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.

December 23, 2016

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht (Tea House)

This month's book was a 1941 play by Brecht, a parody of the rise of Hitler set in Chicago gangster land.  A cheatsheet was helpful in determining which gangster is supposed to be which Nazi, but as the play rolls along, it all becomes clear.  Some might complain that the parody is too close to reality, but as a new authoritarian strongman rises in America, the play gains significance.  The play appeared on Broadway twice and was staged by the Guthrie in 1968.

We probably talked more about politics, past and future, than anything else.  The restaurant was not universally loved, but it seemed like pretty authentic Chinese cuisine, service was good, and we were put into a quiet anteroom which made our conversation audible.

The next book is American Politics in the Early Republic, by James Roger Sharp.  Other titles considered were Plain Honest Men by Richard Beeman and America Afire by Bernard Weisberger.  Roger suggests the following one and we'll meet on Tuesday, January 24.
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