THE GREAT ALONE -- June 4, 2018

     We met on June 4, at City Line Diner for our last book of the year The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. The book was well loved by everyone, however there were mixed feelings about visiting Alaska. Kristin Hannah’s portrayal of Alaska is so vivid, it almost makes you feel like you are there. It is not a glamorous, resort type of place -- but rather a down to earth, smell the air, and take in the beauty of the grandeur.

     Cora and Leni are pulled to the unknown land of Alaska by their father, Ernst, in search of a new beginning. Little do they know that this adventure will lead to many unexpected and unwanted events.  The troubled relationship between Cora and Ernst brings to the surface the question of “Why do women stay in an abusive relationship?”.  As we all agreed on this, there are many reasons why, and few good endings.  Many topics surfaced while discussing the book, including the effects of war and PTSD, the relationships between parent and child, and the need for survival in many ways.  We all loved the strength in the characters of the women in the book - from Large Marge to Leni - a young woman with extraordinary wisdom.  

     This book grabs your attention and makes you want to keep reading. Thank you all for coming, enjoy the summer and see you in September!!

XOOX,

Maria Rego

May 7, 2018 ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr

Hello Bookworms,

A little late, but wanting to capture our last meeting before we meet again! We read All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel by Anthony Doerr. We met on May 7, at Alain’s French Bistro, in Nyack. We  had a lively conversation over some pretty nice food!! The book, if you can still recall, takes place during one of the last battles of WWII in a small, fortified town in Brittany, France. The narrative flows back and forth in time. The story was mainly about a girl whose inner light guides her as she manages to appreciate beauty despite her blindness, as opposed to greed and vanity - which led to so much suffering and violence. Some of us liked it better than others - “Vive la difference”. We were all in agreement however, that although the story and writing itself was rather good, it paled in comparison to the sonorous accolades the book and author received. Well, enjoy the weekend and hopefully the beginnings of summer!!! 

A bientot!

Maria Rodriguez

The Ishi Affair -- April 9, 2018 at Robin Ackerman's House

On Monday, 4/9/18 The Neary Book Club members were treated to a lively and fascinating discussion at my home by the Author, Steven Jay Griffel, about his historical fiction novel, The Ishi Affair.  The book tells the story of Ishi, who was recognized by historians as being the last Stone Age Indian of the Yahi tribe in Northern California in the early 1900’s. In his book, Steven recounts how Ishi (which means man in Yahi) wandered out of his Stone Age cave in the foothills of northern California near the town of Oroville, and was found by local authorities.  Anthropologist, Thomas Waterman came to see Ishi and took him back to San Francisco, almost starving, and then to the Berkeley Museum where he was taken care of, and studied extensively by other anthropologists like Alfred Kroeber. In 1916 Ishi was put on display as a living Indian exhibit for the remainder of his life. Steven shared how he wove this true story of Ishi into a fictional account of whether Ishi was truly the last Stone Age Indian, and if in fact there were any of his tribe members still alive today.  He captivated us with details of how he intertwined his own life’s fascination with Ishi's story, how his brain was preserved after his death, and the search for his modern day tribal family. By intertwining those parts of his story, Steven recounted how The Ishi Affair came to be a suspenseful  filled novel set at the turn of the 20^th century and in modern day.

What a wonderful and interesting experience, having Steven share how he came to be an author, how his career took a markedly different path for some 40 years, but ultimately how he found his way back to writing, and back to the story of Ishi he started a very long time ago. It made for quite the interesting and exciting evening, with great questions and discussion from everyone who attended.

We thank you, Steven, for coming to our book club sharing your love of writing and  of books, your incredible story and your candor in describing  your journey to today.  

                                                                        ----Robin A.

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney -March 5, 2018 at Cityline Diner

Hi!

Our book, The Nest, was about difficult family relationships, secrets and deception. We enjoyed a discussion around these topics since we can all relate in some way . We enjoyed a dinner and lots of catching up. I am looking forward to the next meeting! Enjoy your holidays! 

Love,

Yvette

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater -- Feb. 5, 2018

I was very excited about reading the book The 57 Bus.  This book was a riveting non fiction book about gender, crime, and racial issues. I was happy to hear the wonderful response it received from other book club members.

The story raised so many questions for us as a group of educators. We service so many students each day and see how impulsively they can act; and many of us realized it is the brain development of an adolescent.  The story was painful and complex, it created a good discussion during the meeting.

The 57 Bus was an excellent book that showed us how impulsive actions can lead to negative consequences.  We also learned about forgiveness, tolerance, and how "not to judge".

                                                                            ---- Damary Soto

The Silent Wife -- Cityline Dec. 11, 2017

The Silent Wife book focused on a relationship between two people Todd and Jodi, who were once in love, however Todd becomes a committed cheater . Todd was so self-centered that he could not commit to anyone. Todd and Jodi were in a bad place in their marriage. Much was at stake in the marriage including an affluent life and a condo in Chicago. Jody, who loved Todd very much, refused  to object to anything he did -- and didn’t yell or scream. She tried to use her silence as a weapon. At first, I thought I would like the book, but unfortunately I found the character Jodi to be too submissive -- although she used her silence to be her weapon. I was a little disappointed with the book.

                                         -----Sandrahe story dragged on and left you wondering who really killed Thank you!

Sandra Rivera

The Two Family House at New City Kosher Deli -- Nov. 13, 2017

I selected this story after reading a short excerpt.  I thoroughly enjoyed the story of brothers Abe and Mort and sisters-in-law Helen and Rose.  As Jill said, “this story can be about any family”.  It transcends cultures. This story is the author’s first.   She based some of the events on her grandmother’s tales about her family.  The one thing that bothered her most about most (if not all) cultures is their desire to have a boy or treating the boys as princes.  Mary Velez shared her own story of her father.  He didn’t want to hold the baby, but was forced to when her mother left him alone with the baby and he needed to comfort her.  His love for her bloomed. I wonder if father’s want boys because they get to “carry” the paternal family name. 0r ________________ fill in the blank.

Whenever, I hear stories of men wanting sons, I’m reminded of this great song, "El 

Gran Varon" by Willie Colon (Google it).   The events portrayed in The Two-Family House gives readers many topics to think about: motherhood, nature vs.. nurture, longing, love, betrayal, regret, and the consequences of buried secrets.  I believe we touched on most of the topics in our discussion. Thank you bookworms for the insightful conversations.

                                          --- Myrna