Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin-Our newest Book Club Selection

Harriet Beecher Stowe's best known novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), changed forever how Americans viewed slavery, the system that treated people as property. It demanded that the United States deliver on the promise of freedom and equality, galvanized the abolition movement and contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War. The book calls on us to confront the legacy of race relations in the U.S. as the title itself became a racial slur.

Uncle Tom's Cabin was a runaway best-seller, selling 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week; 300,000 in the first year; and in Great Britain, 1.5 million copies in one year. It resonates with an international audience as a protest novel and literary work.

Uncle Tom's Cabin opens on the Shelby plantation in Kentucky as two enslaved people, Tom and 4-year old Harry, are sold to pay Shelby family debts. Developing two plot lines, the story focuses on Tom, a strong, religious man living with his wife and 3 young children, and Eliza, Harry's mother.

When the novel begins, Eliza's husband George Harris, unaware of Harry's danger, has already escaped, planning to later purchase his family's freedom. To protect her son, Eliza runs away, making a dramatic escape over the frozen Ohio River with Harry in her arms. Eventually the Harris family is reunited and journeys north to Canada.

Tom protects his family by choosing not to run away so the others may stay together. Sold south, he meets Topsy, a young, black girl whose mischievous behavior hides her pain; Eva, the angelic, young, white girl whose death moved Victorians to tears; charming, elegant but passive St. Clare; and finally, cruel, violent Simon Legree. Tom's deep faith gives him an inner strength that frustrates his enemies as he moves toward his fate in Louisiana.

The novel ends when both Tom and Eliza escape slavery: Eliza and her family reach Canada; but Tom's freedom comes with death. Simon Legree, Tom's third and final master, has Tom whipped to death for refusing to deny his faith or betray the hiding place of two fugitive women.

Information taken from the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center website

We will be meeting in September (date to follow) at Laurie's Home.  Hope to see you all there!

Arundel

Our newest book club selection is Arundel by Kenneth Roberts. We are going with a Maine theme this time around.

This is the classic series from Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novelist Kenneth Roberts, all featuring characters from the town of Arundel, Maine. Arundel follows Steven Nason as he joins Benedict Arnold in his march to Quebec during the American Revolution. Rabble in Arms continues with the exploits of Benedict Arnold, and includes many of the characters from the first book. The Lively Lady is a novel about the War of 1812 and tells the story of U.S. sea captain Richard Nason as he is captured by the British and sent to Dartmoor Prison. Captain Caution is another seafaring tale of the War of 1812.

Kenneth Roberts was born in Kennebunk in 1885, graduated from Cornell University, and remained a resident of Maine for most of his life. He was a popular novelist with best sellers such as Northwest Passage, Oliver Wiswell, and Lydia Bailey.

Kenneth Roberts' historical novel Arundel (1930) recounts the early life of the York County area and influenced the reemergence of the name Arundel for a Maine town.

In 1928 he left his position as a staff correspondent at the Saturday Evening Post to write historical fiction. His early work, while extensively researched, did not generate popular excitement. Nevertheless, Roberts' March to Quebec; Journals of the Members of Arnold's Expedition (1940), compiled and annotated during the writing of Arundel, is an excellent source for the history of that event.

Roberts career turned the corner after receiving an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth in 1934. By 1937 his Northwest Passage was a best seller and a year later both Middlebury and Bowdoin colleges awarded him honorary degrees.

He became fascinated with the traditional practice of dowsing -- allegedly being able to find water under the ground by sensing a downward pull on wood held in ones hands. Considered quite unscientific, he was ridiculed for his belief in the "art."

Two months before he died in 1957, Roberts received a Pulitzer Prize for "his historical novels which have long contributed to the creation of greater interest in our early American history." His papers are at the Dartmouth College Library in Hanover, New Hampshire.

We will meet May 19th, details to follow!

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

We had a great time at Lori's

home for our most recent

Book Club Meeting!

We all enjoyed Hotel on

the Corner of Bitter and

Sweet and recommend

it to all!

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Our next book club will be held at Lori G.'s home on March 18th at 430pm.

The new selection is Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.

"Jamie Ford has written a tender and satisfying novel that is tucked into a part of Seattle history we would rather not face. Set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war--not the sweeping damage of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today's world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. But, more importantly, it will make you feel."

– Garth Stein, NY Times bestselling author of THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN

“Jamie Ford's first novel explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle area during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love. An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut.”

– Lisa See, bestselling author of SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN

Hope to see you all there!!

Here is a reading guide for the book club from Jamie Ford's web Page:

Reading Guide

Reading Group Questions for Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

1. Father-son relationships are a crucial theme in the novel. Talk about some of these relationships and how they are shaped by culture and time. For example, how is the relationship between Henry and his father different from that between Henry and Marty? What accounts for the differences?

2. Why doesn't Henry's father want him to speak Cantonese at home? How does this square with his desire to send Henry back to China for school? Isn't he sending his son a mixed message?

3. If you were Henry, would you be able to forgive your father? Does Henry's father deserve forgiveness?

4. From the beginning of the novel, Henry wears the "I am Chinese" button given to him by his father. What is the significance of this button and its message, and how has Henry's understanding of that message changed by the end of the novel?

5. Why does Henry provide an inaccurate translation when he serves as the go-between in the business negotiations between his father and Mr. Preston? Is he wrong to betray his father's trust in this way?

6. The US has been called a nation of immigrants. In what ways do the families of Keiko and Henry illustrate different aspects of the American immigrant experience?

7. What is the bond between Henry and Sheldon, and how is it strengthened by jazz music?

8. If a novel could have a soundtrack, this one would be jazz. What is it about this indigenous form of American music that makes it an especially appropriate choice?

9. Henry's mother comes from a culture in which wives are subservient to their husbands. Given this background, do you think she could have done more to help Henry in his struggles against his father? Is her loyalty to her husband a betrayal of her son?

10. Compare Marty's relationship with Samantha to Henry's relationship with Keiko. What other examples can you find in the novel of love that is forbidden or that crosses boundaries of one kind or another?

11. What struggles did your own ancestors have as immigrants to America, and to what extent did they incorporate aspects of their cultural heritage into their new identities as Americans?

12. Does Henry give up on Keiko too easily? What else could he have done to find her?

13. What about Keiko? Why didn't she make more of an effort to see Henry once she was released from the camp?

14. Do you think Ethel might have known what was happening with Henry's letters?

15. The novel ends with Henry and Keiko meeting again after more than forty years. Jump ahead a year and imagine what has happened to them in that time. Is there any evidence in the novel for this outcome?

16. What sacrifices do the characters in the novel make in pursuit of their dreams for themselves and for others? Do you think any characters sacrifice too much, or for the wrong reasons? Consider the sacrifices Mr. Okabe makes, for example, and those of Mr. Lee. Both fathers are acting for the sake of their children, yet the results are quite different. Why?

17. Was the US government right or wrong to "relocate" Japanese-Americans and other citizens and residents who had emigrated from countries the US was fighting in WWII? Was some kind of action necessary following Pearl Harbor? Could the government have done more to safeguard civil rights while protecting national security?

18. Should the men and women of Japanese ancestry rounded up by the US during the war have protested more actively against the loss of their property and liberty? Remember that most were eager to demonstrate their loyalty to the US. What would you have done in their place?

19. Should the men and women of Japanese ancestry rounded up by the US during the war have protested more actively against the loss of their property and liberty? Remember that most were eager to demonstrate their loyalty to the US. What would you have done in their place? What’s to prevent something like this from every happening again?

Monday October 24th

On Monday October 24th, Hank Phillippi Ryan will be speaking at the Braintree Public Library at 7pm. This is a free event hosted by the Friends of the Braintree Public Library...

Drive Time-
"Buckle up and prepare for a wild ride...Ryan once again channels her Emmy-winning investigative reporting expertise to craft a realistic and compelling mystery, full of hairpin turns and dangerous intersections at breakneck speed.

Verdict: Placing Ryan in the same league as Lisa Scottoline...her latest book catapults the reader into the fast lane and doesn't relent until the story careens to a stop. New readers will speed to get her earlier books, and diehard fans will hope for another installment."
—Library Journal on DRIVE TIME (starred review!)

Moonlight Mile-Dennis Lehane

On November 3rd at 7pm, Dennis Lehane will be at Newtonville Books to discuss his latest novel Moonlight Mile.

Click here to see a list of upcoming events at Newtonville Books!

Moonlight Mile:

Amanda McCready was four years old when she vanished from her blue-collar Boston neighborhood. Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro risked everything to find her—only to orchestrate her return to a neglectful mother and broken home.

Twelve years later, Amanda, now sixteen, is gone again.

The disappearance of little Amanda was the case that troubled Kenzie and Gennaro more than any other. Still haunted by their consciences, they must now revisit the nightmare that once tore them apart—following the trail of a lost teenager into a world of identity thieves, methamphetamine dealers, and Russian gangsters, right up to the doorstep of a dangerously unstable crime boss and his demented wife. Once again Patrick and Angie will be putting everything that matters to them on the line in pursuit of the answer to the burning question: Is it possible to do the right thing and still be dead wrong?

The Boy in in Moon...

Additional reviews of our next selection, The Boy in the Moon- see entire reviews here:

With a tender imagination and stark honesty, Brown infuses The Boy in the Moon with the quality of love: for this amazing boy, for his family, and for life. As much as this book is about one frail boy and the tiny constellation of people who surround him, it is also about all of us who try so hard to be parents worthy of our children.

British Columbia National Book Award for Canadian Non-Fiction

Winner of the 2010 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction

Trillium Book Award Finalist

'Eloquent as a love song, rich as the most generous, finely tempered philosophy, The Boy in the Moon asks some profound questions. What makes us human? What connects us to the most impaired members of our community? Who benefits more, the caretaker or the cared-for? The answer to all these questions lies in the wonderfully realized — poignant, dignified, funny — portrait of Walker, whom Ian Brown calls "my teacher, my sweet, sweet, lost and broken boy." It's hard to imagine a reader who won't also learn important things from Walker: this is a book that expands the mind and heart, and a joy to read.'

Katherine Ashenburg, author of The Mourner’s Dance and The Dirt on Clean

'There's poignancy on every page of this beautifully articulated memoir about life with Walker Brown.'

(Sunday Mail Brisbane)

' ... the unmistakably real humanity and honesty of Brown's description of this life are something valuable.'

(The Age)

Our book club member Tracey met the author and we are all looking forward to reading the book!

Boston Book Festival October 15th

I attended the Boston Book Festival this weekend and had a wonderful time. I spent the afternoon having lunch on Newbury Street, doing a little shopping and then enjoying the festival.

After wandering through the exhibits, I attended a panel discussion re: truth and fiction. The panel consisted of Jennifer Haigh (author of Faith), Vanessa Diffenbaugh (author of The Language of Flowers) and Ha Jin (author of Nanjing Requiem). I love hearing authors discuss how they research their novels, how long it takes to write them and the consequences in their lives when they have to let "their story" go...I'm excited to read The Language of Flowers.

For those of you who like crime fiction, there was a booth for the Sisters in Crime-New England: (www.sincne.org)

At Sisters and Crime New England we are, first and always, fans of the mystery genre. For readers of all the crime genres—including mysteries, suspense, thrillers, short stories, romantic suspense and more, we offer speakers and events all around New England, easy ways to find out about new books by your favorite New England authors, and a window into the New England mystery writing community.

There was also a booth for the Women's National Book Association Inc.
This organization hosts many talks and forums for book lovers...

I will definitely attend next years festival.

Boston Book Festival October 15th

Jennifer Haigh (Faith) and Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Language of Flowers)

Future options!

Hopefully one of our future selections

The Language of Flowers

The Food!