Should Your Book Club Read Wonder by R.J Palacio?

As you all know, Literary Masters are book groups and salons where we dig deep into literary treasures!  This season, one of the books that Literary Masters Parent/Child book groups read was Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  If you read one book this year and one book only, make it Wonder.  You will laugh, you will cry, and you will come away with a true sense of...wonder.  If you can grab your child, your wife, your husband, your neighbor, your personal trainer, anyone really, to read it aloud to and share in the joy of this book, all the better.  R.J. Palacio has written a gem!

So, what can your book group (even if it's just two of you) discuss?  I am just scratching the surface here; I could talk about this book over and over again and keep coming up with new subjects.  However, this should get you started:

Warp-speed plot summary:
August has a facial deformity.  A severe facial deformity, which he has had since birth.  He has been home-schooled up until now, but has decided to enter a traditional school for the first time; he will be in the fifth grade.  What a year it will be!  Told from the perspectives of August (Auggie), his sister Via, his schoolmate and friend Summer, his other schoolmate and friend Jack, Via's boyfriend Justin, and Via's childhood friend Miranda, this novel takes the reader along on Auggie's journey--a transformative trip for all.

You'll want to tackle some of the big questions that this book explores!  One of the big themes is identity.  August tells us that "...the only reason I'm not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way."  You'll want to ask yourselves: how much of who we are depends on how others see us?  What can we do when others see us in a way that feels false to us?

Auggie wishes we could all wear masks and get to know each other before seeing what each other looks like.  You'll want to talk about how important our looks are to who we feel we are.  How much do our looks define us?  What is so special regarding a face when it comes to who we are?  Do we all wear masks of a certain kind anyway?

Another big question is: what does it mean to be normal?  Auggie's sister Via says, "...we've all spent so much time trying to make August think he's normal that he actually thinks he is normal.  And the problem is, he's not."  You'll want to ask yourselves: What is normal?  How do we decide what is normal?  Who gets to say?  And is this right?  Are you normal?  Is "normal" good or bad?

Another theme to explore is kindness.  What does it mean to be kind?  Can we just be kind, or do we have to practice being kind?  Does it take effort to be kind?  This will, no doubt, bring up Mr. Browne's Precepts, which could take up an entire book club session all on their own.  I can't resist telling you here that my favorite precept is the one that Auggie came up with: "Everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their life because we all overcometh the world." 

I just teared up typing that.

On the flip side of kindness, you'll want to explore who in the story is being mean.  And is the meanness always intentional?  Via struggles in her relationship with Auggie when she enters a new school.  Is she being mean?  Is she being reasonable?  How would you feel in her shoes?

You'll want to talk about friendship and who Auggie's true friends are.   And why we are drawn to certain people as friends as opposed to others.  Do we ever want someone to be our friend because it will make us cooler in general?  Isn't this why we get excited if we come into contact with a celebrity--we feel cooler just for the fact that we've rubbed shoulders with someone who is famous?  And don't we shun unpopular or undesirable people for the same reason--because we don't to be perceived in the same way they are?  Ugliness by association?  It's an ugly concept, that's for sure.

You'll want to understand what type of friend Charlotte is to Auggie, as opposed to what type Summer is.  And what about Jack?  And how about that Julian, huh?  What's going on with him?  One of the questions posed in my Literary Masters book groups was "What character do you wish had a chance to narrate that didn't?" and the answer was overwhelmingly Julian.  Everyone was curious to find out what was going on in Julian's head.

And this is the coolest thing ever!  I guess it wasn't just Literary Masters members who were wondering this because the author is now writing an e-book, The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story, all about Julian, to be released May 13.  HOW COOL IS THAT?  (Maybe she was listening to us, fellow LM members!)

Some of what you'll want to talk about may make you uncomfortable.  But that's good, because it means you are thinking!  How should "normal" people approach people with deformities?  Auggie doesn't like it when no one will look at him, but he doesn't want people staring at him.  Is he being fair?  Could he have done more to help others see beyond his facial deformity?  Could or should the school have done more?  What about Auggie's parents?  You'll want to talk about what kind of parents they are--again, this could take an entire book club session on its own!

If you've read all the way to here, thank you!  As you probably can tell, I LOVE this book and am enthusiastic about your reading it with your book club (however it may look in this case).  One last thing I will mention before I sign off on this very long blog post is: you'll want to talk about the artwork and the title, the epigraphs, the poetry and song lyrics.

There's more, there's much more to discuss.  But for now:

Read this book.  Enjoy.  Discuss this book.  Enjoy.  Give this book to others.  Enjoy.  This book is a wonder.

Should Your Book Club Read The Innocents by Francesca Segal?

Okay, this debut novel was the February selection for Literary Masters book groups and salons.  So, clearly, my answer is yes.  But!  To really have a special discussion, I suggest you do a pairing--read The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton first (a brilliant, sparkling gem of a novel!) and then read its "re-imagining" The Innocents by Francesca Segal.  You are in for such a treat!

In her interviews, Segal acknowledges her debt to Wharton.  I'll say!  Reading Segal's novel, I had the same feeling I experienced while reading The Hours by Michael Cunningham (you remember--the homage to Virgina Woolfe's Mrs. Dalloway)--I kept thinking, Wow! is this bordering on plagiarism?  No one seems bothered by Segal's or Cunningham's (re)writings, however, so let's not dwell there.  You may want to discuss it a bit with your book club, though.

What I am going to do here is mention what your book club can discuss if you choose to read The Innocents on its own.  Obviously, if you read the pairing as I suggested, you can compare and contrast the two novels.  Hey! do I sense a Venn Diagram coming on?

So, what can your book club discuss?  Warning: there are spoilers below!  Don't read further unless you have finished the book or don't mind spoilers!

Warp speed plot synopsis:  Adam and Rachel have grown up together in the tight-knit Jewish community of Hampstead Garden Suburb in London.  They are now engaged and planning the lavish wedding that their family and friends expect them to have.

Enter: Ellie, the black sheep cousin who fled her home for the wickedly debauched Big Apple.  She has now returned with experiences (and a reputation) that scandalizes the small village but intrigues Adam.

Fireworks ensue...

The novel starts at shul on Yom Kippur and ends at a bris,  Your book club will want to discuss the role of the Jewish religion and/or the Jewish culture in the book.  Is this book an exploration of Jewish identity at all?  Could the story have taken place in any other tight-knit community?  Is it universal or is it uniquely Jewish and how or why?

You'll want to talk about how a community works--what the benefits of belonging to one are, but also what disadvantages go along with being part of one.  Can one ever entirely leave behind one's "village"?

You'll also want to discuss Ellie as a trope--she has left the village but now returns.  What role is she playing in the story (besides the obvious love interest)?  In other words, what does she represent?  What motivates her?  And why is Adam attracted to her?  I will say, Literary Masters members had a wide range of reaction to Ellie, from sympathy to condemnation.  One thing to consider: how she is a survivor and what that has done to her psyche--and what kind of guilt she carries.  And how that informs her life choices.

You'll want to dig deep into Adam; what does he want and why does he want it?  What has been the defining fact/event of his life?  Does he change by the end of the story?  How and why?  Who does he love, if anyone?  Is there a Madonna vs. Whore dynamic here at all?  Will Adam ever be happy?

You'll want to dig deep into Rachel also.  What does she want and why?  Many Literary Masters members balked at her shallow character.  But!  Is she as shallow as she appears?  What does she revere above all?

Speaking of appearances, you'll really want to save time to discuss the theme of appearance/image versus authenticity.  What is the novel actually saying here?

What about the other themes?  What is the novel saying about family?  Duty? Marriage?  Trust?  What is it saying about security vs. freedom?  Or familiarity vs. the unknown?

You'll want to consider whether there is a biblical "fall" in the story.  If yes, where's the garden?  What constitutes the casting out, and is there a redemption aspect also?  Is the forbidden fruit knowledge or desire or both?

Perhaps connected to this, consider the names.  Are they significant?  So fun to think about!

And don't forget to discuss the title!  Perhaps not as straightforward as it first appears.  Segal stated in an interview that she first wanted the book to be called Observance.  Discuss!

You'll want to talk about the role of gossip in the story and how it functions within the community as well as how it functions to propel the plot.  If any of you have taken part in one of my Jane Austen Literary Salons, you should think about the role of gossip in Jane's novels!

Connected to the above, who knew what and when and how much???

Your book club can have some fun experimenting with "fan fiction"--come up with the next part of this story: do Adam and Rachel stay together and are they happy?  What happens to Ellie?  And so on...

What role does food play in this novel?  Discuss this while eating!

This debut novel has won a myriad of literary prizes such as the Costa First Novel Award, the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction, the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, the Betty Trask Award, the Harold U. Ribalow Prize, and it was on the long list for the Women's Prize for Fiction.  Does it deserve them? 

Okay, all of this should get you started!  Enjoy, and let me know how it goes!  Thanks for checking in with WHIRL books and Literary Masters!

The Daphne Award

You may be rolling your eyes (and I'm not sure John Updike would be smiling) at the concept of yet another literary award, but this one sounds so interesting to me.  The Daphne Award is being launched by the literary site Bookslut and will go back in time to right some wrongs.  Yes, it will start with the year 1963.  Evidently John Updike won the National Book Award (in '64) for The Centaur (I've never read it, have you?) and the Daphne Award is meant to find a more deserving winner.  On Bookslut's website, they are actually asking for OUR HELP with this.  Click here to read the short piece.

I'm not sure what I think of this, except that it underscores the subjective nature of prizes.  Still, it will be an interesting exercise from a cultural standpoint to see what/who was valued back, back, oh so very far back in 1963, and what/who is valued now.  For we will be reading the nominated books with 2014 eyes, yes?

There are multiple categories, and if you want to participate, follow the link above and carry on.  What fun--I wish we could go back in time to correct some wrongs more often!

The Costa Book Award Winner Has Been Announced!

Formally known as the Whitbread Prize, the Costa Book Award rewards authors who write something that we readers enjoy reading.  Hmm...well, maybe there's more to the prize than that; you can check out the Costa Prize site here.  There are five winners, each in a different category: First Novel, Novel, Biography, Children's Literature, and Poetry (see the other category winners below).  Then, from those five winners, a super-duper winner is chosen as the Costa Book Award Winner of the Year.

Congratulations to Nathan Filer, who has won the award for his debut novel The Shock of the Fall, a "moving account of schizophrenia and grief." (Click here for more from the Guardian article.)  Filer is a nurse working in the mental health system in the UK, so I am intrigued to read this insider's account, albeit fictional.

I have already requested the book from my local library...stay tuned for more.  Oh, and it beat the other contenders:

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
The Pike by Lucy Hughes-Hallett
Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell
Drysalter, a poetry collection by Michael Symmons Roberts

Happy Reading!
 

National Book Critics Circle Award Finalists Announced!

The short list is out for the National Book Critics Circle Award.  Click here to read the entire article in the LA Times.

The fiction finalists are:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah (Knopf) A LITERARY MASTERS SELECTION: OCTOBER 2013

Alice McDermott, Someone (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

Javier Marías, The Infatuations, translated by Margaret Jull Costa (Knopf)

Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being (Viking)

Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch (Little, Brown)

As you know, Americanah was Literary Masters' October book; everyone loved it and we had fantastic discussions.  (For more on Literary Masters, click on link to the right of where you are now reading.)  I am currently reading The Goldfinch--not loving it as much as I thought I would (expectations, expectations) but it's early days yet.  This is one long book.

I want to read the others...

The winner will be announced in March!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy 2014 to you all!  Have you made your new year's resolutions?  Have you made your new year's reading resolutions?  Hmm...I'll have to do another post about that one of these days.  Today, though, I want to share a little gem of a book with you:

 I saw this in a book store and immediately bought it to give to my friend, Kim.  She's always drinking out of a mug that say Keep Calm and Carry On; it kind of fits her personality, to be honest.  She has an aristocratic demeanor about her.  I thought I'd give her this book to show her how we non-nobles cope.

When I went to the counter to pay, the clerk asked me if I wanted it wrapped, and I said 'no' so I could enjoy the book first.  (Is that a bad thing?)  Well, days later...hmm...weeks later...I am still enjoying it! 

It's a collection of maxims from various people, one on each page.  Let me share one or two with you:

"The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on.  It is never of any use to oneself."  ~Oscar Wilde

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." 
~Albert Einstein

Or how about this zinger:

"Forget the past--the future will give you plenty to worry about."  ~George Allen, Sr.

Or:

"Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?" ~Edgar Bergen

Or:

"Experience is a comb that life gives you after you lose your hair." ~Judith Stern

If you. like me, find wisdom in pessimism, this book will crack you up.  And if you're an optimist, read it and see how the other half thinks.  As for Kim, I think I'll let her just Keep Calm and Carry On for a bit longer...

More Best Books!

OK, I realize that I am a week late with this NY Times link (click here) of Notable Books of 2013, but it was Thanksgivukkuh!  Anyway, lots of ideas for books to read and to give as gifts.  Literary Masters book groups and salons have already read and discussed two books from the list: Americanah and The Woman Upstairs.  One of these days I will get around to reviewing each of these wonderful novels--and I will fill you in on the riveting discussions that we had!

This month we are reading another novel that made the NY Times list: We Are Completely Beside Ourselves.  And our LM selection for May is The Lowland.  Hmm...do you think the NY Times consulted the Literary Masters list of titles for our 2013/14 season before posting their notable books list?  You can check it out also on my website; just click here.

I've read some of the others.  I must say, the James Salter novel disappointed me (I heard a collective gasp just now), but I really liked The Dinner and have recommended it to many people.  I loved The Circle and think it is a fabulous book for discussion as it raises many pertinent issues.  It's NOT sci-fi if it's happening to us right now for real!

I didn't love Kate Atkinson's Life After Life as much as everyone else apparently has, but it is a good enough read.  I didn't think Schroder measured up to the hype.

Tenth of December: yes, do read it.  Ditto The Son, if for no other reason than to tell me what you think of it!

Here are the books on this list that I really want to read and that I hope find their way into my Christmas stocking (are you listening, Santa?):

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  Her first novel The Secret History is one of my favorite books, and I am so looking forward to reading her latest, which is getting rave reviews all around.

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, which just won the National Book Award.

The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vasquez

Dirty Love by Andre Dubus III

I have just started A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra, but I fear I will have to return it to the library before I finish it!

Stay tuned for more end of the year "best books" lists to come!