Amersfoort English Book and Movie Club

'HOMEGOING' by Yaa Gyasi

'Two sisters with two very different destinies. One sold into slavery; one a slave trader's wife. The consequences of their fate reverberate through the generations that follow. Taking us from the Gold Coast of Africa to the cotton-picking plantations of Mississippi; from the missionary schools of Ghana to the dive bars of Harlem, spanning three continents and seven generations, Yaa Gyasi has written a miraculous novel - the intimate, gripping story of a brilliantly vivid cast of characters and through their lives the very story of America itself. Epic in its canvas and intimate in its portraits, Homegoing is a searing and profound debut from a masterly new writer.'

Please read the book and join us for a lively discussion (in English) about the contents during our afternoon book club meeting.

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PLEASE NOTE:

This is an IN-PERSON event in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. Please cancel your attendance in advance if you are unable to join, so that those on the waitlist can participate.

Looking forward to seeing you all IN REAL LIFE then!

Best regards,
Sandra

'THE SYMPATHIZER' by Viet Thanh Nguyen

'The winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as seven other awards, The Sympathizer is the breakthrough novel of the year. With the pace and suspense of a thriller and prose that has been compared to Graham Greene and Saul Bellow, The Sympathizer is a sweeping epic of love and betrayal. The narrator, a communist double agent, is a man of two minds, a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon, and while building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam. The Sympathizer is a blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping espionage novel, and a powerful story of love and friendship.'

Please read the book and join us for a lively discussion (in English) about the contents during our afternoon book club meeting.

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PLEASE NOTE:

This is an IN-PERSON event in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. Please cancel your attendance in advance if you are unable to join, so that those on the waitlist can participate.

Looking forward to seeing you all IN REAL LIFE then!

Best regards,
Sandra

'A MANUAL FOR CLEANING WOMEN: SELECTED STORIES' by Lucia Berlin

'This collection of raw and remarkable short fiction saw Lucia Berlin, little known in her lifetime, finally become lauded as an important figure in American letters.

The world just goes along. Nothing much matters, you know? I mean really matters. but then sometimes, just for a second, you get this grace, this belief that it does matter, a whole lot.

With an introduction from Lydia Davis

Lucia Berlin’s stories in A Manual for Cleaning Women make for one of the most remarkable unsung collections in twentieth-century American fiction.

With extraordinary honesty and magnetism, Lucia Berlin invites us into her rich, itinerant life: the drink and the mess and the pain and the beauty and the moments of surprise and of grace, with a voice is witty, anarchic, compassionate, and completely unique.'

Please read the book and join us for a lively discussion (in English) about the contents during our afternoon book club meeting.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PLEASE NOTE:

This is an IN-PERSON event in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. Please cancel your attendance in advance if you are unable to join, so that those on the waitlist can participate.

Looking forward to seeing you all IN REAL LIFE then!

Best regards,
Sandra

'THE CORRESPONDENT' by Virginia Evans

'Every morning, Sybil Van Antwerp sits down to write letters – to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to attend a class she desperately wants to take, to her favourite authors to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Because at seventy-three, Sybil has used her correspondence – witty and wise – to make sense of the world. But beyond the page, she has spent the last thirty years keeping the people who love her at arms’ length... Until letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life.

Now, Sybil must send the letter she has been writing for all these years - and find forgiveness within herself in order to move on.

Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might not be an extraordinary one, but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.'

Please read the book and join us for a lively discussion (in English) about the contents during our afternoon book club meeting.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PLEASE NOTE:

This is an IN-PERSON event in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. Please cancel your attendance in advance if you are unable to join, so that those on the waitlist can participate.

Looking forward to seeing you all IN REAL LIFE then!

Best regards,
Sandra