The Reading Group

Being a lifelong book lover, I was immediately attracted to this book by its title. Being a fan of womens books and the dilemmas facing contemporary women, I was attracted to the back cover which explains about the problems the women in this book will face (no listing of prestigious awards since the women in this club hate that type of thing.) Harriet, Nicole, Polly, Susan, and Clare come together once a month to read a book chosen by one of the members. Some are heavy (My Antonia, The Alchemist) some are lighter and more contemporary (Heartburn) and some are classics (Rebecca). Some are beloved by the members and one or two are branded as 'stinkers.' The women have an interesting but brief discussion of each book which will be especially interesting if you have read the book being discussed. If you haven't, that's ok too, as it is not essential to the storyline. However, it is amazing how the women's lives mirror to various extents the books they read. These are 21st century women facing real issues: infertility, a cheating spouse, an unwed and pregnant daughter, a terminally ill parent, and a marriage whose flame has burned out. I loved getting to know these women and seeing how they worked out their problems over the course of the year. They made choices I agreed with and choices I wanted to scream at them for. But they managed to survive and thrive and give readers a relatively happy ending with lots of smiles and a few tears. Witty and engaging, this book shows female bonding at its best.

Sure, it's hard at first to keep the characters straight- especially if you wait days in between readings, but this book is amazing. I fell in love with the English flavor of it. I can hear their accented voices. It suprised me by how the characters are not typecast, how they evolve. There are many points of view, not one center character who is the most perfect or the most needy, like most of these books. The friendships are real. The male-female relationships are real. The friends are not equally close- some know each other better than others. The book club has dropouts and weak meetings, like real life. The women don't dismiss or ignore or throw in the face each other's dysfunctional patterns, but they are aware of them and find ways to be accepting. They often just listen to each other. They also appreciate each other's differences and find value in them instead of judging. They are not catty. Also, each plot doesn't drag out. It moves quickly. Some endings are shown thru the uninvolved characters, because the end is not the important part, it's the journey. Also, I love the metaphors. Very fresh and dead on accurate. Loved it.

It's about time there is a book about ordinary women who meet together once a month to talk about books only to bond through life's ordinary travesties! Sure the book starts out with a group of women meeting together to discuss a book or two ~~ but this novel is more of women and their relationships with one another among the ordinary backdrop of life itself in an ordinary English town. This time, it's women that you and I can relate to ~~ it's about your mother, sister, best friend, your daughter and you ~~ all the women you know and love in your life all wrapped in this book. You know the characters because you live their lives. These women, Clare, Susan, Polly, Nicole and Harriet meet once a month to discuss that month's book. Through their conversations with one another and separately, you begin to gleam their characteristics. Nicole and Harriet are best friends who pull no punches when it comes to the hard issues of life (like betrayal/infidelity, babies and so on). Susan and Polly have the older children ~~ they met through their children. Susan is also taking care of an elderly mother. Clare struggles with her own problems of being unable to have children. These women bonded together over books at first then over each other's dilemmas. Reading these books for their bookclub gave each woman an opportunity to open up and be rewarded with friendships that is life-enriching and meaningful. It's like reading gives you an opportunity to open up to other rewards that is being offered to you by other readers. It is a gift that keeps on giving. This is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Once my mom reads this book, I plan to get my bookclub to read it. I have not read most of the books listed in there ~~ but that's ok. I will now! I love how these women have opened up since the first bookclub meeting ~~ makes me wish there is a sequel. This is a book that clamors to be shared ~~ so don't hesitate in making this one of your bookclub reads or even for your own personal enjoyment. It's one of the best reads for my 2005 list! 2-24-05

I adored this book! Any booklover should. I loved how each book was discussed (pro and con)and how they were able to relate the books read to their life experiences and the things that were going on in their lives right at the time. For instance with the last book, GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING at the book discussion one of the characters says "I wish they would put what the book was about on the back. It's really off-putting when it's just quotes. You want to know what the story is about, not whether it's won loads of prizes or critical acclaim. That just makes it pretentious, doesn't it? This is a classic example of a book I would never have picked up if it hadn't been for the reading group." (something I agree with as a reader). I should have marked all the passages in the book that had me nodding in agreement, the aforementioned was just one of them. The fact that not all the members had a chance to read each book was really great as well - just like my own f2f book and many online books. Although the character of Clare wasn't as clearly fleshed out as the others, I found myself feeling that I knew each of these women. The book is told not only from the POV of the reading groups members, but others in their lives as well. There are some real surprises here and everything isn't as what it seems originally. Dealing with such domestic issues as infertility, teenage pregnancy, caring for an elderly parent, adult sibling issues, adultery, boredom, caring for young children, the women in the book deal with many of the same things we do everyday. This is the best women's friendship book I have ever read and I have read (and enjoyed) many. Just to entice you the books read and discussed are: Heartburn by Nora Ephron I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith Atonement by Ian McWan The Woman who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle Guppies for Tea by Marika Cobbold My Antonia by Willa Cather The Memory Box by Margaret Forster Eden Close by Anita Shreve An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier The Alchemist by Paul Coelho Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier I own and/or have read, all but four of the books and plan on picking up the others (The Woman who Walked into Doors, Guppies for Tear, The Memory Box and Eden Close). Read this book - I guarantee you won't be sorry you did!

The Reading Group tells the story of 5 women from different walks of life, ages, and experiences that come together each month to discuss books and how the stories relate to their day to day troubles. Over the course of a year, each one of these ladies go through their own trials and tribulations but one thing stayed steady, the friendship that has blossomed between them. If you are a member of a reading group, I would highly suggest you read this book and then try to read each one of the twelve books listed. You will get so much out of this original women fiction novel you will want to pass it along to your friends.