The Story of Beautiful Girl was a very worthwhile read for all of us. Though this is a work of fiction, it seems to fairly represent (from our memories and personal observations) a general atmosphere in the 50's and 60's about how the US treated people with mental and other disabilities. It was not always easy to read about the conditions in these places including abuse, misunderstanding, lack of learning opportunities and general deprivation.. The story kept our interest by luring us into hoping that the characters of Lynnie and Homan would be able to pull through their challenges and somehow be the proverbial Phoenixes who rise up. In the 1960's there were 500,000 people living in institutions across the US. This work does not represent the best, nor does it represent the worst of these institutions. But, the reality of parents warehousing imperfect children to avoid the stimulus attached to their child's condition is unthinkable to most of us in today's culture. At the time though, the medical profession encouraged it and painted a rosy picture of the care these children might receive and parents were convinced that it was the best solution for their child and for their families.
We agreed that while a lot of elements in the story line were far-fetched, they provided a platform for the characters to face challenges and to grow. There are central elements of symbolism that served to guide the characters through their lives. This is a long term love story and a story of hope and perseverance. Our group today rated the book overall at 4.8/5.
Thanks Linda for the pick.
COMING UP
Catherine the Great by Robert Massie - Tuesday, November 26 at Maria's at noon
Reading this book is an interesting look into the history of the 1700's when Sophia, a 14 year old minor Prussian princess was brought to Russia to become the wife of the heir apparent to succeed his Aunt (the Empress), Elizabeth. Once in Russia, Elizabeth renamed Sophia to Catherine. This extensive biography details the young girl's life before coming to court while Elizabeth was still on the throne and through her ultimate ascendency to the throne. She was well read and a proponent of Enlightenment which was a new concept of fair minded rules for governments and society in the mid 1700's. The realities of recent history dating back over the last hundred years is a stark contrast to the direction Catherine envisioned for her adopted country. It is a fascinating and detailed book. Be prepared to be immersed in life at court in Russia and the relations with her advisors, lovers and with Russia's European neighbors.
This book is one of a series of biographies of Russians including Peter the Great and the Romanovs. Massie's work has been highly praised by historical biography critics for his thoroughness and for the books' readability.
Planning Meeting for 2014 - Tuesday, December 10, at the Brownstone at noon.
This is our annual celebration of the books we read in the past and of the books we will read in the coming year. Members are asked to submit titles for consideration at this meeting. We will discuss the options and each of us will make our selection - one per person - for the coming year. The library has a list of suggestions of books that are available from a central source (rather than using the inter-library-loan system.) I'll have these materials available for the November and December meetings.
Last year we started with a huge list of titles and the process of discussing the books helped to hone in on titles that might appeal to all of us. Our selections should be either classic works ("Timeless") or more current works ("Timely"). Keep in mind that we will probably not be able to get the most recently published books through the library.
Follow the River by James Alexander Thom - January 28 - location to be determined
In preparation for 2014, the first selection was chosen so that the library would have a title for the Newsletter published in December. This was a consensus pick. Here is part of the description found on Amazon.com about the book:
"Mary Ingles was twenty-three, married, and pregnant, when Shawnee Indians invaded her peaceful Virginia settlement, killed the men and women, then took her captive. For months, she lived with them, unbroken, until she escaped, and followed a thousand mile trail to freedom--an extraordinary story of a pioneer woman who risked her life to return to her people."
--Susan
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