Share Escape :)

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

2004

Photo: Taken December 04 at Casablanca, Uffizi :)
Feb 2004
I'm not scared (Nicolo Ammaniti) He
Ca: Reading this left me cold. I still am sickened thinking about it, also did not want to see the film when it came out. This was very well written for a translation!
Mar

Darkroom (Rachel Seiffert) Je
Three stories showing the effects of the Nazi period in Germany through the eyes of, Helmut a photographer, Lore whose parents are Nazis and Micha the young school teacher living years after the war, who is interested in researching the war because of his Grandfather. Interesting!
Apr

English Passengers (Matthew Kneale)Ca
Ca rates this one 10 out of 10 because she thought it was a wonderful read. Narrated by many voices, this is about Tasmania in the 18th Century.
May

Shipwrecks (Akira Yoshemura) An
A beautiful story which we all enjoyed.
Jun

No 1 Ladies Detective Agency (Alexander McCall-Smith) Da
Delightful story of Precious Ramotswe who helps people through her detective agency. A favourite with all of us!
Jul

Life of Pi (Yann Martel) Lou
The main character is Piscine "Pi" Molitor Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry who explores the issues of religion and spirituality.
Aug

Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) De
Most enjoyable. We had fun discussing this!
Sept

Blind Assassin (Margaret Atwood) Ju
The Blind Assassin opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge." They are spoken by Iris, whose terse account of her sister's death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming the death accidental. But just as the reader expects to settle into Laura's story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a-novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two unnamed lovers who meet in dingy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, it is through a 1947 newspaper article announcing the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist. Brilliantly weaving together such seemingly disparate elements, Atwood creates a world of astonishing vision and unforgettable impact. (Taken from Reading Group Guides.com)
(Ca: Can't write about this one as I wasn't at the meeting, though I "read" it and enjoyed it ...... I got an audio out and multi-tasked while "reading"!)
Oct
Dirt Music (Tim Winton)Ant
A book that reminded us so much of travelling up North. It was a good read and also an "experience" we enjoyed.
Nov

Catastrophist (Ronan Bennet) Sa
Set in the Congo, 1959. A novel about politics, writing and observing. Mixed reactions to this one!
Dec
Christmas Dinner at "Casablanca"
Salley Vickers
We went to see Salley Vickers this year. She was here mainly to promote her new book, Mr. Golightly's Holiday.... one which some of us had read and enjoyed. We found her very charming and were most entertained by her talk.
Clea Koff
Ant and Ca went to see the lovely Clea Koff, author of The Bone Woman, talk about her life and work. This was very interesting.

Lou joins the group in February, this year but leaves at the end of the year to start her own group which runs in the daytime! (Day-hours more suitable for her.)

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