Comments from the DeSoto Book Discussion Group regarding our November 2017 selection:

Here Comes the Sun 
by Nicole Dennis-Benn

Here Comes the Sun is a major departure from our usual type of fiction choices. Most of us would not have picked this book off the shelf to read on our own because of the subject matter. However this debut novel shows us an entirely different side to survival in Jamaica. This book gave us a lot of topics to discuss. Margot works at a luxury resort and has an extra job on the side working as a prostitute. Margot and her mother Delores work hard and put all their hopes onto the youngest daughter, Thandi. Her whole life has been leading to medical school because that’s their meal ticket and key to survival. However, Thandi dreams of being an artist.  

Here Comes the Sun is depressing and upsetting because so many bad things happen to these women. Multi-generation sexual abuse, poverty, and neglect lead Grandma Merle, Delores, and Margot to do terrible things to survive. None of us can blame them for what they have to do. Selling their bodies and their children is the only thing these women have. We’re all shocked sexual abuse is so prevalent. None of the characters have positive relationships with men.  

Homophobia is vicious in the River Bank area of Jamaica. Verdene Moore is called a witch and is chased from the markets. Her neighbors put dead dogs in her yard and throw blood on her house and sidewalk. The relationship between Verdene and Marogt is strong despite what could happen to them if they’re caught together. Margot dreams of buying a home in the Lagoons, far away from the prying eyes of neighbors.

Margot’s betrayal of Verdene is unexpected. Margot does not tell Verdene her hotel is taking over River Bank. Margot advises Verdene to sell and not hire lawyer to read the contract.  We can understand Margot’s reasoning, she wanted to have the upper hand and money in their relationship for once and her job depended on all the homeowners selling. Jamaica is a paradise to those who visit, but not to those who live there. The resorts are taking over all the beaches and pushing people from their homes.

The Jamaican patois dialect shines through in this novel. Reading the patois is difficult but it pulls the reader deeper into the story. Dennis-Benn is compared to Mark Twain in her use of vernacular. The Jamaica Dennis-Benn creates is desperate, poverty-ridden, and sad. Although this novel features graphic scenes this is a great book to discuss with a group.  

Comments from the DeSoto Book Discussion Group regarding our October 2017 selection:

Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War 

by Helen Thorpe

Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War intimately details a decade in the lives of three women from the Indiana Army Nation Guard, Michelle Fischer, Desma Brooks, and Debbie Helton.  

Soldier Girls is an excellent look into America’s longest war. The fractured reality of war affects all three women because it feels as if they are leading two lives, a military life and a civilian life. This affects their romantic relationships, children, friendships, and families.

Michelle is the youngest and most free spirited of the women. Michelle joins the National Guard in June 2001 to pay for her college education at Indiana University, a dream she pursues with passion and hard work throughout the book. Desma is a single-mother of three who knew she’d learn valuable job skills and earn good money for two weekends a month and two weeks a year with the Guard. Debbie is the oldest in most of her units. She has always wanted to be a sniper and see the world through her service to the country.

This well-researched and gripping true life account of female soldiers shows the harsh conditions, loneliness, and sexual harassment the women face. We found the history of Afghanistan and the people they meet very interesting. Akbar Khan, their translator, shows his unit the human side of Afghanistan. He speaks English, wants to move to the United States, and is proud of his heritage. He changed the way Michelle, Desma, Debbie, and their unit see the people.

The women felt they did something to help the people, by securing the democratic elections and freeing the people from Taliban and Al Qaeda rule. When Desma and Debbie return from Iraq, they do not have the same sense of accomplishment. They did not meet Iraqi people or go into the communities. Instead, they were on edge, lonely, and in combat zones.

Desma is put into an all-male unit that refuses to talk to her because she is the enemy who could get them into trouble. Desma does not receive proper training and is isolated. We were very surprised she carried a knife around with her because the threat from American soldiers was so great.

Thorpe does an excellent job of showing the mental and physical toll of war. PTSD is a silent epidemic among soldiers. When Desma’s vehicle hits the IED we were surprised she wasn’t killed. Her head injury plagues her for years.  

The changing role of women in the military is evident during their years of service. While they’re in Iraq in the spring of 2008, President Bush claims there are no women in combat. Desma wonders what driving a truck or being in the gun turret in an ASV on a highway in Iraq in spring 2008 was. Obama’s Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announces lifting of ban on women serving in combat positions. We have mixed reactions to women seeing combat.

All of us shared personal stories of how Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan impacts people we know. These stories show the ripple of war into everyday life. 

Comments from the DeSoto Book Discussion Group regarding our September 2017 selection:

Everyone Brave is Forgiven 
by Chris Cleave

The majority of our group enjoy Everyone Brave is Forgiven.

Mary is a polarizing character. Some of us did not care for her while others love her moxie. A couple of our members point out Mary is only 18 when the novel begins. For an 18-year-old Mary is stubborn, strong-willed, and determined to help the war effort. Mary signs up to help the day was is declared. Mary is disappointed she did not receive a more important job as a spy. After meeting her kids and seeing the need to keep them safe in such uncertain times, Mary is hooked. Despite the headmistress, Hilda, and her mother telling her to leave teaching behind Mary gives teaching even more energy. We all applaud her work with the children left in London when all the other kids move to the countryside. Mary sees a need and does her best to help.

Everyone loves Alistair because of his humor and good nature. We had to keep reminding ourselves that Mary and Alistair only met once and then only communicated by letter. The letters were funny, endearing, and helped the novel. Most of us did not know much of the blockade and hardship in Malta.

Most of us also enjoy Hilda because of her flair and her ability to put up with Mary. Hilda and Mary’s bickering was at times funny but almost always lead back to Mary stealing another man from Hilda. None of us could understand why Mary did this repeatedly. One of the most exciting and edge of your seat parts of the novel occurs in the underground station when Mary is trapped. When the water begins rising Mary panics but Hilda remains calm. Hilda saves Mary’s life by breathing into her mouth until she is cut free. Most of us cannot imagine Mary doing the same thing for Hilda. We all hope Hilda and Simonson end up together and are happy they are corresponding.

The jam jar is a wonderful talisman in the novel. Alistair keeps the jam to eat at the end of the war. Carrying this jar through the battlefields of France and Malta is an interesting way to stay positive and stay alive. When Alistair gives the jam to Simonson it shows the importance of their friendship. The idea of the jam is one of the most impressive things Cleave does with the novel.  

Occasionally the novel felt too long and limped along. However, other times the story taught us new things about WWII, showed us the haphazard destruction of London, and exposed us to new ideas of the war. The ambulance portions of the novel were eye opening. Only one of us knew the Hillman was a car and not a regular ambulance. None of us knew they strapped injured people to the roof of the car.

The ambiguous ending of the novel leaves us all wondering what will happen to the characters. We believe Cleave is leaning towards Mary and Alistair spending their lives together. We all hope that is the case. 

Comments from the DeSoto Book Discussion Group regarding our August 2017 selection:

A Man Called Ove 
by Fredrik Backman

There is so much to talk about in A Man Called Ove. The majority of our members love this novel. Two members did not enjoy this novel due to the suicidal tendencies of Ove and the poor characterization of Swedish people. One member brought photos to share of her family in Sweden. The Swedish farmhouse gave us a great jumping off point to dive into our discussion about Ove.

The humor mixed with the sadness creates a novel that resonated with our group. Ove is a good person but he sees the world in one way and you better see it that way too. Ove is grumpy and set in his ways because he lost Sonja and cannot come to terms with that.

There is such a beautiful love story between Sonja and Ove. His life was black and white and she was his color. We can all understand his depression at losing her. We love that Ove fights for Sonja and anyone being mistreated. On their honeymoon Sonja naps and Ove is fixing up the town. When Ove stands up to Tom when he was a boy and then as a man shows his true character.

All of Backman’s characters are so richly drawn that we feel like we know them. Parvaneh is determined to befriend Ove. We all love her humor and persistence. Ove’s cat, that he did not want, was more like a dog. Ove talking to the cat makes us all laugh.

This is one of our favorite books of the year (for most of us). 

Comments from the DeSoto Book Discussion Group regarding our July 2017 selection:

Orphan Train

Christina Baker Kline 

The majority of our group loved Orphan Train because of the mixture of historical and modern day stories.

There are so many great personal memories from all of our members. One member’s mama was on the orphan train. Her story is inspiring and heartbreaking. Her mama is separated from her three siblings but they are later reunited in Kansas City. Hearing this story is a reminder of the astounding number of orphan train riders; from 1854 to 1929 an estimated 250,000 children come to the Midwest. There are an estimated 2 million descendants from the train riders.

Changing the main character’s name from Niamh to Dorothy to Vivian is unthinkable to most of us. However, there were a number of stories of family members having their name changed by foster parents and other family members. Dorothy is not treated as a child or family at the Byrne house. Instead, Dorothy is chosen for labor skills as a sewer. We think a lot of the orphans probably end up in situations where they were free labor, much like Dutchy.  

The Grote house is horrific and we are mad Mr. Sorenson even thought about sending Dorothy back to live with them. The filth, lice, and food at the Grote’s is such an extreme difference from Niamh’s life with her family.

The Nielsen’s are a great family and gave Vivian many opportunities with the store. We can understand why she did not think of the Nielsen’s as her real family, but she never thinks of them as more than her foster parents.

One member has a criticism of this novel being too contrived. She feels Jack’s immediately desire to date Molly and setting her up with his mother’s employer for her community service is convenient. Molly and Vivian’s similar lives are also too contrived. Another criticism of the novel is the portrayal of female foster parents. Neither Molly nor Vivian get along with multiple foster mothers.  

One plot point we all take issue with is Vivian giving her daughter away. We cannot accept Vivian putting her daughter through the exact same hardships she went through. Giving her daughter up for adoption is out of character and hard to read. Having one last piece of Dutchy would have given Vivian strength. All of the members found this piece of the story too far fetched to believe.

Despite these criticisms, Orphan Train is an intriguing part of history most of us want to learn more about. 

Comments from the DeSoto Book Discussion Group regarding our June 2017 selection:

In the Unlikely Event 

Judy Blume

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume is a great story that everyone likes and we are all happy we read. Blume’s strength shines through her perfect characterizations. Each character comes to life and feels real. Blume is from Elizabeth, New Jersey and lived through the plane crashes. The historical aspects of this story were interesting to everyone.

We cannot imagine living in a town where three planes crash in a 58 day period. Imagine the terror and the feeling of hopelessness. The plane crashes lead many of us to think of September 11^th and the fear of planes at that time. Many others remember doing atomic bomb drills and hiding under their desks at school. One member saw a bomb explosion on television and froze whenever a plane flew overhead. We can understand why Miri and her schoolmates were so afraid, it does seem like the planes are trying to kill kids by narrowly missing schools and the orphanage.

There are so many characters but we love how Blume weaves all their stories together. Each person’s story touches another’s because of these unlikely events.

Doctor Osner is one of our favorite characters because he takes care of everyone. He is a stable, caring, understanding man who wants to take care of everyone. His affair with Rusty did shock us and we did not see it coming. However, Corinne Osner is such an unsympathetic character we did not feel for her. We are happy that Rusty and Dr. O make each other happy.

Miri is a typical teenager. The plane crashes affect her deeply but she tries not to worry her family with her fears of future plane crashes. Miri is in love for the first time and has so many emotions. Blume does an excellent job writing teenagers. Miri is trying to navigate her increasingly complicated relationship with Natalie.

Natalie is so sensitive and the plane crashes affect her deeply. We do not fully understand why she believes Ruby is living inside her, but it is her way of dealing with all that is happening. Natalie goes on to live an unconventional life which makes sense for her. 

Moving to Las Vegas seems sudden and we did not see this coming. However, we are happy most of the family is together. Henry moving to Washington DC seems out of character for him because he is so close to Irene, Rusty, and Miri. However, we know this is how his career will grow. We all enjoy his close relationship with Miri.

We all enjoy going 35 years in the future to see how everyone’s lives turn out. We are happy Natalie and Dr. O eventually make up. Miri forgives Mason and although they are both tempted by each other they remain faithful to their spouses, which we all appreciate. 

Comments from the De Soto Book Discussion Group regarding our May 2017 selection:

The Little Paris Bookshop 
by Nina George

We all want to read Perdu’s work, Great Encyclopedia of Small Emotions: A Guide for Booksellers, Lovers, and Other Literary Pharmacists. We all left our discussion thinking about what emotions to add. Visiting the Literary Apothecary sounds like fun and we love the idea of the perfect book for curing ails. We love that Jean Perdu sells book in his own way. Perdu can prescribe what a reader needs and will only let them have that book, not the one they want to buy.  

Perdu is an interesting character because he denies himself so many things in life. The name Jean Perdu is accurate because “perdu” means lost in French. No one can imagine sealing off their life for 21 years because of a lost love. Also, we would all read the letter immediately after receiving it. None of us could seal it away in a drawer and never open it. Even if it said the usual courtesies of a breakup, we’d still want to know the details.

All of our characters are adrift both physically on the book barge and emotionally in their relationships to others. Max Jordan the famous author of Night is everyone’s favorite character. We love his personality and his friendship with Perdu. His children’s book ideas sound fascinating and we all want to read them. Cuneo is a great character who fits right in on the barge with Perdu and Max. We enjoy his love for life and his cooking skills. Our group wants to know more and have additional backstory on Catherine. She plays such a large role in Jean’s life and seems more interesting than Manon.

Some of the members feel this book was a nice read but found flaws with the writing, different scenes, and some details were overlooked by George. A one member point out Nina George wrote 29 novels and teaches writing but this novel’s writing style is nothing special and it did not connect with her the way it should have. However, she notes the novel is translated from German so perhaps the fault lies with the translator’s and not George.

A number of members felt Samy was too weird and they were ambivalent about her as a character. Although she plays such a large and important role in Jean’s life as the author of Sothern Lights, a book that found him at his worst and helped him for 20 years. Samy also becomes a dear friend who helps guide Jean through his grief during the “hurting time.” Samy and Cuneo’s relationship is well-liked and we are all glad Jean brings the two together.

There were too many little things the group could not overlook in their reading which made the book less enjoyable for them. We have a number of questions:

-          How did Jean fall in love with Catherine so quickly?

-          How did Catherine feel about Jean disappearing for months?

-         Why didn’t Jean prepare for the trip and at least bring some food?

-         How did Jean not know Manon was dead sooner? Why didn’t he try and contact her or track her down?

-         Sealing off his life like he did his kitchen seems extreme. Why didn’t he just give up his whole apartment and live on the barge?

The deer drowning in the canal is too odd for most of us. We know it is supposed to illuminate the loss and death of their past lives, however it did not move us the way it should have. The poor deer screaming in the canal lacks something that we cannot identify. Perhaps it is something lost in translation. We know all of our characters come away from this scene with a deeper sense of life and death but the impact on the reader is minimal.

Manon is an unsympathetic character and her diary entries do no help her. Manon did not create an emotional bond with us. We did not see why Jean’s attraction to her never wavers after 20 years. He stops his life because she left him. Manon seems to love Jean but she does not give up her life with Luc for him. If Manon told Jean in person she was sick and explains she is pregnant and cannot receive treatment she may have redeemed herself, but then we wouldn’t have an adventure, so maybe she needed to be selfish.

The voice is very French, it is suave, seductive, and gives the reader a deeper understanding of life and love. Some of the ideas and characters of this book we attribute to “being French” so they get a pass. Luc’s character is so forgiving, open, and accepting of Manon’s lover that we all said, “he’s French so he understands.”

The Little Paris Bookshop transports you to a faraway place. While reading this book it was fun to Google image search all the locations to see the beautiful scenery are characters are exploring. We love traveling the canals through France. We learn a lot about the lock system and the different areas from the gardens to the hot, mountainous, lavender fields of the South of France. We are all glad we read this book.