Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store by Robin Sloan

 

 

 

 

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything—instead, they “check out” large, obscure volumes from strange corners of the store. Suspicious, Clay engineers an analysis of the clientele’s behavior, seeking help from his variously talented friends. But when they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, they discover the bookstore’s secrets extend far beyond its walls.

‘Dan Brown meets Enid Blyton’, as summed up by one of our members. 

It may be over simplifying this modern take on fantasy-realism (nothing simple about that tag), but it does encapsulate what Mr Penumbra’s Bookstore held in literary terms for our group.

An interesting aspect of reading fresh young authors is our tendency to identify them within our already read literature. Finding something completely new in fiction does not happen often, but this one comes close. Sloan’s blend of today’s cutting edge technology coupled with theological presence, not to mention that fabulous bookstore, had the majority of us compelled to read on. It certainly took us away to somewhere entirely new.

The scores stayed high, 7-8 and it was generally considered to be an entertaining book with simple language and a well thought out plot.

No prizes for guessing what the main topic of discussion was … books, books, books!!

 

In understanding successful people, we have come to focus far too much on their intelligence and ambition and personality traits. Instead, Malcolm Gladwell argues in Outliers, we should look at the world that surrounds the successful – their culture, their family, their generation and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing, Along the way, Gladwell reveals what the Beatles and Bill Gates have in common, the reason you’ve never heard of the smartest man in the world, why almost no star hockey players are born in the fall, and why, when it comes to plane crashes, where the pilots are born matters as much as how well they are trained.

The lives of outliers – people whose achievements fall outside normal experiences – follow a peculiar and unexpected logic, and in uncovering that logic, Gladwell presents a fascinating and provocative blueprint for making the most of human potential.

 

Up until recently our group has not read a lot of non-fiction, but this year we decided to make a concerted effort to do so. The question is … what should we read? Our interests are wide and varied so it shouldn’t be too hard to find something. The problem is, as readers we have already read most of the non-fiction that appeals to us.

Here is where an author like Malcolm Gladwell comes in. His books tend to be written as a social commentary (backed with studies and statistics) on a combination of universally significant, and yet at times seemingly banal topics. In the Outliers he talks us through the circumstances which result in everything from star hockey players and award winning airlines, to software magnets and multi-millionaire entrepreneurs. His statistics can bring on a slight case of the ‘glazed eye’ syndrome, but his research is sound and generally he argues his case in a very entertaining and informative way.

On the whole we found the read to be serious food for thought with an amazing amount of information fired out at a fast pace. Certainly fast enough to keep those pages turning!

Everyone had their favourite  chapter … some liked the idea of the magic 10,000 hours of practice, others the close look at cultural differences, and then Gladwell’s last chapter outlining his own family background we all found extremely interesting, adding a real human touch to an author so consumed with facts and figures.

Whichever, they all culminated in a great discussion on a huge range of topics. A perfect book for a group interested in a constantly changing and puzzling world.  Highly recommended!

 It is 1866, and Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men, who have met in secret to discuss a series of unsolved crimes. A wealthy man has vanished, a whore has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely patterned as the night sky.

 

This year’s most challenging read would have to be Booker winner, The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. Not a group to easily shy away from a challenge, everyone made a concerted effort to tackle this 800+ page door stop!

From a discussion perspective, this novel delivered an abundance of material. We found the author’s use of astrological charts to define her characters intriguing. Their circular synergy was captivating, releasing piece by piece everything needed to form a full picture of this literary jigsaw puzzle.

Although clearly a mystery set within the Victorian backwater of New Zealand’s south island, the multitude of layers formed by the different character viewpoints made this more than just a whodunit novel (Dickens came to mind for most of us). Keeping track of the various cast members was not easy, but for those of us who persevered, the awards were great. The plot, setting and description were all brilliantly combined and none of us could say we were not literally picked up and placed on the muddy streets of a colonial goldfield!

Alas, it was a little too much for some of us, who simply found the volume of pages a stumbling block too big to get over. But if you love a large chunk of well researched and brilliantly constructed literature, then The Luminaries must be your next big read!

 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Our meeting was very sad this month as we said goodbye to our dear friend and fellow book cluber Carol Clancy. Carol joined us some 10 years ago and her lovely smile and pleasant disposition is going to be missed by us all. Carol would have been the first of us to rail against the hatred that has resulted in the MH17 disaster, so for her sake we did not dwell on that but recalled some of our more enjoyable moments with her. In her own quiet way she will always be there, at our meetings.

 What did we think of Gone Girl? Well, it scored high with most of the group (a 10 in Nancy’s case) but as low as 6 with others. There was no argument concerning the creepy factor of Amy. Her sociopathic character inspired great discussion, mostly about whether her extremely well-thought out scheme was plausible. It was decided that realistic or not, the storyline, although somewhat disturbing, was well constructed, compelling and kept you coming back for more. In fact, a few of us believed that the constant ‘whodunit’ interchange was a key element in the story’s appeal.

 

Cathy and Denise both enjoyed its contemporary setting, ignoring the crude language, but were curious about what message the author was looking for. Ann found too much background padding and wanted the story to get moving. Within the group there was little to no love for any of the characters, but it was unanimous that Nick was nothing more than an average male (no better, no worse than most) and that Amy needed to be caught and held to account! The role of the media was also touched on, along with Amy’s parents and their lapse of parental duty heavily underlined.

 

The book’s conclusion also gained much interest in our group. Some thought it weak, others clever. We all had an idea of how we thought it would play out, and apparently the movie has its own ending … so with the film placed firmly on our ‘to see’ list, we will all be waiting to see what they have come up with!

 

In the summer of 1914, the Empress Alexandra, a magnificent transatlantic liner, suffers a mysterious explosion en route to New York. On board are Henry Winter, a rich banker, and his young new wife, Grace. Somehow, Henry manages to secure a place in a lifeboat for Grace. But the survivors quickly realize it is overloaded and could sink at any moment. For any to live, some must die.

As the castaways battle the elements, and each other, Grace watches and waits. She has learned the value of patience – her journey to a life of glittering privilege has been far from straightforward. Now she knows that life is in jeopardy, and her very survival is at stake.

As a rule, the underlying theme of your typical novel is not hard to determine. In fact, it tends to be one of the first observations our group will make and agree upon. Then along comes The Lifeboat. The title alone cries out ‘survival’ as its focus. But as our discussion moved along it became clear that Grace was hiding more than a callous need to survive.

It was Anne who suggested that Rogan’s main character was in fact even lying to us and that as readers we only have her version of what happened in the lifeboat. Can we believe her? In learning how she purposefully manufactured her life (before the shipwreck) and those in it, we think not!

So, now our thread of thought seems to be moving into the realm of manipulation and falsification and how one person uses others to advance their own ends. Some argue that this is a form of survival, but this cut little ice with most of us.

In fact, there was no sympathy for Grace within our group, or for anyone else for that matter. We all conceded that the story was well written, but there was a certain lack of connectivity to the passengers and their predicament, where we thought we should be feeling a great deal of sympathy and compassion.

Much was left to speculation, which in turn left us wondering what we would have done and begs that big question any story of this sort asks … is it worth sacrificing a few for the many?

This novel provides no whys … only whats, so if you’re looking for a read that will give you all the answers, we suggest steering clear (pun intended) of The Lifeboat!

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

 

August, 1943. In the despair of a Japanese POW camp on the Thai-Burma death railway, Australian surgeon Dorrigo Evans is haunted by his love affair with his uncle's young wife two years earlier. Struggling to save the men under his command from starvation, from cholera, from beatings, he receives a letter that will change his life forever.

This savagely beautiful novel is a story about the many forms of love and death, of war and truth, as one man comes of age, prospers, only to discover all that he has lost.

 

Less is more. Where have we heard that before? Well, it was certainly said a few times this month concerning Richard Flanagan’s epic tome, The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Even the title is too long, was Anne’s comment!

At close to 500 pages, this combined story of enduring love and futility of war was felt to be well written but, alas, too wordy.

This can be an often occurring theme in our discussions … when does a book lose its impact under the weight of too many words? That is of course within each and every reader’s discretion. In truth, the trick of engaging the reader with just the right amount of information and dialogue is a craft perfected by only a handful of talented writers, so where does this leave Flanagan and his latest offering?

Well, the majority of us did get through this novel and although not enamored by the main character, Dorrigo Evens or by the attempt at romance, there was an overwhelming respect for Flanagan’s personal quest at telling this story. Those of us who heard the author interviewed found it much easier to plough through the pages. His impeccable research and personal motivation added emotional depth that may have been lost to anyone not privy to the conversation.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North (being the Burma Railway) gave a poignant and emotive picture of POWs and their plight, and although many of us have heard and read of this sad history, Flanagan was still able to cleverly, and some agree, perfectly, engross the reader. We also felt including the Japanese perspective may have helped in securing the quality of the read.

Our conversation covered many of the topics any novel of war tends to inspire, but we did find ourselves pondering specifically the philosophy of training killers, Korean and Japanese relations, returning POWs (their strengths and their flaws) and whether Dorrigo was in fact Weary Dunlop! The individual stories wound into prison life gave us all gratification in a place and time where little of such could be found, adding yet another dimension to this story ... a human touch that could only be bound in truth, not in imagination.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North is listed for this year’s Miles Franklin Award.

The Watch Tower by Elizabeth Harrower

 Breaking their poses like trees snapping branches, the women urgently regarded each other, cleared away all signs of work in an instant, examined their souls for defects, in a sense crossed themselves, and waited.

After Laura and Clare are abandoned by their mother, Felix is there to help, even to marry Laura if she will have him. Little by little the two sisters grow complicit with his obsessions, his cruelty, his need to control.

Set in the leafy northern suburbs of Sydney during the 1940s, The Watch Tower is a novel of relentless and acute psychological power.

 

Our book club is always keen to gain new knowledge and perspective when it comes to reading novels, especially if said novel is considered a modern masterpiece! What serious reader doesn’t want to add to their list of read classics?

So it was with this intension that we ploughed through Australian author Elizabeth Harrower’s The Watch Tower.

Now, although our opinions differed somewhat, there was no doubting the emotion that this book exposed. We all felt the enslavement and vulnerability thrust upon Laura and Clare by the misogynist Felix, and although this left the majority of us frustrated and angry, there was some empathy for two unexperienced and emotionally inept women in a time when there was little or no support for such souls.

There were those of us who disliked this book intensely. Found the story line grim and too slow and the characters unlikable. Then we had the opposite … brilliant writing that looked to expose the raw reality of domestic abuse within a dark, psychological thriller.

Eleanor did not get to read this month’s selection, but she did see a great interview with Harrower and it led her to believe that The Watch Tower may have had some biographical content. This sort of insight usually brings more questions than answers to our discussions. If only we could have An Audience With … Elizabeth Harrower!

If you are keen to see our book clubs in action, don’t miss our Audience With David Cairns this month.