Ruins by Achy Obejas (Loring Kitchen)

We had an animated conversation about the state government shutdown, national debt stalemate, and general political turmoil that grips our land. Needless to say, we were not in total agreement!  We were at Loring Kitchen and Bar, a place kind of hard to find and navigate to.  The waitress, who overheard much of our discussion, said that in her experience we were only the second group to actually talk about serious things in her six-month tenure at the restaurant.  We took that as a compliment, but again bemoaned the sorry state of our national discussion.

When we got to the book, Ruins, a story of a Cuban supporter of the Castro revolution whose life sours, some of the talk again turned political, especially revolving around the notion that American liberals might kind of like Castro.  Three in our group have been to Cuba, liked many things about the people and the place, but--flash!--disavowed supporting dictatorship.

Our next meeting is scheduled for September 13, and the book will be Alice Munroe's Too Much Happiness.  Other titles considered were Robertson Davies' What's Bred in the Bones, and Harry Bernstein's The Invisible Wall.  Max is up next time.

Heavenly City of the Eighteenth Century Philosophers by Carl Becker (Duplex)

We had a lively discussion about state politics and the specific topic of teacher pay before getting to the book, which was generally well received.  Elegantly written, the book is something of a classic in historical analysis that is still a touchstone among scholars, arguing that 18th century thinkers--especially the folks that spawned the American Revolution, like Thomas Jefferson--owe more to their medieval predecessors than they themselves thought.  The restaurant, with a tilt toward Italian cuisine, also got high ratings.  The next book is Ruins, a noir novel of Cuba by Achy Obejas.  Other books considered included two by David Foster Wallace, Break It Down by Lydia Davis, and Summertime by J. M. Coetzee.  Next meeting: July 11.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (Cafe Levain)

We met at Cafe Levain and dined on fish and steak frites.  Although we spent much of our time talking about politics and foreign policy, the book (Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken) got its fair share of attention, and it received mostly a positive reaction from everybody.  Some thought it went into too much detail in a few areas and that it tended to exaggerate or sensationalize some parts of the story, but most of us were amazed at the story of raw survival against the odds and enjoyed reading the book.  Next time we'll read Carl Becker's Heavenly City of the Eighteenth Century Philosophers.  The meeting is planned for May 31.

Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne (Salut)

Everybody seemed to learn something new from this month's book, Empire of the Summer Moon, which tells the  tale of the destruction of the Comanche nation by the westward push of white settlers in the mid-to-late 1800s.  Focusing particularly on the experiences of a white captive woman and her "half-breed" son, who became one of the last prominent Comanche chiefs, the story chronicles the prolonged but inevitable replacement of the hunter-gatherer indians by the farmer/rancher whites.  It also details the brutality (on both sides) that accompanied the take over of the southern Great Plains and hints at the future politics and culture of this part of the country.

As usual, other topics arose such as our members travel to places like Paris/London, SE Asia, Ecuador, and, yes, Texas.

Our next book is Laura Hillenbrand's, Unbroken; and the planned meeting is April 27.  Other books suggested were two novels: Tom Rachman's The Imperfectionists and Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist.  Paul suggests the next book.

Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck (Blackbird)

The group met at Blackbird restaurant in Minneapolis and discussed John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, which I gathered the group thought had not weathered well.   I wasn't there. The next book will be Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne.

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.

The Big Short by Michael Lewis (Heartland)

We met at Heartland's new space in downtown St. Paul and enjoyed a top notch dinner in a relatively quiet corner.  There was lots to talk about, especially election results and the fallout in the Minnesota Legislature.  But the book, a micro-level analysis of the current financial crisis, also got its due.  We discussed and quibbled over the big meaning of the meltdown, its "root causes", and what could or should have been done to prevent it.  Everybody agreed, however, that the book was well-written and made a very complicated issue a little clearer.  Next time we'll read Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.  Also suggested were Per Petterson's To Siberia and Bruce Chatwin's Songline.

Tinkers by Paul Harding (Haute Dish)

Dinner was at a well-regarded new restaurant, Haute Dish, which turned out to have some tasty dishes but whose overall rating was embarassingly low because of slow/bad service. They put us in a relatively quiet back alcove, and then kind of abandoned us for most of the next 2 1/2 hours. Our book discussion was outstripped by talk about travel, politics, and other topics. For some reason, despite its general poopularity Tinkers offered fewer interesting discussion points than many of our previous selections. For next time, we are reading The Big Short by Michael Lewis, an analysis of the financial crisis. The only other book suggested was John McPhee's Survival of the Bark Canoe. Bill suggests the next book.

Art of Travel by Alain de Botton (Fuji-Ya)

The noise at Fuji Ya made it hard to have a good conversation about Art of Travel, but we did our best.  We talked about different kinds of travel, the reasons for and morality of travel, and other topics prompted by de Botton’s generally well received and readable book.  The writer’s device of organizing each chapter around an idea and one or more “guides” or writers generally worked well, but the book was somewhat choppy, as if each chapter was a stand-alone essay.  Bill and Max missed this one and they were the next two to suggest future books.  In their absence, Phil urged us to pick Tinkers, a book that he mentioned last time.  So we did.

Journey of Man by Spencer Wells (Sanctuary)

Dinner was excellent at Sanctuary in Minneapolis, and the book (Journey of Man by Spencer Wells) got decent, but below average scores. The next book, suggested by Phil, is Alain de Botton’s Art of Travel. Other suggestions: Paul Harding, Tinkers, and Anne Enright, The Gathering.

Deaf Sentence by David Lodge (128 Cafe)

We made a return visit to 128 Cafe in St. Paul and gave it a pretty good rating, although not quite as positive as last time. Our book, David Lodge's Deaf Sentence, got mixed but mostly positive reviews, and everybody remarked on how much discussion it evoked, undoubtedly because most of us could identify with the main character and the topic of aging. Next month's book is Spencer Wells' The Journey of Man, a story of evolution that accompanied a PBS special. Other books considered: C. S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters and Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe; H. Von Kleist, Marquise of O.; Philip Pullman, Golden Compass; and Edward Buscombe, Stagecoach (plus the movie). These were Paul's suggestions. Phil is up next.

The Skeptical Romancer by Somerset Maugham (Barbette)

Our book this month was Somerset Maugham's The Skeptical Romancer, a collection of his travel writings from the 1930s. Most aggreed that Maugham's writings still seemed fresh although a couple of us rated the book only average. This was our second visit to Barbette, and we gave it outstanding marks. The next book is David Lodge's Deaf Sentence. Other suggestions were The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, This Republic of Suffering  by Drew Gilpin Faust, and Deadwood by Pete Dexter. Paul suggests the next book.