August's read was the Booker shortlisted A Spool of Blue Thread The Tyneside Book Club combined our August choice with a meal - although that made discussion a little difficult.
The choice was Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread - a family saga following several generations living in the same Maryland house.
All who contributed to a more limited discussion agreed this was a book which was engaging to read, and despite being sizeable, most completed it quite quickly.
To most the characters seemed very real - making you believe they could exist beyond the page - although all remarked that the two daughters were more thinly characterised. There was some discussion about how likeable some of the cast of people were - particularly Abby, but also Junior and Linny-Mae.
For some this was a barrier, but for others the spikiness and complexity of the characters demonstrated how real they felt. The author also never seemed to be judging the characters.
There was also discussion about the structure of the novel - with Anne Tyler successively taking the reader back in time. This at first seemed an uncomfortable break in narrative, but then many found themselves drawn back in again by the quality of the writing.
But there was some division ultimately about how successful A Spool of Blue Thread was. For some it wasn't quite remarkable enough, but for others it was that lack of a remarkable narrative that made it feel so real and speak to them,
The choice was Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread - a family saga following several generations living in the same Maryland house.
All who contributed to a more limited discussion agreed this was a book which was engaging to read, and despite being sizeable, most completed it quite quickly.
To most the characters seemed very real - making you believe they could exist beyond the page - although all remarked that the two daughters were more thinly characterised. There was some discussion about how likeable some of the cast of people were - particularly Abby, but also Junior and Linny-Mae.
For some this was a barrier, but for others the spikiness and complexity of the characters demonstrated how real they felt. The author also never seemed to be judging the characters.
There was also discussion about the structure of the novel - with Anne Tyler successively taking the reader back in time. This at first seemed an uncomfortable break in narrative, but then many found themselves drawn back in again by the quality of the writing.
But there was some division ultimately about how successful A Spool of Blue Thread was. For some it wasn't quite remarkable enough, but for others it was that lack of a remarkable narrative that made it feel so real and speak to them,
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