This Month's Selection: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

by Rachel Joyce

From Random House:

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST

“[Rachel] Joyce’s beguiling debut is [a] modest-seeming story of ‘ordinary’ English lives that enthralls and moves you as it unfolds.”—People (four stars)
 
Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning a letter arrives, addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl, from a woman he hasn’t heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye. But before Harold mails off a quick reply, a chance encounter convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person. In his yachting shoes and light coat, Harold Fry embarks on an urgent quest. Determined to walk six hundred miles to the hospice, Harold believes that as long as he walks, Queenie will live. A novel of charm, humor, and profound insight into the thoughts and feelings we all bury deep within our hearts, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry introduces Rachel Joyce as a wise—and utterly irresistible—storyteller.

Have you read this book, or are you reading it now? Tell us your thoughts in a comment!

This Month's Selection: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Combined Book Club Potluck
Tuesday, February 4 (Snow Date)

Dinner at 6:00 p.m.

Discussion at 6:30 p.m.

The Age of Miracles

by Karen Thompson Walker

On an ordinary Saturday, Julia awakes to discover that something has happened to the rotation of the earth. The days and nights are growing longer and longer, gravity is affected, the birds, the tides, human behavior and cosmic rhythms are thrown into disarray. In a world of danger and loss, Julia faces surprising developments in herself, and her personal world—divisions widening between her parents, strange behavior by her friends, the vulnerability of first love, a sense of isolation, and a rebellious new strength.

With a voice as distinctive and original as that of The Lovely Bones, and for the fans of the speculative fiction of Margaret Atwood, Karen Thompson Walker’s The Age of Miracles is a luminous and unforgettable debut novel about coming of age set against the backdrop of an utterly altered world.

What We Thought: December 6 by Martin Cruz Smith

December 6 by Martin Cruz Smith was the December monthly selection. Book club members were captivated reading from the point of view of Japanese citizens in 1941 about their behavior leading up to the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor. They were fascinated by how the people adapted to the shortage of oil created by the American embargo and wondered how charcoal-fired cars would be accepted and used in America.

The main character, Harry Niles, grew up in Japan and is the son of American Christian missionaries. He speaks fluent Japanese and moves effectively among the local residents and the westerners who live there. He appears to be most comfortable with the Japanese and their lifestyle even though the Japanese do not accept foreigners (gaijin) among them.

The discussion led members to mention books they have read that resonated with the author’s story. Perhaps the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the history of American-Japanese relations in World War II are difficult subjects to talk about directly and personally.

Books mentioned by members: We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese by  Elizabeth Norman, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, From Here to Eternity by James Jones, Kamikaze Diaries; Reflections of Japanese Student Soldiers by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, Last Train from Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back by Charles Pellegrino, One Second After by William R. Forstchen, Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff, and The Boys in the Boat by Daniel Brown.

What We Thought: The Last Child by John Hart

Who is the last child? The book club discussion of The Last Child by John Hart focused on 13-year-old Johnny Merriman’s dedication to the search for his missing twin sister Alyssa. His mother’s love for Johnny and how the recent tragic circumstances of her life interfered with the care of her son was another important part of the family’s story. Her missing daughter and the subsequent disappearance of her husband, which led to the loss of her family home, contributed to an unfortunate and toxic relationship with a former boyfriend and town bully.

The members were not very understanding of how the mother could have become dependent on drugs and alcohol, but then they came to the realization that people cannot truly know how they might deal with a horrific situation unless they have direct experience with it. Material things and attachments drop away until all that matters is love.

Johnny is by far the strongest character; he searches for his sister and takes care of his mother above all else. His mother becomes a heroine when she defies her abusive boyfriend to protect her son.

Book club members endorsed this book. All agreed that that Johnny’s story is profoundly enlightening despite the fate of Johnny’s twin Alyssa.

Have you read this book? What did you think? Please feel free to add your comments to the discussion...

This Month's Selection: The Last Child by John Hart

The Afternoon Readers Book Club will discuss The Last Child by John Hart on Tuesday, November 12, at 1:00 p.m.

 

Read along with the group and add your thoughts to the discussion in the comments!

From the publisher:

John Hart’s New York Times bestselling debut, The King of Lies, announced the arrival of a major talent. With Down River, he surpassed his earlier success, transcending the barrier between thriller and literature and winning the 2008 Edgar Award for best novel. Now, with The Last Child, he achieves his most significant work to date, an intricate, powerful story of loss, hope, and courage in the face of evil.

Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he’d been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is---confident in a way that he can never fully explain.

Determined to find his sister, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown. It is a desperate, terrifying search, but Johnny is not as alone as he might think. Detective Clyde Hunt has never stopped looking for Alyssa either, and he has a soft spot for Johnny. He watches over the boy and tries to keep him safe, but when Johnny uncovers a dangerous lead and vows to follow it, Hunt has no choice but to intervene.

Then a second child goes missing . . .