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.

May 27, 2020

The Plague by Albert Camus (Zoom)

Zooming is a fair substitute for in-person business communication, but it isn't great for a conversation among friends.  There are the awkward start/stop talk overs, the missed body language, and the stilted format to contend with.  Not to mention the poor quality of food and service.  Nevertheless, we pulled it off and plan to do it again.

Reading this Camus during a pandemic was cathartic.  The book might have been a metaphor, but it certainly reflects many of the hardships, dilemmas, emotions, and moral choices that we are experiencing today.  Camus' spare, blunt writing style adds drama and weight to the human tragedy that unfolds in the novel. He shows that evil is real and has to be resisted.

The next book will be one of these: The Hobbit by Tolkien, Out of the Silent Planet by Lewis, The Golden Compass by Pullman, A Wrinkle in Time by L'engle, or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by Rowling.  Don is next to suggest a book.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)