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The Fixed on Fiction Book Group meets the second Thursday of every month at the Lisle
Library District to share our thoughts on the latest books we read.
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February 9, 2012 Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff March 8, 2012 The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Potzsch April 12, 2012 The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran May 10, 2012 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak |
 On Thursday, January 12th the Fixed of Fiction book group met to discuss Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey. Here are a few comments made about the book:
-Not everyone who attended the meeting enjoyed the book. One person was not able to finish it, another said she finished but did not enjoy it. We had one person who did enjoy the book but it took her about 100 pages before she could get into it, she did say she would not recommend the book because even though overall the reading was enjoyable the story itself can be boring. We all agreed that none of us would recommend the book to another person.
-I mentioned that reviewers point out how funny the book is suppose to be, none of us found the book funny. Each of us could point to one or two scenes that were comical but not enough to make this a humorous book.
-I pointed out that Peter Carey has won 2 National book awards and that this book was a finalist. I also mentioned that the author is Australian and most of his books have to do with some aspect of Australia. People were surprised to learn he was Australians since this book is so much about France and America.
-We all agreed that some aspects of the book were confusing, for example when Parrot first starts telling his story I was under the impression that he was in America and not in England. Apparently I was not the only one who thought this because another attendee agreed with me. We could also never figure out if Olivier really did sleep with Mathilde of if it was just something he made Parrot believe.
-No one attending the meeting really understood the ending. We didn't understand what Olivier's rant was about and the he just walks away and we have no idea if he intends to go back to France or to stay in America longer.
-A person also commented that for a book titled Parrot and Olivier in America it was odd that it took about half the book for them to actually get to America.
-We talked a bit about Parrot and how we were shocked to find out that he had a wife and child while living in Australia. We did not understand what pull did Mousier have on him to make Parrot follow him when he was a grown man.
-Overall it was a short meeting in we all agreed that it was not the best book we had read for our group.
Please feel free to add any comments of your own.
On Thursday, January 12th the Fixed of Fiction book group met to discuss Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey. Here are a few comments made about the book:
-Not everyone who attended the meeting enjoyed the book. One person was not able to finish it, another said she finished but did not enjoy it. We had one person who did enjoy the book but it took her about 100 pages before she could get into it, she did say she would not recommend the book because even though overall the reading was enjoyable the story itself can be boring. We all agreed that none of us would recommend the book to another person.
-I mentioned that reviewers point out how funny the book is suppose to be, none of us found the book funny. Each of us could point to one or two scenes that were comical but not enough to make this a humorous book.
-I pointed out that Peter Carey has won 2 National book awards and that this book was a finalist. I also mentioned that the author is Australian and most of his books have to do with some aspect of Australia. People were surprised to learn he was Australians since this book is so much about France and America.
-We all agreed that some aspects of the book were confusing, for example when Parrot first starts telling his story I was under the impression that he was in America and not in England. Apparently I was not the only one who thought this because another attendee agreed with me. We could also never figure out if Olivier really did sleep with Mathilde of if it was just something he made Parrot believe.
-No one attending the meeting really understood the ending. We didn't understand what Olivier's rant was about and the he just walks away and we have no idea if he intends to go back to France or to stay in America longer.
-A person also commented that for a book titled Parrot and Olivier in America it was odd that it took about half the book for them to actually get to America.
-We talked a bit about Parrot and how we were shocked to find out that he had a wife and child while living in Australia. We did not understand what pull did Mousier have on him to make Parrot follow him when he was a grown man.
-Overall it was a short meeting in we all agreed that it was not the best book we had read for our group.
Please feel free to add any comments of your own.
  Thu, 12/8/11, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm - Please join the Fixed on Fiction book group for our discussion of "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton.
Deeply moving study of the tyrannical and rigid requirements of New York high society in the late 19th century and the effect of those strictures on the lives of three people. Vividly characterized drama of affection thwarted by a man's sense of honor, family, and societal pressures.
The Fixed on Fiction book group met on Thursday, November 10th to discuss the book "Room" by Emma Donoghue. Here are some comments from the meeting:
-Everyone who came to the meeting said they enjoyed the book because it was very well written and well done, we all felt like the author really captured the personality and language of a five year old.
-This was a hard subject to read about; one person said that it was like a train wreck, horrible but hard to look away. Other people described it as riveting, disturbing and a bit disorienting in the beginning because of the age of the narrator.
-Some of us thought that reading the book from Jack's perspective was easier to learn about all the horrible things that happened to him and his Ma. We thought that if the book had been an adult's perspective the book would have been very hard to read. One person did mention that she listened to the book that Tracy Lee Dugard wrote which is narrated by the author and that it was almost too hard to get through because just knowing the story was true made it so much more difficult to read.
-We talked about how difficult it must have been for the characters to live in such a small room since it was only 11 feet by 11 feet. Some of us didn't realize how small it was, especially since Jack describes all the furniture they have inside.
-We talked about how smart Ma was since she was able to keep Jack on a daily schedule and answer most of his questions.
-Someone mentioned how after Jack and Ma escape the timeline of events seems to move too fast, almost a bit forced. From when they escape to the end of the book only about 4 weeks have gone by, we thought that was too fast for Ma to be able to recover from her suicide attempt and be able to live in the assisted living facility.
-We talked about the reasons why Ma attempted suicide, one of the speculations was that the interview she did for TV was too much especially when the interviewer asked her why she didn't give Jack to her capturer so he could give him up for adoption.
-I asked if people felt like there was a part of the story missing because we never learn anything about old Nick, people answered that they did not care because the story was not about him but about Jack and his Ma.
-We ended the discussion by talking about what kind of person Jack would grow up to be. We talked about books such as "A Boy Called It" a nonfiction book about a severely abused child and how he grew up to be a motivational speaker.
  Thu, 11/10/11, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm - Please join us for our discussion of "Room" by Emma Donoghue
Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.
 Hello everyone,
I am beginning to compile a list of book suggestions for us to look at for the 2011-2012 year. If anyone has any title suggestions please bring them to the next meeting on February 3rd or email them to me at nancyc@... Thanks and hope to see everyone at the next meeting.
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