Oryx and Crake

This month’s book was Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. This was Priya’s choice – hosted at the inner city home of Greg and Chez. It was an intimate affair; present: Marnie and Nicole (Marnic), Greg, Chez and Priya. Priya provided paneer, roti (aka chipati but we’re trying to alliterate here) and rice.

Ratings for the book were as follows: Marnie 7, Nicole 8.5, Greg 8, Chez 8.5, Priya (whilst “trying to be objective”) was 10. Marnie found it a book of two halves. Initially thinking, “how will I get through this?” she found the latter part of the book riveting. Nicole enjoyed the book because of Atwood’s ability to craft a story around a far-out concept. Greg, while iffy about the structure, particularly enjoyed the character Crake, whom he felt accelerated the story. While Chez enjoyed the book, she found the science “sometimes unconvincing” but on the whole, sound. She found science and technology an interesting tool used by the writer to explore the weaknesses of humanity. Priya found Atwood’s writing a particular strength (she owns every Atwood book!).

Oryx and Crake is an interesting book as it essentially ends with the climax. For those who are interested in reading further on this post-apocalyptic journey, Year of the Flood is the parallel story. Priya, perhaps you will choose this book for your next book club! An interesting part of our discussion was the timing of the book. Marnie and Nicole estimated that it was at the end of the 22^nd century. Priya and Chez (the scientists among us) postulated that this book was staged much earlier – at the end of this century. Greg thought it was set around 2250.

Priya, though a new member of Marnic, hosted an excellent evening – it was a pity others couldn’t have been there.

Kite Runner

Rebekah chose Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini for book club. Its title is a reference to the Afghani passion for dueling kites, which is an integral part of the plot. Rebekah, Nicole, Georgia, Maite, Paul, Lona, John, Greg, Chez, Marnie and Anne were present. Jonny's presence was sprinkled throughout the evening and Priya skipped it to go to the premiere of Harry Potter. Daniel was called to work at the last minute but did leave his comments and a score. Rebekah served up a lovely platter of healthy nibbles to satisfy even our fussy lactose intolerant/gluten intolerant contingent, of which there is one. Nicole.

Hosted at the Prasad's, Rebekah's evening saw the highest scores yet to hit book club. It is fair to say that Kite Runner, while not considered "high brow", was a crowd-pleaser. Our hostess with the most-est scored the book a perfect 10. She loved the style of writing, the roller-coaster plot - it was her book equivalent of Titanic. Nicole found it a compelling and emotional tale, scoring an 8.5. Georgia scored the novel a 9, finding the author's effective writing style a particular strength. Maite found it gripping, giving a score of 9.5. Paul referred to Hosseini's masterful story-telling; though not a "massive" novel. Paul too scored 9.5. Lona really enjoyed it - he loved the escalating emotion, sometimes finding it emotionally exhausting. Lona, like Rebekah, thought it deserved the perfect score as well. John considered it a captivating story and wonderful read - another 9.5. Greg enjoyed the simple story-telling, but did not enjoy the dream sequences which were peppered through the story. Still, he scored it a 9.5. Chez commented similarly on the dream sequences, but otherwise enjoyed it - another 9.5. Marnie also gave it 9.5, particularly enjoying the characterisation - especially Baba - and catching a glimpse of an earlier Afghanistan. Anne scored the book a 9, finding the story-telling captivating.

Many of the group commented on the vivid characters in the novel. While Hassan was the most popular character, Amir drew conflicting emotions - at the end he showed real heroism, contrasted with his earlier cowardice. Redemption was considered by the group the most powerful theme of the novel.

An highly-enjoyed text Rebekah!

PS. For those in absentia: Daniel 8, Priya 7.5.

PPS. For those who arrived early, the other text was rated as follows. Paul 6, John 7, Marnie 7, Anne 7, Nicole 6, Greg 6, Chez 5.

Announcement: Jonny has declared himself "on a break" from bookclub. Jonny, would you consent to your mother deed-polling your name? She thinks that Ross may well be a better fit.