Literary Masters book groups

Should Your Book Club Read Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter?

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Should your book club read Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter?  Yes, absolutely.  If you’re not in a book club (poor you), you should read it anyway.  It’s funny and charming and compelling.  And very thought-provoking.  There’s a lot of serious stuff going on beneath the humor in this book.  I laughed at parts and I cried at others.  This was Literary Masters’ choice for September, and it was a huge hit!

Warp-speed plot summary:  It’s 1962 Italy and the stunning Dee Moray arrives in the beautiful but forgotten seaside village Porto Vergogna on the Ligurian coast.  Our hero Pasquale is immediately smitten with her.  For reasons I won’t go into here, she disappears from his life, and fifty years later he embarks on a quest to find her.  The reader is zipped along from Italy to Seattle, with stops that include Edinburgh, Rome, and Hollywood along the way.  Each place is brimming with unforgettable characters–each one more human than the next.

So what can your book club talk about? 

Well, you’ll want to start by asking my favorite question:  What is this book about?

This elicited quite a few different answers, largely because this book has a lot going on in it.  A few themes stand out, though, and you’ll want to ‘dig deep’ into each one.  For example, you’ll want to talk about living the life you think you should be living versus really living the one you’re in.  And speaking about the life you should be living, who has imposed that “should”?  Who has dictated the narrative of how your life should be led?   

One’s identity and how it is formed is related to this, and you’ll want to consider what the book is saying here.  For example, how are our identities shaped by our culture?  And who shapes or makes our culture in the first place?  Who has the power to do so?

The theme of storytelling runs throughout the novel–you’ll want to ponder:  who gets to tell the stories that reflect and/or shape our culture?   And how do I create the narrative of my own life?  And who owns my story and why do I relinquish the telling of my story to someone else?

You’ll also want to talk about the characters’ quests for fame.  Why are they so intent on being seen by others?  Is this just human nature?  And you’ll want to discuss the relationship between fame and art.  What is the book saying about this?

Shane’s motto is “act as if,” which seems particularly relevant to today’s “social media generation.”  Or perhaps people have always done this.  Perhaps people have always been projecting an image to others of how we want to be perceived.  Your book club can decide…

The characters that seemed to stand apart from the others were Pasquale and Michael Deane.  You’ll want to talk about the innocence of Pasquale–and why he chose to do what he did–and you’ll want to talk about…the incredibly unique Michael Deane.  One of my groups spent quite a long time trying to decide whether he is a narcissist or just a control freak.  Or both.

We talked a lot about what motivated the characters, and we ‘dug deep’ into the theme of desire in the novel.  “People want what they want.”  You’ll want to give this statement a lot of thought.

The Donner Party chapter is one you’ll want to discuss.  I was fascinated by how we came at this from different perspectives.   For example, is the main point that Eddy is a hero whose story isn’t told?  Can there even be a hero if there is no story?  Or is the point that, although there is a heroic person and story to be told, the audience is more interested in hearing about cannibalism?  Are we to draw the parallel between the cannibals of the Donner Party–eating each other to survive–and Hollywood–where much the same thing goes on?

The pillbox with the paintings also generated a lot of discussion.  Is it true art if no one sees it?  Why did Pasquale and Dee Moray invent the story about the artist?  And why was the “truth” so far from what they had imagined?  What is the book saying about truth and reality?  Your book club can have some deeply philosophical discussions, if you’re so inclined.

You’ll want to consider the epigraphs and their significance, if any, and you’ll want to do the same for the title.

Well, I could go on, but I think this should get you started.  This wonderful novel has landed on more than one “Best of” lists for 2012 (if you “like” Literary Masters on Facebook, you can find a link to many of the “Best of 2012” lists), and I think you’ll agree that it deserves all the praise.  Let me know how your book group enjoys it!

Should Your Book Club Read The Round House by Louise Erdrich?

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My answer to this question is yes.  In fact, I think this is one of those books that is better read in a group than on one’s own.  Trevor over at The Mookse and the Gripes reviewed it (click here for his excellent review) and he captured much of what I was struggling with as I read it.  As he so eloquently put it, it’s a “bit of a mess.”  Having said that, though, it’s really a mess worth reading and discussing with your book club.  Really.

It won the National Book Award, which put it on my radar.  My personal book club (not my Literary Masters groups) read it, and we had a rollicking discussion.  So, what can your book club discuss?

Warp speed plot summary (for a more comprehensive review, refer to Trevor’s above):

Set on an Native American reservation, this is a coming-of-age tale, told through the eyes of a 13 year old boy.  The narrator is much older now, but he is looking back and telling us the story of a pivotal event in his life: his mother was brutally attacked and raped by someone either on or near the reservation.  How the family copes and what ensues makes for a very interesting and thought-provoking read.

Your book club will probably want to discuss:

  • The family dynamics and the reversal of roles that takes place in the aftermath of the attack.  We all agreed that the love the boy feels for his family was the most moving part of the story.
  • You’ll want to talk about the significance of the Native American myths that are woven throughout the novel.  How do they parallel, echo, or reinforce the themes of the book?
  •  What do you think of how life on a reservation is portrayed?  Is there a statement being made here?  This may open up the discussion of how Native Americans have been treated historically.
  • You will definitely want to talk about the narrator’s motivations for telling us his story.  Why is he doing so?  Is he a reliable narrator?  Is his story important and why or why not?
  • In the afterword of the novel, Louise Erdrich states, “This book is set in 1988, but the tangle of laws that hinder prosecution of rape cases on many reservations still exists.”  You’ll want to discuss how the law plays a role in the story.  And you’ll want to discuss whether the events at the end of the book are justifiable in the light of the legal situation. 
  •  Shifting boundaries pervade the story, and you’ll want to talk about this.  Legal, familial, racial, physical: nothing is contained forever, no matter how much people try to enforce limitations.  This is a huge and important theme throughout the book.
  •  You’ll want to discuss the symbolism and imagery in the book.  Hint: it opens with some significant symbolism.  How does it illustrate the meaning of the novel?
  • There are many characters worth discussing, especially in their relation to Joe, the narrator.  Considering this is a coming-of-age tale, you’ll want to understand what Joe experienced as a boy, without his ‘future understanding as a man,’ and what he is reflecting upon as a grown man.  Very different–and rather important differences.  Memory and perspective will come into your conversation, no doubt.

All right, I could go on, but this should get you started.  My personal book club discussed all of the above and then some, and we came away from our meeting feeling like we had really ‘dug deep’ into the book.  Let me know how your book club meeting goes–enjoy!

Books into Movies–Game Change

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Julianne Moore is one of my favorite actresses, ever since I saw her amazing performance in the film version of The End of the Affair, which just happens to be the February selection for Literary Masters book groups and literary salons.  Now she has starred–and scooped up a Golden Globe Award for best actress–in the film version of Game Change, a non-fiction book by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin.

I watched the movie first and was so gob-smacked at the story, I rushed out to the library to grab the book.  The book is much more comprehensive than the film.  The movie centers around Sarah Palin, after she is tapped by John McCain to be his vice-president, and the campaign for the presidency from that ‘game-changing’ moment until the election.  The film is thoroughly compelling and utterly fascinating.  My jaw was on the floor for most of it.  Yes, I was very aware of the story; this wasn’t news to me, as I tend to follow presidential elections with some interest.  But this was inside the story, and honestly, I don’t know how much of it was true, but if only half of it was, NO ONE comes out of it looking good.

The book is more about the campaigning for the Democratic nomination, so it covers the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama much more–in fact, maybe too much unless you like following politics and elections.  This is not to put you off reading it–it bogs down just a little–and each time it does, it quickly picks up and swiftly carries you along another storyline which you will not be able to put down–the John Edwards campaign, for example, or the problems that former president Bill Clinton posed for Hillary, or, of course, the main train wreck, Sarah Palin and the implosion of John McCain’s campaign.  This is seriously frightening stuff.  You know how they say, if you like to eat sausages, don’t look at how they are made?  Well, if you want to trust in your politicians, don’t look at how a campaign is run, or how an election is won.  Sausage-making looks yummy in comparison.

Bottom line:  Run, do not walk, to get the DVD of the movie.  You can walk to the library to get the book.  The fresh air will open up your lungs.  And this book will open up yours eyes.  Read it!

Long List Out for Non-Fiction Award!

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The long list has been announced for the Samuel Johnson Prize, which is the UK’s most prestigious award for non-fiction.  Click here for the website and more info.  As you know, Literary Masters always has one non-fiction selection and this season we’ll be reading In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick, which won the National Book Award in 2000.  Two years ago the Literary Masters non-fiction selection was Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize that same year.  Take a look at this long list and let me know what you think…

The 14 titles on this year’s longlist are:

  • Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo (Portobello Books)
  • One on One, by Craig Brown (Fourth Estate)
  • Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest, by Wade Davis (The Bodley Head)
  • The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin, by Masha Gessen (Granta Books)
  • Feathers, by Thor Hansen (Basic Books)
  • Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman (Allen Lane)
  • The Old Ways, by Robert MacFarlane (Hamish Hamilton) Inside the Centre: The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Ray Monk (Jonathan Cape)
  • Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genuis, by Sylvia Nasar (Fourth Estate)
  • Winter King, by Thomas Penn (Allen Lane)
  • The Better Angels of our Nature, by Steven Pinker (Allen Lane)
  • The Spanish Holocaust, by Paul Preston (HarperPress)
  • Strindberg A Life, by Sue Prideaux (Yale University Press)
  • Joseph Anton, by Salman Rushdie (Jonathan Cape)

Should Your Book Club Read In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar?

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Absolutely yes!  This book is a winner and whether you read it on your own or with your book club, you should definitely read it.  It was written in 2006 and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.  It won the Europe and South Asia Region of the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Best First Book.  And it was Literary Masters selection for the month of February.  I must thank my brother–yes, the one who never visits libraries–for bringing this wonderful novel to my attention.

Warp speed plot synopsis:

The narrator, a grown man, looks back through the eyes of his nine year-old self, and tells us the story of  living under Gaddafi’s regime in Libya.  Suleiman’s father is a dissident, risking his life and those of his family, to rebel against the dictator.  Suleiman’s mother wants nothing to do with such trouble; she is more concerned with her own private rebellion–against the men who forced her into a hurried and arranged marriage against her will.  Suleiman, or Slooma to his loved ones, navigates the private trials and tribulations in his home and personal world, against the backdrop of an all-seeing, all-powerful public power.  As he tries to understand and take control of his little world, Slooma will open the door of his home and his family, letting that public and terrifying power in with lasting consequences for everyone.

So, what can your book club talk about?:

Well, you will definitely want to talk about Suleiman.  He is, without a doubt, one of the more interesting narrators I’ve come across.  You’ll want to explore his motivations for making the decisions he takes.  There are emotional, psychological, and pragmatic explanations for his actions, but they don’t all point to the same motivation.  He is, in a word, slippery.

What is he responsible for?  What did he do intentionally and what did he do unwittingly?  Was he a victim, or is he pathological?

Is he an unreliable narrator?  Yes, in the sense that he is telling us his story from memory, and memory is by definition unreliable.  However, is there more to this?  Is he telling us his story as a way of justifying his actions?

You will want to explore the Oedipal themes in the story.  This may help illuminate Suleiman’s motivations.

You will definitely want to explore the character of the mother.  She’s another incredibly interesting character.  What motivates her?  Her love for her son, or her lust for independent power?  Note the story-telling motif running throughout the story.  Note the parallels between Scheherazade and Suleiman’s mother.  Who chooses slavery over death?

The theme of betrayal pervades this book.  You’ll want to discuss whether any of it is justifiable.  You’ll also want to consider the pleasure that some of the characters take in submitting to authority.  What is the psychology behind this?

The imagery and symbolism in this novel are beautiful; the author began the book as a poem, and one can see this in the tropes he employs.  You’ll want to talk about the significance of the mulberries, and why the only remaining mulberry tree is in Rashid’s garden.  Why does Suleiman eat so many, and why does the sun make him sick?  What does the sun represent?  What does Bahloul the beggar represent?  What about the sea?

You’ll want to consider whether the book is asking the question:  how complicit are the characters in their own imprisonments?

You will want to talk about the title.  At length.

This book was written before the Arab Spring and the overthrow of Gaddafi.  You’ll want to talk about whether we respond to it differently, knowing what we now know about how history has played out.

You’ll want to talk about the moral dilemma:  does one sacrifice one’s family for the sake of the larger good, or protect one’s family at all costs?

I could go on, but I think this should get you going–happy reading, and have a great book club meeting!

Reading Is Fantastic for Your Mental Health!

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I’ve always said that at Literary Masters book groups and literary salons, we ‘dig deep’ into literary treasures, and each discussion is like an aerobics class for our brains!  Now, medical research shows that reading, yes, reading is good for your mental health, and can reduce your stress level by 68%.  How great is that?

Here’s the article; read it and relax!

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/health/314426/reading-cuts-stress-levels-by-68.html

Should Your Book Club Read To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf?

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This is not an easy book.  It is, however, a brilliant book.  So, forgive my equivocation, but I think my answer to should your book club read To the Lighthouse depends upon…your book club.  I will say that this book almost demands to be read with others so that you can talk about it and make sense of it.

To the Lighthouse was Literary Masters’ December selection, and I found our discussions fascinating.  Like a mirror held up to each individual reader, this book seemed to reflect unique and personal responses.  Each LM member seemed to have a different interpretation of the parts, as well as the whole, of the story, much like the characters within had each an individual response to their lives.  Thus, we readers were like the characters in the book, constructing our perception of reality through the prism of our own perspectives.

I could spend days here going over the themes of the book, and analyzing the imagery, and discussing the characters, and so on.  And the thing is, I could spend each day looking at the above through a different lens: one day I could view the book through a historical context; one day I could do a Freudian reading, one day I could do a feminist reading, one day I could look at it through an existentialist lens, one day I could just analyze the symbolism, one day I could just analyze the colors…I think you get my point.


So what can your book club talk about if you read To the Lighthouse?

Many critics feel this book is highly autobiographical, so that may be a starting point for you if you are up for doing a little research.  Even if you don’t, though, you’ll want to discuss the relationships in the book.  Why does Mrs. Ramsey refuse to say ‘I love you’ to Mr. Ramsey?  Whom does Lily love?  What does Lily feel toward Mrs. Ramsey?  What does James want?

Actually, that’s a good place to start.  What does each character desire?  This may lead you to what I consider an overarching theme of the book, one of the main things this book is “about.”  And what does each character do with that desire?  And what does that say about human nature?

Each reader in your book club may have a different answer to “what is this book about?” and each one may be right.

Talk about the significance time plays in the story.  What is it saying about time?  How do the characters feel about time?  What is each character’s relationship with time?  Perhaps you could consider the most important thing in each character’s life and go from there.

Talk about the imagery and symbolism.  For example, what significance do windows hold?  What about the lighthouse?  Note all the gardens, trees, and other natural phenomenon and how they relate especially to Mrs. Ramsey.  What is the significance of that?  Talk about the house; many of my LM members felt that the house was a character in itself.  What do the waves represent, if anything?  Honestly, I could go on and on, but the above is probably enough to get your book club going.

This book is absolutely poetic and you may want to read passages just for the beauty of the language.  You’ll definitely want to talk about the unique structure: Virginia Woolf was a pioneer of ‘stream of consciousness,’ so you as reader will be inside the flowing thoughts of the characters.  How does this affect you?  And how does this form embed the themes of the book?

I highly recommend this book.  It speaks to the reader on an individual level as well as speaking to us all on a universal level of things that are timeless.  This is probably why it is on every list of “must read” books.  It demands a little more work on the reader’s part, but the rewards are well worth it.

Should Your Book Club Read Nemesis by Philip Roth?

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Someone told me that when Nemesis came out, the reviewers said it wasn’t as deep and as layered as some of Roth’s other novels.  Huh?  I couldn’t disagree more.  Nemesis was Literary Master’s October selection, and we had some of the best discussions ever.  Nemesis has layer upon layer of meaning to dig into, and we did!

The bottom line: YES, your book club should read this novel.  And if you don’t belong to a book club, you should read it anyway.  It is, quite simply, one of the best novels I have ever read.  Philip Roth has aced it–this book is a page-turner, but it’s also extremely thought-provoking.

Warp-speed plot summary:  The setting is mainly a Jewish section of Newark, New Jersey, in 1944.  There is an outbreak of polio, and tension mounts as the townspeople become increasingly fearful for their children.  (It’s also wartime, and we all know, looking back, what was happening to Jews at the time.) Bucky Cantor is the director of the playground, and he feels it’s his duty to keep the kids safe and healthy.  However, Bucky’s girlfriend, Marcia, is a counselor at a summer camp in the cool mountains, an idyllic place where polio isn’t even a concern.  A job arises for Bucky there, and he has to choose between staying where he is or joining Marcia.  Sounds simple, but this story is complex in a very sophisticated way.

So, what can your book club talk about?

For a start, consider the title.  Can we understand this novel better in the context of a Greek tragedy–where the hero has a flaw, usually hubris, and so the spirit Nemesis puts the hero in his place?  If so, what is our hero’s hubris?  How does it manifest itself?  Or, if you just want to think of a nemesis as an enemy, what is the nemesis in our story?  Is there more than one?

Consider the protagonist Bucky.  What is motivating him?  Why does he make the decisions that he does regarding Marcia?  Why does he make the decision about the summer camp?

This book is a deeply philosophical novel, asking the BIG questions about how one should live.  And of course, asking about whether God exists.  Consider the characters and how they view how one should live.  Take the narrator, for instance.  And compare him to Bucky.  What sets them apart from each other?  Is the book making a judgment about how to live one’s life?  Is the book making a judgment about whether God exists?  What is this book saying about chance?

This book is also a deeply psychological novel, delving into what makes us, as humans, tick.  Do you think Bucky’s actions can be explained when one considers that he feels guilty for his mother’s death?  A type of survivor’s guilt?  What about the fear that grips the townspeople?  Could they have acted any other way?

This book can also, one can argue, be read on a political level.  What else at the time was threatening Jews, attacking them out of nowhere, herding them into a place apart from others?  Is it significant that the boys who come in and spit on the playground are Italian?  Who or what does Horace represent?  Is that handshake to appease him and get him to leave the playground significant?  What references to Germany are present at the Indian Night ceremony?  Or, can we look at the incidents at the summer camp in the context of Native American history?

This book is also exploring the concept of story-telling, asking why we tell them, and taking a close look at just what underpins our beliefs.  Again, consider the ritualistic ceremony at Indian Night.  What’s the significance of that, do you think?

This book is filled with mythological and biblical references.  Consider the scene where Bucky is talking to Dr. Steinberg in Mrs. Steinberg’s garden.  Dr. Steinberg represents?  And consider the peach that Bucky bites into.  And consider Bucky’s subsequent actions…

Or perhaps, like me, you think Bucky is extremely narcissistic.  And if you remember the myth of Narcissus, you’ll see a deeper meaning in the scene where Bucky is diving into the water…

This book is filled with symbolism that you can ‘dig deep’ into.  For example, what do the butterflies represent, if anything?  And what about the relentless sun?  Philip Roth was reading Camus’ The Plague while writing Nemesis (or so I read), and Camus is also the author of The Stranger.  Remember the relentless sun in The Stranger?  Significant?  Coincidental?

What do you make of Bucky’s bad eyesight?  Symbolic?

I laughed as I realized that we all were acting out a major theme of the book as we looked for meanings in the book.  Did Roth intentionally put in the book all that we saw?  Or was it just us bringing our own readings to it?  Does life have a grand design?  Or do we choose to read our own meanings into random occurrences? 

I could go on, but that’s enough to get your book club talking.  I cannot recommend this book enough–you will NOT be disappointed!

Should Your Book Club Read The 1000 Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell?

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This bursting-at-the-seams novel was the May selection for Literary Masters book groups.  It proved to be a polarizing choice.  Perhaps it’s the time of year; I, like many others, feel like my head is inside a Magi-mixer–and the switch is on!  Some members (myself included) loved the book, and others found it really hard going.  Everyone appreciated the opportunity to discuss it, though.  So, if you’re here for the bottom line, I would say: this is a book worth reading, and if you do read it, you’ll want to talk about it with others, so yes, your book club should read it!

Our groups talked about so many things, one main concern: what on earth is this novel about?  You’ve got the first plot–the Dutch on Dejima island in Japan at the turn of the nineteenth century, based on real events–and then there’s the second plot–the sisters and monks living in the mountaintop shrine.  And then the British frigate, again based on true events, arrives–almost a third plot–and helps tie everything together.  It’s an adventure story par excellence, and it’s also full of big ideas for your book club to explore.

We cover about twenty years–from 1799 until 1819 or thereabouts, yet all the major concerns of the century will be crammed in the story.  Science versus superstition, tradition versus modernity, West versus East, exploration versus exploitation, and much, much more.

Several overarching themes were discussed:

  • The idea of man being a complicated creature, a mix of both good and evil.  Are we just the sum of our deeds?  Is morality an absolute, or is it relative and dependent upon our culture?
  • The idea of life being a zero-sum game, and we are all just living by the law of the jungle.  It’s always all about power–who has it, who can grab it, how to use it.  Betrayal is pervasive throughout the story, which makes sense when it’s an eat or be eaten world. 
  • Stories, myths, and why we tell them.  And how they form who we are.  Whether we realize it or not.  Refer to page 244 for a great quote on this.
  • How we (often times blindly) hold onto a belief or ideology that justifies any and all of our actions.  How hard it is to let go of our beliefs because they form our identity and they give us power.  Refer to page 205 for a wonderful quote on this.
  • How very difficult it is to communicate, especially across cultural or other divides.  The power that an interpreter has, and the huge consequences that can arise from misinterpretation.
  • Imprisonment in a time of exploration.  Think about it–lots of the characters either chose their own prison or were put in one by someone else.

This book is bursting with metaphors, but one I loved was the birth at the beginning of the novel–a wonderfully symbolic scene.   And we all loved the language, especially the haiku-like ‘interruptions’–usually tied to nature–that underscored the action.  For example, when the villagers don’t want to know about what’s going on in the shrine on p.182, the line reads “She hears the ancient hush of falling snow,” and then later, when the truth is being uncovered on p. 236, the line reads “Someone sweeps snow in the courtyard with a stiff-bristled broom.”  How gorgeous is that?

There’s lots more to this book, but this ought to get you started with some ideas to discuss with your book club.  Happy reading!

Should Your Book Club Read The Calligrapher by Edward Docx?

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This book was recommended to me by one of my favorite bloggers to use for my Literary Masters book groups.  Although I don’t think I’ll be putting it on my list for next season, I can highly recommend the book for your individual reading pleasure, and you may even enjoy a rousing discussion about it with your personal book club.

Quick plot overview:
The narrator, Jasper Jackson, is a calligrapher by profession.  Living in north London, Jasper has been commissioned by a wealthy American media tycoon to transcribe thirty poems from John Donne’s Songs and Sonnets.  Now if you know little to nothing about calligraphy and the same amount about Donne and his poetry, you are in for a treat.  More about that later, however.

Jasper Jackson is a bit of a womanizer as it turns out, and he doesn’t restrict himself to one amour at a time.  Constancy seems to be a bit of a problem for Jasper.  But then again, Jasper hasn’t really found his true love yet.  Until one day, when he is gazing out his window onto the garden below, where he spies a woman so outrageously beautiful, he compares her to Helen of Troy.  He also calls her, for lack of the words to do her true justice, a “real hottie.”  Immediately he is smitten, no make that obsessed, and it becomes his sole ambition to meet her–and more.

Now, at the start of every chapter, there’s a poem by John Donne, and even if you’ve never read his poetry, you can figure out the gist of what it means and then, and this is the clever part, you will know what’s going to happen in that chapter.  If the way I’ve just described it makes it sound corny or cheesy, that’s my fault because it’s really done well.  Occasionally within a chapter Jasper discusses Donne’s poetry and what it means, or how difficult it is to definitively pin down, but this never comes across as heavy-handed.  Instead, I found myself enjoying learning a bit about this 17th century poet and his work.

This novel is quite funny at times, although at first I felt like I was reading a guy’s novel (I couldn’t get too excited about Jasper’s musings about woman and his wooing of them) and wondered if I would stick with it.  I’m glad I did, not only because it rapidly improved and then easily hooked me, but also because there’s a couple of unexpected twists in the story that lend it depth.  And when considered in the broader context that encompasses Donne’s poetry, one can see how these twists make a lot of sense.  It makes for a very clever, or as the Brits say, a brilliant package.

I highly recommend this book for a fun literary read, and I think most book clubs will find enough in it to carry an evening’s conversation.  I will be keeping my eyes open for more Edward Docx for sure.