Author Archive
The South Madison Branch Library book discussion group met on a Saturday in May and discussed The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
Enzo is a dog. He narrates the story of his life with his master Denny, and Eve and Zoe, Denny’s wife and daughter. He’s near the end of his life, but assures the reader that he isn’t afraid to die. He has learned from watching educational TV that in Mongolia it is believed that when a dog dies he will return to earth reincarnated as a man, and Enzo is anxious for this to happen. His master Denny is an aspiring professional race-car driver who endures a seemingly endless procession of hardships in both his personal and professional life throughout the course of the book. Despite this, there is enough humor to keep the book from being overly depressing. There are plenty of interesting facts about the history and techniques of Formula 1 car racing. Despite being a dog, Enzo has a pretty sophisticated moral code for living – most of his mottos are gleaned from Denny’s racing experiences, but Enzo sees their usefulness in everyday life. Enzo’s insights are the heart and soul of the story and having the book told from his perspective is one of its most discussable aspects.
Almost without exception the members in attendance loved the book. There was much discussion about Enzo narrating the story. One reader felt that the author used it as a tactic to skim over some details that weren’t explained clearly – in hopes the reader would assume that we aren’t able to learn all the details of a particular situation, because Enzo doesn’t have access to everything that goes on. But other times we do learn things that Enzo would have absolutely no access to – she felt the author was inconsistent in this way. Most everyone felt that Enzo was so lovable and appealing that it would have been a much different book - and perhaps not as good - without him. One reader felt strongly that we don’t see Denny’s character accurately because his adoring dog is telling us what happens and in his loyalty Enzo is blind to Denny’s faults and the part he himself plays in some of the tragedies that befall him.
Group members shared experiences with their own dogs and the complex emotions and understandings that they seem to possess. One member felt that Enzo’s sophisticated understanding and human-like thinking was slightly disturbing. She doesn’t have a dog, but felt that if she did, she wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing it reasoned and thought like a human. Most of the members who have pets felt that they have observed a great deal of complexity in their pet’s responses and emotions and they shared examples with the rest of the group.
Some members weren’t as interested in the details about car-racing and skimmed over those parts. Others found the racing parts fascinating, particularly the evocative scene where Enzo is tied securely with a sheet into the passenger seat of Denny’s race car as Denny takes him around the track, the speed of the car progressing with each lap. It was not hard to imagine the exact thrill and sense of exhilaration of being in that car.
Overall, we found it to be a great book for discussion and a very enjoyable read. Next, the South Madison Branch book group will discuss The Land Remembers by Ben Logan. We meet next on Saturday, July 17.
June 7th, 2010
Lori - South Madison
The South Madison Branch Book group discussed The Soloist by Steve Lopez on Saturday, April 17 as part of Porchlight’s Community Read program.
Steve Lopez discovered Nathaniel Anthony Ayers - a musician who studied at Julliard and suffers from schizophrenia – playing music in a busy tunnel near skid row in Los Angeles. He wrote about him for his column in the L.A. Times and their relationship developed into a friendship. The book chronicles his experiences trying to get Nathaniel into a safe sheltered place to live and into treatment for his schizophrenia. Some of the attendees had backgrounds in the mental health field and others had volunteered at food pantries; there were also a couple of students who had done some reading on mental illness for a class.
Overall readers seemed to enjoy the book and noted that the writing style of a journalist differs somewhat from regular fiction writing. We discussed the realities of befriending a homeless man with schizophrenia and how that must have affected the author’s life, as well as what the impact on Nathaniel might be if and when their relationship comes to an end. We all wondered what has happened to Nathaniel since the book was written. There was plenty of discussion regarding the use of medication to treat his illness vs. having only friend or family relationships and/or contact with agencies for support, as well as the ethics of forcing someone to get treatment. One mom said she had hoped the book would answer for her the question of what to teach her children to do when they encounter homeless people on the street asking for money.
A couple of book suggestions were made, both during the meeting and after. One of the students recommended The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat by Oliver W. Sacks for insight into how medications for mental illness can affect a person’s life. Next up on May 15th for the South Madison book discussion is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
May 3rd, 2010
Lori - South Madison
A week ago Saturday, the South Madison Branch Library book discussion group discussed The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. It’s set in the early 1900’s and is a fictional account of a Lithuanian family lured to the United States - the Chicago stockyards specifically - with the promise of plenty of work, good wages and a better life. They find that there is a lot of information that was left out by the bearer of that promise and hardship follows.
I was dreading this book and wasn’t disappointed – it was pretty grim. Not everyone was able to finish, but everyone present participated in the discussion. Most everyone had read it in the past, or got through at least some of it. Our topics ranged from comparisons of meat-packing conditions in the early 1900s to how they might be different or similar today, to the timeline of immigration by various ethnic groups at different stages of this country’s history. We all found ourselves wishing we remembered more U.S. history! We talked about Sinclair’s muckraking writing style, his socialist propagandizing at the end and the never-ending suffering Jurgis Rudkos’ family endured, as well as the racism that permeates the book, both in the plot itself, and some that group members felt was coming from the author.
There was more than one edition of the book available to the readers and we compared differences between the edition Sinclair originally wrote in 1905 and the censored edition he was able to get published in 1906. The reader who had the censored edition didn’t feel any of the plot points we discussed were missing from her copy, but we found subtle changes the author made that seemed intended to affect whether or not the reader sympathized with the characters. Some changes were made so the reader wasn’t as likely to identify the meat-packing companies Sinclair was writing about.
It was a difficult read, but a satisfying discussion.
March 29th, 2010
Lori - South Madison
South Madison’s book discussion group for Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food had a small attendance on Saturday, but the discussion covered a variety of topics: from the economics of modern day farming to how our own parents and grandparents cooked, preserved and gardened, compared to how we do now. An interesting observation from a younger member of the group was how her friends who are going back to farms and farming today see it more as a radical political statement vs. just a lifestyle/livelihood choice.
Visit the Go Big Read program site for a complete listing of upcoming book groups and events.
September 24th, 2009
Lori - South Madison