Thursday night we met and discussed Lisa See’s fascinating tale set in 19th century China, “Snowflower and the Secret Fan”. We spent a lot of time discussing the centuries old practice of foot binding and how incredibly pivotal that was for Chinese women. There is a lot to ruminate over from this book.

For our next move, we are heading to pre -WWII France with Suite Francaise by Irène Némirovsky. 
From the a NY times review:

THIS stunning book contains two narratives, one fictional and the other a fragmentary, factual account of how the fiction came into being. “Suite Française” itself consists of two novellas portraying life in France from June 4, 1940, as German forces prepare to invade Paris, through July 1, 1941, when some of Hitler’s occupying troops leave France to join the assault on the Soviet Union. At the end of the volume, a series of appendices and a biographical sketch provide, among other things, information about the author of the novellas. Born in Ukraine, Irène Némirovsky had lived in France since 1919 and had established herself in her adopted country’s literary community, publishing nine novels and a biography of Chekhov. She composed “Suite Française” in the village of Issy-l’Evêque, where she, her husband and two young daughters had settled after fleeing Paris. On July 13, 1942, French policemen, enforcing the German race laws, arrested Némirovsky as “a stateless person of Jewish descent.” She was transported to Auschwitz, where she died in the infirmary on Aug. 17.

Go here for the full article.

Usually we meet the last Thursday of the month but since that is Thanksgiving, we have moved the meeting to Thursday, December 1st and we will break for December and the holidays.

See you there

How’s your Halloween prep going? Will you be working on some last minute costumes over the weekend? If you are looking for ideas that are fun and not too ambitious, there are heaps of ideas here. These ones above are particularly creative and just involve some makeup and hair pizazz.

Also, Last night at October’s Literary club we discussed, “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” by Lisa See. A fascinating and harrowing novel for sure. We will announce the next book on Monday.

Speaking of snow, it just so happens that we also had our first snow fall of the season last night. There are mixed feelings about the early end to Autumn and the beginning of our frigid season but the buzz of Halloween is in the air and we won’t let a little cold and snow stop us from celebrating with our little snappers. We thought this picture taken by our friend and local Windsorite, Kerry, was appropriate for the season. A little bit of snow and a little bit of Halloween. She woke up to find her pumpkin wearing a mask she said.

Downtown Windsor, photo by Kerry Clifford

It may have come a few days later than expected, but foliage is here and is lovely.  There’s still time to catch the beauty – why not come visit us?

“A stunning setup for describing a culture inside a story, and Lisa See takes full advantage of it. On every page, she provides fascinating details of the lives of women in China.”

          — San Diego Union Tribune

Everyone is welcome to attend whether you have had a chance to read the book or you just like to join in on the conversation later this month in the Maxwell Perkins library. Please come! If you are on facebook you can join our group here.  We look forward to seeing you on October 27th at 7:30PM.