November 28, 2004
First Meeting - A Home at the End of the World
Our first book was A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham.
Richard writes "It's surprisingly difficult to choose a book for a reading group to discuss, especially for the first meeting. This task fell to me. I went for an accessible, contemporary novel by an American author I admire, Michael Cunningham (best known for The Hours, of which there's a film version) which explores the attempt of three young people - one gay, one bi, one straight - to form an 'alternative' family. Over a period of about twenty-five years, these three characters - Jonathan, Bobby and Clare - weave in and out of each other's lives, eventually bringing in others, such as Erich, who's dying of AIDS, and Rebecca, Clare's infant daughter. Triangular relationships keep forming and breaking up in this novel, a motif that runs through the book, creating a satisfying unity. The group weren't wild about the book but everyone got something from it and no one disliked it!"
Posted by nathan at 01:00 PM | Comments (1)