Classic Suggestion May 2011

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Summary:  "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin." With this startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first sentence, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetlelike insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing -- though absurdly comic -- meditation on human feelings of inadequecy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the mosst widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction. As W.H. Auden wrote, "Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man. -from Norton paperback version

Discussion Questions

Author Biography

BETH'S PICKS MAY 2011 MAGIC OF ORDINARY DAYS

MAGIC OF ORDINARY DAYS

BY ANN HOWARD CREEL

SUMMARY:
Set in 1944 Colorado, The Magic of Ordinary Days is the story of a young woman, Olivia Dunne, who became pregnant before marriage. Her father, Rev. Dunne, decided to deal with the situation, by arranging a marriage to a shy farmer through another preacher. The groom, Ray Singleton, lives on a remote farm and is very different than Livy. Ray focuses on what is close to him: his family, his land, today. Livy thinks on a much grander scale: the world, ancient civilizations, faraway places.

Ray's farm uses the help of Japanese Americans from a nearby Japanese American internment camp to help work the farm. Livy befriends two well-educated Japanese American women who were working the farm. She finds comfort and familiarity in their friendship. Livy is polite and civil to her new husband and his sister Martha, but she harbors feelings for the father of the baby, a World War II soldier, and feelings of guilt for the pregnancy. Ray, however, is caring, patient, and supportive of Livy, but the fact that she does not want him hurts him deeply. Slowly over time, the two come to understand and love each other...[Wikipedia]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ann Howard Creel is the author of two award-winning young adult novels, Water at the Blue Earth and A Ceiling of Stars. This is her first adult novel.

REVIEWS:

A YA author’s nicely written adult debut novel blends historical richness and a fine sense of place to tell the story of a woman’s developing love for her husband—and for his Colorado farmland—over the course of six months in 1944….

Creel does a delightful job of evoking first the dreariness of the Singleton farm and Olivia's unnerving loneliness, then the slow ripening of her affection for Ray, a simple but profoundly kind and gentle man….The author gives her heroine a satisfying emotional depth, moving Olivia through phases of affection and disappointment with assured confidence before closing with a tranquil scene after the baby is born.

A light, precisely observed novel. (Kirkus)

AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:

http://annhowardcreel.com/

Best in Books May 2011

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge was the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as receiving the American Library Association's 2009 Notable Book Award and Library Journal's 2008 Best Books Award. The book is a series of 13 short stories that take place in a small coastal Maine town. Olive Kitteridge, an unassuming, but acidic resident, is threaded throughout the stories that chronicle the changes around and to Olive.

Review
*Starred Review* The abrasive, vulnerable title character sometimes stands center state, sometimes plays a supporting role in these 13 sharply observed dramas of small-town live from Strout (Abide with Me, 2006, etc.) Olive Kitteridge certainly makes a formidable contrast with her gentle, quietly cheerful husband Henry from the moment we meet them both in "Pharmacy," which introduces us to several other denizens of Crosby, Maine. Though she was a math teacher before she and Henry retired, she's not exactly patient with shy young people -- or anyone else. Yet she brusquely comforts suicidal Kevin Coulson in "Incoming Tide" with the news that her father, like Kevins's mother, killed himself. And she does her best to help anorexic Nina in "Starving," though Olive knows that the troubled girl is not the only person in Crosby hungry for love. Children disappoint, spouses are unfaithful and almost everyone is lonely at least some of the time in Strout's rueful tales. The Kitteridges' son Christopher marries, moves to California and divorces, but he doesn't come home to the house his parents built for him, causing deep resentments to fester around the borders of Olive's carefully tended garden. Tensions simmer in all the families here; even the genuinely loving couple in "Winter Concert" has a painful betrayal in its past. References to Iraq and 9/11 provide a somber context, but the real dangers here are personal; aging, the loss of love, the imminence of death. Nonetheless, Strout's sensitive insights and luminous prose affirm life's pleasures, as elderly, widowed Olive thinks, "It baffled her, the world. She did not want to leave it yet." A perfectly balanced portrait of the human condition, encompassing plenty of anger, cruelty and loss without ever losing sight of the equally powerful presences of tenderness, shared pursuits and lifelong loyalty. (Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2008)

Book Discusion Questions

Elizabeth Strout Website

BETH'S PICK APRIL'S AUTHOR: COLIN COTTERILL

Colin Cotterill Colin Cotterill brings a welcome spin to mysteries featuring a sleuthing medical examiner in his Siri Paiboun novels. Rather than rely upon a familiar Western setting, Cotterill transplants the genre to 1970s Asia, mixing mystery with politics, mysticism, and themes such as international relations, government bureaucracy and racism. Cotterill’s witty and fast paced narratives are not only filled with cultural insight, but also feature compelling characters, particularly his clever protagonist, Laotian National Coroner Siri Paiboun. He is a reluctant communist and (even more reluctant) national coroner. The 72 year-old uses forensic deduction, spirit intuition, and old-fashioned sleuthing to figure out any suspicious deaths that come his way. Finding his charming characters and crisply plotted narratives in these mysteries with an educational undercurrent, readers will enjoy Cotterill’s works. (Novelist)

About the Author: Colin Cotterill was born in London in 1952 and taught and trained teachers around the world before settling in Thailand. He spent several years in Laos, initially with UNESCO, before he moved on to become involved in child protection in the region and set up a non-governmental organization in Phuket. He later moved on to ECPAT, an international organization combating child prostitution and pornography. Colin writes and illustrates full time, and lives in Chumphon on the Gulf of Thailand with his wife, Jessi, and a bunch of dogs. He is a Dilys Award winner.

Colin Cotterill’s home page: http://www.colincotterill.com/home.html

Listen to NPR audio interview: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93590413

Wikipedia link on the author: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Cotterill

There are seven so far in the series including:

The Coroner’s Lunch Seventy-two-year-old Dr. Siri Paiboun, a coroner in Laos, confronts shamans, dreams, conversations with the dead, and an international cover-up, in his attempts to solve a series of murders of Vietnamese soldiers and the wife of a party leader.

Reviews: "This series kickoff is an embarrassment of riches: Holmesian sleuthing, political satire, and [a] droll comic study of a prickly late bloomer."-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"The sights, smells, and colors of Laos practically jump of the pages of this inspired, often wryly witty first novel."-"Denver Post

"A wonderfully fresh and exotic mystery. . . . If Cotterill . . . had done nothing more than treat us to Siri's views on the dramatic, even comic crises that mark periods of government upheaval, his debut mystery would still be fascinating. But the multiple cases spread out on Siri's examining table . . . are not cozy entertainments, but substantial crimes that take us into the thick of political intrigue."-"The New York Times Book Review”

"In Siri, Cotterill has created a detective as distinctive as Maigret or Poirot."-"Orlando Sentinel"

"The author gives us exotic locations; a world that few of us know well; crisp, intelligent, and often-witty writing; and, most of all, a hero unlike any other." -"The Philadelphia Inquirer"

Thirty-three Teeth Dr Siri Paiboun has rather enjoyed his first five months in office. Now, as hot-season nights close in, Siri is spirited away from Laos' steamy capital on a Matter of National Security. Arriving in Luang Prabang, he's a busy man, examining carbonized corpses, dining with the deposed king and being rescued by the ghost of an elephant.

Disco for the Departed Coroner Siri Paiboun must identify a corpse found near the mansion of the new Laotian president, an investigation which includes communication with the dead, sacrificial rituals, a marriage proposal, and strange disco music that only the doctor can hear.

Anarchy and Old Dogs When a blind, retired dentist is run down by a logging truck as he crosses the road to post a letter, Dr Siri Paiboun, official and only coroner of Laos, finds himself faced with his most explosive case yet. The dentist's mortal remains aren't nearly as intriguing as the letter in his pocket.

Curse of the Pogo Stick National Coroner Dr. Siri is kidnapped by Hmong villagers who want him to lift a curse from the headman's daughter.

The Merry Misogynist In peaceful Buddhist Laos, Dr. Siri confronts a deadly Casanova targeting lovely young women.

Love Songs from a Shallow Grave When a female security officer is discovered stabbed through the heart with a fencing sword, Dr. Siri's instincts tell him there is more to the mystery than anyone can imagine.

Best in Books April 2011

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

 Freedom, an epic family story, garnered several awards in 2010 including Library Journal's Top Ten and the New York Times Notable Books for Fiction and Poetry. The story revolves around Patty and Walter Berglund's family relationships, while Franzen weaves the ethical, theological and psychological cost of freedom into the book. See the links below for questions that will guide a robust discussion.

Library Journal Review "Use Well Thy Freedom": this motto, etched in stone on a college campus, hints at the moral of Franzen's sprawling, darkly comic new novel. The nature of personal freedom, the fluidity of good and evil, the moral relativism of nearly everything-Franzen takes on these thorny issues via the lives of Walter and Patty Berglund of St. Paul. With two kids, a Volvo in the garage, and a strong social conscience, the Berglunds allow their good deeds to be tinged with just a hint of smugness (which eventually comes back to haunt them). Weaving in and out of their lives is old college friend Richard Katz, low-level rock star and ultra-hip antihero. Time goes by, the kids grow up, betrayals occur, and the thin line between right and wrong blurs. Fully utilizing their freedom-to make mistakes, confuse love with lust, and mix up goodness and greed-the Berglunds give Franzen the opportunity to limn the absurdities of our modern culture. Granola moms, raging Republicans, war profiteers, crooked environmentalists, privileged offspring, and poverty-bred rednecks each enjoy the uniquely American freedom to make disastrous choices and continually reinvent themselves. Verdict As in his National Book Award winner, The Corrections, Franzen reveals a penchant for smart, deceptively simple, and culturally astute writing. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/10.]-Susanne Wells, P.L. of Cincinnati & Hamilton Cty. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Discussion Questions
Jonathan Franzen Biographical information and Discussion Questions
Oprah Book Club Discussion Questions

Classic Suggestion April 2011

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Born into a poor family and raised by an oppressive aunt, young Jane Eyre becomes the governess at Thornfield Manor to escape the confines of her life. There her fiery independence clashes with the brooding and mysterious nature of her employer, Mr. Rochester. But what begins as outright loathing slowly evolves into a passionate romance. When a terrible secret from Rochester's past threatens to tear the two apart, Jane must make an impossible choice: Should she follow her heart or walk away and lose her love forever?

Unabashedly romantic and utterly enthralling, Jane Eyre endures as one of the greatest love stories of all time. -product description

Disucssion Questions, About the Author, Related Titles

Beth's Picks--March 2011

Little Princes by Conor Grennan

Summary:

One Person Can Make a Difference In search of adventure, twenty-nine-year-old Conor Grennan traded his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Children's Home, an orphanage in war-torn Nepal. Conor was initially reluctant to volunteer, unsure whether he had the proper skill, or enough passion, to get involved in a developing country in the middle of a civil war. But he was soon overcome by the herd of rambunctious, resilient children who would challenge and reward him in a way that he had never imagined. When Conor learned the unthinkable truth about their situation, he was stunned: The children were not orphans at all. Child traffickers were promising families in remote villages to protect their children from the civil war-for a huge fee-by taking them to safety. They would then abandon the children far from home, in the chaos of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. For Conor, what began as a footloose adventure becomes a commitment to reunite the children he had grown to love with their families, but this would be no small task. He would risk his life on a journey through the legendary mountains of Nepal, facing the dangers of a bloody civil war and a debilitating injury. Waiting for Conor back in Kathmandu, and hopeful he would make it out before being trapped in by snow, was the woman who would eventually become his wife and share his life's work. Little Princes is a true story of families and children, and what one person is capable of when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. At turns tragic, joyful, and hilarious, Little Princes is a testament to the power of faith and the ability of love to carry us beyond our wildest expectations.

About the Author:

http://www.harpercollins.com/author/microsite/about.aspx?authorid=36296


Author discusses Little Princes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzS9v1TBsbM


Review:

New York Journal of Books:

When I received this book in the mail, having only a tiny blurb to read about it, I made the assumption it was a book about a man who had traveled to Nepal and adopted children internationally after working at the orphanage. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This is instead the story of a man who refused to turn a blind eye when hints surfaced that death certificates had been forged, that government corruption was rampant, and that child slavery was common in Nepal.
Little Princes is the story of what happens when you pursue the truth and passionately seek to solve a complicated social problem in a country with little or no infrastructure and few resources. It is a gorgeous story of love and passion and what happens when you choose to follow a path that you didn’t know existed.
Grennan, from time to time, returned home to the United States to visit family. During one of those visits in 2006, he set up a foundation to protect the children of Nepal. The foundation is a nonprofit called Next Generation Nepal. It has a website for more information or involvement.
While advocating for funding of the nonprofit and making connections, Grennan received an email from a fellow University of Virginia graduate named Liz looking for information about volunteering in an orphanage. Her email correspondence progressed and eventually became a plan to meet when she also comes to India and to work in an orphanage. Without giving the ending away, this story also contains a healthy dose of romance.
In light of the very real discovery of rampant child trafficking in Nepal, there should also be more thought given to the complex situations in many areas of the world where war, poverty, and natural disaster might have bred similar opportunities. There are tens of thousands of children still missing in Nepal.
Grennan’s foundation remains active and continues to reunite children with their families. http://www.nextgenerationnepal.org/

Book Discussion Questions:

http://www.nextgenerationnepal.com/File/NGN__Little_Princes__Reading_Guide.pdf