Five happy bookclubbers arrived at Kathy's place on 5 July to talk about many things including books, and were joined by a very relaxed pussycat who didn't join in the conversation but purred along quietly to the rhythm of the meeting. Those who weren't able to hum along with us that evening were Cherrie, Barb, McLassie and Cherilyn - all separately tied up elsewhere with family matters. After forgetting that we hadn't talked about transient global amnesia - we did. And particularly Barb's recent experience which then reminded us about Cherrie's earlier encounter with such an odd medical event. After audible sighs of relief that TGA, though scary, is pretty much an unusual one-off event, with no predictive features for future forgetful experiences, we then speculated that Megan's second opinion ENT guy might also have had a TGA episode and hoped he would get over it and finally make contact with her the next day.
So on to the books. After his earlier forays into the art world with The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, and the film world with Electric Hotel, we went to Italy with Dominic Smith this time around, via 'Return to Valetto'. Though it ended well for Hugh and Elissa, we conjectured whether it was a book about abandonment? or grief? or inherited grievance? or even a twist on Cinderella? or ends justify means?, or something else? Told through its narrator, historian Hugh Fisher, the story was grounded in family history, but it seemed to have a few loose threads for some, and too much Italian lingo for others (where is Cherrie when her bookclub needs her fabulouso italian pronunciation?).
Despite not finding out why Aldo never returned to Valetto, the story held attention - with the secret events of WW2 and reflections on the Italian partisans and Nazi collaborators quickly overtaking the thorny question of property inheritance. In this world of instant communication, it was perhaps a nod to the past that this secret was revealed through previously unknown private letters between the mothers of our main characters, Hugh and Elissa. And who doesn't like a good secret to drive a book? Whether the final denunciation, coming after Ida's big 100th birthday party, was well conceived and a good way to end (the book that is, not Silvio R) was conjectured by all - and the general consensus was that it was perhaps an untidy end to a light but interesting read.
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| A very comfortable el pussycato |
As we moved on to Kathy's selection 'The Bookbinder of Jericho', el pussycato found her place curled up in her sleeping cushion and a few wondered if they might join her, though as Kathy launched us into Pip Williams' latest - not quite a sequel to her earlier 'Dictionary of Lost Words' - any chance to smooch with le petit chat was left well behind.
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| Margy's copy - The Complete Works of Shakespeare |
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| Frontispiece of 1910 copy |
There was general agreement this book took longer to get into than PW's first novel, and as we were thinking about how the book tiptoed across history while the bookbinders danced along the gathering table, Margy drew out of her bag her surprise book! It was her copy of the original 1910 publication by the Oxford University Press of the book referred to in Jericho, 'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare'. And so Margy was able to evidence that the quote in the first pages of Jericho was indeed from the 1910 publication edited by WJ Craig - 'I have only ventured to deviate where it seemed to me that the carelessness of either copyist or printer deprived a word or sentence wholly of meaning'. Bound in leather, with gilt lettering and page edging, her beautiful old book threw us all into a different space - but affirmed that sound research was done by author Pip Williams for Jericho. We reflected on the characters including the sufragette/VAD nurse Tilda, her friend and mother of the twins (whose story, Mog suggested, could be PW's next book), Lotte and Bastiaan, and Kathy's best character, Miss Garnell. Some wondered (but didn't mention) whether the book attempted to engage us to make comparisons (thinking here of similarities in PW's two companion books; using twins as central characters; PW referencing Vera Brittain more than a few times - VB was the author of her 1933 autobiography 'Testament of Youth' about similar times, VAD nursing, fighting for women's suffrage and entry to Oxford) - just a random thought here from your blogger! But there was general agreement that though another interesting story, this book probably wasn't as engaging as Lost Words.
Our evening finished with delicious Apple Strawberry crumble cake and talk about America, Trump, Biden, Putin and Prigozhin. But the lasting image for the evening was of Jeremy in his undies and socks, as described by Mog, when he enthusiastically emerged to proclaim that he could now pull on both his socks and undies despite his dislocated shoulder. What an ever-lasting vision we were left with!
Next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 5th September 2023, at McLassie's place with book selections:
McLassie: Trespasses, by Louise Kennedy
Margy: Best of Friends, by Kamila Shamsie
However, we agreed that with possible absences in September, this date may be reviewed, so stay tuned.
