July's Book

The Remains of the Day
by Kazuo Ishiguro

Thurs. July 21st (3rd Thurs)
8pm at Andi M's

Summary:
The novel's narrator, Stevens, is a perfect English butler who tries to give his narrow existence form and meaning through the self-effacing, almost mystical practice of his profession.  In a career that spans the second World War, Stevens is oblivious of the real life that goes on around him -- oblivious, for instance, of the fact that his aristocrat employer is a Nazi sympathizer.  Still, there are even larger matters at stake in this heartbreaking, pitch-perfect novel -- namely, Stevens' own ability to allow some bit of life-affirming love ito his tightly repressed existence.

summary from the PCPL website

Click here to find the book at the public library

Click here to find the book on Amazon

October's Book

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
by Helen Simonson

Oct. 16th (3rd Thurs.)
8pm at Lieschen's 

Please contact Lieschen to pick up a library copy of the book.  Because the books were checked out as a caboodle kit from the library, ALL the books need to be returned to Lieschen at book club or shortly thereafter.  Thank you!

Summary:

You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, Major Pettigrew is one of the most indelible characters in contemporary fiction, and from the very first page of this remarkable novel he will steal your heart.

The Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their respective spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more.

But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition? (From the publisher.)

Summary from LitLovers.com

Click here to view discussion questions from LitLovers.com

September's Book

Possession
by A. S. Byatt

Sept. 19th  (3rd Thurs)
8pm at Emily P.'s

Summary:
Winner of England’s Booker Prize and the literary sensation of the year, Possession is an exhilarating novel of wit and romance, at once an intellectual mystery and triumphant love story. It is the tale of a pair of young scholars researching the lives of two Victorian poets. As they uncover their letters, journals, and poems, and track their movements from London to Yorkshire—from spiritualist séances to the fairy-haunted far west of Brittany—what emerges is an extraordinary counterpoint of passions and ideas.

An exhilarating novel of wit and romance, an intellectual mystery, and a triumphant love story. This tale of a pair of young scholars researching the lives of two Victorian poets became a huge bookseller favorite, and then on to national bestellerdom.

summary from www.goodreads.com

Click here to visit the library website and reserve your copy.

February's Book

North & South
by Elizabeth Gaskell

Feb. 21st (3rd Thurs.)
8pm at Emily P.'s

There's also a BBC miniseries that closely mirrors the novel.  It's available at the library, netflix, and amazon instant video.

Summary:
When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction. In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell skillfully fuses individual feeling with social concern, and in Margaret Hale creates one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.

summary from www.goodreads.com

Click here to go to the library website