Literary Classics Book Club

Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel, Orlando, purports to be a biography of the title character from his life as a nobleman in 16th Century England to her life as a married woman in 20th Century England. Dedicated to Woolf's friend and lover, Vita Sackville-West, the novel has been described as "the longest and most charming love letter in literature." In Orlando, Woolf critiques traditional biography, as she explores themes of gender, identity, and history.

Bonus points if you watch the movie adaptation starring the wonderful Tilda Swinton in the title role. There's also a movie about Woolf and Sackville-West's relationship, Vita & Virginia.

We'll meet again at the Mission Valley library in Seminar Room A. the library sets a limit of 12 persons for the room. Feel free to bring your own refreshments.

-dave rankin

At our next short reading meeting at Ballast Point, we will be discussing Medea by Euripides, one of the most powerful and unsettling works of classical Greek tragedy. First performed in 431 B.C., the play tells the story of Medea, a woman betrayed by her husband Jason after she sacrificed everything to help him win the Golden Fleece. Consumed by anguish and rage, Medea takes a terrible revenge that defies both the expectations of her society and the limits of human emotion. Euripides’ treatment of her character was revolutionary for its time—portraying a woman of fierce intelligence, wounded pride, and profound moral complexity. The play’s stark examination of love, betrayal, exile, and the position of women in a patriarchal world has made it one of the most enduring and provocative dramas ever written. Its emotional intensity still speaks directly to modern audiences nearly 2,500 years later. Join us if you can!

In 1992, mystery author P.D. James (Phyllis Dorothy) ventured into dystopian fiction with the novel, The Children of Men, to answer her own question, "if there is no future, how would we behave?" Set in 2021 England, 26 years after the human race lost the ability to reproduce when all men everywhere on Earth were rendered infertile, her novel portrays a world without children and without hope of another generation to come. James uses this premise to explore themes of existentialism and faith, the nature of humanity, hope and despair, corruption and power. The plot follows Theo Faron, a middle-aged Oxford historian who becomes involved with political dissidents trying to overthrow the dictatorship that rules England and, later, to protect Julian, their fellow dissident, after she becomes the first woman to get pregnant in a generation, and whose child may hold the key to human salvation. Happy Holidays!
We'll meet again at the Mission Valley Library in Seminar Room A. The library sets a limit of 12 persons for the room. Feel free to bring your own refreshments

-dave rankin

Details to follow
-dave rankin