Loving Frank Discussion

One of my book clubs just finished its discussion of Nancy Horan's Loving Frank, a historical novel fictionalizing the love affair of Mamah Borthwick Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright that my book club just loved.

Our first discussion question sparked much conversation as did our final discussion question:

How did Mamah's relationship with Ellen Key (the Swedish feminist whose work so profoundly influences Mamah) mirror - or differ- from hers with Frank Lloyd Wright?

Will write more about my thoughts on this book later.

Loving Frank discussion

One of my book clubs has just started its discussion of Nancy Horan's Loving Frank, a historical novel fictionalizing the love affair of Mamah Borthwick Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright that my book club just loved.

Our first discussion question sparked much conversation as did our final discussion question:

How did Mamah's relationship with Ellen Key (the Swedish feminist whose work so profoundly influences Mamah) mirror - or differ- from hers with Frank Lloyd Wright?

Will write some of my general thoughts on this book later.

Loving Frank Discussion

One of my book clubs has just started its discussion of Nancy Horan's Loving Frank, a fascinating piece of historical fiction that explores the love affair of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney.

Here's our first discussion question:

As the book begins, we see Mamah rushing to see Frank Lloyd W at a lecture. As she herself reflects, she "behaved like a madwoman, cranking the car until her arm ached, then racing on foot through snow and ice to get a glimpse of Frank, as if she had no choice." She seems to act like a schoolgirl with a crush at first, but as their affair deepens how would you characterize her actions? Was she being self-indulgent or was it honest self-realization?

Will write more later.

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter

I haven't been interested in reading any of former President Jimmy Carter's books.

And this Nobel Peace Prize winner has written a lot of books:

• A Remarkable Mother
• Always a Reckoning, and Other Poems
• America on My Mind
• An Hour Before Daylight: Memoirs of a Rural Boyhood
• An Outdoor Journal : Adventures and Reflections
• Atlanta: The Right Kind of Courage
• Beyond the White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope
• Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East
• Bringing Peace to a Changing World: Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study with Jimmy Carter
• Christmas in Plains: Memories
• Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life
• Faith and Freedom : The Christian Challenge for the World
• Government as Good as Its People
• Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President
• Leading a Worthy Life
• Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer
• Living Faith
• Measuring Our Success: Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study with Jimmy Carter Vol. 2
• Negotiation: The Alternative to Hostility
  
• Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis
• Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid
• Sharing Good Times
• Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith
• Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation
• The Hornet's Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War
• The Nobel Peace Prize Lecture 2002
• The Personal Beliefs of Jimmy Carter
• The Virtues of Aging
• Turning Point: A Candidate, A State, and A Nation Come of Age
• Why Not the Best?: The First Fifty Years

I didn't know that he wrote not just non-fiction but also a book of poetry and a children's book. And that doesn't even include the books that he's written prefaces, forewords or introductions for!

But the one I'm considering reading now is Carter's Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. I remember reading a less than glowing New York Times review of this book in January 2007 not long after this book came out.

Obviously the publisher thinks much more highly of this book; here's what the publisher has to say about this book:

President Carter, who was able to negotiate peace between Israel and Egypt, has remained deeply involved in Middle East affairs since leaving the White House. He has stayed in touch with the major players from all sides in the conflict and has made numerous trips to the Holy Land, most recently as an observer in the Palestinian elections of 2005 and 2006.

In this book President Carter shares his intimate knowledge of the history of the Middle East and his personal experiences with the principal actors, and he addresses sensitive political issues many American officials avoid. Pulling no punches, Carter prescribes steps that must be taken for the two states to share the Holy Land without a system of apartheid or the constant fear of terrorism.

The general parameters of a long-term, two-state agreement are well known, the president writes. There will be no substantive and permanent peace for any peoples in this troubled region as long as Israel is violating key U.N. resolutions, official American policy, and the international "road map" for peace by occupying Arab lands and oppressing the Palestinians. Except for mutually agreeable negotiated modifications, Israel's official pre-1967 borders must be honored. As were all previous administrations since the founding of Israel, U.S. government leaders must be in the forefront of achieving this long-delayed goal of a just agreement that both sides can honor.

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid is a challenging, provocative, and courageous book.

Having read Queen Noor's Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life, I'd like to learn more about Israeli-Palestinian history and politics and I'm interested in reading Carter's Palestine because I suspect that it tells a different side of the story than we normally hear in the United States.

That this book has sparked much uproar makes me think that this is an important book to read -- whether or not it is accurate.

Click here to view the table of contents or click here to read an excerpt.

Loving Frank discussion questions

I'm enjoying Nancy Horan's historical novel Loving Frank.

Since I'm reading this for a book club, I've looked up some discussion questions as usual.

Here are some discussion questions courtesy of Random House:

1. Do you think that Mamah is right to leave her husband and children in order to pursue her personal growth and the relationship with Frank Lloyd Wright? Is she being selfish to put her own happiness and fulfillment first?
2. Why do you think the author, Nancy Horan, gave her novel the title Loving Frank? Does this title work against the feminist message of the novel? Is there a feminist message?
3. Do you think that a woman today who made the choices that Mamah makes would receive a more sympathetic or understanding hearing from the media and the general public? 
4. If Mamah were alive today, would she be satisfied with the progress women have achieved or would she believe there was still a long way to go?
5. In Sonnet 116, Shakespeare writes, “Let me not to the marriage of true minds/Admit impediments. Love is not love/That alters where it alteration finds. . . .” How does the relationship of Mamah and Frank bear out the sentiments of Shakespeare’s sonnet? What other famous love matches fill the bill?
6. Is Mamah’s story relevant to the women of today?
7. Is Frank Lloyd Wright an admirable figure in this novel? Would it change your opinion of him to know that he married twice more in his life? 
8. What about Edwin Cheney, Mamah’s husband? Did he behave as you might have expected after learning of the affair between his wife and Wright?
9. Edwin’s philosophy of life and love might be summed up in the following words from the novel: “Tell her happiness is just practice. If she acted happy, she would be happy.” Do you agree or disagree with this philosophy?
10. "Carved over Wright's fireplace in his Oak Park home are the words “Life is Truth.” What do you think these words mean, and do Frank and Mamah live up to them?
11. Why do you think Horan chose to give her novel the epigraph from Goethe, “One lives but once in the world.”?
12. When Mamah confesses her affair to her friend Mattie, Mattie demands, "What about duty? What about honor?" Discuss some of the different meanings that characters in the novel attach to these two words.
13. In analyzing the failure of the women’s movement to make more progress, Mamah says, “Yet women are part of the problem. We plan dinner parties and make flowers out of crepe paper. Too many of us make small lives for ourselves.” Was this a valid criticism at the time, and is it one today? 
14. Why does seeing a performance of the opera Mefistofele affect Mamah so strongly? 
15. "Why is Mamah's friendship with Else Lasker Schuler important in the book?"
16. Ellen Key, the Swedish feminist whose work so profoundly influences Mamah, states at one point, “The very legitimate right of a free love can never be acceptable if it is enjoyed at the expense of maternal love.” Do you agree?
17. Another of Ellen Key’s beliefs was that motherhood should be recompensed by the state. Do you think an idea like this could ever catch on in America? Why or why not? 
18. Is there anything that Frank and Mamah could have done differently after their return to America that would have ameliorated the harsh welcome they received from the press? Have things changed very much in that regard today?
19. What part did racism play in Julian Carleton’s crime? Were his actions the product of pure insanity, or was he goaded into violence? 

Back to reading. 

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

One of my book clubs has just selected Loving Frank by Nancy Horan as our next selection.

I first heard about this from a New York Times article titled "Notes on a Scandal" by Liesl Schillinger published September 27, 2007. This historical novel sounded intriguing then and I'm happy to have an excuse to read it.

Loving Frank is a novel about Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney -- an educated woman who scandalized Chicago when she left her husband and two young children to flee to Europe with Wright (who left behind a wife and six children of his own).  Their love affair, in the early years of the 20th century, was a scandal in Chicago society and beyond, wherever Wright's name was known.

Click here to read an excerpt of the first chapter.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

I'm still reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and thought I'd publish a few discussion questions to think about:

1. What are some of the ways in which Dickens parallels the personal and the political in A Tale of Two Cities.
2. One of the novel's most important motifs is the figure of the double. What is the effect of Dickens's doubling technique? Does he use doubles to draw contrasts, comparisons, or both?
3. What are some examples of Dickens's use of foreshadowing in A Tale of Two Cities.
4. How sympathetic is Dickens towards the French Revolution?
5. The first paragraph of this book is widely quoted -- "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." -- why is this?
6. Some critics charge that Dickens, in much of his work, failed to create meaningful characters because he exaggerated them to parodic extremes. Is this a fair assessment of his characterization in A Tale of Two Cities? Does the author's use of caricature detract from his novel's ability to speak to human nature?
7. Dickens relies heavily on coincidence to fuel the plot of A Tale of Two Cities: letters are found bearing crucial information, for example, and long-lost brothers are discovered in crowded public places. Do such incidents strengthen or weaken the plot and overall themes of the novel?
8. Based on Dickens's portrayals of the villainous characters in his novel (particularly Madame Defarge), what conclusions might the reader draw about the author's notions of human evil? Does he seem to think that people are born evil? If so, do they lack the ability to change? Or does he suggest that circumstances drive human beings to their acts of cruelty?

And since I plan on re-reading Dickens's Great Expectations soon, I'm including some discussion questions for that classic as well:

1. In this novel, Great Expectations, things are often not what they seem. Discuss how the theme of "expectations" is illustrated by and through the various major characters in this book. How are Pip's expectations different and similar from those of his surrogate father, Joe (the blacksmith), Miss Havisham (the eccentric recluse), Estella (the daughter of a convict and murderess) and Pip's benefactor, (the convict) Magwitch?
2. Why do you think it is one of Magwitch's principal conditions that Pip (his nickname) "always bear the name of Pip" in order to receive his financial support?
3. If Pip had not received his "Great Expectations" and never left Joe's forge, how do you think his life would have been different? Are the lessons he learns during his physical and emotional journey necessary for him to arrive at the wisdom he evinces as the middle-aged narrator of this tale? In what ways?
4. Why do you think Miss Havisham manipulates and misleads Pip into thinking she is his secret benefactor? What, if anything, does she derive from this action?
5. Given Dickens's portrayal of Estella, what do you think attracts Pip to her in the first place and what, when he learns of her cold-blooded manipulation of men such as her husband, keeps Pip devoted to her until the end, loving her, as he says, "against reason, against promise, against peace?"
6. In the final chapter Estella says to Pip: "Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching." Discuss the theme of suffering in this book—specifically how it instructs Pip, Miss Havisham and Estella.
7. In Chapter 49 Miss Havisham confesses to Pip that in adopting Estella, she "meant to save her (Estella) from misery like my own." Do you believe this, given Dickens's harsh characterization of Miss Havisham throughout the novel?
8. And in the same Chapter (49) when Miss Havisham is set afire, do you believe that, given her state of mind, Dickens intends us to read this as an accident or a kind of penance/attempted suicide on her part for her cruelty to Pip and Estella?
9. What do you think makes Pip change his opinion of his benefactor Magwitch from one of initial repugnance to one of deep and abiding respect and love?
10. In Chapter 59, when Pip places Joe and Biddy's son (also named Pip) on the same tombstone that opens the novel, what do you think Dickens intends to tell us with this image? Given the novel's theme of how the sins of others are visited upon us, do you view this image as a foreboding one in any way?

And in case you're a teacher looking for materials to help you lead your class through A Tale of Two Cities, click here to view a Teachers' Guide (provided by Penguin Group).

Arthur & George by Julian Barnes - Book Club Discussion

Last month I read Julian Barnes's Arthur & George for one of my book clubs (click here to read all entries related to this book) and we've just started discussing it.

While I enjoyed the book, my lit sisters were less than impressed with it. Generally, they thought the book was well constructed, well researched but tedious to read.

My book club found George's character and his family incredibly boring, though most did feel sorry for him once Arthur became involved in his defense.

However, I was in agreement with the group that George Edalji's father's refusal to defend his son against the terrible accusations made against him, the family's bizarre sleeping arrangements, and their total denial about any racial motivation behind the strange persecution they lived with for years were baffling.

The discussion continues this week . . .

The Mathematics of Love by Emma Darwin

I enjoyed reading Letters of a Portuguese Nun: Uncovering the Mystery Behind a 17th Century Forbidden Love by Myriam Cyr (click here to read my other entries about this book).

Cyr writes that the Portuguese Letters have inspired writers and lovers for hundreds of years and I wonder if Emma Darwin was also inspired by them when she wrote her debut novel The Mathematics of Love.

The Mathematics of Love is the story of both a veteran of the Napoleonic wars (and the Battle of Waterloo) named Stephen Fairhurst (told with letters and memoirs) and of a teenager, Anna Jocelyn Ware, who moves into the soldier’s former home in the mid-1970s (told in first-person narrative).

If you haven't read The Mathematics of Love, you may not understand why reading Letters of a Portuguese Nun made me think of this novel and it's such a complex story that I can't explain it without giving away the plot.

It starts off a bit slow but it's really quite clever. Darwin brilliantly writes with two distinct voices and creates an eloquent, intelligent, and beautiful historical novel.

I liked how Darwin was able to write her great-great-great grandfather Robert Darwin (who married Susannah Wedgwood, brother of Thomas Wedgwood, the pioneer of photography) into the novel; makes perfect sense since she uses photography as a metaphoric device to tell these parallel stories.

If you're reading it for a book club, you may want to read these discussion questions from the publisher (also published on the author's website here):

1. Sexual morality is a key theme in The Mathematics of Love. Discuss morality in the context of the relationships between Anna/Theo, Eva/Theo, Anna/Eva, Stephen/Catalina and Stephen/Lucy.
2. How does war change the characters in The Mathematics of Love ?
3. "I was the plain, pale nothing, pressed into a thin strip between their lives. And it wasn't enough for me. I knew that now." (p. 394) How does Anna change during the course of the novel?
4. Discuss the role of art, photography and voyeurism within The Mathematics of Love.
5. How do memories affect the characters within this novel? What made Stephen able to move on from painful memories and Belle unable to do so?
6. How do the two 'lost boys' work within the story?
7. "I've never been bothered about relations and things." (p. 404) Discuss the role of family within The Mathematics of Love.
8. What did you think of the ending? Would you have liked it to end differently?
9. What other books would you compare this to? What books would you recommend to other readers who have enjoyed this book?
10. How would this novel have been different if Darwin had chosen to focus entirely on one time period, rather than move the narrative between 1819 and 1976?

Click here to read the first chapter of The Mathematics of Love or click here to read Susann Cokal's review titled "Housemates" published March 4, 2007 in the New York Times.

Arthur & George by Julian Barnes

Last week I finished Arthur & George by Julian Barnes for one of my book clubs (click here to read all entries related to this book).

This novel is moving, intelligent and thoughtfully deals with issues of race, class, morality, honor, spirituality, friendship and love. Barnes's elegant prose is compelling, particularly the riveting dialogue, and carefully crafted characterizations.

Arthur's voice is saturated with that of Sherlock Holmes and the contemplations of Alfred Wood (Arthur's assistant) that he is to Arthur as Dr. Watson is to Sherlock Holmes add a light-hearted nature to the miscarriage of justice that George Edalji suffered.

I smiled when Barnes had George read "a tattered cheap edition" of The Hound of the Baskervilles in prison and "judged it excellent."

I felt uncomfortable reading about Mam's developing relationship with Brian Waller, just six years older than Arthur.

I read with mixed feelings about Arthur's affair with the young classically trained mezzo-soprano and accomplished horsewoman Jean Leckie and Mam's subsequent approval of the relationship. The flirtation would be so delightful if not adulterous:

He looks down into her hazel-green eyes. "Are you flirting with me, young lady?"

She looks straight back at him. "I am talking to you about skiing." But those, it feels, are only her nominal words.

"Because if you are, be careful I do not fall in love with you."

He barely knows what he has said. He half means it entirely and half cannot imagine what has got into him.

"Oh, you are already. In love with me. And I with you. There is no doubt about it. No doubt at all."

I was outraged when Mam went so far as to give Jean a small pale cabochon sapphire ring (which had once belonged to her great-aunt) because Arthur chivalrously wished for Jean to wear a ring to symbolize their love.

And I was saddened to read of Jean's introduction to Arthur's dearest sister Lottie and even to his wife's mother with assurances that Touie will "be shielded at all cost from knowledge, pain and dishonour" and it pained me to read of the heated disagreement between Arthur and his sister Connie and brother-in-law Willie regarding Arthur's impropriety.

I laughed out loud at the use of the chess term zugzwang (a player whose turn it is to move whose every possible move would worsen their position is said to be in zugzwang) to describe what Arthur's life feels like and I read with curiosity Arthur's deepening interest in "spiritism" and mysticism:

"If you look at what it actually says in the Bible, if you ignore the way in which the text has been altered and misinterpreted to suit the will of the established churches, it's quite clear that Jesus was a highly trained psychic or medium. The inner circle of the Apostles, especially Peter, James and John, were clearly chosen for their spiritist capabilities. The 'miracles' of the Bible are merely -- well, not merely, wholly -- examples of Jesus's psychic powers."

And as I mentioned before, I was disgusted by the descriptions of animal mutilation and saddened by the racism endured by George Edalji at the hands of policemen and others.

Ultimately I felt joyous reading about the Courts proclaiming George innocent and about Arthur's work in this verdict help lift Arthur out of his depression.

It is because this novel evoked such emotion in me that it was so captivating.

I'm looking forward to my book club's discussion of Arthur & George!

And I must borrow a copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles from my local library to re-read.

Arthur & George by Julian Barnes

I've written a few times about Julian Barnes's Arthur & George, which I'm reading for one of my book clubs.

This wonderful piece of historical fiction is a joy to read; I can see why it was shortlisted for the 2005 Man Booker Prize!

I'm 50 pages into Part II, Beginning with an Ending, which is about one quarter of the way through Part II and I am hooked.

I feel quite sad for George Ernest Thompson Edalji, newly educated solicitor-at-law and author of Railway Law for the "Man in the Train," and the racist persecution he endured at the hands of menacing strangers and the police and the graphic descriptions of animal torture disgusts me.

In the meantime, Arthur Conan Doyle's literary career has taken off at the expense of his medical career while his wife, Louisa (Touie) has been diagnosed with tuberculosis (known as consumption at the time).

The contrast and similarities between the lives of these two men makes you wonder how their paths will cross later in the book.

Can't wait to find out!

Arthur & George by Julian Barnes

I've been reading Arthur & George by Julian Barnes for one of my book clubs. I've only read maybe 20 pages into Part I, Beginnings, and I am captivated.

As I mentioned last month, Barnes spent a year researching the real life stories of George Edalji and Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson) before writing this novel of the relationship between these two men.

When you first start the book, you don't know who George and Arthur are (unless you've read a review or summary of the book as I had) but Barnes stories of Arthur's childhood provides clues that explain how Arthur came to be the creator of Sherlock Holmes. George's childhood is quite different from Arthur's and serves as a good contrast.

I'm looking forward to reading more!

Arthur & George by Julian Barnes

I just put Arthur & George by Julian Barnes on hold at my local library since it's the next selection for one of my book clubs.

I don't know how I hadn't heard about it until my book club suggested it; Arthur & George was shortlisted for the 2005 Man Booker Prize!

It sounds like an inventive and unique novel (click here to read Terrence Rafferty's review titled "The Game's Afoot" posted in the New York Times in January 2006). Barnes spent a year researching the real life stories of George Edalji and Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson) before writing this novel of the relationship between these two men.

Click here to read an excerpt from Random House.

And since I'm reading this for a book club, I looked up some discussion questions published by Random House:

1. One of the first things we learn about George is that “for a start, he lacks imagination” [p. 4]. George is deeply attached to the facts, while Arthur discovers early in life the “essential connection between narrative and reward” [p. 14]. How does this temperamental difference determine their approaches to life? Does Barnes use Arthur & George to explore the very different attractions of truth telling and storytelling?
2. What qualities does the Mam encourage in Arthur? How does Arthur’s upbringing compare with George’s? What qualities are encouraged in George by his parents? What does the novel imply about one’s parents as a determinant in character development?
3. To what degree do George’s parents try to overlook or deny the social difficulties their mixed marriage has produced for themselves and their children? Are they admirable in their determination to ignore the racial prejudice to which they are subjected?
4. Critic Peter Kemp has commented on Julian Barnes’s interest in fiction that “openly colonises actuality—especially the lives of creative prodigies” [The Sunday Times (London), June 26, 2005]. In Arthur & George, the details we read about Arthur’s life are largely true. While the story of George Edalji is an obscure chapter of Doyle’s life, its details as presented here are also based on the historical record. What is the effect, for the reader, when an author blurs the line between fiction and biography or fiction and history?
5. From early on in a life shaped by stories, Arthur has identified with tales of knights: “If life was a chivalric quest, then he had rescued the fair Touie, he had conquered the city, and been rewarded with gold. . . . What did a knight errant do when he came home to a wife and two children in South Norwood?” [p. 69]. Is it common to find characters like Arthur in our own day? How have the ideas of masculinity changed between Edwardian times and the present?
6. George has trouble believing that he was a victim of racial prejudice [p. 264]. Why is this difficult for him to believe? Is it difficult for him to imagine that others don’t see him as he sees himself? Does George’s misfortune seem to be juxtaposed ironically with his family’s firm belief in the Christian faith?
7. The small section on pages 91–92, called “George & Arthur,” describes an unnamed man approaching a horse in a field on a cold night. What is the effect of this section, coming into the novel when it does, and named as it is?
8. Inspector Campbell tells Captain Anson that the man who did the mutilations would be someone who was “accustomed to handling animals” [p. 97]; this assumption would clearly rule out George. Yet George is pursued as the single suspect. Campbell also notes that Sergeant Upton is neither intelligent nor competent at his job [p. 99]. What motivates Campbell as he examines George’s clothing and his knife, and proceeds to have George arrested
   [pp. 117–123]?
9. George’s lawyer, Mr. Meek, is amused at George’s sense of outrage when he reads the factual errors and outright lies in the newspapers’ reports of his case [p. 137; 140–141]. Why is Mr. Meek not more sympathetic?
10. George’s arrest for committing “the Great Wyrley Outrages” [p. 176] causes a stir in England just a few years following the sensational killing spree of Jack the Ripper, which sold millions of newspapers. Are the newspapers, and the public appetite for sensational stories, partly responsible for the crime against George Edalji?
11. 11. How does Barnes convey the feeling of the historical period of which he writes? What details and stylistic effects are noticeable?
12. England was extremely proud of its legal system; Queen Victoria had expressed outrage over the injustice in the dubious case against Alfred Dreyfus, which had occurred a few years earlier in France. Yet the Edalji case seems to present an even greater injustice, and again because of the ethnicity of the accused. Why might the Home Office have refused to pay damages to Edalji?
13. For nine years, Arthur carries on a chaste love affair with Jean Leckie. Yet he feels miserable after the death of his wife, Touie, particularly when he learns from his daughter Mary that Touie assumed Arthur would remarry [pp. 247–49]. Why is Arthur thrown into “the great Grimpen Mire” by his freedom to marry Jean [p. 253]? Why does he believe that “if Touie knew, then he was destroyed” [p. 305]? Has he, as he fears, behaved dishonorably to both women? What does the dilemma do to his sense of personal honor?
14. Why is the real perpetrator of the animal killings never identified? In a Sherlock Holmes story the criminal is always caught and convicted, but Doyle gets no such satisfaction with this real-world case. How disturbing is the fact that George is never truly vindicated and never compensated for the injustice he suffered? Does Barnes’s fictional enlargement of George Edalji’s life act as a kind of compensation?
15. Arthur & George presents a world that seems less evolved than our own in its assumptions about race and human nature, justice and evidence, and its examples of human innocence and idealism. Does this world seem so remote in time as to be, in a sense, unbelievable? Or might American readers recognize a similar situation in a story like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, or more recent news stories about racial injustice?
16. The story ends with George’s attendance at the memorial service for Arthur. What is most moving about this episode?

I love historical fiction so I'm excited to start this book!

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

I finished Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which I started on Sunday evening.

Wow, I was practically sobbing as I read the last few chapters; this book is that good.

First, See's writing is fantastic! Secondly, Chinese still take filial piety (孝順, xiàoshùn in pīnyīn) very seriously (so seriously that we even learned about it in Mandarin Chinese language class) and See's depictions of it hit home. And any woman can relate to the theme of female friendship and the great damage that simple misunderstandings can cause. And lastly, one of the characters in Snow Flower shares my Chinese name - Plum Blossom (婷梅)!

For those of you who haven't read it yet, the story takes place in 19th-century rural Yongming County (永明縣, Yǒngmíng xiàn in pīnyīn) in Hunan province (湖南省, Húnán shěng in pīnyīn) in China (中國, Zhōngguó in pīnyīn). The narrator, Lily (Lady Lu) at age 80 writes her memoirs in nu shu (女書, nǚshū in pīnyīn) -- women's secret writing -- to be burned at her funeral (along with money and other items to accompany her in the afterlife) so that her friends and ancestors will welcome her.

Society was ruled by rigid codes of conduct; women had to have their feet bound preferably to 7cm or less if she wanted to improve or keep her social standing, marry men through arranged marriages (matchmaking was done as early as age 6), and reside in upstairs women’s chambers. Women often died in childbirth and their children often did not live past the age of 4. To secure her status in her new household, a woman was expected to produce sons to continue the family line. Daughters were considered "dead branches" and were taught "When a girl, obey your father; when a wife, obey your husband; when a widow, obey your son."

Lily was born to a lower-middle class family but still her family had enough resources to bind their daughter's feet. When Lily's mother took Lily to the local diviner, he saw in Lily and her feet something special and brought her to the attention of Madame Wang, the matchmaker (紅娘, hóngniáng in pīnyīn) in the prosperous neighboring village. If Lily’s foot binding created the perfect "golden lilies" (Madame Wang believed they could be the most beautiful feet in the county), Lily could marry into a wealthy family and her natal family could become more prosperous through the bride-price (gifts given by the groom's family to the bride's family). But this would bring long working hours for Baba (爸爸, bàbà in pīnyīn) and the other men in the family to raise money for gifts in the dowry and making extravagant gifts for Lily's wealthy future husband and his family.

Lily was so special that Madame Wang even suggested that Lily be matched with a laotong or “old same” (老同, laǒtóng in pīnyīn) even though no woman in Lily's family had such a relationship (though all had their own group of sworn sisters). Old sames were two young women whose lives matched eight qualities exactly, which included the girls’ birth month, day, and year, the date of their foot binding, the number of siblings, and a few other characteristics.

Thus, Lily and Snow Flower -- both born in the year of the horse (馬, mǎ in pīnyīn) and thus destined to be headstrong -- are matched at age 7 as laotongs or “old sames” (老同, laǒtóng in pīnyīn), an emotional match that would last a lifetime through the isolation and hardship of womanhood. They use the secret women’s writing of (女書, nǚshū in pīnyīn) to share their joys and heartaches on a fan that they pass back and forth over the years.

See tells a beautiful well researched story of love, female friendship, rebellion, and pride. If I say anything else about the story, I'd ruin the book for you.

Anyway, since I am reading this for a book club, thought I would share some discussion questions:

• Lily endures excruciating pain in order to have her feet bound. What reasons are given for this dangerous practice?
• Did See's descriptions of footbinding remind you of any Western traditions?
• If some men in 19th-century China (中國, Zhōngguó in pīnyīn) knew about nu shu (女書, nǚshū in pīnyīn) and “old same” (老同, laǒtóng in pīnyīn) friendships, why do you think they allowed these traditions to persist?
• Reflecting on her first few decades, Lily seems to think her friendship with Snow Flower brought her more good than harm. Do you agree?
• Lily's adherence to social customs can seem controversial to us today. Pick a scene where you would have acted differently. Why?
• Lily defies the wishes of her son in order to pair her grandson with Peony. Does she fully justify her behavior?
• Lily sometimes pulls us out of the present moment to reflect -- as an old woman -- on her youthful decisions. What does this device add to the story?
• How would you film these moments of reflection?
• If Lily is writing her story to Snow Flower in the afterworld, what do you think Snow Flower's response would or should be?
• Did you recognize any aspects of your own friendships in the bond between Lily and Snow Flower?
• In your opinion, is Lily, who is the narrator, the heroine or the villain? What are her flaws and her strengths?
• Do you think the concept of "old sames" (老同, laǒtóng in pīnyīn) exists today? Do you have an "old same" (老同, laǒtóng in pīnyīn), or are you part of a sworn sisterhood? In what ways are those relationships similar or different from the ones in nineteenth-century China (中國, Zhōngguó in pīnyīn)?
• Some men in nineteenth-century China (中國, Zhōngguó in pīnyīn) apparently knew about nu shu (女書, nǚshū in pīnyīn), the secret women's writing described in Snow Flower. Why do you think they tolerated such private communication?
• Lily writes her story so that Snow Flower can read it in the afterworld. Do you think she tells her story in a convincing way so that Snow Flower can forgive and understand? Do you think Snow Flower would have told the story differently?
• When Lily and Snow Flower are girls, they have one intimate -- almost erotic -- moment together. Do you think their relationship was sexual or, given the times, were they simply girls who saw this only as an innocent extension of their friendship?
• Having a wife with bound feet was a status symbol for men, and, consequently, having bound feet increased a woman's chances of marriage into a wealthier household. Women took great pride in their feet, which were considered not only beautiful but also their best and most important feature. As a child, would you have fought against having your feet bound, as Third Sister did, knowing you would be consigned to the life of a servant or a "little daughter-in-law"? As a mother, would you have chosen to bind your daughter's feet?
• The Chinese character for "mother love" (疼愛, téngaì in pīnyīn) consists of two parts: one meaning "pain," the other meaning "love." In your own experience, from the perspective of a mother or a daughter, is there an element of truth to this description of mother love?
• The author sees Snow Flower and the Secret Fan as a novel about love and regret, but do you think there's also an element of atonement in it as well?
• In the story, we are told again and again that women are weak and worthless. But were they really? In what ways did Lily and Snow Flower show their strength and value?
• Although the story takes place in the nineteenth century and seems very far removed from our lives -- we don't have our feet bound, we're free and mobile -- do you think we're still bound up in other ways; for instance, by career, family obligations, conventions of feminine beauty, or events beyond our control such as war, the economy, and natural disasters?
• Because of its phonetic nature, nu shu (女書, nǚshū in pīyīn) could easily be taken out of context and be misunderstood. Today, many of us communicate though e-mail or instant-messaging. Have you ever had an experience where one of your messages has been misunderstood because of lack of context, facial or body gestures, and tone of voice? Or have you ever been on the receiving end of a message that you misinterpreted and your feelings were hurt?
• Madame Wang, the matchmaker (紅娘, hóngniáng in pīnyīn), is a foot-bound woman and yet she does business with men. How is she different from the other women in the story? Do you think she is considered a woman of status or is she merely a necessary evil?

I am adding Snow Flower and the Secret Fan to my list of favorites and will have to read See's latest, Peony in Love, to my list of books to read! I wish I had attended Lisa See's Rockville, MD book signing event tonight!

Now, on to The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers!

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

A New Earth: awakening to your life’s purpose by Eckhart Tolle and started reading Lisa See critically-acclaimed novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

I'm reading it for a book club and so far I LOVE it. I love historical fiction and love reading books by Asian American authors so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

I've only read the first few chapters and have already found See's writing to be beautiful and emotionally moving. The theme of female friendship and and See's detailed description of 19th century China make for a mesmerizing read!

I'd never heard of nu shu (女書, nǚ shū in pīn yīn) -- secret writing used by women in China to communicate with their female friends -- and am fascinated that this was See's inspiration for this book. Will have to do some research and see what I can learn about it.

Library Book Sale

I just got back from my local library's Annual Book Sale and wow, I got 24 books in almost new condition for $1.00 each (except for two hardcovers for $2.00 each). What a deal!

So these are the latest additions to my large personal library:

• The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama


• The Best American Spiritual Writing 2005 by Barry Lopez (Introduction) and Philip Zaleski (Series Editor)


• The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis


• Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America by Thomas J. Fleming


• Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert


• Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship by Jon Meacham


• God In All Worlds: An Anthology of Contemporary Spiritual Writing by Lucinda Vardey


• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy


• High Tide: The Truth About Our Climate Crisis by Mark Lynas


• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer


• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison


• The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker


• The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards


• Naked by David Sedaris


• Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces


• Personal History by Katharine Graham


• Prodigal Summer: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver


• Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi


• The Road by Cormac McCarthy


• Running with Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs


• The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology by Robert Wright


• The One Thing You Need to Know: ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success by Marcus Buckingham


• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (P.S.) by Betty Smith


• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

That's about $440.00 worth of books for just $26.00! Can't beat that, even at the local used bookstore!