November meeting

Erin, Ben, Joe, Lynn (a new member), Elaine, Hazel F, Julie and myself met at the 3 Monkeys last night, and, amid the lasagne, muffins, salad and coffee, discussed the merits and responses to The Handmaid's Tale, which were variously, disturbing, thought-provoking, enjoyable and unenjoyable.

Joe read the wrong book - Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen, which he was glad of, because he adored it (Joe - it was, in fact, a recommendation by Sue from last month. I think he would like to thank you Sue.) It so grabbed him that he turned into a hermit and ate into it's not insubstantial body with gusto - apparently. The suggestion was made that it could be a good read for the summer break.

I managed to bring the conversation around to A Prayer for Owen Meany, last month's read.

Room was our 2nd book for the month. With some interesting insight from Ben and Hazel Funch, we were led into a discussion about what 'reality' is and how that differs depending on life experience and perspective.

Erin, as always, was well-informed and spoke eloquently about all the books and re-told a short story from DH Lawrence, one of our authors for next month. I was particularly impressed by Erin and Ben's attendance since they also had a birthday party to go to. Thank you Erin and Ben for your valuable input.

Now for next month we have:

So Much for That, Lionel Shriver
Lady Chatterley's Lover, DH Lawrence