Irma Voth was not a top pick for subVERSEive; it received an average rating of 3.3 stars out of 5 stars. One member commented, “it reminded me of a story by someone who was high.” In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, the group did manage to have an excellent discussion about Miriam Toews’ novel. The book was character-driven, and much of our talk focused on the relationships among Irma’s family members, as well as the ways in which the Mexican film crew interacted with the Mennonites. For some of us, the period of time when Irma and Aggie had just arrived in Mexico City with their infant sister, Ximena, stood out as the most interesting part of the book. At this point of great plight, Irma’s resourcefulness became apparent and some interesting new characters were introduced (Noehmi and the protesters, the taxi driver, and Hubertus and Natalie). We agreed that Irma and Aggie were fortunate to encountered helpful people; things could have gone terribly wrong had someone taken advantage of the naivety of the young women. Other aspects of the book which we discussed included how the novel depicted life in a Mennonite community (the author grew up in the small Mennonite town of Steinbach, Manitoba), the relationship of law enforcement to Mennonite communities, themes of isolation, rebellion, and parenting, the logistics of filmmaking, and the author’s references to art and music. We wondered if it might have been possible for Irma, Aggie, and Ximena to seek asylum in Canada, and we also wondered why Irma took the risk of returning to the campo to visit her mother. The novel was definietely thought-provoking.
At the October meeting, the members in attendance made the decision to include all 3 books from the previous blog post in our 2012 lineup. There are also 3 additional books that I have chosen based on the availability of the newer book club kits. Here are the books we will be reading in the first half of the new year:
The Help (Kathryn Stockett) – January 16th
Right of Thirst (Frank Huyler) – February 13th
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (William Kamkwamba) – March 19th
The Beauty of Humanity Movement (Camilla Gibb) – April 16th
The Best Laid Plans (Terry Fallis) - May 14th
Cool Water (Dianne Warren) - June 18th
There’s a non-fiction book, a political satire, and a mix of male and female protagonists. The stories are set in the Canada, the southern United States, Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. There should be something to appeal to every taste.
I am looking into the possibility of getting a book club kit made for The Marriage Plot, the new novel (just released last week!) by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jeffrey Eugenides. If you have suggestions for other titles, please let me know.
For those of you who missed the meeting, you can sign out a copy of our November book, Room (Emma Donoghue), from the book club kit at the Adult Information Desk on the second floor of the library. Tell the librarian that you belong to the subVERSEive book club.
