Hi All,

I hope you are all having a lovely summer so far.

I was unable to attend the last Tuesday meet up but it was very ably hosted by Sara.

Please see below her write up.

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We had a lovely time discussing The Beginning of Spring last Tuesday. We all enjoyed the writing and the calm style and great description of detail, even though some of us were left a bit frustrated by it - and felt it was like watching a French film. ;)

We wondered why the author chose the topic (paying homage to her heroes/Russian literature?) and the importance of Russia and the time the novel takes place (just before the Russian Revolution, a very symbolic time to set a novel). Could the novel have been set somewhere else (e.g. Reading)? We found that especially the female characters seem a bit undefined (deliberately) and discussed the women in the novel and the impact of their actions (Nellie, Lisa). Why does Nellie run away, why does she return? We also looked into Frank's character and his role as a cultural outsider and the other men in the novel (Selwyn).

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They then voted for the next book and the winner was Homo Faber by Max Frisch.

The synopsis below is from Waterstones.

"The novel tells the story of a middle-class UNESCO engineer called Walter Faber, who believes in rational, calculated world. Strange events undermine his security - an emergency landing in a Mexican desert against all odds, his friend Joachim hangs himself in the Mexican jungle, and he falls in love with a woman who dies of a concussion, he has an incestuous affair. Finally Faber becomes ill with stomach cancer, but it is too late for him to change his life"

I hope to host this meetup, I'll know if I can closer tomthentime.

Have a great month of reading.

Hannah :-)

William

The Islington Book Group

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