BOOK GROUP NEWS
August 2019
We canceled the July meeting at the last minute for a variety of reasons, one being that summers get busy. But since a lot of you New Yorkers want to talk about 1185 Park Avenue by Anne Roiphe, we will add that to our August meeting.
The Last Watchman of Old Cairo by Michael David Lukas is our next book. This 4 star novel is the winner of many awards. This is a synopsis to entice you further:
“Joseph, a literature student at Berkeley, is the son of a Jewish mother and a Muslim father. One day, a mysterious package arrives on his doorstep, pulling him into a mesmerizing adventure to uncover the tangled history that binds the two sides of his family. For generations, the men of the al-Raqb family have served as watchmen of the storied Ibn Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, built at the site where the infant Moses was taken from the Nile. Joseph learns of his ancestor Ali, a Muslim orphan who nearly a thousand years earlier was entrusted as the first watchman of the synagogue and became enchanted by its legendary—perhaps magical—Ezra Scroll. The story of Joseph’s family is entwined with that of the British twin sisters Agnes and Margaret, who in 1897 depart their hallowed Cambridge halls on a mission to rescue sacred texts that have begun to disappear from the synagogue.
The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is a moving page-turner of a novel from acclaimed storyteller Michael David Lukas. This tightly woven multigenerational tale illuminates the tensions that have torn communities apart and the unlikely forces—potent magic, forbidden love—that boldly attempt to bridge that divide.”
Be sure to request a copy from your local library or get it on kindle. Then join us on MONDAY, AUGUST 12 at 4 PM. Summer is a great time to curl up and read. Don’t you agree?! ……………lesli
Past News:
July 2019
We all lead busy lives. Just Margaret Meyer, Bonnie Faiman, Larry Faiman and me, Lesli Weiner attended on June 10. But you don’t need a big crowd to have a good discussion! Our author, Heather Morris, interviewed Lale Sokolov who told her his compelling story of his time in Auschwitz. She originally wrote it as a screenplay before reshaping it into her debut novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz. It’s being adapted into a television drama miniseries slated for next January. And with all the glowing reviews, you’d have thought we would have loved it. However we questioned the authenticity of some of the storylines, and Larry pointed out that there is much truth about what the Nazis did and what the camps were like that would normally be unbelievable. Of course, this narrative was gleaned from Mr. Sokolov’s own memories, possibly repainted after all these years. However, with a little fictionalization, this could make a good movie. We’ll see.
Our next book is a memoir: 1185 Park Avenue by Anne Roiphe. Here’s the description from the back cover:
“From National Book Award nominee Anne Roiphe comes this moving memoir of growing up in a wealthy Jewish home with a family who had money, status, culture — everything but happiness.
While the nation was at war abroad, Roiphe, who was coming of age in 1940s New York City, saw her parents at war in their living room. Roiphe’s evocative writing puts readers right in Apartment 8C, where a constant tension plays out between a disappointed and ineffectual mother, a philandering father who uses his wife’s money to entertain other women, and a difficult brother. Behind the leisure culture of wealthy Jewish society — the mahjong games, the cocktail parties, the summer houses — lurks a brutality that strikes a chord with a daughter who longs to heal the wounds of her troubled family.
Writing with a novelist’s sensibility, Roiphe reveals the poignant story of a family that has finally claimed its material wealth in a prosperous America but has yet to claim its spiritual due.”
Summer is a great time to sit by the lake and read. So join us on MONDAY, JULY 15 at 4 PM for a nostalgic, if somewhat disturbing, look back………………lesli
June 2019
On May 13 we met to discuss The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish who will be speaking at the JCA the week after. Present were Helen Perry, Margaret Meyer, Lindsey Walker, Judy Abromson, Bonnie Faiman, Bertha Bodenheimer, Babs Shapiro and me, Lesli Weiner. Others who couldn’t make the meeting will join us in Portland for dinner and then the JCA. WE all agreed that, even though the book was almost 600 pages, we loved it. The two story lines were interesting, the characters were rich, and the attention to detail and the research involved was tremendous. Under the guise of a novel about documents and correspondence between rabbis in the 1660’s, there was much to learn of the theology of the day and the incredible injustices which dogma-driven society has perpetrated against women, homosexuals, Jews and others. And the parallels between that time period and the academic researchers in the 1990’s made for an engrossing and engaging story. This was time well-spent.
The Tatooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris is our next book. This from Amazon:
The #1 International Bestseller & New York Times Bestseller
This beautiful, illuminating tale of hope and courage is based on interviews that were conducted with Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov—an unforgettable love story in the midst of atrocity.
In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners.
Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive.
One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her.
A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov’s experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.
Our next Book Group will meet on MONDAY, JUNE 10 from 4 – 5:15. Here is a list of our next chosen books. Please join us in reading:
July 15…………1185 Park Avenue by Anne Roiphe
August 12………….The Last Watchman of Old Cairo by Michael Lukas
September 9…………The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman
October 14…………Cousins’ Club by Warren Alexandar
November 11………..Button Man by Andrew Gross
December 9…………A Woman In Jerusalem by A.B. Yehoshua
January 13…………The Diplomat’s Daughter by Karin Tanabe
May 2019
Well, I am in Qatar for 5 weeks and Book Group was snowed out. Not here in Doha, but in Maine, in April!! I hope Spring arrives by the time I come home for Passover. Anyways, Helene Perry had graciously agreed to lead the group while I was gone, but alas, no discussion of Disobedience occurred.
Our next book is a long one, so start reading The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. Here is the write-up from amazon:
A USA Today Bestseller
Winner of a National Jewish Book Award
Winner of the Association of Jewish Libraries Jewish Fiction Award
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
One of Ms. Magazine‘s “Bookmark” Titles
One of The Jewish Exponent‘s “2017’s Top Reads”“A gifted writer, astonishingly adept at nuance, narration, and the politics of passion.”—Toni Morrison
Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history.
When Helen is summoned by a former student to view a cache of newly discovered seventeenth-century Jewish documents, she enlists the help of Aaron Levy, an American graduate student as impatient as he is charming, and embarks on one last project: to determine the identity of the documents’ scribe, the elusive “Aleph.”
Electrifying and ambitious, The Weight of Ink is about women separated by centuries—and the choices and sacrifices they must make in order to reconcile the life of the heart and mind.
Rachel Kadish will also be speaking at the JCA in Portland on May 21 at 7PM ($10 donation suggested). I heard her talk last year in Newburyport at the Literary Festival and it made me want to read the book even though it has 592 pages! So read this readily available, 4.5 star book, come to Book Group on MONDAY, MAY 13 at 4 PM to discuss it, and then go hear Rachel Kadish give you all the inside scoop. Let me know if you plan on going down to Portland………………lesli
April 2019
Helene Perry, Lindsey Walker, Bertha Bodenheimer, Sandy Traister and I, Lesli Weiner, met on March 11 to discuss A Mission To Paris by Alan Furst. This was billed as a ‘spy thriller’ but there was nothing thrilling about it. We all thought of ways the story could have been expanded to make it more exciting, or even a bit more surprising, but Furst did none of that. It wasn’t even that informative in a historical sense. We just can’t imagine how Furst can be such a successful fiction writer. Please remind us not to waste good reading time on him again!
Our next book is Disobedience by Naomi Alderman, which was also made into a motion picture. Alderman has published award-winning short fiction in a number of anthologies, but this is her first full-length novel. She grew up in an Orthodox Jewish community in London, where she still lives. Here is the book description from Amazon:
“When a young photographer living in New York learns that her estranged father, a well respected rabbi, has died, she can no longer run away from the truth, and soon sets out for the Orthodox Jewish ommunity in London where she grew up.
Back for the first time in years, Ronit can feel the disapproving eyes of the community. Especially those of her beloved cousin, Dovid, her father’s favorite student and now an admired rabbi himself, and Esti, who was once her only ally in youthful rebelliousness. Now Esti is married to Dovid, and Ronit is shocked by how different they both seem, and how much greater the gulf between them is.
But when old flames reignite and the shocking truth about Ronit and Esti’s relationship is revealed, the past and present converge in this award-winning and critically acclaimed novel about the universality of love and faith, and the strength and sacrifice it takes to fight for what you believe in—even when it means disobedience.”
Apparently, in 2017 this was one of President Obama’s favorite reads! So on MONDAY, APRIL 8 at 4 PM come to the Temple library and sit at the round table. As I am currently in Qatar visiting Jocelyn, Nick, Graham and Boden, the discussion will be led by either Helene Perry or Margaret Meyer. And I will see you at the Passover Seder……………….lesli
P.S. since this is a very short book, I recommend starting our May selection The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish, as that one is extra-long. But worth it!
March 2019
On February 11, it was a small group for a big discussion, as just Helene Perry, Lindsey Walker, Babs Shapiro and me, Lesli Weiner, were present. Anouk Markovits’ novel I Am Forbidden captivated our readers, including those unable to attend our meeting. Usually novels about women leaving their ultraOrthodox community are focused on the reasons they could no longer remain while this story had much more empathy for those who stayed. It left us with a deeper understanding of the Satmar ways including the belief in a biblical command that descendants be held liable for the sins of their ancestors. There was also insight into their strict protocols regarding sex and pregnancy and the conflict between modern medicine and ancient texts. While there was a character who left the community and was shunned by her family, the story line mostly focused on both the beauty and the constraints within the Satmar world. But one of the most discussed parts of the book was the Rebbe of Satmar’s escape from the Nazis in Transylvania. I will not elaborate further, as I urge you to read this book for yourself.
Our next novel is a spy thriller by Alan Furst, Mission to Paris. Here is the description of this New York Times bestseller:
Late summer, 1938. Hollywood film star Fredric Stahl is on his way to Paris to make a movie. The Nazis know he’s coming—a secret bureau within the Reich has been waging political warfare against France, and for their purposes, Fredric Stahl is a perfect agent of influence. What they don’t know is that Stahl, horrified by the Nazi war on Jews and intellectuals, has become part of an informal spy service run out of the American embassy. Mission to Paris is filled with heart-stopping tension, beautifully drawn scenes of romance, and extraordinarily alive characters: foreign assassins; a glamorous Russian actress-turned-spy; and the women in Stahl’s life. At the center of the novel is the city of Paris—its bistros, hotels grand and anonymous, and the Parisians, living every night as though it were their last. Alan Furst brings to life both a dark time in history and the passion of the human hearts that fought to survive it.
This book is widely available in the library, on kindle and on audio. Pick up your copy and join us on MONDAY, MARCH 11 at 4 PM……….lesli
February 2019
Well, we started off the New Year with one of our best books yet: The Submission by Amy Waldman. Present on January 14 were Helene Perry, Babs Shapiro, Judy Abromson, Bertha Bodenheimer, Lindsey Walker, Margaret Meyer and me, Lesli Weiner. Waldman imagined a juried contest to choose a memorial for the victims of the Islamic terrorist attack on 9/11. They chose The Garden, only to discover that the anonymous architect who created the design is an American Muslim. Waldman looks at the nation’s reaction to this revelation from many perspectives so that we all found ourselves changing our views as the novel progressed. Not only was this a compelling story, but it was also an interesting examination of some of the issues and emotions sparked by this devastating attack.
Our next book is I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovitz. Here is the synopsis on Amazon of this 4 star novel:
A family is torn apart by fierce belief and private longing in this unprecedented journey deep inside the most insular sect of Hasidic Jews, the Satmar.
Opening in 1939 Transylvania, five-year-old Josef witnesses the murder of his family by the Romanian Iron Guard and is rescued by a Christian maid to be raised as her own son. Five years later, Josef rescues a young girl, Mila, after her parents are killed while running to meet the Rebbe they hoped would save them. Josef helps Mila reach Zalman Stern, a leader in the Satmar community, in whose home Mila is raised as a sister to Zalman’s daughter, Atara. With the rise of communism in central Europe, the family moves to Paris, to the Marais, where Zalman tries to raise his children apart from the city in which they live. Mila’s faith intensifies, while her beloved sister Atara discovers a world of books and learning that she cannot ignore.
A beautifully crafted, emotionally gripping story of what happens when unwavering love, unyielding law, and centuries of tradition collide, I Am Forbidden announces the arrival of an extraordinarily gifted new voice and opens a startling window on a world closed to most of us.
We’ll be meeting on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11 at 4 PM. Following is a list of our next few books, as there have been some changes:
March 11…………..Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
April 15……………Disobedience by Naomi Alderman
May 13…………….The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish
January 2019
We had a full round table on December 10. Present were Margaret Meyer, Helene Perry, Lindsey Walker, Babs Shapiro, Sandy Traister, Bertha Bodenheimer, Judy Abromson, Elcha Buckman and me, Lesli Weiner. Lauren Belfer’s title And After the Fire refers to what one is left with after the Holocaust. Susanna Kessler grew up in NYC without knowing much if her family’s past history. When her uncle Henry dies she uncovers a long-hidden music manuscript. It turns out to be an anti-Jewish cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Without giving any more of the plot away, (because you will want to read this novel,) some of the ethical and sociological questions we discussed were:
Can art do harm? How should we approach a work of art that would have been unobjectionable in its own day nut is troubling in ours? Can we separate art from the context in which it was created?
This is what is so rewarding about being in a Book Group: you get to discuss what you were pondering while reading. We always have room for more!
Our next selection is The Submission by Amy Waldman. Written ten years after 9/11, this novel re-imagines the aftermath of the terrorist attack.
“A jury gathers in Manhattan to select a memorial for the victims of a devastating terrorist attack. Their fraught deliberations complete, the jurors open the envelope containing the anonymous winner’s name—and discover he is an American Muslim. Instantly they are cast into roiling debate about the claims of grief, the ambiguities of art, and the meaning of Islam. Their conflicted response is only a preamble to the country’s. The memorial’s designer is an enigmatic, ambitious architect named Mohammad Khan. His fiercest defender on the jury is its sole widow, the self-possessed and mediagenic Claire Burwell. But when the news of his selection leaks to the press, she finds herself under pressure from outraged family members and in collision with hungry journalists, wary activists, opportunistic politicians, fellow jurors, and Khan himself—as unknowable as he is gifted. In the fight for both advantage and their ideals, all will bring the emotional weight of their own histories to bear on the urgent question of how to remember, and understand, a national tragedy.
In this deeply humane novel, the breadth of Amy Waldman’s cast of characters is matched by her startling ability to conjure their perspectives. A striking portrait of a fractured city striving to make itself whole, The Submission is a piercing and resonant novel by an important new talent.”
So join us for what should be another lively discussion on MONDAY, JANUARY 14 at 4 PM. We lived through the grief, now let’s talk about the healing…………………….lesli
December 2018
It was a small group on November 12th, including Bertha Bodenheimer, Judy Abromson, Lindsey Walker, Helene Perry and me, Lesli Weiner. We had read the first book in Maggie Anton’s trilogy Rashi’s Daughters: Joheved. Those who didn’t come had said they just thought they wouldn’t like the book or they had trouble getting into it and so gave up. Well, the five of us would like you to know that you missed out on some interesting reading, making this a good addition to our ‘erotic book club!’ Anton masterfully got us engrossed in a love story while teaching us Talmud! This is also the story of the 11th century French Jewish community, how they lived, loved, worked, ate, prayed and interacted with their non-Jewish neighbors. And to quote the author, “I wrote this book because I wanted to share my research into Jewish women’s lives in medieval France, how the prosperity and tolerance they enjoyed differed from the negative stereotypes usually associated with the Middle Ages.”
Our next book has been changed to And After the Fire by Lauren Belfer. This is a National Jewish Book Award winner. What follows is a quick summary, so as not to give too much of the story away:
“The New York Times-bestselling author of A Fierce Radiance and City of Light returns with a new powerful and passionate novel—inspired by historical events—about two women, one European and one American, and the mysterious choral masterpiece by Johann Sebastian Bach that changes both their lives. Interweaving the stories of Susanna and Sara, and their families, And After the Fire traverses over two hundred years of history, from the eighteenth century through the Holocaust and into today, seamlessly melding past and present, real and imagined. Lauren Belfer’s deeply researched, evocative, and compelling narrative resonates with emotion and immediacy.”
So join us on MONDAY, DECEMBER 10 at 4 PM. Happy Chanukah to you and your families…………………lesli
November 2018
On October 15 we had a full round table singing Happy Birthday to Judy Abromson. Helping her eat her cake were Babs Shapiro, Bertha Bodenheimer, Bonnie Faiman, Helene Perry, Elinor Goldblatt, Lindsey Walker (and granddaughter Jade), Sandy Traister, Margaret Meyer and me, Lesli Weiner.
Then we got down to business discussing The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman. I’m glad I had my tissues out while reading this family saga. Even though the author lets the reader in on the baby-switching secret, we still get drawn in to the drama as the families live with the repercussions of each characters actions and decisions. We had much discussion about who was right, who was wrong, how could things have been different and how did our loyalties change. And while this was definitely a story about a Jewish family, it could have been any number of ethnicity. We all agreed that this is an author worth reading, and a story worth telling. Read it, and weep!
Our next book is Rashi’s Daughters, Book 1: Joheved by Maggie Anton, the first of a dramatic trilogy set in eleventh-century France about the lives and loves of three daughters of the great Talmud scholar. This is how the author describes her works:
“Rashi’s Daughters” is the story of the three daughters of the great Talmudic authority Salomon ben Isaac, a.k.a. Rashi, who lived in 11th century Troyes, France and had no sons. At a time when most women were illiterate and the rare educated woman was one who could read the Bible, Rashi’s daughters studied Talmud. They were also vintners, merchants and mothers of the next generation of Talmudic scholars.
Built on seven years of exhaustive historical research and ten years of Talmud study, “Rashi’s Daughters” explores what might have been, weaving actual events, as described in responsa literature and Talmud commentaries, into an account of the lives of these amazing women. Talmud is an integral part of these novels; readers will learn along with Rashi’s daughters as he explains selected texts. This is also the story of the medieval French Jewish community, how they lived, loved, worked, ate, prayed and interacted with their non-Jewish neighbors. A wealth of material about Jewish women’s daily lives is provided, including how they observed life cycle events and holidays.
I wrote this book because I wanted to share my research into Jewish women’s lives in medieval France, how the prosperity and tolerance they enjoyed differed from the negative stereotypes usually associated with the Middle Ages. In addition, I wished to encourage women to study Talmud, the foundation of Jewish Law that, until very recently, women have been unable to access. I hoped to share the excitement and pleasure Talmud study can engender.”
The next Book Group will be on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12 at 4 PM. This sounds like a meaty book, so start reading………………lesli
October 2018
Why did we have such a small group on September 17, consisting of Sandy Traister, Helene Perry, Judy Abromson and me, Lesli Weiner? Possibly because the book, Dinner at the Center of the Earth by Nathan Englander, was so difficult to read. The book reflects Englander’s heartbreak over the Israeli-Palestine peace process falling apart. He saw both sides always avenging the other and their inability to see the other side. He introduces characters in two time periods twenty years apart, and you’re halfway through the book before you realize they are the same person. So the structure was hard. In Englander’s words: “It’s a literary novel inside a spy thriller that’s inside a love story — a love story that’s tucked inside an allegory. Unless it’s the other way around.” This author is best known for his short stories, and perhaps these tales would have been better told separately.
Hopefully we’ll fare better with our next novel The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman. One review promises that it’s a novel you won’t be able to put down. Another gushes that it’s “an emotional but dreamy novel that……will transport you far, far away from your dreary Monday morning. You may do a lot of sobbing, but don’t worry, you’ll be smiling by the end.” Here is Amazon’s book description:
“Brooklyn, 1947: In the midst of a blizzard, in a two-family brownstone, two babies are born, minutes apart. The mothers are sisters by marriage: dutiful, quiet Rose, who wants nothing more than to please her difficult husband; and warm, generous Helen, the exhausted mother of four rambunctious boys who seem to need her less and less each day. Raising their families side by side, supporting one another, Rose and Helen share an impenetrable bond forged before and during that dramatic winter night.
When the storm passes, life seems to return to normal; but as the years progress, small cracks start to appear and the once deep friendship between the two women begins to unravel. No one knows why, and no one can stop it. One misguided choice; one moment of tragedy. Heartbreak wars with happiness and almost, but not quite, wins. Moving and evocative, Lynda Cohen Loigman’s debut novel The Two-Family House is a heart-wrenching, gripping multigenerational story, woven around the deepest of secrets.”
So join us on MONDAY, OCTOBER 15 at 4 PM. This 4.5 star novel is readily available through your local library or on kindle. Get out the tissues…………lesli
September 2018
Okay. So you’ve all been waiting to hear how the discussion went on the erotic book Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman. Attending were Bertha Bodenheimer, Margaret Meyer, Lindsey Walker, Helene Perry, Bonnie Faiman and me, Lesli Weiner. No men. First of all, we recommend the movie over the book, and it did win the Oscar for best Adapted Screenplay. The author tells this love story through the eyes and mind of the 17 year old Elio and includes his intense sexual obsession over Oliver. I will never look at a peach in the same way as before. While the movie also draws us into this obsession and, yes, they act upon it, there is more emphasis on family dynamics and beautiful shots of the Italian countryside. Luckily, both the book and the movie include a powerful scene between Elio and his Dad encouraging him to be true to himself. This interaction alone makes both mediums worthwhile. The story ends by fast-forwarding to the present, when homosexuality is more accepted than in the ‘70’s. There is a movie sequel in the works, also starring Armie Hammer, so it will be interesting to see where that takes this narrative.
You may also be wondering what the Jewish content is. Elio’s family is Jewish, although very secular. And the graduate student, Oliver, is also Jewish, wearing a Magen David pendant. While Elio had thoughts of other men before, the fact that Oliver was Jewish seemed to give him permission to act on those thoughts. Religion didn’t matter when it came to women, perhaps because he wasn’t serious about those relationships. Oh, and plus the author is Jewish.
According to The Boston Globe, our next book by Nathan Englander, “Dinner at the Center of the Earth blends elements of spy thriller and love story, magical realism, and an all-too-real history of one of the world’s most intractable problems: peace between Israel and its neighbors.”
This is Amazon’s book description:
The much-anticipated new novel from the Pulitzer-nominated, bestselling author of For the Relief of Unbearable Urges—a political thriller set against the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In the Negev desert, a nameless prisoner languishes in a secret cell, his only companion the guard who has watched over him for a dozen years. Meanwhile, the prisoner’s arch nemesis—The General, Israel’s most controversial leader—lies dying in a hospital bed. From Israel and Gaza to Paris, Italy, and America, Englander provides a kaleidoscopic view of the prisoner’s unlikely journey to his cell. Dinner at the Center of the Earth is a tour de force—a powerful, wryly funny, intensely suspenseful portrait of a nation riven by insoluble conflict, and the man who improbably lands at the center of it all.
We will meet on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 at 4 PM, during the week between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Hope you can join us in the busy Holiday season………………lesli
August 2018
The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff was the book discussed on July 9. In attendance was Judy Abromson, Joel Olstein, Sandy Traister, Bonnie Faiman, Bertha Bodenheimer and me, Lesli Weiner. It was a small group, but a big discussion. We found it fascinating to get an inside look at a German circus as the Nazi regime spread across Europe. Apparently, historical facts support Jenoff’s story of Jews hiding out among circus folk. We loved the ending where she brought us “up-to-date” on what happened to the surviving characters. I don’t want to tell you too much about the story as you should definitely read this one yourself.
Our next book, Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman, is also the major motion picture that won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Here is a description from Publishers Weekly:
“Egyptian-born Aciman is the author of the acclaimed memoir Out of Egypt and of the essay collection False Papers. His first novel poignantly probes a boy’s erotic coming-of-age at his family’s Italian Mediterranean home. Elio—17, extremely well-read, sensitive and the son of a prominent expatriate professor—finds himself troublingly attracted to this year’s visiting resident scholar, recruited by his father from an American university. Oliver is 24, breezy and spontaneous, and at work on a book about Heraclitus. The young men loll about in bathing suits, play tennis, jog along the Italian Riviera and flirt. Both also flirt (and more) with women among their circle of friends, but Elio, who narrates, yearns for Oliver. Their shared literary interests and Jewishness help impart a sense of intimacy, and when they do consummate their passion in Oliver’s room, they call each other by the other’s name. A trip to Rome, sanctioned by Elio’s prescient father, ushers Elio fully into first love’s joy and pain, and his travails set up a well-managed look into Elio’s future. Aciman overcomes an occasionally awkward structure with elegant writing in Elio’s sweet and sanguine voice.”
Join us to discuss this erotic coming-of-age story on MONDAY, AUGUST 13 at 4 PM. I highly recommend the movie which can also be taken out of the library………………………..lesli