OCFPL- Book Club April

This month's book was The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes - McCoy. The ladies of the book club enjoyed this book. We discussed that the side characters were quite fascinating and more often more interesting. We liked the stories that were being told on the side, it gave the narrative a little bit something extra and a tidbit to look forward to later in the story. As a whole, we all agreed the main character, Hanna, was something we deemed an in-between character. Hanna was someone who was like a floater, not taking full command of her own story. It was fun to see the development of the character and finally seeing how she grew in her story.

We also loved the setting of the story. Who doesn't love a book set in the misty side seashore town by the cliffs in Ireland. Grant it, the town does not exist but we just loved the imagery of the place throughout the story. It did create a sense of wanderlust throughout the group. Overall, we enjoyed the novel and would recommend for others to enjoy it. This is the first book of the Finfarran Peninsula Book series.

We give this book 4 books out of 5.
If you would like a copy of the book, follow the link below:
https://oceancity.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1437460153

Join us next at our next meeting on May 19th as we discuss The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
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Fault Lines by Nancy Huston

Shortlisted for the Orange Prize in 2008, Fault Lines takes an interesting narrative approach and follows four generations of a family counter-chronologically. Family secrets start to unravel as each generation's character is revealed. We first meet 6 year old Sol, a coddled spoiled brat of a character, as he and his family are on a trip to Germany to revisit a long-lost relative. Huston then introduces the reader to the other generations; his father Randall, grandmother Sadie, and great grandmother Erra. As each character's story unfolds, you can see how each narrative weaves into one. The last section, which centers on Erra, is the most eye-opening one and is the final piece of the novel's puzzle. I don't want to say much more because it'd be giving too much away, but suffice it to say, it's a pretty intense (and sad) read.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

A short but very moving tale about a man who uncovers the awful truth about a former lover. Michael is 15 when he first meets Hanna, who is 36. Despite the creepy age difference, the two become lovers, though Michael is far more captivated by the mysterious and distant Hanna than she is to him. Their affair is all too brief and one day, Hanna just disappears. Years later, Michael unintentionally sees Hanna as the defendant when he is observing a court case for law school. As Michael slowly learns about Hanna's horrible past, he must struggle to accept the question - if he loves (or loved) a monster, what does that make him? There is redemption in the end, but it's very bittersweet. And of course, they made a movie out of this one. If the weather is decent, perhaps I'll go see it this weekend - Kate Winslet is supposed to be fabulous.

"A Banquet of Consequences" by Elizabeth George

Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley mystery series is probably one of my favourites in the style of English detective stories. It's the series that I keep returning to, when I slip into a reading rut and can't focus on reading something new, particularly to the first book in the series A Great Deliverance. While there are lots of decent mystery series circulating now, the first book in George's Lynley stories has a certain grim insistence about it that keeps drawing me back to it. And in her latest contribution to the series, George has written a story that in many aspects parallels her first--however, these parallels did not become immediately apparent until the climax of the story. One of the things that I like best about Elizabeth George's writing is that she realises that a lot of times, the supporting characters can have better story potential than the main title character. She uses this to her advantage in almost all of the Lynley seri...

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