The book selection for August in our reading group was Jenny Offill’s Dept. of Speculation. Vogue’s praise for the novel: “Piercingly honest. . . . A series of wry vignettes that deepen movingly.”
I don’t think I would call her assorted paragraphs vignettes.
The Guardian (London) wrote: “Dept. of Speculation is a riposte to the notion that domestic fiction is humdrum and unambitious. . . . A shattered novel that stabs and sparkles at the same time.”
I agree that the novel is shattered and that it stabs and sparkles. It’s an excellent way to describe how I felt when I read it and when I think about it now.
The Guardian (London) goes on to say, “It is the kind of book that you will be quoting over and over to friends who don’t quite understand until they give in and read it too. . . . A book this sad shouldn’t be so much fun to read.”
I won’t be quoting from the book, but yes, friends couldn’t understand a description of the style until they read it. The last statement is true. It’s sad, yet fun to read.
Sam Lipsyte’s quote in the front of the book says it well: “Gorgeous, funny, a profound and profoundly moving work of art. Jenny Offill is a master of form and feeling, and she gets life on the page in new, startling ways.”
Yes, a work of art. Yes, she gets life on the page in new, startling ways. I was inspired to try the form, but I know it would take a long time to get it right with a huge learning curve. For September, our reading group member chose The Melody Lingers On by Mary Higgins Clark who has written thirty-four suspense novels among many other books in different genres. She’s called the “Queen of Suspense” and this book is described as “A breathtaking tale of deception, missing billions, and those determined to learn the truth at any cost.” I’m looking forward to reading it. I haven’t read a suspense story in quite a while.
For September, our reading group member chose The Melody Lingers On by Mary Higgins Clark who has written thirty-four suspense novels among many other books in different genres. She’s called the “Queen of Suspense” and this book is described as “A breathtaking tale of deception, missing billions, and those determined to learn the truth at any cost.” I’m looking forward to reading it. I haven’t read a suspense story in quite a while.
At our meeting we agreed that the benefit of a reading group is we read books we wouldn’t choose on our own, but when we have a month to read them, then discuss them, it broadens our reading experience.
Are you in a reading group? You could start one. We presently have five people and two absentees, which is a good size. Our meetings once a month last for about two hours. The member who chooses the book writes ten questions for the other members to answer and everyone has a chance to read their answers in the group.
Have you read the two books above?
