“They will come…to paint the warmth of the sun and
the colour of the wind.”
19 Bookers, welcomed in
seashell script, met at the home of Joanna Linder on White Cap Lane, aka, North
Beach of Porthkerris, Cornwall, United Kingdom in the extreme southwestern
peninsula of England. Joanna’s home captured the minute elements scattered
throughout this classic novel with details reminiscent of Penelope Keeling’s
surroundings. It was from a window in his studio, Victorian artist, Lawrence
Stern, Penelope’s father, painted The Shell Seekers touting its “windy sky
racing with the clouds, the sea scudding with white-caps, breaking waves
hissing up onto the shore, subtle pinks and greys of the sand, shallow pools
left by ebbing tide and shimmering with translucent reflected sunlight.”
Joanna chose to begin the discussion
with the reading of the introduction written by the author for the 10th
anniversary edition of The Shell Seekers. From this, which
begins, “once upon a time, in 1984,” we learn the driving force behind the
publication of this remarkable book. Rosamunde Pilcher, age 60 and the author
of eleven books, was content with her accomplishments. Her children, “with
touching faith in their mother, had bigger ideas,” asking her long-time
publisher, “why don’t you make our mother famous, and more importantly, rich,
and isn’t it about time we all hit the jackpot?” Barely able to get a word in
edgewise, Tom, the publisher, responded their mother had not yet written a
novel that would justify the huge advances and global promotion, which was a
“big fat novel for women, a good read, and something that tapped into her life
and the experiences of her generation.” Ms. Pilcher took the challenge tapping
into three themes, one about the lives of the upper-class Bohemians, secondly
the disastrous effect that the prospect of an inheritance can have on a
perfectly normal family, and thirdly, the days before the war.” Her creative
juices rose from the “mental dustbin” and she wrote “Penelope Keeling” on a
blank piece of paper…and the rest is dictated by her life experiences and by
her heart…thus we have a classic novel for all generations to enjoy. Her wish
is for someone to buy this book as a “present for some twelve or thirteen-year
old waiting to sink his or her teeth into an adult book…and start them off on
the long and wonderful road of reading for pleasure.”
The novel centers on Penelope Keeling
and her three distinctively dissimilar children. Set in the mid 1980’s to 1999
with flashbacks to World War II, this nostalgic novel is full of “old-world”
storytelling with descriptive, dreamy, beautiful prose and flawed but genuine
characters. It invites you to move to their countryside, plant a garden of
daisies, snapdragons, and dahlias, and smell freshly mowed grass and baked
bread. It’s a tale where good things happen to good people and is neatly tied
up with a happy ending.
Nancy, the eldest child, sunk into
middle age, became dowdy, and was the settler. She did the “right thing” by
marrying respectably, raising two children who attend private schools, but
always searched for an opportunity to enhance her wealth and social status.
Noel, the middle child, had the “patience and cunning of a well-trained spy,”
easily infiltrating the upper circles of London society. He was tall, dark, and
handsome with a showy car and designer duds, full of big dreams, and the “sort
of man who never accepted an invitation to a party in case a better one turned
up.” Olivia, the youngest, was an editor of a fashion magazine, driven to
succeed, independent, business oriented, and built a life of seclusion. Each
had a unique relationship with their mother. Olivia, being the favorite, didn’t
come with any baggage or hidden agendas. Nancy and Noel professed to care, but
in reality, were both looking for the goose that laid the golden egg. Upon
Penelope’s death, the heirs realized the transparency of their relationship
with their mother as revealed in her last wishes. Some were happy, some not.
The majority of our group embraced the
richness of the prose and appreciated the narrative style of Ms. Pilcher, but
did acknowledge the difference between this novel and those published today. At
times the descriptions were a few adjectives too many for our taste making it a
longer novel than it could have been. We talked about how this book transcends
age; how the author developed the mother/child relationship differently for
each character; how vital it is for all of us to pass along to our children and
grandchildren our “stories” and those of our ancestors as the more you know,
the more you understand. We talked about how a loved one’s death can bring out
the worst in people, where families divide because of assumed entitlements; and
why children raised in the same family behave differently, whether it is
biological or genetic, or is it how children see themselves that reflects in
their behavior.
Fans of Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize
winning novel, Olive Kitteridge, will be thrilled as it has been made into a
mini-series to air on HBO on November 2nd and 3rd
starring Frances McDormand as Olive, Peter Jenkins, and Bill Murray. The author
is delighted with the production so it’s most likely a good representation of
the novel. You can watch a preview at www.hbo.com/olivekitteridge.
We talked a little about the Highland
Park Independent School District’s decision to remove two of our Bookers’ books
The
Art of Racing in the Rain and The Glass Castle (among many others) from
the reading choices for students. The issue, “the books in question contained a
variety of themes and content that parents found objectionable including
sexuality, rape, abortion, vulgar language, alcoholism, mental illness, and
incest.” They have since reversed their opinion and these, and the other
“banned” books are available in the school’s library. A book narrated by a dog
and one’s life story…and the censorship discussion continues.
Monday, October 27th author,
Jodi Picoult presents her new novel, Leaving Time at the Highland Park
United Methodist Church, Wesley Hall, 3300 Mockingbird Lane.
6 pm: Author's Reception. Cost, $30 (includes signed book)
Cash or check accepted at the door.
7 pm: Lecture and book signing. FREE. No RSVP required. Books will be available for purchase.
Cash or check accepted at the door.
7 pm: Lecture and book signing. FREE. No RSVP required. Books will be available for purchase.
About
the book: For more
than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother,
Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Refusing
to believe that she would be abandoned as a young child, Jenna searches for her
mother regularly online and pores over the pages of Alice's old journals. A
scientist who studied grief among elephants, Alice wrote mostly of her research
among the animals she loved, yet Jenna hopes the entries will provide a clue to
her mother's whereabouts. A deeply moving, gripping, and intelligent
page-turner, Leaving Time is #1 bestselling author Jodi Picoult at the
height of her powers.
COLOR CODING SYSTEM
WHITE: LIGHT READ
PINK: MODERATELY
CHALLENGING
RED: CHALLENGING
November 11th: Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante
RED
Home:
Daryl Daniels
Reviewer:
Bernie Crudden
December
9th: Christmas
Party/Meeting, 9:30 A.M.
The Storied Life
of A.J. Fikry
by Gabrielle Zevin
PINK
Home of Bonnie Magee, co-hosted
by Rosemary Farmer
Reviewer:
Melanie Prebis
January 13th, 2015 The Headmaster’s Wife by Thomas
Christopher Greene
RED
Home
of Sandy Molander
Reviewer:
TBD
February 10th: All The Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr
RED
Home: TBD
Reviewer:
Barbara Creach
March 10th: TBD
April 14th: TBD
May
19th: Book TBD
Home
of Beverly Dossett
Note change of Date
Summer Break: June, July & August
September 8th: Bookers 12th year
Happy Reading,
JoDee
