The Gathering, Anne Enright (Booker, 2026)

Enright is an Irish novelist and as The Guardian points out, The Gathering ticks a lot of the related cliches. This is a Catholic childhood misery memoir (albeit fiction), appropriate for St Patrick's Day. But that is where the cliches end. A reflection on the past and how it affects the present the novel tackles what it means to be a wife and mother, and is an attempt to "stare down love and death". Effective writing, genuinely funny and with the odd cup of tea, this book seems to have stood up despite and beyond Angela's Ashes.

Since starting this book club a few years ago we have formed a nice core membership. If you haven't come yet, please look out for the books on the table, pull up a chair, order a wine and join us. We like to hear what everyone has to say and enjoy the conversation, we're not cliquey at all! Oh, and to defray the Meetup monthly bill I will accept gold coin contributions or wine if you want to pay for multiple in one hit. I hope to see everyone again at this one with some new faces.