Book Club

Timeline:

On Sunday I was invited to attend a book club meeting on Wednesday.

On Tuesday night at 5 p.m. I checked the book out from the Kinsale Public Library with my brand-spanking-new library card.

I read until midnight, taking a break for dinner and to go out for a walk and to hang out at The Folkhouse (see next post) together for awhile.

I got up at 7:15 am Wednesday to finish the book.

At 9:15 am, Carolyn came to take me to the book club.

Did I finish the book? Oh yes, I did!

What was the book? Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky.

Was it good? Very!

What was it about? It was written during the German occupation of France in World War II. There are two parts to the book, the first following several people/families as they flee Paris during the German invasion, the second chronicling the lives of the inhabitants of a French town (with some of the characters from the first part of the book intertwined) while their town is occupied by German soldiers. The story isn't finished - there were supposed to be several more parts to the story and it was all going to wrap up together. Unfortunately, the author ended up dying in a concentration camp and was never able to finish her work, so you just have to guess where she was ultimately going with it. That said, even unfinished, it was a great read. It's a very realistic and compelling tale of everyday human lives and human character when thrust into an atmosphere of panicked evacuation or peaceful foreign occupation. I would recommend it. And it's not a book I would have picked up on my own (you know how I love Dickens and regency literature like Jane Austen), so I am glad that I was prompted to read it for this book club.

Who was at the book club meeting? Myself, Carolyn (who is from Indiana), two other American ladies whose husbands are currently working here (one is from Greenwood, Indiana; I assume the other is from Indiana as well but I'm not sure), an Irish woman who grew up in England to Irish parents, a South African woman, and another American woman who is from California but has lived all around Europe with her job. Later on (after the book club part), another woman stopped by to chat who is Australian. It was quite an eclectic, international-feeling group of women.

What did we do? (well, obviously...) The discussion was fun, spirited, and insightful as everyone talked about the book (and unrelated subjects!) over scones and tea. You know how it is with book clubs...you are bound to get off on tangents and spend very little time talking directly about the book, but it is such a good time! The other ladies were very friendly and welcoming and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.