Below is a summation of the members' reactions to this work.
November's meeting marked a special event for the group as this month's selection and discussion were tied into the Johnson County Museum's project "Citizen Soldiers of the Prairie," which celebrates the contribution to the WWII effort of those working at the Sunflower Ordnance Plant in DeSoto. Kate Atkinson's Life After Life was chosen for the discussion as it is mainly set in the first half of the 20th century and vividly depicts the Blitz of England as well as other difficulties experienced by both the English and German populations during the WWII.
The structure of the book is unusual, reminiscent of the movie Groundhog Day. Certain events in the life of the central character, Ursula, are replayed with different consequences depending on the choices made at critical points in the narrative. Thus Ursula may fall out of a window while reaching for her doll and tumble to her death; or, someone might enter the room just in time to distract the child and save her from her fate. This unusual structure produces a narrative that uniquely shows the sheer randomness of life and how the fate of nations and millions of people can turn on the presence or absence of one person at one moment in time.
All the members enjoyed the book but found it difficult to read at times because of its narrative structure and basic premise. Several commented that the book depicted the London blitz very vividly and brought the true nature of that ordeal home to them as no other book had done before. Every member contributed some moment in the book that she found memorable. Izzie, Hugh’s sister, was everyone’s favorite character while all agreed they liked Teddy as well. The story is very complex and some said they planned to reread it and see what they might have missed on first reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment