| Ashendon Book Group |  |
- The Edible Woman by Margaret Attwood This book had a mixed response from members. There were those who enjoyed it as a novel of its era, a social history snapshot of Canada in 1965, but others who found its one dimensional characters and lack of real purpose rather boring. Attwood paints a satirical view of life in marketing and customer surveys, and of the landlady, which add small elements of comedy, but otherwise everyday activities seem tedious. However she is bold in introducing a single mother character – totally taboo at the time - but in the end even she (Ainsley) conforms by deciding the baby needs a father.
- The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger This book explores a completely new dimension in relation to time and the effects of this dimension on a love story. Most of the book group members felt it was a love story, well told, despite the time travel, with believable characters all with their own particular angst. There is a build up of tension and hints along the way indicating a sad end which were extremely well done.
- The End of The Affair by Graham Greene For many of us our first Graham Greene which was chosen primarily because then we can watch the film too (which has Ralph Feinnes in it). Many found the plot a bit thin and felt the material covered could have been condensed into a book half of the size. However some felt that the book was well written and it was felt that the intensity of the feelings were all consuming “something that is not felt very often”, which was just as well as the depth of emotion led to the destruction of the characters involved. On reflection the GG fans in the group did say this wasn’t his best so we shouldn’t give up on him as an author just yet. Bring on the film!!
- The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley This wasn't a speedy read - more a rich experience to be savoured, not rushed. Not everyone finished the book but what was read was loved. The young Elspeth seemed to balance well the challenges of childhood loneliness with the benefits of freedom. Her love of animals helped her cope with her solitary childhood. She seemed to be mature beyond her years - and this raised discussion of what was in the book for 'literary' purposes versus what aspects of the story were made up or adapted, based on truth rather than actual fact. Whatever, this is a ‘must read’ for anyone who wants to learn more of other cultures and other times.
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte We chose this book as we all wanted to read another classic after the success of Anna Karenina and felt after the failings of Michele Roberts’ book named after Jane Eyre we should try it. It is another that got the better of some of the group so our meeting to discuss it was small and a sub-meeting will happen some time. Those who have finished it loved it. We all feel Charlotte was way beyond her time, a fantastic writer whose use of adjectives is perfection itself.
- Reader I Married Him by Michele Roberts Not a book that went down well with the group. We felt it was written very badly, had irrelevant use of bad language, lacked direction and was totally unworthy of the positive write ups in the press.
- Close Range by Annie Proulx We all fancied reading some short stories and as this book includes the story of BrokeBack Mountain we saw an opportunity to enjoy the film together as well. The book got mixed reactions from our group though it was largely enjoyed. Some of the stories had to read twice to understand them and some members needed encouragement to keep going.
- Diary of an Ordinary Woman by Margaret Forster Wow – Millicent was, in our view, no ordinary woman! This novel was a graphic tale of life during the blitz – tragic, funny, challenging and altogether inspiring. How amazed we were to find the truth at the end which received an extremely mixed emotional reaction from our group.
- Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris - The place is St Oswald’s, an old and long-established boys’ grammar school in the north of England. A new year has just begun, and for the staff and boys of the School, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, Latin master, eccentric, and veteran of St Oswald’s, is finally – reluctantly - contemplating retirement. But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the School, a darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for fifteen years, is about to erupt.
- Small Island by Andrea Levy - We all agreed that this was a beautiful book, cleverly written by someone who clearly has experience of how life was for post war Jamaicans in Britain. The story was poignant, funny, sad, shocking and surprising. About half the group found it difficult to ‘get into’ the book at first but were very pleased they persevered.
- Toast by Nigel Slater – Again, we loved this memoir of young Nigel’s life and the memories evoked by 1970’s food. As well as taking the opportunity to reminisce over Nigel’s food memories we also enjoyed sharing our own and discussed such culinary delights as Fray Bentos pies, Maria Brand long spaghetti, Potato Volcanoes, Angel Delight and buying our own school lunches to budget.
- Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka – An excellent find by Vicky Blue that turned out to be far more entertaining than the title implies. We all enjoyed this is an hilarious story, with underlying sadness, about family dynamics and the past challenges faced by family members.
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – Sue Roberts and Felicity Smettem asked for a ‘classic’ read, so we all rose to the challenge and chose this beautiful book. It took many of us longer to read than anticipated and we dedicated two group meetings to the review of this lovely book – one to discuss the themes involved and another to discuss the story and how it ended.
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