Hello All!
We were off to a great start of year eight. From what I understand, this was a great turn out. ALL the bookworms made it!!
We met at City Line Restaurant in New City, and had a room all to ourselves. We discussed Mudwoman, by Joyce Carol Oates. This is an interesting and intricate story about a woman who is slowly mentally decompensating. The writing, however, made the book what it was. Oates used vivid description, timing, paragraph breaks, and parentheses in the writing, to describe and alert the reader to psychological changes in the protagonist. Everyone seemed to enjoy the book, and even those who didn't particularly like the story found it interesting. Most of the discusiion centered on what aspect of the central character's experience was real or imagined. As M.R.'s hold on reality became more tenuous, this became increasingly difficult to establish. The author's narrative techniques were discussed in order to explain the main character's life, and her perception of her life. There was a lively discussion and everyone enjoyed the food, and left looking forward to a "movie month" in October.
---- Maria Rodriguez
It's wonderful to see you all, even if it's just via Robin's videos. Wish you all a great 2016-17!
ReplyDeleteAs for Mudwoman, I read all tediously written 700plus pages. When I was giving up on the story, the author introduced a scene from The Soprano's (the butchering up of the professor). Then I knew how really far gone M.R. was. It was unrealistic to me that someone with that awful beginning could repress so much as to make it to be president of a New Jersey Ivy League school--Princeton. The author herself is from Princeton, so I'm wondering if there is some autobiographical data in the text. I'm glad she got to confront her institutionalized mother and saw the wretched man her biological father was. The best part of the ending was when she realized that she already had her "real" dad--her adoptive father who was so loving and supportive to her. I have a pillow at home with the saying "Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Daddy".
Hello Bookworms!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a turnout! The restaurant was a good choice. Food was delicious. Thank You Maria for hosting our first bookclub. M.R.'s character showed to perseverance to such a horrific upbringing, but it also brought to light that repression isn't healthy. The past somehow comes up and can be destructive. Letting us to believe that dealing with "our stuff" is therapeutic. Looking forward to our next time together. It was so lovely to see you all.
Be Blessed!!
Mary
Great to see ALL the bookworms--Lourdes you were missed!
ReplyDeleteThank you Maria Rodriguez for choosing a lovely new venue! I wasn't crazy about the book, but I loved everything else��
Xxoo
Robin