NNO Book Club: State of Paradise

It’s spooky season and we do try to read “on theme” in October, whether that is something supernatural or horror, or in this case – something that hints at the dark under belly of our home state.

We haven’t really made a point of reading Florida authors or books set in Florida (beyond “Alas, Babylon” which I still recommend to anyone who will listen). This month we are reading “State of Paradise” by Laura van den Berg.

Does she count as a "Florida" author if she doesn't live here anymore? Then again, she was born and raised in Orlando and speaking as a former Orlandean (Orlandite?) - leaving Orlando just shows she is smart. :)

***Book summary from Goodreads***
A heart-racing fun house of uncanniness hidden in Florida’s underbelly, from a reality-warping storyteller.

Along with her husband, a ghostwriter for a famous thriller author returns to her mother's house in the Florida town where she grew up. As the summer heat sets in, she wrestles with family secrets and memories of her own troubled youth. Her mercurial sister, who lives next door, spends a growing amount of time using MIND’S EYE, a virtual reality device provided to citizens of the town by ELECTRA, a tech company in South Florida, during the doldrums of a recent pandemic. But it’s not just the ominous cats, her mother’s burgeoning cult, or the fact that her belly button has become an increasingly deep cavern—something is off in the town, and it probably has to do with the posters of missing citizens spread throughout the streets.

During a violent rainstorm, the writer’s sister goes missing for several days. When she returns, sprawled on their mother’s lawn and speaking of another dimension, the writer is forced to investigate not only what happened to her sister and the other missing people but also the uncanny connections between ELECTRA, the famous author, and reality itself.

A sticky, rain-soaked reckoning with the elusive nature of storytelling, Laura van den Berg’s State of Paradise is an interlocking and page-turning whirlwind. With inimitable control and thrilling style, she reaches deep into the void and returns with a story far stranger than either reality or fiction.

***This month's restaurant selection***
We are trying something new – Kazba Café in Oldsmar, which offers Moroccan specialties. The space looks lovely if a little small, so it is going to be a hard limit of 10 this month. You can check out the menu here: https://www.lakazba.com/.

***Not sure about book club or never been to one before? ***
Read the book (or some of the book). Come to the Meetup. Eat yummy food and chat with folks about what you thought about the book. REPEAT!

***Not sure where to get the book? ***
All books we select have a decent number of copies (at least 3-4 across all formats) at both the Hillsborough and Pinellas County Library. And, of course, you can always buy a copy.

***Didn’t finish/hated this book?***
Come to the Meetup anyway! If you didn't finish - just be aware, there will be spoilers. If you hated it, come and rant! In my experience, the books that generate the best conversations and the books we really love are rarely the same books.