Lincolnwood Library Blog

This month’s discussion book, Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron was the 2010 winner of the Bellweather Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.  This powerful novel follows the life of Jean Patrick Nkuba, a talented young Rwandan runner with dreams of racing for his country in the Olympics.  The ten year span of the book culminates in Jean Patrick running for his life amidst the violent genocide that overcomes Rwanda in April of 1994.  The rich characters, emotional story and complex historical context made for a wonderful
discussion.

With only a few exceptions, the group liked this book.  Those who didn’t, cited some of the author’s contrived metaphors and trouble connecting to the young protagonist.

• We discussed the role of fiction as a means of exploring the human side of history.  Because fiction allows the reader to experience empathy, many of us agreed that it is a powerful medium for telling these stories.

• Several members of the group talked about how this book prompted them to learn more about the genocide.  The book was about the human side of the story and as a result we desired greater knowledge and understanding of the historical, political and socio-economic factors that played a role in the conflict.

• We talked about the media’s role in conflicts like this and also about the lack of action by the United Nations and the rest of the Western World.

• We were all very interested in the aftermath of the genocide and in Rwanda’s current state.  We agreed to do a little research on our own and discuss what we found at the next meeting.

• The group wished the author had included a glossary in the back of the book.  Often she would provide a definition in the text, but we all wanted to know the meaning of many of the words and phrases that were interspersed throughout the book.

This book is highly recommended for book clubs because of its powerful human story, richly drawn characters and thought-provoking historical context.

Please join us for our next Book Discussion on Monday, May 13 at 11:00 a.m.  We will be reading Nightwoods by Charles Frazier.

Our discussion of 11/22/63 by Stephen King proved that books we love don’t always make for great book club selections. Although the overwhelming consensus was that this novel was enjoyable and even fascinating at times, the discussion didn’t flow as easily as usual. However, we did find a groove by sharing memories of life in the 1950s-60s.

• We loved the book’s interesting concept of time travel and how events affect each other through the butterfly effect.

• We all had preconceived notions about who King is as an author, which colored whether or not we would have picked this up outside of the book group. Some love him, some don’t, but we agreed that this wasn’t what we expected from Stephen King.

• In general, we thought Sadie and Jake’s relationship was unrealistic and that her character was unbelievable also. This central love story felt weak compared to the novel’s other elements.

• Participants each shared memories of finding out that JFK had been assassinated and the hysterical feeling that if it can happen to the president, it can happen to anyone.

The group agreed that this long novel is worth recommending to friends. However, as it is highly plot-driven, it is only reservedly recommended for book clubs.

On April 8 we will discuss Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron. See you then!

Arcadia by Lauren Groff is an intensely character-driven story about a boy named Bit Stone. It is told in four sections, during four different periods of his life. During the first two sections, Bit is growing up in an idealistic commune called Arcadia, and this setting forms Bit into a sensitive, quiet, and open-hearted man. In our usual poll to open the discussion, only about five participants reported liking the book. However, an hour was not enough time to finish our discussion, which reveals how rich the story really was.

• The Arcadian commune was built on the principles of equality, peace, shared work for the common good, love (and free love), and a back-to-nature spirit. Its downfall is overpopulation, freeloaders, and human nature.
• Groff’s writing style is magnificent but maybe overly lyrical, sometimes hard for us to follow. She does write some truly gorgeous sentences that many of us wrote down to look at later.
• We appreciated how some characters and stories are left open-ended and others are resolved. Minor characters like the Amish come back, but we are left to speculate about a major character, the mother of Bit’s child.
• Why is Bit described as so physically tiny? Maybe to say that small people can do big things! Or maybe his size allows him to always be hugged and touched and picked up by the community. His small physical size is in contrast to his very large but vulnerable spiritual side.

Groff’s lovely novel is a book in which you can lose yourself. By the same token, we all agreed that it was best to read in a book club setting because of the ease with which you can get bogged down.

Our next book is hefty, so start reading now! Pick up 11/22/63 by Steven King for an alternate history of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. We’ll meet on March 11 at 11 a.m. to discuss it.

We began this year’s discussion group with a novel set in late 1930s Manhattan, The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Most participants gave it a favorable review, but critics felt that the main character—smart, beautiful, martini-loving Katey Kontent—was not authentically feminine for a woman of that decade. However, the book’s strength was the author’s attention to detail and ability to make Manhattan come alive.

• The novel’s major theme was exploring the consequences of the choices we make in life, especially early in life when our choices don’t seem to matter, but really do.
• The book’s frame, a flashback, and the exposition, which reveals that the romantic relationship we will read about does not last past one year, act together to create both a sense of inevitability (“we know what’s going to happen”) and mystery (“but I wonder how they get there…”).
• Katey, the protagonist, is bright and able to fit in easily. She is also a social climber and perhaps not so different from Tinker.
• Tinker, Katey’s love interest, learns that self-actualization makes you happier than money does. Once he is free of being a “kept man,” he feels relief and happiness despite having lost his social status.
• George Washington’s Rules of Civility appendix was charming and most of us spent some time reading through the 110 maxims. After reading them, the novel’s title becomes a little more tongue in cheek.

Towles’ strength in writing is his accurate and beautifully unexpected portrayal of the time period’s details. Despite some unhappiness with the accuracy of his characters, this book is full of interesting topics and recommended for book clubs.

In February we’re discussing Arcadia by Lauren Groff.  Pick up a copy and join us on February 11.