Book Group Blog

August “Golden Hill” by Francis Spufford
Richard Smith arrives in New York in 1746 from England with a bank draft of £1,000, a fortune. The novel is written in 18th Century style, very descriptive and wordy. The character of Richard behaves in a deliberately secretive manner so there is much gossip as to why he is there and who he really is. The end is somewhat of an anti-climax, but a good meander through that time period.

July: “The Language of Flowers” by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The life of an abandoned baby destined to spend her childhood in numerous foster homes, unable to recognise the complexities of human relationships – sabotaging efforts of those who mean to help her. Her salvation comes through her passion for flowers and their meanings.

June: “I Do Not Come to you by Chance” by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
An expose of the greed and stupidity of those who are duped by the known treacherous world of the “Nigerian scam”. An expose of the perpetrators who are initially driven by hopelessness and poverty, but soon realise the riches to be had in finding gullible “victims”.

May: “Old Filth” by Jane Gardam – an acronym for “Failed in London try Hong Kong” – refers to Sir Edward Feathers, a retired Judge, once a Raj orphan, renowned for his legal expertise and long career of note, who moved back to the UK, a lonely man unknown and living in isolation. He returned to his birthplace Malaya where he felt at home the most. – A poignant, fascinating tale of colonial years gone by governed by expectations and duty, a life half fulfilled.

Our April Book was “How To Be An American Housewife”. Not as silly as the title suggests. The story winds around cultural differences and the introduction of a manual for Japanese War Brides, who met and married American GIs in Japan, and returned to live in an imagine utopia in the United States post war.
Another fascinating insight into another world, that I personally never gave a thought to. It was both irritating – the main character stuck resolutely to her Japanese upbringing, and sad that she had such a lonely life in America. There was an upside – a story narrated through the daughter’s eyes when she made a journey back to Japan to meet her family, as her mother was too ill to go.