Another great turnout for our August meet up and some excellent discussion on both books. The Trees went down particularly well scoring 83 which places it at the top of the charts for 2025 while 68 was a strong score for When We Were Orphans.
For September we are keeping our global settings once again in Asia but this time in Malaysia with a multiple award winning novel and also again in the States, but the north this time in Chicago and New York, with a best selling family saga.
And, by way of reminder, we appreciate attendees making a contribution of £1.50 at the meeting to help cover meetup charges.
Happy Reading.
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (nominated by Leah)
Teoh Yun Ling was seventeen years old when she first heard about Aritomo and the garden. But a war would come to Malaya, and a decade pass before she would travel to see him.
A man of extraordinary skill and reputation, Aritomo was once the gardener for the Emperor of Japan, and now Yun Ling needs him. She needs him to help her build a memorial to her beloved sister, killed at the hands of the Japanese.
She wants to learn everything Aritomo can teach her, and do her sister proud, but to do so she must also begin a journey into her own past, a past inextricably linked with the secrets of her troubled country.
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (nominated by Julia)
Best friends and sisters, the four Padavano girls bring loving chaos to their close-knit Italian American neighbourhood. William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him. So, when he meets the spirited and ambitious Julia Padavano, it's as if the world has lit up around him.
With Julia comes her family: Sylvie, the family's dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book; Cecelia is a free-spirited artist; and Emeline patiently takes care of them all. But when darkness from William's past begins to block the light of his future, it is Sylvie, not Julia, who becomes his closest confidante.
The result is a catastrophic rift that leaves the family inhabiting two sides of a fault line.
Other books nominated were:
The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan
Playground by Richard Powers
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Cold Crematorium by József Debreczeni
