arranged marriage.
At the end of each chapter in the HBC book there
is an authentic Indian recipe. Sue Akel, Marie
Smith and Neelima Gole prepared some of these
mouthwatering dishes.
In
addition, Neelima brought a few things to show
that are found in every Indian household: a
spice-box, bangle collection and engraved silver
bowls. All the members wore bindi and enjoyed a
good discussion and good food. Club members left
with a better understanding of some of the
customs and unique challenges of our
Indian-American community.
Neelima Gole
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHAT WE ARE
READING:
“The Bone Vault”
In Linda Fairstein’s “The Bone Vault” go
behind the scenes of the great museums of New
York City in this mystery written by the former
head of the Sex Crimes division of the New York
District Attorney’s Office. When the body
of a missing art historian turns up in place of
a mummy being shipped to Egypt for exhibit, the
investigation takes the reader into hidden store
rooms beneath the Metropolitan Museum, the
Cloisters, and the Museum of Natural History.
The novel also explores the history of the
collections, and outlines the conflicting claims
of the museums and the countries where
archeological artifacts were uncovered.
This novel is one of a series set in various
interesting New York City locations.
“The Uncommon
Reader”
The novella “The Uncommon Reader, by Alan
Bennett, is about the Queen of England, who,
while out for a walk, finds a mobile library
parked near Buckingham Palace. Feeling duty
bound to borrow a book, she discovers the joy
and obsession of reading and finds that her
views of the world and those around her change
dramatically. Her passion for reading begins to
change her priorities, alarming the palace staff
which leads to some funny incidents around the
palace and changes in the lives of those with
whom she has daily contact.
“Moral
Disorder”
The Deercreek
Literary Circle met
on November 18th at the home of Sue Akel to
discuss Margaret Atwood's collection of short
stories entitled "Moral Disorder.” The
discussion of the book was led by Linda
Proudfoot and plenty of discussion there was as
first we looked at the author Margaret Atwood,
her life and then her particular brand of
Canadianism. The collection of short
stories seems to roughly parallel Margaret
Atwood's own growing up so though they can be
interpreted as somewhat autobiographical there
are important differences at least according to
the author. The stories follow the life of Nell
as a young woman growing up in the conventional
50's as illustrated by "The Art of Cooking and
Serving" and 'The Headless Horseman". This is
followed by the more disorderly 60's or as the
title suggests the moral disorder of both time
and place and is encapsulated in the
stories, "The Other Place", "and the title story
"Moral Disorder". We continue to follow Nell as
she makes choices of lifestyle and deals with
the consequences of those choices in the title
story "Moral Disorder" and "The Entities".
Finally we see Nell and Tig facing old age and
dealing with aging parents in "the Bad News" and
"the Labrador Fiasco". Margaret Atwood writes
with a cleanness and clarity, a matter of
factness as she probes the human condition and
the choices we make. Yet she does write with
unexpected humor. For Margaret Atwood a Canadian
literary theme is one of survival whether it be
surviving the elements or your own best
friend/enemy. The Grand Dame of Canadian
Literature has done it again in this short 220
page collection. Read it, enjoy and use it to
move on to the many other works of this
multi-international award-winning author.
"Escape"
The Deercreek Literary Circle met on October 20
at the home of Martie Yohe. Martie also led the
discussion of “Escape” by Laura Palmer and
Carolyn Jessop. This autobiography is the story
of Carolyn Jessop, who was born into a
polygamous fundamentalist sect, and who managed
to escape, finally, accompanied by her eight
children. At the age of eighteen with only
forty-eight hours notice, Carolyn had been
forced to marry a fifty-year-old man, who at the
time already had several wives and many
children. Unlike many of the other wives in this
cult, she completed her college education and
taught school, although she had to turn over any
paychecks she received to her husband -- and she
often was not given enough money to feed her
children well. Carolyn described living
conditions that were hard to imagine in
contemporary America. In spite of a series of
tight controls, she managed to make outside
contacts, and after leaving she fought
successfully the attempts by her husband to
smear her reputation and to regain control over
the children. So hers is an inspirational story
of triumph over adversity.
“Undaunted Courage”
On September 15 the Literary Circle met at the
home of Maryann Grauwiler, where Judy Sawyer led
a discussion of Stephen Ambrose’s “Undaunted
Courage, the fascinating, enthralling biography
of Meriwether Lewis. Selected by Thomas
Jefferson to lead the Corps of Discovery, Lewis
leads the pioneering quest to find an all-water
route to the Pacific and to document the people,
land, plants and animals west of St. Louis.
Ambrose spares few details in telling the story
of this amazing expedition (1803-1806). Readers
live the hardships, toils, and triumphs of this
true “band of brothers.” Lewis, with undaunted
courage and strength, and William Clark and the
corps managed the impossible!
Ambrose’s love of the Northwest and his great
admiration for Meriwether Lewis are intertwined
in this historical epic narrative. What a
readable treasure trove of America’s early
history!
“Wild Swans”
On August 18 the Literary Circle met at Mimi’s
Restaurant at the St. Johns Centre to discuss
“Wild Swans” by Jung Chang. Dottie Patterson led
the discussion and provided a summary of the
author’s background. “Wild Swans” traces the
history of China through the eyes and lives of
female members of Chang’s family, who lived
through three distinct yet overlapping periods
of Chinese history. Chang’s grandmother and
great grandmother experienced the final years of
the Manchu Dynasty’s control over China. Her
mother experienced the Japanese invasion of
China in 1937, the rise of the Kuomintang (the
Chinese Nationalists) and the takeover by Mao’s
Communists. Jung Chang lived through the horrors
of the Cultural Revolution and has seen China
evolve into the quasi-capitalist society that it
is today.
At over 500 pages, “Wild Swans” is a detailed
personal history of China during over one
hundred years of its tragic and violent recent
history.
“Water for Elephants”
At the July meeting Camille Fowler lead a
discussion of Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants,
a book that has remained on the New York Times
bestseller list for two years. In this story a
young man, Jacob Jankowski, finds himself
homeless, without a family and just short of his
veterinary degree from Cornell. He jumps a
train, which just happens to be a circus train,
and his life is changed forever. The circus
takes him on as a veterinarian, he meets a
performer and falls in love. Jacob becomes part
of the gritty life led by misfits, acrobats,
drifters and people who are often very good at
heart but down on their luck. Jacob tells his
story from the point of the feisty 93-year-old
living in a nursing home that he has become.
Though he is dealing with the indignities of old
age, his memories are vivid, and even at 93 he
still has a plan. Could he possibly jump that
train again?
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May 2010
“The Hindi-Bindi Club”
Neelima leads the discussion.
Seated: Pat Gross, Mary Beissinger
& Elizabeth Curtin; Standing:
Maryann Grauwiler, Cary Flynn & Sue Akel
more photos...
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