Our next meeting...

Our next meeting will be on Thursday 6th Jan @ 6 p.m. and we'll be discussing 'The Big Sleep' by Raymond Chandler. Chandler was the creator of the original Private Eye, and ’The Big Sleep’ is his first novel. It was published in 1939, and introduces Philip Marlowe, Private Investigator. Marlowe becomes known for helping damsels in distress, and for his deadpan humour. ’The Big Sleep’  starts out as a fairly straightforward blackmail case for Marlowe, but develops into a labyrinth of murder and sleaze in downtown Los Angeles. 

Library Events - Cookies with Chris

Food for Thought at Onchan Library
Cookies with Chris
Meet Crime Writer Chris Ewan at Onchan Library @ Tues 18th Jan @ 7 p.m
Talk, Refreshments, & Book Signing. Free Admission, but ticket only.
Tickets available from Onchan Library:
Tel: 621228 or e-mail: onchan.library@onchan.org.im

Mary Barton by Mrs Gaskell

Elizabeth Gaskell’s first  novel  is set in industrial Manchester and vividly depicts the lives and conditions of the working class poor during the time of the industrial revolution. Mary is subject to the affections of both hard-working Jem Wilson and Harry Carson, son of a mill-owner. Mary initially rebuffs Jem’s proposal of marriage in the hope of marrying Harry, and securing a more comfortable life for herself and her father. However, she soon realises that she has made a mistake and really loves Jem. 

Soon afterwards, Harry is shot and suspicion immediately falls on Jem, who is subsequently arrested. Mary discovers that the murderer is actually her father and, determined to prove Jem’s innocence, travels to Liverpool to find a witness to provide an alibi. During the trial , Jem learns of Mary’s love for him and the witness arrives in the nick of time for him to be found not guilty. Her father, racked with guilt, begs the forgiveness of the murdered man’s father and dies knowing he is forgiven. Jem and Mary subsequently marry and emigrate to Canada where they have a child and lead a happy and contented life.

I found this a powerful and moving novel, with strong characters and a densely written plot. The subject matter reflected the conditions of the period and it is obvious that the author felt very strongly about the terrible and unjust conditions endured by the factory workers and their families.

Cath

Mrs Gaskell

Mrs Elizabeth Gaskell was born in 1810, so we decided to read some of her novels to celebrate her bi-centenary. Not everyone was enthusiastic about trying Mrs Gaskell, but most of us were converted, and awarded her novels  4 -5 stars. 

 

Mrs Gaskell had a great deal of tragedy in her life, but remained gregarious and sociable . Her mother died when she was a baby, and although she had a happy childhood with her aunt in Knutsford, Cheshire,  she felt rejected by her father  and was not accepted by her step mother.

She was only 18 when her only sibling, a brother, died at sea. She nursed her  father following a stroke, but he died within 6 months of his son.

Although happily married to a minister, she lost 3 children, and her husband encouraged her to write as a way of coping with her grief. Her first novel, 'Mary Barton' drew upon her experience of social and charitable works as a minister's wife. It drew the admiration of Charles Dickens, who encouraged her to write Gothic tales, and published 'Cranford' in his Household Words Journal.
popular and socialble, she was also a close friend of Charlotte Bronte, and went on to write her biography.

Mrs Gaskell died while she was working on 'Wives and Daughters' in a house she had secretly bought as a surprise for her husband and family.

November Events - Cocoa with Pat

Cocoa with Pat Kelly is the latest in our 'Food for Thought' series being held at Onchan Library this winter. Pat is a talented local artist specialising in textiles. She uses materials such as wool and natural dyes to create colours for her work, often from plants growing in her own garden. Pat's new collection of work has been inspired by the colours and textures of Africa, and she will be giving a slide show, demonstrations and displaying some of her textile art. Hot chocolate and marshmallows will be served. Admission is free, but as space is limited, ticket only. Tickets can be obtained from Onchan Library

November - Meetings

On Thursday 4th November @ 6 p.m. @ Onchan Library we'll be talking about 'Never Let Me Go' by Kazuo Ishiguro.

October - Book of the Month

Image from http://www.amazon.co.uk

Never Let me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro

This book is Science Fiction, but not as we know it.  It doesn't concentrate on technical detail, (which is left up to the reader's own imagination), and reflects back upon relationships between childhood friends as they grow in to young adults. They were all at a boarding school together in the 80s, but this is no ordinary school, and the friends go on to have far from ordinary lives... It becomes a heartwrenching read, and raises disturbing questions about where technology could lead us as human beings. 'Never Let Me Go' is being made into a film starring Keira Knightly.

Off The Shelf - The Elegance of the Hedgehog

This is a very thought provoking book which I thoroughly enjoyed!

The main characters are Renee, a widow of ten years, who is Concierge of a block of  

Apartments inhabited by rich people in Paris. Manuela is a cleaner for some of the residents, who has become a good friend to Renee. Paloma, is 12yrs old and a daughter of two of the residents, she has an elder sister Colombe. Kakura Ozu is a very rich Japanese gentleman who arrives as a new resident of one of the apartments.

Renee had come from a poor family and didn’t have the chance to learn as a child so she was determined in adult life to better herself educationally but at the same time she wanted to keep this from the residents who looked down on her as a mere Concierge so she keeps her ‘private life’ to herself and lives as the person they expect her to be.

Paloma was at odds with her ‘rich’ family and she hid from them and her school the fact that she was well advanced in her learning because she didn’t want to be treated as a ‘genius’ which she assures us she is! Paloma recognises the fact that Renee is not as stupid as she makes out to be and befriends her so as she can be there with Renee and away from her family who didn’t like her ‘hiding’ away from them in the apartment.

Kakura arrives and very quickly works out from something that Renee lets slip out that she is a very intelligent women who shares a lot of interests with him. Their love of books, music and films gives them plenty to talk about. The three become friends and when Kakura invites Renee to join him for dinner in his apartment she is reluctant to accept because has nothing to wear other than her working clothes but Manuela brings her a dress that she has been given by a client of hers whose mother has just died and persuades her to go.  She doesn’t want to take it but is talked into it by Manuela.

To say much more would be to give the story away and would spoil the reading for anyone.  All I will say is that it is well written and I found I couldn’t put the book down, wanting to know what was coming next.  It was funny and entertaining.  It was certainly very thought provoking.

I would recommend this as a good read to anyone who wants a story with a difference seen through the eyes of a 12yr old – a very intelligent 12yr old – and a working woman who was also very intelligent – both very good at keeping things secret.

Pauline

September - Books of the Month

image from Amazon.co.uk

Bonjour mes amies! French Intrigue is the theme for this month’s reads, and two titles have been selected from Gallic books.

The first is by Claude Izner, which is intriguing in itself, as this is the pseudonym of two sisters, both booksellers on the banks of the Seine, who are experts on nineteenth-century Paris.  In ‘Murder on the Eiffel Tower’ Victor Legris, a young bookseller, is determined to discover whether a young woman really died from a bee sting on the newly finished Eiffel Tower in 1889. This is the first book in a series that colourfully evokes late nineteenth-century Paris.

image from Amazon.co.uk

The second title, the Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery was selected for its intriguing chapter headings! Told in alternating chapters, this is an unlikely story of the relationship between a French concierge and the precocious twelve-year-old who lives in her Paris apartment building. Each hide their true personalities, but bring out the best in each other.

Whichever book you choose to read should generate some intriguing discussion at our next meeting…

Off the Shelf

Image from www.Amazon.co.uk Slaughterhouse 5 Kurt Vonnegut    After finishing this book, the truth of it leapt out at me. How many Billy Pilgrims are out there? Men and women coming back from Afghanistan, from a world of war to normal life. The world is still in a confused and unstable mess.   No lessons have been learned. There is still killing and lying - robbing people of life and livelihood. The people in power have lost the vision to see the mess they are creating. The few that can are labelled as not forward thinking - not seeing the big picture, or even idiots.The future health problems of service people and their families hardly bear thinking about.   Elizabeth

Off The Shelf

Thank you Pam for this opportunity to air our views.

The last meeting was informative and fun - so many diiferent views.

I have read the book that Evelyn put forward "Where Are You Really From?"

Such an eyeopener to that age and it's prejudices, but a really good read.

"Slaughterhouse 5" (as read by Cath)  I too, am finding it strange but compelling.

But it is unputdownable - for me anyway.

Elizabeth

Off The Shelf

Image from www.amazon.co.uk

Slaughterhouse 5
Kurt Vonnegut

Written in 1969, it took author Vonnegut more than 20 years to put his experience of the bombing of Dresden in World War 2 into words. He was an American prisoner of war in Dresden, being held in a disused meat plant, known as Slaughterhouse 5, and emerged after the fire-bombing of the city. As the author says, ‘All of this happened, more or less’.

The novel follows the experiences of optometrist Billy Pilgrim, a decidedly non-heroic man, who has become ‘unstuck in time’. He travels back and forth visiting his birth, death and all the moments in-between repeatedly and out of order, but always coming back to his experiences in the war and particularly in Dresden. Billy is also abducted by aliens, who transport him back to the planet Tramalfadore to become a prize exhibit in a zoo. The aliens teach him that time is linear and we experience different points in our lives over and over again.

I found this novel confusing, weird, imaginative, moving but surprisingly easy to read due to its simple, laconic style. Part anti-war tract, part autobiography, part sci-fi with a good deal of black humour, I felt that it needed a second reading to fully appreciate the big themes Vonnegut is addressing – the concept of time, fate and above all the horror and futility of war. Not a book I’d recommend for readers who like a straightforward plot and time line, but one for those who like a challenge! Can certainly be classed as ‘cult fiction’.

Cath

Off The Shelf

Image from www.Amazon.co.uk

American Gods
Neil Gaiman

American Gods takes the reader on a fantastical journey as we discover the quirky side of America together with the main character, Shadow, who is on his own personal quest.

Gaiman said he wanted to write a book that is 'big odd and meandering' - and it is!

We enter a world of coin tricks and con tricks, of roadside attractions, familiar places and mysterious small towns. A world where modern and ancient gods are moving towards a battle of epic proportions.

One character says 'It is easier to believe in aliens than gods' and in this novel, the everyday and the unbelievable sit side by side. Our beliefs are questioned and challenged right through to the climax - with a twist at the end.


Esther

Click here to visit Neil Gaiman's web site 

August - Book of the Month

To Kill A Mockingbird
Harper Lee

Image from www.Amazon.co.uk

This month's book is Harper Lee's  To Kill a Mockingbird. It's 50 years since this Pulitzer Prize winning novel was first published, and it's the only writing that Harper Lee has ever published since. One of our group had recently watched an intriguing documentary about Harper Lee's reclusive life, and suggested it for this month's read.
Go to BBC Open Book Discussion


Thank you to Carol from the Ward Library in Peel for loaning us extra copies for the group to read.
Visit The Ward Library Web Site

Thanks also to Sandra / Mobile Library and Mary and Kath from the Family Library for loaning copies - and arranging delivery too!
Find out more about the Mobile Library Service 
Visit The Family Library Web Site

Please contact Onchan Library if you are still waiting for a copy of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

September - Meetings

Our next book group meeting will be on Thurs 2 Sept @ 6 p.m. @ Onchan Library.  To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee will be introduced by Esther. We'll also be deciding on some winter reads.

September - Events - Crumpets with Derry

Image from www.iomTT.com

 Tues 7th Sept @ 7 p.m.
Well known commentator with the World famous Purple Helmets, Derry Kissack, is coming to talk at Onchan Library as part of the 'Food for Thought' season. As well as entertaining reminiscences, Derry will also be talking about how he came to write his book. Tea & crumpets will be served (Derry's with Edam cheese please).

Admission free, but ticket only. Contact Onchan Library  to book places.