The Interpretation of Murder

November's title was The Interpretation of Murder. Now, I'd read this book before but was happy to do so again as I recalled it being a good read (let me tell you, I don't do this very often). Fast forward six years and yes, I'm glad I reread it.
 
The novel is set at the turn of the 20th century, at a time when New York is booming wtih demonstrations of wealth, particularly through construction. Freud is invited to the US to give a lecture and his arrival sees him become embroiled with a high society murder.
 
We all agreed that the premise of the novel was great, but that it didn't quite deliver on its potential. There were so many big names in one place, yet we only scratched the surface in getting to know Freud and Jung.
 
The historical elements, particularly focussing on the construction of Manhattan bridge and the powerful families running New York, were fascinating. Yet overall there were too many red herrings squeezed into the story and as such the plot felt somewhat contrived.
 
By the way (thanks for the tip off Reading Group), the author is married to Tiger Mom: 
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/01/20/amy-chuas-tiger-dad-where-was-husband-jed-rubenfeld.html
 

According to this article, we have Tiger Mom to thank for the inspiration/command for Jed to write this novel!

 

Other titles that were recommended:

The Incident by Kenneth Macleod ('a searingly powerful novel about fate' according to the cover blurb).

Skellig by David Almond (about a strange creature in the garage)

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

The Free World by David Bezmozgis

The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed

Out of It by Selma Dabbagh

Casual Vacancy by J K Rowling

 

For those that missed the BBC programme on Ian Rankin's writing process, here's a link to a related article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-20179518

 

We also talked briefly about Ken McClure for his scientific/medical thrillers and Kate Atkinson as another general recommendation.

 

Today the Costa Book Awards shorlist was announced. There are several categories, but I've listed the shortlisted novels:

Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
Life! Death! Prizes! by Stephen May
The Heart Broke In by James Meek
Days of the Bagnold Summer by Joff Winterhart

It will be good to see what we make of that list! If you want to find more out about the Costa Book Awards shorlist: http://www.costabookawards.com/this-year.aspx

Of course, next year we have Andrew Miller's Pure to look forward to, last year's Costa winner.
Next time:
Miss Garnet's Angel by Sally Vickers (library copy - available from Emily Jamieson) or Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes
9th January 2013

The Bookseller of Kabul

September is a busy time of year in Higher Education, if the turn out for this meeting is anything to go by. A somewhat reduced group, but as always, a good discussion was had. This time around our chosen title is The Bookseller of Kabul.

The Bookseller of Kabul is written by a journalist who stayed with Sultan (the Bookseller) and his family. We are given insights from several characters. As a woman myself, it is easy to feel sympathy, horror and pity for the women in this book (and indeed in Afghanistan). I don't think that is likely to change for some time. However, it is clear in this book that really there isn't much joy to be had in everyday life, be it as a woman or a man. Yes, the situations and opportunities are different, but none of the characters that we get to know are in a good place.

We talked around topics such as seeing the Afghan world through the women's perspective, the son Mansur's sense of entitlement, how little joy their was amongst the Bookseller's family and also the dual life of the patriarch Sultan - a rebel as a bookseller yet a conservative at home. The book was good, but somehow the unusual perspective into Afghani life is no longer as disturbing as it might have been ten years ago - perhaps because we read Dancing with Darnkess recently, and many in the group are familiar with The Kite Runner. Don't get me wrong, the content is still unsettling,
















Speaking of unsettling content, The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric is being read at the moment by one of the group. It's described as 'a breathtaking story of unmitigated villainy, Holy Anorexia, quack medicine, murder, love and a very unusual form of bibliomania'. I didn't know how to summarise that, so I've copied and pasted instead!

Another current read is Stacia Brown's The Glovemaker, set during Cromwell's reign. The work of Kate Mosse was also touched upon.

We also had a look at the brochure of events for Warwick Words, which you can find online:
http://www.warwickwords.co.uk/  Anyone wishing to attend any of the sessions with a bit of company from other members of the reading group, you know where we are!

Next time:
The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld (library copy - details to follow)
6th November 2012

Song of Achilles

Well, where to start? Our book for this time was The Song of Achilles. General consensus was that it was an enjoyable read, but to be honest, we didn't spend that long discussing it. Which tells a different story, I suppose. It's a tale of love and war between Achilles and Patroclus. I'm not sure anyone thought it was necessary worthy of winning the Orange Prize for fiction, which the reviews would support. It was, however, engaging and thought provoking. When pondering why Achilles chose Patroclus over the other more popular boys, one of our group replied 'probably because he was a nice person'. And that, I think, was a very nice response! Here's an article from the Telegraph which says a whole lot more about the book:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/9300843/Orange-Prize-2012-Winning-book-The-Song-of-Achilles-is-a-triumph-of-glitzy-story-telling-over-literary-depth.html

Perhaps our chosen book conversation was brief because there were more exciting titles to debate. Let's face it, who isn't talking about 50 Shades of Grey? Some were quite familiar with the series, others will perhaps be looking these current bestsellers up for some summer respite!

Other books we talked about were:

Persian Boy by Mary Renault
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
The Blackhouse by Peter May
Pure by Andrew Miller
Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn
Private Games by James Patterson

As an aside, have any of you heard of this place: http://www.astleybookfarm.com/  I was told about it by an academic from the English department who recently stumbled upon the place. She said it was a wonderful find. It also sells cake.

Finally, if you haven't done so already, do pop in to Emily Jamieson's office in B2.01 to collect your library copy of The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad which is our title for September.

Purple Hibiscus

Way back when the Reading Group started, our second ever read was by the author of Purple Hibiscus (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie). Some years later and we've returned to her first novel. A good discussion ensued - and everyone who had read the book enjoyed it. It's not a lengthy read, but very engaging. The story centres around Kambili, her family and in a sense, her coming of age, all taking place in a tumultous time in Nigerian history. Kambili's father and his treatment of his two children gave us plenty to talk about. As did the question of why her brother and mother behaved the way they did in the end. The story is peppered with food references that none of us were familiar with, which created frustration or an exotic mystery to the experience!

A popular question amongst the Reading Group is 'why The Title' - for example, why Purple Hibiscus? (Kambili's brother planted a purple hibiscus at home, without their father's permission, it was a plant that was out of place, a neat bit of symbolism!)

Next we talked about The Hunger Games. This trilogy had been recommended by group members and some of us had gone on to read them too (including me, and I see what all the fuss is about).

Other titles we discussed included:
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday
Trespass by Rose Tremain
Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding
Stasiland by Anna Funder
The Moment by Douglas Kennedy
Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard
Bringing up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Next time:

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
3 July 2012

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18267716

Snowdrops/Sense of an Ending

This meeting, we had a choice of reading either the winner of the 2011 Booker Prize (Julian Barnes' Sense of an Ending) or one of the shortlist titles (Snowdrops by A D Miller). As is often the case in our group, some read both, others mainly chose Snowdrops and then one person read The Sisters' Brothers by Patrick deWitt which was another shortlisted option.

With Sense of an Ending, it sounded like it had potential but hadn't captured the reader's engagement and was in fact read a second time a few months later as it hadn't left much of an impression. I must admit, when I looked at the cover blurb, I wasn't tempted (which is why an alternative was offered!) and it would seem was reflected in the group.

Much more time was spent discussing Snowdrops, perhaps because more had read it, or because it was a more engaging book? We all agreed that the narrator was a bit of a fool, some of us liked him and could empathise whilst others weren't so sympathetic to how he ended up in the situation he did. We all agreed that Snowdrops was a real page turner, we all wanted to see what would happen to our (anti-)hero and some were still a bit worried about what happened to the 'grandmother'. Some reflection was given to the setting of the book, in that the narrator was in fact writing to his fiance, why was he recounting this part of his personal history, to what gain?

A D Miller's portrayal of Moscow made you feel as if you were getting to know the city - and for those that had been a chance to revisit their own experiences. Funnily enough, most in the reading group weren't now tempted to book their summer holiday in Moscow.

"At one point Nicholas says of Masha that she believed 'people and their actions were somehow separate – as if you could just bury whatever you did and forget about it'. Snowdrops is a properly moral riposte to that attitude; a powerful warning of the dangers of staring at something so long that you stop noticing what you're seeing."(John O'Connell, The Guardian 1 January 2011)

Full article can be found at http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/01/snowdrops-a-d-miller-review

Other books:

Painted House by John Grisham

Before I Go to Sleep by S J Watson

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Journey and The Island by Victoria Hislop

Next time:

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

8 May 2012

The Long List

Huge thanks to Charlotte and Emily for their careful list compilation. 2008

Atonement Ian McEwan

Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Rotters’ Club Jonathan Coe

Nella Last’s War: The 2nd World War Diaries Of Housewife, 49

The Mill On The Floss George Eliott

The Other Boleyn Girl Phillippa Gregory

Pride And Prejudice Jane Austen

Anything by Kazuo Ishiguro

Map Of Love Ahdaf Soueif

2009

Midnight' s Children Salman Rushdie

The Time Traveller's Wife Audrey Niffenegger

On Chesil Beach Ian McEwan

Kangaroo D H Lawrence

Anything by Charles Dickens

The White Tiger Aravind Adiga

The Secret Scripture Sebastian Barry

Perfume Patrick Suskind

Kafka On The Shore Haruki Murakami

Joseph Andrews Henry Fielding

Anything P G Wodehouse

2010

The Sea John Banville

Birthday Letters Ted Hughes

From The Holy Mountain William Dalrymple

Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel

The Two Of Us Sheila Hancock

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime Mark Haddon

The Pursuit Of Love Nancy Mitford

2011

Mr Rosenblum's List Natasha Solomons

The Quiet American Graham Greene

The Help Kathryn Stockett

Fortune's Rocks Anita Shreve

Diary Of An Ordinary Woman Margaret Forster

Dancing With Darkness Magsie Hamilton-Little

2012

As I Lay Dying William Faulkner

The Sense Of An Ending Julian Barnes OR

Snowdrops A D Miller Purple Hibiscus Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

As I Lay Dying

First meeting of 2012 and As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner is covered. I have to admit this book was my choice - and I felt a little anxious as to people's responses to it. I've not 'chosen' a title since 2007 and may not be allowed to choose another until at least 2017!

So, what did the group make of it? Fair to say that everyone found it difficult to get into, but all that attended the meeting had persevered and were glad that they had done so. The book is written as a stream of consciousness, and as such, little context is provided by each narrator. You really have to be paying attention when reading this book - it's certainly not one to pick up as a bed time read - otherwise it can be difficult to follow who is talking about what.

Chapters tend to be brief, with a number of narrators mainly from the Bundren family plus some friends of theirs.

Personally, this book inspired me to study US Literature at university. I'd never before come across this style of writing. The complexity of the characters together with the other worldliness of the deep South captured my imagination. Fast forward some 20 years and revisiting William Faulkner's work was a real treat.

Other books:
The Siege/The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore
Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman
Before I Sleep by S J Watson
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes (similar work by Georges Perec)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Next time:
Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes OR Snow Drops by A D Miller
March 2012

"Life was created in the valleys. It blew up into the hills on the old terrors, the old lusts, the old despairs. That's why you must walk up the hills so you can ride down."

About WBS Reading Group

Welcome to this first blog about the Warwick Business School Reading Group. The group has been running since 2007, and although is known as the WBS group, you don't have to work at WBS to be a member. As long as you enjoy reading, are open minded about what you read and want to chat to others about books, you are most welcome to come along to our bi-monthly get together. Or just follow this blog if you are unable to attend.

We usually meet at 12.30 in the WBS staff lounge, with our packed lunches and a few books to talk about.