We are seven handsome and charming* guys who meet at a different restaurant every month or so, having read a book in common, and discuss whatever we want--generally the assigned book, but usually many other timely topics as well. We rotate the responsibility to suggest titles, but the group has the final say. Our book club rules: 1) Anything goes, fiction or nonfiction; 2) paperbacks are preferred; and 3) staying under 300 pages is desirable (N.B., we violate this one all the time). We rate all books and restaurants on a 5-point scale.

* All other adjectives were vetoed.

January 3, 2011

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (St. Paul Grill)

The most repeated comment about the book was "I'm glad we read this book."  Even though the style and format of the novel are old fashioned and the presentation is anything but subtle, Uncle Tom's Cabin still carries a punch, and it's easy to see why it had such a big impact on the mid-19th century--even beyond America.  We agreed that Tom himself has gotten somewhat of a bad rap in more recent times.  To be an "Uncle Tom" has come to imply aiding and abetting an evil institution, but Stowe actually depicts him as a simple but saintly man of great loyalty and principle who would not participate in evil doing.  We were also a little surprised at the centrality of Christianity in the novel.  Stowe uses the power of faith and message of Christianity to undermine slavery, and you don't have to be a believer to see how well this works.  All in all, a pretty great book that everybody knows about but relatively few read today.

As usual, the Grill was expensive, but top notch.
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