What we thought about “The Old Man and the Sea”

There were eight of us at our meeting on Thursday 20th July where we discussed "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway. The three words we chose to describe our reaction to the book were: Sad, Atmospheric (very) Direct, Darwinian, Dramatic Happy calm book Lacking moral complexity Enthralling, Emotive, Masterly Direct, Conversational, Romanticised …

What we thought about “The Trial” by Franz Kafka

A bit like the nightmare that describes Kafka’s The Trial, we reassembled to discuss the book, this time with three people (Barbara, Peter and Leader Andrew C). We did wonder whether the book itself was to blame but decided it was just that time of year when everyone is away. A hot night led us …

What we thought of “Fair Stood the Wind for France”

At our meeting on Thursday 20th April we considered "Fair Stood the Wind for France" by H.E. Bates. The meeting was led by Peter. The three words people chose to describe the book were:  Contemporaneous, Sad, Tender Page-turner, Evocative, Heartening Suspenseful, Thought-provoking, Impressionistic Vivid, Memorable, Good-read Gripping, Atmospheric, Surprising East-to-read, Vivid, Sentimental Full-of-danger, Tender, Fierce THE QUESTIONS …

What we thought of “To Kill a Mockingbird”

At our meeting on Thursday 16th March we considered "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. The meeting was led by David and, as  usual, we started with three words to describe the book: Atmospheric, Brave, Compelling Rich, Shocking, Enjoyable Twain meets Grisham Enjoyable, Brilliant, Classic Tragic, Funny, Compelling Rite of Passage Fascinating We then considered the …

What we thought of Pincher Martin

At our meeting on 16th February, 2023 we discussed "Pincher Martin" by William Golding. One or two of us had read the book before, but not for 40 or 50 years! We started with our choice of three words to describe our response to the book Visceral - Difficult - Madness Exciting - Exhausting - …

What we thought of Anton Chekhov’s Short Stories

At our meeting on Thursday 19th January we considered a selection of 25 short stories by Anton Chekhov. I think that even those of us who don't enjoy the short story form found something to appreciate. As usual we started by asking everyone for three words to describe their response to the book: Immediacy, attention-popping, …

The Outsider and The Mersault Investigation

On Tuesday 15th November we considered "The Outsider" by Albert Camus and "The Meursault Investigation" by Algerian novelist, Kamel Daoud. You can read more about both books in our earlier post, "Compare and Contrast". As usual we began by asking for everyone three words to describe the books. Some used three words to describe both books, …

Compare and Contrast

p "Aujourd’hui, maman est morte." The first sentence of Albert Camus' novel "L'Étranger" (The Stranger) is one of the most famous openings in world literature. At barely more than 100 pages it's often suggested that the book's theme and outlook are examples of Camus' philosophy, absurdism, coupled with existentialism, a description that Camus rejected. Writing …

What we thought of “The Heat of the Day” by Elizabeth Bowen

There were eight of us at our meeting on Tuesday 18th October when we considered "The Heat of the Day" by Elizabeth Bowen. Our reaction to the book was probably best summed up by Barbara's choice of three words, "a curate's egg". Other three word responses to the book were: Slow Motion Story Annoyingly Tortured …

What we thought of “Farewell, My Lovely”

There were four of us at our meeting on Tuesday 20th September to consider "Farewell, My Lovely" by Raymond Chandler., though we also had input from three members who were unable to attend. Our three words included: Funny, Imaginative, Flawed A fun read Witty, Dated, Shallow Filmic, Atmospheric, Stylish Unpleasant, Dated, Good description Reactions to …