Second Helpings Social; We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

Another fabulous cheese, wine, and book discussion took place last Thursday when a small collection of city folk met to indulge in the famed smoked applewood along with the opinions of nature and nurture that resonates with Karen Joy Fowler's We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves.

Those who did not know the meaty "twist" when beginning the book all expressed the utter shock when Fowler revealed it in such an off-hand comment,her prose, "I'm sure you've probably guessed by now that...." well no, Ms Fowler, we hadn't guessed, not expected such a thing. Most of the us had build up the twist in our own heads to be somewhat more extreme than what was the case in point. One lady in the group admitted that she'd calculated the sister of the main character Rosemary, to have died of a secret cause and not explained to Rosemary. Many others had equally morbid estimations about what had happened to the sibling.

There was heated debate about animal testing and human relations, and how parents could, unknowingly, also be testing their children in way that is deemed as negative as scientists testing animals.

The group recalled own sibling situations and how they related to Rosemary, but no-one could offered a story of such extremities of how Rosemary must have felt so isolated from two societies, a loss of belonging was certainly sympathised. However, it was the overall consensus that at times the book swerved into a factual memoir and lost the art of story-telling which is what would have made each reader evermore, and rightly so, gripped.

We spoke of the recently released Short List. The group became somewhat split, in questioning WAACBO's position on the list, Was it worthy? Yes there are some momentous and grandiose novels which made the short list so the addition  of the charming, little yellow book merely whets the appetite before devouring the big guns. Small and quaint, the subject matter certainly added a vast array of opinions and view points, another successful evening all round.

Congrats to the rest of the Short List Nominees. I would now recommend, that as the Winner announcement date is approaching, (9th October), let's all power through with the Short list, and then, if we have days spare, to continue with the rest of those which remain on the long list.

The next social event will be a joint discussion evening of The Lives of Others and The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

I'll keep you posted about a date; most likely a Thursday.