This was the last book club of the year, but also the first one as we begin our fourth year of book club! I remember back when book club was just a twinkle in Lisa's eye, so it's exciting to see that not only did she get it up and running, but that it has lasted so long! I'd like to take this moment to thank book club for getting me back into reading. I keep track of all the books I've read on Goodreads.com apparently I've read about 1/7th of all the books I've read in my whole whole life just this year! Aye carumba! While that makes the rest of my life an embarrassment, I'm proud that I've turned that around. Maybe I need a new book club because I ALWAYS read, bitches.
So last night's meeting on Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote was hosted by Dana, who had recently docked herself of a large quantity of hair. She still looked as adorable as ever though. Also in attendance was Chris R, Lisa, Jason and myself. Only Dana and I had read the whole book recently, while Chris R had read it in high school and refreshed his memory on the Wikipedia page before the meeting. Lisa and Jason read the first chapter and called it quits. For consumption there was delicious corn bread and black eyed peas in keeping with the Southern setting of the book. I had wanted to make some Southern greens, but blew it in the end by just bringing a tap-and-unwrap chocolate orange. Lisa brought candy cane minty Joe-Joe's which were a smash.
Dana and I traded off explaining the book to the uninitiated. It tells the story of Joel Knox, a boy whose mother has recently passed and was living with his aunt until a letter arrives from his father who had left him and his mother soon after he was born. The letter summons Joel to come and live with him, so the story opens just before Joel's arrival at his father's house. When he finally arrives, after much anticipation to meet him, he is not immediately introduced and is instead left building relationships with his father's wife Amy, her effeminate cousin Randolph and the hired negro help, Missouri who prefers to be called Zoo. Joel is there for quite some time where all mention of his father (who apparently resides in the house) is kept at a minimum and is shrouded in mystery until slowly Joel learns about his father as well as himself. The gay themes in the book were extremely controversial at the time of publication in 1948.
The conversation we had was good because it really helped me appreciate the book more. There were a few important things that had been subtly mentioned and as a result I had missed them, so it was good to have those things cleared up. I didn't realise it, but Capote was only 21 or so when he wrote the book which is a real accomplishment given the high quality and eloquence of the prose. In talking about the events of the book, it gave a new life to a lot of what was going on. I must say this is the first book in a long time where I thought the discussion helped bring the book to life. Perhaps I just hadn't been in the right frame of mind when I read it, but I certainly benefited from the meeting. This may make the book sound dull, but it really isn't and I highly recommend it!
We then moved on to our yearly book, City of Quartz, the final chapter! Lisa was the only one who read it and gave us a synopsis. It talked about the city of Fontana outside of LA and the artificial boom it experienced after the depression, being touted as the next big orange industry, or something like that. It ended up being a failure and apparently is a lasting joke as a result of the depressed economy it generated.
We followed that up with a discussion about the next yearly book, which has yet to be decided. There was talk of doing a novel, perhaps some classic that one wouldn't otherwise read. Chris R threw out Moby Dick but we are still open for nominations. As there was no solid host for January, we agreed with Lisa's suggestion to have a very casual meeting in January at a bar or something and discuss the first chapter of the yearly book. That might be a good way to kick start people on the project!
Possibly stemming from the controversial picture of Truman Capote featured with a suggestive pose that caused an uproar at the time of publication of Other Voices, Other Rooms, we ended up talking about the Roman Polanski rape case with a myriad of opinions being expressed. From that, onto Oscar nominations to Golden Globes to Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globes to a Ricky Gervais stand up bit about a son accidentally receiving a blow job from his father through a glory hole and from that just to simply glory holes. The meeting concluded with a pitiful book swap between Dana, Chris R and Lisa.
Controversial picture of Capote. His suggestive expression, which he claimed to be caught by accident, caused an uproar as it appeared on the dust jacket of the first printing.
See you next month! There should only be one chapter to read so it should be pretty cruisy!
