Comments from the De Soto Book Discussion Group regarding our July 2015 selection:

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselvesby Karen Joy Fowler

Below is a summation of the members' reactions to this work.

Do not let the plot mechanism of this novel fool you. While the plot describes a family that took in and raised a chimpanzee alongside its own two human children, this story is really about the choices parents must make, how they make those choices, and how the perceptions of those choices affect the relationships within the family. Ultimately the family that Fowler describes in We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves could be any family dealing with a child that has issues which endanger the other children in the family. While Fowler presents this issue within the Cooke family by creating a family in which one "child" is actually a chimpanzee, the impact that Fowler describes on the family is very human. When the chimpanzee, Fern, is removed from the family to ensure the safety of her "sister" and others, the remaining family members are forever changed by the loss even as their lives were changed by Fern's presence for the five years she lived with them.

The group had an intense discussion of the issues and characters in this narrative. How did Fern's presence impact their lives? Why was she removed? Did the parents handle the situation created by Fern's removal in the best way? How was Rosemary, Fern's "sister" and the one narrating the story, impacted by being raised alongside a chimpanzee as though they were no different? What were the unavoidable differences in the two "siblings"?

Some members of the group found the selection too difficult to get into but those who overcame the urge to quit reading were glad that they had persisted. This is a book that can be discussed endlessly from multiple perspectives, including the that of an animal rights perspective. But the greatest value of this selection is how it examines the impact of the wrenching decisions parents must sometimes make and how each family member perceives and remembers the events surrounding those decisions.

Comments from the De Soto Book Discussion Group regarding our May 2015 selection:

Ordinary Graceby William Kent Krueger

Below is a summation of the members' reactions to this work.

There are books that are good fiction and there are books that are literature. William Kent Krueger’s Ordinary Grace rises to the level of first-class literature that resonates with depth of narrative and character while also providing a genuinely un-put-downable reading experience. It is both a mystery and a coming-of-age tale narrated by a middle-aged Frank Drum as he relates the events of the summer his sister, Ariel, was murdered and the profound effect those events had on his family. Set in New Bremen, Minn. when Frank is just 13 years old,Ordinary Grace examines the heart of friendship and family and the bonds that bind us one to another.

This selection stands out as one of the most popular books among the book group's members. Everyone present expressed the same experience: They loved this book. One member said she had purchased a copy just to have on her own bookshelf. The discussion centered on the characters, their personalities and their relationships to each other. There was also a discussion on the narrative structure and how certain narrative elements—the dual adult/child perspective, background events hinted at but never revealed, the epilogue—made the story stronger and more satisfying. It may be awhile before the group discovers another true gem to compete with Ordinary Grace.