The Monday Book Club continues its Monday Book Talk in the Art Gallery at Taylor Books, 226 Capitol St., Charleston, WV.
Look at art, have a cup of coffee and enjoy lively discussion.

The Monday Book Club will meet at 6 p.m. Aug. 27 at Taylor Books to discuss the final book in the three-part series on spies. “Pascali’s Island” by Barry Unsworth was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1980.

Book Notes

Bond discussion

By Carol Campbell
For the Sunday Gazette-Mail

The group that met Monday to discuss “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” certainly proved me wrong when I said everyone knows James Bond. Several people neither had read a Bond book nor had seen the movies.
Most were surprised that there were no super-gadgets in the novel, though they did feel that Bond as created by Ian Fleming is an iconic “superhero” on the order of Batman or Superman.
They also compared Bond to another famous spy, George Smiley, created by John LeCarre. They felt that the reader wants to find out what Smiley thinks, but wants to know what Bond does.
One reader noted that Bond was the first spy to become visual through the movies and that the visualization added a dimension to the character that breaks the formulaic nature of the novels.
All were interested in the more vulnerable Bond in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” They felt that the suspense aspect of the novel, particularly the ending, was well done by Fleming. They found his characterization of the women uneven but interesting.
On the whole, our readers were glad to have read this novel, but felt sure they would not do it again.

‘Riddle’ recap

By Carol Campbell
For the Sunday Gazette-Mail

The group who gathered to discuss “The Riddle of the Sands” on June 25 was also reminded of things that they wanted to revisit, from their own sailing experiences to the real-life heroism of Shackleton in the Antarctic.

We explored the idea of the lone, committed person who becomes a hero by indefatigably pursuing the goal he believes in. In the case of Erskine Davies that was his yachting expertise and his relationship to the sea, but also his unrelenting patriotism.

The group decided that this tenacious characteristic is what creates both literary and actual heroes whatever their field of endeavor. This is the stuff of the “romantic hero” who captures the human imagination.

Childers’ stylized writing was appreciated by several people and one person thought that his unique talent had been somewhat wasted because he only wrote one novel.
But what a novel! It would really be something if every writer could produce an enduring classic like this one.

Some of the participants enjoyed “The Riddle of the Sands” because of its insight into navigation and geographical seascapes and others enjoyed the book in spite of those aspects. At the end of the evening we decided that we had divided our discussion in a way similar to the equal division of Childers’ novel between intricate descriptions of sailing excursions and the attempt to solve mysteries about ambiguous characters and sinister intentions.

‘The Light of Day’
isn’t your typical detective story

By Carol Campbell
For the Sunday Gazette-Mail

The Monday Book Club found Graham Swift’s “The Light of Day” to be an interesting book with many facets, but not necessarily a mystery, and certainly not a typical detective novel.

One person found it primarily a commentary on relationships explored through a comparative process. The many relationships among the characters seemed to reflect each other in the manner of a hall of mirrors. This served to deepen the reader’s understanding of the novel’s characters and of relationships in general.

At the book discussion on Monday, we talked about the way the novel works like a musical composition, with recurring leitmotifs and carefully crafted pacing and rhythm. The technique of presenting an account of one day in the life of the protagonist George Webb, while at the same time using that as a starting point for revealing his broader story seemed to our readers like a “theme with variations.” In fact, some people had been unaware while reading the book that it was about that one day in George’s life.

Most people thought that George was mistaken or even deluded about the possibilities of his making a life with Sarah after her release from prison, or even while she was in prison. It seemed to them an example of Swift’s depiction of personal narratives that “clean up” the messiness of reality. But George may actually have been distorting reality, and, of course, it is George’s voice that we hear in the novel.

There were differing opinions about the motives and character of the murderer. At least one person saw her as evil and calculating, setting up the circumstances of the murder deliberately. Others thought that her decision was made on the basis of what she learned in the moments after her husband came back to her — that he was never going to be able to really come back and that he would be unhappy the rest of his life. Some thought that killing him was more an act of mercy than of revenge.

Book Club attendees seemed to enjoy this departure from the more classic mysteries we have read.

Up next

For our next selection, we will be moving on to the spy novels on our list. “The Riddle of the Sands” is often called the first spy novel, but it, too, is unusual for that genre. The June selection will provide a primer in small yacht sailing and pre-World War I European history as well as an intriguing riddle.

“The Riddle of the Sands” by Erskine Childers will be discussed from 5 to 6 p.m. June 25 at Taylor Books, 226 Capitol St.

Carol Campbell leads discussions on books for the Sunday Gazette-Mail’s Monday Book Club and for the Kanawha County Public Library.

‘Trent’s Last Case’ flawed but enjoyable

By Carol Campbell
For the Sunday Gazette-Mail

Participants in the discussion of E.C. Bentley’s novel “Trent’s Last Case” decided that, while reading the book was engaging, both the character of Trent as presented and the general characterizations were flawed.

Most thought that Bentley had abruptly dropped characters after introducing them and following them through the plot for a short time. In fact, that flaw in the author was reflected in the character of Philip Trent.

The group believed that his ability as a detective was hampered by his not “pushing through” to the next level of questioning. They decided that it might be because he was an amateur and had less of his identity as a person invested in solving the crime.

In Trent, Bentley succeeded in creating a detective who would be unlike Sherlock Holmes, the self-defined master detective. Although Bentley’s more modest model was used by later famous writers of detective fiction, at least one person said Sherlock Holmes was the epitome of the fictional detective. The problem the book group seemed to have was that Trent was not quite enough like Holmes.

Most book club members thought Trent was not objective enough. From the time he fell in love with the wife of the victim, the solution of the crime faded into the background. Sherlock Holmes would have pursued the investigation to its logical conclusion no matter if the guilt fell on the object of his affection. Trent backed away from the final horror of that possibility.

We keep discovering over and over that it is enjoyable to read a mystery novel that is less than perfect and even a flawed novel with a somewhat flawed character can produce a profitable discussion.

Carol Campbell is the discussion leader for the Sunday Gazette-Mail’s Monday Book Club.

Readers question Milne’s ‘light’ tone in mystery

By Regina Holbert
rholbert@wvgazette.com

On Monday night, readers sat down at Taylor Books to discuss the Monday Book Club’s second selection in its yearlong “Mysteries, Spies and Murder Most Foul” series, A.A. Milne’s “The Red House Mystery.”

Milne, best known as the creator of children’s literature’s beloved Winnie the Pooh, wrote the novel — his first and only mystery — at the suggestion of his colleague and mentor H.G. Wells.

The plot of “The Red House Mystery” revolves around the efforts of two amateur detectives to solve the mystery of their host’s disappearance after a gathering at his English country estate.

The bulk of the reader discussion Monday evening centered on two subjects. First, readers debated whether the book’s “light” treatment of the subject matter and its lack of character development were assets or drawbacks.
Many liked the book because it was an easy, quick read. One group member even commented that mysteries are “the sitcom of writing” and we return to them again and again because we are always entertained and we always know what we’re going to get.

The group also spent some time talking about the book’s place in the mystery genre. Discussion leader Carol Campbell shared some excerpts from an essay written by mystery author Raymond Chandler wherein Chandler expresses some pointed criticism of Milne’s novel.

Group finds great characters, not-so-great ending

By Carol Campbell
For the Sunday-Gazette Mail

An energetic group of regulars and newcomers met Monday evening to discuss the first in the new series in the Sunday Gazette Mail’s Monday Book Club, now into its fourth year.

The group of books on the theme of British mysteries began with a classic mystery, “The Moonstone” by Wilkie Collins. Many people have called this the first mystery, though some others are earlier, notably Poe’s “Murders In the Rue Morgue.” However, there is no denying that “The Moonstone” is a classic of the genre, containing some of the devices that have become standard — red herrings, eccentric characters and a surprising ending.

The discussion began with a consideration of these elements of mysteries and which of them appeal to readers and keep them coming back not only to the genre, but to the same mystery writers over and over. The group decided that character development is very important, and the idea that the reader can hope to solve the puzzle before reaching the revelation at the end of the book.

The Book Club participants decided that “The Moonstone” stacks up pretty well in terms of eccentric characters. The story is “written” by various witnesses of the events surrounding the disappearance of the famous diamond. From Betteredge (the house steward) through Ms. Clack (the purveyor of religious pamphlets), all the way to the intrepid detective Sergeant Cuff, it is a roll of eccentrics one and all. The group also agreed that red herrings were amply supplied to trick the reader into thinking the housemaid with the criminal past or the unscrupulous do-gooder might have taken the jewel.

The group was a little less satisfied with Collins’ resolution of the mystery, finding it a little too surprising almost to the point of being contrived. Most of the dedicated mystery fans at the meeting were disappointed with the ending because there would have been no way a reader could have come up with the solution to the puzzle.

Other aspects of the discussion concerned Collins’ close and collaborative relation with Charles Dickens. The novel was serialized in 1868 in Dickens’ publication All the Year Round. Participants were interested in connecting the events of the novel with Wilkie Collins’ social concerns and the controversies of his day, principally British imperialism and class inequality. One participant found the novel an early statement of feminism in its treatment of its female characters.

Most critics believe the fictional story of the theft of the moonstone is derived from the real story of the famous Kolinoor diamond. The Kolinoor has had a long history of passing from hand to hand, not always in a legitimate manner. Legend has it that it brings bad luck to males who own it and good luck to females who own it. The good-luck aspect may have been concocted because the diamond passed into the crown-jewels collection of Queen Victoria in 1851 and is now set in the crown of Queen Elizabeth.

The next book in the mystery series is “The Red House Mystery” by A.A. Milne, which will be discussed at 6 p.m. Feb. 26 at Taylor Books.
Carol Campbell of Charleston leads the discussion for the Sunday Gazette-Mail’s Monday Book Club.

Giardina recognized

Charleston author Denise Giardina will receive the 2007 Hillsdale Award for Fiction for her novel “Saints and Villains” during the Conference on Southern Literature in Chattanooga, Tenn., in March. The prize is one of eight given by the Fellowship of Southern Writers to emerging writers.

The fellowship was created in 1989 to nurture literature in the South. Among its founding members were Eudora Welty, Robert Penn Warren, Shelby Foote, Walker Percy and William Styron.

Giardina is also the author of the novels “Good King Harry,” “Storming Heaven,” “Unquiet Earth” and others.

Web site adds picks

On Feb. 1, the Kanawha County Public Library Web site began featuring Pearl’s Picks, a new service from Nancy Pearl. Pearl is a regular contributor to National Public Radio and is a nationally known librarian who inspired a librarian action figure. She will release a dozen book reviews each month, available at www.kanawhalibrary.org.

“The library system is excited about this partnership with Nancy Pearl,” Toni Blessing, adult collection coordinator, said in a news release. “We’re pleased that our patrons will benefit from her expertise and love of reading.”

Writing competition

The West Virginia Writers Annual Writing Competition is offering $6,650 in cash prizes in 16 categories this year, including works by children and teens.
Entries are being accepted through March 15 from any West Virginia resident and all members of WVW, regardless of residence.

To obtain entry forms, call contest administrator Patsy Pittman, 295-4738; write WVW Inc., 906 18th St., Vienna, WV 26105; or visit the group’s Web site, www.wvwriters.org.

Professional writers and teachers will judge the entries.

Coal camp memoir

Barbara Gillespie Davis of Stevensville, Md., has written a book about growing up on Cabin Creek in the 1940s and ’50s.

“Echo of the Hills: Journal of a Coal Miner’s Daughter” is published by Xulan Press. The paperback is $13.99.

Area writers published

Publish America has printed the books of two area residents: “The Worm” by W. Dale Parsons of Cross Lanes and “Cries of a Wounded Soul” by Karen Frazier of Dunbar. The books are available through www.publishamerican.com.

-- Compiled by Rosalie Earle

"Native Son" discussion

By Regina Holbert
rholbert@wvgazette.com

The discussion of Richard Wright’s controversial novel “Native Son” was the last book talk for 2006.

Wright’s novel, published in 1940, was the last in a series examining banned books. The book tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a black man in 1930s Chicago who faces execution for the murder of a white woman. The central theme of Wright’s plot is a damning criticism of the poverty and racism that created Bigger.

The group discussed the difference between injustice and oppression as it pertained to Bigger’s attorney’s plea for mercy at his trial. The lawyer argues that Bigger should get life instead of execution not because he is a victim of injustice, but because he is a victim of oppression — “injustice presupposes equal claims.”

The group also spent time talking about the relationship between lawyer and client. Bigger felt that the attorney’s speech in his defense showed that his lawyer understood Bigger’s life and the circumstances that created him like no one before. Group leader Carol Campbell questioned whether this assumed connection was no more than a smart defense for an obviously guilty defendant.

The group also discussed how the poverty and racism Wright portrayed so starkly in his novel still lingers today.

The Monday Book Club will meet next at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 29 at Taylor Books to discuss “The Moonstone” by Wilkie Collins. The novel is the first of the group’s yearlong look at “Mystery, Spies and Murder Most Foul” in British fiction.

Banned-book talk continues

Monday’s Book Club meeting was a busy one, with the group discussion of September’s selection, “The Satanic Verses” by Salman Rushdie, and also a discussion of ideas for the 2007 book list.

Carol Campbell opened the book talk by offering up a summary of the global outrage that erupted when Rushdie’s most famous book was published in 1988: Immediate bans in South Africa and Rushdie’s native India; mass book burnings and protests in England; six people killed and hundreds injured in Pakistan and India, etc.

The novel, which one group member described as “a romp through the sacred and profane,” proved to be a challenge to some readers but most agreed that it was certainly a book worthy of discussion.

Campbell organized her talk around the three sections of the book, each dealing with a different version of “satanic verses.” The group also explored the way the novel portrays the immigrant experience, which Rushdie maintains is the overriding theme of the novel.

Next month the group will continue its survey of banned books with a discussion of George Orwell’s 1946 allegory on communism, “Animal Farm.”
Amazon.com says, “[F]ueled by Orwell’s intense disillusionment with Soviet communism, ‘Animal Farm’ is a nearly perfect piece of writing, both an engaging story and an allegory that actually works.”

The Book Club will meet to discuss the book at 6 p.m., Oct. 30 at Taylor Books, 221 Capitol St.

2007 Reading List

Drawing on the comments and suggestions from readers during previous meetings, Campbell has compiled a tentative list of books by British authors for next year titled “Mysteries, Spies and Murder Most Foul.” Readers are encouraged to e-mail her with feedback at likekant@suddenlink.net. Readers who attend the meeting Oct. 30 will vote on the final list.

Mysteries:
“The Moonstone” by Wilkie Collins
“The Red House Mystery” by A.A. Milne
“Black Coffee” by Agatha Christie
“Trent’s Last Case” by E.C. Bentley
“The Light of Day” by Graham Swift
Spies:
“The Riddle of the Sands” by Erskine Childers
“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” by Ian Fleming
“Pascali’s Island” by Barry Unsworth
Murder most foul:
“Butcher Boy” by Patrick McCabe
“Debt to Pleasure” by John Lancaster
“Case Histories” by Kate Atkinson

Cross Lanes memoir

Just My Best has published Michael Spencer’s first novel, “The Memoirs of Someone Awesome.” Told in the first person, this 116-page semiautobiographical book traces the growing-up and early adult years of the author. The stories are true but the names have been changed, says the author, a 32-year-old Cross Lanes resident who works as a sales trainer at Big Sandy Superstores.

Spencer grew up in a conservative Christian home, and the book traces his guilt, depression and confusion as he strays from the straight and narrow, then works his way back to figuring out who he is and who he wants to be.
The paperback book is listed at $16.95 and can be ordered from Amazon.com.

Focus on scuba diving

Former Charleston resident Eric Douglas has just published a second novel, “Flooding Hollywood.”

Now living in Durham, N.C., Douglas writes adventure stories that focus on scuba diving. His main character, Mike Scott, is from West Virginia and refers to learning to dive in Summersville Lake.

Overcoming the odds

Cecil Cline has written his biography about growing up poor in McDowell County, and going on to obtain an engineering degree and form a specialized manufacturing business in Huntington. Along the way, he became a Christian.

“Sunrise Over Appalachia” can be purchased at bookstores or Amazon.com, or send $13.95 to Sunrise Books, 127 E. Maranta Road, Mooreville, NC 28117. Cline lives in North Carolina.

Civil War novel

“She Came from West Virginia” is the title of a historical novel of the Civil War written by Paul Dodd of Baldwinsville, N.Y.

A native of Summers County, Dodd writes about the drama and intrigue in the forming of the new state of West Virginia. According to the book jacket, “The depiction of living conditions, life situations and viewpoints are the result of extensive research by the author.”

The paper book is $28 and can be ordered from Heritage
Books.com, or phone (800) 876-6103.

 

Characters informed by race or Darwin?

At its latest meeting, the Sunday Gazette-Mail Monday Book Club entered “The Lost World” to discuss both the book and its author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Doyle modeled two of the book’s characters, the scientists Challenger and Summerlee, on former professors of his at the University of Edinburgh.

Scientist/Professor Challenger, a new character Doyle hoped would supplant Sherlock Holmes, had his own share of eccentricities that were more than enough to match those Doyle had killed off in his detective. Doyle wrote five adventures in the Challenger series, but was still obliged to revive Sherlock Holmes after the public outcry over his death.

The other two men who visit the dinosaur-infested plateau in the Amazon refer to the two real-life founders of The Congo Relief Association: Edward Malone (the journalist) is the fictionalized Edmund Dene Morel; and Lord John Roxton is Roger Casement.

The organization was founded to bring public attention to the treatment of the natives of the Congo under Belgian colonization. Doyle had written a pamphlet titled “The Crime of the Congo” in 1909, three years before the publication of “The Lost World.”

The discussion group decided that if Doyle intended to present a more humane view of how one treats the inhabitants of strange lands, he failed in the attempt. The four men sent to investigate the world caught in past time are infested with more than a hint of racism, deciding who should live and who should die seemingly based on their resemblance to the European white “race.”

However, as one participant remarked, their seeming prejudice could have been based on Darwin’s theory of evolution, which would make the treatment of the plateau’s groups more a decision to save the “most highly evolved” species rather than one based on pure racism.

Conan Doyle was certainly abreast of all the latest scientific theories including Darwinism. Indeed, he was a man who delighted in new pursuits and ideas, including spiritualism.

He had joined the British Society for Psychical Research in 1893 and his second wife, Jean Leckie, did automatic writing. Doyle was famously involved in the incident of the Cottingly Fairies, giving his (author-itative) opinion that the fairies in the photograph were real. He also played Sherlock Holmes in two real-life cases, the George Edalji case and the Oscar Slater case.

In trying to compare the main theme of this novel with the themes of the other three the Monday Book Club read in the series on adventure, the participants decided that “The Lost World” is mainly about the ideal of science, that is, the attempt to develop new views of the world based on investigation and testing.
This ideal should be pursued no matter how it is opposed by inconvenience, danger or negative public opinion. Professor Challenger and his colleagues certainly embodied this ideal.

--Carol Campbell

Students bring fresh point of view

The Book Club’s July 31 meeting to discuss Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi” included some surprise guests: a group of ambitious students from next year’s George Washington High School Honors English program.

The students brought a fresh point of view to the discussion that centered mostly on the author’s promise that his story would “make you believe in God.”

Discussion leader Carol Campbell surveyed the group: Did the story make believers out of us?

Certainly, Martel’s fantastic stories (yes, that’s plural — Martel’s Pi gives two versions of what really happened after his family’s boat sank and that’s the key to understanding the book) give readers some interesting things to think about in regard to their own level of faith. In the end, I think most readers agreed that Pi’s more magical version of events was the better storyline.
Next up in the Adventure of Reading series is “The Lost World” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The novel is one of two books Doyle wrote featuring Professor George E. Challenger. Doyle’s 1912 book follows Challenger, a fellow scientist, a big-game hunter and a journalist to a remote region of the Amazon, where they discover dinosaurs that have survived.

Campbell is interested in a discussion of Doyle’s choice of a lengthy opening for the book to introduce Challenger. The group will meet to discuss the novel at 6 p.m. on Aug. 28 at Taylor Books.

Hidden Hemingway

One regular reader at Monday’s Book Talk on Ernest Hemingway’s short novel “The Old Man and the Sea” shared with the group a quote from Hemingway on what he termed the “iceberg principle” of writing: Hemingway felt that the best and most important part of a story is what is hidden.

And this turned out to be the theme for the entire discussion. After all, surely it can’t be as simple as a story about a man and a fish, right?

Sure it can, another regular observed. “That’s the reason it’s good.”
Someone else pointed out that the simplicity of the story and the writing style leave it open to many, many levels of interpretation.

The group touched upon several issues in the book, discussing the title itself and what Hemingway’s choice of words implies with regard to the role (or not) of the sea as antagonist. Readers also talked about the wealth of religious symbolism in the novel, which led to comparisons with another classic fish tale — Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick.”

Next month, the group will meet to discuss “The Quiet American” by Graham Greene at 6 p.m. on June 26 in the Taylor Books Art Gallery. Check this site, or the Life and Style section of the Sunday Gazette-Mail for a preview of the book on June 4.

Dangerous literature

Speaking of book clubs, Monday Book Talk discussion leader Carol Campbell has another group that meets at the Main Library in Charleston from September through May. The group meets once a month from 3 to 5 p.m. on Thursdays in the third floor Ray Room.

The group, now in its 11th year, has decided on a rather intriguing theme for its next round of books: “Dangerous Liasons: The Powerful Human Need for Intimate Relationships.” The reading list and discussion dates:

September 7 — “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov
October 5 — “The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum” by Heinrich Boll
November 2 — “Giovanni’s Room” by James Baldwin
December 7 — “Sons and Lovers” by D.H. Lawrence

2007
January 4 — “The Book of Salt” by Monique Truong
February 1 — “Moll Flanders” by Daniel Defoe
March 1 — “Other Voices, Other Rooms” by Truman Capote
April 5 — “Maggie, A Girl of the Streets” by Stephen Crane
May 3 — “Orlando” by Virginia Woolf

There’s more to book clubs than reading

Last week’s meeting marked the end of the 2005 schedule for the Sunday Gazette-Mail’s Monday Book Club, and as I listened to the discussion I thought once again about how book clubs are so much more than just books.
For example, at Monday’s gathering the focus was British author Michael Frayn’s 2002 novel “Spies,” but discussion leader Carol Campbell began the meeting by talking about a podcast interview with Frayn she stumbled upon while gathering background information for the book talk.

In the interview, which was part of a program called “Bookworm” (you can download podcasts at www.kcrw.org), Frayn discussed the concept of “schemata,” or methods of imposing order on the world. This was a good lead-in to an examination of “Spies,” which involves two young boys in World War II-era England who become convinced that one’s mother is a German spy.

Campbell also found several reviews of the book that she shared with members of the group. One critic from the London Observer described the book as being “a mystery, a war story and a coming of age narrative.” This proved to be a good framework for discussing the novel.

Book Talk regulars also often bring their own background information on books or authors to the meetings, or share recommendations for other books or book-related programs or Web sites that people in the group might enjoy.

Author Frayn is also well known as a playwright. Some at the discussion had attended performances of his two best-known plays, “Copenhagen” and “Noises Off,” and shared their experiences and discussed when area theater groups may be performing those plays.

With the 2005 Book Talk schedule coming to an end, I’d like to encourage anyone who loves literature and the discovery of new things to join the group next year. Herman Hesse’s “Siddhartha” will be the topic of the first discussion at 6 p.m. on Jan. 30 in the Art Gallery at Taylor Books in Charleston (the bookstore offers a 20 percent discount on Book Club titles, by the way). Check this site and the Sunday Gazette-Mail’s Arts & Letters pages in the coming weeks for a list of books and Book Talk meeting dates.

--Regina C. Davis

Book talk roundup

On Oct. 31, the Monday Book Club met to discuss October’s selection, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.

Classic books are always well received by the book club, and readers responded warmly to Lee’s novel also.

Justice, or the lack of it, is the central theme of the book, and likewise was the main topic of conversation among the group.

Readers loved the “beautiful characters” in the novel, particularly attorney Atticus Finch, who many felt was the hero of the story.

One reader, who grew up in the Deep South during the Civil Rights Movement, commented that he felt “To Kill a Mockingbird” was a “hopeful book,” because of its notions of justice and the fact that it was evidence that society was making “headway” toward racial equality.

Readers who attended Monday’s Book Talk also voted on 2006 titles from a list prepared by discussion leader Carol Campbell.

Books by local writers

Kenneth Price, a West Virginia coal miner, has written a romantic novel, “The Emotions of Devotion.” The book is $19.95 if ordered directly from the publisher, Publish America. The book can also be purchased from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

Excerpts of the book can be read on the Web site www.wvauthor.org.
A 67-page book of poetry titled “Emotions of the Heart” by P.J. James has been published by Publish America. James grew up in a poor family in Charleston, dropped out of school, married and later got her GED.

On the back of the book, she wrote that she uses her poems to help others see there is always hope. Her book may be ordered from the Web site www.publishamerica.com.

A la ‘Da Vinci’

For fans of Dan Brown’s runaway thriller “The Da Vinci Code,” two new paperback releases may hold some interest.

“The Romanov Prophecy” by Steve Berry sends Atlanta lawyer Miles Lord to Moscow for a client. Lord begins to find connections between the case and the villainous Rasputin of the Russian Revolution.

Publishers Weekly describes the novel “as a solid tale a cut above — and then some — many thrillers on the market,” and Brown himself offered a glowing jacket blurb.

“The Third Translation” by Matt Bondurant follows a middle-aged British scholar as he attempts to uncover the secret of an ancient Egyptian artifact. A quick scan of various reviews on the book reveals a mixed reaction from readers and critics; some didn’t like the main character, while others felt that the meticulous research and ambitious scope outweighed any negative aspects.

This book may not be worth the investment of buying it in hardback, but as an inexpensive paperback or library loan it’s worth a look.

 

Group analyzes 'Cather in the Rye' character

Once again, a classic novel drew a larger-than-average crowd to the Monday Book Talk at Taylor Books on Aug. 29.

The focus of the discussion was J.D. Salinger’s 1951 novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” the most assigned and most banned book in the years since its publication.

The observations of Salinger’s autobiographical hero, Holden, sparked a discussion that was part criticism, part psychological analysis by the group.

Many readers were turned off by Holden’s cynicism and general crabbiness, and others believed his problems stemmed from his unresolved feelings over his brother’s death, something that is only briefly mentioned in the book itself.

The group also talked about the various symbols in the book, including Holden’s outlandish hunting hat (a symbol of his uniqueness and his need for comfort) and the ducks in the pond in the park (things that survive in an inhospitable environment).

Lastly, the group talked for a while about the idea that the novel is an example of what scholars consider classic literature. What is it, discussion leader Carol Campbell asked, that makes the novel a classic? One member of the group pointed out that Salinger’s novel is, for the most part, the foundation of adolescent literature in that all other writers took their cues from “Catcher,” while another reader cited the novel’s many “different layers of truth” as the basis for its enduring appeal.

“The Catcher in the Rye” is the first in the Monday Book Club’s series of coming-of-age novels. The group will discuss “Child of My Heart” by Alice McDermott at its meeting on Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. in the art gallery at Taylor Books, 221 Capitol St.

Readers ponder subject of time

Several new faces appeared at the larger-than-average Monday Book Talk group to discuss Alan Lightman’s “Einstein’s Dreams” on Monday, July 25.

Lightman’s short book is actually a series of vignettes based on what Lightman, a physicist at MIT, imagined Einstein dreamed as he worked on his famous theories in 1905. The stories present alternate worlds where people experience time in a radically different way.

For the most part, readers seemed to enjoy the book and it proved to be an interesting discussion. One reader remarked that she saw the book as a game and enjoyed the way Lightman played with time.

The group discussed the idea that the message of the book is that people can change time through their perceptions. Another reader commented that she enjoyed the book because it made her “get out of the box” and rethink her ideas about time.

Members of the group engaged in a lively discussion about the definition of time, our experience with time and when humans began to acknowledge the passage of time. The conversation included a broad range of references, from biblical reference to time, to the basics of quantum physics to the ideas put forth by Stephen Hawking in his book “A Brief History of Time.”

In an interesting aside to the conversation about Lightman’s book, discussion leader Carol Campbell talked about an essay she discovered on the Internet that referred to “Einstein’s Dreams.” The essay was written shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the writer wished that Lightman’s different versions of time were possible so that the buildings could rebuild themselves.

As the group wrapped up its meeting, Campbell offered some more titles for readers to check out that are similar to Lightman’s book: “Invisible Cities” by Italo Calvino, “Time’s Arrow” by Martin Amos and “Time and Again” by Jack Finney.

Readers say character missed chances to change

The Monday Book Talk discussion of Mylene Dressler’s “The Deadwood Beetle” ranged far afield, covering multiple aspects of the issues dealt with in the book. Indeed, the discussion was much like the book, uncovering subtleties of position and nuances of opinion in the participants.

Most of the group believed that the main character, the entomologist Tristan Martens, was a man who found the prospect of change too difficult. Someone remarked that he found some closure through the events of the novel, but that he missed his chance for any real change.

The group considered the effects of being connected, however innocently, with the horrific events of the extermination of thousands of Jews in Holland during the Nazi regime. They felt that when Tristan first tried to secure his mother’s table from the antique store run by Cora, he was looking for a way to hide from guilt, much as he had hidden under the table at the time the ambiguous message was carved on it. Though Tristan was a child at the time, guilt seemed to be part of his adult nature, inbred as are the habits of the deadwood beetle.

One reader compared it to the collective guilt in America over the institution of slavery, even though many who feel it were not involved in the injustice of slavery.

When discussion leader Carol Campbell asked if the novel was a love story, some members of the group thought it was, but a failed love story at best, and most of the group put the blame for failure squarely on the shoulders of Tristan. Readers considered the various views of marriage and family given in the book: Tristan’s family background; Cora and Sandor’s marriage; the family of Tristan’s graduate student; and Tristan’s relationship with his own wife and son.

Some participants thought that Tristan was conditioned by his own upbringing in such a way that he could not find the will to reconcile with his estranged loved ones. Another reader said that the reason Tristan had become a scientist was to distance himself from possible hurt, to take a clinical view not only of beetles, but of people and relationships.

The group talked a little bit about the different kinds of love. There was a suggestion that what was happening in Tristan’s relationship with Cora was that it was changing from a possible romantic love into friendship. In some ways, that’s what Cora was looking for all along — someone who could stand by her as she tried to deal with her husband’s medical condition of being in a nonresponsive state.

One person remarked that Tristan was sort of cut off from the world in the same way that Sandor was; Elida, the graduate student, was Tristan’s tether to the world just as Cora was Sandor’s. Without those tenuous connections, both men would drift off into total isolation.

The group considered the possible comparisons in the book between the behavior (and perhaps destiny) of beetles and that of people. Just as deadwood beetles have evolved in a certain way into a defined niche in the natural world, some readers believed that Tristan had been moved by his early experiences toward a definite emotional destiny.

The situation with Cora was a chance for him to break free of that conditioning, but most readers thought that he was not able to take advantage of that opportunity; almost unanimously it was agreed that Tristan did not change by the end of the book. One person said she perceived the potential for change and all agreed that the book ended with its issues unresolved.

‘Letters from Yellowstone’

By Regina C. Davis
mondaybookclub@wvgazette.com

At Monday’s Book Talk, discussion leader Carol Campbell began by providing the group with some background information about “Letters from Yellowstone” author Diane Smith and early expeditions to the area. The novel, Smith explained in an interview, is about “perspectives on nature and the nature of science.”

And the “nature of science” is one issue the group kept returning to. What role does science play? Is it opposed to religion? Can the two seemingly opposing ideas be reconciled?

Science, as one reader pointed out, “is a pejorative word. Science changes.” As society’s views of the role of science change, so does the debate. We certainly didn’t resolve the question, but we had an interesting discussion trying.

Smith waged the nature vs. science debate in the letters of her characters. Campbell pointed out Professor Merriam’s conversation with the expedition group:

“Science, myth and religion all enable each of us in our own way, depending upon how we were raised and the books we were given to read at an early age, to bring order to what is otherwise a very chaotic-seeming world. It appears that it is in our nature as a species to construct these kinds of stories.”

Issues of feminism played a role in Smith’s plot as well. Her main character, Alexandra Bartram, has obtained her position on the expedition team because its leader assumed she was a man. Of course, when she arrives at the site the others are at a loss as to what to do with her.

Our discussion of Bartram and feminism led many readers to comment about her growth as a character as the story progressed. Although one person described her character as “sexless” at the beginning of the story, another pointed out that Alexandra “came into her own” by the novel’s conclusion. Minor characters also were used to elaborate on Smith’s themes of feminism.

‘House of Sand and Fog’ traps its characters

By Regina C. Davis
mondaybookclub@wvgazette.com

The cover of the Monday Book Club’s April selection, Andre Dubus’ “House of Sand and Fog” is a stark depiction of a solitary house in shades of gray.

And perhaps the phrase “shades of gray” is an apt way to describe the conclusion readers reached about the book at the monthly Monday Book Talk.

The plot of the book is driven by circumstances beyond the characters’ control, therefore there is no single character who is completely bad or completely sympathetic; they are all flawed in some way.

A significant part of the discussion focused on the idea that Dubus’ novel contained many elements of Shakespearean tragedy, with each character confronting impossible circumstances and their actions complicated by the tragic flaws of each.

Another aspect of the discussion involved debate about who was the main character of the story: Kathy, the relapsed addict whose home is mistakenly auctioned by the county; Behrani, the Iranian immigrant who purchases the home and refuses to sell it back; or Lester, the county deputy who begins an affair with Kathy after he comes to evict her.

Discussion leader Carol Campbell pointed out that the novel is divided into two parts: with the first part narrated in first person by Kathy and Behrani; and the second (narrated in third person) focused on Lester. Readers agreed that Dubus’ use of third person for Lester made him a less sympathetic character because readers had less of a feel for his motivations.

Finally, the group touched upon the social issues that play a minor role in the book. Kathy narrates at length on her experience in rehab and mentions the controversy over the two main philosophies of treatment for addicts: Alcoholics Anonymous and Rational Recovery.

Domestic violence also is a theme. Behrani is physically aggressive toward his wife and Kathy, and Lester seems consumed at times with his role as a rescuer of women who have been physically abused.

The Book Club’s discussion of “House of Sand and Fog” concludes the series on books and Hollywood movies, “The Reel Connection.” Next month, the Book Club will begin a new series, “Science in Fiction” with a discussion of Diane Smith’s “Letters from Yellowstone” at 6 p.m. May 23 in the Taylor Books Art Gallery.

(Note that the discussion is being moved from the last Monday in the month, which is the Memorial Day holiday, to May 23.)

‘All Quiet on the Western Front’

By Regina C. Davis
mondaybookclub@wvgazette.com

I had trouble finding a parking spot at the start of the Monday Book Club’s first meeting of 2005, and when I saw the larger than average crowd that had gathered to discuss Erich Maria Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front,” I realized why.

The diverse group had a lively discussion on a range of topics, including the primary theme of comradeship. The closeness among the soldiers grew out of their experience in the trenches — the young men had no one but each other. Survival depended on their ability to bond.

The novel ends on an ironic and poignant note: After surviving the deaths of all his fellow soldiers, Paul Baumer finally dies on a day when the military declares “all quiet on the Western Front.”

Members of the group agreed that Remarque’s deliberate timing of the narrator’s death was obviously a reflection of his ideas about how war makes individuals insignificant. One group member said the scene echoes the novel’s themes of “irony and waste.”

It was inevitable that Remarque’s portrayal of the horrors of war and the personal conflicts of soldiers would lead to a discussion of the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq. One group member observed that young men in real life, like Baumer and his schoolmates, are always the most enthusiastic about the adventure and bravery fighting in a war represents. Another questioned whether we continue to fight wars because human beings are inherently savage or beastly.

Unfortunately, the large group did not have a chance to touch on a comparison of the Oscar-winning film of 1930, which was one reason why the novel was chosen as part of the Book Club’s Reel Connection series.

However, several group members had smaller discussions of the film after the group discussion, and discussion leader Carol Campbell plans to include a comparison to the film version for the Book Club’s next selection, “The Remains of the Day.”