There There, by Tommy Orange. November 2020
This was our first Zoom conference, and worked well once we were all online, thanks to Denise our star technician.
The book was presented by Kathleen.
The discussion could not be in great depth as the book had not been read by many people attending the discussion. Tommy Orange relates the stories of the characters less through action than through their minds and thought-processes, in a dense, detailed and rhythmical prose - sometimes reminiscent of pow-wow drumming. We were impressed that he managed to empathise with the women, particularly as this is not something male writers often achieve.
Some people couldn’t get into the book at all, some enjoyed it until about halfway through and then gave up or skimmed to the end. Perhaps we are unable to process so much alien (to us) suffering, or possibly in our current Covid situation we are simply unwilling and unable to cope with so much relentless misery (not to mention swearing) in books, and we may be needing something more uplifting, or maybe just more escapism. Those who read to the end considered it to be a stunning and rewarding read.
The next meeting is 2pm on 11th December and the book is Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry, presenter Katharine J.
Happy reading,
Rosie