September Meetup

Back to our usual spot this month, and a bumper month for attendance with quite a few new faces; hope you all had a good time.

Both books we reviewed created plenty of discussion, which is what we want; The Artist scoring 64 while The Left Hand of Darkness scored 48. Which shows the best discussion doesn’t necessarily come from books with the highest scores!

For September we are going back in time with a piece of classic Scottish writing from the early 19th century, and a contemporary tale of the macabre from Germany set to a backdrop of the 30 Year War in the 16th century.

Please note, with thanks, we appreciate attendees making a contribution of £1.50 at the meeting to help cover meetup charges.

Happy Reading.

The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg (nominated by Rebecca)

A wretched young man, 'an outcast in the world', tells the story of his upbringing by a heretical Calvinist minister who leads him to believe that he is one of the elect, predestined for salvation and thus above the moral law. Falling under the spell of a mysterious stranger who bears an uncanny likeness to himself, he embarks on a career as a serial murderer.

Robert Wringhim's Memoirs are presented by an editor whose attempts to explain the story only succeed in intensifying its more baffling and bizarre aspects. Is Wringhim the victim of a psychotic delusion, or has he been tempted by the devil to wage war against God's enemies? Hogg's sardonic and terrifying novel, too perverse for nineteenth-century taste, is now recognized as one of the masterpieces of Romantic fiction.

Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann (nominated by Louise)

He's a trickster, a player, a jester. His handshake's like a pact with the devil, his smile like a crack in the clouds; he's watching you now and he's gone when you turn. Tyll Ulenspiegel is here!
In a village like every other village in Germany, a scrawny boy balances on a rope between two trees. He's practising. He practises by the mill, by the blacksmiths; he practises in the forest at night, where the Cold Woman whispers and goblins roam. When he comes out, he will never be the same.

Tyll will escape the ordinary villages. In the mines he will defy death. On the battlefield he will run faster than cannonballs. In the courts he will trick the heads of state. As a travelling entertainer, his journey will take him across the land and into the heart of a never-ending war.

A prince's doomed acceptance of the Bohemian throne has European armies lurching brutally for dominion and now the Winter King casts a sunless pall. Between the quests of fat counts, witch-hunters and scheming queens, Tyll dances his mocking fugue; exposing the folly of kings and the wisdom of fools.

Other books nominated were:

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
The Angel Maker by Stefan Bris
Year of the Rat by Harry Shukman
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
The Fathers by John Niven