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.

June 1, 2016

A Time of Gifts: On Foot to Constantinople by Patrick Leigh Fermor (Upton 43)

We met at a new Scandinavian restaurant, Upton 43, where the menu was interesting, the food fairly good, the service slow, and the prices high.  Our discussion started and ended with politics, mostly on the national scene, and we had fun squabbling about--er, debating--the merits and demerits of the various personalities.  The book, the first of three volumes, is an account of a walking trip across pre-WWII Europe.  It's a 19 year old Brit's engaging and erudite memoir, actually written (from careful notes) 40 years after the event.  Including many literary and cultural references (some pretty obscure), it was a little hard to get into, but the author's personal stories and the superb quality of his writing made it well worth the effort.

The next book is Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher.  Other titles considered were The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen and Some Luck by Jane Smiley.  We'll meet on June 28. Paul will suggest the following book.

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