This Month's Selection: Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

Afternoon Readers Book Club

 

Wed., June 16, 1:00 p.m.

 

Caleb's Crossing

 

by Geraldine Brooks

Bethia Mayfield is a restless and curious young woman growing up in Martha's Vineyard in the 1660s amid a small band of pioneering English Puritans. At age twelve, she meets Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a secret bond that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's father is a Calvinist minister who seeks to convert the native Wampanoag, and Caleb becomes a prize in the contest between old ways and new, eventually becoming the first Native American graduate of Harvard College.

Inspired by a true story and narrated by the irresistible Bethia, Caleb’s Crossing brilliantly captures the triumphs and turmoil of two brave, openhearted spirits who risk everything in a search for knowledge at a time of superstition and ignorance.

We welcome comments about the monthly selection either here or on our discussion post after our face-to-face meeting! Feel free to jump in any time, whether you're a regular member of the group or not!
 

What We Thought: The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman

Readers remarked about how the author’s beautifully written passages in The Story Sisters elicited strong emotions from them. Even though the subject matter was dark and tragic at times the interior lives of the characters shone through the clouds masking reality. Alice Hoffman inspired readers to say that it can be possible to survive misfortune, but not always and usually at great personal cost.

Some had a definite dislike of Annie Story, the sister’s mother because they believed that she could have paid more attention to her girls. Annie was in her own world of denial about her “perfect children” and didn’t notice their atypical behavior until much too late to save them from themselves. Others gave her break and said that children keep secrets and take care of each other. After much discussion readers admitted that no one was to blame for circumstances beyond their control. Ultimately blame was for the person who hurt Elv, starting her on her destructive path.

Everyone liked Natalia, Annie’s mother. She nurtured all three granddaughters in extravagant and loving ways. She celebrated their unique qualities and gave them room to explore. Natalia gave them the gift of vacations in Paris and introductions to her eccentric friends. We all wished for a grandmother like her. Annie had the gift of friendship with Pete, the detective she hired to find her eldest Elv. He became a beloved companion in her later years and surrogate parent to the girls. He was able to come to terms with sorrow in his own life through his relationships with each of them.

Readers said that the fairy tale introductions of chapters and the fantasies of the girls contrasted with the stark reality of their lives. Their escape got in the way of dealing with their trauma. By the end of the book the Story sisters came to terms with each other and were able to work out a semblance of redeemed lives.

“The nature of love had totally escaped her until now. She had thought that if you lost it, you could never get it back, like a stone thrown down a well. But it was like the water at the bottom of the well, there when you can’t even see it, shifting in the dark.”

 -- Alice Hoffman, The Story Sisters

This Month's Selection: The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman

The Story Sisters

by Alice Hoffman

Tuesday, May 12

1:00 p.m.

Alice Hoffman’s previous novel, The Third Angel, was hailed as "an unforgettable portrait of the depth of true love" (USA Today), "stunning" (Jodi Picoult), and "spellbinding" (Miami Herald). Her new novel, The Story Sisters, charts the lives of three sisters–Elv, Claire, and Meg. Each has a fate she must meet alone: one on a country road, one in the streets of Paris, and one in the corridors of her own imagination. Inhabiting their world are a charismatic man who cannot tell the truth, a neighbor who is not who he appears to be, a clumsy boy in Paris who falls in love and stays there, a detective who finds his heart’s desire, and a demon who will not let go.

What does a mother do when one of her children goes astray? How does she save one daughter without sacrificing the others? How deep can love go, and how far can it take you? These are the questions this luminous novel asks.

What We Thought: The Good House by Ann Leary

“Rehab ruins your drinking forever, I swear. Even if you’re not an alcoholic, you’ll question your drinking habits for the rest of your life.” -- Hildy Good

The first comments about The Good House were that it was a quick read and an enjoyable story. Discussion focused on the main character Hildy Good’s denial of her alcoholism as the main theme. The interconnection of small town relationships in fictional North Shore town of Wendover, Massachusetts played a big part in the progression of the story as well. Gossip changed to high drama as townies’ secrets were exposed and scandal turned to tragedy.

Rebecca McAllister, a beautiful and wealthy newcomer, enters Hildy’s life as a drinking buddy and confidant. Rebecca is a change agent in the story. She begins an affair with psychiatrist Peter Newbold, whom Hildy has known since he was a child, which leads to disaster for him and relatively little consequence for her (Rebecca). Rebecca’s unstable moods were in contrast to Hildy’s drinking and both of their relationships with family, friends and standing in the community. Rebecca left Wendover, while Hildy remained and faced her demons head on. It was too late for Peter the psychiatrist who gave up. The group thought he had a chance to redeem himself despite his mistakes because he was a good person at heart.

Outtakes from a Marriage, another novel by Ann Leary, was recommended reading for the group.

Have you read The Good House? What did you think? Please chime in with your thoughts in the comments!

This Month's Selection: The Good House by Ann Leary

Afternoon Readers

Tuesday, April 14, 1 p.m.

The Good House

by Ann Leary

Hildy Good is a townie. A lifelong resident of a small community on the rocky coast of Boston's North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone. And she's good at lots of things, too. A successful real-estate broker, mother, and grandmother, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, sent her off to rehab. Now she's in recovery--more or less.
Alone and feeling unjustly persecuted, Hildy finds a friend in Rebecca McAllister, one of the town's wealthy newcomers. Rebecca is grateful for the friendship and Hildy feels like a person of the world again, as she and Rebecca escape their worries with some harmless gossip and a bottle of wine by the fire--just one of their secrets.
But Rebecca is herself the subject of town gossip. When Frank Getchell, an old friend who shares a complicated history with Hildy, tries to warn her away from Rebecca, Hildy attempts to protect her friend from a potential scandal. Soon, however, Hildy is busy trying to protect her own reputation. When a cluster of secrets becomes dangerously entwined, the reckless behavior of one person threatens to expose the other, and this darkly comic novel takes a chilling turn.
The Good House, by Ann Leary, is funny, poignant, and terrifying. A classic New England tale that lays bare the secrets of one little town, this spirited novel will stay with you long after the story has ended.-- from the publisher

Join us in person or online for a discussion of this New York Times bestseller by Ann Leary!