In Lit-Wit fashion, we enjoyed a pre-book club social. Pat's home was beautifully decorated for Christmas, and she shared delicious food, complete with quiche, veggies, pumpkin cheese cake, fresh fruit, and champagne beverages. Thank you, Pat, for hosting.
Pat provided Lisa Genova's biography, which included Bates College and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard! The author is married with two children and lives in Cape Cod. We learned that 1 in 88 children have autism. Pat shared information about what is known about autism and asked who we know with autism/autistic kids. We all agreed that the book was a fascinating picture of autism and rooms in the brain.
Questions:
- Was the setting important? Yes, due to "aloneness" - isolation.
- Who was the character with whom we related with the most? Not the husbands! Petra, the "tell it like it is" friend, who didn't tell Beth what to do with her marriage.
- What did you think of Jimmy and Beth's counseling "project?" It made us reflect on our own relationships and reminded us of the little things, and how easy it is to become complacent and take our spouse/partner for granted, and to stray. "Mutual stroking" was mentioned which gave us all a laugh!
- Where will the characters be in five years? Olivia gets back with David? Jimmy and Beth get divorced because he cheats again? The book club disbands because they're all too weird? Will Beth be able to write another book without Anthony channeling through her?
- Would you go to the bar to see the mistress? Six said yes and four said no.
The book was highly rated by most, with some saying they would read it again, it was a favorite, loved the connectedness, loved the neurology component, and enjoyed the "spiritualness" aspect. The few negatives were that this book was "fluffier" than the author's previous two books, and the channeling aspect was too weird.
Lisa Genova's website: http://lisagenova.com/
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