Tag Archives: Book Club

Book Club: I came to say goodbye by Caroline Overington

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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Abstract

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar.Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…

Comments

This was a much anticipated read for our group.  It had been a popular choice when we selected our book titles a few months back.  For some, it more than lived up to expectations, enjoying the plot twists and turns.  While others found it a bit underwhelming.. A bit.. meh?

This was another book that really divided opinions amongst our group, generating lots of discussion.  We all found the book to be well written, with characters that made us feel something.. Whether that be love or hate!  Those who loved it; liked the plot twists and the suspense.  Those who didn’t like it, found it hard to like the main characters.

Rating – 7.5 / 10

Read by Culcha Club

 

I Came to Say Goodbye

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I Came to Say Goodbye by Caroline Overington

A young woman pushed through the hospital doors. She walked into the nursery, where a baby girl lay sleeping. The infant didn’t wake when the woman placed her gently in the shopping bag she had brought with her. There is CCTV footage of what happened next, and most Australians would have seen it, either on the internet or the news. The woman walked out to the car park, towards an old Corolla. For a moment, she held the child gently against her breast and, with her eyes closed, she smelled her. She then clipped the infant into the car, got in and drove off. That is where the footage ends. It isn’t where the story ends, however. It’s not even where the story starts.

Comments

A disturbing and at times, harrowing read, that was heart-breaking because of its reality.  A very well written story that had us turning the pages quicker than an Aldi catalogue wanting to know what else could possibly happen or go wrong for this family.

While we liked the way the writer told the story, in letter form to a judge, some struggled to sympathise with him and other characters.  We all felt like they all could have done more or should have done more for each other.  This is the first book in a little while that has generated a lot of discussion within our group.  Over who did and why they did it. And who was at fault. And if the grandfather had intervened earlier, like he had always intended too, would any of this have ever happened.  We wondered where the mother went and why she seemed to have had no contact with anyone after she left.  Did some of the blame lay with her for simply disappearing from her children’s lives.

We found it a difficult to rate this book.  While we all agreed that while the writing was well done, we found the subject a little heavy and depressing and not something we wanted to scale too highly as to mislead other readers.

Read by  – Cultcha Club

Rated – 6/10

Last Thursday Book Group

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On the last meeting of the year the group had a great meeting and celebrated the end of year with little party and of course a book discussion.

AAABook – Lola’s Secret

Author – Monica McInerney

Book Summary – Magic can happen in every family… Continue reading →

2nd Tuesday Evening Book Group

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The group discussed the FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.

Group Comments

One member re-read ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ which was writeen by a German soldier after the first world war.

It is a novel based on the author’s experiences even though it is not biographical.

It is a poignant account of the horror and futility of war and remains a classic anit-war novel.

As such, it was banned by the Nazis, and the author was stripped of his German citizenship.

Our small group discussed how human history has always had groups of people who operate in an oppressive manner and want to use the media and publications as a vehicle of control.

Freedom of the press and literature is vital to an open and tolerant society.

 

2nd Tuesday Book Group

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ertTitle – Breathing in Colour

Author – Clare Jay

Book Summary –

‘Your child is missing – presumed dead.’Hours after receiving the phone call that every mother dreads, Alida Salter flies to India to search for her backpacker daughter. The discovery of disturbing collages in Mia’s hotel makes Alida suspect a connection between the disaster that fractured their relationship thirteen years ago, and Mia’s recent, mysterious disappearance.Mia is no ordinary girl. Growing up with the sensory condition synaesthesia – where she sees the world in a kaleidoscope of shapes, colours and smells – she has gone through life with the vivid imagination of an artist, but for years she has shouldered an overwhelming burden of guilt. It has been a difficult relationship, but now comes the toughest test of all…Alida must find the courage to trust her maternal instincts, or lose her daughter forever.

Groups Comments – Continue reading →