Comments from the De Soto Book Discussion Group regarding our January 2016 selection:

Nora Webster

by Colm Toibin

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

Nora Webster by Colm Toibin depicts a mother of four, struggling with grief and financial hardships after the death of her beloved husband, She struggles to support her four children and clings to secrecy in the intrusive community of her childhood before finding her voice.

Most members of the group enjoyed the book.  We discussed the relationships between Nora with her mother as well as Nora's relationship with her daughters. No surprises there as the similarities passed through the generations confirm that history continues to repeat itself. 

It was interesting for us to note that all of her family members, worked around her. Was everyone trying to protect her in her grief?  Did they just not want to deal with her?  Reactions were mixed on this topic!  Nora was very well protected (insulated?) while married to Maurice which caused her to become very focused (or was she actually just self-centered?).

We also discussed her relationships with her two younger sons.  Why did she not discuss selling their vacation home with them? It was clear that she understood the importance of the Cush house to the boys.  Was she "protecting" them from dealing with adult financial problems?  Or perhaps, she just didn't want to deal with it.

All members appreciated the excellent job that the author (a man) did writing from a woman's perspective; however, we also all agreed that there were too many unfinished stories started throughout the novel. 

When asked if this is a book you would recommend to a friend, no one jumped up with a resounding "Yes!!"....which I interpret as, "Hmmmm... maybe, depends on the person."

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

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

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

Wild by Cheryl Strayed documents the author's amazing physical, mental, and emotional journey as she hikes the Pacific Coast Trail. After struggling for four years to move forward from her mother's early death from cancer, Cheryl Strayed finds herself in California with no backpacking experience and little preparation for a trek through the desert, mountains, and forests that span the West Coast and contain some of the most beautiful and challenging geography for hiking. Strayed captures this journey that transformed her life, as well as the events that brought her there, in a voice so honest and descriptive that to read the book is to take the journey with her.

The group's discussion focused on the author's revelations about her family and her own life before embarking on her journey and how she managed to survive despite no hiking experience and very poor preparation for a trail that even experienced backpackers consider extremely challenging. Everyone liked the book and would recommend it to others.

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

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

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

While the narrative theme of Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt is set amidst the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the New York City area, the novel is really a coming-of-age story of how one family is impacted by the loss of one of its own to the devastating disease. In particular, the story focuses on how 14-year-old June Elbus deals with the decline and death of her beloved uncle and how his death reveals the fissures in her family's relationships. This is a story about sisters, and parents, and friendship. It is also a story about love and loss and the fine line between childhood and about puberty and the tough choices that define who we are and will become.

The group's discussion focused on the family relationships and on what happens when parents try to revive their own abandoned dreams through their children. The members felt the book explored the coming-of-age and family dysfunction themes in a heartfelt way that was very real and true.

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

Defending Jacobby William Landay

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

Author William Landay has been described by some as a worthy successor to John Grisham. While Defending Jacob has many elements of the legal mystery/thriller, the novel also carries more than a hint of being a literary heir to Jodie Picoult, with its situational plot and in-depth examination of a family in crisis. Set in Newton, Mass., the story describes the agonizing meltdown of a family whose son, Jacob, is accused of the callous murder of a classmate and whose father, a prominent assistant district attorney there, is removed from the case and put on paid leave as the DA's office prepares to charge Jacob with homicide.

Defending Jacob poses numerous questions. When surveyed, the majority of members said they would have voted "Guilty" had they been on a jury deciding Jacob's guilt or innocence. Topics presented by the narrative include the theory of a "murder gene" which argues there is a genetic cause for those who become violent and/or kill other people. Much of the discussion centered on the arguments surrounding the nature vs. nurture debate. Also, most members were conflicted as to how they would have responded as parents to Jacob's childhood history of social problems and whether or not they would have sought help for Jacob despite the father's insistence there was no reason to be concerned. Everyone agreed the final chapter produced a dramatic conclusion to the events without an absolutely definitive verdict for readers.

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

The Rosie Projectby Graeme Simsion

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

The Rosie Project is a very funny yet touching novel about a relationship that develops between Rosie, a rather free spirit, and Don, an obsessive compulsive male with Asperger's Syndrome. Finding dating to be a very inefficient means of finding a mate, Don enlists the help of his friend Gene in developing a survey to give to potential wives, or "The Wife Project." Gene sees this as an opportunity to introduce Rosie to Don, thus instigating "The Rosie Project" as Don attempts to help Rosie find her biological father.

Most member thoroughly enjoyed the book with many stating they found themselves laughing throughout the story. Although most agreed The Rosie Project should not be used as a reference for Asperger's Syndrome, all agreed that it did give an approachable description of some of the differences in the way those with the syndrome view the actions of others. The discussion centered on how we see ourselves in terms of the Autism scale using highly organized versus living-in-the-moment as a reference point. From there we talked about whether or not Don actually benefited in some ways from his limitations and how learning to be less obsessive-compulsive freed him. The discussion also covered various ways people meet their future spouses as well as other topics related to the narrative.

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

The Other Typistby Suzanne Rindell

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

The Other Typist is a work of historical fiction set in New York City in 1924-25 during Prohibition. The narrator, Rose, is one of three stenographers/typists in the N.Y.P.D. who are responsible for transcribing the confessions of suspects brought into the precinct by the detectives. According to Rose she is an orphan raised by nuns, plain in looks, who lives a law-abiding, unexciting life until a fourth typist, Odalie, is hired to help with the increased work that will commence as the N.Y.P.D. steps up its enforcement of the Prohibition laws. As described by Rose, Odalie is a stunning beauty of such charm, wit and cunning that Rose is pulled into her lavish and daring lifestyle. The style contains overtones of The Great Gatsby as well as other writers of The Lost Generation. Ultimately, the reader is left to untangle the threads of a narrative that begs for justice. But, justice for whom?

Although the group was small in number for this discussion, there was intense debate over the characters and the final outcome. Everyone liked the setting and each had differing interpretations of the narrator as well as the narrative. (WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!) Were Rose and Odalie the same person? Did the events Rose describes as the narrator actually happen? Is Rose, in fact, Ginevra Morris, a girl from a privileged home and loving parents? Was Rose actually even a typist for the N.Y.P.D.? For the answers to these and other questions, you must read this fascinating tale, sort through the events, and use your detection skills to arrive at your own conclusions. Be sure to come back here and leave your comments so you too can be part of the discussion of The Other Typist. We hope to hear from you soon!

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.