Houses, Doors, Homes

Tuesday 18 March 2025 and all bookclubbers were in for a full house at Barb's place for the first meeting for 2025.

The only scratching for the evening was 'Noble Ambitions', Cherilyn's first book choice which was rejected by her not long after it was chosen.  Some slogged their way through some of it, some not much of it, and all were thankful at Cherilyn's wise decision to ditch.  Adrian Tinniswood, we all agreed, seemed more interested in delving into aimless decadence and upper class gossip than the demise of Britain's stately homes and the changing nature of British society.  Though seemingly a well credentialed historian, the anecdote that you can't judge a book by its cover seemed fitting, but FnBer's also added the byline  'or its author'.    

W Somerset Maugham in 1934

Barb leapt out of the vacuum of triviality and took us to the world of W Somerset Maugham via Tan Twang Eng's book, The House of Doors, shortlisted for the Booker.  Set in the 1920's British colony Penang, and based around Maugham looking for a story to write (erroneously to bolster his flagging fortune, as Barb's meticulous research revealed) FnB'ers were unanimous about the novel - well researched, well written, well received.  Weaving the smells of Penang, with the cunning of the British to deceive, with the threads of Chinese history, and tieing it all up with the neat ribbon of colonial justice (at least for Ethel and Lesley in the end) it was a great choice. It cleverly linked a true story (Ethel Proudlock) with a fictional life (Lesley) and Maughan's real life choices.  Interestingly, Eng wrote Maugham with his life choices on show (failed marriage; gay lifestyle, Gerald, extravagance), as well as his stammer - exposing the secrets he tried to hide during his lifetime.    Perhaps this has something to say about Eng's sense of justice, his wit and/or morality - but whatever, he wrote a wonderful book about race, gender, power and British colonialism.

We all loved the ending with Lesley (in South Africa in 1947) receiving a letter from Arthur, and a copy of Maugham's book of short stories, The Casuarina Tree, which included Ethel's story (The Letter) - and we all hoped this opened another door for her return to Penang after her life in South Africa with Robert.   

The final twist to the discussion about House of Doors

was Barb's realisation that the para 

she asked her eye patients to read 

to test their eyesight 

was from Maugham's short story 'Rain'.

So we left the House of Doors and moved on to Foster, Cherilyn's second and best choice by far, by Claire Keegan.  

Again everyone loved the book, but there were different views around the room about how this book ends.  Some thought the girl ended up with her foster parents, while others thought she was taken back to her family.  So to get to the nub of the ending I went to AI, and here is what it spat out

The ending of "Foster" by Claire Keegan is poignant and emotionally charged. After spending the summer with her foster parents, the Kinsellas, the young protagonist is returned to her biological family. The final scene unfolds as follows:

1. The Kinsellas bring the girl back to her parents' home on a Sunday.

2. As the Kinsellas are about to leave, the girl hears their car stop at the gate.

3. She runs down the lane towards them, much like she did when fetching the mail at the Kinsellas' farm.

4. The girl rushes into Kinsella's arms, embracing him tightly.

5. She hears Edna (Mrs. Kinsella) weeping in the car.

6. Over Kinsella's shoulder, the girl sees her biological father approaching.

7. For the first and only time in the story, she calls Kinsella "Daddy".

This ending symbolizes the deep emotional bond the girl has formed with the Kinsellas, particularly with John Kinsella. It highlights the contrast between the love and care she experienced during her foster stay and her life with her biological family. The girl's action of running to Kinsella and calling him "Daddy" demonstrates her attachment to her foster parents and her reluctance to return to her previous life

I'm certainly none the wiser so while it is certainly artificial, intelligent it's not!  Perhaps a few viewings of the film, Quiet Girl (film of the book) or re-readings will throw some light on it - but maybe not because perhaps Claire wanted it to end with the uncertainty of life.  

Barb's plum cake with roses and cream

We were still discussing it when Barb's fabulous gluten free plum and coconut cake came out with lashings of cream and the chat turned to moving house, carting boxes, styling for sale, and selling houses.   And now, we're all on tenterhooks waiting to hear if Cherrie and Bill have accepted the Perth offer on their house, or whether they chose the cash option or another better offer.

Next meeting is back to the scheduled Wednesday - 14 May 2025, at Cherrie's place in Adelaide (because Port Eliot is probably no more, and Mog's place at Sheffield Street is likely to be as well, but if not they won't be living there anyway).  Books are:

An Ethical Guide to Murder by Jenny Morris (Mog)

Someone down there likes me by Robert Lukins (Cherrie)

Happy reading till then.  And to keep you going Cherrie recommended Claire's next book, 'Small things like these', as well as TT Eng's second book 'The Garden of Evening Mists'.