“A little girl, I believe”
Love does not exist in gazing at each other,
but in looking outward in the same direction.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
22 umbrella-ed
Bookers braved the cold wind and rain to Jean Alexander’s home on
Valentine’s Day. This day is associated with love, hearts, roses, cupid,
chocolate, and lace. Ironically, the history of the day relates to this month’s
book selection. As the legend goes, February 14 was referred to by the Romans
as the fertility festival, the day birds began mating. How about that for
matching the day with the book….pure luck!
A warm welcome to Ann Ireland, joining us
for the first time, and it was wonderful seeing Melba back again. We hope both
will become regular fixtures at Bookers. Melba thanked everyone for their
prayers, support and blood donations during their daughter’s illness seven
years ago. A college fund was set up at that time for their granddaughter
through the generosity of the community. Julia has now graduated from high
school and will be the recipient of this outpouring of love as she embarks on
the next chapter of her life. Pat Faherty’s husband, Greg, is now home and
recovering from his knee replacement, heart attack, and pneumonia! They also
appreciate all our support in their time of need. Jane Freer was so moved by
our “hat” campaign last month and we know she will enjoy her basket of
Valentine wishes. Many thanks to MN for making these handmade treasures! Jane’s
husband, Gary, is home now after suffering a slight stroke on Sunday and is
doing well. Our special community rallies through heartbreak until the
heartwarming takes its place.
Jean Alexander in the typical flair we’ve
come to expect, dressed in the role of sixty-seven year old Miss Jane Chisolm,
giving her review from a rocking chair accompanied by a jar of apple brandy and
cigarettes. Rocking away in character she talked about the letter she received
from John Hopkins offering to “fix” her condition…about the anger of the timing
and the tears of frustration. She had spent a lifetime living with her
condition…a lifetime of disguising her condition…a lifetime of accepting the
circumstances dictated by her condition. Why now?
Jane’s rare urological condition affected
every character in the book. Her mother Ida
said Jane’s “soul was corrupt at birth” coming in a sinful way, Ida not able to
remember anything about the conception. Her father, Sylvester, blamed himself – he was ten years older than his wife,
and she was too old to have another child and he was “too drunk and too cheap
to pay two dollars for a whore.” By the time Grace was ten, she was determined to leave the farm. She resented
being Jane’s surrogate mother, but confessed, “I have to love something.” In
order to keep Elijah and Jane from
inevitable heartbreak, her family separated them…love bloomed and died before
she had to reveal her secret. Dr.
Thompson, Jane’s friend, confidant, mentor, and father figure took a
special interest in the baby he welcomed into the world. She was the child he
never had, wanting desperately to find a way for her to be “normal.”
Jane’s family life mirrored a character in
a silent movie. Stern looks answered questions. Muttering replaced
conversation. Innuendo masked truths. All around her though, the simplicity of
creation in its most natural form was before her eyes…the erotic world of
nature on display for her to learn about reproduction…something she would never
experience. .She saw in herself, a beauty not unlike the peacocks – oddly
beautiful – making her feel less alone in the world…less strange. The Greeks
believed physical love was the lowest form of love. True love was akin to
divine love. The Catholic religion views the peacock as a sign of resurrection,
renewal, and immorality…the exchange of the earthly body to the glorified
body…the peacocks shed their feathers yearly, the new ones, more brilliant than
the old…their flesh does not decay…the symbol of Christ, an all-seeing God.
We discussed whether Jane’s father
committed suicide…the consensus; he gave up on life, drinking himself to death.
Did Jane take her own life…she got all her ducks in order, so most likely she
was tired of living alone too. We talked of the difference in Grace’s coloring
versus the rest of the family and Sylvester and Ida’s “darkness of spirit,” and
how she came to resent “their marriage contract.” Looking at the institution of
marriage – the Chisolms, Dr. and Mrs. Thompson, Grace, and even Elijah – every
character was let down by the business of love.
The true story of the author’s great aunt,
on which this novel is based, has been in his subconscious since he was a boy
when the mysterious “Aunt Jane” appeared in his life. He had always heard that
something was “wrong” with her…she couldn’t have a “romantic” life. Mr. Watson stumbled
onto a box of old photographs many years later of a pretty girl looking back
over her shoulder at the photographer with a flirtatious expression and pose.
It was his great-aunt – the one with the “problem.” This began a journey that ended
with this book…beginning with an epigraph from Gustave Flaubert…. “She’d
had, like everyone else, her love story.”
On the Business
side:
Cherry, Pat, and Patty are working on our
Books in Bloom table (Dallas Cowboy theme) and will let the rest of us know
what to bring to add to the décor. March 31st. $40.00 per person
includes lunch. I would be happy to check with the organizers to see if there
is any individual seating available if anyone else is interested in going to
this event
COLOR CODING SYSTEM
WHITE: LIGHT READ
PINK: MODERATELY
CHALLENGING
RED: CHALLENGING
March 14th: The
All Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion
by Fannie Flagg
by Fannie Flagg
WHITE
Reviewer: Barbara
Creach
Home
of Bonnie Magee
April
11th: The
Girl Who Wrote In Silk, by Kelli Estes, debut
PINK
The
protagonist discovers an elaborately stitched piece of fabric hidden in her
deceased aunt’s island estate revealing a connection with a young Chinese girl
mysteriously driven from her home a century before.
Reviewer: Pat Faherty
Home
of Rokhshie Malone
May 2nd Earlier date due to travel conflict
Orphan
# 8 by Kim van Alkemade
RED
Reviewer:
Patty Evans
Wine
& Cheese evening meeting
Home of Melanie
Prebis.
Bonnie
Magee, Food Czar
Miss Jane is a “divine
beacon of love that unfolds like a country creek that moves slowly on the
surface but runs deep…a peaceful page-turner.”
(FYI…we talked about the “readability
statistics”… the above sentence contains 26 words, one sentence. Flesch Reading
Ease - 60.0 (ideal is between 60-70) and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, 11.3 –
(ideal is below 10th grade level)
Happy Reading,
JoDee
