October reading

We discussed, 'Lake Success' at our October book club last week. It had been chosen by one of the group because it promised in the reviews to be a humorous read and so many of our book choices this year had turned out to be pretty depressing. Well, this one was no different! As a reflection of modern day America it painted a very grim picture and because Britain tends to follow where America leads it made uncomfortable, and at times unpleasant, reading. (None of us plan to make a Greyhound bus journey any time soon!) Although we felt the book to be rather flawed, with a weak, unrealistic ending it did engender a really lively discussion. The 'humour' mentioned in the reviews came from a few one-liners in the Woody Allan style. 

Jeanette Winterson's re-making of, 'A Winter's Tale' I found interesting, and an obvious choice of Shakespeare's plays for her to choose given her background as an adopted child.

I enjoyed the book, especially her piece at the end of the story that analyses  the role of forgiveness and time in Shakespeare's later plays.

I have yet to finish Pat Barker's, 'The Silence of the Girls'. The book is a re-telling of the Trojan War from the female perspective. I'm loving it and  shall have to look again at 'The Iliad' which I haven't read since my school days.  The book is on loan from the travelling library, a hardback edition, nicely printed and with a good cover design and end papers, all of which adds my pleasure in reading.