Greetings, Book Club!
A big pat on the back to me for what I think was a top book club meeting last night! "The Shadow Without a Name" inspired discussion so intense, the windows of my apartment fogged up! We didn't quite come to blows, but I was ready to duck, just in case. In general, the ratings were split between about 2 and 7, with little in the middle. Matt went with a 2.5, noting that the characters were too thin to care about, but considering the hour long fracas that ensued, Matt is apparently the only one who felt this way. Chris nearly jumped out of his skin with cries of anti-Semitism, Europeanism (is that a word?) and equated the story to a blame-the-victim politico-religious travesty. "Um, Chris, what are you talking about?" The rest of the group did our best to tactfully (then not so tactfully) disagree. How can you not spy the Russian as the Devil--wasn't it so obvious? And the slaughter of the innocents--who again was so innocent? The debate raged and I think we agree on key points being, in no particular order, religion, fate, and identity. Most importantly, no one was angry about the hardback format.
Luckily, we cooled off with some ice cream and talked about what is really important, like the Justin/Janet's boob Super Bowl fiasco. New member Eric immediately proved his worth by confirming that it was a planned wardrobe malfunction! Hilary explained the premise behind "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé" and outlined how she is leading a group of librarians to Paris next month. Ooh, la-la! We learned that Scott is allergic to chocolate, and Laura is allergic to Scott. Pity, eh? He makes her cough. Ann got engaged (in October!) and is getting hitched in April. Nate shared his favorite John Edwards campaign slogans while Scott asked "If God has spoken to you recently, what has he said about the presidential election?"
So this is the first time most of us have seen Chris truly and legitimately, passionately angered by, well, anything. The good news is that he has a heart! And it nearly jumped out of his chest. Really the best thing about Chris is that since he is both Catholic and Jewish, but self-identifies as a Taoist Atheist, he can criticize everyone freely! Being none of the above, I know I'm jealous. Hot salsa, cries of anti-Semitism, and questions about his new girlfriend all brought about the statement, "Whoa, I'm sweating."
Okay, next month's meeting will me Monday, 29Mar04 (sorry Tom) at Nate's house. The book is "Straight Man" by Richard Russo. It's academic satire, Hilary's favorite, and we're promised a fast read! Preliminary planning, Marlene will host in April and Ann in June.
Happy reading!
FS