Should Your Book Club Read The Good Lord Bird by James McBride?

Being the founder of Literary Masters, a literary society of over 200 members (and growing rapidly--thank you, all of you!), I read A LOT.  So, perhaps I am more critical than most.  I don't want superfluous words or pages; I want tight writing.  Now, I have to thank those over at the National Book Award for introducing me to James McBride--wow, can he write!  His novel, The Good Lord Bird won the award this past year, and I just finished it.  I have already requested Song Yet Sung from the library.  This author can write--his use of language is truly inspiring--and he can spin a tale that will keep you turning the pages--and he can tug at your heartstrings while tickling your funny bone.  He really can write!  The only gripe I have with this book is that it's too long--it needed an editor.  I couldn't put the book down for the first 100 pages, but the next 200 were inconsistent--too much repetition and scenes dragged on a bit.  The last 100 pick up speed again--and when I say speed, I mean page-turning into the wee hours of the night speed.  So, that's my uber-critical take on this otherwise outstanding novel.  Is it worth reading?  Yes!  Is it worth discussing with your book group?  Yes!

So what can your book club discuss?

Warp-speed plot summary:  It's 1856 and Henry, a slave in Kansas Territory (where pro-slavers and anti-slavers are up against each other), meets Old John Brown, the legendary abolitionist.  Old John Brown, who sees things the way he sees them, not only gives Henry a new name--Onion, he also gives him a new gender, turning him from Henry to Henrietta.  Onion joins John Brown, or the Captain, on his quest to free all the slaves--just as God has ordained--and travels with him for the following years until the big event at Harpers Ferry, which will precipitate the Civil War.

Henry tells us the story and rips us along on his adventure much like he was ripped along by Old John Brown.  Fasten your seat belts, for you are in for a ride!

You'll want to discuss the language!!!  You'll want to savor it for sure, but you'll want to consider why the author used this sort of wild west/Huckleberry Finn/caricature style to tell his tale.  How does it affect your reading experience?  How does it affect the meaning of the book for you?  What purpose does the humor serve?

You'll want to discuss why Henry becomes Henrietta for so long, and what makes him revert to Henry.  Are identity issues being explored here?  Or is it saying more about Old John Brown's view of the world, seeing what he wanted to see.  Or is John Brown creating the world he wants?  Is Onion able to do more as a girl than a boy?  Or is the author subverting traditional notions of male/female abilities?  Is he making a statement about the time, 1856?

You'll also want to discuss why Onion is half black and half white.  Is this significant?  Onion is a child, so he can see things to which adults have become blinded.  Does his straddling the two races give him insight that others do not have?  And he is also straddling two genders, so he's got quite a lot going on.  What significance does all this hold?  And why "Onion"?

You'll want to discuss Onion in depth.  Hero?  Villain?  Neither?  Reliable narrator?  What does he learn on his journey?  What was his purpose to Old John Brown?

You'll want to discuss Old John Brown in depth also.  Hero?  Villain?  Neither?  You'll want to talk about his religious zealotry, his motivations for abolishing slavery, his tactics for doing so, and whether this portrait of him is fair.  What values and mores informed his actions?

You'll want to discuss Frederick Douglass and his portrayal in this story.  What point is being made by his characterization?

You'll want to talk about the role of slaves and the role of free blacks in dealing with slavery and abolition.  This book makes it clear that it was a complex issue, so you'll want to "dig deep" into what exactly the book is saying about this.

You'll want to discuss the title and the significance of the bird itself and of the feathers from that bird.  Are the colors significant?

You'll want to discuss whether this is an important book and why or why not.  Is it an essential addition to the literature about slavery and the civil war?  Can it help race relations today?

And of course, you'll want to talk about the messages or overall point of the book.  You'll want to ask yourselves, What is this book about???

There's lots more to discuss, but that ought to get you started!  Enjoy!

Should Your Book Club Read The Round House by Louise Erdrich?

My answer to this question is yes.  In fact, I think this is one of those books that is better read in a group than on one's own.  Trevor over at The Mookse and the Gripes reviewed it (click here for his excellent review) and he captured much of what I was struggling with as I read it.  As he so eloquently put it, it's a "bit of a mess."  Having said that, though, it's really a mess worth reading and discussing with your book club.  Really.

It won the National Book Award, which put it on my radar.  My personal book club (not my Literary Masters groups) read it, and we had a rollicking discussion.  So, what can your book club discuss?

Warp speed plot summary (for a more comprehensive review, refer to Trevor's above):

Set on an Native American reservation, this is a coming-of-age tale, told through the eyes of a 13 year old boy.  The narrator is much older now, but he is looking back and telling us the story of a pivotal event in his life: his mother was brutally attacked and raped by someone either on or near the reservation.  How the family copes and what ensues makes for a very interesting and thought-provoking read.

Your book club will probably want to discuss:

• The family dynamics and the reversal of roles that takes place in the aftermath of the attack.  We all agreed that the love the boy feels for his family was the most moving part of the story.

• You'll want to talk about the significance of the Native American myths that are woven throughout the novel.  How do they parallel, echo, or reinforce the themes of the book?

•  What do you think of how life on a reservation is portrayed?  Is there a statement being made here?  This may open up the discussion of how Native Americans have been treated historically.

• You will definitely want to talk about the narrator's motivations for telling us his story.  Why is he doing so?  Is he a reliable narrator?  Is his story important and why or why not?

• In the afterword of the novel, Louise Erdrich states, "This book is set in 1988, but the tangle of laws that hinder prosecution of rape cases on many reservations still exists."  You'll want to discuss how the law plays a role in the story.  And you'll want to discuss whether the events at the end of the book are justifiable in the light of the legal situation. 

•  Shifting boundaries pervade the story, and you'll want to talk about this.  Legal, familial, racial, physical: nothing is contained forever, no matter how much people try to enforce limitations.  This is a huge and important theme throughout the book.

•  You'll want to discuss the symbolism and imagery in the book.  Hint: it opens with some significant symbolism.  How does it illustrate the meaning of the novel?

• There are many characters worth discussing, especially in their relation to Joe, the narrator.  Considering this is a coming-of-age tale, you'll want to understand what Joe experienced as a boy, without his 'future understanding as a man,' and what he is reflecting upon as a grown man.  Very different--and rather important differences.  Memory and perspective will come into your conversation, no doubt.

All right, I could go on, but this should get you started.  My personal book club discussed all of the above and then some, and we came away from our meeting feeling like we had really 'dug deep' into the book.  Let me know how your book club meeting goes--enjoy!

National Book Awards Announced!

The National Book Awards were announced today!  Congratulations to Louise Erdrich for winning in the fiction category for Round House, and to Katherine Boo for winning in the non-fiction category for Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity.  For a full list of winners, click here.

Elaine from Book Passage WHIRLs!

I went to the wonderfully fabulous independent book store Book Passage the other day to listen to a book talk given by the wonderfully fabulous Elaine Petrocelli.  If you haven't yet visited Book Passage in Corte Madera, you really are missing out.  It is the literary hub in the San Francisco Bay Area.  You may run into a president, a movie star, or a Nobel Laureate while browsing the shelves in this charming and unpretentious shop.  No doubt about it, all the literary giants pass through here.  Click here for a link to check it out.

Elaine is very entertaining when talking about books, and she had many to recommend.  Here are just a few that she highlighted:

Fiction:

May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes

Lionel Asbo by Martin Amis

The Chemistry of Tears by Peter Carey

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon

• I know many people reading this right now.  In fact, I'm supposed to be reading it for my personal book club!  I'll let you know what I think at a later date!

The Mirrored World by Debra Dean

• Elaine suggested that book clubs read this over a two-month period paired with Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie.  What a wonderful idea!

This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz

• I can't wait to read this book!  It is a finalist for the National Book Award (as you know because I told you that in an earlier blog post!).  Also, Diaz's Pulitzer Prize winning The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao was a HUGE Literary Masters hit!

Round House by Louise Erdrich

• Also a finalist for the National Book Award!

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

• Also a finalist for the National Book Award!  I highly recommend this book, although I must warn you, it's tough to read.  Two American soldiers in Iraq.  Very poetic, moving, and thought-provoking.

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

•  As you know, this little gem of a novel was the September selection for Literary Masters book groups and literary salons.  Everyone loved it!  My blog post on it will be posted soon, so stay tuned.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

•  This was last season's Literary Masters selection for May.  Again, a real winner!  Everyone loved this novel, and we had great fun with all the references to Moby Dick--some Literary Masters members were inspired and read Melville's masterpiece over the summer!  I went to a talk that Chad gave; if you "like" Literary Masters on Facebook, you'll see a photo of Chad and me!

A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers

• Also a finalist for the National Book Award!  I'm looking forward to reading this one soon.

Non-Fiction:

Joseph Anton by Salman Rushdie

• I am a Rushdie fan, so I'm looking forward to reading his account of the fatwa that was placed upon him due to his publication of The Satanic Verses.

Paris, A Love Story by Kati Marton

• Kati Marton's story of her marriages to Peter Jennings and Richard Holbrooke.  It sounds...juicy!  I bet it's a page-turner.

The Longest Way Home by Andrew McCarthy

Some Girls, Some Hats, and Hitler by Trudi Kanter

Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson

• An Ethipian boy is adopted by Swedes, grows up in Sweden, and becomes an award-winning chef in America.   This memoir sounds like it's worth reading.

The latest Book Passage catalogue has even more of Elaine's picks--check it out!

Award Season in Full Swing!

This is such an exciting time of year for readers, especially if you're a reader like me, who loves prize-winners!  Congratulations to Mo Yan, who today won the Nobel Prize for Literature.  If you'd like to know more, click here.

Congratulations are also due to the finalists for the National Book Award.  The list was announced yesterday and the winner will be announced on November 14th.

The finalists for fiction are:

Junot Díaz, This Is How You Lose Her
Dave Eggers, A Hologram for the King
Louise Erdrich, The Round House
Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds

The finalists for non-fiction are:

Anne Applebaum, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1945-1956
Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
Robert A. Caro, The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 4
Domingo Martinez, The Boy Kings of Texas
Anthony Shadid, House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East

As you all know from one of my earlier posts, Katherine Boo's book is also on the shortlist for the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize.  The winner of that prize will be announced on November 12th.

And you also already know from one of my earlier posts that the winner of the Man Booker Prize will be announced October 16th.  Hey!  That's next week!

How exciting is this???

National Book Award for Fiction 2011

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward has won the National Book Award for Fiction.  I have it on hold at the library, so stay tuned to find out if your book club should read it!  For more on the National Book Awards, click here.

Lots of Literary News!

So, you know that I love prize-winners, and there's lots of buzz surrounding this subject right now.  One is that the finalists for the National Book Award have been announced.  You can access all the info you need here:

http://www.nationalbook.org/

Of the fiction finalists, I have only read The Tiger's Wife, reviewed here.  I have already requested two of other the titles from the library; I have to admit, I like the sound of The Buddha in the Attic.  I mean literally--I like the way that title sounds.

The other buzz is about the new literary prize coming out of the UK and, if you believe all the rumors surrounding it, competing with the Man Booker Prize!  The audacity!  It's called The Literature Prize.  There's a certain self-importance linked to that simple name, don't you think?  Here's a link that you may enjoy if you'd like to follow this story:

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/new-literature-prize-establish-standard-excellence.html

Evidently this is good news for Americans because they won't be excluded from this opportunity as they are from the Booker due to estrangement from the Queen. 

More literary news to come soon, so check back often!