#145 - The Mirror and the Light - Hilary Mantel (Choice: Gill C)(Venue: Pho, Covent Garden)

November 30th, 2022

Present: Nic, Nat, Jen, Sabine

Well, tying this date and venue to the book may be stretching things, given that few have ever finished it and Gill C, who subjected us to this (I mean chose this), wasn't present.

Who started this tome, I am not sure. Who finished it, many, many fewer. 

This may be the book that breaks Book Group. Whilst the first two books of this trilogy and Eight Months on Ghazzah Street (a previous LGAG read) were a delight, flowing prose carrying us effortlessly to the end, this is like wading through treacle. There's a tension to it, which comes from knowing what will happen to our "hero" but the prose is dense and difficult and much of it appears extraneous. Was Hilary too big and successful a name to edit any more? Will we ever read again? These questions haunted us. But we do know that Gill C uses it as a computer monitor stand. 

Thank goodness for Richard Osman, come to save us with our unofficial book group reads The Thursday Murder Club series. How we love Joyce and Elizabeth et al. We are reborn.

#141 - Small Pleasures - Clare Chambers (Choice: Gill C)(Venue: Zoom)

September 9th, 2021

Present: Jen, Sabine, Gill F, Nic

My first draft said I hadn’t read this because everyone had panned it. Now I have to edit it. Damn Kindle - I can barely remember what I’ve read and what I haven’t! Well, it is either Kindle or old age. I am starting to feel like the protagonist in Elizabeth is Missing.  

Universally revered by everyone here and, via What’s App, by Nat who declared it a “9/10 book”, “slick”, “dry humour”, “identifiable” and “LOVED IT”. Now that I’ve worked out which book it is, I agree with everything she says. A heart-warming story of adultery, rape, and rail disaster. 

#132 - My Sister The Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite (Choice: Gill C)(Venue: Zoom)

Wednesday July 15th, 2020

Present: Gill F, Gill C, Jen, Sabine, Nic

A quick, easy, fun read and a frustrating tale of moral ambiguity. 

#118 They Were Sisters - Dorothy Whipple (Choice Gill C) (Venue: Foxlow, Clerkenwell)

Date: Wednesday 10 October 2018
Present: Gill C, Sabine, Nic

Praise for They were Sisters:

Doris: I enjoyed the book – worth persevering 

Nat: Yes, I’m really enjoying it too 

Gill F: I’m enjoying too 

Sabine: 445 pages is quite a big book – it certainly seemed quite a long read 

Doris: I kept hoping Geoffrey would meet a painful death. 

Sabine: that hope kept me reading too.

#105 - The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing (Choice: Gill C) (Venue: OTE)

Date: August 25, 2016
Present: The hardcore (Nic, Gill C, Sabine)

Views from the 29th floor, that both Gill and Sabine were somewhat wary to enjoy, insufficient chairs (even though there were only 3 of us) but lots of yummy tapas-ish food - including the best gelato (courtesy of Sabine) - and great conversation, after early dismissal of the book! We were reading this since May, which speaks ... volumes (see what I did there!).

"I was so excited when at Kindle 75%, I reached the end!!! The rest was an interview with the author which I felt entitled to skip" - Nic
"Tried ones patience! Dated" - Sabine (on her second reading, which is worthy of an award in itself!)
"More intelligent than me" - Gill C (which, no-one else agrees with, BTW)
"Oh my God" - Jen

Footnote: This actually marks 10 years since our first meeting, August 2016.  Lucky we opened some bubbles!

#95 - The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins (Choice: Gill C) (Venue: Booking Bar and Restaurant, St Pancras)

Date: 28th May 2015
Present: Jen, Sabine, Gill C, Nic

The food was enjoyable and the live piano act was loud. So loud, Gill asked them to turn him down! Others will have to work hard if they fancy picking up "most appropriate venue" this year though.

Comments, collected latterly:
"Compelling" - Nic
"Ok but not as good as Gone Girl" - Sabine
"Much better than the film" - Gill C
"Kept me turning pages" - Jen