Before the quiz we did manage to have a chat about the last book which was called 'Sleepers' by Lorenzo Carcaterra. It was based on a true story of 4 boys who grew up together in a rough neighbourhood in New York. Despite their surroundings they managed to stay out of serious crime until a prank in the street became a horrendous accident and had major consequences for all of them. They were all sent to a reformatory school which was essentially a prison where they were tortured and abused. The youngest was only 12 when he was sent there. It's unbelievable to think that this is a true story but also that it wasn't very long ago - and who knows whether this kind of thing still happens in these places. No one really thinks about where young offenders are sent. It did affect all of their lives, in mostly negative ways although with the help of a priest in the neighbour hood two of the boys managed to make something of themselves and avoid the life of crime that seemed to be inevitable in their return to the neighbourhood.
The last section of the book is about getting revenge against the prison wardens who inflicted all the hurt and evil on them. One is shot dead by the two boys who have become criminals, but in a fantastic trial they plot to take down the rest of the wardens in one fell swoop, even though it means dragging up the past and reliving their nightmares.
I thought this was an excellent book, I was compelled to keep reading and really felt for the characters. It is quite a short book where there is a lot of backstory. I liked reading about them growing up and obviously their time at the prison had to be a big feature but it did feel like the trial at the end was almost squashed in. I really want to watch the film now to see how they tackle the themes in the book, its one of those DVD covers I remember from my Blockbuster days but never actually watched!
As we got wrapped up in the quiz night, I made a decision on the next book and went with a book called 'The Monogram Murders' which takes Agatha Christies famous Belgium detective character Poirot and creates a brand new mystery for him to solve. Its set in the 1920's too which I am always drawn to for some reason. I used to watch the Poirot programmes on TV when I was younger and I've never read an old fashioned murder mystery so why not give it a go!
'Hercule Poirot's quiet supper in a London coffee house is interrupted when a young woman confides to him that she is about to be murdered. She is terrified, but begs Poirot not to find and punish her killer. Once she is dead, she insists, justice will have been done.
Later that night, Poirot learns that three guests at the fashionable Bloxham Hotel have been murdered, a cufflink placed in each one’s mouth. Could there be a connection with the frightened woman? While Poirot struggles to put together the bizarre pieces of the puzzle, the murderer prepares another hotel bedroom for a fourth victim…'
Next Book Club
Date: 25th August (Tuesday)
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Lets give 'The Oval Tavern' another go - hoping that it will be wamr and sunny so we can make sue of the beer garden!
