Something "Wicked" This Way Comes
I'm not referring to our first official book club gathering...
I'm referring to our book club selection for the month of February, Wicked by Gregory Maguire. After pondering the heavy and sad subjects of geisha life, I guess we were ready for something different.
There were 10 Brunettes! 1o Brunettes!
The discussion of Memoirs was interesting and lively. Our discussion ranged from comparisons between the movie and book (the kimonos in the movie hardly rivaled the beautiful and intricate designs described in great detail in the book; pale and flat Mameha, Hatsumomo, Nobu characters; the omission of Sayuri's emigration to the US--it wasn't really a terrifically happy ending) to themes of loss, solitude, cruelty, rigidity, rules, competition, superstition, tradition, and love. We even coined the word Hatsumomo as a substitute for the common profanity used to describe that person who vexes you and thwarts your happiness. We also pondered the age old conundrum: men wonder why women go through so much trouble and fuss over themselves then are disappointed when we don't go through so much trouble and fuss over ourselves.
Will there be 11 Brunettes next month? Hopefully. Other changes to count on: we have decided to make book selections two months in advance. This way, slower readers can participate every other month and speedy readers can get a head start on the next selection (or sneak in a different read). The book selction for March is The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant. Have extra time? Other book suggestions included The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (which had already been read by a couple folks and was highly recommended) and Saturday by Ian McEwan (say that ten times fast).
Do you have any suggestions that might improve our book club? Know anyone who might be interested? Interested in hosting our book club in April or May (and having the final say on that month's book)? Also, I'm investigating ways to make this site more interactive, don't be surprised to find an email inviting you to join the "team"--which will make it possible for you to post instead of just placing comments...
