Book Group listing
Book Group meetings
Each month we have an open meeting in a hall close to the bookshop. Read more about it here. We usually focus on modern fiction and the discussion regularly attracts around 20 people, men and women, of all ages.
All enjoyed the gems of observations and flashes of humour in this imagined memoir, but some felt it needed more plot. Some devoured it in a couple of sittings, others struggled to keep reading. A great discussion!
A fascinating insight to male friendship and behaviours which resonated with all age groups and genders! The second half of the book was agreed to be its triumph, but there was much here for a lively and thought-provoking discussion about a book which brought laughter and tears.
Almost everyone loved this book for the evocative 1950s setting, the gentle pace, the warm but flawed characters. The plot devices of a supposed virgin birth and train crash may have been inspired by real life, but some felt they were not necessary, and at times not well handled, for what was considered in the main a beautifully written, engrossing novel.
Some people felt this was a light, summer read while others considered it dark and unsettling. The surreal and puzzling three stories met with a mixed response, and achieved a lively discussion.