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

Dear Lifeby Alice Munro

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

Dear Life is a collection of stories by Alice Munro, one of Canada's most distinguished authors who has won global recognition for her writing, including the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature for her work as "master of the contemporary short story", the 2009 Man Booker International Prize for her collective works, and Canada's Governor General's Award for fiction, which she has won three times. She received the Writers' Trust of Canada's Marian Engel Award in 1996 and in 2004 was awarded the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for Runaway.


Discussion began with the question, "Which story did you like best or consider the most memorable?" At that point the group discovered only two members had read the entire book and one member had not read it at all. Everyone agreed that the first story was difficult to get into and most had stopped reading before finishing it. But a few members had read at least one story all the way through which allowed the group to have a long and lively discussion over several of the various characters and recurring themes. The facilitator led the group through a brief recap of several stories, reading short excerpts and asking questions based on the readings.


This particular meeting underscores one of the main attractions of book groups: members do not have to like, or in this case even have read the entire selection, in order to have a meaningful discussion. All were able to contribute something meaningful to the discussion. Everyone came away having learned about a significant literary author as well as having acquired some knowledge of her work.

Comments from the De Soto Book Discussion Group regarding our December 2014 selection:

The Husband's Secretby Liane Moriarty

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

The Husband's Secret by Liane Morarty is a highly complex novel which revolves around a letter that Cecilia, one of the three primary characters, discovers in her attic. The letter is addressed to her but specifically states, "to be opened only in the event of my death." What Cecilia discovers in the letter will change her view of her family and of her life. At the core of the story is the death of a teenage girl, Janie Crowley, decades earlier. The girl's mother, Rachel, has never really moved on from that life-dividing event and is absolute in her belief that she knows who killed Janie and is determined to get justice for her. Tess, the third focal character, has returned to her childhood home with her son while she decides what to do about an abrupt change in her marriage.


Discussion began with the question, "Would you have opened the letter under the same circumstances?" Only three of the members said they would not open such a letter. One member stated, "If I hadn't gone through three marriages, I would have opened it. If I was 30...." Some members said they would have steamed it open so their spouses wouldn't know. One member said, "If she hadn't opened it, I wouldn't have anything to read." Those that said they would open it based at least some of their reasons on the fact that if the letter were addressed to them they would have the right to open it. Another question that produced some lively commentary from the members was, "Is it possible to ever completely know another person?" One member responded, "If you knew everything about your spouse, none of you would ever marry," which brought a big laugh from the group. The effects of guilt and secrets on the characters also generated a lively discussion as well as how various assumptions held by the characters shaped their lives in often harmful ways. The relationship between the cousins, Tess and Felicity, was also examined. This novel produced one of the best discussions among the members in the long history of this book group and all the members would highly recommend this book to others.

Comments from the De Soto Book Discussion Group regarding our November 2014 selection:

Fingal O'Reilly, Irish Doctorby Patrick Taylor

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

Fingal O'Reilly, Irish Doctor is the ninth title in the Irish Country series by Patrick Taylor. This title focuses on the medical practice over the years of Fingal O'Reilly, who came to the Irish village in the country straight from medical school.  The book flips back and forth in time between present day 1950s Ireland and the past when Fingal first began practicing in the village. Many of the characters are present in the other books in the series and, although this can be read as a stand-alone title, reading the series in order will probably enhance the reader's experience.


The group discussed the various changes in medicine revealed by the cases described and some of the differences in medicine between Ireland and the United States.  The rest of the discussion focused on the various characters and their relationships to each other.  All the members found the book enjoyable and several said they planned to go back and read other titles in the series. At least one member had already read the previous titles and noted that she enjoys the series.

Comments from the De Soto Book Discussion Group regarding our October 2014 selection:

The Round House
by Louise Erdrich

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

Everyone found The Round House interesting, especially the setting, which takes place mainly on an Indian reservation in North Dakota. It is very much a coming-of-age story about Joe, a 13-year-old boy whose mother is attacked and kidnapped and then narrowly escapes being burned to death by an unknown assailant. Joe becomes determined to uncover the man who has traumatized his mother and wreaked such havoc on his family. Joe was determined to find a way "To return to the Before."

The discussion centered around the idea of culture, how living on a reservation might help or harm preservation of a tribe's culture and whether or not preserving one's culture is an individual or government responsibility. The members were divided on whether or not there should be reservations in America today. Members also discussed the dual justice system on the reservation and how that impacted Joe's decisions in his search for justice and his view of his father, a tribal judge. Most said that they would recommend this book to others, especially those interested in Indian life today.

Several members enjoyed the other characters in Erdrich's novel and one member said she got such a kick out the "those rascally boys." But another member, after the meeting, objected to the offensive language in the novel which is, at times, very coarse.

Comments from the De Soto Book Discussion Group regarding our September 2014 selection:

The Light Between Oceans
by M. L. Stedman

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

All but one member said they loved or very much liked the book. The one member said she found she disliked the character of Isabel so much that she quit reading and skipped to the last 4 chapters. The discussion centered on the choices made by the various characters and their consequences. Also, members commented on how they each viewed the actions of Tom, Isabel, and Hannah (the central characters) and whether or not they saw their choices as right or wrong. Several commented they thought the book got off to a slow start but, once they got into it, they couldn’t put it down. One member loves lighthouses and has visited many so she was delighted with setting. Although the narrative may at first appear fairly basic, the plot overlays a number of complex actions and interactions by many characters and there was not time in our discussion to explore all the intricacies of this novel.

Comments from the De Soto Book Discussion Group regarding our August 2014 selection:

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
by Anthony Marra

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

Members thought the book was an incredible accomplishment for a first novel and said that, despite the rather complex presentation, they did become interested in the main characters although the book got off to a slow start. The narrative centers around three residents of a rural village in Chechnya, caught up in yet another civil war.  The two adults are determined to protect the recently orphaned 8-year-old Havaa, who has escaped the death squad sent to eliminate both her and her father.  We discussed the effects, both physical and mental, of living in a constant state of war and the deprivations imposed by years of destruction and deprivation.  In particular, the discussion focused on the moral choices people are forced to make in order for they and/or their families to survive. Members also talked about how fortunate we are in this country and that we cannot truly comprehend what people in other parts of the world are going through. As this title also centered around war and the victims of war, the group feels a bit "war-weary" but also more informed about some lesser known conflicts and their consequences on the people who lived through them.

Comments from the De Soto Book Discussion Group regarding our July 2014 selection:

How It All Began
by Penelope Lively
Below is a summation of the members' reactions to this work.

Penelope Lively's How It All Began takes one random event in the life of one person--the mugging of a healthy but elderly widow--and explores the tumble-down effect that event has on the people connected both directly and indirectly to her: family, friends of family, friends of friends, and a student she was tutoring in a class she taught as a volunteer.  Readers get an intimate glimpse into all these varied personalities and the results of this one random event on their lives.

All the members thoroughly enjoyed the book, which was a light read after the past few months' selections. Discussion focused on the personalities of the characters and the right- or wrongness of decisions they made in the aftermath of the mugging.  Should the widow's daughter have followed through on her love for her mother's student, whom she meets when he comes to her house for tutoring while her mother is staying there for recuperation?  Who is truly evil, the mugger who robbed one person or the grasping solicitor and the amoral financier?  How do the widow and the retired professor differ in their approach to old age?

How It All Began makes for an interesting and relaxing approach to some timeless human questions.