OCFPL- Book Club March

This month's book was Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal. This one was a split book amongst the group. Some members enjoyed it and others did not. We enjoyed the main character, Maggie Hope, after all who doesn't like a strong female character who had gumption. What got us divided about the book was some of the twists and surprises of the story and how they happened. Some of us agreed that they were just too unbelievable and just made no sense. Other enjoyed those twists and turns, and it gave the story the excitement it needed.

Overall, we liked the history and time frame of the story. There is something about London in the 1940's on the brink of war that just makes any book a bit more intriguing. It is just seemed off with some of the side stories and characters in the book about how some felt flat while others were stronger.

Score for this title is 3 books and a short story out of 5 books.

If you would like a copy of the book, follow the link below:

https://oceancity.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1437459153

Join us next at our next meeting on April 21st as we discuss The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy.

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Ape House by Sara Gruen

In Gruen's debut novel Water for Elephants , readers fell in love with the titular elephant Rosie. In her second novel Ape House , a similar fondness occurs with the aforementioned apes. The cast of bonobos live happily in their Language Lab under the watchful eye of scientist Isabel Duncan. They are able to use sign language to communicate and enjoy playing around with visitors and the other scientists. Everything is going great until the lab gets bombed and the apes mysteriously disappear. Once the dust settles, Duncan is horrified to find out that the bonobos have been sold to a television producer who has casted them in their own 24 hour reality tv show. Joining forces with a newspaper reporter, an exotic dancer, animal activists and other research assistants, Duncan takes on the fight of her life to rescue her bonobos and give them the proper kind of life they deserve.

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.

Benny and Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti

A strange title for a bittersweet love story. Benny and Shrimp (real name Desiree) are both middle aged and lonely. Benny is a dairy farmer who never went to college while Shrimp is a librarian and an avid reader/philosophizer. They meet in a cemetery and fall in love, only to realize that perhaps the passion they feel towards each other may not necessarily carry their relationship into the future. The best relationships are founded on compromise, but are the two willing to sacrifice parts of their lives for each other? A quick read, but a thoughtful one at that.

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