Two bookclubs have rushed by and apologies for the late update.
In May Veronica hosted a lovely afternoon tea, with lots of interesting discussion, and a pile of wonderful new books. Defending Britta Stein by Ronald H. Balson is a courtroom drama novel about an elderly Danish lady who is arrested for defaming an upright citizen of Chicago. The book parallels the present trial with what took place in wartime Denmark during the Second World War. The novel The Man Who Loved Crocodile Tamers by local author Finuala Dowling is based on an old family tale interspersed with the author’s musings on creative writing. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus introduces Elizabeth Zott, a clever woman in the male-dominated world of the sixties who surprises the establishment in this wonderfully witty, readable debut novel. Then, The Other Half of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glen is a novel about another highly intelligent woman whose life intersects with that of a young Burundian boy.
In June, Terry hosted the Booclub – with another sumptuous late afternoon tea spread, lots of catch-up chat – both social and bookish – and another great selection of books. The Black Dress by Deborah Moggach, author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, is the quirky story of a woman who literally crashes funerals – lots of promise there. Fox Halt Farm, a sweeping love story set in Dartmoor, sounds perfect for a wintry holiday read, and Mensches in the Trenches by Jonathan Ancer will bring you back to earth with this scholarly but very readable study of the Jewish contribution to the Apartheid struggle in South Africa.
3090 Defending Britta Stein by Ronald H. Balson
3091 The Man Who Loved Crocodile Tamers by Finuala Dowling
3092 Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
3093 The Other Half of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glen
3094 The Black Dress by Deborah Moggach
3095 Fox Halt Farm by Cela Moore
3096 Mensches in the Trenches by Jonathan Ancer
