“Someday you’ll be old enough to start
reading fairy tales again.” C.S. Lewis
19 Bookers met at the home of Beverly Dossett to
discuss this month’s selection, led by Daryl Daniels in her solo debut. Evident
was she has not lost any of her teacher preparation skills as we enjoyed a
timeline, photographs, fairy wings and a magic wand. Very well done Daryl…thank
you for your insights! From our lively discussion (which is what we want) some
Bookers would have liked to use that magic wand to go poof to the fairies. One
of the complaints was that the fairy segment of the story was too drawn out,
preferring the contemporary timeline with Olivia in the “Old Bookstore” and of
course “hunky” Ross, Hemingway the cat, and precious Iris. Kirkus Reviews
however wanted more fairies, less Olivia. Cups of tea! Personally, I’m not sure
if one story could exist without the other, the author creating a cast of
characters so deeply intertwined with each other, it would be “magical” if
either story successfully stood on its own merit…the fairy tale had been documented already so writing about it alone
would not have made any headlines…and how would the present-day story hold a
reader’s interest beyond the bookstore, and a budding love affair. Gaynor
expertly connected the past and the present, blurring the line between what is
real and what is imagined.
Hazel Gaynor’s melodious prose leaped off the pages so
the reader was immersed in the setting and emotion of the story as in this
example of her writing of the loss of Olivia’s grandfather, “The awful reality
of his absence hit her, ripping through the shop like a brick through glass,
sending broken memories of happier times skittering across the creaky
floorboards to hide in dark grief-stricken corners.” Beautiful!
Although this is a true story, the question lingers
why was it so believable not only to ordinary citizens of the British Isles,
but to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame? We need only to look at
the climate during the Great War to understand the desperation for something to
hope for from those confined to the home front between 1914 and 1918. Fear,
grief and sorrow dominated the family landscape as fathers left for distant
battlefields while their children slept…300,000 never saw their Papas again and
160,000 wives were now widows. The government legislated unprecedented powers
to intervene in people’s lives…overtaking any factory or workshop, imposing
curfews and censorship, arresting anyone for “causing alarm” or discussing
military matters in public. Pub hours were reduced, and beer watered down,
suspicion of outsiders was high, and a woman suspected of having a venereal
disease could be prosecuted and subjected to a gynecological exam for having
sexual relations with a serviceman, even if he was her husband. The Daily
Record summed it up by saying it was “not an uplifting spectacle to see this country
descending to trivial and hysterical methods of vengeance.” Children, vital to the war effort, often
served as secret agents and pet dogs equipped with special tubes on their
collars delivered messages from the British Secret Service. Pet pigeons flew
long distances with news from the front lines. Goldfish even had a job – after
gas attacks, the masks were washed and rinsed, and if the rinsing water killed
a goldfish that was placed in it, that meant the masks still had poison on
them.
Enter, two young girls, one camera, artistically drawn
fairies and what started as an innocent prank sparked worldwide intrigue and a
storm cloud over the heads of cousins, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths
residing in Cottingley, England. Suddenly, a war-ravaged nation had something
to believe in and maybe the most important magic of all…finding parts of
ourselves we thought lost forever and a way to believe in them. It was a time
where people clung to anything hopeful – they wanted to believe in fairies and
the spirit world…if fairies could visit from another realm, maybe their loved
ones would too. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had a personal reason to believe in the
good in the world, as he lost his son in the war and never reconciled with the
fact that he himself might have caused his death and the death of others as he
was involved in writing war propaganda. It was his desperation and his
credibility that led the “fairy charge.”
The other part of the novel is a present-day storyline
featuring an Irish woman, Olivia Kavanagh, reeling from the death of her
beloved grandfather, inheriting his failing bookshop and a manuscript titled
“Notes on a Fairy Tale.” Her personal life is in shambles – she’s engaged to a
man she doesn’t love, hiding from him that she is infertile, and is dealing
with her Nana in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer’s.
“The things we feel cannot always be seen.” They are
often warm and fuzzy images from our own childhoods we experience again with
our own children and grandchildren…who can forget the magic and anticipation of
a visit from Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy.
On
the business side:
We are happy to report Ann Ireland’s shoulder surgery
went well and she is already out and about. Sheri Green’s appointment with the
oncologist at MD Anderson went well and she will soon receive a chemotherapy
“cocktail” in Dallas, designed to knock cancer to its knees. We all wish her
well and as always, she and the family remain in our thoughts and prayers and a
little dusting of fairy dust can’t hurt either.
Beverly Dossett, Katherine McDonald, Linda Thompson,
Kittie Minnick, and Gayle Robinson have all committed to the Books in Bloom
event on April 12th. Hopefully we can recruit 3 more to fill our
Bookers’ table. If anyone has anything with a “camping” theme to please contact
Beverly as they plan the décor for the table.
Our book selection committee (Pat Faherty, Katherine
McDonald, and Melanie Prebis) have agreed to serve again next year and we are
grateful for all they have done in the past year to give Bookers a variety of
selections. They ask to please let them know if you’ve come across a book that
you think should be a consideration…they are always open to your ideas!
As an added note for all fans of “exotic love stories”
E.L. James of 50 Shades fame will be releasing The Mister on April 16.
It’s described as a “modern fairy tale.” Wonder if it will include some type of
magical powers or maybe a fairy or two….
COLOR CODING SYSTEM
WHITE: LIGHT READ
PINK: MODERATELY
CHALLENGING
RED: CHALLENGING
March 5: Stormy
Weather by Paulette Jiles – Note change of date
Set in East Texas
during the depression, a story of hardship, sacrifice, and strength.
PINK
Discussion
Leader: Ann Ireland
Home of Jean Alexander
April 9: Daughter
of a Daughter of a Queen, Sarah Bird
A forgotten part of history detailing the hidden
story of Cathy Williams, a former slave and the only woman to ever serve with
the legendary Buffalo Soldiers.
PINKISH RED
Discussion
Leader: TBD
Home of
Aulsine DeLoach
May 14: Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
Set in the 1950’s in very rural North Carolina
revolving around a young woman named Kya Clark – celebrating strength through tragedy
and the resourcefulness of a child left to fend for herself in the swamp.
PINK
Discussion Leader: Jean Alexander
Evening Wine & Cheese Meeting at the home of Melanie Prebis
Summer
Read: The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
“Stories
choose the right readers at the right time.”
Happy Reading,
JoDee
