Twelve Members of the Book Club attended the May Meeting with apologies received from several others unable to be there for the evening. Brenda warmly welcomed everyone and “kicked off” the discussion with the question “What was it about?” amidst much laughter and total agreement everyone was saying the same thing!! Yes everyone!!
The discussion then began on the portrayal of the book which tells the story of Marianne and Connell who formed a close friendship which grew as they moved through University and careers, with both of them struggling to make sense of their relationship and feelings towards each other.
Everyone agreed there was absolutely no plot and the book was full of miscommunication, emotional abuse within the family, identity and class differences, all going on in the background of the social and political climate in Ireland at that time. Most members found the book tedious, boring and frustrating, with a couple of members finding the lack of “speech marks” a little confusing at times with having to re-read sections on occasion. It was also mentioned that their inability to communicate with each other was very unbearable and frustrating. “Watching these damaged characters work through their challenges and evolve into more mature individuals although was comforting, was simultaneously intensely frustrating.” During a lengthy discussion several members pointed out that the book, through dealing with the emotional abuse, manipulation and the family relationships including suicide, brought both their mental health issues to the fore. But members did find it strange that they never communicated with each other after the first year of University – they misunderstood each other all the time. They were both highly intelligent and it was thought would not be happy with anyone else. Although one member said she did find it quite interesting to take in generally details of what these teenagers were going through.
Marianne was a popular girl who put up a front, did not like rules or uniform so wrapped herself in a psychological shell whereas Connell was always worried about his peers’ opinions so sadly did not acknowledge his true feelings or relationship with Marianne. However, in their age of experimentation, they actually helped each other in an unorthodox way.
To sum up ………??? It was felt that the book was very character-driven, stripped down to dialogue with very few real descriptions or indeed a plot. Members nearly all agreed they were undecided whether they liked the book, with a few saying it was “OK”, several saying they did not really enjoy it at all, and one actually hating it! A few members had seen the television series which most found tedious but one member felt the portrayal sensitive and more enjoyable than the actual book.
SO DEFINITELY A THUMBS DOWN AND NO RECOMMENDATIONS!