Book Club - 08/05/13

Last night we had a book club/movie night, with a discussion about White Teeth followed by a viewing of 'The Colour Purple' which we read last month.  It was a lovely evening and a lot of fun, thanks to those that came and squidged in my front room! Although there were fewer people than normal this is the first time ever that everyone has pretty much agreed on how they felt about the book, and the verdict was that none of us were very keen.  Some didn't finish it and to be honest I really struggled with this one, I only finished it the night before and reading it had become a chore...not a good sign.  It did however win the 2000 Whitbread First Novel award and has some fantastic reviews so it may be some out there, but it was most definatley not my cup of tea.  

There was just way too much crammed in there (and its not a small book) we had immigration, racism, terrorism, animal rights activists, scientists, war heroes (debatable) and yet with so much going on not alot really happened.  Towards the last few chapters it started to build some tension leading to what you might think was a grand finale but again I found the end of the book unsatisfying.  We did all agree that the best thing about it was the way the characters were written, they were described so well you could picture them all, but this being said I just didn't feel anything for them.  The only character I liked was Irie, maybe because she was the most relatable character and seemed to be experiencing her family in the same way as I felt reading about them - exasperating.

Really enjoyed watching 'The Colour Purple' directed by Steven Spielberg in 1985.  It did have a very different feel to the book, although the general story was the same the book was alot more serious whereas the film seemed very light for the subject matter.  I loved Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey in the film both played their characters so well, Shug Avery was not how we pictured her though, not quite the glamour puss we all expected.  I think there will definatley be a few more book club movie nights to come! 

Next Months Book is... *fanfare*

'Tess of The D'urbervilles' by Thomas Hardy

'It tells of Tess Durbeyfield, the daughter of a poor and dissipated villager, who learns that she may be descended from the ancient family of d'Urbeville. In her search for respectability her fortunes fluctuate wildly, and the story assumes the proportions of a Greek tragedy. It explores Tess's relationships with two very different men, her struggle against the social mores of the rural Victorian world which she inhabits and the hypocrisy of the age.'

 

Next Book Club Meet: 

Date: Wednesday 19th June

Time: 7.30pm

Location: The Odd Shoe Pub (Park Street, Croydon)

See you there book worms!