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BOOK CLUB - Galway
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Hi All,
A final reminder that we will be holding the Barbelo's Blood discussion this evening in The Cottage Bar, Salthill around 8:00/8:30. The author and the publisher of the book will be attending also.
I have ordered some snack foods so if you decide to come along (excluding our special guests of course
), please chip in. Should be about €5 each, depending on how many come.
Seeing as the author has agreed to come along please make an effort to come yourselves and as always, new members are always welcome.
See ye later:)0 -
See you there later around 8 I hopeTristanPeter wrote: »Hi All,
A final reminder that we will be holding the Barbelo's Blood discussion this evening in The Cottage Bar, Salthill around 8:00/8:30. The author and the publisher of the book will be attending also.
I have ordered some snack foods so if you decide to come along (excluding our special guests of course), please chip in. Should be about €5 each, depending on how many come.
Seeing as the author has agreed to come along please make an effort to come yourselves and as always, new members are always welcome.
See ye later:)0 -
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*Note: the following is just my opinion. If I have misinterpreted anything, please correct me. If you think that the author meant something completely different to what I think he meant, again, feel free to correct me!*
Hi All,
Bit of a long post this so be warned
First of all, I’d like to thank everyone for coming to our BookClub discussion last night, and especially to Joe, the author, and Neil, the publisher of Barbelo’s Blood. I have never written a book but I can just imagine that it’s a very tough thing for an author to do, to attend something like this and face people who could potentially tear your work to shreds!
It was a great night. As hoped, Joe gave us a very good insight into the story itself and especially the main character Barbelo. This is not a word for word quote, but the author said that he tried to squeeze lots of concepts into the book in order to provoke thought amongst the readers; allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions to a certain extent…and there are lots of concepts to help stimulate those brain cells.
I read the first 320 pages as normal but I have to admit that the last 120 were very rushed due to a lack of time. This book can’t be rushed if you are to pick up on all the underlying details and nuances.
The story is cyclical overall “the end is the beginning; the beginning is the end” - but to me it seemed as though there were more discrete storylines within the main plot itself and this is why I think that you really need to take your time with it.
It is obvious that the author did lots and lots of research for the book. The detail is very intricate in places and the dialogue between the characters is true to the area of London where the story primarily takes place, and from where the main character Barbelo hails.
Bethm commented that the dialogue seemed unnecessary at times and that this made the book a tougher read than it should have been, and because of this, the impact of the dialogue (mostly between Sid and Barbelo) was lost as you progress through the story. The author commented that he was aware of this, but it was because he wanted to keep the characters as authentic as possible, and as this is the way that many of residents of this area of London speak amongst themselves and to others, it is true to say that in real life much of the impact of the language is lost and this is what the author was trying to convey.
The character of Barbelo, I found to be very interesting. There’s no beating about the bush with him. He’s straight to the point about everything and I think that the intense dialogue portrays this very well. I also like the idea that he seems to struggle with his emotions a lot. On the one hand, he’s very tough and thick-skinned. He tries to pass a lot of things off in the story as being idiotic or as being lunacy (especially many of the things that Brid tells him) but yet; he can’t seem to help himself paying attention to it and at least considering the possibilities. He finds himself questioning his own beliefs more and more…beliefs which he knows are often the product of his own brutal conditioning as an orphan and as a soldier.
There are lots of other interesting characters in the book which for me continuously peaked my interest in the story. There’s a lot of variation and the pace of the story is quick. If you don’t concentrate, you can miss out on important details quite easily. I would highly recommend it to anyone who’s interested in reading something different.
Joe mentioned on a couple of occasions that he was very conscious of getting the overall balance of the story just right; leaving the story open to different interpretations whilst still not being flaky. I thought the balance was very good throughout and compared with some of the books I have read in the book club, including Booker Prize winners such as The Sea or DBC Pierre’s Vernon God Little; Barbelo’s Blood is easily on a par with them, and better than many of the books.
In a nutshell, I really enjoyed this book…just take your time with it
Thanks again to everyone who showed up and congrats to Joe and Neil on the great achievement!0 -
Hi All,
Neil asked me to put this up on the BookClub thread
"Thanks for the warm welcome from all the Galway Book Club members and the wonderful hospitality. Joe and I really appreciated that and enjoyed the evening a lot. It was a little daunting beforehand but was a great experience and opportunity for Joe to talk about Barbelo and the processes involved in creating the novel and also for myself in talking about the publishing side.
Very perceptive and interesting questions from the members and I think you all have a great book club there!
Thanks again to all."0 -
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Here's a few good online book stores for anyone interested:
www.alibris.co.uk
www.awesomebooks.co.uk
www.bookdepository.co.uk0 -
Hello everyone,
I am so sorry I didn't make it to the BC Tuesday, as I had the Cloud Atlas read, and absolutely loved it! How did it go, what did everyone think? Please post a summary of reviews! (Tristan, I have now begun to glimpse why these are useful...
)
Anyways, I have been laid up with a bad bad cold for the past week. With a nasty chest infection to go with. However, once Tuesday came around, there was no way that I was gonna miss the BC, or so I thought...
8 o'clock, up I get and out I go. Got no nearer than Toft Park (2 mins from home), when I realised that I would literally have to take a "breather" on a bench there. Most awful, suffocating shortness of breath. Once I'd done that, though, the nest bench, barely a minute later, looked just as appealing... How humiliating. I had to admit defeat and crawl back home in any way I knew how. The one thing that kept me going was the embarrasement at the idea that the old man who was walking his dog in loops there would find me on his next round, sprawled on the path, no breathing, no pulse... might give him a heart attack!
Got home somehow, anyway, but pretty gutted (winded, really
) that I couldn't make it.
So what is the next book, folks? Hope to see you for that one! 0 -
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geekychick wrote: »Hello everyone,
I am so sorry I didn't make it to the BC Tuesday, as I had the Cloud Atlas read, and absolutely loved it! How did it go, what did everyone think? Please post a summary of reviews! (Tristan, I have now begun to glimpse why these are useful...)
Anyways, I have been laid up with a bad bad cold for the past week. With a nasty chest infection to go with. However, once Tuesday came around, there was no way that I was gonna miss the BC, or so I thought...
8 o'clock, up I get and out I go. Got no nearer than Toft Park (2 mins from home), when I realised that I would literally have to take a "breather" on a bench there. Most awful, suffocating shortness of breath. Once I'd done that, though, the nest bench, barely a minute later, looked just as appealing... How humiliating. I had to admit defeat and crawl back home in any way I knew how. The one thing that kept me going was the embarrasement at the idea that the old man who was walking his dog in loops there would find me on his next round, sprawled on the path, no breathing, no pulse... might give him a heart attack!
Got home somehow, anyway, but pretty gutted (winded, really) that I couldn't make it.
So what is the next book, folks? Hope to see you for that one!
Hi folks!
The next book is The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, for Sept 26th. Charlie Byrnes has a few copies as far as I know and it should be in Dubrays also.0 -
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What references at the back?
My copy doesn't have any (Vintage Classics, 2004). Just as well, as they can be horribly distracting, I know. Maybe try to ignore them and see how you get on from there. I have found Wiki helped with understanding who's who and who's doing what with whom.
I have always been kind of scared of this book, as when I was about 10 I saw a few disturbing scenes :eek: from the 1972 TV adaptation (my parents really were too lax regarding my TV watching habits...:D). But the book is turning out ok, although I am not into this magic realism stuff much. I don't think I will have it completed by Tuesday evening, though...0 -
geekychick wrote: »What references at the back? My copy doesn't have any (Vintage Classics, 2004). Just as well, as they can be horribly distracting, I know. Maybe try to ignore them and see how you get on from there. I have found Wiki helped with understanding who's who and who's doing what with whom.
I have always been kind of scared of this book, as when I was about 10 I saw a few disturbing scenes :eek: from the 1972 TV adaptation (my parents really were too lax regarding my TV watching habits...:D). But the book is turning out ok, although I am not into this magic realism stuff much. I don't think I will have it completed by Tuesday evening, though...
Yeah, mine has notes at the back, lots of them and I really don't think I can ignore them because I feel like I could be missing out on something very important
Would anyone be interested in meeting on Tuesday evening as planned for a...mid-way book discussion I really want to finish it but I don't think I will have by then. I don't want to add another unfinished book to my stadily growing list. 0 -
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TristanPeter wrote: »Yeah, mine has notes at the back, lots of them and I really don't think I can ignore them because I feel like I could be missing out on something very important
Would anyone be interested in meeting on Tuesday evening as planned for a...mid-way book discussion I really want to finish it but I don't think I will have by then. I don't want to add another unfinished book to my stadily growing list.
Have to say I am enjoying the book but I know what you saying re ref but I dont check out every one only ones I really have no clue about I would find it too annoying. Should have it finished by Tues but dont mind if it is a half way book meeting. See you tues.0 -
Hey folks
A mid-way discussion would be a good idea I think. My copy had no references at the back and i didn't feel I missed out so I wouldn't really worry about them. There's plenty of stuff on wikipedia and there should be a Bulkagov website to check out. 0 -
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