This is a second book group within Metro East Hang Out. This second book group focuses entirely on fiction. It can be a new title or an old one, a classic or a series, a mystery or a love story, graphic novel, based on a true story or sci-fi fantasy. It just has to be fiction.
To get us started and to give everyone an opportunity to get ahold of the title, read it cover to cover [or not, we welcome all readers.... those that read the whole book, part of the book, those who listen to the book, or those who need more convincing to open the book], I will choose the first title, and hope at least one member will want to read it and meetup on the 23rd of August to talk about it. It is my hope by the end of the discussion we will have chosen our next title and set the date for the next book group to meet.
The book chosen for our first book group is a classic, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)
“Emily Brontë's only novel endures as a work of tremendous and far-reaching influence. The Penguin Classics edition is the definitive version of the text, edited with an introduction by Pauline Nestor. Discover the gripping tale of love, propriety, and tragedy in Emily Brontë's classic novel, now available in the definitive Penguin Classics edition. Check it out on Amazon now! https://a.co/d/frfYxoL
Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange, situated on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before. What unfolds is the tale of the intense love between the gypsy foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Catherine, forced to choose between passionate, tortured Heathcliff and gentle, well-bred Edgar Linton, surrendered to the expectations of her class. As Heathcliff's bitterness and vengeance at his betrayal is visited upon the next generation, their innocent heirs must struggle to escape the legacy of the past.
In this edition, a new preface by Lucasta Miller, author of The Brontë Myth, looks at the ways in which the novel has been interpreted, from Charlotte Brontë onwards. This complements Pauline Nestor's introduction, which discusses changing critical receptions of the novel, as well as Emily Brontë's influences and background.”
Josie’s thoughts: My favorite book… period. Brutal love, Brutal after life, Brutal weather. Written by a young woman in the 1800s before she was 30. A truly amazing accomplishment by a writer who lived through imagination during a time period of self-isolation. A brilliant novel. If you read it a long time ago this is the time to revisit it. It is written in the English style of the day of course, so some may find this book difficult. This book can also be listened to on Audible. I bought a copy performed by actress Joanne Froggatt of Downton Abbey fame and am enjoying her interpretation very much. On another note, the director and screenwriter of Killing Eve, Promising Young Woman & Saltburn is making an adaptation of this book due to be released in 2026 and I cannot wait to see this additional interpretation!
Interested in the life of Emily Brontë and her family life on the English moors? Check out Emily, (2022) an independent film directed by Frances O’Connor. In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy this title and join us at Pour 322 to discuss it. See you there!
If this book group sounds good to you, please join us over on our Discord page to see further details about 10 possible titles I have chosen for the our 2nd Reading Fiction Book Group or to share some suggestions of your own.
