Desolation Island by Patrick O'Brian (Tullibee)

The restaurant is a fairly new place inside the Hewing Hotel in Minneapolis' North Loop.  It's a chic place with an attractive menu.  Service was fairly good but the prices very high.  We sauntered through a thicket of conversational topics, including state and national politics and golf before getting to the book.  Most of us were happy with it, but wished it came with annotations that explained the many obscure nautical terms.  The swashbuckling action was nicely leavened by the below-deck touches of civilized discourse and music making.

Our next book is Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone.  Others considered were Madeline Albright, Prague Winter, and J. D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy.  Jim will suggest the following title; we plan to meet on October 2.

One recommended book, outside the bookclub, is Tom Ricks' double biography, Churchill and Orwell.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Lexington)

One of the most sought after reservations in town is at the "new" Lexington restaurant.  We gathered with high expectations, and indeed the food was mostly very good and reasonably priced.  But the service was very slow (mostly because of the kitchen not the waitstaff) and the noise level kept the conversation pretty fragmented.  The book got a mixed reception.  Some rated it high because of its blend of science, research ethics, and human interest while others found it choppy and repetitive.

The next book is Patrick O'Brien, Desolation Island and we'll meet on July 31.  Other titles suggested were Ivan Doig, Dancing at the Rascal Fair and Larry McMurty, Horseman, Pass By.  Max suggests the following book.

A book one member enjoyed reading (outside of the book club): Bill Bryson, Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Tiny Diner)

Offbeat, eclectic, and full of families, Tiny Diner was a nice break from our usual fine dining venues.  There were only five of us and there was a little conversational catching up to do since two of our group had recently returned from winter sojourns in the southwest.  The book got mixed reviews: some liked the unique perspective and literary style of the author while others thought it was jumpy and hard to follow.  The book's narrator traces his mixed allegiances and actions following the fall of Saigon in Vietnam, Southern California, and Philippines.

The next book is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.  Other books recommended were Richard Russo's Nobody's Fool and Neither Wolf Nor Dog by Kent Nerburn.  We'll meet on Wednesday, June 28.  Bill will suggest the following book, Max is on deck.

Some other books recently read by members of the group: William Shirer, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Louise Erdrich, La Rose, David Grann, Lost City of Z, and Arlie Hochschild, Strangers in Their Own Land.

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (Rinata)

This was our second visit to Rinata and it ranked a little lower than last time, close to our overall average (fun fact: they get their wild boar from Texas).  Two of our compatriots were missing in action, actually out of state, but we had a lively conversation about politics, the governor's race, Trump, North Korea, and travel to Fiji.  The book by Cather was well received although it was variously described as "a little slow with minimal action" or "elegiac".  Everyone agreed that Cather was a wonderful writer.

The next book is the Pulitzer winning novel, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (We also considered a couple of nonfiction books: Helene Cooper's Madam President and Matthew Desmond's Evicted).  The next meeting is scheduled for May 23; the wayward Don is on deck to suggest the following book.

Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson (Strip Club)

We met at Strip Club, a mostly meat place that's closing in July.  The four of us who could make it were very happy with the food (try the pork chop) and service (we had a literary-savvy waitress).  Our conversation touched on the book, of course, but was mainly directed at non-political topics like travel to Fiji and Palm Springs.  Even Bryson fans thought this book somewhat grumpy.  One of us hated it; most liked it.

The next book is Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop, which was selected over a selection of chapters from Gibbons' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (very tempting).  Don is next in line to suggest the next book.  April 18 is the next meeting.

American Politics in the Early Republic by James R. Sharp (Italian Eatery)

There were only four of us at the dinner/meeting to discuss J. R. Sharp's history of the early days of the American Republic, but we had a lively conversation that picked up on some of the author's themes that seemed most relevant to today's fractured politics.  While some thought the book was dense, repetitive, and "academic", others thought it stylishly written and informative.  We talked a lot about politics, then and now.  Most of us gave the restaurant high ratings for good food, good service, and a relatively low noise level.

Our next book is Bill Bryson's Road to Little Dribbling.  Other titles considered were Millard's Destiny of the Republic, Montgomery's Soul of an Octopus, and Krueger's Iron Lake.  We'll meet on Tuesday, March 7; it's Don's turn to suggest the next book (followed by Paul).

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.

Main Street by Sinclair Lewis (Eastside)

Eastside is a fairly new restaurant unexplored by all except one of us, who had been there five times already.  It proved to be a popular choice, despite the limited menu.  Everybody was happy.  The book also pleased us all.  It's a classic and we were surprised by how it resonated even after almost a century in the canon.  The story of a newly-married idealistic young woman hoping to transform a small, rural town in Minnesota touched a bunch of nerves.  She suffocates, moves away, and returns, reconciled.  Unexpectedly, the book wowed us.

The next book is Bertolt Brecht, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.  Also considered were Josephine Tey, The Man in the Queue, and Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian.

Next meeting is Tuesday, December 20.  Jim will suggest the next title.

Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx (Boca Chica)

Only four of us could make it to the restaurant, so the conversation was pretty much limited to one topic: golf.  But we also touched on movies, travel, and politics.  The book was mostly well received, but it didn't warrant much commentary.  Darkly themed, the stories vividly describe an underbelly of American society.  Boca Chica is a favorite west side hangout and was a popular surprise for the two in our group who hadn't been there.

Our next book is Sinclair Lewis, Main Street, a classic novel that most of us have ignored in the past. Other ideas were Ivan Doig, English Creek, and Alice Munro, View From Castle Rock  We're scheduled to meet on Tuesday, October 25; Paul will suggest the next book.

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (Erte)

We met at Erte in NE Minneapolis.  The menu included steaks and lots of comfort food which proved good but not great.  The book, part of a series involving Scotland Yard's Inspector Alan Grant,  was mostly admired for its unique plot and its raising of interesting historical facts about the War of the Roses and King Richard III.  But it seemed a little contrived and, while easy to follow, employed somewhat stilted language.

The next meeting is set for Tuesday, September 20.  We chose Annie Proulx's Close Range: Wyoming Stories as our reading assignment.  We also considered Orhan Pamuk's Snow and Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer.  Bill suggests the next book.

Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher (Longfellow Grill)

A lot of talk about politics--local, national, Brexit--and upcoming travel to London, Galapagos, Myanmar, etc.  Longfellow is a pretty reliable place, but few of us had been there for dinner.  Everything was above average.

(Almost) everybody liked the book, an academic satire which had much resonance for those of us who worked in academe.  Nobody liked the main character much and for some reason that seemed to lower the rating of the book somewhat.  And we agreed that despite the enjoyment most of us had with the book, it was not of the same quality as books by Richard Russo (Straight Man) or David Lodge (Changing Places).

Our next title is Josephine Tey, The Daughter of Time, but we also considered David Rieff, In Praise of Forgetting.  We plan to meet on August 22, and Phil will suggest the following book.

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.