In this quiet, thoughtful book by Wallace Stegner, the marriages and friendships of two couples unfold richly before our eyes. We met at Becky's house to discuss..."we" being the 7 of us. Seven? Yes! Two new ladies joined us for the first time and we were so happy to have them with us!
Welcome, Elspeth and Emily!
Points of Discussion:
- What makes a functional or dysfunctional relationship? All marriages and friendships have good and bad qualities. We have a choice to focus on the positive or negative aspects of others.
- Stegnar's writing style was impressive. The rich, descriptive narrative along with great character development drove the book even with its relatively low key plot. Jessica likened it to an Oscar nominated independent movie.
- The end was hard to read for many because of our personal experiences with illness and or the deaths of loved ones. What decisions does one make as dying and how do those decisions affect those around them? What if there's disagreement about those choices? Are we entitled to die the way we want?
- Charity was the strongest character so we discussed her quite a bit. Understatement of the night: "She really, really has a control problem."- Jessica We wondered about the ways we might be controlling others in our own relationships, even if not on the same scale as Charity. And we pondered Stegner's reasons for writing such strong woman characters.
- We mostly agreed the Italy section of the book was slow, not as interesting, and didn't lend much to the book as a whole.
Fun Facts:
BIG news was announced...Jessica is expecting! No name was announced, so as to avoid our harsh, unrelenting criticism.
Emily came to us already expecting, so we didn't get a big announcement but we are excited about her little one, too. It's a new generation of bibliophiles.
It was the first time we've ever had 7 ladies at a meeting, and it was wonderful!
Becky finally got to use her French tablecloth and knives for the first time.
The Food:
Seahawk Bread- an Oregon style appetizer with cream cheese, smoked salmon, baby shrimp, chopped red onion, and dill Havarti cheese.
Trying to avoid splattering oil while searing scallops.
Seared scallops on a bed of mashed cauliflower with arugula, asparagus, goat cheese salad.
Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake
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