The Forgiven

The Forgiven by Lawrence Osborne

Blog written by Sarah

The Forgiven is Lawrence Osborne's story of drama and debauchery among wealthy westerners in Morocco as they attend a hedonistic party while the local servants look on in increasing despair.   To quote Jane Austen, “Everything happens at parties.”

The story slowly simmers as we are taken on a journey into the dessert of Morocco.

Osborne has a keen and cruel eye when it comes to the complexities that make up his characters, laying bare their morals and their failures to truly know themselves.

Throughout this story Osborne forces us to walk the hire-wire between several juxtapositions; post-colonial angst of the privileged westerners and the local Moroccans; the deteriorating relationship of the bad tempered Doctor David Henninger and his wife and author, Jo; the escalating tension between employer and employee, rich and poor as the workers look on at the debauched revellers and the repercussions of David’s earlier actions.

At the start of his journey the main protagonist David Henninger is a smug, alcoholic doctor, hateful and unlikeable.  He is objectively failing in his profession, evidenced by malpractice.  Despite, or more likely because of his privileged schooling and upbringing, he is utterly unable to see anything outside of his own frame of reference; though it is clear that neither are none of his other party-goers.  By the end of the story, despite all that happens to and around him, he singularly fails to change in any discernible way.

Whilst the group generally found the book not “enjoyable” as such, it did generate a long and interesting discussion; we largely agreed that the plot, whilst dark and complex in nature, was woven together very tightly and we found its ending satisfying,

This plot was intriguing to us, with the complex relationships between the characters all seemingly searching for the same thing; forgiveness.  However, this forgiveness was ultimately never given.  The characters themselves, though in some cases unlikeable and sharing a common inability to know themselves were generally very rich and rewarding to explore.

Given its exotic location the book unsurprisingly highlights the cultural contrast between the Western attitudes and hedonistic tenancies of the party-goers, and the local Islamic culture, throwing up plenty of provocative subjects for debate.

We enjoyed the writer’s description of how he based it on a true story, his own experiences of being in places like these and never really being sure of the shifting ground and dynamics between him and the indigenous population.  We felt it could be made in to a movie, with it’s realism and darkness would play well as film noir. Reading Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky might be an excellent companion to The Forgiven.


Avg rating – 7.5

Our next book is Just Kids by Patti Smith and we will be meeting at Robyn's on August 25th.

The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Blog written by Meredith

The Glass Castle from Jeannette Walls has proven to be another popular book club choice.
The 'almost unbelievable' true story of a white American family living in poverty bears witness to the fact that homelessness can sometimes be a choice.  Of course, the children didn't choose to be forever hungry, homeless and vulnerable to the world, but the parents did. In fact, the mother felt no shame in her life, advising her daughter to just tell the truth about her childhood.

So that is exactly what Jeannette has done.

Her memoir opens with her earliest memory at the age of 3, a shocking event where she has cooked herself some hotdogs in the trailer, setting herself alight in the process. She ends up in hospital for 6 weeks with severe burns, only leaving when her father breaks her out saying "you don¹t have to worry anymore baby, you're safe now".

This clearly sets the stage for a life on the run with totally dysfunctional and irresponsible parents, proven time again with each incredible story in the book.

A number of moments in the book stood out, for example, when Jeannette
decided she didn't like her teeth and tried to make her own braces.  The
time when the father stole the money from the children, their hard earned
savings drained away at the pub.  The time when Jeannette's mother and
sister went away and at the age of 12 she had to try and manage the
budget, her younger siblings and hardest of all, keep her Dad away from
the money.  The times when Jeannette was at risk of sexual attack, in
particular from her uncle.

The stories are endless, and all add up to a very different childhood than
the rest of us. What is particularly interesting is the way in which the author narrates
the story.  It is a very detached voice,  neither appearing to judge or
ask for pity. She could almost be accused of sugar sweetening the
stories, it was almost unbelievable, and therefore, even questionable as a
memoir.

In fact, when viewing a You Tube video of her and her mum, she almost
seems like she is a presenter of some TV show, it is a little divorced
from reality.

There is no question, that The Glass Castle was a gripping and powerful
read.

It received a high rating, averaging 8 all round.

Our next book is The Forgiven by Lawrence Osbourne and it will be at Sarah's on Thursday July 21st.

My Brilliant Friend

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Blog written by Sally

This a compelling story of a childhood in Naples in the 1950s. Elena narrates the story of her relationship with her best friend Lina – starting from her first impressions of Lina as a rebellious first grader, up to their 16th year, when Lina gets married to a local boy and the two childhood friends appear to be set to live very different lives. It is the first novel of a trilogy and from the prologue we learn that Elena is writing the story in her sixties, when it appears her friendship with Lina has taken another dramatic turn.

I really enjoyed reading this one!  Elena tells a very vivid tale of what seemed to me to be a very foreign place and period of time. I felt she was writing just as much to understand herself as to present the story of Lina, and her perception of herself seems to be shaped from the contrasts she sees in Lina. The relationship of these two girls drawn together despite their very different personalities is certainly complex and often unsettling.  There is a strong sense of foreboding about the future for Lina despite her apparent effortless brilliant intellectual and creative ability and drive as a child. While Elena, who seems to be pushed by a need to prove herself and fear of failure, seems to have a future that will be much more secure. Her hard work at school earns her the title of “my brilliant friend” from Elena.


Overall our group enjoyed the book scoring it between 7 and 8. I think we all agreed the writing style was masterful. The negatives included getting started was difficult with many different similar sounding Italian names to get used to. The index of characters at the front of the book is definitely useful. Most of us found the level of violence in the community which pervades the whole book from the first encounter between Elena and Lina to be disturbing. It doesn’t really offer relaxing reading. A few of us found the tale of childhood as told by the adult Elena perhaps a bit affected. Some were not satisfied by the abrupt ending. Despite these shortcomings, it was a very intriguing and stimulating tale for discussion and we all agreed we wanted to read the next book in the series.

Our next book is The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls and we will be meeting at Meredith's on June 16.

The Secret Chord

The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks

Blog written by Jane 

Overall the book got positive feedback. The score collated to 8.5 average and those that finished it were glad they did. Melissa felt the word that summed it up was detached. Some members found it a bit hard to get into and didn't like the Hebrew names.

The reasons why people enjoyed it was that they thought it was a brilliantly researched book and written with the detached air of a real historian and is a superb example of historical fiction.  Most people knew  the story of David and Goliath and his love of Batsheva .

Lee felt the character of Natan was so well developed and yet he too is the historical recorder of the times.  His own history is so tragic and yet he relates it in quite a detached manner in the same way he views and records all the events that happen around him in such blood thirsty times.

The extremely complex character of David is described in an unambiguous manner that draws you in to want to read more and more about his extraordinary relationships with his wives and sons and enemies.  The novel was commended for being so far from the usual telling as a biblical story,  it was an in depth study of an age and personalities written without hysterics or exaggerated drama was just a superbly satisfying read.

Our next meeting is at Sally's on Thursday May 19 and we will be discussing
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferante

Lyrebird Hill

Lyrebird Hill by Anna Romer

Blog written by Sharon

This is Anna Romer's second novel and is about Ruby's memory loss as a result of her sister's death and how she slowly recovers this missing block of time and unravels the mystery surrounding her death.  There is also a parallel story about Ruby's ancestor Brenna.

I find the writing style captivating and Anna jumps easily between the 2 stories set in the 1800's and modern day Australia.  We are given insights into what life must have been like in a land as harsh but beautiful as 19th century Australia although one reader felt the author's treatment of the Aboriginal characters was stereotypical and "embarrassing".

Without giving away spoilers to the story, our general comments on the novel were that it is a good read and we couldn't wait to finish it and that all the ends tied up neatly.  I was intrigued by the 2 main characters and their stories although I find it difficult to believe the midnight trysts between Brenna and Lucien would have happened during the 1800's.  I greatly enjoyed the childhood relationship between Roo and Wolf though. We think this book will work well as a movie !

Our rating for the book averaged a 6.8 out of 10.

Our next meeting will be on Thursday April 28th at Jane's and the book selection is The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker

Blog by Marty

18th Feb, 2016 Our first book group meeting of the year














Our rating for this book averaged 7.25/10 and was described as "endearing, lovely but gauzy".

Olive Kitteridge

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Blog written by Melissa

Olive Kitteridge is a Pulitzer winning  “novel in stories”, set in a town on the coast of Maine, USA. The interlinked short stories form a cohesive whole with a through line focus on the ‘unapologetic’ and ‘controlling’ protagonist called Olive, and her relationships with family and community.

What’s particularly interesting about this middleclass maths teaching character, is that, in the words of the New York Times review by Louisa Thomas, “She isn’t a nice person”.  Much of our book club discussion focused on our varying degrees of sympathy or distaste for this character. All felt she was a woman who was ‘stuck’. Some felt she should work to become ‘unstuck’ and therefore a happier and more loving person. Others perceived a sadness that this seemed impossible for her.

Discussion ensued about people we may have experienced in our lives who showed a similar inability to express love, especially within their family context and the impact of this on their own wellbeing and those around them.

I think all agreed the book is written in a beautiful, sensitive, detailed and highly naturalistic style, with a sophisticated, original and pleasing structure. One or two members were unhappy with the last story. Some members found the content and atmosphere of the book ‘too bleak’, due to a focus on tragic and emotionally painful situations and the requirement to journey within Olive’s uncomfortable interior landscape. Others found the focus empathic, realistic, intriguing and moving. Some found aspects comical and endearing. Most enjoyed reading the book.

An interesting literary technique is used in this book and illustrated well in the NYT review:
“Just as Olive’s self-awareness and empathy develop over the course of the book, so does the reader’s. Strout’s prose is quickened by her use of the “free indirect” style, in which a third-person narrator adopts the words or tone a particular character might use. “The tulips bloomed in ridiculous splendor” is a narrative statement — but “ridiculous” is very much Olive Kitteridge’s word. Similarly, in a description of a pianist, the clucking of communal disapproval creeps in: “Her face revealed itself too clearly in a kind of simple expectancy no longer appropriate for a woman of her age.” These moments animate Strout’s prose in the same way that a forceful person alters the atmosphere in a room.”

One member shared her enjoyment of the adapted tele-series, saying the casting of Frances McDormand in the lead was inspired and that all the characters perfectly reflected the provincial location. She discussed how they interpreted Olive’s husband in the film version as being somewhat questionable in relation to his pharmaceutical assistant. Readers disagreed with this choice, perceiving Henry to be an endearing man, yearning for love, warmth, someone to care for - but in a non-lecherous manner. One member imagined Kathy Bates in the lead role of Olive which others agreed would also have suited well.

The main focus of discussion was on Olive’s complex character and the degree to which she was able to see herself as well as her capacity, or challenge to change.  As the NYT review states, ‘The pleasure in reading “Olive Kitteridge” comes from an intense identification with complicated, not always admirable, characters… There’s simply the honest recognition that we need to try to understand people, even if we can’t stand them.”

Some themes that were discussed included:
• Those who have an inability to express and receive love, particularly with their intimate family.
• People’s capacity to change
• Hope versus hopelessness
• Narcissism and it’s impact on self and others. People’s capacity to ‘see’ themselves.
• Betrayal, grief and emotional hunger.
• What could make a person stuck in the first place and what might render them unable, or able to change.
• People’s capacity for kindness, empathy, understanding and the need for these.

We rated this book 8 out of 10 for those who wished to give it a rating
It was described as "brilliantly written"

Our last meeting of the year will be on Thursday Dec 10th at Marty's and we will be discussing The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker

The Girl on the Train

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins
Blog written by Lee

The Girl On The Train is a first time thriller by Paula Hawkins a
journalist by profession.  It is a well plotted story with an ending
that thrills, and unlike a number of literary works it does have a
satisfying and surprising ending.  The parallels between the narration of their stories by the three main characters is easy to compare with Gone Girl which is a much blacker story with a less resolved ending but one that provokes more debate on the 'who dunnit' ending.  In The Girl On The Train there is no question as to who the killer is as the confession is clearly made and in doing so the perpetrator even more clearly shows his disdainful character and shows his socio-pathological personality, managing to blame all those in his life for his becoming what he is.

None of the main characters win our sympathy, Rachael is an unpleasant alcoholic manipulated by her ex-husband Tom and is forever apologising to the extent that no one can believe her.  Cathy her long suffering flat mate is just another character in the back ground and very little is revealed about her other than she seems to have infinite patience. Anna is a very shallow housewife and mother and nothing she says can endear her to the reader, while the victim, Megan, is a complete mess unable to cope with any relationship.  Each of these three woman have been unknowingly manipulated by Tom, their lives intertwined and ruined by his lies and seemingly good looks.

The premise of the story, the fantasing of the life and relationship of a couple that Rachael observes each day in their garden and terrace as she passes by on the train as it slows down near the backyards is familiar to anyone who has ever done a regular commute on a train. Melissa observed that it was great idea but a pity that now it has been used no other writer will be able to elaborate on it.  The
idealistic fantasy that Rachael creates soon turns to a nightmare, worse than anything she could imagine, as she sets out to 'help' in what Megan's husband Scott describes as her playing at Nancy Drew.

As far as stories of domestic violence go, and it has been a theme in several of the books we have read this year, this one is a doozy.  The malevolence of Tom in his relationships with three women leaves you gasping but easy to imagine.  This is not just a story of a wife beater but a psychological sociopath who so easily manipulates all those who love him.  We thought that the red headed man was a 'red herring' but he is actually the catalyst for Rachael recalling the details of the crucial events that she can't remember through her drunken haze.

Everyone agreed that it is a good page turner and an easy read but possibly because it was difficult to feel empathy for any of the characters, it wasn't a pleasant read.  And certainly not an inspiring literary work.

We rated this book 6.5 to 7/10.

Our next meeting is on November 26th Thursday at Melissa's.  The book is Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.