BOOK CLUB - Galway

hyperbaby

Ah crappy!
I must have got the last one!

SMCG

I have a copy! And I'm not a member of the book club so I could lend it - but better check with hubby as its sort of his.... will I get it back?

germanSandra

I reminded a question at the bookclub from someone (sorry I can't remember who ask me that) about a German author who is popular outside from Germany. I have one name to you: Hermann Hesse (He wrote the book Steppenwolf for example.) Do anyone know him? (My favorite authors are not from Germany and I never read a book from Hermann Hesse yet. So I can't say if his books are good.)

TristanPeter

SMCG wrote: »

I have a copy! And I'm not a member of the book club so I could lend it - but better check with hubby as its sort of his.... will I get it back?

Thanks a million for the offer SMCG I ordered it from Adlibris the other day so hopefully it will get here soon. It only cost 71p. The postage was £3.50 though. If it doesn't get here soon I might borrow it from you if another club member hasn't already done so...and your husband gives you the go ahead I appreciate it.

MagicM83

Hi everyone!

I'll finish pompei in the next day or two if anyone wants to borrow it.

Do we have a nomination for after 'seeing' yet? I think Ms Ka was nominating?

Cheers!

Ms. Ka

I promise I will have a nomination in the next few days. I just have to go into a book shop for some inspiration.

Cheers,
Ms. Ka

hyperbaby

germanSandra wrote: »

I reminded a question at the bookclub from someone (sorry I can't remember who ask me that) about a German author who is popular outside from Germany. I have one name to you: Hermann Hesse (He wrote the book Steppenwolf for example.) Do anyone know him? (My favorite authors are not from Germany and I never read a book from Hermann Hesse yet. So I can't say if his books are good.)

I didn't ask you but I have read Siddhartha by Herman Hesse a few years back.
It kinda went over my head though. I hate when i don't fully understand the book i am reading.

deedana

and i must have got the second last!

deedana

deedana wrote: »

and i must have got the second last!

that obscure post was referring to the Pompeii and bk depository comment further up and not just completely random...
I think that I am due to nominate a book after Ms Ka and I'd really like to read "Dress your family in Corduroy and Denim" by David Sedaris. It's short stories , so that's a plus and meant to be funny... it's also available to buy
that ok with everyone?

Ms. Ka

I loved "dress your family in corduroy......." he is very funny!

germanSandra

Hi deedana,

You are right. The book was easy to get for me (in German) too.

deedana

Ms. Ka wrote: »

I loved "dress your family in corduroy......." he is very funny!

great , looking forward to reading it so, I heard that Santaland is very funny, too!

germanSandra

10/10
My review in only one word: pefect.
All right I will write more than this. This sort of books is reason why I read. Before the book club my incentive to read was: forget for a few hours the real world, enjoy the fantasy of the writer, relax, discover unknown things / places, etc. In in this way this book was perfect. During the reading I was trapped into the story that nothing else existed. (And I hated every interruption from outside, like the phone rang and so forth.)
The people were great described with them foveae, theirs fates, theirs “normal” life. And this in a story which is plausibly and comprehensible. To see behind the curtain (inside the soul) of those guys, all who liked with a thin, fine thread (the tight-rope walker). It was so fascinating. (I often thought about Cloud Atlas as I was reading this book.)

Ms. Ka

sorry its taken so long for my nomination (and its a lazy one at that). Its The 39 Steps by john Buchan. Its short and sweet and one of my favorite books.

See you on Tuesday

MagicM83

Hi Everyone,

So the list of books and dates are as follows (correct me if I'm wrong):

Tonight - Pompeii by Robert Harris
22nd June - Seeing by Jose Saramago
6th July - 39 Steps by John Buchan (Ms. Ka's nomination)
20th July - Dress your family in corduroy and denim (Deedana's nomination)
3rd August - A fine balance by Rohinton Mistry (my nomination).

See you all tonight - I'll just be popping in for a bit as flew home late last night and am suffering from lack of sleep :-)

Martty81

Just spotted that A Fine Balance is 624 pages long so just as well we got the heads up on that one in advance!!

Folks, so sorry again but I won't be able to attend tonight. I'll definitely be at the next one!

MagicM83

ooops - is it? haha

I've had it sat in my bookshelf for nearly 2 years, and thinking about it, it does look quite chunky, which is probably why i've not read it yet! sorry guys!

germanSandra

Be lucky. In German the book has 862 pages.

higamos hogamos

Won't be making it tonight folks, but I'll do my damndest to make it next time.

A Fine Balance in a few weeks time? Excellent.

ClaireAnne

Sounds cool, if anyone hears of a book club in Cork please let me know!

Galwaymother

germanSandra wrote: »

I reminded a question at the bookclub from someone (sorry I can't remember who ask me that) about a German author who is popular outside from Germany. I have one name to you: Hermann Hesse (He wrote the book Steppenwolf for example.) Do anyone know him? (My favorite authors are not from Germany and I never read a book from Hermann Hesse yet. So I can't say if his books are good.)

Hermann Hesse is one of my favorite authors since adolescence. Read especially "Narcissus and Goldmund", dealing with the tension between the artistic life and "real life". Beautiful style and characters. I liked "Siddharta" too, but I knew a little already about Bouddhism. Also " The Glass Bead Game" is my father's favorite book, but I never got into it.
Another good German author is Gunter Grass. Try "The Tin Drum". A very intense novel...
There are many other wonderful German writers.
Have you tried French novelists yet?
I could give you a list...

germanSandra

Hi Galwaymother,

Thanks. I apologise that I'm so unknowably with relation to German and Fresh writers. I never read anything from Hermann Hesse or Gunter Grass. I know theirs names but unfortunately not their books yet. But what you wrote about them sounds good and maybe one of my next book (between the book-club-books) could be one of theirs books. And yes I would be glad if you could send me a list about great French novelists. It was the same like German writers in the past - I never read book of them yet. But my mind is open for good books anytime.

germanSandra

9/10

At the beginning I will give a big compliment to Robert Harris. I think that is very difficult to make an interesting, exciting story about and around the fact: antique volcano eruption. Eventually everyone knows what basically will happen:

• back story
• forerunners of the volcano eruption
• eruption
• dead people, casualties and destruction

While this fact Harris made a great book with an increase of the excitement until the end. Now I will come to the point why I haven’t give 10 points.
(I’m sure that I will be back to the stumble into a political minefield. Therefore I like to say sorry to everybody I hurt with my words. At last I risked one’s neck with careless talk with my rewiev to the book House of Stairs. Hence I try today and I will try in the future to write more innocuous. I beg your pardon if there will be in this text or in the following reviews (and surely for the past reviews too) something I write wrong. So please have indulgence with me. I am not as bad as I wrote. With the senctens about things I didn’t like of the books I only aimed to say why had not give 10 points not more than this. And I would like say sorry that the points why I love the books I read went too short. At this point I have two requests to you. Please beginn to write again about your reviews. The more meanings so much the better. And the 2nd one is my ask: When could I write my review on this page (Clear is after the bookclub meeting, but when one day, one week, …)? Please, please, please could one of you write me the right point of time? Only one last thing and I will come back to the book (And I will stop to nerve.) I would like to say why I write so much about the bad things/things I don’t like about the books – not to blast the books. But rather I don’t know if I wrote so clearly that you understand me. In this way I think wrote to much – like now I think.)
So back to the book and why I gave 9 points. The really one and only I didn’t like was the gingerly, sometimes boring start of the book. Nevertheless I indeed wanted to know how the book ends and the book recompensed me with a great end. Even in the end I forcing wanted to know if and how the protagonists come of there troubles. That was what I don’t like. I was nice today, wasn’t I?
Now to the disgust parts of the book (and the addendum that I think that these parts are loosen the story) Harris discribed these parts such an extent that I had to mused if I could read on, or if my “tender heart” could cope with it. I read on and I am glad that I read on. I mean especially the follow parts:

• The killing of the slave
• The big eating (with the knowing what the “meal” was finally eating)
• The detailed description of the death of Attilius wife

This parts (despite those are hard to assimilate) are well scatters in the story and make the story wealthier.
I bought this book because I was very interested in this volcano eruption. I wanted a book which descibes last horrifically hours of Pompeii. Purer passion of reading about pain and harm induced me to bought it. (I think I am mentally ill.) After I read this book I am glad that not as I wanted. There is more in the story as the volcano eruption:

• Mystery story: Where is Exomnius? And what happened with him?
• Love story: Is there a chance for Corelia and Attilius?

I really know that someone who isn’t interested in the Pompeii story, think surely that my rating is overprived. At last my last ask for today and for all of you; who read this book too:
Please write and discuss with me on this page. And certainly write me too, if you are total disagree with what I wrote. Just please, please write.

Martty81

Sandra,

I'd say you could post your reviews the night of the book club or the evening after. I think we've all decided that if some of us haven't read the book at that stage we just won't read your post!!

I thought Pompeii was ok. It was a good story but not one that I'm used to reading at the book club so far. It was very much a novel as opposed to non-fiction. I think his description of the mayhem after the volcano erupted wasn't very good as I couldn't get a clear picture of it in my imagination at all. I also thought the love story was pointless and how could we be expected to believe that Attilius and Cordelia survived in the end by just getting into water!? That was my interpretation of what happened in the end anyway!

I'm struggling a little with Seeing at the moment. Basically it's lack of punctuation and paragraphs is kinda upsetting me! I'm going to keep going though but without proper breaks in the sentences and with the dialogue not separated from the body of text I'm finding I'm easily distracted by other thoughts!!

hyperbaby

The lack of punctuation in Seeing is really annoying me aswell...
How can a sentence last for half a page or more?
Jeepers...

TristanPeter

Martty81 wrote: »

...and how could we be expected to believe that Attilius and Cordelia survived in the end by just getting into water!?

Sounds like a Bear Grylls volcano-eruption survival technique

The lack of punctuation in Seeing is driving me crazy too. Is it supposed to convey stream of consciousness or something Or maybe the author's primary school teacher was really crap.

germanSandra

Hi Martty81,

Thanks a lot. I think the end of Pompeii is very funny: A mystic end in the water. Very joky but inappropriate. And I think the volcano eruption take not enough room in the story. But my ask is: Could a good book exist only about the volcano eruption and that story should not be boring?

So my ask to all of you:
Does someone of you know a good book about Pompeii (and only Pompeii and not with a lovestory or crimestroy - only the catastrophe)?

My ask to TristanPeter: Please explain me the words: Bear Grylls.

deedana

hyperbaby wrote: »

The lack of punctuation in Seeing is really annoying me aswell...
How can a sentence last for half a page or more?
Jeepers...

yeah struggling with it too and really wanted to like it,
will keep an open mind and continue wading
if some finds the end of a sentence let me know
pg 42 is mainly comma's

germanSandra

We're reading Seeing by José Saramago and what happend?
He died.

http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/saramago106.html

It is a German website because I didn't find it at RTÉ.

Here is the English one:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_obit_saramago

hyperbaby

Oh what a coincidence...
Freaky...