by Doris Lessing.
"To involve oneself with the infinitely deprived means you take on a weight of guilt. They need so much: you can give so little. This is one of the hard facts that attractive, intelligent magazine editor Janna Somers has to confront when, for the first time in her life, she allows herself to become involved.
For most of her forty-nine years, all Janna's energies had been devoted to presenting an efficient and capable face to the world, to concealing her own vulnerability. And she had succeeded remarkably well: her smart career flourished, while the deaths of her mother and her husband - and with him an emotionally sterile marriage - left her feeling blank and detached.
The, one day, Janna meets a tiny bent old woman called Maudie Fowler in a chemists shop - and from this chance encounter grows an extraordinary relationship between the two women." read more here
For more information about any of the above or our next meeting and venue, please contact:
Ladieslunchclub secretary:
lunchclubgascogne(at)gmail.com
April 2013 book review for
Death Comes To Pemberley
P.D. James
It’s interesting, in the aftermath of our discussion from 18th of April, to re-read the flyleaf of the book and compare it to our opinions:
“In
a pitch-perfect recreation of the world of Pride and Prejudice, P.D.
James elegantly fuses her lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austin”.
Most
of us felt her pseudo-Austen style didn’t work well and it had been
quite a responsibility and, indeed a gamble, to try and pull off.
“She
weaves a compelling story......her readers have come to expect:
psychological and emotional richness of characterisation and a credible
and superbly structured plot”.
Not
so compelling a story – some readers found a chore to finish.
Her
characters had very little of the strength and humour of those in Pride
and Prejudice and lacked the irony Jane Austen brings to her
characters.
A lot of us found the plot rather weak and one dimensional.
We
all agreed that P.D. James (at the age of 93) is the grand old dame of
detective fiction which is why we had chosen this book.
Perhaps she
had wanted to weave her admiration of Jane Austin into one last
challenge!
Thank you again to Pam and to Sylvia for the chocolate fix!
June 20th with
by Andrea Levy
"From the critically acclaimed Andrea Levy, Orange Prize winning author of SMALL ISLAND, comes this breathtaking, hauntingly beautiful, heartbreaking and unputdownable novel, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and longlisted for the Orange Prize.
July is a slave girl who lives upon a sugar plantation named Amity and it is her life that is the subject of this tale. She was there when the Baptist War raged in 1831, and she was present when slavery was declared no more."
Caroline will be suggesting her 3 choices for the
July meeting.
For more information about any of the above or our next meeting and venue, please contact:
For more information about any of the above or our next meeting and venue, please contact:
Ladieslunchclub secretary:
lunchclubgascogne(at)gmail.com
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