Charming Billy by Alice McDermott

Many years ago I read a book by Alice McDermott called Child of my Heart. It was a sweet ethereal meandering book. Charming Billy won a National Book Award, and that piqued my interest. It too was a meandering slow book. It was not written chronologically, but rather, gave a bit of information, went back in time, forward in time, and then came back to the bit of information, adding a little, and then back and forth again. The story was about an Irish New Yorker. The story starts at his wake, his death being a result of alcoholism. The friends and family at his wake blame his life-long drinking problem on lost love, but as we travel back to look at his life, we find nothing is that easily explained away. I enjoyed this book, but felt no compulsion to get back to reading it. If I were  not stuck on a plane for 3 1/2 hours, I may not have finished it. I didn't particularly care about the characters, not even the lead, supposedly lovable lush at the center. I find alcoholism selfish and not at all charming. The same writing style with a different story would have been more enjoyable. 

This book was thrown around our last meeting as a potential Sci-Fi pick. I'm glad it didn't make the final cut only because it doesn't really delve into the sci-fi aspect of the story. The main character is Kathy H. (you never know last names, just first initials) who as a child lived at Hailsham, an isolated private school in the English countryside where the students were sheltered from the outside world. The students are brought up to believe that they're special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. The students are told to focus on art, drawing, painting, poetry and their best works are taken from the school my a mysterious character only known as Madame. They are told their art work will to into The Gallery. We are introduced to Kathy H. as an adult and her job as a 'carer' to donors at various recovery centers. We eventually learn that the students at Hailsham are clones whose sole purpose in life is to donate and then 'complete.' The book focuses more on the relationships Kathy has with two of her classmates from Hailsham than the sci-fi part, who are they clones of, who is their 'possible'? But since the focus of the book is on the interpersonal relationships of these students/clones it does make you think, does a clone have a soul and a life completely separate and different from the original person they were cloned?

I did like this book and would read it again in the future only because I think it may be one of those books where you'll get more from it the second time you read it through.

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian

From the back cover: "On an icy winter night in an isolated house in rural Vermont, a seasoned midwife named Sibyl Danforth takes desperate measures to save a baby's life. She performs an emergency cesarean section on a mother she believes has died of a stroke. But what if Sibyl's patient wasn't dead - and Sibyl inadvertently killed her?"

When I began reading this book I was sure the author was pro-midwife but once I finished it I was not so sure. I can only filter this story through my own personal beliefs about midwives and childbirth. My mom is a certified nurse midwife who works in a hospital. I delivered two of my babies in a hospital with a midwife in attendance (I would have delivered all four that way but it just didn't work out). I considered a home birth but felt more comfortable in a hospital where 1) equipment was within arms reach to help if something went wrong and 2) I didn't have to deal with the mess in my house. However, I had friends who delivered babies at home with lay midwives and had incredible birth experiences too. In the end, I believe that a mother should deliver wherever and with whomever she feels most comfortable. In any case, we are talking about life, and life is messy - there is never a guarantee that everything will be okay. I hate that our society has become so litigious that there must always be someone to blame and made to pay if life gets messy. I thought this book was ultimately a warning against trusting anyone who isn't a medical doctor who went to school for years. I guess all I am saying is that everyone, including the most highly trained surgeons, makes mistakes. Anyway, it was a good book, definitely thought provoking and a little disturbing to me.

Loving Frank and The Country Girls March Meeting

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan turned out to be well liked by everyone. While we all thought Mamah was a selfish person for abandoning her family to be with Frank Lloyd Wright, we all still liked the story. As a love story, it missed the mark because no one was rooting for their relationship to succeed. However, the suprize ending made the novel well worth the read. We all said we would recommend the book.

The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien turned out to be a disappointment. We all expected fireworks since, upon publishing in the 1950's, the book was banned immediately in Ireland. The story was blah and the characters shallow. It wasn't a terrible book but no one in Book Club would recommend it either. The food and the company were great (as usual) at the meeting last night. The menu included Irish Stew made with Guinness, Beer Bread, Corned Beef with potatoes and carrots, Green Irish Ladies (a green champagne drink - yum!), Green salad, Green apple wedges with Dubliner cheese, and Caramel Apple Cake with Whiskey Cream. Delicious! Check back for recipes...