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Newtown Literary Group


For further information about Newtown U3A or any of the groups please contact: secretary@newtownu3a.co.uk

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Members of U3A are all welcome to join the activities of  the groups.  Contact details of leaders are given in the Programme of Events.

The book group meets once a month, usually Thursday afternoon 2pm - 4 pm.  We take it in turns to meet in each other's homes.

Members each bring notes and opinions about the chosen book and these form the basis for informal discussion. We each award marks out of ten for the categories of style, storyline, characterisation, readability, literary merit, thought provoking; enjoyment and desire to read more by the same author are also importan Members each bring notes and opinions about the chosen book and these form the basis for informal discussion. We each award marks out of ten for the categories of style, storyline, characterisation, readability, literary merit, thought provoking; enjoyment and desire to read more by the same author are also important. We source our books from libraries and web sites offering secondhand bargains.

corelli's mandolinThe Group's March book was Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres. This well-known novel, which has been made into a film, is set in the Greek island of Kephalonia during and after the Second World War. Italian and German troops have invaded Kephalonia and the rest of Greece. Captain Corelli, of the Italian artillery, is billeted with a family which includes the local doctor and his daughter, Pegalia. Corelli and Pegalia fall in love, a relationship in which Corelli's mandolin plays an important part. The romance is however interrupted by Italy switching sides, leading to German troops killing the Italians in one of the worst atrocities of the war. Corelli escapes and and becomes a famous musician but his relationship with Pegalia is another casualty of the war. Meanwhile, Kephalonia is transformed into a tourist hot-spot. 

The Group found much to applaud in the novel: its treatment of history, the tragedy and immorality of war, the sensitive portrayal of romance, lifelike characterisation, and evocative depiction of a pre-war way of life on a Greek island that has been overtaken by tourism.


widowlandAt the November meeting the group discussed Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. This is a complex and entertaining novel set in 1950s/early 1960s America. Much of the story involves the social conservatism of the time, particularly how it constrained the ability of women to combine a career with wider conventional expectations. Elizabeth Zott is a young research chemist who meets Calvin Evans, a famous chemist at the same institute. Calvin at first assumes Elizabeth is a secretary rather than a scientist, a typical attitude at the time. She is sacked when she becomes pregnant but finds a new career presenting 'Supper at Six' on TV. Her cookery demonstrations become chemistry lessons and the programmes are hugely popular, encouraging viewers to enjoy science. The group applauded the novel, which sparked a lively discussion about the degree to which women's careers and their role in society have changed over the last sixty years. It also raised many other issues around personal relationships. Lessons in Chemistry is a best-seller and has been made into a series on Apple TV. That tells us that the novel's themes and clever writing strike the right chords. It's a good read and is strongly recommended as a Christmas present.



widowlandThe Group's latest book, Jessica by Bryce Courtenay, sparked a spirited discussion. The novel is set in the Australian outback around 1914. It combines a tangled story about a young woman's struggle against adversity, with an evocative depiction of rural life at the time. Jessica is a tom-boy who works with her father Joe on the farm. Her elder sister Meg is nurtured by her mother Hester to be the opposite: an attractive young woman who has little interest in the land. Hester's unscrupulous ambition is for Meg to marry Jack, the son of a wealthy neighbouring landowner. She encourages Meg to seduce Jack before he leaves for the war so that pregnancy would force a marriage. In the event, it is Jessica and not Meg who becomes pregnant. Hester manipulates the theft of Jessica's baby and its transfer to Meg. Meanwhile, Jack is killed in the war. The story is further complicated by the appearance of an aboriginal woman when Jessica gives birth, leading to a trial involving the right of the state to remove aboriginal children from their parents.

Some episodes in the novel stretch credibility. The group debated the importance of likelihood in a novel, and whether we should accept that unlikely events in a story do not necessarily detract from its enjoyment.


widowlandThe group’s latest novel was Widowland by C J Carey, a deeply disturbing story in which the political freedoms we take for granted have been easily lost, combined with a feminist critique of the role of women in society. It’s 1953, and Britain formed an alliance with Germany in 1940 rather than fighting on. It has become an impoverished offshore island under German control. Women are categorised from infancy with the brightest and most attractive expected to have children, while the rest become drudges. Older women are banished to slum houses in Widowland. The state controls thoughts by re-writing history and literature, there is a pervasive sense of fear, and trust between individuals has been lost.

 
In a spirited discussion the group gave the novel high marks, drawing parallels with the regimes in countries like Russia and Iran and with The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.


Tractors in UkrainianThe Group enjoyed reading the latest choice, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka. The novel revolves around an elderly and frail Ukrainian and his late wife who came to the UK as refugees after the war. He has started his Short History but is targeted by a voluptuous Ukrainian ‘gold-digger’ half his age. The narrator is the man’s younger daughter, who disagrees with ‘Big Sis’ about how to deal with this tricky situation.

 The story combines humour and sadness in raising some important social and family issues:

  • The ageing process and eventual need for residential care.
  • Conflict between siblings who differ in character and attitude.
  • Integration of refugees.
  • How distant memories of earlier trauma can unexpectedly re-surface.

 The novel was published in 2005 but is very topical. We learn something about the impact of invasion on Ukraine during the 20th Century, and its ongoing quest for independence from Russia. Extracts from the Short History are also interesting.

 


Under the Greenwood TreeThe group discussed Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy at the last meeting. Most found the dialogue difficult, not least because of the Dorset vernacular. However, the descriptive passages were applauded in giving a strong sense of place and time in rural Dorset 150 years ago. That said, it’s doubtful whether the group will read another novel by Hardy.

All among the Barley

The Group met on 8 June 23 to discuss All Among the Barley by Melissa Harrison. Written in the first person, the novel is about a short period in the life of Edith, a 14 year old girl and her family farm in Suffolk in the mid 1930s. All agreed that the novel paints an evocative picture of a farming way of life that has almost entirely disappeared. Edith is traumatised by several shocks, personal and family, that struck her at about the same time. She never recovers, and we learn in an epilogue written many years later that she spent the rest of her life in an institution. Some felt that the ending of the novel was unsatisfactory, with the contents of the epilogue coming as a jolt.


river spirit

The Group’s last meeting discussed River Spirit, a new and very topical book by Leila Aboulela. It’s a historical novel set in Sudan, in and around Khartoum and the White Nile. In the mid 1880s the Mahdi, a charismatic figure claiming to be the Islamic ‘Expected One’, led a mass and violent revolt against control of Sudan by the Ottoman Turks. The relationship between two young people, Yaseen and Zamzam, is impeded by the struggle. The British Governor of Sudan, General Charles Gordon, is killed when Khartoum falls to the Mahdi’s forces.

 The novel shows how religious fervour and anti-imperialism became a toxic mixture, dividing families and friends in a way common to many civil wars. It also indicates that the conflict and tribalism we see in Sudan today are nothing new. Our discussion pointed to a different interpretation: that the novel is primarily a love-story against the background of revolt and war. 


Begin at EndOur latest book was We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker. Although the author is British, this complex whodunnit is set in California and other western states. The central characters are Walk, the local police chief, Duchess, daughter of Star, a woman with troubles, and Vincent King who has spent 30 years in jail for killing Star’s sister in a hit and run accident. 13 year old Duchess sets fire to a seedy nightclub to punish Dickie Dark in revenge for taking advantage of her mother. The arson sparks a chain of events leading to Star being shot. Vincent King is the suspect but the final twist is that King was protecting Duchess’s brother, Robin, who shot Star by accident. It then emerges that King is Duchess and Robin’s father.

Some in the group thought it was just another crime novel, albeit rather unusual. Others, however, pointed to the moral issues raised by the relationships between the main characters. The spirited discussion resulted in the former (male) group having their opinions altered by the other (female) members. It demonstrated the value of a book group, and perhaps some of the differences between  men and women in how they interpret a novel dealing with difficult relationships. Do women have more insight into this aspect of life?
 


Hand GrenadsThe book reads rather like a diary but is full of graphic and amusing accounts of her day-to-day experiences, including hand-grenade tuition. 1976 marked the end of the Cultural Revolution, an extraordinary period when Mao Zedong imposed a rigid version of Marxism on a compliant population. Professional people were obliged to adopt the life of peasants and manual workers, who were thought to have greater wisdom. The same applied to the British students, who found themselves working in a cabbage field. The book describes the intense cold and heat in Peking, the crude and uniform clothing, uninspiring food and odd (to us) aspects of Chinese behaviour such as frequent spitting. The group was impressed by Frances Wood’s apparent stoicism. She went on to become a respected academic in everything to do with China and Chinese. China is very different today: the second largest economy and a growing military power.



The Group is now reading The Loop by Nicholas Evans and will meet at Nick's house on Thursday 4 April.

The following book will be The Ambassador's Wife by Jennifer Steil
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     ambassador's wife
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