October 10, 2008
Book Group Expo 2008
The third annual Book Group Expo will be held in San Jose on October 25 and 26. I think many of you in the SCU Book Group would find this expo interesting and a lot of fun. It's a rare opportunity to hear a large group of authors discuss books and writing in a varied selection of "salons" on interesting topics. I (Alice) attended the first two expos and thoroughly enjoyed them. For detailed information see http://www.bookgroupexpo.com/
October 8, 2008
October Selection: On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan
We will meet on Friday, October 31 (Halloween!) to discuss On Chesil Beach.
Here's a review of the novel published in Booklist:
In his previous novels, McEwan has measured the effect of the cataclysmic moment on personal lives. And he has never shied away from full-tilt exploration of the tensions inherent in human sexuality. These two predilections merge, almost gently, in his new novella, which, despite its short length, is anything but small in its creative concept and the consequent poignancy it arouses in the reader. This achingly beautiful narrative, which seamlessly flows between the points of view of the two primary characters, peers behind closed doors, but never lasciviously, at a young married couple on their honeymoon night. The time is the brink of the 1960s, but the young couple's virginity, and their stiltedness in general and certainly with each other (McEwan makes certain to take several glances backward to fill in their separate biographical and psychological profiles), seems a remnant of Victorian times rather than anticipating the free and easy sexuality of the decade to come. The cataclysmic moment here is simply a case of premature ejaculation during the couple's first lovemaking; and from that incident, which under normal circumstances, with normally accepting and loving individuals, would have been a minor glitch in their marital history, immediately arises a deep misunderstanding that proves disastrous to the marriage. Conventional in construction and realistic in its representation of addled psychology, the novel is ingenious for its limited but deeply resonant focus. --Brad Hooper Copyright 2007, Booklist( March 15, 2007 )
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