Can I call our bookclub new, anymore? Since we are into the second year, perhaps not. From now on, my bookclub musings will be less about milestones and more about tips I discover while book-clubbing.
Meeting Details
In January, six of us met at my house.
Before the meeting, I laid out an assembly of charcuterie in the dining room next to the discussion area: three types of cheese, two types of crackers, dates, olives, strawberries, cantaloupe and homemade biscotti. As members arrived, we assembled first around the kitchen island on which stood a giant bowl of ice with drink options.
Mocktails For The Win
At past meetings, I have observed a pattern of drink preferences. One member sometimes brings pinot grigio. Others often choose a red from the host’s offerings. Thus, I provided two red options and an assortment of chilled white wines. For non-alcoholic choices, I included berry flavoured “Bubly,” limoncello La Croix, Perrier, and canned mocktails in the mix.
The mocktails were a hit! Peach Bellini, margarita, and Aperol Spritz imitations from a local grocery store, served over ice with fruit garnishes in wine glasses found favour with half of the attendees. One member asked me about the calories (zero for this brand) which I think clinched the drinks’ popularity.
This trend I find interesting. With recent awareness of alcohol as a carcinogen, where no amount is considered safe for consumption, I wonder if this group of women is grateful for alcohol-free drink options. Red wine is still my drink of choice for bookclub nights, and two members imbibed some Josh Cabernet Sauvignon with me.
Making The Discussion About The Discussion
Our discussion of Fleishman Is In Trouble, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, went well. We agreed on the repulsiveness of the main character. Yet, the book yielded many pathways for a spirited discussion.
Thank goodness this group doesn't expect me to do extensive research or delve into awards and reviews, especially since I didn't have adequate time to prepare. When the doorbell rang for the first time, I barely had time for assembling refreshments before racing upstairs to make myself presentable. This would not have happened with the bookclub I recently quit. The peer pressure to research and create piles of notes as facilitator was so strong with that group, I would begin preparation days in advance.
Had I prepared in advance, however, I would have read out quotes from the book that spoke to me. After the meeting, I located those snippets and popped them into the group chat, along with a review that explained the “trojan horse” theme that came up in the discussion.
Our WhatsApp group chat is great for “fyi” messages like this. Taking up time in the discussion with reading quotes and explaining thematic references would have focused the group’s attention on me rather than on the discussion itself. While listening to interesting research notes can be illuminating, I think members get more out of discussing each other’s point of view. Thankfully, the conversation flowed freely, with each member contributing. Discussion prompts from the library kit served as conversation igniters, but we did not need all of them.
My Review of Fleishman Is In Trouble
I read this book for my book club, and am looking forward to discussing it. Only after choosing this book did I realize I'd watched the TV version of this story (a series that was cut short). I found the series fascinating, and the book even more so. I am rounding up to five stars what was closer to a four star experience, because the fact that I feel conflicted about the book means it stirred something in me.
What I loved:
+That a woman author managed to write in a man's voice so convincingly.
+That I could not help thinking about the Barbie movie's theme similarities to this book.
+That the book felt very long (probably because of of the lack of chapters and white space), yet I never once considered skimming or not finishing.
+That the book focuses on a privileged sector of people in a part of New York City I never thought or read much about.
+That so many quotes from the book made me feel seen. (So it's not just me? Others have these thoughts?)
What I did not love:
-The jarring third person woman narrator. I thought Toby's voice appeared alongside hers in first person but now I am not sure. Seeing things randomly through Toby's eyes via Toby, then also via this other woman, confused me to no end.
-That none of the main characters, except for maybe Solly, was likeable.
What gave this novel punch for me were the quotes that resonated. Here are a few I don't want to forget:
"I was afraid of seeming too hopeful, and so I settled on hating myself for caring too much."
"Her social climbing...wasn't about her and her childhood; it was about her kids. A thing about growing up the way (she) did was that whether or not you liked being lonely, aloneness became your body's resting condition -- its set point...When you are someone who is rejected her entire childhood for reasons that feel impossible to discern, there is little that could happen to you in your future that doesn't feel like further rejection."
"Or I just wanted some independence and some time alone to watch whatever I wanted on television without being judged."
"Maybe it was the insult of childbirth. Maybe it was the overwhelming unfairness of what happens to a woman's status and body and position in the culture once she's a mother. All those things can drive you crazy if you're a smart person."
"...moments that are the worst in marriage: when one of you is in a good mood and the other can't recognize it or rise to the occasion and so leaves the other dangling in the loneliness of it; when one of you pretends to not really understand what the other person is saying and instead holds that person to a technicality they don't deserve."
"Not everyone follows the rules. Not everything was fair... his children would have grown up with that lesson, and the losses they endured in their lives after this wold never hurt quite so much again."
And to conclude this review on a happy note:
The ending of this book surprised me. In a good way.