For November Meeting we recover the post published this summer with Marta's recommendation about a book by Elizabeth Strout in the "What are you reding?" section.
The text to read in November is the first chapter of the book, entitled "Pharmacy".
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| Amazon |
Marta's contribution.
I heard about this Pulitzer winner thanks to an article in the Guardian in which men recommended books written by women. Filmmaker Michael Curtis spoke so highly of this book that I decided to read the first chapter in Amazon's Look Inside. I was immediately captured by the story of Henry Kitteridge, a warm-hearted pharmacist who happened to be Olive's husband. I decided to read the whole book and, to my surprise, it wasn't a novel as such but a collection of short stories in which Olive appears, mostly as a secondary character, sometimes as the main one. Little by little, we are given the pieces of the puzzle that represents Olive's complex personality.
This is a very well-crafted book which probably deserves the prize it received, and the author is a deep observer of human nature. However, all the stories are extremely sad, as if the author's goal were to prove the impossibility of constructing fully satisfying relationships, no matter your character. To put it bluntly, it depressed me to the core.
On the upside, I think it would be a perfect book to discuss in the book club, as it gives the reader plenty of space to reach their own conclusions.
My recommendation would be to read the first chapter, The pharmacist, no matter whether you read the rest or not.
Happy reading!
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| Illustration: Lalalimola/The Guardian |
> The Guardian - Books by women that every man should read: chosen by Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie, Richard Curtis and more
This book sounds very interesting. I will definitely read it, even if it is depressing. Thanks for the recommendation.
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