Welcome to the Mineola Library Book Discussion Group! I've started this blog to provide news and encourage discussion for book club members: past, present and future. It's easy to join the book club. The only requirement is that you love reading. We meet on a selected Wednesday evening every month at 7 pm.
If you can't make a meeting but would like to share your opinion of the selected book, please email me at midirector@nassaulibrary.org.
Thanks,
Charles Sleefe
Director- Mineola Library
JULY MEETING
Our group was in general agreement that "The Virgin of Small Plains" was a good, quick summer read and an interesting mystery. Most criticism concerned questionable actions taken by some of the characters, and lack of a strong main character.
AUGUST MEETING
Our book for August is the international best seller Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. Nemirovsky was an acclaimed author in France in the 1930's, and died tragically in a German concentration camp. At the time, she was working on a three part "literary suite" which would chronicle the French nation and people during World War II. In 1998, a manuscript was found which contained the first two parts of the suite. The two parts- "Storm in June" and "Dolce" were published in France as Suite Francaise and became an immediate sensation. The book also became a best seller soon after its translation was released in the United States in 2006.
The first part, "Storm in June" captures the chaos and outrage as Parisians flee Paris in advance of the Nazi army in June 1940. We hear the words and see the actions of the helpless and the selfish, as well as the experience of several soldiers in the French army. Part two, "Dolce" is centered on a small French village during the occupation. The main character, Lucile, is faced with loneliness and despair as she waits for news on her husband who is a prisoner of war. Her loyalty is tested when she begins to have feelings for a young German officer who has taken up residence in her home.
We will meet to discuss Suite Francaise on Wednesday August 22 at 7 pm. We'll be outside on the deck if weather permits.
Click on this link to read the New York Times review of Suite Francaise.
Click here for some interesting biographical information on Irene Nemirovsky