“Sleepwalking Land” by Mia Couto (Mozambique) One of Nicola’s 100 Best Books for Inspiration in the 21st century! Extract and Comment It isn’t the story which fascinates him, but the spirit within it. And listening to Tuahir’s dreams, with the noises of war in the background, he begins to think: they should invent a gentle, more affable gunpowder, capable of exploding men without killing them. … Continue reading Sleepwalking Land
“The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov (Russia) One of Nicola’s 100 Best Books for Inspiration in the 21st century! Book Club Favourite of Season 6 Review Members of the Book Club were unanimous in their appreciation of this novel. They found it funny and philosophical. They loved the descriptions of the many incidents that happen and they liked the different characters, though most found … Continue reading The Master and Margarita
“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria) Review Members of the Book Club enjoyed the book immensely. They felt great sympathy for the main character, Okonkwo, who grapples with his determination not to be like his weak father. Some readers felt they could relate to this desire to be the opposite of a despised parent and the danger this obsession represents. They liked the language … Continue reading Things Fall Apart
“The Woman in the Dunes” by Kobo Abe (Japan) Review The first impressions of members of the Book Club were very mixed: some liked the book, whereas some did not like it all! They found the situation the protagonist finds himself in very depressing. The repetitive shovelling of sand daily made them think about the absurdity and seeming futility of life. His acceptance of the … Continue reading The Woman in the Dunes
“This Blinding Absence of Light” by Tahar Ben Jelloun (Morocco) Favourite Quote Life: it’s being able to raise your arm, rub the back of your neck, stretch for the pure pleasure of it, get up and stroll along aimlessly, watch people go by, stop, read a newspaper – or simply stay sitting at your window because you have nothing to do and it’s nice to … Continue reading This Blinding Absence of Light
“Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombia) Review Members of the Book Club enjoyed the story a lot, though some said it took them a while to get into it. For others, it was their second or third reading: they found that it got better each time and described it as a very generous and kind novel. Everyone liked the descriptions … Continue reading Love in the Time of Cholera
“A Confederacy of Dunces” by John Kennedy Toole (U.S.) Review Members of the Book Club enjoyed this book, some really loving it and finding it hilarious, others slightly more reserved in their feelings and finding it sad and monotonous at times. Everybody thought the characters were funny and fascinating and were able to visualise them easily thanks to the vivid descriptions. Readers loved the dialogues, … Continue reading A Confederacy of Dunces
Members of the Summer Reading Group enjoyed the selection of books this year, though they found the themes of each one quite melancholic! They voted “The Dream Life of Sukhanov” by Olga Grushin the Best Summer Read 2007. This is a first novel by a young Russian author, which was shortlisted for the Orange Award for New Writers in 2006. Readers found heart-breaking this complex … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2007 – The Dream Life of Sukhanov
Nicola's Book Club 