New book by Jose Saramago

I just finished reading Jose Saramago's new book, Death with Interuptions. Years ago, we read Blindness. I find his writing style very interesting, with minimal punctuation and run-on sentences. This book was much lighter in spirit than his other books that I've read. I often found myself chuckling at his humor. The story takes place in an unnamed country where all deaths stop at the beginning of a new year. People celebrate until they gradually realize the implications of having no death. We see the reactions of the church, morticians, politicians, mafia and others. We also learn much about the being "death" as she orchestrates this whole experience. I really liked this book and would love to talk with anyone else who reads it. It also might be a great discussion book for next year.

Thanks Paula for hosting and thank you Abby for the delicious treats.  I enjoyed the discusion, even though I didn't love the book.  Thank you all for embracing me into your group.  I look forward to next month.  Linda

Good Discussion!

I just returned home after our meeting. Here's my quick summary: The Other was not universally loved, but it made for a good discussion. If you weren't able to attend our meeting, but read this book, please do weigh in with a comment.
Just a note on another book we previously read: Epithet for a Peach, which is one of my favorites. I recently found out that the author, David Masumoto, has a new book coming out in August, called Wisdom of the Last Farmer.

Thanks for coming everyone

Meeting Postponed

For anyone who hasn't gotten the message: we are postponing our meeting until next week, due to snow! Can't wait for spring to arrive.

New meeting place

Hope everyone has noted that we have a new meeting place for our March meeting. We'll be at Paula's house. Ann is leader and our book is The Other by David Guterson.

The Year of Magical Thinking

I read this book by Joan Didion some time ago. It deals with a difficult topic--the author's coming to terms with life after the sudden death of her husband. The two were unusually close--both writers who spent a good part of each day in each other's company. It's one of those books that's stayed with me for a long time.
The book was made into a play and ran in New York for some time--with the lead played by Vanessa Redgrave (how can you go wrong there!). It's now coming to Seattle. It will be produced by Intiman Theater with a run from August 21-September 20. I think it would be fun to read this book and see the play together. Any takers?