Maisie Dobbs

Greta prepared a fabulous meal of pork tenderloin, spinach salad with agave honey goat cheese, mashed sweet potato and butternut squash puree, and cake with berries for dessert.  Each of these dishes paired perfectly with the Kenwood Sauvignon Blanc she brought.  We met at Becky's house and discussed Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear.

Points of discussion included:

• The character development and historic setting were top-rate, as were the inner psychological workings of the main character which though occasionally overdone (in some opinions) were meaningful and resonated with many of us.


• The book had a modern feel despite it's post WWI setting.  The war is an important part of the book, touching everyone in some way.  We all agreed the parts of the story that centered around the war were  rich in revelation about the history, emotion, and impact of the war on the people who lived then.


• The journey of Maisie Dobbs which was told via flashback was compelling for most of us, though it did have that familiar rags to riches tinge.


• Class issues came up, both the past and present day struggles people face by belonging to a certain class and perhaps trying to rise above it.  Relationships between different classes can be difficult to navigate.


• We all admired the author's portrayal of a heroine who has a holistic approach to truth.  The way she used her entire body, careful observation, quietness, meditation, etc to discern truth was intriguing and sparked much discussion for us.


• Most of us loved the book and plan to continue the series...though we'll never catch up with Nancy who has been off and running and has practically read all the Maisie Dobbs books available.

Fun Facts:

One not fun thing...it was Jenni's last meeting with us because she is moving.  We will miss her!!

Jessica joined us for the first time and it was great to have her with us!  She fit right in as if she had been meeting with us all along and had some good book recommendations as we grilled her about what kinds of books she likes most.

Some of our personal book mantras were revealed...

"Read, Enjoy, Move On" -Jenni   "Never watch the movie first." -Becky

and one that Jessica hopes to embrace one day..."Read, Don't Enjoy, STOP, Move On."

And a slight miracle occurred when Jessica mentioned one of her favorite books and, I can barely type it because it seems so unbelievable, Greta had read it!  Greta got to experience the feeling of having read a book that someone mentioned in casual conversation and frankly, she was overjoyed.